ODL Director's Report

For the October 26, 2001 ODL Board Meeting

Another important and time-consuming activity was the trustee advocacy workshops. The grant from the Libraries for the Future funded the travel by the two presenters, Ellen Miller and Patricia Owens. ODL was invited to apply for this grant because of the low level of per capita support for libraries in the state. The presenters discussed the role of trustees in advocacy and introduced the participants to tools and techniques to use in telling the library story to city officials and other funding sources. Evaluations indicated that attendees rated the information as important and well presented.

The workshops were held in Norman, Altus, Woodward, Atoka, and Collinsville during the first two weeks of October. In total approximately 115 people attended the sessions. Donna Skvarla and I attended each of these workshops. Public library development staff attended the ones held in their region. I was very pleased that Duchess Bartmess was able to attend the Norman meeting. Benny Briggs had planned to attend the Altus session but was unable to make it unfortunately. Having just gotten back to the office today from the last one, I am tired and relieved to have them finished.

In addition, I�ve gotten out to represent ODL during this time. I attended the groundbreaking for the Hardesty branch of the Tulsa City-County Library System on September 14th, made a brief presentation at the Literacy Coalition conference in Tulsa on September 22nd, and attended the grand opening of the Charles Page Library in Sand Springs on September 28th, another branch of the Tulsa City-County Library System. 

I attended the first Oklahoma Literary Landmark designation in Okemah on October 5th. While traveling from Altus to Woodward to present the trustee workshop during the first week of October, I took the opportunity to visit the Sayre public library, the Cheyenne public library, the Elk City public library, and the Shattuck public library. While traveling from Atoka to Collinsville, we visited the Eufaula public library, the Checotah public library, the regional headquarters of the Eastern Oklahoma District Library System in Muskogee, and the Wagoner public library. I also was one of the presenters at the Tulsa City-County staff development day on October 8th. I�m rounding out the week by giving a speech to the University of Oklahoma library faculty on October 11th. I�m thinking seriously about taking a day off.

Oklahoma Department of Libraries Board Meeting
October 26, 2001
Administrator�s Report

Library and Technical Services
Mary Hardin

The focus for Library and Technical Services this fiscal year is to evaluate and gather meaningful statistics to reflect the activities and work of the unit. To that extent we will be gathering and reporting various types of statistical information. Additionally, it seems that I am always reporting an upgrade or a migration to for any one of our service points. This type activity reflects the ever changing library environment and ability to provide service in our fast pace society.

Interlibrary Loan Services: The statewide interlibrary loan network upgraded to a new platform in August. This has not been without some instability for interlibrary loan statewide. The bugs are continuing to be addressed by our vendor Auto-Graphics. The ODL interlibrary loan staff introduced the new look to librarians statewide at ODL on September 6th. To look at the statewide catalog go to the ODL homepage and click on the catalog link. The first of two training workshops has been held on October 3, 2001, in the Training Lab at ODL. Cathy Van Hoy consultant for libraries in the eastern part of the state has arranged for ILL training in Muskogee of public libraries on October 23rd.

Cataloging: Cataloging spends much of its time maintaining the various databases/catalogs that are accessed by state government and/or libraries statewide. Libraries statewide are able to attach their local holdings to the statewide catalog. For those materials not found in the statewide catalog, an online form is available through ODL for libraries to submit records to our head cataloger for input. This form became available in October.

Items added by Location in September 2001:

Oklahoma Room: The Oklahoma Room hosted the monthly reference meeting of Main and Law reference staff. Vertical file maintenance continues with 290 vertical file pages copied for preservation. As part of a LSTA grant, Kitty Pittman is conducting two preservation workshops in Muskogee and Clinton. The presenter is a preservation expert from Amigos.

Database reminder: Check out the resources via the Department�s web catalog at http://catalog.odl.state.ok.us.

Reference: There was a noticeable drop in the walk-in patrons:

Patron Count

Interesting questions received in September are: �Do we have the 2000 book on the market prices of sand,� �I need information on negative and positive rights�the philosophy of like you have the right not to wear your seat belt or your motorcycle helmet.�

Circulation: A feature of our online circulation system is the ability for patrons to generate requests from remote locations referred to as �call slips.� The materials are retrieved from the collection and sent to the appropriate site. 102 call slips were generated in September. We added nine new patrons. 

Office of Library Development

A new Oklahoma City artist has been chosen to do the art work for the 2002 Summer Reading Program, �Books Ahoy: Sail through the Summer with Stories.� Danny Gordon is a talented young artist, who is very enthusiastic about this new assignment. He has already done the preliminary sketches for the poster, bookmarks, stickers, book bags and reading logs. We are looking forward to working with Danny.

In September, a Share Fare was held here at ODL for children�s� librarians. Approximately 65 people attended from all areas of the state. The purpose of the Share Fare was to evaluate the summer reading program, to discuss what activities and programs worked well and to have an introduction to next summer�s planned activities. It also provides a forum for children�s librarians to share ideas with each other�a good time was had by all.

Library Development staff met with the director and staff of the Bird Health Sciences Center Library to discuss an extension of the Oklahoma Health Connection Project. This was a pilot project funded last year by the National Library of Medicine to provide training to library staff to improve their capability of handling consumer health questions. The initial program included eight municipal libraries and two library systems. This new grant would extend the training to the other six library systems. This has been a successful and well-received project and we hope to continue this partnership with the Health Sciences library staff.

Most of the Library Development staff attended the first Literary Landmark celebration in Okemah honoring Woody Guthrie. Friends of Libraries in Oklahoma (FOLIO) were instrumental in planning and implementing this event. A FOLIO Board meeting was held in conjunction with the celebration.

On October 29, a workshop for children�s librarians will be held at Coles Garden featuring Dr. Lester Laminack. He will speak about early childhood literacy and using literature with children. 

CARTWRIGHT � Law & Legislative Reference
Highlights of August-September, 2001
40.3 working days

LIBRARY SERVICES TO OKLAHOMANS

Library Use

• 2,432 library users
• 2,108 walk-ins
• 439 public computer users

Reference Assistance by professional librarians

• 363 hours public reference desk staffing
• 47 hours off-desk in reference assistance
• 7 hours research
• 544 reference/research questions (45 required research), with 69% being from public and 31% from state government
• Five (5) �50-state� statute searches performed for the legislature

Interlibrary Loan

• 200 requests (with 89 from prisons) received
• 175 requests filled from Cartwright collection materials

Services to state government

• Resource Guide for Library Catalogs prepared and distributed to House and Senate researchers
• Public relations contact made with following offices: Governor, Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, Court of Appeals, Attorney General, House Research, Senate Committee Staff, Department of Education, Tax Commission, & Department of Health

PERSONNEL

Recruitment for librarian

• Job remains unfilled; two candidates turned us down due to salary

Recruitment for library technician

• Conducted eight (8) interviews, with one pending in early October

Continuing Education

• Two (2) joint meetings were held for reference librarians from Cartwright and Main to discuss common challenges and opportunities, to share resources and to educate each other about their specialties

News from the ODL Public Information Office
Submitted by PIO Manager Bill Young
for the October 26, 2001 ODL Board Meeting
Prepared October 10, 2001

@ your library Campaign: Monarch Marketing received the bid to produce and place television commercials for the public awareness campaign this fall. Monarch is primarily a media buying company, and they have contracted with Plum Films to produce the TV advertising. Two commercials promoting Oklahoma�s public libraries are being prepared the week of October 8, and will air on selected broadcast and cable stations from October 17 through the end of the year. 

One commercial is graphics driven, and is geared toward teens. The other commercial, aimed at a diversity of public library patrons, was filmed on October 8 at Norman Public Library. We appreciate the folks at the Pioneer Library System and the Norman branch for accommodating us that day. Pioneer Director Mary Sherman, Public Information Officer Maria Carpenter, Norman Branch Manager Susan Gregory, and Pioneer staff members Sandy Shropshire and Fariba Williams were all wonderful and a great help to us. We also thank Scott Carter, Metropolitan Library System�s Public Relations Manager, for assisting with selection of the vendor. ODL PIO staff member Bill Petrie deserves a special �kudos� for working with the film crew, producer, talent, and Pioneer staff.

We also hired a still photographer to capture some of the scenes set up for the film commercial. These will be used on our website, and on flyer and print ad templates that local libraries may adapt. Radio ad scripts will also be developed. Video copies of the commercials, with room for local identification tags, will also be provided to public libraries to place on local cable stations. ODL�s LSTA grant has gone completely to the production and statewide placement of the television spots. Any local media placement would have to be paid locally at this time. Paying for advertising is new to libraries, so we expect this to be an important learning experience.

As reported before, the campaign utilizes the �@ your library� theme and brand developed by the American Library Association. ODL will also use the theme in our own marketing efforts to state government customers.

Our EBSCO database promotion plans have been delayed for a while. Our promotional partner, OneNet, has been busy moving to a new office location, and we�ve been busy with the awareness campaign as well as promoting a variety of workshops and conferences. (See Brochure-a-rama below.) In the meantime, we are promoting the databases at exhibits and conferences. We�ll be meeting with OneNet later this fall on promotional plans. Also, ODL�s Office of Library Development has developed an online course to help train librarians in the use of these new databases. This is in addition to all of the hands-on workshops ODL is conducting.

Brochure-a-rama: It seems like every division at ODL caught the �Let�s put on a show!� bug. During the past few weeks, PIO has produced brochures and companion promotional pieces for the trustee advocacy workshops, a preservation workshop, the third annual First Amendment Congress, and the Youth Services Fall Workshop. Wow! Summer really is over! 

Hats off to the Bills (Struby and Petrie) for their graphic assistance, and Melanie Price for her mail-a-rama services.

Center for the Book news: Center director Glenda Carlile and Center president BJ Williams are serving on the Oklahoma Historical Society committee that will coordinate the literary exhibit at the new State History Museum. The Oklahoma authors database project will be included in this exhibit, and the Center�s Board thanks the ODL Board for supporting the budget request to assist with the development of such a database. The Center is also working on a basic brochure to use in recruiting members and raising funds. The Center�s big event, the Oklahoma Book Awards, is scheduled for March 9, 2002. World Literature Today is recipient of the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award. 

What Things May Will Come:

Here are some other projects to watch for in the coming months. . . 

� The new ABC publication of state agencies is at the printer and will arrive in November.

� With ABC out of the way, editor Ann Hamilton is updating the �State Questions Since Statehood� book. We�ll probably put this on the web, also.

� PIO is working with the web development office to place the statewide databases and other online reference web services under a new umbrella called �Oklahoma digital prairie.� Since vendors often change, Susan has wanted to put these services under a name that does not change. This should help our customers locate these services more easily on our website.

� And, we will continue to work with our public service divisions on a campaign to reach our state government customers. We�ll share the fruits of this endeavor in a future report. 

Office of Government Information
Activity Report, October 10, 2001
Submitted by Vicki Sullivan, Office Administrator

Staffing Changes

As mentioned in the last report, Bill Boone will retire from the Department of Libraries on October 31, 2001.

Troy Miller was selected to replace Bill as a Records Management Specialist. Troy joined the agency on September 26, 2001. This provides Troy an opportunity to train with Bill before his retirement.

Pam LaViolette, Administrative Technician in the Publications Clearinghouse, began providing morning switchboard relief in August. She works in this area 18� hours per week.

Archives and Records Center Highlights

The Oklahoma Historical Records Advisory Board hosted a public forum on August 22, 2001. Leslie Gelders, Literacy Coordinator for the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, was the featured speaker. She presented a mini-workshop on grant writing. Tribal governments and local historical and genealogical societies were targeted for participation. Almost forty attendees enjoyed an afternoon filled with tips for successful grant writing.

Gary Harrington was the featured speaker at the General Counsel luncheon on August 17, 2001. This group consists of attorneys representing state agencies. Gary presented information on records management, with an emphasis on electronic records.

Linda Colbert, Micrographics Supervisor, attended the 14th Annual Midwest State Micrographics Conference September 10-13, 2001 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Oklahoma City Chapter of ARMA International, The Association of Information Management Professionals, met at the State Records Center on September 20, 2001. Gary provided a tour of the facility and spoke on electronic records management.

Tally Fugate, Archivist, and TaTenn Ra, Administrative Assistant in the Publications Clearing-house, are working together to develop a database of governors� information for eventual posting to ODL Online.

Gary presented an overview of records management, with an emphasis on e-mail, at the September 30, 2001 ODL staff meeting.

As of September 30, 2001 there were 84,033 corner records on file with the State Archives.

US Government Information Division Highlights

As a regional federal depository, the U.S. Government Information Division provides guidance to selective depositories located throughout Oklahoma. Steve Beleu and Karen Fite made annual visits to several libraries in August to discuss federal depository guidelines and offer assistance. Libraries visited included: Lawton Public Library, Metropolitan Library System (Oklahoma City), University of Oklahoma (Norman), Oklahoma Baptist University (Shawnee), East Central University (Ada), Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Durant).

Steve and Karen attended the annual State Data Center conference on August 14, 2001.

An article by Steve on the publication Forty-Six, Important Federal Publications About Oklahoma � the 46th State, was included in the September 15, 2001 issue of Administrative Notes, Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program.

Karen assisted with organizing the American Memory workshop for depository librarians held at Oklahoma State University on September 11, 2001.

Steve organized and coordinated the fall meeting of Metrodocs libraries. Fourteen librarians attended the meeting held on October 5, 2001 at the University of Oklahoma Law Center. The featured speaker was Jim White, Assistant Director of the University of Oklahoma Advanced Center for Genome Technology. Steve presented information on the GIS database, �Data Viewer,� sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. Participants then shared links to terrorism information.

Publications Clearinghouse Highlights

The Publications Clearinghouse provides guidance to depositories of state government publications located throughout the state. Donna Denniston and Lauren Donaldson make annual visits to depository libraries to discuss state depository guidelines and offer assistance. Donna and Lauren visited East Central University (Ada) in August. Lauren visited the McAlester Public Library in August. Donna visited the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha in September.

TaTenn Ra has completed the Clearinghouse vertical file database, which contains over 4,500 records.

TaTenn and Lauren have assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the database that is the basis of ODL Online�s State Agency Hotlinks.

Donna met with the Cataloging staff to determine catalog guidelines for state audits.

Donna has completed the revision of the Manual for Publications Officers. The manual will be distributed to all state agency publications officers.

Lauren continues to be a contributor to the GPO Access Browse Topics website located at http://library.ucok.edu/gov/browsetopics/. Her assigned topic area is Maps and Atlases, which she updates on a quarterly basis.

There were 100,732 hits to state government information on ODL Online for the 1st quarter of FY 2002.

Web Development Office Highlights

During September thousands of attacks were launched against Web Development Office (WDO) servers. These attacks were primarily from automated �worms� that had infected Internet-connected systems outside of ODL. This situation required Michael O�Hasson to install additional security patches, conduct frequent configuration checks, and constantly analyze log entries to determine the origin of the attacks.

Michael created CD-ROM sets of automated patches for use by WDO and MIS. By running this one program, dozens of product �bug fixes� and security patches can be applied to a workstation or server at one time.

A significant amount of time was spent reconfiguring a new web server in accordance with detailed standards published by the U.S. National Security Agency. This process was conducted jointly with Rich Owens of MIS to familiarize him with web server security.

Michael and Vicki Sullivan participated in a state portal meeting on August 15, 2001.

Michael, Gary and Vicki met on August 23, 2001 with Cokie Anderson, Digitization Librarian at Oklahoma State University, to discuss the operation of OSU�s Library Digitization Center.

Hits to ODL Online for the 1st quarter of FY 2002: 395,452.
Number of SoonerSearch searches for the 1st quarter of FY 2002: 125,599.

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