WMLA Priorities Survey by January 15

Dear Library Directors and Staff:

Happy New Year!

On behalf of the Western Massachusetts Library Advocates (WMLA), which proudly advocates on behalf of the libraries in Western Mass., I am asking you and your library staff to please participate in a brief survey in order for us to determine your needs so that we can better serve you.

Please click on the following link, respond to each of the ten (10) questions included in the survey, and then click 'Done' when you have finished:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JGZN3CZ.

The survey should take no more than 10 – 12 minutes to complete. Your responses are completely confidential. Please note that the deadline is Tuesday, January 15 at 5:00 p.m.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete the survey and for letting us know how you would like us to focus our energies on your behalf with local and state officials, including those at the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) and at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), as we begin the new year. We will share the results of the survey with you by the end of January on the WMLA One Blog.

Best wishes for a prosperous and joyous 2013 from all of us at WMLA,

Chris

Christopher J. Lindquist

President

Western Massachusetts Library Advocates (WMLA)

MLS Whately

4 Sandy Lane

Whately, MA 01093  

WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS LIBRARY ADVOCATES - SURVEY COMING SOON

The Western Massachusetts Library Advocates (WMLA) are setting their priorities for the coming year.  Notice and links to an online survey will be distributed through email in the next few days.  The survey deadline is January 15.  Please take a few moments to share your thoughts.  We'll be working hard on your behalf.  We want to be sure we are focused in the appropriate areas.

Survey - Statewide Delivery Working Group on Ergonomics and Safety

Dear Massachusetts libraries of all types and sizes:

The Statewide Delivery Ergonomic Work Group needs your input. With delivery becoming such a major issue for libraries, we’d like to collect information about equipment and furniture you have found that makes your delivery areas and operations easier and safer. We will post the results, and will also include them in delivery workshops to be conducted across the State in the fall.

If you have items to suggest, please participate in our brief survey at

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=iCcOLDBP0emb25nRYUCRsw_3d_3d

Please try to coordinate within your library to avoid duplicate suggestions from your library.

It would help if you can supply a link to the specific item from the vendor’s web catalog. Otherwise, we’d like at least the name of the vendor and the name of the product. It would really help if you can also supply us with the item’s catalog number, if you can find it easily. And, if you can think of something that might be useful but you don’t know if it exists, where to get it, or what it costs, let us know. We’ll do our best to locate it for you and for everyone.

Thanks so much for your help in guiding libraries across the state to products that can make everyone’s work easier and safer. .

John Ramsay, Regional Administrator
Western Massachusetts Regional Library System
P.O. Box 609, South Deerfield, MA 01373
(413) 665-9898 x. 113
(413) 665-8877 fax
jramsay@wmrls.org
WMRLS Website: http://www.wmrls.org/

Regional and Network Statewide Planning Summit Survey

Dear Western Region Libraries:

WMRLS strongly urges staff at all our member libraries of all types to take the easy-to-complete online planning survey.

We need to know what support services and resources are most important to your library and its users. The results of this survey will help shape future service directions and the very structureof organizations that exist to help libraries statewide. These include the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Regional Library Systems (including WMRLS) and the automated resource sharing systems (like C/W MARS and MassCat).

So, let your needs be known, no matter what size or type library you work at or represent. In these difficult times, it's clear that State funding is insufficient to provide everything we want. Things will need to change, and we need to know what services are priorities for your library and how they should be provided.

Thank you,
John Ramsay, Regional Administrator, WMRLS

South Hadley Library Online Survey

The South Hadley Public Library, as part of our Strategic Planning process, is conducting a seven question survey to evaluate our community's needs. We know of several WMRLS librarians that use our library for personal or professional needs - if you are one please fill out our survey!

• Direct direct link to the survey
• Or it may be accessed from the library's homepage.

Thank you.

~ Joe Rodio, South Hadley Public Library Director