Welcome! Collaboration and Resource Sharing in Small Specialized Libraries April 2013 OLA/WLA Conference Presenters: Laura Wilt – Oregon Department of Transportation Kathy Szolomayer – Washington State Department of Transportation

What We’ve Done & How We Did It Introduction to the Landscape The Players Networks & Networking Communication Accomplishments & Benefits What’s Next for Us? Tips to Start & Lessons Learned Q & A

Transportation Libraries Who are they? Generally small, either solo librarians or small staff Federal, state, and local governments, as well as corporations Serve a wide variety of information needs within and outside of the parent organization

The Players

We are a Community!

From Local Customers... DOT Library Planners Administration (Director’s office, etc.) Public Special Programs Other DOTs/ Agencies/ Corporations Engineers Research Other Libraries

... To the National Landscape... To the National Landscape State DOTs AASHTO FHWAFHWA/ US DOT TRB Other Transportation Organizations

The Networks

TRB LIST The Networked Librarian! SLA Transportation Division TKNs FHWA Pooled Fund Study AASHTO RAC TKN Task Force National Transportation Library Transportation Librarians Roundtable

The Networks (Cont.) In the Beginning SLA Transportation DivisionSLA Transportation Division (1943) GTRIC (1977)

Networks (Cont.) And Then… TRB’s Committee on Library and Information Science in Transportation (1999)Library and Information Science in Transportation National Transportation Library National Transportation Library (1998) US DOT Library formed (1969) NTL & US DOT Library merged (2008)

The Networks (Cont.) Transportation Library Connectivity and Development FHWA Pooled Fund Study

The Networks (Cont.) And things really started speeding up with Transportation Knowledge Networks!

The Networks (Cont.)

National Coordinating Committee and NTL Western Transportation Knowledge Network (WTKN) Midwest Transportation Knowledge Network (MTKN) Future Regional & Topical TKNs Eastern Transportation Knowledge Network (ETKN)

The Networks (Cont.) And remember that map?

The Networks, (Cont.) But wait – there’s more! Transportation Librarian’s Roundtable AASHTO RAC TKN Task Force

How we Function Grassroots effort Membership voluntary No membership fees Pooled Fund study provides some funding for projects that benefit the community SLA Transportation Division hosts TranLIB

How We Communicate

Listservs TKN Listservs Pooled Fund Listserv (Libcon) SLA Transportation Division (Tranlib)

How We Communicate Virtual/Web-based Face-to-Face GTRIC (SLA Conference) Pooled Fund annual meeting National Transportation Knowledge Networks (NTKN) annual meeting Meetings

How We Communicate Websites WTKN MTKN ETKN Individual library pages

Projects, Products, & Marketing Creating a brand – making our stamp. How do we make ourselves known to our customers??

Projects, Products, & Marketing Logos

Projects, Products, & Marketing Publications

Projects, Products, & Marketing TKN Video, courtesy of Oklahoma DOT MZXdss

Projects, Products, & Marketing Digital Projects

Projects, Products, & Marketing Templates for Reports and PowerPoints

Projects, Products, & Marketing National TKN Resource Sharing Project Nov 2008 – Mar 2010 Sponsored by Transportation Library Connectivity Pooled Fund Study grant to subsidize FedEx shipping for nearly 50 transportation libraries and information centers across the country Objectives: Prioritized lending for TKN partners; access to ILL network for non-OCLC libraries; no cost to borrowers Result: Increased resource sharing within the network, decreased turnaround time on requests and non-OCLC libraries had access to collections previously not available to them

Outstanding Successes Transportation libraries and librarians on the awards podium! MnDOT Library: ALA’s John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award (2012)ALA’s John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award SLA Rising Stars 2013: Kendra Levine from ITS Berkeley and Aileen Marshall, USDA Nat’l Agricultural Library (formerly from National Transportation Library)Rising Stars Library Journal’s Movers and Shakers award: Kenn Bicknell from LA MetroMovers and Shakers

What’s next for us? On tap for emerging or future projects Collaborative digitization projects Shared literature searches / research results – why reinvent the wheel? Continued group subscriptions Portal for transportation-related knowledge management resources The sky’s the limit!

So, this sounds good, but… How would such a network benefit me? Career / Professional Development Access to colleagues who are sounding boards (especially important to solo librarians) Educational opportunities through webinars, peer exchange, conferences The “energizing jolt” of associating with peers – renews one’s professional idealism, and can motivate and inspire us to reach for new goals Develop amazing friendships!

This still sounds good … How do I translate it to my situation?? How would I get something started? Identify the types of libraries that would share a similar range of interest. And remember - it doesn’t have to be identical! Start with what you know. Contact other librarians that you know, share your ideas with them, and obtain contacts from them. Think outside the box. Sometimes, good contacts might come from outside of traditional libraries. Begin meeting on a regular basis; establish goals and structure. Outreach and network!!

Okay, how do I... How do I justify participation in organizations outside my agency/corporations? Keep statistics. Show how services can increase with expanded resources through networked libraries. Electronic subscriptions will continue to become the norm, putting budget constraints on individual libraries. Collaborative subscriptions can offer significant discounts. Give the decision makers an opportunity to see what other organizations are doing, and what could be accomplished through shared resources. Find and develop advocates from your management Market yourself! Show how participation can make your library an even more valuable resource to your organization and community.

I’m sold! Now... How do you get the funding to get started? Finally -

Money?? Who said anything about money???

Finding Support Most organizations recognize the benefits of professional development, and may offer support by allowing time to participate, providing software for virtual meetings – sometimes funding professional memberships and conference attendance Potential for grants, etc., for collaborative projects Show how you are aligned with your organization’s mission, and build on that Engage folks within your organization to enlist their support State libraries can be great resources

Finding the Connections

Expanding the Networks

Lessons Learned Just do it! If you think collaboration/networking would help you, it will probably be of interest to others Identify some objectives that a group might be able to accomplish that you cannot do on your own Build on existing informal relationships or establish new and creative connections Be assured that small amounts of time with a focused community can return big benefits

Conclusion and Q & A Contact Information: Laura: Kathy: Questions?