Committees & Councils

Advisory Council

The LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) Advisory Council is the group charged with advising and counseling the State Library on matters related to the LSTA program in Ohio. The Council is broadly representative of public, academic, school, and special libraries, as well as library users.

• Douglas Anderson, Director, Marietta College Library
• Meg Delaney, Citizen Representative
• Anastasia Diamond-Ortiz, Director, Lorain Public Library System
• Lori Harris, Associate Director, Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library, University of Cincinnati Libraries
• Tracy Kemp, Assistant Director, Columbus State Community College
• Ryan McDonnell, Director, Grandview Heights Public Library
• Kristin Michel, Assistant Director, Westerville Public Library
• John Myles, Citizen Representative
• Kate Porter, Assistant Director, Upper Arlington Public Library
• Nick Tepe, Director, Athens County Libraries
• Sarah Thornberry, Teacher-Librarian, Springboro Junior High School
• Shawn Walsh, Emerging Technology Librarian, Madison Public Library
• Brandi Young, School Librarian

EX-OFICIO MEMBERS:

Ex officio members of the council include a representative from each of the information network providers (OPLIN, OhioLINK, INFOhio).

• Amy Pawlowski, OhioLINK
• Eric Clay, INFOhio
• Don Yarman, OPLIN

STATE LIBRARY MEMBERS:

• Jeff Regensburger, LSTA Coordinator
• Wendy Knapp, State Librarian
• Evan Struble, Associate State Librarian for Library Development

LSTA Grant Reviewers

In order to make sure that funded LSTA projects are those most likely to succeed and will further the goals established in the LSTA 5 Year Plan, the State Library developed a two tier review process. Once grants are received at the State Library they are checked for eligibility and that the application meets all the requirements stated in the Request For Proposal. Applications are then sent to Review Teams. The number of teams varies by the number of applications received each grant round.

Review Teams are comprised of four members. Each Team is chaired by a member of the LSTA Advisory Council. Should the library of an LSTA Advisory Council member have submitted an application in a particular grant round, that member will not be eligible to serve as a team chair. The additional team members include one representative from the school library community, the public library community, and the academic or special library community.

Team members are selected based on their knowledge of the LSTA program, previous grant–writing experience, and expertise in one of the areas of funding. Having broad–based representation on each Team assists with the review process as members can clarify issues or terminology which relates to their type of library.

Teams are regionally based. No proposal is reviewed within the region from which it was submitted. Readers do not read proposals from libraries with which they have a working relationship. Nor do readers or LSTA Advisory Council members review proposals which they consulted on or commented on a draft.

Team members score each proposal in their team using the score sheet found HERE. Team members then meet to discuss the applications; strengths and weaknesses and areas of improvement. Proposals are recommended for funding, not recommended, recommended if funds are available and revise/resubmit.

Individual team scores are reviewed at a meeting of the Team Chairs. The Team Chairs discuss the merits of funding individual proposals, particularly those falling in the category of recommended if funds are available. Team Chairs make final recommendations which are taken to the State Library Board for funding approval.

Learn more about the  LSTA ohio Program

Advisory Committee

The role of the Ohio Digital Library Advisory Committee is to advise and counsel the State Library of Ohio on the implementation, development and evaluation of the Ohio Digital Library.

Learn more about  the Ohio Digital Library

Consumer Advisory Committee

The Consumer Advisory Committee advises the State Library on program and policy matters regarding the Talking Book Program. In particular, the committee:

• Promotes the Talking Book Program
• Provides suggestions for the various consumer committees operating at the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS)
• Advises the State Library of Ohio on legislation and local issues affecting the statewide program

Current Committee Members

• Dave Bertsch, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
• Katie Frederick, American Council of the Blind of Ohio
• Irwin Hott, Newsreel Magazine
• Allison Howell – Mansfield/Richland County Public Library
• Allison (Sunny) Kallstrom, Ohio State School for the Blind
• Beth Levine, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Annette Lutz, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
• Mike Pitroff, Functional Training Services
• Vicky Prahin, American Council of the Blind of Ohio
• Will Reed, Manager, Ohio Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled
• Elizabeth Sammons, Consumer Representative
• Shawn Thiel, Consumer Representative
• Tracy Grimm, Secretary, Head of Circulation and Special Services, State Library of Ohio

Learn more about  the Talking Book Program

SEO Advisory Committee

The SEO (Serving Every Ohioan) Advisory Committee is responsible for advising and making recommendations regarding policies, information technology, budget proposals, upgrades, enhancements, etc. for the SEO Consortium.

Current Committee Members

• Sarah Clevidence
  Findlay-Hancock County Public Library
• Sarah Frump
  Carnegie Public Library – Washington Court House
• Amie Hatfield
  Homer Public Library
• Jessica Hermiller
  Bluffton Public Library
• Michael Limer
  Guernsey County Public Library
• Brenda Miller
  New Madison Public Library
• Heather Miller
  Ashland Public Library
• Eric Taggart
  Rodman Public Library
• Susan Titkemeier
  Pemberville Public Library

Learn more about  the SEO Advisory Committee

Choose to Read Ohio (CTRO) is administered by the State Library of Ohio with support from partner organizations.  The CTRO  Advisory Council makes recommendations on statewide implementation of CTRO including marketing, toolkit development, title selection, program sustainability and future growth.
Learn more