What you need to know about the changes at the South Dakota State Library...
This brochure was created for the South Dakota State Fair, Summer 2006, and answers many basic questions about the transition plan.
The original file (August 2006) is available in a pdf download -- this web page was revised December 11, 2006.
- Why is the State Library making changes now?
- What about the citizens who live in areas with no or limited library services?
- What about citizens who currently use the Braille & Talking Book Library?
- When will these changes take place? Revised December 11, 2006.
- What will be the State Library's new role?
Why is the State Library making changes now? -- back to top
State Libraries nationwide have gradually moved away from serving citizens directly to a dual primary mission: improving the quality of library services delivered by the locally-funded public libraries and to serving state government.
As the times have changed and more and more resources are delivered to citizens and libraries electronically, the collections of the South Dakota State Library have declined in use. Today, it makes more sense to move the majority of the print collections to the community libraries where they will remain available to citizens via interlibrary loan.
The State Library will use the funds previously used for the purchase of printed books and the space they sat in for the purchase of more databases, for providing more training so that local library staff can do the best job possible of delivering services, and for developing coalitions of libraries that will extend services to all citizens of the state.
What about the citizens who live in areas with no or limited library services? -- back to top
It is not the intention of the State Library to deprive citizens of access to library services. Every citizen in the state must have good library services available if South Dakota is to remain strong and viable.
The State Library will work with other libraries across the state to develop a network of libraries that are willing to provide library services to citizens living in remote areas. This will require that the remote citizen choose which library they wish to provide their services and to pay for a non-resident library card at that library. The libraries who agree to be part of this network will accept requests by mail, email, or phone and will provide services by mail or to the patron who walks through their door.
If the citizen has a local library, the citizen is encouraged to work with the local library staff and library board to obtain the level of library services that they need.
What about citizens who currently use the Braille & Talking Book Library? -- back to top
The services of the Braille & Talking Book Library will remain relatively unchanged.
Talking books will continue to be provided in the same way that they are today. Radio talking newspapers will continue unchanged. Telephone newspaper services will continue. Over the next five or so years, a new digital recording format will be introduced for those who wish to utilize it.
The major change will be access to large print books. Citizens who use large print books are encouraged to go to their local public library to find the books of their choice.
For those who can't get to the library, staff of the Braille & Talking Book Library will assist with obtaining needed books.
When will these changes take place? -- back to top
The changes at the State Library will take place during 2007. At the end of the year the majority of the changes should be in place.
All library card holders of the South Dakota State Library should have received a mailing that details the changes in service from the State Library and the options available for local public library service. These changes will take place January 1, 2007.
Citizens will no longer be able to utilize the State Library collections and services directly. They will be directed to their local public library (or adopted library) for reference and research services and for borrowing books. Their local library will assist them to the best of their ability and then may request additional help from the larger libraries including the State Library.
The majority of the collections of the State Library will be relocated to local libraries that have their collections listed, or will have their collections listed, on the internet. The relocation process will take place during 2007. The majority of the relocation should be completed by the end of 2007. These "adopted" collections will continue to be available to citizens via the statewide interlibrary loan network.
On January 1, 2007 your local library will become the first point of contact for citizen research questions. To aid in this transition of services, the State Library will be offering reference training to librarians across the state so that they may meet the research needs of their library users.
The State Library will continue to provide services to state employees, including check out of work-related material, access to databases, and training sessions on the databases and other State Library resources.
Revised December 11, 2006.
What will be the State Library's new role? -- back to top
The South Dakota State Library will remain the primary library for state government and will continue to provide support and back-up reference services for local libraries of all types.
The State Library will provide statewide access to expensive online databases that most libraries in South Dakota could not afford to provide for their citizens. Whenever possible, these resources will be made available to the home level as well as at the library. The State Library will provide grants to encourage innovation and growth in local libraries.
The State Library will strive to create an environment that encourages all libraries to become stronger and better able to respond to their citizens' needs. The State Library will provide training in basic and advanced library skills so that even the smaller libraries in the state can answer many of the common reference questions with the tools available locally and on the internet.
The State Library will continue to maintain collections of materials about South Dakota and the region in which we live. They will also continue to develop and maintain collections of materials about Native American tribes that are indigenous to this region of the country. These collections will be made available to citizens via interlibrary loan through your local library.
The South Dakota State Library applications and forms are available in Adobe Acrobat format exactly as it appears in print or in a Web format. First time users of the PDF format must perform a one-time only installation of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader Software before they will be able to read or print the document. This format is used extensively both on the Web and on this site.
