Come Fly With Us: Librarians Internet Index

1
Come Fly With UsLibrarians Internet Index

• Karen G. Schneider
• http//lii.org kgs_at_lii.org
• Public Library Association
• March 2006

2
Who We Are And Why We Rock
3
(No Transcript)
4
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

5
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

6
(No Transcript)
7
Comment
Email
View Detail
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
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

15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
(No Transcript)
22
(No Transcript)
23
(No Transcript)
24
(No Transcript)
25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)
27
(No Transcript)
28
(No Transcript)
29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31
(No Transcript)
32
(No Transcript)
33
(No Transcript)
34
LII Change in Motion,2001-2006
35
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

36
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

37
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

38
Partnering Lessons Learned

• LII has a distinctive, trustworthy brand
• Its 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

39
Our Newest Opportunity
40
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

41
50 Budget Cut for FY06-07

• Teams 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!

42
LIIs 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!

43
Who Loves Us, Baby?

• Were hoping you do!

44
Three Levels of Buy-In

• 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
• Well feature you on our Partnerships Page
• 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
• Host Me Baby We are silent partners for your
  state or regional Web portal

45
Recap LIIs Five Services

• Weekly newsletter
• Searchable site
• Browsable site
• Featured collections
• Other Search Tools

46
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?

47
Contact us

• AIM/Skype liichief
• Cell 510-932-5565
• Office 650-251-9637
• lii _at_ lii dot org