Volume 5, December 31, 2009 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2) WASHINGTON STATE LIBRARY BUDGET CUTS

3) NEW WASHINGTON READS POSTER FEATURES TRIBAL LEADER

4) TEEN BOOKTALKS AND READERS’ ADVISORY

5) DOWNLOADABLE AUDIOBOOKS UPDATE

6) FREE ONLINE COURSE – CORE REFERENCE SKILLS

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1) HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is the final issue of WSL Updates for 2009. There was no issue of Updates last week, because of the Christmas holiday. Here’s wishing a Happy New Year to anyone and everyone reading these words!

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2) WASHINGTON STATE LIBRARY BUDGET CUTS

2010 Round 1 layoffs at the Washington State Library will take effect on February 12, 2010. This is a direct effect of the Governor’s first proposed budget, which gives the library a 15% cut. The cuts cover the whole biennium and are thus effective July 1, 2009 making it necessary to begin the layoff process before the Legislature arrives at a final budget. This amounts to a 30% cut because it is retroactive.

Following the counsel of Executive Management in the Office of the Secretary of State, we are laying off 24.7 FTEs, affecting 30 actual positions. We are following their direction to keep public services available from the Main Library, branch libraries, and the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library (WTBBL). This cut represents 30% of the staff at the main library and the institutional branches, and 19% of the staff at WTBBL.

For efficiency with such a reduced number of FTEs, we are reorganizing, eliminating the Preservation and Access program, ceasing or reducing some of their responsibility and shifting other tasks to other programs, all of which are reduced as well.

Because the emphasis is to keep the public, branch and WTBBL direct services available, the support services are by necessity decimated. Clearly, the cuts are extremely deep and will have a significant impact on the ability of the library to perform its mission.

Jan Walsh, Washington State Librarian

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3) NEW WASHINGTON READS POSTER FEATURES TRIBAL LEADER

A long-time activist of tribal rights who has a reputation for speaking on behalf of the salmon is the latest face to appear on a Washington State Library Washington Reads poster. That poster, now available for download and/or purchase online, features the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s Billy Frank Jr., the longtime chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. Frank is one of the Pacific Northwest region’s foremost Native American leaders, and he also is involved with several civic activities, including being a longtime trustee of the Washington State Historical Society.

Due to budget constraints, there are no free printed copies of the new poster available. But you can download it for free from the State Library Web site: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/BillyFrank. The poster can be printed out in two sizes: 8 ½” x 11” or 11” x 17”. You can also buy 11” x 17” print quality posters for a small fee from the Washington State Department of Printing General Store. The order and cost information is provided on the store’s site: https://fortress.wa.gov/prt/printwa/wsprt/.

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4) TEEN BOOKTALKS AND READERS’ ADVISORY

What will teens read when they’ve finished all the Twilight books? Discover new teen titles and how to help teens find more books to read by joining this online First Tuesdays program.

First Tuesdays partners with CAYAS to present “Teen Booktalks and Readers’ Advisory.” Panelists are teen librarians from various libraries: Jessica Lucas (Seattle Public Library), Jackie Parker (Sno-Isle Libraries) and Bonnie Svitavsky (Puyallup Public Library).

First Tuesdays is online and live January 5 from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Instructions for joining a First Tuesdays program are at www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/tuesdays.

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5) DOWNLOADABLE AUDIOBOOKS UPDATE

The Off the Page: Downloadable Audiobooks for Washington project is pleased to announce a very successful recruitment phase for the project. 15 public libraries will join the existing 9 library members of the OverDrive consortium, almost tripling the membership. These 15 new libraries represent a 64% increase in population served by the consortium.

33 public libraries, 8 academic libraries, and over 300 K-12 school libraries have signed up to purchase one or more of the OCLC NetLibrary Recorded Books collections. This means that there will be an automatic 10% discount off the prices for these collections as listed on the project web page. 41 libraries (other than K-12) were needed for this discount to apply, and we reached that number exactly! Needless to say, we doubled the 20 libraries required to insure the low K-12 pricing.

LSTA subsidies for the first year of the project will be 50% for public and academic libraries, further reducing the already low prices offered through this statewide purchasing project. K-12 prices are already so incredibly low that no further subsidies are planned.

Although the original signup period for the first phase of the downloadable audiobooks project ended December 21, the project can accept additional library signups through at least January 15. For K-12 libraries, there are no signup deadlines; K-12 libraries may join at any time.

Before any of these collections can be offered live, there is additional administrative work that must be done, including vendor forms that must be completed by participating libraries. Contract negotiations are taking longer than expected, which is why the vendor forms are not yet available. A live launch is planned as soon as possible, but probably not before February 1, 2010, and likely later, at least for some libraries.

For more information, please visit the project website: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/audiobook or contact project manager Will Stuivenga [email protected] 360.704.5217 or toll free 866.538.4996.

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6) FREE ONLINE COURSE – CORE REFERENCE SKILLS

Do you have what it takes to be an effective reference provider? Information seekers interact daily with library staff to meet their information needs. This online course helps reference staff identify necessary skill sets needed for any reference interaction whether it is face to face, virtual or on the telephone. Additionally recognize common barriers to productive reference interactions, develop techniques to overcome them and discover how to locate basic reference sources.

Learning Objectives: Upon completion the participant will:

• Identify the skills utilized in providing Reference Service
• Recognize how to demonstrate Reference Service skills to users
• Define barriers to reference interview
• Employ examples to reinforce reference skills
• Distinguish basic reference sources

This course is in two parts; registrants must attend both sessions. Dates are January 5 and 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. both days. Repeated February 2 and 10, same times. For more information and to register, visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/refcore. Space is limited, so sign up soon. Provided by the Washington State Library via Amigos.

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