July 2005 Newsletter

[ pdf version ]

Features

Clermont County Public Library's Partnerships
"Creatively Cultivating Community Connections"

Community Partnerships in Portsmouth
Enhancing library services and building a bridge to those who are not regular library patrons.

Partnering For Success
Libraries can no longer fulfill their mission alone.

Ohio State Parks Find Partnerships Work
Partnerships are a genuine success at both the local and statewide level.

Partnerships

Partnerships have a long history in libraries. No library has the resources to "do it all" for its patrons. By cooperating with each other, libraries greatly expand what they can do for their customers.

Now, library partnerships are expanding beyond resource sharing and interlibrary loan. School, public and academic libraries and the State Library of Ohio joined together to create Libraries Connect Ohio. This partnership has enabled these different types of libraries to offer all Ohioans unprecedented access to online research resources.

By partnering with non–library organizations, libraries can reach wider audiences, including non–library users, and offer them more services.

Highlighted in this issue are a variety of library/community organization partnerships that are helping libraries to fulfill their missions more effectively and to provide more patrons with more services.

State Librarian’s Report

A truly wonderful example of a partnership that includes all types of libraries and improves library service to all Ohio residents is the Libraries Connect Ohio project.

Partnerships constitute a large part of the activity of the library community. Some partnerships are limited to one type of library, others include multi–type libraries. Some involve money, some do not. All are collaborative in nature. It is the intention that all should lead to better service being provided to the residents of the state of Ohio.

A truly wonderful example of a partnership that includes all types of libraries and improves library service to all Ohio residents is the Libraries Connect Ohio project. The partners in this project are OhioLINK, INFOhio, OPLIN and the State Library of Ohio. The partners have worked together over the past several years to make a core set of databases available to all Ohio residents. The list of databases is impressive by any standards and include:

On July 1, LearningExpressLibrary will be added to this list and will be available through June 30, 2007. This 2 year pilot is funded through the State Library with LSTA funds and OPLIN funds. LearningExpressLibrary includes practice tests for all school levels as well as vocational (e.g. civil service tests, cosmetology, real estate, and law enforcement), U.S. citizenship, TOEFL and GED. In addition the Ohio package includes job and career preparation (resume builder, assistance in creating a great cover letter, interview tips) and resources for adult skills improvement.

The State Library welcomes the opportunity to work closely with all types of libraries across the state in promoting this service to our residents. There will be posters and bookmarks distributed to assist in the promotion of LearningExpress. A press release is being developed and will be made available to libraries. Please watch for more details about this on our webpage http://winslo.state.oh.us/

In addition the State Library will be inviting partners outside the library community to assist in the promotion of this service. Representatives from the Department of Education, Jobs and Family Services, the Ohio Community Computing Network, and the Legislative Service Commission will be giving us advice and assisting us in the distribution of information and promotion of this service.

The LearningExpress Library pilot gives us an opportunity to provide tools to Ohio residents that will assist them in their educational endeavors and in achieving their employment goals. It is also giving us an opportunity to expand our partnerships inside and outside the library community.