STATE LIBRARY BOARD TO PARTICIPATE IN
OLA LEGISLATIVE DAY
Members of the Oregon State Library Board will participate in the Oregon Library Association Legislative Day on February 7th by making visits to Legislators to inform them about library issues. Their visits will focus on SB 5523, the Governor’s Recommended Budget for the State Library and HB 2116, the Governor’s bill to focus the Ready to Read Grant program on early literacy and summer reading and to provide for $1,000 minimum grants for small public libraries. Following their visits the Board will hold a business meeting, beginning at 11 a.m. in Room 202 at the State Library. At their business meeting the Board will consider a draft Memorandum of Understanding that would transfer the role for coordinating the Federal Regional Depository Library Program to the State Library. They will also hear recommendations from the LSTA Advisory Council to fund the redesign of the Oregon School Library Information System (OSLIS) and provide greater State Library information systems staff support for OSLIS and the Plinkit content management system.
HEARING ON HB 2116 SET FOR FEBRUARY 9TH
The House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Peter Buckley of Ashland has agreed to hold a hearing on HB 2116, the Governor’s Ready to Read Grant bill, on Feburary 9th at 1 p.m. MaryKay Dalhgreen will present testimony for the State Library. In addition, library staff from Multnomah County Library, Woodburn Public Library and Suislaw Public Library will present testimony about how HB 2116 would improve library services to children in the state. The Oregon Library Association is also expected to testify in support of HB 2116. If the House Education Committee approves the bill, it will be referred to the Education Subcommittee of the Joint Ways and Means Committee to be heard along with SB 5523, the State Library’s budget bill. Other members of the House Education Committee are Representatives Brian Clem (Salem), John Dallums (The Dalles), Mitch Greenlick (Portland), Betty Komp (Woodburn), Jerry Krummel (Wilsonville), John Lim (Gresham), Arnie Roblan (Coos Bay), and Gene Whisnant (Sunriver).
LIBRARY SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY ACT GUIDELINES AVAILABLE FOR FFY2008 GRANT CYCLE
Got a great idea for a joint automation project? Outreach program? Continuing education? Use of technology? The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant program may be for you! The application packet for FY2008 grant proposals is available on the web through the main Grants & Aid to Libraries page. The LSTA program uses a two-step grant process. Short proposals are due April 13. Ideas need to support the Oregon Library Services and Technology Act Five-Year State Plan 2003-2008. Feel free to check out the proposals from past years, as there may be a project you wish to replicate! We welcome calls to talk over grant ideas, or find out about similar grants that may have been made in previous years. Contact Ann Reed by phone (503) 378-5027 or email.
SAVE THE DATE – RURAL LIBRARY
SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOPS
The Oregon State Library in conjunction with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and WebJunction is pleased to announce two upcoming workshops focusing on technology and sustainability for small and rural libraries.
This one-day workshop will be offered twice in Oregon:
May 5, 2007 in northeastern Oregon as a post-conference event to EOLA (exact
location to be announced soon); and April 18, 2007 in Corvallis as a pre-conference
event to OLA.
The goal of these workshops is to support the efforts of rural and small libraries (those serving 25,000 or fewer patrons) in developing and implementing community-specific action plans for sustaining public access computing. Libraries are encouraged to send the director or other staff member and a board member. Each workshop will focus on issues and challenges that have been identified by rural library staff as obstacles in sustaining public access computing. The program will encourage rural library staff to take practical action on sustainability issues within their communities. Participants will return to their libraries with ideas, information, resources, and action plans.
Stay tuned for more information!
LEGISLATURE RECEIVES TRAINING FROM STATE LIBRARY
The Government Research and Electronic Services team recently completed a successful series of legislative training activities aimed at familiarizing state employees and legislative staffers with useful tools, resources, and services the State Library provides to support their professional work. In January 2007 and December 2006 the library provided instruction to over 300 participants in nine different training events. Activities included participation in the Department of Administrative Services Legislative Training Day and Legislative Administration's two day orientation training for legislative staff and members. In addition, the library offered state employees two computer lab classes focusing on law and legislation and four sessions of a newly designed class: Legislative Resource & Research Overview. All classes were well attended and feedback has been positive. A recent increase in library registrations has in part been attributed to the success of these outreach activities.
TBABS TAKES STOCK OF 2006
Talking Book and Braille Services marked another year of service as the “alternative library” for individuals with visual and physical impairments. Notable highlights of 2006 include the implementatin of NFB-NEWSLINE, a service offering audio versions of newspapers and TV listings accessible by phone. In addition, TBABS loaned patrons MP3 players to promote Unabridged, a service offering audio books for download from the Internet. TBABS also partnered with the Secretary of State to distribute the Oregon Voters Guide on cassette and in Braille. If someone you know can benefit from TBABS' free services, invite them to visit the TBABS website or call (800)452-0292 for information on eligibility and to sign up.
READY TO READ ANNUAL REPORT 2005-2006
The Ready to Read Annual Report for 2005-2006 is now available on the Ready to Read Grant page. Please note that several changes to the report have been made. The Annual Report will now report spending by budget items listed on the Ready to Read Final Report forms instead of by type of library service. The long and short term results will now be reported using four metrics that measure the effectiveness of the Ready to Read Grant program over time. The metrics measure 1) how many public libraries are incorporating best practices, as reported in the annual Public Library Survey, into their library services, 2) the percent of children 0-4 years old using public libraries, 3) attendance at public library literacy programs, and 4) number of children participating in the Summer Reading Program. These changes to the report will provide longitudinal data on public library youth services and public library usage statistics. This data will allow public libraries to see how their efforts impact library services to children in Oregon and serve as a tool for setting local youth service goals.
READY TO READ: OUTSTANDING PROJECTS 2005-2006
Each year the State Library staff selects several public libraries as Outstanding Ready to Read Grant projects. Criteria for Outstanding Ready to Read projects include adherence to the original intent of the Ready to Read Grant program, emphasis on service to children 0-5 and the adults that care for them, replicable in other libraries, potential for impact over time, and building partnerships inside and outside the library. Libraries recognized for their Outstanding Ready to Read projects in 2005-2006 are: Seaside Public Library, Newberg Public Library, Springfield Public Library, Sherman County Public/School Library, Jefferson County Library, and Curry Public Library District. Please read the Ready to Read Annual Report on the Ready to Read Grant page to learn more about these Outstanding Projects.
2008-2012 LSTA FIVE-YEAR PLAN PROCESS TO BEGIN
The Oregon State Library is required by the Insitute of Museum and Library Services to submit a Five-Year Plan for the distribution of LSTA funds that are awarded to the Oregon State Library. The evaluation of the 2003-2008 Five-Year Plan has just been completed and will serve as the basis for creating the next five-year plan. The State Library has contracted with Himmel & Wilson,Library Consultants to assist in the creation of the plan. Beginning in early February the consultants, State Library staff, and representatives of the LSTA Advisory Council will begin to assemble a steering committee for the project. For more information contact MaryKay Dahlgreen by phone (503)378-5012 or email.
OREGON SCHOOL LIBRARY INFORMATION SYSTEM (OSLIS)
WEBSITE ADDRESS UPDATE
As of February 6, 2007 web links to the old OSLIS website address of http://www.oslis.k12.or.us will be redirected to http://www.oslis.org. This new website address has been in use for over 18 months during which time users have been asked to change their links to the new web address. Please correct any links you have to the OSLIS website. If you continue to link to the old website address you will find that some of the resources on it are no longer updated or their location has been changed on the current website and the redirect will not work. For more information contact Patty Sorensen by phone (503) 378-5011 or email.
NEXT SOARING TO EXCELLENCE WEBCAST ON FEBRUARY 9TH
"Next Gen Librarianship: Where Do We Go from Here?"
Speaker: Rachel Singer Gordon
Cost: Free to Oregon Library Staff
Date: Friday, February 9, 2007, 9:00a-10:30 a.m.
Please register online for webcast access. You can also review host sites for available group webcasts or satellite downlinks around the state.
Today's multi-generational library workforce faces a number of both internal and external challenges. To meet these challenges, we need to learn how to work together effectively, keep connected and current, and draw on individuals' unique strengths. In a graying profession, we also need to pay attention to succession planning, passing on institutional wisdom, and recruiting, retaining, and mentoring the next generation. See webcast description for additional information.
The "Soaring to Excellence" series of workshops are brought to you by the Oregon State Library and BCR and are funded by LSTA. A DVD of this and previous workshops will be made available through interlibrary loan soon. Check OSL's BCR Teleconference web page after February 15th for updates.
For more information contact Darci Hanning by phone 503-378-2527 or email.
GATES FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES NEW ROUND OF GRANTS
On January 18th, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a new round of grant making in Oregon and other states to assist public libraries that are having difficulty in sustaining the quality of their public access computing services. The Foundation announced that Oregon will be part of the new “Sustaining Access” program in 2008. This new program will target only those public libraries that the Foundation determines are at risk of not being able to maintain their investments in computer hardware. The grants will require a local match. Also in 2008, the Foundation will offer “Connectivity Grants” to help libraries achieve high-speed Internet access. The Foundation has not released any details on these new programs, but as soon as the State Library learns more, we will be communicating with public libraries about the new Gates Foundation programs.
STATE GOVERNMENT WEB SITES YOU CAN USE
Being familiar with the web site for the Oregon Legislature will allow you to help your patrons quickly find Senate or House Bills, Oregon Laws, Statutes and a number of other publications.
At the top center of the screen is a tab labeled, “Bills/Laws”. Select it to look up House or Senate bills. You will need to know the year it was introduced, whether it was a Senate or House Bill and the Bill number. On this page, the term “Measure Text” refers to “Bill Text”. If the Bill number is not known, a keyword search may be done by selecting the link labeled, “Search the bills and laws”.
This web site also allows you to search the Chapter Laws of Oregon and the Oregon Revised Statutes, referred to as the ORS. The Chapter Laws are published in yearly volumes. The ORS is the codified version of all current state laws. When searching the ORS, you will need to scroll down the page in order to see the chapter numbers and the index. When you don’t have the ORS citation, using the index will help you narrow the search.
FREE WEBINAR: "RURAL IN FOCUS" SERIES
When: Wednesday, February 28th 10 AM (PT)
Cost: FREE
Registration: not required; please visit the Rural
in Focus page for additional details and view the instructions
for joining the webinar in advance.
Description: Social Software and the Rural Library: Blogs, Wikis, IM, and more!
How are these tools being used in libraries? What is the potential? What might
the future hold...? For more information contact Darci Hanning by phone (503)378-2527
or email.
The Winter 2006 issue of the Oregon Library Quarterly is required reading. Guest editor Richenda Wilkenson, the Instructional Services Librarian at Linn-Benton Community College, has done us all a huge service by documenting the evolution and current situation of tribal libraries in Oregon.
This is a document that decades from now will serve as a benchmark. It paints a vivid picture of how far tribal library services have come in Oregon. Hopefully, decades from now, it will allow Oregon tribal libraries to be able to measure their continued progress.
As the Quarterly demonstrates, the term “tribal library” covers a lot of ground. The most important job of Oregon tribal libraries may be to preserve the heritage of individual tribes as contained in documents, archives, and other print and non-print sources. Tribal libraries also increasingly make this heritage available to tribal members and non-tribal members as well. Most tribal libraries also serve, to some extent, as public libraries for tribal members, providing important services like programs for children and their parents, and public Internet access.
I’m sorry to have to admit that when I came to the State Library in 1986, tribal libraries were not on our radar screen. Some of that had to do with the fact that tribal libraries were just beginning to be established at that time. In addition, the fact that tribal libraries received LSCA grants directly from the U.S. Department of Education, bypassing the state libraries, made it easier for us to rationalize our neglect of tribal libraries.
What really forced us to change our thinking was the passage of landmark legislation, Senate Bill 770, in the 2001 session of the Legislature. SB 770 set a new framework that resulted in closer relationships between the nine federally-recognized tribes and their sovereign tribal governments and the State of Oregon. As MaryKay Dahlgreen’s article in the Quarterly describes, we have now come around to see tribal libraries as an important component of the Oregon library system that deserves our support and attention.
My favorite articles in the Quarterly are the ones written by the Oregon tribal librarians, Marion Mercier, Julie Quaid, Chris Tanner, Malissa Minthorn-Winks, and Kelly LaChance. They all demonstrate a lot of determination, creativity, and commitment to establish and maintain their libraries with very limited resources. They show us how tribal libraries are beginning to network with other libraries in their regions, a very encouraging and important development that needs to continue to grow.
I also liked the fact that several of the articles ended with an invitation.
Chris Tanner says, “You can support our library by visiting and using the
collection.” Marion Mercier says. “Our library is really nice and
we would love to have you come in and visit when you are in the area.”
You ought to take them up on that sometime. – Jim Scheppke
Technical Assistance: 503-932-1004.
Library Development: 503-378-2525, MaryKay Dahlgreen, Val Vogt, Darci Hanning, Ann Reed, Patty Sorensen, Katie Anderson.
Talking Book and Braille Services: 503-378-5389, Susan Westin, Marcia Martin.
Government Research and Electronic Services: 503-378-5030, Robert Hulshof-Schmidt.
State Librarian: 503-378-4367, Jim Scheppke.
LTLO Editor: 503-378-2464, Robin Speer.
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: Robin Speer.
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 Robin Speer, or mailed to LTLO, Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, Oregon 97301-3950.
To subscribe or un-subscribe to libs-or, send the message: subscribe (or un-subscribe) libs-or, to: libs-or-request@listsmart.osl.state.or.us. All materials may be reprinted or distributed freely.