Salt Lake Paralympic Games March 9, 2002, Snow Basin ski resort

Right…right…right…right…       Left..left…left…left….

Those words rang out to the 114 blind kids and their parents or family members at the Salt Lake 2002 Paralympic Games at Snow Basin Ski Resort on March 9, 2002. All of the children had a reading disability that prevented them from reading regular-sized print. Some had been blind from birth, others had some vision, yet not enough to make reading a regular-sized print book work out. All were from Utah or Wyoming and some had come in from very long distances.

It was just so great that the kids that needed it the most–those that may be able to participate in the Paralympic games in the future–were able to attend. They experienced being there when others who were also blind were speeding downhill. The right..right…right…left…left…left…were the instructions that the coach to a blind skier said as they guided their Paralympic star down the steep course.

Sure, the kids couldn’t see the event, or at least not very well by most standards, but then, neither could the blind skiers. Still, there was much they could do. The parent(s) could describe what was happening. They could feel the chill and the excitement in the air. They could share with others from all over the world in their same circumstance, some much worse (or better) than themselves. They could hear what was happening, experience the moment when winners stood on the stands as the crowds roared in approval. They could be a regular part of the Games experience. They could plan, they could scheme, they could dream.

How did they get this rare opportunity? They read. Either in braille, by recorded book (in those days on cassette), or in large print. I should say they read and they read and they read. They all got to attend because they’d worked so hard for it.

All of the Utah children that participated in the Utah State Library for the Blind’s Summer Reading program in 2001 were invited to attend. Those that completed their reading goals received the free tickets. Free to them, that is. Two tickets were donated by a community sponsor to each child that completed their reading goals; the Salt Lake Olympic Committee worked hard to make that work out for the kids. That was one ticket for the child with a visual disability, one for a parent or family member.

They attended the Women’s blind division downhill racing as well as the Men’s downhill racing events. The day was crisp and clear. The crowds were excited. They were all experiencing things they had never seen before. It was just that great.

Paralympic torch run March 7, 2002, Liberty Park

Because of his outstanding efforts at reading during the Summer Reading Program, Quinn Price, a 12-year-old patron of the Library for the Blind, was invited to be a torch runner at the opening of the Paralympic games, on March 7, 2002, at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. His father and grandfather ran with him: behind him, so they could give directions and encouragement, but he could be the one in the front of the pack. Quinn was an outstanding student and did an exceptional job of meeting his reading goals during the previous summer.

An unexpected surprise: some of the children that participated in the Summer Reading Program were invited to the groundbreaking of the All Abilities Play Park at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. The children got to dig a shovel of dirt and meet some of the paralympic heroes at the event. Two of them were Chris Waddell, winner of 5 Olympic Gold medals, and Lacey Heward, United States Paralympic monoskier, who has gold, silver, and bronze medals, and won two bronze medals in the 2002 Salt Lake Paralympics.

The Utah State Library for the Blind serves residents of Utah and Wyoming, no matter what their age, as long as they qualify. They need to be unable to read regular-sized print. It includes people with blindness, visual impairments, physical impairments that exclude them from being able to read regular-sized print (can’t hold the book, turn the pages, etc.). It also includes people with learning disabilities. Read more about the program on their website: http://blindlibrary.utah.gov.

Trading Spaces is a mentoring program designed to enable Utah library staff to learn skills from each other. Library workers sign up for the program, get approved, and then work with their mentor on a specific project that might lead their library in positive directions. Complete details are on the Utah State Library website

Apply by filling out the application form or applying online:

To be mentored: mentee application

To become a mentor: mentor application

Goals of the program:

• Developing 21st century skills for all Utah library staff
• Finding new ways of doing things and solving problems
• Sharing expertise through collaboration and networking
• Supporting newcomers to Utah libraries

Mentors are matched with applicants by Trading Spaces Committee members. There will be an opening session to explain the program and discuss the mentoring relationship. At that time, applicants will be matched with mentors and develop an action plan. The program goes from July 1-June 30, with application deadlines twice a year: June 30 and Dec. 31. Meetings should be planned based on the scope of the project. They may take place in person, by phone, or online.

You may apply for a:

• Compact program (1-8 hours of instruction)
• Mid-sized program (2-5 days spread over time)
• Luxury program (2-6 month commitment)
• Custom built program (tbd by participants)

Who might request a mentor?

Any library staff member that wants to learn new skills, with the approval of their manager or library director.

Why request a mentor?

• Mentors can share advice on professional development and specific library functions
• Mentors can help you get involved at local and statewide levels

• Mentors can offer different perspectives

Why be a mentor?

• Expand your resume/ cv
• Increase your job satisfaction by helping others grow professionally
• Develop your communication and teaching skills
• Pass on your professional legacy
• Increase your library’s visibility and value to the community

Guidelines for Participants

• Decide in advance what goals you would like to accomplish
• Apply online or by filling out the print application
• Value and take advantage of this opportunity
• Evaluate your experience at the conclusion

Guidelines for Mentors

• Have working knowledge and experience in the library profession and be willing to share that with others
• Apply to the committee to become a mentor
• Indicate your areas of expertise
• Receive a mentor certificate upon completion

Finances:

• To offset expenses and encourage collaboration, Utah State Library offers a grant available to institutions that provide mentors

• Upon pre-approval, Utah State Library will pay a scholarship of $150 which should be used for any costs incurred while participating in the program
• Expenses incurred over the above rates will be the responsibility of the individual or their library

Trading Spaces Committee 2010/11:

Britton Lund, Washington County Library
Colleen Eggett, Utah State Library
Jason Cornelius, Logan Library
Jennifer Fay, SL County Library
Linda Fields, Richfield Library
Lynn Darrough-Walton, SL County Library
Ruby Cheesman, Utah Library Assoc. President / SL County Library
Safi Safiullah, SL City Public Library
Steve Decker, Cedar City Library
Susan Hamada, SL County Library

Contact: Colleen Eggett, Utah State Library Training Coordinator/ Consultant
(801) 715-6776 or (800) 662-9150 x776 (Utah toll-free)  ceggett@utah.gov

Everyone with a vested interest in the long-term health of collections in Utah is now invited to attend a Town Hall Meeting. This Town Hall Meeting will give you an opportunity to hear from our consultant about the survey results and discuss with the Connecting to Collections Steering Committee possible next steps for improving preservation in Utah. The Town Hall Meetings are scheduled for:

Cedar City
Tuesday 30 March, 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Southern Utah University, Sherratt Library
351 W. Center, Cedar City, UT 84720
Local contact: Janet Seegmiller, (435) 586-7945, seegmiller@suu.edu

Vernal
Wednesday 31 March, 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Uintah County Library
155 East Main , Vernal, Utah 84078
Local contact: Sam Passey, (435) 789-0091, passey@co.uintah.ut.us

Logan
Thursday 1 April, 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library
3000 Old Main Hill, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-3000
Local contact: Brad Cole, (435) 797-2631, brad.cole@usu.edu

Members of the Connecting to Collections Steering Committee include:

• Donna Jones Morris, Director/State Librarian, Utah State Library
• Patricia Smith-Mansfield, Director, Utah State Archives
• Philip F. Notarianni, Director, Utah State History
• Brent G. Thompson, Preservation Director, Church History Library
• Colleen Eggett, Training Coordinator, Utah State Library
• Laurel Casjens, Museum Specialist, Office of Museum Services
• Scott Duvall, Associate University Librarian, Brigham Young University
• Chris Erickson, Digital Preservation Officer, Brigham Young University
• Randy Silverman, Preservation Librarian, Univ. Of Utah (chair)
• Thomas F.R. Clareson, Director for New Initiatives, Lyrasis, Philadelphia, PA

These two-hour Town Hall Meetings are a one-time opportunity for you to participate in this evolving plan to improve preservation in this state and for your institution, and are made possible by a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Documentation

Clareson, Thomas F.R. (10 March 2010). Utah connecting to collections survey report [Final consultant's report; Utah C2C survey final report]. Atlanta, GA: LYRASIS.

Utah’s Connecting to Collections project: a statewide preservation initiative. Applicant: University of Utah (2009). Institute of Museum and Library Services. Available online: http://www.imls.gov/applicants/samples/CtoC/Utah.pdf.

A public trust at risk: the Heritage Health Index report on the state of America’s collections [HHI]. (2005). Heritage Health Index, a partnership between Heritage Preservation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Available online: http://www.scribd.com/doc/12928521/The-Heritage-Health-Index-Report-on-the-State-of-Americas-Collections.

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND A TOWN HALL MEETING NEAR YOU

Today’s class on Help for the Technophobic Librarian was fun! We talked about all things techie, with folks that have patrons in every day doing techie things. Library directors and others who are interested in technology came to the event.  Some takeaways:

Our patrons are doing 2.0 things every day on our computers. Are our librarians in the 2000′s or are we back in 1999?

Thomas Friedman said, “It’s all about how you horizontalize. It’s who addresses this clean power challenge the best that will find the most productivity.”  Thomas Friedman, \”The world is flat 3.0\”

We need to realize that it’s the masses of people who are deciding how businesses run and even the libraries. We need to “learn it or die” as one attendee said.  After all, “the people in the library are doing it like crazy,” continued another librarian.

Are you in need of that perfect Utah photo for your library website?   Did you know that U.S. Federal government agencies offer some of the richest collections of photos relating to Utah?  If you rely on Google Images for finding photos of Utah, you’re missing the big picture.     

• Digital Image Archives: http://photo.itc.nps.gov/storage/images/index.html
• Historic Photos Collection: http://home.nps.gov/applications/hafe/hfc/npsphoto2.cfm
• Fire Photos: http://www.nps.gov/fire/public/pub_photogalleries.cfm

Department of the Interior

• Photo Library: http://www.doi.gov/photos/gallery.html
  

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

• Gateway to Digital Media: http://images.fws.gov/
  

Bureau of Reclamation

• Managing Water in the West: http://www.usbr.gov/history/photos.html
  

National Biological Information Infrstructure

• Digital Image Library: http://images.nbii.gov/
  

U.S. Geological Survey

• National Parks Gallery: http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/
• Earthquake Photo Collections: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/photos.php
  

USDA Forest Service

• Find-a-Photo: https://wwwnotes.fs.fed.us/wo/wfrp/find_a_photo.nsf/
  

NOAA

• Photo Library: http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/
  

NASA

• Visible Earth Images – Bingham Copper Mine: http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_set.php?categoryID=4175
  

Library of Congress
Search/Browse all Collections: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/

• American Environmental Photographs: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/ecology/
• Landscape and Architectural Design: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/landscape/
• Panoramic Photographs: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/panoramic_photo/
• Trails to Utah and the Pacific: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/upbhtml/overhome.html
• Great Depression Photographs (black-and-white): http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fahome.html
• Historic Buildings Survey: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/
• History of the American West: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/codhtml/hawphome.html
• Evolution of the Conservation Movement: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amrvhtml/conshome.html
• Local Legacies : Utah: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/UT/index.html
  

Enjoy!

Ray Matthews

National Park Service