State Library Fast Facts
- 10,847 requests were processed by the State Library Interlibrary Loan Unit (requests both to lend materials from the State Library collections and to borrow materials not owned by the State Library).
- 2, 790 information requests from library customers were answered by the State Library's reference staff. 1,042 of these came from the State Library's "Ask a Librarian" email reference consultation service.
- State Library collection includes 40,616 books; 3,398 sound recordings; 9,996 videos; 846 DVDs, 100 CD-ROMs, and 123 Bi-Folkal and media kits.
- A total of 28,184 items were circulated from the State Library's materials collections.
- 86 collections (70 books in each collection) of large print books were circulated to Kentucky public libraries.
- 15,238 MARCIVE records representing federal publications were added to the KDLA Catalog.
- 1,194 state government employees applied for State Library cards in person and through email solicitations and seventeen on-site informational visits.
- 246,624 non-OCLC records were loaded to the Kentucky database at OCLC for resource sharing.
- 6,331 interlibrary loan requests for Kentucky libraries were referred by the State Library to libraries outside of the Southeast region.
- 10,806,080 searches were performed in the 43 databases licensed through the Kentucky Virtual Library that is partially funded by the State Library. Use of the of core collection databases increased by 25% over last year.
- State Library provided 279 library staff throughout the state with technology based training and KDLA sponsored training relating to the migration to the WorldCat Resource Sharing which was taught January to May (2005) and then additional classes were provided in July 2005. Between the 9 mediated online sessions and the 24 face to face sessions across the state, 587 library staff from all types of libraries attended these training events.
- State Library funded Kentucky Union List of Serials Project staff processed 10,426 updates from 83 libraries to the KULS records in OCLC.
State Library Services - Serving Government and Public Libraries
The State Library Services Division provides access to information to meet the needs of its customers and provides statewide leadership in sharing information through library networking. As required in KRS 171.140, it provides library services through the State Library for its clientele: state government personnel, public libraries, other institutions, and individuals. In an effort to equalize library service and access to information across the state, this Division promotes and maintains cooperative arrangements for information and resources sharing among all types of libraries and information centers including state agencies as mandated by KRS 171.200.
The Technical Support Branch of the State Library Services Division, which maintains a highly trained, skilled, and knowledgeable professional and paraprofessional staff, creates computer access to the State Library's collections through the online KDLA Catalog. Also, through OCLC, Online Computer Library Network (the international bibliographic utility), the staff contributes holdings information on titles belonging to the KDLA collections and that are available for resource-sharing purposes. In addition, the Technical Support Branch provides consultative support to Kentucky's public libraries on cataloging and processing issues, and submits a column of cataloging tips for publication in the Public Library Newsletter.
KDLA Videos Assist Summer Reading
The library’s multimedia staff prepared a mediagraphy of videos and DVDs in the State Library’s collection on the Summer Reading Program themes “Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds” and “Joust Read.” Selected titles on the mediagraphy were available for preview at the summer reading workshops held in Frankfort on February 23-25, 2005. The mediagraphy was distributed statewide to children’s librarians to assist them with Summer Reading programming.
KDLA Supports State Government Training Efforts
KDLA continues to work with state government agencies to meet the information and training needs of state government employees. The “Kentucky Government Employees Materials Request Form” was added to the KDLA website in order to simplify state government employees’ requests for materials they need for information or training purposes. State Library Services staff made informational presentations on the Library’s services to state government employees as well as an overview of the remote access research databases to the district offices of the Transportation Cabinet and also at the Department of Corrections Western Regional Training Center. A presentation on online sources for state, federal and international government information was made at the Government Online Documents workshop sponsored by the Kentucky Virtual Library. The Library’s staff also provided displays at the Personnel Cabinet’s Employees Day, the Kentucky Society of Public Certified Managers Conference, the Ten-Ure Conference, the Kentucky Employee Assistance Program Coffee Break training sessions, and the Governor’s EEO Conference. The Reference staff is working to create bibliographies to provide information on safety training resources in the library’s collection. All bibliographies will be available 24/7 through the KDLA website.
State Library Reaches State Agencies
As part of the 2005 National Library Week celebration, State Library staff emailed information on the State Library’s collections and services, and offered opportunities for library card sign-up. Agencies responding to the library’s invitation were the Kentucky State Police, Environmental Protection’s Division for Air Quality and Division of Water field offices, Natural Resources’ Mines and Minerals, and Workforce Investment’s Office of Employment and Training field offices and Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Public Services Commission. As part of September’s National Library Card Sign-up Month 2005, agencies responding to the Library’s invitation were Department of Tourism, the Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, Department of Natural Resources, the Governor’s Capitol Office, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and the Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Secretary of State’s Office. The Library’s promotional activities resulted in over 500 new state government employee patrons.
State Library Evaluates Collections
The State Library staff continues work on a long-term project to evaluate its collections for individual items that are worn, out of date, or are no longer appropriate to its patrons’ interests. Assessment has been completed for the fiction, nonfiction and biography collections. Work continues on evaluating the periodical, reference and media collections. The benefits of such a project includes freeing shelf space for newer materials, withdrawal of materials that may contain dated information, and withdrawal of books that are no longer used or that are in poor condition.
KDLA’s Collections Area
Prior to May 2005, the State Library’s collections were distributed throughout its first floor location. All the collections were moved into one wing in an attempt to enhance the accessibility of the library’s holdings. This consolidation facilitated a one-stop shopping approach for locating information in various formats (print, video, spoken word). This reorganization also included consolidating the circulation functions for all library materials into one central service location.
State Library Offers Support to Kentucky’s Public Libraries
Special efforts have been made by the State Library staff to maintain contact with public library staff. The “Kentucky Public Library Visual Materials Request Form” was added to the KDLA website in order to simplify the public librarians request for visual materials they need for programming or for their customers. An email “Reference Question of the Month” continues to share interesting questions received through the “Ask a Librarian” consultation service as well as provide an opportunity to recommend information resources and provide helpful research tips. Also, presentations and exhibits were held at the Kentucky Public Library Association conference in April 2005, and at the Public Library Institute held in July 2005. The Reference staff has provided training sessions on reference and federal government documents topics at both state and regional library meetings and to individual Kentucky public libraries. Public library staff members, on an individual basis, throughout the state have continued to ask the Technical Services Branch staff for assistance in creating and maintaining access to information.
Large Print Book Discussion Kits
The State Library, in cooperation with Lexington Public Library Outreach Services, worked to develop multi-format book discussion kits with large print and audio copies of books. The kits are designed to enhance public libraries’ support of reading and literature among the older members of their communities who would benefit from lively discussion and socialization, such as senior center groups, assisted living residences, nursing homes, and for others who find large print materials more useful. The discussion kit includes 15 copies of a large print book title, 1 audiobook, and a discussion guide—all packaged in a sturdy wheeled bag. Current title selections include mysteries and suspense, westerns, romance, classics, current fiction, biography and history. The discussion kits are listed in the KDLA Catalog and are checked out the same way as other media materials. Discussion kits may also be reserved for future dates.
State Government Documents Partnership
The responsibility for the State Publications has been divided between two divisions, State Library Services and Public Records. Early partnership efforts have concentrated on creating a State Publications Collection Policy, especially developing selection criteria for determining a priority list. The Public Records division will retain the acquisition tasks for the program. State Library Services will assume the creation and maintenance of bibliographic access, regardless of format, through the online KDLA Catalog. State Library Services has already begun cataloging the priority print and electronic publications. As bibliographic access is created, the state government documents will be physically relocated to the Collections Wing, making them available for public use.
New Databases Offer Research Support
The State Library added HeinOnline and Scopus to its list of research databases available to state government employees by remote access at their desktops. HeinOnline provides access to four major library collections: the Law Journal Library, the Federal Register Library, the Treaties and Agreements Library, and the U.S. Supreme Court Library. HeinOnline resources are image-based and fully-searchable, meaning that they provide exact page images and enable the researcher to view all pages as they originally appeared in hardcopy-including all charts, graphs, and photographs. Scopus offers more coverage of scientific, technical, medical and social science literature (14,000 titles) than any other database. Other research databases include full-text newspaper articles, magazine and journal articles, electronic reference books, and statistics. State government employees with a KDLA library card have off-site access to the State Library’s research databases.
Technology Training for Public Libraries
The State Library coordinated professional technology training for library employees and administrators. Workshop topics in January-July 2005 included WorldCat Resource Sharing: The Basics and WorldCat Resource Sharing: Beyond the Basics. For the first time, some of these technology training sessions were delivered through mediated online learning. The courses taught were WorldCat Resource Sharing: the Basics and Custom Holdings in WorldCat Resource Sharing. These sessions were delivered as real-time, web-based meetings, consisting of online presentations by an instructor, which allowed students to listen to the instructor, watch demonstrations, and ask questions. Workshop topics in August-November 2005 included MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, MS FrontPage, Designing Usable Websites, Web Design with Cascading Style Sheets, and Planning for Tomorrow’s Technology.
Support for KYVL
The Kentucky Virtual Library (KVYL) received assistance from KDLA in the form of staff expertise and financial support. State Library staff served on various KYVL committees examining issues related to technology, collections, document delivery, and resource sharing.