Letter to Libraries Online
A Monthly Newsletter
from the Oregon State Library
Volume 23, Issue 2, February 2013
Contents:Library Board NewsState Library NewsContacts at the State Library |
State Library Reorganization Steering Committee Formed The Oregon State Library was directed in the 2013-2015 Governor’s Balanced Budget to reorganize to achieve efficiencies, coordinate with other agencies, and reduce our budget. We have formed a Steering Committee to help us through this process. We have OSL staff, a Board member, Advisory Council members, and state employees on the Committee. The first meeting was held at the State Library on January 29th and we anticipate meeting weekly through February and early March. In addition to the Committee meetings, we will be asking our customers for their feedback about essential services at the State Library. We will be communicating widely as we gather feedback and appreciate your input. For more information please contact MaryKay Dahlgreen. State Library Board to Meet in Salem The State Library Board will meet at the Oregon State Library in Salem on Friday, February 22nd from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Board will hear a report on the Libraries of Oregon website. Other items on the agenda include a report from the Reorganization Steering Committee, LSTA FY 2012 Spending Recommendations, Benchmark #38, and the OSL Legislative Budget Hearing. An open forum will be held at 11:30 a.m. Anyone may address the Board at the Open Forum on any topic. Join us for First Lecture of Oregon State Library 2013 Spring Lecture Series 2011-2012 Ready to Read Annual Report Now Available The 2011-2012 Ready to Read Annual Report and Best Practice Libraries report are now on the Ready to Read webpage. The Ready to Read Annual Report is an analysis of the Ready to Read Final Reports submitted to the State Library every December. The State Library has established metrics that measure the effectiveness of the Ready to Read Grant Program. The metrics provide longitudinal data on public library youth services and public library usage statistics. This data allows public libraries to see how their efforts impact library services to children in Oregon, and serves as a tool for setting local youth service goals. The Best Practice Libraries report lists those libraries that provide all three youth services best practices: outreach, summer reading, and early literacy training for caregivers. Plan to Attend Free Webinar: TechSoup for Libraries in Oregon New Exhibit at the State Library to Focus on Early Exploration of the Pacific Northwest 2011-2012 Outstanding Ready to Read Grant Projects Awarded Each year the State Library staff recognizes several public libraries for their outstanding Ready to Read Grant projects. The criteria for this recognition are: the library adheres to the original intent of the Ready to Read Grant, focuses on one or more of the three Ready to Read Grant best practices, promotes partnerships both in and out of the library, and creates a project that is replicable in other libraries, or enhances current library services. Libraries recognized for their Outstanding Ready to Read projects in 2011-2012 are: Arlington Public Library, Elgin Public Library, Independence Public Library, Lebanon Public Library, and Seaside Public Library. The Ready to Read Grant web page provides more information about these outstanding projects. State Library Staff Legislative Library Again in 2013 Oregon Librarian to Present at Big Talk From Small Libraries Big Talk From Small Libraries is an online conference that presents ideas created and developed by people at small libraries to an audience primarily made up of people working in small libraries (defined as those serving populations of fewer than 10.000 people). Last year about 400 people from 38 states and three Canadian provinces attended. Bob Jones, Library Director in Milton-Freewater, Oregon will be presenting a session about his successful program Oldies Night @ the library which is easy, inexpensive, fun and attracts people who don’t otherwise visit your library. Big Talk From Small Libraries will take place online on February 28th. Learn more and register online by clicking here. Tualatin Public Library Awarded AWE’s Literacy Success Award Congratulations to Tualatin Public Library for receiving the AWE Literacy Success Award which recognizes libraries that work to promote literacy in their communities. Tualatin received this award for their Mystery Night at the Library event designed to teach elementary school students information literacy skills. Please read this press release to learn more about the award and Tualatin’s outstanding literacy program. Oregon State Library Library Development: 503-378-2525, Ferol Weyand, Darci Hanning, Ann Reed
, Jennifer Maurer, Katie Anderson, Arlene Weible, Susan
Westin. Government Research Services Manager: 503-378-5030, Margie Harrison. State Librarian: 503-378-4367, MaryKay
Dahlgreen. Letter to Libraries Online is published monthly by the Oregon State Library. It is available free of charge and is published only in electronic form on the publications page on the Oregon State Library's homepage: http://www.oregon.gov/OSL. To unsubscribe from libs-or, either send an 'unsubscribe' message to libs-or-request@listsmart.osl.state.or.us, or visit the website: http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/libs-or/. All materials may be reprinted or distributed freely. |
The Oregon State Library is pleased to announce our first lecture in our Spring series on Wednesday, February 6th in Room 103 from 12:00-1:00. This lecture is entitled, “When Heroes Weren’t Welcomed Home” and features Willamette University professor of education, and Oregon Encyclopedia Co-Editor-In-Chief, Linda Tamura. She is the author of The Hood River Issei: An Oral History of Japanese Settlers in Oregon's Hood River Valley, the daughter of a veteran and was born and raised in Hood River, Oregon. After World War II was over, a group of American soldiers found themselves unwelcome in their Oregon hometown, even though they had served heroically in the South Pacific and in Europe. Community leaders, including veterans’ groups, had removed their names from the local war memorial and proposed a Constitutional amendment to deprive them of their citizenship. The racist hometown homecoming of these Japanese American veterans gained nationwide notoriety. Linda Tamura’s new book, Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence: Coming Home to Hood River, is based on more than 100 oral histories as well as extensive documents, including files from the veterans’ group that led the campaign and provides the research and material for this interesting lecture. Please join us on February 6th as our Spring Lecture series begins.
Join us on February 20 at 10:00 a.m. for a free, 30-minute webinar about 
The Oregon State Library is opening a new exhibit on February 6, entitled “The Early Exploration of the Pacific Northwest, 1778 – 1843.” Using books from the State Library’s Special Collections, this exhibit highlights many early expeditions in the Pacific Northwest, starting with the 1778 Oregon Coast explorations by James Cook of England to the United States Exploring Expedition led by Charles Wilkes in 1843. The exhibit will display many other key materials from persons and places such as Robert Gray, George Vancouver, Lewis and Clark and Astoria. Oregon State Library’s Special Collections houses manuscripts, photographs, older Oregon documents, Oregon maps, and books and periodicals on numerous Oregon-related topics. Many items in the collection require special handling or protection because they are rare or fragile.
Need to know the status of a bill? Want to know what bills have been introduced on a specific topic? Need to contact a legislator? Need background research before providing testimony? The State Library can help. There's a renewed partnership in place to provide fast, on-site reference service to the Legislature this session. After a successful relationship during the 2011 session, the State Library's Government Research Services (GRS) team has agreed to once again partner with Committee Services providing staffing to run the Legislative Library located in Room 446 of the State Capitol. In addition to reference service, GRS staff will also participate in trainings for legislative staff, state employees, and the public on legislative related topics. Operating under a contract between the two agencies, GRS staff will split the 45 hours per week that the library is open. They will provide service to Legislators and their staffs, legislative employees, and the general public who come into the library. This partnership maximizes the service to the Legislature by drawing on the existing expertise of GRS staff and the tools already in place to serve state government. By emphasizing the State Library's role in providing the service, GRS can also raise the awareness of services available directly from the State Library when the legislature is not in session. GRS staff will be working in the Capitol from February 4 to June 30, 2013.