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<H1><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><A name=Top></A>Letter To
Libraries Online</FONT></H1>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">An Electronic Newsletter from
the Oregon State Library.......Volume 19, Issue 8, August
2008</FONT></P></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR>
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<DIV align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><B><A
name=Board></A>Library Board News</B></FONT></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR>STATE LIBRARY
BOARD HAS NEW OFFICERS</FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">On July 1st M. Yvonne
Williams of Portland took over from Doug Henrichs of Milton-Freewater as Chair
of the State Library Board of Trustees. Williams will serve a one-year term as
Chair. Henrichs has been Chair of the Board for the past two years. Williams has
served on the State Library Board since 2001 when she was appointed to the Board
by Governor John Kitzhaber. Williams is a retired librarian who served two terms
on the Board of the Multnomah County Library. Another new officer is Sue
Burkholder of Eugene who was elected as Vice-Chair of the Board for 2008-09.
Burkholder has served on the Board since 2005 when she was appointed by Governor
Ted Kulongoski. She is also a retired librarian and recently served on a
citizens committee in Ashland that is planning for the future of their library
branch. She recently relocated from Ashland to Eugene. Doug Henrichs will
continue to serve on the Board Executive Committee as Past-Chair. </FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR>STATE LIBRARY
BOARD SUBMITS BUDGET REQUEST TO THE GOVERNOR</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">On August 1st the State Library’s
Agency Request Budget for the 2009-11 biennium was submitted for consideration
by Governor Kulongoski. The $17.6 million budget would fund all of the current
programs of the State Library with allowance for inflation. In addition, the
Agency Request Budget proposes four possible enhancements to the budget. These
enhancements, or “policy packages” include funding 2.5 FTE in the Library
Development Services division with state funds instead of federal LSTA funds, in
order to comply with new interpretations of federal law from the Institute of
Museum and Library Services. This would free up over $400,000 in LSTA funds that
could be used to increase LSTA-funded grants and services for local libraries.
Other policy packages would add two new staff to the Government Research
Services staff to provide better citizen access to information on the <A
title=http://egov.oregon.gov/ href="http://egov.oregon.gov/">Oregon.gov</A>
state portal, and a new student worker position to assist with fund development
in Talking Book and Braille Services. Another policy package would double
funding for the Ready to Read Grant Program to enable more Head Start programs
in Oregon to be served by their local public libraries. The Governor will
consider the Board’s budget request in putting together his own budget proposal
in the fall that will go to the Legislative Assembly next January.</FONT></P>
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<DIV align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><B><A
name=OSLNews></A>State Library News</B></FONT></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR>2008-2009 READY TO
READ APPLICATIONS DUE AUGUST 31</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Applications for the 2008-2009
Ready to Read Grant are due August 31, 2008. One hundred and twenty eight public
libraries are eligible to apply for the Ready to Read Grant this year. The list
of proposed Ready to Read Grants for 2008-2009 reflects the $753,524 annual
budget passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly and signed by Governor
Kulongoski. The application was mailed to library directors and children’s
librarians the first week in July. It is also available on the <A
title=http://oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/aboutready.shtml
href="http://oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/aboutready.shtml">State Library
website</A> to download, complete, and mail. Contact <A
title=file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Robin/My%20Documents/INTRANET/Library/katie.anderson@state.or.us
href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Robin/My%20Documents/INTRANET/Library/katie.anderson@state.or.us">Katie
Anderson</A>, 503-378-2528, it you need more information or have any
questions.</FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR>2008 FOCUS ON
CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS INSTITUTE IN SEPTEMBER</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The biennial Focus on Children and
Young Adults Institute will take place September 14-17, 2008, at the Menucha
Retreat Center. The Focus Institute is an opportunity for public library staff
who do not have a Masters degree in Library and Information Science to obtain
professional development in library youth services. Training topics that will be
covered at the 2008 Focus Institute include: child brain development, early
literacy storytimes, children’s programming, reference for children and teens,
readers’ advisory for children and teens, teen services, and booktalks. Rosalie
Karalekas will be our special guest presenter this year. Rosalie will present a
three hour session on the integral connection between music and early literacy,
and provide some wonderful ideas on integrating music into storytimes. For
details and registrations information please visit the <A
title=http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/focusinstitute.shtml
href="http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/focusinstitute.shtml">State Library
website</A>. </FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR>2008 PUBLIC
LIBRARY STATISTICS COLLECTION IS OPEN</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The 2008 Public Library Statistical
Report is now open on <A title=http://www.bibliostat.com/
href="http://www.bibliostat.com/">Bibliostat</A>. Login information was mailed
July 9. Contact <A
title=file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Robin/My%20Documents/INTRANET/Library/ann.reed@state.or.us
href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Robin/My%20Documents/INTRANET/Library/ann.reed@state.or.us">Ann
Reed</A> or 503-378-5027 if you have not received the mailing with your login
information. Please call or email Ann for help, or check out the <A
title=http://libdev.plinkit.org/faqs-for-state-statistical-reports
href="http://libdev.plinkit.org/faqs-for-state-statistical-reports">FAQ</A>.
</FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR>LSTA WANTS YOU!
SIGN UP TODAY TO BE A LSTA GRANT PROJECT PEER EVALUATOR<BR></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">TRAVEL to other libraries! NETWORK
with professional colleagues! LEARN about innovations in library service! Peer
evaluators provide a thorough, objective assessment report of the results of
LSTA grant projects funded by the State Library. See the <A
title=http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/lstapeer.shtml
href="http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/lstapeer.shtml">LSTA peer evaluator page</A>
on the Library Development/Oregon State Library webpage for more information, or
contact Ann Reed at (503) 378-5027 for more details.</FONT><BR></P>
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<DIV align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><B><A
name=OtherNews></A>Other Library News</B></FONT></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR>BILL AND MELINDA
GATES FOUNDATION PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY ONLINE GRANTS TO OREGON
LIBRARIES</FONT><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Oregon State Library
estimates that the new Opportunity Online Grant Program announced by the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation on July 15th will increase the capacity of Oregon’s
public libraries to meet the growing demand for public access computers by about
20% over the next two years. The new Opportunity Online Grant Program will
provide 57 Oregon libraries with 604 computers over two years. The Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation will invest nearly $1 million and Oregon libraries will
need to need to provide nearly $600,000 in matching funds. Matching funds can
come from any local funding source. The libraries were selected by the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation as libraries that serve high concentrations of people
in poverty and libraries that are at risk of having outdated computer
technology. The State Library is working with the Bibliographic Center for
Research in Aurora, Colorado which is administering the Opportunity Online Grant
Program for several states in the West.</FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR>READING FOR
HEALTHY FAMILIES BUILDS COMMUNITIES OF LEARNING</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Oregon State Library and Oregon
Commission of Children and Families received grants from the Paul G. Allen
Foundation and Oregon Community Foundation to provide statewide early literacy
training to all children’s library staff and Healthy Start family support
workers. The goals of the Reading for Healthy Families grant are 1) to train all
children’s library staff and Healthy Start family support workers in Every Child
Ready to Read @ your library®, 2) for trained children’s library staff and
Healthy Start family support workers to conduct <A
title=http://www.ala.org/ala/alse/ecrr/ecrrhomepage.cfm
href="http://www.ala.org/ala/alse/ecrr/ecrrhomepage.cfm">Every Child Ready to
Read @ your library</A>® workshops for parents/caregivers, 3) for children’s
library staff and Healthy Start family support workers to develop a local
network for sharing resources and providing early literacy services to families
in their community, and 4) to develop a cadre of 12 Every Child Ready to Read @
your library® Master Trainers who will be available to provider future training
in Oregon on a contractual basis. The grant project is well underway; the first
training for children’s library staff and Healthy Start family support workers
is planned for this Fall. Public library staff should watch for more
information.</FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR>VALLEY LIBRARY
AWARDS PRIZES FOR STUDENT VIDEOS</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">An innovative project at the Valley
Library at OSU has created <A
title=http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/videos/video-contest.htm
href="http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/videos/video-contest.htm">two new
videos</A> to orient students to the library in a way that is fun and engaging.
The Library sponsored a contest and offered cash prizes for the best videos. Ben
Taucher won the top prize of $500 for “Tommy’s Trip to the Library” and Amy
Dennis and Mary Needham took home a $100 runner-up prize. The winning video is
featured on the Library website in time for new students arriving on campus for
the fall term. The contest was made possible by the Robert Lundeen Faculty
Development Grant which funds innovative projects developed by library faculty.
Hannah Rempel, Margaret Mellinger, Paula McMillen and Loretta Rielly were the
recipients of the grant that funded the video project.</FONT><BR></P>
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<DIV align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><A
name=PS></A><B>P.S. (From the State
Librarian)</B></FONT></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sometimes I lament the fact that in
Oregon we no longer refer to public libraries as being “free.” In the days of
the Public Library Movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a “free”
public library usually referred to a private, subscription library (usually
serving just the well-to-do) that became supported by taxes, and thereby became
freely available to all. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Oregon no longer has any libraries
with ‘free’ as part of their name, but this is not true in the rest of the
country. Using the <A title=http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/librarysearch/
href="http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/librarysearch/">library finder
tool</A> on the website of the National Center for Education Statistics, I
recently was able to determine that there are still 596 public libraries in the
U.S. that have ‘free’ as part of their name. That’s about one out of every 15
public libraries in the U.S. New York state has a large portion of all the
“free” libraries (206) and New Jersey has a lot too (123). Other states with
lots of “free” libraries are Massachusetts (62), Pennsylvania (46), Vermont
(34), and New Hampshire (32, including my favorite: the Frost Free Library). Not
all the “free” libraries are in the East. California has 12 and even Montana has
two.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In the earliest reports of Oregon
public libraries to the State Library I have run across three “free” libraries.
In 1909 the library that had been operated by the Ashland Library Association
since 1891 became the Ashland Free Public Library, operated and funded by the
City of Ashland. In the report to the State Library for the year 1909, the
librarian joyously notes that the library was “made free” on March 1, 1909. Back
in those days the library in Sumpter was known as the Sumpter Free Public
Library, and the first library in Bend was known as the Bend Free Public
Library. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Over time “free” libraries seem to
have fallen out of fashion in Oregon and other states. When Oregon public
library laws had a major overhaul in the 1975 session of the Legislature, most
of the language about “free” libraries that had survived many decades was taken
out. I’m sure they thought they were modernizing the language by doing
this.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">For me the word ‘free’ is a much
better way to say “tax supported,” and it coveys a positive image of a healthy
community that is pulling together to fund the services that really make
indispensable contributions to the quality of life for everyone. Maybe a
“Jackson County Free Public Library” would not have lost two heart-breaking levy
elections and would still be the best county library in Southern Oregon. Maybe a
“Josephine County Free Public Library” would not be struggling to raise enough
money through private “memberships” to reopen their libraries that have been
closed for over a year now. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I’d look forward to the day when
these counties and other communities in Oregon that are struggling to fund their
libraries could once again celebrate the idea of a library “made free.” – Jim
Scheppke</FONT></P>
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<DIV align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><B><A
name=Contacts></A>Contacts at the Oregon State
Library</B></FONT></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Technical Assistance:
503-932-1004.<BR><BR>Library Development: 503-378-2525, <A
title=mailto:marykay.dahlgreen@state.or.us
href="mailto:marykay.dahlgreen@state.or.us">MaryKay Dahlgreen</A>, <A
title=mailto:mary.l.mayberry@state.or.us
href="mailto:mary.l.mayberry@state.or.us">Mary Mayberry</A>, <A
title=mailto:darci.hanning@state.or.us
href="mailto:darci.hanning@state.or.us">Darci Hanning</A>, <A
title=mailto:ann.reed@state.or.us href="mailto:ann.reed@state.or.us">Ann
Reed</A>, <A title=mailto:patty.sorensen@state.or.us
href="mailto:patty.sorensen@state.or.us">Patty Sorensen</A>, <A
title=mailto:katie.anderson@state.or.us
href="mailto:katie.anderson@state.or.us">Katie Anderson</A>.<BR><BR>Talking Book
and Braille Services: 503-378-5389, <A title=mailto:susan.b.westin@state.or.us
href="mailto:susan.b.westin@state.or.us">Susan Westin</A>.<BR><BR>Government
Research and Electronic Services: 503-378-5030, <A
title=mailto:robert.hulshof-schmidt@state.or.us
href="mailto:robert.hulshof-schmidt@state.or.us">Robert
Hulshof-Schmidt</A>.<BR><BR>State Librarian: 503-378-4367, <A
title=mailto:jim.b.scheppke@state.or.us
href="mailto:jim.b.scheppke@state.or.us">Jim Scheppke</A>.<BR><BR>LTLO Editor:
503-378-2464, <A
title=file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Robin/My%20Documents/INTRANET/Library/salli.lutz@state.or.us
href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Robin/My%20Documents/INTRANET/Library/salli.lutz@state.or.us">Salli
Lutz</A>.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><I>Letter to Libraries Online</I>
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: <A
title=file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Robin/My%20Documents/INTRANET/Library/salli.lutz@state.us.or
href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Robin/My%20Documents/INTRANET/Library/salli.lutz@state.us.or">Salli
Lutz</A>.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><I>Letter to Libraries Online</I>
is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form on the
publications page at the Oregon State Library's homepage: <A
title=http://www.oregon.gov/OSL
href="http://www.oregon.gov/OSL">http://www.oregon.gov/OSL</A>. 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 <A
title=file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Robin/My%20Documents/INTRANET/Library/robin.d.speer@state.or.us
href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Robin/My%20Documents/INTRANET/Library/robin.d.speer@state.or.us">Robin
Speer</A>, or mailed to LTLO, Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem,
Oregon 97301-3950.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">To unsubscribe from libs-or, either
send an 'unsubscribe' message to <A
title=mailto:libs-or-request@listsmart.osl.state.or.us
href="mailto:libs-or-request@listsmart.osl.state.or.us">libs-or-request@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</A>,
or visit the website: <A
title=http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/libs-or/
href="http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/libs-or/">http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/libs-or/.</A>
All materials may be reprinted or distributed freely.</FONT></P><BR><BR>
<P><FONT size=2>Salli Lutz<BR>Administrative Services Coordinator<BR>Oregon
State Library<BR>503-378-2464<BR>lutz_salli@state.or.us</FONT> </P><BR><BR>
<P><FONT size=2>Salli Lutz<BR>Administrative Services Coordinator<BR>Oregon
State Library<BR>503-378-2464<BR>lutz_salli@state.or.us</FONT>
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