HELLO
LIBRARIANS!
….we do more than wheel books around!
• Heidi Ryan
• Advisor, Ostfold county library
• E-mail: [email protected]
Topic for today:
OSTFOLD COUNTY LIBRARY
– a true library without walls
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About the library. What do we do?
From project to reality: Culture Net Ostfold
Project Ostfold library
The future – what now
OSTFOLD COUNTY LIBRARY
Østfold County Library is situated approx. 80 kilometres
south of Oslo, in Fredrikstad
OSTFOLD:
250 000 people live in
County Ostfold.
Until 1992/94 : 25
municipalities.
From 1994: 18.
25 public libraries
130 public schools (6 - 15)
22 senior high schools
1 university with 4
branches
1 medical library
Østfold County Library’s main task is to support and
develop the libraries in the county within all fields of
librarianship, ranging from new user demands in the
electronic society to the traditional focus on literature
and fostering high skills of reading.
More: http://www.of.fylkesbibl.no/about.html
8 employees:
1 boss
3 advisors
1 ill-librarian
1 journalist
2 secretaries
THE ADVISORS
• All librarians
Different fields of expertise:
• Fostering reading
• Project management
• IT
Webdesign, library system, training library
staff.
Ostfold county library has owned many projects
to strenghten the libraries. We will learn about
two of them today.
From project to reality: Culture Net Ostfold
• CultureNet Ostfold is the online gateway to
County Ostfold's cultural organisations,
websites, resources, events and news.
• Part of National Culture Net
• Owned by the county
• Run by the County Library
• 30 000 users every month
• First Culture Net in Norway – opening October
1998. A handful of links only
http://ostfold.kulturnett.no
Network / partners
• Culture Net Norway –
other regional Culture
Nets
• Municipalities:
Information sector
Libraries
Museums
Galleries
Archives
Culture calendar, news,
webprojects.
Using Culture Net Ostfold
to market themselves.
(ex: 6000 aerial photos)
Network building
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Training – visit partnerts
Arrange seminars / workshop
Newsletter
Interaction on web – Send us news!
Competition – crime book, painting
Newspapers to promote ourselves
Plans
• Building more relationships – more networking
• More webexhibitions
Important to self produce! Ideas should come
from the ground and up
• Cooperation with other Culture Nets important
Project Ostfold library
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Ostfold Ostfold Ostfold Ostfold Ostfold -
short distances
many libraries
great variations
large financial cuts
ready for cooperation
The beginning….
• Library Plan for Ostfold 2000-2005
• Start of project 29.8.2002
• Funds from Archive, Library and Museum
Authority for a 3 year period
Visions
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A united library
Mutual values, attitudes and directives
A high standard of qualifications
Joint resources
A library without walls
We were the first project in Norway to try out
”The library without walls”
To offer a ”library without
walls” in Østfold, the
libraries needed:
– Efficient and
inexpensive transport
between the libraries
– Mutual rules and
agreements
– A mutual websearch
– Mutual collection
development
How did we work?
Four project groups:
• Marketing
- Awareness of the libraries. Promote literature and the
pleasure of reading through special campaigns,
meetings with authors, exhibitions, etc. Using Culture
Net!
• IT
- Mutual websearch, mutual library card, mutual
website.
• Training
- Training programme for library staff.
• Common rules
- Rules and regulation –collection development –
mutual thinking.
Achievements for libraries
• A close and committed cooperation between the
libraries.
• Libraries have achieved strenghtened position within
the county through joint actions.
• The project have made libraries more service minded
and efficient.
• Efficient and inexpensive logistic at a fixed price. No
more packing of books for ILL.
• Common rules and agreements
• Common web search
• Common collection develepment
Achievements for the public
•The public can make use of collections in all the libraries
regardless of municipal borders and place of residence. More
than one million books available.
•The service includes not only public libraries but also those in
secondary schools, colleges of higher education and even a
medical library.
•Faster delivery because of transport system.
• Public can use a mutual websearch to search the libraries.
•Borrowed material can be returned to whichever library is
most suitable for the user.
Project is over. What now?
• Transport plan continues
• Group work continues – two groups:
- Professional development
- Marketing
Coordinated by Ostfold County Library,
continuing under normal, daily managment.
So…
Librarians really do more
than wheel books
around 
Thank you – and have a
nice day!