[Libs-Or] LTLO May 2004
Arturo J. Guillen
arturo at sparkie.osl.state.or.us
Mon May 3 07:46:29 PDT 2004
Letter To Libraries Online
An Electronic Newsletter of the
Oregon State Library
Volume 14, Issue 5 May 2004
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LIBRARY BOARD NEWS
State Library Board Approves Legislative Concept
LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Oregon collaborative Project
Oregon Statewide Database Licensing Program Update
Registration Opens: Public Library Technology
Training Institutes
Name change for Statewide Digital Reference Service
LSTA Advisory Council to Meet
Final Public Library Statistics 2002-2003 Posted to
OSL Website
OTHER LIBRARY NEWS
Oregon has "Movers and Shakers"
Talking Book and Braille Services News
LIBRARY WORKSHOPS, CONFERENCES, CLASSES
10th Annual Conference of the Oregon Library
Association support Staff Division
PS. (FROM THE STATE LIBRARIAN)
STATE LIBRARY CONTACT INFORMATION
LIBRARY BOARD NEWS
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STATE LIBRARY BOARD APPROVES LEGISLATIVE CONCEPT
At their meeting on April 14th at the Knight Library in Eugene, the
State Library Board approved a legislative concept to submit to
Governor Kulongoski. The proposal would change the state documents
depository program to insure permanent public access to state
documents. State agencies would be required, for the first time, to
deposit an electronic copy of all documents (whether printed or just
posted on their website). Under the current law, only printed documents
must be deposited. The electronic documents would be made available to
libraries and the public on the Oregon.gov website and permanently
archived in an electronic repository. As a trade-off for this new
requirement, agencies would be allowed to deposit fewer copies of
printed documents with the State Library. Only 10 copies of printed
documents would have to be deposited instead of 15-30 under the current
statutes. The current system of eleven full depository libraries and
sixteen "core" depository libraries would be replaced by eight full
depositories, in addition to the State Library. These would be
designated after an administrative rule-making process by the State
Library Board. The State Library should hear from the Governor's office
in a few months about whether the Governor wishes to submit this
concept, in the form of a bill, to the 2005 Legislative Assembly.
LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT NEWS
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OREGON COLLABORATIVE PROJECT
The Oregon State Library and the Tam=87stslikt Cultural Institute
(Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation) are hosting a
focus group to assist them in developing the Oregon Collaborative
Project.
The project is in partnership with the Arizona State Library, Archives
and Public Records, Phoenix, AZ as part of a national grant is titled
"Preserving Our Language, Memory and Lifeways: A Library/Museum
Collaboration for Enhancing Partnerships with Tribal Libraries, Museums
and Archives." The focus group discussion is the first step in
developing the Oregon Collaborative Project, and will be attended by
more than 30 representatives from Oregon tribal, public, academic and
school libraries, museums and archives. The meeting is planned for
Thursday, May 13, 2004 at the Oregon State Library in Salem.
OREGON STATEWIDE DATABASE LICENSING PROGRAM UPDATE
The Statewide Database Licensing Program Advisory Committee (SDLAC)
members have been reviewing vendor proposals and evaluating the
proposed database packages for the next statewide general periodicals
database. In addition, designated professional reviewers and interested
library staff have been evaluating each proposed database package.
Responses will be compiled, scored, and a recommendation will be made
by SDLAC to the Library Services Technology Act Advisory Council in
May. Their recommendation will be forwarded to the State Library Board
for its approval at its June meeting.
For details about the Statewide Database Licensing Program, including a
list of advisory committee members and meeting minutes, see the
Statewide Database Licensing Program Web page
http://www.osl.state.or.us/home/libdev/osdlp/index.html. For more
information, please contact Pam Horan (pam.horan at state.or.us, phone
503- 378-2112 ext. 224).
REGISTRATION OPENS: PUBLIC LIBRARY TECHNOLOGY
TRAINING INSTITUTES
Registration is now open for twelve Public Library Technology Training
Institutes to be held in Oregon and Washington starting in June.
Registration, locations, and a description of the curriculum are
available on Washington State Library's Web site at
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/libraries/training/trainingView.aspx=
?event=3D
167&audience=3Dlib.
focus on
support for public access computing. The Institutes are funded by Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation Training Program grants and, in part, by
Library Services and Technology Act grant funds. In addition to the
free Institutes, Oregon participants will receive a stipend to use as
they wish (e.g., travel, staff substitutes), to be reimbursed after
completion of training. The Oregon State and Washington State Libraries
collaborated in the planning and design of the Institutes, and in
arranging training and locations.
In addition, on June 7th and 8th an Oregon/Washington Train-the-Trainer
Workshop will be held in Vancouver, WA. (participants must arrive on
the 6th), and is open to library staff, six each from Oregon and
Washington libraries.
The summer training institutes will be held in various regions of each
state, with six Washington institutes scheduled for June and July and
six Oregon sessions in August and September. Library staff may attend
training in either state, and the Institutes allow for different staff
members to attend successive days of a training session. Locations in
Oregon include La Grande and Bend (the week of August 9th), Eugene and
Salem (the week of August 23rd), and Medford and Roseburg (the week of
September 13th). Space is limited, so be sure to register early.
Much of the training will be done by Bibliographical Center for
Research (BCR) staff, staff from the Washington State Library, and
trainers formerly with the Gates Foundation's Library Program. For more
information please contact Pam Horan (pam.horan at state.or.us or
503-378-2112 ext. 224).
NAME CHANGE FOR STATEWIDE DIGITAL REFERENCE SERVICE
L-net (Oregon Libraries Network) is the new name for the statewide
digital reference service. The service celebrated its one year
anniversary on April 16th (see http://www.oregonlibraries.net/) during
the OLA Conference. As part of the on-going celebration, the L-net
service is inviting libraries to join its statewide collaborative
effort to provide digital reference services to Oregon's citizens.
Since Oregon library patrons are already online, L-net helps libraries
to meet them there. By joining L-net, your library staff will learn a
valuable skill and help deliver a new and innovative service to your
community.
L-net is funded by the Library Services and Technology Act through the
Oregon State Library, and there is no direct cost to libraries to
participate. For more information about joining, see
http://www.oregonlibraries.net/join.
L-net is also re-evaluating software packages. Digital reference
software has changed greatly since Oregon's service was first launched,
and L-net service providers are excited by the prospect of being able
to offer a product that works equally well with all computer operating
systems and web browsers. L-net would like library input so that they
might choose the best product for the L-net service.
Please contact Caleb Tucker-Raymond for more information or to schedule
a training or demonstration near you: Caleb Tucker-Raymond, L-net
Service Coordinator Multnomah County Library (503-988-5438
calebt at multcolib.org AIM: calebMCL)
LSTA ADVISORY COUNCIL TO MEET
The LSTA Advisory Council will be meeting Monday, May 14 at the Hood
River County Library to review 32 grant proposals requesting $1.8
million. Keep an eye open for the press release and agenda that will be
sent via Libs-or. There will be a public forum time at the meeting,
time to be announced. For information, please contact Ann Reed at
ann.reed at state.or.us or (503) 378-2112 Ext. 254.
FINAL PUBLIC LIBRARY STATISTICS 2002-2003
POSTED TO OSL WEBSITE
The final public library statistics for fiscal year 2002-2003 are
posted at: http://www.osl.state.or.us/home/libdev/publibstats.html and
can be downloaded as an Excel workbook. If your computer does not run
Excel, or you need a customized spreadsheet, please contact Ann Reed at
(503) 378-2112 Ext. 254, email: ann.reed at state.or.us or Val Vogt at
(503) 378-2112 Ext. 222, email: val.t.vogt at state.or.us.
OTHER LIBRARY NEWS
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OREGON HAS "MOVERS AND SHAKERS"
Nearly 4% of the "movers and shakers" in U. S. libraries are in Oregon.
The 2004 edition of Library Journal's list of up and coming librarians
who are already having an impact on their profession featured two
Oregon librarians out of 55 who were selected for this honor. Eva
Miller, Special Projects Librarian at the Multnomah County Library was
selected for her ground-breaking work on two LSTA-funded projects,
Answerland (now L-net) and InformACTion, which is currently developing
low cost ways to improve public library websites in the state. Miller
is credited with bringing up the pilot site for Answerland in just 90
days. Corey Harper, Metadata Librarian at the University of Oregon, was
selected for his important work on digital collections at the U of O,
particularly the Morehouse collection of photographs of native
Americans at the turn of the 20th century. Harper is described in the
article as "a metadata specialist who believes vehemently that
cataloging is about public service." Congratulations to Eva and Corey!
TALKING BOOK AND BRAILLE SERVICES NEWS
The TBABS Advisory Council will meet at the State Library on Thursday,
May 20, from 9:30 until noon. Public comment is welcome and
appreciated.
Just a reminder that any library which did not receive a copy of the
videotape illustrating how to use the machines and cassettes provided
by TBABS may call 1-800-452-0292 and ask for "Reading in the Dark:
Teaching the Use of the Talking Book Machine." This is also a good
introduction to our services for those who are not familiar with the
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
Any library that would like a copy of our newsletter may call the 800
number also and be added to our mailing list.
On behalf of the panel members who presented at the OLA Conference in
April, thank you for the opportunity to share ideas on how to better
serve those with visual impairments. Audience members went away with
new information and new insights into what is available and what is
possible.
LIBRARY WORKSHOPS, CONFERENCES, AND CLASSES
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10th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE OREGON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION SUPPORT STAFF
DIVISION
Registration forms for Gateways 2004: Celebrating a Decade of
Conferences are now available at:
http://library.willamette.edu/ssd/conference/registration.html.
The 10th Annual Conference of the Oregon Library Association Support
Staff Division (SSD) is scheduled for Friday, July 16th at the Holiday
Inn in Wilsonville.
Currently scheduled presenters:
Keynote speaker: Steve Hanamura Oregon Author, Susan Fletcher Oregonian
Columnist, Margie Boule Assoc. Dir. of the Fort Vancouver Regional
Library, Candace Morgan Linfield College Dean of Students, Dave Hansen
Registration fees remain unchanged from last year. SSD members pay $65
for the full day conference, which includes breakfast, lunch and two
snack breaks. Non-members also will remain the same at $80. SSD
scholarships are available for members and non- members.
See the conference website
http://library.willamette.edu/ssd/conference/ for a complete listing of
all sessions under 'Conference Program'.
PS. (FROM THE STATE LIBRARIAN)
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For many years the U. S. has been so far out in front of the rest of
the world in the quality of our library services, that we haven't had
to pay much attention to what is going on elsewhere. I think we need to
start paying attention. The rest of the world is catching up, and in
some places they may even be about to take the lead.
A recent article in Library Journal (February 1, pp 42-45) about public
library service in Singapore was a real eye-opener in this respect.
Singapore has seen huge improvements in its public libraries and their
use is skyrocketing. Innovation and productivity seem to be the key to
Singapore's success. The article tells about one branch that circulated
1.2 million items with a staff of only nine workers per shift. 1.2
million circulations is just about 100,000 fewer circulations than the
entire Jackson County Library System had last year.
Singapore has a real collection development challenge, because the
country has four official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay, and
Tamil. Collections must be big, I imagine, to accommodate all the
different languages. Because the staff is so productive, the library is
able to spend more on collections and less on staff. The average age of
materials in the collection is less than five years. And the ratio of
spending for staff versus collections is less than 2:1. In Oregon, in
2002-03, our public libraries spent 65% of their budgets on staff and
only 12% on collections, a ratio of 5.4:1.
The key to staff productivity in Singapore appears to be self-service.
They have embraced RFID (radio frequency identification) technology to
enable all circulation to be self-service. I have little doubt that
RFID is the future of library circulation. It is much easier for the
public to use than the bar code based self-check systems, and so the
public is much more accepting of it.
I saw this for myself on a recent visit to the new Eugene Public
Library, Oregon's only library, so far, to employ an RFID circulation
system. When the new building opened a little over a year ago they
wisely manned all the circulation terminals and only later began to
wean users off of the staff checking out their books. Today there is a
locally- produced training video running continuously to show the
public how to check out their own books, and they are down to only 2-3
staff to help with the process. The day I was there, most people were
using it without assistance and without any complaints. EPL still has
reserves behind the circulation desk, which requires staff assistance,
but they are considering a move to self-service reserves (a step
several public libraries in Oregon have already taken), which may
further reduce the need for staffing at the circulation desk.
I like the idea of trading improved staff productivity for bigger and
better collections, more and better facilities, and perhaps increased
effort on children's services and outreach, which will always be a
labor-intensive business. More self-service -- circulation and other
applications as well -- is probably the key being able to make this
trade-off. Right now the cost of retrofitting for RFID is expensive,
but the cost will start to come down, particularly as we see more
retailers begin to employ it. For now, we can at least begin to educate
ourselves about RFID and other new ways to improve library
productivity. If you can't afford a plane ticket to Singapore, take a
drive to Eugene. -- Jim Scheppke
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STATE LIBRARY CONTACT INFORMATION =20
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Technical Support 503-378-4246
MaryKay Dahlgreen
marykay.dahlgreen at state.or.us 503-378-2112, ext. 239
Denise Davis
denise.davis at state.or.us 503-378-2112, ext. 225
Pam Horan
pam.horan at state.or.us 503-378-2112, ext. 224
Ernest Perez
ernest.r.perez at state.or.us 503-378-4243, ext. 257
Ann Reed
ann.reed at state.or.us 503-378-2112, ext. 254
Jim Scheppke
jim.b.scheppke at state.or.us 503-378-4367
Robin Speer
robin.d.speer at state.or.us 503-378-4243, ext. 221
Kathy Thomas
kathryn.thomas at state.or.us 503-378-2112, ext. 264
Val Vogt
val.t.vogt at state.or.us 503-378-2112, ext. 222
OSL's home page
http://www.osl.state.or.us/home/
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ter Street NE, Salem,
OR 97301-3950. Editor: Robin Speer, 503-378-4243, ext. 221 or e-mail
robin.d.speer at state.or.us
only in
electronic form at the Oregon State Library's Homepage:
http://www.osl.state.or.us/home . Opinions expressed in the articles a=
re those of
s items or
articles should be sent to Internet address: robin.d.speer at state.or.us=
, or mailed to
LTLO, Oregon State Library, 250 Winter Street NE, Salem, OR 97301-3950.
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