Letter To Libraries Online

BOARD WILL HEAR RECOMMENDATION ON STATEWIDE DATABASE LICENSE

At their meeting on June 19th at the Athena Public Library in Athena, the State Library Board will hear recommendations from the Library Services and Technology Act Advisory Council. Among the recommendations will be one to proceed with negotiations for the next general periodicals database license for academic, school and public libraries. The Statewide Database Licensing Advisory Council has been working nearly two years to design and execute a procurement process, working with the State Procurement Office and Library staff. They reported to the LSTA Advisory Council on May 15th that Gale/Cengage was the apparent successful proposer. The Board will decide on June 19th whether to proceed with the procurement process. The LSTA Advisory Council is also recommending that 22 organizations submitting LSTA Project Proposals for grant projects in 2010 be invited to submit full applications. The 22 projects total approximately $1.2 million. In other business, the Board will hear a recommendation from the Talking Book and Braille Services Advisory Council to approve a plan to spend donation funds in 2009-10, and a proposal to amend the bylaws of the Government Research and Electronic Services Advisory Council. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. An open forum will be held at 10:30 a.m. Anyone is welcome to address the Board in the open forum.

LIBRARY’S BUDGET BILL ADVANCES IN THE LEGISLATURE

At press time the State Library appropriations bill for the upcoming 2009-11 biennium, HB 5026, was approved by the Joint Ways and Means Committee of the Legislature. The bill is based on the Ways and Means Committee Co-Chairs budget plan that was released on May 18th. The bill is very supportive of State Library programs and services, especially given the current revenue crisis that the Legislature is dealing with. The bill increases the State Library budget overall by 2%. The Ready to Read Grant program is reduced by 5.5% to 95 cents per child per year. General funds are added to the budget to fund 2.5 FTE in Library Development Services with state funds instead of LSTA funds. This will address a problem with administrative costs in the LSTA budget that caused the Institute of Museum and Library Services to threaten to withhold Oregon’s LSTA allotment. The bill will now move on for a vote of the full House and Senate in June.

STREAMS OF LANGUAGE, MEMORY AND LIFEWAYS: 2009 NATIONAL TRIBAL ARCHIVES, LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN PORTLAND

The Oregon State Library and Tamastslikt Cultural Institute at the Conferederated Tribes of the Umatilla are co-hosting the 2009 National Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums Conference from October 19 - 22, 2009 at the Red Lion on the River in Portland. The Western Council of State Libraries is sponsoring the conference with major funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The 2009 National Conference will continue to build upon the foundation from several earlier conferences to create a network of support for tribal cultural institutions and programs, articulate contemporary issues related to the development of tribal libraries, archives and museums, and encourage collaboration among tribal and non-tribal institutions. For more information visit the conference website or contact MaryKay Dahlgreen.

TBABS HAS BOOKS FOR CHILDREN'S SUMMER READING

In support of Summer Reading programs taking place in public libraries across the state, we’re encouraging kids and libraries to get their audio and braille reading materials from Talking Book and Braille Services. If you have a summer reader that reads braille or talking books they can get all the materials they need just by contacting TBABS at 800-452-0292. Or, if you meet a summer reader who could benefit from our alternative reading format, have them contact us to apply for service. Applications are always available on-demand at our website and public librarians are able to certify the application for service.

STATE LIBRARY GEARS UP FOR NEW METASEARCH TOOL

State employees will soon be using a free tool, LibraryFind to easily search multiple library databases. LibraryFind makes searching simple by providing the ability to search the library catalog, online databases, and other resources with one search. Useful features include both simple and advanced search functionality, faceted searching, sort preferences, and the ability to save and email search results. Technical features include an open URL link resolver, the use of caching to improve speed, and a customizable search interface. The software was developed by the Oregon State University Libraries, in part funded with a grant from the State Library. LibraryFind replaces our WebFeat search tool. To learn more about LibraryFind go to the LibraryFind web site.

CROOKED RIVER RANCH TURNS DOWN LIBRARY SERVICE AGAIN

For the second time in seven months, residents of the Crooked River Ranch community in rural Jefferson County have turned down a proposal to annex to the Jefferson County Library District. About 4,100 people live in the community in southwest Jefferson County. In an election last November, an annexation measure was defeated with 53% of voters opposed to the measure. In a second attempt, in the May 19th election, 69% of voters opposed the measure. Residents of Crooked River Ranch will have to continue to purchase non-resident library cards at the Jefferson County Library in Madras, or at one of the branches of the Deschutes Public Library, if they want to have public library service.

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DOCUMENT MAKES LIBRARY JOURNAL'S NOTABLE DOCUMENT LIST

Western US Invasive Plant EDRR Guide, a publication of the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Noxious Weed Control Program, was included in Library Journal's 2008 "Notable Documents" list. Published both in paper and online, this document includes information that encourages citizens to report invasive species. LJ calls the guide "an excellent example of collaborative Internet use between a government and its citizens." The document is available online at the Oregon Documents Repository. Paper copies are available on loan from the Oregon State Library, and other Oregon Document Depository libraries.

In honor of Oregon’s Sesquicentennial, I have decided to devote the next several months of my column to brief sketches of early Oregon libraries. The beginnings of library service in 19th century Oregon is interesting and deserves to be better known and appreciated by people who work in our libraries today.

The Columbia Library is generally acknowledged as the first library in the Oregon country. It was a circulating library at Fort Vancouver, but the collection predated Fort Vancouver. John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company post at the mouth of the Columbia, founded in 1810, began to collect some books for the use of employees at the post. The post was taken over by the British North West Company in 1813 which later merged with the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821. In 1821, we know from an inventory of Fort George (as it was called after 1813) that this library contained 54 books.

In 1825, when Fort Vancouver was completed, the library was moved there and came under the direction of a 21 year old Scotsman, Dr. William Tolmie, who had just come to the Fort out of medical school. I think Dr. Tolmie deserves the title of Oregon’s first librarian. It was he who proposed to Chief Factor John McLoughlin that the library become a circulating library. He also contributed his personal library that he brought with him, including 19 medical books. Dr. Tolmie organized the library as a subscription library, which was how public libraries were first organized in the 19th century. What was really remarkable about this library was that it served not just Fort Vancouver, but all of the outposts of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the Northwest, and all of the officers were given the opportunity to subscribe. Bancroft’s History of Oregon describes how it worked this way:

“The officers subscribed, sent the order for books and periodicals to the company’s agent in London; the books were sent out, and as everybody had subscribed, they were sent to all the forts throughout the length and breadth of the land. The library was kept at Fort Vancouver, subscribers sending for such books as they wanted, and returned them when read.”

Today thousands of books move around Oregon every day to meet the information needs of students, faculty, and the general public. Maybe our well-deserved reputation for being a national leader in library resource sharing owes a small debt to the enduring spirit of Dr. Tolmie and the Columbia Library. – Jim Scheppke

Technical Assistance: 503-932-1004.

Library Development: 503-378-2525, MaryKay Dahlgreen, Jennifer Maurer, Darci Hanning, Ann Reed, Mary Mayberry, Katie Anderson.

Talking Book and Braille Services: 503-378-5389, Susan Westin.

Government Research and Electronic Services: 503-378-5030, Robert Hulshof-Schmidt.

State Librarian: 503-378-4367, Jim Scheppke.

LTLO Editor: 503-378-2464, April Baker.

Letter to Libraries Online is published monthly by the Oregon State Library. Editorial office: LTLO, Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, Oregon 97301-3950, 503-378-2464, editor: April Baker

Letter to Libraries Online is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form on the publications page at the Oregon State Library's homepage: http://www.oregon.gov/OSL. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Oregon State Library. News items or articles should be sent to April Baker, or mailed to LTLO, Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, Oregon 97301-3950.

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