Public Library Standards

1. Public Library Standards A Partnership of the Indiana Public Library Association Indiana Library Trustee Association Indiana State Library

2. Why Are We Here? • Public Library Standards have not been revised since 1997. • Provide new and meaningful tiered standards to assist libraries in serving patrons and establishing service expectations. • Seek your feedback as the Public Library Standards Review Committee develops revised standards.

3. What is Today’s Process? • Review the draft framework of the proposed standards. • Respond to questions for clarification • Each location will be asked to provide feedback and flesh out suggested tiered levels for specific standards • Report back initial suggestions from the groups. • Everyone gets homework – due Friday, May 1. Note: Today’s PowerPoint presentation is posted on the State Library’s website.

4. Why Library Standards? • IC 4-23-7.1-11     Sec. 11. (a) The board, with the advice of the advisory council, shall establish operating standards and rules for libraries eligible to receive funds, either federal or state, under the provisions of any program for which the Indiana state library is the administrator. The Indiana state library shall monitor libraries eligible to receive funds or receiving funds to ascertain whether or not the standards and rules are being met.

5. Mission of the Committee • Update and establish meaningful standards for Indiana’s public libraries to provide service level expectations to Indiana’s served residents. • Provide an opportunity for libraries to provide varied levels of service to their community while meeting or exceeding standards.

6. Committee Members • William Bruce, ILTA, Vigo County • Marsha Ford, ILTA, Lawrenceburg • John Leavitt, ILTA, Nappanee • Laura Bramble, IPLA, Indianapolis-Marion County • Dave Eisen, IPLA, Mishawaka-Penn-Harris • Janelle Graber, IPLA, Eckhart • Susan Miller, IPLA, Bedford • Nick Schenkel, IPLA, West Lafayette • Jake Speer, Indiana State Library • Wendy Knapp, Indiana State Library • Jim Corridan, Indiana State Library • Roberta Brooker, Indiana State Library, Ex-Officio

7. Draft Standards (rev.) • The library must operate in compliance with Indiana laws, including the Public Library Law, the Indiana Library and Historical Department Law, and other Indiana lawsthat affect municipal units. • The library board is responsible for hiring a full-time library director with the education and experience required by the librarian certification rule. The library shall hire library employees in compliance with the librarian certification rule (590 IAC 5).

8. Governance (rev.) • The library board and director shall maintain their separate functions as follows: • The board is responsible for governance and policy. • The director is responsible for administration. • With the advice and recommendations of the library director, the library board shall: • classify employees; • adopt schedules of salaries; • adopt the proposed library budget; and • adopt library policies. • Deleted: prescribe duties of employees

9. Personnel Policies (rev.) • The library must comply with federal laws affecting employment practice. The library shall have written personnel policies and procedures. Written personnel policies and procedures must address at least the following: (1) Employment practices, such as: (i) recruitment (ii) selection (iii) appointment (2) Personnel actions (3) Salary administration (4) Employee benefits (5) Conditions of work (6) Leaves

10. Library Trustees (rev.) • The Indiana state library will provide orientation materials to new library board trustees and training materials to all library trustees and directors annually. The library board shall follow the principles discussed in approved and current Indiana state library publications. • The library shall have written by-laws that outline its purpose and its operational procedures and address conflicts of interest issues.The by-laws shall be reviewed at least every three years. A copy of the by-laws shall be submitted to the Indiana state library. All amendments to the by-laws which have been adopted by the board in each year shall be submitted with the library's annual report.

11. Long-Range Plan (rev.) • With the advice and recommendation of the library director, the library board shall adopt the following written plans and policies: • Collection development • Principles of access to all library materials and services. • A long-range plan of service for up to five (5) years. The plan, updates, and revisions must be filed with the Indiana State Library. At a minimum, the plan shall include the following: • A statement of community needs and goals. • Measurable objectives and service responses to the community needs and goals and a regular assessment of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. • A method for periodic review and evaluation. • Financial resources. • Collaboration with other public libraries. • Collaboration with other community partners

12. Technology Plan (rev.) • A technology plan of service for three (3) years. The plan, updates, and revisions must be filed with the Indiana State Library. At a minimum, the plan shall include the following: • Goals and realistic strategy for using telecommunications and information technology • A professional development strategy • An assessment of telecommunication services, hardware, software, and other services needed • Financial resources • An ongoing evaluation process • An automation plan which conforms to national cataloging standards

13. Facilities (same) • All newly constructed and existing library facilities (central buildings and branches) must be in compliance with local, state, and federal building, health and safety codes. • The library must comply with provisions of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act to make its physical and digital services available to everyone.

14. Library Services (same) • Acquisition, organization, and loan of print, audiovisual, digital, and other collections. • Availability of general collections to the public during regular library hours of operation.

15. Collections – (new) • A library expending at least XX% of the equivalent of its operating expenditures and at least $X.XX per capita for library collections shall meet minimum standards for collections. • A library expending the equivalent of XX% of its operating expenditures and at least $X.XX per capita for library collections shall meet enhanced standards for collections. • A library expending the equivalent of XX% of its operating expenditures and at least $X.XX per capita for library collections shall meet excellent standards for collections.

16. Communications – (rev.) • The library will provide the following means of communication with the public: • A telephone listed in the library's name; • An answering machine, voicemail, or other similar technology to provide operating hours of the library; • An email address listed on the library's website, • A photocopier will be made available to the public.

17. Website – (new) • A website to include: • Hours of operation, physical address and map for each location, phone and email address; • Electronic resources provided free of charge to the citizens of Indiana by the State of Indiana, e.g. INSPIRE; • Public service policies adopted by the library; and • the library's online public access catalog

18. Library Lending – (rev.) • Interlibrary loan free of charge (other than reimbursement for actual photocopy and postage or freight costs), and lend materials through at least one of the following: • statewide reciprocal borrowing program • OCLC Resource Sharing • Evergreen Indiana • Local reciprocal borrowing with at least one other public library district.

19. Delivery Services (rev.) Participate in the statewide delivery service provided by the Indiana state library with the following frequency:

20. Reference Services (rev.) • provided by a qualified individual holding the appropriate librarian certificate for the position. • knowledge of and access to reference materials, including INSPIRE

21. Children’s Services (rev.) • designate one or more staff to serve at least part-time as a children/young adult services librarian. • Exceeding/Enhanced – one full time staff member designated as a children's services librarian • Exceptional/Exemplary – one full time staff member designated as a children's services librarian and one full time staff member designated as a young adult librarian • a collection of materials for children, parents, and caregivers, • space designated in the library for children's services • provide an annual summer reading program

22. Library Programming (rev.)

23. Special Services (rev.) • Provide access to large print books, Braille books, books on tape, and enhanced media to patrons who are unable to read regular print, because of a visual or a physical disability.

24. Integrated Library System (new) • An Integrated Library System with an Online Public Access Catalog available on the library's website.

25. Public Access Computers (rev.) • with a minimum Internet connection speed of 1.5 Mbps per site • to all persons regardless of residency, so long as such use would not violate any laws or other legally binding prohibitions imposed upon the person, including, but not limited to, fines owed to the library.

26. The library shall have a base level of technology consisting of at least one staff computer with office software and operating systems, connected to the internet and a printer. Public access computers shall be connected to the Internet and printers as detailed on the left:

27. Purging Patron Files (new) • The library will purge unused library patron cards at least once every three years, deleting those patrons who have not used the card in the last three years and do not owe fines or fees to the library.

28. Library Hours - (rev.) • Hours of service shall be provided to allow the greatest possible access for the community as follows for each public library system. Using the definitions provided ("Evening hours" mean the hours the library is open until at least8:00 p.m.;"Weekend day" means the library is open at least four (4) hours per day on Saturday or Sunday), hours open is calculated by taking the total unique hours the district is open for regular public service; Below are the standards for hours and service days:

29. Library Hours Table

30. Continuing Education (rev.) • The library shall provide support for continuing education for staff and trustees.

31. Annual Report (rev.) • The library shall file with the Indiana state library by February 1 of each year an annual report for the preceding calendar year, in the form prescribed by the Indiana state library. Any falsification of statements certifying which standards have been met shall result in the library being required to return to the Indiana state library any state or federal funding that was received. Included in the report shall be: • a statement certifying which standards have been met, including a statement outlining the library's intention and specific measures planned to reach the remaining requirements not met at that time. • statistics of public service units including door count, program attendance, meeting room usage, website hits, online database usage, aggregated internet usage, reference, and circulation.

32. What’s Next? • Are there additional standards that should be established? • What are the next steps? • Committee will take today’s feedback and review the proposed draft • When the homework is returned to ISL, the committee will review it and other feedback and develop specific metrics for the standards. • Time frame – Hope to have the next draft available by the end of May for comment, with a goal of having ILHB review them by June 30, 2009.