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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 9, September
2009</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">GOVERNOR KULONGOSKI
SIGNS SCHOOL LIBRARY BILL</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">On July 28th Governor Kulongoski
signed <A
href="http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measures/hb2500.dir/hb2586.en.html">House
Bill 2586</A> into law. The bill, which had strong support from the Oregon
Library Association, the Oregon Association of School Libraries, and the State
Library Board, will require all Oregon school districts to plan for a strong
school library program. It will also make school libraries eligible for a grant
program at the Oregon Department of Education that is designed to improve
student achievement. The bill goes into effect on January 1, 2010. The bill was
sponsored by State Representative Peter Buckley of Ashland at the suggestion of
Anne Billeter, a constituent who is a retired librarian and a past president of
OLA. The bill had 28 co-sponsors from both parties. It drew no opposition and
passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate. “Passing HB 2586 was a
tremendous accomplishment in the most difficult legislative session in decades,”
commented State Librarian Jim Scheppke. “Now we have a clear state policy that
strong school libraries are essential for all of our
schools.”<BR></FONT><BR></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">OREGON FEDERAL
DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES IN THE GPO SPOTLIGHT</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Each month the Government Printing
Office (GPO) highlights the exceptional activities of federal depository
libraries as they promote citizen access to government information. In
September, the GPO Spotlight shines on Oregon. GPO commends the collaborative
effort of four depository libraries, Oregon State Library, Oregon State
University's Valley Library, Portland State University Library, and University
of Oregon's Knight Library, to share the state's Regional Federal Depository
Collection. GPO's recognition salutes the depository librarians whose efforts
have helped to ensure permanent and responsive access to the state's federal
information resources. To read the article, go to the <A
href="http://www.gpo.gov/libraries/spotlight.htm">GPO
website</A>.<BR><BR></FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">FINDING INFORMATION ON
STATE OF OREGON WEBSITES JUST GOT EASIER, CHEAPER, AND MORE ACCURATE</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Oregon State Library, in
cooperation with the Department of Administrative Services, is happy to announce
the new search engine for the <A href="http://oregon.gov/">State of Oregon web
portal</A>, which has been in place since July 28th. The new search engine,
using Google Custom Search, represents a significant cost savings for the state.
Google Custom Search was selected not just for the cost savings for the state,
but also based on positive feedback from other states that use it. Google Custom
Search is a proven technology that returns better results in a format that users
are familiar with, and allows agencies to organize their own information. In
addition, Google handles the hosting duties at no cost to the state. We also
benefit from access to Google’s innovation and the work of other Google Custom
Search engine users.<BR><BR></FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">LIBRARIES TRANSITION
TO GALE/CENGAGE LEARNING DATABASES </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Effective September 1, 2009 the
general periodicals database product provided to public, academic, tribal, and
school libraries will be a suite of databases from Gale/Cengage Learning. In
early August a <A href="http://www.galesupport.com/oregon">transition
website</A> was established. Currently all public, academic and tribal libraries
can use that website to retrieve URLs for their websites that will allow their
patrons to access the databases both in their local library and remotely. As has
been the practice in the past, K-12 school libraries will have access to
statewide databases via <A href="http://www.oslis.org/">OSLIS</A>, the Oregon
School Library Information System. A number of "Welcome to Gale" webinars were
presented in August and the State Library staff is currently arranging on-site
training around the state for September, October and November. That information
will be available on the <A href="http://www.oregon.gov/osl/ld">Library
Development web page</A> as soon as those arrangements are confirmed. In
addition to Oregon specific training, library staff are encouraged to visit the
Gale website for information about the databases, additional webinar
opportunities targeting specific databases, and training/marketing materials to
download. In September and October the LSTA Advisory Council and the Oregon
State Library Board will be considering the staff recommendation that LSTA funds
be used to pay the entire cost of the databases, eliminating the need for
library payments. For more information contact <A
href="mailto:marykay.dahlgreen@state.or.us">MaryKay Dahlgreen</A>.</FONT></P>
<P align=center><BR><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">YEAR 1 OF READING
FOR HEALTHY FAMILIES IS A SUCCESS</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The first year of the Reading for
Healthy Families early literacy training project is complete. The <A
href="http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/rfhf.overview.about.shtml">Year 1
Summary of Findings</A> primarily report statistics on RFHF participants and the
number of early literacy education sessions they have provided to families. Due
to the fact that Year 1 participants have until January 2010 to fulfill their
commitment of providing early literacy education to 15 families, this evaluation
is inconclusive about the impact of RFHF on children and families. However, NPC
Research found that families receiving RFHF early literacy education from
Healthy Start family support workers reported a significant increase in telling
stories or talking with their children about daily activities compared to
families who did not receive RFHF early literacy education. Telling stories and
talking about daily activities develops vocabulary and narrative skills, two of
the six early literacy skills children need to learn to read. The second year of
Reading for Healthy Families begins this month. Counties invited to participate
this year include: Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, Yamhill, Lane, Douglas, Coos,
Curry, Klamath, Lake, Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson. Please visit the <A
href="http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/rfhf.train.schedule.shtml#Training_Schedule">RFHF
Website</A> to find out when training was or will be offered in your county.
Please contact <A href="mailto:katie.anderson@state.or.us">Katie Anderson</A><A
href="mailto:katie.anderson@state.or.us"></A> with any questions.</FONT><FONT
face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><BR></FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">COMMUNITY-WIDE READS
PROGRAMS AND TBABS</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">After the success of 2009’s Oregon
Reads program, we know that your library is looking forward to your own
Community-wide reading programs in 2010. Talking Book and Braille Services wants
to be sure that you are aware of exactly how we can help you serve all of the
patrons in your service area with books for your programs. When it comes time to
plan your Community-wide Reads program, please contact us at Talking Books. We
will do our best to make sure that we have your selected title on hand. Then, we
will send letters to all of our mutual patrons notifying them of your event and
directing them to your library's website and contact information. We will then
compile a list of interested people in your area and then make sure that each
and every one of our mutual, print-disabled, patrons has a copy of your
Community-wide Reads program’s book in time for the event. In order to make this
a success though, we must have your help. Please contact <A
href="mailto:elke.bruton@state.or.us">Elke Bruton</A> at 503-378-5455 as soon as
you’ve chosen a title for your Reads program. Sometimes books are not yet
published in our format, but we can facilitate their production if we have good
reasons and enough notice.<BR></FONT><BR></P>
<P align=center><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">LSTA WANTS YOU! SIGN
UP TODAY TO BE A LSTA GRANT PROJECT PEER EVALUATOR</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
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 <A href="mailto:ann.reed@state.or.us">Ann Reed</A> at (503) 378-5027 for
more details.</FONT></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">NORTHWEST CENTRAL — AN
ESSENTIAL TRAINING RESOURCE CREATED WITH LSTA FUNDS</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Lost the email on Gale database
trainings? Try using <A href="http://www.nwcentral.org/">Northwest Central</A> -
the user-driven site for library continuing education. State Library staff added
the Gale database training information to the many regional training events
listed. The Northwest Central site was created with an LSTA grant, and is
finishing a redesign and improvement project with another LSTA grant. Anyone in
the library community can create a login and easily add information about
training events 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!<BR><BR></FONT></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>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><I>In honor of Oregon’s
Sesquicentennial, I continue to devote my column to brief sketches of early
Oregon libraries. The beginnings of library service in 19th century Oregon is
interesting and deserves to be better known and appreciated by people who work
in libraries today.</I></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The history of the University of
Oregon Libraries in the 19th century is interesting in that it echoes the
struggle for adequate funding that our Oregon University System libraries have
experienced even to the present day. The beginnings of the UO Libraries was told
in a 1926 essay by Mirpah Blair, a librarian at the State Library. I will let
her tell it here:</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">“When the University of Oregon
opened in 1876, it was entirely without library facilities, but during the
second year students of the institution through their literary societies
purchased a collection of about 500 volumes from the Eugene Library Association,
and arranged to care for them. The Eugene Library Association was formed on
February 7, 1874 … [but] while it had an auspicious start, it lasted only a
short time. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The University collection increased
very slowly and was inadequate to meet the needs of the school. Finally Henry
Villard came to the rescue and his offer of help is given in a letter to the
Board of Regents dated October 25, 1881 … in which Mr. Villard states: “… I will
give one thousand dollars for the foundation of a Library for the University. I
will personally undertake to have the most suitable works of reference selected
by competent experts. “</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In 1883 Mr. Villard gave property
valued at $50,000 to constitute a perpetual endowment fund for the University
and stipulated that from the annual income not less than four hundred dollars
was to be expended regularly for building up the library. For eighteen years
this four hundred dollars was the main source of funds as the State made no
appropriation.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">So we see from Blair’s account that
there is a long tradition of less than adequate state support for Oregon’s
research libraries. By the way, <A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Villard">Henry Villard</A> was a very
interesting and influential figure in late 19th century Oregon history. His
<I><A
href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Mh4wAAAAYAAJ&output=text&source=gbs_navlinks_s">Memoirs</A></I>
in two volumes are available on Google Books (curiously, written in the third
person). Here’s what Villard has to say on this same subject: </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">“Oregon had an institution which
went by the name of University, of which it represented, however, but a very
small beginning. It had received little support either from the State or from
the public, and was so embarrassed by indebtedness that it would probably have
been obliged to close its doors, had not Mr. Villard come to its relief by
paying its floating debt in response to an appeal from the Board of Regents. He
also presented it with the nucleus of a library.” – Jim
Scheppke<BR></FONT><BR></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
href="mailto:marykay.dahlgreen@state.or.us">MaryKay Dahlgreen</A>, <A
href="mailto:jennifer.maurer@state.or.us">Jennifer Maurer</A>, <A
href="mailto:darci.hanning@state.or.us">Darci Hanning</A>, <A
href="mailto:ann.reed@state.or.us">Ann Reed</A>, <A
href="mailto:mary.l.mayberry@state.or.us">Mary Mayberry</A>, <A
href="mailto:katie.anderson@state.or.us">Katie Anderson</A>.<BR><BR>Talking Book
and Braille Services: 503-378-5389, <A
href="mailto:susan.b.westin@state.or.us">Susan Westin</A>.<BR><BR>Government
Research Services: 503-378-5030, <A
href="mailto:robert.hulshof-schmidt@state.or.us">Robert
Hulshof-Schmidt</A>.<BR><BR>State Librarian: 503-378-4367, <A
href="mailto:jim.b.scheppke@state.or.us">Jim Scheppke</A>.<BR><BR>LTLO Editor:
503-378-2464, <A href="mailto:april.m.baker@state.or.us">April
Baker</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 href="mailto:april.m.baker@state.or.us">April Baker</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
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
href="mailto:april.m.baker@state.or.us">April Baker</A>, or mailed to LTLO,
Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, Oregon 97301-3950.</FONT></P>
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