Regional Restructuring is moving forward. At our Annual Meeting, Rob Maier addressed members and spoke about the historic resetting of the State budget. Three factors are affecting state revenues
Declining revenues.
Fixed cost items are rising.
Federal Stimulus not available for next year to balance the budget.
The MBLC had to submit a FY 2011 budget that was capped at 17% lower than funding for this year.
The board make the following decisons in developing this budget:
1.No further reductions in State Aid to Public Libraries.
2.No further staff reductions in MBLC (have already lost 3 positions this year).
3.16% funding reduction for the blind and physcially handicapped
4.21% funding reduction for line 9506, network telecomm and resource sharing are included in this line
5.28% funding reduction for regions and library of last recourse.
The MBLC and regions are in a process to prioritize services of the regions to see how we develop regional services for Fiscal Year 2011. In this new restructuring, there will be at most 3 regional systems. The new structure will continue to be multi-type systems. This will be a merger of the current regions, not a dissolution of any region.
The time line for this restructuring is
January 1st – Service work done
April 1st – Structure recommendation to the MBLC
July 1st – How to implement the changes and how the system will work.
After Rob's update, Maureen Sulllivan led members in a prioritization of regional services. Members spent time identifying the core regional services. In all members identiifed 8 core services: delivery, databases, consulting, and continuing education, interlibrary loan, MassCat, Supplemental Reference and a strong youth services component. The Executive Board will bring this work to a statewide meeting on December 14th during which regional services will be prioritize and a potential scenario for regional restructuring may be adopted.
After this meeting, SEMLS will be reaching out for your input. The regions will develop a survey that will ask you if you agree with the outcomes of the December 14 meetting. Once again, we need your input as these results will be the foundation of the new regional structure(s).
SEMLS will use our website, email, Facebook page and Twitter to keep you up to date on this process. If you have any questions and/or ideas, please send them to me.
May you enjoy the beauty of this upcoming holiday season.
The Fall 2009 delivery survey has been compiled. There were 152 public libraries, branches, academic, special libraries, school libraries, 3 networks and the regional office that took the time to report thier activity. There were a few libraries that conducted their delivery survey another week. We had 100% participation from our members on delivery. The results of this delivery survey will also be made available to the MBLC, that directs these delivery surveys be conducted twice a year.
The current delivery survey total was 72,309 items delivered. The amount of bins used were 2,256. Comparing the current survey with the previous Fall totals, we noticed an increase of 9.9% of items (72,309-65,150) or an increase of 7,159 items. Delivery bins decreased by .8% (2,256-2,274) due to the non-packaging of AV materials.
Annualized this translates into 3,867,344 items traveling through delivery. The amount calculates by adding the current survey of 72,309 with the previous Spring delivery survey of 76,435 items and multiply by 26 weeks. The busiest days for delivery continues to be Tuesday (15,400) and Monday (14,584). On an average (6day sort) the delivery courier handles 12, 051 items each day.
We want to thank our members for taking the time to make this current delivery survey possibile.
If you would like to view the entire current survey please click on the following to view by network the full report. Thank you.
Summer Reading Program 2010 by Vickie Beene-Beavers, Assistant Administrator for Youth Services
The order forms for the 2010 summer reading program will be available on our statewide summer wiki starting on December 9, http://masummreading.pbworks.com/. If you have not signed up to be a member of the wiki yet, please visit the site. You'll need to enter your e-mail address and then create a password of your choosing. Note: You'll need to remember your e-mail address, username and password in order to return to the site throughout the month leading up to this summer's festivities. Once your request to join the wiki has been authorized, you will be able to download clip art and even add links of your own, i.e. craft and program ideas and booklists to create our manual within the months to come. After entering the site, locate your regional library system order form to place your orders for the free posters, bookmarks, reading logs and certificates. Please complete your paper orders by Friday, January 29. Later this month you'll have an opportunity to order the incentives if your library budget allows. Thanks for your attention!
It's All About Teens!, by Vickie Beene-Beavers, Assistant Administrator for Youth Services
MLA and MSLA are gearing up to launch Massachusetts’ very own Teen Book Choice Award for summer 2010. First, we have to decide on the logo. We are asking all youth serving librarians to share the news of the logo contest with their respective community members…teachers, after-school programs, glee clubs and, of course, their teens. More information on the logo size, copyright permission, submission and deadline can be found at the links provided below. So hurry, print the downloadable flier announcement and spread the news for the contest ends on January 31, 2010.
Change by Joan-Marie Proulx, Southworth Library, Dartmouth
Change, it’s around all of us, both in our lives at home and here at work. Most people don’t like change, but whether we like it or not, change is going to happen. It is necessary because without change we stagnate, do not grow or adapt to a changing world, and without that growth and adaptation, we do not improve our system and service to our patrons. So what do we do? Do we fight the inevitable and make things difficult for ourselves, our coworkers, and equally important our patrons?
Change isn’t necessarily our choice or idea and often causes an interruption or inconvenience to our lives. The fact of the matter is that we have to cope with the changes that are happening. The question is how we, as a staff, implement the changes and make our library stronger and better for the circumstances we face.
We have to keep in mind that regardless of how we feel, we have to put that aside and remember that our patrons come first. It is our responsibility to provide them with a seamless transition to the new practices that will be in place.
We will be doing more with less, which is brought on by the state of our financial reality. The days of doing business as usual are over. We have to be innovative and creative in our approach to issues and how we complete our tasks. We can no longer just throw staffing or other assets at a situation because all are in short supply. We have to work smarter not harder.
We are not going to be successful in achieving these goals just with management putting out instructions. We have to pull together as a team and develop new practices and procedures that will help us meet our goals of excellence. The people who know the job the best are the ones who do it every day, and that is you.
The Gift of the Reference Librarian by Jill Erickson, Head of Reference & Adult Services, Falmouth Public Library
While it discourages me that the regional reference centers are vanishing, and even librarians seem to believe that Google can answer all questions, I’d like to remind everyone of the gift of the reference librarian. In this season of giving and upheaval, sharing two recent reference stories I hope will remind everyone of what it is that reference librarians do. The first question came to me via MassAnswers (www.massanswers.org.) MassAnswers has been a terrific, but woefully underutilized (in this state,) online, live-chat resource for people lost on the Web, or just uncertain as to how to search our online catalogs.
The question was this: “What is the main theme of Aldous Huxley’s poem “Complaint of a Poet Manque”? I took the bait and picked up the question. It was a tough question in that not much has been written on Huxley’s poetry, as far as I could tell in a quick search of resources. Turns out that the student asking the question was in a class called Dominant Ideas and was writing a paper. We got to talking online about the class, about the poem, about Huxley, and ended up having a real discussion. I used actual books in our library as well as online resources to help him with his question. His last comment to me was: “wow; that is a great way to think about it. You're more helpful than any accessible source online or in books! Thanks very much.” That’s right, the gift of the reference librarian.
The question I got last week came in the form of a phone call. A woman in tears was calling from a town in New York. She began by saying she needed a photo of a particular man. This seemed like a long shot, but being the seasoned reference librarian I am, I continued with the reference interview. Turned out the photograph that she wanted was of a young man who had died in the Vietnam War in 1966. He had gone to high school in Falmouth, graduated in 1965, and died in December 1966. I told her there probably would have been an article in the local newspaper, with a photograph, and that we also had the 1965 Falmouth High School Yearbook. I went to the microfilm of the Falmouth Enterprise, and indeed found a photograph of this young man, as well as several news articles about him, his family and his friends. The article began: “The Christmas lights went out on Minot Street last Friday.”
I was able to scan the articles, and e-mail them to the woman who had been looking for a photograph. In addition I was able to find a photograph in the Falmouth Year Book, and also took a photograph for her of the monument to this young man, which is on the memorial veteran’s walk on the library lawn. For me it was a moving moment to be able to put a face to a stone I pass every day when I walk to work. By day’s end I got this message back from the woman: “I cannot even begin to thank you enough. I have been trying to find a picture of him for almost half a century. I surely can’t begin to tell you what he meant to me and still means to me. I was a couple years younger, but when you meet that one special person in your life….. This is priceless to me.” That’s right, the gift of the reference librarian.
As the year comes to an end and so many people (including, alas, librarians) think that all a person needs is a computer and a search engine, I suggest that you think again. Reference librarians have brains and souls and hearts that no search engine will ever have. Reference librarians can change lives and open minds in a moment. Reference librarians are here to stay, because even though the technology changes, the need for information and help in finding that information stays the same.
Congratulations to the following libraries in the southeastern region recognized by the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service, 2009, Round 2, for their levels of service provided. For more information on the results of the second round, visit: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6705374.html.
Five Star Libraries: Wellfleet Public Library; Provincetown Public Library; West Tisbury Free Public Library; Vineyard Haven.
Four Star Libraries: Osterville Free Library, Eldredge Public Library, Chatham; Dennis Public Library, Dennisport.
Three Star Libraries: Vineyard Haven Public Library; Snow Library, Orleans; Oak Bluffs Public Library.
Best Wishes in Your New Position
Mary McCauley, Library Teacher, Chandler Elementary School, Hull
Bryan Revis, Library Teacher, Hull High School
Mary Dunphy, Library Teacher, Hingham High School
Meredith Lebo, Library Teacher, South Shore Vocational Technical High School, Hanover
Jennifer Wiley, Library Teacher, Cape Cod Regional TechnicalHigh School, Harwich
Best Wishes to Our Newest Members
King Philip Regional High School, 201 Franklin Street, Wrentham, MA 02093
Maureen D. Mores, Library Teacher
Bridgewater Middle School, 166 Mount Prospect Street, Bridgewater, MA 02324
You can now begin placing your orders for paper products for the upcoming summer reading program in 2010. Orders are due by January 29, 2010. Materials will be sent directly to your library next spring. The paper incentives are provided free of charge to members of the MA Regional Library System. You must be a member of one of the six regional library systems to place an order.
All member libraries that order summer reading program materials will receive free access to the online manual and clip art.
Please contact Vickie Beene-Beavers, Assistant Administrator for Youth Services, for assistance and questions at SEMLS (508) 923-3531.
Last Monday, December 14, 81 regional executive board members, MBLC and regional staff met to discuss and prioritze second tier services. Linda Braun facilitate the meeting. At our annual meeting, Rob Maier listed regional services that he defined as "core". These are services that would continue even with budget reductions. There are 5 core services, Consulting, Continuing Education, Databases and online content, delivery and mediated Interlibrary Loan.
Prior to the meeting, the SEMLS Executive Board met and discussed the priorities identified at our annual meeting and brought you thoughts to this meeting. Participants at the December 14 meeting were asked to prioritize "second" tier services; those that should be considered after the core. some of the often named services were cooperative purchasing, MassCat, Advocacy and Services for Youth, including Summer Reading.
Another part of the day addressed the future model of the entity that would provide these services. Partcipants heard about 3 models:
3 seperate regions - similar to today, except there would be 3 regions not 6.
Hub and Spokes -- Services would eminate from a central office (Hub) but each of today's region would have a small presence (spokes).
One administrative office with 4 geographically located offices to provide all services for members, except statewide services.
Partcipants chose the Hub and Spoke model. This model offers flexibility, reduces overhead and does meet some of the need of the "local touch". The spokes could grow or contract as needs of members and residents dictated. The spokes provide the familiar face, but the spokes presence would be small to start a staff of 2 .
Later in the day, Ken Peterson of the Boston Public Library presented services that Boston in its role of Library of Last Recourse would like to consider providing. At the end of the day, a planning committee was formed. Each region will appoint 3 members of its executive board as planning committee members. The Regional Administrators and Rob Maier will serve ex officio. Mike Somers, Maxwell Library, Bridgewater State College; Pat Basler, Stoughton Public Library; and Patrick Marshall, Jonathan Bourne Public Library, are the SEMLS representative to the planning committee.
There will be a report of the December 14 planning meeting. Once we have received it, we will post on our website. In the meantime should you have any questions, please contact me (croach@semls.org) or any Executive Board member. We will continue to provide you with updates as they become available.
Change is speeding up in all our lives and libraries. If you haven't always seen change as " your friend" is there a way to at least make peace with it and come to use it as an opportunity?
On January 13 Cheryl Bryan from SEMLS will offer a three hour class on addresing the impact of change on your live and in your library. As libraries enter what looks like a budget season that will force hard decisions we all recognise the importance of maintaining and developing user-focused services in our libraries. Community members are returning to libraries just as libraries are losing funding for maintaining current services. We have new opportunities to reposition the library and embrace new roles in our communities but this will be built on changing the way we work, reviewing services to determine if they can be grouped and presented differently and getting our staff onboard for a period of rapid changes.
This workshop will provide some new ideas about how to evaluate and possibly regroup your services and transform your library into an essential community resource. The workshop begins at 10am and is offered at the Cotuit Public Library.
On January Tracy Swain the creator of the entertaining Circulator PowerPoint that was featured in the statewide Ill committee’s Ergonomics workshops will offer a workshop at SEMLS on how to create engaging fresh looking PowerPoints that grab your audience’s attention. This is a one time offering so don't miss this opportunity.
The class will run from 10-1 and is offered in the SEMLS computer lab in Lakeville. Sign up on the SEMLS webiste.
It's not just for school librarians! SEMLS has pulled together a series of afternoon classes that explore some new technology tools that can be used to support learning. Although the topics were selected based on their value to school librarians, staff from other types of libraries will enjoy learning about these tools as well! All classes will be held from 3 to 5 p.m.
On Thursday, January 28, SEMLS Assistant Administrator for Technology Kathy Lussier will explore digital storytelling with VoiceThread.
This service allows users to create stories around the same set of images or to add audio comments to stories created by others. It can even be used for training! Register
Social networking is a big part of the lives of our students, but can you use it in the classroom? On February 24, Kevin Murphy, Information Technology Teacher for Frontier Regional School, has created his own social network for his classroom using NING. See real examples of how NING is being used while reinforcing an understanding of blogs, discussions, embedding content and more. Register
Creating Web content appeals to a lot of young people on the Web, and many are ready to move beyond blogs, wikis and social networks. With Scratch, they can create interactive stories, animations, games, music and art using a simple programming language that requires no HTML or advanced programming skills. Holliston High School Library Teacher MK Eagle will teach participants how to use Scratch and discuss ways that it can be used in libraries.Register
Participate in the Handheld Librarian Conference with Your SEMLS Colleagues
The Handheld Librarian is a national two-day online conference for library professionals interested in mobile services by and for libraries. SEMSL will be registering for a site license for this conference. Come join us in the SEMLS conference room to watch the presentations and to discuss the information with your colleagues from the region Participants can sign up for one or two days of the conference Participants should bring a brown bag lunch. SEMLS will provide drinks .Register on the SEMLS Web site at http://bit.ly/78oIRQ.
January 5 was the first meeting of the Regional Transition Planning Committee. The Committee will be meeting 4-6 times during the months of January and February. The Committee's charge is to develop a proposal for the new regional structure that will be presented to regional executive boards, regional members and to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The proposal will include a plan of service and budget for this new entity, governance documents including board representation, and a name and location for the new entity. Between now and the middle of February there will be a lot of decsions made. We will do our best to keep you informed of them as they are made. SEMLS respresentatives to the Planning Committee are Pat Basler, Stoughton Public Library; Patrick Marshall, Jonathan Bourne Public Library and Mike Somers, Bridgewater State College. I will be an ex-officio member of the committee. Please continue to ask questions, provide comments and ideas to any planning committee member.
One thing that will be happening as this transition moves forward is that some regional staff will fiind new opportunities. As Kathy Lussier announced recently, Kathy will be leaving SEMLS at the end of January to work with CW/MARS, MVLC and NOBLE in developing and implementing the Evergreen Open Source ILS for their libraries. This is an exciting opportunity for Kathy and all of us wish her the very best in this new endeavor. We know how lucky the three networks and their members are to have such a person leading this project. This opportunity uses so many of Kathy's strengths that it is a great move for her.
As I think many of you know, Kathy is an incredible librarian. She brings enthusiam and vision to every project she tackles. She is committed to making our libraries stronger and better. We will miss her wit and vision at SEMLS. Warmest wishes, Kathy.
