Vol. 6, No. 17 -- Aug. 15, 2008
Index
- Register now for System Celebration 2008
- Member/Staff News
- SCLS launches new technology planning blog
- Brodhead breaks ground for new library
- Wisconsin Library Heritage Center website now online
- New information about OverDrive MP3 audiobooks
- WPLC receives 'Digital Pioneer' Award
- ‘Friends of the Library Conference’ scheduled Sept. 13
- Career and college planning video resources available online
- First Book will bring 50,000 brand new books to low-income youth in one lucky state
- Continuing Education Calendar
Register now for System Celebration 2008
System Celebration 2008 will be held Thursday, Sept. 25, at Devil's Head Resort & Convention Center in Merrimac. Printed invitations were mailed last week to all libraries and trustees, but you also can register online. The registration deadline is Sept. 11, 2008.
There is no charge for local elected officials, 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. The meal cost for spouses/guests is $19, and should be sent by Sept. 18 to South Central Library System, 5250 E. Terrace Drive, Suite A-2, Madison, WI 53718-8345.
Registration and social hour (cash bar) will be held from 6-7 p.m., dinner from 7-8 p.m., entertainment from 8:30-8:50, and awards presentations from 9-9:30. This year's menu includes Chicken Marsala, a sautéed breast of chicken with wild mushrooms, shallots and Marsala Wine sauce. It will be served with Red Bliss Garlic Mashed Potatoes and a Caesar Salad, and coffee, tea, milk and dessert are included. If using the online registration option, all questions must be answered before you can submit the form. If you are using the paper registration, remember to make your meal choice.
This year's entertainment will be provided by calicoDrifters, a band whose songs cut a broad swath through the American musical landscape. Whether it be the raw sound of the delta blues; the distinctive longing of an old-time-styled folk song; the optimism of a snappy, World War II era jazz standard; or the whimsy of an energetic pop song, calicoDrifters plays with passion, conviction, and an authenticity that makes each song their own.
Thanks to Jean Anderson, SCLS Continuing Education Coordinator, for conducting a durability test of the SCLS travel mugs. Her unofficial study outcome indicates that the mugs do not hold up well after falling to the road from the roof of a moving car. This data should be useful for future reference.
Of the more than 450 nominations, three SCLS librarians were recognized by BookPage during its second annual Spotlight Award. SCLS nominees were: Richard MacDonald, Baraboo Public Library; Lore Ponshock, Lester Public Library of Rome, and Beth Hays, Prairie du Sac Public Library. Congratulations to the nominees! For more information visit www.bookpage.com/spotlight/index.html.
This summer two UW-Madison SLIS students worked at the Black Earth Public Library. Kirsten Rogers and Ashley Thiem were taking a course called "Field Project in Library and Information Agencies" as part of their Masters degree program. From June through mid-August they had to work 120 hours in a position that is similar to one they hope to attain upon graduation. Kirsten and Ashley are interested in working as children's librarians and they helped director Carolyn Shaffer with the summer library program, conducting story times and library events for children of all ages. Ashley will graduate in December and Kirsten will graduate in May of 2009. Shaffer said the Black Earth Library community will miss them when they go back to school!
The July 2008 LINK Library Statistics Summary is posted at http://automation.scls.lib.wi.us/reports/circulation/circindex.html.
Madison Public Library (Central) recently welcomed three new staff members: Eric Rossborough (Page 1), Tenzin Dechen (Page 2), and Sara Andrews (Page 2).
Young readers in Marshfield gathered last week for the final phase of Library Director Lori Belongia’s 2008 challenge. She set a goal of 9,800 reading hours, and in response 826 children read 12,634 hours. In reward, Belongia transformed herself into a fly and then used a racket to try and swat away oatmeal balls and water balloons thrown by the children. Click on the photo to see a larger version.
Denise Anton Wright, Director of the New Glarus Public Library, has been accepted as a member of the 2008-09 Green County Leaders program. Green County Leaders is a community leadership program consisting of a series of classes that focus on leadership skills and issues of concern to Green County communities. Green County Leaders is sponsored by the Green County Development Corporation and UW-Extension-Green County in cooperation with Blackhawk Technical College and local businesses and government stakeholders.
SCLS launches new technology planning blog
SCLS has launched a technology planning blog to help keep the SCLS community up-to-date on what's happening with the technology planning process. We've been working on this process since late 2007/early 2008, and our hope is that the process will be completed by the end of 2008.
So, what's happened so far?
- We've appointed a technology planning committee.
- That steering committee worked with us to create a process and outcomes.
- To work on the components of the process, we formed some workgroups.
- The workgroups have been working away, and the steering committee met on July 17 to hear reports on the progress of workgroups.
Visit the new blog at http://scls.typepad.com/techplan/.
Brodhead breaks ground for new library
Wisconsin Library Heritage Center website now online
The Wisconsin Library Heritage Center (WLHC) website is now fully operational, so check it out at http://heritage.wisconsinlibraries.org/. The website is an integral component of the WLHC concept, and the WLHC Steering Committee is appreciative of the assistance provided by Rick Krumwiede and Beth Carpenter of the Outagamie Waupaca Library System in designing and hosting the website.
The WLHC is a program of the WLA Foundation.
New information about OverDrive MP3 audiobooks
As more news about OverDrive's new iPod-compatible MP3 Audiobook format becomes available, many librarians are anxiously wondering when MP3 Audiobooks will be added to the WPLC Digital Download Center. At present, it is still too early to know if or when this will happen.
"The WPLC Board has discussed the new MP3 format and has been following the developments,” said WPLC Project Manager Linda Miller. “As WPLC has done with each of the other new formats that OverDrive has previously made available, the WPLC Selection Committee reviews the titles offered, makes a recommendation to the WPLC Board as to whether or not to consider the format, and the WPLC Board takes action. The WPLC Selection Committee will likely bring its initial reaction to the next WPLC Board meeting, which is in October."
The new MP3 Audiobook format is OverDrive's answer to patrons who own iPods and other devices that cannot play WMA-format titles (the primary format of the existing WPLC collection), and OverDrive has been working with publishers to expand the number and quality of audiobook titles available in this format. Confirmed MP3 Audiobook Suppliers include: Audio Evolution, Books in Motion, Blackstone Audio, CSA Word, Editorial Fonolibros (YOYO USA), Gildan Media, Knowledge Products, L.A. Theatre Works, One Voice Recordings, Penton Overseas, Phoenix Books, and Telltale Weekly.
If WPLC does move to introduce MP3 Audiobooks to the collection, it will present new challenges for patrons and librarians. Though the format is compatible with Apple devices, there is no Mac equivalent for the OverDrive Media Console, which excludes patrons who do not have access to a PC with a Windows operating system. OverDrive is developing a Macintosh version of the OverDrive Media Console, but it is in beta testing and has not yet been released to the public.
More information will be provided when it become available.
WPLC receives 'Digital Pioneer' Award
Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) was one of 13 recipients of the "Digital Pioneer" award (aka the "Digies" award) presented at OverDrive's Digipalooza '08 conference on July 26 in Cleveland. The award recognizes OverDrive partner libraries that have shown excellence and leadership in delivering digital media downloads to their communities through successful collection development, website management, and promotion and community outreach.
WPLC was chosen for this award from the hundreds of public libraries and consortia that offer OverDrive-supplied media for leading technologies for authentication for member libraries. The full list of recipients and their areas of accomplishment is available on the OverDrive website.
‘Friends of the Library Conference’ scheduled Sept. 13
There are still many libraries in Wisconsin that do not have a Friends organization to support them, but representatives from “Friends of Library” groups from around the state, the Wisconsin Library Trustees and Friends (WLTF)/Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), and the Southwest Wisconsin Library System (SWLS) are hoping to change that situation. They are sponsoring a Sept. 13 conference on the theme of how to start a friends of the library group.
Topics of discussion at the one-day conference include:
- Why Have a Friends Group?
- Developing an Organizing Committee
- Asking for Help from Others Friends & Organizations
- Membership Recruitment / Publicity
- Planning the Initial Meeting
- Tax and Legal Considerations
- Potential Problems
- What To Do If At First You Don’t Succeed
Speakers include a former WLA president, a system director, a library director, and officers from existing Friends groups. Registration is limited to 50 participants, so WLTF members should sign up soon to ensure participation.
The cost of the one-day conference is $20, which includes lunch, beverages and snacks. The registration deadline is Aug. 29, and more information and a registration form are available in the program flier.
Career and college planning video resources available online
People turn to their public library for a variety of reasons, often for career and education planning. Libraries can now direct their patrons to a comprehensive series of virtual career and college planning web videos.
Sponsored by education-portal.com, which is a member of the American Library Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries, the site is dedicated to providing higher education and career planning resources for teens and college students, as well as adults looking for employment or a career change.
The videos feature advice from real-world college and career counselors who have volunteered their time. The information covers everything from practical college entrance advice and university reviews to detailed explanations of how to set up professional resumes, job network, and conduct informational interviews.
Examples of particular interest to teens and college age students include:
For adults and job hunters, check out:
- How to Build a Resume Videos
- Job Interviewing Videos
- Job Networking Videos
- Researching Careers Videos
To learn more, visit education-portal.com. To view videos on this site you need at least Flash Player 7 installed on your computer. If you are on a LINK machine and are unable to play the videos, contact the help desk at (608) 266-6394. If you have a non-LINK computer that is unable to play the videos, contact Dan Jacobson at (608) 246-4601.
First Book will bring 50,000 brand new books to low-income youth in one lucky state
For some, it was Nancy Drew. For others, it was anything by Dr. Seuss. Whatever the title, we all remember the one book that revealed the joy of reading, the book that made us want to stay up and read just a little longer. First Book,® a nonprofit organization providing new books to children in need, recently launched “What Book Got You Hooked?” a two-month campaign that celebrates the transformative power of books and highlights the critical need for them in programs serving children in need.
The online campaign -- www.firstbook.org -- asks readers to share their memory of the first book that made reading fun, then help get more children hooked by voting for the state to receive a special donation of 50,000 new books for children in need. Visitors are also invited to consider making a $10 donation, to help provide four brand new books for a child in need. Last year’s winning state was Oklahoma, with over 34,000 votes.
“What Book Got You Hooked?” continues through September 15. The results of the national vote -- as well as a list of the top 50 books named by visitors -- will be posted at www.firstbook.org in mid-September.
First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy -- access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 60 million free and low cost books in thousands of communities. First Book now has offices in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about the nonprofit First Book please visit www.firstbook.org or call (866) 393-1222.
