A Message from Lauren Moore, New York State Librarian | |
It’s hard to believe that libraries across New York are already wrapping up their Summer Reading programs. This year’s Summer Reading theme of “All Together Now,” perhaps more than any other, highlights the critical role that libraries play in knitting communities together around shared goals and experiences.
As summer winds down, libraries are shifting gears to prepare for a solar eclipse on October 14, 2023. The NYS Library has partnered with STAR Library Network (STAR Net), a learning network that helps library professionals build their STEM skills, to better engage their communities around this exciting and enriching event.
While collaboration and stewardship of community resources have always been at the center of library services in NYS, we’re excited to share some recent projects from across the NYS Library that honor these values and continue to engage our state’s growing and changing communities.
| |
Statistical Trends Through COVID-19
The past several years of Public and Association Library annual reports highlight some promising trends as libraries recover from the pandemic. COVID-19 hit libraries hard, negatively impacting nearly every measure of library success. From 2019 to 2021, library hours decreased 18%, visits were down 64%, reference transactions declined 67%, program offerings and attendance decreased by around 60%, and print circulation dropped by 37%. However, eContent circulation increased by 32%, and average attendance per program decreased only slightly, showing that while libraries were not able to offer as many programs, patrons remained engaged.
In hundreds of narratives from annual reports, DLD staff saw the remarkable flexibility and resilience of libraries and their communities, with examples of new partnerships, services, and ways of connecting. In 2020, over 92% of libraries in the state offered curbside borrowing and other services even while physically closed. Many enabled online library card registration and provided reference assistance via phone, chat, or email. 94% of libraries intentionally provided outdoor Wi-Fi, with 90% expanding network availability while doing so. In 2021, when nearly half of New York’s libraries fully reopened, the majority of them continued offering new or extended services.
Based on what we’ve seen so far in the 2022 data, there are some hopeful signs for recovery. Library hours have almost fully returned to pre-pandemic numbers, and from 2021 to 2022 library visits almost doubled, reference and print circulation increased 30%, and program offerings and attendance rose nearly 40%. Increased connectivity efforts have also paid off, with Wi-Fi sessions more than doubling last year.
As an interesting comparison, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently shared a report looking at this data on a national scale, which mirrors the trends we’ve seen in New York. The NYS Library also provides a data tool, Bibliostat Connect, that anyone can use to view and compare library data. Stay tuned for public library data from across New York State.
|
| |
The NYS Library Becomes a Preservation Steward
The NYS Library recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) to become a Preservation Steward. Under this agreement, the State Library pledges to keep permanent print collections of historical and current government publications produced by the GPO.
In this digital era, Preservation Stewards help to support continued public access to U.S. Government documents in print format. The NYS Library joins 50 other Preservation Steward partners that contribute significantly to the effort to preserve printed documents and serve as digital access partners providing digital access to Government information.
GPO is the Federal Government’s resource for publishing trusted information for the Federal Government to the American people. The GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies in digital and print formats.
|
|
ARPA Recap
The NYS Library received and disbursed federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) LSTA Grants to States Program. The nine regional Reference and Research Library Resources Councils received a total of around $5.5 million of the funding to complete collaborative projects in the areas of digital inclusion, library/museum partnerships, and digital resources for students. Projects were completed between September 1, 2021 and March 31, 2023.
Digital inclusion projects comprised digital navigator programs, a digital literacy program for seniors, assistive technology, privacy booths, WiFi-enabled vans, improved broadband and WiFi access, accessibility audits, and more. Library/museum partnership projects funded the creation of online and in-person tours and exhibits, curriculum-based resources, digitization projects, an open-source digital asset management system, and collections-based programming for schools and libraries. Digital resources for students, including eBooks and eAudiobooks, were provided through each school library system. These resources included materials to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion; cultural responsiveness; and social and emotional learning, among other topics.
| |
Connecting New York’s Libraries: A Broadband Improvement Project | |
As part of a commitment to improve broadband services for public library patrons, the NYS Library worked with Carson Block Consulting to develop a network assessment process that individual libraries and public library systems could use to improve the performance of library broadband.
From spring 2021 through spring 2023, network assessments were performed at eleven public libraries from the Clinton-Essex-Franklin, Mid-Hudson, and Mid York library systems. By assessing the condition of library networks, increasing staff technology skills, and providing specific suggestions to improve connectivity, the network assessments underscored the importance of helping libraries to define areas of need and offer paths to improvement.
Connecting New York’s Libraries assessments identified some common public library technology and network needs and issues, including:
- Technology funding challenges
- Poor speed and quality of internet connections
- Network equipment that is obsolete or improperly configured
- Poor cable management
- Challenged location of network spaces.
For more information about the Connecting New York’s Libraries: A Broadband Improvement Project, please contact Frank Rees, Library Development Specialist, Division of Library Development.
| |
Digital Equity in New York State | |
The NYS Library is pleased to work closely with the New York State ConnectALL Office on the State Digital Equity Plan as well as the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, both part of the federal government’s groundbreaking investment in broadband connectivity and digital inclusion efforts across the country.
A central component of this work has been facilitating the development of New York’s Digital Equity Plan in collaboration with stakeholders and with direct input from the communities most affected by digital inequities. The ConnectALL Office, NYS Library, and the Digital Equity Task Force worked in partnership this summer to host five virtual public town hall meetings covering education, workforce and economic development, healthcare, civic and social engagement, and accessibility of government services.
There will be more opportunities for input and review of the plan once a draft version publishes in the fall. These dates will be announced on the NYS Library’s digital equity email list and the ConnectALL events page. For more information on the NYS Library’s digital equity efforts, please visit our digital equity LibGuide.
| |
New York State Library Announces Grants to Preserve Library Materials
The NYS Library recently announced the 2023-2024 Conservation/Preservation Discretionary Grant Program awards to preserve deteriorating library research materials. Grants totaling $186,708 were awarded to 7 collecting institutions across New York and are part of a $1.99 million comprehensive, statewide program to preserve endangered materials important to the State.
Grants awarded this year include:
-
$20,887 to Buffalo & Erie County Public Library for the preservation microfilming of Suburban and Buffalo City Directories from the mid-1990s to 2000, and Buffalo-area phonebooks from the mid-1970s to 2000. The materials continue to be heavily utilized by the community for research and have become extremely fragile.
-
$21,005 to the New York Botanical Garden to stabilize and provide a minimum of 200 protective enclosures for scarcely held volumes of significant botanical and horticultural research value from the pre-1850’s group of the Rare Book Collection.
-
$8,815 to the Huntington Historical Society for the conservation and stabilization of two 18th and 19th century account books, which document the business activities of Huntington’s prominent Wood family.
| | |
Connect to All Kinds of Expertise with NYS Library Public Programs
We maintain a robust calendar of events! Check back often for programs from across the NYS Library, including author and researcher talks, professional development opportunities for library staff, facilitated conversations on timely topics, and exciting explorations of NYS Library collections and services. All programs are free, virtual, and open to the public.
|
| | | |
