Technology Plan 2006-2008
Mission Statement
Iosco-Arenac District Library includes AuGres Community Library, East Tawas Library, Omer Library, Robert J. Parks Library (in Oscoda), Plainfield Township Library (in Hale), Mary Johnston Memorial Library (in Standish), Tawas City Library, Whittemore Library, and the Administrative Headquarters (in East Tawas).
Our mission is to provide friendly, helpful and knowledgeable service to people of all ages by enriching their quality of life through traditional resources and technology, and to promote the joy of life-long learning.
Vision
*Continue and improve mutual cooperation between Iosco-Arenac District Library, government entities, branch library staff and our community.
*Provide and maintain a comprehensive collection in a variety of formats based on patron and individual branch library needs.
*Be proactive and creative in anticipating and responding to community needs for programs and services.
*Pursue and provide current library technology and education, responsive to community and staff needs.
*Provide an interactive and welcoming atmosphere by capitalizing on the advantages of small-community living.
Profile
Iosco-Arenac District Library was formed under Michigan Public Act 24 of 1989, and recognized as a District Library in November of 1990.
The administrative headquarters at 120 W. Westover Street, East Tawas MI 48730, does not operate as a public service library outlet.
As of March 2006, the District provides services to the eight Library Branches including the following:
Children’s and Teen Services and Program Coordination
Collection Maintenance Assistance
Community Cash Administration (Where Requested)
Consulting and Training (Including Continuing Education)
Delivery of Materials
Interlibrary Loan
Ordering, Cataloguing and Processing of District Purchases (Books, Audios, etc.)
Ordering and Purchasing of Some Library Supplies and Equipment
Preparation of Grant Applications for Library Programs, Services and Equipment
Reference Assistance and Referral
Statistical Recordkeeping Including Annual State Aid Reports
Substitute Staff
Technical Assistance For District Computers, Fax Machines and Photocopiers
Library Advocacy and Outreach
District Website and E-mail Accounts
Direct Internet Connections and Diagnostics
In August 2004, the voters in Arenac County and Iosco County approved a millage for ten years (through 2013). The 0.5 mill (subject to Headlee) will be used to increase book, audiobook, and periodical purchasing; to support technology and automation; and to assist with the operation of the branch libraries.
A “revenue sharing” fund will be distributed twice a year. One half of the actual revenue received from the millage will be given to those units of government currently responsible for the day-to-day operation of library branches. The “revenue sharing” fund will be disbursed based on an incentive formula determined by the District Board of Trustees with input from the units of government. The “revenue sharing” fund is restricted to Library Purposes Only.
Iosco-Arenac District Library also receives funding from:
Penal Fines-Iosco County and Arenac County
State Aid (Per Capita Rate Adjusted Annually-2000 Census Population 44,608)
Gifts and Memorials
Grants
Overdue Fines/Fees
Interest Earned on Investments
Miscellaneous Revenue
Iosco-Arenac District Library currently employs eight full-time and one part-time staff, and ten substitute staff (used by branch libraries). Custodial services are contracted.
Iosco-Arenac District Library does not manage library branch buildings and local branch library staff. The District also does not determine library branch hours of operation.
The District does not own a building, but rents the space used for the administrative offices from the City of East Tawas.
The District employs a Technology Services Coordinator full-time. An up-to-date job description as of February 7, 2006, is attached to this plan.
In March 2006, an up-to-date inventory including hardware, software, locations of equipment, and an assessment of the staff training needs will be added to the Technology Plan. The inventory will be maintained and updated (at least monthly) by the Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper with assistance by the Technology Coordinator.
The District went live with SirsiDynix Horizon Library Automation on July 6, 2006. Management of the automation profiles and privileges is provided by the Valley Library Consortium (VLC). The District plans to remain a member of the VLC at least through 2008. Circulation, cataloguing, borrower registrations, requesting and searching are included in the automation. In late 2006, Open Houses at all library branches were advertised and District staff was present to give demonstrations on Horizon Information Portal searching and requesting.
Technology Plan Budget
The budget each year will be established to include plans for the year. A Technology Fund will be maintained to allow for designated funds for technology and for telecommunication costs associated with Internet provision for all District Library locations. The balance of the designated Technology Fund at the beginning of 2006 is $110,208.31. The 2006 budget does not use any of the reserve designated for Technology. The capital improvement budget for 2006 is $30,000. Costs to maintain the contract with Merit Network Inc. to provide broadband Internet services to all District locations have been budgeted. Budgets have been established for public relations, continuing education, automation and delivery. Budgets for 2007 and 2008 will support the Technology Plan.
2006-2008 Goals
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Investigate, develop and execute training programs to ensure staff is able to confidently use and demonstrate new technologies. Provide resources and tools for continuing education. |
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Use the Web and other marketing tools to increase awareness of District resources and services. |
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Improve and expand access to Horizon and MelCat On-line Card Catalogues. |
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Provide for and maintain up-to-date hardware and software able to support resources and services needed and desired by the community. |
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Ensure that all systems are secure, easy to use and maintain, and space saving. |
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Determine the need for technology instruction and investigate venue to provide training. |
Action Plan
The Technology Plan, approved by the Iosco-Arenac District Library Board of Trustees, will be submitted for approval to the Library of Michigan. Copies of the approved plan will be distributed to District Branch Libraries, White Pine Library Cooperative, Mid-Eastern Michigan Library Cooperative, each District staff person, and each Trustee of the District Library Board.
The Technology Plan will be approved by the District Board of Trustees, with any needed changes, each year in August. This action will allow for changes to be addressed in the next year’s budget and allow for mid-year changes and evaluation.
A Technology Committee will be appointed by the District Board Chairperson each year in January.
A District website page will be developed and maintained for Technology with links to other websites for continuing education opportunities, staff and patron self-tutorials, news on technology advances, and other sites of interest as determined by staff and patron needs. The District Technology Coordinator will also provide FAQ and other informational releases via the Technology Webpage. The Technology Plan will be available on the District Technology webpage.
Hosting of the District Website is currently outsourced and all pages and links are tested and monitored monthly by the District Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper on a rotating basis.
Hardware upgrades in 2006, will include replacing the remainder of the District’s Gates Foundation-granted computers (eight public access computers purchased in 2000 and 2001), replacing one Headquarters staff computer, replacing two older computers located in branches (one used for staff and one used as a non-Internet children’s workstation), and adding/replacing computers for OPAC (ONLINE PATRON ACCESS CATALOG) use in seven of the eight library branches (Oscoda currently has two computers for catalogue access only). The OPAC computers will have access to Horizon Information Portal (the District’s catalogue of holdings shared with Valley Library Consortium) and MelCat (the Statewide Interlibrary Loan system). New computers will be small form factor CPU’s with flat screens.
Hardware upgrades in 2007, will include possible use of touch screen technology for OPAC computers, and the replacement and phase-out of all computers purchased prior to 2003. Replacement of laser printers in each branch will be explored. All ink jet printers will be phased out and replaced with laser printers, with attention to possible networking opportunities to reduce the number of printers. A needs assessment will be conducted for each library site to determine if additional computers should be purchased for public access in 2007.
Hardware upgrades in 2008, will include the replacement of any laser printers not replaced in 2007, and the replacement of four computers at Headquarters.
Software upgrades in 2006, will include updating the Microsoft Office packages on all computers; renewing and adding licenses for Anti-virus, spamcatcher, DeepFreeze, and CD/DVD production; and adding time management ability for public access computers.
Software upgrades in 2007, may include Microsoft’s Vista Operating System. Software upgrades may include additional children’s programs. Some older children’s programs may be phased out.
Valley Library Consortium is no longer managing the content filtering as of February 14, 2006. The District has converted to a different content filtering service (Dan’s Guardian) to remain compliant with Federal Law requirements. Currently, the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires filtering in order to receive Federal funding. The District has received funding from Library Services and Technology Act grants, Reed Act grants and Reading is Fundamental (RIF) discounts. The District also benefits from Universal Service Fund (USF) discounts.
The use of wireless telecommunications will continue to be explored to determine public and staff use. The Technology Coordinator will be attending a workshop in March 2006 on policies and legal issues. The workshop will also include demonstrations from various vendors. A wireless card is currently in use in the traveling laptop used by the Access Services Librarian.
Each April, the District will post and take bids for surplus unused/obsolete equipment. All computer parts not sold at the surplus sale will be either donated or properly recycled.
A disaster recovery program has been implemented. The District uses and maintains three servers. One is used for content filtering and caching (with possible use in 2007 to include wireless management). The second server is maintained as a development server. The third server is used as the back-up system. All servers are protected against unapproved access using firewalls, non-standard ports, user names and passwords.
Imaging (presently using Norton Ghost software) of all computers will be completed at least annually. Weekly back-ups of all branch computers are automatically done on a rotating basis. Administrative office computers are automatically backed-up every time a file is modified, saved or created. Iomega Automatic Back-up Pro is currently the software used to accomplish this.
At least four times per year, Branch library staff will receive instruction on the use of the District technology, while attending librarian meetings. Branch library staff will be informed when there are other opportunities for continuing education. The District will investigate those opportunities provided by the White Pine Library Cooperative, the Valley Library Consortium, Michigan Library Association, Michigan Library Consortium, and other resources. At least one training opportunity per year will be offered on the use of the Michigan Mel resources. Alpena Community College Huron Shores Campus, the Iosco Regional Educational Services Agency, and the White Pine Library Cooperative will be contacted to determine if there are opportunities to use their computer labs for staff and/or public training.
At least twice per year, the public will be offered advertised training on using Horizon Information Portal searching and requesting. The District will also make appointments for small group training using computers in the administrative offices.
In early 2007, a needs assessment will be done through public and staff surveys to determine what technology training is requested by the community.
The District went live with MelCat Interloan in January 2006. The District is currently managing MelCat requests and loans through a centralized office. By August 2006, Branch library staff will be trained to handle MelCat requests and loans locally.
The District currently uses MERIT Network Inc. as the Internet provider for all locations. Our Horizon Automation requires dynamic broadband of at least 256k to operate. Seven of the eight Branch libraries have 256k connections. The building housing the administrative offices and the East Tawas Library shares a 768k connection. The District queried Valley Library Consortium for bids, in late 2006, to seek a less expensive service. In January 2006, VLC reported back that MERIT still remains the most cost-effective service provider. Our current contract takes advantage of discounts provided through USF with management of the necessary forms and negotiations by the Mid-Eastern Library Cooperative. Internet provider services will be investigated yearly.
It is unknown at this time if the lease with the City of East Tawas will be renewed for the administrative offices. The current lease ends July 31, 2007. If it is not renewed, a new site will need to be found to house the administrative offices. This will mean that an additional Broadband connection (we currently share a 768k connection with the East Tawas Library). Expenses are unknown at this time to complete the move.
ATTACHMENTS
Technology Coordinator Job Description
Equipment Diagrams
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Inventory and Assessment Document – The Inventory portion of the document contains information that must remain secure including IP addresses, serial numbers, and other information. The inventory portion of the document is for internal use and will not be included in the published Technology Plan.