The State of Ohio has launched an iTunes site that is designed “to share educational resources, professional development materials, and student videos which have been produced by members of higher education, the K-12 community, and community partners free of charge with unlimited access.”

There is a wide range of material available, and it is great to see them open to everyone, with the only requirement being the iTunes software.

Launch the site within your installed iTunes, and see a model for what other states, educational institutions, and libraries can do with their media content.

discovered via the OhioLINK Digital Resources Management Committee (Drmc) list

For those who have been following  H1N1 influenza virus news (and those who might expect to get questions about it), the Public Library of Science (PLOS) and Google have launched a new mashup service:

PLOS Currents : Influenza is built utilizing Google Knol and a new service from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) called Rapid Research Notes.  This service allows the user an easy way to follow current research and search for relevant scientific information.

As we approach influenza season, expect greater levels of concern and interest in H1N1.

found via the Official Google Blog

PACER is the online access portal for “U.S. Appellate, District, and Bankruptcy court records and documents nationwide”.  Because the documents it provides are created by the federal judiciary, they are not copyrightable; because PACER is the only place to obtain these records, it is a critical link to those who need case information.  PACER also charges a per-page fee ($0.08 per page up to 30 pages in a specific document) for access.

RECAP (which is PACER spelled backwards) is a new, open source Firefox extension which appears to follow all the rules:  you access documents through PACER, paying all assessed fees, and you get your docuements.  RECAP, however adds two elements to the mix:

1. RECAP automatically uploads any document that is accessed by users of the extension to a public repository hosted by the Internet Archive.
2. RECAP will alert the user when a document they wish to access is available through the public repository.

On the surface, it may appear that people are conducting an end-run against the court’s system for providing documents.  However, a broader view strongly suggests that these documents are public, and that the PACER system is actually an exception in the realm of access to public records.

The Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government provide documents free to the user; this is an attempt to make the workings and decisions of the judiciary as public as the other branches.  RECAP is a fully legal means to provide information in a way that is the spirit of the law.

Further reading:

• The Case Against PACER
• Firefox Extension Liberates US Court Docs from Paywall
• Use RECAP to Bypass Court Document Paywall

Last Saturday, Governor Ted Strickland suggested that Ohio Librarians ought to take a pay cut rather than be critical of his budget proposal:

As for libraries, which, in Strickland’s original budget framework were slated for a 30 percent cut in state assistance, the governor said that librarians across the state might consider a pay cut.

“Other leaders have taken a pay cut,” he said. “I’ve taken a pay cut.”

If this were a debate over a 5% or 10% overall cut in library funding, then yes, the option of cutting salaries could make a difference for libraries providing services.  We aren’t facing that level, however.  If all public library librarians were to forgo their entire salaries, it still wouldn’t prevent the closure of many libraries and the gutting of services at most of the rest.

This suggestion is the equivalent of suggesting that by clipping coupons and buying store brand items, an unemployed family could avoid foreclosure.  It just doesn’t make sense.

The Ohio budget mess has become entangled in a mass of politics.  Politicians all seem to have a position; nobody seems to have a solution.  A valid and fair solution is going to hurt, but it needs to be found (and quickly).

from Save Ohio Libraries

Note (added 9 July 2009): As this post was quoted by American Libraries yesterday, I thought it best to reiterate that, as is stated in the About section, this blog is not affiliated with my current place of employment.  I am responsible for the opinions expressed in the posts, as well as the topics discussed.  I do not feel that I was either misquoted or misattributed, but that it could be misinterpreted.

The American Libraries article is just one of many to explain the issues facing Ohio, but I found the following information worth posting:

Strickland’s office was also flooded with phone calls; gubernatorial spokesperson Amanda Wurst said in the June 23 Toledo Blade that “there were 1,356 calls through our switchboard, 80% of which were regarding library funding.” On a normal day, the office receives 150 calls, she added.

On another front, Save Ohio Libraries has created a Flyer for tomorrow’s Statehouse rally in Columbus (Pdf):

Save Ohio Libraries Rally Flyer

Odds and Ends:

Save Ohio Libraries is the rallying cry as well as the focus of this week’s activities.

The Save Ohio Libraries Facebook page is rapidly approaching 12,000 members (and has gone from 11,543 to 11,768 as I have written this post).  If you are a FB member, add to that number.  Also, become a fan of Governor Ted Strickland and post a message on his board.  As events around the world in recent months have shown, social networking has an impact, and one of the ways to have an impact is a large group of people all taking a step in the same direction.

Rallies are being planned in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Centerville, London, Portsmouth, and (just organized tonight) Columbus.  If you can add a few bodies to the gatherings, do so!

One additional thought to add to this:  this is growing beyond Ohio.  There are many people from other states who are watching this with concern and support.  The success or failure of these efforts (both the efforts to drastically reduce library funding to help balance the state’s budget, as well as our efforts to preserve library services) will make it easier/harder for other states to do the same.  Broadcasting the understanding that cutting library services only hurts recovery efforts by the states will not only benefit libraries across the country, but will also benefit the overall economy.

Make yourself heard!

Here are two quick and effective ways for Ohioans to contact the Governor’s office and convey our thoughts on the library aspect of the budget crisis:

Contact the Governor is a standard contact form that resides on the official governor’s web site.

Ted Strickland’s FaceBook Page is amazing at this moment… there seems to be miles of supportive library comments posted on his wall.  Every single post is about library funding.  If you are a member of FB, I suggest that you consider adding your thoughts to the list.  Note that you have to “Become a supporter” in order to post a comment, but the most important criticism should come from those who support you.

Here is what I posted in both spaces:

Governor Strickland:  Please recognize that libraries allow those with limited means to access information and technology.  To severely cut funding at the same time that circumstances are pushing more people into the “limited means” category will only delay (and perhaps suppress) Ohio’s recovery.  Libraries do not expect to be exempted from budget cuts, but the severe level of the cuts means that many services and locations will not survive, just when people will need them the most.

Note that I do not suggest that libraries not face any budget cuts.  This is a statewide crisis, with many causes, and it will require intelligent and shared sacrifices by many.  To not expect any cuts would be unrealistic.  To implement modest cuts, combined with options to more effectively and efficiently serve patrons, could transform this into a win-win scenario.

I feel that there is a great deal of room for increased efficiency in library operations, especially when it comes to technology.  There are efforts to do this on a multi-state level, which is a solid step in the right direction.  Other steps can be taken statewide to save money and increase participation.  Efforts to find and implement technological efficiency at individual libraries themselves can provide greater service and budgetary savings in the long term.

A few items of note to update yesterday’s post:

The Library is Now Closed (a.k.a. Shuttered Library) is a blog created by an Ohio librarian named Mike (didn’t see a last name) which is compiling links to a vast amount of information and resources for libraries and supporters in Ohio. (thanks Jessamyn!)

Save Ohio Libraries is a blog detailing actions that people and libraries can take to, as the title suggests, save Ohio libraries.

A couple of additional links to Pdf articles that I missed yesterday, both from the “Balanced Budget Framework” page.  Note that neither of these have been properly named; save them to your hard drive and add “.pdf” to the end of the file name so that your computer will know how to open them (or you can open your Pdf reader and open the files from the program’s “File” menu):

• Balance Sheet by Line Item (detailed budget information, including the Governor, Senate, and House versions of  budget allocations)
• Highlighted State Strategies (a list of a dozen states, with their approaches towards balancing their respective budgets)

It’s happening, folks.  State and local budgets are under extreme pressure, and tough decisions are being made by Governors, state officials, countys counties, towns and taxing districts.  Libraries that rely on public funding are now almost certainly facing severe cuts.

In Ohio, state funding for libraries is facing a proposed $227 million cut over the next two years… a nearly 50% cut.  Ohio’s libraries happen to be, for interesting historical reasons (Pdf), very reliant on state-level funding for their operations.

When one reads Governor Strickland’s budget statement, as well as the overview of affects on various agencies (Pdf), it becomes obvious that the cuts are being shared by many agencies that will have trouble absorbing them (Pdf), and that most will have to significantly scale back services in order to survive at all.

Think about your library’s budget… what percentage of it could disappear before you would face staff cuts, reduced hours, and elimination of programs?  I suspect that these effects would appear well before the 50% mark.  When one considers that funding to supporting organizations (such as OhioLink) is also being cut, the impact may be greater still.

At what point would the basic operation of your library be at stake?  This number is different for every library, as it depends on your physical presence (building size, layout, holdings, etc.) as well as staff training.  Cross-trained staff who have a good overall sense of the many facets of a dynamic library are able to provide far more services for their salaries than those who are compartmentalized.

What can be done?  At this point, the options are limited.  Library administrators will soon be forced to simply react to events, and have lost the window of opportunity to make anticipatory changes in their organization.  When I wrote about this last January, I was guessing that the effects would be most pronounced in the 2010-11 budget cycle (instead of this one).  California, and now Ohio, suggest that things are happening faster than many anticipated.

What can we do at our libraries?  Make it clear to those you serve, as well as those who fund you, what is at stake.  Whatever changes you make, let them know what you are doing, and why.  If you eliminate services, or reduce hours, or cut staff, that information needs to be disseminated, if only to lay a foundation for restoring them in the future.  When you find a way to save or restore a service, or more effectively utilize staff time and ability (see below), this needs to be conveyed, as well.

Of greater importance, undertake an assessment of your organization’s abilities.  Find out what the library staff can do, and what your resources truly are.  By effectively applying their skills, you likely can make better use of your staff than you currently are.  Find out what can be cut from the budget that can be done for less simply by utilizing less expensive resources and well-applied staff time.

Laying off a staff position will save a given block of money.  Eliminating the outsourcing of a service that costs even more, but can be done by that person in 15-20 hours per week, creates a win-win situation for your library.  There are many victories to be had in the line items of your budget.  The question remains:  is there time to find and implement them?

The fundamental approach to this has to be dynamic… anticipate changes, and be prepared to adapt.  The most adaptable area of your library is the people who do the work.  If everyone works together, sacrifices together, strives to find ways to save money by better utilizing their skills and time… if all of this can happen at your library, you have a much better chance to ride this out.

found on LISNews