Research Databases
Research Databases
Most of the electronic resource titles OPLIN provides are cooperatively purchased in partnership with Libraries Connect Ohio (librariesconnectohio.org). This cost-effective arrangement provides all Ohioans with free access at ohioweblibrary.org to reference tools, newspaper and magazine articles, and continuous learning resources that many individual libraries could not afford. Additionally, OPLIN purchases statewide access to skills development video courses from LinkedInLearning, and to a premiere collection of genealogy resources.
Electronic resource vendors were generous during the pandemic, developing guides to help parents and educators with the difficulties of remote learning, making parts of their collections freely available on the internet, upgrading library content packages, and loosening usage restrictions. Ancestry.com, which was previously restricted to in-library use only, was made available to library patrons from their homes, and usage immediately increased 572%.
Database utilization increased sharply during the pandemic.
$0.40 cost per use
In 2019, Lynda.com's parent company LinkedIn announced that the content would be relaunched as LinkedIn Learning, and that library patrons would be required to create and use personal LinkedIn social media accounts to access the content. American libraries objected strongly, and LinkedIn changed directions. They delayed library migrations for a year, and made important changes to the LinkedIn Learning for Libraries product that preserves the privacy of library users. Ohio libraries migrated to the new platform the first week of May 2021.
Internet
Internet
OPLIN provides an Ethernet internet connection for Ohio public library systems and regional library systems, a total of 256 circuits. Circuit bandwidth is determined by usage, ranging in size from a minimum of 100 Mbps to 5 Gbps. All data traffic from the circuits is aggregated at the State of Ohio Computer Center before routing to the commodity internet. Before March 2020, daily bandwidth approached 9 Gbps at peak times.
How the pandemic shutdown affected daily library bandwidth utilization:
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The majority of the demand for internet access comes from over 14,000 public computers and nearly 24 million wireless sessions in Ohio libraries, so when the COVID-19 pandemic forced libraries to close their buildings, bandwidth utilization fell below 1 Gbps. As libraries reopened, internet demand slowly grew. By June 2021, daily traffic was approaching 6 Gbps at peak utilization.
Other Services
Other Services
Database Authentication
The migration to LinkedIn Learning for Libraries highlighted the need for a universally compatible authentication platform. OPLIN developed Mask, a secure authentication middleware for electronic resources. Mask accepts vendor authentication requests, passes the request to a library's ILS, and authenticates the patron to the vendor's platform over an encrypted connection. Mask is compatible with every ILS used by Ohio libraries. Libraries can use Mask as their authentication middleware with titles including Hoopla, Freegal, Kanopy, EZproxy, and more. Mask has authenticated over 75,000 library user sessions.
Webkits
Ohio public libraries have the option of purchasing a professionally built website with all maintenance, upgrades and hosting handled by OPLIN. Since Drupal 7 & 8 will reach end of life in November 2021, OPLIN performed extensive updates to ensure all webkits are running Drupal 9 before that date. From March 2019-August 2020, OPLIN worked with Braindunk, LLC, to create a new Webkit template for Drupal 8. By August 2020, 80 hosted websites were upgraded to Drupal 8. From March - May 2021, OPLIN staff upgraded all webkits to Drupal 9, with no downtime or impact to library users. Currently, 87 Ohio public libraries have an OPLIN webkit.
Financials
Financials
Revenue
Since Fiscal Year 2012, OPLIN has received an annual transfer of $3,689,788 from the Ohio Public Library Fund (PLF). The other major source of revenue is annual reimbursement of a portion of internet costs distributed through the Schools and Libraries division of the federal universal service support program (E-rate). The OPLIN state budget includes $2 million in "spending authority" to permit the expenditure of these federal funds.
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Expenditures
90% of OPLIN expenditures were for direct services to libraries.
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Items in the "Other services" category include annual OpenDNS licenses for filtering the internet, used so far by 156 library systems; EZproxy, which supports remote access to databases; E-rate training and support; and the rent for space in the State of Ohio Computer Center, housing critical support systems and the Co-Location Service available to public libraries and library consortia.
Fast Facts
Fast Facts
Stats at-a-glance
| Service | Stat |
|---|---|
| Internet circuits for libraries | 256 |
| Daily peak bandwidth utilization | 7 GBPS |
| Website Kits | 87 |
| SMS notifications sent | 2.43 million |
| Listserv subscribers | 2,637 |
| Database item retrievals | 11.6 million |
| Serving Ohio public libraries | 25 years |
FY2020 Revenue & Expenditures
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Public Library Fund | $3,689,788 |
| E-rate reimbursements | $1,923,579 |
| Website Kits | $53,793 |
| Telco refunds | $6,322 |
| TOTAL | $5,673,482 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Internet | $2,480,000 |
| Databases | $2,428,713 |
| Administrative | $694,811 |
| Other services | $247,000 |
| TOTAL | $5,850,524 |
FY2021 Revenue & Expenditures
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Public Library Fund | $3,689,788 |
| E-rate reimbursements | $2,052,953 |
| Website Kits | $59,310 |
| Telco refunds | $0 |
| TOTAL | $5,802,052 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Internet | $3,121,258 |
| Databases | $2,282,835 |
| Administrative | $598,078 |
| Other services | $286,658 |
| TOTAL | $6,288,829 |