| Plinkits are raining down in more
than 100 libraries in Oregon, Texas, Illinois, and Colorado.
No, Plinkits are not meteorological events: they are pre-built
library Web sites that are full of content and easy to use.
Plinkit, which stands for "Public Library Interface Kit,"
provides small libraries that have little to no web presence
with a great Web site and the training necessary to update
and maintain it, said Darci Hanning, Technology Development
Consultant at the Oregon
State Library.
“I tell people that if they can surf the Net and use
Microsoft Word, they’ll be fine using Plinkit,”
Hanning said. “It takes me two hours to train someone
over the phone. After the training, nine times out of ten,
library staff will tell me ‘this will be fun.’”
She teaches library staff how to modify and update existing
web pages by logging on and navigating to a page. To change
a page, they hit the edit button, make changes, and then save
the page. To add a page is just as simple.
The Web site comes with pre-built templates and content
that automatically updates features including book lists,
bestseller lists, news headlines, Spanish content, and statewide
virtual reference (which is an online chat with reference
librarians). Libraries can add events to their calendars with
specific content, an online address book for local community
organizations, and a digital album for images. Oregon has
a statewide
database licensing program and contracts to provide libraries
access to 28 databases of general, non-profit, medical, law,
educational and academic periodicals. Each Plinkit site is
configured to allow patrons to access these periodicals over
the Internet.
“The larger library systems save a ton of money and
tie their Web sites to statewide services and programs,”
Hanning said. “Library patrons are online and using
the web, and need to be able to find their local library online
and use the information resources available through their
library.”
Plinkit began as InformACTion in 2003, with the goals of
providing content management tools, great Web site subject
collections, and vital community information to 10 to12 small
and medium-sized public libraries in Oregon. InformACTion
was supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services
(IMLS) through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered
by the Oregon State Library and sponsored by the Multnomah
County Library, under the direction of Eva Miller. The hardware
and software infrastructure was put into place, the initial
Plinkit template and content was developed, and partner libraries
were identified and trained to use Plinkit. In the fall of
2005, the Plinkit project was transferred to the Library Development
Services of the Oregon State Library.
“I had 15 years of technical experience and had just
received my Master’s of Library Science from the University
of Washington, so I dove right in,” Hanning said. She
analyzed the pilot libraries and determined that the target
audiences were small and rural libraries whose staff wouldn’t
necessarily use the Web site every day. Since it is often difficult
to remember how to work with a Web site when you aren’t
accessing it daily, the state library created a 120-page full
color user manual for additional support.
In the spring of 2006, the Plinkit Collaborative was formed
by Colorado, Illinois, Oregon and Texas to support software
development, training, documentation, and marketing activities.
By December 2007, nearly 100 libraries were using Plinkit
Web sites. Each partner state gets a seat on the steering committee,
which is in charge of high-level oversight of the budget and
membership. The Collaborative is currently accepting letters
of interest from state and regional agencies that want to
join the Collaborative starting July 1, 2008.
In addition to a steering committee member, inviting Plinkit
into your state requires a project coordinator to promote
it to local libraries and get feedback on what is working.
Plinkit also requires a technical person who is comfortable
working with the program, which is built using Plone, an open-source
content management system. Sometimes the project coordinator
is also the technical coordinator, noted Hanning.
Membership states are responsible for coordinating the deployment
of Plinkit and training individual libraries in using and
maintaining their individual Plinkit sites. States are also
responsible for hosting their own server and installing the
Plinkit software. In addition to providing a Plinkit template,
the Collaborative provides the Plinkit Administrator's Manual
to each partner state, a mailing list, and online resources
to help the support the process of installing, configuring,
and maintaining Plinkit. States also have the option of using
a third-party hosting company.
Each state is encouraged to customize Plinkit for their libraries,
Hanning said. In Oregon, Plinkit websites link to the Oregon
School Library Information System (OSLIS), a gateway to
the Internet designed for Oregon students and teachers, while
maintaining the school library at the heart of student research.
The OSLIS project is also supported by IMLS through the Library
Services and Technology Act, administered by the Oregon State
Library. Larger libraries in some states occasionally ask
for new features or rearrange Web site pages, but smaller libraries
often leave Plinkit as is. A county-wide library system in
Tillamook, Oregon is considering an online forum so they can
share tips on using the databases and allow patrons to discuss
their favorite books online. In Illinois, public libraries
are required to publish their Board of Trustee meeting agendas
and minutes, so Plinkit was customized to include additional
templates to assist library staff in posting this information
in a timely manner.
“I would like Plinkit to be in every state that wants
to participate. We’re all about empowering library staff
to do pretty much anything they want,” Hanning said.
“I would like to see the barriers removed so that states
feel confident in hosting and staffing the Web sites for their
small or rural libraries.”
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