STATE LIBRARY BOARD WILL HONOR VOLUNTEERS
At their meeting on April 11th, the State Library Board will host a breakfast to honor outstanding State Library volunteers. In the past 12 months the State Library has averaged 38 volunteers contributing 663 volunteer hours each month. Following the breakfast, the Board will hold its business meeting, beginning at 10 a.m. in Room 102 of the State Library. In their business meeting, the Board will conduct a self-assessment of best practices for state boards and commissions. They will also consider recommendations for changes to Library Key Performance Measures in the 2009-11 biennium and recommendations for requests that might need to be taken to a meeting of the Legislative Emergency Board later in the year. An open forum will be held at approximately 10:30 a. m. Any member of the public may address the Board on any topic during the open forum.
LEANN BROMELAND RETIRES AFTER 20 YEAR LIBRARY CAREER
On March 31st the State Library held
a celebration of LeAnn Bromeland's retirement after 20 years as the Library's
Volunteer Coordinator. LeAnn began her career in State government in 1972 and
worked for several state agencies and the Legislature before coming to the Library
in 1988. In the 1980s she was very active in politics and served as a field
coordinator for Governor Kulongoski's first unsuccessful run for Governor in
1982. She worked to elect Senator Jim Hill to the Legislature in 1986 and served
as his Administrative Assistant. At the State Library LeAnn developed one of
the most outstanding volunteer programs in state government. In 1993 she received
the "Meritorious Service Award" from the Oregon Disabilities Commission
for her efforts to utilize volunteers with disabilities at the Library. She
has been active in the Mid-Valley Volunteer Manager's Association, having made
numerous presentations at their meetings and conferences. In her retirement
LeAnn plans to travel with her husband, Andy, and enjoy her two grandsons.
STATE LIBRARY STAFF STRIVE TO INCREASE CULTURAL COMPETENCY
Increasing the cultural competency of staff at the State Library was an agency-wide goal during 2007. In response to Executive Order 05-01 from Governor Kulongowski, which charged agencies to "improve the skills and competency necessary to effectively manage affirmative action and diversity issues", staff planned and carried out a full year training experience. There were 12 sessions, which included a book discussion group (Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie), four sessions devoted to a video review and discussion and two panel presentations. The session, Developing Culturally Competent, Inclusive Libraries, included four Oregon librarians who presented projects and/or practices their libraries were implementing to create culturally competent, inclusive services for specific groups within their communities. Another presentation, given by Chinese librarians from the Portland area, prepared staff for a later visit by librarians from the Fujian Province in China. This initiative was so successful that it has been renewed for another year and a permanent staff committee has been established to handle event planning. Read more about the activities of the 2007 State Library Cultural Competency Initiative
WORKSHOP FOCUSES ON STATE AGENCY HISTORIC RESEARCH
In celebration of Oregon's
150th birthday the state of Oregon is planning many activities which will begin
in January 2009. As part of the preparation, State agencies have been requested
to provide a profile of their agency's history. In response to this request,
Oregon State Library and State Archives have teamed up to present two sessions
of a new workshop, Researching Your Agency's History. This 3 hour workshop will
be presented to over 80 agency personnel on April 3. The workshop will instruct
attendees in the identification, access, and use of key resources and information
services they can use to perform this specialized research. Other areas covered
in this workshop include an orientation to the Oregon 150 plans and a tour of
a web-based agency profile as well as tips on how to build one. We are pleased
that opening remarks for these workshop sessions will be made by Justice Wally
Carson, former Supreme Court Chief Justice, and First Lady, Mary Oberst. For
more information on Oregon 150 visit the official web site .
Other Library News.
DARCI HANNING AND CALEB TUCKER-RAYMOND NAMED LIBRARY JOURNAL MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Darci Hanning, Technology Development Consultant at the Oregon State Library, and Caleb Tucker-Raymond,statewide L-Net Coordinator at the Multnomah County Library were named Movers and Shakers in the March 15, 2008 supplement to Library Journal. The 2008 Movers & Shakers supplement profiles 50 library advocates, community builders, 2.0 gurus, innovators, marketers, mentors, and problem solvers transforming libraries. Profiles of Darci and Caleb are available at Library Journal.
APPLY FOR CONNECTING TO COLLECTIONS BOOKSHELF BY APRIL 30
The IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf is part of a multi-year, multi-faceted IMLS national initiative to raise public awareness and inspire action to care for the collections held in public trust by libraries and museums throughout the United States. The initiative is grounded in the results of A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America's Collections, which reports that a stunning 190 million objects in U.S. collections need conservation treatment. The Bookshelf includes books, DVDs, and other collections resources, as well as a Guide to Online Resources and a User's Guide to all of the materials. The Bookshelf would cost over $800 if purchased individually. The Bookshelf will be distributed free of charge to 2,000 institutions. Over 800 institutions were awarded the Bookshelf during the first round. Over 90% of those who applied were winners. Applications for the second round of grants must be submitted before April 30, 2009.
THIS IS OUR LAND EXHIBIT AT THE PORTLAND CHILDREN'S MUSEUM MARCH 14 THROUGH
APRIL 27, 2008
This vibrant educational exhibit from Meridian International includes work by children's illustrators depicting the great diversity of people, pastimes and natural wonders in all 50 United States, together with vivid images of life in 20 countries. The illustrations selected to represent Oregon are from Tulip Sees America written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Lisa Desimini. The Portland Children's Museum is providing $1.00 off coupons for libraries to distribute to the public and free passes for library staff. Each registrant to the OLA/WLA Joint Conference will also receive a free pass in their conference registration packet. For museum information visit Portland Children's Museum and for an exhibit preview visit Meridian International. For more information or to request passes please contact MaryKay Dahlgreen or call 503-378-5012.
When the Presidential Libraries Act
passed in 1955, I'm sure it seemed to the Congress like a great idea.
Prior to that time, the retention of Presidential papers by the Federal government
was haphazard. Some ended up in the Library of Congress, but some ended up dispersed
among historical societies and private collections. Under the Presidential Libraries
Act, Presidents establish their own libraries, using private fundraising to
build the buildings, saving taxpayers millions of the dollars. The Presidential
records remain the property of the Federal government, and the buildings are
deeded over too, and the libraries are run by the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA). Such a deal.
In practice, I don't believe the Presidential Libraries Act has worked out so
well for taxpayers and for researchers and scholars, especially in recent years.
Presidential libraries tend to be too big and too costly for NARA to operate.
Worst of all, for a librarian, they have become something other than repositories
of information, freely available to anyone. They have become more like shrines,
intended mostly to burnish a reputation, and sometimes to restrict access to
information.
This was my impression when I visited the Clinton library in Little Rock a few
years ago. It is very much a shrine to the Clinton Presidency. And when USA
Today made a Freedom of Information Act request for documents at the Clinton
library relating to presidential pardons in 2006, NARA denied much of the request.
Federal law allows some records to be withheld for 12 years to protect "privacy."
But a former President's legal aides can review and waive this requirement.
Clinton's aides declined to do so. Critics are charging that this was done to
protect Clinton from scrutiny when his wife is running for President.
President Bush signed an Executive Order in 2001 that will broaden his ability
to block the release of his records when he leaves the White House next year.
His Presidential library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas will cost
between $200 and $500 million. There is speculation that some of the funding
for the building may come from overseas, and for this reason the donors to the
building will not be disclosed. The Bush library will include a public policy
institute. Some of the faculty at SMU have complained that the new Bush library
will not be "a neutral space for unbiased academic research . [but a] conservative
think tank and policy institute that engages in legacy polishing."
It seems to me that the Presidential Libraries Act needs serious reform or even
repeal. Wouldn't it be better for researchers and scholars to have access to
Presidential records of all future Presidents in one neutral location that can
be run more affordably and efficiently, and in a way that is free of bias and
restrictions, something that is much more fitting for a "government of
the people?" - Jim Scheppke
Library Development: 503-378-2525, MaryKay
Dahlgreen, Mary Mayberry,
Darci Hanning, Ann
Reed, Patty Sorensen, Katie
Anderson.
Talking Book and Braille Services: 503-378-5389, Susan
Westin.
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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