• Dana Carter, Kansas Talking Books Regional Library 
• Teresa Kalber, Colorado Talking Book Library
• Tyler Kaye, Washington Talking Book and Braille Library

Dana Carter, Kansas Talking Books Regional Library

I would like to submit Dana Carter as a nominee for the Julie Klauber Award. Dana joined the staff of Kansas Talking Books in August 2010, after completing masters degrees in Library Science and History. Just as she was finishing her history thesis, which examined the reported daily activities of farm women in rural Kansas at the turn of the century, her family experienced the tragic death of her grandfather. This is shared not to gain sympathy, but to demonstrate Dana’s agility and ability to multi-task and work through difficult situations.

On the heels of the final defense of her paper and assisting her grandmother with adjustments to the major changes she was experiencing, Dana took the job as lead reader’s advisor and outreach coordinator for Kansas Talking Books. She joined us as we embraced a state-wide reorganization of our network, direct administration of BARD, construction efforts within our host facilities, and the anticipated move back to our remodeled space.

As Dana worked several of those patrons that call on a regular basis with rather restricted interests, she noticed again that many of the titles that may be of interest to those individuals, but would not be of interest to a broader audience, were available as download only. These patrons reported that they either did not have access or ability to download on their own. Staff explored possible solutions in making these titles available. With limited resources and time, and again for the sake of Dana’s sanity, producing individual digital copies of a book for each patron was not a feasible consideration. The resulting proposal was to explore the implementation of a download-on-request project. A patron can request up to 10 titles that are available as download only be placed on a single cartridge. For this to be useful, the patron must be familiar with the bookshelf function, not able to use BARD, and all titles must be available as download only (in process books or books that are available for circulation, but currently checked out would not be considered unless it was part of a series that is primarily download only). Six individuals were identified as possible candidates to pilot the project. There were immediately successful and patrons are now made aware of this service on a regular basis. It is music to my ears to hear the RA staff say “That is available as a download only, but we have a program that you might find very useful. Let me have you talk with Dana” rather than “sorry, we don’t have any copies of that title.”

P.S. Dana has also worked with her mother in Minnesota to convince her maternal grandmother to give digital Talking Books a try (Grandma had been using CDs from the public library system). Not only has Grandma embraced the program, she is telling all of her friends about it. Minnesota Talking Books has seen an increase of three or more new patrons during the last few month as a result. Mom is spreading the word among local public librarians in her region. If Catherine sees a flood of new applicants from the Waconia, Delano, or Rockford area, she can send any applicable commissions and awards for her outreach efforts to Dana Carter, in care of Kansas Talking Books.

Job Responsibilities

As lead Readers' Advisor, Dana is responsible for overseeing the day to day operations of meeting patron needs. This means developing procedures and working with the staff to fully utilize KLAS on a daily basis as they strive for excellence in quality service. She is responsible for writing, implementing and updating all policies regarding patron services.

Teresa has been with CTBL for just about four years. When she started she knew nothing about KLAS and has learned it from the ground up. She is now training staff on the most effective ways to use KLAS and most recently has trained new Reader Advisors. Teresa has learned the system well enough to propose new processes that are more efficient and use many of the reports available in the system.

She has come up with work around procedures to make duplication on demand for digital books work and she has solved the problems with mailing out our newsletters, which also needed a new procedure until Keystone could get the module fixed.

We are much more efficient in our daily work which is important with the very small staff we have to support 8,000 patrons. We are making a smooth transition to random shelving. We can now protect the privacy of our patrons by using authorizations to keep volunteers out of this module. We have clean patron records having deleted all old patron records for the first time ever.

Teresa is our network systems administrator and is responsible for all our computers, servers, printers, the phone system, the website and the assistive technology. She has set up barcode printers, card printers and made sure they work on the network. She kept the server up and running while the equipment was intermittently failing. She provides technical support for patrons on computer issues, the web OPAC, Unabridged and BARD. She gathers all statistics from KLAS for our NLS requirements and interacts with NLS on all computer matters.

Early on, Teresa was asked to be a back up for the Braille embosser. Since she could not proof read what she printed she decided to learn Braille. She has passed Hadley’s first Braille class and can now sight read Braille. She is working on the second class and is learning to read Braille via her fingers.

Tyler Kaye, Washington Talking Book and Braille Library

Within the first few months of working with patron records Tyler had grasped all of the intricacies of the KLAS database system and began working on a complete overhaul and accuracy check of all of the patron files. The results of this tireless work would make the coming transition from analog to digital media far smoother than was expected. He worked to verify that the information on each record was accurate and up-to-date. When applications are returned to the library, Tyler takes the time to contact the patron or the patron’s caregiver to verify that the address information is correct and makes corrections where they are needed. In another effort to ensure that patrons have equal access to materials and correct any inaccuracies in the monograph database, Tyler worked with the Assistant Program Manager to create overdue notices that are distributed to patrons with overdue books. His work with volunteers to produce and mail the thousands of letters on a quarterly basis has resulted in the return of many long overdue books and allows readers’ advisors to clean-up records of patrons that have become inactive. 

Tyler’s work on the distribution of the digital talking book machine is exemplary of his commitment and strong work ethic. He was able to manage the patron records to create a lottery system for all patrons. Beginning with veterans and moving forward to our centenarians and finally our general patrons, the library quickly moved through the waitlist. After the waitlist had been exhausted, Tyler created detailed lists of patrons that would benefit from the new machine. With his leadership and guidance, volunteers and staff began calling patrons to introduce them to the new technology and solicit orders. In addition to Tyler’s regular duties, he took on two other tasks which aided in his recent promotion from Library ? Archives Paraprofessional 2 to Library ? Archives Paraprofessional 3. Tyler came to the library with a thirst for knowledge and advanced skills in Excel. He has used these skills to demystify the KLAS system and aids in every aspect of statistic gathering for yearly reports. Tyler extracts patron and usage data from KLAS and creates charts and tables that clearly illustrate all areas of WTBBL service. In addition to his statistical work, Tyler became the library’s BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Downloads) administrator when NLS moved administration to the library. Using NLS training materials, Tyler taught himself the process of signing up patrons for BARD, verifying their account information and creating usernames and passwords for Washington state patrons.

The diligent work that Tyler performed to update and clean the patron database has greatly improved the performance of the library and therefore, improved the customer experience of all of our patrons. During the lottery process all patrons were treated fairly and received the digital talking book machines as soon as their name was “pulled” from the data. Tyler also took the time to assign a book to each patron based off of their preferences to ensure that each reader received a book to enjoy with their new player. 

The library’s recent win of NLS’ Network Library of the Year Award would not have been possible without the outstanding work that Tyler has done for the library through its patron database. Having a streamlined system that all levels of the library trust for its accuracy has made the customer experience far more satisfactory, a vital part of the NLS Network Library of the Year application process. The “behind the scenes” work that Tyler performs on a daily basis makes the rest of the library’s work possible. His ability to input applications with speed and efficiency allows the entire system to address the needs of the patron with precision. The shipping department moves smoothly through the book and equipment distribution process because we trust that the patron data is correct and if it is not, Tyler will quickly contact the patron to correct any inconsistencies. 

Tyler’s hands-on approach to patron data has increased the stability of the entire database. The statistics that are presented to the libraries funding agency, the Office of the Secretary of State, are pulled with confidence. His data work has also been featured in displays, our yearly large print calendar and in legislative materials for our parent organization. The library’s Program Manager, Danielle Miller, knows that she can go to Tyler and use his skills to produce the most meaningful and useful data to show the how the library is addressing the information needs of the blind, visually impaired and disabled communities. This skill would not be possible without a complete understanding of KLAS and the patrons that use the service. 

The library has also experienced a faster turnaround for patrons wishing to sign up for BARD. After NLS turned local BARD administration over to Tyler, patrons got their applications approved within hours rather than days. When WTBBL patrons have trouble with BARD, he patiently answers their questions and coaches them to use it successfully. As the librarian who works with BARD training for patrons, I can say with confidence, when working with patrons, that their application will be received and addressed quickly. There have been many situations in which I worked with a patron in the library’s computer lab and by the time we have logged into their email account they have already been approved by Tyler. Tyler has made this new transition to administration of BARD worry-free for all staff at the library. To summarize, the work that the library does on a daily basis would not be possible without our patron database and we can stand behind the information within this system because of Tyler Kaye.

Job Responsibilities 

Tyler is one of the staff people who works the most directly with KLAS. His primary role as Patron Registrar is to review certification and process all patron applications. Tyler diligently verifies information on applications and creates patron records in KLAS. He also uses KLAS to issue overdue notices and letters to inactive patrons, thus making the system more accurate for the shipping department and the readers’ advisors.

Tyler also uses KLAS while administering the NLS/BARD book download system for WTBBL patrons by confirming their eligibility. After this process is complete, he enters patrons into the BARD system and issues passwords. When Tyler took over the administration of NLS/BARD, it was only natural for him to become the administrator of the local downloadable books that are produced at WTBBL. Similarly to BARD, Tyler registers patrons for the local service and issues passwords. In addition to his work with patron records, Tyler registers patrons for magazine service through the NLS/CMLS system and updates CMLS weekly on all patron changes. 

As stated, Tyler was recently promoted to a higher class because of his outstanding work performance. While his work with BARD was one of the catalysts for this change, the reports and monthly statistics that he began to run were also a vital part in the decision to change his position.

Additional Comments 

I write this application not as Tyler’s supervisor, though she completely supports my nomination, but as his colleague. On a daily basis I hear Tyler giving the most amazing support and guidance to patrons by phone and in person. I have used his wonderful statistical reports to present papers and give talks to library groups around the state. While the library was awarded with a very impressive honor just this year, I believe that Tyler’s work behind the scenes to make KLAS as accurate as possible made this award possible. His promotion to the next job class came not only because of his great work with data, but also because he agreed to take on the responsibility to act as the library’s BARD administrator. Tyler seamlessly added another important task to his already full plate and continued to have a sunny attitude while interacting with patrons. His cheerful spirit and pleasant phone manner are an asset to our library and are exemplary of outstanding customer service. 

Tyler has also shown his commitment to the library by acting as a representative of the library at outreach events and state fairs in areas that are outside of our travel budget. Taking time out of his own weekend, Tyler visited with potential patrons, handed out applications and even manned a booth for our parent organization, the Washington State Library. The library’s Outreach Committee greatly depends on Tyler’s data so much so that he is now part of the committee and created a vital tool to monitor and manage referring agencies. His initiatives in the outreach arena have included personalized mailings to doctors and nursing homes that may benefit from our service. Tyler’s research into roles of referring agencies for all potential patrons with visual impairments and physical disabilities has allowed us to expand our outreach efforts to new groups. 

Outside of his job and on his free time, Tyler has started researching the history of the library for our NLS 80th Anniversary celebration. Using the methods he learned through various library science courses, Tyler is gathering information that tells the rich history of the library and its staff. His willingness to take on that task is just another example of his positive attitude. Even when the library was going through hard times, such as the budget crisis of 2010, Tyler took on additional work to ensure that patron needs were addressed. This work came in the form of more than 20 hours sitting at the receptionist desk, while performing his normal job duties. When our receptionist position was cut, I as that position’s supervisor knew I could count on Tyler to assist patrons and act as the face and voice of the library. 

I thank you for taking the time to review my nomination for Tyler Kaye. I truly hope that you will see through this nomination the outstanding service that Tyler provides to the Washington Talking Book ? Braille Library. We all wholeheartedly stand behind Tyler and the great work he does to keep our KLAS system in the best shape to address the needs of our patrons.