Index
- System Celebration registration underway
- Register now for Project Play
- Library photos needed for System Celebration
- LINK email survey underway
- Member/Staff News
- WPT invites libraries to host premier screenings of THE WAR
- Article on Open Source
- Libraries asked to send board agendas, minutes to SCLS
- COSLA asks libraries to complete facilities survey by Aug. 31
- WSJ article explores ‘Bibliotherapy: Reading Your Way To Mental Health’
- Cincinnati.com article is excellent library PR
- Rural & Small Libraries Conference Scheduled Sept. 26-28
- Continuing Education Calendar
System Celebration registration underway
System Celebration invitations have been mailed to libraries and trustees throughout the South Central Library System, and registrations should be returned or completed online by Sept. 7. To register online, visit www.scls.info/about/systemceleb/.
The social hour will begin at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by "The Cheddar Chicks," a female acappella group from Baraboo, WI.
To register, return the RSVP that is mailed with your invitation, or use the online RSVP form. Either way, be sure to indicate your meal selection. 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, 2007. This year's meal cost is $15, 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.
System Celebration is our annual thank you to the staff, trustees, and mayors/village presidents of SCLS member libraries for their support and efforts throughout the year, and this year's event will be held Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, at Sweet Sophie's Restaurant & Hall in Waunakee. Dinner features entrees of either Pecan Chicken Breast stuffed with cream cheese and broccoli; or Portabella Mushroom & Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Ravioli in a creamy walnut sauce.
For more information, or to register online, visit www.scls.info/about/systemceleb/.
Project Play is a free, online, self-discovery program that encourages the exploration of Web 2.0 tools and new technologies. The project is a collaboration of South Central Library System, Outagamie Waupaca Library System and Winnefox Library System. It’s based on the very successful Learning 2.0 Program created by Helene Blowers of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, under their Creative Commons license that allows others to duplicate the program.
Project Play goals are to:
- expose staff to emerging technologies they are hearing about and which many of their patrons are already using;
- encourage learning through play (with the focus on participation, not necessarily on doing something right);
- empower and encourage people to take responsibility for their own lifelong learning;
- expand people’s knowledge and confidence; and
- eliminate fear of the unknown.
The first semester of the project will run from Sept. 17 through Dec. 9, 2007, and the second semester will run from January through April 2008.
Registration is now open, and is limited to 75 SCLS member public library staff. If space is available after an initial registration period, trustees and volunteers from the system and member libraries (including MALC member library staff) will be eligible to participate.
For more information, visit the project play wiki at http://projectplay.owlsweb.info.
Library photos needed for System Celebration
We're in the process of planning the program portion of the Sept. 20, 2007, System Celebration at Sweet Sophie's Restaurant in Waunakee, and we need your help.
We’re asking each of our member libraries to send up to 10 photos of their choosing. They can be photos of your library, your board, a library program -- whatever you'd like. Photos that show your library today!
We’ll assemble the submitted photos into an electronic slide show for display that evening, and we’d like everyone represented. JPEG images will work best, no smaller than 640x480. Larger is fine, but they may take longer to email.
Please email photos by Friday, Aug. 17, 2007, to Mark Ibach. You also can send a CD of photos if that is easier for you.
In order for LINK automation staff to provide the best service possible, LINK library staff members are asked to complete a survey on Eudora email services. This is in part an information gathering process for Automation as it faces the prospect of finding new email software. SCLS would also like to find out if there is anything that automation staff can do to assist you with your current email needs.
LINK library staff members -- even those who do not have an SCLS email account -- are invited to participate. Feel free to share this invitation with all library staff.
The online survey will close on Aug. 31 at 5 p.m.
Ronald McCabe, director, and Andy Barnett, assistant director, McMillan Memorial Library, had an article published in the May/June2007 issue of Public Libraries. Titled “Doing More Despite Having Less,” the article appears on pages 21 and 22 as part of a collection of short essays on “Making Changes and Staying Happy.”
The July 2007 LINK Library Statistics Summary is posted on Automation's website.
The August issue of WSLL @ Your Service has been published at http://wsll.state.wi.us/newsletter/0708.html.
WPT invites libraries to host premier screenings of THE WAR
As you're probably aware, this fall Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) will broadcast THE WAR, a seven-part series about the Second World War, directed and produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.
WPT is inviting Wisconsin libraries to host special preview screenings prior to Sept. 23, 2007, and will support you by providing a special preview DVD, an event planning guide, press release template, and other resources. Libraries will be responsible for finding their own facilitators, and potential sources are plentiful -- some possibilities might be local veterans, historical societies/museums, genealogy groups, or history professors/teachers at local schools, colleges, and universities. Libraries might also enrich their screening by inviting local World War II veterans as special guests, although not necessarily as facilitators.
Libraries also will need to schedule the program, provide a room and equipment, coordinate local promotion, and all the other things normally associated with a public program of this nature. If you need help with promotional materials, please contact Mark Ibach, SCLS Marketing and PR Coordinator.
For background information, visit THE WAR’s companion website at www.pbs.org/thewar.
For more information or to add your library screening to WPT's calendar, contact Lynne Blinkenberg at (608) 265-6331 ([email protected]). If you do schedule a screening at your library, please inform Cheryl Becker so she is aware of library participation.
Automation staff members have written an article explaining Open Source that is posted in this month's LINK News and Tips. The article arose from discussions among LINK migration committee members, who were asking about the difference between Open Source and turnkey ILS systems
Read the article at http://automation.scls.lib.wi.us/announce.html#Open. While you are there, check out the other articles as well.
Libraries asked to send board agendas, minutes to SCLS
One of the issues discussed at this year’s SCLS Annual Meeting was communication. With such a large SCLS "family," communication is something we always want to be sure to do well.
One of the ways you can help SCLS staff to know what's going on at your library is to send us your library board agendas and minutes. It is easiest for us if you email them in electronic format. Simply email them to Cheryl Becker.
Libraries also are encouraged to send us copies of newsletters, preferably in electronic format (.pdf is best). Newsletters should be sent to Mark Ibach.
COSLA asks libraries to complete facilities survey by Aug. 31
The Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) is conducting a facilities survey, and libraries are asked to complete the online form by Aug. 31, 2007.
COSLA is gathering information from libraries across the country about potential library construction projects in the next five to 10 years, and the organization will compile and use the information to determine if there is a national need for federal library construction funding.
Libraries are asked to complete the online survey for each branch and main library building you plan to construct or renovate in the next 10 years.
WSJ article explores ‘Bibliotherapy: Reading Your Way To Mental Health’
An article in the July 31, 2007, edition of the Wall Street Journal explored the topic bibliotherapy, which in laymen’s terms is the equivalent of reading your way to mental health.
To read the complete article, visit the archived copy in ProQuest.
Cincinnati.com article is excellent library PR
An article posted Aug. 2, 2007, on Cincinnati.com, is an excellent example of using a newspaper column to promote the value of your library to the broader community. It also includes a great marketing idea to encourage library card ownership.
SCLS has an adapted version of the “library calculator” mentioned in this article, and we encourage libraries to link to the calculator from their websites. It’s a great way for your patrons to get a better sense of the value of their personal or family library use.
Rural & Small Libraries Conference Scheduled Sept. 26-28
The Association for Rural & Small Libraries Conference, scheduled Sept. 26-28 in Columbus, OH, will again feature a series of presentations and breakout sessions that directly address the issues small & rural libraries face daily.
The Association of Rural and Small Libraries is comprised of libraries of all types including public, school, small urban branches, special and corporate, and small academic. The defining characteristics are a library with a limited budget and a diverse clientele.
To view the program agenda, or to register, visit www.bcr.org/ARSL/.