Index
- Annual Report 2011 update
- Make your voice heard; register for Library Legislative Day
- Member Staff news
- To better serve patron needs, Monona Library eliminates overdue fines in 2012
- Ashman, Hawthorne Branches offer one-on-one ebook help
- Digital Learning Day is Feb. 1
- Last call to sign up for LE@D classes: purchase deadline is Jan. 30
- Continuing Education Calendar
Annual Report 2011 update
It's that time of year again, and your thoughts have already turned to completing your library's 2011 Annual Report. This year's process will be a little different than in past years because of the retirement of Cheryl Becker, and we ask that you bear with us as we work through the process together.
We have updated the Annual Report web page, and will continue to do so as new information becomes available. As always, there is helpful information from DLTCL and SCLS, and a workshop geared especially for new directors is scheduled Feb. 1, 2012. ILS staff also are planning some LINKcat Annual Report webinars, and those will be announced soon.
We have sent information to the DLTCL that it will use to pre-populate some of the fields on your Annual Reports, but that information probably won't be in your report today (Jan. 17). Be patient because it will be there very soon.
SCLS staff also are working on the LINKcat memo and reports, which we hope will be available by the end of the week. When these materials are available we’ll send an email to the Annual Report list and post it to the Annual Report Blog.
The report is due to the state March 1, as required by state statute, but we ask that you have your data entered into the report by February 15 so that we may review it before you submit it. Plan your schedules accordingly.
Questions about the Annual Report should be directed to Mark Ibach at (608) 246-5612.
Make your voice heard; register for Library Legislative Day
Library Legislative Day is Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012. "Libraries at the heart of the community" is this year's theme, whether your community is an academic institution, a K-12 school, a municipality, or a museum, law firm or hospital. Legislators need to hear from you about important library issues.
Major issues in 2012 include gaining support for:
- a bill extending the deadline for changes to the UW System’s research functions and WiscNet
- protection of the Common School Fund for school library use
- a bill to enable public library districts
- a bill to improve options for recovering overdue library materials
Participate in Library Legislative Day to learn what is important to public officials and, in the process, position yourself as a resource on library issues. Appointments will be made for you and others from your legislative district. Background materials and a briefing provided in advance give you talking points on the issues, and professional lobbyists will provide tips on having an effective meeting.
Register at www.wla.lib.wi.us/legis/day/index.htm.
Member Staff news
SCLS is pleased to announce that Denise Anton Wright is the new Public Library Administration Consultant. She will begin her duties at SCLS on Monday, Feb. 20. Denise has been director of the New Glarus Public Library since August 2004. Prior to her role in New Glarus, Denise served nearly seven years as the Library Development Consultant for the Alliance Library System in Bloomington, Pekin & East Peoria, IL.
Children recently learned about the techniques used to create famous animated shows like "Gumby" and "Wallace and Gromit" during a workshop hosted by the Baraboo Public Library. A large crowd of kids and some parents armed with pencils, construction paper, glue and brightly-colored clay filled the library's community room for the program on stop-motion animation using clay figures, also called claymation. Read more in the Baraboo News Republic.
Plan to attend Madison Public Library’s Bookless one-night-only art extravaganza and fundraiser in the old Central Library on Jan. 28.
Thanks to the support of the Library Board and Village of New Glarus, New Glarus Public Library has expanded its hours to 50 per week. Two new hours were added to Saturday, so now they’re open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. All other hours remain the same (10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday). Andrea Brunner has joined the NGL staff as a part-time Library Assistant. She earned her MLS from UW-Milwaukee and also works part-time for the Monroe PL. This is a new position.
To better serve patron needs, Monona Library eliminates overdue fines in 2012
The Monona Public Library is no longer charging overdue fees on materials checked out at the library, effective Jan. 2, 2012. The Monona Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the change at its Dec. 20 meeting, making it only the second library in the South Central Library System (the other is Middleton Public Library) not to charge patrons for overdue materials.
“We believe this change will make our library even more popular and more responsive to use by Monona and nearby residents,” said Erick Plumb, library director. "In an increasingly 'on-demand' world with numerous choices for consumers, with most of these choices requiring additional service charges, we believe that eliminating late fees makes us more user-friendly to Monona residents, as well as being more equitable to the community in these challenging economic times.
“We currently do not charge overdue fines for children's materials and this change is just an extension of that successful model. People are charged fees for seemingly everything these days, from baggage at the airport to checking fees at the bank. Monona has been very supportive of the library, and we want to return that support.“ Plumb also noted that the strong community and business support of the library helped it to garner the 2010 Wisconsin Library of the Year title.
Attracting new and returning users is the ultimate goal of the change to a fine-free model, Plumb says. "We are confident that people who may have not used the library in the past will give it a try now as day-to-day information and entertainment needs of consumers dramatically escalate. The Monona Library is a wonderful resource and our main objective is to provide a community space that fosters a literate, well-informed public. Our goal is not to punish people for being a day late in returning an item."
The library will continue to charge for lost or damaged materials, with items more than 28 days late changed to a "lost item" status. "We want people to enjoy the materials they borrow from us, and then return them. We want people to come to the library, check out all we have to offer, including ebooks, and sign up for some of our great programs. Libraries are all about making connections and are more necessary than ever in today’s rapidly transforming world," Plumb said.
For more information about the elimination of overdue fees or any of Monona Library’s services, contact Erick Plumb at eplumb@mononlibrary.org.
Ashman, Hawthorne Branches offer one-on-one ebook help
by Alice Oakey
Supervising Librarian, Alicia Ashman & Meadowridge Branches
The Ashman Branch of Madison Public Library recently offered a one-on-one ebook help by appointment program, which was absolutely great! Patrons were extremely grateful for this opportunity, and we felt like the Toast of the Town.
All locations provide one-on-one routinely, but ours was different because we publicized it in Evanced and at our reference desk.
The program also garnered quite a bit of positive publicity for both the MPL Foundation and Alliant Energy, which supported the project.
We are fielding participants from all over the Madison metro area. I now realize we are the only library in the greater Madison, if not all of SCLS, that has offered publicized one-on-one by appointment service. I'm answering calls and emails from SCLS librarians and directors asking me how I planned and trained for a week-long one-on-one ebook help program.
A little background: Last year, the week between Christmas and New Years was gangbusters on the library ebook reader scene. Kind of like Fashion Week in Paris without the fashion or Paris. Frenzy! Overdrive tanked, staff was flooded with questions, absolutely crazy.
So I decided that in 2011 I would host a week-long one-on-one ebook help by appointment program at Ashman between Christmas and New Years. I would set up 16 appointments, take reservations and see what happened. I wanted to serve patrons but also find out what prevented patrons from downloading ebooks from the library, what their questions were, all info I could use to plan future programming.
What happened: Midsummer Marc Gartler and I received a technology education grant for Ashman and Hawthorne from Alliant Energy and MPL's Foundation. Yahoo, let's buy gadgets and plan programming! Marc planned a One-on-One Ebook Help by appointment at Hawthorne for the week following New Year's.
Then what happened: The Wisconsin State Journal ran a great article, complete with snazzy snapshot of Marc Gartler, about ebook reader assistance at the libraries. The next morning Ashman’s four phone lines rang nonstop from 9:00-10:30. My 16 appointments were filled by 9:01, we created a waiting list and planned more sessions. Ashman staff (Liz C., Barb S. and Heidi M.) and Tana Elias jumped on board so the library could host at least 30 sessions that week, and 30 the following week to accommodate patrons on the waiting list and patrons who would otherwise flood Hawthorne's resources.
Result: Happy patrons and I don't have a voice left.
Marc hosted One-on-One Ebook Help by appointment at Hawthorne the following week too, and they were flooded with requests.
Digital Learning Day is Feb. 1
State Superintendent Tony Evers has proclaimed Feb. 1, 2012, Digital Learning Day in Wisconsin.
"Incorporating the latest technological advances in the right ways will make an enormous difference for our students," Evers said. "I proclaimed Digital Learning Day to support sharing and learning from successful strategies regarding technology in learning. This in turn moves us closer to the vision of every child a graduate ready for further education and the workforce."
As part of a national celebration, the Wisconsin education community will highlight and explore digital learning practices that can improve students' education and save money for schools. Evers said the DPI is also looking for examples of how libraries are integral to digital learning in their communities.
So far over 300,000 people have registered at the national site, so add your voice too. You can get involved in promoting digital learning by participating in one of the Wisconsin activities at https://sites.google.com/a/dpi.wi.gov/wisconsin-digital-learning-day/home or http://dpi.wi.gov/imt/dlday.html.
Highlights of the Wisconsin event will include State Superintendent Tony Evers leading a Twitter town hall meeting and the release of the Wisconsin Digital Learning Plan by the State Superintendents Digital Learning Council.
--from Channel Weekly (Vol. 14, No. 14 – Jan. 5, 2012)
Last call to sign up for LE@D classes: purchase deadline is Jan. 30
Since 2003 LE@D has offered high-quality online courses for library training, and more than 30,000 courses have been taken by more than 10,000 students. However, funding cuts, reductions in library staff, and current economic conditions are forcing the University of North Texas to discontinue the LE@D program.
January is the last chance to take all of those LE@D courses you always wanted to take, but never got around to. As an added bonus, you will receive a $10 discount on any Library or School Library course. Just apply the coupon code IMLS-10 at checkout for your discount. There are no limits on the number of classes you can buy and no restrictions on the discount.
All classes must be purchased with a credit card or a valid coupon code. Payment by check will not be accepted. All classes purchased will need to be finished within 30 days because access to classes beyond that time cannot be guaranteed.
The deadline for signing up is Jan. 31, but the deadline for finishing the courses is 30 days, or at the latest the end of February, because the LE@D organization does not know what the University of North Texas plans to do.
To review the available classes or make a purchase, visit LE@D at www.leadonline.info.
