Index
- Library advocacy will be vital during 2013 budget process
- Member/Staff News
- WeLead protégés, mentors needed
- LaValle seeks library director
- Amazing authors for youth coming to 2012 Wisconsin Book Festival
- Continuing Education Calendar
Library advocacy will be vital during 2013 budget process
In preparation for 2013 municipal and county budget discussions, now is a good time to begin taking steps to give your library more influence over the process. Proactive advocacy continues to be vital, and getting an early start will be a key component of achieving more positive budget outcomes.
Libraries are only one of the many public services competing for a finite pool of tax dollars. To do so effectively, you should turn to the most convincing spokespeople for your library's programs and resources -- those you serve on a daily basis. Their stories and support are powerful, but using those positive feelings to benefit the library does not happen without effort. If you’d like help creating a library advocacy plan, as well as advocacy messages and materials to be used in your community, contact Mark Ibach and schedule a time to have him visit your library. More information about developing an advocacy plan is available at www.scls.info/pr/advocacy/. Mark is also available to conduct an advocacy awareness session for library trustees and Friends.
Now is also a good time to get a supply of “Speak Up for Your Library” cards from Mark (available at no cost to SCLS member libraries). By involving your library users and supporters you strengthen the position of your library within the community because you can get the emails of all those who list your library as their home library. It’s an easy way to reach out locally to build support for your library. We also encourage libraries to link from their website to the online sign-up form at www.scls.info/pr/speak_up.
As an added advocacy effort, libraries can link to the SCLS “Library Use Value Calculator,” which is an excellent opportunity for library users to attach a financial impact to their personal library use. We recently changed this resource so annual data updates for the calculator are performed once by SCLS staff, even if you put the calculator on your library’s website.
If you’d like to talk more about possible library advocacy efforts in your community, contact Mark Ibach.
Member/Staff News
The Madison Public Library Board’s selection of Gregory P. Mickells to be the new Director of Madison Public Library was confirmed by the Common Council on July 17. He will begin on Sept. 4. “You sense the passion and the support that this city has for its libraries. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to provide leadership for the library,” said Mickells when he was introduced at the meeting. Mickells has been the Assistant Library Director for the Lincoln City Libraries in Lincoln, Nebraska, since 2007. Lincoln City Libraries is a municipal system serving Lancaster County’s 280,000 residents from a main library, seven branches, and a bookmobile. Previously, Mickells was a Library Manager at Douglas County Libraries in Castle Rock, Colorado for eight years, and has held other library positions in Nebraska and Colorado since 1989. Mickells has his Masters in Library Science from Emporia State University. The library will be announcing several "meet and greet" opportunities for community members to meet Mickells in Madison libraries in September and October. Visit www.madisonpubliclibrary.org in August for an announcement of dates.
WeLead protégés, mentors needed
Established in 2004 by the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), the goal of the WeLead Task Force is to foster leadership skills in new or emerging library professionals, be they public, academic, school or special librarians. Applications for the 2013 class of protégés and mentors are now available. Selected participants will receive financial support to attend WLA conferences, will establish a trusted mentor/protégé relationship, and will be given professional development opportunities during the two-year commitment.
Eligible protégé applicants must be students, paraprofessionals and professionals currently in the field of library science and have demonstrated potential to be future library leaders. To qualify for this program applicants may either 1) never been a member of the Wisconsin Library Association or 2) have been a member for three years or less (not including student memberships). More information is available at the online application.
Since WeLead began, three classes of protégés have completed the program. A member of the first class, Jennifer Snoek-Brown, a Reference & Instruction Librarian at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, notes, “I appreciated and enjoyed my WeLead experience during my years as part of that initial cohort; I appreciate my WeLead experience even more now, looking back.” She goes on, “WeLead provided me a mentor I am still in contact with today; colleagues who became friends; a path into professional committees and further friendships I could not have anticipated; support for ideas and passions I wanted to explore but didn't know quite how to get started; in short, a beginning.”
If you’re looking for an opportunity to become more involved in a professional organization--to grow as a librarian and a leader--please consider applying for this program. The application deadline is July 31, 2012.
For more information, please contact Pamela O’Donnell, Chair of the WeLead Task Force, at (608) 263-2014.
LaValle seeks library director
Applications are being accepted for Library Director for the LaValle Public Library. Duties include managing an active, small public library, developing and following a budget, planning library services and programs, developing library policy and advising governing board. The position is approximately 20 hours per week, including some Saturday mornings. Knowledge and use of computers and software is required. Library work experience preferred. Must be eligible for grade 3 Wisconsin Public Library Certification requiring 54 semester credits. Public library management course required within the first year of employment. Additional library courses and continuing education required to maintain certification.
Applications are available at the village clerk’s office at 101 West Main Street, LaValle, WI, 53941, or by email at lavlib@mwt.net. Call (608) 985-8383 between 8 a.m. and noon for more details. The application deadline is Aug. 4.
Amazing authors for youth coming to 2012 Wisconsin Book Festival
The 2012 Wisconsin Book Festival has a great lineup planned for youth this fall, and all events are free. Check out the authors on the docket, select the best ones to feature at your library, and get the kids reading this summer and fall, so that meeting the authors in November becomes an unforgettable experience.
If you are interested in hosting one of the youth events at your library, please send an email to info@wisconsinbookfestival.org.
The 2012 Festival theme is Lost & Found, and this year’s roster of presenters includes George Ella Lyon, beloved poet and author of more than 20 picture books; Brian Farrey, creator of the middle grade fantasy The Vengekeep Prophesies; acclaimed YA novelists Rita Williams-Garcia and Patricia McCormick; and many, many more.
Visit the Book Festival website to read about these featured authors, and more, and their highlighted works.
The full schedule will be announced on Aug. 1, 2012, at www.wisconsinbookfestival.org. To stay up-to-date on any new additions, "Like" the Festival on Facebook, follow it on Twitter, or sign up to receive the e-newsletter.
The 11th annual Wisconsin Book Festival, produced by the Wisconsin Humanities Council, will take place in and around Madison from Nov. 7-11, 2012. The Festival offers a variety of event times to accommodate different schedules: weekend performances, school-day activities, and weekday evening programs.
