[Libs-Or] May LTLO

[Jessica Rondema]

Letter To Libraries Online

An Electronic Newsletter from the Oregon State Library.......Volume 22, Issue 5, May 2011



Library Board News


STATE LIBRARY BOARD PLANS STATE LIBRARIAN RECRUITMENT

At their meeting on April 6th in Salem, the State Library Board met with Twyla Lawson, Executive Recruiter for the Department of Administrative Services and Diane Ballard, Library Human Resources Manager to begin to plan to recruit a new Oregon State Librarian this year. State Librarian Jim Scheppke has announced his retirement at the end of 2011. The Board reviewed a timetable and instructed Lawson to move ahead with an email survey of State Library stakeholders to solicit input on desired qualities of a new Oregon State Librarian. At the June 17th Board meeting, Lawson and Ballard will report on the recruitment plan progress and review the draft job posting. The Board will hear public comment, and consider adopting the final recruitment plan, job posting, and consider selecting screening panel members. The Board also spoke to Carrie Ottow, the current chair of the Oregon Digital Library Consortium, about their recent decision to deny an application from the State Library to become a member of the Consortium. The State Library Board sought membership to be able to offer Library2Go services to Oregonians without public library services. Ottow shared what she believes were some of the reasons why the State Library's application was unsuccessful. The Board may decide to apply again for membership in 2012. The Board also conducted a self-assessment based on a list of 15 "best practices" for state boards and commissions and determined for the third straight year that all of the best practices were met by the Board. The next meeting of the State Library Board will be held on June 17th at the Josephine County Library in Grants Pass.

STAKEHOLDER SURVEY LAUNCHED

The Stakeholder survey to get input on the desired qualities of a new Oregon State Librarian opened on April 22nd and is due to close on May 16th. Twyla Lawson is excited about leading this process and looks forward to hearing from the varied library communities and stakeholders. If you would like to provide your thoughts on the attributes of the next State Librarian, click the following link to access the Stakeholder survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/OSLibrary. The responses will be compiled and used to develop the candidate profile for the selection process. Please contact Twyla Lawson<mailto:twyla.lawson at state.or.us> at (503) 373-7677 if you have questions or would like to provide comments on the State Librarian's recruitment plan and appointment process.
State Library News


FFY 2011 LSTA ALLOTMENT REDUCED

The FFY 2011 budget that Congress passed to prevent a shutdown and to fund the Federal government through the end of the year makes a 6.2% cut to Oregon's LSTA funding. Oregon's LSTA allotment for FFY 2011 will be $2,213,648, which is down $146,158 from the FFY 2010 allotment. The LSTA Advisory Council and the State Library Board have been conservative in their budgeting so we expect this will not cause any major problems in funding for competitive grants and statewide programs funded by LSTA. The LSTA Advisory Council will be discussing this at their meeting in May and will be making recommendations to the State Library Board at their meeting in June.

LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT CUSTOMER SERVICE SURVEY WILL LAUNCH IN MAY

The Library Development Services team will launch their annual customer service survey on May 13th. The survey link will be sent to library directors and other constituent groups of Library Development, including youth services librarians, school librarians, libraries with Plinkit websites, and LSTA grantees. For more information, please contact MaryKay Dahlgreen<mailto:elke.bruton at state.or.us>.

CALL TBABS WHEN PLANNING YOUR NEXT STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY

Are you planning a staff development day and need a short, informational interlude? Talking Book and Braille Services staff is ready and willing to present a brief program to your staff to bring them up-to-date on the services available to your patrons who are unable to use standard print materials due to a visual or physical disability. Our books are now available in digital format with many of our patrons downloading directly from the Internet. Learn how to enhance the already stellar service that you provide for your patrons. For more information, contact Elke Bruton<mailto:elke.bruton at state.or.us>.

LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE AWARDS CELEBRATED

The Letters About Literature Awards Celebration on April 18 was a great success. The students read aloud personal letters they had written to authors about changes in themselves or the way they view the world to an audience of approximately 35 people. Here is a list of the schools, titles and authors of the winners:

Level I (4th-6th Grade)

  *   Winner: Cal Young Middle School, Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff
  *   Runner-up: Cal Young Middle School, Maximum Ride by James Patterson
  *   Honorable Mentions: Islamic School of Portland, Spiders by Seymour Simon; Raleigh Park, Turtles In Paradise by Jennifer Holm; Cal Young Middle School, Be Careful What You Wish For by R.L. Stine; and Individual Entry, Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Level II (7th-8th Grade)

  *   Winner: Vale Middle School, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
  *   Runner-up: Vale Middle School, Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer
  *   Honorable Mentions: Corbett Charter School, A Christy Miller Collection; Joseph Lane Middle School, Call of the Wild by Jack London; and Vale Middle School, Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

Level III (9th-12th Grade)

  *   Winner: Individual entry, Anthem by Ayn Rand
  *   Runner-up: Individual Entry, Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
  *   Honorable Mentions: Bend Senior High, Graceling by Kristin Cashore; Bend Senior High, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein; Bend Senior High, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling; Bend Senior High, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; and The Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini

More information about this annual reading and writing contest is available on the Letters About Literature<http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/aboutlit.shtml> web page.
Other Library News


IMLS ANNOUNCES LEARNING LAB GRANTS

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will commit $4 million to create up to 30 new Learning Labs in libraries and museums. The Urban Libraries Council and the Association of Science-Technology Centers will be responsible for supporting a network of Learning Labs that will use best practice principles, based on research and evidence in the field of youth digital learning, to engage youth in 21st century skills and effective science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The partners will administer a grant competition to support up to 30 Learning Labs in libraries and museums, provide technical assistance to applicants and awardees, facilitate communication among the network of lab sites, convene grantees, create and maintain an online toolkit of resources, and develop an evaluation framework identifying program outcomes and disseminate the results. In late May 2011, an RFP for "Learning Lab Applications" for eligible library and museum applicants will be issued, with a deadline of late July 2011 for grants of up to $100,000 for each Learning Lab. Awards will be announced by IMLS in October/November 2011. This will be the first of two grant rounds, with the second deadline to occur in April/May 2012. Go to the IMLS website<http://www.imls.gov/about/macarthur.shtm> for more information.

OREGON LIBRARIANS ELECTED TO OCLC GLOBAL COUNCIL

Deborah Dancik and Donna Reed have been elected as Member Delegates from the Americas Region to the OCLC Global Council<http://www.oclc.org/councils/global/default.htm>. The Global Council is a link between OCLC member libraries and OCLC management. It has 48 Member Delegates, who represent libraries and institutions of various sizes and types from around the world. Dancik, University Librarian at Willamette University, and Reed, Library Director at Portland Community College, will begin a three-year term on July 1, 2011.

PROMOTE LEARNINGEXPRESS LIBRARY WITH BOOKMARKS AND POSTERS

A few months ago, the State Library mailed a LearningExpress Library (LEL) introductory packet to academic, tribal, and public libraries in Oregon. It contained a promotion handbook, some bookmarks, and one or more posters. If you would like to order more posters or bookmarks for your library, contact customer support at LearningExpress: customerservice at learningexpressllc.com<mailto:customerservice at learningexpressllc.com> or 800-295-9556. Should they not have any more materials with the Oregon State Library logo, they will send the generic version. To view LE's promotional materials online<http://www.learnatest.com/lel/> or to customize and print your own, you can use the login LE sent with the personalized URL for your website, or utilize the generic user name [learningexpresslibrarian] and password [welcome]. When you use either login, you will be directed to the Librarian Resources page. Click on View by the third option in the list, Print Materials and Handouts. Other promotional materials include a flyer about the computer tutorials, a flyer about the resources for nursing school students, and a handout that explains how to sign up for an account, log in, and access LEL's resources. For more information about this, visit OSL's LearningExpress Library page<http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/technology/sdlp/LearningExpress/>. Questions about LEL? Contact MaryKay Dahlgreen<mailto:marykay.dahlgreen at state.or.us> or Jennifer Maurer<mailto:jennifer.maurer at state.or.us> in Library Development at the State Library.

SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVOCATES RALLY AFTER DISTRICTS ANNOUNCE LIBRARY CUTS

Beaverton and Salem-Keizer School Districts are among the last in the state to have licensed school librarians in every school. With the current school budget crisis, both districts announced plans to drastically cut their library programs. Beaverton proposed eliminating half of their librarians and assigning the remaining half to two schools each while Salem-Keizer plans to cut all K-8 librarians. School library advocates in both districts quickly organized and demonstrated their support in various ways. Teachers, parents, students, professors, community leaders, and librarians have spoken or are scheduled to speak at budget committee hearings and board meetings. Among other things, they emphasized the importance of the school librarian's role in developing students' joy of reading; stressed the school library impact studies<http://listbuilder.scholastic.com/content/stores/LibraryStore/pages/images/SLW3.pdf>; showcased successful collaborations between teachers and librarians; discussed the importance of teaching information literacy and technology skills; and highlighted how library curriculum ties in directly with district literacy and technology goals. Both Beaverton<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beaverton-School-District-Strong-Libraries-Strong-Schools/151348488255590> and Salem-Keizer<http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-heart-Public-School-Libraries/140518699350053> districts' library supporters have a Facebook page for disseminating information and have posted videos, flyers, budget hearing dates, support letters from authors, and more. Advocates have been successful in drawing or using the media's attention, as evidenced by the amount of news coverage about the situation in Beaverton<http://bit.ly/gVjFsn> and Salem-Keizer<http://bit.ly/ieA7Dy>. The next opportunity for public input in Beaverton<http://tinyurl.com/3wxjfod> is at the May 9th School Board meeting and in Salem-Keizer<http://tinyurl.com/3lwjqod> is at the Budget Committee Public Meeting on May 3rd and 4th.
P.S. (From the State Librarian)


Like most of my state librarian colleagues I am very excited about the planning effort underway for a national digital library. The effort began last fall at the Berkman Center at Harvard University. Several prominent academic research librarians and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation got the ball rolling and a steering committee has now been formed and a stakeholders meeting was held in March.

The state librarians feel well represented on the steering committee for the project which is now called the Digital Public Library of America<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/dpla>. We have Peggy Rudd, the Texas State Librarian as our representative on the committee, along with Susan Hildreth, the former California State Librarian, who is now the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Our own Molly Raphael, the President-Elect of the American Librarian Association, was also invited to the March meeting and will certainly be influential as the project develops.

There have been some who worry that the project will be dominated by academic research librarians and the interests of public librarians will not be heard. I don't worry about that, given that Peggy, Susan and Molly will be involved. There does need to be better school library representation and I hope we will see that soon.

The U.S. is behind most of the rest of the developed world in beginning to build a national digital library. European countries like Norway, the Netherlands and France have been at this for several years now, and the European Union has an portal site called Europeana<http://www.europeana.eu/portal/>, with links to 15 million items: books, music, films and art.

Maybe some Americans were waiting for the private sector (e.g., Google) to do this for us. I am thankful that librarians are finally taking the bull by the horns and moving ahead with our own project. There is now a concept paper<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/dpla/Concept_Note> for the project that makes clear in the very first sentence that the project aims to "make the cultural and scientific heritage of humanity available, free of charge, to all."

But like a number of my state librarian colleagues, I do have a problem with the name: Digital Public Library of America. Most of us are worried that this name would likely have the unintended consequence of undermining support for real brick and mortar public libraries. There are over 16,000 of them in communities and neighborhoods across the U.S. and many of them are struggling for funding right now, even though their use is higher than it's ever been.

I understand there was a lot of discussion of the name at the first meeting in March. Expect a lot more discussion in the future. The state librarians and public librarians I've talked to about it have pretty strong feelings, as they should.

Hey, what's wrong with Digital Library of America? I think it has a nice ring to it. - Jim Scheppke
Contacts at the Oregon State Library


Library Development: 503-378-2525, MaryKay Dahlgreen<mailto:marykay.dahlgreen at state.or.us>, Mary Mayberry<mailto:mary.l.mayberry at state.or.us>, Darci Hanning<mailto:darci.hanning at state.or.us>, Ann Reed<mailto:ann.reed at state.or.us>, Jennifer Maurer<mailto:jennifer.maurer at state.or.us>, Katie Anderson<mailto:katie.anderson at state.or.us>.

Talking Book and Braille Services: 503-378-5389, Susan Westin<mailto:susan.b.westin at state.or.us>.

Government Research Services: 503-378-5030, Robert Hulshof-Schmidt<mailto:robert.hulshof-schmidt at state.or.us>.

State Librarian: 503-378-4367, Jim Scheppke<mailto:jim.b.scheppke at state.or.us>.

LTLO Editor: 503-378-2464, Jessica Rondema<mailto:jessica.rondema at state.or.us> . Letter to Libraries Online is published monthly by the Oregon State Library. Editorial office: LTLO, Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, Oregon 97301-3950, 503-378-2464, editor: Jessica Rondema<mailto:jessica.rondema at state.or.us>. Letter to Libraries Online is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form on the publications page at the Oregon State Library's homepage: http://www.oregon.gov/OSL. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Oregon State Library. News items or articles should be sent to Jessica Rondema<mailto:jessica.rondema at state.or.us>, or mailed to LTLO, Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, Oregon 97301-3950.

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