Welcome!

1. Welcome! Collaboration and Resource Sharing in Small Specialized Libraries April 2013 OLA/WLA Conference Presenters: Laura Wilt – Oregon Department of Transportation Kathy Szolomayer – Washington State Department of Transportation

2. What We’ve Done & How We Did It Introduction to the Landscape The Players Networks & Networking Communication Accomplishments & Benefits What’s Next for Us? Tips to Start & Lessons Learned Q & A

3. Transportation Libraries Who are they? • Generally small, either solo librarians or small staff • Federal, state, and local governments, as well as corporations • Serve a wide variety of information needs within and outside of the parent organization

4. The Players The Players

5. We are a Community!

6. From Local Customers . . . Engineers Other DOTs/ Agencies/ Corporations Planners DOT Library Other Libraries Research Special Programs Administration (Director’s office, etc.) Public

7. . . . To the National Landscape AASHTO Other Transportation Organizations State DOTs FHWA/ US DOT TRB

8. The Networks

9. The Networks TKNs SLA Transportation Division The Networked Librarian! AASHTO RAC TKN Task Force FHWA Pooled Fund Study TRB LIST Transportation Librarians Roundtable National Transportation Library

10. The Networks (Cont.) In the Beginning • SLA Transportation Division (1943) • GTRIC (1977)

11. Networks (Cont.) And Then… TRB’s Committee on Library and Information Science in Transportation (1999) • National Transportation Library (1998) • US DOT Library formed (1969) • NTL & US DOT Library merged (2008)

12. The Networks (Cont.) Transportation Library Connectivity and Development FHWA Pooled Fund Study http://libraryconnectivity.org/

13. The Networks (Cont.) And things really started speeding up with Transportation Knowledge Networks!

14. The Networks (Cont.)

15. The Networks (Cont.) Western Transportation Knowledge Network (WTKN) National Coordinating Committee and NTL Eastern Transportation Knowledge Network (ETKN) Midwest Transportation Knowledge Network (MTKN) Future Regional & Topical TKNs

16. The Networks (Cont.) And remember that map?

17. The Networks, (Cont.) But wait – there’s more! AASHTO RAC TKN Task Force Transportation Librarian’s Roundtable

18. How we Function • Grassroots effort • Membership voluntary • No membership fees • Pooled Fund study provides some funding for projects that benefit the community • SLA Transportation Division hosts TranLIB

19. How We Communicate

20. How We Communicate • Listservs • TKN Listservs • Pooled Fund Listserv (Libcon) • SLA Transportation Division (Tranlib)

21. How We Communicate Meetings • Virtual/Web-based • Face-to-Face • GTRIC (SLA Conference) • Pooled Fund annual meeting • National Transportation Knowledge Networks (NTKN) annual meeting

22. How We Communicate • Websites • WTKN • MTKN • ETKN • Individual library pages

23. Projects, Products, & Marketing Creating a brand – making our stamp. How do we make ourselves known to our customers??

24. Projects, Products, & Marketing Logos

25. Projects, Products, & Marketing Publications

26. Projects, Products, & Marketing TKN Video, courtesy of Oklahoma DOT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqkv4MZXdss

27. Projects, Products, & Marketing Digital Projects

28. Projects, Products, & Marketing Templates for Reports and PowerPoints

29. Projects, Products, & Marketing National TKN Resource Sharing Project Nov 2008 – Mar 2010 Sponsored by Transportation Library Connectivity Pooled Fund Study grant to subsidize FedEx shipping for nearly 50 transportation libraries and information centers across the country Objectives: Prioritized lending for TKN partners; access to ILL network for non-OCLC libraries; no cost to borrowers Result: Increased resource sharing within the network, decreased turnaround time on requests and non-OCLC libraries had access to collections previously not available to them

30. Outstanding Successes Transportation libraries and librarians on the awards podium! • MnDOT Library: ALA’s John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award (2012) • SLA Rising Stars 2013: Kendra Levine from ITS Berkeley and Aileen Marshall, USDA Nat’l Agricultural Library (formerly from National Transportation Library) • Library Journal’sMovers and Shakers award: Kenn Bicknell from LA Metro

31. What’s next for us? On tap for emerging or future projects • Collaborative digitization projects • Shared literature searches / research results – why reinvent the wheel? • Continued group subscriptions • Portal for transportation-related knowledge management resources • The sky’s the limit!

32. So, this sounds good, but… How would such a network benefit me? • Career / Professional Development • Access to colleagues who are sounding boards (especially important to solo librarians) • Educational opportunities through webinars, peer exchange, conferences • The “energizing jolt” of associating with peers – renews one’s professional idealism, and can motivate and inspire us to reach for new goals • Develop amazing friendships!

33. This still sounds good … How do I translate it to my situation?? How would I get something started? • Identify the types of libraries that would share a similar range of interest. And remember - it doesn’t have to be identical! • Start with what you know. Contact other librarians that you know, share your ideas with them, and obtain contacts from them. • Think outside the box. Sometimes, good contacts might come from outside of traditional libraries. • Begin meeting on a regular basis; establish goals and structure. • Outreach and network!!

34. Okay, how do I . . . How do I justify participation in organizations outside my agency/corporations? • Keep statistics. Show how services can increase with expanded resources through networked libraries. • Electronic subscriptions will continue to become the norm, putting budget constraints on individual libraries. Collaborative subscriptions can offer significant discounts. • Give the decision makers an opportunity to see what other organizations are doing, and what could be accomplished through shared resources. • Find and develop advocates from your management • Market yourself! Show how participation can make your library an even more valuable resource to your organization and community.

35. I’m sold! Now . . . Finally - How do you get the funding to get started?

36. Money?? Who said anything about money???

37. Finding Support • Most organizations recognize the benefits of professional development, and may offer support by allowing time to participate, providing software for virtual meetings – sometimes funding professional memberships and conference attendance • Potential for grants, etc., for collaborative projects • Show how you are aligned with your organization’s mission, and build on that • Engage folks within your organization to enlist their support • State libraries can be great resources

38. Finding the Connections

39. Expanding the Networks

40. Lessons Learned • Just do it! If you think collaboration/networking would help you, it will probably be of interest to others • Identify some objectives that a group might be able to accomplish that you cannot do on your own • Build on existing informal relationships or establish new and creative connections • Be assured that small amounts of time with a focused community can return big benefits

41. Conclusion and Q & A Questions? Contact Information: Laura: Laura.e.wilt@odot.state.or.us Kathy: Szolomk@wsdot.wa.gov