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Although members wanted
Metrowest to explore the idea of BiblioTemps, a service where temporary library
help is made available, Metrowest could not undertake a duplication of
BiblioTemps, a project at the Central Region. The Executive Board invited
Carolyn Noah to speak at the February Meeting of the Executive Board about the
project. Through an agreement with the Central region, BiblioTemps is now
available to Metrowest libraries. Beth Gallaway has facilitated
and/or provided several programs that promote cooperation among public
librarians, school librarians, and teachers. Metrowest staff discussed the
various ways Virtual Programming could be provided to the membership. After
considering several formats Metrowest now provides podcasts of selected
classes, power point presentations, etc. Continuing Education/Professional
development has always been a popular service of Metrowest. In FY2005 we have
provided more programming for youth services librarians, and we had a number of
Metrowest youth services librarians making presentations. Fiscal 2005 was a good year for
Metrowest. We look forward to new challenges in Fiscal 2006. 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
Sondra
Vandermark, Regional Administrator Beth
Gallaway, Trainer/Consultant Youth Services (Started September 13, 2004) Rita
Gavelis, Trainer/Consultant Technology (Started May 16, 2005) Carol
Shilakowsky, Office Assistant Judy
Zomer, Administrative Assistant Barbara A. Andrews, Assistant Regional Administrator
(worked until December 10, 2004) Metrowest
Executive Board 2005 Laura Walters, Past President Tisch Library – Tufts
University Paula Polk, President Morse
Institute Library - Natick Leslie Schoenherr, Vice President/President Elect Lexington Christian Academy Jeanne Smyth, Clerk Bedford High School Tom Viti, Treasurer Westwood
Public Library Cathy Lee, Assistant Treasurer Mass Bay Community College Kim Charlson Perkins
School for the Blind Carol Ewing Norfolk
Law Library Judith Jackson Lay
Representative Tom Jewell Waltham
Public Library Barbara Myles Lincoln
Public Library Leslie Schoenherr Lexington Christian Academy Paul Kissman MBLC
Liaison 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.
Evolving Metrowest Membership
June
2002 June 2003 June 2004 June 2005 Academic -27 Academic – 28 Academic – 28 Academic – 28 Public - 38 Public – 38 Public – 38 Public – 38 School - 232 School – 247 School – 227 School – 235 Special - 47 Special – 52 Special – 47 Special – 49 Total – 344 Total – 365 Total
– 340 Total – 350
The
graph below shows the members for FY2005 by type and percentage. 
Financial Information The following graph shows the expenditures for each program
and service category in Metrowest in fiscal 2005.
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 Annual Council of Members
meeting was held at the John Glenn Middle School in Bedford on November 10,
2004. Rob Maier, Director of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
(MBLC), presented the Legislative Agenda for FY2006, saying the MBLC is looking
for increased funding of the Fund Account 7000-9505 (Library Technology and
Resource Sharing). This year there was a $200,000 increase in account
7000-9506. The funds mainly go to automated networks, with a small amount to
pay for the Perkins ‘Newsline Service,’ which provides a toll-free number for
patrons to call and have over 100 newspapers read by a voice synthesizer. The
Plan of Service and Budget for FY2005 was unanimously approved. The Slate of
Candidates for the Executive Board and Officers were presented and approved. Paul Kissman, MBLC Liaison to Metrowest also
spoke to the Council. Following the business meeting, members divided into groups
to brainstorm programs they would like Metrowest to offer. Among the ideas from
the groups were:
Metrowest
Committees
There are three operating
committees: Budget, Personnel, and Nominating. There are four Service
Committees: Interlibrary Loan, Reference, Youth Services, and Continuing
Education. The Reference Committee reviewed many database products and worked
with the Newton Free Library to develop a survey to gather information to
assist with the transition of the Regional Reference Center from Wellesley to
Newton. 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.html. Delivery Fifty-nine libraries participate in delivery (courier
service). This service facilitates resource sharing among libraries. The
Regional Office conducted two delivery volume counts during the year. The
estimated number of items carried in the delivery for the entire year is
2,785,075 (2,491,425 in FYO4) which was
a 10.5% increase over FY04. In
addition, 2,281 items were mailed to those member libraries not served by the
delivery service. Continuing Education Programs Metrowest staff presented 47 programs, and an additional 42
programs were presented by outside consultants. Metrowest member librarians
co-presented several programs. The total attendance for all of the FY2005
programs (Including Gates Foundation funded workshops; See below) was 960
(FY2004 843). Twenty-five programs were held at locations throughout the region
including public libraries, school libraries, museums, and the Metrowest
partner Minuteman Library Network in Natick. Sample topics for instruction
included Editing Photographs, Database Searching, Science Fair Projects,
Microsoft Office Applications, Hacking Google, and Library Blogs. Sessions also
included Dealing with Change, Promoting Your Library, Virtual Communities, and
Making Contacts. Patrick Jones, nationally recognized young adult expert,
presented two programs in March. The graph below shows the attendance at
programs by type of library.
Metrowest staff responded to 1,179 (555) telephone/e-mail requests totaling 313 hours (144.5) hours for information on topics
such as, delivery, electronic databases, MassCat, technical assistance, youth
services, and Summer Reading. The chart below provides a comparison of the
number of telephone requests among types of libraries.
Metrowest staff also went on 42 site visits (23 site visits in FY2004) totaling 104
hours (57 hours in FY2004) to
meet with members about regional services, technical assistance, 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 became the regional reference and
research center for member libraries of Metrowest in July 2004. The Newton Free
Library answered 17,043 reference questions from patrons and 138 questions
from member libraries during FY2005. 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. The Boston Public
Library, as the library of last recourse, provided netLibrary for all regions.
The total number of member database searches for FY2005 was 2,013,658 an
increase of 3% over FY2004 (1,953,152). Interlibrary Loan Metrowest provides mediated ILL services through the
Wellesley Free Library interlibrary loan center. During FY2005 the Wellesley
Free Library received 8,549 mediated interlibrary loan requests from regional
members and filled 7,350 for a fill rate of 86%. The number of OCLC requests received
from non-member libraries was 40,387 and 3,219 were filled (8% 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. There are nearly 630,913 bibliographic records among 1,261,335
holdings of special, school, small academic, and public participant libraries. Fifty Metrowest libraries participated in MassCat in
FY2005. The libraries had 528,242 holdings, or 42% of the entire MassCat
holdings; 39,791 holdings were added to the database in FY2005. Metrowest
MassCat participants received 149 Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests; 66 requests
were filled. Union List The Union List of periodicals is available through OCLC
FirstSearch. Online access allows a search to be limited to the holdings of the
Region or to a specific participating library.
In FY2005, 1,849 searches were conducted in the Union List, an increase
of nearly 7% over FY2004. (1,725) 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 FY2005 114 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 “Explore Other Worlds” was the theme for the 2004 summer
reading program. This program is another service offered by the regions on a
statewide basis. Of the thirty-seven libraries reporting for the summer of
2003, there were 16,345 participants in the program. A Committee composed of
representatives from each regional office and member libraries is working on
the program for the summer of 2005. The
theme is “Going Places @ Your Library.” Metrowest Web Site The Metrowest Web Site (www.mmrls.org) is a useful tool for
communication with members. The site had 697,876 hits in FY2005, an increase of
39% over FY2004. (426,637) Program announcements, continuing education
schedules, class registration forms, job opportunities, and surveys all are
made available on the site. The most frequently used pages are Home Access to
Databases, Jobs, Continuing Education, Other Jobs, and Members. In January 2005
we expanded the blog at the Metrowest site. The blog provides a quick way to
communicate news for the membership. In addition, program notes with links to
the Continuing Education page where workshop materials are located is
communicated through the blog. The graph below indicates the growth in use of the
Metrowest web page as a communication tool for the members.
Gates Foundation Technology Grant Metrowest, along with the other regions, received funding
for technology training from the Gates Foundation. Linda Braun provided seven
sessions on three technology topics. Two lecture style sessions on “Having Fun
with Emerging Technologies” focused on RSS feed, iTunes, and downloading an
audiobook from Audible.com. Ms. Braun gave one session on “Emerging
Technologies and Information Gathering” focusing on text messaging, Google
products, federated searching RSS feed, and handheld devices. Also she led four
hands-on workshops, “Try It Yourself/Emerging Technologies,” where participants
could practice the emerging technologies for themselves. |
