Fall 2011 v.1 n.9
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Kaye has recently joined PLP in a part-time capacity as a Strategic Innovations Consultant and we asked Kaye to introduce herself to our Publines readers.
"I've worked on and off in libraries since 1994, when I was a page for Stanislaus County Library. I went on to clerk at Chico State's Library while getting my Bachelor's in International Relations, which resulted in getting a bookkeeping job, since International Relations opportunities were not thick on the ground in Chico, CA. When I made the decision to go to library school, I began volunteering for Butte County, until I enrolled in SJSU's MLIS program, where I also gained experience as a Library Assistant in SJSU's Special Collections & Archives. My first professional position was at a for-profit career college as a solo librarian, where I learned a lot about databases and teaching students how to use them. I accepted a position with San Jose Public Library in 2007, where I was encouraged to pursue many new responsibilities, including taking on an Acting Branch Manager position, leading a volunteer team as part of the Transforming Life After Fifty grant, becoming a 2009 Eureka Institute Fellow, and leading a large scale outreach program for adult education students as part of an LSTA grant that I was awarded. In January of this year, I received the most precious honor of all and became a mother to twin girls. A mentor suggested that I might find working with PLP the right fit for me and my family, and it is! Feel free to email me anytime for suggestions about how our libraries can work together, at lathe@plpinfo.org."
As you can see from the new graphic, we are upgrading our image! We are in the process of revamping our website, offering a new color scheme, blogging capability, and a cleaner looking site overall. We expect to keep our same URL, plpinfo.org. The new site should roll out by the end of the year, so keep your eyes open for that.
The PLP Executive Committee for 2011-12 met in July and September to define the work plan and priorities for 2011-12. The members of the Executive Committee are: Teresa Landers, President, Santa Cruz City/County Library; Julie Farnsworth, Vice-President, Pleasanton Public Library; John Alita, San Bruno Public Library; Susan Holmer, Menlo Park Public Library; Julie Passalacqua, Santa Clara City Library; Peter Liu, Monterey Institute of International Studies Library; and Carmen Martinez, Oakland Public Library. Carla Lehn is the State Library Liaison to PLP. The Committee adopted the 2011/12 PLP Budget has had discussions on the implications of no CLSA funding for the system. The Committee is interested in seeing PLP pursue a Museum Pass program and asked staff to work with Contra Costa Library, which has a successful "Discover & Go" virtual pass program in place. They also identified a process by which all of PLP will participate in a group decision for database selection, as described in detail in the next article.
PLP DATABASE UPDATE: APPOINTMENT OF A SELECTION TASK FORCE
In July 2012 the contracts for our shared databases (Gale and EBSCO) will expire and PLP will be looking at what the database vendors can offer in a new contract. To that end, a selection task force has been established and a process identified by the PLP Executive Committee.
The PLP Database Selection Task Force consists of two members of the PLP Executive Committee and a representative from the Information Services/Reference Committee of each of the four PLP member cooperative library systems, BALIS, MOBAC, PLS and SVLS. The Task Force has been charged with developing a list of criteria on which to evaluate the available databases and recommend databases based on those criteria.
The previous contracts with Gale and EBSCO involved "bundled" packages of databases which were costly and of varying value to most libraries. The Committee will be working with vendors to unbundle these packages allowing libraries to select the specific databases of most usefulness to them.
On December 8th, the major database vendors, EBSCO, Gale and Proquest will be presenting demonstrations of their current offerings, and librarians from all of the systems will be invited to attend. The demonstrations will be presented at San Jose Public Library Main Library and will be offered twice on that day. The first session will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the second session from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. This will be the primary opportunity for library staff to evaluate the products that are available. We are also planning to make this available via MegaMeeting for those who are unable to travel to San Jose.
Following the December 8th demonstration, the PLP Database Selection Task Force will have the opportunity to discuss the options presented and to rate them based upon the established criteria and the input from staff that attend the December 8th presentation. The PLP Database Selection Task Force through Califa will then work with vendors to establish pricing. By early spring, we hope that libraries will be able to make their selections of databases under the new pricing arrangement.
We hope that this new method will reduce the time-consuming process of selecting databases and result in a range of products that meets the needs, both monetary and intellectual, of all PLP member libraries. Please contact the task force member representing your cooperative library system for further details.
Task Force members:
Linda Santo (Peninsula Library System)
Burlingame Public Library
santo@plsinfo.org
650.558.7434
Inga Labeaune (Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Library System)
City of Monterey Public Library
labeaune@ci.monterey.ca.us
831.646.5602
Henry Bankhead (Silicon Valley Library System)
Los Gatos Public Library
hbankhead@losgatosca.gov
408.354.6800
Kirsten Baldock
Magazines and Newspapers Department
Oakland Public Library
kbaldock@oaklandlibrary.org
510. 238.3176
Facilitators:
John Alita (PLP Executive Committee)
San Bruno Public Library
alita@plsinfo.org
650.616.7017
Susan Holmer (PLP Executive Committee)
Menlo Park Public Library
holmer@plsinfo.org
650.330.2510
The PLP subscription to Career Transitions expires on November 28, 2011 for all PLP members. Since this LSTA-funded product was not part of our overall database contract, please contact Terry Jackson at jackson@plsinfo.org if you are interested in renewing; and we can work to get the best price through Califa as a group and work to bring the subscription into sync with the process described above. Another product that deserves consideration is Career Cruising; check it out at www.careercruising.com. They are a Califa vendor and since all libraries in PLP have Califa memberships, contact Heather Teysko at hteysko@califa.org to take advantage of the best pricing.
MEGAMEETING:
A GREAT TOOL FOR ONLINE CONFERENCING BROUGHT TO YOU BY PLP
PLP staff asked Henry Bankhead, Library Manager for Adult Services at Los Gatos Public Library, to write this article for us as he is a heavy user of this service. Since our subscription began, PLP members have used MegaMeeting 155 times for over 33,000 minutes but we know there is a wider audience out there that can benefit from its use.
MegaMeeting can make your work life easier. For members of PLP, there is a free subscription to this useful tool so there is no reason not to try it. You will no longer have to drive to attend meetings in person. Instead, you can meet and discuss with your colleagues from the ease and comfort of your desktop. In addition, MegaMeeting makes live meetings with committees that are spread across the country, or the world, very possible. We began using MegaMeeting for our ALA RUSA/MARS VRDG discussion group committee meetings in the summer of 2010. MegaMeeting allowed our group to participate in discussions by voice, video and chat at the same time. Setting up a meeting is quite easy in the administrative interface; you can make your meetings secure with password protection or very open and accessible depending upon your needs. In addition, MegaMeeting allows for desktop sharing for presentations and co-authoring. In fact, at the 2011 Future of Libraries 6 Conference at the San Francisco Library, MegaMeeting was used to allow remote presenters in Colorado to explain their use of BISAC call numbers to organize their library collection.
To use MegaMeeting, all you will need is a personal computer; for an experience beyond online chat you should have headphones and a peripheral webcam with an integrated microphone.
MegaMeeting is most effective when used with a mid-to-high end computer with an integrated webcam (like an iMac), though it can be used as a basic chat interface without any additional technology. Peripheral cameras are also an option, but they are a bit more challenging to set up. There is no separate phone functionality, as there is with WebEx. Voice over IP (VOIP) voice communication is accomplished by microphone, so if your computer or camera does not have an integrated microphone you will need that also (most cameras also have a microphone, however). Headphones will always be required in order to prevent feedback and echoing through the system.
Once you figure out what camera configuration works best for you, you will be able to enjoy online meeting. The PLP system can handle as many as 25 concurrent users at a time; specific hosts' logins however would typically handle no more than 8 users. In addition to desktop sharing, you can poll the meeting, create surveys and use a whiteboard or note board to create visuals and record ideas. You can also refer to the handy user guide at http://www.MegaMeeting.com/help/productGuide.pdf Try MegaMeeting!
THE LIBRARY GRANT FUND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
In April of 2011, PLP implemented a component of their LSTA grant by contracting with DJT Consulting Group, a grant writing, research, analysis and evaluation company, to provide technical assistance to libraries. DJT then designed a survey for the PLP member libraries in order to determine the primary needs related to grant funding. Results demonstrated that the overwhelming need was for technical assistance in finding grants for which the libraries were eligible and in matching specific needs or projects to grant opportunities. In July, two of DJT Consulting Group's principals conducted a webinar at the PLP office. The webinar provided more information about the project, the types of free services that could be accessed, how to access these services, and tips related to searching for grant funding and preparing applications. Five libraries expressed interest in being involved in the project. Of those, four were "eligible" for free services; one request was outside the scope of this project. DJT met with the four libraries in August – all in very different regions - to identify the support that was needed. Follow-up work conducted in August and September included reviewing past grant proposals and submitting a written analysis of ways to strengthen them; providing a written "competitiveness analysis" to a library for a specific grant opportunity; providing a general list of grant search resources; researching and providing a mix of foundation, corporate and government funding opportunities for specific projects in a "funder resources" spreadsheet for three libraries; conducting reviews of local census and other data for two libraries to see if anything stood out that could be used to emphasize need in grant proposals; and providing tips on ways to conduct and track grant searches. DJT Consulting reports back that they very much enjoyed working with PLP and participating in the project.
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