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Come Fly With Us:Librarians’ Internet Index

Karen G. Schneiderhttp://lii.org kgs@lii.org

Public Library AssociationMarch 2006

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Who We Are And Why We Rock

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What is LII(Librarians’ Internet Index)?

• A website and a newsletter • Over 18,000 websites you can trust• Websites vetted, described, and organized

by librarians• Funded primarily by California

– Additional funding from Washington state

• Content: everything! With a special focus on California and Washington state

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Brag Page

• 10 million hits per month to LII website• 16,000 email subscribers to “New This

Week”• 15,000 Bloglines subscribers • Many more RSS subscribers and

thousands who read us on the website• Publicity through Google Newsletter, PSAs

on NPR, Voice of America, Feedster, The Week Magazine, Real Simple Magazine…

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View DetailCommentEmail

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Newsletter: New This Week

• 60+ annotated websites every week

• Free (well, you paid for it already!)

• Often features useful tips for using LII

• Subscribe by email or RSS

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LII: Change in Motion,2001-2006

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Goals for LII, 2001-2006• Make it more attractive• Improve and maintain

content quality• Make LII more user-

friendly• Market LII better• Get a better search

engine (in work)• Reach out to new funding

partners

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Washington State Partnership

• Started as a separate website and newsletter, “Wally,” with some of the labor contributed by librarians from libraries around Washington state

• Succeeds today as a content partnership with content integrated into LII website and featured in weekly newsletter

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Benefits to Washington• High-quality regional websites added every

week (500 per year)

• Conveniently organized browsing pages for regional Washington content

• Contextual links throughout LII for Washington-related content

• Washington content broadcast to huge Web email and RSS communities through LII newsletter

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Partnering: Lessons Learned

• LII has a distinctive, trustworthy brand

• It’s cheaper and better with staff

• Users like regional content. But users love general content.

• Users respect the concept of the “library brand” and find LII valuable and trustworthy

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Our Newest “Opportunity”

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Money: A Familiar Story

• “Too much month at the end of the money”

• All California state projects and program funding cut

• Projects with potential for funding from external sources encouraged to seek alternate sources

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50% Budget Cut for FY06-07

• Team’s hours reduced by almost 50%

• Newsletter cut in half• Weeding reduced by 1/3• No new featured collections• No new development• …Even had to give up the

staff BMW!

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LII’s Response• Survey users re ads, sponsorships, and

other cost-recovery mechanisms

• Reach out to our users for funding and support

• Prepare the Crisis Budget--but strap ourselves to the stern of the ship, and hang on!

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Who Loves Us, Baby?

We’re hoping you do!

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Three Levels of Buy-In1. We ♥ LII: You provide cash support to keep our site going,

restore Featured Collections, restore lost weeding hours, and return our weekly newsletter to full status

• We’ll feature you on our Partnerships Page

2. Show Me the Content: We produce regional or other special content, optionally featured in our newsletter and on our site.

– Example: California Digital Library– Example: Washington State Library– Example: California State Library

3. Host Me Baby: We are “silent partners” for your state or regional Web portal

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Recap: LII’s Five Services

• Weekly newsletter

• Searchable site

• Browsable site

• Featured collections

• Other Search Tools

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LII Brought to you by…

• Karen G. Schneider, Director• Wendy Hyman, Senior Editor• Jennifer English and Maria Brandt, Associate Editors• Pat Fell, Senior Cataloger• Tom McGibney and Charlotte Bagby, Weeders• The Institute of Museum and Library Services and the

Library Services and Technology Act, via the California State Librarian

• Washington State Library

• And… why not YOU?

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Contact us:

AIM/Skype: liichief

Cell: 510-932-5565Office: 650-251-9637

lii @ lii dot org