Index
- What should you do when law enforcement requests access to library records or information?
- Registration deadline nears for May 11 Annual Meeting
- Materials available to help observe AskAway Awareness Week, May 7-11
- DLTCL has FAQ page on county library funding changes related to Act 420
- Member/Staff News
- May & June 2007 Continuing Education Opportunities
- A Novelist Warm Fuzzy
- New ALA data shows that predicted library demise due to Internet fails to materialize
- Continuing Education Calendar
What should you do when law enforcement requests access to library records or information?
When a law enforcement officer shows up at your library stating he or she needs to see library records, or a computer hard drive, or other information as part of a police investigation, it can be disconcerting to say the least. While your first inclination might be to turn over anything and everything requested, we need to remember we also have a responsibility to protect the privacy of those who use our libraries.
This responsibility is not necessarily in conflict with helping law enforcement, as long as certain requirements are met. The best way to be prepared for any potential incident (which can happen in any library, often when you least expect it) is to understand the applicable state and federal laws and interpretations, have a procedure that is understood by all library staff members, and communicate with your community's law enforcement before the fact.
To learn more, visit the "Law Enforcement Requests for Library Records" page at www.scls.info/management/law/enforcement/index.html.
Registration deadline nears for May 11 Annual Meeting
The 2007 SCLS Annual Meeting will be held May 11 at Devil's Lake State Park, and the May 1 registration deadline is less than a week away. For a copy of the agenda and to access the registration form, visit www.scls.info/about/annualmeeting/index.html.
The days begins at 9 a.m. with registration and refreshments, and morning programming begins at 9:30 a.m. with the following topics.
- Spelunking: Going out into your community -- Ideas for becoming an active part of the community
- Sing-alongs and more: Bringing the community to you -- Ideas for using programs and other activities in the library to build community
- Blazing new trails: learning about new developments in the library world and beyond
A picnic lunch will be provided by Blue Plate Catering (meal options are explained in the agenda), and the afternoon program will feature:
- Beyond semaphores and smoke signals: Staff communication and communication between SCLS and member libraries; and
- More than s'mores: Exchanging ideas around the campfire (The campfire part might not be true, but this will be a time to have a quick exchange of ideas on questions that participants bring to the meeting.).
The meeting will adjourn at 3 p.m., and at 3:30 Devil's Lake State Park staff will conduct "Tales of Devil's Lake," a program about the history of the park.
Please register by May 1. If you have questions about the Annual Meeting, contact Stef Morrill at (608) 245-5799 (or by email or IM).
Materials available to help observe AskAway Awareness Week, May 7-11
SCLS sent member libraries a packet of information this week that can be used to help observe AskAway Awareness Week, May 7-11. The packet includes a press release, posters, bookmark, and other informational materials. Additional copies of these materials are available free of charge to member libraries. To obtain more copies, contact Mark Ibach at (608) 246-5612 (or by email or IM). The materials also can be modified for use later in the year if you are unable to promote AskAway during the designated week.
In addition to the printed materials, SCLS has a supply of AskAway buttons with the message: "Ask Me About AskAway." These are available free of charge upon request of member libraries.
AskAway Awareness Week is a project of the statewide AskAway Publicity Committee. Additional resources, and more information about AskAway, are available through a new wiki at http://askaway.pbwiki.com/pr. You can get ideas, answers, and promotional items that will help you promote AskAway.
To encourage library participation in AskAway Awareness Week, the AskAway Publicity Committee also is offering two $50 cash prizes to participating libraries. At week's end, just send an e-mail to [email protected] telling her what you did and how it turned out (pictures are welcome). The drawing will be held May 28. Winners will be notified by e-mail, and prizes will be sent out by May 31. All entrants will get their library's name and event(s) posted on the AskAway wiki page.
DLTCL has FAQ page on county library funding changes related to Act 420
A new resource page of Frequently Asked Questions related to county library funding is now available on the Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning (DLTCL) website. One provision of Act 420, passed in May 2006, extends to adjacent counties the requirement that they reimburse public libraries for serving residents who live in areas of the county without public library service. Beginning in 2008, libraries may be reimbursed by adjacent counties for library use by residents of municipalities that do not maintain a public library in each of those counties.
The FAQ explaining specific issues, circumstances, and requirements is available at http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/act420.html.
SCLS also has information about Act 420 at www.scls.info/management/cross/index.html, including documents to help libraries claim reimbursements from adjacent counties. To receive reimbursement by March 1, 2008, from adjacent counties, libraries must provide the following information to the clerks of those counties by July 1, 2007. All are available in your state annual report:
- The number of loans in 2006 from your library to residents of that county, who live outside municipalities with libraries.
- Your library's total 2006 circulation.
- Your library's total 2006 operating expenditures (excluding any expenditures paid with federal funds).
Mary Friesen is the new director at Wyocena Public Library. She previously served as director of the Withee Public Library since 2004. She can be reached at (608) 429-4899 ([email protected]).
Steven Frye and Jane Bannerman, both of College Library, were named the 2007 Librarians of the Year by their peers in the UW-Madison Librarians' Assembly. They were honored with the awards at the Assembly's annual High Tea, Thursday, April 24. Created in 1989, the awards acknowledge exceptional contributions to the libraries.
The most recent issue of Libraries@UW-Madison is available at http://devweb.library.wisc.edu/newsletter/.
May & June 2007 Continuing Education Opportunities
Here are some brief descriptions of May and June CE programs being sponsored by SCLS.
- Why Talk About Books? Becoming a Dynamic Book Discussion Leader -- Wednesday, May 16, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at South Central Library System Administration Offices, 5250 E. Terrace Drive, Suite A-2 and Stevens Point (via videoconference), with Gary Warren Niebuhr, Library Director, Village of Greendale, WI, and author of "Read'em Their Writes: a Handbook for Mystery and Crime Book Discussions" and "Make Mine a Mystery" -- Can the way a book is written affect the reader? Yes. So can the person who presents it. Learning to be a dynamic book discussion leader is a skill that can be developed by anyone. This program is a guide for those who wish to begin or maintain a book club. You'll learn how to conduct a quality book discussion using titles that will generate interesting debate. Basic instructions for running any book discussion are included, ranging from selecting the leader, to finding the participants, choosing the title, and conducting the discussion. This program shows you how to use your own creativity to produce a rich experience for those who participate in your discussion.
- Money Matters! Tips for Planning, Preparing, & Getting your Public Library Budget -- Thursday, May 24, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at South Central Library System Administration Offices, 5250 E. Terrace Drive, Suite A-2, with Cheryl Becker, Public Library Administration Consultant -- Are you tired of hearing your funding body tell you "there's just no extra money for the library this year"? Wondering when it will finally be your turn? Then maybe this workshop, designed primarily for directors of small public libraries, is for you! You'll learn how to tie the library's plan to the budget, how to prepare a compelling budget request, and strategies for presenting and supporting your request. Armed with these tips, maybe it WILL be the library's turn to get the funding you require!
- Brain Snack: Developing a Marketing Plan, Part 1: Creating the Plan -- Friday, May 25, Noon to 1 p.m. in the OPAL Room, with Mark Ibach, Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator -- Developing a library marketing plan involves more than just compiling a list of good ideas that wind up collecting dust on a shelf because you don't have the time, money or expertise to execute them. This session will shed some light on the kinds of things you should be doing, and why you should consider eliminating other activities you may have done for a long time.
- Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Workshop -- Wednesday, June 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at South Central Library System Administration Offices, 5250 E. Terrace Drive, Suite A-2 -- Sarah Statz Cords, author of Public Speaking Handbook for Librarians and Information Professionals, presents a program on public speaking. During the session she will cover the basics of preparing your presentation, including knowing yourself and your audience, conducting research, and preparing and writing your introduction and main points. She'll also address planning for audience participation and preparing your visual aids and handouts. She also will discuss practicing your presentation, and then work on specific skills that will help make you more comfortable in front of an audience.
- Library Policy Documents for Effective Library Operations -- Wednesday, June 13, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. delivered to your desktop via the OPAL Meeting Room -- John DeBacher, Department of Public Instruction, will provide a pragmatic approach that libraries can follow to determine where their policies are, where they should be going, and priorities on how to get there.
For more information about these and other CE programs, visit the CE Calendar, or contact Jean Anderson, CE Coordinator, at (608 246-5613 (or by email or IM).
The following note was sent by Jaime Vache at Stoughton Public Library.
"I'm passing along a comment I received today at the Reference Desk -- a patron stopped in specifically to let library staff know how much she enjoys using Novelist. She explained that she has been hunting for a book she remembered reading sometime in the late '90s. She could recall that it was set in Russia, had something to do with art, one character was a journalist, and the cover was red. She said she had Googled it, searched LINKCat, Amazon and Barnes & Noble, all to no avail.
"Then, she read about Novelist in the Stoughton Hub newspaper and found the book on her first search (keywords Russia, Art, & Journalist). Title: 'Dispatch from a Cold Country' by Robert Cullen. Ahhh...warm & fuzzy Novelist."
New ALA data shows that predicted library demise due to Internet fails to materialize
Ten years after some experts predicted the demise of the nation's system of libraries as a result of the Internet explosion, the most current national data on library use shows that the exact opposite has happened. Data released today by the American Library Association (ALA) indicates that the number of visits to public libraries in the United States increased 61 percent between 1994 and 2004.
According to the 2007 State of America's Libraries report, there were nearly two billion visits to U.S. libraries in fiscal year 2004. The study was released during National Library Week, April 15-21. In the case of academic libraries, the number of visits exceeded more than one billion for the first time in 2004, up more than 14 percent in just the previous two years.
"Far from hurting American libraries, the Internet has actually helped to spur more people to use their local libraries because it has increased our hunger for knowledge and information," said Loriene Roy, president-elect of the American Library Association. According the ALA report, virtually every library in the United States -- 99 percent -- provides free public computer access to the Internet, a four-fold increase in the percentage of libraries providing such free access over the last decade. By comparison, Roy pointed to another study released in March showing that only 69 percent of U.S. households have Internet access.
But unlike the Internet, particularly when accessed at home, Roy said libraries still serve a unique function in providing those who seek knowledge and information with guidance from trained and educated professionals.
A full copy of the 2007 State of America's Libraries is available at www.ala.org/2007State.