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Cheery Friday Greetings!
Today marks the 34th anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act. The ADA Anniversary website contains lots of great information, including archived webinars. Thirty-four years later we are still on the journey of accessible spaces, programs & services, and equipment. For public library people who are writing construction aid grants--and for anyone who likes to see positive resolutions!--check out what happened to the Abbot Public Library in Marblehead, MA last month. It is a cautionary tale but happily resolved with a can-do spirit--they were able to reopen on July 10 according to their website. In reading a couple of editorials about the situation, Marblehead is a community that really supports its library as well as inclusion and accessibility for all! Here is a link to one and to another editorial.
Today I am also highlighting the South Central Onsite Reciprocal Access Program (SCORA) that we attempted to launch just before the pandemic began. We’re trying again!
What is SCORA, you might ask, beyond one more acronym for the library world?
It is the SCRLC-Board of Trustees-approved reciprocal access/direct borrowing program enabling users of participating member libraries who register with the SCORA program to check out materials from other participating libraries, in person. SCORA does not replace existing reciprocal onsite agreements--it increases the opportunities for users to borrow onsite from more libraries.
Who can participate? Faculty, graduate students, undergraduates, professional and research staff of participating institutions, public library patrons, and selected high school students. It is open to all SCRLC members (including members of public and school library systems). It is especially helpful to users who 1) need material from another collection immediately, 2) need to browse through a specialized collection, 3) lack sufficient bibliographic information for effective interlibrary loan, or 4) need to use resources that cannot be borrowed or photocopied. While most libraries allow anyone to browse their collections, the difference is that through participating in SCORA, they'd be able to borrow material that circulates.
How does it operate? SCORA cards are issued by the user’s home library. SCRLC provides the card template to the library. Then, the home library issues cards to
eligible users when they need to use other participating libraries and only after their home library’s resources have been exhausted. The lending library determines the levels of access they are going to provide. SCORA cards are not designed for use when interlibrary loan would suffice.
Users are expected to be in good standing, e.g., not the person who never returns books!The home library vets everyone wanting a SCORA card.
Why have this program? SCRLC was chartered “to improve reference and research library services with the area, and to promote interlibrary cooperation in the use of such resources.” This is one of a variety of services developed by SCRLC to achieve this, i.e., it helps library users to obtain information resources at their point of need.
SCORA mirrors programs in the Rochester and Western NY regions that have operated since the 70’s sans incidence to the point that it Is not tracked. For libraries wanting to do more community outreach and inspire good will, this also helps to meet those goals!
For much more information, visit the SCORA section on our website. Also contact Christine Brown.
As an aside, one day I was tracking down information for a Board member and stumbled across that SCRLC had tried to implement a similar program in the early 1970's--probably at the same time as Rochester and Western. At that time, it was the Oneonta libraries. In the ensuing decades with new boards, executive directors, and library directors, we collectively forgot that SCRLC had ever been involved in trying to get a regional reciprocal onsite program.
Now, the libraries who signed up to do this before the pandemic are at the other end of the region (thank you Alfred, Houghton, and Keuka!) and we need participants from all the other areas, too! Please participate!
Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the Olympics and the opening ceremony if that is your thing!
Yours in partnership,
Mary-Carol Lindbloom
Executive Director
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