Maine Policy Review Winter/Spring 2013

Winter/Spring 2013 ¡ Vol. 22, No. 1 ¡ $15

Maine Policy Review

Special Issue:

Libraries & Information

Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center

MAINE POLICY R

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

E

V

I

E

W

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 1

PUBLISHERS MARGARET CHASE SMITH POLICY CENTER Linda Silka, Director

MARGARET CHASE SMITH FOUNDATION Charles Cragin, Chair

EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR Ann Acheson Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center

ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR Barbara Harrity Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center

PRODUCTION Beth Goodnight Goodnight Design

WEB SITE MAINTENANCE Catherine Dickerson Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center

DEVELOPMENT Eva McLaughlin Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center

COVER ILLUSTRATION Robert Shetterly

PRINTING J.S. McCarthy

Maine Policy Review (ISSN 1064-2587) publishes independent, peer-reviewed analyses of public policy issues relevant to Maine.

The journal is published two times per year by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine and the Margaret Chase Smith Foundation. The material published within does not necessarily reflect the views of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center or the Margaret Chase Smith Foundation.

The majority of articles appearing in Maine Policy Review are written by Maine citizens, many of whom are readers of the journal. The journal encourages the submission of manuscripts concerning relevant public policy issues of the day or in response to articles already published in the journal. Prospective authors are urged to contact the journal at the address below for a copy of the guidelines for submission or see the journal’s Web site, http://digitalcommons.library. umaine.edu/mpr/.

For reprints of Maine Policy Review articles or for permission to quote and/or otherwise reproduce, please contact the journal at the address below.

The editorial staff of Maine Policy Review welcome your views about issues presented in this journal. Please address your letter to the editor to: Maine Policy Review • 5784 York Complex, Bldg. #4 • University of Maine • Orono, ME 04469-5784 207-581-1567 • fax: 207-581-1266 http://mcspolicycenter.umaine.edu mpr@maine.edu

The University of Maine does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including transgender status and gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquires regarding nondiscrimination policies: Director, Office of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, 207.581.1226.

2 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

THANKS TO …

Major Sponsor

Margaret Chase Smith Foundation Patron

Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine Benefactors

Maine Community Foundation Donors

Karl Turner & Susannah Swihart

Linda Silka & Larry Smith

Contributors

H. Allen & Sally Fernald John Gregory Merton G. Henry Richard C. Hill Roger Katz William Knowles

Sam Ladd Barry K. Mills & Susan G. Mills Peter Mills Maine Development Foundation Maine Education Association The Potholm Group (TPG)

Evan Richert Mark Shibles Lee Webb And anonymous Contributors

Marge Kilkelly & Joe Murray Philip McCarthy H. Paul McGuire Sylvia Most & Alan Cardinal Lars Rydell

Elizabeth Ward Saxl and Michael Saxl Basil Wentworth And anonymous Friends

Friends

Tracy B. Bigney Michael R. Crowley Evergreen Communications Maroulla S. Gleaton David Hart

Volume Twenty-two of Maine Policy Review is funded, in part, by the supporters listed above. Contributions to Maine Policy Review can be mailed to the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, 5784 York Complex Bldg #4, University of Maine Orono, ME 04469-5784. Information regarding corporate, foundation, or individual support is available by contacting the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Special Issue: LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION Are Libraries Necessary?

Are Libraries Obsolete?

Linda Silka, Joyce Rumery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Maine Public Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Maine Library History Melora Norman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS Maine’s Three Ring Binder Fletcher Kittredge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

The Maine School and Library Network Tom Welch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Maine’s BTOP Information Commons Project: The Building Block to Statewide Digital Literacy Efforts Janet McKenney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Book Publishers and Libraries: Historic Partners Facing a Disruptive Technology Tom Allen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Libraries and Book Publishers Maureen Sullivan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS Maine Libraries: A History of Sharing and Collaboration James M. Jackson Sanborn, David Nutty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

TO OUR READERS . . . . . . . . . .

6

THE MARGARET CHASE SMITH ESSAY Good Libraries Make Good Citizens

The Margaret Chase Smith Library: A Unique Collection Fostered by a History of Collaboration David Richards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

A Shared Approach to Managing Legacy Print Collections in Maine Matthew Revitt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Libraries + IRW = Big Read Success!

Jan Coates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

by Charles Stanhope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

4 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Special Issue: LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY Libraries in the Community: Changing Opportunities

Stephanie Zurinski, Valerie Osborne, Mamie Anthoine-Ney, Janet McKenney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Health Sciences Libraries

Susan Bloomfield, Deborah Clark, Dina McKelvy, Lucinda White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

What Makes the Maine State Library Unique?

Linda Lord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library John Barden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Public Libraries and the Immigrant Community Steve Podgajny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Family Place Libraries Deanna Gouzie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Homeschoolers and Public Libraries: A Synergistic Relationship Cynthia Jennings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Lawyers in Libraries: A New Approach to Justice in Maine

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Digital Literacy and Public Policy through the Library Lens Marijke Visser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Students and Information Literacy: High School and Postsecondary Perspectives Debe Averill, Nancy Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Critical Issues in K-12 School Libraries Elizabeth Reisz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Libraries and the First Amendment Melora Norman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

The Public Library in the Community: Governance and Funding Barbara McDade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Digital Public Library of America Clem Guthro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Institutional Repositories Joyce Rumery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

When Disasters Strike: An Interview by Linda Silka with Joyce Rumery and Tom Abbott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Hon. Andrew M. Mead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Summertime, and the Library Is Easy…

Steve Norman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Local History: A Gateway to 21st Century Communications Stephen Bromage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Portable Libraries Steve Podgajny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 5

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

, s r e d a e R Dear

end did you sp w o H . d lly arrive e-book? g has fina a good book, or or television? in r sp h g up with s as thou omputer is, it seem ng winter? Curled videos on your c se one of the th e it r w g lo in u ls? U As I e this past recreation? Stream or other materia t the library? If yo m ti e e fr k a r o d g o n fo n your a b t ti s e a e e Intern club me n librarie take out Surfing th to the library to cture, concert, or Policy Review o go f Maine ttend a le Did you puters? A this special issue o m o ther’s c ’s y r libra ot your fa raries these, n ught. “ f o o re th a y r n y a a fo , and lib ies of tod said yes to gives much food the librar been transformed ery begin n s, o e ti il a b o m r info yce Rum ation has out Oldsm to say ab e and use inform Linda Silka and Jo ? (I’ll give you a d se u y e As th acquir g bsolete editors e way we resoundin libraries o n. Guest library.” Th at transformatio tive question: Are re, the answer is a the earliest e f th m ca are part o asking the provo ny of the articles h aine libraries fro In the M y a f b o m o e ti y u d in tor by stit ns. the issu ocumente an provides a his rnet-connected in challenges faced d s A . w m d h r te n o ig a In h N previe s e a a d e success access to en Melor high-spee NO.) Th ctions to today’s on, articles describ ironment, where es, and where lle ss nv cti private co Connectivity” se the new digital e iduals and busine aine is a d iv in n d s. s a r in ie e r ss r a fo lish M l br “Acce ers and li n is all-important libraries and pub ng valued mutua m su n o c r lo o fo e ti ’s v c c a e both te ti h n a a rnet con Mainers problem on, the st speed Inte -books is proving rce resources, and llaboration” secti urces through o e a so f C the rise o ith a history of sc Partnerships and ed to maximize re ccesses that w “ v su e ie te a h to th c st a d ll in be d a e le sma s discusse mple of what can aine libraries hav section includes A . e c n ta ” a M y e x f it e ib assis o n r e u sc ts ve effor thers de re a prim e Comm libraries a ether. Collaborati e “Libraries in th raries in Maine; o s ranging tog . Th topic of lib working covering y to the use of in the U.S on various types s, e ie u it iq n n u u r often are cles. Some focus lay in their comm s, and local histo dren and their p ti ie r r s a hil a r ie c f r b o g a li r n e b g u in li ing ran les d yo yers n ro a w d la s, te r , e e nities” fac t le c il o a b tu o if r o h lt o m u p sc k e p m o m O o e en th nd , ho wb Amendm allenges a mmunity tland’s ne from Por the immigrant co tion consider “Ch , libraries and First articles present c y cy al libraries b cles in the final se clude digital litera al disasters. Sever lution.” ti ti r in n A revo te d parents. ges covere d funding, and po s and the “digital n e ll a h C l lives ie libraries. ry governance an individua that technolog th w o e b n g a to r in b d g te an hope rights, li nities rela gies is ch ommunities. We need tu lo r o o n p h p c o te exciting f digital ever and t of our c doption o been at the hear re necessary than a d a re sp The wide ries that have long e libraries are mo new roles. bra ill se and and the li g this issue you w their traditional ll in after read ed support to fulfi nu ti n o c our

6 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013



Best,

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/R



My Creed . . .

is that public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly.

It must be a complete dedication to the people and to the nation with full recognition that every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration, that constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought, that smears are not only to be expected but fought, that honor is to be earned but not bought.

Margaret Chase Smith

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 7

THE MARGARET CHASE SMITH ESSAY

The Margaret Chase Smith Essay

Good Libraries Make Good Citizens

by Charles Stanhope

“I cannot live without books.”

—Thomas Jefferson

I

n a letter written in June 1815, Thomas Jefferson told John Adams how important books were to him in his daily life.

Six months before he sent this letter, the U.S. Congress had agreed to purchase his private library to restore the collections of the Library of Congress, which the British burned during their siege of the nation’s capital. Jefferson’s sentiment, perhaps tinged by a bit of wistfulness as he scanned empty library shelves at Monticello, reflected his life-long curiosity.

Jefferson’s words are watchwords for us today. Maine’s public libraries—and libraries across the state of all sizes and types—provide for our citizens’ educational and recreational curiosities. Early in the country’s history, we came to value learning and knowledge. Such knowledge is essential to each of us individually and to the country’s growth and maturity. Madison wrote that “a people who

8 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

mean to be their own governours must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” Students of all ages turn to the libraries planted across the state in cities and small towns, colleges and universities, to find the knowledge that they as good citizens require.

My life’s journey has been through libraries, starting with the wooden boxes of picture books from the school department of my local public library, which were delivered to my kindergarten classroom on Munjoy Hill in Portland. I felt a special privilege to be trusted enough to borrow a book from those boxes to take home to read and share—and return.

When a branch of the public library came to my neighborhood, I felt as though the world had arrived on my doorstep.

In my first job, I worked at the Portland Public Library, shelving books to earn money for college. I continued to work there during the summers of my undergraduate years at the University of Maine, moving up to work on the circulation desk. Almost without my realizing it, I found myself completing a 35-year career at our magnificent Library of Congress.

I am now serving on the board of my local public library in Southwest Harbor.

I have become a champion of libraries and of their value in the public commons.

Libraries are at the center of our everyday lives. The structures we built to house them are prominently erected in the middle of our cities and towns. Our

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

THE MARGARET CHASE SMITH ESSAY

state library, like the Library of Congress, is next to the houses of the legislature in Augusta. Each library building is the community’s proud statement of identity and value. Citizens every year reaffirm their library’s value and importance by approving municipal budgets and making charitable contributions that support them. Countless hours of volunteer time supplement the programs and services libraries provide.

Libraries are our windows into the past. They preserve our histories and heritage and teach us about our story up to now. Competing ideas live amicably side by side on library shelves. We learn about the accomplishments of our forbears and the challenges they faced and overcame.

We celebrate what they invented, designed, engineered, built, painted, performed, wrote. And, libraries are our windows into the future: stimulating our creativity to develop inventions, new designs, new techniques, new canvasses, new books, new poems, new plays, new music.

Libraries are at the heart of our communities. We gather in them to do homework, either from classroom or home-school assignments. Our children get their library cards, and as they grow physically, they also grow intellectually by developing their reading skills and interests. At our libraries, we also learn together at readings, lectures, and performances. Libraries celebrate the arts and are the place where we experience the artistic creations of our children, our friends, and our neighbors. Libraries open their doors to welcome new communities that are growing among us and where citizens-to-be take their first steps. During times of economic stress, the library provides the resources citizens need to learn about job opportunities and to complete job applications and resumes.

Libraries connect us to the world.

Through their strong statewide network, Maine libraries collaborate with each other to share their collection items.

With their ever-expanding digital technology, libraries are creating digital spaces in which they share their e-resources.

Libraries are digitizing their legacy collections to make them more accessible outside the collection walls. Professional library staff help us to sort through the flood of information that responds to our electronic queries to find authentic information.

Libraries need and depend on volunteers. Volunteers serve on boards and committees that strive to sustain and improve library services. They augment paid staff resources, performing a myriad of tasks, and they work on fundraising.

All their efforts are eloquent testimony to the value of a library in their lives.

Maine libraries face the same challenges that libraries face everywhere— even the Library of Congress. The most fundamental is fiscal support. In these tight budgetary times, communities and libraries face difficult choices. Supporting libraries is an investment in our future, for our children, most especially. It is also an investment in the quality of life we enjoy. A robust library on the public common is an asset for each of us, for our friends and neighbors, and for our business communities.

Today, echoing Jefferson’s sentiment about books, his 21st century citizen successors cannot live without libraries.

They are essential components of our lives and our society. We have a personal responsibility to use, support and defend them. 

View current & previous issues of MPR at: mcspolicycenter.umaine.edu/?q=MPR

Charles Stanhope recently retired from his 35-year career at the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, the Library of Congress, where he served as assistant chief operating officer on executive matters of congressional, legal, and public affairs. He is vice-chair of the board of the Southwest Harbor Public Library, the current chair of the Maine Arts Commission, and a trustee of the Maine Historical Society.

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 9

ARE LIBRARIES NECESSARY? ARE LIBRARIES OBSOLETE?

Are Libraries Necessary?

Are Libraries Obsolete?

by Linda Silka Joyce Rumery, Guest Editors

Libraries are under siege. They face competing demands not only from different people but also from the same people at different times. Some assert that libraries must continue to strengthen their role as physical centers at the heart of their communities. Others argue that the future of libraries is at the leading edge of the revolution in digital information technologies.

Linda Silka and Joyce Rumery introduce this special issue of Maine Policy Review on libraries and information. They provide an overview of the importance and complexity of the issues underlying these varying visions for how Maine libraries should serve their communities in the coming years.

10 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013



View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

ARE LIBRARIES NECESSARY? ARE LIBRARIES OBSOLETE?

M

and special libraries along with the state library— uch has been written of late about the fate of in such innovative ways. Maine is now a model for libraries: Are they becoming obsolete? Are they other states in how different libraries can work still necessary? The world is changing and much infortogether. In many states, communities are struggling mation is available online, which raises questions about with limited funding for libraries. Here, too, Maine has whether people still read or even need books and been able to find some effective solutions to sharing whether physical libraries are still important as locaresources. So, there is much that can be learned by tions where patrons come to have their information other states from an examination of how Maine needs met. Might it be the case that libraries belong libraries have addressed the challenges facing libraries. to another time—the era of philanthropist Andrew This introductory article highlights some of the Carnegie’s funding of library buildings in communities, challenges and strategies that are being explored for for example—and will libraries be increasingly addressing the rapidly changing context in which inforunneeded in a vibrant interconnected future? mation is made available and used. Individual articles What might be surprising, as this article and throughout this special issue provide in-depth analyses others in this issue point out, is that in this digital age, about the specifics of these challenges. Our intent is libraries are becoming ever more important. However, to provide an overview of some of the factors that are how libraries are needed and how they are being used contributing to contradictory calls that libraries must is changing. Libraries have begun exploring new forms, change yet must stay the same.

The central paradox new tasks, and new strategies in this hybrid “virtual is this: on the one hand, libraries are the places in nonvirtual” information age. In this article, we outline communities perhaps most affected by changes in some of these changes in Maine and consider their information technologies (the telling term used here implications for policy and practice. is “disruptive technology”; cf.

Anthony et al. 2008).

As it turns out, Maine is a particularly apt place In the face of information technologies that open to examine the complex changes taking place in the communities to the world, some believe libraries world of libraries and information technology. should become less focused on or even give up their Maine brings together the diverse issues seen in scattered form elsewhere in the country.

Maine libraries reach people who make their living in remote settings while at the same time, Maine libraries are trying to meet the information needs of growing and increasingly diverse urban populations. And Mainers struggle with distances: long winters and sizable distances between towns make issues of access to libraries especially challenging.

In addition, Maine’s libraries are not just on the mainland; they can also be found on islands where the needs of library users throw into sharp relief some of the access issues that all libraries continue to face.

Maine is a particularly good place to scrutinize the role of libraries in the new information age because the state has been in the forefront of developing innovative solutions to the challenges confronting libraries. Few other states have found ways to bring together Bangor Public Library. diverse kinds of libraries—academic, public, View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 11

ARE LIBRARIES NECESSARY? ARE LIBRARIES OBSOLETE?

physical settings. On the other hand, libraries are becoming more important as physical places within communities where people can carry out activities that serve to maintain of a community’s social capital— to draw on Putnam’s provocative analysis in Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000). How libraries address this paradox will say much about how our communities prosper in this new century. Throughout the remainder of this article, we consider this central dilemma.

LIBRARIES AS PHYSICAL LOCATIONS

I

n the past, libraries were generally synonymous with physical locations and physical resources, with books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, and CDs. These physical objects were considered the heart and soul of libraries. Yet, this characterization of libraries as edifices for holding physical objects captured only a small part of the roles that libraries played. Libraries have always provided a place to be, a place where people can gather, and a place where people can pursue information freely and without challenge. Even as the Internet has undercut the need for other sorts of physical spaces, this locational role of libraries continues to expand even as it is changing.

Libraries are frequently seen as the true heart of the community, whether a small town, a city, or a college or university campus.

Consider three ways in which physicality plays out as important in the libraries of today. First, in the case of emergencies (Hurricane Katrina, for example), libraries are important as places for people to connect with their communities and find the resources needed to obtain assistance (see Rumery and Abbott interview, this issue). Libraries have sometimes been the only place during a disaster with Internet access. During disasters, libraries become lifelines: people congregate 12 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

there, and they use the resources to get help or as some sort of diversion.

Second, sometimes the challenges communities face do not come in the form of a punctuated event such as devastating weather. The challenge may come through an economic downturn in which many in a community lose their jobs and can no longer afford to “buy” information in the ways they previously could.

They are unable to purchase books, and they can no longer afford to pay for Internet access. Libraries fill that void. But libraries do more than this. During these economic downturns, libraries become places where training is offered to help people to get back on their feet—for example, training on how to write a resume or how best to apply for jobs.

Third, as other public spaces disappear, libraries take on new roles as public-gathering spaces. Libraries are places for lectures and art exhibits. They are places for children to learn and read. Libraries provide rooms for groups to gather for many reasons (a knitting circle, play readings, and many other activities).

There is little that libraries do not offer, but most of all they remain places to gather with friends, a place to be alone to gather one’s thoughts, a place to be part of something bigger.

So we don’t lose sight of what libraries do, it is important to consider all the other essential roles they play. Libraries are frequently seen as the true heart of the community, whether a small town, a city, or a college or university campus. Their value includes working to address community needs and offering services that will have a positive impact on their communities. Providing speakers and lectures that contribute to lifelong learning help members of a community to grow together. Spaces and programs for children and teens foster a sense of belonging.

To further illustrate these points, we consider some of the roles that libraries are now playing that are tied in complex ways to physical location.

Equalizing Sites and Opportunity Generators

Libraries have long provided access to information for those who cannot afford or do not have access to it. Formerly books and other materials, now Internet access draws users into the building. This demand has increased the need for connectivity and devices.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

ARE LIBRARIES NECESSARY? ARE LIBRARIES OBSOLETE?

Libraries are also providing some materials online, so users at a distance have access to their resources.

Users also take advantage of a library’s wireless service to tap into the resources when the building is closed.

Libraries are portals to resources and services in the public interest. Libraries have become place for legal aid, tax help, job-search help, and nurses. Could this be becoming even more important than it was in the past? How do we support this role now and in its evolving forms?

Libraries for Youth

Libraries make a difference for youth development.

They have always been places where youth could come to get information. This traditional role is not going away. Rather it may be expanding to include gaming and maker spaces, for example—do-it-yourself spaces with equipment and supplies where people can gather to create, invent, and learn (see Visser, this issue). What does this mean now that youth want access to the Internet, but still also use the physical space of libraries?

How do we support this role in its evolving forms?

Conflicting Goals

Libraries are likely to remain important physical spaces in communities well into the future—“third spaces” as described by Zurinski et al. (this issue).

Yet the shifting goals embodied by libraries as physical spaces remain inadequately understood, and they often conflict. Should physical space be used for books or patrons? Libraries still purchase print books and anticipate doing so for years to come, but this is creating an issue of collection space being in conflict with space for users. The conundrum involves libraries as warehouses versus libraries as people spaces. Libraries want the users to win this conflict, but the books need to go someplace. How do libraries and their communities make sense of and weight these competing goals?

How, then, might libraries, their funders, and their patrons begin a discussion about integrating these goals? How might they do so in ways that will lead to re-envisioning and reinventing the roles of libraries?

Discussions taking place in other areas about how to create innovation out of disruptive technologies can serve as models. Under this analysis, it is acknowledged that the introduction of new technologies is often

disruptive, but these dislocations offer opportunities that can be exploited for innovation. How might libraries seize these opportunities for innovation?

ENVISIONING THE FUTURE IN A TIME OF CHANGE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

I

f the future is one where physical space and physical objects are not preeminent, what does this herald for the role of libraries? This is an important question, particularly in times of financial constraints. Those who are responsible for funding libraries, seeing the greater availability of online information and entertainment access, may reevaluate the costs of maintaining a physical structure or the staff to support a service no longer deemed necessary. They may believe that libraries are no longer useful and see an opportunity for repurposing library funding or staffing or building. Careful scrutiny of the value of libraries is underway in many communities. Such analyses highlight the need for a better understanding of the value-added services libraries have offered in the past and how the need for such services might change in a technologically changing environment. Some of these activities and roles are briefly highlighted here.

Intermediaries and Educators

Librarians have long served the roles of intermediary and educator, as guides to the use of information.

More information means more need for a guide. There is now indiscriminate access to a vast variety of facts and information through search engines, blogs, YouTube, and other digital sources. The overwhelming growth of information sources has made it increasingly difficult for people to navigate them and assess their reliability and trustworthiness. The traditional role of libraries as intermediaries and educators thus takes on new urgency as librarians are needed to guide users to the most appropriate and authoritative sources.

Librarians help users to learn to be appropriately cautious about online information sources, not to assume that information they happen across on Internet searches is accurate, and to also be aware of resources that may not be online. (See Averill and Lewis, this issue, for discussion of the role of librarians in promoting “digital literacy.”) Librarians offer

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 13

ARE LIBRARIES NECESSARY? ARE LIBRARIES OBSOLETE?

workshops on Internet searching, they guide searchers at reference desks, and they answer questions that come by phone, email, chat, and “snail” mail. Their function as intermediaries and educators is still critical.

Upholding Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy

Another central and unique role libraries have played is as champions of free access to information.

Libraries have long made intellectual freedom and the protection of information access cornerstones of their work (see M. Norman article on First Amendment rights, this issue). No other type of organization allows all to enter and protects their rights to information.

There is no vetting of whose questions are answered, who may borrow a book, or who may attend a lecture.

Yet in the new information age, people’s access to information and their anonymity in doing so have come under threat. Under increased concerns by the Department of Homeland Security, there have been recent efforts in which authorities have tried to find out what patrons are reading. Maine libraries work to keep this from happening. When buyers purchase e-books or books at some national bookstore chains or online, they are sometimes asked for identifying information or information is gathered from the online purchase that can be traced back to the purchaser (Cohn and Higgins 2012). Glib assurances are often offered that there is no need to be concerned because the information will not be used for any untoward purposes. In Maine libraries, however, all information about who has previously checked out a book is removed. The result is that no one can track usage.

In an article in the November 27, 2011, New York Times Sunday Book Review, Anne Trubek reported on what was touted to be exciting research on past Muncie, Indiana, library patron records with names that had been digitized and are available for research (“What Middletown Read” www.bsu.edu/ libraries/wmr). Researchers heralded that all kinds of insights can be drawn from these records about reading choices as a function of income, education, and neighborhood characteristics. The response of librarians in Maine was to point out that Maine laws specifically protect the privacy of users and would be violated by such usage (see M. Norman, this issue).

14 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

Reinvisioning Information about a Place’s History

To perhaps a surprising extent, libraries as physical spaces in a community have been repositories about their place and their community. Thus, an important role of libraries has been as archives of community history (such as historical records or genealogical records).

The importance of the archival role cannot be overstated, but the intermingling of the old and the new, the physical and the digital, pushes this role in new directions. Recently, the Maine Historical Society, though its Maine Memory Network, has been collaborating with libraries, schools, local historical societies, and other community organizations to scan, photograph, and make available online many community documents, photos, and other historical items (see Bromage, this issue). Another example involves archival records at Acadia National Park’s research arm—the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) Institute. Park leaders have discovered that Acadia is unique in the amount of records about climate, animal, and plant species that were kept by amateur naturalists, with more records covering a longer period of time than perhaps any other U.S. national park. These paper records have existed for many years, but were dispersed throughout uncoordinated physical archives and thus inaccessible.

The push is now on to digitize these important records so that they can be used to analyze changes in climate and species in this important part of the Northeast.

Libraries serving as archival repositories for their locales open up new possibilities with new technologies.

THE CHALLENGES AHEAD

As this article, and others in this issue, highlights, there are many challenges facing libraries as they attempt to meet the competing demands of being a resource for the Internet age and being a resource with a physical location in a particular place. Bringing these two demands together remains a great challenge.

We’ll examine what some of these challenges look like.

E-resources and Information Technologies

With regard to e-resources, libraries have begun to think about the roles they may play in managing and preserving new forms of information. Although old

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

ARE LIBRARIES NECESSARY? ARE LIBRARIES OBSOLETE?

models provide some guidance, they may not cover all of the new contingencies. Lending issues have become more complex. Questions that did not come up in the past now come to the forefront: Do libraries own the e-resources for which they are conduits? How can the more complex copyright issues be addressed? (See articles by Allen and by Sullivan, this issue.)

Training Issues

The range of skills librarians will need is likely to be much greater now than in the pre-Internet age.

As just one example, negotiation skills might be needed if librarians need to negotiate the best e-books deals in this fluid period where much (including price and details of allowable usage) remains in flux. The training that will bring greatest benefit may bear at best limited resemblance to what sufficed in the past. Yet, too often local libraries lack the resources to provide electronic devices or up-to-date technical training for their librarians. The result is that librarians may fall behind in expertise on the very devices and resources that their patrons increasingly depend upon for information.

If librarians are to continue to assist patrons navigate an overwhelming world of information, how will they be able to do this with limited training and resources?

The 24/7 World

Nowadays people see themselves as living in a 24/7 society, where information or entertainment needs to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is no longer the case that little happens after hours. Instead many information resources are available around the clock, and people may increasingly expect that kind of access to their library. How does the library participate in this world? What happens to the role of guidance to the appropriate source, for example, if this is only available during the staffed times of the physical plant?

Obsolescence

Times of rapid change lead to rapid obsolescence of materials and technologies. Patrons might hunger after new technology, but if libraries invest in that technology, will it last? Will it be possible to assess what is a fad and what will have staying power? It is, of course, impossible to fully predict the future, but librarians must consider the lifespan of particular technologies,

ideas, and information and what this means for technology investments. These discussions need to be tied to the larger issues at play for libraries.

Connections and Collaborations

Maine libraries have a history of sharing their physical resources and have established ways to do so (see Sanborn and Nutty, this issue). Many libraries in the state share a catalog, for example, which allows patrons access to the resources of participating libraries.

And libraries participate in a delivery system that allows the physical items to be shipped from library to library.

Thus, the sharing of physical resources has been regularized, and libraries borrow from one another on a routine basis.

With the advent of e-resources, sharing has become more complex at the time that it is increasingly important because of financial constraints. Online resources raise new challenges, however. The growing collection of e-books and other online resources cannot be shared in the traditional way. Publishers have implemented restrictions whereby the sharing of materials is difficult if not impossible. This is an issue faced by libraries nationwide and will not be resolved in Maine alone. Nor will it be resolved quickly, as articles by Allen and Sullivan (this issue) discuss. As libraries attempt to solve this problem, they may find opportunities for innovation in how they get information to users in the digital age. As they explore print-ondemand and electronic-on-demand, Maine libraries have the opportunity to be on the leading edge in developing a plan (see Revitt, this issue).

CONCLUSION: POLICY AND PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Although often considered “static,” libraries have always transformed themselves as times have changed.

As the president of the American Library Association notes, “the library of today is not the library of our childhood, and the library that children see today is not the library we’ll see in 20 years” (www.shareable. net/blog/the-evolving-library). Users can rely upon libraries partly because of their traditions, but also because they are institutions that respond to the changing technologies and needs.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 15

ARE LIBRARIES NECESSARY? ARE LIBRARIES OBSOLETE?

As libraries face these changes, they will need to deal with diverse policy issues. First, there is the concern of how to create robust practices that allow for continuity while also ensuring that libraries are responsive to potentially disruptive change. Second, in the face of increased emphasis on return on investment, what strategies can libraries use to measure returns on something as complex and multifaceted as the impact of libraries? As communities struggle to decide how to allocate their limited resources, can communityfriendly decision tools be developed to help with the process? Third, since Maine is known for its strong tradition of local control, what are the policy implications if community libraries become part of a regional system with regional governance or if they rely on shared resources for which the decisions about content and purchases are no longer locally controlled?

As libraries move into the future

physical space of the classroom during school hours to make full use of a guide—their teacher—to learn hands-on problem solving and receive individualized guidance. These are the kinds of changes that libraries have begun to envision.

Reinvention will be important, as Portland’s new bookmobile highlights. The bookmobile brings physical books to new locations, but also exploits the opportunities of Internet connections. The return of Portland’s bookmobile (Podgajny, this issue) is intended to address the distance issues in ways that combine the traditional and the new to arrive at something that cannot be done with either alone.

As libraries move into the future we will continue to see a blend of the old and the new. Libraries have evolved to respond to new needs, employing new technologies, but have kept the essence of what they have always been—a community resource, responding to whatever their community needs. 

we will continue to see a blend REFERENCES

of the old and the new.

Throughout this article we have noted that things are changing quickly. Consider that in today’s world people have ready access to all kinds of information at all hours of the day. Contrast this with the experience of someone growing up early in the 20th century.

My mother [Silka] grew up on a farm in rural Iowa and attended a one-room school. She loved libraries and books. What did her library consist of? All eight years that she attended the same one-room school there was one small shelf holding the same books, perhaps 10 at most. She says that she loved those books— read them over and over—but hungered for more.

It is hard to imagine how much has changed for her grandchildren. But people are re-imagining ways of approaching information. In his book The One World Schoolhouse (2012) Salman Khan turns traditional practices on their heads. In the case of schools, he asks why not switch the roles of the physical location and the Internet? He shows how children can use the Internet to receive lectures at home and use the 16 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

Anthony, Scott D., Mark W. Johnson, Joseph V. Sinfield and Elizabeth J. Altman. 2008. Innovator’s Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work. Harvard Business School Press, Cambridge, MA. Allen, Tom. 2013. “Book Publishers and Libraries: Historic Partners Facing a Disruptive Technology.”

Maine Policy Review 22(1): 46–47.

Averill, Debe and Nancy M. Lewis. 2013. “Students and Information Literacy: High School and Postsecondary Perspectives.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 114–117.

Bromage, Stephen. 2013. “Local History: A Gateway to 21st Century Communities.’ Maine Policy Review 22(1): 98–100.

Khan, Salman. 2012. The One World Schoolhouse.

Grand Central Publishing, New York.

Cohn, Cindy and Parker Higgins. 2012. Who’s Tracking Your Reading Habits? An E-Book Buyer’s Guide to Privacy, 2012 Edition. Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco. www.eff.org/ deeplinks/2012/11/e-reader-privacy-chart-2012update [Accessed March 31, 2013]

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

ARE LIBRARIES NECESSARY? ARE LIBRARIES OBSOLETE?

Linda Silka directs the Margaret Chase Smith

Norman, Melora. 2013. “Libraries and the First Amendment.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 121–123.

Policy Center and is a professor in the University

Podgajny, Steve. 2013. “Portable Libraries.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 101–102.

of Maine School of Economics. Her research

Putnam, Robert D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon & Schuster, New York.

focuses on building research partnerships

Revitt, Matthew. 2013. “A Shared Approach to Managing Legacy Print Collections in Maine.”

Maine Policy Review 22(1): 65–66.

among diverse researchers and stakeholder groups.

Rumery, Joyce and Tom Abbott. 2013. “When Disasters Strike; An Interview by Linda Silka with Joyce Rumery and Tom Abbott.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 132–134.

Joyce Rumery is dean of university libraries at the

Sanborn, James M. Jackson and David J. Nutty. 2013.

“Maine Libraries: A History of Sharing and Collaboration.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 53–61.

University of Maine. She

Sullivan, Maureen. 2013. “Libraries and Book Publishers.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 48–50.

sity for 26 years and dean

Visser, Marijke. 2013. “Digital Literacy and Public Policy through the Library Lens.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 105–113.

chair of the Maine Library

Zurinski, Stephanie, Valerie Osborne, Mamie Anthoine-Ney and Janet McKenney. 2013.

“Libraries in the Community: Changing Opportunities.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 71–79.

has been with the universince 2005. She is the vice Commission, serves on the Maine InfoNet Board, is a member of the Maine Library Association Executive Council, and chairs the URSUS library directors meetings.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 17

MAINE PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Maine Public Libraries

Aroostook

Piscataquis

Somerset Penobscot

Washington Franklin

Hancock

Waldo

Oxford Kennebec

Androscoggin

Lincoln

Knox

Sagadahoc Cumberland

York

18 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

Collection Size = 40,000 and up = 16-39,999 = less than 16,000

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

MAINE PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Collection Size

Action...............................3 Addison...........................3 Albion...............................3 Alfred................................2 Allagash...........................3 Andover...........................3 Appleton..........................3 Ashland............................2 Auburn.............................1 Augusta...........................1 Baileyville........................2 Bangor.............................1 Bar Harbor.......................2 Bar Mills...........................3 Bath..................................1 Belfast..............................1 Belgrade..........................3 Bernard............................3 Berwick............................2 Bethel...............................2 Biddeford.........................1 Bingham..........................3 Blue Hill............................2 Boothbay Harbor...........2 Bowdoinham..................3 Bradford...........................3 Bremen............................3 Brewer..............................2 Bridgton...........................2 Bridgton...........................3 Brooklin............................2 Brooksville.......................3 Brownfield.......................3 Brownville.......................3 Brunswick........................1 Bryant Pond....................3 Bucksport.........................2 Buston..............................3 Calais................................2 Camden...........................1 Canaan.............................3 Cape Elizabeth................1 Cape Porpoise (Kennebunkport)......3 Caribou............................1 Carmel..............................3 Carrabassett....................3 Casco................................2 Castine.............................3 Charleston.......................3 Chebeague Island..........3 Cherryfield.......................3 China................................2 Cliff Island (Portland).....2

Collection Size

Clinton..............................3 Corinna............................3 Corinth.............................3 Cornish.............................3 Cranberry Isles................3 Cumberland....................1 Cundy’s Harbor (Harpswell)................3 Cushing............................3 Cutler................................3 Damariscotta...................2 Danforth...........................3 Deer Isle...........................2 Denmark..........................3 Dennysville......................3 Detroit..............................3 Dexter...............................2 Dixfield.............................2 Dover-Foxcroft................2 Dresden...........................3 East Baldwin...................2 East Blue Hill...................3 East Machias...................3 East Vassalboro..............2 Eastport............................2 Eliot...................................2 Ellsworth..........................1 Enfield..............................3 Fairfield............................2 Falmouth.........................1 Farmington......................2 Fayette.............................3 Fort Fairfield....................3 Fort Kent..........................2 Frankfort..........................3 Freeport...........................1 Frenchboro......................3 Friendship........................3 Fryeburg..........................2 Gardiner...........................1 Georgetown....................3 Gorham............................3 Gorham............................2 Gray..................................2 Greene.............................3 Greenville........................2 Guilford............................2 Hallowell..........................2 Hampden.........................2 Harrington.......................3 Harrison...........................3 Hartland...........................2 Hiram...............................3 Hollis (Hollis Center)......3

Collection Size

Hollis (Salmon Falls)......3 Hope.................................3 Houlton............................1 Island Falls.......................3 Isle au Haut.....................3 Islesboro..........................2 Islesford...........................3 Jackman..........................3 Jonesport........................3 Kenduskeag....................3 Kennebunk......................1 Kennebunkport...............2 Kingfield..........................3 Kittery...............................1 Lebanon...........................3 Levant..............................3 Lewiston..........................1 Liberty..............................3 Limerick...........................2 Limestone........................2 Limington........................3 Lincoln.............................2 Lisbon Falls.....................1 Livermore........................3 Livermore Falls...............2 Long Island......................3 Lovell................................2 Lovell................................3 Lubec................................2 Lyman..............................2 Machias...........................3 Madison...........................2 Mars Hill..........................3 Mechanic Falls................2 Mercer..............................3 Mexico.............................3 Milbridge.........................3 Millinocket.......................1 Milo..................................2 Monhegan.......................3 Monmouth......................2 Monroe............................3 Monson............................3 Mount Desert..................3 Mount Vernon.................3 Naples..............................2 New Gloucester..............2 New Harbor.....................2 New Portland..................3 New Sharon....................3 New Vineyard.................3 Newburgh.......................3 Newport...........................3

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Collection Size

Norridgewock.................3 North Anson...................3 North Berwick.................2 North Haven....................2 North Jay.........................2 Northeast Harbor...........1 Norway............................1 Oakland............................2 Ocean Park......................2 Ogunquit..........................3 Old Orchard Beach........2 Old Town.........................2 Orono...............................2 Orrington.........................3 Orr’s Island (Harpswell)................3 Oxford..............................2 Palermo...........................3 Paris..................................2 Parkman...........................3 Parsonsfield....................3 Patten...............................2 Pembroke........................3 Phillips..............................3 Phippsburg......................3 Pittsfield...........................2 Poland..............................2 Portland (4 branches)....1 Presque Isle.....................1 Princeton.........................3 Prospect Harbor.............3 Rangeley..........................2 Raymond.........................2 Readfield..........................3 Richmond........................3 Rockland..........................1 Rockport..........................2 Rumford...........................1 Saco..................................1 Sanford............................1 Sangerville......................3 Scarborough...................1 Searsmont.......................3 Searsport.........................3 Sebago.............................3 Shapleigh........................3 Sherman..........................3 Skowhegan.....................2 Solon................................3 South Berwick................2 South Bristol...................2 South China....................3 South Paris......................3 South Paris......................3

Collection Size

South Portland...............1 South Thomaston..........3 Southport........................2 Southwest Harbor..........2 Springvale.......................2 St. Agatha........................3 Standish...........................3 Steep Falls.......................2 Stetson.............................3 Steuben...........................3 Stockton Springs............3 Stonington......................3 Stratton............................3 Strong..............................3 Sullivan............................2 Swan’s Island..................3 Tenants Harbor...............3 Thomaston......................2 Topsham..........................2 Turner...............................3 Union...............................3 Unity.................................1 Van Buren........................2 Vinalhaven......................2 Waldoboro......................2 Warren.............................3 Washburn........................2 Washington.....................3 Waterboro.......................2 Waterford........................3 Waterville.........................1 Wayne..............................2 Weld.................................3 Wells.................................2 West Paris........................3 Westbrook.......................1 Whitneyville....................2 Wilton...............................2 Windham.........................1 Winslow...........................1 Winter Harbor.................3 Winterport.......................3 Winthrop..........................2 Wiscasset.........................2 Yarmouth.........................2 York...................................1 Collection Size = 40,000 and up = 16-39,999 = less than 16,000

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 19

MAINE LIBRARY HISTORY

Maine Library History

by Melora Norman

From the earliest small private and university libraries of the 1700s to today’s high-speed Internet-connected institutions, the history of Maine’s libraries mirrors the development of the state and provides a sense of the concerns people had for access to information and education. Melora Norman describes the development of various kinds of libraries in Maine and the opportunities and challenges they have faced over time. She notes that the 20th century was a time of increasing professionalization and standardization in Maine’s libraries. During the late 1990s through the present, libraries have been changing dramatically as they shift from a focus on print, reference, and preservation to digital knowledge, discovery, and instruction.

20 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013



View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

MAINE LIBRARY HISTORY

T

accumulation of knowledge with the development of complex civilizations (Harris 1999). Each category of library carries with it a founding ideology: religious collections are based upon the idea that words are worthy of reverence or fear; governments are concerned with politics and regulation; and businesses are motivated by profit. In the case of liberal democracies, education and the free flow of information is considered vital to an informed citizenry as a necessary basis for participatory, representative governance. All of these impulses can be seen at play in the development of 20th century Maine libraries.

The earliest collections in the New World were private, consisting mostly of religious texts brought over by the Puritans in the 17th century. The earliest public library effort is often attributed to a bequest from Captain Robert Keayne, who left his collection of religious texts to Boston with the proviso that they be properly housed and maintained in 1656. Any librarian who interacts with donors knows they must be handled delicately, and Captain Keayne was no exception. As historian Jesse H. Shera notes, the captain was contradictory and demanding, his will

he state of Maine with its rough-hewn geography, sparse population, and rural nature has a library history matching its character. Once a wild frontier to early New England settlers, over the years the state would see the installation of many village libraries, which have to this day preserved much of their original simplicity and charm. Meanwhile, larger public, school, and academic libraries in Maine developed along with—and reflected—the country’s rapid industrialization and wealth. Like their colleagues elsewhere, Maine’s librarians have over time evinced a growing professionalism characterized by a deep sense of responsibility to their communities, while preserving an inherited collaborative spirit consistent with their Yankee forebears’ spirit of economy and frugality.

The history of all libraries begins somewhere in humankind’s creation of objects inscribed with shapes and characters that convey meaning. Historian Michael H. Harris describes early known written formats used in ancient times and suggests that materials become a “library” when they are organized for easy access to some group of people by individuals who work to organize and maintain them. He also notes that there Norlands Library, Livermore, ca. 1890. Israel and Martha Benjamin Washburn were three kinds of early collections: temple, settled on a Livermore farm that they named Norlands in 1809. There they operated government, and business, conflating the a store before turning to farming. The family built a library, along with a meeting house at the farm.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Maine Historical Society

The soil is rugged, the coast rock-bound, the climate cold, the winters long. But on every hill, as here in our sight, is a church and a school-house, and the long winter evenings give to the snow-bound people ample time in which to digest the lessons of both. Why should not Livermore, as heretofore, pour out from her overflowing treasury men who shall make the world better for their living? The church is here built and rebuilt by the generosity of the Washburns; the school-house, too; and today we have dedicated to the free use of all her citizens this magnificent Library Building, with its treasure of learning, also their gift.

—Senator Wm. P. Frye1

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 21

Aroostook County Historical and Art Museum

MAINE LIBRARY HISTORY

Cary Library, Houlton, 1904. This Carnegie-funded library was designed

by John Calvin Stevens of Portland.

“a curious conglomeration of religious piety, philanthropy, and spleen” (Shera 1949:16–17). Thanks to Keayne and subsequent donors the Boston Town House housed this early public library effort until it was destroyed by a fire in 1747 (Shera 1949).

SOCIAL LIBRARIES: MAINE’S EARLIEST PUBLICS

M

aine’s earliest general libraries preceded its statehood by more than a century, and likewise date back to colonial times. These predecessors of today’s public libraries are generally termed “social libraries,” formed when a group of people decided to get together and contribute to a fund for buying books. Benjamin Franklin’s 1731 “Library Company of Philadelphia” is the best-known early social library. When his 1730 “Junto” book-sharing effort fell apart, he drew up proposals and sold shares to 50 subscribers for a social library (Shera 1949). Franklin’s ownership model was a proprietary social library, owned by its members, like stocks, in shares. Another model was the subscription, or association library, whose members paid fees, but did not own part of the library (Shera 1949).

Portland’s first proprietary social library was funded by some “prominent men who felt the lack of

22 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

reading material” (Portland 1949: 1).

By 1766, the small group’s collection had grown to 93 volumes. However, the collection was scattered during the Revolution, after which efforts were made to rebuild it under the aegis of the Falmouth Library Association (Falmouth being the name of Portland at the time). This collection resided in the home of its librarian, Samuel Freeman, who held at different times a variety of offices including “schoolmaster, delegate to the Provincial Congress, Judge of the Probate Court, and Portland’s first postmaster” (Portland 1949: 2). Like all librarians, Freeman struggled with overdue items, advertising in December 24, 1785, for the return of such titles as Leland’s View of Deistical Writers, Various Prospects of Mankind, Pemberton’s Sermons, and London Magazines from 1755 to 1763 (Portland 1949). In 1825, having accumulated a collection of 1,640 volumes and a membership of 82, the library’s owners began plans to house it in larger quarters, and the Portland Athenaeum was formed. Shares cost $100; a year’s reading-room privileges could be purchased for five dollars, making this still a relative luxury. During this period, social libraries were also rising up elsewhere in Maine.

The rapid rise in the Portland Athenaeum’s collection paralleled the growth of book publishing and other industries during this period. In 1861, it boasted more than 10,000 volumes. Several other libraries had been established in the Portland area during this time, including the Maine Charitable Mechanics Association library of 1815, the Portland Society of Natural History library of 1854, the Young Men’s Mercantile Library Association and the Girls’ High School libraries of 1851, and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) library of 1857. The Bangor Public Library’s web site dates its formation back to seven books in the footlocker of the Bangor Mechanic Association (www. bpl.lib.me.us/History.html). The importance of Maine’s social libraries was further acknowledged under an 1821 law, one of several such statutes passed in the

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

MAINE LIBRARY HISTORY

Northeast, beginning with New York State in 1796 and ending with Rhode Island in 1839 (Shera 1949: 62).

These laws supported the formal organization of social libraries, with boards of trustees and bylaws.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN MAINE

D

uring the second half of the 19th century, many public libraries were forming across the country.

Library historian Michael H. Harris calls this period the “Rise of the American Public Library,” noting that the all-volunteer, early social libraries had a tendency to fail quickly. It was not until society had concluded that government needed to support basic services that a durable public library institution could evolve (Harris 1999). Most of Portland’s social libraries were burned during the “Great Fire” that consumed much of the city in 1866. The conflagration inspired talks in 1867 that in turn led to the establishment of the Portland Institute and Public Library, which would henceforth be supported by taxpayer dollars (Portland 1949). According to a handbook published in 1952, Bath’s Patten Free Library was founded in 1847. Jeff Cabral, director of Macarthur Public Library, dates Biddeford’s first free public library efforts back to 1863, asserting that it was among the first to provide services without charge. The dedicatory exercises of Washburn Memorial Library at “The Norlands” place that building’s construction at 1885.

Andrew Carnegie’s Contribution to Maine Libraries

This acceleration in the growth of public libraries was furthered by one of the Gilded Age’s best-known “robber barons.” Fueled by America’s feverish economic growth and a passion for libraries, self-made millionaire Andrew Carnegie provided 1,419 grants to libraries throughout the U.S., more than 18 of which were in Maine. From 1897 to 1911, Carnegie library grants were received by Auburn, Augusta, Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Freeport, Gardiner, Guilford, Houlton, Lewiston, Madison, Milo, Oakland, Old Town, Pittsfield, Presque Isle, Rockland, Rumford, Vinalhaven, Waterville, and the University of Maine (Jones 1997). Carnegie’s (1889) “Gospel of Wealth” ethic was well-suited to the commitment to lifelong

learning central to the public library mission: the best means of benefiting the community is to place within its reach the ladders upon which the aspiring can rise—parks, and means of recreation, by which men are helped in body and mind; works of art, certain to give pleasure and improve the public taste, and public institutions of various kinds, which will improve the general condition of the people; —in this manner returning their surplus wealth to the mass of their fellows in the forms best calculated to do them lasting good.

Carnegie’s mixture of bootstrap ethic and social conscience made public libraries an obvious place for him to invest toward the end of his life.

State and Federal Aid

By 1916, Maine had 107 public libraries. An estimated 411 towns and cities were left without, although limited mail-order and a travelling library system were offered by the Maine State Library, which also coordinated an annual stipend program designed to encourage communities to install public libraries in their towns (MSL 1916). In the 1950s, postwar prosperity brought with it bookmobiles.

On July 22, 1953, the Lewiston Evening Journal reported that a new bookmobile service was beginning and was anticipated to serve 5,000 school children plus adults. The federal Library Services Act (LSA) of 1956 and the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) of 1964 provided significant funding for public libraries and their counterparts on wheels, the bookmobiles. As Fry (1975) describes, these monies managed by state library agencies on behalf of communities resulted in the construction of many library buildings and the deployment of hundreds of bookmobiles throughout the country, primarily to rural areas. According to the April 16, 1981, Bangor Daily News, Maine’s bookmobile service was proposed to be eliminated and replaced by a books-by-mail service. The Maine State Library’s books-by-mail service still operates and now serves both rural communities and people who are homebound due to disability (www.maine.gov/msl/ outreach/booksbymail).

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 23

MAINE LIBRARY HISTORY

PRIVATE LIBRARIES

P

rivate libraries—one of the most basic and ancient forms—continued to be collected, treasured, and frequently left through wills to public, school, or academic libraries. Book donations would remain an important source for many American libraries, only tapering off in significance over time as libraries professionalized and acquired bigger budgets and books became ever more mass-produced. In 1900, Samuel Lane Boardman self-published a small book derived from columns in The Bangor Daily Commercial entitled Descriptive Sketches of Six Private Libraries of Bangor, Maine. Among them were described such gems as Colonel Porter’s collection of genealogy, family and local history; “Mr. Bliss’ Collection of Websteriana”; and the “Library of Frederick H. Appleton, Esq.,” which included background on Appleton’s family, noting that this “collection strong in history, political economy and philosophy, with the works of all the leading authors of antiquity and the modern writers in general literature” had been nurtured for generations (Boardman 1900: 117).2 COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

T

he first New England college had its venerable start in 1636; in 1638, this institution acquired its name thanks to a library donation from the Reverend John Harvard, who made the young venture a small gift of books and money (Harris 1999). Maine’s first institution of higher learning, Bowdoin College, opened its doors in 1802 with a library owing its existence to volumes contributed by several well-wishers, including Major General Henry Knox (Rush 1946).

Although Bowdoin’s library had a small budget for its first 80 years, it had significant book donations from many individuals. In the early years, Bowdoin’s book stacks—like those of other academic libraries—were “closed,” meaning patrons had to request specific books from library staff who would retrieve them; also, undergraduates’ borrowing privileges were very limited, with freshmen unable to borrow at all since there was concern doing so might interfere with their studies. By 1877 this had changed, with students given free access to shelves and borrowing widespread (Rush 1946).

24 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

Collection and circulation statistics reveal massive growth during this period: by 1939, Bowdoin’s library held 181,219 volumes and had a circulation of 15,496, nearly double its circulation in 1890. As prosperity made books much more available and educational theories grew more expansive, so too did open access (Rush 1946).

Since librarianship had not yet developed as a profession during Bowdoin’s early years, its first librarians were also professors, among them Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was librarian and instructor of modern languages from 1830 to 1835 (Rush 1949). Significantly, after 1910, many more Bowdoin College library books were selected and purchased by librarians than were acquired through donation, as had been the case earlier (Rush 1946).

Colby College, which had its beginnings as the “literary and theological institute” of Waterville College in 1818, was off to a slightly slower start: by 1909 it had a decent collection of “working books” with strength in history, biography, and classics (Rush 1946). Bates College was chartered in 1864 following a successful petition by a group of young seminarians.

The son of its first college president, young Horace Cheney, spent much time and energy gathering together its first library, and in 1900 a major gift led to the construction of a new library building dedicated in 1902 (Rush 1946).

Of great significance to Maine’s higher education library scene was the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862, which provided federal funding to help states to establish agricultural and technical colleges, provided at a time of accelerating national wealth and consequent need for skilled workers (Harris 1999). Like most early academics, the library of the land-grant college that would become the University of Maine relied upon relatively sparse donations and languished in its early days. However, according to Rush, it was the first Maine college to hire a professionally trained librarian, a graduate of Columbia University’s School of Library Economy, in 1888. From 1880 to 1939, the collection grew from 4,105 to 172,428 volumes, with an annual circulation of 27,996, having in the meantime received a Carnegie grant for a new library building in 1906.

Like many other academic libraries, the present-day Fogler Library had its beginnings in a shared academic

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

MAINE LIBRARY HISTORY

space, but soon outgrew even its Carnegie building (Rush 1946).

DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES

A

s in every other state in the union, some of Maine’s libraries are federal depositories. The Government Printing Office, or GPO, dates the depository library program and its mission of “Keeping America Informed” back to an act of Congress in 1813 (www.gpo.gov). Maine’s regional depository is the University of Maine’s Fogler Library; as a regional depository, it receives a copy of all GPO documents and also serves New Hampshire and Vermont. “Selective deposiBangor Public Library Librarians, 1914. The library was opened to the public in 1913, tories,” as the term implies, receive certain replacing one that had been destroyed by Bangor’s “great fire” in 1911. categories of publications in subject specialties. The number of depositories in Maine free public library in 1827 (Harris 1999). According grew over time. Of the libraries established as deposito a turn-of-the-century report by the state supertories in Maine, Bates was first in 1883, while Colby, intendent of public schools in Maine, in 1873 the Bowdoin, and the Bangor and Portland public libraries town of Castine also boasted a new school which was soon followed in 1884. The University of Maine joined soon finished with furniture, library, apparatus, and in 1907; the University of Maine School of Law in improvements. This report also credited the Maine 1964; Maine Maritime Academy in 1969; Maine Law Educational Association with helping “to advance and Legislative Library in 1973; and the University of the cause of education by timely recommendations Maine at Presque Isle in 1979 (http://catalog.gpo.gov/). in favor of the abolition of the district system, of the In 1981, the recently formed Maine Government establishment of free high schools, of free text-books, Documents Discussion Group compiled a survey of normal schools, libraries and the extension of the Maine’s depositories, revealing the specialties available school year”—a sign of the increasing value placed on at each one, from military documents at the Maine both education and libraries (Maine Office of State Maritime Academy to energy, geology, and recreation Commissioner 1901: 104). Similarly, the National at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Though Education Association’s 1920 Standard Library increasing amounts of government data are becoming Organization and Equipment for Secondary Schools available online, the depository libraries remain a vital of Different Sizes reveals continued advancement in source of information nationwide. school library professionalization, issuing clear guidelines for school library spaces, collections, and staffing.

SCHOOL LIBRARIES MAINE LIBRARIES IN THE 20TH CENTURY: he “school district library” efforts of the earlyINCREASING PROFESSIONALIZATION to mid-1800s tried to serve both children and AND STANDARDIZATION communities, but due to lack of dedicated space, staff, and collection monies, these soon proved unsuccessful. he 20th century saw increasing professionalNonetheless, many Maine communities realized the ization and standardization among the nation’s value of good school libraries. The town of Castine was libraries. Melvil Dewey (famous for his Dewey Decimal already home to an 1801 social library that became a System) founded the first practical library program

T

T

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 25

MAINE LIBRARY HISTORY

for library workers at Columbia University in 1887.

A 1921 report by Charles C. Williamson funded by the Carnegie Corporation recommended, among other things, the distinction between professional librarians and clerical staff that remains with us today (Harris 1999). Since 1924, the American Library Association has been assessing and accrediting scholarly programs of library science for professional librarians. However, since the field of information science has been evolving so rapidly, there has been an ongoing need for workshops and other continuing education for library workers at all levels.

In Maine, one agency that has long provided support for improvement of libraries and librarianship is the Maine State Library (MSL), the subject of an article by Linda Lord elsewhere in this issue, which was initially established in 1836. In April 1911, the MSL announced in its first Bulletin of the Maine State Library the intent of sharing information about its work and that of the Maine Library Commission.

The MSL also promoted library education, announcing in its July 1912 bulletin the upcoming “annual Maine Summer Library School” to be held in August at the state house; the October issue

included a lengthy report on the school, together with the names of all the students in attendance. The MSL’s duties included collecting lists of books purchased with the state aid that was at that time provided to libraries to support their collections, as well as acquiring and preserving complete sets of town and city reports of Maine communities through their public libraries.

Beneath these simple tasks lay a powerful and passionate service ethic, as voiced in a lecture by State Librarian H. E. Holmes at the 18th Annual Meeting of the Maine Library Association: In the midst of dark predictions of the dangers which threaten the country, danger of classhatred and class-strife, industrial slavery of the multitude of laborers to the few employers of labor, dangers in the world political which threaten the foundations of our government, dangers of State Socialism, Collectivism and anarchy, one point of light stands out preeminently, that is the fact that we have many prophets to warn us of the dangers that threaten us, the reefs of destruction that surround us.

Librarians had come to believe in their powerful mission: providing vital information to the citizenry:

Dyer Library Archives / Saco Museum

But what of the Librarian? Does every librarian keep before him at all times a clear conception of his high and broad duties?

Does he realize that he has been called to a life of service, service of his fellowmen, as surely as the teacher and the clergyman?

Old Dyer Library, Saco, shelf stacks, ca. 1900. Interior of the original library showing the main librarians’ desk in front of the book shelves. The library, built in 1893, was of the closed-stack style where only librarians had access to the shelves.

Books would be requested of the librarian who would retrieve them for the patrons.

26 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

Furthermore, this mission obliged librarians to “try silently, quietly and inconspicuously to direct the taste of the readers toward the fields of good reading” (MSL 1912: 7–9).

Holmes’s speech reveals conflicting pressures on all Americans. Wars were brewing in Europe; inequities at home led to political and social discontent. Librarians saw their libraries as havens and communications centers vital to the wellbeing of the country. Through the selection of the right materials and acquisition of the right titles, they could help make their communities better,

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

MAINE LIBRARY HISTORY

safer places. As such, they were in a sense a prototype for what Lizabeth Cohen terms “citizen consumers”— individuals who, by profession, purchased and arranged materials for the “good of the nation” (Cohen 2003: 23). Feelings of reverence, responsibility, and concern for making right purchases are part of the job.

After World War II in many parts of the country suburbs would grow exponentially and with them would come extensive public library systems, with multiple branch libraries. These were soon filled by an explosion of inexpensive print materials, followed by audiovisual materials and media. Maine, however, would continue to be almost entirely a one-libraryper-town state, preserving much of its rural character.

Nevertheless, national prosperity meant progress for library services in Maine as well. A report on Maine libraries stated that there were 253 public libraries in the state; of the 73 libraries not responding to the survey, 65 served communities with populations of less than 2,500, indicating the relative inexperience and isolation of the smallest institutions (Arco, Inc. 1970).

The exponential rise in library fortunes during this period of national prosperity is clear. According to the report, in 10 years the average library budget had risen from $8,062 to $16,527 (Arco, Inc. 1970). The number of libraries and their collections continued to grow in a variety of ways; for instance, in 1971, the Maine Law and Legislative Reference Library, which had previously been a collection of the Maine State Library, became a separate entity, providing substantial legal information to the legislature and citizens of the state (see Barden, this issue).

The 1980s may be seen as something of a crescendo in library growth and professionalization, with buildings filled and card catalogs rapidly giving way to online public access catalogs, or OPACS; materials were still in print or microformat, but access to them rapidly became computerized. During the 1990s through the present day, technology has rapidly been changing the face of libraries and library service, as libraries shift from a focus on print, reference, and preservation to digital knowledge discovery and instruction.

As Sanborn and Nutty share in their article in this issue, Maine’s librarians, library workers, and library advocates of all kinds are committed to collaboration and resource sharing. For example, they have provided access

to library collections throughout the state through Maine InfoNet. Working with the Public Utilities Commission, as mentioned in Tom Welch’s article (this issue), libraries have linked people across the state through technology, providing access to millions of items and bringing the Internet to schools and communities through the Maine School and Library Network (MSLN) and the MARVEL! databases.

Library education in Maine has had its own unique path and has in some instances been a trailblazer. Into the 1990s, the Standing Advisory Committee on Continuing Education, SACCE, was an active and vital committee of the Maine Library Association. Working closely with the MSL, SACCE provided continuing education workshops for librarians. However, library workers in Maine were looking for ways to improve their educational options, and they found creative ways to do it. According to Tom Abbott, Dean of Libraries and Extended Campus Learning at the University of Maine at August (UMA), a non-accredited master’s in library science (MLS) program at the University of Maine shut down in the 1980s.

While the MLS was technically the minimum requirement for a position as a librarian, the reality in Maine was that a great many people in support staff positions working in various kinds of libraries needed some kind of preparation or certification. In response to this need, Abbott and his associates worked through the process of establishing an undergraduate library science curriculum at UMA. Because the program was founded on the distance-education model, it provided support for the emergence of a strong role for UMA as an online program service center for the University System. Following a natural evolution from a correspondence course via tapes and early email to ITV and Blackboard, the undergraduate programs in library science at UMA now serve more than 100 students enrolled from 25 states and internationally, graduating about 10 students per year.

Walt Taranko of the Maine State Library was another key collaborator, working to establish an early online MLS for aspiring Maine librarians through the University of South Carolina, thus providing a pool of trained professional librarians native to the state (http://librarygrist.net).

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 27

MAINE LIBRARY HISTORY

SOME CLOSING THOUGHTS

I

n the end, thanks to everyone from Andrew Carnegie to professional librarians and local volunteers, the first image that comes to most Mainers’ minds when they hear the word “library” is that of the beloved free public variety. And no matter what their size, communities love their village libraries. Jackie Bennett, director of the Bristol Area Library, writes (personal communication) that the Bristol area’s first library was begun by three teachers in a vacant church building. After gathering together books for two years, the library was opened in 1962. When it met the same fiery fate as Portland’s original library and was destroyed in the summer of 1981, it was rebuilt by October 1982, a testament to the pride and determination of people who love to learn and read.

The history of libraries in the state mirrors the development of the state and provides a sense of the concerns the citizens had for their access to information and ongoing education. Although there will be many changes in what libraries offer they will always have a place in Mane’s communities, schools, and other institutions. -

REFERENCES Arco, Inc. 1970. Maine Libraries; A Study Made by Arco Inc. for the Governor’s Task Force to Study Library Services in Maine. Augusta.

Barden, John. 2013. “Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 87–88.

Boardman, Samuel Lane. 1900. Descriptive Sketches of Six Private Libraries of Bangor, Maine. Printed for the author, Bangor.

Carnegie, Andrew. 1889. “Wealth.” The North American Review 148(391): 653–664.

Cohen, Lizabeth. 2003. A Consumer’s Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America.

Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Fry, James W. 1975. “LSA and LSCA, 1956-1973: A Legislative History.” Library Trends 24(1): 7–26.

Harris, Michael H. 1999. History of Libraries in the Western World, 4th ed. Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, NJ. Jones, Theodore. 1997. Carnegie Libraries across America: A Public Legacy. John Wiley, Preservation Press Series, New York.

Lord, Linda. 2013. “What Makes the Maine State Library Unique?” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 85–86.

ENDNOTE 1. Dedicatory Exercises of the Washburn Memorial Library 1885. Fergus Printing Company, Chicago.

2. Given the massive proliferation of publications and other reading materials available a hundred years later, it is hard to imagine a collection that could claim such depth and breadth as to include “the works of all the leading authors of antiquity and the modern writers in general literature.” The closest thing to it would probably be the Library of Congress, whose web site proclaims that it contains “more than 34.5 million books and printed materials, as well as more than 117 million maps, manuscripts, photographs, films, audio and video recordings, prints and drawings, and other special collections” (www.loc.gov).

Maine State Library (MSL). 1911. Bulletin of the Maine State Library. Augusta Maine State Library (MSL). 1912. Bulletin of the Maine State Library. Augusta.

Maine State Library (MSL). 1916. Bulletin of the Maine State Library. Augusta.

Maine Office of State Commissioner of Education.

1901. A Study of the History of Education in Maine and the Evolution of our Present School System.

Augusta.

National Education Associate of the United States.

1920. Standard Library Organization and Equipment for Secondary Schools of Different Sizes: Report of the Committee on Library Organization and Equipment. American Library Association, Chicago.

Portland Public Library. 1949. The Portland Public Library and Its Predecessors, 1763–1949. The Library, Portland, ME.

28 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

MAINE LIBRARY HISTORY

Rush, Nixon Orwin. 1946. The History of College Libraries in Maine. Clark University Library, Worcester, MA. Sanborn, James M. Jackson and David J. Nutty.

2013. “Maine Libraries: A History of Sharing and Collaboration.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 52–61.

Shera, Jesse Hauk. 1949. Foundations of the Public Library: The Origins of the Public Library Movement in New England, 1629–1855. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Welch, Tom. 2013. “The Maine School and Library Network.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 41–43.

Melora Norman is director of the Dorothy Webb Quimby Library at Unity College. She has chaired the Intellectual Freedom Round Table of the American Library Association and co-chaired the intellectual freedom committees of the Maine and New England library associations. She is currently a graduate student in the history department at the University of Maine.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 29

Connectivity and Access

Although Maine is a rural state, it has had success in keeping pace with technological changes since the rise of the Internet 20 years ago. In this section, authors describe some of these successes and the challenges faced by both consumers and libraries in the new digital environment. Fletcher Kittredge presents the history and promise of Maine’s “Three Ring Binder,” a new and important fiber optic network that will bring high-speed broadband connectivity to rural parts of the state. The Three Ring Binder is expected both to improve economic opportunities for businesses and to increase high-speed Internet access for underserved populations. Tom Welch describes the development and importance of the Maine School and Library Network, a pioneering effort that has brought inexpensive high-speed connectivity to all schools and libraries in Maine. Janet McKenney discusses the recent BTOP [Broadband Technology Opportunities Program] federal grant that has increased the number of computers, workstations, and videoconferencing units in Maine libraries and is providing training and online learning resources to unemployed, low-income and senior citizens, along with assistance to local librarians to increase their technology skills. New technologies and new forms of digital media pose challenges for both for publishers and libraries, as discussed by Tom Allen and Maureen Sullivan in their articles on e-books. Allen presents the publisher’s perspective on this potentially disruptive technology, while Sullivan examines the issue from the perspective of libraries and their historic mission of providing universal and unencumbered access to materials.

30 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013



View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s Three Ring Binder

Figure 1: Three Ring Binder Map

Maine’s Three Ring Binder

Presque Isle

By Fletcher Kittredge Calais

Dover-Foxcroft

INTRODUCTION

T

o be competitive in today’s economy, Maine needs to have Internet infrastructure capable of quickly transmitting large amounts of data. The Internet is composed of many networks of networks, but its existence requires physical elements such as cables. Transmission mediums that are “broadband” have the ability to transport multiple signals and traffic types simultaneously. Broadband, as the name implies, has greater bandwidth capacity and, therefore, greater and more reliable capacity for Internet “traffic.”

A speedier, more reliable Internet helps businesses, banks, schools, hospitals—anyone who relies on the Internet for his or her livelihood or well-being—to be more productive. And, it makes the state more attractive to outside investors.

After three years of construction, a major upgrade of Maine’s economic and social infrastructure was completed in 2012. This upgrade, called the Three Ring Binder (or 3RB), is expected to have a significant positive effect on Maine’s economy in the decades to come. The upgrade is a 1,100-mile fiber optic network spanning the rural regions of the state in the form of three large rings. (See map, Figure 1.) The rings are interconnected with each other and with the major urban service centers of the state, thus tying rural and urban Maine together. The rings are also connected via multiple paths to Canada and the U.S. Internet grid for the first time, placing Maine at the center of the global Internet rather than on an edge. The network allows users in rural Maine access to some of the fastest Internet service in the country.

Bangor

Portland Complete - Existing Complete In Progress

Portsmouth

Boston

Planned

0

20

40

80

120

Miles 160

The 3RB brings many economic opportunities to rural Maine. This has been recognized by institutions such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which in 2011 ranked Maine #1 in the country for technology infrastructure thanks partly to the 3RB (Mainebiz 2011).

The 3RB is an example of a successful public/ private partnership, with 80 percent of the capital funding coming from the federal government and 20 percent from private investors. The structure of that partnership and the responsibilities it places on the private owners of the 3RB are rare if not unique. In 2010, an Act of the Maine Legislature established the legal framework to make the project possible. The 3RB is held up as a model project nationwide both for technical design and for the structure of the public/private

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 31

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s Three Ring Binder

partnership. In this article, we discuss the history of the 3RB that will illuminate the motivations behind its design, its legal structure, and its potential for reshaping Maine.

HISTORY

M

aine is a rural state, with limited financial or technical resources. Despite the lack of resources, since the rise of the Internet 20 years ago, Maine has had some success at keeping pace with the constant technological changes and demands of consumers. This has mostly been accomplished by a small, informal band of people and institutions that share an interest in making Maine well connected. The membership of this informal coalition has changed over time, and it only comes together around particular issues. The coalition is diverse in political outlook and doesn’t seem to have any unifying qualities other than an interest in rural Internet service. After an issue is addressed, the group dissipates only to coalesce again when the advance of technology brings new problems. Institutions and stakeholder groups represented are the telecommunications industry; state regulators such as the Public Utilities Commission (PUC); the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA); technology workers in the state government such as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and lead network engineer; consumers with a particular interest; librarians and educational folk such as college professors; Bowdoin College’s chief information officer; the University of Maine; and the head of the Maine Schools and Libraries Network (MSLN).

Despite the lack of resources, since the rise of the Internet 20 years ago, Maine has had some success at keeping pace with the constant techno­logical changes and demands of consumers.

32 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

The first time this coalition came together was early in the 1990s. The problem at the time was civilian Internet access via dial-up modem. For rural Maine, many dial-up calls were subject to high longdistance fees. At the time, long-distance fees could exceed $.10 per minute, making it expensive for rural Mainers to access the Internet.

The solution in 1995 was for the legislature to amend existing policy in state law to read: 4. Information access. The Legislature further declares and finds that computer-based information services and information networks are important economic and educational resources that should be available to all Maine citizens at affordable rates. It is the policy of the State that affordable access to those information services that require a computer and rely on the use of the telecommunications network should be made available in all communities of the State without regard to geographic location (35-AMRSA § 7101[4]).

The immediate impact of this policy statement was that the PUC made rules promoting fixed rate “toll free” long-distance lines for specific use only by Internet service providers (ISPs). This allowed ISPs to serve the entire state “toll free” from one modem bank in a central location. Over the long term, regulators and state employees have repeatedly made decisions based on that policy statement that have promoted the availability of the Internet at increasing speeds in rural as well as urban Maine. Among those decisions was the state’s support of the grant application for the 3RB. The next problem to arise was the issue of the Internet and education. Maine schools and libraries all needed to connect to the Internet to further education.

Again the same coalition came together and laid the groundwork for the founding of the MSLN in 1996 and the continued funding of that entity via a state tax on telecommunications (Maine Telecommunications Education Access Fund [MTEAF]) and federal E-Rate funds). Today, MSLN connects more than a thousand Maine schools and libraries via high-speed Internet connections (see Welch, this issue).

While dial-up Internet access was universal and schools and libraries were well connected, by the

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s Three Ring Binder

middle of the next decade, lack of rural broadband was becoming a real problem. The public Internet was about a decade old and was increasingly becoming vital to economic and social activity. Schools were starting to make use of the Internet in their standard curriculum. For K–12 students, lack of broadband at home meant they needed to stay after school or go to the library for access, a real burden for families. The group coalesced again. This time, in 2005 it was formalized

by Governor Baldacci as the Broadband Access Infrastructure Board. The group released a report in November 2005 (Maine Broadband Infrastructure Board 2005). This led to the legislation that established the ConnectME Authority in 2006. The charter of ConnectME is to provide broadband to unserved and underserved portions of Maine; it “develop[s] proposals for broadband expansion projects, demonstration projects and other initiatives; administer[s] the process for selecting specific broadband projects; and provid[es] funding, resources and incentives” (PL 2005, c. 665).

Much of ConnectME’s activity has been focused around providing grants to provide broadband to unserved areas. ConnectME is funded by a 0.25 percent tax on telecommunications. The ConnectME Authority is one of the smallest state agencies and the amounts awarded are modest. The grants provided total roughly $1.5 million per year.

ConnectME made progress extending broadband to unserved rural Maine, but there were many needs still unmet. During this decade, the importance of the Internet increased to the point where lack of broadband would effectively disenfranchise a citizen economically, educationally, socially, and politically. Pressure grew from unserved areas to make broadband universally available. All ConnectME grants had been awarded to small, local broadband ISPs that focused on rural areas. Universally, these ISPs told the ConnectME Authority that the biggest obstacle they faced was the lack of available high-speed, high-capacity connections to the rural communities they wanted to serve. These ISPs could connect up individual households via wireless or DSL broadband, but they lacked the ultra-highspeed lines to connect the entire community back to the Internet. DSL, cable, and wireless don’t have enough capacity to connect up a whole hamlet or town; that requires fiber optic cables.

Fiber Optic Cables and the “Middle Mile” Fiber optic cables are made up of many tiny strands of glass, each the size of a human hair. Data are transmitted down the fiber via light supplied by lasers. The lasers can be turned on and off very rapidly. This, combined with modern dataencoding techniques, makes it possible to transmit millions of times more data than in a cable or DSL system of the same physical size or power. For that reason, “middle mile” communications links are fiber optic cable in all modern communications systems.

In a communications network, the middle mile is the link that connects regions together. The “last mile” is the part of a communications system that connects individual dwellings or offices. Using our highway analogy, the middle mile is the equivalent of the interstate system and state highways. It is the segment of a telecommunications network that connects the core network with the central office (CO), commonly found in the center of towns. The last mile is the equivalent of town roads and driveways. It is the final segment of a telecommunications network that connects the CO to the customer or end-user. Sometimes you will hear synonyms for middle mile such as “backhaul” or inter-office facility (IOF). “Local loop” is sometimes used to describe the last mile.

Development of the Three Ring Binder

At the same time that ConnectME grantees were struggling with the lack of rural middle mile service, rural economic development officers were struggling with a related problem. Increasingly, companies needed ultra-high-speed Internet access in order to locate in rural areas; DSL and cable were not fast enough.

Due to lack of ultra-high-speed Internet, rural areas in Maine were already at a competitive disadvantage compared to urban locations in other parts of the U.S., and it was clear the problem was only going to get worse in the future.

These problems were not unique to Maine.

Nationwide, rural areas were suffering from the same problem. Given the trends, if Internet capacity in rural areas were (and are) not significantly increased, great

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 33

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s Three Ring Binder

strain would be placed on rural economies. Political pressure grew for the federal government to help increase the high-speed capacity of rural Internet service. The recession that started in 2007 multiplied the pressure.

Driven by these concerns, soon after taking office in January 2009, the Obama Administration signaled that it would include rural broadband in the proposed stimulus package.The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) passed in the spring of 2009 included $7.2 billion specifically for rural broadband.

The National Telephone and Information Agency (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce was given oversight of the largest portion of that, $4.7 billion, in the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). In its rulemaking, Dark Fiber the NTIA recognized the importance Dark fiber is an unused, of middle mile connectivity to rural or unlit fiber optic cable. regions and specifically set aside a Fiber optic cables funding pot for middle mile projects. transmit information in As part of the ARRA legislation, it the form of light pulses. was stipulated that each state would Dark fiber refers to a get at least one grant. fiber optic cable where Once again, Maine’s informal light pulses are not coalition interested in rural Internet being transmitted. coalesced. This time, the Customarily, dark fiber ConnectME Authority existed, so it is sold to telecommunicould act in a supporting role while cations providers who Jeff Letourneau of the University of then light the cable, Maine acted as the convener. allowing for informaBecause there was real money at tion to pass through. stake, there was far more interest from all parties, particularly businesses. The conveners and ConnectME made a significant effort to reach out to every conceivable interest.

The recession was particularly bad in 2009, so there was great urgency in distributing the stimulus funds in ARRA. The application time line was compressed into 30 days, from July 14th to August 14th.1 This situation drove the following conclusions: • The short time period necessary to produce an application mandated a simple project.

• The large number of stakeholders and industry players mandated a “competitively neutral” 34 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

project that would not favor one party over any other. Fortunately, the grant rules required “open access,” so a competitively neutral project would be an advantage.

• The coalition determined that there was not enough federal funding to bring in all the ultra-high-speed Internet necessary to the state.

Therefore the decision was made to build the foundation of a system that would entice private investors to build the rest.

• Maine was locked into a situation where it was replacing telecommunications infrastructure every five years. Given the U.S. government’s debt situation, it was not clear that there would be federal money available again to upgrade Maine’s rural telecommunications infrastructure. Therefore, the project should be as future proof as possible.

• The project had to result in significant cost benefit to rural companies and consumers.

If the project resulted in an expensive network, then rural customers could not afford it.

• It seemed the missing piece of the system was middle mile fiber optic cable. This was the chokepoint. The University of Maine system, MSLN, and ConnectME all reported this was their largest problem. ConnectME reported that almost universally, its grantees were saying they could supply the last mile, but middle mile fiber network was missing.

The University of Maine proposed a dark fiber optic network running in three rings around rural Maine, but also passing through the major urban centers of Bangor and Portland. Twelve of 16 county seats would be on the rings, with the exceptions being Alfred (York), South Paris (Oxford), Auburn (Androscoggin), and Augusta (Kennebec). The fiber ring would also touch all campuses of the University of Maine System. The rings, in turn, would be connected via at least two points to the U.S. telecommunications grid via New Hampshire and via at least two points to the Canadian telecommunications grid via New Brunswick. Effectively, this would connect the three

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s Three Ring Binder

rings in the state to rings in the south and north.

Telecommunications engineers love rings because if you cut a ring at any one point, all other points on the ring still have a path to communicate. It is impossible to build a reliable network, cost effectively, without rings.

The coalition had a design and a dark fiber, middle mile network spanning unserved rural areas of Maine in three rings totaling 1,100 route miles. The next question was “how to pay for it?” The estimate was it would cost about $33 million to build. Under the terms of ARRA BTOP, the federal government would supply 80 percent leaving a 20 percent match of about $7 million.

The first plan was that, as in other states, the state government would supply the matching funds.

Unfortunately, in the summer of 2009, the state of Maine was dealing with significant fiscal problems and was having to cut back a large number of programs.

Getting funding for a new project was not going to be possible in the 30-day application window. The next plan was to have the University of Maine System (UMS) supply the matching funds. Within a week, UMS, which was also undergoing deep budget cuts, determined it did not have funds it could allocate.

The coalition then turned to private industry. The first thought was to have Fairpoint build, own, and operate the network. Since Fairpoint was preparing to enter bankruptcy at the time, GWI offered to raise some or all of the funds for them. This seemed like a pretty good deal: Fairpoint would essentially get the network for free. Unfortunately, Fairpoint was unwilling to build the network in the agreed upon form. Fairpoint already had a considerable degree of control over retail communications services and facilities in Maine and was opposed to the proliferation of dark fiber facilities that could benefit potential competitors. The plan had been to use dark fiber to meet the open access requirements of the grant program. Further, if Fairpoint had a monopoly on the network, it would not meet the needs of ConnectME grantees, and there was no motivation for other companies to support the application.

The initial tentative plan then became that four smaller companies, Otelco, Oxford Networks, Pioneer Broadband, and GWI would each put up $2 million for the $7 million match and each would own onequarter of the network. This ended up not being workable. With the application window closing, in

the end, GWI decided to go ahead and apply for the ARRA BTOP grant on its own, based on interest expressed by financiers Bobby Monks and Dwight Allison in providing private capital to meet the application requirements. Dwight Allison was a long-time independent board member of GWI and was familiar with the proposed grant.

GWI committed clearly and in writing to honor the intent of group: if GWI won a grant, it would turn the money over to an independently run company that would provide open access to fiber to any qualified provider. This independent company is now known as Maine Fiber Company (MFC).

During this period, the Maine State Legislature established a Broadband Strategy Council (BSC) whose charter was, among other things, to evaluate and potentially endorse ARRA grants on behalf of the state.

Rep. Cynthia Dill was the key figure in establishing this council. The BSC formally endorsed GWI’s grant application, as did the ConnectME Agency and Governor Baldacci. Maine’s congressional delegation also supported the 3RB along with the Maine PUC, both the Maine State House of Representatives and the Maine State Senate, and later, Governor LePage’s office.

Without such support, the project may never have come to fruition.

On December 17, 2009, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke came to Orono to the University of Maine to announce the award of $25.4 million to help fund the 3RB. The award was the first ARRA BTOP award announced and has been a model project ever since. In the summer of 2012, MFC announced that the 3RB was substantially complete.

BUSINESS DESIGN

B

eing a public/private partnership, the 3RB is an unusual beast. In designing the business model and structure, a number of design objectives were followed. These goals were in alignment with GWI’s goals because GWI was going to receive the grant and then give it away to MFC. GWI was expecting to be a customer of MFC and wanted to ensure that MFC would be a good and fair vendor. GWI also wanted to keep the other members of the coalition happy, as it is a small state and the company has long-standing

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 35

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s Three Ring Binder

relationships with almost everyone, relationships that it plans to continue in the future.

First, the coalition wanted to avoid having a publicly funded monopoly. Eighty percent of the capital funding for the project was to come from the federal government. The purpose of the project was to build an infrastructure that would be vital to the economy and public good of rural Maine for at least 20 years.2 There is no comparable infrastructure to compete with the 3RB. For that reason, the coalition wanted to avoid a monopoly as monopolies increase prices, impede innovation, and are against the public interest. To meet this goal, MFC was created as a completely separate company instead of as a subsidiary of GWI. GWI transferred the grant to MFC in the summer of 2010. Dwight Allison resigned from the board of GWI to become CEO of MFC.

Given the goals of BTOP [Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program],

Third, a competitively neutral platform had to be created. There was a great deal of concern in the industry about the creation of a publicly subsidized entity that would unfairly dominate competitors. To address this, MFC is required to file all its rates with the Maine PUC and publish them on its web site.

Prices are required to be “just, reasonable and not unreasonably discriminatory.” The same terms and conditions will be offered to all comers for a set period.

The MFC is required to sell no more than 20 percent of the fiber in any one location to any one entity.

This should ensure there is at least the potential for five competitors serving any one location, creating a competitive market.

Finally there had to be a sufficient return on investment to attract private investors. For any partnership to work, it must meet the needs of all partners.

Private investors were taking the risk of supplying the capital because the Maine state government, the University of Maine, and private telecommunications companies were unable or unwilling to take the risk.

It was important to ensure that that risk was rewarded.

the 3RB needed to be focused

TECHNICAL DESIGN

primarily on the areas of the state that were unserved or underserved

here were several technical goals in designing the 3RB, which led to development if its technical design features.

Serve Rural Areas

for Internet broadband.

Second, the open access provisions of the grant had to be enforced. Open access is one way to avoid the problems caused by monopolies. To receive the grant, it was necessary to give the federal government assurances that the network would be an open access network. In April of 2010, the state of Maine passed a law to allow MFC to become a “dark fiber provider,” giving it the right to attach to utility poles without offering services to end customers. This was necessary because of the measures taken by the grant to ensure open access. MFC is required to sell only dark fiber and not sell any “lit” services to end customers. MFC cannot compete directly with carriers such as GWI, Otelco, or Oxford Networks.

36 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

T

Given the goals of BTOP, the 3RB needed to be focused primarily on the areas of the state that were unserved or underserved for Internet broadband.

The route traverses the most rural parts of the state, mostly following Route 1 along the coast up from Biddeford in York County to Calais in Washington County, then follows Route 1 as it takes its long run along the New Brunswick border through Houlton, Presque Isle, Caribou to Madawaska and Fort Kent. The 3RB then returns south via Route 11 and Route 16 to Millinocket, Dover/Foxcroft. It then follows Route 2 and other major highways through the mountains to Skowhegan, Farmington and south back into York County.

The route is in the form of three rings. If you look at the map of the 3RB, you will notice that it

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s Three Ring Binder

is actually one large ring made of three interlocking rings. This architecture is even more reliable because the existing major fiber optic artery of the state runs up the I-95 corridor through the urban areas of Maine, from Portland/Lewiston/Augusta/Waterville to Bangor.

The 3RB was designed to avoid these urban areas so they are the “hole in the doughnut” of the 3RB rings.

Combining this existing fiber with the 3RB makes for six interlocking rings and even more redundancy. The redundancy is made even better because the three rings of the 3RB are now interlocking with fiber rings to the south in New Hampshire and to the north in New Brunswick. These rings are being built in response to the construction of the 3RB. The New Hampshire ring is part of the Network New Hampshire Now secondround ARRA BTOP project, which was partially patterned off of the 3RB. The New Brunswick ring is being built by a number of companies, including the New Brunswick company F6 Networks in response to Canadian business opportunities created by the 3RB.

Speed

The 3RB should be capable of the fastest speeds possible given current and future technologies over the 20-year lifespan of the project. State-of-the-art speeds will be a significant positive factor in future economic development. Lasers sending signals via fiber optic cables are the fastest type of data transmission known to current science. One strand of fiber can carry all the data flowing in the current Maine telecommunications network. Nevertheless, “high strand count fiber” (see sidebar) was used: 288 strands in built up areas and 144 strands in remote areas.

This is to ensure there will always be enough fiber for the highest speeds.

Reliability

The 3RB needed to have the best reliability available under current technology. The Internet is already vital today and its availability will only become more important in the future as more medical, public safety, and economic applications depend on it.

Future-proof

The 3RB must be financially and technically viable throughout its 20-year lifespan. The design should be

High Strand Count Fiber Fiber optic cable is made up of multiple strands of fiber, each as thick as a human hair. Lasers and sensors can be attached to each end of the fiber to send and detect light pulses. Normally, fiber optic cable has strands in bundles (called “sheaths”) of eight.

High strand count fiber is fiber optic cable that has more than 96 strands (12 sets of eight). Since it is possible to send more than 100 terabits/sec (100,000 gigabits/sec) down one strand of fiber, high strand count ensures huge capacity for the future. It makes it possible to use the fiber efficiently, say by allocating a whole strand to one customer and still have plenty for all.

viable not just for today, but for the years to come.

Given the decades-long lead time to deploy new theoretical types of data communications, it is highly unlikely that any form of data communications will become faster during the 20-year lifespan of the project.

The electronic equipment used to send signals evolves constantly, so the project only includes dark fiber and does not include the equipment. It is the responsibility of private entities to upgrade the equipment. Using high strand count fiber optic cable also protects against future growth in the network.

Security

A vital resource such as the Internet needs to be available and secure. Much of the burden of security falls on parts of the network not included in the dark fiber. It is difficult to tap into dark fiber and essentially impossible to do so undetected. Again, high strand count networks means fiber does not need to be shared between customers, increasing security.

Support Both Middle Mile and Last Mile

The nature of rural Maine is that roughly twothirds of businesses and much of the population density is within a half-mile of US Route 1 or other highways. While the 3RB serves as a middle mile connector between regions, with proper routing, frequent splice points and local connectors, it can also serve as a significant amount of last mile network.

Support for last mile as well as middle mile takes the form of high strand count fiber optic cable making fiber available for both uses. It also takes the form of frequent splice points and local connectors.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 37

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s Three Ring Binder

Support Many Carriers

As outlined in the Business Design section, it is a goal of BTOP to be open access. It is also a goal of MFC to make money. Both goals are satisfied if the 3RB is usable by all communications carriers doing business in Maine. In so doing, it would develop a vibrant market based on the 3RB.

Directly Connect Community Anchor Institutions (CAI)

Another of the goals of the BTOP was to directly connect as many CAI as possible: schools, libraries, municipal governments, public safety, child and elder care. The project set aside $1 million to build connecting laterals off of the 3RB to local institutions that meet the CAI criteria. That list includes 10 campuses of the University of Maine System; three community colleges; 13 county courthouses; 11 county jails; 14 of Maine’s DHHS district offices; and many hospitals, doctors’ offices, K–12 schools and libraries.

In the 3RB, Maine now has one of the fastest networks in the nation running through its rural areas.

HOW HAS THE 3RB WORKED OUT?

I

n September of 2012, MFC announced that the 3RB was substantially complete, ahead of schedule and on budget. There will be some small additional work done to finish up details, such as individual connections, with the last federally funded work to be completed by the summer of 2013. Even though the construction is just being finished, it is already possible to see progress on the project’s goals.

A key goal of the 3RB was to be useful to ConnectME grantees in bringing broadband to unserved and underserved regions of Maine. Already, the leading ConnectME grantees, Pioneer Broadband,

38 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

Midcoast Internet Solutions3, Cornerstone Communications, and Axiom Technologies, are using the 3RB for middle mile connectivity. Pioneer Broadband and Cornerstone Communications are particularly interesting examples because they use the 3RB as part of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) systems in rural Maine. The connectivity provided by these companies to small rural hamlets in Aroostook and Piscataquis counties is among the fastest in the nation and the fastest in Maine.

A second goal was to provide high-speed access to CAIs such as colleges, universities, schools, libraries, municipal buildings, healthcare, and elder and child care. As of January 2013, hundreds of CAIs have already been connected either directly by MFC, MSLN, or one of the companies buying dark fiber from MFC. This list will continue to grow over the next few years.

A third goal of the 3RB was to create a vibrant, competitive market for high-speed Internet access in rural Maine. According to MFC, they have signed contracts with 13 entities using fiber in Maine and are negotiating with another 29. GWI has noticed significantly greater competition in rural areas.

A fourth goal was for MFC to be sustainable.

Were MFC not to be sustainable, the federal investment would potentially be stranded; no other commercial entity was willing to build the network on its own. The calculation was that with 80 percent of the capital supplied as a subsidy, MFC would have enough forward financial momentum to get off the ground. MFC is a privately held company, and its finances are not public information. However, there are reasons to believe it is meeting its financial goals. First, the announced number of signed contracts with carriers is healthy. Second, MFC has announced that it is extending the 3RB through New Hampshire and the north coast Massachusetts to Boston using entirely private funding. It would not be taking on this expansion if it did not feel it was a profit-making venture.

A fifth goal of the 3RB was to improve economic development by building infrastructure ties between the U.S. and the Canadian Maritimes via Maine.

Because most telecommunications traffic between the U.S. and Europe makes landfall in the Maritimes, good connections between Maine and the Maritimes will

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s Three Ring Binder

lead to much of this traffic traversing Maine, bringing with it economic development and opportunity.

THE THREE RING BINDER’S POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

T

he 3RB’s meeting of its early goals is encouraging.

However, the potential future economic benefits far outweigh what has already been accomplished.

Ultra-high-speed Internet access is a vital component of future economic development. In the future, regions that have ultra-high-speed Internet access will be at a competitive advantage. In the 3RB, Maine now has one of the fastest networks in the nation running through its rural areas. There is a vibrant and competitive communications industry using the 3RB. The combination of these factors results in enormous economic potential. Let’s look at four areas.

The first is the opportunity to attract companies that need ultra-high-speed Internet to locate in rural Maine. As there are few places in the U.S. that now have access to this level of telecommunications services, rural Maine has become an attractive place to locate not only due to superior connectivity, but also the availability of inexpensive land and the lifestyle and beauty of rural Maine.

The second is fostering the growth of new ventures that use ultra-high-speed Internet in innovative ways.

Maine has a number of ventures that are promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. Some of the most prominent are the University of Maine with its Innovation Engineering program; USM and Colby College with their entrepreneurship programs; and nonprofits Blackstone Accelerates Growth, Midcoast Magnet, and the Maine Center for Entrepreneurship Development. The availability of a state-of-the-art network fits well with these efforts.

The third is attracting highly educated, highincome individuals to move to rural Maine. Over the last 30 years, highly educated, high-income individuals have had a greater impact on the world’s economy; this trend will continue and accelerate.

As telecommunications shrink distance, people in this category can live anywhere they want and do their jobs via the network. There are many doctors, lawyers, engineers, financial professionals, and artists who

would love to live in a beautiful location and raise their families in strong, tight-knit communities.

This is rural Maine.

The fourth is to lower the costs of doing business and living in rural Maine. Telecommunications shrink distances; the more advanced the telecommunications, the more distance is diminished. A large part of the cost of living and doing business in rural Maine is its distance from service centers. As telecommunications allow more services to be delivered to rural residents and allows rural residents and businesses to participate fully in the economy and society without leaving home, the “rural tax” imposed by distance goes down.

CONCLUSION

T

he federal government and private investors have made a $32 million investment in rural Maine’s infrastructure in the form of a very high-speed network connecting rural Maine to the Internet, Maine to the rest of the U.S., and Maine to Canada. This open access network is broadly available to many communications providers, creating a competitive market leading to low prices and high quality of service being available in rural Maine. In locations in rural Maine near the 3RB, the Internet is as good as anywhere in the U.S. (Praxis Strategy Group 2011). This, in turn, creates significant economic opportunity.

With the nationally recognized Three Ring Binder now complete, the next mission for policymakers, political leaders, and the private sector to focus on through the Broadband Strategy Council is this: How do we all work together to pursue a comprehensive, statewide economic development program to take advantage of the network and attract good jobs to Maine? -

ENDNOTES 1. The deadline was later extended to August 20th, but this was not known at the time.

2. Twenty years is the standard accounting depreciation cycle of fiber optic cable. Frequently, fiber optic systems stay in use for longer periods.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 39

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s Three Ring Binder

3. In 2012, GWI acquired the assets of Midcoast Internet Solutions (www.gwi. net/policy/news/ gwi-continues-expand-acquires-midcoastinternet-solutions-adds-2495-business-residentialcustomers-bath-belfast-fixed-wireless-expertise/) [Accessed April 19, 2013]

REFERENCES Maine Broadband Access Infrastructure Board.

2005. Draft Report of the Maine Broadband Access Infrastructure Board. Submitted to the Telecommunications Infrastructure Steering Committee, Maine Legislature. Augusta.

Mainebiz. 2011. “Report Ranks Maine #1 in Tech Infrastructure.” Mainebiz (June 23). www.mainebiz. biz/article/20110623/NEWS01/306239998 [Accessed April 7, 2013] Praxis Strategy Group and Joel Kotkin. 2011.

Enterprising States: Recovery and Renewal for the 21st Century. U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC. www.uschamber.com/sites/ default/files/reports/ES2011-full-doc-web.pdf [Accessed April 7, 2013] Welch, Tom. 2013. “The Maine School and Library Network.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 41–43.

Fletcher Kittredge is the CEO and founder of GWI, a telecommunications company providing Internet, phone, and cloud services to customers in Maine and New Hampshire. In 2011, he was recognized by MaineBiz as large company Business Leader of the Year for his leadership of GWI and bringing funding for the Three Ring Binder to Maine.

40 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine School and Library Network

The Maine School and Library Network

By Tom Welch

I

n May 1995, the Maine Public Utilities Commission decided that New England Telephone Company (part of NYNEX, later part of Verizon, and now owned by Fair Point) should reduce its rates by about $10,000,000 per year (Maine PUC 1995). As is always the case when a regulatory commission is making a decision about how to divide a pie of this kind (or for that matter, when considering how to distribute the pain of a rate increase), the commission had received a great deal of advice from those who hoped to benefit.

One option suggested by some was to provide an across the board reduction to customers. With more than 500,000 New England Telephone customers, this would have amounted to something under $20 per year. Another was to reduce Maine’s high in-state toll rates. Yet another would be to apply one of the typically arcane “rate design” tools used by regulators when setting rates such as “inverse elasticity pricing,” whereby those who have the least choice in what they buy pay the most.

During the case, however, another possibility emerged. By the early 1990s, people in the business of understanding, organizing, and conveying information—especially teachers and librarians—began to focus on the pedagogic, social, and economic potential of electronic access to remotely stored data (i.e., what became the Internet). With a keen appreciation for the value of funding sources, a characteristic shared by all financially starved and undervalued institutions, the school and library community began to make the case

at the commission for funding a program that would provide every citizen in Maine with access—in the “kiosk”-like setting of schools and libraries—to the Internet. Moreover, the library community in particular complained, with considerable justification, that Maine’s high in-state toll rates created a barrier to public access to the electronic information data bases that were then just coming online.

For example, in terms that could as easily be used today, Fenwick Fowler of Western Maine Community Action urged: “As we look to the future, it will be critical for our libraries to provide affordable access to the information superhighway and other technologies, especially here in the rural western mountains region of Maine.”1 The Maine Department of Education weighed in with similar concerns: Two key issues with regard to the development and implementation of a statewide telecommunications infrastructure are accessibility and equity.… If Maine schools are to offer equal opportunities to all students in all parts of Maine and remain competitive with schools in other states, they must be able to obtain access to on-line information services at rates that are affordable.2 The testimony from the school and library community was eloquent and persuasive. After all, the chance to put Maine in the forefront of Internet access was singularly attractive as a way to ameliorate the state’s inescapable relative isolation (it is, after all, the only state in the Union that borders only one other state). What was less clear was whether it was the task of the Maine PUC, as opposed, for example, to the legislature, to make a decision to fund such a program or to otherwise single out this constituency.

The commission’s own explanation of the basis for its authority was, to put it politely, cryptic in the extreme. In giving its reason for allocating $4 million of what would otherwise have been a rate reduction to an as yet unspecified program to support services for data access to schools and libraries, the commission said only that “[w]e do this in the belief that significant benefits to the public may be realized by providing limited support for additional access to information networks and services” (Maine PUC 1995: 58).

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 41

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine School and Library Network

There was, however, no clear legislative authority for “diverting” funds collected from other telephone service users to the school and library community.

Happily, with the passage of P.L. 1995, ch.631 (now codified in 35-A M.R.S.A. § 7104-B), the legislature removed any doubt concerning the commission’s authority to implement the Maine School and Library Network (MSLN), and with few modifications, the program continues today. Though, it must be added, the members of the legislative committee considering the bill had a few things to say to that chairman about respecting the divisions of authority between elected officials and appointed bureaucrats.

Bangor Public Library computer users.

The MSLN was the first of its kind in the nation, and it is probably not a coincidence that the federal “e-rate,” which provides discounts for telecommunications services to schools, libraries and health care facilities, was successfully championed by Senator Snowe of Maine. Over the years the available speeds for the free connections have improved (the initial speeds of 56kbps Frame Relay service today seems quaint; now the system runs at 10 Mbps at a minimum for all MSLN sites), but the fundamental vision guiding the program has remained constant: in every community in Maine that has a school, every student and teacher has access at no cost to (now high 42 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

speed) Internet access, and in every community with a library—which in Maine is essentially every community—there are almost 1,000 schools and libraries participating in the program, every citizen has the same opportunity.

WHAT IS HAPPENING VIA MSLN TODAY?

E

conomic recovery in Maine is aided by the partnership between the Maine State Library and the Maine Department of Labor and coordination of efforts with Career Center staff for courses offered in libraries related to job searching, crossover skills, using social media, and interviewing skills. The subscription to LearningExpress Library and Popular Software tutorials offers an online component for job seekers to improve or learn new skills on their own at libraries and at home. Career Centers promote the use of this product to increase job seekers’ skills and for writing resumes and cover letters. This online tool is available to job seekers in public libraries, in Career Centers, and from home with a free login.

The Volunteer Lawyers Project for the “Lawyers in Libraries” initiative allows lawyers to provide services to rural, low-income Maine citizens through collaboration with libraries and the use of videoconferencing technology. As described by Justice Andrew Mead elsewhere in this issue, the group has undertaken a partnership with public libraries to present legal clinics at the libraries, which are broadcast to locations throughout the state via videoconferencing.

During 2013, they hope to add desktop-computer conferencing between lawyers and individuals at remote locations.

In Maine schools, the use of the Internet to improve education is ubiquitous. Students and teachers not only seek information and content online, but they are creating and publishing new content online. Rural schools can now close distances and create collaborations that previously would have never existed. For example, students in the one- and two-room schools on Cliff, Frenchboro, Isle au Haut, the Cranberry Islands, Matinicus, and Monhegan islands attend school together via videoconference through the Outer Island Teaching and Learning Collaborative (http:// outerislandstlc.org).

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine School and Library Network

Maine leads the nation with its 1:1 computer program, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI). Governor [now U.S. Senator] Angus King created MLTI in 2002 and built upon the foundation of MSLN. Today, every 7th and 8th grade student and half of all high school students in Maine are provided a personal laptop computer by MLTI. Students and teachers leverage the high-speed access to the Internet and are on the forefront of the transition from traditional print materials to digital. These efforts are paying dividends for Maine’s students and their families as an article by Noel Gallagher in the January 13, 2013, Portland Press Herald reports that Maine students are less likely to require remedial courses than students in other states.

With the current push for in-home broadband availability, it might seem that the MSLN is an anachronism. Everyone, it seems, has a computer or some other device that has access to the information “cloud.”

I disagree with this suggestion, however, or at the very least would argue that if it is an anachronism, it is one we should preserve. “Bricks and mortar” libraries and schools are among the few remaining physical places in our society where members of a local community can meet informally, can seek information without making a financial commitment, and can draw people into our revitalizing community centers. Moreover, while making affordable broadband connections ubiquitous is a worthy goal, in Maine there will always be those who are too remote, or too poor, or who choose for their own reasons not to own or rent their own personal link to the Internet. In all my frequent visits to libraries and schools scattered throughout Maine, I have rarely seen the computers sitting idle; it is as common to see people waiting for a free terminal to be come available.

The free kiosks connecting to MSLN—providing, as they do, inconceivably more information than those sidewalk kiosks and their posters giving the latest news, but doing so at no more cost to the reader—ensure that all Maine citizens and all Maine students can participate to the extent they choose in the vast and interconnected universe of information. -

ENDNOTES 1. Letter dated December 13, 1994, from Fenwick Fowler to Charles Jacobs (submitted in Dockets 94-123 and 94-254).

2. Letter from Leo Martin, Commissioner, Department of Education, to Charles Jacobs, December 12, 1994 (filed in Dockets 94-123 and 94-254).

REFERENCES Maine PUC. 1995. Pease v. New England Telephone and Telegraph Company, Docket No. 94-254.

(Maine P.U.C., May 15, 1995).

Mead, Andrew. 2013. “‘Lawyers in Libraries’: A New Approach to Access to Justice in Maine.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 94–95.

Tom Welch was appointed to the Maine Public Utilities Commission as chair in 2011, a position in which he had previously served from 1993 to 2005. Between his commission appointments, Welch worked for PJM Interconnection, a Pennsylvania-based regional transmission organization, and for five years was an attorney at Pierce Atwood, LLP, in Portland, Maine.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 43

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s BTOP Information Commons Project

Maine’s BTOP Information Commons Project: The Building Block to Statewide Digital Literacy Efforts

By Janet McKenney

T

he Maine State Library (MSL) received a $1.36 million Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant for the Maine Public Library Information Commons Project in the Public Computer Centers (PCC) category. The awards are administered by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act/ARRA).

The project had three major goals: (1) to increase the number of computers and workstations available to the public by more than 40 percent in the 107 participating public libraries so Maine citizens have better access to broadband connectivity at their libraries; (2) to purchase and install Internet protocol (IP)-based videoconferencing units in 11 regional hub libraries; and (3) to provide training and online learning resources to Maine citizens who are unemployed, low income, or seniors, and to assist local librarians with both technology skills and information skills needed to assist citizens in their communities to use these computers and resources.

Through the grant the 107 public libraries received 247 all-in-one desktop computers with webcams; 265

44 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

laptops with webcams; three mobile labs (10 laptops each with projectors and rolling cases); 11 Tandberg videoconferencing units with infrastructure licenses; and MOVI desktop videoconferencing software. Local training at public libraries focused on several classes: basic computers, computer applications, and Facebook for seniors, along with providing walk-in help for resumes, cover letters, e-readers, and tablets. Many libraries offer scheduled sessions to work one to one with any hardware or software.

The Maine State Library had many partners during this project and continues to work with them on joint projects. For infrastructure, Internet connectivity, technology expertise, and online resources our integral partners have been Networkmaine, the Maine School and Library Network (MSLN), Maine Telecommunications Education Access Fund (MTEAF), and Maine InfoNet. These organizations provide foundational services and matches for the grant. Our partnership with the Department of Labor began with the Center for Workforce Research and Information (CWRI) and expanded to work with the Bureau of Employment Services and the Maine Career Centers. Another significant and ongoing partnership exists with Maine’s Justice Action Group for the Lawyers in Libraries initiative. MSL has worked closely with the Volunteer Lawyers Project to provide legal information clinics through new library videoconferencing technology at public libraries. (See article by Mead, this issue.)

During the BTOP project, the MSL developed a learning portal called the Information Commons that corralled a number of resources to be used by patrons and librarians. The website can be found at www. maine.gov/msl/commons, where users can search and access a variety of online courses and resources.

The trainer went on the road throughout the state providing training to both patrons and librarians.

The MSL also purchased a web-based learning tool, LearningExpress Library, as a statewide resource that includes video software tutorials (Microsoft Office, Adobe products), skills building, career and test preparation, job search and resume-building resources.

This resource can be accessed through the Information Commons web site or through the state’s virtual library known as MARVEL!.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Maine’s BTOP Information Commons Project

HIGHLIGHTS OF PARTNER COLLABORATIONS

T

he Maine State Library’s BTOP trainer collaborated with the Maine Department of Labor’s Rapid Response Team and the McArthur Public Library in Biddeford to present a workshop December 14, 2011, on employment resources for displaced Lowe’s employees. The workshop was designed to help unemployed workers to learn about the online resources available to them at their local libraries. Other sessions offered through the grant were designed to teach unemployed workers how to use social networking sites and other online resources found on their local library computers to search for jobs, create better resumes, and prepare for interviews.

The Maine office of the Internal Revenue Service’s Small Business /Self-Employeed Division has been using the videoconferencing capabilities at the Portland Public Library, Bangor Public Library, Maine State Library, and other videoconferencing hubs to provide tax practitioner training for Maine tax professional organizations. The Maine State Library also worked with the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development (MCED) for a statewide videoconferencing event that brought Steve Blank, a renowned entrepreneurship educator, to Maine. Students and Maine entrepreneurs participated at university and public library locations across the state. We anticipate that use of the videoconferencing hubs will continue and expand as other users and organizations take advantage of their capabilities. -

Janet McKenney is the director of library development for the Maine State Library and is managing the Maine Public Library Information Commons Project. She has worked in public, academic, and special libraries for more than 25 years.

REFERENCES Mead, Andrew. 2013. “‘Lawyers in Libraries’: A New Approach to Access to Justice in Maine.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 94–95.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 45

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Book Publishers and Libraries

Book Publishers and Libraries: Historic Partners Facing a Disruptive Technology

By Tom Allen

B

ook publishers often say, “Digital changes everything.” They mean that the astonishing growth of digital content, the constantly expanding range of devices for reading, and the rapid development of digital educational, scholarly, and scientific materials are disrupting established business models and relationships between publishers, authors, agents, retailers, and others. In addition, e-books constitute a disruptive technology that is altering the terms of engagement with publishers’ historic partners such as libraries and universities, and complicating new ones with “frenemies” such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

Over many decades, book publishers and community libraries evolved a relatively uniform business model for books in print. Publishers sold copies of print books to libraries at established prices with the understanding that those books would be available to some people who could not afford or would otherwise not purchase them, and to others whose interest would be stimulated enough to purchase a copy. Libraries would loan books sequentially to one reader at a time, and the customer would visit the library to check out books and return them. This carefully managed arrangement suited the interests of libraries and publishers and carried substantial benefits for the public.

Enter e-books. They don’t wear out, so they can be loaned indefinitely. Customers don’t need to go to the library to check one out. E-books’ retail costs are less than those of hardcover books. The problem of digital piracy, particularly the widespread distribution of pirated library copies, is a significant risk. In our

46 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

current digital culture, it’s clear that the old publisher/ library model cannot be replicated without eroding book sales in the broader market or diminishing copyright protection for those who create content.

Book publishers and librarians agree that new business models for e-lending are essential. But what would these be? And how do these longtime partners reach some middle ground?

A major hurdle for both is that there are not two sides in this issue, but thousands of them. There are more than 9,000 separate community library systems in the United States, each with its own unique priorities, capabilities, and customers. Although the American Library Association (ALA) represents many of their interests on this issue, there are other organizations such as Readers First that bring different points of view to e-lending.

Yet though libraries, as not-for-profit institutions, can convene to develop shared business strategies, publishers cannot. Antitrust laws bar publishers from discussing among themselves any kind of commercial relationships, which include sales to libraries. My organization, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), is similarly prohibited from representing business issues of our members, who are competing publishers. Within the limits allowed by antitrust laws, AAP has provided library industry leaders with forums to express their concerns to audiences of leading publishers. Opening lines of communication between ALA and other library groups and the publishing industry is all AAP can do.

Apart from the structural limitation, there are core strategic priorities that separate libraries and publishers in any advancement of the e-lending concept. In its report entitled “EBook Business Models for Public Libraries,” ALA (2012: 2) acknowledged that “a major concern of publishers is that e-book borrowing from libraries will be so easy as to erode consumer sales.” Nevertheless, the library report lists three so-called essential features that they claim are “ultimately essential” to their goals. These are defined as the “inclusion of all titles” of a publisher, “enduring rights…to transfer (these titles) to another delivery platform and to continue to lend them indefinitely,” and “integration,” which they define as “access to metadata and management tools provided

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Book Publishers and Libraries

wide audience is still shared by publishers and librarians. But the disruptive technology of e-books, with all its promised opportunities and its inherent risks, requires new thinking about the mission and how to implement it thoughtfully, reasonably and fairly. -

REFERENCES American Library Association (ALA). 2012. EBook Business Models for Public Libraries. American Library Association, Chicago, IL. http://www.ala. org/transforminglibraries/ebook-business-modelspublic-libraries [Accessed April 3, 2013]

Tom Allen is president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers. From 1997 to 2009 he served Photo: Stephen Voss

by publishers or distributors to enhance the discovery of e-books” (ALA 2012: 2–3). These three essential features are precisely the kind of factors that lead publishers to believe that the sale of e-books to libraries will significantly erode sales, threaten copyright protection, and encourage piracy.

Book publishers and librarians would each like to preserve the elements of the print model that are best for them. Publishers need assurances that e-book lending will not depress sales or encourage theft.

Librarians would like the same control of the “book” as they have with the print format. At the same time, the ALA’s ideal scenarios contradict current consumer realities in the acquisition of digital-format content in books, film, music, television, games, and other creative areas.

The e-lending issue is complicated by the diversity of digital formats. Libraries acquire e-books just as consumers do: in a particular digital format designed to work only on a specific device such as a Nook or Kindle. The device manufacturers want their customers married to them for all their e-book usage. The dialogue about e-lending, therefore, necessarily requires participation not just between publishers and libraries, but with an entirely different industry.

Since libraries are unencumbered by the antitrust laws that bind publishers, they would stand a better chance of making progress if they floated some pragmatic proposals for library–publisher agreements concerning e-lending. Despite offering to do so, the ALA has not provided a workable plan for e-lending that takes account of publisher concerns.

In an effort to advance the e-lending concept, a number of major publishers have entered into individual agreements, some on a pilot project basis, with varying terms of use and compensation. These include Penguin, HarperCollins, Random House, Hachette, and most recently, Macmillan. These publishing houses are exploring such core elements as price, number of uses, length of time used, piracy safeguards, and so on.

If business models emerge over the next few years, it will be only because these projects between individual publishers and libraries have come to be seen as advantageous to both.

The historic mission of promoting literacy, encouraging the love of reading, and providing books to a

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

as the congressman for Maine’s First Congressional District.

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 47

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Libraries and Book Publishers

Libraries and Book Publishers

By Maureen Sullivan

O

ne important role of libraries is to be stewards and repositories of information resources. Access to information in whatever form it is created and made available is a fundamental expectation of library users. Librarians are devoted to this principle. Libraries serve everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status.

They are a key community resource where anyone can go to find information, borrow the newest book or more works by a favorite author, and find resources to support self-directed education and material that provides entertainment.

The explosion of content available in digital form has brought about significant changes in how content is created, published, and made available. For more than 20 years, libraries have provided digital resources to their user communities, including full text journal databases, data sets, and unique collections of materials made more readily available to the public through digitization. In fact, college and academic libraries spend a higher percentage of their collections budget on digital resources than on print. More recently, e-books in public libraries have become increasingly popular.

The number of libraries that offer e-books has doubled in the past five years, and libraries report doubleand triple-digit growth in circulation of these e-titles.

Unfortunately, the “big six” publishers of trade books—Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, Random House, and Simon & Schuster—have been reluctant to sell the most popular fiction and nonfiction to public libraries, primarily due to the suspicion that library e-book lending will cut into consumer e-book sales. The American Library Association (ALA) has made e-book availability in public libraries a key priority and a matter of urgency for the Association, its 58,000 members and the communities they serve.

Librarians are questioned every day about why access

48 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

to e-books is denied or constrained in the library, but not in the marketplace, where access is increasing and prices are dropping.

Librarians and publishers have worked together over the years to face the many changes brought on by technology and to achieve the goal of bringing authors and readers together. Librarians introduce authors and their works to readers of all ages. Libraries promote the discoverability of books in different forms (print, audio, and electronic) by recommending titles, sponsoring author talks, displaying titles in libraries and on library web sites, hosting book clubs and more.

Librarians also contribute to the publishing ecosystem by teaching and encouraging literacy (including digital media literacy) and self-directed education.

As librarians, we understand that the revolution in digital content has brought new and serious challenges to publishers. The publishing community’s wellestablished way of doing business for print is being rewritten. Although the cost of producing and distributing e-books is lower than for print books, so too is the expected consumer price. Until recently, the publisher could count on significant revenue through hardback book sales. Consumer interest in the more expensive print version has waned. Publishers have had to negotiate new contracts and royalty agreements with many of their authors to obtain the rights to offer titles in the e-book format. Moreover, publishers have had to modify workflow, produce books in the variety of additional e-book formats, figure out how readers will discover books with a declining number of bookstores, and how to do business with the massive online retailers who now dominate e-book sales, often by selling e-books at a much lower price to drive consumers to their online stores.

For those publishers who do sell to libraries, contract terms, cost, and content availability are not optimal. Publishers use varying business models, complicating the library purchase of e-books. (Each of the big six publishers uses a different model, and Simon & Schuster’s model is to not sell to libraries at all.) Some publishers sell e-books to libraries for a limited time or for a limited numbers of loans, requiring libraries to buy the e-book again if they want to retain the copy. Other publishers charge libraries three to four times (or even more) the consumer price

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Libraries and Book Publishers

for a library e-book. Still others place an embargo on the most recent or popular titles in their catalog, so libraries cannot purchase the titles at the time when they are most in demand. Such business models frustrate readers who do not understand why the print book is available at the library, but not the e-book.

At the same time, because of the commitment to access by all, librarians have been persistent in efforts to persuade publishers to make e-books available for purchase by libraries. Libraries need access to e-books at a reasonable price to ensure that digital content in this form will be available to everyone in the communities they serve. Librarians know and appreciate the many publishers who have found ways to meet these challenges and continue to sell e-books to libraries.

Libraries will pay reasonable prices and will continue to comply with the terms of the legal agreements they sign. Librarians want publishers to meet the challenges posed by the explosion of digital content. Libraries want to continue to be their customers. ALA and librarians across the country, however, do not accept the proposition that an e-book price that is many times the print price is justifiable or fair. This does not make sense. ALA will continue its efforts to persuade publishers that selling to libraries is in their—and everyone’s—best interest. We encourage publishers to develop innovative approaches and to work with libraries to test pilot programs.

Although availability of e-books is the primary concern, libraries, and sometimes publishers, face other problems. Interoperability between e-readers and file formats is one source of frustration. Some file formats are proprietary or designed to tie a reader to a specific e-reader; for example, Nook users might not be able to download a Kindle book. To complicate matters, e-book distributors who store and provide access to e-books for libraries have varying interfaces. Some are not well integrated in the library’s online catalog where users search and find library resources. Many library users who try to download library e-books from various vendor web sites and interfaces to their e-readers (with different file formats) require personal assistance. For people with print disabilities such as dyslexia or low or very limited vision, the majority of file formats and e-readers are not accessible. This is ironically at a time when digital technology, if properly designed and

implemented, would increase disabled user access to information by leaps and bounds.

Libraries also are concerned with user privacy since readers and reader behavior can be so easily monitored, tracked, and stored. In the longer term, libraries are concerned about e-book preservation. E-book titles are much more likely to become obsolete and must be migrated to new formats to persist.

Yet, there is a tremendous strategic opportunity available to both publishers and libraries. The advances in technology should enable more possibilities to succeed than are recognized today. If publishers and librarians do not find ways to meet the challenges, some other entity will. Librarians nationwide are increasingly impatient and dissatisfied with the status quo, and the ALA will take more aggressive steps to address these pressing concerns. Our preference is to work together with publishers toward a solution that will satisfy their need for a financially viable business model while providing readers and library users with the access they expect.

[B]ecause of the commitment to access by all, librarians have been persistent in efforts to persuade publishers to make e-books available for purchase by libraries.

There has been progress. Three of the big six publishers—Hachette, Penguin, and Macmillan— have initiated pilot library e-book programs. These are steps in the right direction. Innovative endeavors by cutting-edge libraries continue to arise and expand.

But libraries must be realistic. In this time of exploration and experimentation, not every development will be in favor of libraries and not every new initiative or project will succeed.

We at ALA appreciate the efforts of Tom Allen and Tina Jordan of the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for their work to enable us to meet

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 49

CONNECTIVITY AND ACCESS: Libraries and Book Publishers

with publishers in AAP forums and with individual publishers. These meetings have been frank, cordial, and productive discussions that have fostered greater understanding of the challenges. They also have helped to clarify areas of disagreement and led to a shared commitment to continue to communicate.

The world is in the midst of a revolution in digital publishing in which everything is changing and becoming more complex and interconnected. The e-book path from author to library involves multiple intermediate entities, such as agents, distributors, and retailers, whose concerns must be included in order to effectively address publisher-library issues.

Technological advances provide, at least in theory, the potential for much improved library service in a world increasingly dominated by profit-driven information providers. Libraries and publishers must figure out how to convert this theory into practice by working together to leverage our strengths. For instance, the “buy it now” button option appearing in some libraries is generally viewed by librarians as an acceptable development. What other innovations might promote the common goal of bringing authors and readers together?

As librarians, we will continue to seek ways to promote the discoverability and sales of books, in whatever format, that also advances what is best for America’s communities. Maureen Sullivan is currently president of the American Library Association. She is a consultant to numerous libraries and a professor in the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

She is a past president of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and in 2010 was named by ACRL as the Academic/Research Librarian of the Year.

50 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Maine Historical Society Robert Benson Photography © 2010

Portland Public Library, Congress Street, ca. 1900. Designed in the Romanesque revival style and built in 1888, it was a gift to the city from philanthropist James Baxter. The main library remained in the Baxter Building until 1978.

Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square. The main library moved to this building in 1978.

In 2010, extensive renovation and remodeling, designed by Scott Simons Architects, which added a larger computer center, a larger contained children’s area and a new teen library, additional meeting rooms, a new auditorium and new gallery space.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 51

Partnerships and Collaborations

Maine is a small state with a long history of scarce resources, of “making do,” and of “helping your neighbor.” The state’s libraries are a prime example what can be achieved to maximize resources through partnerships and collaboration. As James M. Jackson Sanborn and David Nutty point out in their lead article, Maine libraries have “worked together historically and across library types in ways uncommon to other states.” Their article discusses how collaborations have worked for Maine libraries for decades, though a combination of cultural and geographic factors, strategic leadership, and state policy decisions. They note that the collaborative efforts of Maine libraries have led to successes that “are truly remarkable and often unique in the U.S.” The remaining articles in this section provide examples of successful collaborations of various types. David Richards discusses the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, which he terms “a unique collection fostered by a history of collaboration.” Richards describes the vital role collaborations with multiple kinds of partners have played in helping the library fulfill its four functions: archives, museum, education, and public policy. Matthew Revitt presents details of a recent grant-funded project underway among Maine libraries to develop a shared strategy for managing, storing, and preserving their print collections at a time of decreasing resources and technological changes. The goals of the project also include expanding access to digital book collections and developing print-on-demand and e-book-on-demand services. Finally, Jan Coates presents a case study of how Island Readers and Writers collaborated with local libraries in the Mt. Desert Island area to encourage reading and community engagement through two “Big Read” events.

52 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013



View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Maine Library Collaboration

Maine Libraries: A History of Sharing and Collaboration

By James M. Jackson Sanborn and David J. Nutty

C

ollaboration among Maine libraries is extraordinary. In a profession in which cooperation and collaboration are commonplace and valued, libraries in Maine have worked together historically and across library types in ways uncommon to other states.

Through a combination of cultural and geographic factors, policy decisions, and strategic leadership, these collaborations have worked for Maine libraries for decades. Further cooperation has been encouraged by the state’s policy decisions as an acknowledgement that the libraries in the state need to share resources to provide better access to the citizens of Maine. This article will explore the history of this cooperation as well as current and potential future collaborations.

EARLY MAINE LIBRARY COLLABORATION

A

1961 report by then Harvard University Library Director Keyes D. Metcalf on Cooperation Among Maine Libraries: A Report Prepared for the Larger Libraries of Maine begins by noting that “An informal group representing the larger libraries of Maine has been meeting from time to time for a quarter of a century” (Metcalf 1961: 3). Further, a Maine Library Bulletin from 1917 outlines a 1915 plan to create a “Union List of Serials” from the journal collections at eight of the largest libraries in the state. The referenced libraries in the Bulletin were two state-supported institutions (University of Maine Orono, Maine State Library), two public libraries (Bangor Public Library, Portland Public Library), three private colleges (Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin), and the Bangor Theological Seminary (Maine State Library 1917). That would date statewide cooperation discussions to the 1910s, likely among the earliest of such

statewide discussions in the country. This demonstrates a deep-rooted tradition among Maine libraries that continues to the present day.

The 1961 Metcalf report observes, “Since libraries in the State of Maine are as isolated from large collections in other parts of the country as any group of libraries…it is evident that researchers in the State are sorely handicapped, and it is not strange that the libraries have considered cooperation in order to increase local resources.” He goes on to recommend four types of cooperation: “1) joint storage; 2) cooperation in various aspects of what is sometimes known as bibliographic control; 3) joint acquisition programs, and 4) inter-library use” (Metcalf 1961: 7). Librarians today will immediately recognize these as still relevant topics more than 50 years later.

Nearly a decade after Metcalf ’s report on cooperation, Maine Governor Kenneth Curtis appointed a taskforce to study library services. Among its recommendations were “coordinated planning at all levels, with each type of library and across library types” (Governor’s Task Force 1971: 29). As a result of the report, a law was passed in 1973 authorizing the creation of the Maine Library Commission (MLC) and gave the MLC responsibility for designated Area Reference and Resource Centers (ARRCs), two major policy decisions to encourage cooperation.

The commission created three ARRC library districts. The Northeastern Maine Library District, served by the Bangor Public Library, includes seven counties covering 18,629 square miles and a population of about 409,000. The Central Maine Library District, served by the Maine State Library (MSL), includes seven counties covering 9,490 square miles with a population of more than 440,000. The Southern Maine Library District, served by the Portland Public Library, includes two counties covering 1,842 square miles and a population of about 479,000. Serving each of these districts is a district consultant who is housed at the ARRC library in each region and is funded by the Maine State Library. Each of these consultants has developed an advisory board drawn from the leadership of the public libraries in their region.

Gary Nichols, who was appointed state librarian in 1969 and served until 2009 (earning him the distinction of longest serving state librarian in the

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 53

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Maine Library Collaboration

country) recalls that it was the early leadership of the larger libraries group that spearheaded these collaborative efforts (Nichols personal communication). The fact that both public and private institutions and both academic and public libraries were the ones providing leadership is itself remarkable. To this day, most states segregate consortia by library types and Maine remains one of the few examples encompassing all libraries.

To some extent, libraries have been innovative and cooperative because the state is small in population and underresourced, which promotes working together.

FACTORS PROMOTING COOPERATION AMONGST LIBRARIES

A

number of factors can be identified as contributing to library cooperation in Maine. To some extent, libraries have been innovative and cooperative because the state is small in population and underresourced, which promotes working together. The cultural roots of northern New England promote an attitude of “helping your neighbor” and sharing resources. The large geographic spread of Maine, with much of the state sparsely populated, promotes both independence and a simultaneous need to work together. Financial resources for libraries tend to be thin, which results in an inclination to want and need to cooperate.

Geography

There is a geographic-centric gathering of library resources. One can count on one hand the “major” collection resources in the state. Sharing resources because of scarcity is an important theme of Maine libraries.

There has been little choice but to share, which creates incentives for cooperation rather than competition.

54 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

To this end, various policy decisions have been undertaken to support and implement resource sharing.

While quite large in land mass, Maine is small in other ways. Few states can say that they can get all the “key players” together on a topic around one table. The scale of Maine is in its favor as there are fewer players and fewer “personalities.” There is an opportunity to work with, get to know, and share with librarians who tend to be consistent in their policies and actions over time. Decisions on library direction and cooperation are in the hands of relatively few stakeholders, with minimal bureaucracy.

Collections

The first attempts at drawing together statewide resources was the creation of a “union catalog” of periodicals and serials in the early 1970s in the paper card catalog era. A major step in collection sharing arose in the early 1980s with the implementation of a union catalog on the then cutting edge technology of CD-ROM. As infrastructure improved and networks became established, the University of Maine System was an early adopter of integrated library system (ILS) software from Innovative Interfaces (III), which was introduced in 1988. Through a combination of planning and fate, III was the chosen vendor for other automation in the state, including the private colleges, Portland Public Library and others. Over the years, this commonality of III software allowed for a high degree of integrated borrowing across libraries in the state, including direct patron initiated borrowing, which was a major boost for library cooperation and sharing.

Library Leadership Culture

The long history of collaboration and notable successes along the way has created in each generation of library leadership an awareness of the special nature of collaboration within the state. This in turn creates a commitment, even a sense of duty, to building on this success. As a profession, librarians talk to each other.

Unlike some academic pursuits where individual achievement is paramount, there seems to be a universal feeling that libraries work best when they work in partnership with other libraries. School and public libraries often work together, recognizing that their constituencies often overlap. Academic libraries

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Maine Library Collaboration

recognize that their success is, in part, dependent on the work accomplished with children and students by school and public libraries long before those individuals set foot on campus. This understanding of shared service and commitment to overlapping patrons has resulted in institutions that are generally not territorial but are egalitarian in attitude.

Maine State Legislature

The supportive role of the Maine State Legislature is another significant factor. Gary Nichols observes that when he would discuss his work with the Maine State Legislature, his colleagues from other states would marvel at the accessibility and sensibility of the state legislature.

Nichols found that working with legislative leaders and various legislative committees offered a more personal relationship than other states seem to have (Nichols personal communication). Because there are a large number of small, independent libraries in Maine, the legislators are aware of the strong connection between these libraries and their communities. Legislators are accessible, which makes for an easy attitude of cooperation and airing of opinions around library issues.

Computers and Technology

As the advent of computers and automation systems brought major changes to libraries of all sizes and types, the challenge was how to assist Maine public libraries in adopting and increasing the use of computers and technologies that were new expenses.

How would Maine libraries make this transition? The answer was through further collaborations: leadership by the Maine State Library, coordination at the state level, and cooperation among libraries. The breakthrough came in 1995 when the Public Utility Commission (PUC) had a large rate case with NYNEX (now Verizon). Through diligence in ensuring libraries had a seat at the table of these discussions, the Maine State Library was able to become an “intervener” on behalf of schools and libraries. In settling that case, the PUC ordered NYNEX to allocate up to $20 million over a five-year period to provide telecommunications equipment, rates, or service to Maine schools and libraries (Nichols 2005). The result was the Maine School and Library Network (MSLN), which offered assistance to public libraries with Internet connectivity,

computers, and training. Welch (this issue) provides a more extended discussion of the history and outcomes of the MSLN. After the settlement period ended, the legislature created the Maine Telecommunication Education and Access Fund (MTEAF). Through this program, all telecommunications carriers in the state contribute to a shared fund. These two policy events were enormously important to schools and libraries. The program was strengthened further in 2002 when state law was amended to add “content,” opening the door to statewide contracts for databases and full-text delivery as an eligible service. The PUC’s public policy support of Maine libraries has been critical for citizen access to technology and resources.

FORMAL AND INFORMAL LIBRARY COLLABORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS

A

s a result of the factors discussed earlier in this article and through both conscientious planning and happenstance, a large number of library partnerships have grown to manage and promote collaboration across all sectors of libraries in Maine. Some of these partnerships are focused on specific projects and technologies; others bring libraries that share common goals or characteristics together for the shared good.

Maine Library Commission (MLC)

The Maine Library Commission is an important and unique public policy body. The MLC, a 17-member board appointed by the governor, is broadly representative of the state’s library community.

The commission establishes the policies and operations of the state library, gives advice and makes recommendations on the expenditure of state and federal funds, and establishes guidelines for statewide library programs. The mission of the MLC is to “advance and promote library services and collection resources for all of Maine” (Maine Library Commission 2010: 6).

To promote this inherently collaborative mission, the Maine Library Commission acts principally through its guidance of the Maine State Library and has set a number of goals, including advocating for all libraries within the state and for improving library services available through the state.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 55

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Maine Library Collaboration

In 2010 the commission was granted rule-making authority by the Maine State Legislature. This allows the commission to create definitions and standards that libraries must adhere to in order to receive support from the state library. The request for rule-making authority was a direct result of the understanding that in order to build a cooperative network, you have to have a policy-making body to represent it.

With the sharing and leveraging of resources, there is the need to make sure all stakeholders have a “voice” at the table. Commission member seats are designed to represent various types of libraries and users across the state, including seats allocated to public, academic, school, and institutional libraries, along with seats reserved for libraries from the various regions in the state and seats representing special needs/disadvantaged users of libraries. Maine is among the only states that have a governor-appointed commission to represent all areas and users of libraries on a statewide basis.

Larger Libraries

As noted before, the early emergence of the larger libraries as leaders with the unique mix of various library “types” and the public/private mix is a direct statement for working together. The larger libraries group is an ad hoc association of those libraries in the state that are the largest in terms of collections, staff, and capacity to support library activities beyond the confines of their own organizations. Current participants in the larger libraries group comprise the two largest libraries from the University of Maine System, Fogler Library at the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine libraries (USM); the Maine State Library; the two largest public libraries in the state, Bangor Public Library and Portland Public Library; the University of New England Library; and the libraries from Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin colleges. Individually, each of these libraries has the resources to act as an island unto itself, but leadership from each institution has made the conscious decision that working together not only benefits the individual institutions and the partnership, but also libraries across the state that do not have the resources available to these larger libraries.

Rather than interpret their charge narrowly, the University of Maine and the USM libraries see a 56 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

mandate to serve the citizens of the state beyond their organizational walls.

The leadership of the Maine State Library in the development of the collaborative nature of libraries across the state has been discussed earlier, but cannot be overstated. The role that Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin (CBB) have played has also been vitally important.

These top-ranked, private liberal arts colleges have a history and philosophy of community service that not all of their national peer institutions share. CBB take a proactive role to the state and the community, and share their resources in ways that other private liberal arts colleges may not. In Maine, the libraries of the CBB group have been and are library leaders, not insular, but rather open and supportive of all types of libraries in the state. The private colleges acknowledge that all gain when resources and expertise are shared and supported. Finally, the two large public libraries that participate as part of the larger libraries group act in many ways to support libraries and residents of the state far beyond their municipal boundaries.

District Liaison Committee (DLC)

Arising as a direct result of the establishment of the district consultants that serve the three Maine library districts, a joint tri-district meeting was held in 2008. These meetings in turn led to the formation of a joint, ad hoc committee known as the District Liaison Committee (DLC) (District Liaison Committee 2012).

The DLC brings together the three district consultants, two members of each district’s advisory boards, and the state librarian. This committee has worked to coordinate the activities of libraries in each of the three districts. They have also completed a series of interviews that resulted in a set of recommendations presented to the Maine Library Commission. Among other items these recommendations outlined a suggested definition of “Maine public library” and encouraged the establishment of a rule requiring public libraries to submit an annual report to the commission as a prerequisite for receiving services from the state library. Moving forward, the DLC has set goals to facilitate the establishment of a statewide integrated library system; to encourage existing library entities to work together more efficiently; to review the ARRC model; and to support the development of a Maine Library

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Maine Library Collaboration

Leadership Institute charged with developing the next generation of library leaders in Maine (District Liaison Committee 2012).

Maine Library Association (MLA)

The Maine Library Association (MLA) is perhaps the oldest library partnership in the state, having been established in 1891 with the expressed intent of promoting library interest in the state. A member organization, the current goals of the MLA revolve around supporting the professional growth of librarians and library staff individually and taking part in lobbying and legislative advocacy on issues affecting libraries.

The most visible activity performed by the MLA is coordination of a statewide conference that brings together librarians for professional development as well as formal and informal networking that can help foster partnerships and mutually beneficial working relationships between libraries across the state.

Maine Association of School Libraries (MASL)

As implied by the name, the Maine Association of School Libraries (MASL) is focused primarily on promoting the value of school librarians and strong library programs within schools. MASL helps school libraries share resources to provide professional development opportunities for school librarians and library staff. They also maintain an outreach and advocacy presence devoted to raising the profile, perceived value, and support for effecting school library programs in all schools of the state.

MARVEL! Service

The MARVEL! service developed as a direct result of the legislative action mandating that the aforementioned MTEAF support the delivery of content to the citizens of the state. Although not an organization, MARVEL! is a prime example of many libraries working together to provide access to resources that individual libraries would find difficult or impossible to provide on their own. The MARVEL! service provides every resident of Maine access to more than 70 databases comprising millions of full-text articles and citation and abstract information from newspapers, magazines and journals covering all topics. If licensed individually, the value of the resources provided in these databases would be more than $700,000 per public library (http://libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/about.htm). Along with funds coming directly from the MTEAF, MARVEL! also receives direct funding from the Maine State Legislature, from the Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin libraries, along with funding from the collections budgets of the University of Maine library and the Maine State Library.

Technical support for the service is provided by Maine InfoNet, a consortium of libraries that will be discussed later in this article. Through working together, Maine libraries and government provide critical library resources to all citizens of Maine.

Through working together, Maine libraries and government provide

HSLIC: Maine Health Science Libraries & Information Consortium

The purpose of HSLIC is to coordinate cooperative and collaborative efforts among health science libraries in Maine. According to the “Purpose of HSLIC” page on their web site, its current goals are to “promote health science libraries and librarianship, share knowledge and experiences in library operations and resources,” provide continuing education, and promote resource sharing (http://nahsl.libguides.com). HSLIC has also worked as a purchasing consortium jointly negotiating licensing and subscription fees for databases and journals on behalf of its member libraries.

critical library resources to all citizens of Maine.

URSUS Libraries

The libraries that make up the URSUS consortia consist of the seven universities of the University of Maine System, the Maine State Library, Bangor Public Library and the Maine Law and Legislative library.

This group came together in the mid-1980s with the

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 57

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Maine Library Collaboration

goal of sharing a library catalog. Through a successful competitive process, a shared system was purchased from III, one of the first such systems furnished by that company.

The URSUS libraries have intentionally worked to create a partnership based on more than the sharing of a catalog system. Over the years, URSUS has jointly subscribed to databases at considerable savings over individual subscriptions. URSUS libraries have also thought of the strength of their combined collections referring to them as “Eleven Collections—One Library.”

Funding for the URSUS catalog system comes from the University of Maine System, with auxiliary services supporting the partnership, such as database subscription, resource delivery, and catalog enhancements, coming directly from the pooling of funds from the member libraries. URSUS provides three and a half FTE positions to Maine InfoNet, and in return receives technical support and management for the URSUS catalog system, the shared and individually subscribed database system, and support for digital projects. The URSUS directors meet 10 times per year to plan, set policy and set consortia goals. URSUS also has several standing committees of library staff that promote cooperation and conversations around areas of service.

Maine InfoNet provides efficient, cost-effective services and systems far beyond the means of the individual libraries it serves.

Minerva

Balsam Libraries

As the result of a 1996 state bond package, a number of projects and partnerships were established with the goal of improving the technical infrastructure of Maine libraries. A direct result of this activity was the creation of the Minerva shared catalog system. The system was also developed using software provided by III. Although started simply as a type of purchasing club with library collaboration as a secondary goal, 58 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

Minerva now comprises 56 member libraries spanning public, academic, hospital, and school institutions.

As awareness grew that technological cohabitation within a single software service was more involved than simply sharing a system, the Minerva consortium developed a leadership and organizational structure.

This now includes a general users council, a memberderived executive board, and numerous standards committees focused on aspects of cataloging, circulation, membership, and statistics. This structure was formally recognized in 2007 through a memorandum of understanding between the Maine State Library, Maine InfoNet, and the Minerva executive board. Over the course of its existence, Minerva has achieved a level of collaboration that is far beyond many similar shared systems, an achievement notable for its spanning of multiple types of libraries.

The key component of this collaboration has been acceptance of a principle of open lending which requires that all members share materials with patrons of the other member libraries as if they were patrons of their own library. With few exceptions, all material that circulates to a library’s own patrons is allowed to circulate at the direct request of another library’s patrons.

Over the years, Minerva has also grown to include contracts for auxiliary services not directly related to the system software but imperative for smooth function of the partnership. While the direct costs of the system and of the auxiliary services are paid for jointly by all library members through annual dues, the technical support and management of the catalog system is maintained by the staff of Maine InfoNet without direct funding from Minerva to Maine InfoNet. A dozen libraries primarily in the western and central region of the state have banded together to implement a shared catalog system using the opensource software known as Evergreen. This group has formed the Balsam libraries and has worked together to offer a cost-effective solution for library automation.

The need for this shared system arose in part due to the inability of the software and organizational structure of existing shared automation systems, such as Minerva, to continue to grow effectively and to offer services at a cost accessible to many of the smaller libraries in the

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Maine Library Collaboration

state. The Balsam libraries currently share a system but do not currently share library books through request and delivery in the manner of Minerva.

Maine Shared Collections Strategy

The Maine Shared Collections Strategy (MSCS) brings together eight of Maine’s largest libraries, plus Maine InfoNet, in an effort to create a strategy for the shared management of print collections in the state.

Under this three-year project, funded in part by a national grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), libraries will collaborate to make decisions about the storage, retention, and preservation of print materials (both books and journals) and to look for ways to integrate digital editions into a statewide catalog. This will help alleviate space concerns while ensuring that users continue to have equal or greater access to the information. Policies and procedures that result from this grant will provide a model for a statewide collection strategy as libraries adapt to new collection priorities. The MSCS is discussed in more detail by Revitt (this issue).

Maine InfoNet

Maine InfoNet is a prime example of a multifaceted, multitype library consortium. First established in 1996 and formalized in 2006, Maine InfoNet acts in a variety of ways to support library partnerships and collaboration across the state. Maine InfoNet functions first as a technology and automation management and support organization, and as an umbrella organization charged with oversight of several statewide projects.

Maine InfoNet is also a consortium of consortia supporting the activities of other groups such as Minerva and URSUS. Staffing for Maine InfoNet is provided through a partnership between the Maine State Library and the University of Maine System.

Through its governing board of directors, which draws from libraries of all types from across the state, Maine InfoNet is a true collaborative of academic, public, school, and special libraries.

In its technology management role, Maine InfoNet administers MaineCat, the state’s union catalog and resource sharing system. MaineCat brings together the resources from the 10 URSUS libraries, the 56 participants in the Minerva catalog, the catalogs

of the CBB libraries, the Portland Public Library, the Maine College of Art Library, the Maine Maritime Academy, the University of New England, and a loose federation of 22 other libraries from across the state known as SOLAR. This system provides direct access to nearly five million unique titles representing nearly eight million items.

As mentioned earlier, Maine InfoNet also provides direct technical support for the URSUS libraries, the Minerva system, and for the SOLAR libraries’ participation in MaineCat. Finally, Maine InfoNet is responsible for technical management and supporting access to the MARVEL! statewide electronic resources and databases. Maine InfoNet also manages the Maine Download Library, which is a member organization of more than 200 libraries from across the state that have pooled resources to share a system for providing electronically downloadable audiobooks and e-books directly to library patrons. The Download Library provides this service to libraries on a sliding scale basis at a cost that is significantly less than an individual library could provide for similar access. Maine InfoNet provides efficient, cost-effective services and systems far beyond the means of the individual libraries it serves.

It has allowed many Maine libraries to stay current with technology and resources through collaborative funding and administrative structures.

THE FUTURE OF LIBRARY PARTNERSHIP

G

iven the plethora of official and ad hoc library partnerships and the several factors that have helped develop the strong sense of collaboration between libraries in the state, three key factors will determine the success of these partnerships: communication, coordination, and centralized funding.

As new issues arise, it is the default position of libraries in Maine that it is best to tackle them together.

A prime example of this is the Maine Download Library. E-books and downloadable audiobooks are relatively new services that libraries individually are ill-equipped to handle. The technology, legal considerations, and business models are in an early, constantly evolving state, and it is difficult to predict what form this technology will take in the future and what role the library will be able to play. The Maine Download

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 59

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Maine Library Collaboration

Library grew out of a realization that by working together, libraries across the state could gain access to this technology without having to tap deeply into collections budgets and without having to dedicate enormous amounts of staff time to a stand-alone system. Although the combined investment is large, the investment of any of the 200 plus libraries that are currently members is on the order of an annual subscription, rather than a capital outlay. As similar problems face libraries in the future, the opportunity for combined participation is sure to continue to be the first course of action, rather than a fallback position.

With so many groups, it is often hard to know which might take leadership on issues of overlapping concern, such as library automation, or might manage a shared project, such as consortially licensing resources of interest to only a group of libraries. Simply keeping track of the various organizations, partnerships, and consortia active at any given time in the state can prove difficult. Maine libraries have a problem that many states and other organizations would be envious of: a wealth of partnerships, consortial activities, and communal good will.

Increased communication between the various groups that exist is of prime importance. Even in a state as sparsely populated and tightly-knit as Maine, it is easy to see how efforts could be duplicated without knowing what areas or issues other library groups are actively planning to address. Efforts toward increasing this communication are ongoing and have a good chance of success. Organizations such as the Maine Library Commission and the Maine InfoNet board of directors have considerable overlap in their membership, and updates from various organizations are routinely provided at meetings across the state. As an example, Maine InfoNet routinely provide updates to organizations such as HSLIC and has been invited to speak at events organized by the district consultants and the Maine Association of School Libraries.

Where increased communication merely takes conscientiousness and effort, coordination is a different matter. There is often an inherent conflict between coordination and local control. While some areas such as advocacy and professional development do not suffer from a lack of coordination since redundant activities serve as reinforcement, other areas such as 60 ¡ MAINE POLICY REVIEW ¡ Winter/Spring 2013

library automation and statewide catalog systems do suffer from redundant expenditures, duplication of effort, and a lack of focus if overlapping activities are provided through multiple organizations. Furthermore, there are political and structural impediments to increased coordination. Although school libraries are represented by many of the organizations described above, policy and rule-making authority for school libraries resides with the Department of Education rather than the Maine State Library. Academic libraries are not centrally managed and function consortially only through the goodwill and efforts of their institutional leaders. Although public libraries fall under the watch of the Maine State Library, there is no statutory authority that would allow the state library to require participation in collaborative activity as each public library is governed by its own municipality, nonprofit board or other independent entity.

An example of an area where more coordination is warranted is in the provision of library automation services. Currently libraries can develop their catalog systems independently or with one of a number of partners such as Minerva, through grant-funded activity with the district consultants, or with ad hoc groups coming together to share a system. If policy were enacted that allowed central coordination of these activities, libraries could be offered a continuum of service that would support libraries of different sizes and resources in the manner most appropriate to their needs. For example small, nonautomated libraries in need of a basic catalog system would be directed to the consultants for support, while larger automated libraries could be absorbed into new or existing shared systems that are part of the larger MaineCat umbrella.

One factor explaining the need for greater coordination in certain areas is the lack of centralized funding for expansion of consortial activities. Although the path might be clear for establishing a coordinated effort, without centralized funding these efforts often fall short. Centralized funding can be established many ways. The Maine Download Library was established by requiring participating libraries to pay an annual membership. For the creation of MaineCat, state bond funds were used. Although consortial activity can effectively stretch the funds of participating libraries, it does not directly create its own new funds. Avenues

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Maine Library Collaboration

for tapping into funds beyond individual library support include application for grant funds, requests for bond funding, and requests for ongoing legislative funding. The first two of these avenues are the most appropriate ways to start projects and partnerships that will become self-sustaining. The latter option is most desirable when costs of managing and growing a partnership on an ongoing basis are beyond the means of simply pooling funds for operating expenses.

Maine libraries have clearly demonstrated a desire and willingness to work together. It is their first instinct, informed by history, policy and necessity.

The outcomes of collaboration clearly demonstrate that the results are far greater than “going it alone.” These efforts have led to successes that are truly remarkable and often unique in the U.S. To maintain these traditions, it will require wise policy decisions and continued strong leadership, combined with additional communication, coordination, and careful management of fiscal resources. Maine can be proud of its libraries and their spirit of collaboration and partnerships, which work to the great benefit of all Mainers. -

Nichols, Gary. 2005. Memorandum to Speaker John Richardson, Maine House of Representatives: MTEAF Information. Augusta.

Revitt, Matthew. 2013. “A Shared Approach to Managing Legacy Print Collections in Maine.”

Maine Policy Review 22(1): 65–66.

Welch, Tom. 2013. “The Maine School and Library Network.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 41–43.

James M. Jackson Sanborn is the executive director of Maine InfoNet. His career has focused on the development of digital library projects and the management of statewide library resources.

David J. Nutty is the

REFERENCES

university librarian and

District Liaison Committee. 2012. District Liaison Committee Statement of Purpose and FY13 Goals.

Report to Maine Library Commission.

director of libraries at the

Governor’s Task Force to Study Library Services in Maine. 1971. Widening the Circle: Libraries for Tomorrow. Interim Report of Governor’s Task Force to Study Library Services. Augusta, ME.

as chair of the board of

Maine Library Commission. 2010. Maine Library Commission Strategic Plan for Maine State Library 2011–2013. MLC, Augusta. www.maine.gov/msl/ about/commission/plan2011-2013.pdf [Accessed February 25, 2013]

University of Southern Maine. He currently serves Maine InfoNet. Previous positions have included George Washington University Libraries, Loyola University Chicago, and Richmond American International University in London.

Maine State Library. 1917. “Committee on Union List of Serials.” Maine Library Bulletin VI(4): 105.

Metcalf, Keyes D. 1961. Cooperation Among Maine Libraries: A Report Prepared for the Larger Libraries of Maine. Cambridge, MA.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 61

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Margaret Chase Smith Library

The Margaret Chase Smith Library: A Unique Collection Fostered by a History of Collaboration

By David Richards

T

he Margaret Chase Smith Library was born of collaboration. A long-serving U.S. senator such as Margaret Chase Smith accumulates an abundance of records. In Sen. Smith’s case, the tally included more than 300,000 documents, 4,600 photographs, 2,700 books, 800 audio- and videotapes, 500 scrapbooks, 150 volumes of front office notes, and 40 volumes of statements and speeches. Fortunately for posterity, Sen. Smith had a strong sense of her historical legacy as one of the first and most prominent women in Congress from 1940 to 1973, years that spanned from World War II to the Vietnam War, encompassed the Cold War and space race, and witnessed the civil rights and women’s rights movements. She also possessed the wisdom and skill to collaborate with partners to build and maintain a library to house her collection and to initiate library programs to share lessons from her long political career.

ORGANIZATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

As she left Washington after more than 30 years in Congress, Margaret Chase Smith was encouraged to establish a library by two people, General William Lewis, her chief of staff, and James Webb, a former administrator of NASA. Many other distinguished friends and advisors came together to turn the idea into 62 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

a reality. This group incorporated the Margaret Chase Smith Library in 1973. At that point, the library was still only a dream, not a repository. Sen. Smith’s papers were packed into an unheated attic over the garage at her Skowhegan home. Her steadfast reluctance to solicit funds stifled plans to build a dedicated library structure.

The logjam holding up construction of a library was unblocked by a new collaboration with Arthur Turner, head of Northwood Institute, a new business school in Midland, Michigan. Turner and cofounder Gary Stauffer agreed in 1979 to raise the necessary funds to build a library as an addition to Margaret Chase Smith’s home. In return, her house, papers, and property were transferred to Northwood. The newly constituted Margaret Chase Smith Library opened in August 1982 with James MacCampbell, the former head of the Fogler Library at the University of Maine, as the director.

Many of the people who had initially encouraged her to set up a library formed the Friends of the Margaret Chase Smith Library to help with fundraising. In 1983, the Margaret Chase Smith Foundation was established to oversee the resulting endowment. Among its largest contributions was a pair of congressional appropriations shepherded through the Senate by Majority Leader George Mitchell in 1990 and 1991. Upon her death, Sen. Smith’s estate added significantly to the corpus. Income from these assets has covered the operational expenses of the library from its opening to the present day.

For nearly three decades, the collaboration with Northwood worked to mutual benefit. Gradually, the bonds frayed as the foundational friendship of Margaret Chase Smith, Gary Stauffer, and Arthur Turner dissolved with their respective deaths in 1995, 1996, and 2002. By 2006, Northwood University had a farflung worldwide presence. The Margaret Chase Smith Library no longer fit the mission of new leadership.

Foreseeing that the relationship with the school might not endure, Sen. Smith had made arrangements for such an eventuality. Should Northwood no longer want to operate the library, its ownership would revert to the Margaret Chase Smith Foundation based in Portland, Maine, and the university would be compensated for the money it had expended building the facility. When the Northwood board decided in 2011 to relinquish

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Margaret Chase Smith Library

control of the library, plans were set in motion for an amicable separation and smooth transition.

Not set up to operate a library, the Margaret Chase Smith Foundation looked for a new partner with whom to collaborate. The first offer went to the University of Maine, which enthusiastically accepted the terms of the proposal. On January 1, 2012, the foundation officially became the new owner of the Margaret Chase Smith Library, including the collections, house, and property. At the same time, library administration was turned over to the University of Maine; oversight of the facility was placed under the university’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, with whom the library had a long-term relationship.

PROGRAMMATIC COLLABORATIONS

As fundamental as the organizational collaborations have been to the establishment and maintenance of the library, the programmatic collaborations have been equally important. The Margaret Chase Smith Library has four functions: archives, museum, education, and public policy. In each area, collaborations have been vital to carrying out the the organization’s mission.

The library has been at the forefront of handling a relatively new type of archival collection—congressional papers. In 1994, the library organized and hosted a Congressional Papers Conference in Portland that attracted participants from all over the country.

The library has also been involved in attempts to promote collaboration among other Maine congressional collections, bringing together caretakers of Sen. Smith’s papers with colleagues overseeing those of Senator Edmund Muskie at Bates College, Senator George Mitchell at Bowdoin College, and Senator William Cohen at the University of Maine into the Maine Political Papers Network. That initiative has become subsumed by a much more ambitious plan to create a central online database for archival collections in the state under the banner of MACON, Maine Archives Online.

Collaborations have likewise aided the library’s museum work. In the local community, the Skowhegan Free Public Library has been a valued partner. The two organizations have worked together on summer reading programs, a community read, book discussions, and fall

Students from AP U.S. History class, Maranacook Community High School, Readfield, Maine, conducting research at the library.

festivals. On a regional level, the Margaret Chase Smith Library helped form the Central Kennebec Heritage Council in 2000. Today, this collaboration of cultural organizations binds communities along the Kennebec River from Bingham to Sidney. The library has also undertaken one-time collaborative projects with other museums, for example, The Legacy of Leadership conference cosponsored with Norlands Living History Center in 2002. Currently, the library is collaborating with the U.S. General Services Administration on an exhibit about the Margaret Chase Smith Federal Building in Bangor.

Education has been a central function of the Margaret Chase Smith Library from the outset. In conjunction with Northwood, the library offered elder hostel courses for many years. In addition, the library served Northwood students through two programs: week-long research visits by the school’s adult-degree students and the Margaret Chase Smith Fellowship, a semester-long term in Skowhegan for undergraduates.

In the state of Maine, the Maine Humanities Council (MHC) has been a major partner. The library has sponsored, hosted, or facilitated the council’s New Books, New Readers adult literacy, Let’s Talk About It, and Literature & Medicine discussion programs in Skowhegan, and at numerous locations in central and western Maine. The two organizations have also

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 63

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Margaret Chase Smith Library

collaborated to offer three Margaret Chase Smith History Camps for high school students between 2006 and 2010 and a Margaret Chase Smith symposium for the public in 2011. At present, the MHC and library are working together to develop a new program, Let’s Talk Local, to foster community conversations on issues of local concern.

From the opening of the library, the University of Maine has been an impor­tant partner for fulfilling one of Sen. Smith’s main objectives for the library— providing forums for the public to discuss policy issues, especially in collaboration with the university’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center. Formed in 1989, the center was named in honor of Sen. Smith the following year. For several election cycles beginning in 1996 and running through 2002, the library and policy center collaborated with the Institute for Global Ethics in Camden, Maine, to sponsor the Maine Code of Election Ethics, an attempt “to encourage substantive issue-oriented electoral campaigns.” Since 2009, the Margaret Chase Smith Foundation and Margaret Chase Smith Library have been pleased to support the policy center’s NEW Leadership program, which provides college women from throughout Maine with multiday training in areas such as public speaking and networking. The foundation has also been a major funder and the library a co-publisher of the policy center’s journal, Maine Policy Review, since 1997.

David Richards began

CONCLUSION

While vital to the work of the Margaret Chase Smith Library, collaboration is only a means to ends.

What drives the four functions of the library is the mission of promoting aspirations, civics, civility, and service. The archives exists not only to preserve the historical record of Sen. Smith’s work in Congress, but also to show how she led with a sense of conscience and comity as well as commitment to the commonweal. The museum and educational programs seek to inspire aspirations and service among young people, the nation’s future citizens and leaders. The public policy programs provide forums for the public to exercise their civic skills in civil settings.

Most of the challenges the library faces are not unique. Keeping pace with changes in education and 64 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

technology with limited funds confronts most collecting institutions these days. One special challenge faced by this collection is maintaining relevance.

Margaret Chase Smith died 18 years ago. Today’s students increasingly will not know anything about her.

As her presence inevitably fades from historical memory, the library will work to supplant legend with legacy. What Sen. Smith stood for—governing with conscience, equality of opportunity for women, and service to others—are timeless values and will become the hooks for introducing future generations to her enduring historical significance and, thereby, the relevance of the library named in her honor.

Collaborations will continue to be essential to leveraging limited resources to make the greatest impact and cast the broadest message as the library moves forward. The affiliation with the University of Maine has opened up many new possibilities to expand the library’s reach throughout the state. In addition, partnerships with local institu­tions, regional groups, and statewide organizations have have become vital to carrying out its roles as archive, museum, educational facility, and public policy center. It seems fitting that a library named for a woman who built an impressive political career on the basis of personal relationships throughout Maine is sustained today by so many institutional partnerships in Maine. -

working at the Margaret Chase Smith Library in 1996 and has served as director since 2012. He has been a gubernatorial appointee to the Maine Humanities Council board of directors since 2010.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Legacy Print Collections

A Shared Approach to Managing Legacy Print Collections in Maine

By Matthew Revitt

M

aine libraries are searching for innovative ways to deal with the many challenges they are facing today, such as lack of space and budget cuts, which have affected their ability to store legacy print collections.

Growing evidence shows that many print materials were never checked out after being purchased. In addition, large-scale print digitalization projects are making many low-use titles available online. Maine’s robust interlibrary loan system means that patrons have fast and easy access to materials stored in another Maine library. This allows libraries to discard material they can get from other reliable sources. However, the discarding process needs to be coordinated in a way to ensure that copies of the material are still accessible in Maine.

In 2010, nine Maine library partners submitted a grant application to the national Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to create the Maine Shared Collections Strategy (MSCS): Portland Public Library, Bangor Public Library, the Maine State Library, University of Maine, University of Southern Maine, Colby College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, and the initiative Maine InfoNet. IMLS approved the grant and released $821,065 to fund MSCS. The partners also contribute matching cost

sharing funds. The grant is administered through the University of Maine and is overseen by a project team that represents the respective library constituencies.1 The goals of the MCSC are (1) to develop a strategy for a statewide, multitype library program for managing, storing, and preserving print collections among public and private institutions to achieve greater efficiencies and extend the power of every dollar invested in collections and library facilities; (2) to expand access to existing digital book collections by developing print-on-demand (POD) and e-bookon-demand (EOD) services to support long-term management of a shared print collection and the integration of digital resources with print collections; (3) to formalize organizational agreements, establish a budget, and develop policies essential to the management of shared print and digital collections.

To meet these goals, we will analyze the libraries’ print collections to identify title overlap, unique titles, and institutional subject strengths. Using library circulation statistics, we will analyze the usage of items in the collections. Based on factors such as subject strengths, storage space, online availability, and usage statistics, we will agree which material libraries will commit to retain and preserve. Partners will implement EOD and POD services via library catalogs and membership in digital cooperatives such as the HathiTrust. We will ensure that the MSCS extends beyond both the grant period and the original partners.

With this in mind, we will define a sustainable business model that includes a financial model, governance structure, and a memorandum of understanding for sharing the responsibility of long-term stewardship of print collections. Finally, the partners will promote the findings of MSCS through presentations at conferences, the MSCS web site, and Twitter.

Although there are a growing number of shared print projects, MSCS differs from these projects in several ways. First, there is emphasis on retention and preservation of materials, particularly items uniquely held and especially those concerning Maine. Most similar projects focus on removal and weeding. A result of MSCS decisions will be that other libraries can weed their collections safe in the knowledge that the material will be preserved within Maine and remain accessible to their patrons. Second, there is a unique history of

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 65

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Legacy Print Collections

trust between Maine libraries developed over decades of successful collaboration (see Sanborn and Nutty, this issue). Third, the MSCS has a primary focus on print monographs, since most projects thus far have concentrated on journals. Fourth, although most similar projects concentrate solely on academic library collections, the MSCS includes public libraries. Finally, the MSCS includes examination and consideration of “digital surrogates” for specific items to ensure better access for patrons and make space savings. -

ENDNOTES 1. The MSCS Project Team consists of project principal investigators: Deborah Rollins, head of collection services, University of Maine; Clement Guthro, director of Colby College Libraries; Barbara McDade, director of Bangor Public Library; Technology Director James Jackson Sanborn, executive director of Maine InfoNet, and Matthew Revitt, program manager. For more information please see the MSCS web site http://maineinfonet. net/mscs/

REFERENCES Sanborn, James M. Jackson and David Nutty. 2013.

“Maine Libraries: A History of Sharing and Collaboration.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 52–61.

Matthew Revitt was appointed program manager of Maine Shared Collections Strategy in 2012.

He previously worked as an independent records and information management consultant in Maine.

Revitt sits on the American Records Management Association Content Strategy Advisory Board.

66 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Libraries + IRW = “Big Read” Success

Libraries + IRW = “Big Read” Success

By Jan Coates

L

ibraries are a vital community partner for Island Readers & Writers (IRW), a nonprofit based on Mount Desert Island (MDI) that provides innovative multidisciplinary reading programs for children living on Maine’s coastal islands and a handful of mainland communities.

In 2010 and 2012, IRW participated in “The Big Read,” a nationwide initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest designed to “restore reading to the center of American culture.” Libraries were an intrinsic part of the programs we offered and brought community together in unique ways.

IRW applied for its first Big Read grant in 2009.

The target audience was residents of seven coastal islands: Deer Isle-Stonington, Isle au Haut, Mount Desert Island, Swan’s Island, Frenchboro, Islesford, and the Cranberry Isles. The library directors in the four Mount Desert Island towns collaborated with the assistant superintendent of MDI schools and the executive director of IRW to choose a book. They selected The Call of the Wild by Jack London from the booklist provided by the Big Read program, and together they identified some of the place-based themes and events that could bring the selected story to life and build community in the process.

IRW selected a lead library partner and all 11 libraries within the seven participating island communities were called upon to distribute books, design book-related programs and exhibits, host discussion groups, and identify lapsed, reluctant, and enthusiastic readers to share in the fun and excitement of neighbors

and families reading the same book at the same time.

As active community centers with multi-aged patrons, libraries were essential to building communities of readers within each community. Books and programs were free to participants.

The Call of the Wild Big Read, held in January and February 2010, drew 1,236 readers for a monthlong program involving seven communities, 11 libraries, 17 other nonprofits, and two school districts.

Programming included everything from book discussions to musical programs and even a dog sledding demonstration outside one of the local libraries.

The success of this program led to a second application in 2011. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Big Read held in January and February 2012 drew 1,290 readers and involved 10 libraries, 25 other nonprofit partners, and two school districts, and offered 45 scheduled programs. Programs included lectures, musical programs, art projects, book discussions, and even panel discussions on topics such as race relations in the era of the book and now.

Libraries expanded on the themes and scenes in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to involve the community in innovative ways. For instance, the Bass Harbor Memorial Library solicited artwork inspired by the famed fence-painting scene in the book which resulted in “Fabulous Fences and Wise Words,” an exhibit of artwork in various media created by local artists and on display throughout the month. The exhibit was also the subject of an artists’ reception and a discussion session. At the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor there was a program on caving inspired by Tom and Becky’s cave-bound adventures in the book.

The program began with the library’s executive director reading the pertinent passage from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Then, rangers from Acadia National Park provided a presentation about caving. The program was a collaborative effort among community organizations, focused on learning about the geology of caves on Mount Desert Island and how the caves of Maine differ from those of Missouri where Tom and Becky were lost.

These are terrific examples of libraries taking active steps “outside the book” to support creative learning in their communities and to provide meaningful experiences linking literature to the community and wider world in programs accessible and appealing to a wide

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 67

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Libraries + IRW = “Big Read” Success

range of people—library users and those in the community who were not regular patrons of their libraries. The Big Read program has as a goal “the bringing together of partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.”

We surely achieved this and much more, and we could not have done it without the support and involvement of our local public libraries. Jan Coates is the founding executive director of Island Readers and Writers of Mt. Desert Island, Maine.

She was owner of Port in a Storm bookstore in Somesville for 10 years.

Prior to that, she served for over 20 years as an administrator and senior officer at Albion College (Michigan) and Hamilton College (NY).

68 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Maine Historical Society

Bangor Public Library, built to replace the original library destroyed in the “great Bangor fire” of 1911. Construction began in 1912 and it was opened for public use on December 20, 1913.

The library remained essentially the same from 1913 until 1997, except for an addition to the back stacks in 1957.

Bangor Public Library today. The library was significantly renovated and expanded with the addition of a new wing in 1997, thanks to a donation from Stephen and Tabitha King. The library has the largest collection of any single public library in the state.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 69

Libraries in the Community

For a small state, Maine is blessed with a multiplicity of libraries—local public libraries in many communities; college and university libraries; specialty libraries; school libraries; special collections libraries; and the state library. Some articles in this section discuss these types of libraries, while others focus on the role of libraries in communities and provide examples of the programs and services today’s libraries offer. Stephanie Zurinski, Valerie Osborne, Mamie Anthoine-Ney and Janet McKenney set the stage in their overview about the changing opportunities of libraries in communities. They discuss libraries as “third places,” spots that serve as community centers for all ages; the role of libraries in civic engagement; and libraries as education places, business incubators, and creation and performance spaces. They consider the “new realities” of libraries in the digital age, and discuss challenges libraries face. Several articles focus on particular types of libraries: health science libraries (Susan Bloomfield, Deborah Clark, Dina McKelvy and Lucinda White); the Maine State Library and its unique role in the state (Linda Lord); and the State Law and Legislative Reference Library (John Barden). Library programs and services to specific populations are presented by Steve Podgajny (the immigrant community); Deanna Gouzie (young children and families in the “Family Place” library program); Cynthia Jennings (homeschoolers); Andrew M. Mead (on “lawyers in libraries” and citizens seeking legal assistance); and Steve Norman (summer visitors to libraries). Steve Podgajny describes Portland’s new bookmobile and the library’s new model of “portable libraries.”

Finally, Stephen Bromage discusses the important role libraries are playing through collaboration with the Maine Historical Society and local historical societies in documenting local history and making it accessible online.

70 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013



View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Changing Opportunities

Libraries in the Community: Changing Opportunities

By Stephanie Zurinski, Valerie Osborne, Mamie Anthoine-Ney and Janet McKenney

INTRODUCTION

W

hen libraries first began, books were scarce and expensive. Libraries were archives for information with books chained to tables. With the arrival of the printing press in the mid-15th century, books and information ceased being scarce, and information technology began a journey that would become a dizzying ascendance. Between the advent of the radio early in the 20th century and the arrival of the web browser in the early 1990s, less than 100 years passed. The pace quickened, and only eight years passed between the first primitive Internet search engine, Archie (1990), and the arrival of the now omnipresent Google (1998).

Public libraries began offering Internet access in Maine in 1996 with 56K connections and one computer.

Now public libraries in Maine have a minimum of 10 mbps connections with desktops, laptops, and videoconferencing units. Public expectations are also evolving at a rapid pace, and libraries and librarians must adapt to this fast rate of change.

Libraries have long been considered a symbol of “Culture.” In this view, libraries exist “for the diffusion of knowledge and to promote serious purposes of culture and study” (McCrossen 2006: 176). Librarians saw their role as champions of higher culture, helping the public choose the correct books for their edification. Children’s programming started in the 1890s to combat the assumption that people weren’t reading enough. Librarians thought if they could get children to love reading, then they would become lifelong readers and learners.

By the late 19th century, the role of the library as an arbiter of Culture began to change as a flourishing market for mass leisure and cultural pursuits began to grow. Librarians responded to changing societal norms by offering popular fiction, newspapers, and periodicals in addition to literature. In the first half of the 20th century, libraries also began offering concerts, movies, and exhibitions to directly compete with the “cheap amusements” of the time.

Libraries today continue to serve the ideals of free and open access to ideas and information and intellectual freedom. Above all, libraries continue to be attuned to meeting the needs of their communities. In the 21st century, libraries are encouraged to be the center of community life, going beyond traditional services, to be community builders and places where people get involved. R. David Lankes says in Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries for Today’s World (2012) that bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, and great libraries build communities. Libraries aren’t just about the books. Libraries are about programs and service and connecting people.

LIBRARIES AS THIRD PLACES

S

ociologist Ray Oldenburg, in his book The Great, Good Place (1999), introduces the concept of the “third place”— the place, besides home and work, where people go to spend time. Oldenburg (1999) talks about the importance of these public spaces, which can serve as centers for civic engagement.

According to Oldenburg, true third places are free or inexpensive; have food and drink available; are readily accessible by many people; have repeat visitors (regulars); are welcoming and comfortable; and let you meet old friends or make new ones.

That sounds a lot like a public library. Libraries, because they are open to all people, are perfect third places. They are shared social spaces that, through programs and services, allow people to engage with information and with each other. Libraries play a vital role in establishing connections between people and in building community, which results in mutual support and cooperation while reducing the intolerance that can grow from isolation. Public libraries also contribute to communities by offering educational and recreational

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 71

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Changing Opportunities

European Libraries Lead the Way European libraries have been leading the way in the evolutionary process libraries are undergoing. The Amsterdam Central Library has transformed itself from a lending library to an adventure library. It is located at the highest point in the city so people often visit for the view. The children’s area has small storytelling areas along with comfortable seating for sharing stories. The craft room is always open and set up so that children can draw, color, and paste. A wireless network supports the 600 computers and 50 workplaces that have multimedia capability. The library has a profit-sharing arrangement with the two restaurants located inside. A radio station broadcasts in the afternoon and evening and invites people to have their say about current issues. There are music and meeting rooms along with a theater.

Sello Library in Finland aims to be a cultural department store—a place where everything happens. Their learning center supports all ages and many ways of learning, including computer skills for seniors. The library serves as a forum for municipal activities and cultural events. Through partnerships with publishers and bookstores, the library offers writing workshops. The music studio has professional level equipment for producing and mixing music. The studio and music workshops are routinely booked six months in advance.

programming, free Internet access, access to computers and other technologies, and by building connections between individuals, groups and agencies.

The concept of libraries as a meeting place isn’t new. Small town libraries have always been places where people gather to visit. Often in small towns, the library is the only spot that offers a welcoming environment where you can sit awhile or talk with the librarian over the circulation desk. Some libraries host weekly teas or other informal social events that bring community members to the library for food and conversation. In addition to book clubs, many smalltown libraries offer space for knitting groups or other craft activities. Many libraries have meeting rooms that are available to the public for a fee and sometimes free. Larger libraries may have study rooms or small meeting rooms that can be reserved.

In the United States, libraries of all sizes are increasingly setting aside café spaces, as the Portland 72 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

Public Library has, or art galleries, like the Topsham Public Library, that facilitate coming together and conversations. Traditional library activities such as classes and events are also evolving and new ways to engage the community are beginning to emerge.

Libraries are community centers that cut across all ages. While a town or city may have its senior center, its teen center, and its schools, these are designed to provide services and programming for specific ages.

Libraries are the only common places that serve the population from cradle to grave. Small-town libraries often think of themselves as the living rooms of their communities. That’s what a third place is all about.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

L

ibraries play a vital role in civic engagement in their communities. Civic engagement is about strengthening local democracy, building robust communities, and empowering people to become involved in the life of their communities in meaningful, creative, and sustained ways. Civic engagement is crucial to a healthy democracy.

Libraries are perfectly positioned to nurture these democratic practices. They are open to all; contain books and other materials that provide people with a common experience and language; and frequently attract people who are thinking about their goals, about what they, their communities, state and country might become. Libraries, which are often seen as products of democracy, can also be seen as engines of democracy, as places where people go to engage with one another and to begin making a difference.

Today libraries are more involved than ever, convening community conversations, building civic literacy, educating a new generation of citizens, and engaging citizens in issues of common concern. Bangor Public Library hosts the Foreign Policy Forum several times each year. The focus is on global issues, the speakers internationally known, and the topics engaging. Between 50 and 60 people attend each event.

A recent program was “Revisiting Iraq: A Tutorial for the Arab Spring” featuring Steve Kenney, vice president for finance of the American University of Beirut.

The public libraries in Blue Hill, Southwest Harbor, Castine, Ellsworth, Rockland, and Cushing

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Changing Opportunities

are all offering programs in 2013 that support the world-famous Camden Conference, which epitomizes civic engagement. In support of the conference, libraries throughout the region add the numerous books from the reading list to their collections.

The Camden Conference was founded in 1987 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization whose mission is to foster informed discourse on world issues.

All over Maine, libraries are partnering with the Maine Humanities Council to bring programming that inspires community discourse. During the election season libraries host “Meet the Candidate Nights” to keep the citizens informed and the candidates aware of community needs. The Food for Fines Program, the inspiration of the Blue Hill Public Library, promoted statewide by the Maine State Library, brought thousands of pounds of food to food pantries across the state. The Food for Fines program was a perfect way to get hundreds of people engaged in a very real problem—feeding the poor, ensuring that everyone has enough to eat.

Libraries are often the first connection that immigrants make with their new communities. This was true in the early days of American libraries and is still true today. Libraries bring people together in assemblies. Lewiston Public Library’s “Great Falls Forum,” presents opportunities for residents to discuss local issues including the experience of the Somali community as it settles in the Lewiston/Auburn area. The Portland Public Library offers a program called the Multilingual Leadership Corps Program for the library’s English-language learning (EEL) teens. The program provides mentoring, school skills support, and community engagement while giving them means to embrace and overcome the challenges of mastering a new language.

The mission of any public library might very easily be paraphrased in this way—Our library’s mission is to enrich the lives of our community members with free access to programs, materials and services that empower, educate, and inspire. That also translates to civic engagement. Library programs can and do make a difference in focusing on the big topics facing society.

Libraries are the only practical public institution that people have a chance to experience daily. Libraries are places where people can meet others with views

different from their own, a place where others can come together and share their insights in a safe place.

LIBRARIES AS EDUCATION PLACES

L

ifelong learning has long been a mission of libraries.

Today’s libraries have offerings and programs for people of all ages.

Children’s story times expose children and their parents to the rhythms of language through songs, rhymes, and books. Craft and other activities in story times teach other skills such as dexterity or getting along with others. In addition to these kinds of activities, across Maine, there are 12 libraries designated as Family Place Libraries™ (see Gouzie, this issue), part of a national network whose mission is to help libraries become community hubs for healthy child and family development. Libraries in the program redesign their space to be welcoming and appropriate for families with young children. In addition, libraries connect parents with resources, programs and services in the

A young patron at the Bangor Public Library.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 73

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Changing Opportunities

community to help families give children the critical early literacy support needed to ensure that children enter school ready to learn.

It isn’t just very young children who benefit from libraries as learning spaces. Many libraries sponsor homework help sessions after school where volunteers help children and young adults with their assignments.

Reader dogs are popular across the country, where children read to trained therapy dogs. “This program takes the benefits associated with animal interaction and uses them to encourage and motivate children to improve their reading skills. Although the specific details vary among individual programs, they are designed to have children read to trained dogs, thus taking advantage of the non-judgmental and stress reducing effects of a dog during reading programs for children” (Lenihan et al. 2012).

Libraries participate in Money Smart Week , a public awareness campaign created by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, to help consumers of all ages to better manage their personal finances. During one week in late April, public libraries in Maine and across the U.S. offer seminars on all aspects of personal finance from budgeting to home buying to investments.

In Maine, the Curtis Memorial Library and Camden Public Library received Smart investing@your library grants from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to further financial literacy.

Many libraries offer formal classes on everything from resume writing to Facebook for seniors. All public libraries in Maine have access to an online resource of magazines and books called MARVEL!. LearningExpress Library, an online learning tool, is one of the free resources that Maine citizens can use in their public library or at home with a computer and Internet connection. Courses, practice tests, and skills-building courses are offered, along with downloadable e-books. Topics include resume writing, test preparation (for example, GED, SAT, GRE), software tutorials, and more.

Eleven libraries across Maine received videoconferencing equipment as part of the federal Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant. This equipment allows these libraries to serve as regional training and broadcasting hubs for a host of programs (McKenney, this issue). The IRS has used these centers to train practitioners across the state. Statewide, the

®

®

74 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

Lawyers in Libraries project is bringing legal help to low-income people through videoconferencing (Mead, this issue). The Cherryfield Public Library is using its videoconferencing equipment to host remote broadcasts of programs from NASA and the Smithsonian.

The kickoff event connected local seventh and eighth graders for a lecture on the Milestones of Flight.

Maine-based Cornerstones of Science, a nonprofit group dedicated to increasing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) literacy, partners with libraries to bring science programs to all ages. Recently, 18 libraries received telescopes from Cornerstones of Science and access to local astronomy clubs to help with star parties. The telescopes circulate to patrons along with a star chart so families can stargaze at home.

Cornerstones of Science also supplies “science trunks” to libraries that are full of books and activities on a variety of subjects. One of the more popular trunks is the crime-scene investigation trunk, which lets librarians host a crime-solving program. Lewiston Public Library partnered with the local police department to host this program in their community.

LIBRARIES AS BUSINESS INCUBATORS

B

usiness incubators have been around since the late 1950s and have experienced steady growth in numbers. The most common type of business incubator offers subsidized rent and business services to fledgling businesses along with small business classes.

Phil Shapiro argues that in the information age public libraries are “ideally situated to assume the role of business incubator” (2010: 1). Libraries already bring people together to learn and share ideas. Libraries also connect people within communities with services and resources. It is not much of a leap for libraries to work at connecting people with ideas and people with the skills and resources to bring those ideas into reality.

As Shapiro (2010: 2) concludes, “Libraries can be places that statically house ideas or places where ideas are put into action.”

Currently, libraries offering business services do so in varying degrees. Many offer the traditional business books, databases, and small business classes. Some make office equipment such as computers, phones, fax machines, printers, and copiers available, often

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Changing Opportunities

charging only minimal amounts to defray the cost of paper and toner or printer cartridges.

LIBRARIES AS PERFORMANCE AND CREATION PLACES

L

ibraries are places that nurture creativity and provide space for performance and exhibitions.

With Maine’s rich literary environment, there isn’t a Maine public library that hasn’t held an authorreading/book-signing program. These programs allow Maine citizens to meet and talk with authors about their works and their craft. Libraries offer poetry slams, theatrical programs, local art exhibits, and musical events. Several Maine libraries have started ukulele clubs where people come together to learn to play and make music. Libraries also sponsor musical events either in their facility or at local venues. The Topsham Public Library runs a series of concerts each March in its community room. The Bangor Public Library sponsors concerts on its grounds during the summer. The Thomaston Public Library holds monthly contra and square dancing events. Libraries sponsor Lego clubs where children and adults build and display their creations. Children get so wrapped up in their creations that they create back stories, thus increasing their literacy skills along with their engineering skills.

“Creation library” is a relatively new concept that is gaining traction among librarians. The idea is for libraries to facilitate the creative process through dedicated spaces and equipment. Libraries aren’t just places to find out about what you want to do; they are places to actually do. As Visser describes in this issue, “makerspaces” in libraries are workshops or studios that provide access to computer controlled tools, 3D printers, and other technical resources. Users have the opportunity “to explore their interests, use new tools, and develop creative, often collaborative, projects” (Visser, this issue: 111). The price of a 3D printer is dropping into the range that libraries can afford.

Skidompha Public Library in Damariscotta has one.

Pam Gormley, the director, says that right now it’s used mainly for printing missing Lego pieces, but the potential uses for that printer include entrepreneurs prototyping new products.

What Libraries in Some Other States Are Doing for Business The Dallas Public Library central facility has one floor dedicated to business and technology. Half of the floor space on that floor contains desks and is open to local start-ups to set up shop. The James J. Hill Reference Library in St. Paul, MN, hosts Studio/E (Frisch 2012) where local leaders and entrepreneurs meet to develop ideas and get support. By including people from all walks of life, members are able to get a fresh perspective on their businesses. Instead of just talking to other retailers, a member might talk with someone from health care or law and get a totally different view. The cohort meets quarterly to share challenges, learn from each other and learn different approaches to generating ideas. Studio/E is built on Babson College’s entrepreneurship program and instructors from the college visit to stimulate discussion. Currently, this program is not open to everyone.

There is an application process and a membership fee to join.

Some libraries are filming programs such as author events and putting the event on YouTube or making it available as a podcast as a way to extend the reach of their programming. It is another way to take what is happening in the community and showcase it to the world. The Auburn Public Library has recently set up a media lab where people can create movies. The lab contains scanners, computers, cameras, and a green screen. They even hold classes so patrons can learn how to create a movie. Other libraries offer music practice rooms, recording studios, and art rooms.

One of the easiest ways a library can become a creation library is to digitize the community’s history.

Simply scanning an historic photograph and posting it on the library’s web site or blog is an easy step that libraries of all sizes can take to share their communities with the world. Libraries can partner with their local historical society to make such a project happen (see Bromage, this issue).

NEW REALITIES

Since the advent of the digital age, people have predicted the demise of libraries as physical locations.

Libraries took those predictions seriously and began developing a “virtual” presence. Libraries have had web

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 75

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Changing Opportunities

sites since the Internet took off in the mid-1990s.

These early web pages were mostly informational, showcasing open hours, programs, policies, contact information, and links to the online catalog and databases.

Today, libraries have Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and YouTube channels, all in the effort to meet the people in their communities where they are. These social networking sites also allow the library to offer the community’s activities to a much broader audience; so libraries that digitize local history or record and broadcast community events are putting their towns on the digital map.

Libraries offer books, music, and movies as download services, and databases are accessible from home and not just in the library. In Michigan, the Ann Arbor Library District offers online contests where participants earn badges similar to Foursquare. All these virtual activities are designed to meet the new ways that people want to interact with information.

Libraries have seen a sharp rise in the number of people coming in to use computers and wireless service....

While it’s true that libraries have embraced the virtual side, no discussion would be complete without a mention of the digital divide that still exists in this country. The digital divide is increasingly becoming less about the ability to afford the technology and more about access. People in many rural areas still don’t have access to high-speed Internet. A lot of people don’t see any reason to be “online.” But with more government services going online these people run the risk of being behind.

Libraries in Maine are often the only place in town with high-speed Internet service. And libraries have friendly staff whose job is to help people with information needs. Libraries have seen a sharp rise in the number of people coming in to use computers and wireless service to access government benefits, such as 76 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

unemployment or disaster relief, and for help with job hunting. Wireless has actually expanded the library space beyond its walls to porches, lawns, and parking lots. Although a virtual presence is necessary in today’s world, a physical presence for libraries is still essential.

The future is bringing changes in how society values information. Accuracy, authenticity, authority, and privacy no longer have the same value. People want to be involved with information, so the popularity of tagging and social networking sites for book lovers, such as Maine-based LibraryThing or Shelfari and GoodReads, will probably continue to grow.

Librarians will have to think more about connecting people to information instead of collecting information (Shaffer 2012).

Libraries also need to be positioned and prepared for the developing mobile revolution. In 2009, six percent of users over the age of 16 used a mobile device to connect to library web sites and services.

By 2012, that percentage had increased to 13 percent (Rainie, Zickuhr and Duggan 2012). In 2012, 85 percent of Americans owned a cell phone and 45 percent owned smart phones. This number is forecast to grow to nearly 69 percent by 2015 (www.statista. com/statistics/201182/forecast-of-smartphone-usersin-the-us).

Futurist Thomas Frey of the DaVinci Institute, in a white paper called The Future of Libraries, cites a number of trends affecting society and libraries. He notes that communication systems are continually changing the way people access information; more and more, people are expecting free or inexpensive access to everything all the time (Frey n.d.). People also want experiences now, not just products. In addition, miniaturization of information storage capacity is rapidly reaching its limit, which means that speed, reliability and durability will soon replace storage capacity as the holy grail of technology. In the face of these and other changes, Frey believes libraries will help communities assess priorities and support what the community decides is important.

Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, in an interview in Library Journal says that libraries will have a new life providing the thinking space for civilization (West 2010). This means that even though we now have constant access

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Changing Opportunities

to information, what we lack is the time and space to sit down and think about how to use all that information. Our homes no longer provide that kind of refuge, but libraries can. And Eli Neiburger (2011), of the Ann Arbor Library District in Michigan, says that in the 20th century, libraries brought the world to their communities, but in the 21st century, libraries will bring their communities to the world.

Barriers to Success

In addition to technological and societal trends, libraries face other pressures. On the practical level, these include stagnant or shrinking budgets accompanied by rising and changing demand; dealing with old business models (both internally and externally); staff ability to keep up with the pace of change; and community expectations. Libraries face heightened competition from places such as Amazon and iTunes.

Demographic shifts such as the aging population and ethnic change will further challenge libraries.

The tradition of public funding of public libraries is a long one in the U.S. However, funding models in Maine are highly variable. Of Maine’s 263 public libraries, six get no public funding at all. Fully 23 percent receive less than half of their operating budget from public dollars. Some libraries in Maine have endowments that keep them going. Others rely on fund raising and donations. (Barbara McDade’s article, this issue, provides further detail on governance and funding of Maine libraries.)

The addition of e-books into the publishing market has created some problems for libraries. Users want (digital) e-content, but libraries are dealing with publishers who have not yet found their way to a new business model for this format. Recently, prices for libraries to purchase e-books have skyrocketed, and some publishers refuse to sell to libraries at all. Articles

by Allen and Sullivan in this issue present the varying viewpoints of publishers and librarians on the thorny concerns surrounding e-books and libraries.

Library staffs find it difficult to keep up both with the pace of change and with patron expectations. With libraries just barely keeping up with rising costs, it can be difficult to find the budget and time to experiment with all the new technologies and initiatives that arise.

How can a one-person library, with limited budget

and open hours, help patrons with their new Nooks and Kindles when the library is unable to afford to buy such devices for staff training before the patrons start coming in? How do libraries with limited budgets supply e-content for these new devices when the cost is twice that of the same item in print? The many one-person libraries in small towns in Maine face particular difficulties.

Often, communities expect too little of libraries because they are not aware of the possibilities and their librarians are too busy running the library to exert the necessary leadership. Growing the next generation of library leaders is a significant concern across the profession. To be a leader, librarians have to step out of their comfort zone and get out of the library and into the community.

CONCLUSION

H

ow will libraries remain relevant in the face of change? By doing what they’ve always done—assessing the needs of their communities and developing services and programs to meet those needs. Libraries are facing a major transition as society continues to evolve. But libraries have always been quiet, comfortable places where people gather. Librarians are among the most trusted public employees around and communities continue to have pride in their libraries. The future of libraries lies in embracing the changes and finding innovative ways to expand the library’s role as community center.

R. David Lankes (2012) says that a great library inspires, challenges, provokes, and respects the community it serves. The library of the future is about knowledge creation and sharing. Libraries and librarians that take a proactive approach by working with their communities to identify the aspirations and dreams of their citizens will thrive. These librarians will embrace the role of digital steward, becoming mentors and facilitators and moving their communities forward. Expect libraries to evolve into advocates for their communities in our complex digital world; centers of learning and innovation; and places that help communities create and distribute knowledge. Expect the library to be the third place that glues the community together. -

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Please turn the page for references and information about the authors.

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 77

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Changing Opportunities

REFERENCES Allen, Tom. 2013. “Book Publishers and Libraries: Historic Partners Facing a Disruptive Technology.”

Maine Policy Review 22(1): 46–47.

Bromage, Stephen. 2013. “Local History: A Gateway to 21st Century Communities.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 98–100.

Frey, Thomas. n.d. The Future of Libraries. The DaVinci Institute, Louisville, CO. www.davinciinstitute.com/ papers/the-future-of-libraries/ [Accessed December 1, 2012] Frisch, Suzy. 2012. “Studio/E and the Meeting of Many Minds.” TwinCities Business (October 25.) http:// tcbmag.com/Leadership/Education/Studio-E-andthe-Meeting-of-Many-Minds [Accessed December 19, 2012] Gouzie, Deanna. 2013. “Family Place Libraries™.”

Maine Policy Review 22(1): 91.

Lankes, R. David. 2012. Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries for Today’s World. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Lexington, KY. Lenihan, Dawn, Emily McCobb, Lisa Freeman and Amanda Diurba. 2011. Benefits of Reading Assistance Dogs. Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, MA. www.tufts.edu/vet/pr/resources/benefits_of_ reading_assistance_dogs.pdf [Accessed April 9, 2013] McCrossen, Alexis. 2006.“‘One Cathedral More’ or ‘Mere Lounging Places for Bummers?’ The Cultural Politics of Leisure and the Public Library in the Gilded Age of America.” Libraries and Culture 41(2): 169–188.

McDade, Barbara. 2013. “The Public Library in Its Community: Governance and Funding.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 124–125.

McKenney, Janet. 2013. “Maine’s BTOP Information Commons Project: The Building Block to Statewide Digital Literacy Efforts.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 44–45.

Mead, Andrew M. 2013. “’Lawyers in Libraries’: A New Approach to Access to Justice in Maine.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 94–95.

Neiburger, Eli, 2011. “Libraries and eBooks in this Century: What to Do Now, What to Do Later.”

COSLINE Library Development Conference, Burlington, VT, October 17–19.

Oldenburg, Ray. 1999. The Great, Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of the Community.

Marlow & Company, New York.

Rainie, Lee, Kathryn Zickuhr and Maeve Duggan.

2012. Mobile Connections to Libraries. Pew Internet & American Life Project, Washington, DC. http://libraries.pewinternet.org/files/legacy-pdf/ PIP_MobileConnectionsToLibraries.pdf [Accessed April 10, 2013] Shaffer, Roberta. 2012. “What Drivers Impact Future Initiatives?” COSLA Meeting, October.

Shapiro, Phil. 2010. “Public Libraries as Business Incubators.” PCWorld (June 2). www.pcworld. com/article/197759/Public_Libraries_as_Business_ Incubators.html [Accessed December 17, 2012] Sullivan, Maureen. 2013. “Libraries and Book Publishers.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 48–50.

Visser, Marijke. 2013. “Digital Literacy and Public Policy through the Library Lens.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 105–113.

West, Jessamyn. 2010. “Toward a Human-Centric Internet: Jessamyn West Interviews Jaron Lanier.”

Library Journal (February): 24–25.

Stephanie Zurinski has more than 20 years’ experience working in special, public and academic libraries. For the past 13 years, she has worked as a consultant, helping small, rural libraries in Texas and now in Maine with issues ranging from planning to automation.

78 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Changing Opportunities

Valerie Osborne has been with the Maine State Library as the Northern Maine Library District consultant for the last six years. She was director of the Old Town Public Library for 25 years.

Mamie Anthoine-Ney is the Southern Maine Library District consultant for the Maine State Library. Previously she was the director of the South Berwick Public Library and assistant director/adult services librarian at the Kennebunk Free Library.

Janet McKenney is the director of library development for the Maine State Library and is managing the Maine Public Library Information Commons Project. She has worked in public, academic, and special libraries for more than 25 years.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 ¡ MAINE POLICY REVIEW ¡ 79

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Health Sciences Libraries

Health Sciences Libraries

By Susan Bloomfield, Deborah Clark, Dina McKelvy and Lucinda White

INTRODUCTION

M

aine’s health care institutions, like those around the nation, have made many changes in the past several decades to adapt to the shifting health care environment. Service models have switched emphasis from inpatient to outpatient, with many hospitals building and staffing new types of outpatient facilities.

Inpatients are sicker and lengths of stay are shorter, with declining reimbursement. Technological advances continue at an ever-increasing pace, with institutions needing to stay ahead of the curve to remain competitive in the market and deliver safe and effective patient care.

The explosion of knowledge and use of information technology has meant that hospitals now commit large amounts of money to develop the infrastructure for health information technology, often only slowly achieving efficiencies and realizing a return on their investments. Health care professionals are under extreme pressure to stay current with the everexpanding knowledge base, but have less time to accomplish this. Recent state and federal health care reform has added another level of complexity.

As they grapple with these changes, the roles of health sciences librarians who manage the collections, services, and resources traditionally known as “the library” also have evolved. Today’s health science librarians have a much different role from their predecessors.

Librarians may continue to provide some traditional services such as literature searching, interlibrary loan, and classroom instruction. However, many of their daily activities do not resemble anything their counterparts performed a decade ago, and even those traditional

80 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

activities are more complex, specialized, and targeted to specific institutional goals and initiatives.

SUPPORTING CLINICIANS

H

ealth sciences librarians serve as uniquely trained reference librarians who specialize in the research and dissemination of medical and health information.

Their users include physicians, nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals, corporations, students, patients, and community members. They work in teaching and nonteaching hospitals, outpatient clinics, university and college libraries, health care and biotechnology centers, and state and local government agencies. They are trained to assess the credibility of electronic and print information sources and to process that information appropriately for the patron—from specialized, professional briefings for rounds to a patient handout offered at a suitable reading level.

(The sidebar shows the location of hospital-based health sciences libraries in Maine. There are also health sciences collections or libraries at a number of Maine’s colleges and universities, research labs, and businesses.)

Health sciences librarians perform literature searches using countless references in all formats that include the latest evidence-based sources, including peer-reviewed print and online journals, electronic databases, textbooks, monographs, clinical trial reports, statistical reviews, authoritative web sites, and also enduring historic literature. Essentially, librarians know where to search, how to search, how to winnow, and how to deliver this material.

Hospital-based health sciences librarians, the focus of this article, play a crucial role in the delivery of patient care. Their work supports clinicians by keeping them informed of the latest evidence-based findings and treatments for specific conditions and circumstances. Health care providers rely heavily on health sciences librarians because they have little time to conduct systematic and meticulous information searches, and they often do not have the skills to do such searches. Most certainly do not have the knowledge of the scope of available resources. Many are still uncomfortable with technology or do not know how to use computers. And importantly, not all providers have access to desk- or laptop computers or mobile devices.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Health Sciences Libraries

MAINE HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARIES In many settings, if computers are available, Aroostook Medical Center, MaineGeneral Medical Center, they are shared, and their availability is Presque Isle Waterville fleeting.

TAMC Health Sciences Library Health Sciences Library Some librarians accompany clinicians Bridgton Hospital, Bridgton Mid Coast Hospital, Brunswick on bedside rounds and ward meetings.

Skillin Health Science Library Health Sciences Library Others are physically located in medical or research units. These “embedded librarians” Cary Medical Center, Caribou Pen Bay Medical Center, Rockport are immediately available to field questions Health & Resource Library Niles Perkins Health Science Library and collaborate with clinicians or Central Maine Medical Center, Redington-Fairview General Hospital, researchers.

Lewiston Skowhegan Additional services provided by health Gerrish-True Health Sciences Library Health Sciences Library sciences librarians include acquiring profesDorothea Dix Psychiatric Center, Rumford Hospital, Rumford sional articles for physicians’ continuing Bangor Health Science Library medical education credits and providing Behavioral Health Library Southern Maine Medical Center, breaking news and article alerts for patrons Eastern Maine Medical Center, Biddeford of all disciplines. They help clinicians and Bangor Health Sciences Library students to prepare presentations; they Hadley Parrot Health Science Library support clinical teaching and lend research St. Joseph Hospital, Bangor support for the development of practice Franklin Memorial Hospital, Health Science Library guidelines. They assure that the most Farmington St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, current medical literature is available in a Ben Franklin Center Library Lewiston variety of formats in their library collecInland Hospital, Waterville Health Sciences Library tions. Health sciences librarians participate Medical Library Stephens Memorial Hospital, Norway in or moderate journal clubs, regular meetMaine Medical Center, Portland Health Sciences Library ings where professional literature is Library Waldo County General Hospital, discussed and evaluated.

MaineGeneral Medical Center, Belfast Professionals who choose to do their Augusta Marx Library own research come to health sciences librarHealth Sciences Library ians to learn how to evaluate online references. Librarians promote and teach skills for evaluating web sites to clinicians, often on an individual basis. Source assessment, variety of formats and at a level they can understand. coupled with learning advanced Internet-searching Librarians also help people to evaluate the quality of skills, results in getting relevant information fast. online information so they can make better decisions Honing these skills increases confidence and subjectabout their healthcare and lifestyle choices, thereby matter knowledge. The end result: highly-educated helping consumers avoid wasteful spending on ineffecclinicians and improved patient care. tive and possibly unsafe remedies.

Health sciences librarians actively contribute to WORKING WITH PATIENTS AND CONSUMERS their hospitals through community health education outreach. They may set up an information booth on ealth sciences librarians are an important link preventing infections at a hospital flu clinic; plan a class to quality health information for patients and on healthy eating for seniors with the hospital dietitian; consumers. They provide current, accurate information or attend a parents’ night event at a local elementary on new diagnoses, medical tests, and treatment options, school to promote information resources on child including prescription drugs and complementary health. Some assist in grant-writing projects related to therapies, supplying consumers with information in a public health initiatives; others develop resources for

H

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 81

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Health Sciences Libraries

local immigrant populations to help them to navigate an unfamiliar health care system.

Promoting patient engagement and shared decision making between patients and their health care providers is of growing importance in health care today.

Patients are encouraged to access their electronic medical records (EMRs) to maintain a continuing dialogue with their health care providers. Medical practices are following their patients more closely to better manage chronic conditions and prevent unnecessary and high-cost emergency department visits. Health sciences librarians support these initiatives by supplying patients and providers with information to promote better patient self-care and make the best treatment decisions. Now with the use of the EMR, librarians can also document the information they have supplied to the patient, thereby serving as part of the health care team and encouraging further dialogue between provider and patient.

Health sciences librarians also help improve patient/provider communication and patient safety by promoting health literacy. Librarians understand that if patients can’t read, understand, and use the health information or discharge instructions they are given, they will not be able to follow their treatment plans correctly. On average, adult Americans read between the eighth- and ninth-grade reading levels (Doak and Doak 2004). Immigrants, those with English as a second language, and older adults also have reduced literacy levels and need simple, clear information to help them to fully engage in their own health care.

Librarians are assisting medical practices and hospitals to revise patient instructions and educational materials, using plain language and clear document design. In addition to providing low-literacy health information, librarians supply information in multiple languages when needed.

THE TRIPLE AIM: CARE, HEALTH AND COST

T

he Institute for Healthcare Improvement refers to the “triple aim” of the U.S. health care system: improving the experience of care, improving the health of the population, and reducing per capita costs (Berwick, Nolan and Whittington 2008). Hospitals need to meet the increasing number of state requirements,

82 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

government regulations, quality and patient-safety initiatives, and customer satisfaction standards, while struggling to maintain financial stability.

Today’s health sciences librarians support health care institutions by keeping administrators informed of changing industry trends, health care regulations, and the latest medical research and standards of patient care. They stay in touch with current health care industry news and hospital accreditation regulations, scholarly clinical literature, and disseminate important information to hospital officials before it is even requested. Librarians support quality and patient-safety executives by providing articles on effective riskmanagement procedures such how to prevent patient falls, quality-of-care benchmarks around surgical infections, and studies on how to improve patient flow and patient discharge-care transitions. They respond to requests for information on preventing unnecessary hospital readmissions, failure-mode analysis after a medical error, and avoiding serious “sentinel events” or “never events.”

TECHNOLOGY AND CHANGING EXPECTATIONS

T

he landscape of health sciences librarianship constantly changes as new technology emerges.

The greatest change comes from the evolving expectations of users, whether they are clinicians, administrators, or consumers. In the clinical setting, users demand effective medical-information-delivery systems to bring needed content to anyone who makes medical decisions (Davidoff and Miglus 2011).

The ubiquity of mobile devices has made access to information available throughout the institution and beyond. Just as print books and journals have given way to the quick access available with desktop computers, the desktop computer is now giving way to the immediacy of mobile devices. Mobile devices are useful “to handle simple and some complicated clinical questions” (Davidoff and Miglus 2011: 1907).

Managing and acquiring these resources for library users becomes a valuable part of the librarian’s role.

Another trend is the emergence and acceptance of the EMR. Librarians are becoming involved with this initiative as “information retrieval” experts—

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Health Sciences Libraries

aiding with classification systems and database searching (Klein-Fedyshin 2010). They are also providing content for decision support at the point of care. Some medical databases provide “infobutton” links to content, or otherwise integrate their content into the medical record.

MAINE: SMALL BUT MIGHTY

F

arzad Mostashari, MD, the national health IT coordinator, announced in December 2012 that Maine had topped all states in its percentage of eligible physicians and hospitals paid incentives for “meaningful use” of electronic health records. In a news story on the Government Health IT web site, he described Maine as “the small but mighty” (www.govhealthit.com).

This description could apply also to the community of health sciences librarians in Maine. As their institutions navigate new models for delivery of health care, health sciences librarians will continue to support the changing needs of their users. They will continue to provide research and clinical support through expert literature searches and custom packaging of information along with effective, timely support for administrators’ needs for quality and performance information.

As health care moves to a value-based delivery model, health sciences librarians also remain sharply focused on value: What is of most value to users? What technology is needed? What coordination, collaboration or innovation can most help us succeed? By continuing to evolve in answer to these questions, health sciences librarians will remain “small but mighty” in Maine. -

Doak, Leonard G. and Cecilia C. Doak. 2004. Pfizer Principles for Clear Health Communication. Pfizer, Inc. New York. www.pfizerhealthliteracy.com/asset/ pdf/pfizerprinciples.pdf [Accessed January 18, 2013] Klein-Fedyshin, Michele. 2010. “It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Best of Times: Positive Trends Influencing Hospital Libraries.” Journal of the Medical Library Association 98(3): 196–199.

Susan A. Bloomfield is the health sciences librarian at Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford. She currently serves as the publicity chair on the Executive Board of Health Science Libraries and Information Consortium of Maine and is the editor of their quarterly newsletter.

Deborah Clark is the librarian for Western Maine Health, which includes Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway. She is past chair of the Maine Health Science Library and Information Consortium.

Clark was recently

REFERENCES Berwick, Donald M., Thomas W. Nolan and John Whittington. 2008. “The Triple Aim: Care, Health, and Cost.” Health Affairs 27(3): 759–769.

appointed to the Maine Library Commission.

Davidoff, Frank and Jennifer Miglus. 2011. “Delivering Clinical Evidence Where It’s Needed: Building an Information System Worthy of the Profession.”

Journal of the American Medical Association 305(18): 1906–1907.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Please turn the page for additional information about the authors.

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 83

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Health Sciences Libraries

Dina McKelvy is the library manager for automation and planning at Maine Medical Center and a distinguished member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals.

She currently serves as the coeditor of the “Internet Resources and Technology” columns for the Medical Library Association newsletter.

Lucinda White is the director of Hadley Parrot Health Science Library at Eastern Maine Medical Center, where she has worked for 20 years. In 2011, she received the Maine Hospital Association Certificate of Achievement.

84 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: What Makes the Maine Sate Library Unique?

What Makes the Maine State Library Unique?

By Linda Lord

E

ach state library is unique. The Maine State Library (MSL) differs from other Maine libraries and from some other state libraries. The MSL’s service model requires it to provide services to other libraries in the state; to deliver and provide resources to the citizens of the state; to serve other state agencies; and to be a conduit with federal agencies and the Maine State Legislature.

The Maine State Library is a state agency under the executive branch. Oversight of the library is the responsibility of a 17-member commission, the Maine Library Commission. The 17 commissioners are appointed by the governor for five-year terms and most represent a specific constituency. The exceptions are the Bangor and Portland area reference and resource center directors who are ex officio members. The commission helps establish guidelines, policies, and rules that govern services other libraries in Maine may receive from the Maine State Library. In furtherance of this, the Maine Library Commission, along with staff of the Maine State Library, established a working strategic plan to help guide the library’s long-term goals. This plan includes a vision statement: “The Maine State Library contributes to the prosperity of the state and the quality of life of its people through access to knowledge, ideas and inspiration” and a mission statement: “The Maine State Library will advance and promote library services and collection resources for all of Maine.”

The Maine State Library is divided primarily into two operating divisions. The Library Development Division provides for the development of all types of libraries throughout the state. Specific programs

include the Maine Regional Library System (consultant services, direct free walk-in service, interlibrary loan, and federal and state aid for public libraries) and special services (books-by-mail, video services, talking books and large-print books, school library/media services, Maine InfoNet, and electronic database licensing).

The Reader and Information Services Division provides for the delivery of quality information, reference, and loan services to state agency personnel and the general public. This includes supporting and complementing the collections of all types of libraries throughout the state. Specific programs include reference, circulation, government documents, collection services, and interlibrary loan.

SERVICES TO LIBRARIES

T

he Maine State Library provides many critical services to Maine libraries. These services help libraries to build their capacity to deliver robust services to their own communities. Although there are many services the public libraries rely upon in their day-to-day work, there are a few that stand out as crucial to their success. The MARVEL! collection of databases, a collaborative project with the University of Maine, Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin colleges, and the Maine Telecommunications Educational Access Fund (MTEAF), is provided to all libraries in the state, giving them all access to more than 60 databases. A van delivery service provides low-cost transportation for the thousands of books that circulate between libraries each year.

The state library provides a number of other services to libraries such as district consultant services, continuing education, and support for small group regional meetings of specialty groups. It also provides technology support for all libraries (e.g., E-rate, automation, and distance learning) and provides funds in support of positions for Maine InfoNet. The state librarian is a permanent member of the InfoNet Board.

SERVICES TO CITIZENS

T

he Maine State Library maintains a core collection and special collections that are available for

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 85

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: What Makes the Maine Sate Library Unique?

the public, with a focus on Maine history and literature. MSL is the primary repository for current and historical state government publications. It houses Gov. Percival Baxter’s papers; Maine town reports (including online access); historical and contemporary maps of the state, counties, and municipalities; an extensive genealogy collection; and microfilm collections of Maine papers, census records, and Sanborn insurance maps.

The Maine State Library operates as a public library, providing a free library card to any Maine resident. Among its many public services, it provides downloadable audio and e-books; has wireless connectivity, public computers, a digital scanning lab, videoconferencing, and equipment for loan; provides online and telephone references for all Maine residents and libraries; and offers classes and other activities, including tours.

SERVICES TO UNDERSERVED CITIZENS

T

he Maine State Library Outreach Services is a member of the Consortia of User Libraries (CUL), which is dedicated to creating a circulation program suited to the unique needs of a library for the blind and physically handicapped. It is the official talking books library for the state of Maine. The talking books program originates at the National Library for the Blind, a division of the Library of Congress. It is available to any resident who is visually and/or physically impaired. Talking books can be loaned to schools with eligible students. Outreach Services also provides largeprint books to libraries for local circulation.

BARD is a national web site that people in the talking books program can use to find books in digital format. These books can then be downloaded to patrons’ computers and then to their digital players.

Institutions can now borrow digital players from MSL. BARD accounts will be approved for institutions in a month or so. Blank cartridges may be purchased from the Perkins School for the Blind or a USB drive may be used. Outreach Services also has the capacity to produce recordings for other state agencies to better serve blind citizens.

The Books by Mail program provides postage-free homebound service to Maine libraries.

86 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

SERVICES TO STATE AGENCIES

S

tate agencies have access to most of the services available to the citizens of the state. Beyond these services, library staff will, upon request, provide in-depth research and consult on information resources and provide news and subject tracking. The Maine State Library houses and makes accessible state documents and works with state agencies to ensure their publications are permanently on record at the state library or via Maine State Documents, a digital repository.

The Maine State Library is unique in the state.

Moreover, across the nation, each version of a state library is special to its location and mission. The services the Maine State Library offers to the public libraries and to the citizens of the state of Maine set it apart and make it indispensable. The library, through its staff, is highly visible throughout the state and adds to the collaborative work that makes library services in Maine responsive to all users. -

Linda Lord has been the Maine State Librarian since 2009. Previously, she served as the instructional technology coordinator for the Maine Department of Education and as a social studies teacher and middle school/high school librarian.

She serves on several American Library Association national committees.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library

Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library

By John Barden

T

he Law and Legislative Reference Library in Augusta is one of the nonpartisan offices of the Maine State Legislature. Its primary mission is to ensure that Maine’s legislators have access to the resources they need to make informed decisions on the matters before them. Beyond that, it serves the legal information needs of the Judicial Branch, Executive Branch agencies, and the citizens of Maine.

Maine’s state collection of legal materials dates back to 1839 when the legislature established the Maine State Library to build a comprehensive law library and collect books about the state’s history and people. The State Library was housed in various rooms of the State House until 1971, when it moved to a newly constructed cultural building. At the same time, the Law Department of the State Library was reconstituted as the Law and Legislative Reference Library and remained in the State Library’s old quarters on the second floor of the State House, its present home.

The Law and Legislative Reference Library (“Law Library,” for short—the full name is a tongue-twister) is the official state law library, and the director serves as state law librarian. There are presently 13 staff members: six professional and seven paraprofessional/ administrative. Several of the staff have been here more than 20 years, and their experience is a major reason for the Law Library’s success in meeting its mission.

There are approximately 109,000 volumes in the collection, including many rare and unique items from the early history of the state, as well as the usual array of treatises, law journals, and codes. We are the only federal depository library in Maine’s capital region. We maintain comprehensive files of Maine’s session laws, revised statutes (i.e., codes), legislative documents (i.e., bills), journals of proceedings, and debates. Our collection of committee files, including copies of committee testimony, dates back to the early 1980s. One of the hallmark collections is the clippings file, going back to the 1960s, containing newspaper articles on legislation, legislators, and matters affecting the legislative process.

Our website has been a major vehicle for reaching out to the public across the state. We feature a “What Is Maine’s Law On...” section that enables people to bypass the reference desk for frequently asked questions. Even more popular are the pages that we add on hot topics such as Maine’s evolving medical marijuana law, the statewide building code, and of course, the state budget.1 We are regularly called upon to provide legislative and statutory histories, which we do not only for legislators and legislative offices but for the courts, members of the Bar, and indeed, for any citizen who requests it. In line with our mission to serve the public, we field reference calls and emails from many citizens and try to connect them with primary legal information that will answer their needs. Many patrons contact us through the “Ask a Law Librarian” reference request form on our web site. We respond to approximately 500 reference requests per month.

The biggest change in our operations in the past few years has been greater intentionality with respect to digitized resources. In the past, we routinely scanned bills, laws, debate, committee files and discarded the files once the materials had been delivered to the persons who requested them. We were frequently scanning the same materials over and over again. About three years ago we developed scanning standards for various resources and started “banking” our scans for reuse. We are also scanning entire runs of heavily requested materials in anticipation of need. The result is a higher-quality electronic product that is often already available when the request is received. We now have more than 1.3 million pages scanned. Recently we

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 87

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library

finished digitizing the entire Laws of Maine back to 1820. We are now scanning the Legislative Record, containing legislative debate back to 1897.

We are currently preparing an interface to make many of these scanned materials available to the public on the Internet. At the same time we are preserving and protecting our unique collection of Maine legislative materials. Feedback on our modest efforts thus far has been tremendous, and we have noted with pleasure the enthusiasm with which the legislature and our other patrons are receiving the results. -

ENDNOTES 1. More information about the Law and Legislative Reference Library may be found at www.maine. gov/legis/lawlib/ or by calling the library at (207) 287-1600 and asking for the reference desk.

John Barden has been director of the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library and state law librarian since January 2008. He was formerly head of reference at the William Taylor Muse Law Library, University of Richmond School of Law.

88 ¡ MAINE POLICY REVIEW ¡ Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Public Libraries and the Immigrant Community

Public Libraries and the Immigrant Community

By Stephen Podgajny

P

learning that are provided in both digital and print form. These libraries also offer public computers, classes, and support services to address digital literacy, and a variety of programs and services to promote financial education.

At both LPL and PPL, the emphasis is on supporting New Mainers’ “integration into American life,” as articulated by the LPL 2008 long-range plan.

The Lewiston Public Library has done outreach with partners to either host or support the library’s efforts, including citizenship classes for adults, library-orientation sessions, and recruitment of representatives from the New Mainer community to serve on the library’s board of trustees. The Portland Public Library hosts a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Immigration Corner. It also holds various cultural events that celebrate and promote the diversity of Portland’s population such as quilts from Zanzibar and other cultures (Inuit Art). The children’s area offers Family Place™ programs that are heavily attended by New Mainer families. The majority of those served by the AARP tax services held weekly for three months at PPL are New Mainers. The Portland Public Library’s most visible welcome sign is the main library’s façade windows on which are etched the word “library” in 16 languages.

ublic libraries have a unique reputation as democratizing and community-building forces that, at the core, rest on being open and welcoming institutions.

Though rules exist concerning borrowing, the use of library materials on site, both in print or digital form, is encouraged and facilitated by the library regardless of cardholder or residency status. It is from this vantage point that public libraries welcome all segments of society including immigrants (or those increasingly referred to as New Mainers).

Maine is commonly called the whitest and oldest state in the nation, and in terms of the general population this is a fair statement. Urban areas of the state such as Lewiston and Portland, with their significant immigrant populations, differ from the overall state profile. These cities face a host of challenges not found elsewhere in the state in providing public services. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 5.7 percent of Lewiston’s population is foreign born while in Portland it is 10.6 percent.

In Portland more than 60 different languages are spoken by students in the public schools. In a state with slow population growth, New Mainers increasingly are recognized as a significant asset as Maine attempts to position itself as a participant in global economic, cultural, and educational activity.

The Lewiston Public Library (LPL) and Portland Public Library (PPL) have common strategies in serving the immigrant community. Some Multilingual sign on the façade of the Portland Public Library. examples include collections that address language View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 89

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Public Libraries and the Immigrant Community

Maine’s public libraries are resource challenged.

However, their unique community role enables them to leverage resources through partnerships with schools, businesses, and other nonprofits to help fulfill some of the potential that each New Mainer inherently possesses and has to offer to our communities to enrich our global understanding and economic and cultural creativity. Steve Podgajny has served as a public librarian for 35 years, the last 32 as a director. Since 2006, he has served as the executive director of the Portland Public Library, Maine’s most heavily used cultural institution with more than 666,000 visits each year.

90 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Family Place Libraries

Family Place Libraries™

By Deanna Gouzie

F

amily Place Libraries™ are part of a national initiative that has redefined library service to children by expanding the traditional role of the library and recognizing that libraries play a crucial role in helping to build healthy families and community. There are currently 300 sites in 23 states across the nation and 12 in Maine.

A Family Place Library is a center for early childhood information, parent education, emergent literacy, socialization, and family support. This family-centered approach is a shift for some libraries, which previously may have focused mainly on services for the child. To become a Family Place Library, staff must complete the Family Place training and implement core components of the program. These components are a five-week parent/child workshop; a specially designed space; developmentally appropriate programming; collections of developmentally appropriate books, toys, videos, music, and other materials; access to resources that emphasize emergent literacy, reading readiness, and parent education; and outreach to new and underserved populations.

At McArthur Public Library, located in Biddeford, Maine, we received a grant to implement the program.

With grant monies and training, we were able to redesign the library environment to be more welcoming and appropriate for children beginning at birth.

Additionally, we have found creative ways to connect parents with resources, programs and services of which they may not have been aware.

The most popular component at the McArthur Public Library has been the parent/child workshop.

The program runs for five consecutive weeks and happens at least twice per year. The workshop is essentially a playgroup—with a twist. In addition to welldesigned, age-appropriate toys, books, and art materials,

we invite a resource professional to each session. Guests have included a nutritionist, speech therapist, pediatric nurse, and other professionals with information relevant to parents of young children. We briefly introduce them at the start of the program to explain what their area of expertise is and invite parents to talk with them if they have questions. Then the play begins! Often, we see the resource professional down on the floor playing alongside the children. This informal environment is nonthreatening and allows parents the opportunity to chat casually about concerns they may have about their children’s development. Putting parents in touch with these professionals raises awareness about what resources are available in their community, presents possible early intervention opportunities, and puts many minds at ease.

In addition to all of the other benefits of the program, parents are making connections with each other. The arrival of a new baby signals a complete change in lifestyle and while the first year of a new baby’s life is one of the most special, it’s also one of the toughest times for parents. I hear from parents all the time how isolated they feel. Having a place to go and socialize with other parents can be empowering as parents become support for one another. The hope is to create networks that families need to nurture their child’s development during the first critical years of life and help ensure all children enter school ready and able to learn. Becoming a real “Family Place” has helped us discover how we can expand and connect our services to become a true community hub. -

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Deanna Gouzie is the children’s librarian at the McArthur Public Library in Biddeford, Maine. She has been working with children and families in libraries for 15 years.

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 91

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Homeschoolers and Public Libraries

Homeschoolers and Public Libraries: A Synergistic Relationship

By Cynthia Jennings

I

n 2010, a study done by the national Home Education Research Institute reported that an estimated 2.04 million American children were schooled at home, with a projected growth rate of two to eight percent each year (Ray 2011). The 2012 statistics indicate 49.8 million children are enrolled in American public schools; therefore, potentially more than four percent of children are homeschooled. These families inherently understand the fundamental role a public library plays within their community. As a former home educator myself, and director of the Old Town Public Library, I have experienced first-hand how libraries and homeschoolers work together in a creative, productive, highly innovative, and mutually beneficial manner.

Homeschoolers are commonly heavy users of their local libraries. Statistics show that more than 78 percent of home educators use the public library as their primary resource for curriculum supported materials (Princiotta and Bielick 2006). Often relying on a single income for one parent to be the primary educator, these families typically operate on a shoestring. Defying the great “socialization” myth, homeschooling families are far from insulated from the world. They spend many hours in their communities, and they are definitely in our libraries. In Old Town we see homeschoolers walking through our doors on a weekly, if not daily, basis, to take full advantage of the library’s collections, programming, and meeting spaces.

92 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

So, how do libraries become educational “hubs” for homeschoolers? They develop programs and services to support this burgeoning population by • Offering science fairs, spelling bees, book clubs, specialized story hours, technology workshops, tours and scavenger hunts to explore the library’s resources • Connecting homeschooling families with local experts and offering meeting spaces for music, science, and art classes • Tailoring programming to serve children of varying ages, as homeschoolers are not tied to age-specific activities • Using local homeschooling discussion lists to better inform librarians about trends and resources; and, as a venue to promote library services • Providing links on the library’s web site to state law guidelines, testing information, homeschooling publishers, government resources, homeschooling listservs, homework help sites, and legal information • Considering homeschoolers’ needs when creating policy for loan periods, item limits, fines and fees, meeting spaces, and purchasing to support curriculum • Promoting community-wide recognition for student work through displays, art shows, or project fairs • Developing annual events that enable families to share ideas, review/sell curriculum, supplies, educational materials, and perform portfolio reviews.

Homeschoolers are resourceful, independent, insightful, and energetic library patrons who in their own way have much to offer their public library.

While some may argue that home-educated children save American taxpayers upwards of $16 billion by not attending publicly funded schools, I would remind home educators that their tax dollars do support municipal budgets, through which many public

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Homeschoolers and Public Libraries

libraries are funded. Their advocacy is crucial in urging lawmakers to support these vital institutions in their communities. Libraries also rely on homeschooling families to • Serve on friends groups and/or library boards

Cynthia Jennings is the director of the Old Town Public Library. She helped found the HOOT (Homeschoolers of Old

• Volunteer regularly to help with daily library functions or special programming

Town) homeschooling

• Be instrumental in helping with strategic planning and library advocacy

a staunch supporter of their

• Help arrange for, and facilitate, programming specifically designed for homeschoolers

within the community.

group in 2007 and has been activities at the library and

• Assist in writing state and federal grants to fund programs and purchase materials As a former home educator, I am certain it would have been impossible to educate my children without the wealth of resources available at our public library.

As a public library director, I believe the energy and vibrant curiosity that home-educated children have, and the commitment and support their parents contribute, make libraries a better place for all. -

REFERENCES Princiotta, Daniel and Stacey Bielick. 2006.

Homeschooling in the United States: 2003. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, NCES 2006-042, Washington, DC. http://nces.ed.gov/Pubsearch/pubsinfo. asp?pubid=2006042 [Accessed April 1, 2013] Ray, Brian D. 2011. 2.04 Million Homeschool Students in the United States in 2010. National Home Education Research Institute, Salem, OR. http:// www.nheri.org/research/nheri-news/homeschoolpopulation-report-2010.html [Accessed April 1, 2013]

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 93

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: “Lawyers in Libraries”

“Lawyers in Libraries”: A New Approach to Access to Justice in Maine

by Hon. Andrew M. Mead

J

ustice is a challenging concept to define. Most people define it as a result—when something bad happens to an evildoer, justice is done. However, this definition resembles more closely the concepts of vengeance and retribution. Reasonable people frequently disagree over whether a particular result constitutes, or does not constitute, true justice. The continuing debate on the question of whether the death penalty constitutes justice demonstrates the unworkability of equating justice with a result.

In fact, justice is not a result. It is a process. If a dispute is capably and fully presented to and resolved by a qualified and impartial decision maker, justice occurs. Conversely, if a decision maker is biased or incompetent, or if the facts are not fully presented, or presented in an inadequate fashion, justice has not occurred. In either instance, the result is not the measurement or the test. The process of how the matter was presented and resolved determines whether justice has occurred.

Any discussion of justice must include the positive contribution that lawyers can make to the process.

Due to economic and/or geographic barriers, many people are unable to obtain the services of a lawyer to assist them in their legal affairs. They set off to navigate the often complex and confusing world of law by themselves. Over the years, we have learned that many Maine citizens use their local public libraries in their attempt to conduct their own legal research. As a result, 94 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

librarians are frequently called upon to provide assistance with legal research or even legal advice. Although librarians have undertaken such tasks with tremendous good will, they would definitely welcome the involvement of lawyers.

Although the courts welcome and accommodate self-represented litigants, the prospect of entering the halls of justice without counsel can be daunting or even overwhelming for many. The concepts of access to justice and access to counsel are clearly conjoined.

Maine lawyers have been nationally recognized for their willingness to contribute their time and talents to assisting Maine’s underrepresented citizens.

The Volunteer Lawyers Project (the VLP) is a prime example of this public spirit. In addition to operating legal clinics and referral services at various locations within the state, the VLP has undertaken a partnership with public libraries in Maine to present legal clinics at the libraries on subjects such as family law, end-of-life issues, consumer law, and veterans’ legal issues. The clinics are broadcast to locations throughout the state via videoconferencing. The program effectively incorporates technology to deliver valuable information to a wide range of people in a broad geographic spread.

By mid-2013, the program’s organizers hope to add desktop-computer conferencing between lawyers and individuals at remote locations to the existing range of services they deliver. However, despite the growth of programs such as the VLP’s library initiative, many people remain unaware of where to find these free and discounted-rate legal resources.

These circumstances helped inspire the creation of the Maine Collaboration on Technology, Innovation, and Access to Justice (the Collaboration), a network of lawyers, legal assistance organizations, libraries, and other organizations dedicated to access to justice for all of Maine’s citizens. The Collaboration, which operates under the auspices of the Maine Justice Action Group, seeks to share the resources and address the needs of its various members in collaborative and symbiotic ways.

On Law Day (May 1) 2013, the Collaboration will undertake an unprecedented initiative to link unrepresented individuals with legal resources and representation. Volunteer lawyers will be present at selected Maine public libraries at specified times to meet with members of the public. These lawyers will

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: “Lawyers in Libraries”

discuss issues involving access to justice and provide information on how free or low-cost representation can be obtained in Maine. For those who may not qualify for free or reduced-rate legal assistance, information will also be provided on “unbundled” legal services, whereby lawyers can be retained at reasonable rates for limited representation or services. At some locations, individual consultations may be available.

In an ideal society, all members would have unfettered access to legal assistance, and thus access to justice. While that lofty goal may be out of reach at present, the Law Day 2013 Lawyers in Libraries initiative is an enormous step in the right direction.1 -

ENDNOTES 1. The Collaboration welcomes the involvement of lawyers, libraries, and individuals or organizations interested in access to justice in the ongoing activities of the Collaboration. Inquiries should be directed to Caroline Wilshusen at cwilshusen@mbf. org.

Andrew M. Mead is an associate justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. He currently serves as co-chair of the Maine Justice Action Group Collaboration on Innovation, Technology and Equal Access to Justice, which includes the Maine State Bar Association, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Maine public libraries, the Volunteer Lawyers Project, and other organizations dedicated to the cause of access to justice.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 95

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Summertime, and the Library Is Easy

By Steve Norman

L

ibraries in Maine are wild places during the summer. Unlike libraries in some other parts of the country where hours of operation get pared back for the summer, most libraries in Maine are way busier in the hazy, crazy, hot months than in the rest of the year.

Why? At least a big part of the reason is summer people.

At the Belfast Free Library, we can tell what week it is by the reappearance of familiar faces, people who have returned to the Midcoast and our library every summer for decades, like swallows to Capistrano.

“Ah! You’re back! Welcome!” we say.

Naturally, they come to us for books. Books by Maine authors or with Maine themes are especially popular with summer visitors for beach and frontporch reading. Children’s books are another big hit.

But summer people also come for the many cultural programs, author lectures, book discussion groups, movie series, art exhibits, the summer reading program and other special programs A crowd gathers for the dedication of the Squirrel Island Library on August 8, 1904.

The library and a pilot collection of 4,000 volumes were the gift of philanthropist for children, and someAlbert H. Davenport of Malden, Massachusetts, owner and director of one of the times even to do research. country’s leading furniture manufacturers, and a summer resident and benefactor Computing services are a of Squirrel Island since 1887. The island, off the coast near Boothbay Harbor, was major attraction, too. incorporated as a summer colony in 1870.

96 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

Stanley Museum

Summertime, and the Library Is Easy…

Travelers and summer people visit the library to check email, make reservations, print boarding passes, and so on. A sure sign that the library is closed (say, on a Sunday afternoon) is the sprinkling of people sprawled on the lawn or camped out in the back garden or front patio with laptops plugged in to use the library’s WiFi connection.

Besides serving the perennial summer people, Maine’s libraries also can delight the casual seasonal passersby. For instance, last summer—as part of the Belfast library’s 125th anniversary celebration—a concert (along with birthday cupcakes!) was presented by the local duo Tango on an early Friday evening on the library patio adjacent to one of the main downtown streets. The look of astonishment on the faces of people who stumbled onto this marvelous performance was priceless. No doubt, other libraries in Maine can report similar stories of wonder and amazement.

Several Maine libraries show movies outdoors on summer nights. The Camden Public Library has programs in the amphitheater in its beautiful harbor

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Summertime, and the Library Is Easy

park that slopes down to the bay. (The Camden amphitheatre and public library was recently [2013] selected as a new national historic landmark.) The Blue Hill Public Library sponsors a major art auction as a fundraiser. The Freeport Community Library, appropriately for the hometown of L.L. Bean, checks out fishing gear.

Libraries often schedule their big annual book sales to allow summer people to participate and to boost sales.

Summer camps take trips to town to the library.

Boaters moored at harbors and passengers from cruise ships anchored for an afternoon come to libraries.

Crews from ships docked for repairs use libraries.

A few summers ago when it seemed that the rain in Maine would never stop, libraries were one of the few dry places to settle in while the deluge continued.

Libraries were practically wall-to-wall people. Floor space and electrical outlets were at a premium.

Clearly, summer people receive valued services from Maine’s libraries—but, notably, they provide much of value in return to communities and libraries.

Undeniably, summer people are vitally important to the local economies. Summer people also are often generous donors to libraries in Maine. And summer people are frequently highly skilled individuals (writers, artists, musicians, teachers, scholars), looking for opportunities to be useful and volunteering in ways that are helpful beyond measure. Further, many a summer person has chosen to relocate permanently to Maine, more than once citing an excellent library as one of the compelling reasons—which, as it turns out, is good for Maine’s libraries, its economy and its civic fabric. Steve Norman has been director of the Belfast Free Library since 2001. Before that, he directed public libraries elsewhere in Maine and in Wisconsin.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 97

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Local History

Local History: A Gateway to 21st Century Communities

By Stephen Bromage

B

roadband infrastructure is emerging as the essential and defining public utility for the 21st century.

Like water and electricity a century ago, the flow of digital information, still in its infancy, is reshaping virtually every aspect of our social, educational, cultural, and economic lives. The inevitable arrival of (near) universal broadband access will facilitate the continued transformation of work patterns and industries, education and entertainment, social relationships, and where and how we access information. It will also heighten the public’s need for access to digital resources, training, reliable guidance, and context. While it often seems as if the changes wrought by the digital age play out beyond our control, the impact is felt and experienced locally. This presents a unique opportunity for museums and libraries in Maine. By identifying where their communities are vulnerable, where they are poised to thrive, and mobilizing around the needs and opportunities presented by the digital age, museums and libraries can play a vital role in ushering their communities into the 21st century.

THE GROUNDWORK: BUILDING DIGITALLY INCLUSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE

M

aine has made a pioneering investment in digital infrastructure over the past 15 years. The initial results are suggestive and point to the opportunities and value created within digitally prepared communities. Three particular investments are worth noting that have helped set the stage for the work we at Maine Historical Society (MHS) are doing to help communities build capacity through the exploration and sharing of their local history. First, in 1996 the Maine Public Utilities Commission began providing

98 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

broadband access to every public school and library in the state through the Maine School and Library Network (MSLN). Today, MSLN provides internet access to approximately 950 schools and libraries statewide (see Welch, this issue).

Second, in 2001 the Maine Department of Education launched the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI), a program that provides every seventh and eighth grade student in Maine with a laptop computer and provides training and support to their teachers. MLTI was the vision of former Governor [now U.S. Senator] Angus King who saw the program as an opportunity to transform Maine’s education system and prepare students to thrive and be competitive in a rapidly changing world.

Both of those investments support and are reinforced by a third, the Maine Historical Society’s development of the Maine Memory Network (MMN).

Maine Memory was conceived in the late 1990s as an online digital archive whose primary goal was to (radically) expand access to historical collections across the state. Launched in 2001, Maine Memory has evolved into a robust online museum and flexible platform for a wide range of historical interests and activity. It now includes more than 40,000 historical items contributed by 250+ organizations from throughout Maine; hundreds of online exhibits; a comprehensive introduction to Maine history; and much more.

Each of these investments share a core principle: a commitment to inclusion, universal access, and boundary-less participation. All three seek to ensure that even the most remote, economically disadvantaged communities have at least basic access to digital resources, learning, and opportunity. No part of the state, no student, no citizen is expendable.

EXPLORING LOCAL HISTORY, MOBILIZING COMMUNITIES

T

he presence of this infrastructure, its universality, enables us to focus on our programmatic goals— building statewide participation, representation, use, value, and content—rather than wondering whether people can get to and take advantage of Maine Memory. It has enabled extensive collaboration at both state and local levels, and informally, provided

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Local History

a laboratory for exploring the potential social, cultural, and educational impact of technology on communities.

The most remarkable characteristic of Maine Memory is the degree of autonomy it gives local historical societies, museums, libraries, and other contributors in sharing their collections. The Maine Historical Society provides training, support, and the technological infrastructure. “Contributing partners” (CPs) choose what material to share, and then all work is done locally. Contributors select items in their collection; scan or take digital photographs of those items; and through their own (free) MMN account, use a web browser to upload, catalog, and manage the material in MMN. This model recognizes the expertise of local partners, and empowers them to participate and be represented in the telling of Maine history in previously unimagined ways. Still, the process of contributing requires a few essential resources: basic technical skills, access to computer equipment and the Internet, access to and willingness to share historical collections, and time. Most historical societies are eager to contribute, but many need help.

Since Maine Memory’s inception, MHS staff have spent a significant amount of time training local organizations to use and contribute to the site. That experience has enabled us to observe the issues that affect the use of Maine Memory and the ways that communities use and share technology and cultural resources. We soon realized that Maine Memory could serve as a bridge. It was clear that the skills and resources needed to participate existed in every community, but that persistent obstacles made collaboration between local organizations difficult. Historical societies, libraries, and schools, in particular, have clear mutual interest, significant resources to offer each other, and a strong desire to work together. Participation in Maine Memory created opportunities for these organizations to connect, develop relationships, share resources, and learn to work together.

Skowhegan was a key early partner in this work.

From 2004 to 2006, MHS staff helped foster an ongoing partnership between Skowhegan Area Middle School (SAMS) and the Skowhegan History House.

History House staff were eager to participate in Maine Memory, but had limited technology resources and their organization was housed in an unheated building

that is closed in the winter—a typical scenario. SAMS teachers were excited by the prospect of students helping share their town’s history, and eager for students to use their laptops in meaningful ways.

With the support of MHS staff, volunteers from the History House began to regularly bring historic photographs to the school to be scanned by students. Over several years, the students scanned and helped catalog nearly 150 items that are now in Maine Memory, researched and created 15 online exhibits, embarked on a campaign to save a local grange hall, and presented their work at a number of community forums. Students collaborated closely with community members, developed a wide range of skills, and played a significant role in making their town’s history accessible online.

We have since developed and piloted a rigorous program designed to provide local organizations with the support needed to effectively participate in Maine Memory. This program, which includes in-depth training, regional workshops, and when funds are available, small grants, helps libraries, historical societies, and schools to develop local partnerships, share resources, and promote the development of 21st century skills. The opportunities created by participation are described in detail at www.mainememory.net.

Since 2007, we have helped more than 40 communities digitize collections, create online exhibits, and/or build full websites that explore their history. This work has repeatedly drawn national recognition. The Institute for Museum & Library Services (IMLS) recently cited this work as a model for how museums and libraries can serve and engage their communities in its recent report “Museums, Libraries, and 21st Century Skills” (www.imls.gov/about/21stCSkills.shtm). The Maine State Library has been an essential partner in this work, which has been supported primarily by a series of major federal grants.

MOVING TOWARDS A MORE DYNAMIC HISTORY

M

aine Memory is helping MHS reimagine its relationship to the field, the roles that our staff and institution can play, and the very nature of how history is practiced, presented, and engaged in Maine.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 99

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Local History

Maine Memory has given MHS a structured way to share staff expertise, institutional resources, and to broadly support the practice of history across the state.

Through Maine Memory and other activities, MHS is helping lead a fundamental shift in how many people perceive, experience, and contribute to Maine history: we are striving to make Maine history active, participatory, representative, and part of people’s daily lives.

When we think about technology, we often focus on the device, or the impact the device has on our culture. One of the most powerful aspects of technology, though, is the opportunities it provides to bring people together. The act of mobilizing around a local technology project or initiative—whether it relates to history, the environment, economic development, or another local issue—encourages organizations to think beyond their purviews, to find common cause, and to work together to develop capacity and habits of partnership. This process, in fact, creates community.

In Scarborough, 7th and 8th grade students taught senior members of the historical society to Skype so that it would be easier to have weekly conversations about collections and research. In Guilford, a collaboration during the school year turned into a part-time summer job for students helping digitize collections and build a PastPerfect database. In Biddeford, at-risk high school students experienced their first academic success when they were captivated by the story of a Civil War canteen. The activities and experiences described here are the product of digitally prepared communities. They are made possible because museums and libraries have reached out, been open to new approaches, and recognized that technology provides the context for their future.

We hope that you will visit Maine Memory Network, and explore all of the ways that it helps connect Maine. If you find your community there, please reach out to and thank the local organization who made the effort to participate (and for all of the other work they do). If you don’t find your community, consider reaching out to a local historical organization or library and seeing what you can do to support their efforts to make history a dynamic part of your community’s life. -

100 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

REFERENCES Welch, Tom. 2013. "The Maine School and Library Network." Maine Policy Review 22(1): 41–43.

Stephen Bromage is executive director of the Maine Historical Society where he has worked since 2001.

Previously, he was associate director of the online Disability History Museum and helped produce the award-winning NPR documentary “Beyond Affliction: The Disability History Project.”

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Portable Libraries

Portable Libraries

for our users; assuming a leadership role in Portland’s cultural community; and finally transcending the four physical locations of the library by creating a series of deposit collections in collaboration with neighborhood partners, i.e., “portable libraries.” In the ensuing three years, many of the assertions addressing the nature of library organizational change and the need for a new library service delivery model have been proven correct.

By Steve Podgajny As part of its portable library strategy, PPL has installed deposit collections in several locations in the ublic libraries are changing dramatically in the city including the downtown METRO station, Reiche pursuit of increasing their relevancy and improving Community Center in the City’s west end, and now the quality and focus of services to a tremendous range several coffee houses on the Portland peninsula. To of users. The extent of this change is not incremental, further expand the reach of the library, a new bookmobut is in fact transformational in its scope, with its bile (see photo), funded in part by KeyBank, was unveiled this spring. Able to house 1,500 items, it provides wireless access for technology instruction and for staff to issue cards and manage patron service. Roof-mounted solar panels provide backup power.

The bookmobile has identified 23 stops initially and will work with partners to identify at-risk neighborhoods.

As part of Portland’s newly established ConnectEd collaboration, the library is working with partners to address the “summer slide” phenomenon when children lose momentum in development of reading and math skills. The goal will Booklovers Library wagon, Portland, ca. 1902. This was a subscription be nothing short of establishing lifelong library, located at 537 Congress Street in 1902–03 and in 1904 moved to 534 Congress Street.

Maine Historical Society

P

pace being accelerated through developments in technology, higher user expectations, fiscal stress, and information industry realities. The Portland Public Library (PPL) is fully affected by and engaged in this environment of required adaptation but also of opportunity.

In the spring of 2010 faced with severe funding challenges, PPL conceived a new service strategy in a white paper, Beyond the Walls: A library Service Model for Portland, Maine. The service strategy contained provisions for surveying the community; refocusing staff skills and energy toward the needs of identified users by creating service teams; creating quality environments (physical, digital, and outreach)

Portland’s new bookmobile, 2013.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 101

LIBRARIES IN THE COMMUNITY: Portable Libraries

reading relationships with children, families, and individuals, to “Create a City of Readers.” The bookmobile will also visit Southern Maine Library District (SMLD) libraries in York, Cumberland, and part of Oxford County annually.

The bookmobile will also serve as a method for delivering the programs of PPL’s Constituency Service Teams, which are Business & Government, Children, City of Readers, Cultural Center, Health, Portland History, Science & Technology, and Teens.

Responsibilities of the teams include collection development in all formats, programming, staff development, promotion, partnership development, and community outreach. The major bookmobile use will be by the City of Readers Team to empower, encourage, and provide opportunity to every resident of Portland—of all ages—to read.

The portable library concept whether it is through deposit collections or a bookmobile lending materials or delivering programs is founded on a simple idea: take the library to the people—where they work, live, recreate, and do business. Steve Podgajny has served as a public librarian for 35 years, the last 32 as a director. Since 2006, he has served as the executive director of the Portland Public Library, Maine’s most heavily used cultural institution with more than 666,000 visits each year.

102 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Coburn Hall, University of Maine, built in 1888, was named after Governor Abner Coburn who donated $100,000 to found a library and finance the building’s construction.

Students study in Coburn Hall, which served as the University’s library from 1888 to 1907. The building housed classroom and administrative office space for the president, as well as the library.

Andrew Carnegie donated $50,000 to construct Carnegie Hall as the campus library in 1907, the first University of Maine building whose primary purpose was to support library services. It was one of Maine’s five academic and 18 public libraries funded by Carnegie. In 1947 the library moved to what is now the Raymond H. Fogler Library.

The Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine, was completed in 1947. In 1963, it became a regional depository site for government documents and a new addition was completed in 1974 to accommodate the library’s growing collection. Fogler is the largest research library in the state.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 103

Challenges and Opportunities

Libraries in Maine and elsewhere face challenges ranging from digital literacy and first amendment rights to governance, funding, and potential disasters. There are also exciting new opportunities related to new technologies and the digital “revolution.”

Two articles provide insights on some of the issues around digital and information literacy and what kinds of policies and programs are needed to address deficiencies: Marijke Visser looks at digital literacy and public policy from the library perspective, while Debe Averill and Nancy Lewis consider digital and information literacy of high school and college students. Elizabeth Reisz examines critical issues facing K–12 school libraries at a time of decreasing budgets but increasing recognition of the need for libraries and the skills librarians bring to 21st century education. Melora Norman reviews the history and challenges faced by libraries in dealing with citizen first amendment rights to freedom of speech, freedom to receive information, and privacy. Barbara McDade’s article looks at the varied ways Maine public libraries are governed and funded, and the sustainability challenges they face. Joyce Rumery and Tom Abbott in their interview with Linda Silka describe their experiences when they helped libraries devastated by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and how Maine libraries might prepare for disasters. Two articles on opportunities are featured: Clem Guthro describes the national, collaborative effort to establish the “Digital Public Library of America;” Joyce Rumery discusses the opportunities presented by participation in the “Digital Commons,” a national online service (institutional repository) that allows institutions to highlight the work of faculty and students and to provide a medium for managing and preserving items such as materials from special collections.

104 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013



View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Literacy and Public Policy

Digital Literacy and Public Policy through the Library Lens

By Marijke Visser

WHY DIGITAL LITERACY, WHY LIBRARIES?

V

irtually every aspect of our lives now has a digital dimension. Our first interaction with an employer is often online; our education may occur online; we may collaborate online with colleagues in different countries; and we often take care of personal business or keep in touch with family and friends online. It is essential that everyone has the skills necessary to be part of this digital reality. In the last several years, national policymakers have begun linking policy goals with the assumption that the workforce will be prepared with 21st century skills. At the same time, policymakers realize a significant portion of the population does not have these skills and that this an issue that needs to be addressed. Therefore they are drafting policies that focus on improving digital literacy.

Twenty-first century digital literacy skills are the keystone to educational achievement, economic development, and workforce readiness. More than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies post their job openings online only and require online applications. Fifty percent of today’s jobs require some technology skills and this percentage is expected to grow to 77 percent in the next decade. Additionally, civic and political participation and use of government services increasingly require proficiency with the online world. For example, individuals who use social media for such activity are 96 percent more likely to participate in offline civic activities and 67 percent more likely to

contact public officials (Rainie 2011). As government services and information migrate online, the ability to successfully navigate often complex web sites and online systems determines if a person will be able to apply for government assistance, schedule a meeting with immigration officials, or download tax forms.

In Maine, unemployment benefits were recently made available online through its unemployment web site.

The web site encourages people to file online, and for those individuals who do not have access to a computer at home, the web site steers them to a career center or a local library. This is true nationwide for a growing number of government services and transactions.

In today’s world, remaining offline is not a viable option. When one-third of the population does not have a home broadband connection and 22 percent of these individuals say they lack skills to use a computer or the Internet, a significant portion of the population is in danger of being cut out of the opportunities enabled by broadband. Those with limited access to technologies or limited digital literacy skills are at a social and economic disadvantage that is an immediate public policy concern.

America’s libraries have a proud history in promoting literacy along with the expertise to support digital literacy efforts nationwide. Libraries serve individuals of all ages, income levels, and ethnicities. They are the quintessential community information hub. Librarians work in collaboration with educators across the preschool-to-higher-education continuum and in the public realm in wideranging and significant ways to provide digital literacy instruction and support in local communities.

Libraries also make strong partners with other community-based organizations, local government agencies, and small businesses to help sustain and advance community interests and goals.

Local libraries are engaged in a variety of digital literacy programs and training, often in collaboration with these community partners. Libraries report an increase in demand for training and are increasing the number of training opportunities related to highdemand topics such as job-seeking and career-related activities, online investment information, and training in the use of social networking tools. These programs, whether formal classes or one-on-one help, are in high

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 105

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Literacy and Public Policy

Defining Digital Literacy While there is no standard definition of digital literacy, there are common concepts that are included in the definitions used by educators, community-based organizations, technologyfocused institutions, and policymakers. The overriding issue is that digital literacy is a much broader concept than mastery of basic technical and Internet search skills. The American Library Association (ALA) has found that (1) digital literacy must include mastery of foundational literacy, and (2) digital literacy skills change as technology changes.

ALA defines digital literacy as: the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.

Further a digitally literate person: • Possesses the variety of skills—technical and cognitive—required to find, understand, evaluate, create, and communicate digital information in a wide variety of formats • Is able to use diverse technologies appropriately and effectively to retrieve information, interpret results, and judge the quality of that information • Understands the relationship between technology, life-long learning, personal privacy, and stewardship of information

From the perspective of the highly connected, adding digital components to everyday tasks such as moving the job application process online can seem easy and efficient. Yet, for the more than one-third of the U.S. population without regular Internet access or fundamental digital literacy skills this is often an overwhelming challenge. In fact, lack of digital literacy skills is often identified as the main barrier to adopting broadband service at home (Horrigan 2010).

Not surprisingly, the percentage of individuals without a home connection is highest for populations living in traditionally underserved urban and rural communities. These individuals may be further challenged with lower incomes, less formal education, and other barriers to accessing digital technologies.

“Digital Differences,” a 2012 report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, explains that, “Senior citizens, those who prefer to take our surveys in Spanish rather than English, adults with less than a high school education, and those living in households earning less than $30,000 per year are the least likely adults to have Internet access” (Zickuhr and Smith 2012: 2). Furthermore, of adults living with disabilities 54 percent (compared to 81 percent of adults not living with disabilities) report being online (Zickuhr and Smith 2012).

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

• Uses these skills and the appropriate technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, colleagues, family, and on occasion, the general public • Uses these skills to actively participate in civic society and contribute to a vibrant, informed, and engaged community (ALA 2012a: 1)

demand, and libraries are working to build capacity to enhance these services. In rural areas, where the library may provide the only no-fee public access to the Internet, the library plays an even more significant role in connecting people who have low-bandwidth or no home Internet access.

106 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

DIGITAL DIVIDE/DIGITAL INCLUSION

T

he John S. and James L. Knight Foundation took an early interest in digital and media literacy, viewing the issue through the unique lens of ensuring communities have access to a variety of information sources.

In 2009, the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy made policy recommendations that included integrating digital and media literacy for education at all levels and urging funding and support for public libraries as centers of digital and media training (Knight Commission 2009).

The foundation has since made significant investments in their target communities to increase the capacity of institutions, including libraries, to create innovative programs that also provide digital literacy training to support healthy and engaged communities.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Literacy and Public Policy

The federal government also identified digital literacy as a key component to addressing the digital divide and the resulting societal issues. In 2009 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly referred to as “the stimulus,” infused the economy with $7.2 billion to expand access to broadband services.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in the U.S. Department of Commerce, received $4.7 billion to expand broadband infrastructure, increase public access to computing centers, and encourage broadband adoption among individual consumers. Libraries across the country have received funding, most often for enhancing their public computing centers and through the state library agency as the grant applicant.

NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) created three programs to promote broadband access across the country. Of these, the library community has benefited the most from the Public Computing Center program whose goal was to establish new or enhance existing facilities that provide broadband access to the public. All of the library public computing center projects have a significant digital literacy component in the form of formal training classes, open lab time, one-on-one support, and in some instances bringing mobile computer labs out into the community. Many of these projects focus their digital literacy training on job training and readiness and continuing or distance education. In Maine, BTOP funding has provided a major expansion in equipment available to libraries, along with training and outreach to job seekers and small businesses.

(Janet McKenney’s article in this issue provides additional information on the BTOP program in Maine.)

To ascertain community impact of the BTOP projects, NTIA commissioned a four-year evaluation study.

The researchers identified five focus areas on which to base their evaluation: workforce and economic development; education and training; healthcare; quality of life and civic engagement; and digital literacy. Of these focus areas, the interim report states that digital literacy is “fundamental to all the others” and was the most common service offered. The preliminary research also found that the majority of 65 Public Computing Center projects are located in libraries (ASR Analytics 2012: 11–12). To date, community impact remains

anecdotal as the BTOP projects are winding down, but libraries that enhanced or implemented digital literacy programs report significant community participation and support. The current focus of the libraries— without exception—is how to sustain the investments in time, physical additions, resources, and partnerships when the BTOP funds are expended.

In tandem with the stimulus program, in 2010 the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) also highlighted the need for people to build the skills necessary to take advantage of the opportunities made possible by broadband networks and online resources. According to the NBP, 22 percent of individuals who do not subscribe to broadband cite the lack of digital literacy skills as the primary factor that prevents them from adopting broadband services (FCC 2010).

The NBP broadly recommends that stakeholders form partnerships across private, non-profit, and philanthropic organizations that are supported by a commitment from the federal government and commitments to addressing the issues through state and local action. Specifically, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the federal agency that focuses on library issues, and NTIA are called to build capacity of libraries and community organizations that provide digital literacy programs to the public.

The IMLS, together with the University of Washington and the International City/County Management Association, consulted with hundreds of community members and experts over 18 months to identify action steps and a framework for building digital inclusive communities. The result is Building Digital Communities: A Framework for Action (Institute of Museum and Library Services 2012).

Digital literacy is one of seven principles of digital inclusion.

As part of the development of the framework, which includes a digital literacy component, IMLS held three state forums, one of which was in Bangor in the fall of 2011. These public forums were attended by a wide variety of community stakeholders including city managers, mayors, K–12 educators, health professionals, librarians, local business owners, and community volunteers. A separate leadership forum brought together community leaders who would be best positioned to

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 107

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Literacy and Public Policy

support the implementation of the proposed framework. The Maine State Library was instrumental in organizing the Bangor forum. Of the framework principles discussed, both education and digital literacy ranked as significant areas of concern in Bangor.

Both the FCC and NTIA also initiated efforts in 2011 to support digital literacy. In collaboration with ten other federal agencies, NTIA launched the online portal DigitalLiteracy.gov to provide trainers in libraries and other community-based organizations with links to wide-ranging digital literacy resources and a community of practice to support their work. Organizations, including libraries, providing digital literacy training or related programs are encouraged to contribute and rate content to continually improve the portal.

In October 2011, the FCC kicked off a publicprivate partnership branded “Connect2Compete.”

Modeled after Comcast’s Internet Essentials, launched as part of the Comcast NBC merger requirement in 2011, the initiative brings together low-cost computers and Internet access, micro-credit, educational and workforce-related digital content and digital literacy resources. Families with at least one school-age child eligible for free lunch through the National School Lunch Program are eligible to apply for low-cost hardware and connectivity. A public web site, currently under development, will provide a locator tool to help people to find libraries and other community organizations that provide digital literacy instruction, and also provide links to online training resources.

DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMS IN LIBRARIES

A

merica’s libraries and librarians are on the frontlines of digital literacy and digital inclusion efforts nationwide. There are approximately 17,000 public library buildings, 99,000 K–12 school libraries, and 3,800 college and university libraries in the United States. These libraries are staffed by approximately 150,000 librarians and provide access to technology resources and services, along with robust and relevant collections of electronic and print materials.

Libraries serve as information hubs, conveners, and collaborators within their educational and community contexts. Librarians also constitute a valuable digital literacy asset. Libraries in communities across

108 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

the country provide the public with a “triple play” of resources: (1) facilities and physical access to technology infrastructure; (2) a wealth of electronic content; and (3) staffing by information professionals trained to help people to find and use the information most relevant to their needs. Libraries already engaged in digital literacy and technology training report that the most successful programs combine formal and informal training and allow for opportunities for learners to practice their newly acquired skills.

Additionally, librarians report the most successful classes do not teach these skills in isolation, but link them to specific outcomes such as employment or financial literacy.

TABLE 1:

Maine Public Library Technology Landscape in 2011–2012 Maine

U.S.

Provide no-fee access to computers and the Internet in local community

76.6%

62.1%

Offer public access to wireless connection

93.1%

90.5%

Offer technology training (formal classes and/or informal assistance)

82.2%

90.5%

Provide assistance to patrons in how to access and use e-government web sites

93.0%

91.8%

Help patrons complete online job applications

77.2%

76.0%

Provide access to job-related resources

85.3%

92.2%

Source: ALA (2012b)

The vital role libraries have in connecting community members with needed resources and information was formally acknowledged in 2010 with a Training and Employment Notice from the U.S. Department of Labor to local workforce agencies, which encouraged them to partner with public libraries to extend their career and employment services, known as One-Stop Career Centers, to job seekers and unemployed workers. Among the highlighted benefits One-Stops

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Literacy and Public Policy

receive from this partnership are the longer library hours (beyond One-Stop office hours), better access and assistance, and the ability for parents to work on their job search while children are engaged in productive activities.

Today, Maine libraries are partnering with local career centers to coordinate training for online benefit applications through the library and through online resources made possible by the Maine State Library’s Information Commons. The state library’s Information Commons project has forged partnerships with the Maine Department of Labor and workforce investment boards, which increased the scale of community impact for both the library and the local agency outlets.

“Lawyers in Libraries” is another example of a budding partnership between Maine’s libraries and community-based organizations. Maine libraries are providing their communities with videoconferencing technologies; people can attend a real-time legal clinic from a remote location and ask questions of an attorney. Clinics are topical, covering such areas as safe consumer spending over the holidays and end-of-life issues. Open to all residents of Maine, these virtual legal clinics are especially focused on bringing needed help to Maine’s rural residents. Residents may also come to the library to set up free private consultations with volunteer attorneys using the video conferencing resources. (See article by Mead, this issue, for more detail on the “lawyers in libraries” projects.)

Partnerships such as these Maine examples are a critical way to expand the resources and reach of organizations, especially in the current fiscal climate in states across the country (www.maine.gov/msl/commons).

As in Maine, state library agencies nationwide serve as an important conduit to local libraries. These agencies provide support services to local libraries, pool resources that smaller, rural libraries would not otherwise have, and serve as a link between other state agencies or in the case of current digital literacy initiatives, for national programs. Because libraries differ widely between and within states, having a state-level agency available for national organizations or government agencies to work through increases the likelihood that programs are successful. As national and state policies are implemented, libraries must continue to be “at the table” developing strategies and support mechanisms to

Libraries Support Job Seekers • 30 million library users went to the library for employment activities in 2010 • 76 percent of these searched for jobs • 68 percent of these applied for a job or submitted a resume • 33 percent secured an interview • 16 percent were eventually hired (Becker et al. 2010)

create digitally inclusive communities. Libraries are positioned at the digital literacy intersection—linked with government, education, and the public.

Libraries are especially adept at not only teaching patrons the skills they need to solve immediate problems, but also helping individuals to develop the ability to transfer skills and build on them so they are better prepared for future changes in technology.

Often community members come to the library to solve a specific need at a specific moment: someone needs to fill out a job application and submit it online, but does not have an email account nor know how to attach a document to an email; or someone has been told to renew her immigration status, but does not know how to find the forms on the government web site. Providing contextualized and relevant training creates an entree for the person seeking specific help to be introduced to the idea of participating in a class on basic skills needed for employment, for example, that would reinforce the informal experience and broaden that individual’s perception of the value of using online technology.

Not only does informal training often open a door to deeper training, it allows new users to practice skills in a way that is personally relevant. Libraries consistently report that providing support for their patrons to be able to do a specific task online (e.g., apply for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, fill out immigration forms, monitor a child’s progress in school, renew certifications for work) is a critical daily task for librarians and library staff.

Libraries with BTOP projects have reported they are offering staffed lab time for people to practice newly

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 109

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Literacy and Public Policy

acquired skills or time for those who need extra support learning a particular skill.

Successful formal classes are also often topical.

For example, libraries might teach basic computer skills in a class where the participants learn to clip coupons and teach Internet search skills by planning for a trip. At the Bangor Public Library, for example, “Facebook for Seniors” is geared toward connecting older adults with family and friends so that seniors are not isolated. These classes are staffed with trained instructors who can provide the additional necessary support for people trying a new technology. Reluctant users are often encouraged to adopt broadband-enabled technology after experiencing these personally relevant interactions at their libraries.

Despite real challenges, librarians are tenacious and continue to develop innovative digital literacy services and resources through partnerships....

BUILDING LIBRARY CAPACITY

Nationally, about 35 percent of all libraries offer one-on-one training by appointment and approximately 83 percent offer informal, point-of-use training support (ALA 2012c: 25). Many libraries develop a suite of digital literacy training programs that encompass formal classes, staffed lab time, one-on-one training by appointment, and training options held offsite sponsored and managed by the library. Library staff determine which model best addresses community needs and design a comprehensive program that can be adjusted to ensure the program remains relevant and reaches targeted populations.

CHALLENGES TO MEET THE DEMANDS

I

n the current economic climate, libraries, like other community organizations, face significant obstacles in building capacity necessary to meet

110 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

growing demands for digital literacy training, as well as to sustain current investments in such programs.

Libraries consistently identify three challenges: limited staff, inadequate staff training, and insufficient public computer terminals. Staffing concerns are among the most critical and include staffing to manage volunteer recruitment efforts. Many libraries are suffering budget cuts that further constrain their capacity to provide critical support in their communities Though all public libraries have seen an increase in patron demand for digital literacy training, there is a divide between what urban and rural libraries experience. Rural libraries, accounting for more than half of all U.S. public libraries, find it challenging to provide adequate technology training. About 32 percent of rural libraries, as compared to 63.2 percent of urban libraries, provide formal technology training classes (ALA 2012d). This difference is due in part to limitations of facility size, available public computers, and available staffing and staff expertise. However, the disparity between urban and rural libraries is not as great for libraries reporting informal point-of-use training, with about 80 percent of rural libraries offering such training and 85 percent of urban libraries reporting doing so (ALA 2012c).

D

espite real challenges, librarians are tenacious and continue to develop innovative digital literacy services and resources through partnerships with community-based organizations, local government agencies, other libraries and educational organizations, and local businesses and foundations. Libraries involved with the public computer center programs funded by NTIA provide the most robust examples of partnerships that build capacity in providing specific services to the public. These projects are ripe for modeling successful programs in communities where such programs have not yet been established.

Digital literacy as a necessary ingredient for broadband adoption will be further reinforced in 2013 as the Ad Council (with Connect2Compete) launches a threeyear campaign to promote the importance of digital literacy and motivate individuals and families to access free community resources and training. To gear up for

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Literacy and Public Policy

this multimedia, multilingual campaign launching in spring 2013, IMLS funded two national efforts to improve public library capacity to meet demand for digital literacy instruction. The Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association, will develop an online Digital Learning Center—a collection of digital literacy resources that will be accessible to libraries, patrons, and other community-based organizations. In addition to userdirected resources, the grant activities will include development of training curricula in English and Spanish, technology trainer competencies, handouts, and assessments of patron skills. OCLC WebJunction will work with state libraries in Illinois, Mississippi, and West Virginia, federal policymakers, and Connect2Compete to help national digital literacy efforts to effectively work with public libraries to plan for and deliver digital literacy training.

Increasing the level of digital literacy in communities also is recognized as a vital part of quality public library service in a new effort funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Launched in March 2011, the Edge Initiative is an effort driven by a coalition of leading library and local government organizations to develop public access technology benchmarks for public libraries. Providing assistance and training for digital literacy is one of 11 total benchmarks, which also touch on aligning technology with community priorities, strategic partnerships, and maintaining highquality computer and Internet services. The Edge Initiative helps libraries to evaluate technology services and advance digital inclusion in their communities.

It provides tools and resources library leaders can use to engage staff and local government officials in understanding where the library stands in relation to its peers, highlighting how public access technology helps achieve community goals, and identifying new ways of conducting business through best practices. The Edge benchmark framework is scheduled to launch in 2013 (www.libraryedge.org/).

A LOOK INTO THE NOT-SO-DISTANT FUTURE

B

eyond the need for digital literacy programs, many libraries are incorporating what today may be innovations, but in the not-so-distant future may be

common practice. Through communities of practice that are emerging around the importance of staying abreast of trends in technology, librarians are experimenting with creative uses of technology that provide their patrons with opportunities for experiences beyond basic skills-building. Libraries are engaged in a number of national initiatives geared to spark innovation, promote the use of high-capacity broadband networks, and encourage the development of replicable programs to deepen the impact of these pilot initiatives.

IMLS and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation have begun funding projects in libraries (and museums) that engage young people in a learning model that promotes creativity, critical thinking, and real-world learning through facilitated activities and experiences using a variety of digital technologies. The labs connect teens to mentors and peers and help teens to make the connection between their interests and academics, career, and civic engagement.

To support libraries interested in replicating these “learning labs,” the MacArthur Foundation has also created a toolkit with resources for libraries and other organizations to develop similar programs. Similar in intent to the learning labs, “makerspaces” are also a nod to future potential for libraries to become incubators for innovation, particularly as related to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) areas. Makerspaces are generally described as innovative workshops or studios that provide access to computer-controlled tools, 3D printers, and other technical resources, which allow patrons to explore their interests, use new tools, and develop creative, often collaborative, projects.

In June 2012 the White House, with the National Science Foundation, announced U.S. Ignite, an initiative to jumpstart the development and testing of new broadband applications and help the nationwide adoption of high-capacity gigabit broadband networks. It will bring together high-speed broadband resources to create test beds in universities and cities nationwide.

To provide an entry into the opportunities represented

by U.S. Ignite, IMLS funded “Inclusive Gigabit Libraries: Learn, Discuss, and Brainstorm,” a project of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The project will discuss current practices and needs in

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 111

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Literacy and Public Policy

libraries and brainstorm new applications or service models that take advantage of ultra-high-speed connectivity, ultimately resulting in better and more robust service to library patrons.

Libraries are uniquely positioned to enable community members to develop applications and to test new applications with a broad and diverse range of patrons. Library pioneers will explore what might be possible in a transformational technology space, and how to best maximize learning from gigabit libraries to increase adoption in other libraries. Through these and similar movements, libraries are reimagining the library space to continue to meet community information needs, regardless of the given state of technology or the next generation formats through which we will have access to information resources.

NEXT STEPS

W

hether through a national, state, or local lens, digital literacy must remain a focus. Now that the connection between digital literacy and economic competitiveness has national legitimacy, the race is on to determine the fastest, most efficient way to ensure young people are ready to meet the demands of tomorrow’s jobs, to retool today’s workforce, and to enable our citizens to fully engage in civic life. Although investments in digital literacy programs are underway and are reporting success, it is up to the stakeholders to identify the best path for sustaining current projects and transitioning current projects to meet future needs. Research to quantify the long-term impacts of such projects should be used to determine where communities should focus the next investments or if reinvesting in current projects, which ones will result in greatest impact. Partnerships developed in these projects should be strengthened and in some instances broadened to include new players.

Libraries represent tremendous leverage to potential partners and should be considered as logical collaborators to further the missions of specific agencies or organizations and broader community goals. Leveraging library digital literacy resources and expertise should be part of local, state, and national initiatives that require a digital literacy component. At the same time, libraries are not without their own needs and because of their strong connection and commitment

112 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

to local communities, they should receive stable support through the conventional library budget system along with augmentation via other appropriations and through public funds or private philanthropy.

Communities benefit from efforts to provide access to high-capacity broadband and technology for libraries and other community anchor institutions. The most significant on-going technology and infrastructure support for public libraries remains the E-rate program which brings millions of dollars to libraries (and schools) each year. This critical program needs continual champions, such as former Maine Senator Olympia Snowe who has been a strong supporter since the program’s inception in the late 1990s, to make sure this funding source remains viable.

Librarians well understand that investments in technology alone will not answer the shortcomings of current efforts. The library community contributes a unique set of skills as a partner whom the community trusts and one that understands that the “right” digital literacy skills cannot be checked off a national to-do list. Libraries are already anticipating the next iteration of literacy knowing that technology will continue to influence how we access and share information–and what we do with it that will further our personal, social, and national goals. -

REFERENCES American Library Association (ALA). 2012a. Digital Literacy, Libraries, and Public Policy: Report of the American Library Association Digital Literacy Task Force. ALA, Chicago.

American Library Association (ALA). 2012b. “State Summary Data.” Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2011–2012. American Libraries (Digital Supplement Summer): 45–94. http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/4673a369 [Accessed April 4, 2013] American Library Association (ALA). 2012c. “Public Library Technology Landscape.” Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2011– 2012. American Libraries (Digital Supplement Summer): 18–30. http://viewer.zmags.com/ publication/4673a369 [Accessed April 4, 2013]

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Literacy and Public Policy

American Library Association (ALA). 2012d. “Executive Summary.” Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2011–2012. American Libraries (Digital Supplement Summer): 6–9. http://viewer. zmags.com/publication/4673a369 [Accessed April 4, 2013] ASR Analytics, LLC. 2012. Progress toward BTOP Goals: Interim Report on PCC and SBA Case Studies. ASR Analytics, Potomac, MD. Becker, Samantha, Michael D. Crandall, Karen E. Fisher, Bo Kinney, Carol Landry and Anita Rocha.

2010. Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries. Institute of Museum and Library Services, Washington, DC. http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/ AssetManager/OpportunityForAll.pdf [Accessed December 17, 2012]

Rainie, Lee. 2011. “Social Media and Civic Life.”

Presented at Moving Government Forward, NASCIO 2011 Annual Conference. http://pewinternet.org/Presentations/2011/Oct/NASCIO.aspx [Accessed December 17, 2012] Zickuhr, Katheryn and Aaron Smith. 2012. Digital Differences. PEW Internet & American Life Project, Washington, DC. http://pewinternet.org/ Reports/2012/Digital-differences.aspx [Accessed December 17, 2012]

Marijke Visser is assistant director of the American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology

Federal Communications Commission. 2010.

Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan. Federal Communications Commission, Washington DC. http://www.broadband.gov/plan/ [Accessed December 17, 2012] Horrigan, John. 2010. “Broadband Adoption and Use in America.” OBI Working Paper Series, No. 1. Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC. http://online.wsj.com/public/ resources/documents/FCCSurvey.pdf [Accessed December 17, 2012]

Policy (OITP) in Washington, DC. Her portfolio includes issues surrounding broadband adoption, such as digital literacy and challenges specific to diverse populations.

Institute of Museum and Library Services, University of Washington, International City/County Management Association. 2012. Building Digital Communities: A Framework for Action. Institute of Museum and Library Services, Washington, DC. http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/AssetManager/ BuildingDigitalCommunities_Framework.pdf [Accessed December 17, 2012] Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy. 2009. Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age. The Aspen Institute, Washington, DC. McKenney, Janet. 2013. “Maine’s BTOP Information Commons Project—The Building Block to Statewide Digital Literacy Efforts.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 44–45.

Mead, Andrew. 2013. “‘Lawyers in Libraries’: A New Approach to Access to Justice in Maine.” Maine Policy Review 22(1): 94–95.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 113

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Students and Information Literacy

Students and Information Literacy: High School and Postsecondary Perspectives

By Debe Averill and Nancy M. Lewis

“I

nformation literacy” is a phrase heard in many settings today. It is defined by the Association of College and Research Librarians (ACRL 2000: 2) as a set of competencies achieved when people can “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information.” In recent years there have been a number of studies to determine the information literacy skills of undergraduate students in the United States. Anecdotal reports from secondary and academic educators indicate that today’s “digital natives” lack the ability to effectively use the vast array of information sources now available to them and rely heavily on search engines and questionable tertiary sources such as Wikipedia. In short, the digital native has been demonstrated to be digitally illiterate.

In the spring of 2012, we facilitated a session at the Maine Library Association annual conference and brought together professors, academic librarians, and newly matriculated students from a variety of colleges and universities. Professors and librarians report a situation “on the ground” similar to the research results.

These investigations also indicate faculty frustration with the quality of research assignments turned in by students. Students on our panel report that they wished they had received additional instruction in the research

114 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

process at the secondary level or that they had paid more attention to the instruction they were given. It would seem that in a world replete with information sources and where student access is at an all-time high, the ability to find, evaluate, and apply information is at an all-time low.

Two major studies in the past three years have documented this issue. Head and Eisenberg (2010) reported survey results from 8,353 students. Eisenberg is well-known for his collaboration with Robert Berkowitz on a research process rubric for the elementary and secondary levels known as the “Big Six.” At approximately the same time, the Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries (ERIAL) Project used in-depth interviews by anthropologists of students, faculty, and academic librarians and published preliminary results (Asher and Duke 2010).

A variety of professional organizations have also developed standards and rubrics which offer structure to those involved in teaching information skills. These include ACRL and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), which uses “Standards for the 21st Century Learner” (AASL 2007). All of these standards underscore the need for teaching the research process at all levels. This process is usually broken down into a series of tasks, the first of which is the ability to “recognize when information is needed” (ACRL 2000: 1).

The researcher then chooses appropriate sources, evaluates information vis-à-vis the question at hand, organizes the information for the intended audience, and evaluates the process and the product.

Results of the these studies and others indicate that students at both the secondary and undergraduate levels do not use this research process and rely heavily on Google and sources such as Wikipedia. Use of monographs and databases listing peer-reviewed journal articles is uncommon. Even when using the Internet via search engines, students do not use search strategies or mechanisms available to them to assist in the location of reliable sources. Often, students are unable to distinguish between monographic and serial publications, and they often use unsubstantiated “blog” sources interchangeably with other vetted research (Kolowich 2011).

Students are unable to determine how to find cited sources and equally unable to appropriately cite the sources they use. Plagiarism, intentional or otherwise,

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Students and Information Literacy

is rampant. Moreover, all of this occurs despite the fact that students often report that they received information skills instruction in high school. Secondary librarians are certainly aware of the need for information skills instruction, but also report that secondary teachers are less and less likely to either assign research or, as reported in Project Literacy at the undergraduate level, use the expertise of the librarian to instruct students in the process (Head and Eisenberg 2010).

From this, it is clear why those in education are concerned that students learn the skills necessary for information literacy. Indeed, at the postsecondary level, we see information literacy included in the requirements of accrediting bodies, such as the American Association of Colleges and Universities and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (Saunders 2007). The AASL standards underscore the responsibility of the school librarian to “provide instruction, learning strategies, and practice using the essential learning skills needed in the 21st century” (AASL 2007: 3).

It is important to understand that information literacy is best addressed at multiple levels in the education process. Think of reading-comprehension skills that begin pre-K and continue through college literature courses. The skills are built upon with appropriate instruction at each stage of learning. This is also the ideal approach to information literacy skills, introducing the skills in the early years, building on them as the student advances through elementary school, and introducing new concepts of knowledge-seeking and analysis through middle school, high school, and postsecondary education. When this plan is followed, information professionals work with classroom teachers to design appropriate assignments, provide library instruction for classes along with one-on-one assistance to students. And here we begin to see further problems.

As Gross and Latham (2012: 574) note, “many students come to college without proficient information literacy skills.” And since the development of the Educational Testing Service’s test to measure information and computer literacy skills in 2004, results continue to show low information literacy achievement (Foster 2006).

The importance of information literacy in an “information age” seems to need little defense. While

previous generations relied on encyclopedias, local library collections, and print indexes, today’s learners have no lack of resources. It is precisely this overwhelming collection of resources that would seem to make an understanding of all of the steps in the research process critical. “As reliance on information becomes more pronounced in our society and information easier to produce and disseminate on the Internet, it is increasingly important for students to know how to access, evaluate and use information effectively and ethically” (Asher and Duke 2010: 8).

…information literacy is best addressed at multiple levels in the educa­tion process.

It is sometimes assumed that the increased access to information has essentially solved the problem of academic research. Students believe they have it all at their fingertips. But, it is important to remember that the intent as well as the quality of information available through general search engines differ from the resources available through libraries. A conversation recently with an information-astute student made this clear.

The Internet may have started as an effort to bring scholars and their research together in a worldwide web, but that is certainly no longer its prime purpose.

This student talked about the “personalization” of the Internet as a major barrier to his research. “As I am trying to locate a variety of perspectives on any given topic, Google and its algorithms are working even harder to give me what IT thinks I want” (Evan Matthews personal communication). Therefore, it is precisely because of this increased availability that knowledge of the research process becomes even more important. The learner’s ability to not only find but evaluate and eventually apply information in an analytical way becomes paramount. “Thus far the ‘Digital Divide’ has been primarily expressed as a gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not….we must begin focusing public attention on a whole range of other digital disparity gaps, including:

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 115

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Students and Information Literacy

effective use of information, the ability for an information user to be more than a passive consumer, and the availability of relevant, useful, appropriate, and affordable content” (Besser 2001: 1). The availability of oneto-one computing in the K–12 schools and 24/7 access to the Internet does not guarantee good research.

Furthermore, while the Internet may identify the existence of resources, many are only cited and not available full-text. Studies show that students tend to use only those sources immediately in full-text format and do not seek out others that are available through databases or library collections, whether or not these sources would be useful for their research (Asher and Duke 2010). Good research is the foundation of both learning and the ability to posit new ideas, concepts and solutions. Unfortunately, 21st century students are not necessarily wired to work through a process of research requiring both time and analysis. As Head and Eisenberg (2010: 4) point out, “unsurprisingly, what mattered most to students while they were working on course-related research assignments was passing the course (99 percent), finishing the assignment (97 percent) and getting a good grade (97 percent).”

Moreover, they report, “students reported difficulties getting started with research assignments and determining the nature and scope of what was required of them” (Head and Eisenberg 2010: 1). Other barriers to the completion of the research process at both the secondary and undergraduate levels include increased class sizes and content scope at both levels. Also, it would appear that new teachers, particularly at the secondary level, are themselves members of the digital generation and lack the skills they should be teaching (Emmons et al. 2009).

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

I

n terms of policy, it would seem obvious to recommend that all teacher-preparation programs require at least one course in teaching the research process and that pre-service teachers have experience in preparing the kinds of assignments that will develop research skills in their students. Furthermore, if good research skills are paramount in an information age, we need to ensure that the teaching of those skills is required K–12 and require that students demonstrate a level of

116 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

proficiency by the end of high school. Students who develop good skills early on will develop the good habits associated with those skills.

With reflection, we can see ways that improvements can be made. Included in the Blueprint for Collaboration, written by the AASL/ACRL Joint Task Force on the Educational Role of Libraries (2000), are recommendations that academic librarians and library school faculty collaborate with college of education faculty to improve information literacy instruction.

This translates into possibilities such as working with pre-service teachers to improve skills finding evidencebased practice (Emmons et al. 2009); building upon existing high school/academic learning partnerships to include librarians to address information literacy skills (Burhanna and Jensen 2006); and having secondary and academic educators/librarians work together to ensure smooth transitions in curriculum between the two levels (Bruch and Frank 2011). -

REFERENCES American Association of School Librarians (AASL).

2007. Standards for the 21st-Century Learner.

AASL, Chicago.

AASL/ACRL Task Force on the Educational Role of Libraries. 2000. Blueprint for Collaboration. www. ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/acrlaaslblueprint [Accessed January 15, 2013] Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL).

2000. Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. ACRL, Chicago.

Asher, Andrew and Lynda Duke. 2010. Information Literacy and First Year Students: Evaluating Knowledge, Needs, and Instruction. Paper presented to the National Resource Center Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience, Feb. 16, 2010, Denver, CO. www.erialproject.org/ wp-content/uploads/2010/03/FYE_Paper_Final.pdf [Accessed January 21, 2013] Besser, Howard. 2001. “The Next Digital Divides.”

Teaching to Change LA 1(2). http://tcla.gseis.ucla. edu/divide/politics/besser.html [Accessed April 1, 2013]

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Students and Information Literacy

Debe Averill worked for more than 40 years in special, Bruch, Courtney and Katherine Frank. 2011.

“Sustainable Collaboration: Libraries Link Dualcredit Programs to P-20 Initiatives.” Collaborative Librarianship 3(2): 90–97.

public, and school libraries in Maine. She recently retired from the Bangor school system.

Burhanna, Kenneth and Mary Lee Jensen. 2006.

“Collaborations for Success: High School to College.” Reference Services Review 34(4): 509–519.

Emmons, Mark, Elizabeth Keefe, Veronica Moore, Rebecca Sanchez, Michele Mals and Teresa Neely.

2009. “Teaching Information Literacy Skills to Prepare Teachers Who Can Bridge the Research-toPractice Gap.” Reference & User Services Review 49(2): 140–150.

Foster, Andrea. 2006. “Students Fall Short on ‘Information Literacy’ Educational Testing Service’s Study Finds.” Chronicle of Higher Education 53(10): A36.

Nancy M. Lewis is head of the reference department at the University of Maine’s Raymond H. Fogler Library.

She was involved in the creation of the library’s three-credit information literacy course and has taught the course many times.

Gross, Melissa and Don Latham. 2012. “What’s Skill Got to Do with It?: Information Literacy Skills and Self-Views of Ability among First-year College Students.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 63(3): 574–583.

Head, Alison and Michael Eisenberg. 2010. “Truth Be Told: How College Students Evaluate and Use Information in the Digital Age.” Progress Information Literacy Progress Report. The Information School, University of Washington, Seattle.

Kolowich, Steve. 2011. “What Students Don’t Know.”

Inside Higher Education (August 22). http://tinyurl. com/3wwfh7j [Accessed April 1, 2013] Saunders, Laura. 2007. “Regional Accreditation Organizations’ Treatment of Information Literacy: Definitions, Collaboration, and Assessment.”

Journal of Academic Librarianship 33(3): 317–326.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 117

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: K-12 School Libraries

Critical Issues in K-12 School Libraries

By Elizabeth Crawford Reisz

S

chool funding continues to be a challenge at local, state, and national levels. Federal stimulus funds that helped balance school budgets for several years are now gone, and declining revenues mean difficult choices. ALA President Maureen Sullivan, in a blog on the Huffington post web site, predicts a “stormy horizon for our nation’s school libraries.”1 According to American Library Association (ALA) State of America’s Libraries Report, across the country, some school districts have already cut library media specialist positions for the coming year due to budget shortfalls, and many other districts are considering plans to eliminate these positions. Sullivan expresses concern that such reductions in school library media specialist positions along with funding for school library resources will have a significant impact on student learning and success. Sullivan questions if school administrators fully understand the role that school librarians play.

In 2011, Molly Raphael, during her tenure as president of the ALA, created the ALA School Library Task Force. According to an ALA press release about the task force, it is charged with “leading a campaign addressing the urgent need for advocacy for school libraries, as well as the impact of the de-professionalization and curtailment of school library instructional programs on students and student achievement” (www.ala.org/news).

Raphael, in an article by Ballard (2012: 15), observed, “from cities and towns across the country, we have been hearing increased reports of threats to school library instructional programs. Whether it’s the elimination of school librarians or budget reductions, it’s become impossible to ignore the impact that cuts of this sort could have on future generations.”

118 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

At the ALA Executive Board meeting in January 2013, the task force reported the goal of creating a school library campaign to “raise awareness about the value of school librarians that will ultimately lead to ongoing, sustained support for school library programs” (ALA 2013: 3). The campaign will target three distinct audiences: (1) parents and local communities, (2) school administrators and local and state decisionmakers, and (3) national policymakers (ALA 2013).

The report identifies a number of factors to support the campaign. Perhaps most urgent is the implementation of Common Core Standards (CCS) in 45 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia; Maine is one of the 45. Coupled with a focus on career and college readiness, CCS require students to do research and read complex text.

School librarians are well positioned to teach research skills. As educators, their priorities are to help students to “employ critical thinking and evaluation skills; conduct research independently; develop a deep understanding of content; synthesize information— beyond reporting, to create new knowledge; and engage students in the love of reading” (ALA 2013: 5).

In the blog mentioned earlier, Maureen Sullivan reminds us that school librarians can and should be valuable members of teaching teams in schools.

However, if they are recognized more as guardians of book collections than as educators, the essential skills they teach—inquiry, critical thinking, digital citizenship, and technology—are lost. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards recognizes that the instructional practice of school librarians can be measured to meet standards for professional teaching excellence. More than 60 education and library studies provide evidence that school library media programs staffed by qualified school librarians have a significant impact on student academic achievement.

Too often technology is seen as the answer to preparing students for success in the 21st century. Digital resources alone will not help students do research or read complex text. The expectation that technology will meet the CCS misunderstands what such tools do; they cannot replace the research expertise and guidance of school librarians. Today’s students, despite their perceived ease in navigating the digital highway, lack skill in judging the quality of the information they find,

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: K-12 School Libraries

often choosing what they find quickly and easily.

Teachers surveyed by The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project Online Survey of Teachers report that access to the Internet and digital search tools has a generally positive affect students’ research skills. Yet, almost as many indicate that digital technologies are more of a distraction than academically beneficial. The report, How Teens Do Research in the Digital World, identifies a number of positive effects including access to a wider range of in-depth information and multimedia educational materials (Purcell et al. 2012). On the negative side, teachers expressed concern about students’ reliance almost exclusively on search engines, their inability to assess the accuracy and quality of information found online, and the ease it is for them to borrow from others’ work (Purcell et al. 2012). The teachers surveyed mostly agreed that teaching students how to evaluate online information needs to be a top priority, instruction qualified school librarians want to provide in meaningful ways, but with which they may have limited success due to lack of support.

In less than a decade, school librarians have moved from the Information Literacy Standards (1998) to the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner (2007). A rapidly changing educational landscape requires constant evolution, as was evidenced when the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) responded to the release of CCS in 2010 by creating the Crosswalk of the Common Core Standards and the Standards for the 21st Century Learner.2 This resource is designed to assist school librarians align their understanding of the needs of 21st century learners with the major changes in the newly adapted nationwide curriculum. Many of the standards dealing with information literacy and a library curriculum are embedded in CCS. Seven key points describe what it takes for a student to be college and career ready under CCS: students demonstrate independence; build strong content knowledge; respond to demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline; comprehend as well as critique; value evidence; use technology and digital media strategically and capably; and come to understand

other perspectives and cultures. This describes the heart of what school librarians do on a daily basis (Kramer 2011: 9).

“A Library for Every School: A Proclamation” was presented April 2, 2010, by Stichting ENSIL, the European Network for School Libraries and Information Literacy based in the Netherlands, with the intent that it be used by individuals as well as organizations to advocate for libraries in all schools.

Supported by research findings, existing principles of best practice, and policy guidelines, the proclamation concludes: “The need for a library, staffed by a fulltime, professionally trained, educational information specialist (librarian), in every primary and secondary school (not just at the university level) is an absolute ‘must’ if countries are to survive, prosper and compete successfully in the 21st century, in the context of the Global Information Society” (ENSIL 2010: 3).

This universal recognition that libraries are essential to 21st century education is yet one more indicator that advocacy must be a priority if the current trend of cutting positions and funding for school libraries is to be reversed. Maine Department of Education Rule Chapter 125, §9.01A, mandates that “each school shall maintain a library-media program.... A certified librarymedia specialist shall oversee the library-media program in a school administrative unit. However, this shall not be interpreted to mean that each school must have a certified library-media specialist.” Maine may mandate a library for every school, but that does not ensure that the library will be staffed by a state-certified library media specialist. Moreover, the rule’s interpretation in today’s economic climate often means that in school districts made up of a number of schools there will not necessarily be a full-time certified library media specialist overseeing the library-media program, and schools may or may not have paraprofessionals staffing their library media centers.

It is imperative that awareness be raised about the role of school librarians if further losses are to be prevented. For libraries, the Common Core presents an extraordinary opportunity just as the title of Albanese’s (2013) article asserts. School librarians can play an important role in the adoption of CCS by demonstrating to administrators the wealth of resources that

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 119

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: K-12 School Libraries

are already in their school libraries, including the professionally trained, educational information specialists, and by collaborating with fellow educators and librarians.

Promoting awareness, whether locally, at state or national levels, is the responsibility of all librarians, not just school librarians. When the decision was made that all divisions and key committees would be represented on the ALA School Library Task Force created in 2011, Raphael responded: “Because libraries of all types depend on each other to develop and sustain independent learners in an information age, clearly we need an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to this potential crisis” (Ballard 2012: 15). -

ENSIL. 2010. A Library for Every School: A Proclamation. www.ensil-online.org/site/images/ stories/PDF/A_LIBRARY_FOR_EVERY_SCHOOLProclamation2010-ENSIL.pdf [Accessed April 22, 2013] Kramer, Pamela K. 2011. “Common Core and School Librarians: An Interview with Joyce Karon.” School Library Monthly 28 (1): 8–10.

Purcell, Kristen, Lee Rainie, Alan Heaps, Judy Buchanan, Linda Friedrich, Amanda Jacklin, Clara Chen and Kathryn Zickuhr. 2012. How Teens Do Research in the Digital Age. Pew Research Center, Internet & American Life Project, Washington, DC. http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/StudentResearch [Accessed April 18, 2013]

ENDNOTES 1. www.huffingtonpost.com/maureen-sullivan/stateof-americas-school-_b_3063055.html [Accessed April 23, 2013]

Elizabeth Crawford Reisz is currently coordinator of library and media services

2. The crosswalk may be found at www.ala.org/aasl/ guidelinesandstandards/commoncorecrosswalk

for the York school department. She represents school librarians on the

REFERENCES Albanese, Andrew. 2013. “For Libraries, the Common Core Presents Extraordinary Opportunity.”

Publishers Weekly (February 5). www. publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/ childrens-industry-news/article/55831-for-librariesthe-common-core-presents-extraordinaryopportunity.html [Accessed April 18, 2013] American Association of School Librarians (AASL).

2007. Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. AASL, Chicago.

Maine InfoNet Board.

Past experience includes positions as librarian at Greenland Central School and Traip Academy, head librarian of the Wells Public Library, reference librarian at the Portsmouth Public Library, and head of technical services at Emerson College.

American Library Association (ALA). 2013. School Libraries: at the Common Core of Education, Draft Strategic Plan. ALA, School Library Campaign, Chicago. www.ala.org/aboutala/sites/ ala.org.aboutala/files/content/governance/officers/ eb_documents/2012_2013ebdocuments/ebd10_5_ school_library_tf_mw13.pdf [Accessed April 18, 2013] Ballard, Susan. 2012. “ALA Presidential Task Force: Focus on School Libraries.” School Library Monthly 28(6): 15–17.

120 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Libraries and the First Amendment

Libraries and the First Amendment

By Melora Norman

Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism— The right to criticize.

The right to hold unpopular beliefs.

The right to protest.

The right of independent thought.

—Senator Margaret Chase Smith, June 1, 19501

T

he senator from Maine’s speech denouncing McCarthyism is representative of the nation’s evolving perspective on the First Amendment—a development that has had a significant impact on librarianship. As with the U.S. Postal Service and Customs, libraries and the courts before World War II accepted that censorship was a natural part of regulating communications, along with other matters affecting the public. However, oppressive authoritarianism demonstrated by the likes of Hitler and Stalin gave people reason to fear government intrusion into their lives, and the courts gradually became more protective of the rights of minorities to express differing views, particularly in the instance of political speech and newspapers. Mayors and city officials who wanted to ban peaceful gatherings in public spaces also found themselves increasingly unable to do so as the courts upheld peoples’ rights to meet and communicate with one another (Schiller 2000). This fear that the United States could develop a repressive government, expressed so well by Margaret Chase Smith, was increasingly

common. During this period, intellectuals and others also successfully challenged customs bans and other restrictions on artistic works, especially written ones; even film, previously seen as something frivolous and negative, began to be seen as a form of communication worthy of protection (Schiller 2000).

This political environment and emerging interpretation of the First Amendment led the American Library Association (ALA) to develop its “Library Bill of Rights,” published first in 1939. The current version of this policy document begins: “Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation” (www.ala.org/ advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill). Libraries have also responded to this context by creating and maintaining collections that appeal to a wide variety of people with differing points of view—activities consistent with the ideal of providing equal access to all people so that they can learn and participate in a free society.

Libraries have always been important repositories of print materials that provide information to diverse communities representing a variety of perspectives. This ideal is embodied in the freedom to read, without fear of censorship. Libraries, however, sometimes find themselves facing challenges from members of the public who object to particular books and want them removed from circulation. While school libraries are most often the targets of such book challenges, public libraries have their fair share also. The ALA encourages libraries to adopt policies and processes whereby book challenges can be received, considered, and addressed. It is generally considered preferable for libraries to keep the books in their collections that some people in their communities find useful or interesting, even if others find them distasteful, since the First Amendment guarantees both the right to give and the right to receive speech (Ault 1990).

To highlight the importance of having freely accessible materials, the ALA developed Banned Books Week (www.bannedbooksweek.org), an annual celebration that provides libraries nationwide with an opportunity to note some of the books that have been banned frequently through the years. Among the

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 121

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Libraries and the First Amendment

often-challenged books have been classics such as Catcher in the Rye, the Harry Potter series, the Bible, and It’s Perfectly Normal, a book that is loved by some parents for its frank and clear information about sexuality and loathed by others for the same reason.

The increasingly digital information environment is causing significant change in libraries’ abilities to advocate for users’ First Amendment rights.

Privacy is another First Amendment concern that is important to libraries. If people believe that their reading habits may be exposed to others, this may have a “chilling” effect—in other words, it may keep them from exercising their right to receive speech (Ault 1990). Always concerned with keeping information about their users confidential, libraries became even more aware of the need to protect patron privacy in the early 1980s. At that time, some Maine public librarians received Freedom of Information Act requests for patron records; because the records were technically public, librarians had difficulty resisting those requests.

According to the January 5, 1982, issue of the Bangor Daily News, the Maine Library Association’s executive board had recently passed a resolution declaring its commitment to patron privacy, but that resolution was in conflict with the state’s sunshine laws. Subsequently, in 1983, Maine joined several other states in passing a law to protect patron privacy—the 1983 Maine statute Title 27, §121, “Confidentiality of Library Records,” which states: Records maintained by any public municipal library, the Maine State Library, the Law and Legislative Reference Library and libraries of the University of Maine System, Maine Community College System and the Maine Maritime Academy that contain information

122 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

relating to the identity of a library patron relative to the patron’s use of books or other materials at the library are confidential. Those records may only be released with the express written permission of the patron involved or as the result of a court order. [2007, c. 67, §5 (AMD).]

Toward the end of the 1980s, the library community discovered that the FBI had created a “Library Awareness Program,” which sent agents into libraries to collect information about library users including “their names, reading habits, and nationalities” in a purported effort to uncover potential Soviet spy activities (Ault 1990). The ALA and librarians across the country spoke out against the effects of this program, which they said comprised an unwarranted intrusion into the lives of innocent people. This objection was echoed decades later, when the post-9/11 USA Patriot Act once again resulted in law enforcement demands for large amounts of personally identifiable information about the activities of library users. The Maine Library Association joined the ALA and other library organizations across the country when its executive board passed a resolution in 2009 asserting that the MLA: “Opposes initiatives on the part of the United States government to constrain the free expression of ideas, access to information, or to inhibit the use of libraries,” urging Congress to repeal the portion of the act that permitted “the FBI to demand information about people who are not targets of an investigation and to reinstate standards limiting the use of these authorities to obtain information only about terrorism suspects and agents of foreign powers.”

The increasingly digital information environment is causing significant change in libraries’ abilities to advocate for users’ First Amendment rights. Looking back to the time when the more literal First Amendment interpretations were gaining ground, it is noteworthy that even while political speech, newspapers, and artistic works were first being protected by courts from censorship, broadcast and radio were not.

The original justification for allowing the FCC to regulate broadcast and radio was that they were “scarce” resources of so scientific and technical a nature that they required the intervention of experts (Schiller 2000). While Internet sites are hardly scarce, it is

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Libraries and the First Amendment

possible to find such extremes of expression on the web that it is relatively easy to find a fair number of sites that people find offensive. The existence of such controversial material led to a successful effort on the part of would-be censors and software manufacturers.

In 2001, the Supreme Court upheld a law tying federal aid for connectivity in schools and public libraries to their use of blocking software on computers that minimize sexual content. As this software is increasingly used across the world by oppressive governments to suppress political speech, it remains to be seen how free speech and democracy are affected by the Internet. -

ENDNOTE 1. From: www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/ resources/pdf/SmithDeclaration.pdf

REFERENCES Ault, Erika Ulrika. 1990. “The FBI’s Library Awareness Program: Is Big Brother Reading Over Your Shoulder?” New York Law Review 65 N.Y.U.L. Rev. 1532 (65 N.Y.U.L. Rev. 1532).

Schiller, Reuel E. 2000. “Free Speech and Expertise: Administrative Censorship and the Birth of the Modern First Amendment.” Virginia Law Review 86 (1): 1–102.

Melora Norman is director of the Dorothy Webb Quimby Library at Unity College. She has chaired the Intellectual Freedom Round Table of the American Library Association and co-chaired the intellectual freedom committees of the Maine and New England library associations. She is currently a graduate student in the history department at the University of Maine.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 123

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: The Public Library in Its Community

The Public Library in Its Community: Governance and Funding

By Barbara McDade

O

ne of the joys of public libraries is their uniqueness.

Each is different, since each reflects its community.

It has been said that if you want to find out what a community values, check out its library. The distinction between public libraries begins at the governing level. Some libraries are run by boards of directors or trustees. These boards may be administrative or advisory. Administrative boards appoint the library director, oversee the operating budget, and make policies for library operations. Advisory boards make recommendations to local authorities for personnel, budget, and policies. The board members may be elected, may be appointed by the town or city governing body, may be appointed by another organization, may be selfperpetuating, or may be a combination of any of the above. There are also public libraries in Maine that have no library board, but are departments of town government (although some libraries are town departments, but have library boards). Boards may also own the building and the collection or own only the building or only the collection. Some libraries are private libraries that contract to serve a locality. Some are run by a locality, but have contracts to serve residents from other communities. Some public libraries in Maine are located in schools, but have distinct staff and collections to serve the public from those that serve its students.

In Maine, geography doesn’t seem to matter. The Bangor Public Library is a 501(c)3 organization with

124 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

a library board that consists of nine members. Four of those members are appointed by the city council for six-year terms; four are the officers of the Bangor Mechanic Association, the organization that founded the library in 1828. The ninth member is the chief financial officer of the city. This arrangement comes from an agreement in 1889 when the city wanted to begin public library service to its residents. Upriver in Old Town, the public library is a city department with no library board. Downriver from Bangor, the Edythe Dyer Library in Hampden is a city department with an advisory board. In the town of Hermon, the school library is open for the public to use after school hours.

Of the 269 public libraries listed on the Maine State Library’s web site, 112, or 41 percent, are listed as city or town departments. That leaves 59 percent of the public libraries in Maine that are not under the direct supervision of the local municipal authority.

Funding of local libraries also differs across the state. The percent of the operating budget coming from the local municipality can range from 26 percent in Stockton Springs (where the public donates bottles for recycling to fund the library) to 100 percent from municipal funding for the public library in Yarmouth.

For the larger libraries in the state, Bangor receives around 61 percent of its operating budget from the city; the library in Brunswick, 83 percent; libraries in Portland and Auburn, 85 percent; and the city library in Lewiston, 97 percent. Other sources of operating funds include income from endowment funds, annual fund drives, gifts from friends and other auxiliary groups, and grants.

Funding for public libraries is never an easy task.

People tend to love libraries, but don’t understand that it costs money to keep the doors open, current books on the shelves, popular e-resources available for the public, and a staff to keep everything in working order.

Funding since 2008 has been even harder, as endowment funds shrank and municipal funding grew tighter.

In 2013, Governor LePage proposed having more services be paid for by local municipalities. This prompted the following remarks from Rockland City Manager, James L. Smith in a weekly report to the city council as published in the Courier-Gazette January 15, 2013:

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: The Public Library in Its Community

this is really a tax shift that would place an additional burden of $1,114,000 on the property taxpayers in Rockland.” He said to maintain present city services under this proposal, it would mean $215 in increased property taxes to anyone owning a home assessed at $150,000. That would just be to cover the municipal budget, not taking into consideration any increases in school or county funding, he said Jan. 15. To cut city services to offset the cost increase would mean eliminating multiple entire departments – the library, assessment department, fish pier and legal department, he said. “That’s not cutting fat,” Smith told the city council. “That’s cutting lean muscle.”

There are those who do not see public libraries as an essential service, but that is short-sighted. Public libraries are the heart of any community. The library is a service for everyone in town, from cradle to grave, that engages the community in conversations not only with those here and now, but with past generations and generations to come. Barbara McDade has been director of the Bangor Public Library since 1991. Previously, she was director of public libraries in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New Jersey. She is the chair of the Maine Library Association legislative committee and the ALA chapter councilor for Maine.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 125

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Public Library of America

Digital Public Library of America

By Clem Guthro

V

isionaries, pundits, cynics, and ordinary citizens have, over the years, waxed eloquent over the idea of a digital library that would make all knowledge accessible. H.G. Wells in his collection of essays World Brain envisioned a universal comprehensive and accessible “encyclopedia” that encompasses “all that is thought and known” (Wells 1938: 78). Likewise, Vannevar Bush (1945) envisioned his Memex machine as a personal library that certainly approximates much of what the Internet has provided. Major players such as the Library of Congress, Internet Archive, members of the Association of Research Libraries, and various state libraries and cultural organizations have digitized books, photographs, sound records, and films from their collections and have built “digital libraries” on a small scale.

Private enterprise entered the digital library picture when Google announced in December 2004 that it had signed agreements with major universities and libraries (Stanford University, the University of Michigan, Harvard University, the New York Public Library, and Oxford University’s Bodleian Library) to scan all or part of their collections. Although this agreement was greeted with skepticism by many (Anthony 2005), it provided the first glimmer of hope that a large-scale digital library might indeed be possible.

Because Google intended to scan in-copyright publications, publishers and authors sued Google over copyright infringement. The Google Lawsuit, as it was commonly known, and its proposed settlement raised another round of discussions over the digital future. Many thought that the settlement provided promise for libraries and the public (Trachtenberg and Vascellaro 2008), while others worried about the

126 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

negative consequences of relinquishing stewardship to a monopoly such as Google (Darnton 2009). Judge Denny Chin disavowed the settlement Google had struck with authors and publishers due to copyright violations and unfairness. The decision opened the door for the emergence of the Digital Public Library of America or DPLA as it is commonly called (Darnton 2011).

In October 2010, Robert Darnton, University Librarian at Harvard, convened a meeting at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, which brought together key leaders from libraries, research institutions, cultural heritage organizations, government, and foundations to consider the possibility of building a national digital library. Using a grassroots approach, funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and a hosting commitment from Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, the DPLA kicked off a twoyear planning process with the goal of having a formal organizational structure, content, and a working prototype by early 2013.

A steering committee and secretariat were established to move the work forward in a rapid but thoughtful and coordinated manner. Chaired by John Palfrey, then at Harvard Law Library, the steering committee included luminaries from the academic and public library sphere, think tanks, and foundations.

(A complete list of the steering committee can be found at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/dpla/ steering). The secretariat, a small group from the Berkman Center, under the leadership of Maura Marx, was charged with the day to day operations and coordination of overall activities and workstreams.

“Workstreams” are broadly defined as an area of business or project activity that needs to be explored and managed. DPLA chose six workstreams: audience & participation, content & scope, financial/business models, governance, legal issues, and technical aspects.

Co-chairs and appointed participants defined the work, which was supplemented by a public wiki and virtual participation from the wider public. DPLA also used three plenary sessions that brought together hundreds of librarians, scholars, industry experts, copyright lawyers, technologists, and students to talk, plan, and provide input. These sessions also served as a venue to announce major funding from the Institute for

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Public Library of America

Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Knight Foundation.

Though it is tempting to see digital libraries predominantly as technology projects, the DPLA is that and much more. The DPLA sees itself as consisting of five major areas: code, metadata, content, tools and services, and community.

The code and the requisite technology are the underpinning of the DPLA. The code is being built on the principle of openness and interoperability. As much as possible free and open source code is used, and any code developed by DPLA will be released as open source and contributed back to the larger developer community. Metadata is the descriptive data about a person, place, thing, or event, which comes from library catalogs. DPLA will aggregate existing metadata from libraries, archives, and museums to enable users to search and find collections and individual items.

As with any library collection, content is king.

DPLA will include all media types: print, images, audio, video. DPLA is beginning to gather content by working with a number of service hubs, mainly state and regional library groups, to aggregate content and to show the public a taste of what is possible. Other service hubs along with large content creators such as Harvard and the Hathi Trust will be added. In beginning most materials will be in the public domain, but DPLA will investigate options for orphan works (works still in copyright, but where copyright owners cannot be found), materials that are in copyright, and e-lending models. It is the intention to make DPLA widely and feely accessible “with no restrictions… with use and reuse governed only by public law” (http://dp.la/about/elements-of-the-dpla/).

Tools and services are critical to the life, nurture, and future of the DPLA. DPLA intends to provide more than content and an interface, but also a robust set of tools and services that will allow users, programmers, and other members of the community to use the content in new and interesting ways and to build additional tools and services that will further its work, reach, and influence. DPLA will make its own tools available in an open manner for reuse and extension and for commercial purposes. It encourages others who develop tools and services built on the DPLA platform and using DPLA content to make these available for others to use.

DPLA is being built by and for the community writ large: library and cultural heritage community, general public, and private and commercial developers.

The platform will be participatory to allow the community of users to exploit the rich content and functionality for their needs. DPLA intends that the ongoing development and support of the platform and the DPLA initiative will be community driven.

The creation of the DPLA calls to mind that the United States is late to the game in terms of a national digital library. Major digital libraries exist in France, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, and Australia (Singer 2011). In 2008, the European Union created Europeana (www.europeana.eu/portal/), an overarching digital library of European cultural heritage. While others may decry our slow start out of the gate, we have much to learn from the experience of others. Europeana, which is approximately five years ahead of DPLA in terms of development of technology and policy, has been a major help in DPLA’s development. DPLA is using lessons learned by Europeana to move forward quickly in terms of local development.

It is also building on the openness of Europeana and building in interoperability between the two systems.

More importantly DPLA and Europeana have already been building collaborative exhibits that will span the collections of both libraries. The first such exhibit “Leaving Europe: A new life in America” (http://exhibitions.europeana.eu/exhibits/show/europe-americaen) was launched in December 2012. On April

[Digital Public Library of America] will include all media types: print, images, audio, video.

18–19, 2013, DPLA will hold its official launch at the Boston Public Library. At this point it will move from dream to the first phase of reality. Getting to this phase is a monumental achievement and one to be lauded and celebrated, but it is certainly just the beginning.

The challenges will be predominantly funding and policy issues, neither of which are insignificant in

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 127

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Public Library of America

today’s economic and rancorous political climate.

Fortunately the library community, which is solidly behind this project, is tenacious, hardworking, collaborative, and pragmatic, all desirable qualities for building DPLA’s future.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

M

oving from concept to reality for the DPLA is not primarily a technological issue, but one of copyright and intellectual property (Carr 2012). The public policy implications of copyright and intellectual property in the digital age are not merely legal concerns but important social and economic ones.

Legislators wrestle with competing claims of content producers (e.g., authors and publishers), scholars, educators, and the general public on the use and remix of content.

The vision of the DPLA is broader than a collection of public domain works or works with a Creative Commons license that provides for access and use.

Because the “right to digitize” resides with the content creator, the challenge of building a robust digital library is not insignificant. Orphan works is an area that is gray at best, and one that needs some serious work by the U.S. Copyright Office and Congress.

DPLA is interested in helping make serious progress on the orphan works issue. If this could be addressed in a manner that favored libraries, a significant corpus of works published in the 20th century in the U.S. could be made available. Much of born digital content is governed by license agreements which usually trump copyright law, especially in terms of “fair use” exceptions. (The term “born digital” refers to content created originally in digital format.) DPLA will need to be creative in approaching how “licensed” materials might be included.

Whither Maine?

Although the policy implications outlined above are no different for Maine, the issues facing Maine are matters of public policy around universal access of its citizens to the digital future. There are, perhaps, three major areas where current policy will affect whether Maine will be able to participate in DPLA on equal footing with other states.

128 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

A robust, high-speed, broadband digital infrastructure is necessary for the state’s economic well-being, which has not been a strategic priority of state government. Most broadband access is provided by commercial companies, which disenfranchises many poorer people in Maine. As digital content is increasingly high bandwidth-dependent, a robust infrastructure must become a strategic priority for the state.

Second and more specific to the DPLA, there is a lack of digital and administrative structure and funding. The DPLA plans to work with state or regional hubs to harvest aggregated metadata and/or content. Maine is one of 10 states that have no statewide “digital library.” Elements of it exist in the work of the Maine Historical Society, Maine InfoNet, and a variety of individual small digital library initiatives at the University of Maine, University of Southern Maine, Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Bangor and Portland public libraries, and the Maine State Library. There is, however, no overarching technical and administrative infrastructure to draw these projects together in a coherent whole that could provide the genesis of the “Digital Library of Maine” or serve as a hub to provide content to the DPLA. Without such infrastructure, Maine content will be noticeably absent, and the citizenry of Maine underserved.

Third, there is a lack of awareness of “digital government” and “digital education,” which will be part of the future for most of the U.S. Digital government refers to the digital infrastructure and services that meet the needs of government and help government meet the needs of citizens for both information and services. This is a major initiative of President Obama (www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/ egov/digital-government/digital-government.html), but a similar initiative seems to be lacking in Maine.

Digital education is the recognition that digital technology and digital content provide new opportunities to rethink and enhance education at all levels. The Maine Learning Technology Initiative is only a first step in this direction. Serious money and policy development around education for all Maine citizens is needed to make the next generation ready for the world they will inherit. DPLA is certainly positioning itself to make a difference in education across the spectrum from kindergarten through university. Its impact

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Digital Public Library of America

on Maine could be great if we embrace the need for digital government and digital education in a serious and thoughtful way. -

REFERENCES Anthony, Robert S. 2005. “Word for Word, Bit by Bit: No Matter the Promise, Opinions are Split on Google’s Plans to Scan Library Books.” Black Issues Book Review 7(3): 18.

Bush, Vannevar. 1945. “As We May Think.” Atlantic Monthly (July).

Carr, Nicholas. 2012. “The Library of Utopia.”

Technology Review 115(3): 54.

Darnton, Robert. 2009. “Google and the New Digital Future.” New York Review of Books 56(20): 82–84.

Darnton, Robert. 2011. “Google’s Loss: The Public’s Gain.” New York Review of Books 58(7): 10–12.

Singer, Natasha. 2011. “Playing Catch-Up in a Digital Library Race.” New York Times (Jan 9): BU3.

Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. and Jessica E. Vascellaro. 2008, “Google Deal Likely to Give Digital Books Broader Use.” Wall Street Journal (October 2).

Wells, Herbert G. 1938. World Brain. Doubleday, Doran, Garden City, NY.

Clem Guthro is the director of libraries at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and the vice chair of the Maine InfoNet Board.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 129

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Institutional Repositories

Institutional Repositories

By Joyce Rumery

I

nstitutional repositories are online services that allow a library staff to help promote the intellectual work of their institution or community. The services also allow for the management and preservation of materials, including items from special collections.

Repositories have been available for more than a decade at universities and colleges and have often been the collaboration of partnerships on a campus to create and populate the repository.

Fogler Library staff had long been interested in acquiring a repository for the university. The options for a repository when it was first considered were largely open-source solutions. One example is DSpace created by MIT. Open-source solutions can be resource heavy in the staffing needed to set up and manage the repository. We were looking for a service that we could implement, but one for which we would not need to devote hours of staff time. We found the Digital Commons by bepress to be the answer. As we explored

How Do Users Access Content in Digital Commons?

Many users will come upon articles or other materials on Digital Commons sites through searches on Google or other search engines. Authors and others may provide direct links to works on their own web sites or in course syllabi or other materials.

Each Digital Commons site has a front page that allows users to browse by various categories (e.g., journals, theses, research unit, department, or center). On the front page and all other pages, there is a search box where the user can put keywords or author names, with a choice to search in that repository or to search in all repositories. Searching all repositories opens the search to finding material at all institutions that have Digital Commons.

130 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

the acquisition of this service, we hoped to bring it to all University of Maine System libraries. This was unsuccessful, but we moved forward in setting up our own repository at the University of Maine. We were able to purchase the Digital Commons services through funding from the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, the College of Education and Human Development, the Honors College, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Division of Lifelong Learning as well as our own budget.

We believed that the Digital Commons would contribute to the university’s tripartite mission of teaching, research, and public service. It would improve collection of, and access to, the intellectual work of the university and would showcase scholarly, educational, and creative works to prospective students, collaborators, donors, and alumni. Materials would be searchable and downloaded worldwide from the Digital Commons site, or through Google and other webbased discovery tools. It would also maintain a secure space for the material. In addition we expected that Digital Commons would provide a venue for discovering new collaborations and would foster exploration in multiple disciplines.

We wanted to focus on faculty research and to get us started we used a service from the Digital Commons called Kickstart. This service, just as it sounds, gives a new repository a way to quickly add faculty research.

The library staff identified departments, and the bepress staff added faculty articles to the repository. Although each college at the university has its own home page on the university’s web site and each department has faculty pages, adding material to the repository provides for more access. The Digital Commons uses an algorithm that makes the material within the repository appear high in Google searches. The decentralized approach of departmental web pages does not offer a prospective student, employee, donor, or alumni the ability to see the entirety of the intellectual output. It is even difficult for individuals in colleges to be aware of the work of colleagues.

The main purpose of the repository at the university is to highlight the work of the faculty, but we have also pursued other collections. Some of these collections are from Special Collections at the library and other areas. Adding these has helped the staff learn

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: Institutional Repositories

about the process for including material in Digital Commons. Early on, we also made the decision to have a decentralized approach to adding materials. We knew the library staff could not handle all the work that might come from faculty and our own collections without being a bottleneck to building the repository.

We, therefore, worked on training university staff so they could add their own content. We worked with the bepress staff so they knew we were decentralizing, and we allowed university staff outside the library to work directly with bepress on their own content. We believe this has made for a more responsive repository and a feeling of ownership for the campus. It has also given us an interesting mix of collections at this early stage.

Digital Commons at the University of Maine, at almost two years old, is still young. Although fewer than 5,500 materials have been added to date (April 2013), they have been downloaded more than 128,000 times. It now has four journals (including Maine Policy Review), one of which will be published only within the Digital Commons; a song and story sampler from the Maine Folklife Center; Honors College theses; a poster gallery from Fogler Library; collections of photos from Special Collections; Maine town reports; graduate dissertations and theses; diaries; and publications of the Maine Agricultural and Experiment Station. These collections, along with the faculty materials, create a distinctive collection for the University of Maine. Our goal and the future of the repository at the university is to continue to promote the repository, train and help users to upload their materials, and to make it a part of the campus that benefits all departments and units.

The University of Maine was not the first institution to work with Digital Commons in Maine.

Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby colleges have been using Digital Commons for their collections. After the University of Maine acquired Digital Commons, the University of New England and the University of Southern Maine purchased it. One exciting development was the acquisition of Digital Commons by the Bangor Public Library, the Maine State Library, and Portland Public Library.1 These three libraries were the first public and state libraries in the country to acquire Digital Commons. Libraries are using it to promote their communities and collections, with the hope that

materials will get more use and visibility. In the case of the Maine State Library, it will be used to help disseminate material from state agencies. This is an exciting time for Maine. These repositories will make more material available to the public and to their institutions than was possible in the past. We expect that the value will grow and evolve as content is added. -

ENDNOTES 1. Below are links to the Digital Commons sites currently available in Maine. The University of Southern Maine and University of New England are in the early stages of development and do not yet have live web links.

University of Maine — http://digitalcommons. library.umaine.edu/

Bates College http://scarab.bates.edu/

Bowdoin College — http://digitalcommons. bowdoin.edu/

Colby College — http://digitalcommons.colby. edu/

Bangor Public Library — http://digicom.bpl.lib. me.us/

Portland Public Library — http://digitalcommons. portlandlibrary.com/

Maine State Library — http://statedocs.maine. gov/

Joyce Rumery is dean of university libraries at the University of Maine. She has been with the university for 26 years and dean since 2005. She is the vice chair of the Maine Library Commission, serves on the Maine InfoNet Board, is a member of the Maine Library Association Executive Council, and chairs the URSUS library directors meetings.

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 131

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: When Disasters Strike

When Disasters Strike An Interview by Linda Silka with Joyce Rumery and Tom Abbott

L

ibraries probably are not the first thing we think of when disasters strike. Yet, high-visibility disasters in recent years—such as Hurricane Katrina—have heightened the visibility of disasters’ impacts on libraries and the communities in which they are located.

These calamities raise questions about how libraries can prepare for disasters and also show the ways that libraries are being pressed into service as places for community gathering and refuge when disasters strike.

The impact of disasters and the importance of preparing for them were brought home to Tom Abbott, Dean of Libraries and Distance Learning, University of Maine Augusta, and Joyce Rumery, Dean of the Fogler Library, University of Maine, when they participated in the American Library Association’s annual meeting in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The interview here provides their reflections on what they experienced during that time, and what we can learn about libraries and disaster planning from those experiences.

What is the typical ALA convention like and how was the post-Katrina New Orleans annual meeting different?

Tom: The American Library Association’s annual convention is the largest gathering of its kind in the world. Typically, something on the order of 25,000 librarians representing all types of libraries attend the convention. Imagine if you will, that number of people descending on a community devastated by a recent disaster. Most of the New Orleans libraries were closed and many lay in ruins. Most of the librarians had been laid off. We couldn’t simply come and hold our usual meetings and pretend as if the devastation around us 132 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

didn’t exist. We needed to get involved and think about what this meant.

An important volunteering opportunity was made available allowing librarians attending the convention could help with New Orleans library cleanup. For two days we did this. More than 900 volunteers (all wearing identical bright yellow T-shirts) were bused to 20 sites on two different days. The equivalent of three and a half years of work was done over those two days in devastated neighborhoods.

Joyce and I helped with cleanup on the library grounds of a branch library. The grounds were littered with dangerous debris such as broken window glass and there was clothing still stuck in the “hurricane” fence behind the library. You might be wondering why a focus would be placed on the cleaning up the grounds.

Here is where one sees the physical and virtual roles of libraries collide. In this library branch (as in some others), even as the building itself could not yet be made ready for use by patrons, community access to the Internet was quickly made functional and became a primary access point for users to make contact with the outside world—to contact FEMA, to contact insurers, and to contact family—and so it was important that the library grounds where people would use the “virtual” library were safe and even welcoming in a sea of devastation.

What kinds of things did this make you think about in terms of Maine’s libraries and disaster planning?

Tom: Hurricane Katrina brings home the message (as does Hurricane Sandy) of the risks that libraries face.

We have to hope that Maine never faces such devastation. In many ways, what really got us to thinking about disasters was not hurricanes but Maine’s ice storm of a decade ago. The ice storm was a wakeup call that made us think about what we need to do in Maine so that our libraries are prepared. At UMaine Augusta, for example, we lost our power for multiple days. Had the cold been more extreme during the ice storm, the loss of power could have been disastrous (for example, pipes freezing). As it was, it helped us to see that we need plans that include alternative power (we now have generators) and disaster-planning kits. People sometimes laugh when they hear what our disaster kit

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: When Disasters Strike

consists of, a low-tech box with a blue tarp and a few other essentials that we keep on the library’s second floor to help us on the not infrequent occasions when water pipes leak onto our books and materials. Yet, having the kit in place serves as a reminder that we need to be vigilant for impending problems.

Joyce: Disasters can come in many forms. Because libraries house so much paper materials, one of the most disastrous things can be mold that results from water damage: from flooding, bursting pipes, and leaking roofs. When we have a “water event,” the most immediate step we need to take as a library is not to try to do the impossible and dry all the books, but rather to call in the freezer trucks (yes there are such things).

They come and take our materials and keep them at a low temperature until they can be dried. This keeps mold from growing. When we were in New Orleans, Tom took photos of some of the books on shelves in the New Orleans libraries. The books were green with mold—they would not be able to be saved. Mold is so dangerous to the contents of libraries that we often find that we are unable to accept donations of books— sometimes rare books—because they have started to grow mold as a result of having been kept in attics of people’s homes sometimes for decades.

Water can be so destructive that some libraries avoid using water in their sprinkler systems altogether and instead have gas emergency systems. These certainly have their own downside, but they avoid the calamity of water destroying paper-based resources.

You have mentioned disasters that affect the physical materials in libraries. As libraries become online information centers, are there additional “disasters” that you now have to worry about?

Joyce: Disasters (and potential disasters) do indeed come in different forms. All libraries now have new concerns about maintaining the safety of their collections in the face of technological dangers. As librarians, we are having to learn about these new dangers and how to ensure that our collections remain uncompromised. The UMaine Fogler Library, like many libraries, maintains multiple backup servers to prepare for the many contingencies where a single server that many

patrons depend upon might go down. We need to build into our budgets recognition of the need for multiple “vehicles” for ensuring that access to online journals, books, and other resources will not be lost.

We also have to be increasingly vigilant for hackers. Librarians in the U.S. estimate that something on the order of half a million digital attacks a day are made on libraries. These attacks are attempts to get at and download a library’s digital resources—journals and the like—without paying for them. Libraries can lose their license to subscribe to particular journals if they do not have in place effective (and expensive) systems to find and stop hacker attacks. And these attacks are increasingly sophisticated. For university libraries they often come during school breaks and other times when hackers may assume that there are fewer people working to keep library resources safe.

All of this means that librarians must keep adding new skills to stay abreast of the various forms of disasters that can confront a library that has both paper-based and virtual resources.

Are there other ways that libraries prepare for disasters?

Joyce: As physical spaces libraries often have a special role to play in disasters. We saw this with Hurricane Katrina, where the libraries were gathering places for the community when most other public (and many private) spaces were uninhabitable. Libraries are places where people can come, be safe, and access resources.

UMaine’s Fogler Library, for example, is now designated as an essential service. This means that we stay open in the event of the university’s closing because of an impending storm or other significant problem. Like many other libraries, we are exploring the implications of this role and how we can serve as a refuge and place of safety. What kind of training do we need to be prepared for assisting our community in the event of a disaster?

And what if the disaster is not weather related but is of the human sort? Libraries are public spaces open to all. This characteristic of libraries is highly prized.

But how as libraries do we prepare for the low but not zero probability of something like a hostage situation, or a bomb threat, or other violent act? In our disaster planning, we are not merely trying to attend to the

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · 133

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: When Disasters Strike

possibility of calamitous floods or snowstorms or hurricanes; instead, we are also working to prepare for all other eventualities. This might sound far afield from books and journals and readership, but if libraries are to continue to play a central role in their communities, then we must all give thought to new ways to ensure that they remain viable in the face of the diverse challenges and threats they may face. -

Thomas (Tom) Abbott is dean of libraries and distance learning, at the University of Maine, Augusta, where he has worked since 1974 in a variety of administrative positions. Abbott also

Linda Silka directs the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and is a

provides leadership for UMA’s accreditation processes and supports the provost in a variety of project work.

professor in the University of Maine School of Economics. Her research focuses on building research partnerships among diverse researchers and stakeholder groups.

Joyce Rumery is dean of university libraries at the University of Maine. She has been with the university for 26 years and dean since 2005. She is the vice chair of the Maine Library Commission, serves on the Maine InfoNet Board, is a member of the Maine Library Association Executive Council, and chairs the URSUS library directors meetings.

134 · MAINE POLICY REVIEW · Winter/Spring 2013

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Dear Reader: Reader support is an important funding source for Maine Policy Review. To help us continue providing MPR to our readers, please send your contribution today.

Suggested contribution levels:

Major Sponsors . . . . . . $10,000 and above

Patrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 5,000 - $9,999

Benefactors . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,000 - $4,999 Donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $

500 - $999

Contributors . . . . . . . . . $ 100 - $499 Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . $

1 - $99

We list our contributors in each issue of the journal.

Please check one of the following :

I would like acknowledgement to be listed under the following name(s) or company name:

I would like my contribution to be anonymous.

Please make your check payable to: Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center Mail your contribution to: Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center 5784 York Complex, Bldg #4 University of Maine Orono, ME 04469-5784

Thank you for your support!

View current & previous issues of MPR at: digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/

Volume 22, Number 1 ¡ MAINE POLICY REVIEW ¡ 135

PRSRT BPM U.S. POSTAGE PAID AUGUSTA, ME PERMIT NO. 121

5784 York Complex, Bldg. #4 Orono, ME 04469-5784

Maine Policy Review