BCLTA BULLETIN – October 26, 2009

CONTENTS

Announcements
Featured Grants
Featured Resources
Upcoming Events
Member Information Requests
Advertisements

Announcements

• BCLTA Executive Director Errin Morrison resigns... “It is with regret that I must inform members of my decision to resign as Executive Director of BCLTA.  In light of recent provincial funding cuts, the association is no longer able to support this position, leaving your board with little choice but to re-trench and re-prioritize until the funds to hire a lead staff person can be recovered.” [Letter attached in full to this email bulletin and also emailed to Board Chairs/BCLTA Liaisons separately.]

• BCLTA and BCLA issue joint Budget 2010 Consultation Submission.  A joint written submission was made to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services on behalf of the BC Library Association and the BCLTA.  [The full text of this submission is attached to this email bulletin as a PDF document.] 

• BCLTA makes preliminary Public Library Infrastructure Study results available online.  Visit BCLTA’s new Infrastructure Study webpage to read an initial report on the status of BC’s library facilities, completed following a comprehensive member survey by consultant Daphne Wood in June 2009.  Information on next steps in the Infrastructure Study will also be posted to this webpage as they become available.

• Libraries Nova Scotia launches “Borrow Anywhere, Return Anywhere”…  Libraries Nova Scotia, a collaboration of all public, university and college libraries in Nova Scotia, launched the new “Borrow Anywhere, Return Anywhere” program yesterday.  Please click here to read the full text of the news release and here to learn more about the Libraries Nova Scotia initiative.

• BCLTA is now accepting nominations for its 2010 awards program, including the Nancy Bennett Merit Award, the Super Trustee Award and the Library Advocate Award.  If you know a trustee or library supporter who has gone “above and beyond” in service of your library, or someone who has made a real difference to library services at the regional or provincial level, please consider submitting a nomination.  Visit the BCLTA website for a description of the available awards and download a nomination form today.   Nomination deadline is February 12, 2010.

[Back to Top]

FEATURED GRANTS

• The BC History Digitization Program is now accepting applications for 2010.  Established in September 2006, the BC History Digitization Program promotes increased access to British Columbia's historical resources by providing matching funds to undertake digitization projects that will result in free online access to our unique provincial historical material.  For information about the program and to download the 2010 application form, please click here . The deadline for applications is December 18, 2009.

• Is your library considering a new green building initiative?  Why not encourage your municipality to access funding through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund™ (GMF)?  GMFs are still available for use as the municipal share of stimulus projects and other green infrastructure initiatives.  GMF is open for business and ready to help finance local infrastructure projects at below-market rates.  Whether you are looking at financing options to take advantage of recent stimulus funding or to fund other green municipal projects, GMF can help. It’s not too late to access funding for this year. Applications submitted by early December 2009 will be reviewed by March 31, 2010. For more information on capital project funding, visit the GMF website or contact Paul Gregory, GMF Outreach Officer, at 613-907-6291 or email pgregory@fcm.ca .

Has your library taken advantage of a grant or funding program you’d like to share with the rest of the trustee community?  If so, please contact Mandy Davies at admin@bclta.org with the details.

[Back to Top]

FEATURED RESOURCES

• WebJunction BC will be discontinued at the end of March 2010, but trustees and library staff are welcome to sign up for an account in the meantime in order to take advantage of the remaining free courses still available under the WJBC contract.  You can register for courses up until the WJBC discontinuation date and you will then have one year from the date of registration to complete all coursework.  Examples of available courses of interest to trustees include: Executive Level Leadership, Understanding Budgets, Grant Writing Basics, Becoming an Effective Trustee, Creating a Marketing Campaign, Rural Library Sustainability, etc.

• How much benefit does your institution, your user, receive for every dollar spent by the library? What's the annual return your institution realizes on what you spend on your collection? Cost/Benefit Analysis and Return on Investment are measures often used by financial managers to gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of their budget policies.  If you haven't looked into value/ROI calculators yet, you need to. Using them is one of the best ways to prove your value to the people who control your money. Don't wait till they're trying to cut your budget…start using value calculators now! They don't take perfect measurements, but they can be quite eye-opening to those who wonder why libraries should continue to eat up precious funding: Libraries historically have greater ROIs than many other organizations.  Check out the three calculators linked from this Marketing Libraries blog post : ROI/cost benefit, retail value calculator, and database ROI calculator. The creator of the calculators is the US National Network of Libraries of Medicine.
  

• The Marigold Library System’s publication Marketing 101: Expanding the Library’s Customer Base details the seven things people need to know about the library in order to help increase the library’s customer base. This publication can help guide you when you’re planning a marketing program, refreshing your existing communication tools or thinking about enhancing services and programs.  The guide is also posted on the Library Association of Alberta site under “Advocacy” and is intended for wide distribution and use. (Marigold would appreciate acknowledgement on any material from Marketing 101 that is reprinted.)

[Back to Top]

UPCOMING EVENTS

• The Canadian Library Association is pleased to announce that October has been designated as Canadian Library Month!  The idea for a month dedicated to library and information services in Canada was developed by library partners from across the country to help raise public awareness of the valuable role that libraries play in the lives of Canadians.  This year’s theme is Your Library, Your World: Now More than Ever.  Resources, including a backgrounder, copies of the poster and bookmark, and promotional ideas from previous years can be found on the CLA Library Month webpage.  Tell CLA how your library has celebrated this year by emailing a short article (200 words) with pictures to jgreen@cla.ca . If chosen, the article will be published in the December issue of Feliciter. Entries must be sent to Judy Green no later than November 2 for consideration. October is a busy month for libraries: October 16, 2009 was Canadian Library Support Staff Day; and National School Library Day is October 26, 2009.

• October is Health Literacy Month, and BC’s health librarians are celebrating by raising awareness of health literacy. Health literacy is the ability of people to access, understand and use information to make decisions and maintain their health. According to the Canadian Council on Learning, “60% of adult Canadians lack the capacity to obtain, understand and act upon health information and services and to make appropriate health decisions on their own.” There is a strong link between literacy, education, and health status in Canada; thus the Health Libraries Association of BC encourages health professionals, the public, and librarians everywhere to raise Canada’s level of health literacy.  Healthcare professionals can ensure that they communicate to patients in a way that patients understand. The general public can practice daily reading and help foster a love of reading in the next generation of Canadians. Librarians can assist the public in connecting with health information at the appropriate literacy level for each individual, and promote quality health information resources to the public. For more information on health literacy in Canada,and health literacy month, see the Canadian Council on Learning’s Health Literacy in Canada page and Helen Osborne’s Health Literacy Month site.

• Building a Better Website: Website Redesign – Monday, November 2, 2009, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm in Classroom 130, McPherson Library, University of Victoria.  Registration available online at www.bcla.bc.ca/redesign .  Presenters: Kay Cahill and Cecily Walker.  Session Description: During this session we’ll cover all the basic elements you need to know to create a user-friendly, practical website. We’ll look at gathering requirements to ensure a user-centred design, the advantages and disadvantages of content management systems, how to design a great user interface, and how to use existing web tools, technologies, and social media services to enhance your site and create a rich and compelling user experience that isn’t gimmicky. Attendees will also have the opportunity to build and customize a small site in www.wordpress.com .   Who should attend: This workshop will be of interest to anyone working in a library who would like to learn how to design a user-friendly website, and make the most of the myriad opportunities that exist on the modern web for enhancing and promoting your library’s website.  Fees & Registration: BCLA Members $100; Non-Members $125.  Registration Deadline: 3:00 pm, Thursday, October 29, 2009 (but please register as soon as possible, as this event is likely to sell out quickly).

• Announcing the TD National Reading Summit: "Reading and Democracy," November 12 and 13, 2009.  The TD National Reading Summit will bring together writers, educators, publishers, librarians, and public officials who care about crafting a blueprint for a reading Canada. Speakers from across the country and around the world will share their research and experience in developing reading promotion programs, and delegates will lay the groundwork for implementing new programs and policies with both provincial and federal participation. For more information, email info@nationalreadingsummit.ca .

• April 22-24, 2010 – BC Library Conference.  The BC Library Association, the BC Library Trustees Association and the Health Libraries Association of BC invite you to the sunny, scenic Okanagan for the 2010 BC Library Conference at the new Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, just two blocks from the beach and Okanagan Lake.  The Conference Call for Proposals is now available at www.bcla.bc.ca/documents/BCLC_Conference_Call_for_Proposals2010.pdf – the deadline for submissions is Monday, October 26th, 2009.  Registration for delegates will open in early spring 2010.

BCLTA welcomes the submission of upcoming events of interest to trustees.  Please send notice to Mandy Davies at admin@bclta.org to have your event included in next week’s bulletin.

[Back to Top]

MEMBER INFORMATION REQUESTS

• BCLTA hereby issues a call for resolutions to be considered at the Association’s upcoming Annual General Meeting, to be held Saturday, April 24th in conjunction with the 2010 BC Library Conference in Penticton. Resolutions must be forwarded to BCLTA by February 23, 2010 (60 days prior to the AGM) and shall only be accepted from Institutional Members in good standing.  Voting Representatives of Institutional Members may also put forward resolutions from the floor of the AGM which, if duly seconded, shall require a three-quarter majority to be considered.  Please forward all resolutions to admin@bclta.org .   

• BCLTA is looking to update its Strategic Planning Resources webpage at www.bclta.org .  Please contact Mandy Davies at admin@bclta.org if you have experience with a project consultant who provided excellent facilitation of your strategic planning process – or if you know of, and would recommend to other library boards, a company or person working in this field.

Do you have an information need, issue or concern you’d like to put to the larger trustee community?  If so, consider submitting a member information request to Mandy Davies at admin@bclta.org .  Often our best resource is each other!

[Back to Top]

ADVERTISEMENTS

Advertising in BCLTA’s Open Door newsletter, weekly member bulletin and website is now available to businesses, consulting firms and others who provide goods and services of interest to library trustees and public libraries.  Please contact Mandy Davies at admin@bclta.org for information on BCLTA advertising criteria and pricing.

[Back to Top]