*New* Enhancements to PALMPrint's Catalog

Last year we began a phased improvement project of PALMPrint’s metadata and search capabilities. The first phase is now complete and all records in the PALMPrint catalog now include an OCLC number.

The ability to find and retrieve items by OCLC number makes searching and requesting materials from PALMPrint even easier. Future phases will result in additional improvements to the metadata with the ultimate goal of making complete PALMPrint records available for inclusion in your local ILS.

As a reminder, each PALMPrint member library has an annual $100 circulation credit. This includes our scan-and-send service! So, next time you are handling an interlibrary loan request, give PALMPrint a try.

For additional tips on searching and requesting materials through PALMPrint, please check out the PALMPrint User Guide.

For more information about PALMPrint, including how to become a member library, please contact Michelle Trumbo.

LIPA Launches Grant Opportunities

LIPA is here to jumpstart your preservation efforts! Our members now have access to conference and project grant funding as a benefit of their membership in the consortium.

LIPA Conference Grants provide financial support for individuals employed at LIPA's member libraries to help defray the cost of attending professional conferences with preservation programming. Our Project Grants fund law libraries' preservation and archival initiatives. Conference Grants are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. Project Grant applications must be submitted by May 31, 2021 to receive full consideration.

For more information and to apply for these grants, click on the Grant Opportunities tab and select the relevant grant type. If you have additional questions about our grants program or want to become a LIPA member, please contact Michelle Trumbo (lipa.trumbo@gmail.com).

REopening Archives, Libraries and Museums (REALM) Project

By: Robert Mead, State Law Librarian & Director of the Washington State Law Library, Washington Supreme Court

The Battelle Memorial Institute is a science and technology non-profit with the mission to “translate scientific discovery and technology advances into societal benefits.” This is exactly what they are doing in the REALM Project in partnership with the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and the OCLC. REALM stands for Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums and in the project, the partners produce scientific information about the safest way to handle materials to mitigate staff and patron exposure to COVID-19 in archives, libraries, and museums.

Battelle is conducting the natural attenuation studies to determine how long the virus can survive on different materials found in archives, libraries, and museums. The studies are done at standard room temperature and humidity. They have released four study summaries and are in the process of the fifth study to determine the viability of the virus on leather bookbinding, cotton upholstery and drapes, vinyl upholstery, and nylon webbing.

The results of Test Four were released on September 3, 2020. Battelle determined that stacked books, including hardcover, softcover, and plastic bindings, as well as DVD cases can harbor the SARS-Cov-2 virus for at least six days of quarantine. Stacking prolongs the survivability of the virus.

The previous studies of unstacked materials found virus survival times of 3 to 5 days, depending on the materials. The studies are vital for determining how long to quarantine books and other circulating items after use in order to keep libraries safe as we begin to continue to cautiously reopen.