SIGNAL - an
e-mail newsletter
November 30,
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.
========================================
In this issue:
1.
CONSORTIA/CHARITABLE PURCHASING AGREEMENTS
2.
Five
COOL OFFERS – Various deadlines from December 6th
to December 17th
3.
EBOOK COLLECTION– Information
sessions on December 7 & 8, Registration deadline is Friday,
December 10th
4.
SOLS – COOL
WEB-DELIVERED PRESENTATIONS
5.
SOLS HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
6.
New contact information FOR HELP DESK SUPPORT in FRENCH
7.
Funding Opportunity - Ontario Trillium Foundation
8.
SOLS TRAINING WORKSHOP –
Workshop is Monday, December 6th
9.
VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT
INFORMATION
10.
registration for the EXCEL distance Education Program
- Deadline Tuesday, January 4th
11.
Prix des
lecteurs Radio-Canada - Invitation
- Deadline Friday, December 17th
12.
Theme Selected for First Nations Public Library Week 2005
13.
Theme for
TD Summer Reading Program 2005
14.
Expression of interest for ServiceOntario participation
- Deadline Tuesday, November 30th
15. SOLS CEO LISTSERV
==========================================
1.
CONSORTIA/CHARITABLE 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.
a) Printer-toner
cartridges - In mid-November, the SOLS CEOs were notified that
many of the printer toner cartridge prices with Axidata have been
lowered for the second year of our two year CPA agreement. To order
toner cartridges, or to receive a price quotation for your specific
needs through SOLS CPA, please contact Genevieve Martin at the
Axidata order desk at
GenevieveM@axidata.ca or by telephone at 1-800-387-5288. There
are no shipping charges, but the minimum order to take advantage of
this agreement is $100.00.
b) Office
supplies – On November 29th, a message was sent to
SOLS CEOs and those currently participating in a SOLS CPA regarding
the latest contract price list for the SOLS Grand and Toy CPA for
libraries. A spreadsheet of prices was provided in that e-mail that
showed various prices for products. Any regularly priced office
supplies that are not on this list are 53%; 20% off furniture; and
any items in the catalogue marked "net" items are subject to an 11%
discount for the SOLS CPA libraries. If you do not currently have
an account with Grand and Toy through the SOLS CPA, please contact
Leslie Ruhnke at 1-416-401-6329 or by e-mail at
ruhnkel@grandtoy.com .
Further information on pending Charitable/Consortia
Purchasing Agreements can be found at
http://www.sols.org/resourcesharing/coolcpa/index.htm. On that Web page, the
various CPAs are organized by product and service, as well as by
Vendor. The contact person for most of 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
. If you have ideas for the CPA, please do not
hesitate to contact Ron.
==========================================
2.
COOL OFFERS –
Various deadlines from December 6th to December 17th
Throughout the month of November, a series of messages were
sent by Brenda Lewis to the current COOL subscribers, as well as to
SOLS CEOs through the listserv. For most of these offers, there is
a trial access period. New subscribers
should complete the online registration form at:
http://www.sols.org/COOL/ElectronicResources/Subscribe/subscriptionform.htm.
Renewing libraries may renew by e-mail to
or call 1-800-387-5765, ext. 5130. For
further information on any of these offers, or to receive the
detailed product information if you missed it, contact Brenda Lewis
at 1-800-387-5765, ext. 5130 or through
e-mail to
..
a) Electric Library Canada – The prices for this
product are set by population range and usage level. Just a
reminder that all subscribers who confirm their renewal by
December 31, 2004 will continue to receive last year’s pricing
for next year’s subscription. All new subscribers, who commit by
Wednesday, December 15, 2004, will get a 10% discount off
the current SOLS price.
b) CPI-Q –The
CPI.Q offer for 2004-2005 was described in the e-mail from Brenda
Lewis. Please note that there are price increases at most tiers
(6%). However, there was a 4% discount on the new prices if the
renewal is confirmed before Friday, November 26, 2004, otherwise the
response deadline is Tuesday, December 14, 2004
c) Canada’s Heritage from 1844 – The 2005 offer for
Canada’s Heritage from 1844 was provided in the e-mail. Please note
that there is a price increase of 5% over last year. Just a
reminder that there will be a 10% discount on the new prices, if the
renewal is confirmed by Monday, December 13, 2004.
Trial access to Canada’s Heritage from 1844 is available until
December 15,, 2004.
d) Canadian Almanac & Directory – The information
about the Canada Info Desk (which includes the Almanac, plus
five other directories: Associations Canada, Canadian Environmental
Directory; Financial Services Canada, Governments Canada and the
Directory of Libraries in Canada) was distributed via e-mail. This
is a reminder that orders should be confirmed by Monday, December
6, 2004
e) Gale Group -
The pricing for Gale Group online databases for 2005 was
distributed by e-mail. As an incentive, the 2005 Canadian
Parliamentary Guide will be offered for new subscribers and renewing
subscribers adding a database. The deadline for subscriptions is
Friday, December 17, 2004.
==========================================
3. EBOOK COLLECTION
- New registration deadline Friday, December 10th
SOLS, in conjunction with COOL, is looking to enhance the
Ontario shared ebook collection in the new year using our current
vendor, netLibrary. Almost 70 public libraries, 24 colleges and 20
universities have participated in creating this collection.
Collection #1 numbers over 4800 titles. These titles are accessible
to only those libraries that have participated over the last 2
years. Due to new licensing requirements from netLibrary, separate
collections will be created on an annual basis to ensure that only
those libraries that contribute to the collection have access to the
material purchased.
As an explanation of the shared ebook collection, netLibrary
defines a shared collection as one that will be accessed by two or
more libraries, with one license agreement and one billing entity.
netLibrary operates on a "one book, one reader" model. This means
that a book can be read by only one person at a time, in much the
same way that a print book is used. As soon as a user stops reading
the ebook, or 15 consecutive minutes of inactivity have elapsed, it
goes back on the shelf and is available to others. Titles for the
collection have been selected by an ebook Collection Development
Committee for public libraries. Last year, the Committee focused
their purchases in the following subject areas: Business, health,
information technology, general science, Canadian content.
There are two
components to the pricing of netLibrary ebooks. First, there is the
cost of the books themselves. The ebooks are licensed on a
title-by-title basis and pricing is based on the hard-copy list
price. The second component is the access fee which netLibrary
charges for each ebook. The access fee supports such areas as
storage of ebooks, circulation management, gathering and reporting
statistics and usage information, maintaining and updating the
hardware/software architecture and integration efforts with ILS
vendors.
SOLS has developed
an equitable fee structure which allows public libraries to
participate based on the population they serve within their
communities. For example, the fee for a library serving a population
under 15,000 would be $100 and the fee for a library serving between
15,001 and 50,000 would be $500.
ebook titles are
available to patrons at terminals in library branches and from their
home computers via the Internet. Library patrons can search across
the entire eBook collection for authors, titles, or keywords and
they can search within books for keywords and phrases. eBooks are
available for checkout and are automatically checked back into the
library collection when the checkout period expires, making the
eBook available to other patrons. In addition to the collection of
copyrighted eBooks available through the Shared ebooks collection,
patrons have access to more than 4,000 public domain eBooks,
featuring political texts and classics in literature and history.
There is no need for special handheld devices to read eBooks.
For more
information about ebooks with netLibrary, visit
www.netlibrary.com. Please forward any questions and/or
comments to Barbara Franchetto at
. If
you wish to participate in this initiative, please contact Brenda
Lewis at
or 1-800-387-5765 ext. 5130 and indicate whether
you wish to be invoiced for 2004 or 2005 budget year by Friday,
December 10, 2004.
We will be offering netLibrary web sessions (online product
demonstrations) on Tuesday, December 7th (p.m.) and
Wednesday, December 8th (a.m. and p.m.). Please contact Brenda
Lewis at
if you are interested in one of these sessions.
In order to participate, you will need access to a computer with
Internet access and a telephone. If you have a speakerphone,
multiple staff may view the demonstration.
================================
4. SOLS – COOL
WEB-DELIVERED PRESENTATIONS
a) EBSCO Products - SOLS and Ebsco invited libraries
to register for web delivered presentations during the months of
November and December. The sessions are an opportunity for both
subscribers and non-subscribers to receive an overview of the
products, highlighting any new features and searching tips. This is
an opportunity to answer any questions you may have about the
particular product featured in your session. From this offer, the
remaining sessions are:
November 30, from 2-3PM Eastern Time - EBSCOhost
December 1, from 2-3PM Eastern Time - NoveList
December 2, from 2-3PM Eastern Time - EBSCOhost and NoveList
for non-subscribers
December 3, from 2:30-3:30PM Eastern Time - EBSCOhost and
NoveList for non-subscribers
Registration is limited to 5 libraries per session. Internet
access and a telephone are required to participate in the session.
If your library has a speaker phone available, a number of staff
within each location may participate.
Register soon as spaces are limited. Please confirm your
registration with Brenda Lewis at
or call 1-800-387-5765, ext. 5130. Once your
registration has been received, the necessary information to
participate in the web session will be forwarded to you.
b) OCLC Canada
cooperative - To learn about service enhancements from the OCLC
Canada cooperative over the web, OCLC offers the following sessions
in two areas – CONTENTdm and First Search. Each session includes a
live presentation, available at no cost, which you access via the
web from the Microsoft Live Meeting web site. All that is needed to
attend is a computer with internet access and a telephone for audio
access via a conference call.
Hear how
CONTENTdm can help you develop your digital collections and make
them more accessible. In these sessions, you'll see CONTENTdm and
learn how easy it is to provide Web access to your digital
collections and manage them effectively. To register, please go to
http://www.oclc.org/ca/en/info/contentdm/web/ and follow the
link to the web session of your choice. The times are as follows:
Thursday December
2, 2:00pm to 3:00pm
Tuesday December 7,
3:00pm to 4:00pm
Tuesday December
14, 3:00pm to 4:00pm
OCLC is moving its
resource sharing to the FirstSearch platform so that ILL
staff can take advantage of many features available in FirstSearch
that are currently not available through OCLC ILL. These include:
improved searching options, visible local fulfillment options such
as links to local catalogs and improved visibility of serials
holding statements. This session will focus on the FirstSearch
features available to ILL staff. To register, please go to
http://www.oclc.org/ca/en/education/websessions/ca/default.htm
The remaining
session is Thursday December 16, 1:30pm to 3:30pm
==========================================
5. SOLS HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
a) SOLS Delivery
Service
- The 2004 SOLS delivery service Holiday Schedule for the week of
December 20 – 24, 2004 can be found on the SOLS Web site at
http://www.sols.org/resourcesharing/delivery/index.htm
The last full day of delivery for most of the SOLS routes
will be Thursday, December 23, 2004. The routes will resume the
regular schedule starting Tuesday, January 4, 2005. Specific
information regarding changes to each route was provided in an
e-mail sent to the delivery contact in your library, as well as the
SOLSinfoadmin list serv. Specific information on the holiday route
schedules is also posted on the SOLS Web site. If you have any
questions or concerns, please contact Mary Jo Lynett, Supervisor of
Delivery Services, at
or 1-800-387-5765, ext. 5127.
b) SOLS VDX
system -
The SOLS VDX administration staff have created a "holiday calendar"
in the VDX system. The holiday calendar will be in effect from
Thursday, December 23, 2004 to Monday, January 3, 2005. Normal
request movement will commence on Tuesday, January 4, 2005.
Libraries do NOT need to contact SOLS HelpDesk to arrange for
individual suspensions of their location code if their Christmas
shutdown period falls within the “holiday calendar” dates. The
holiday calendar stops requests in their current rota position to
prevent expiry and moving to subsequent locations during the
specified time frame. Putting the Holiday Calendar in place
overrides the 4-day rota expiry on requests that may be in the
system during the holiday season when many ILL Departments and
libraries are closed. It circumvents a glut of “Not Supplied/Check
Manual/End of Rota requests” and the extra work of re-instating
requests into the VDX system when ILLO staff return to work after
the Christmas break.
If
libraries are working and responding to requests, they will move to
the next location if the library answers “Not Supplied”, but if the
request hits a library that is closed, then the request will sit at
that location until Tuesday, January 4, 2005. If your library is
open during this time period, you can still search and issue
requests on the VDX system, but bear in mind that it may take longer
to get a request filled.
c)
SOLS Toronto office – Please note that the SOLS Toronto office
will be closed from the end of day on Friday, December 24, 2004
until 8:30 am on Tuesday, January 4, 2005.
==========================================
6.
New contact information FOR HELP DESK SUPPORT in FRENCH
SOLS would like to thank Clarence-Rockland Public Library for
their idea and willingness to provide HelpDesk support to
French-speaking staff in Ontario public libraries for VDX and
Interlibrary Loan issues. SOLS contracted with Clarence-Rockland
Public Library to provide this service in April 2004. During a six
month review of the service it was found to be under utilized, with
only two libraries presenting a total of 5 questions. While the
focus of the service was to provide VDX technical support to French
libraries, most of the questions have been of a more general nature.
Consequently, and through mutual agreement with Clarence-Rockland
library SOLS will resume delivery of this service to libraries. We
feel that our existing complement of French speaking staff, together
with HelpDesk staff, can handle these types of queries directly
without the need for an intermediary.
Effective November 22, 2004, HelpDesk support for VDX and
Interlibrary Loan provided in the French language can be acquired
by:
a) Using the Web site at
http://www.sols.org/resourcesharing/helpdesk/index.htm
b) Using the
telephone contact. The French HelpDesk telephone contact
will be with Diane Lozanski at 1-866-304-7988 or
1-613-260-2503.
Please note that the contact information for the English
SOLS Helpdesk will remain in the SOLS-Toronto office as
1-800-387-5765. From that general number, press “4” to link to the
SOLS Technical/VDX Helpdesk, and press “0” to request general
information about SOLS or the Library Development services.
==========================================
7.
funding
opportunitY - Ontario Trillium Foundation
On October 22,
2004 at the Clarence-Rockland Public Library, the Hon.
Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Culture, announced Ontario Trillium
Foundation (OTF) support for small community libraries across
Ontario. These libraries will now qualify for Ontario Trillium
Foundation grants under the Special Initiative for Rural and Small
Communities.
In 2003, the
Foundation provided small libraries with grants up to $15,000, under
a one-time strategic granting initiative. Today’s announcement means
that libraries serving small communities will now be able to apply,
on an ongoing basis, for larger grants to support a broad range of
activities. Eligible libraries include library boards serving
municipalities of 20,000 people or less, First Nations libraries,
county library boards and Local Services Boards that offer library
services.
OTF will support
initiatives, including projects to enhance literacy and learning
programs, improve accessibility and provide special equipment for
people with special needs, procure furniture and shelving, acquire
permanent print collections or collections in other media, upgrade
library technology and provide technical training for staff,
volunteers, and the public.
Grant application
information will be available after Wednesday, December 1, 2004 on
the Foundation’s Web site at
www.trilliumfoundation.org. Application deadlines are March 1,
2005, July 1, 2005, and November 1, 2005.
==========================================
8. SOLS TRAINING WORKSHOP –
Workshop is
Monday, December 6th
The remaining SOLS training workshop of the year will be held
at the Huntsville Public Library on Monday, December 6, 2004
from 1-4 pm. “Tickles
and Tunes 2: A workshop with Kathy Reid-Naiman” is a
participatory workshop that will supply library staff with great
tried and true material to inspire and energize your baby time,
toddler and pre-school programs and music circles..
Handouts will be provided with words for
all the material used, as well as an extensive list of resources.
Details and a registration form for the workshop are posted
on the SOLS Web site at
http://www.sols.org/librarydev/training/clinicsworkshops/index.htm.
==========================================
9. VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT
INFORMATION
Thank you to all the participants in the SOLS Workshop entitled
“Valuing our Volunteers” for lots of great ideas and interesting
discussion.
As well, there was
a high level of interest expressed in having a moderated listserv
for library staff who have responsibility for managing volunteers.
SOLS has created this listserv, and it is ready for use. The
listserv is not intended for volunteers, but for library staff to
discuss management issues, training and development opportunities,
and best practices in library volunteer management.
Please send a
message to Rob Lavery at
to have him add you as a member. You can also
go directly to the subscription page on the SOLS Web site at
http://lists.library.on.ca/mailman/listinfo/VOLMGMT. If you
don't have that address at your fingertips you can also go from the
SOLS home page at
www.sols.org to the "Discussion Groups" link in the left
navigation bar. There is a list of all of the listservs and
discussion groups hosted by SOLS and, as of December 1st,
there will be a link for the VOLMGMT listserv at that page.
==========================================
10.
Registration for the EXCEL distance Education Program
- Deadline
Tuesday, January 4th
EXCEL is a unique training program in managing a small public
library or a community branch library specifically designed for
public library staff or volunteers who have little or no formal
library training. It also provides an opportunity to upgrade library
skills and management techniques, within a flexible and practical
program. It is offered, in both English and French, through the
Southern Ontario Library Service and Ontario Library Service-North,
as a correspondence program with telephone tutors.
Registration information including a registration form, for the
Winter 2005 semester is posted on the SOLS Web site at
http://www.sols.org/librarydev/training/excel/index.htm. The registration deadline
is Tuesday, January 4th,
2005. The course material will be shipped to students beginning Tuesday,
January 11th, with the semester commencing Monday,
January 24th, 2005, and ending
late April 2005.
We are offering these courses (in English) for the Winter
2005 semester:
-
Introduction to
Public Libraries
-
Library Marketing
-
Collection
Development for Children
-
Collection
Development for Adults and Special Groups
-
Communication
Skills -- (revised)
-
Collection
Organization
-
Professional
Development
-
Electronic
Information Sources -- (revised)
-
Planning for
Library Service
We are offering these courses (in French) for the Winter 2005
semester:
-
Introduction aux bibliothèques publiques
-
Le marketing de la bibliothèque
-
Développement des collections pour jeunes adultes (révisé)
========================================
11.
Prix des
lecteurs Radio-Canada - Invitation
- Deadline Friday,
December 17th
CBON, Radio-Canada Radio’s Première Chaîne station in Northern
Ontario, is requesting your support for the 5th edition
of the Prix des lecteurs Radio-Canada. This initiative is the first
and only people’s choice award in French-speaking Ontario. It is
dedicated to the promotion of reading, Franco-Ontarian literature
and Franco-Ontarian authors.
In a period of four years, the Prize has acquired an enviable
reputation among readers, authors, publishers, the media and
provincial and national cultural organizations. The 5th
edition of the Prix des lecteurs Radio-Canada will be launched on
February 1, 2005, and still hopes to have the support of promotional
partners, such as Ontario Public libraries, who have admirably
promoted the Prix since the first edition in 2000.
If your library would like to participate in this event, you
will receive promotional posters and bookmarks and will be able to
share in a bulk purchase agreement administered by OLS-North, as in
the past.
There will be from five (5) to seven (7) nominated titles this year.
The approximate price of the collection is $175.00.
The deadline for joining the partnership is Friday, December
17, 2004.
Details will be e-mailed to all Ontario public libraries in the
coming week. There will also be a link to the Radio-Canada website
from our SOLS main page. If you have any questions, you can contact
Claire-Marie Paquette-Finlay, SOLS’s French Services Consultant, at
1-866-862-4596 or by e-mail at
.
==========================================
12.
Theme Selected for First Nations Public Library Week 2005
“Proud Past, Proud Future @ your library” is the theme for
First Nations Public Library Week 2005. The dates for the week are
February 14-19. The planning committee is working on a number of
activities, including the selection of a title for the First Nation
Communities Read 2005 program. Ontario’s First Nation public
libraries invite all libraries to engage in the week by planning
displays and programs related to the First Nations’ proud past and
proud future. Once again, all Ontario public libraries will receive
a copy of the First Nations Public Library Week poster, courtesy of
the Ontario Library Association.
As more information becomes available, it will be posted on
the SOLS Web site. From the “Events” section of the main SOLS page
at
www.sols.org , select the link for “First Nations Public Library
Week”. You can also contact Patty Lawlor, First Nations Consultant
at
or 1-800-387-5765, ext. 5107.
===========================================
13.
Theme
SELECTED for TD Summer Reading Program 2005
The theme for the 2005 TD Summer Reading program will be
“Space”. The English title will be “Blast Off” and the
French title is “Vite en orbite” (as chosen by the staff at
the Ottawa Public Library and Library & Archives Canada). The
program is, once again, sponsored by the TD Financial Group and
developed by the staff at the Toronto Public Library, with
assistance from staff at Ottawa Public Library and Library &
Archives Canada. The registration form for the program will be
posted on the SOLS Web site in mid-December, with a registration
deadline of the end of January.
==========================================
14.
Expression of interest for ServiceOntario participation
- Deadline
Tuesday, November 30th
On November 18,
2004, libraries across Ontario were notified of this opportunity to
participate in the ServiceOntario initiative. ServiceOntario is a
multi-ministry, inter-jurisdictional initiative that will improve
access to government services to all Ontarians. The initiative will
transform the face of government service delivery in Ontario. In
the following years, ServiceOntario will enable one-stop access to
government services and information in-person, by phone or online.
Public and First
Nation libraries are invited to express interest in participating in
2004/05 ServiceOntario implementation. Your library could be
selected to play a role in government "information provisioning"
working with the Ministry of Culture's Heritage and Libraries
Branch. The Ministry, in turn, works with other ministries in
ServiceOntario implementation.
Project details are
still being finalized. Interested libraries must be able to
implement provincial government "information provisioning" services
and submit timely reports to the government. Projects should be
completed by March 31, 2005. Support for public libraries may
include training, publicity material, website development links and
a small amount of funding support. For a few libraries, government
information "transactions" may also be tested.
This is a reminder
that if you are interested, please contact Rod Sawyer at the
Ministry by Tuesday, November 30, 2004 at 1-416-314-7627 or
by e-mail at
rod.sawyer@mcl.gov.on.ca
===========================================
15. SOLS CEO LISTSERV
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.
-
At various times
through the month, Laurey Gillies posted a list of the library boards who have voted to support (or not to support) the
Federation of Ontario Public Libraries (FOPL).
-
On November 18,
2004, Daryl Novak posted a message asking that any library which
has completed, and received board approval for, purchasing
policies (as required by the Municipal Act for Jan. 2005) and is
willing to share them with other libraries, to forward them to
SOLS to make available to all libraries through the SOLS Web site.
-
On November 20,
2004, Daryl Novak sent an update on the SOLS/CPA consortium
benefits project. Timelines from the benefits consulting firm
were provided. For example, the specifications will be completed
during the week of December 6th and released to the
marketplace on Dec 10th. At that point, insurers will
have a deadline of January 7th to respond, and a
detailed report to the committee provided during the week of
January 24th. The final report will analyze all the
responses from the marketplace and make specific recommendations
on carrier.
If you did not receive this message, 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.
====================================================================================
