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Author: District Consultant

Recommend a Digital Title

Published by District Consultant on November 18, 2024

Did you know that you can recommend a title for our collection?
The feature in Libby is called “Notify Me Tag”. Any tags that a patron adds to their app are sent to all of their library collections. That sends the library a signal that there is interest for a title so they can build a collection that better serves you. If one of your collections adds the the title, you will get a notification either in the app or via email.
Notify Me Tags are anonymous to the library; libraries just see the number of tags next to a title.
If you can’t find the title in Libby with the Deep Search, it’s most likely that the publisher has not made the digital versions available for the library to purchase.

Video Instructions

Credit to: Libby

Written Instructions

Step One: Find the title

Make sure you are logged in with a library card on your app.

Tap the “Search” Magnifying Glass icon at the bottom of the app.

If you see the title you’d like, skip to step 3.

Step Two: Use Deep Search and Filters

If you do not see the title, scroll to the bottom of the list, or tap the filters list icon to find “deep search”.
(Note: If your original search has more than 100 titles, you will need to refine your search before the deep search feature is available.)

Use the Filters list to narrow down by format or language.

Step Three: Add the tag

If none of the collections you have in your app own the title, you will see a grey icon with a gold alarm bell icon.
Tap on this icon, then tap the plus sign on the next screen.

If this is your first time adding a Notify Me tag, you will see this screen, asking you if you want a shelf notice or email notification if your library adds the title.
(Shelf notices appear as a red indicator near the top of your shelf, within the app.)

You are able to edit these preferences under “Menu > Notifications” in the future.

Step Four: Manage Your Tags

If one of your libraries purchases the title, you’ll be notified and have the option to borrow or place the title on hold (depending on its availability). Holds do not happen automatically.

Did you get a copy of the item in your Notify Me tags and are no longer interested? It’s easy to remove the tags.

Tap on “Tags”, then navigate to the tag with the alarm bell and “Smart Tag: Notify Me”. Tap on it.

When the list appears, swipe left on the title until the trash can icon appears, then tap to delete.

You can also remove the tag from the Title Detail Screen. Just tap on the tag with the bell, then uncheck the tag on the next screen.

Home Library Change Impacting Libby Access

Published by District Consultant on November 8, 2024

As of late September 2024, the Libby app requires patrons’ selected library at login to match the Home library listed in our system. If you are currently having problems logging in, it may be because Libby is trying to login under a different home library than what is listed in our system. Typically, the error message will be “Your library card is not able to access this library.”

To solve this problem, retry logging in using your home library (have your library card number handy):

Numbered with steps for the Libby app. Unfortunately, there is no way to see or edit what the app thinks is your home library .

  1. At the bottom of the Libby app, select Menu
  2. Tap Manage Cards.
  3. On your existing Oil Creek Library District card, tap the three horizontal dots icon at the bottom
  4. Tap Remove Card
  5. Re-add your card selecting the correct home library.
  6. Repeat these steps for each of our partner library collections: Seneca District Libraries, Crawford County Federated Library System, New Castle District Library Center, and Erie County Public Library.
  7. (Optional, not pictured) Tap the three horizontal dots icon at the bottom (same place as in step 3).
  8. Tap Rename Card.
  9. Rename your card with your home library name.

If this doesn’t work:

Contact your home library or use the “Trouble Logging In” form. It’s possible our system has the incorrect Home Library!

I can log in but can’t see my holds, checkouts, or history:

Complete the form “Libby Account Merger Request“. Libby sees each account and home library pair as a separate account, so library staff needs to manually merge them on the administrative back- end.

Statement of Concern

Published by District Consultant on August 21, 2023

Collection Development Guideline

Reconsideration of Materials

The District recognizes the right of individuals and libraries to question the inclusion of materials in the District collection. The Library will give serious consideration to each patron’s opinion. Only requests from patrons in our service area shall be considered. 
Once a decision has been made on an item, no future challenges will be accepted for the next two years unless the area(s) of concern are substantially different.
Decisions on SCs are based on careful review of the objection, material, and Library policies, including these guidelines, the Library Bill of Rights, and the American Library Association’s guidelines on intellectual freedom.

Collection Development Guidelines

Published by District Consultant on July 12, 2023

Purpose

The District develops resources to help local libraries provide the best possible services for their patrons and communities.  There are two audiences for District resources: those resources helpful for training and improving librarians and those resources the District provides to the public on behalf of the local libraries. 

Scope

“Collection” refers to any materials selected for and owned by the District. These guidelines govern only those resources obtained by the District and do not govern the collection of the District Center (Oil City Library).

The focus of the collection shall be to support the collections of local libraries as well as state library initiatives and trends. 

The collection may be composed of a variety of styles, formats, and levels of difficulty. The collection shall be selected and made available to the entire district, though selected materials in the collection may only be made available to librarians. 

The collection shall be reviewed and revised on an ongoing basis to meet current and anticipated needs. The District strives to meet collection standards set forth by the state of Pennsylvania’s Office of Commonwealth Libraries. The District recognizes and respects intellectual property rights and conforms to legislation regarding copyright protections.

Responsibility for Collection Management

Ultimate responsibility for the selection and withdrawal of materials rests with the District Consultant, who operates within the framework of policies and procedures set forth by the Oil Region Library Association. Suggestions and participation from library staff members and the public are encouraged and given serious consideration in the management process. Allocation of the materials budget will be determined based on collection focus, indicators of use, and cost per item.

Selection 

Impartiality and judicious selection shall be exercised in all materials acquisitions practices. Selection of materials does not indicate endorsement by the District of the contents or views contained within those materials.

No materials are excluded from selection on the basis of race, nationality, sexual orientation, political, social, or religious beliefs. Each type of material will be judged in its entirety, not on the basis of isolated passages or sections. Each item will be judged in terms of its own kinds of excellence and for whom it is intended. 

The District strives to provide access to the greatest number of quality materials possible to serve the over 130,000 residents in our service area. We work in tandem with our local libraries and place a higher emphasis on materials unlikely to be purchased by them. Higher emphasis will be placed on resources that meet the needs of underserved populations, including those who have broadband challenges. Patron recommendations are welcome through our website or in-app features and are regularly reviewed for trends and unmet needs. The collection is selected to be useful, diverse, inclusive, and responsive to community needs. 

Digital collections (eBooks and downloadable audiobooks) face unique challenges to curation; namely that the content is licensed, not owned, by the District. Publishers allow libraries to purchase content under models ranging from metered licenses (allowing a certain number of checkouts or a certain length of time) to purchase costs being 5-6 times higher than retail to not allowing libraries to lend titles at all. 

With these restrictions in mind, the focus of the popular digital collection will be on current titles. Purchasing multiple copies, having every format, filling author backlists, and owning completed series will not be a priority. License cost will weigh heavily in selection.

Evaluation

The collection will regularly be evaluated to determine if the provided resources are still supportive of the mission of the District and the needs of local libraries. The evaluation is crucial to developing and maintaining a useful collection.

Reconsideration of Materials

The District recognizes the right of individuals and libraries to question the inclusion of materials in the District collection. The Library will give serious consideration to each patron’s opinion.

Individuals questioning material in the library collection may request reconsideration of a selection decision by submitting a written Statement of Concern (SC) to the District Consultant. The Consultant will respond in writing to the individual’s SC and include a copy of these guidelines. Any appeal must be requested in writing to the District Administrator for review by the DAC.

The SC form can be found on the District website. Only requests from patrons in our service area shall be considered. 

Once a decision has been made on an item, no future challenges will be accepted for the next two years unless the area(s) of concern are substantially different.

Decisions on SCs are based on careful review of the objection, material, and Library policies, including these guidelines, the Library Bill of Rights, and the American Library Association’s guidelines on intellectual freedom.

Review and Supersession

These guidelines will supersede all previous selection and deselection policies and guidelines. The guidelines shall be reviewed periodically.

Approved by District Advisory Council June 28, 2023

1,000 Books before Kindergarten Statistics Form

Published by District Consultant on October 30, 2018

Feedback, Grievance, and Evaluation Procedures

Published by District Consultant on October 30, 2018

Purpose

The Feedback, Grievance and Evaluation Procedure delineates the guidelines for the Oil Creek Library District to receive and respond to feedback, settle grievances, and conduct District evaluations.
Feedback is understood to be any suggestion for improvement or general question regarding District services. Feedback is accepted from any member library director, staff, volunteer (including Board members), and patrons.
A grievance is understood as an issue that needs an outside mediator for resolution. If the issue is with the Consultant, the mediator will generally be the Administrator. All other grievances will generally be mediated by the Consultant. The grievance process is not intended to resolve in-house conflicts (e.g. staff vs. director). It is intended to help resolve issues between two or more member libraries, a board/director conflict, or an issue the member has with District services. Any Staff or Volunteer, including Board members, of member libraries may initiate this process.
Evaluations are understood to be evaluations performed on District services. District employee evaluations will be conducted in conjunction with the policies of Oil Region Library Association.

Expectations

It is expected that any feedback given will be constructive and professional. It is expected that all parties will work to resolve any grievances in good faith, following the reporting protocol.
It is expected that if the District feels that they are not able to implement the feedback or be helpful in resolving a grievance that they will respond accordingly to the submitter with the reasoning and any other helpful resources.
It is expected that evaluations will be conducted regularly and in good faith with all affected parties.

Record Keeping

A log of all feedback and grievances will be kept at the District office. The District will strive for keeping a balance between the desire for anonymity and the need to keep individual concerns from affecting the group dynamics.
The District will share relevant responses to questions and feedback with member libraries in a consistently accessible manner. Any applicable issues and concerns that arise through the year will also be addressed and reviewed during the mid-year and annual strategic review processes.
Evaluations of District services will be shared in summary with all member libraries and will be maintained at the District office. Evaluations of District will be kept confidential and in the Personnel files held by Oil Region Library Association.
Records will be kept according to the Oil Region Library Association Document Retention Policy unless otherwise specified.
 

Procedures

Feedback Reporting and Resolution

  1. Feedback can be submitted via the online form posted on the website. Verbal and informal feedback will be tracked to the extent possible in the feedback logs.
  2. A District staff member (generally the Consultant) will respond to the feedback within approximately one week of receipt, whether a change will be made or not.
  3. If applicable, the feedback suggestion will be taken to the District Advisory Council or District Executive Committee.
  4. If a change is made according to the feedback, the submitter will be notified directly, if contact information was provided. The change will also be noted in the feedback log.

Grievance Reporting and Resolution

  1. It is expected that any member library will address an issue or concern directly with the affected party first.
  2. If the situation fails to be resolved, the concern will then be addressed to the Consultant via the Grievance reporting form. (Note: if the issue involves the Consultant, use the Grievance with Consultant form.)
  3. If the Consultant fails to resolve the concern, the concern may be brought to the Administrator.
  4. If the Administrator is unable to resolve the concern, it may be then brought to the District Advisory Council. The decision of the District Advisory Council will be final.

 

Evaluations

  1. Quality Evaluations
    1. The District delivers all evaluation materials prior to each meeting. It is expected that all participants will maximize the quality of discussion at meetings by taking the time to review the materials and pose any questions in advance.
    2. The District conducts an annual evaluation of District services, including Consulting services, to gather honest and appropriate feedback.
    3. The District invites all member libraries, including branches, to evaluate the strategic plan and develop initiatives so the District service population is as represented as possible.
    4. If an issue or concern is noted, the Feedback, Grievance and Evaluation Procedures will be followed.
  2. Strategic Planning Evaluation
    1. Annual Review Process
      1. District staff completes an in-house review.
      2. Each member library completes independent assessments of the District’s achievement of stated goals as well as its individual contribution to meeting said goals.
      3. District staff and member libraries meet together to develop a cohesive evaluation from their combined perspective.
      4. The District Advisory Council reviews the formal evaluation.
    2. Mid-Year Review for Current Fiscal Year
      1. The member libraries complete a mid-year review of the current strategic goals and adjust as necessary.
      2. The mid-year review is reported to the District Advisory Council.
    3. Goals Statement for Future Fiscal Year
      1. The member libraries develop an annual goals list, based on the strategic initiatives of the plan, in conjunction with the budget to ensure appropriate funding.
      2. The Goals Statement is approved by the District Advisory Council.
  3. District Staff Evaluations
    1. Member libraries will be given the opportunity to evaluate the District Consultant and the Youth Services Coordinator in relation to the services provided. All other District staff, except the Administrator will be evaluated for their District service by the District Consultant.
    2. The District Administrator will take any member library feedback into account when performing the annual evaluation for District Consultant. All member library feedback will be included in the evaluation paperwork for the District Consultant.