LSP Newsletter - News from Around the Library Services Platform

By Trevor Passage, LSP Program Manager, Library Consortium

Introduction

Hello all,

Welcome to the inaugural LSP Newsletter! Here, I hope to be able to provide folks with more information about the Library Services Platform and the goings on with the program–especially for those who may not be serving on a Work Group or keeping up with the Governance Committee Minutes.

Brief History of the LSP

The LSP started back in 2016 as an idea proposed by the Council of Chief Librarians to provide the CCC system with a state-wide, web-based, library management system. Using one-time Prop. 98 funding, a taskforce put together an RFP and went out to see what providers existed that could offer a library system at scale.  Ex Libris’ Alma & Primo VE were chosen to fulfill this need for our libraries, and currently 110 colleges have joined the LSP.  In its current iteration, the Community College League of California provides personnel, and the Council of Chief Librarians is the vendor working with the Chancellor’s Office to secure the state funding for the LSP; the projected savings to the CCC system from 2019 through 2024 are $8.5 million.

ELUNA 2024 Recap

ELUNA is the ExLibris Users of North America and is a not-for-profit educational group for users of the Ex Libris suite of library products. The CCL pays for the ELUNA membership of each participating college, and supported the travel costs for eight folks to attend ELUNA’s Annual Meeting last May. You will be able to read more about their experience in this September’s Issue of the Outlook, as each participant went on the condition of supplying an article about their time at ELUNA 2024. I found it extremely interesting, and while the focus was on the new wave of AI infused products coming out in the near future, the most impactful workshops I attended were the ones that focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Harmful Language Review Process and Form

Monday, September 16th marks the launch of the Harmful Language Review Process and Form.  The Harmful Language Review Subgroup has published an excellent blog post to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism, and Accessibility blog that you can find here. There will be a Wednesday Webinar presentation on the new Harmful Language Review process on September 25th, and an office hour for folks on October 1st. Keep your eyes peeled for the links to those in the weekly Schedule-at-a-Glance emails I send out.

Governance Committee Updates

The first meeting of the LSP Governance Committee is September 27th, and membership has been solidified for the 2024/25 academic year.  Your committee co-chairs are Cameron Bluford (Los Medanos College) and Kymber Ensele (Lake Tahoe Community College). The Governance Committee advises and guides our shared stakeholders in the deployment and management of the LSP. You can see the full roster of members, read the LSP policies, and review past meeting minutes at the Governance Committee LibGuide.

Important Dates

9/27/24 - LSP Governance Committee Meeting
10/24/24 & 10/25/24 - ELUNA California User Group Annual Meeting
11/15/24 - LSP Governance Committee Meeting
02/07/25 - LSP Governance Committee Meeting
03/27/25 - LSP Governance Committee Meeting
05/02/25 - LSP Governance Committee Meeting
06/16/25 - 06/20/25 - ELUNA Annual Conference
07/31/25 - LSP Governance Committee Retreat