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Member in attendance: Vickie Hoff, Shelly King, Ada Howard, Marcia Wright,
Sid Stanfill, Keith Cottam, Frances Clymer, Crys Stratton, Laurie Lye, Kathy
Carlson, Michelle Havenga
Members absent: Kathy Tacke, Kate Kelly
State Library attendees: Lesley Boughton, Jerry Krois, Linn Rounds, Joe
French, Corky Walters, Venice Beske, Bobbi Thorpe, Brian Greene
Special Guests: Jan Segerstrom. Lynnette Anderson and Debbie Sturman were
invited but unable to attend.
Meeting Facilitator: Suzanne Walters Clarke, Evergreen, Colorado
State Librarian's Welcoming remarks:
Lesley Boughton welcomed the group with the observation that timing is
everything. She stated that she was unsure of the role or focus of this group
when she became state librarian in January of 1999. But the time is right to
reconvene the council to take leadership roles in several state issues:
$240,000 for statewide licensing of databases, WYLD's identity with
legislators, various resource sharing issues, Information Power efforts and
implications, library education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels,
Early Childhood Development Council efforts, and library roles in the age of
the Internet. Like other libraries we need to start asking the question,
"what is our 'preferred future' and how do we get there."
Reconvening the Council
Suzanne Walters Clarke was introduced as facilitator for the meeting to
assist the group in determining if it should continue in some advisory capacity
and which issues it should address. In this part of the meeting Clarke invited
members to express their concerns and frustrations with past work as well as
opportunities which this group could build upon.
Individuals shared the good and bad things about the previous meetings of
the Resource Sharing Council. Members expressed their uncertainty of directions
and outcomes, the lines of communications, expected support for state library
ideas, and the definition of 'advisory' council. Specific statements included:
"There was an enthusiasm for collaboration, it just may not have been
channeled well." "We were not sure why we existed." "We are
a vast state with limited resources. We are rugged individualists who are
socialists at heart." "There is widening gap between have and
have-nots. Haves are coming from other areas. They have high expectations but
are 'rugged individualists."
Identifying the development issues in the state
Clarke steered the attendees into brainstorming on possible topics or work
for the Resource Sharing Council. The first topic was library strengths.
Responses included: the council is representative of the Wyoming library
community, librarians have an enthusiasm for collaboration, librarians have
some common goals, the Library Services and Technology Act five year plan is
influential, libraries have shared and interlocking customers, librarians have
legislative clout, WYLD supports library efforts, communications within the
state is fairly strong, librarians provide 'high touch' services.
An environmental scan by participants identified the following influencing
our preferred future: Internet growth, telecommunication providers and their
practices, licensing issues, increasing expectations from users, diversity
among users, technological change, intellectual freedom, local control
philosophy. Additional influential elements are Wyoming's economy and outlook,
the widening gap between those who have and those who don't have, information
literacy, resistance to change by some individuals and institutions, and not
fully utilizing the available resources of the state.
Clarke asked the participants to identify areas of concern in the library
community. The attendees identified twenty one topics and then asked to mark
the top four issues. The following list is the result of the exercise in
descending order:
- Training and education
- Marketing and advocacy
- Advocacy for school librarians to the Wyoming Department of Education
- Internet collection development and selection, portal page
- Address Intellectual Freedom and First Amendment issues
- Collection Development - cooperation, subjects
- Statewide database licensing
- Statewide borrowing
- Childhood education
- Distance education
- Cooperation
- Joint facilities
- Libraries' role in e-commerce (Greene will monitor this)
- Interlibrary loans
- Equity of resources
- Communication within local communities - among ourselves
- Mentoring across communities
- Collaborative fundraising
- Political subdivision status of State Library within state government
- WYLD
- LSTA Advisory function
Clarke established discussion groups for the top four topics and charged
each group to report out goals, objectives and issues.
1.Training & education: Frances Clymer, Keith Cottam, Brian Greene,
Jerry Krois, Laurie Lye, Jan Segerstrom, Sid Stanfill, Crystal Stratton, Bobbi
Thorpe
2. Advocacy for School librarians - Lesley Boughton, Ada Howard and Shelly
King
3. Marketing and Advocacy - Kathy Carlson, Joe French, Michelle Havenga,
Vickie Hoff, and Linn Rounds.
4. Internet Collection Development - Venice Beske, Corky Walters, and Marcia
Wright
Other reporting elements should be considered: Who, What, How, Where, How
often, Results, Resources needed, Support needed, Other people or organizations
involved, Other suggestions.
After a ninety-minute group planning discussion, the groups reported back to
the council.
Training and Education
Goal: to ensure that people involved with libraries receive the
appropriate training
Objectives:
- Identify what training needs exist (K-12 library
personnel has a list of training needs and State Library currently conducting a
CE survey).
- Investigate workforce analysis and development.
- Facilitate methods of delivery.
- Evaluate/assess effectiveness of training experiences.
Training Issues were identified: Information Literacy Skills, Advocacy,
Hands-on-skills, Customer service training, Peer-to-peer/team building, Science
of teaching, Leadership training and visioning, Organizational management and
vision, Information power awareness/implementation.
Advocacy for school librarians with state Department of
Education
Goal: The value of school libraries shall be recognized in
Wyoming
Objectives: Information Power will be integrated throughout the
curriculum in three school districts in 2000/01 school year; The current
Information Power Task Force will meet in the summer, 2000 to develop
strategies for implementation; One program will be provided to a state
conference of policy makers.; Update and strengthen "Bottom Line,
Libraries Lead to Learning"; investigate a presentation by Keith Curry
Lance of Colorado State Library to Wyoming Board of Education.
The State Library could play the following roles: Identify and recognize
best practices, find funds or grants for Information Power training,
facilitators, materials, travel and substitutes; alert librarians to related
regional training and continuing education events, encourage the State
Librarian to attend State Board of Education meetings; promote the formation of
peer groups in all counties of the state.
Marketing and advocacy
Goal: Strengthen Wyoming libraries through marketing
Objectives: Develop/recruit regional representation; Train
professionally on fundamentals of marketing; Meet regularly to develop and
implement marketing plans and promotional ideas.
Internet collection development
Goal/Objectives - Have an easily recognizable gateway to Internet
resources. Develop a coordinated statewide effort to get resources. The gateway
should offer access to a core set of resources, offer simplicity in design, be
a constant for users (offering excitement), and give libraries the option to
use the gateway as the library's opening screen. The new ACLIN site may serve
as a model: http://www.aclin.org. Issues
include a conventional name for the gateway, possible short and recognizable
address, and user friendliness. This gateway should be operational by August
2000 in anticipation of student use and librarian training for the next school
year. This project will require coordination with following groups of this
Council: Training and Education plus Marketing and Advocacy. A special project
team will meet face-to-face in June 2000 to begin planning.
Roles, processes and responsibilities for the Council
Clarke facilitated discussion on the future of the group: Do we need a
Council? Why do we need a Council? Do we need a strategic plan? What structure
should be adopted? What size should the group be? What is the appropriate
representation? Boughton stated that she wants a shared direction and needs a
forum from which the State Library gets advice. Members indicated serving more
as a "think tank" which the state librarian can call upon for advice
on emerging issues or events and less as a formal organization which has
bylaws, terms of membership, and agendas. This would allow for adding other
expertise to the group if appropriate for recommendations on an issue. This
also allows state library managers to serve in liaison capacity to
subcommittees.
Actions and directions of the Council
Boughton appointed Linn Rounds to serve as convener for a marketing and
advocacy retreat of the group members and special guests.
Each committee will need to finalize goals and objectives for its topic,
listing what and how many resources are needed to do the goals and objectives,
identify an action plan with target dates, and ideas for evaluating
outcomes.
A recommendation was made that the group review the twenty one issues to
identify which parts of the library community are already addressing any of
them and if anything needs to be done to assist with outcomes.
The target date for the next meeting of the group is August 11, 2000 in
Casper. Clarke challenged the attendees to come to that meeting ready to
finalize the council's mission, vision and name for itself."
Notes by Brian Greene and Jerry Krois
June 5, 2000
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