State of the State Library Rebecca Hamilton State Librarian Louisiana Library Association Annual Conference March 4 - 6, 2008

Agenda Current Status Strategic Plan Overview Mission Four Primary Needs Wrap Up

Since the Storms of 339 libraries closed 321 now open Working with Gates, ALC, SOLINET to facilitate rebuilding efforts. Over $70,000 from private donors donated for rebuilding.

What is Happening Now… State of our budget Impact of new administration SLOL staffing

Other Items… New ILL System Funding to upgrade Internet requested College of DuPage Digital Archives Gumbo Project Spanish Language Outreach Program Lanter

Summer Reading Program

LBF Attendance

SBPH

Internet Workstations Statewide

Strategic Plan Four needs to be addressed: 1. Low literacy rates in Louisiana; 2. General poverty and limited library services in some rural areas; 3. Additional services to special populations; 4. Integration of technology for ease of use and optimization.

Mission The mission of the State Library of Louisiana is to foster a culture of literacy, promote awareness of our state’s rich literary heritage and ensure public access to and preservation of informational, educational, cultural and recreational resources, especially those unique to Louisiana.

Four Primary Needs Needs To Be Addressed with Federal Funding

Need #1: Foster a culture of literacy and a love of reading among Louisiana’s children.

Summary Needs Assessment: 80% read below proficient level. 42% of children live in a home where no adult has a full time job. 44% have no computer and 53% have no Internet access. 25% of population over 25 is a high school dropout.

Key Output Targets: Increase participation in children’s programs to 110,000 per year. Present early childhood literacy workshops for public library staff. Present early childhood literacy workshops for early care and education staff. Increase attendance at children’s programs at the Louisiana Book Festival.

Key Outcome Targets Improve children’s scores on reading tests. Show that participating in the SRP maintains or improves reading proficiency.

How We Are Going To Do It: Target collection development, library staff training, and reading programs. Activities will include: Improve children’s collections. Time frame Provide access to online tutoring (not funded for FY Will try again.) Build children’s portal to the Louisiana Library Connection. Time frame Continue to provide assistance for children’s and teen reading programs. Time Frame Partner with entities to raise literacy level. Time frame

Need #2: Provide support & training to enable public library staff to meet basic needs of their communities. Emphasis on increasing percentage of public libraries that meet “essential” standards as established by the LLA

Summary Needs Assessment: Low salaries. Most-needed services: Assistance with buildings. Help with technology. Helping to attract/retain qualified librarians. 92% satisfied with services. Only affordable training is that offered by State Library. Circulation below national average.

Key Output Targets: Provide consulting visits to at least 80% of public libraries each year. Provide a minimum of 80 educational opportunities per year for public library staff.

Key Outcome Targets: Improve public library service so that 10% more public libraries reach or exceed the “Essential” Louisiana standard by No Louisiana citizen will be more than a 30 minute drive away from a library offering free Internet access.

How We Are Going To Do It: Improve workshops; establish CE Advisory Committee. Time frame: Provide consulting in all areas of library administration. Time frame Leadership institute for middle managers. Time frame Traveling technology consultant. Time frame Training in collection development. Time frame Master Trainer Program. Time frame

Need #3: Improve services to special needs populations through increased outreach and implementation of digital technologies.

Summary Needs Assessment: 74,880 have difficulty using a library. 10.7% are active users of SBPH. Technologies are outdated; equipment difficult to acquire and repair. 36,662 prisoners incarcerated. Recidivism rate is 43%. Influx of Hispanic workers following storms. Vietnamese population is 24,358.

Key Output Targets: Increase attendance of minorities at the Louisiana Book Festival. Increase SBPH usage by nursing homes, schools and other institutions by 5%. Increase usage of SBPH services to pre- hurricane levels.

Key Outcome Targets Increase SBPH services to nursing homes by 5%. Increase SBPH circulation to pre-hurricane levels.

How We Are Going To Do It: Outreach to special needs populations with emphasis on non-English speaking residents. Migrate BPH users to digital media. Time frame Rotate large print materials. Time frame Train prison library workers. Time frame Continue to produce recorded books of LA materials. Time frame Develop foreign language collection and offer via ILL. Time frame Hi-Lo collection for prison libraries. Time frame Assist libraries in meeting ADA requirements. Time frame

Need #4: Provide “go-to” gateway by integrating library material into a comprehensive virtual library for Louisiana citizens.

Summary Needs Assessment: Some public libraries have no web page or static web page. Some public libraries do not have online catalog on web. Statewide databases are located on a separate URL. Public library collections invisible to major search engines. An OCLC report revealed that library websites are seldom the place where information seekers begin their search.

Key Output Targets: Database searches will reach 1,000,000 by ILL will increase by 10% by Provide Erate and technology planning assistance to public libraries.

Key Outcome Targets: Every citizen will be within a 30 minute drive of a library offering free access to the Internet. 100% of public libraries will provide an online catalog for their communities. 100% of public libraries will have a non-static, current website that they are able to maintain themselves.

How We Are Going To Do It: Emphasize technology support and training, integration of existing technology resources and increased ease of use for the patrons. Specific activities are: Electronic access to core set of databases; redesign the existing website; design children’s portal. Time frame: Implement new ILL system. Time frame: NOW Launch a cooperative virtual reference service. Time frame: Continue to provide support to enable libraries to offer free access to the Internet. Time frame: One union catalog for all libraries that will be visible on the Web. Time frame

We’d Like to Hear from YOU Our questions: What more can we do for you? What can we do better? What should we stop doing? Grade our services, response time and professionalism Share your vision with us Give us feedback on our common goals