FY2006 Annual Report

METROWEST PRESIDENT’S REPORT

by Leslie Schoenherr, President 2006

Metrowest celebrates its 10th Annual Council of Members Meeting this year, and member libraries are stronger, better equipped and more informed than they were ten years ago because of the advocacy and resources of Metrowest and its knowledgeable staff. At the start of this 10th year also comes a new Strategic Plan that will guide us through 2011. Other issues on the front burner this year were delivery and the budget.

Strategic Plan

Strategic planning was tackled at the start of summer and was both illuminating and energizing. The process was facilitated by Becky Schreiber of Schreiber/Shannon Associates and drew around 40 member participants in the two day Future Search brainstorming session in June. Not only did participants contribute top priorities for our roadmap for the future, but we also delineated the differences between Metrowest and Minuteman—finally! The many large post-its were brought back to Metrowest for Sunny, Beth and Rita to decorate the walls and draft a plan over the summer months. A few of us met in August to edit the Strategic Plan and the Board made other key modifications to simplify and streamline the document in the last few months. We are proud to present the Strategic Plan for Metrowest for 2007–2011, a succinct document which will help us navigate and plan for the years ahead. The new mission statement reads:

Metrowest, a membership-driven organization of multitype libraries, provides access to resources and services that augment the capacity of individual member libraries. Mobilizing a small force of highly skilled employees and the cooperation of our members, we deliver continuing education and technological expertise, high level reference and consulting services, shared materials, and advocacy leadership to ensure the relevance and vitality of libraries in Metrowest Massachusetts.

The Board and staff have worked hard to provide this vision for our future and we look forward to implementing the goals and objectives over the next five years. Thanks to all who took time to add their ideas and expertise in the Future Search process. Now it is time for you to voice your comments and support.

Delivery

The summer of 2005 saw a change of vendors from CD&L to Eastern Connection. There have been changes for the better with the new company, though there is still much room for improvement. The total volume of items delivered in the Metrowest region has increased by 62% over the last 3 years, from 1,127 bins in April 2003 to 1,639 bins in April 2006. The cost of delivery has also increased, squeezing our budget to the breaking point. Sunny continues to investigate other delivery vendors and processes to make delivery more efficient and less costly. Sunny has also been serving on a state-wide delivery committee and attended a national conference on delivery recently. We are not the only region or state with delivery issues and the Board and staff continue to be diligent in finding better solutions to provide delivery to the region. Thanks are due to Judy Zomer who daily deals with the fallout from delivery debacles.

Budget

The squeeze is on, and has been since FY2003. Metrowest has a mandated plan of service from the state to provide: delivery, supplemental reference service, interlibrary loan services, continuing education and training, advisory and technical assistance, other supplemental service and regional coordination and administration. In FY2003, the Metrowest budget was cut by 23.8% and remained level funded for the next two years. In FY2006 and FY2007 small increases were received. Unfortunately the increases have not kept up with inflation and skyrocketing delivery costs. Databases have been cut and staffing has been reduced. It has become increasingly difficult to provide this plan of service with the budget constraints and with delivery costs growing rapidly. We are at the point where an equitable balance of service is becoming very difficult to provide. Without new funds from the state, current programs and services will be compromised or even cut. At this point we are anticipating a need to cut two databases from the FY 2008 budget.

As we look back on the last ten years and the many benefits we have all experienced from this organization—be it C.E., databases, delivery, cooperatives, advocacy or support—we all need to:

Metrowest is only as strong as its members—with your help we can make the organization even stronger in the next ten years.

METROWEST FISCAL 2006 REVIEW

By Sunny Vandermark, Regional Administrator

In many ways fiscal 2006 was a good year. Metrowest had a full staff. Beth Gallaway and Rita Gavelis offered a number of challenging, well-received professional development/continuing education offerings and continued to plan various ways Virtual Programming could be provided to the membership. Participation in Metrowest’s workshops was up by 20%. Our Continuing Education Committee developed and implemented an online survey to gather member input on their continuing education needs. Survey results are used to plan for future workshops.

Having a full staff enabled Metrowest to respond to numerous requests for advisory and technical assistance, with questions ranging from MassCat, database access, weeding a collection, and summer reading to trends in technology.

Following a difficult summer for members on delivery, Metrowest signed a contract with Eastern Connection for service to the 59 libraries that participate in delivery. With a mere 2,736,734 items placed in delivery in FY2006, volume decreased by approximately 2% from FY2005. The decrease in volume was the result of a freeze by the Minuteman Library Network (MLN) on borrowing audiovisual materials during the summer of FY2006. In November MLN revised the network policy to allow for audiovisual borrowing with the exception of new feature film DVDs. Judy Zomer is responsible for maintaining communication between the delivery vendor and the libraries on delivery, often a challenging activity.

An important outgrowth of numerous delivery discussions has been the formation of a joint Metrowest/Minuteman Delivery Committee. The committee’s charge is “to help in the evaluation of and make recommendations on regional delivery, and to investigate the use of technologies for better efficiencies while maintaining a reliable, cost effective delivery service.” Susan McAlister, Executive Director of MLN and I were also on the Statewide Delivery Committee. One activity of the Statewide Delivery Committee was to develop a “Best Practices” document. Regions, networks and libraries will begin implementing the “Best Practices” shortly.

Members of the Reference/Database Committee assisted in the development of an online survey to gather member use of databases. Results are available on the Metrowest web site. Member libraries continue to receive back up reference support and excellent reference workshops from the Newton Free Library.

The Interlibrary Loan Committee implemented a Request for Proposal process for an interlibrary loan provider. The Wellesley Free Library was the lone bidder. The proposal was well developed and documented. The three year contract (FY2008-FY2010) was awarded to Wellesley by the Metrowest Executive Board with special recognition of a very well presented plan for ILL services.

The Metrowest web site has been redesigned and the increased use is rewarding. Rita was the lead person on the redesign. Beth worked on the YA and Continuing Education pages.

Judy Zomer and Carol Shilakowsky are the front line staff that answer many member questions. Carol’s primary responsibilities include maintaining the Library Directory information and the continuing education registrations. Judy’s primary responsibilities include facilitating the cooperative purchasing agreements, mounting the electronic database use statistics on the Metrowest web page, and compiling the individual member “Values of Service” reports.

At the end of the fiscal year Metrowest embarked on an exciting Strategic Planning process. We all look forward to the implementation of the new strategic directions for the region.

METROWEST MASSACHUSETTS REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM

Purpose and People

The Metrowest Massachusetts Regional Library System (known as Metrowest) is a multitype cooperative library system serving libraries from all segments of the community. Members of Metrowest include academic, school, special, and public libraries in the metropolitan area west of Boston. Metrowest is a state funded non-profit organization whose goal is to facilitate cooperative activities among the autonomous libraries that are its members. Metrowest also seeks to provide services to libraries in order to meet the informational needs of all residents in the thirty-six cities and towns which comprise the Metrowest region.

Metrowest Staff Metrowest Executive Board 2006

Metrowest Office
135 Beaver Street
Waltham, MA 02452
781-398-1819
888-383-8882 (Toll free - In State only)
781-398-1821 Fax

Metrowest Members

Metrowest members include libraries serving all segments of the community. Members of Metrowest include academic, school, special, and public libraries, all with the goal of providing the best possible library service to their library users. Metrowest facilitates cooperative activities among the libraries that are its members and provides services to its member libraries to help meet the informational needs of all residents in the thirty-six cities and towns which comprise the Metrowest region.

Metrowest Communities

Metrowest is composed of member libraries in thirty-six communities located west of Boston.

Acton Dover Medway Sudbury
Arlington Framingham Millis Waltham
Ashland Franklin Natick Watertown
Bedford Holliston Needham Wayland
Belmont Lexington Newton Wellesley
Brookline Lincoln Norwood Weston
Cambridge Maynard Sherborn Westwood
Concord Medfield Somerville Winchester
Dedham Medford Stow Woburn

Evolving Metrowest Membership 

June 2003 June 2004 June 2005 June 2006
Academic - 28 Academic - 28 Academic - 28 Academic - 28
Public - 38 Public - 38 Public - 38 Public - 38
School - 247 School - 227 School - 235 School - 233
Special - 52 Special - 47 Special - 49 Special - 50
Total - 365 Total - 340 Total - 350 Total - 349

The graph below shows the members for FY2006 by library type and percentage.

Pie chart by type of membership

Financial Information

The following graph shows the expenditures for each program and service category in Metrowest in fiscal 2006.

Pie chart of expenditures for each program and service category

Member Activities

There are a number of ways for members to participate in Metrowest activities.  The three most prominent action groups are the Executive Board (see above), the Council of Members, and various Metrowest Committees.

Council of Members

The Council of Members is comprised of the Director or an individual appointed by the Director from each public, academic, and special member library; one designated representative from the participating public school libraries within each public school district; and one designated representative from the participating private school libraries within each municipality. The Council of Members elects directors and officers of Metrowest. The Council approves the Plan of Service (goals, objectives and activities necessary to provide programs and services to the membership) and the Annual Budget to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners for funding approval. The Council meets at least once each year.

The ninth Annual Council of Members meeting was held at Olin College in Needham on November 9, 2005.

Rob Maier, Director of the MBLC, thanked everyone for promoting last year’s Legislative Agenda. Rob added the need to continue to tell the story of how libraries serve patrons. Rob distributed handouts on the new Legislative Agenda. The Legislative Agenda calls for increases in each of the 6 accounts. The Legislature is looking for a multi-year plan, with 3 years of projections, resulting in:

Rob urged librarians to attend the MLA Ways and Means Day and to attend the Legislative Breakfasts. Rob added that it is important to speak with legislators about how libraries impact patrons.

Treasurer Tom Viti presented the FY 2007 Plan of Service and Budget. There was discussion about the escalating delivery costs and the negative impact on services. Without the budget increase received, Metrowest would have cut services. The Plan of Service and Budget for FY2007 was unanimously approved. The Slate of Candidates for the Executive Board and Officers were presented and approved. Paul Kissman, MBLC Liaison to Metrowest, highlighted several events of 2005 in his report. Paul noted that the MBLC had moved its offices to the North End of Boston and was awarded a $204,800 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Libraries Program.

Paula Polk reported on the ideas that came out of the Brainstorming at the 2004 annual meeting. Paula noted that the two new consultants, Beth Galloway and Rita Gavelis are working on the suggestions for training library staff for the 21st century. Rita spoke about expanding the Metrowest website and Beth spoke about virtual training. Beth and Rita are looking to make more training available through the internet and/or at member libraries. Paula spoke about the delivery crisis and encouraged members to pressure their legislators to fund delivery. Sunny added that she is joining a newly formed Statewide Delivery Committee.

Metrowest Committees

There are three operating committees: Budget, Personnel, and Nominating. There are five Service Committees: Interlibrary Loan, Reference, Youth Services, Continuing Education, and a joint Metrowest/Minuteman Delivery Committee. During FY2006, the Interlibrary Loan Committee developed and implemented a Response for Proposal (RFP) for Interlibrary Loan Services. The Wellesley Free Library was awarded a three-year contract (FY2008-FY2010) based on their excellent response. The Reference Committee assisted Metrowest staff develop an online survey to gather information on database use. And the Continuing Education Committee assisted Metrowest staff develop an online survey to gather information about member continuing education needs. Survey results for both Reference and Continuing Education are available on the Metrowest web site.

Metrowest Programs and Services

Metrowest provides a variety of programs and services to its member libraries through state funds administered through the MBLC. Many of the services are required by the MBLC. However, each of the six regions, through its members, can determine the weight given to each service.

Information about all programs and services can be found on the Metrowest Web Site at www.mmrls.org/metro_services.htm.

Delivery

Fifty-nine libraries participate in delivery (courier service). This service facilitates resource sharing among libraries. The total volume of items delivered in the Metrowest region has increased by 62% over the last 3 years, from 1,127 bins in April 2003 to 1,639 bins in April 2006. However, the number of items (2,736,734) carried in the delivery for FY2006) decreased by 2% from FY2005. The small decrease in delivery was the result of a freeze by Minuteman Library Network (MLN) on audiovisual materials during the summer of FY2006. In November MLN revised network policy to allow for audiovisual borrowing with the exception of new feature film DVDs. In addition, 2,500 items were mailed to those member libraries not served by the courier service.

Continuing Education Programs

Metrowest staff presented over 100 sessions, and an additional 36 programs were presented by outside consultants. Metrowest member librarians co-presented several programs. The total attendance for all of the FY2006 programs was 1,192 (FY2005 960) an increase of 25%. Forty sessions were held at public and school libraries locations. Popular workshop topics included Video Games & Libraries, Exploring Firefox, Customer Service, Retirement Planning for Librarians, Editing Photographs, Dreamweaver, and CSS. Several two-day workshops were provided, including “From Idea to Action,” “Access,” and “Storytelling with Sherry Norfolk.”

By the end of the fiscal year, Metrowest staff was offering one online class per month, and an average of two workshops to go, classes taken right to a member library. These offering are a response and continuation of brainstorming ideas from the 2004 Council of Members Meeting.

The list below shows the attendance at programs by type of library.

Advisory and Technical Assistance

Metrowest staff responded to 1,855 telephone/e-mail requests, an increase of 58% from FY2005. Staff spent a total of 510 hours, an increase of 63% (FY2005 313 hours) providing information on topics such as, delivery, electronic databases, MassCat, technical assistance, youth services, and Summer Reading. The list below provides a comparison of the number of requests by type of libraries.

Metrowest staff also went on 42 site visits totaling 110.34 hours to meet with members about a variety of subjects, including regional services, technical assistance, weeding, planning, and MassCat.

Supplemental Reference

Supplemental reference is a variety of services funded by Metrowest that assist member libraries to better meet the needs of their library users.

Reference and Research Services

The Newton Free Library answered 18,239 reference questions from patrons and 138 questions from member libraries during FY2006.

Electronic Databases

In cooperation with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the six Regional Library Systems, InfoTrac Web and Newsbank were provided to all members. Also, Metrowest subscribed to FirstSearch and World Book Online for all members. In addition, Metrowest subscribed to The New York Times Historical for use in public libraries, and for any person using a public library card from home or office. The Boston Public Library, as the library of last recourse, provided netLibrary for all regions. In FY2006, InfoTrac’s implemented a new search strategy. The new strategy changed the way statistics are reported, eliminating the comparison of annual database statistics with previous years. Access to online content remains a priority for Metrowest members.

Interlibrary Loan

Metrowest provides mediated ILL services through the Wellesley Free Library interlibrary loan center. During FY2006 the Wellesley Free Library received 6,995 mediated interlibrary loan requests from regional members and filled 6,086 for a fill rate of 87%. The number of OCLC requests received from non-member libraries were 40,732 and 3,785 were filled (108% fill rate).

MassCat

MassCat is a joint project funded by five of the six regions. Member participants have access to an online union catalog of their holdings. Membership has decreased since FY2005, resulting in a 5% decrease to 604,090 bibliographic records among 1,146,857 holdings of special, school, small academic, and public participant libraries.

Forty-five Metrowest libraries participated in MassCat in FY2006; five less than in FY2005. The reduction in Metrowest libraries resulted in 455,658 holdings in FY2006 compared to 528,242 holdings in FY2005.

Of 234 Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests, 93 were filled. Metrowest MassCat participants received 118 ILL requests; 48 requests were filled.

Union List

Members may search WorldCat available through OCLC FirstSearch. In FY2006 there were 105,798 searches, including the Union List.

Supplemental Services

Participation in supplemental services allows libraries to save money through a statewide bid process. Libraries are offered annually an opportunity to opt into the bid process.

Purchasing Cooperatives

In FY2006 105 libraries participated in the two purchasing cooperatives; library supplies and library materials. It is projected that a library can save 30% on the cost of library supplies and 40% on the cost of library materials. This statewide program is managed by a contract with the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System.

Summer Reading

“Going Places @ Your Library” was the theme for the 2005 summer reading program. This program is another service offered by the regions on a statewide basis. Of the 40 member libraries reporting for the summer of 2005, there were 22,910 participants in the program, a 41% increase over FY2005. A Committee composed of representatives from each regional office and member libraries is working on the program for the summer of 2006. The theme is “What’s Buzzin.”

Metrowest Web Site

The nature of the Internet has changed dramatically over the years. In the beginning, web sites were small, static, and limited. Today, however, more and more organizations not only have sites, but rely on them heavily to disseminate information in multiple directions and formats. In an effort to keep up with people’s expectations of what our web site should be, we at Metrowest have redesigned our site to:

§ Be more dynamic, with information and news that’s updated constantly
§ Incorporate blogs, audio, and images
§ Reach a broader audience by using CSS and Web standards in the redesign
§ Be a primary source for our Continuing Education Materials and Resources for our members

The Metrowest web site is more than just an index of links, but a vibrant, evolving hub for our members to find, share, and learn about the information and issues that affect them as librarians in Massachusetts.

The Metrowest Web Site (www.mmrls.org) had 1,050,515 hits in FY2006, an increase of 51% over FY2005. Program announcements, continuing education schedules, class registration forms, job opportunities, and surveys all are made available on the site.

Library Journal Mover and Shaker Award

Beth Gallaway was named a 2006 LJ Mover and Shaker. Beth, know nationally for her expertise and enthusiasm for gaming is a great advocate for the young adult library user. Congratulations Beth!

LSTA Funded Afterschool Storytelling Club

Publicity for the afterschool storytelling club grant began in July 2005, and in November 2005, thirteen Metrowest members participated in a storytelling training workshop with acclaimed storyteller Sherry Norfolk. More than 50% of the librarian participants demonstrated growth in storytelling knowledge and skill, and five of the members committed to grant participation. A blog, located at http://metrowest.typepad.com, was created to be both a communication tool for librarians running programs, and a place for students to report on their progress and experiences, and a resources webpage for librarians was posted at http://www.mmrls.org/storytelling.html

Newton Free Library began their program in March 2006, with an April vacation performance by four outstanding young ladies. Cambridge began their program at the end of March, and nine teens provided fantastic performance to a local after school program in May. Seven Millis Middle/High School students got involved and told stories to elementary school students in June. Participating students demonstrated positive growth in skills, knowledge and attitude about storytelling, public speaking and using the library.

Metrowest Strategic Plan FY2007-2011

President Leslie Schoenherr wrote an excellent summary of the intensive and rewarding strategic planning process undertaken by Metrowest over the summer (see Metrowest President’s Report, p.1). The new directions for regional activities are exciting. The FY2007 Annual Report will be filled with innovative projects.

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