A Closer Look at Joint Finance Committee Motion to Study Public Library Systems: Using Technology

As introduced by Sen. Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan):  Require the Department of Administration, in consultation with the Department of Public Instruction, to conduct a study of the public library systems to identify potential savings by

• Consolidating regions 
• Using technology 
• Reducing duplications and inefficiencies 
• Utilizing LEAN practices 
• Increasing the sharing of services between library systems

Wisconsin public library systems have been involved in the planning and implementation of technology projects for as long as they have been in existence -- since 1973.   Perhaps the most uniformly visible evidence of this continuing growth in the use of technology is shared online public access catalogs.

The following table serves as a brief status report.

360 of Wisconsin's 388 public libraries participate in system-wide shared public access catalogs.

Possible discussion points/areas of review as we move through the System Services/Configuration Discussion Process:

• The impact on "consolidating regions" (first point in Sen. Leibham's Joint Finance Committee motion) on "using technology"  -- more specifically, on the system-based development of online public access catalogs.  Perhaps library staff and board members in Eastern Shores and Manitowoc-Calumet systems have already initiated this discussion.
• The 1998 framework for "Building a Statewide Library Network"   (key concept:  not a single structure; decentralized and distributed networks) and 2007 Tech Plan Update.
• [Please share your suggestions.]

"Building a Statewide Library Network"  [bold added by RG]
Each library must determine its level of participation in the evolving statewide library network. The development of a statewide library network will build on the substantial networking infrastructure already in place.

This infrastructure can be generally divided into conduits and content.

The conduits consist of the

• networking infrastructure, which includes local area and wide area networks, 
• the public/private telecommunications networks and 
• the host of protocols that allow linkages between these networks to facilitate the flow of information. 

The content is the information that is accessed and transported by the network conduits to the end user.

The information may reside in the patron's local library or halfway around the world. The conduits and content come together for the library patron in the form of a graphical workstation with high-speed Internet access.

For examples of the constituent parts of the conduits and content, see Appendix A.

The term "statewide library network" is used only in the conceptual sense. The evolving network will not be a single structure. Such a structure is neither feasible nor desirable in the age of decentralized and distributed networks or at a time when repositories of information are similarly decentralized and distributed.   

Rather, a statewide library network will be an interconnected network of local, regional and statewide networks.

See also Wisconsin Library Technology Strategic Plan Progress Summary and Implementation Plan of the Goals and Objectives (September, 2007)

Related posts:
Proposed Demographic and Organizational Standards for Wisconsin Public Library Systems.  (5/23/2013)
Lean Six Sigma.  (5/22/2013)
Joint Committee on Finance Votes to Approve Study of "Public Library System".  (5/21/2013)