Opening Keynote: “This is Not Your Grandmother’s Library”

Lucy Pana, Executive Director, The
Alberta Library Online

Note taker: K. Mogg

• Ontario andAlberta: parallel roads; experiences to share
• presentation framed in terms of how Library services in
  Alberta have been changed by collaboration

Alberta Libraries:

• consortia of public, special, university and college libraries; 15,000-25000 dollars depending on library
• NEOS consortium
• services not directly to citizens but to member libraries
• 7 regional libraries, libraries designated as nodes, all schools, provincial libraries           
• provide services to 270 libraries
• regional networks: essential to achieving this
• 7 affiliate members
• help rural libraries without technology
• Vision: Universal barrier free access for all Albertans to information and ideas delivered in a dynamic model of cooperation extending beyond walls and beyond current levels of performance
• Values: life long learning; leadership (help organizations help users); respect (equity); inclusion (active participation of all members); openness (candor, accountability)
• Key for collaboration : healthy partners make healthy partnership
• membership: give and receive

Governance:

Board of directors-executive: Standing committees: governance; finance; advocacy, APLEN, Lois Hole Campus
Alberta digital library; Service Committees (participation of all levels of staff)

• collaborative rather competitive environment
• Alberta: allows membership fees—how does this go along with access?
• Position of
  Alberta Library: decided not to take position on fees; membership divided
• many members have revenue from this; government doesn’t support
• autonomy for members; but, participation in one aspect must continue once started
• joint contribution of resources

Resource Sharing:

• The Alberta Library (TAL) facilitates sharing collections among libraries by giving better access to both existing and new content, and sharing human resources
• need for one card?  (right now multiple cards, not just the TAL)
• symbol of Barrier free access
• TAL Online—access to catalogues of member libraries
• Ask a question-collaborative virtual reference

Background:

• province wide library card wanted by TAL         
• “fear of the hordes”; that members won’ ‘clean up collections’
• a few early champions; college and public libraries participate
• questions around reciprocal borrowing
• Faculty at post-secondary institutions worried about loss of material
• limit to five books on card; provision for losses; budgeted for $3000 (usually never spent, except for one year)
• policy passed at first policy meeting
• within two to three years, TAL card implemented
• criteria for membership: must agree to reciprocal borrowing
• Alberta never had a union catalogue; were participants capable of participating in program?
• achieved by funding through APLAN
• Knowledge Network—Universities-used Site-Search; usability testing; provided training to library staff; intro to TAL online
• provides a safety net to rural libraries
• success: interaction between public and academic libraries
• non technical perspective: made it possible for critical mass re; participation; readiness for libraries, launched publicly, investigated technology
• link to TAL online appeared on Government site shortly after
• ILL service started; not all members comfortable with mediated requests
• ILL service generates fear of hordes, too
• 4 week period to test
• Knowledge Network funding: reference service; started through colleges; then tweaked for public library needs
• when receiving library can’t answer question, goes to group

Infrastructure:

*SuperNet project

-facilitates decision-making for libraries with respect to the SuperNet

*Community Access program:

-administration of grants on behalf of industry
Canada

*IT Services

• authentication services
• taught lessons: started with software that ended up not being scaleable; originally used with 7 databases with patron codes; but, in fact, each library used own codes (not compatible); authentication software continually crashed; system unavailable; moved to Proxy service; lost credibility during this time
• Advice: be thorough when testing!
• Workshop on limitations with software, etc
• problems with huge expectations from public, etc
• Decided on remote hosting
• feasibility: membership willing to share ongoing costs; 13 colleges participated
• linking determined to not be biggest priority
• public: federated searching capability
• can’t adopt monolithic solutions
• autonomy and diversity of libraries; some software works for everyone but some don’t
• don’t make assumptions about technology
• perception of loss of autonomy: must build in opportunities for input, shared decision making (this does risk being slower)
• must also keep up with new advances, challenges

Content Enhancement

• TAL coordinates the acquisition and creation of electronic information resources on behalf of member libraries, thereby improving access to quality content
• lessons costs (ie data bases suites) dramatically
• benefits academic institutions
• divided in half: shared costs are 50%, then the other 50% is divided among population service  numbers of institution
• there was an initial feeling that larger academic institutions needs might not be met by sharing with public system; this had to be tested;-evaluation: concept was a success
• members asked for views on content
• increase costs?
• what happened: TAL offered larger set of materials that benefited all institutions

–negotiation and administration of electronic resources (licensing)

*Subscriptions Alberta universal core

*Online Reference Centre

• -CNIB partnership
• Tal coordinates and provides professional development and training opportunities focusing on TAL’s programs and services
• introduce new technology
• symposia held
• ie federated searching; learn about range of products available; solicit recommendations
• speaker from Google;
• technology trainer on staff; core competencies decided upon (on website)
• launched Visual Course builder; training modules—for library staff and users; LIS migration
• working on remote education access

Advocacy:

*TAL provides support to and partnering with libraries and provincial library associations in advocacy for libraries

• action teams
• use for leverage
• latest challenge: implementing Lois Hole campus digital library
• Electronic and digital resources that will bring content rich collections to post-secondary
• institutions and their constituents, delivered dynamically using state-of the art technologies to the four corners of
  Alberta-
• government changes: beneficially impacted achieving this goal; committed 30, mil. Dollars over three years
• Business plan developed over last year
• program manager immediately hired; new steering committee

Vision of the Lois Hole Digital library

• Expands the digital resources and services available to Albertans by:-
• developing a collection of licensed resources
• identifying and digitizing
  Alberta material and material for Albertans
• developing technology infrastructures needed to support delivery of and use of resources and services
• establishing electronic repositories to manage and preserve content
• developing information literacy programs to assist faculty and library staff to help learners use resources effectively
• First Nations colleges included; first time it will be happening on large scale
• detailed implementation plan
• staff being hired
• preliminary target for content: September 2006
• should change be introduced incrementally?
• this not always possible; staff is doubling; facilities being looked at, business models being examined
• examples of first hand accounts: how this consortia has helped
• most academics now aware of the project; and supportive; “you have opened the world for our students”
• core users: always changing;

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