Description of lessons learned while building the libraries of oregon

1. Building the Libraries of Oregon and
lessons learned
Terry Reese, Associate Professor
Gray Family Chair for Innovative Library Services

2. Precursor to the Libraries of Oregon
• Oregon Digital Library
• Resource that brings together all
(most) digital collections in Oregon
from Universities, public libraries,
museums through a single portal
• Project called for OSU to provide
infrastructure to any institution
needing hosting/technical help
• Exposed large digital collections to
the public for the first time
• Most digital collections were stored
in localized programs, like Past
Perfect
• Currently serving ~1.5 million
items
1
February 24, 2012

3. Focusing on the Underserved
• State Library notes that ~20% of Oregonians that don’t have
adequate access to a library (and ~10% are without any library
services)
• These users are currently unable to access resources that they have a
legitimate right to access
• State wide licenses of Gale, Learning Express, AnswerLand, etc.
• Statewide, most digital collections created in the past decade
with LSTA funds are inaccessible outside of the local library
• Meaning some truly exception collections documenting the people and
growth of Oregon are hidden from view
2
February 24, 2012

4. Libraries of Oregon
• Libraries of Oregon is a website that
connects Oregon residents to
statewide library resources and local
public libraries. Website visitors can
access databases that house
articles, video clips, podcasts, and
images from
encyclopedias, newspapers, and
magazines or use the 24/7 ask-a-
librarian service to satisfy their
information needs. These
subscription databases, which are not
freely available on the internet, and
the ask-a-librarian service are paid
for with federal Library Services and
Technology Act (LSTA) funds
administered by the Oregon State
Library.
3
February 24, 2012

5. Libraries of Oregon
• Designed as an organic library portal with the
following goals:
• Help Oregonians Find Resources
• Directing users to resources hosted by the state or state agencies
• Directing or integrating digital projects like the Oregon Digital
Newspapers Project or the Oregon Digital Library project
4
February 24, 2012

6. Libraries of Oregon
• Help Oregonians Access Resources
• Break down access barriers
• State-wide resources have traditionally been managed through
the public library system
• Users outside of public library districts or without library cards
cannot access resources purchased by the state on their behalf.
• Provide widgets to streamline access for public libraries
• Develop a location-base authentication infrastructure
• Allows K-12 users direct access to content
5
February 24, 2012

7. Libraries of Oregon
• Help Oregonians Connect to Libraries
• Help Oregon citizens find libraries that are near them and…
• Help Oregon citizens find special libraries that might meet
special needs
• Help Oregonians Advocate for Libraries in their Communities.
• Strength support for libraries in communities
• Enable citizens to advocate for expanded library services in
their districts
6
February 24, 2012

8. Sharing Content
• This can be surprisingly difficult
• University content is often created to meet the needs of their communities
• Public Library content tents to be created and purchased exclusively for their
local patrons
• Though this varies, a handful of large publics work more globally, but they
represents a small number of the publics within the state.
• Translating the language barrier
• Public Library patrons and university patrons speak different languages
• Shared content needs to be placed within specific contexts, which means
translating content to meet a wide variety of user groups
• Determine what you are willing to host
• When working with digital collections, OSU often was asked to take over
hosting digital collections, and integrating them into our digital content
platform, while have little to no curation rights.
7
February 24, 2012

9. Bridging gaps between Public Libraries and Universities
• Bridging the resources gap
• Public libraries have passionate people resources with few infrastructure
resources
• At universities, it’s often the opposite
• Public library funding is volatile
• In the two years working with the State Library on access projects, two large
public library districts of been defunded (and then reformed in some capacity)
• Resources build for public libraries often-times have little application in
the university context
8
February 24, 2012

10. What we learned
• All problems are local
• The trickiest part of any project between public libraries at a state-wide
level is how it will impact local service
• Because funding is needs based, any services that supplant a current
library function threaten current funding
• Advocacy was key
• University needed to get something too
• Getting hierarchies to play together is nearly impossible
• Developing tools in neutral, cloud-based providers proved to be the only
way forward.
9
February 24, 2012

11. Questions/Comments
10
February 24, 2012