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February 2003 LibraryNet Monthly TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. CALL FOR BEST PRACTICES 2003 LibraryNet will soon be preparing its seventh annual "Best Practices" Report on Innovative Internet use in Canadian public libraries. The report is written to provide trail-blazing libraries with recognition for their efforts, and to inspire other Canadian libraries to create their own Internet applications. Each year, innovative public library projects are evaluated based on the following criteria: innovation; community engagement; community enhancement; improved service; user friendly; and transferability. If you know of a library (yours or another) using the Internet in innovative ways to deliver information to assist patrons and/or staff, please email LibraryNet at ln-rb@schoolnet.ca with details of the project and its URL. Past editions
of Best Practices are available on the LibraryNet website at: For the criteria details: http://www.librarynet.ca/e/about/bestprac/BPcriteria.asp 2. 2002 ONTARIO PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE AWARD WINNERS Seven Ontario libraries received Public Library Service Awards on January 29 at the Ontario Library Association's Super Conference 2003. The Public Library Service Awards were created in 1985 to identify, promote and celebrate public library service ideals. There are two types of awards, the Minister's Award for Innovation, recognizing new ideas in public library service, and the Angus Mowat Award of Excellence for excellence in public library service. The Awards for Innovation for 2002 were presented to: Oxford County Library for providing federal information as part of a community network; Pickering Public Library for an online chat reference service; and East Ferris Public Library for its children's story program. Oxford County Library, in partnership with the County of Oxford and two local offices of Human Resources Development Canada, became a 27-month pilot location for "Service Canada", an alternative service delivery approach to offering federal government information through a community network of access centres. During the pilot project, 7,250 government inquiries were recorded at Oxford County Library branches. A few examples provide insight into how the project affected people's lives. One adoptee began a search for her birth parents by using the online birth certificate application form and contacting the Genealogical Association in Toronto. A woman whose wallet was stolen found the forms to replace her lost identification all in one place at her local library. "Live Help @ Pickering Public Library," the chat-based reference service, was adopted to encourage more teens (the primary user group for chat) to use library reference services. East Ferris' "Wear your Jammies to the Library" program was a weekly bedtime story featuring guest readers such as the captain of a local hockey team, a firefighter, a dentist, and the town snowplow operator. The Angus Mowat Awards for 2002 were presented to: Brantford Public Library for its innovative use of technology to provide a virtual university library service; Manitoulin Island Library Action Network, consisting of seven public libraries on Manitoulin Island, for developing an annual Reading Festival; Powassan and District Union Public Library for publishing the high quality newsletter "Library News"; and Windsor Public Library for writing the first comprehensive study of tourism information services in Ontario public libraries. Windsor's Tornos study was funded in part by LibraryNet, and can be read on the LibraryNet website. For more
information: Visit the
winning libraries at: 3. FIRST CANADIAN WEB AWARENESS DAY On February 20, Canadian public libraries held the first national Web Awareness Day, on the theme "Parenting the Net Generation - it's not just by the book anymore." The goals of the day were to raise public awareness of the importance of Internet literacy, to position public libraries as leaders in Internet literacy, and to promote the Internet literacy resources created by the Media Awareness Network (MNet) and made available to communities by public libraries. Web Awareness Day was developed by the Canadian Library Association (CLA) in partnership with MNet, and with the participation of library representatives across the country and the National Library of Canada. Sponsor Bell Canada provided funding to design and produce the promotional materials for use by public libraries. For more
information, visit the CLA's Web Awareness portal at: 4. OTTAWA PUBLIC LIBRARY FILTERING DEBATE Lately, Internet filtering issues have been in the news again as Canadian print and broadcast media provided extensive coverage of a controversy at the Ottawa Public Library (OPL). Lorne Carter, union representative for CUPE Local 503 in Ottawa, spoke to reporters at the Ottawa Citizen in late January, calling the OPL a "porn palace" because librarians had been exposed to pornographic images on public access Internet computers. Some have filed a grievance against library management, citing Ontario's Human Rights Code which says that "no employee shall be subject to harassment in the workplace." While the OPL has filters on computers located in children's departments, their board policy requires that computers in adult areas not restrict access to the Internet. On February 5, the CBC radio show The Current interviewed both Wendy Newman, President of the Canadian Library Association, and Lorne Carter. On February 10, the Citizen published a letter to the editor from Wendy Newman, declaring that the CLA "fully supports the policy of the Ottawa Public Library Board on Internet access" and that "the sad reality is, filtering is ineffective and compromises access to legitimate information." Read and
listen to selected media coverage: 5. NOVA SCOTIA DIGITAL COLLECTIONS INITIATIVE LAUNCHED On January 17, Nova Scotia officially launched its Digital Collections Initiative, a collaborative project involving archives, museums, libraries, post-secondary educational institutions, and others. The Nova Scotia Digital Collections Initiative (NSDCI) aims to identify common areas of interest, promote collaboration, and avoid duplication of effort; to contribute to the interoperability of digital projects and foster resource sharing; and to facilitate access to Nova Scotia digitization projects. Creation of the NSDCI website is the first step towards these goals. This central web resource provides access to the many digital collections that provincial educational and heritage institutions have been preparing, as well as digitization resources and tools. A Steering Committee will be formed to oversee the NSDCI and continue searching for ways to pool resources to ensure that as many projects as possible are made available on the Internet. For more
information: 6. RICHMOND PUBLIC LIBRARY LAUNCHES NEW WEB SITE The Richmond (B.C.) Public Library has redesigned its website with new services, a whole new look, and a rebuilt site architecture. The new "My Picks" free email service alerts subscribers to new items in the library's collection, based on their profile settings for preferred authors and subject areas. Emails are sent in HTML format with direct links from the title to the catalogue so that users can see whether the book is in or place a hold on it. The "Online Purchase Suggestion Form" is another new web service. Purchase suggestions go through an automated workflow for verification, approval, and purchasing by the appropriate staff. This speeds up the ordering process and is a convenient way for the public to submit collection suggestions to purchasing librarians. Popular older features such as the Citizenship Practice Test, BC Driving Test, and the Speak, Read, Succeed Literacy Checklist are still available on the website. The RPL site will continue to evolve with the library's long terms plans to add more personalization, interactive content, and online self-service features. Visit the
redesigned website at: For more
information: 7. NEW LIBRARYLOOKUP ONLINE CATALOGUE TOOL Jon Udell, Lead Analyst at InfoWorld's test center, wanted to check his local library's catalogue while simultaneously browsing through Amazon.com - so he developed LibraryLookup, a catalogue searching "bookmarklet". LibraryLookup is just a small piece of JavaScript code in link form. To install it, you "drag" the link from a website on to your browser's toolbar. The next time you're visiting an online bookstore (Amazon, Chapters, etc.) and are on the description page for an interesting book, click the bookmarklet. It will automatically check your local library's catalogue, feed it the book's ISBN from the URL, and pop up a new results window. You can see immediately whether your library has the book, and whether it is on the shelf or not. LibraryLookup works with any site that uses an ISBN in its URL, including most online booksellers, and any library vendor that allows searching by ISBN (Innovative Interfaces, Endeavor's Voyager, Dynix iPac, DRA, and Talis, to name a few). Can't find your library? Udell provides a (very simple) formula to create a bookmarklet for any library, given the catalogue URL and vendor. Since searching by ISBN (which are unique to each edition or format of a title) can be problematic, Udell's website now recommends searching for the hardcover edition, which libraries are more likely to own. This small tool has great potential for positive library PR. Few library patrons know the vendor of their library's software system, or can even find out from the library's website, but the burden of finding a bookmarklet doesn't have to rest with users. Public libraries can create their own bookmarklets and make them available to patrons from the library website. It's also an opportunity to promote any affiliate marketing programs your library may have with various online bookstores. For more
information, and instructions on how to create your own LibraryLookup:
To read the
full Library Journal article: 8. IVIA VIRTUAL LIBRARY SYSTEM A recent article in D-Lib Magazine, an online journal of digital library research, describes iVia, an open-source Internet subject portal or virtual library system. As a hybrid expert- and machine-built collection creation and management system, it supports a primary, expert-created, first-tier collection augmented by a large, second-tier machine-built collection of significant Internet resources that are automatically gathered and described. iVia enables institutions to provide well-organized virtual library collections of metadata descriptions of Internet and other resources. It is designed to be flexible, scalable, and customizable to fit the needs of single or multiple institutions. Infomine, a scholarly virtual library collection of over 26,000 librarian-created and 80,000 plus machine-created records describing and linking to academic Internet resources, runs on the iVia platform. The development of iVia was funded in part by the American Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (U.S. Department of Education), and the Library of the University of California, Riverside. For more
information on iVia: To read the full article: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january03/mitchell/01mitchell.html 9. 100 MILLION FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES IN QUEBEC On February 7, a story in Le Devoir claimed that the Quebec Ministry of Education will soon announce $100 million in funding for school libraries in the province. According to the article, the funding will be distributed over the next 5 years for the purpose of improving collections and infrastructure and staffing. School boards would not be allowed to spend the targeted money on anything other than libraries. The increased funding is believed to be in response to the conclusions of the "Rapport sur la situation des bibliothèques scolaires québécoises," prepared for the Ministry in December 2001. According to that report, nearly 80% of school libraries had poor quality reference collections. 67% and 47% of secondary and primary schools, respectively, had poor quality fiction collections as well. Quebec's Education Minister, Sylvain Simard, has not officially confirmed the funding yet. To read the
full text of the Le Devoir story: For more
information: 10. COLORADO PUBLIC LIBRARIES BRIDGE DIGITAL DIVIDE According to a recent study by the state Library Research Service, public libraries provide the only access to the Internet for two-thirds of their patrons (48 percent of library visitors younger than 18, 66 percent of those between 18 and 54, and 85 percent of those older than 55). "Colorado Public Libraries & the Digital Divide 2002" also found that 82% of library visitors report visiting the library expressly for computer access, with more than half attending two or more times per week. Thirty-six percent of the respondents reported using library web access to look for a job; blacks and Hispanics were more likely than other racial groups to use it for that purpose. The report concludes that the Internet has become the primary - if not the only - source for many government, information, education and health-related services, making public access points all the more crucial. The report was based on a survey of 1,900 library patrons from across the state. To read the
full report (in PDF format): 11. CANADIAN LIBRARIES WIN ALA PUBLIC RELATIONS AWARD The Toronto Public Library (TPL) and the Halifax Regional Library (HRL) have each received one of the 2003 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Awards from the American Library Association. HRL received the award for the promotion of its redesigned Summer Reading Club which creatively used a consistent graphic identity, including animal "Book Buddies" for younger children, and targeted marketing to reach the intended audience. TPL was recognized for an innovative performing arts lecture series and public relations program that contributed to Toronto's literary and cultural life while enhancing the library's community profile. "The winning entries represent imaginative and effective public relations campaigns that responded to real community needs and produced real results in terms of improving public awareness and use of libraries, their programs and collections," said award committee chair, Tim Wadham. The award, sponsored by H.W. Wilson Publishers and the Library Administration and Management Association, honours "outstanding achievement in library public relations" for a particular program, celebration or campaign. Winning entries will be displayed at the John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award booth during the 2003 Joint CLA/ALA Annual Conference, June 19 to 25 in Toronto. For more
information: 12. THE INTERNET AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN THE UK The installation of public access Internet terminals in public libraries across the United Kingdom is now complete, according to a progress report published on January 21 by Resource, the government body for museums, archives and libraries. "The People's Network: A turning point for public libraries" reports that by the end of 2002, over 30,000 terminals had been installed in approximately 4000 libraries, offering more than sixty million hours of free Internet access per year. The new Internet terminals have encouraged new users, 27% of whom had never used the Internet before. Over 14,000 people signed up for online training courses. Funded by a lotteries grant from the New Opportunities Fund, the People's Network is the largest single financial investment in the history of public libraries in the UK. To read the
full text of the report (in PDF format): 13. THIRD YEAR OF UCLA INTERNET REPORT FINDS USERS WARY "Surveying the Digital Future," Year Three of the UCLA Internet Report, was released on January 31. This year's installment of the longitudinal survey of how thousands use the web found that while people still view the Internet as a highly important resource, skepticism has made inroads; only about half of users believe that most of the information they find comes from credible sources. 61.1 percent of Internet users surveyed considered it a "very important" or "extremely important" source of information, compared with 57.8 percent for newspapers, 50.2 percent for TV, and 40 percent for radio. As Jeff Cole, the director of the Center for Communication Policy at UCLA, said, "the perception of [the Internet] now is as a place you go to find things out. The Internet has made very few inroads as a place you go to be entertained." Yet at the same time, only 52.8% of Internet users found most or all of the information online to be credible (down from 58% in 2001). Frequent Internet users did so at the expense of viewing television; they watched 5.4 fewer hours of TV a week than non-Internet users. The survey also found that fewer people are shopping online, but those that do are spending more. The UCLA Internet Report is the first long-term study of how life is being transformed by computers and the Internet, with year-to-year comparisons of the social and cultural changes produced. To read the
full text of the report (in PDF format): 14. ONTARIO GOVERNMENT SUPPORTING RURAL BROADBAND On January 14, the Ontario government announced that it will invest $2.79 million in the development of a broadband network for small towns and rural communities in the province. A pilot project will establish a broadband network, using a combination of fibre and microwave technology, across the Leeds-Grenville region. In addition to enabling high-speed Internet service, the network will support such services as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and video conferencing. Once complete, the project will provide an implementation model for other rural communities across the province. The Thousand Islands Community Development Corporation and Ripnet Ltd. are providing the balance of the $7 million required for this initiative. The program is a component of the Ontario Small Town and Rural (OSTAR) Development Initiative that was launched in 2000 to explore new products and new markets and invest in technologies and sectors that contribute to economic development in rural Ontario. For more information: http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_8296_1.html 15. FUNDING FOR BROADBAND BUSINESS PLANS On January 24, the federal government announced $2.4 million of business plan development funding as the next step in its plan to make high-speed Internet access available to more currently unserved communities. 89 applicants, representing approximately 1149 communities (including 156 First Nations), will each receive up to $30,000 to develop business plans. The plans will outline how each community can implement and use broadband Internet service. The funds were allocated under the $105-million Broadband for Rural and Northern Development Pilot Program, part of the federal government's strategy to ensure broadband Internet service to all Canadian communities by 2005. The proposals selected for funding were chosen from more than 200 submissions, based on recommendations by an arm's-length National Selection Committee. Successful applicants must submit their business plans by May 22, 2003, in order to be eligible to compete for implementation funding. The second round of competition for business plan development funding is now underway; the deadline for submissions is March 28, 2003. For more
information: 16. INTERNET FILTERING LAW BEFORE US SUPREME COURT IN MARCH Oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) are scheduled for March 5, 2003, and a decision is expected by July 1. The government's brief argues that the lower court decision declaring CIPA unconstitutional should be reversed due to errors. In part, it states that filters do not constitute a restraint on private speech, as websites are freely available through myriad access points other than those provided by public libraries. On February 10, the American Library Association (ALA) filed its own Supreme Court brief. Among other points, the ALA brief claims that "(there is no) valid analogy between filtering Internet access and the inevitable content-based choices a library makes when it acquires materials for its physical collection." CIPA, passed in April 2001, required federally funded libraries in the U.S. to filter Internet access. The law was immediately challenged by the ALA and the American Civil Liberties Union, and in May 2002, a three-judge panel ruled that CIPA was unconstitutional because the mandated use of filtering technology would block access to substantial amounts of constitutionally protected speech. American Solicitor General Ted Olson appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. For more
information: 17. GOVERNMENT LOANS FOR RURAL INTERNET IN THE USA On January 29, the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) announced its first effort to encourage the development of rural broadband Internet access. The Rural Broadband Loan and Loan Guarantee Program will provide up to US$1.4 billion in loans and guarantees to encourage telecommunication providers to build high-speed Internet infrastructure in rural areas. U.S. President George Bush's 2004 budget proposal also includes an extra US$45 million to upgrade technology in the USDA's County Service Centers. Most of this increase in funding will be used to provide Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies which allow farmers and ranchers access to detailed satellite mapping and planting information. Current U.S. government figures indicate that less than 5% of American communities with fewer than 10,000 residents have high-speed access, as opposed to 56% of cities with more than 100,000 residents. For more
information: 18. THE EUROPEAN LIBRARY: A PORTAL TO EUROPE'S KNOWLEDGE A consortium of some of Europe's national libraries hopes to bring the idea of a single "European Library" a step closer to reality. The European Library (TEL), a 30-month pilot project, is intended to provide the groundwork by building a single access point to selected holdings, spanning a range of collections, of all partner libraries. The new virtual library will allow users to search across collections from ten participating national libraries, including those of Britain, Germany, and Italy. The project will also make recommendations on how to improve cooperation across national boundaries. TEL is funded by the European Commission, under the cultural heritage applications area of the Information Society Technologies (IST) research program. For more
information: Workshop
on Instruction in Library Use (WILU 2003) The theme of the 32nd WILU Conference is "Bridging the Gap - Teaching Across Boundaries." Speakers will include Dr. Clara Chu, UCLA faculty member and winner of ALA's 2002 Equality Award, and Lisa Hinchliffe, Coordinator for Information Literacy Services and Instruction at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Session streams cover Information Literacy Theory, Research in Information Literacy, Best Instructional Practices, and Teaching Workshops. Registration opens on March 4, 2003, and space is limited to 150 participants. For more
information: World
Summit on the Information Society Information and communication technologies (ICT) are rapidly creating a new context for development. As the world economy becomes integrated through ICT, policies need to be rethought to help developing countries connect to the new information-based world economy. The World Summit on the Information Society will provide a unique opportunity for all key stakeholders to assemble at a high-level gathering and to develop a better understanding of this revolution and its impact on the international community. It aims to bring together Heads of State, Executive Heads of United Nations agencies, industry leaders, non-governmental organizations, media representatives and civil society in a single high-level event. The principal objective of the Summit is to identify strategies and actions to mainstream ICT into the work aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The anticipated outcome of the Summit is to develop and foster a clear statement of political will and a concrete plan of action for achieving the goals of the Information Society, while fully reflecting all the different interests at stake. The Summit will be held in two phases; the second phase will take place in Tunis in 2005. For more
information: The Corporation des Bibliothécaires Professionnels du Québec (CBPQ) is offering several one-day workshops in March. Le "coaching"
au quotidien Les genres
littéraires d'intérêt pour la clientèle masculine en bibliothèque
L'audit
informationnel Tuition for each workshop is $280, $195 for CBPQ members. For more
information: Managing Your Digital Library OCLC is hosting a free online information session on its tools for assisting with digital library creation, the OCLC Digital & Preservation Cooperative and the CONTENTdm Software Suite. The OCLC Digital & Preservation Cooperative provides a central knowledge base for digital activities throughout the information industry. Co-op participants come together to share knowledge and to increase the value of digital collections by combining them with other collections. CONTENTdm (by DiMeMa Inc.) enables libraries to create, access and preserve special collections on their own computers, or hosted on an OCLC server. OCLC web information sessions are a one-hour live presentation accessed over the web, with audio available via a conference call. For more
information: Courses
Toward the Certificate in Web Development The following courses begin in March 2003: Information Architecture, Open Systems Web Development, Web-Enabling Your Database, Microsoft Internet Development Tools, Styling Web Pages with Cascading Style Sheets and Dynamic HTML, Introduction To Macromedia Flash, and Introduction To XML. Starting
dates, tuition fees, and course lengths vary. For more information: Canadian Children's Illustrated Books This new website explores the historical development of illustrated books for children in Canada, and provides a critical understanding of Canadian identity as presented in picturebooks. Site resources include an annotated list of picturebooks that won national awards in Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and the United States for the past 30 years. The site was developed by Professor Judith Saltman of the University of British Columbia's School of Library, Archival & Information Studies. http://www.slais.ubc.ca/saltman/ccib/home.html CBC Radio & Television Archives Search or browse over a thousand news and current affairs radio and TV clips at the CBC Radio & Television Archives. Categories include sports, life & society, conflict & war, and people. The link to each archived item gives a brief description, as well as the media type (radio or television) and the running length. Clips are in Windows Media Player format. Distance Studies A searchable database of more than 1000 North American distance education programs at all academic levels. Users can search according to a field of study or qualify the search by entering the program type, duration of program, and means of study. There is also advice on selecting a distance education program. http://www.distancestudies.com/ Library Associations Around the World IFLA (the International Federation of Library Associations) and the American Library Association's International Relations Office have created a new website that lists library associations around the world. http://www.ala.org/work/international/associations.html Offstats: Official Statistics on the Web A searchable central source for links to free statistics from official sources around the world. Global, regional, and national statistics are available on a wide range of topics, including demographics, economics, finance, crime, and religion, from statistics providers including the UN, World Bank, US Census Bureau, and StatsCan. From the University of Auckland Library. http://www2.auckland.ac.nz/lbr/stats/offstats/OFFSTATSmain.htm Researchguide 0.5 ResearchGuide is an open-source application (based on PHP and MySQL) for building online subject guides. The heart of the application is the web-based interface for creating, editing, and managing subject guides and specialist information pages. ResearchGuide was written for use at the University of Michigan Graduate Library and is currently being used to serve research guides there. http://researchguide.sourceforge.net/ TeleCampus Online Course Directory This website lists thousands of web-based courses from institutions around the world, searchable by title, institution, or subject area. Look under the "Free Courses" heading for a list of courses that are free of charge. http://courses.telecampus.edu/subjects/index.cfm Whichbook.net A unique resource that gives readers a way to find books to match their mood. Whichbook.net asks the reader questions in order to build the elements of that elusive 'good read'. Openlibraries Ltd. (a company formed by Opening the Book and the Society of Chief Librarians in England and Wales) has been awarded £350,000 in funding to expand the system over the next two years, by increasing the number of titles and by creating links between whichbook.net and public library catalogues on the web. Public library staff in England have played a key role in creating data for whichbook.net, in testing the site with large numbers of users, and in promoting it. If
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