[Libs-Or] Letter to Libraries Online July 2015

[Jessica Rondema]

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[OSL Building]
Letter to Libraries Online

A Monthly Newsletter from the Oregon State Library

Volume 25, Issue 7, July 2015



Contents:
Library Board News
State Library News

Other Library News

Contacts at the State Library


Vision: All Oregonians have the information essential to be engaged citizens, to strengthen our communities, and to build a prosperous state.

Mission: The State Library provides leadership and resources to continue growing vibrant library services for Oregonians who are print-disabled, the Legislature and state government, and all Oregonians through local libraries.


Library Board News


State Library Board Met at the Beaverton City Library on June 19th

[Heroes]The Oregon State Library Board met on Friday, June 19, 2015 at the Beaverton City Library in Beaverton. Prior to the meeting, Board member Leslie Hicks provided the Board and staff with a tour of her materials library at Nike World Headquarters. During the business meeting, the Board approved recommendations of the Library Services and Technology Act Advisory Council and the Talking Book and Braille Library Advisory Council. The Board also discussed the timeline and process for Administrative Rulemaking for HB 3523, the State Librarian's Performance Management process, and the results of the Board self-evaluation. The next board meeting will be held on Friday, August 21st at the Deschutes Public Library in Bend.

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State Library News


State Library Has Community Connections

For the past 25 years, the State Library has had an active volunteer service program<http://www.oregon.gov/osl/Pages/Volunteer_Lib.aspx> working with Oregon communities. This has provided an opportunity to create an environment where volunteer citizens can donate their skills and time while contributing to the efficient delivery of State Library services. By having volunteers participate in tasks that will ultimately benefit Oregonians, we are also providing mentoring and work experience to help develop the library workforce.

Our volunteers have done amazing work at the State library that has totaled over 100,000 hours of dedicated time and skills. A few of the activities volunteers perform include assisting with collection management, Talking Book inspection, support for Oregon libraries, mending books and documents, scanning and digitizing materials, greeting patrons, a variety of administrative tasks, making patron contacts, equipment maintenance, recording publications, and many more important tasks. In addition, we have a seven-member board of trustees that make policy decisions, and four advisory councils that have a total of 45 volunteers to help make important decisions and recommendations. Oregon communities are an important part of the function of the State Library.

Our staff welcomes the opportunity to work with volunteers with a variety of skills and interests. A HUGE thank you to all of our volunteers over the years - we could not do what we do without you!

OSL Board Approves LearningExpress Library Renewal and Added Content

[LEL]At its meeting on June 19th, the Oregon State Library Board approved the Statewide Database Advisory Committee (SDLAC) recommendation for the State Library to continue its contract with LearningExpress Library<https://www.oregon.gov/osl/LD/Pages/technology/sdlp/learningexpress/index.aspx>. The Board also approved the addition of two new products, Job & Career Accelerator<http://www.oregon.gov/osl/LD/technology/sdlp/learningexpress/LEL3.0_JobCareerAccelerator_lowres.pdf> and Computer and Internet Basics<http://www.oregon.gov/osl/LD/technology/sdlp/learningexpress/LEL3.0_Computerand%20InternetBasics_highres.pdf> to the contract. LearningExpress Library provides testing and skills-building resources to all Oregon libraries through the Statewide Database Licensing Program (SDLP). These new products will provide libraries with more tools for supporting job seekers in their local communities. The new products will be available when the new contract begins in November 2015. Questions? Contact Arlene Weible<mailto:arlene.weible at state.or.us>, Electronic Services Consultant.

In Memory of Susan Niggli

[SusanNiggli]The State Library Staff was saddened by the death of retired OSL employee Susan Niggli in June.

Susan retired in November 2003 after a 30-year career at OSL. Her focus was the stacks, and her primary duties were shelving and paging. However, she incorporated other interests into her job, much to the benefit of the library. She enjoyed handicrafts in her spare time, and used some of her craft skills to mend books. In addition to book mending, she also trained volunteer book menders.

Susan's interest in genealogy, including tracking the ancestry of her large family, continued after her retirement. She volunteered as a genealogy consultant in the State Library's Reference Room for a total of 2,493 hours and was active in the Willamette Valley Genealogy Society. Susan's knowledge of genealogy resources, both print and online, was such that some patrons only came to OSL to do genealogy research when Susan was on duty.

Former supervisor Craig Smith said, "She was a great believer in using federal documents for all kinds of reasons. She was especially skilled at locating genealogical information in historic State and Federal documents. I consider her one of the unsung heroes of the library world."

We are grateful for the many contributions Susan made to the State Library.

Willamette Writers Will Coordinate Oregon's Letters About Literature Program

[WW]As you probably know<http://www.oregon.gov/osl/LTLO/LTLOMay2015/May2015LTLO.html> by now, this was the last year for staff at the State Library to coordinate Oregon's participation in the national Letters About Literature program<http://www.read.gov/letters/>. Staff reached out to a few organizations about adopting the reading and writing contest, and Willamette Writers<http://willamettewriters.com/> agreed to take it on. Thanks to their board for that decision! Here's a bit<http://willamettewriters.com/about-us/> about their organization: "Willamette Writers is the largest writers organization in Oregon and one of the largest in the United States. Writers of all genres and at all stages of their careers are invited to join."

What does this mean for Oregon 4th - 12th graders, educators, and library staff who want to participate in Letters About Literature next school year? Since students' letters are sent directly to the national coordinator at the Library of Congress, that part will not change. Entries are usually due in December or January, and information will be posted on the State Library's<http://www.oregon.gov/osl/LD/Pages/youthsvcs/aboutlit.aspx> and Willamette Writers'<http://willamettewriters.com/> websites in the fall. However, folks from Willamette Writers will coordinate judging of Oregon letters that make it through the national screening, and they will determine how best to honor those being recognized in Oregon. Jen Maurer, the School Library Consultant at the State Library, will work closely with Blythe Ayne<http://willamettewriters.com/author/blythe_ayne/>, the Awards and Writing Contests Director for Willamette Writers, to pave the way for a smooth transition. If you have questions, please email<mailto:jennifer.maurer at state.or.us> Jen, or call her at 503-378-5011. Look for more info around late September. Thanks very much to Willamette Writers for guaranteeing that Letters About Literature will continue in Oregon.

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Other Library News


PLA Launches "Project Outcome"

[ProjOutcome]Project Outcome is an initiative of the Public Library Association (PLA) that equips libraries with short, easy-to-use, patron-focused surveys designed to measure the impact of library services such as childhood literacy, computer training, and workforce development. The project focuses on measuring the outcomes of the programs that many public libraries have in common, thereby minimizing the work for each library in developing measures while also maximizing impact by giving libraries a shared language and the ability to aggregate data. Project Outcome will roll out its surveys and supporting tools-including customizable data dashboards, webinars and resources to help libraries use their findings to make improvements-at the 2015 American Library Association conference.

An overview video is available here<http://www.ala.org/pla/onlinelearning/webinars/archive/projectoutcome> - for additional information, please visit PLA's Performance Measurement<http://www.ala.org/pla/performancemeasurement> web page or contact the project manager, Emily Plagman<mailto:eplagman at ala.org>.

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Contacts


Oregon State Library

Library Support and Development Services: 503-378-2525, Ferol Weyand<mailto:FerolWeyand at oslmail.osl.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>, Arlene Weible<mailto:arlene.weible at state.or.us>, Susan Westin<mailto:susan.b.westin at state.or.us>.

Oregon Talking Book and Braille Library Manager: 503-378-5435, Susan Westin<mailto:susan.b.westin at state.or.us>.
[OSL Logo]

Government Information and Library Services Manager: 503-378-5030, Margie Harrison<mailto:margie.harrison at state.or.us>.

State Librarian: 503-378-4367, MaryKay Dahlgreen<mailto:marykay.dahlgreen at state.or.us>.

Letter to Libraries Online 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. It is available free of charge and is published only in electronic form on the publications page<http://www.oregon.gov/osl/Pages/publications.aspx> on the Oregon State Library's website<http://www.oregon.gov/OSL>.

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