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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 06262012 - C.49RECOMMENDATION(S): AUTHORIZE a letter of authorization from the Chair of the Board for the submittal of the Library's "Discover & Go Network: Virtual Museum Passes" program to the California State Association of Counties' 2012 Challenge Awards, as recommended by the County Administrator. FISCAL IMPACT: The entry fee is $50 for each submittal. Contra Costa is submitting one program for consideration. The entry fee is paid out of the County Administrator Office’s budget. BACKGROUND: In May, the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) invited counties to enter their 2012 Challenge Awards competition. The program is intended to recognize the innovative and creative spirit of county governments, who look to find new and effective ways of providing programs and services to their constituents. The deadline for entry is a postmark of June 29, 2012. Two levels of awards will be presented by CSAC in each category of population: Challenge Award Trophies and Merit Award Certificates. CSAC will also be presenting special awards that are open to all population categories for the entry or entries that judges find to be the most innovative and have the most potential for replication by other counties. Challenge Awards will be presented in person in the recipient’s county. Merit Awards will be mailed. CSAC will publish a Challenge Awards Directory spotlighting all entries received. It will be distributed at the CSAC Annual APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 06/26/2012 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: June 26, 2012 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: C. 49 To:Board of Supervisors From:Legislation Committee Date:June 26, 2012 Contra Costa County Subject:2012 CSAC Challenge Awards Meeting and mailed to all county supervisors, administrators, department heads and entry contacts. Award recipients will also be featured on CSAC’s Web site at BACKGROUND: (CONT'D) www.csac.counties.org. Contra Costa County will submit the following application for the 2012 CSAC Challenge Awards: Discover & Go Network: Virtual Museum Passes: Contra Costa County Library developed a web platform providing residents with free downloadable museum passes now adopted by 20 County and City Libraries. See attachment for the Executive Summary of the program. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: If the County does not submit for an award, its programs will not receive due consideration and recognition from CSAC. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: ATTACHMENTS Executive Summary of "Discover and Go Network" Contra Costa County The Board of Supervisors County Administration Building 651 Pine Street, Room 106 Martinez, California 94553-1293 John Gioia, 1st District Candace Andersen, 2nd District Mary N. Piepho, 3rd District Karen Mitchoff, 4th District Federal D. Glover, 5th District David J. Twa Clerk of the Board and County Administrator (925) 335-1900 June 26, 2012 Mr. David Liebler California State Association of Counties CSAC Challenge Awards 1100 K Street, Suite 101 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: AUTHORIZATION OF PROJECTS FOR 2012 CSAC CHALLENGE AWARDS Dear Mr. Liebler: Contra Costa County has been notified of the California State Association of Counties’ 2012 Challenge Awards program. As Chair of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, I am writing to authorize the submittal of an application for consideration by the Challenge Awards judging panel. This entry is entitled: • Discover & Go Network: Virtual Museum Passes The County agrees to the program's requirements and responsibilities as set forth by CSAC for entering the awards program and has enclosed an entry fee check totaling $50.00. We appreciate the opportunity to showcase one of our innovative and successful programs in Contra Costa County. Sincerely, MARY NEJEDLY PIEPHO Chair, Board of Supervisors cc: Members, Board of Supervisors D. Twa, County Administrator Cathy Christian, Nielsen Merksamer B. Flynn, CCC Librarian California State Association of Counties Challenge Award Entry: Discover & Go Network: Virtual Museum Passes Overview Contra Costa County Library developed a web platform providing residents with free downloadable museum passes now adopted by 20 County and City Libraries. Challenge The Discover & Go Network is a direct response to Contra Costa County Library’s Community Needs Assessment identifying what county residents want from their library. Many residents see a natural affinity between libraries and the arts and want cultural institutions of all types-including libraries-to coordinate their efforts and reinforce one another’s offerings. Parents identify their preferences for programs that provide accessible low-cost cultural activities for families. Traditionally, libraries that circulate museum passes make them available to their patrons on a first-come, first-served basis in physical library locations. Passes must be picked up at the library and returned to the library on time in order for the next patron to be able to pick up their pass. This method leads to inequities in service and cuts down on the number of visits that the library and venues can offer. Solution Contra Costa County Library created, developed, and implemented an online reservation system called Discover & Go, the first of its kind downloadable museum pass management platform, and brought the service to multiple libraries throughout the region. With Contra Costa County Library’s unique Discover & Go program, patrons can make all of their reservations online by date or by venue and then immediately print their passes. Library cardholders have instant access to free and discounted passes to dozens of local museums and cultural institutions. This convenient, self-service technology improves current and future library services not only for the County but for all of the libraries that are joining in the Discover & Go Network. Budget With a $45,000 Bay Area Library Information System (BALIS) Innovation grant, Contra Costa County Library worked with a software developer to create the virtual pass technology that allows libraries to meet the terms and conditions set by the participating cultural organizations ensuring that there is equitable access to their passes and also give museums the ability to target particular populations. Contra Costa County Library’s Discover & Go Network represents a new approach to grants and technology development where libraries move beyond shared best practices and start sharing access to innovative solutions. This new business model set forward by Contra Costa County Library and put into practice with Discover & Go demonstrates how sharing solutions lowers the price of entry to innovative services, where one library uses grant funds to develop the technology that can be shared and deployed by other libraries rather than each library duplicating efforts and paying the full cost to reinvent wheels. Results Since its inception in January 2011, Discover & Go has met Contra Costa County Library’s goal of providing access to culture inside and outside of the library by attracting more than 40 Bay Area museum partners and making over 40,000 free cultural visits possible for families with library cards. The Discover & Go Network currently consists of 19 Northern California public library systems with other libraries coming on board. Each library on the Discover & Go Network shares the annual cost of the service, the responsibility for adding new venues to the service, and launches with an Opening Day Collection of museum pass offers that Contra Costa has negotiated on behalf of the Network. Interest in the program is attracting statewide and national attention throughout the library community. For more on Discover & Go, see http://ccclib.org/discovergo/ Program Contact Cathy Sanford, Deputy County Librarian Support Services Contra Costa County Library 1750 Oak Park Boulevard |Pleasant Hill, California 94523 925-646-6423 |csanford@ccclib.org