PRIMARY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SOUTH DAKOTA STATE LIBRARY STUDY
Prepared by Dr. Mary C. Bushing
Library Consultant & Educator
- SDSL should re-define its role, programs, and services to meet the needs of the citizens and libraries of the state for the 21st Century and that means change not the status quo.
- The first step in the re-definition process was to identity the Library's primary clientele. They have been defined as:
- Libraries of all types in South Dakota
- State government employees and elected officials
- Blind, visually and physically impaired citizens of South Dakota
- The second step was for the Board of the State Library to create a new mission statement, and that new mission, as approved by the Board is:
The South Dakota State Library provides leadership
for innovation and excellence in libraries. - To fulfill this mission, the SDSL needs to adjust its programs and services to enable staff members to engage in work that has the potential to bring about long-term change and development of library resources and services to all citizens of the state. Such services should include increased consulting, continuing education, strategic planning for statewide library services, public relations and promotion of libraries across the state, grants administration, and negotiation and facilitation with and for libraries at the local, regional and state level.
- To accomplish this, the SDSL needs to reallocate resources (personnel, space, and budget) to provide services and assistance to libraries in order to better enable libraries to fulfill their more locally defined missions.
- To make possible the above mentioned services, the SDSL will need to cease operating and expending resources in a "public library" model. This means that it should cease developing and maintaining books and other materials that are redundant and duplicative in subject, level, content, and format to those held in public and school libraries scattered throughout the state. These materials add nothing to the pool of resources available to citizens. Further, the SDSL should cease providing a public library environment for citizens who ought to be using and or working towards local libraries that meet their information and recreational service needs.
- Some collections that provide unique resources for all of South Dakota should be maintained by the SDSL but with more clearly delineated policy guidelines. These collections are the South Dakota History, the South Dakota Native American, and the professional library science and library management collections. These all circulate to citizens and librarians through local libraries and are unique in their availability if not in their content.
- A core reference collection, with a preference for electronic formats, should be maintained by the SDSL to assist it in fulfilling its role as a provider of information to state government. More reference training, especially as regards all types of electronic sources, will enable local libraries to be more self-sufficient and diminish the need for the state library to maintain a "just in case" reference collection that receives little use.
- The electronic databases and other types of electronic resources purchased by the SDSL for the benefit for all citizens should continue to be a priority for the SDSL, with participating libraries contributing towards the costs in order to have access to the resource bundle.
- SDSL should more actively seek the involvement of the library community and interested citizens in the development of programs, grant opportunities, the selection and purchase of electronic resources, and the development of policies that affect or interface with local library policies.
- LSTA grants should be part of a strategic plan that moves library services at the local level forward and should include all types of libraries in partnerships with focus on innovation and excellence.
- The role of the SDSL and the University of South Dakota regarding state documents, as determined by statute, should be discussed and clarified so that in the future both tax funded institutions are not duplicating efforts regarding the archiving of state documents.
- The role of the SDSL regarding federal documents should be further reduced and more reliance should be placed on electronic documents and the ability to borrow from other SD depository libraries and/or the regional federal depository in Minnesota.
- The Braille & Talking Book services should work more closely with local libraries in the provision of Large Print books, commercial audio books, and B&TB special services to individual SD citizens. This includes distributing to local public libraries, the Large Print collection currently housed in Pierre.
- The role of the SDSL and the state librarian should be changed in SDLN. The state librarian should be made a permanent member of the Executive Committee but not the permanent chair of the that committee; the SDSL should cease providing member bookkeeping services for SDLN (invoicing, tracking, receiving, and transferring of funds) and turn this function completely over to the network to operate on their own behalf; and, the state library should advocate for full participation of all libraries in SDLN or for the creation of a different model to enable electronic sharing of bibliographic information to enable efficient resource sharing amongst the libraries of the state. SDLN and/or another statewide network for smaller libraries, along with a program to fund and encourage participation, will enable access to materials between and amongst libraries to replace the need for the SDSL to have collections sitting in Pierre-just in case.
- The possibility of a statewide library card, that is, a card or identifier that would enable citizens of the state to have direct access to resources in any library in the state should be a long-term goal.
- All service initiatives, programs, grants, and continuing education offerings should be considered in light of the mission and a strategic plan that will move the SDSL towards fulfillment of its mission and the increased self-sustainability of libraries in the state.
- Training and professional development of the SDSL staff members needs to be more of a priority in order to provide the level of expertise and professionalism required for SDSL to provide leadership.
- The State Library Board should become more involved in the strategic planning, policy development and interpretation, and political positioning for the SDSL.
- The SDSL should play a more active role in the Department of Education so as to more directly influence issues related to K-12 educational success and the role school library media programs and certified school library media educators can play in assuring success and improving test scores and the reading ability and enjoyment of students.