The SELCO Librarian

Karen Bodin, Enhancing Quality Staff Symposium Scholarship Recipient, Red Wing Public Library

I attended a workshop by dietician Jeff Woodward on Making Food Work in Your Life.  We started out by taking a quiz to determine if we were one of three metabolic types: Protein, carb or mixed.  I was very definitely a protein type, meaning that I "gravitate toward rich, fatty, salty foods." Yep!  People with this metabolic type have energy problems of one kind of another- either lethargy or superficial energy, prone to feeling apathetic and sleepy.  His philosophy is to "adjust and fine tune your diet ...to find the correct balance for you.  When you have the right personal fuel mix you will have strong physical energy and mental clarity..."  He gave us a list of dietary guidelines:

1.  Proper balance of protein, carbs and fats at each meal.

2.  Carbs influence insulin.  Proteins influence glucogen.  Fats are neutral.

3.  Have some quality protein with each meal.

4.  Have small amounts of high quality fats/oils.

5.  Schedule time to eat.

6.  Eat breakfast within one hr of waking.

7.  Avoid stimulants (caffeine, sugar, cigarettes) and processed foods.

8.  Vegetables provide antioxidants.

9.  Don't put toxins in your body.

While a lot of what he talks about makes sense, in the every day world much of it is not possible to accomplish!  He has a business where he works with people to change their whole lifestyle to eat the proper way, and it would be a huge change for most of us, physically, mentally and financially.  He gave us a sample menu for a week, and you would spend all your free time cooking to eat that way!  Maybe someday I will be able to sleep better, and it may be because of my diet, but it also may be because the kids have all left the house for good!

As a result of a recent national election, the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF) will change the organization’s title to “United for Libraries: the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations.” The name change will become official on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012.  In the coming months, the new “United for Libraries” name and logo will be featured on the organization’s website and materials.  United for Libraries will continue to provide its members, which include friends of the library, trustees, foundations and library advocates, with the best possible specialized resources that will empower them to support and advocate for their libraries. The ALA and ALTAFF Presidents speak highly of the memberships' decision.

 From ALA President Molly Raphael:

We are so fortunate to have library advocates – trustees, friends and others – speaking out to support libraries of all types. My presidential advocacy initiative, ‘Empowering Voices, Transforming Communities,’ focuses on the transformative power of communities making the case for the value of libraries of all types. We are so appreciative of library advocates’ efforts on behalf of libraries to mobilize communities to make their libraries even better. ‘United for Libraries’ says it all – together, we can make a difference!

And from ALTAFF President Donna McDonald:

Those who support, govern and raise money for libraries many times work independently, often reinventing the wheel in every city and town.  Our name change mirrors the work this important division of ALA does – that is, uniting the voices of library lovers everywhere to strengthen, support, share best practices and to ensure that libraries of all types thrive.

ALTAFF is a division of the American Library Association that supports citizens who govern, promote, advocate, and fund raise for libraries.  ALTAFF brings together library Trustees, advocates, Friends, and Foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, click here.  

• Find ALTAFF on Facebook

• Follow ALTAFF on Twitter

Amy Lerum, Enhancing Quality Staff Symposium Scholarship Recipient, Red Wing Public Library

The day of the 2012 EQS Symposium started early for the staff from Red Wing but it was worth the trip! I have to say “Ebooks; Behind the Headlines” was one of the most rewarding classes. The presenters, Rita Baladad from Minitex & Brian Kraft from Washington County Library did a great job explaining the pros and cons of Ebooks in the library. There are a lot of behind the scenes issues that affect patrons not being able to get Ebooks as quickly as they think they should and it helps to understand those issues as library staff.

I ended the day with “Mindful Yoga” which was a real treat! The class was very basic which was just what I needed and the instructor, Nancy Boler, was very knowledgeable in the practice of both physical and mental alignment as stated in the class description.

I am thankful for the scholarship from SELCO and look forward to attending EQS in the future!

Resource Description and Access (RDA) is the successor to the current cataloging rules. It was written with the intent to describe user interactions with data and to connect similar materials.  Published in 2010 RDA had much opposition and its implementation languished. Recently, the Library of Congress embraced RDA announcing they would move to RDA in 2013.

Librarians were eager to see how Sirsi Dynix was going to incorporate RDA into its Integrated Library Systems (ILS), which is why the 8:15 am RDA session at COSUGI was standing room only. After providing a history of RDA, its timeline and potential benefits, the SirsiDynix presenter discussed two upgrades for their Horizon ILS.

Horizon 7.5.2 upgrade, which is expected later in 2012, will include built in linking capability to the RDA Toolkit, from the MARC record to the appropriate section of the RDA Toolkit. The RDA Toolkit is online subscription site that gives instructions and guidelines to the use of RDA. The Toolkit has many features far beyond the print version of RDA including comparison of the previous rules (AACR2) to the RDA rules.

The second upgrade for Horizon, 7.5.3, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2013. This upgrade will include dropdown menus for the new MARC tags, the content, media, and carrier, type. For catalogers this will eliminate a lot of keying and in theory might replace the current format field used in the title field of the MARC record (GMD).  At this point a discussion erupted in this session about the importance of the GMD. The consensus was that the GMD may be going away one day, but not until the new data is more consistent.

SirsiDynix also spent a brief amount of time discussing FRBR, which the bases for RDA. They explained because FRBR is completely new way for organizing data, in groups in hierarchies, they were not going to be able to FRBRize the two ILS systems, but instead were making preparations for this next step in their new Blue Cloud software.

It was interesting session that let everyone know that SD is working on and thinking about the future of cataloging and libraries. I am looking forward to the functionality described in the two updates. 

OK, I admit that I was initially not looking forward to yet another presentation on copyright but Kenneth Crews' presention, Copyright, Licenses, Treaties... The Law of ILL in Transition was excellent!

Having formerly been a hospital librarian, I was well aware of copyright and licensing issues related to ILL.  We certainly paid our fair share of fees to the Copyright Clearance Center for the "more than five in the last five year" rule as we certainly weren't able to purchase every possible journal our hospital staff needed.  We also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on licensing electronic journals and many hours reviewing license agreements with any number of stipulations and restrictions.

Crews, the Director of the Copyright Advisory Office for the Columbia University Libraries, directed his presentation at the changes taking place regarding ILL when it comes to the law.  Most of what is considered the law concerning ILL is found in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law.  This section outlines what libraries and archives can and can't do regarding the reproduction of copyrighted materials.  In 2008, the Section 108 Study Group (after three years of study) produced a report with which called for a number of changes to Section 108.  Congress has not acted on it but Crews advised that we should watch for any new developments.  Another transition taking place is the expansion of licensing as more libraries look to electronic journals.  Licenses have been all over the map with regards to these ejournals but as some of my former colleagues noted, the publishers are improving in the language of the licenses to better explain what can or can't be done with these resources.  Certainly Open Access and Creative Commons have changed the way publishing is done and thus can have an effect on ILL.  Some of the bigger items to watch include eBooks and Google Books as well as the now ruled-on case with Georgia State University and its electronic reserves system.

Essentially, Crews stated that much of the settling of fair use and copyright law has been brought about through lawsuits.  From the recently ruled Georgia State University Case (which seemed to favor GSU) to the ongoing settlement talks between Google and publishers, lawsuits have brought about changes in the way that copyright law is interpreted and how libraries work to apply the law to ILL.  Crews advise the following things for libraries to consider as the ILL transition continues:

• Get involved
• Negotiate licenses (yes, they can be negotiated)
• Promote open access publishing (Harvard University was the most recent institution to weigh in on this topic)
• Interpret Fair Use Fairly
• Interpret Section 108 Flexibly (use your data to determine whether a purchase is really warranted)
• Keep All Options Open (don't forget ELM!)
• Involve Your Colleagues (at all types of libraries)

Many of the things that Crews talked about, especially related to Section 108, was an important reminder.  Though his focus was on what academic institutions were doing with the amount of copies made for ILL purposes, I think public libraries are part of this conversation as well.  His point that when you are considering ILL for library materials and are reviewing requests, considering a purchase of a title versus borrowing should always be in the mix.  How may requests have I had for this title?  Is it a one-time phenomenon?  Is there enough demand to warrant its purchase?  These are all questions we ask and should continue to ask as we develop our collections.

The 21st Annual Minitex ILL Conference was held on Thursday, May 10, 2012 at the University of Minnesota Continuing Education & Conference Center in St. Paul.  The conference featured two keynote speakers, Lee Rainie, the Director of the Pew Internet Project & American Life Project and Kenneth Crews, the Director of the Copyright Advisory Office, Columbia University Libraries.

Rainie's talk was entitled "Learning in the digital age" and focused on these five "future-focused" questions:

• What is the future of knowledge?
• What is the future of reference expertise?
• What is the future of public technology?
• What is the future of learning spaces?
• What is the future of community anchor institutions?

While certainly addressing these questions, much of the focus of Rainie's presentation was on the way that technology is transforming the way that information is consumed and transforming learning venues and expectations.  As with any presentation of this type, the statistics can be astounding.  What I took away from this presentation is the fact that a steadily growing use of technology, including social and mobile technology are those folks who would fall into the Boomer (~47 - 65 years old) and even the folks in the 66+ age group.  What this will mean for libraries are some big challenges:

• Collections are disrupted due to the rise in more digital resources, especially eBooks
• The library as place (people come to use) becomes more like the library as a placeless resource (we go to the people)
• Expertise and influence emerges in networks and algorithms (sharing the stage with amateur experts)
• Social networks and social media will become more important in people's learning strategies

But lest we despair, Rainie did help answer the 5 future-focused questions:

• The future of knowledge will be focused more on our learning communities rather than just individual abilities
• The future of reference expertise will focus more on the embedded librarian or knowledge "concierge" (pushing further that idea of library as a placeless resource)
• The future of public technology = all purpose gadgets and apps
• The future of learning spaces includes collaboration, self-directed, and knowledge production more than just knowledge receiving
• The future of community anchor institutions will focus on four distinct dimensions encompassing a continuum between two extremes:
  • Total Physical to Total Virtual Facilities and Media
  • Individual Focus to Community Focus
  • Collection Library to Creation Library
  • Portal to Archive

All in all, a good presentation with many things to mull over.

The following information was sent via e-mail on May 10, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.

Adjournment

The 2012 session ended today (May 10, 2012).  The House adjourned at 4:20am and the Senate adjourned at 2pm this afternoon.  The final act of both bodies was to pass the Vikings stadium bill. 

Legislative Retirements

In keeping with tradition, immediately after adjournment retiring legislators gave farewell speeches.  While most retiring legislators had already made their announcements, typically there are a handful of surprise retirement announcements on the day of adjournment.  This year there were no surprise announcements. 

Final Report

I have already reported on the library-related legislation that has been acted upon this session as action has occurred.  Next week I will send out a summary of the results of the legislative session so that you have everything in one report. 

Greetings from the 21st Annual Minitex Interlibrary Loan Conference in St. Paul!  Over 200 folks in attendance today!  Our morning keynote speaker is Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet Project.  His focus is on learning in the digital age -- very relevant topic for library staff!  He just listed some of the front and center issues for libraries -- here are five questions for librarians and library staff to ponder in the age of networked individuals:

• What is the future of knowledge?  Is it created?  How is it disseminated?
• What is the future of reference expertise now that there are new literacies and processes for searching materials?
• What is the future of public technology?  How can we be aware of the divides and access/lending models?
• What is the future of learning spaces now that collaboration is a popular practice?
• What is the future of community anchor institutions?

Here are some ways librarians and library staff can be valuable to networked users:

• Recognize that learning is an active process and that learners are creating knowledge instead of receiving it.
• Reference services are rapidly changing -- staff need to be "on-call" for just-in-time information and need to be willing to be teachers of social media.  Staff also need to be aware of fact-checking, too, as patrons are most likely to "google" for information.
• E-reader ownership is on the rise -- 28% of folks have an e-reading device and 21% of adults have read an e-book in the past year.  Patrons want quick access to materials.

Before I attended the opening day session of COSUGI there were already whispers of great things to come. The opening day presentation moved along quickly with grandiose statements and promises of change coming frequently. The excitement in the room began building.

Then SirsiDynix unveiled their Blue Cloud, which includes several web based products. I liked that. The Cloud Based Client was explained, and since they are beginning with the cataloging module I was very happy. But I was waiting for the much discussed demo. I was not disappointed.

As SirsiDynix demoed the cataloging client on the big screens I sat on the edge of my seat in anticipation. Watching as they pulled up the ILS bibliographic record, and then hit one button, the OCLC bib record was side by side in the ILS. I was beyond impressed.

Dragging and dropping one MARC tag from the OCLC bib to the ILS bib, the crowed was simply amazed. Then Sirsi-Dynix topped themselves, by pressing the merge button the brief ILS bib merged with the OCLC record to make a completed record. As is if that wasn't enough, they even added a 949 tag in the OCLC bib.  As the bibs are merged the 949 tag becomes a completed item record and viola! You are left with an OCLC quality MARC record, and an automatically generated item record.

Watching this demo I realized this would mean no longer would we need to use Connexion to get MARC records from OCLC into Horizon. No export.dat files, no messing with browser pop-ups, no navigating from the Citrix drive to your hard drive, no import window, no mistrake file, no people feeling incompetent because one step of this complicated process went wrong.

The excitement in the room was palatable, the crowd began to clap, and I admit, I wiped away tears of joy from my eyes. Then Jonya leaned over and said now remember that’s Symphony. And with that I was deflated. But there is hope. Sirsi Dynix promises the same functionality will be available in Horizon, eventually.

The following information was sent via e-mail on May 8, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Library Accessible and Improvement Grants

As I reported yesterday (May 7, 2012), the bonding bill includes $1 million for libraries.  The bill passed the Senate last night by a vote of 45-22.  A handful of amendments were adopted in the Senate, and it was not immediately clear whether the bill would go to a conference committee or whether the House would accept the Senate amendments.  I am happy to report that just a few minutes ago the House concurred in the Senate amendments and passed the bill by a vote of  97-33.  It will now go to the Governor for his signature. 

Adjournment

Today (May 8, 2012) is legislative day number 117.  There are only two more days left on which the Legislature can pass bills.  With the passage of the bonding bill, the main items left are the Vikings stadium bill and a tax bill.  The Vikings stadium bill passed the House on Monday night and is being debated on the Senate floor as I write.  It will then need to go to a conference committee.   Governor Dayton and legislative leaders are still hoping to reach agreement on a tax bill, but time is running short. 

The following information was sent via e-mail on May 7, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants

Great news!  Over the weekend Governor Dayton and legislative leaders reached agreement on a $496 million bonding bill, and it includes $1 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants.   The bill just passed (May 7, 2012) the House by a vote of  99-32.  It next goes to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass.    

Online Learning Bill (SF 1528)

Governor Dayton signed the bill on Thursday.  See my April 27, 2012 legislative update for a summary of the bill.

Adjournment

The Legislature did not adjourn on its target date of April 30.  However, adjournment could come later this week.  The Minnesota constitution limits the Legislature to meeting for a total of 120 days per biennium.  A legislative day is any day when either the House or Senate holds a floor session.  Today is day 116.  Bills cannot be passed on the last day of the session.  After today there will only be three more days remaining when the Legislature can pass bills. 

I had the pleasure of attending National Library Legislative Day in Washington, D.C. for the first time on April 23-24, 2012, as part of Minnesota's library delegation.  Some of the issues we were advocating for:

• Level funding of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) at $184.7 million for FY2013
• Level funding of the Innovative Approaches to Literacy program at $28.6 million for FY2013
• Full funding for the Library of Congress, Government Printing Office and the National Archives and Records Administration
• Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and that it includes school libraries
• No support for any of the cybersecurity bills in the 112th Congress unless new language improves protections for private communications, personal privacy and other First Amendment rights from needless collection, use and retention of personal communications and information by law enforcement and other government agencies.

During the briefing for everyone before, some really helpful advocacy tips were shared that can be applied at the local level.  Here are some principles for advocacy when talking with legislative staff:

• Keep your message short and sweet.
• Set realistic and useful goals.
• Tell your story.
• Get creative!
• Focus on outcomes -- if you have the date, use it!
• Never be late.
• Say the important stuff in the first 15 minutes.
• Always write a follow-up email or thank you after your meeting.

Here are key Washington Office web pages that were shared during the event:

• ALA Connect -- interactive, comprehensive online community specifically for ALA members
• ALA Washington Office Website
• District Dispatch -- official blog of the ALA Washington Office
• Facebook and Twitter
• Legislative Action Center -- ALA's pipeline to Capitol Hill
• Webinars -- ALA Washington Office offers regular webinars on a variety of advocacy-related topics

Overall, it was a fantastic experience!  Great meetings with all of our Senators and Congresspeople and/or their staff!

One of the hot topics at COSUGI every year is the new products in development for future release. This year was no exception and one of the more exciting announcements was eResorce Central.

eResorce Central integrates various electronic resources with the online catalog. The data is normalized so that it appears consistent with more traditional records in hit lists and displays. Authentication is carried out behind the scenes, which should spare the patron from having to log in each time he accesses a electronic resource.

None of this is possible without partnerships with the electronic resource providers. Unlike older technologies, such as federated searching and Z39.50, this level of integration will require active collaboration between SirsiDynix and each provider. I suspect that eResource Central will rise or fall depending on the quantity and quality of the partnerships SirsiDynix can forge. Presently, SirsiDynix has Project Gutenberg and Open Library set up and ready to go. More partnerships are in the works.

eResource Central comes as a simple stand-alone online catalog but it's really designed to be integrated with Enterprise, SirsiDynix's next-generation discovery layer. If it works as described, electronic resources will appear in the search results list along with print materials and can then be accessed with a simple click of the mouse.

The possibilities for eBook integration are very exciting. eResource Central is designed to be Digital Rights Management (DRM) agnostic, meaning eBooks could theoretically be downloaded with one click of the mouse in the search results list. No additional authentication, no messing around with Adobe software. No eBook partnerships are in place yet, so this is still a dream. Again, it will all depend on who SirsiDynix can convince to play along.

eResorce Central is slated for release in 4Q 2012 (Oct-Dec) for Symphony with a Horizon version to follow soon afterward. As always, SELCO will continue to monitor the process and will more-fully evaluate the product when it is released and pricing is available.

collectionHQ is a collection development service that analyzes data from the Integrated Library System (ILS) to help selectors make the best purchasing decisions for materials. Once a month, a data extract including holdings and circulation statistics, is analyzed. The resulting reports track use by author, subject, etc. Trends can be identified and selectors' virtual "carts" populated with recommended purchases. Selectors can even compare their data with that of similar libraries from the collectionHQ customer base.

In a consortia like SELCO, the data can be accessed by individual libraries with options to make comparisons to other member libraries. collectionHQ is a hosted service, so systems staff don't have to set up and maintain a server to do the work.

The cost of the service is based on population; I don't have a quote for SELCO so can't speak to how feasible it would be. We would have the option of running it for selected libraries in the event we decided to make it an optional Value Added Service.

collectionHQ is exhibiting at the COSUGI 2012 conference.

Greetings from the 2012 COSUGI conference!  With the opening session concluded and some time over lunch to digest what was said, here are a few thoughts.

Bill Davison, SirsiDynix CEO, got the ball rolling describing the company's vision for library service.  Best Library User Experience (BLUE) consists of three core elements:

• ease of use
• customer service and stability
• mindshare  and eyeshare

That last bullet point deserves an explanation.  With Internet services like Amazon, Netflix, and Google attracting so much attention, SirsiDynix believes that getting the library back in focus as a valuable tool for discovery and fulfillment of informational needs is a critical part of any library services strategy.  Regaining mindshare and eyeshare seems to be driving much of the product development described later in the session.Interesting statistics from Bill's presentation:

• In 1980, 80% of 18 year olds in the US had a drivers license
• In 2012, that number had shrunk to 60%
• In 2012, 50% of 18 year olds would rather have Internet than a car, if they had to choose

What to make of this?  Bill suggests that online connectivity is becoming a valued part of people's lives and that libraries must occupy this space in order to stay relevant.  To further make the point, he provided a series of slides spelling out use scenarios SirsiDynix is trying to address with their newest products.  There's too many to list here but here's a few samples:

• A couple looking at photos of the house their grandmother grew up in in the 1890's.  The photo is not available on Google or anywhere else besides the library's website.
• A page using a tablet to check the library's pull list which is online, not a paper report
• A young man checking out an eBook via Facebook after seeing that a friend Liked it
• A patron who's requested book was mailed to him with a pre-paid return envelope included.  Given the choice of buying the book on Amazon or paying a few dollars to the library to cover the postage, the patron was happy to borrow the book via mail.

Talin Bingham, SirsiDynix Chief Technology Officer (CTO), took the stage to show off the roadmap of planned product releases for the next year.  Highlights included:

• Horizon upgrade to version 7.5.2 in Q2 2012 with additional service packs to add functionality and bug fixes until the release of 7.5.3 in 2013
• New versions of Enterprise (which SELCO does not use) and WebReporter
• Blue Cloud, a catch-all title for a number of new initiatives including eResource Central which is an intriguing product about which I will write soon.  It deserves its own blog post.

Judy Goldsmith, SELCO-Enhancing Quality Staff Symposium Scholarship Recipient, Rochester Public Library

This was the 20th annual symposium for library paraprofessionals and support staff presented by the U of M Libraries on May 1, 2012 at the Continuing Education and Conference Center in St. Paul. The campus was a beautiful setting and relatively easy to get to. There were over 20 session choices covering a variety of interests. As someone with chronic low back pain, I was very pleased that participants were able to choose sessions that involved both walking and sitting.

My first session was “Managing Challenges in Our Work Lives with Brain Research” and was led by Rosie Barry. There was a general overview of the dynamics of brain research followed by pairing up into small groups to discuss challenges in our work lives.

Next I went on a fascinating walking tour of the Raptor Center. The raptors on display are permanent residents who have sustained injuries that make survival in the wild impossible. We also learned about the care facility on the lower level where injured raptors are treated and then released back into their original habitat.

After a delicious lunch break, I attended “A Backyard Renovation” presented by Master Gardener Julie Weisenhorn and picked up some interesting tips on my favorite pastime.

My fourth session, “Mindful Yoga”, was a lifesaver for my aching back. Through basic yoga poses, breathing and relaxation techniques, and gentle stretching, I gradually felt my pain easing. I was inspired by the class and am hoping this will become a part of my daily life.

The last session for me was a self-guided walking tour of the Goldstein Museum of Design. I must confess this destination, though interesting, was rather disappointing and didn’t meet my expectations. After walking several blocks, we arrived at McNeal Hall and were escorted to the second floor. The exhibition was in a single small room and took about 15 minutes to explore. It featured dozens of refined costume sketches, photographs, press clippings, playbills, reviews, and 30 actual costumes designed by Jack Edwards. We then had a half hour wait for the prize drawings which ended the day.

All in all, it was an enjoyable day. I got to share ideas and experiences with new people and got to know my co-workers better. My thanks to SELCO for providing me with this opportunity.

Three SELCO staff members are attending the annual COSUGI User Conference --- that is Customers of SirxiDynix User Group, Inc.  The conference begins Thursday, May 3 and will conclude late afternoon on Saturday, May 5.  Donovan Lambright, Automation Librarian, Jonya Pacey, ILS Manager, and Cheryl Hill, Technical Services Librarian, will be blogging and tweeting from COSUGI.   Follow them throughout their conference, as well as their presentations.  They will post to The SELCO Librarian and include the label #cosugi12 so that all the posts will be together.  You can also keep an eye on them and other conference attendees using the #cosugi12 hashtag on Twitter.

The COSUGI Conference is designed as a venue for customers of SirsiDynix to learn new methods, best practices, tips & tricks from other libraries and connect with peers from around the globe.  This year’s conference agenda includes a variety of sessions that will interest attendees regardless of the Integrated Library System (ILS) product they license, as well as plenty of opportunities for discussions with SirsiDynix staff.  Twenty-five vendors will also be available to chat about the latest enhancements and technological tie-ins for library service.

Keep an eye on The SELCO Librarian and Twitter.

During the past few months, members of the SELCO/SELS Board of Directors have been concentrating on identifying the skills needed for effective Board participation.  Members recently completed an individualized self-evaluation.  They also took time at the April Quarterly meeting to discuss the results of the survey, as well as ways to increase individual comfort level.

Quite serendipitously, I received the online edition of the Library Leadership & Management journal including an article, Look Before Leaping to a Board Position.  This useful board piece is published by the Library Leadership and Management Association and emphasizes many of the same points under discussion at SELCO. 

The Look Before Leaping to a Board Position article includes these tips:

• Understanding your responsibilities
• Preparing and getting oriented
• Accepting fiscal responsibility
• Gathering information
• Looking at the officers and other board members
• Communicating
• Ensuring accountability

Details about expectations for SELCO/SELS Board Members are outline in the Job Description.

I had the opportunity to attend the National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) 2012 in Washington DC on April 23 & 24, 2012.  As the Minnesota Library Association's Past Legislative Chair, I had the responsibility for coordinating the appointments with our Senators' and Representatives' offices for the contingent of Minnesota library supporters.  We were successful in securing an appointment with our two Senators' offices and all eight Representatives' offices.  Those attending NLLD from Minnesota included:

• Marlene Moulton Janssen, Director of the Anoka County Library
• Barbara Misselt, Director of the East Central Regional Library
• Kathy Fredette, Director of the Lake Agassiz Regional Library
• Carol Walsh, President of the Minnesota Association of Library Friends
• Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian at SELCO
• Michael Scott, Assistant Director at SELCO

We spent all day on Monday, April 23, 2012, in legislative briefings with ALA Washington office staff.  This was essentially a day to be brought quickly up to speed on a number of issues impacting libraries and to receive talking points to use for discussion with our legislators.  A number of key issues were presented, including:

APPROPRIATIONS

• Federal Funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA):
  • ALA’s Position: ALA asks the Congress and the President for level funding of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) at $184.7 million for FY 2013.

• Federal Funding for School Libraries:
  • ALA’s Position: ALA asks the U.S. President and the U.S. Congress for level funding of the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program at $28.6 million for FY 2013.
• Federal Funding for Other Library Programs:
  • ALA’s Position: ALA asks the Congress and the President full funding for the Library of Congress, Government Printing Office and the National Archives and Records Administration.

CYBERSECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE

ALA’s Position: ALA is not actively supporting any of the cybersecurity bills in the 112th Congress unless new language improves protections for private communications, personal privacy and other First Amendment rights from needless collection, use and retention of personal communications and information by law enforcement and other government agencies.
The two Senate bills are the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, S. 2105, sponsored by Sens. Lieberman, Feinstein, Collins and Rockefeller and the SECURE Act, S. 2151, sponsored by Sen. McCain. Two of the House bills being monitored are the PRECISE Act of 2011, H.R. 3674, sponsored by Rep. Lungren, and the CISPA of 2011, H.R. 3523, sponsored by Reps. Rogers and Ruppersberger.

E-GOVERNMENT SERVICES & GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):
  • ALA’s Position: The ALA supports passage of the Faster FOIA Act of 2011. Public access to information by and about the government is a basic tenet of a democratic society.

• Whistleblower Protections:
  • ALA’s Position: The ALA supports passage of whistleblower legislation (below) to ensure the American public's Right to Know – which promotes government accountability and fosters public participation; a long standing value of both libraries and librarians.  The whistleblower bills include: a) Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act of 2011 (S. 241) to protect government contractors; b) Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2011 (S. 586that would apply whistleblower rights to congressional employees; and, c) The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011 (S. 743) and its companion bill in the House, H.R. 3289, would expand the scope of whistleblower protections in the federal government, including providing whistleblower rights to employees of the Transportation Security Administration.

OPEN ACCESS

• Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) of 2012:
  • ALA’s Position: The ALA strongly supports the FRPAA of 2012 (S. 2096/H.R. 4004) and encourages members of Congress to demonstrate their support by co-sponsoring the appropriate bill.

SCHOOL LIBRARY PROGRAMS

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization:
  • ALA’s Position: ALA urges that when Congress reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that it includes school libraries by incorporating the following provisions:
    • Maintain dedicated federal funding for school libraries;
    • Include provisions under Title I state and local plans and the Race to the Top Fund to establish a state goal of having a school library staffed by a state-licensed school librarian in each public school;
    • Allow state and local professional development funds to be used for recruiting and training school librarians.

Briefing Day was capped off with a reception in the Dirksen Building at the U.S. Capitol, where Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Representative Rush Holt (NJ-14) were honored for their work on behalf of libraries.  Senator Reed had been instrumental in getting 8.6 million in competitive grants for school libraries and literacy programs in the 2012 Appropriations law as well has having introduced the "Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries" (SKILLS) Act that would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to include school libraries and help improve student academic achievement by ensuring more students have access to effective school library programs.  Representative Holt had introduced a companion bill in the House to the SKILLS Act along with the 2011 ALA honoree, Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ-7).

On Tuesday, April 24, 2012, the Minnesota contingent made its way to the U.S. Capitol to begin a day of visits.  We were able to visit with staffers from Senator Franken and Klobuchar's offices in the morning and in the afternoon with staffers from our Representatives' offices.  We focused our efforts on LSTA funding as this source of funding is particularly important in Minnesota as it assists with statewide delivery for interlibrary loan, funding for the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library, training for the ELM databases, as well as provide funds for competitive grant projects which SELCO has been the recipient over the years to automate several school and special libraries, including the Stewartville Schools and the Chatfield Music Lending Library.  Most staffers were talked with were at least aware of LSTA and its importance to libraries.

We were also able to promote the fact that Minnesota libraries are working closely with organizations and community groups on workforce development.  With Marlene Moulton Janssen in attendance and as newly appointed advisory member of the Governor's Workforce Development Council and Carol Walsh, who in addition to being president of the Minnesota Friends, is also an employee of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, we were able to show to our legislators how connected libraries are to workforce development.  This was certainly a theme we heard throughout our visits.

Check out SELCO's Flickr site to see pictures from our NLLD visits.  Due to the number of appointments and needing to move back and forth between several large office buildings, the group had to split up to ensure that we could be on time for our visits.  This allowed everyone to at least attend visits in 8 of 10 legislators offices, including visits to their own Representatives offices.  It was certainly a great experience for us.

I had the opportunity to attend the 2012 ARLD Day at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  ARLD is the acronym for Academic and Research Libraries Division of the Minnesota Library Association.  This year's theme was Transliteracy:  Constructing Knowledge and Networks.  Transliteracy has several meanings, but according to Lane Wilkinson, the keynote speaker for ARLD Day, a basic definition is the ability to read, write, and interact across a range of tools, platform, and media.  Wilkinson noted that there are three concepts that serve as the foundation for transliteracy:

• Multiple media (in the broadest sense)
• Communication of information
• Interaction between literacies or media types

Multiple media refers to the ever increasing choices for how we consume information.  Transliteracy is about breaking down the walls of information production and consumption and acknowledging that to use information effectively, multiple information sources are required.  Communication of information involves being information literate (able to evaluate information) and transliterate (able to actually use information).  Transliteracy and information literacy complement each other, not replace each other.  Finally, interaction as a foundation of transliteracy, according to Wilkinson, is less about the “platforms, tools, and media” and more about that little preposition “across.”  We as libraries need to drop the "click here" mentality and change the focus to play and experimentation in order for us to teach patrons the skills needed to move between mediums.

I thought this was the most important quote from his talk:  "Libraries promote literacy, literacy is mediated by technology, so libraries have an interest in promoting information technologies. Transliteracy is a part (a small part, mind you) of promoting literacy across technologies."  Wilkinson's presentation can be found here.

The rest of the day was made up of a variety of breakout sessions.  Nancy Sims from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities presented on the challenges faced by scholars working in nontraditional media by using a variety of remix videos, music mashups, and other transliterate texts.  Her presentation, found here, as is typical with Nancy, did also focus on copyright law.  It was a fascinating look at some alternative looks at scholarly works that don't necessarily fit the typical path to scholarship.

Another breakout session that I found interesting, though a little dense at times, was about the linked data model.  The Library of Congress, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and a increasing number of European libraries, have joined together to start a movement towards the semantic web where content holders publish "linked data" to allow their information and content to be shared, harvested, and used in new ways.  Sort of points to the idea that catalogers are using as they move to new ways of describing their libraries' collections and connecting resources together through the use of FRBR and RDA.  The presenters showed off a number of tools that can be used to create and use linked data, including Google Refine, Freebase, and one of my favorite tools, Six Degrees of Black Sabbath, which allows you to see how two artists are connected, sort of like "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon."

The day ended with a lightning round of presentation, where six presentations were done in five minute intervals.  A really cool way to see presentations with one of my favorites being Amy Springer from the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University showing how to incorporate pop culture into the classroom by using a video clip from the NBC show Parks and Recreation to teach students how to do research at the library.  Her presentation can be found here.

For more information on ARLD 2012, check out their page on the Minnesota Library Association website.  Presentations will be posted here as they become available.

A grant opportunity to assist in purchasing children's books for your library's collection.  Public and school libraries are eligible.

The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation is dedicated to advancing literacy and fostering a love of reading among underserved and at-risk children and youth. The Foundation provides grants to rural and urban, public and school libraries throughout the country for the purchase of books published for young people preschool through grade 8. The focus of the grant program is on libraries that serve economically or socially at-risk children, have limited book budgets, and demonstrate real need. Public libraries, school libraries, and non-traditional libraries operated by nonprofit organizations that have been in operation at least three years are eligible to apply. The application deadline is June 15, 2012. Visit the Foundation’s website to learn more about the grant program and the application process.

The following information was sent via e-mail on April 27, 2012 from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Adjournment

The Legislature is set to adjourn on Monday, April 30, 2012. Both the House and Senate will hold floor sessions on Saturday, April 28, 2012 (and probably on Sunday, April 29, 2012, as well).  Governor Dayton and legislative leaders met several times this week to try to reach agreement on a bonding bill and a tax bill.  Their goal is to put together a deal that includes each side's preferred method of creating jobs -- the Governor wants a substantial bonding bill, while Republican leaders want tax cuts for businesses.  So far they have not been able to reach an agreement.  Whether they will or not remains to be seen.
 

Omnibus Education Bill (HF 2949)

Governor Dayton signed the bill on Friday, April 27, 2012.   
 

Online Learning Bill (SF 1528)

The conference committee concluded its work earlier this evening.  The final bill does not include the controversial provision from the House version of the bill that would have required students to complete at least one course credit that includes digital learning in order to graduate.  
 
Here is a list of the provisions that are included in the final bill:

• Requires colleges and universities to include in their teacher preparation programs the knowledge and skills candidates need to deliver digital and blended learning curriculum.
• Requires that staff development activities for teachers enhance teacher's skills in delivering digital and blended learning and curriculum and engaging students with technology.
• Requires MDE to act on applications from online learning providers within 90 days of the application's submission, and directs MDE to review all online learning providers every 3 years.
• Charges the Online Learning Council with overseeing the development and maintenance of a catalog of publicly available digital learning content aligned to Minnesota's academic standards.
• Requires the Online Learning Council to review Minnesota laws and rules pertaining to classroom learning to determine which ones, if any, inhibit digital learning and submit a report to the Legislature by June 30, 2013.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released their first-ever on report on the reading habits of eBook users.  The rise of e-reading presents some very interesting findings:

• in a survey carried out in February 2012, 21% of adults reported reading an eBook in the last year.  In a survey carried out in December 2011 (before Christmas), that number was 17%.
• of those surveyed who owned an eBook reader or tablet, 90% reported reading at least one print book in the previous year
• respondents reported that their preference of reading format depends on how they are reading:
  • eBooks are more popular when they want a book quickly or are traveling
  • print books are more popular when reading to children or sharing books with others.

Other key findings include:

• eBook readers read an average of 24 books (of all formats) in the past year, compared to 15 books by non-eBook readers
• despite the rise of eBooks, print books still dominate.  72% of respondents reported reading a print book in the last year while only 17% reported reading an eBook (this particular survey was carried out before Christmas 2011)
• only 20% of eBook readers reported that the material they want is always available in the format they desire
• 24% of eBook readers reported that the material they want is only sometimes, hardly ever, or never available in the format they desire
• a majority of print readers (54%) and eBook readers (61%) prefer to purchase books rather than borrow them from any source
• eBook readers are more likely than other readers to:
  • be under age 50
  • have some college education
  • live in households earning more than $50,000 per year.

The full report is available via the link given above; to see what others are saying about the data, check out:

Four key takeaways from Pew's new e-reading study

Rise in E-Book Readership is Good News for Reading Over All, Report Says

The following information was sent via e-mail on April 20, 2012 at 2:30 p.m. from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.

Education Omnibus Bill (HF 2949)

Early this afternoon the education conference committee reached agreement on the bill.  The conferees worked closely with MDE Commissioner Brenda Cassellius to reach agreement on a bill that the Governor will sign.  The provision I described in yesterday's report requiring school boards to adopt policies to prohibit district employees from using public resources to support or defeat a candidate for political office; advocate for or against the passage of a referendum or solicit funds for a political purpose was not included in the final agreement. Also left out of the agreement was a $51,000 appropriation that had been contained in the House version of the omnibus education bill to pay for costs associated with the online learning bill (see below for details).

Online Learning Bill (SF 1528)

The conference committee for the online learning bill held its first meeting on Wednesday and is not scheduled to meet again until next Tuesday afternoon.  As I noted above, today the conference committee on the Education Omnibus Bill left out of its bill a $51,000 appropriation that was intended to pay for the development of a catalogue of digital courses aligned with the state's academic content standards.  The administration opposed the appropriation because they viewed the catalogue as an expense of implementing the requirement contained in the House version of the online learning bill that all students complete at least one course credit that included digital learning in order to graduate.  This is a strong indication that the requirement will not be included in the final version of the online learning bill. 

Bonding Bill

The Senate version of the bonding bill, which includes $1 million for Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants, was placed on the special orders calendar for today, meaning that it was likely to be brought up for a floor vote.  Despite Senate Majority Leader David Senjem's announcement earlier in the week that the bill would come up for a floor vote this week, the Senate adjourned this afternoon without bringing up the bonding bill for a vote.  The next floor session is scheduled for Monday.

The following information was sent via e-mail on April 20, 2012 at 9:20 a.m. from Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist.  Additional linked information included.

Legislators returned to work on Monday after a 10 day break for Passover and Easter.  Their plan is still to adjourn on Monday, April 30.  Here is a summary of the status of key library issues:  

Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants

As I have reported previously, the Senate version of the bonding bill includes $1 million for library grants, while the House bonding bill contains nothing for libraries.  Whether a bonding bill will be enacted this session is very much in doubt.  Neither the House nor the Senate has taken a floor vote on a bonding bill.  A bonding bill must receive a 3/5 vote in each body in order to pass.  That means it must receive 81 votes in the House and 41 votes in the Senate.  Although Republicans are in the majority in both bodies, their majority is not large enough in either body to pass a bonding bill without attracting some DFL votes.  
 
The House bonding bill spends just $280 million.  It is too small to attract many DFL votes and yet is opposed by a significant number of Republicans who prefer not to pass any bonding bill this year.  It is hard to see how it could attract 81 votes on the floor, which is why it hasn't been brought up for a vote.  The House has a separate bonding bill that spends $221 million to renovate the State Capitol.  That bill failed today on the House floor when it received only 80 votes.  Many DFLers refused to vote for the State Capitol renovation bill, saying they wanted the regular bonding bill to pass first.  
 
The Senate bonding bill spends $496 million and has enjoyed strong bipartisan support as it has made its way through the committee process.  The bill includes $25 million to get started on the State Capitol renovation.  Yesterday Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem said that the Senate would take a floor vote on the bill this week. 

Education Shift Repayment (HF 2083)

As expected, Governor Dayton vetoed the bill to take $430 million from the state budget reserve to accelerate the repayment of the education shift.  He argued that it was fiscally irresponsible to deplete the budget reserve with a $1.1 billion deficit projected in the next biennium.  Here is a link to his veto letter. 

Education Omnibus Bill (HF 2949)

The conference committee for a very scaled down omnibus education bill held its first meeting this morning.  There are no provisions in the bill that are specific to libraries.  However, one item of possible interest to MEMO members is a provision directing school boards to adopt policies to ensure that district employees do not use publicly funded resources to support or defeat a candidate for political office; advocate for or against the passage of a referendum or solicit funds for a political purpose.  Education Minnesota has raised concerns about this provision, fearing that it will prompt some school boards to enact much more restrictive policies than the Legislature intended.  
 
A draft conference committee report was presented and the conferees heard testimony from MDE Commissioner Brenda Cassellius about which provisions the Governor had concerns about (one of them was the political activity provision described above).  The conference committee set those provisions aside and adopted the remaining provisions.  The conference committee is currently in recess but is planning to resume meeting this evening.

Online Learning Bill (SF 1528)

Yesterday a conference committee began meeting on the online learning bill.  As I have described previously, the House and Senate versions of the bill are very different from each other, but the differences are mostly noncontroversial.  The main sticking point is that the House version requires students to complete at least one course credit that includes digital learning in order to graduate.  The Senate version does not require this, but it strongly encourages all Minnesota students to take at least one online learning course before graduation.  The Governor does not support the requirement in the House bill.

Libraries and entrepreneurship are usually not synonymous, but Kitty Pope offers advice in her On a + Note for librarians seeking to meet the needs of those  not currently using library services.  Her examples include:

 Look at your libraries raw membership data. Are the un-served in your community the ---

►25-35 years old, employed, single people who left the library in their teens and have yet to return?

►newly retired and have never used the library?

►text savvy teens who think the library is for babies and nerds?

When you have analyzed the data, create a new service that reaches out to your target audience, uses their preferred communication channels, and draws them into the library.

For more details on keep entrepreneurial traits, check her post.

Catching up on MnLINK ILL

Just as the Online Libraries must slog through hoards of returns, Michael Scott, Assistant Director, and other SELCO staff working with Interlibrary Loans (ILL) have a big backlog of MnLINK items.

The Minnesota Department of Education, State Library Services Division, is pleased to announce the 2012 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Competitive Grant Opportunity. State Library Services is soliciting applications from academic, public and special libraries and public school media centers that meet the eligibility guideline requirements.  

Due to time constraints the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Competitive Grant Program for 2012 will be a one-part application process. Interested eligible libraries must submit a complete and detailed competitive grant application. Application requirements for 2012 federal LSTA funds have been revised with a federally mandated emphasis on project evaluation and end user outcomes.

An estimated allocation of $450,000 is available to fund eligible library/school media center project(s) from funds made available through Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).  The proposed award period is anticipated to be October 1, 2012, through September 30, 2013.  Due to the tight grant award end date no extensions will be allowed. All projects must end on September 30, 2013

The Application forms will be available by Friday, April 20, 2012.

James V. (Jym) Wroblewski, LSTA Coordinator/Grant Administrator

In recognition of the Military Child and National Poetry Month, Senator Al Franken is hosting a poetry contest for all children of military families across Minnesota.  The theme of the contest will be, “My Experiences as a Military Child”.  Senator Franken hopes to recognize the Minnesota men and women who serve and the extraordinary sacrifices of their families.  The “My Experiences as a Military Child” poetry contest is open for all children of Minnesota military families from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

For a letter from Senator Franken, click here.

For more information about the “My Experiences as a Military Child” poetry contest, click here.