History

History oplin

OPLIN is headed by Director Don Yarman and the OPLIN Board of Trustees. Below is a chronology of OPLIN's history:

  • October 1993 — Planning process begins with Greg Byerly article in OhioLIBRARIES
  • February 15, 1994 — OPLIN Blue Ribbon Commission meets and establishes Task Forces (Library Issues, Network/Technology Issues, Administration/Funding Issues)
  • September 1994 — OPLIN Position Paper provides OPLIN's initial plans.
  • January 26, 1995 — Governor Voinovich's endorsement in his 1995 State of the State Address
  • June 30, 1995 — OPLIN was first established in Ohio House Bill HB 117 (121st General Assembly).
  • July 11, 1995 — Organizational Meeting establishes OPLIN Board and Bylaws
  • August 10, 1995 — Board of Trustees' vision
  • September 22, 1995 — its place in the Ohio Administrative Code
  • October 2, 1995 — Tony Yankus, Executive Director, takes office.
  • February 2, 1996 — OPLIN Teleconference explained the OPLIN plan to public libraries (video available).
  • March 4, 1996 — Ohio House Bill HB 284 (121st General Assembly) further clarified OPLIN's budget.
  • March 19, 1996 — First OPLIN circuit turned on at Worthington/CML Northwest Library
  • June 1996 — This month's issue of Access, a publication of the Ohio Library Council, describes many OPLIN services.
  • June 12, 1996 — OPLIN was officially dedicated by Governor George Voinovich at a ceremony held at the Columbus Metropolitan Library complete with an Address by the Governor and photographs.
  • July 1, 1996 — OPLIN begins to add subscriptions to commercial research databases.
  • September 27, 1996 — First OPLIN Stakeholders Meeting
  • January 20, 1997 — HB 118 (122nd General Assembly), intended to establish OPLIN "in statute," is currently in the House Rules Committee although no further action is anticipated.
  • March 14, 1997 — OPLIN Mission
  • June 30, 1997 — H.B. 215 (122nd General Assembly) determines OPLIN's funding for FY98/99.
  • August 1997 — OPLIN recruits an entirely new staff.
  • September 3, 1997 — Carol Roddy, Executive Director takes office.
  • October 1, 1997 — OPLIN is on the cover of Library Journal.
  • October 16, 1997 — OPLIN Director's Notes Vol. 1, Number 1 is issued.
  • November 1997 — Consistent measuring and tracking of database usage begins.
  • July 1998 — OPLIN's first annual report. Queries to databases exceed 1 million. Libraries offering public access exceed 600; workstations connected exceed 6200
  • July 31, 1998 — Database providers agree to offer library level reporting of key measures defined by OPLIN.
  • November 1, 1998 — The 250th and final Ohio public library joins OPLIN.
  • January 27, 1999 — The redesigned OPLIN Web site goes live.
  • March 12, 1999 — OPLIN licenses remote access utility from Access Ohio.
  • May 31, 1999 — The OPLIN Web site enlarges to 22 topic areas.
  • June 30, 1999 — H.B. 284 (123rd General Assembly) determines OPLIN's funding for FY00/01.
  • September 9, 1999 — Remote Access to databases goes live.
  • November 10, 1999 — The OPLIN Board votes to pursue permanent status with SLO.
  • February 15, 2000 — The new OH! Kids design is unveiled.
  • Spring 2000 — OPLIN provides financial support to projects in preparation for Ohio's bicentennial including the Ohio Memory Project and the digitization of Ohio History.
  • June 2000 — OPLIN's What Tree is it? is featured on CNN.
  • July 1, 2000 — OPLIN's subscriptions to commercial research databases now number ten.
  • November 1, 2000 — Redesigned navigational design for the Web site goes live.
  • December 2000 — OPLIN and the State Library of Ohio begin putting tools in place to enable statewide resource sharing.
  • April 14, 2001 — OPLIN and OhioLINK announce the availability of the Sanborn Insurance Maps, their first joint project.
  • June 30, 2001 — H.B. 94 (124th General Assembly) determines OPLIN's funding for FY02/03. The OPLIN Board votes to create a Task Force to review OPLIN's governance.
  • January 2002 — Statewide Resource Sharing (MORE) goes live.
  • January-August 2002 — The entire Wide Area Network core infrastructure undergoes an upgrade.
  • March 2002 — The Task Force recommends that OPLIN explore tiered services and re-examine governance based on its funding mechanism.
  • April 2002 — "For Librarians," a web-based customer service center, is launched.
  • June 2002 — The Board tables a decision on governance pending the outcome of the 04/05 budget.
  • August 2002 — A feasibility study of OPLIN's service model begins.
  • September 2002 — The first wave of Ohio schools join MORE.
  • February 2003 — The Board approves creation of an OPLIN Support Center staffed by the OPLIN office and to discontinue outsourced Help Desk.
  • May 29, 2003 — The State Library Board approves a grant for joint contracts to OPLIN, INFOhio and OhioLINK acting together as Libraries Connect Ohio, greatly expanding state-provided databases for public libraries.
  • July 1, 2003 — SubHB95 Determines OPLIN's funding for FY04/05, providing for OPLIN to return to General Revenue Funds in FY2005.
  • July 1, 2003 — The new OPLIN Support Center opens. Responsibility for MORE migrates to the State Library of Ohio.
  • August 2003 — Email services migrate to @oplin.org at the OPLIN office.
  • August 2003 — OPLIN completes the first optional group database contract.
  • October 1, 2003 — OPLIN Moves to 2323 W. 5th Ave., Columbus.
  • April 2004 — OPLIN launches a new Web site that includes WebFeat federated searching of databases.
  • Winter 2005 — OPLIN's wide area network hub is moved from the Rhodes Tower to the State of Ohio Computing Center.
  • March 2005 — ohlibraries.blogspot.com blog started.
  • April 2005 — OPLIN Launches a network security audit as a preliminary step in creating new services and policies.
  • June 2005 — Carol Roddy resigns and Donald Yarman is appointed Interim Director.
  • July 1, 2005 — HB66 determines OPLIN's funding for FY06/07, keeping OPLIN in General Revenue.
  • September 2005 — Board reviews OPLIN status and governance, decides to open Executive Director search.
  • December 2005 — $137,000 distributed to libraries for Internet filtering in accordance with HB66.
  • April 3, 2006 — Stephen Hedges, Executive Director, takes office
  • December 8, 2006 — Board approves new Mission, Goals, and Objectives
  • January 2008 — Libraries Connect Ohio committee re-evaluates the Ohio Web Library database collection
  • June 19, 2008 — Language defining OPLIN is removed from the biennial budget bill and put in the Ohio Revised Code, placing OPLIN in permanent law.
  • July 1, 2008 — New selection of Ohio Web Library databases and new Ohio Web Library search interface go live at ohioweblibrary.org
  • October 10, 2008 — Board approves new 3-year Strategic Plan
  • June 3, 2009 — OPLIN funding is drawn from the Public Library Fund rather than the General Revenue Fund in the biennium budget bill (HB1)
  • September 30, 2017 - October 1, 2017 — Stephen Hedges retires; Don Yarman begins as Executive Director.

Genesis of OPLIN

Genesis of OPLIN hedgesst

OPLIN was created by an exceptional group of people, with support from the entire Ohio public library community, who volunteered their time and effort to develop a service which they believed to be very important. The early impetus for creating a network of public libraries came from the metropolitan library systems, but it quickly grew to encompass all Ohio public libraries.

In early 1993, at a meeting of the Ohio Library Council (OLC) membership in Columbus, Bob Carterette from CLEVNET gave a demonstration of the Internet. A number of public library directors were interested, and also concerned that public libraries should have a computer network similar to OhioLINK (1990) for academic libraries and INFOhio (1993) for school libraries. While these two existing organizations used already established computer networks serving colleges and schools, the envisioned public library network would have to develop not only services for libraries, but a physical network as well. At the time, only 45% of Ohio public libraries had automated catalog systems, and less than half of those automated libraries had any way for patrons to dial into the catalog.

Later that year, Fran Haley and Lynda Murray from OLC, and Dr. Greg Byerly and Dr. Rick Rubin from the Kent State University School of Library and Information Science, had an informal meeting at a Cajun restaurant in Mansfield to discuss how best to create such a network. The name "Ohio Public Library Information Network" was suggested, and possible members of a Blue Ribbon Commission on OPLIN were named.

In November 1993, OLC submitted a request to the State Library for a $25,500 federal Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) to support planning costs from January through June 1994. The grant was awarded and some of the funds were used to hire Dr. Byerly as an "OPLIN consultant" to oversee the development of the organization. Dr. Byerly had previously served as the first director of OhioLINK and had also consulted in the creation of INFOhio.

The Blue Ribbon Commission was co-chaired by John Wallach (director of Dayton & Montgomery County Public Library) and Judy Garel (trustee of Bexley Public Library). The commission met for the first time in February 1994 and formally established three Task Forces:

  • Networking and Technology Issues, co-chaired by Meribah Mansfield (director of Worthington Public Library) and Scott Leeseberg (trustee of Lorain Public Library);
  • Library Issues, co-chaired by Elaine Paulette (director of Wood County District Public Library) and Steve Wood (director of Cleveland Heights - University Heights Public Library); and
  • Administration and Funding, co-chaired by Frances Black (director of the Southwest Public Libraries) and H. Baird Tenney (trustee of Cleveland Heights - University Heights Public Library).

Once the co-chairs of each Task Force had been chosen, a general call for volunteers to serve on the Task Forces was issued. Every volunteer was accepted.

Dr. Byerly set the Commission and the Task Forces the job of answering a series of questions; the answers were to be used for developing a draft position paper, as well as writing an application for a $46,823 Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to support another year of development work on the network plan. Another request for LSCA funds ($32,849) was also submitted to the State Library, and Dr. Byerly and Lynda Murray met with Ohio Office of Budget and Management director Greg Browning to request $50,000 from state funds to support the planning process. Neither grant was awarded, but the request for state funds was successful.

On March 17, 1994, a large meeting of over 160 people, including all Commission and Task Force members and many interested librarians, was held to initiate the planning process. Thereafter, the Task Forces and the Commission held many meetings, particularly a two-day working conference on May 5-6, and devoted a lot of effort to defining what OPLIN was to be and how it could be created. A draft position paper was sent to each public library for comment in June, with the final version released in September.

In addition to OLC staff and Dr. Byerly, many individual members of the task forces shouldered important jobs, meeting with Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) staff to talk about technical aspects of the physical network and keeping in close contact with appropriate legislators to discuss plans and needs. Meribah Mansfield in particular campaigned for purchasing information databases for distribution over the network and wrote to Greg Browning in February 1995 to plead the case for $2.1 million for this purpose.

All the meetings and extraordinary efforts eventually led to the support of Gov. Voinovich in his 1995 State of the State Address, followed by the inclusion of $4.85 million in the state biennium budget starting July 1, 1995 to create and operate OPLIN, plus an additional $8 million distributed to library districts to purchase computer hardware and software related to implementing OPLIN. On July 11, 1995, the OPLIN Board met for the first time, composed of the eight co-chairs plus Susan Kendall, Queen Lester, and John Storck. John Wallach served as the first Board chair and, in the absence of an OPLIN director, masterfully handled situations which could have delayed the establishment of OPLIN. The Administration and Funding Task Force conducted a nationwide search for a permanent director, and Tony Yankus took office as the first OPLIN Executive Director in October 1995.

Meribah Mansfield posing for Library Journal

Photo: Meribah Mansfield poses with two OPLIN workstations for the October 1997 cover of Library Journal.