Around the state, libraries with public access computers are considering ways to make these "universally accessible" to anyone in the community, while the few libraries without such public access are actively planning to add it. May I make a few suggestions?

First, if you're among those just now planning to purchase a public access computer, go for the fastest you can afford, with lots of RAM and hard drive and a quality sound card. You'll need the space for the special programs offering accessibility and for those eBook downloads we think are coming.

Second, take the time to articulate your needs. Perhaps you want to make your library's computer-based services just as user friendly and accessible as your building. List all the programs you'll want to make accessible and the features you'll need. New Mexico State University had an accessibility project for their students with a well-considered list of needs; you can find it at codi.buffalo.edu/archives/computing/invisible.

What software do I suggest? First and foremost, flexible SCREEN ENLARGEMENT SOFTWARE that will allow everyone to adjust the screen image for maximum comfort. Older patrons will appreciate this option, and so will staff. It is far more flexible and gives a clearer image than that on any of the large-screen monitors available. Tied for position is SCREEN READING SOFTWARE to allow those with severe visual problems to hear what's on the screen display. In fact, I would recommend a single program combining both screen enlargement and screen reading. By purchasing such a combination, you avoid the compatibility bugaboos that can crop up when two different programs fight for access to codes and space. With this, I strongly suggest you purchase a few lightweight headsets or earplug speakers to sell to those who do not remember to bring their own. That way, users of the screen reader have the same level of privacy granted to any other computer user without creating any cleaning/sanitizing chores for your staff.

Speech recognition software? Right now I'm not comfortable recommending this option. These make very heavy demands on memory, require training in order to recognize each voice, and require an area where the user's speech will not disturb anyone else.

Review the various options, like Window-Eyes (www.gwmicro.com), ZoomText (www.synthavoice.on.ca), and JAWS for Windows/Magic (www.hj.com). I urge you to buy the demos or evaluation copies of the programs you're seriously considering. Let your staff try them, ask patrons to try them, make an effort to find visually impaired people to try them. See how well each works with your library's web browser, with search engines, with popular websites - and try your online catalog with them, too. Firms will often deduct the cost of the demos from the purchase price.

How close is help and training? This can be a serious concern, since powerful programs like these can be daunting to the novice. Is there an audible help or training program for the visually impaired user? Self-training material that patrons can use independently? A toll-free help line manned during library hours?

You might find it helpful to check with your school district's special education administrator; the district may have provided special equipment and programming to students and be able to give you a demonstration of what they selected. They may also be willing to address any shortcomings and weaknesses they discovered. There are also two sales reps/consultants just over the border in Massachusetts - Gayle Yarnall of Adaptive Technology Consulting (gyarnall@adaptivetech.net) and Burt Cohen of Adaptive Assists (bcohen@ma.ultranet.com).

What will it cost? If you already have a fast, high-capacity computer with a quality sound card, you can buy the most expensive software combination mentioned above (JAWS for Windows /Magic) with a one-year support contract for under $1300.00. Training would be extra. That's not an unreasonable amount to ask of a local service group, or for a Friends group to raise.

A copy of the 2000 Public Library Annual Report has been distributed to public libraries. This annual survey collects current information such as public service outlets, holdings, staffing, income, expenditures, circulation services, and hours open, which helps to provide a picture of libraries on a state and national basis. The report is authorized by law, RSA 202-A:12. Extra copies of the report are available to be downloaded and printed in Word or pdf format at www.state.nh.us/nhsl, or you can contact Darlene Reinhard at 1-800-499-1232 x4, 603-271-2866, or darlene@library.state.nh.us, to request a printed copy. The report will be due March 1, 2001. Libraries that do not return an annual report by this date may not be eligible for federal Library Services and Technology Act/LSTA funding in 2001. Libraries are strongly encouraged to complete the annual report and the directory information sheet by the deadlines stated so data for directories can be compiled in a timely manner.

Article Express is a document delivery service of the Reference and Information Services Section of the State Library. The original version provided copies of requested articles to libraries via FAX with same day service. A list of periodicals that the State Library supported was distributed to libraries in the state. The last Article Express: Instructions and Periodical List was distributed in October 1999. This list is no longer valid. Due to the increased access to full text periodical databases such as ProQuest, which the State Library has made available to public and school libraries in the state, the number of requests for articles has greatly decreased.

New Version of Article Express

A new version of Article Express that supports those articles that are indexed in ProQuest but for which the full text is NOT provided will be offered to public and school libraries in the state beginning December 4, 2000. Requests will be made by sending a copy of the citation of the article in ProQuest for which full text is not provided to Reference and Information Services via e-mail. Upon receipt of the request, the State Library will attempt to provide a copy of the article.

To support this service, the State Library will be using a variety of resources, including full text databases and commercial document delivery services. Every attempt will be made to provide a copy of the article within 24 hours of receiving the request. However, if it is necessary to obtain a copy of the article from a commercial source, it may take up to 5 days to obtain a copy. The cost of obtaining an article from these commercial sources at the regular service price will range from $13 to $30. An additional cost ranging from $10 to $20 for 24-hour service is charged by these sources The State Library does not have the funds to support these additional costs. There also may be occasions where the service may not be able to provide the full text of a specific article due to excessive costs and/or lack of availability.

This service is an experiment in using not only full text databases but also commercial document delivery services to provide public and school libraries in the state with full text support for ProQuest. The use and cost of the service will be primary factors in determining the continuation of Article Express. As with any experiment, it may be necessary to make some changes in the service to ensure that the fixed amount of funds set aside to support the service are not quickly depleted.

Instructions on how to use the new version of Article Express will be sent out via e-mail on December 4, 2000, as attachments. The attachments will be in two formats, Microsoft Word and plain text. Those libraries that are not able to print either of these attachments will be sent on request a copy via the van.

The New Hampshire Library Association has teamed up with the Office of State Planning to assist in publicizing their Community Cornerstones Project through the state's public libraries. The purpose of the project is for citizens to identify and celebrate the important features of their town, whether they are historic buildings (like libraries!), scenic vistas, natural sites, or even annual cultural events (like summer reading programs!). All public library directors will receive a mailing with details about the project and a link to the Office of State Planning website. This is a great cooperative project where we can bring the community into our libraries by making this site available through our access to the Internet. Please begin to publicize this project and site in ways that you normally would other library programming and events. Some suggestions: make a link to the Office of State Planning page via your library's home page; write a press release (or use the one available on the NHLA home page) for the local newspaper about the project or incorporate it into your weekly press release; mention the project on a poster for your bulletin board; include voting for Community Cornerstones in your weekly or monthly printed calendar. I'm sure there are lots more ways librarians will publicize this project! Access to the site will be available from December 1, 2000, through the end of February 2001 for citizens to vote for their Community Cornerstones.

The New Hampshire Library Directory is now available online in a searchable database. Enter the library name or town (or any part thereof) to quickly access library information, including hours, van delivery dates, and links to websites and email. Try it out at http://sudoc.nhsl.lib.nh.us/libdir and let us know what you think (Theresa Paré, 1-800-499-1232 x5, 603-271-2143, or tepare@library.state.nh.us).

The Reference and Information Services Section of the State Library is presently waiting to purchase eBook reading devices. As of November 20th, RCA REB 1100 (replacing the Rocket eBook) and the REB 1200 (replacing the Softbook) were not available for purchase. The manufacturer has stated that they will be available for purchase during the holiday season. In addition, Franklin has announced that they have delayed the distribution of their eBookMan device due to some software problems. They have not provided a date when it will be available. As soon as these eBook reading devices are available, multiple copies will be purchased and made available for loan to libraries. Notification to libraries will be made through the NHAIS-L and the NHAIS-ILL listservs. In the meantime, libraries can keep informed about eBooks by consulting the State Library's web page on eBooks .

Each week a brief summary of news about eBooks is added to the News and Developments section of the web page.

The E-Rate window for filing Form 471 opened on Monday, November 6, and will close Thursday, January 18, 2001, at 11:59 P.M. EST. Both the Form 470 and Form 471 must be filed by January 18, 2001, for a library's request to be considered in the opening window. Information about the program can be found at the Schools and Libraries Division's website at www.sl.universalservice.org. Please do not hesitate to contact Theresa Paré, Supervisor of the State Library's Electronic and Government Information Services Section, at 1-800-499-1232 x5, 603-271- 2143, or tepare@library.state.nh.us, if you have any questions about the E-Rate program, how it affects your library, and assistance with the application process.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently notified the State Library that our application to participate in the State Partnership Grant Program for public libraries will be due November 30. Implementation of the project is scheduled for 2002-03. The mission of the State Partnership Grant Program is "to bring computer access, the Internet, and digital information to patrons in low-income communities in the U.S. and Canada." New Hampshire is in Round Four of the initiative. Public libraries serving populations with a minimum of 10% of persons at or below the poverty level will be eligible to apply for Gates grants. Depending on the size of the service area population, these libraries will receive one to six Gates Library computers. In addition, each library serving a population greater than 100,000 qualifies New Hampshire for an eleven-station training lab equipped with Gates Library computers.If you have any questions, please contact Michael York, State Librarian, at 1-800-499-1232 x8, 603-271-2397, or myork@library.state.nh.us.

On September 15, the New Hampshire State Library Advisory Council voted to approve recommendations from State Librarian Michael York for Library Services and Technology Act/LSTA grant awards. The State Library received 11 applications for LSTA funds totaling $79,884. Seven applicants received funding of $43,680. Congratulations to the following successful applicants: Howe Library, Hanover; Cook Memorial Library, Tamworth; Pillsbury Free Library, Warner; Weare Public Library; Westmoreland Public Library; and the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association.

ILL: HELP FROM VERMONT
by Donna Gilbreth, Head, Circulation & Interlibrary Loan Subsection, Reference & Information Services Section, State Library

Our library neighbors to the west in Vermont are pleased to help New Hampshire libraries fulfill their interlibrary loan needs. However, they do have some procedural suggestions for us. Foremost, if you are following the guidelines set forth in the New Hampshire Interlibrary Loan Protocol Manual (www.state.nh.us/nhsl/protocol/index.html), you will make interlibrary loan requests to New Hampshire libraries before going to out-of-state libraries.

If you need to send a request to a Vermont library, please mail or fax them an American Library Association (ALA) approved interlibrary loan form. Telephone requests are generally discouraged. Blank ILL forms are available for purchase from library supply vendors, or you can download and print a form from the ALA site (www.ala.org/rusa/stnd_illformprint.html).

Marge Zunder, Director of Library and Information Services at the Vermont Department of Libraries, also requests that libraries verify citations before sending a request. If you do not have access to verification tools (Books in Print, FirstSearch, etc.) please contact the New Hampshire State Library at 1-800-499-1232 x1 or 603-271-2144 for assistance. In addition, try not to target large library collections such as colleges. As in the New Hampshire Interlibrary Loan Protocol Manual guidelines, send your requests to smaller libraries first if possible.

If you have any interlibrary loan related questions, please contact the New Hampshire State Library.

Gaylord has modified the system so that processing of new ILL reserves and unfilled items will happen at 1:00 a.m. regardless of whether the 10:00 p.m. system backup was successfully completed. Having these two functions tied together has been the source of numerous ILL delays in recent months. The Lilac server has been running very nicely in the last couple weeks, and is this latest fix proves to be the answer to our ILL problems, the Galaxy system will be back to running the way it's supposed to.

A check of ILL search strings shows that several libraries still have fewer than 200 libraries in their string although there are 296 to choose from. Granted, a small number of those 296 have few or no holdings on our system at the moment, but that still leaves something in the neighborhood of 100 potentially useful libraries that the typical search string is not looking for. You can see what you're missing by checking the string for LEBL (H,B,LEBL,L from the ILL menu). Network Services can put the full list of libraries in your search string--the list will appear alphabetically arranged as it does in LEBL, but you absolutely, positively, indubitably must promise to rearrange the first page so everybody isn't hitting on Acworth, Allenstown, and Amherst all the time. Contact David Harris in the State Library's Network Services Section at 1-800-499-1232 x3, 603-271-2141, or dharris@library.state.nh.us, for details.

Commonsense Copyright: A Guide for Educators and Librarians. R. S. Talab. McFarland & Co., 1999.

The Complete Library Safety and Security Manual: A Comprehensive Resource Manual for Academic and Public Library Professionals and Law Enforcement Officers. Campus Crime Prevention Programs, 1998.

Conducting the Performance Appraisal: Be a Coach, Not a Judge. [Videorecording] Business Advantage, Inc., 1997.

Going Digital: Strategies for Access, Preservation and Conversion of Collections to a Digital Format. Edited by Donald L. Dewitt. Haworth Press, 1998.

The Nation's Great Library: Herbert Putnam and the Library of Congress. Jane A. Rosenberg. University of Illinois Press, 1993.

Rethinking Reference: The Reference Librarian's Practical Guide for Surviving Constant Change. Elizabeth Thomsen. Neal-Schuman, 1999.

Talk It Up! : Book Discussion Programs for Young People. Edited by Ann Brouse. Youth Services Section, New York Library Association, 1999.

LOCAL HISTORY & GENEALOGY LIBRARIAN NEWSLETTER New newsletter available for free. The first issue of the Local History & Genealogy Librarian, aimed at keeping archivists and librarians current with news and book reviews in local history and genealogy was issued in October. Edited by ALA Genealogy Committee Chair Tom Kemp, each issue will focus on events, news, and reviews of interest to librarians working with local history & genealogy collections. To be added to the mailing list for the Local History & Genealogy Librarian, please send your full contact information, including mailing address, phone, fax, and e-mail to the editor, Tom Kemp, at: TKemp@HeritageQuest.com or call (800) 760-2455 x1570.

As previously reported, the New Hampshire Automated Information System (NHAIS) Board has appointed a committee to explore options to replace the Galaxy system that runs the NHU-PAC. This past spring, a user survey was sent to all NHAIS libraries to help the committee determine what library users desire in a new system. Throughout the summer, this committee and members of the library community met with automation vendors to examine what is currently available to libraries. The vendor demonstrations included Auto-graphics, Data Research Associates (DRA), Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (III), Endeavor, epixtech, and The Library Corporation (TLC). Each vendor presented a three-hour demonstration of their products. The committee focused on the cataloging, interlibrary loan, and OPAC functions of each system. Using the survey results plus the information learned from the vendors, the committee will identify everything NHAIS requires in a new system. A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be drafted this fall and sent to all interested vendors. It is anticipated the RFP will be released at the beginning of 2001.

The main NHAIS server (Lilac) is now being taken out of service every Monday morning between 7:00-7:30 for maintenance. You will still be able to browse the NHU-PAC on the Internet at that time by using this address: telnet://udc.nhsl.lib.nh.us:2000. NHAIS functions, including ILL maintenance and email, will be unavailable until after 7:30 am. The entire Galaxy system is shut down every weeknight at 10:00 and is returned to service the following morning at 5:00. Because there is no system shutdown on Saturday or Sunday nights, any ILL reserves placed on the weekend are not processed until Monday night (or sometimes Tuesday morning).

The NHU-PAC is back! For librarians with NHAIS passwords, it never went away, but for the general public, there was a period when the database was unreachable. Gaylord finally tracked down the cause of the problem, and people around the world can once again look at the NHU-PAC by going to www.state.nh.us/nhsl/nhupac.html and clicking on the telnet link. The web page can be bypassed by using this address: telnet://udc.nhsl.lib.nh.us:2000.