Index
- Study shows 4-to-1 return on library investment
- TeenRead ‘08 publicity materials now available
- May Continuing Education opportunities
- Member/Staff News
- AskAway sponsors YouTube video contest for teens and young adults
- Gale Virtual Reference Library pilot project update
- A new Central Library for Madison?
- Continuing Education Calendar
Study shows 4-to-1 return on library investment
Wisconsin librarians have known for years that libraries contribute to their communities in significant ways, and a new study helps quantify that belief. “Economic Contribution of Wisconsin Public Libraries to the Economy of Wisconsin” documents a $4.06 return for every tax dollar spent on public libraries.
The total economic contribution of Wisconsin public libraries to the state’s economy is more than three-quarters of a billion dollars ($753,699,545). This figure is comprised of:
- more than $326 million in direct economic contribution made by public libraries to the Wisconsin economy. This includes spending by staff, spending on library operations and construction, and spending by visitors; plus
- $427.9 million in total economic value of those library services covered in the statistics of the annual Wisconsin Public Library Service data report. This economic contribution does not include a host of other services such as community meeting space that provide real economic value but currently lack a statistical database.
This study was conducted by NorthStar Economics Inc. of Madison from October 2007 to April 2008 to determine the economic impact and taxpayer return-on-investment of Wisconsin's 388 public libraries. The Executive Summary is available as a nine-page document.
More information, including links to many other library impact studies, is available on the Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning (DLTCL) website.
TeenRead ‘08 publicity materials now available
The following publicity materials for this year's TeenRead blog are now available.
• full-sheet posters (with book jacket art)
• half-sheet flyers (with book jacket art and book descriptions)
• half-sheet flyers (with book jacket art - NO book descriptions)
• bookmarks (no jacket art - blog design and text)
Samples of these materials are available at www.scls.info/pr/slp/teen_read/.
Contact Mark Ibach to request copies of these materials for your library. You also may print any of these materials from the SCLS website.
The TeenRead ’08 Blog is available at http://teenread08.scls.info/.
May Continuing Education opportunities
Here is a brief description of the May CE program being sponsored by SCLS.
- Database Demo: ReferenceUSA -- Friday, May 16, from noon to 1 p.m. in the SCLS OPAL Room, with presenter Tana Elias, Web Librarian at Madison Public Library -- Join Tana for an eye-opening tour of ReferenceUSA and learn about the strengths of this powerful database.
- Requesting Obituaries, Articles and Microfilm Via ILL -- Thursday, May 22, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the SCLS OPAL Room, with presenters Pam Wittig and Beth Price, Madison Public Library -- Requesting obituaries, newspaper articles and microfilm through Interlibrary loan can be confusing, to say the least! Join Pam and Beth, Interlibrary Loan librarians from Madison Public Library, to learn the best way to request these types of materials. Bring your questions!
For more information about these and other upcoming programs, visit the SCLS Continuing Education Calendar, or contact Jean Anderson.
Madison Public Library recently welcomed four individuals to the position of Page II -- Jesse C. Beining, Maryann Germanson, and Margaret Karls (Hawthorne Branch), and Alison A. Fasching (Central Library).
This is a reminder that you can view the LINK Update blog at http://scls.typepad.com/link/. Recent topics include the LINK ILS Demo Survey.
The April 2008 LINK Library Statistics Summary is posted on Automation's website at http://automation.scls.lib.wi.us/reports/circulation/circindex.html.
The latest edition of Libraries@UW-Madison has been published at http://devweb.library.wisc.edu/newsletter/.
The May issue of WSLL @ Your Service has been published at http://wsll.state.wi.us/newsletter/0805.html.
AskAway sponsors YouTube video contest for teens and young adults
For the past two years residents across Wisconsin have turned to AskAway for reliable answers to all sorts of questions. Now AskAway is encouraging residents to share their positive experiences by creating and posting short videos as a part of the “I Love AskAway” YouTube video contest for teens and young adults.
Entries should consist of an original video that depicts the AskAway chat service that is available to all state residents at www.askaway.info. Videos should be 30 to 60 seconds long (longer videos may be edited), and must either be uploaded to YouTube (www.youtube.com) or submitted on DVD or CD-ROM by July 31, 2008.
Complete rules and an application form are available at http://askaway.pbwiki.com/YouTube+Contest+Entry+Page.
To be considered, a video may not contain content that is inappropriate, people in the video must have agreed to be filmed, and you may not violate any library policies during the creation of your video. All entrants also must have completed an application and signed a release form. Youth services librarians and members from library teen councils across Wisconsin will judge the videos, and winners will be chosen based on how informative and entertaining their submission is.
First prize is a $150 Best Buy gift certificate and second prize is a $75 Best Buy gift certificate. Contest winners will be announced Sept. 2, 2008. The submission deadline is July 31, 2008.
Gale Virtual Reference Library pilot project update
The results of the survey about the Gale Virtual Reference Library -- the database that contains the full text of common reference books, which we have had via a pilot project since February -- indicate that there is not enough interest to pursue the patron driven purchase model described previously.
We believe libraries will still have access through the end of June, as initially set up, but we’ll let you know if that changes.
Thanks to those of you who responded.
A new Central Library for Madison?
Recent news coverage of developer T. Wall's proposed new Central Library is generating many questions in Madison. The proposal outlines a nine-story mixed-use building at the corner of Mifflin and Fairchild streets, and includes a new library on several floors.
On May 1 the Library Board agreed to go forward with a Request For Proposal (RFP) to begin the process of accepting proposals for purchasing and building on the current site. There will be five Library Board members on the committee to review the proposals submitted.
In the meantime, interior construction of the expanded Sequoya Library on the west side of Madison is about to begin, and a new South Madison Library in the Villager Mall on the south side of Madison is in initial planning stages.
You can follow the progress on various projects at www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/about/future/.