Greener Pastures Sustaining Public Access Computing In Your Library

1
Greener Pastures Sustaining Public Access
Computing In Your Library
Public Library Development Team
Bob Bocher Library Technology Consultant
(608-266-2127, robert.bocher_at_dpi.state.wi.us)

• John DeBacher
• Public Library Administration Consultant
• (608/266-7270, john.debacher_at_dpi.state.wi.us)

Spring 2007
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Housekeeping

• Ground rules
• Share and give others the opportunity to share
• Keep the tone positive and receptive
• Breaks, meals, restrooms
• Review Agenda
• Pre-assessment, post-assessment

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Eligibility for ALA 2007

• As part of grant, 3 people from Wisconsin are
  eligible to go to ALA 2007, expenses paid, and
  participate in the Rural Sustainability Forum.
  To qualify, you must
• Send an email by May 1, 2007, stating your
  interest, with ALA Greener Pastures in the
  subject line, to john.debacher_at_dpi.state.wi.us
• Indicate that you understand the costs are
  reimbursed according to Wisconsin state
  guidelines
• Register with WebJunction and post action plan
  activities to the WI forum area
• We will draw a name from eligible participants
  from the third group of three workshops, and an
  alternate.

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Reimbursements

• Reimbursements forms
• Personal, for mileage or lodging
• Agency, for substitute wages
• Complete form, or invoice DPI
• Questions? Contact Bob Bocher
• 608-266-2127, robert.bocher_at_dpi.state.wi.us

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Walk-through of Handouts

• Presentation
• WebJunction
• Bookmarks
• BadgerLink
• ALAs Small but Powerful Guide to Winning Big
  Support for Your Rural Library

• Agenda, Reimbursement
• Continuum worksheets
• Library Connections
• Technology Connections
• Upgrade and Maintenance
• Staff and Patron Training
• Outreach
• Funding
• Advocacy
• Action Plans Samples
• Acknowledgements
• Evaluation

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Background Gates Foundations U.S. Library
Program

• State Library Partnership Program (1999-2003)
• PCs for libraries serving 10 poverty
• 11,000 public libraries received 46,000 PCs
• 242 Wisconsin libraries received 743 PCs
• PC replacements in 2008
• Training and Support Grants (2004-07)
• 238,000 to DLTCL 85 to systems
• Staff technology-related training
• Technology support
• Spanish language program in 2008
• ALA grant on broadband

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Workshop Purpose To enable participants to

• 1) Understand how the Rural Library
  Sustainability Continuum can be used to assess
  their librarys existing Public Access Computing
  (PAC) program.
• 2) Use the areas of the continuum to develop
  action plans to improve existing, or develop new
  PAC programs.
• 3) Use WebJunction as a resource for community
  building and information sharing.
• WebJunction Rural Library Sustainability Forums
• http//www.webjunction.org/forums/category.jspa?ca
  tegoryID98

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Workshop Purpose

• Participant expectations as established by the
  Gates Foundation, include
• Complete the full-day workshop and associated
  documentation
• Participate in any follow-up activities
• Maintain a presence on WebJunction
• Wisconsins Forum
• http//www.webjunction.org/forums/forum.jspa?foru
  mID305

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Local Participant Expectationshttp//www.webjunct
ion.org/do/DisplayContent?id11765

• Develop action plans for implementing selected
  strategies and activities to sustain public
  access computing in your library
• Select a minimum of three activities from the
  action plans to implement in your local community
  in the next 5 months
• Share the workshop experiences, knowledge, and
  resources with your co-workers and library
  administration
• Participate in WebJunctions online community at
  least once a month for the first year following
  the workshop

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Division Technology Programs

• Shared integrated library systems (ILS)
• Have allocated 2.1 million in LSTA since 2001
  
• Shared ILS now in all 17 library systems
• Arrowhead operational in June 2007
• Major increases in LS participation

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Wi Library Technology Strategic Plan

• All residents have access to information from
  libraries and other sources via the statewide
  library network.
• Libraries have collections so serve their
  patrons and are available to other residents via
  the network.
• Training for staff and patrons is provided as
  needed.

dpi.wi.gov/pld/techplan.html
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Division Technology Programs (cont)

• BadgerLink
• Free (state supported) access to over 13,000
  periodicals and other resources
• Fully funded in the governors 2007-09 budget
• BadgerNet (states telecom network)
• Connects 97 of states 388 public libraries
• Cost heavily subsidized by state and E-rate
• Used for shared ILS and Internet traffic
• LSTA technology block grants
• Systems have received 1.67 million since 2004

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Library ConnectionsWebJunction as a Resource

• A few things to know
• WebJunction has over 5,000 resources
• Expectation Participate in the WJ community at
  least once a month for the first year after the
  workshop.
• Tip Subscribe to topics that interest you
  receive email notification.

• Why register for WebJunction?
• Its free!
• It allows access to
• Online courses
• Discussion boards
• Profile posting and private communication
• (optional) monthly newsletter
• (optional) participation in evaluations

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WebJunction (http//webjunction.org)

• Site has three major areas
• Resources
• Courses
• Community

WJ Slides
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Project Continuum

• Designed as a framework to examine your existing
  PAC program, not as an external evaluation.
• Indicate where you are today and where you would
  like to be.
• The continuum is a good tool for discussion and
  development of action plans.

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Project Continuum Library Connections

• Who are you already connected to in the library
  community?
• At the county regional or state level
• Email or discussion lists
• Forums, blogs, WebJunction
• Who do you go to when you have a question? What
  resources do you use?
• What connections would you like to establish with
  the library community?

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Project Continuum Technology Connections

• Who already helps you keep your PACs running? Who
  or what resources do you consult when you have
  questions or problems?
• What kind of assistance do you need to keep your
  PACs working updated?
• Who are some possible people or organizations to
  help keep your PACs working updated?

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Project Continuum Upgrade and Maintenance

• How old are your PACs?
• Do you have a plan for replacing your computers?
  What is it?
• Do you have a technology plan and funds in your
  budget for technology?
• Do you have a maintenance plan? What is it?

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Project Continuum Staff and Patron Training

• What do you need training in?
• Who knows how to do that?
• What do you wish your patrons were better trained
  in?
• Who could do that?
• List people or organizations that you could
  contact to establish a training partnership.
• Share an innovative idea for staff or patron
  training youve already implemented.

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Project Continuum Funding

• What do you now have technology funding for?
• Do you have a line item in your budget for
  technology?
• What do you want to have technology funding for
  that you dont currently have? Wish list?
• What unique or innovative funding resources have
  you found?
• What groups might partner for funding (either
  direct or indirect support)?

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Project Continuum Outreach

• A service which includes activities designed to
  connect, educate and serve non-traditional or
  underserved communities and populations.
• Who in your community have you successfully
  reached out to?
• Who have you not reached out to that you want to
  connect to the library?
• Are there people in your community that could be
  served by technology but dont come to the
  library?
• Who would be a great partner in making these
  connections?

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Project Continuum Advocacy

• Who is already an advocate for your library?
• What are they advocating for?
• What do you want them to advocate for?
• Who else would be great advocate?
• Why is advocacy important for small and rural
  libraries?

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Project Continuum Advocacy Examples

• A Small but Powerful Guide to Winning Big
  Support for Your Rural Library and the online
  toolkit available at
• http//www.ala.org/rural
• Grants
• Library Grants, http//www.librarygrants.blogspot.
  com/
• Proposal writing resources
• http//grants.library.wisc.edu/organizations/propo
  salwebsites.html
• Fundraising
• Friends Groups http//www.wla.lib.wi.us/wlta/
• Donations directly to library
• Endowment funds
• Campaign for WI Libraries

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Action Plans So Far Weve--

• Discussed the goals of this grant and your roles
  as participants
• Examined the continuum as a framework for
  analyzing and growing your existing PAC
• Explored WebJunction as a resource
• Brainstormed applications of the curriculum to
  your libraries

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Focused Brainstorming

• Step 1
• Participants write an activity, a next step, or a
  partner idea on a Post-it to address an area of
  the continuum.
• Table Facilitators will collect Post-its and put
  them on the topic boards.
• Step 2
• Tables will discuss and sort the Post-its into
  logical categories and discuss themes.
• Each table creates a brief presentation to share.

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Action Plans

• Now, its time to begin developing your own
  action plans!
• Take a minute to review the continuum, and then
  choose areas that youre interested in working
  on.
• Using the action plan handout, identify and
  describe where you are now in one area.
• (Example We have a webpage that gets updated
  quarterly)
• Next, envision where youd like to be 5 months
  from now (bottom of the handout).
• (Example Id like our webpage to include RSS
  feeds of local and national news)

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Action Plans

• Finally, identify
• The action that needs to be taken in order to
  accomplish your goal.
• Example Identifying desirable and available RSS
  feeds adding them to website.
• The steps that you think will help to accomplish
  that goal, including
• Who you will need to talk to
• Example Library board, webmaster, patrons, etc.
• Any other information
• Example Does WebJunction have information about
  adding RSS feeds to websites? Do you want to
  survey the community to find out which feeds
  theyd like? Does the board need to approve
  changes to the website?

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Action Plans

• Continue to work (by yourself or with others) on
  your action plans.
• Take some time to share your plans and gather
  input from others.
• Check WebJunction for ideas!
• Discussion of action plans.

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Moving Forward

• PLEASE NOTE We are not requiring that you finish
  all three action plans today, but rather that you
  start on them.
• Finish them over the next week.
• Post them to the Wisconsin forum on WebJunction
• http//www.webjunction.org/forums/forum.jspa?foru
  mID305
• Share the plans with staff, the board, the
  friends, or whatever groups are appropriate for
  carrying your plans forward.

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Follow-up Plan

• 1 week after workshop
• You should complete your action plans.
• Identify 3 activities to carry out.
• 6-12 weeks after workshop
• Tell us how youre doing through the WebJunction
  forum, including
• What youve done
• What you need help with
• Email or call us if you need some additional
  help.
• 5 months after workshop
• Post-workshop survey to be administered by
  WebJunction

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Acknowledgments as Advocacy

• Importance of Acknowledgments
• Who deserves thanks or recognition?
• Methods of Acknowledgment
• Thank-you cards
• Gifts
• Public notices
• Celebrationsdinners, receptions, etc.

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Wrap-Up and Evaluations

• Questions or Comments?
• Evaluations a way to thank the Bill Melinda
  Gates Foundation!

John DeBacher Public Library Administration
Consultant (608/266-7270, john.debacher_at_dpi.state.
wi.us)
Bob Bocher Library Technology Consultant
(608-266-2127, robert.bocher_at_dpi.state.wi.us)