Index
- Free language learning resources available online
- WebJunction, Ed2go courses available free to most public library staff
- Learning Express is a go for 2008
- Downloadable music will be available through OverDrive
- Site selected for future Cottage Grove Community Library
- Member/Staff News
- McMillan offers workshop on ‘unresolved social conflict of the 1960s’
- Libraries should place tax form orders next week
- National Book Award finalists announced
- Continuing Education Calendar
Free language learning resources available online
We’ve discovered a free web-based language learning software called Mango, available at www.trymango.com. There are currently 11 languages available, including two for non-English speakers (Polish and Spanish) to learn English. Each course has 100 lessons available, and it appears they will continue to add additional languages.
We encourage you to try it out, and we’ve thought of the following applications for it (though you may find others):
- for library staff to become more comfortable with common phrases from foreign languages that your library users may speak;
- for library users who want to learn to speak English (this is currently available for Polish and Spanish speakers); and
- as a reference tool for anyone learning one of the foreign languages available.
Designers of the software say they are committed to the constant progressive improvement of Mango, and invite users to help by providing suggestions and feedback. Mango requires Adobe Flash Player 9. You will need to contact the LINK Helpdesk if you need to install Flash 9 on a LINK workstation.
--from Cheryl Becker, Public Library Administration Consultant
WebJunction, Ed2go courses available free to most public library staff
From now until Dec. 15, 2007, most Wisconsin public library staff are eligible to register for WebJunction and Education to Go (ed2go) courses free of charge. The Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning (DLTCL) will pay for these courses using funds available as part of theRural Library Sustainability Program, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To qualify for the free courses, your library must serve a municipal population under 25,000 or serve an area classified as rural for census purposes -- over 90 percent of the state's public libraries qualify.
For more information, or to register for either WebJunction or ed2go courses, visit http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/wjcoursereg.html. All course work must be completed by Feb. 29, 2008. To obtain the necessary registration codes, contact Jean Anderson, Continuing Education Coordinator, at (608) 246-5613.
Learning Express is a go for 2008
Last summer the Reference Committee recommended Learning Express for purchase in 2008. SCLS surveyed member library staff, and based on the overwhelmingly positive response we will be adding Learning Express to the available SCLS databases for 2008.
Staff will be working on a training, promotion, and roll out schedule, but we expect to have the database available for the public in January 2008. A trial version will be available for us in December for training purposes.
Individual library invoices for databases in 2008 will include the additional amount for Learning Express. This amount was included in the original memo. If you have questions about this or other issues related to Learning Express, contact Stef Morrill, Associate Director.
Downloadable music will be available through OverDrive
Beginning Oct. 31, downloadable music will be available from the WPLC Digital Download Center at http://dbooks.wplc.info. Downloadable music joins digital audio books and downloadable videos as part of the growing collection of digital resources for public library users provided through the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium. The WPLC Selection Committee has selected a collection of classical works to launch this new service.
The loan period for downloadable music will be seven days, the same as for books and videos. The total number of items that can be checked out at any given time will increase to six.
Site selected for future Cottage Grove Community Library
The Cottage Grove Community Library Board recently announced that it has signed an option to purchase five acres of land for a new library. Pending final approval, the library will be located adjacent to the future Cottage Grove Middle School.
According to the press release, proximity to schools and neighborhoods was among the many factors considered. Others included access to bike trails, location of current and future businesses, adequate parking, and room for growth. The committee explored more than 30 sites since January 2005.
Including the proceeds from a recent golf outing, the Capital Campaign Committee has already raised nearly $400,000 of the library’s estimated $6 million construction cost. Preliminary plans call for a nearly 26,000 square foot library.
The construction timeline for the new library will be announced after the option to purchases has been exercised. For more information about the Cottage Grove Community Library, visit www.cgcommunitylibrary.org.
Andrew Hoks has accepted the position of Computer Technician II at SCLS Automation. Currently working on the Help Desk, Andrew will begin his new duties on Monday, Oct. 22.
Jocelyn Luglio and Rianna Bailey are new Page IIs at the Central Library of Madison Public Library. Joseph Morgan is a new clerk at the Hawthorne Branch of Madison Public Library.
In preparation for the new digital talking book player debuting in 2008, the Wisconsin Regional Library will be closed until Oct. 23 while it upgrades computer software and rearranges furniture. You may leave voice-mail messages, or mail, fax and email applications and book orders, but calls and emails will not be returned, nor materials processed, until after 9 a.m. Oct. 23.
McMillan offers workshop on ‘unresolved social conflict of the 1960s’
The professional culture of public librarians has been transformed by the still-unresolved social conflict of the 1960s, and a Nov. 2 workshop sponsored by the McMillan Memorial Library in Wisconsin Rapids will attempt to shed light on this topic through a review of library history and a discussion of professional goals for the future of the public library. Both morning and afternoon sessions will include time for questions and discussion.
Titled “Mission Impossible? The Public Library and the Cultural Civil War,” the workshop is intended for professional librarians, library staff members, trustees, and the general public. The presenter is Ron McCabe, director. There also will be an optional tour of the library and a discussion of the library’s self-service options, commons area, special programs for all ages, and cost effectiveness strategies.
The free workshop will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at McMillan Memorial Library Fine Arts Center, 490 Grand Avenue, Wisconsin Rapids. Lunch is on your own.
To register, simply send an email by Oct. 26 to [email protected]. Please include your name, and whether you are a professional librarian, trustee, non-professional library staff person, or an interested citizen. You also should include the email address to which you would like a confirmation and any additional information sent. Registration will be limited to the first 200 people. You also may mail registrations to: Ronald B. McCabe, Director McMillan Memorial Library 490 East Grand Avenue Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494; or fax them to the attention of Ron McCabe at (715) 423-2665.
For more information about the workshop, contact Ron at (715) 422-5128 ([email protected]).
Libraries should place tax form orders next week
Libraries are often the first place residents turn when they need Wisconsin tax forms, and in 2007 libraries statewide distributed more than 2.8 million forms. To ensure that you get tax forms as soon as they become available, libraries should place their initial orders online during the week of Oct. 22-26.
The online forms order screen is located at on the Department of Revenue website. If you order during the week of Oct. 22 your order will receive priority treatment and you will receive the 2007 Wisconsin forms in early January.
On the first page of the online forms ordering system choose the customer type "Library." After you complete the first page and click on "next" you will be taken to a page that lists those form types that libraries typically order. This page has been designed so you do not have to weed through an entire list of forms in order to find those that are typically distributed to libraries.
If you have a situation where you need to order other types of forms, based on a customer request, please use the category "Other Government" on the first page of the application and you will have a full selection of forms from which to choose.
If you have any questions or need assistance, contact the Wisconsin Department of Revenue at (608) 266-1961 ([email protected]).
National Book Award finalists announced
The National Book Foundation recently announced the 20 finalists for its 2007 awards in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people’s literature. The winner in each genre will be announced Nov. 14, in New York.
Libraries can promote the annual awards by downloading posters and shelf talkers from the National Book Foundation website at www.nationalbook.org. There also is a .pdf of National Book Award Winners and Finalists from 1950 to 2006, as well as a list of the 2007 finalists.