March 15, 2012 (Vol. 18, No. 6) – OLA News

2012 OLA Special  Election Results

Michele Burke

The votes are in!  The results of the OLA 2012 special election for Vice-President/President is announced. Please congratulate–
Vice-President/President-Elect: Michele Burke, Reference Librarian, Chemeketa Community College Library.
To view photos and biographical information of all OLA elected officers,  click on the link here:
http://www.olaweb.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=131886&orgId=ola
OLA will be well served by Michele.  Much appreciation to our other candidate on the slate, Garrett Trott.  Also sincere thanks to Emily Papagni who served with me on the Nominating Committee.   Finally, thanks to all of you who voted. -Rob Everett

Legislative News
A fast and furious session didn’t lead to big changes in the library world.  One bill, HB 4016, does affect libraries.  This adds people who are mandated to report suspected child abuse to an existing list.   The amendment added the language that any  “employee of a public or private organization providing child-related services or activities” must report.  The opinion of our lobbyist, Special Districts Counsel and others is that this means library staff who work with children.  The Legislative Committee knows that many of you are already working locally to define what this new reporting means.  We anticipate more guidance coming from the state.

We were disappointed that the reporting by school districts on school library services and many important Division 22 standards was suspended again (SB 1581).  This means it is almost impossible to get accurate data on the state of school libraries.  But it was wrapped up in the Governor’s education bill and not a fight that we could win.

The Working Group on Libraries and Archives presented the final report to the Joint Ways and Means Committee on General Government.  The limited debate focused on services to government and our new State Librarian, MaryKay Dahlgreen, handled the questions deftly. In general, the group’s recommendations are logical and many will be implemented in the next couple of years.  None required legislative action, just greater cooperation among the State Archives, the State Library and the State Law Library.  It was a positive exercise.

That’s all for now. See you in Bend for our session – Cold Calling for Shy Librarians.
-Janet Webster, chair, OLA Legislative Committee

Got Advocacy? OLAQ Needs You
Librarians and library staff come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors.  But if we have one thing in common, it’s this:  whether we work in public, school, academic, or special libraries, we are facing similar challenges that require advocacy.  Another generalization about us library folk is that we are consistently open to sharing what we know.  For a group of people stereotyped as quiet, if you ask us a question about libraries, we’ll have plenty to say.  Right now, no other issue or topic seems more deserving of a tell-all than advocacy.

Advocacy is the theme for the summer issue of the OLAQ.  So, tell us.  We want to hear your advocacy stories, ideas, and strategies.  What’s working?  What’s not working?  What successes have you had?  What has failed?  What are your tried and true methods?  What are your wild and ambitious brainstorms?  Has your library been in a crisis that demanded an emergency advocacy plan?  Have you been building a sustained long-term advocacy effort for years?  Have you had to advocate for your own position or the rights of your patrons?  How should we be thinking about advocacy at the local, state, or federal level?  How and what should we be communicating, and with whom?

Publication timeline:  Send a brief description of your proposed article to kread@clark.edu by April 1.  Authors will be notified by April 15.  Final articles are due by June 1.  The issue will be published on July 15. Instructions for authors can be found here:  http://tinyurl.com/7jrvbd6

Looking forward to your ideas,
Kim Read, Adjunct Reference Librarian, Clark College, kread@clark.edu

Legal Reference Round Table Reports on Superseded ORS Digitization Project
Until a few months ago, anyone looking for superseded, historical, Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) did not have an easy task at hand.  A few paid legal research databases offer the statutes, but only back to the late 80s and early 90s.  The Internet Archive likewise has some versions of the statutes, but they are not easy to find.  Locating the statutes was also complicated by the fact that there are only three complete print sets of the ORS in the entire state.  From 1953 though 1987, the statutes were printed on loose-leaf paper and stored in binders, which enabled the removal of replaced chapters as laws were changed or created. Instead of retaining the old pages, many law libraries simply discarded the chapters being replaced with new versions.  So, in 2011, the Washington County Law Library started scanning the 1953-1987 superseded ORS editions (the “gutbusters”).  The superseded statutes are referred to as “gutbusters” because the pages are filed in 7-10” gut-busting (to lift) loose-leaf binders.  Sadly, none of the complete sets were available for scanning, but the library was able to use their own incomplete set and a near-complete set from the State of Oregon Law Library. It was, and still is, a laborious and complex management project for a small law library, but it will benefit all Oregon law researchers.

The Washington County Law Librarian wanted a publicly-accessible, free host for the data and discussed hosting options with legal information vendors and state officials. The best of all hosts, Oregon Legislative Counsel, came through, and the data is beginning to appear on the Legislature’s website, http://www.leg.state.or.us/bills_laws/, under “Selected Archives of the Oregon Revised Statutes.”  As an added bonus, Legislative Counsel already had the data for the 1995-2009 ORS, and was able to upload those laws to the website as well.  As of early March, the Legislature’s website offers the following superseded laws: 1953-1967; 1995-2009.

More information about the project is available at the Oregon Legal Research blog. The project’s blog posts are listed under the label “Gutbusters.”  Holly Gerber, Washington County Law Library

OLA/OASL Proposed Merger – Second in a Series of Four Merger Benefits: Winning Advocacy!
The election considering the merger of the Oregon Association of School Libraries into OLA as a division will be held at the business meeting (Thursday, April 26, 2012 lunch) at the OLA Annual Conference in Bend. The OASL membership has already approved merging at their October conference. April will be OLA’s chance to vote. The ballot resolution will be communicated in advance to OLA members. In the Hotlines preceding the OLA election merger benefits will be featured. The full proposal about the merger can be found on the OLA home page at http://www.olaweb.org. If you have questions contact OLA Board members or members of the OLA-OASL Joint Committee on School-Public Library Cooperation (contact information on the website.)

With school library media specialists folded into OLA political effectiveness will increase. The OLA lobbyist and the OLA Library Development and Legislation Committee can plan seamless advocacy, coordinating all library efforts and maximizing our strength in numbers. And a merger will facilitate fostering public support through coordinated public relations outreach. The alliances necessary to advocate for all types of libraries in local communities will be forged.

Submitted by Mary Ginnane, Past-president, mjginnane@gmail.com, and the OLA-OASL Joint Committee on School-Public Library Cooperation

OLA Conference
Only one more day remains to take advantage of the Early Bird Registration rates for this year’s conference!  Friday, March 16th is the last day you can take advantage of the Early Bird Rates.    www.olaweb.org/page/conf2012

Take a sneak peak at this year’s conference keynote speaker, Robert Killen, Executive Director, City Club of Central Oregon.  http://youtu.be/vhSwZqE5fz4

Show your 2012 OLA Conference Badge at the High Desert Museum and receive a 20% discount on the price of admission at the museum.  This special deal for OLA Conference attendees is good April 25-April 28, 2012.www.highdesertmuseum.org

Volunteers Sought for OLA Conference

Planning to attend the 2012 OLA Conference? Have some down time? Please consider volunteering. We are looking for people to direct traffic, count attendees at programs, assist at the registration table and any other “duties as assigned” that may come up. Contact: Cathy Zgraggen/Deschutes Public Library –Supervisor, La Pine Public Library at cathyz@deschuteslibrary.org or 541.312.1094

Recognize Your Esteemed Peers
There’s still time to nominate someone for the 2012 OYAN You’re Excellent Award.  If you know someone who has made a difference for teens, we want to hear about it.  The OYEA! may be awarded to an individual, library, organization, program, or initiative that has made a positive and significant contribution to teens in libraries in the state of Oregon.  The honoree will receive an engraved plaque and a $100 donation to the teen service program of their choice.  If needed, funds are available to ensure that the honoree attends the 2012 OLA Annual Conference to receive the acknowledgement of their peers.

Nominations for this coveted award are open until March 31st.  Please include the following: Nominee’s name and contact information, description of the nominee’s positive and significant contributions to teens in libraries in the state of Oregon,
and any accompanying letters of support.  We especially like to hear from teens and it’s okay to send under separate cover.
Mail or email your letter of nomination and letters of support to: Susan Smallsreed,
Northwest Library, 2300 NW Thurman St., Portland, OR 97210

More Honors & Awards
There is still time to honor your library colleagues! Don’t delay, you have until March 23rd to recognize your colleagues, supporters, and co-workers.   Do it now, it doesn’t take much time!!!!!!

Yes, it is time to think about who has done an outstanding job or taken on a project or been responsible for a success in our libraries this year!    Tell us about those talented, dedicated individuals whose commitment to excellent library service has made a difference.   The OLA Honors & Awards Committee wants to know who those individuals or groups are and we want you to tell us!

Nominations are open for the following awards:

• Oregon Librarian of the Year
• Library Employee of the Year
• OLA Distinguished Service Award
• Library Supporter of the Year

Nomination letters (with no more than six letters of support) are due Friday, March 23, 2012.  These awards will be presented to recipients at the 2012 OLA Annual Conference Luncheon Banquet in Bend on Friday, April 27, 2012.

If you need more info, read the awards guidelines and let me know if you have questions.  Take a look at http://www.olaweb.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=58280&orgId=ola

Please send nominating letters and supporting letters by Friday, March 23, 2012, to:
Leah Griffith, HAS Chair
e-mail:   leah.griffith@newbergoregon.gov
You can also send via mail to me at:
Newberg Public Library
503 E. Hancock
Newberg,  OR  97132

e-mail or call me at 503-537-1256 if you have any questions.    We will be looking forward to your nominations.

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