[Libs-Or] Letters to Libraries Online May 2019

Wed May 1 09:59:48 PDT 2019

We have a new State Librarian!

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Letters to Libraries Online: News from the State Library of Oregon
Volume 29, Issue 5 - May 2019

** State Library News
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** New State Librarian announced
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We have a new State Librarian!

Jennifer Patterson has been appointed as Oregon’s next State Librarian by Governor Kate Brown. Patterson will begin her tenure as director of the State Library of Oregon on May 13, 2019, pending Senate confirmation on May 8.

Patterson joins the State Library with more than 20 years of library experience. She most recently served as associate dean of learning resources at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, Washington. Patterson’s prior experience includes leadership roles such as head of access services for the University of Washington Bothell, customer experience manager at the Pierce County Library System in Tacoma, Washington, and public services director at The Seattle Public Library. Patterson has a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of California Los Angeles and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver.

As a skilled library leader with expertise in budget and policy development and management, strategic planning, and human resources, Patterson said, "I hope to build upon efforts to raise the profile of the State Library of Oregon and create strategic goals and priorities that align with stakeholder interests and needs." Her immediate priorities include establishing working relationships with State Library staff, developing a comprehensive understanding of current programs and services, and engaging with stakeholders to ensure that the State Library of Oregon continues to bring value to communities throughout Oregon.

** National Volunteer Appreciation Week at the State Library
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The State Library of Oregon took part in National Volunteer Appreciation Week this April and celebrated our wonderful volunteers for all the amazing work they do for our agency. Since last year’s Volunteer Appreciation Week we’ve had 40 individuals and a volunteer group dedicate time to helping the State Library. Altogether they tallied almost 2,500 volunteer hours!

For all their time and effort, our volunteers received a State Library of Oregon umbrella. They’ve covered us all year, now it’s our turn to cover them!

The week was also a great opportunity for us to kick off our Volunteer Program on social media. We will occasionally share a little bit about our volunteers and their achievements. For Volunteer Appreciation Week we highlighted our group of book mending volunteers. Stop by our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/StateLibraryOR/) and take a look.

We are incredibly grateful for their commitment to the agency, its staff and patrons!

** Library Support and Development Services
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** Online training on homelessness  from Ryan Dowd coming in May
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The State Library is pleased to announce the self-paced online course, "The Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness" by Ryan Dowd, will be made available to all Oregon library staff for free later this month and will be available through April of next year.

The course includes videos, resources, and tools to help staff reduce problems and conflict, while still being inclusive – homelessness is a perennial topic of concern at libraries. Staff at public libraries interact with almost as many homeless individuals as staff at shelters do. Empathy and understanding, along with specific actionable advice that's drawn from experience, makes all the difference in working with this group.

This training spotlights best practices drawn from the trainer’s own shelter's policies and training materials. Filled with to-the-point guidance that will help front line public library staff and managers understand and serve this population better, this resource:
* includes facts about homelessness every librarian should know
* shares de-escalation techniques like showing respect, ways to avoid making things personal, and using proper body language
* walks readers through dealing with common issues like offensive behavior and asking a patron to leave
* advises on how to provide backup to a colleague and when to call the police

Dowd (http://www.homelesslibrary.com/about.html) is the executive director of a large homeless shelter outside of Chicago, Illinois. He regularly travels the country training libraries, police departments, schools and other organizations on how to work compassionately with challenging homeless individuals. He recently gave the Saturday keynote at the OLA / WLA conference in Vancouver, WA last month.

Please stay tuned for upcoming details on how to access this course soon! In the meantime, you may want to sign up (http://www.homelesslibrary.com/start-here.html) (scroll down) to receive his weekly newsletter or check out his “Quick Advice (http://www.homelesslibrary.com/start-here.html) ” page.

Questions? Please contact Darci Hanning (darci.hanning at state.or.us (mailto:darci.hanning at state.or.us) or 503-378-2527).

** Announcing FY2019-20 LSTA Competitive Grants and Statewide Projects
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On April 17, 2019, the State Library Board approved all recommendations made by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Advisory Council and State Library staff regarding FY2019-2020 Competitive Grants and Statewide Projects. The 11 competitive grants awarded this year will fund a wide range of efforts supporting Oregon’s current LSTA Five-Year Plan through the following institutions:

* C. Giles Hunt Memorial Library/Sutherlin Library Foundation - $9,250
* Coquille Public Library - $4,390
* Oregon Historical Society Research Library - $77,431
* Nyssa Public Library - $13,379
* Helix Advancement Partnership Network - $8,852
* Oregon College of Oriental Medicine - $39,610
* Linn-Benton Community College - $81,453
* Treasure Valley Community College - $35,000
* Willamette University, Archives & Special Collections - $81,156
* University of Oregon Libraries - $85,216
* Lewis & Clark College Watzek Library - $42,246

A total of $477,983 of LSTA funds will go toward supporting these competitive grant projects.

We are also pleased to announce continued LSTA support for Oregon’s regional and/or statewide Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB), Oregon School Library Information System (OSLIS), Oregon Digital Library Consortium (ODLC), and the Sage Courier. More information about these grants and projects will be posted soon to the State Library of Oregon’s website.

Please email Data & Federal Programs Consultant Ross Fuqua at ross.fuqua at state.or.us (mailto:ross.fuqua at state.or.us) with questions.

** Registration open for Information Literacy Summit
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Registration (http://olaweb.org/il-summit-registration-2019) is now open for the Information Literacy Summit (https://ilago.wordpress.com/) being held Friday, May 11, 2019, at Linn Benton Community College Library (https://www.linnbenton.edu/) , in Albany, Ore.

This is a one-day conference for librarians from all types of libraries who teach information literacy, K-16. Sponsored by the Information Literacy Advisory Group of Oregon (https://ilago.wordpress.com/about/) , the InfoLit Summit includes workshops, and updates and work sessions for information literacy advocacy efforts across Oregon.

Registration is $30 and includes lunch. Scholarships  (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIOB8-wqeiPkTlmUNPpd29t1pTNGYNIAc-wQSCS_iY48_bVw/viewform?usp=sf_link) are available for library school students and early career librarians.

To view program information, please visit the conference page (https://ilago.wordpress.com/oregon-il-summit-2019/) on our website.

** Congratulations to two Oregon librarians for their recent elections
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Kirby McCurtis (pictured at right) from Multnomah County Library has been elected Vice-President/President-Elect of ALSC.

Alec Chunn, from Eugene Public Library, has been elected to serve on the 2021 Caldecott Committee.

Thank you Kirby and Alec for the time and effort you will put into these commitments on behalf of kids all across the country. We are grateful for your voices and appreciate Oregon representatives at the national library table.

** Talking Book and Braille Library
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** Talking Book and Braille Library 50th anniversary at the State Library series: Service changes
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The Talking Book and Braille Library has seen a number of significant service changes over the past 50 years. When the library arrived in Salem in 1969 there were 1,700 users and 11,000 items circulated per month. Books and magazines were available on record discs, two-track cassette tapes, Braille, and Large Print. In March 1977, the first four-track cassette book recorded at 15/16 ips was released: “Roots” by Alex Haley. Each four-track cassette held six hours of playing time, equal to 200 pages of print. By spring 1988, the Library registered its 10,000th user. (Now we’re at over 115,000).

In spring 1989, the library started a process called “book inspection,” which we still do today to make sure each audiobook is in the correct container. It makes one wonder how books were correct before that!

Talking Books technology started changing in 2002, and would take another seven years before the first digital players and books started circulating to users. In the meantime, Talking Books moved to the Keystone Library Automation System (KLAS) ILS in 2004 to help manage user data and daily circulation. Planning and preparation paid off for the Library in 2009, when the digital format was finally released.

Along with the release of digital audio cartridges, the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) system was also introduced to users. BARD has given registered users unlimited and immediate access to the entire digital audio and electronic Braille collection from the beginning, and has added audio and Braille magazines as well. In September 2013, the BARD Mobile app was released for smartphones and tablets, making the collection even more accessible and portable!

Today Talking Books circulates on average 31,000 items per month to 5,200 users, and users themselves download on average over 8,000 items per month. Wow, things have changed a lot in 50 years!

** Contacts
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Library Support and Development Services:
Ferol Weyand, Darci Hanning, Jennifer Maurer, Ross Fuqua, Tamara Ottum, Arlene Weible, Susan Westin, Greta Bergquist

Oregon Talking Book and Braille Library Manager:
Susan Westin, 503-378-5435

Government Information and Library Services Manager:
Caren Agata, 503-378-5030

Interim State Librarian:
Caren Agata, 503-378-5030

Letter to Libraries Online Editor:
Jacqui Krawetz: 503-378-4244

Letter to Libraries Online is published monthly by the State Library of Oregon.

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Mission
The State Library provides leadership and resources to continue growing vibrant library services for Oregonians with print disabilities, the Legislature and state government, and all Oregonians through local libraries.
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