Now, more than ever, your constituents are using library services.

LSTA funds help ensure that New Yorkers have what it takes to compete and succeed in today’s economy.

What Does the LSTA Program Mean for New York?

The Federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) program provides federal funds that help support local libraries throughout New York State. Through statewide services and grants from the New York State Library, the program encourages the blending of local, state, and federal resources to build and enhance library services for all New Yorkers.

Give Your Constituents’ Libraries Their Fair Share of Funding through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Program

Support funding for LSTA

• Library use in New York is up dramatically.
• New Yorkers benefited from $8 million in federal funding to libraries through the LSTA program in 2011.
• Employment information services, family reading programs, and access to high-quality electronic resources are among the vital library services these funds support.
• Although Federal funds represent less than one percent of library expenditures in New York State, their impact is great, as they leverage state and local funds and fuel innovation.

New York State Library
The State Education Department

The LSTA program helps provide these services to New York’s library users in their communities:

• Job and consumer health information.
• Access to timely, accurate online information that is not available free on the Internet.
• Access from home, school, or office to full-text electronic information updated and maintained by librarians.
• Training in new computer technology.
• Literacy programs for adults and families.
• Marketing, demographic, and other information crucial to small businesses.

The New York State Library distributes LSTA funds through grants and statewide services that support library programs to New York’s 7,000 libraries, 73 library systems, and the New York State Library:

• Programs that enable libraries to provide high-quality computer and Internet services to their communities.
• Projects that provide equitable access to technology by supporting cooperative efforts among New York’s 7,000 libraries, 73 library systems, and the New York State Library.
• Projects that provide special services that contribute to better access to information for all community residents, such as adult and family literacy programs.

LSTA funds help New Yorkers in densely populated urban centers, sparsely populated rural regions, and ethnically and economically diverse communities through these services:

• Counseling and job information for individuals moving from welfare to work.
• Programs to help at-risk preschoolers develop literacy skills.
• Promotion of literacy in family environments.
• Training for entrepreneurs in the skills needed to research and develop their plans for small businesses.

The LSTA program supports the Statewide Summer Reading Program that helps children develop a love for reading and maintain reading skills learned during the school year:

• Research shows that library summer reading programs impact student achievement and test scores and help prevent learning losses over the summer.
• More than any other public institution, including schools, public libraries contribute to the intellectual growth of children from diverse backgrounds during the summer.
• More than 1.6 million children and teens from throughout New York State participated in the 2011 Statewide Summer Reading Program.

NOVELNY, the pilot project for New York's first Statewide Internet Library, helps bridge the digital divide and supports New York’s continued leadership in the information economy:

• Statewide access to online information: major collections of commercial databases such as Gale's OneFile, Business & Company Resource Center, InfoTrac Newsstand (including New York State newspapers such as The New York Times), and age-appropriate electronic resources for K-12 students, including the Grolier Encyclopedia.
• Provision of $35 in resources for every $1 of LSTA funding through statewide purchase of electronic information, now freely available through more than 5,000 libraries.

For more information on LSTA funding and New York State, visit these websites:

New York State Library
www.nysl.nysed.gov

LSTA funding
www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/lsta/

Or contact:

Office of the State Librarian and Assistant Commissioner for Libraries
Room 10C34
Cultural Education Center
Albany, New York 12230

Phone: (518) 474-5930

Fax: (518) 486-6880

E-mail: ppaolucc@mail.nysed.gov

LSTA Funds at Work in New York

• Job seekers throughout Nassau County received critical support, guidance and job search skills in the familiar setting of the public library through participation in the Nassau Library System’s project Career Connections.  Over 1,400 people participated in 58 job club sessions.  Two community agencies/businesses collaborated in the project, which was so successful that two member libraries started their own job clubs and one of the project libraries planned to pursue funding to offer individual career counseling.
• The New York City School Library System developed a Digital Citizenship Curriculum for students in grades 1-12.  The student population included 1.1 million students living in poverty without the benefit of computers or connectivity in the home.  The project helped students and school media specialists to use digital resources constructively and creatively within the classroom, guiding students to navigate in a global digital culture and to contribute to this environment in a responsible way.
• The Special Library Catalogs and ILS Project developed by the Southeastern New York Library Resources Council provided an open source Integrated Library System (ILS) for special libraries to provide web access to library holdings and electronic resources for their patrons.  The System migrated from an older open public access catalog (OPAC) to Koha and created a new Special Library Catalog that is available online:  http://koha.senylrc.org/ .  Library staff received the training, Koha software, hosting service, and support to automate library functions such as cataloging, circulation, acquisitions, and serials using a state-of-the-art, open source software solution.  Over 23,000 materials were made accessible.
• Over 150 older adults in The New York Public Library’s service area were better served through a multifaceted technology-learning model based on a nationally recognized curriculum.  As a result of Becoming an Age-Friendly Library:  Enhancing Technology Services to Older Adults, participants reported feeling more connected to family and friends, and more confident in their ability to live independently.
• Inclusiveness Challenge, the Upper Hudson Library System’s summer reading project, trained and motivated 96 member library staff to target underserved people by reaching beyond traditional users and services.  Each library participating in the summer reading program was challenged to reach out in new ways to involve people of varying ages, people with disabilities, and the educationally and economically disadvantaged.
• Fifty adults seeking a GED were directly connected with resources to help them succeed through the Westchester Library System’s project, GED (General Equivalency Degree) Connect.  The initiative supported county residents 16 years-old and older.  A web portal was developed to offer information on the GED and instructional resources.  The System worked with several partners to recruit and train county residents to use the portal and to study for the GED exam.
• Western New York Library Resources Council helped ensure the preservation of the region’s digital repository by developing safeguards for existing and future digital content.  The System negotiated with a vendor to create a secure digital preservation storage system that directly linked master TIFF images with copies of both access images and metadata.  The project was such a success that the System shared the product/results with other library systems In New York State.  Over 100,000 records were successfully preserved.