STATE LIBRARY BOARD APPROVES NEW LSTA FIVE YEAR PLAN
At their meeting on June 21st at The Dalles-Wasco County Library, the State Library Board approved a new Five Year State Plan for the Library Services and Technology Act. The new plan was the result of an extensive planning and evaluation process that began last year. A steering committee held two meetings with library planning consultants Ethel Himmel and Bill Wilson. Wilson also met with the LSTA Advisory Council to finalize a recommended plan to the State Library Board. The plan will now be submitted to the Institute of Museum and Library Services for their approval. A copy of the plan is available on the main page of the State Library website.
In other business the Board invited
applications for thirteen new Library Services and Technology Grant competitive
grants projects in 2008. The Board will award grants for 2008 at their October
meeting. The Board also approved a plan to spend donation funds from Talking
Book and Braille Services supporters to enhance the program in the 2007-08 fiscal
year. Enhancements will include continuing a downloadable audiobook program
in collaboration with regional libraries on other states, recording Oregon books
and continuing the NFB-NEWSLINE service that provides access to newspapers using
a toll-free phone call. The next meeting of the Board will be on October 19th
at the State Library in Salem.
OREGON DOCUMENTS REPOSITORY REACHES MILESTONE
The Oregon Documents Repository is the State Library's archive of online state publications. The Repository has grown to a collection of over 1,500 documents, and OSL staff recently created the 1,000th MARC catalog record for documents in the Repository. These records are available in the OCLC WorldCat database, or may be downloaded by any library to make available to their library users through their online catalog. The records, along with instructions for accessing the records can be found on our website. Also available on our website is a monthly listing of new titles added to the Oregon Documents Repository. For more information, please contact Arlene Weible or Jey Wann.
READY TO READ GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR 2007-2008
Ready to Read Grant application packet will be mailed July 2, 2007. Public library directors and children’s librarians will receive packets that contain the application, list of proposed grants, working copy of the 2007-2008 final report form, and answers to frequently asked questions about the changes to the Ready to Read Grant program. The application is also available on the State Library website to download, complete, and mail. Applications must be postmarked August 31, 2007 to qualify for the grant.
This year, the Oregon Legislative Assembly increased Ready to Read funding to $1 per child and amended ORS 357.750 and 357.780 to specify that the Grant is for early literacy services for children 0-5 years old and to provide the statewide summer reading program for children 0-14 years old, and to establish a minimum grant of $1,000. For more information contact Katie Anderson, (503)378-2528 or Val Vogt, (503)378-2525.
OREGON SUMMER READING CERTIFICATES
The Oregon Summer Reading Certificates are here! These certificates are for children and young adults who read at least ten books between May 15 and September 15, 2007. All they have to do to get the certificate is present a list of the ten books they read to their public librarian, school librarian, or teacher. This is the first year the Oregon Department of Education, Oregon State Library, and Oregon Library Association have coordinated their efforts to provide a joint Oregon Summer Reading Certificate with funding from the Oregon Education Association. This effort signifies the commitment of schools and libraries to the education of Oregon's youth. English and Spanish Oregon Summer Reading Certificates are available on our website to download and print at or you can order hard copies in English and/or Spanish from Katie Anderson, 503-378-2528.
CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP TOOLKIT FREE TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES
The Office of Citizenship of the
U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service is offering a free Civics and Citizenship
Toolkit to public libraries. The Toolkit contains a range of useful materials
that will enhance a public library’s collection for immigrants. It is made
possible through the Task Force on New Americans, a federal partnership created
to strengthen the efforts of federal, state, and local agencies in providing
immigrants the information they need. To order a copy go to the Civics and Citizenship
Toolkit website.
NORTHWEST CENTRAL - YOUR SOURCE FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION LISTINGS
Need to let people know about library
training events in your area?
Looking for training close by in another state?
Try using Northwest Central - the user-driven site for library continuing education!
It’s easy! Go to the website. Create
your own login. Follow the prompts to add content to the site – events
or documents or training materials of any kind. Use the site to plan training
for your area's libraries. Librarians have always shared their resources, now
we can share expertise across the Northwest – urban and rural areas alike.
Your imagination is the only limit to the possibilities of this site!
FOUR OREGON SCHOOL LIBRARIES RECEIVE GRANTS FROM THE LAURA BUSH FOUNDATION
The Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries announced that 263 school libraries are being awarded $1,286,757 in grants for 2007. Oregon has four school libraries that were selected: Central High School in Independence; Cook Elementary School in McMinnville; Rosa Parks Elementary School in Portland; and Hamlin Middle School in Springfield. These schools received grants of up to $5,000 to expand, update and diversify their library book collections. Congratulations! Further information is available at the Foundation website.
The OSU Beavers are not the only national champs in Oregon. I can now say with certainty that Oregon libraries rank #1 in library resource sharing state in the nation, according to the latest national data for public and academic libraries.
In the 2004 data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Oregon public libraries rank second only to Wisconsin in the number of books and other library materials that are borrowed from other libraries. In that year Oregon public libraries borrowed 667 materials per 1,000 population served from other libraries. That’s over six times the national average! Public libraries in our neighboring states borrow much less: Washington (28 per 1,000), California (41) and Idaho (35).
I had to analyze the 2004 data for academic libraries myself to determine that Oregon academic libraries actually borrowed more from other libraries than academic libraries in any other state in the country. NCES recently released the 2004 data on interlibrary loans received by academic libraries, but I had to do my own analysis using enrollment data to be able to compare among the 50 states. When I did, I found that Oregon academic libraries borrowed an amazing 959 books and other materials per 1,000 student enrollment. This is over three times the national average and much larger than the figures for Washington (312 per 1,000), California (151) and Idaho (189).
While Wisconsin tops Oregon in the public library rankings, Wisconsin falls to 25th in the academic library rankings, so Oregon takes the overall crown in 2004.
Our success in sharing library resources has a lot to do with the technology investments that we have made in the past two decades. The Orbis Cascade Alliance’s Summit union catalog and borrowing system is what enables Oregon students to easily borrow materials from other academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. In our public libraries it is the eleven regional shared automated library systems that enable unmediated borrowing in most of our public libraries. Tying it all together is the Orbis Cascade Alliance courier service and the Sage Library System courier in Eastern Oregon. I am proud to say that the State Library and LSTA funding have made many strategic investments in this infrastructure over the years. That investment has really paid off.
As with all data, there are different interpretations that can be made, some less flattering than others. You could argue that if Oregon had more large consolidated county and multi-county libraries, like Washington has, we wouldn’t need so much interlibrary lending. This is true. You could also argue that if Oregon academic libraries were better funded and had larger book budgets, there would not be as great a need for students to borrow from other academic libraries. This is also true.
But I think on balance these figures
say some very good things about our state and about our libraries. They say
that we have done a good job of letting our library users know that they need
not be limited to what they happen to see on the shelves when they come to the
library. Our national ranking says that Oregon libraries are remarkably good
at working collaboratively and forming successful partnerships that benefit
our users. It says that Oregon libraries believe in efficient use of our resources
and in getting the maximum value from our collection investments. So I say it’s
time to celebrate the fact that when it comes to working together to better
serve our library users, Oregon is #1. -
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.
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