OSLIS History

2023: As of October 31, 2023, the State Library of Oregon canceled the contract for LearningExpress Library / PrepSTEP. Therefore, that resource was removed from the Find Information pages. // During the summer of 2023, the OSLIS Committee changed educator access with the goal of simplifying access and navigation for all OSLIS users. The OSLIS landing page and the Switch Site menu no longer list Elementary Educator or Secondary Educator. Instead, when a user clicks on the remaining Elementary or Secondary option, the page that opens will display student content at the top and educator content at the bottom. Basically, the former educator view became the default view, but "educator" does not appear in the URL. A toggle opens the Educator Content section, and a color indicates whether or not there is currently content in that section.

2022: During the spring of 2022, Citation Maker was updated to align with the 9th edition of the MLA Handbook. As part of the process, each template face, including citation examples and their labels, was updated to better match the equivalent on APA Citation Maker, for continuity between the two citation formats. More robust options for handling contributors, supplement elements, and social media were added. Work was done by Marlene Lee (OSLIS Committee Chair) and Jen Maurer (School Library Consultant). 

2021: During the summer of 2021, OSLIS was rebuilt to upgrade to the newest versions of Plone and Python. As a result of the new structure behind the scenes, there was no longer a separate landing page for educators. Instead, the resources formerly accessed on the elementary and secondary educator landing pages are now available at the bottom of the elementary student and secondary student landing pages when using the educator view. Also, the Google Translate tool was added to help users who do not read English. Work was done by Marlene Lee (OSLIS Committee Chair) and Jen Maurer (School Library Consultant). 

2020: During the summer of 2020, Citation Maker was updated to reflect changes in the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). Highlights included reducing the number of templates and aligning the look and layout of the face of the templates with that of MLA templates. Work was done by Marlene Lee (OSLIS Committee Chair) and Jen Maurer (School Library Consultant). 

2019: The OSLIS website and Citation Maker underwent some updates related to accessibility and responsive design. 

2016: In September 2016, OSLIS debuted a series of Learn to Research video tutorials, the result of an effort by the OSLIS Committee (who worked with a videographer) to add multimedia content. More videos were added over the years. Work was done by Marlene Lee (OSLIS Committee Chair), Mary McClintock (OSLIS Committee member) and Jen Maurer (School Library Consultant). 

2016: During the summer of 2016, Citation Maker was updated to reflect changes in the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook. 

2014: During 2014, OSLIS received a new look that included a new logo, graphics, and color scheme.

2012: OSLIS was rebuilt in 2012 to address security and stability issues. The updated site included all of the same features of the previous version except there was no longer an option for students to store their work.

2010: The secondary research model was changed from 8 to 6 steps.

2010: During the summer of 2010, Citation Maker was updated to reflect changes in the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). Work was done by Marlene Lee (OSLIS Committee member), Deanna Draper (OSLIS Committee member) and Jen Maurer (School Library Consultant). 

2009: During the summer of 2009, Citation Maker was updated to reflect changes in the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook. Work was done by Marlene Lee (OSLIS Committee member), Mary McClintock (OSLIS Committee member) and Jen Maurer (School Library Consultant). 

2008: In the spring of 2008, OSLIS debuted a new navigation interface that provided unique URLs for each of the four audiences (elementary student, elementary educator, secondary student, and secondary educator). 

2005: The 2005 interface was a cooperative effort of OASL (Oregon Association of School Libraries), then named Oregon Educational Media Association (OEMA), and the iSchool at the University of Washington.

2004: In 2004, the OASL board initiated a partnership with the University of Washington iSchool to host OSLIS. OASL's partnership with the iSchool included the development of a 3-year plan for continuing to enhance and improve OSLIS.

2000: In 2000, Mary McClintock, then an OSLIS Committee member, wrote an article about the history of OSLIS titled Equitable Access: The Dream and The Promise.

1999: Cite Works Classic, an early version of Citation Maker, debuted. Thanks to these individuals for their work on the project: OSLIS - Dolores Johnston, JoAnn Klassen, Nicki Maxwell, and Sheryl Steinke / OPENC - Shelly Peng, programmer; Gus Frederick, Marilyn Kelly, and Dennis Schultz. Revisions from 2004-08 were made through a contract with the iSchool at the University of Washington.

1998: Oregon Educational Media Association was awarded an LSTA grant from the State Library of Oregon to develop OSLIS. The purpose was to provide access to lessons about the research process and to provide a central access point to the statewide databases, both in response to the decline of licensed librarian positions in the state.  

Statewide access to Gale databases for all Oregon K-12 public and private schools is provided with funds granted to the State Library of Oregon under the Library Services and Technology Act. The Oregon Department of Education contributed funds during the 2007-08 school year.

Funding for OSLIS comes from LSTA grants from the State Library of Oregon; early in OSLIS' history, the project received federal technology grants administered by the Oregon Department of Education.

Citation Maker was a joint project of the OPEN Clearinghouse and the Oregon School Library Information System (OSLIS). It was initially developed in 1999, revised in 2003, and again in 2004. Original information literacy "how to" lessons were written by media specialists working on the OPENC/OSLIS projects.

OASL appreciates the contributions to the development of OSLIS by educational partners previously involved wtih the project:

  • iSchool - Information School at the University of Washington (web support)
  • OETC - Oregon Educational Technology Consortium (fiscal agent, database negotiations)
  • OPEN - Oregon Public Educational Network (web design, site host)
  • TRD - Teaching Research Division at Western Oregon University (evaluation & assessment)

This project is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Oregon in association with the Oregon Association of School Libraries, a division of the Oregon Library Association.