2000-2009
The Nebraska Library Commission welcomed the Millennium by reviewing all
software used for Y2K compatibility. January 1, 2000 arrived with little or
no fanfare in the technical sense and projects were as follows:
The State Advisory Council on
Libraries recommended action on NebrasKard at its March 2000 meeting in
Kearney. The Council urged implementation of NebrasKard, a voluntary
reciprocal borrowing agreement permitting registered borrowers of
participating libraries to borrow materials from other participating
libraries. Nebraska's postsecondary libraries had introduced a reciprocal
borrowing agreement several years earlier.
In response to the State Advisory
Council on Libraries action, a meeting of an ad hoc committee was convened
by the Nebraska Library Commission to discuss the NebrasKard proposal.
Working from other states' materials, the committee suggested adapting
provisions of the Colorado program for use in Nebraska and the Library
Commission initiated the program later in the year.
The Nebraska Library Commission partnered with the Nebraska Center for
the Book to initiate the annual Nebraska Book Awards program to recognize
and honor books that are written by Nebraska authors, published by Nebraska
publishers, set in Nebraska, or concerning Nebraska. The Awards competition opens in
March each year, with entries due by the end of June each year. Books
published in the previous year, as indicated by the copyright date, are
eligible for nomination.
Using the theme,
Libraries for the Centuries,
the Nebraska Library Commission spent all of 2001
commemorating the centennial history of this Nebraska state library agency
and celebrating the future of libraries in the 21st Century. On February 22,
2001 Governor Mike Johanns signed a proclamation congratulating and
recognizing the Nebraska Library Commission for one hundred years of service
to the State of Nebraska. On February 21, 2001 Sen. DiAnna Schimek
introduced a legislative resolution commemorating the Library Commission
Centennial. On February 23, 2001, the resolution was presented to
library supporters from across the state in the Capitol Rotunda. A
Centennial Speaker Series
kept the Centennial Celebration alive throughout the year.
Bibliostat
In 2001, completing a public library's statistical report was made simpler.
The Nebraska Library Commission licensed two statistical products:
Bibliostat™ Collect and Bibliostat™ Connect.
These programs helped to make collection and use of public library
statistics more efficient and user-friendly. This software included a
customized Internet survey application to create an online version of the
Public Library Statistical Report and allow for submission of data via the
Internet, as well as a Web-based tool that provides easy access to
comparative statistics about libraries (making it possible to identify peer
libraries and compare specific data elements).
The Nebraska Library Commission launched the
Making a Difference
@ your library®
listening and learning campaign in the spring of 2001. Library
Commission representatives visited every public library in Nebraska to meet
with library staff members and supporters to assess the impact on local
library services of federal and state-funded support provided by the Library
Commission. This information was used to inform the
"Library
Services and Technology Act Five-Year Plan Evaluation".
More than 4,600 Nebraskans with visual or physical impairment enjoyed books
by their favorite authors, including current bestsellers, even though they
were unable to use regular print. As borrowers of the Nebraska Library
Commission's
Talking Book and Braille Service
these individuals received free books and magazines through the mail, on
cassette, or in Braille—with return postage prepaid using the "Free Matter
for the Blind or Handicapped" distinction. In 2002, its fiftieth year of
operation, the Talking Book and Braille Service offered 51,000 book titles
and 75 magazines, mostly on cassette, to any Nebraskan who could not see to
read regular print, hold a book, or turn its pages.
In 2003 recruitment and retention of professional library staff was
documented as a national need and found to be historically difficult in
rural Nebraska. The need for pre-professional programs to attract promising
high school and college students was identified as Nebraska Library
Commission staff conducted the
Making a Difference @
your library®
Evaluation.
Recruiting the Next Generation of Nebraska Librarians @ the Movies
project enhanced participation in the library profession by
members of traditionally underrepresented groups and underserved
communities. A movie trailer, displays, and print materials were combined
with a specialized Website to support Nebraska mentor/recruiters providing
information about library jobs and links to educational resources. With
funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services 21st Century Librarian Program,
students received scholarships, internships, and grants to support their
educational efforts. Administered
by the Nebraska Library Commission from November 2004 through October 2008,
mentor/recruiters were provided with training and marketing kits to
implement a statewide campaign.
The Nebraska Library Commission participated in a number of grant activities
funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation U.S. Library Program. In 2003
public libraries serving communities with more than ten per cent of the
population below the poverty level received new computers, software, and
technical support. In 2004 and 2005 libraries benefited from additional
grants to provide technology training through in-person workshops and online
classes. In 2006 the Gates Rural Sustainability grants provided workshops
for public library staff and trustees in communities smaller than 25,000 to
help empower them to meet challenges and sustain public access computer
programs. From 2007 through 2009 the Nebraska Library Commission partnered
with the Foundation to provide technology training sessions, hardware and
software for WiFi Connectivity, and hardware and software for public access
computing through matching grants coupled with advocacy training.
Since its inception in 2003, the Books in Series web page was
consistently one of the heaviest-visited sections of the Commission website.
Books in Series enabled librarians and their customers to search by author,
series name, or book title—especially helpful when searching a voluminous series
such as Star Wars or Star Trek. Many users have submitted additional
series lists to be included in the database.
On January 31, 2004 the Nebraska Library Commission launched
NebraskAccess, a new site for access to
statewide databases. This website provided new features for users, with
Nebraska citizens able to logon to the statewide databases using their
Nebraska Driver's License or State Identification number. The NebraskAccess
site also featured slideshow tutorials for database searchers and a
Librarian's Toolbox with training and communication materials for library
staff. In 2009 the site was upgraded with a new look and expanded resources,
including web resources selected by librarians. Topic headings were designed
to lead users to free resources, as well as subscription databases funded by
the Library Commission using both state and federal funds.
The
Nebraska Memories project was
initiated by the Nebraska Library Commission in 2004 to provide
access to historically and culturally significant digital collections
created by Nebraska libraries, either alone or in partnership with other
Nebraska institutions (such as museums and historical societies). Nebraska
Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical
and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of
all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories project was built using
OCLC's CONTENTdm software to import, organize, manage, store, search and
share digital objects, including scanned photographs, digital image files
and digital audio and video files.
The notion of one book/one city (state, county, church, etc.) was the
brainchild of the now famous Seattle Librarian Nancy Pearl, who is the
likeness for the librarian action figure. The Nebraska Center for the Book,
Nebraska Library Commission, Nebraska Library Association, and Nebraska
Humanities Council spearheaded the
One Book One Nebraska
initiative in 2005, promoting a title each year for Nebraska citizens to
read to celebrate the literary richness of our state.
An international library leadership institute was
held in the fall of 2007
at the Nebraska Library Commission. Eighteen librarians from Nebraska,
Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, and El Salvador attended the
Thinking outside the Borders Institute, a National Leadership Grant
activity funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. The
international visitors from Central and South America attended discussion
sessions in Lincoln and the annual conference of the Nebraska Library
Association/Nebraska Educational Media Association in Kearney.
Building on the success of the previous SOLINET Shared Collections, the
Library Commission began offering an eBook collection created especially for
public libraries in the spring of 2008, beginning with 350 titles and
expanding to 1,000 as participation increased. It included content from
leading publishers and focused on books copyright 2006 and newer.
In March 2008 the Nebraska Library Commission, in conjunction with 25
Nebraska libraries (referred to collectively as the Nebraska OverDrive
Libraries Group), launched a shared collection of digital audiobooks with
more than 700 fiction, non-fiction, adult, and children's titles. Customers
of these libraries downloaded audiobooks to a PC/laptop, burned them to CDs
or transferred them to portable devices (MP3 players, smartphones, and car
stereos). Cost-sharing between members and financial support from the
Nebraska Library Commission enabled to the number of titles to grow to
1,351, with 17,522 checkouts during the first year.
Future Search 2008
Paul Hoffman illustrates the conversation
The Library Commission hosted the Nebraska Libraries Future Search
Conference in 2008, with more than eighty invited participants from inside
and outside the library profession, to bring fresh perspective to Nebraska
library service needs and foster direction, partnerships, and collaboration.
This follow-up to the Nebraska Information Partnerships statewide conference
sponsored by the Nebraska Library Commission in 1991, produced a variety of
ideas and suggestions for action, which the participants took to their
respective organizations for implementation.
In the fall of 2008, the Library Commission began offering opportunities to
participate in Library Camp, a series of "unconferences" throughout the
state of Nebraska. These "unconferences" had no pre-selected presenters.
They featured group discussions on topics selected by the participants to
increase conversation about how to implement customer-friendly libraries and
improve services and organizations to meet the needs of communities.
A group of librarians and library managers from Tajikistan visited the
Nebraska Library Commission in Fall 2008. Sponsored by the U.S. Agency for
International Development and co-hosted by University of Nebraska-Lincoln
(UNL) Department of Educational Administration and UNL libraries, the
visitors learned about the mission and roles of a state library agency and
toured the facility.
Right: Scott Scholz (seated), Talking Books Circulation Manager, demonstrating
Talking Book recording.
In 2009 the Nebraska Library Commission premiered a new weekly online
webinar event,
NCompass Live, covering NLC activities and library
topics presented by NLC staff and guests. The free one-hour sessions
included presentations, interviews, book reviews, Web tours, mini training
sessions, and Q & A sessions.
NCompass Live sessions were recorded
and archived for later viewing.
The Nebraska Library Commission's
Library Services and Technology Act
(LSTA) Plan 2008-2012 was produced based on the Commission's ongoing
administration of Nebraska's LSTA program, emerging issues and trends, input
from the library community and public, five-year program evaluation
(completed earlier in the year), and input from the State Advisory Council on
Libraries, Commission members and staff, and regional public meetings held
to solicit ideas and conversation concerning libraries and library services
for the five-year period.
A long relationship between the Nebraska Library Commission and OCLC ended
in 2009, with the termination of Nebraska's NEBASE OCLC network. The
Nebraska Library Commission thanked NEBASE members for their support over
the past 33 years, with appreciation given to librarians who served as
representatives to Users and Members Council, the NEBASE Advisory Council,
and to past and present NEBASE staff. The Nebraska Library Commission's
Technology and Access Services evolved from NEBASE and NLC Network Services
to promote and support Nebraska libraries in their efforts to share
resources and information.
The Nebraska Library Commission introduced Nebraska Learns 2.0:
23 Things to encourage library
staff to experiment with the new technology reshaping the way people and
libraries access information and communicate with each other. One hundred
and sixty-five participants began the program and wrote 2,383 blog posts and
left 2,257 comments on the Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog in 2009. Eighty-three
people finished all 23 Things by
the deadline and earned fifteen continuing education credits.
In 2009 the Nebraska Library Commission provided funding for a pilot project
to create an open source cooperative library catalog system in Nebraska.
Seven libraries of all sizes participated in the initiation of the
Nebraska
Pioneer Project, the pilot collaborative effort to test the
Koha software.