April 18, 2023

Last Chance! Survey Closes Today! 

Survey on E-Resource Needs for New Contract
The e-resources in POWER Library are up for bid every 5 years. On behalf of the Office of Commonwealth Libraries/PDE, HSLC will be managing the e-resource procurement for the next cycle. What does that mean? HSLC will be issuing a request for proposal (RFP) identifying the needs of the community, to which vendors will respond. E-resources will be selected based on criteria such as whether the resource offered by the vendor meets the community's needs, meets accessibility standards, is within budgeted costs, can meet technical requirements, etc.

What's the timeline?
The new e-resource cycle starts in July 2023. This means we have to move fast!  A Request For Proposals will be issued in May, with a decision date for an award or (awards) made in June.  

How will e-resources be selected?
To confirm e-resource priorities for the new five-year contract(s), we would like input from you! The following survey offers library staff the opportunity to provide input on what needs are most important to the communities they serve. For those who serve multiple communities, such as school librarians responsible for multiple schools, please complete a separate survey for each school type.

The following new collections were recently added to PA Photos and Documents:

• John Hill Brinton Reminiscences Collection (Chester County History Center)
• Mary E. D. Wilson Composition Collection (Centre County Library & Historical Museum)
• Roland Benjamin collection (New Cumberland Public Library)
• Singing Societies Collection (German Society of Pennsylvania)
• Teachers for West Africa Program Collection (Elizabethtown College)
• William Henry Welfley Scrapbook Collection (Meyersdale Public Library)

Thank you to all the institutions that contribute collections to PA Photos and Documents!

Interested in adding historical or cultural materials from your institution to PA Photos and Documents? Let us know!

Getting your library’s monthly statistics emailed to you? If not, log into the Current Statistics module and set up your profile.  Not sure how? Check out the POWER Library E-Resource Statistics documentation, specifically "Generating Monthly Reports" (p. 7)

Due to a lack of content updates, CyberSmarts will cease to be available in POWER Library as of June 30, 2023. This includes the e-books in CyberSmarts, and Teen CyberSmarts.  HSLC, in consultation with the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, decided to re-purpose those subscription funds toward other POWER Library e-resources in the next fiscal year.

What do Participating Institutions Need to Do?

1. If your institution provides a direct link to CyberSmarts from your website, blog, Google Classroom, etc., it will be necessary to remove the link(s) by June 30, 2023.
2. If your institution provides a link to the e-resource 'List All' or 'By Subject' lists, CyberSmarts will be automatically removed from these lists on June 30, 2023. No action is required from institutions that only provide a link to the e-resource 'List All' or 'By Subject' lists.

Information about an Alternate Resource

A review of comparable resources has revealed that the best alternative is Commonsense.org's Digital Citizenship Program. The Digital Citizenship Program is updated regularly, targets a variety of learning styles, is well-produced, and covers the entire K-12 curriculum.

Help Keep the Participant Directory Up-To-Date!

Do You Need Support? We Are Here To Help!

If you need support, please use one of the options provided below to contact HSLC. 

Complete the POWER Library Support Form
Email us at support@hslc.org
Call us at 215-222-1532