For the first time in Nylink’s 37 year history, we are moving to a phone menu system. When you call Nylink, you will be prompted to enter the last name of the person to whom you wish to speak. Or you can use our direct extensions, which are listed below, along with their title or areas of specialization. Not sure who can help? No problem. Please contact Ellen Barnum, xt 3040.

Donna Dixon (Director of the Member Programs Team) will be transferring from Nylink to SUNY Press (http://www.sunypress.edu) where she will be Co-Director along with James Peltz, who is currently an executive acquisitions editor at the Press.
This new role will be a great opportunity for Donna to broaden her experience to include the university press arena. At the same time, she will bring a wealth of knowledge regarding publishers and information providers in her dealings with such organizations while at Nylink. Her work at SUNY Press will include contract and financial management duties as well as other tasks as required.
We will miss Donna’s experience and positive approach to challenging issues. While she will be moving into this new role immediately, she will be “just across the hall” now that SUNY Press is relocated to Corporate Woods. We wish her the very best and expect to stay in touch on a regular basis.

Patrick Wilkinson, Americas Regional Council Chair, is inviting you to attend the ARC Annual Meeting at ALA, June 24 – 25, 2010. OCLC members and nonmembers alike are welcome. Come learn more about the Americas Regional Council, share your thoughts and ideas with OCLC leadership and learn the results of the Americas Regional Council elections.

This members’ meeting will also be streamed live on the Web to accommodate those who cannot attend in-person. After the event, the recording will be posted on www.oclc.org. Although this meeting is free to attend and open to all, registration is required.
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Please read the following message and our response. A message regarding Nylink’s transition was sent from WALDO to its members on May 20, 2010.  Nylink believes there is need for clarification on some misleading elements of this message.

We urge you to review this information and take the time to consider your many alternatives as Nylink winds down our operation over the next 12 months. You have the time to make the choices best for your particular situation.

Italicized text below is excerpted from the WALDO communication. Nylink’s response is in boldface.

Dear WALDO Member-

As you are probably now aware Nylink has announced its decision to cease operations.

Nylink will be phasing out operations over the next 12 months. We are not immediately ceasing operations.  Please refer to our continuously updated FAQ at http://nylink.org/SL/index.php/archives/1367 for more information.  For Nylink members, please note that we will be waiving our membership fee for 2010-2011.

In a recent communication Nylink referenced WALDO as a source for transferring many if not all of your current Nylink based subscriptions. WALDO is eager to assist you in this transition and is committed to make the process as seamless as possible.

Nylink referenced WALDO as one of many consortial options, including other regional networks, New York’s Office of General Services, and others, for libraries to consider as they transition over the next year, and we will be adding to this list periodically. See the list.

The information below highlights renewal options for (1) OCLC Core Services (2) Products that WALDO offers today and (3) Products & services not under contract with WALDO at this time.

Your choice is either to contract directly with OCLC or use a third party OCLC billing service provider. WALDO recommends contracting directly with OCLC, since using a third party may require you to pay additional fees to that third party.  A number of WALDO members have used the OCLC direct option for several years and can recommend it as the most cost effective solution. WALDO receives no compensation from OCLC in any way for any
referrals made. We recommend the OCLC direct option strictly as a benefit to our members.

Nylink continues to provide OCLC billing services through June 30, 2011. This includes billing for all OCLC services, including Cataloging and Resource Sharing. There are no additional fees assessed by Nylink for any OCLC services. Libraries have the next year to consider all of their options to be billed for these services in the future.

PRODUCTS UNDER CONTRACT WITH WALDO TODAY:
As a current WALDO member you can transfer many of your 2010 renewals to ourexisting vendor contracts in a matter of days. Please take a minute and complete the survey below in order for WALDO to begin the transfer process… WALDO will waive our administrative fees for the first year on all databases and services transferred from Nylink to WALDO, for those libraries electing the OCLC direct option.

Nylink subscribers can, with confidence, renew all of their subscriptions that have a July 1 renewal date with Nylink.  There is no need for you to undo all the work, including budgeting decisions, allocation of funds, and payments, that you have already put in to your renewals this spring.  

Special Notes:

• Nylink subscribers to OCLC reference products with any renewal date starting in 2010 may renew through Nylink.
• Nylink subscribers to HW Wilson products with renewal start dates through September 1 may renew through Nylink.
• TumbleBooks subscribers with renewal dates through November 1 starts may renew through Nylink.
• The dates above are guidelines, and we are glad to work with individual libraries on a case-by-case basis if it is more convenient to continue subscriptions through Nylink after these dates.  As always, we are here to help, and are ready to offer our objective opinion on your library’s unique situation.
• Please note that if you have renewed your library’s database subscriptions with Nylink via MyNylink, and you choose to switch subscription agents, you must contact Nylink and notify us of this decision so that we may ensure your library smooth service and accurate billing.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES NOT UNDER CONTRACT WITH WALDO:

At this time we suggest you renew these subscriptions via Nylink for one more year. During the next few months, WALDO will negotiate additional vendor contracts based on your recommendations.

Nylink has communicated, and will continue to communicate with our own subscribers regarding their options for continuing all of their subscriptions.  Please refer to our continuously updated FAQ at http://nylink.org/SL/index.php/archives/1367 for more information, or call us at 518-443-5444/ 800-342-3353.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Alternative providers of Nylink services and products (PDF)
This matrix will be updated on a regular basis to help our members evaluate alternatives over the course of the coming year.

Last Updated:  August 23, 2010

General and Membership

Why is Nylink ceasing to operate?

Steep declines in Nylink’s revenue as a result of fundamental changes in its business environment seriously degraded Nylink’s ability to remain fully self-supporting.  Although Nylink is a part of the State University of New York System, it must be fully self-supporting from fees and revenues derived from services it delivers to members.

When is Nylink ceasing to operate?

Nylink will phase out its operations through June 2011. During this period, Nylink staff will be working to assure a smooth transition of its key services to other organizations that can support members’ needs.

Please click on “Read more” for the rest of the FAQ

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May 17, 2010-Albany – Nylink, a non-profit membership organization, will phase out its operations over the next 12 months.  Steep declines in Nylink’s revenue as a result of fundamental changes in its business environment have seriously degraded Nylink’s ability to remain fully self-supporting.  Part of the State University of New York System, Nylink has operated as a self-funded entity serving libraries throughout New York.
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Find a great introduction to ROI for libraries in wiki form, with tips on conducting an ecoonomic impact study and sharing your analysis of results,  from the Nebraska Library Commission: http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/Wikis/ROI4Libraries/

Illinois’ North Suburban Library System offers an ROI calculator for libraries: http://www.nsls.info/roi/?m=library and for users: http://www.nsls.info/roi/

Patron calculator for determining value for each tax dollar contributed (it’s for Colorado libraries, but still a good illustration of value): http://www.lrs.org/public/roi/usercalculator.php

The National Network of Medical Libraries offers a slightly different calculator to show the retail value of the library: http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/roi.html

Changes are afoot for librarians seeking New York State Public Librarian Certification.  Any librarian initially certified on or after January 1, 2010 will have to meet professional development requirements in order to maintain their certificate.  Basically, certified public librarians must complete 60 contact hours of professional development every five years.  Those certified before January 1, 2010 will not have to meet these requirements.  A list of FAQs is available that provides more detailed information about the requirements.  

Nylink, as well as a number of organizations across the state have been approved by the State to provide professional development opportunities that fulfill the new requirements.  More information about NYS Public Librarian Certification can be found at the NYS Education Department.