DEPARTMENT: Library
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Ramiro S. Salazar
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 2, 4, 10
SUBJECT:
Application and Acceptance of Texas Book Festival Library grant
SUMMARY:
This ordinance authorizes the submission of grant applications and acceptance of funds for grant assistance being provided through the Texas Book Festival. These funds are being pursued in support of further developing ebook collections and increasing public awareness about these by means of interactive, touchscreen kiosks at the San Antonio Public Library in an amount not to exceed $9,000 for the period February 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In its 2011-2016 Strategic Plan the San Antonio Public Library recognized that the adoption of advanced, emerging technologies was essential to expanding the accessibility of Library resources to patrons. In accordance with this plan and in light of the planned three Library Extreme Makeover projects (Cortez, District 4; Carver, District 2; and Oakwell, District 10 branch libraries) for 2014, the Library seeks to:
· Install an Overdrive Media Station at each of the three library locations undergoing a Library Extreme Makeover in 2014. These Overdrive Media Stations are touchscreen, kiosk computers that will allow patrons to physically interact with the Library's growing digital collections, which include downloadable ebooks, audiobooks, music, and video.
· Procure additional ebook content, which the public has already requested through the "Recommend to Library" service available on the Library's website.
The grant funds will allow the San Antonio Public Library to more effectively promote its growing collection of ebooks and other downloadable content by engaging patrons through interactive, touchscreen kiosks. The patrons who find such digital products more appealing, convenient, and satisfying will be happy to learn of their existence and be eager to use them more regularly. It will also allow the Library to venture more into the arena of patron-driven acquisitions, an approach that democratizes the collection development process by tailoring the Library's collection to needs of the community.
The Library has already installed four Overdrive Media Stations at the Central Library as part of its Connect Space, which was inaugurated in August 2013. The Federal government provided funding for that space and the Overdrive Media Stations present there through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), a Federal Stimulus Grant. Additionally, the San Antonio Public Library served as one of the first library systems in the country to publicly showcase the new Overdrive Media Station. This was the result of an on-going partnership with Overdrive, the Library's primary provider of ebooks and the largest distributor of ebooks to libraries worldwide.
ISSUE:
Funds awarded by the Texas Books Festival grants will increase patron access to ebooks, improve the overall patron experience, and help the Library gain more experience with patron-driven acquisitions, which could result in collections that are more responsive to the public's wants and needs.
ALTERNATIVES:
If application and acceptance of this grant is not awarded, the San Antonio Public Library will continue to seek appropriate sources of funding for this service priority, which is an essential aspect of realizing its strategic plan.
FISCAL IMPACT:
In terms of fiscal impact, the Library will leverage existing funding programmed for the Library Extreme Makeover Projects scheduled in 2014 to pay for the furniture, power, and data needed to setup these Overdrive Media Stations. Moving forward, the Library will also assume nominal on-going costs for maintaining the licenses for these devices and any additional hardware/software they may require to remain functional. No additional personnel costs will be incurred as a result of this technology or these additions to the Library's digital collections.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval to apply for and accept, if awarded, a grant up to $9,000 for the procurement of Overdrive Media Stations for Cortez Library (District 4), Carver Library (District 2), and Tobin at Oakwell Library (District 10) as well as the procurement of licenses to distribute additional patron-selected ebooks to all members of San Antonio Public Library.