Index
- System Celebration registration deadline is Sept. 7
- Act 226 gives county board authority to appoint more library board members
- Try IM with SCLS
- Banned Books Week materials available online
- SCLS seeks Library Technology Coordinator
- SCLS fall CE workshop schedule
- Member/Staff News
- Goodbye from Mary Wepking
- Discount on Creative Zen Nano Plus mp3 Players available
- Statistics on your library's web site usage will soon be available from Google Analytics
- New Beloit College Mindset List now available
- FSI language courses available online
- Libraries offer resources for small businesses
- PLA announces ‘Emerging Leaders Program’
- Continuing Education Calendar
System Celebration registration deadline is Sept. 7
The registration deadline for System Celebration 2006 is Sept. 7, so reserve your place now by either returning the RSVP card that came with your paper invitation, or register online at www.scls.info/about/systemceleb/.
The featured speaker for this year’s event is Louise Robbins, a professor and director of the School of Library and Information Studies at the UW-Madison. Her presentation is titled "The Value of Libraries: What Research Tells Us."
System Celebration is our annual thank you to the staff, trustees, and mayor/village presidents of SCLS member libraries for their support and efforts throughout the year. This year’s event, which will be held Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Wintergreen Resort & Conference Center in Wisconsin Dells, will again offer the opportunity for attendees to view posters presented by member libraries and learn more about new projects or successful programs.
Regardless of how you register (paper or online), be sure to indicate if you require a vegetarian meal. Payment for meals should be sent to the South Central Library System, 5250 E. Terrace Drive, Suite A-2, Madison, WI, 53718-8345, by Sept. 7, 2006. This year's meal cost is $15.95, but there is no charge for one local elected official, head librarians (or designee) of member libraries of all types, and current trustees of SCLS area library boards. You do have the option to pay for your meal if you believe there is an ethical conflict with SCLS paying for your meal.
For more information, or to register online, visit www.scls.info/about/systemceleb/.
Act 226 gives county board authority to appoint more library board members
Editor’s Note: This article about Act 226 pertains to the ability of county boards of supervisors to appoint additional members to local library boards, depending on the ratio of county funding to municipal funding.
Previously, a county chairperson, with approval of the county board, could appoint up to two additional members to the library board of a library located in that county. With the enactment of Act 226, this is increased to up to five additional members.
- If the annual sum appropriated by the county library board to the public library is equal to at least one-sixth, but less than one-third, of the annual sum appropriated to the public library by the municipality, the county board may appoint one additional member.
- If the annual sum appropriated by the county library board to the public library is equal to at least one-third, but less than one-half, of the annual sum appropriated to the public library by the municipality, the county board may appoint two additional members.
- If the annual sum appropriated by the county library board to the public library is equal to at least one-half, but less than two-thirds, of the annual sum appropriated to the public library by the municipality, the county board may appoint three additional members.
- If the annual sum appropriated by the county library board to the public library is equal to at least two-thirds, but less than the annual sum appropriated to the public library by the municipality, the county board may appoint four additional members.
- If the annual sum appropriated by the county library board to the public library is equal to at least the annual sum appropriated to the public library by the municipality, the county board may appoint five additional members.
This provision is found in 43.60. The version of Chapter 43 available at www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0043.pdf now incorporates all of the changes implemented by adoption of Acts 226 and 420.
--From Cheryl Becker, SCLS Public Library Consultant
The SCLS Staff Directory now includes instant messaging (IM) screen names that member libraries can use to contact SCLS staff for consulting questions, or just to try using IM.
If you have an account with any of the "big 3" web-based IM services -- MSN/Hotmail (http://webmessenger.msn.com), Yahoo! (http://webmessenger.yahoo.com), or AIM (www.aim.com) -- you can log in to that account and start an IM session with someone from SCLS.
If you don't have an account with any of those services (or don't wish to set up a free one), and if your computer supports it, you may contact SCLS staff through the experimental Instant Message SCLS staff web page.
If you're wondering why this might be important, consider the astounding numbers of younger people who use instant messaging daily. IM even made the Beloit Mindset List for the class of 2010 (see the article below or read more at www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/).
...this year’s entering students form “a generation that has always been ‘connected’ and is used to things happening in ‘real time,’ like live satellite coverage of revolutions and wars, instant messaging and movies on demand.
For more information about IM, especially if your library is interested in offering IM reference to the public, contact
- Cheryl Becker at (608) 246-7973 (or by IM);
- Stef Morrill at (608 245-5799 (or by IM); or
- Nichole Fromm at (608) 246-4521 (or by IM).
Banned Books Week materials available online
This year’s observance of Banned Books Week, Sept. 23-30, features the theme “Read Banned Books: It’s your freedom we’re talking about.” Promotional packets have been sent to libraries and materials are now available on the SCLS website at www.scls.info/pr/bbw/.
Since 1982 the annual event has reminded Americans to celebrate the precious freedom to read. Each year the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives hundreds of reports on books and other materials that were “challenged” by people who asked that they be removed from school or public library shelves.
Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. The Library of Congress Center for the Book also endorses the annual observance.
SCLS seeks Library Technology Coordinator
The South Central Library System is seeking a creative and energetic Library Technology Coordinator to provide technology leadership and support to its 52 member public libraries in a seven-county area.
Primary responsibilities include planning and supporting technology projects for members and staff of the South Central Library System in a wide variety of areas, including virtual reference, digitization, and workstation time/print management; coordinating and supporting the evaluation, selection, and implementation of electronic databases; providing leadership in the area of technology; providing coordination and administrative support for library web development; and supervising and managing a technology group of 3 people.
For more information about required qualifications and how to apply, visit www.scls.info/about/libtec.html.
SCLS fall CE workshop schedule
With this week’s departure of SCLS Continuing Education Coordinator Mary Wepking, we thought it would be a good idea too post a reminder of this fall’s scheduled continuing education workshops. More information about CE programs is available at www.scls.info/ce.
Here is the list of what’s on tap this fall.
- Friday, Sept. 8, noon to 1 p.m. -- Brain Snack: Adult Programming. Join Jean Anderson for a discussion about adult programs in your library. Come prepared to share your successful (and maybe not-so-successful!) programs. This Brain Snack will be held in the new OPAL environment. Visit this event on the calendar link below to learn more about the software and hardware requirements of this system.
- Thursday, Sept. 21, 9 a.m. to noon -- "Teen Spaces, Cool Places!" Kim Bolan Taney, author of Teen Spaces: the step-by-step library makeover will present a morning workshop at SCLS in Madison and via live videoconference to Stevens Point. In this workshop, youth services staff will gain insight into creating great teen spaces, whatever your size or budget. Kim also will address teen advisory boards and teen involvement in creating collections and spaces just for them.
- Wednesday, Sept. 27, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. -- "Library Services to Low-Vision Patrons." This workshop will be conducted by staff from the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and will cover important considerations including signage and the latest technology to assist Low Vision Patrons. It will be held in Madison at SCLS and broadcast to Stevens Point.
- Thursday, Oct. 19, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. -- "Legal Reference in a Nutshell." Jane Colwin and Connie Von Der Heide, Wisconsin State Law Library, will provide an overview of the many print and online resources available to public librarians to help them provide legal reference service. This workshop will be held at the SCLS office in Madison.
- Tuesday, Oct. 24, 9:30 to 11 a.m. -- "Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners." This workshop will explore the various ways of making libraries more user friendly for English Language Learners. There will be many practical tips about a wide array of topics such as promoting library services to English Language Learners, signage, and collection development.
- Friday, Nov. 10, noon to 1 p.m. -- “Brain Snack: What Libraries Should Know about Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law.” Cheryl Becker will provide a one-hour overview of open meeting law to help you be sure your board meetings are in compliance with the law and to avoid potential penalties for its violation. This Brain Snack will also be held in the new OPAL environment.
Library staff interested in attending any of these events are welcome to visit the SCLS Calendar of Events at http://host.evanced.info/scls/evanced/eventcalendar.asp to learn more and to register.
Dawn Foster is the new youth services librarian at the Portage Public Library (effective Oct. 2). She has served as the reference librarian since August 2001, and before that (beginning in 1994) worked as a page, a library aide, and a library assistant.
Karen Rattunde, who has been at SCLS for two years supporting the Serials and Acquisitions Dynix modules, is moving to UW-Madison's Memorial Library as Electronic Resources Cataloger/Coordinator. Michelle Dries will take on Serials support, and you can reach her at (608) 266-6394 (mmdries@scls.lib.wi.us). Heidi Oliversen (hjo@scls.lib.wi.us) will handle Authority control and Vicki Teal Lovely (vtl@scls.lib.wi.us) will handle Acquisitions and Cataloging tasks until the position is filled. They can be reached at (608) 261-9109.
I have decided to leave my job here at South Central to return to work in a library. I have accepted the Library Director position at UW-Baraboo/Sauk County, and I'm scheduled to begin there in early September. Stef Morrill will manage the continuing education events planned for the balance of the year, while Cheryl Becker will be available to answer directors' questions regarding certification and re-certification issues.
I want the entire SCLS community to know that I have enjoyed my time here, I have certainly grown professionally, and I hope that our paths will cross at WLA conferences and elsewhere in the library world. I wish you all the best.
--Mary
Discount on Creative Zen Nano Plus mp3 players available
Member libraries are eligible for the OverDrive "Gear2Go" program, which makes OverDrive-compatible digital audio players available to libraries at a discount. SCLS will soon place a coordinated order for the Creative Zen Nano Plus 1GB. More information about the player is available at Creative.
If you’re interested, please contact Nichole Fromm at (608) 246-4521 (or by email) before Sept. 22, 2006, and let her know how many you would like to order (sadly, we can't choose the color of the players). Your library will be billed for the players (approx. $58 each, including shipping) after they arrive.
Statistics on your library's web site usage will soon be available from Google Analytics
SCLS soon will be changing the way statistics about SCLS-hosted member library websites are distributed. In the past, statistics were gathered periodically and posted on www.scls.info, but Google now has a service called Google Analytics that provides detailed web stats in almost real-time.
Using Google Analytics involves adding a bit of code to each page for which statistics are desired. Reports (bursting with graphs, charts, maps and more!) can then be seen by logging into www.google.com/analytics with an authorized Google account.
Eventually, statistics on all the sites SCLS hosts will be gathered through Google Analytics, but we would like to start with those libraries that are the most interested in their web statistics. If you would like to be on the leading edge of the switch to Google Analytics, contact Nichole Fromm at (608) 246-4521 (or by email).
New Beloit College Mindset List now available
Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. A creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief, it looks at the cultural touchstones that have shaped the lives of today’s first-year students, most of whom will begin graduating from college in 2010.
According to McBride, this year’s entering students form “a generation that has always been ‘connected’ and is used to things happening in ‘real time,’ like live satellite coverage of revolutions and wars, instant messaging and movies on demand. They expect solutions for every problem, from baldness to diseased organs. To the chagrin of teachers and parents, they’ve developed their own generational means of communication.”
The list is a general statement of the experiences and events that shaped the view of the world maintained by entering students. Beloit creates the list to share with its faculty in anticipation of the first-year seminars and orientation.
You can view the list at www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/.
FSI language courses available online
The language courses created by the Foreign Language Services Institute (FSI) are now available online. FSI is the primary training facility for American Foreign Service Officers and personnel, and these courses are available at no cost in electronic format.
The courses, which feature MP3 audio and supplementary text PDFs, cover a variety of languages, and they appear to be actively adding new content.
To access the FSI online language courses, visit http://fsi-language-courses.com/.
Libraries offer resources for small businesses
Editor’s Note: This article appeared in the Aug. 30, 2006, issue of the The Wall Street Journal Online.
“Where can entrepreneurs find office space, a research assistant, mentors and access to reams of market research -- all free of charge? They might try the local library. In an age where Google has become a verb and entrepreneurs have easy access to information from their home computers, libraries have been trying to evolve as well. Some have seemingly become small-business incubators in their own right: places where cash-strapped start-ups and established business owners alike can gather sophisticated information on a target market, draw up a business plan, bounce an idea off a seasoned executive, or perhaps, even find funding or build a website."
For the complete article, visit The Wall Street Journal Online.
PLA announces ‘Emerging Leaders Program’
Are you a new public librarian and eager to get involved in the profession? ALA recently announced the Emerging Leaders Program that will prepare 100 new librarians for professional leadership, and the Public Library Association (PLA) will sponsor one member for participation in this program.
Librarians who are interested in applying for PLA sponsorship must be a member of PLA, 35 years old or younger or have less than five years of post-MLS public library experience, and be able to meet the obligations outlined at http://lb.princetonlibrary.org/emerging_leaders.html.
For consideration, please email any two of the following three items to PLA President Susan Hildreth and Greta Southard by Sept. 15, 2006
- A list of ALA and or PLA activities (no more than five)
- Identify your participation in state, regional or other library associations (no more than five)
- Articulate three ways you have demonstrated leadership potential (500 words or less)
Use the subject line, “PLA Emerging Leader.” The individual selected for support by the PLA President will be notified by Sept. 22 and asked to submit the full program application by the Sept. 30 deadline. For more information about the program, visit http://lb.princetonlibrary.org/emerging_leaders.html.
