cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Kickstarting the eCard: Expanding Library Access to Students in Your Community

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Introductions Amy Wyckoff Loft Manager, The Loft at ImaginOn Martha Yesowitch Educational Partnerships Manager

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Summary Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (CML) carried out an eCard pilot during the school year in partnership with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) students and their teachers gained access to our electronic resources for educational and entertainment purposes. In September 2015, CML and CMS partnered to offer ONE Access, granting access to all CMS students using student ID numbers.

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Goals for This Session Overview of the partnership between CML and CMS Challenges and successes we faced as the eCard pilot grew into the ONE Access Initiative Tips for how to start the process at your library system, including ideas for planning, marketing, school outreach, and outcome measurement

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) has approximately 147,000 students in 168 schools across Mecklenburg County Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (CML) serves nearly 300,000 active card holders with an annual circulation of over 6 million Inspired by Pew Research Center finding that 85% of Americans want their libraries to work more closely with local schools to provide resources Memo of Understanding (MOU) between the two organizations in began to shape our formal partnership Building a Partnership

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary During the school year, CML piloted an eCard in 7 Project L.I.F.T. schools for students in 6-12 th grade Students were granted 24/7 access to the Library's electronic resources to help them achieve their academic goals and develop digital literacy skills The purpose of the eCards was to allow the Library to serve as an extension of the classroom with a goal to maximize student achievement eCard Pilot

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Students were not able to check out physical materials with their card, but this also meant they could not accrue fines Cards were distributed to HR teachers with an informational brochure about benefits of these cards All school staff had a brief training on utilizing the cards CML staff visited classrooms to present eCard and library resource information Logistics of the eCard Pilot

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary E card brochure

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary

Over 50 online databases for students to use for homework and projects e-books e-magazines Downloadable music Streaming videos Free online tutoring NC Knows – Live Online Help from a Librarian Available Resources

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary What We Learned Timing is crucial Limited access cards were not attractive Marketing is needed to raise awareness regarding the project Make sure all stakeholders are on board. Beware the danger of the “pilot” Make sure process for students is as simple as possible (ideally using a student ID number) Alter the CML/CMS MOU to allow for broader data sharing

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary “Blue Card” project at CML eCard Pilot at CML Nashville Public Library’s Limitless Libraries ( Tacoma Public Library’s Pathways Pilot Project ( Inspiration for ONE Access

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary ONE Access is a collaboration between Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools beginning fall 2015 All 147,000 CMS students can now use their Student ID number to access and check out CML resources – no card needed! Their CMS Student ID number is their library account number. The PIN is the last 4 digits of the Student ID What is ONE Access?

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Worked with Horizon/Sirsi-Dynix administrators to allow Horizon to recognize CMS ID numbers Worked with variety of online vendors to allow authentication of these varying account numbers Made decisions about policies and procedures that set ONE Access accounts apart from standard library cards A letter went out to all parents during the launch of the initiative to inform parents about ONE Access and give them the opportunity to opt-out of participation ONE Access Technical Logistics

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary ONE Access accounts allow students to borrow e-resources and access library databases just like any other CML library card Access the Internet in library branches Students can also borrow up to 10 print or audiobooks (no DVDs or music CDs) There are no overdue fines for ONE Access accounts, but users are responsible for fees for lost items What can students access?

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Raise awareness about Library resources among students, their families, CMS staff, and the greater Charlotte community Students will begin to see the Library as an extension of the classroom and as a critical tool to academic success Increase number of active CML accounts and circulation of print and digital resources ONE Access Goals

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Awareness building began internally with universal staff training Push to present at teacher professional development over the summer Initiative was launched at joint press conference with CMS officials, highlighting the partnership and project Marketing ONE Access

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Continuing contact with CMS curriculum coordinators to reach teachers across subject areas ONE Access part of strategic marketing plan for library as a whole Targeted publicity to parents and students via partnership with CMS marketing department Marketing ONE Access

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary We have asked teachers to: Demonstrate how to use library resources, which will help students feel more comfortable and help them develop digital literacy skills Use these resources to enhance lessons, such as the PBS Video Collection, e-audiobooks, and primary source materials Direct students to explore the Library’s databases whenever students need to find more information on a given subject Remind students they can visit any of CML’s 20 locations to check out books or ask for research assistance Inspiring Teacher Buy-in

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Usage is tracked both via Horizon ILS and our marketing and analytics tool, OrangeBoy ONE Access accounts are specifically identified to make OrangeBoy tracking easy We can monitor circulation and use of specific online resources Goals for first semester activation have been set Measuring Impact

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ONE Access style accounts for CMS teachers Courier service for CML materials reserved by CMS students Expanded curriculum support and specific content curation on our new discovery layer for the public-facing catalog coming this spring Growing the Initiative (future maybes)

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary eAccounts for all 5500 Mecklenburg County employees using their Employee ID numbers will allow access to Lynda.com and other online resources Exploring future partnerships with parochial, private, and charter schools Upcoming Initiatives

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Develop relationships with school administrators and secure buy-in for the project Garner support from library administration Understand technical needs and work with IT to overcome challenges Decide where marketing dollars will come from and create plan Put together a team to develop policies and procedures Tips to Help with the Planning Process

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Draft a Memo of Understanding with school system about data sharing that meets legal requirements of both organizations Educational campaign for librarians and teachers Marketing campaign for students and families Maintain flexibility as the project rolls out Report outcomes to stakeholders Tips to Help with the Planning Process

cmlibrary.org | #cmlibrary Feel free to contact us for more information: Amy Wyckoff Martha Yesowitch Questions?