SIGNAL - an e-mail newsletter

May 28, 2004

Published by the Southern Ontario Library Service. The introductory page for the Southern Ontario Library Service is www.sols.org . From that page, you can move to any other pages created by staff at the Southern Ontario Library Service, as well as to links to resources and professional information.

Note - as this is an older newsletter, some links may no longer be valid, or may refer you to a section of the site that has been updated in the interim. Please contact if you want more information on a specific initiative.

1. SOLS BUDGET AND DELIVERY SERVICE
2. CONSORTIA PURCHASING AGREEMENTS
3. IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING VDX UPGRADE
4. TRENDS REPORT FROM LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT STAFF
5. LIBRARY BUILDING PROJECT COSTS
6. SOLS MENTORING PROGRAM
7. SOLS TRAINING AND EXCEL REGISTRATION INFORMATION
8. LIBRARY COMMITTEE MEETINGS
9. ANNUAL SURVEY 2003
10. UPDATE: Policy Requirements under the Municipal Act, 2001
11. SOLS CEO LISTSERV

In light of the budget constraints SOLS is facing, we will be modifying our delivery benchmarks and reducing the frequency of interlibrary loan delivery. The new benchmarks may be found on our Web site under "Delivery Service" at http://www.sols.org/resourcesharing/delivery/index.htm. Libraries affected by this change will receive letters in June and the changes will be implemented in early September 2004. In all, 73 libraries (about 50% of those on delivery) will see some reduction in delivery frequency. The changes will save SOLS about $44,000, and finance one new van per year.

The changes to the delivery service are part of the $200,000 shortfall projected for this year that also led to closing the Ottawa office, downsizing the Toronto office and several other administrative and staffing reductions and fee increases. Still under review are some of our consulting services and their associated fees.

2. CONSORTIA PURCHASING AGREEMENTS

SOLS negotiates charitable/consortia purchasing agreements (CPAs) on behalf of SOLS libraries. CPAs are ‘economies of scale’ pricing for the purchase or lease of a range of goods and services. Updates for this month include:

A CPA for Copy/Printer Paper with Cascade Resources. This is a trial agreement which will require volume to continue past September 30, 2004. The minimum order is $100.00. The contact person for this CPA is Julie White 1-416-298-5841, fax: 1-416-412-9220.

A renewal of our previous CPA for fridge magnets with the Jan Way Company. The renewal is a result of client requests and the popularity of our original agreement. The Canadian sales representative is Bill Lynch 1-416 244-4024.

Further information on Charitable/Consortia Purchasing Agreements can be found at http://www.sols.org/resourcesharing/coolcpa/index.htm. At that Web page, the various CPAs are organized by Product and service, as well as by Vendor. The contact person for the CPAs is the SOLS Purchaser, Ron Neems. Ron can be reached at 1-416-961-1669 or 1-800-387-5765 ext. 5115 or by e-mail at

Beginning Friday, June 11, 2004 at 5:00 p.m. EST, VDX will not be available to users for four days. Please mark your calendars and inform relevant staff in your library. Fretwell Downing will begin the install of VDX 2.7 on our production INFO system at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 11th. The installation will take through the weekend. SOLS VDX System Administrators will conduct confidence testing and configuration on the system on Monday and Tuesday (June 14-15). The new VDX version 2.7 will be available to users as of Wednesday, June 16, 2004 at 9:00 a.m. EST.

If you have any questions about this schedule, please contact Jill Pangborne, SOLS.

In recent years, despite predictions to the contrary, we in the public library community have seen numerous new and renovated library buildings appear in small and large communities across North America. Whereas it was thought that technology advances would place less demand on the library facility, the opposite has proven to be the case. Not only are libraries being built, rebuilt and improved upon, they are being planned and built with attention to beauty and practicality, form and function. Several of the design features identified in this report have been around for a number of years, others have emerged more recently. All of them are worthy of consideration by anyone embarking on a library building project, as well as those wanting to breathe new life into an existing facility.

A report by SOLS Consultant, Anne Marie Madziak entitled "22 Recent and Enduring Design Trends in Ontario Public Libraries" has been posted in the Publications of the SOLS Web site at http://www.sols.org/librarydev/publications/index.htm

In 2002, SOLS consultants compiled information on the costs of library building projects. This information was then posted on the SOLS Web site. Recently, this section was updated with additional projects. The revised chart on the cost of building projects is posted in the "Consulting section" of the SOLS Web site at http://www.sols.org/consulting/info/buildingcosts.htm  

If your library has completed a building project, please consider providing us with costing information. Contact Gwen Wheeler at for more information on submitting data.

6. SOLS MENTORING PROGRAM

SOLS staff continue to support the Mentoring Program for new library CEOs. A six-month check-in with one of the current mentoring partnerships resulted in comments from the mentor, such as "Since we have had experience with raising funds in a small community for a renovation and expansion she felt that we may have some good advice in how to get started" and "The advance e-mail with the questions she will be asking is particularly useful for the mentor to prepare information for the telephone call." From the participant, the comments included, "For me, the relationship is very beneficial and my mentor is a wealth of knowledge." and "Thanks for starting this program. Maybe some day I will graduate to a mentor!" For more information, please contact Rob Lavery.

Information about Fall training workshops and for the Fall semester of the EXCEL distance education program, as well as registration forms for each, will be posted on the SOLS Web site at the beginning of July. Information in print form will be mailed to every public library site by mid-July.

Information about the ARUPLO (Administrators of Rural-Urban Libraries of Ontario)/County Library training program, which will be held at the Kempenfelt Centre, has now been posted on the SOLS Web site at http://www.sols.org/librarydev/training/kempenfelt/index.htm

8. LIBRARY COMMITTEE MEETINGS

SOLS provides an opportunity for library staff members to meet and discuss issues of common interest. Committee meetings of area libraries are held three times a year, and often involve a special clinic on a particular area of interest. Information about the meetings, including an agenda for each meeting, is posted on the SOLS Web site at http://www.sols.org/librarydev/networking/librarycommittee/index.htm. The next round of meetings will be as follows:

The 2003 Annual Survey of Public Libraries forms are posted at http://www.culture.gov.on.ca/english/culdiv/library/statistics/survey2003-forms.htm . You can also reach the Ministry Web site through the SOLS Web site (www.sols.org) – there is a link to the Ministry in the left navigation bar.

The deadlines for submission are:

Municipal/Union/County library boards and county library co-operatives are required to submit the survey by June 7, 2004.

First Nations Bands are required to submit the survey by June 30, 2004.

The completed Annual Survey of Public Libraries must be submitted to the Ministry at:

If you have survey questions, please contact Bill Mitchell at 1-866-786-1669 or . First Nations libraries can contact Patty Lawlor at 1-800-387-5765, ext. 5107 or at

Under the Municipal Act, 2001, section 270, public library boards must adopt policies with respect to the hiring of employees, including, and under section 271, policies with respect to the procurement of goods and services, before January 1, 2005.A summary of the requirements for these two policies, as well as a list of available resources, is posted at http://www.sols.org/links/clearinghouse/legislation/resources/municipalact2001/index.htm

By June 30, 2004, SOLS will review all of the key resources, summarize and extract relevant sections, draft sample policies covering all required elements, and distribute these items to all public library boards in southern Ontario. While waiting for these resources, library CEOs and boards should consider reviewing existing procurement policies and those of your municipality. It may also be advisable, after determining how the municipality will be proceeding, to consider whether the policies being developed by the municipality would suit the library situation or whether library-specific policies are required.

SOLS maintains a list of all the e-mail addresses for SOLS CEOs. It is this list that is used to distribute Signal. Several times through the month, you may also receive other messages from SOLS staff members. In May, the following messages were sent:

If you did not receive any one of these messages, and would like further information, please contact the SOLS HelpDesk at 1-800-387-5765, ext. 4 or by e-mail to

All issues of SIGNAL, including the French version of SIGNAL, can be viewed online at http://www.sols.org/librarydev/publications/Signal/index.htm. However, if anyone would like to receive the e-mail version of this newsletter, please send a message to . You can reach the editor of SIGNAL at:  or by telephone at 1-866-380-9767.