Index
- SCLS signs lease for new office space
- Results from the Technology Governance Conference
- Member/Staff News
- System Celebration award nomination deadline is June 15
- Burmaster announces 2009 LSTA grant awards
- Space still available on ALA Conference bus
- WEMTA to sponsor Madison Mallards tailgate party
- Continuing Education Calendar
SCLS signs lease for new office space
After months of site visits and negotiations, SCLS has signed a lease for a new office space at 4610 S. Biltmore, Madison, which is just across the street from the current SCLS administration office. The building was constructed last year and has not yet been occupied. In fact, if you look at the satellite view in Google Maps, the building doesn’t even appear.
The new office will house existing SCLS administration functions, as well as all Automation staff and servers. The WLA office also will move to this new location. The existing space is just a shell, so “build-out” will begin in the near future and will be completed later this year. More detailed information about a moving timeline will be available later.
“This is an exciting opportunity for SCLS, especially since we will be able to bring Automation and Administration staff members together into one office,” said Director Phyllis Davis. “We believe it will provide new opportunities to enhance our service to member libraries.”
Results from the Technology Governance Conference
On May 15, SCLS hosted a Technology Governance Conference to involve member libraries in assessing the utility and effectiveness of five potential governance models. Fifty-one representatives participated in the conference, representing 33 current SCLS member libraries and one future member (Fitchburg).
The final report from the conference contains a summary of all models and the results from the day-long discussion.
The Task Force met last week to discuss next steps. The plan is to develop one new model of governance somewhere between Model 3 ("Cooperative Technology Decision Making") and Model 4 ("ILS Managed as a System Service"). The new model has had various names, but my personal favorite is Model Pi (mmmm....pie....).
The Task Force will be using information from the report to create Model Pi. We're also asking people to respond to this question: “As the Technology Governance Task Force continues the process to develop a new governance model, what would be the ONE thing you would most want addressed by the new model?”
You can respond using our online form.
Please feel free to continue providing other input to any task force member, Phyllis Davis or myself. We're very excited to be developing this new structure with so much member library input!
--from Stef Morrill, Assistant Director
On May 18 the Cottage Grove Village Board voted 6-1 to rescind the library ordinance and dissolve the library board. All private donations for the capital campaign will be place in a bond account under the ownership of the Friends until such time as a permanent library is built. The organization also now owns the land that was purchased last year. The Friends will continue to meet, plan and raise awareness and funds for library services and the capital campaign
Jess Bruckner is the new director of Portage Public Library, effective June 1. He has been a staff librarian at Kilbourn Public Library in Wisconsin Dells for the past seven years. For more information, read the interview in Wisconsin Dells Events.
The Charles and JoAnn Lester Library in Nekoosa will be re-painting and re-carpeting in late July and early August, during which time the library will be closed for about a week. In addition, the local store "The Furniture Studio" is working with the library to determine the new color palette, and is also providing a deal on some high-quality leather reading chairs. In other news, Director Darla Allen was nominated and selected to be a participant in the year-long Advanced Leadership Institute sponsored by the South Wood County Community Foundation. The institute is a leadership development program designed to equip Wisconsin community leaders with adaptive leadership skills using the Integrated Model of Leadership.
On May 21, Culver's officials announced the company would donate its building at 540 Water St. to the Village of Prairie du Sac as a replacement for its overcrowded library. The announcement was made during a groundbreaking ceremony for the burger franchise's new headquarters in Prairie du Sac's North Ridge Office Park. The library will be renamed the Ruth Culver Community Library in honor of the franchise's co-founder, who died last year. Read more in the Sauk Prairie Eagle.
JoAnn Ogreenc has accepted a position as a Librarian at a U.S. Army Garrison in Grafenwoehr, Germany. “It is very exciting and not a little scary!” JoAnn said. “I know I'm leaving the Library in much better shape than when I arrived.” JoAnn leaves for Germany on June 24.
System Celebration award nomination deadline is June 15
System Celebration 2009 will be held Thursday, Sept. 24, at Windsor Golf Club near Madison, and while that date is still months away, the deadline for award nominations is June 15, 2009.
Nominations are being accepted for the annual awards listed below, so visit www.scls.info/about/systemceleb/ and click on the award name to access the online form (all nominations must be submitted online). These awards are selected by SCLS staff, and approved by the Advocacy Committee, but suggestions and formal nominations from the SCLS community are welcome.
The 2009 awards are:
- Library of the Year Award -- Recognizes a public and/or multitype library for its innovative user service(s). You may nominate your own library or any other library of any type that you think deserves the award. The library will be recognized with a certificate and a check for $200 (if one award is given) or $150 each (if both a public and multitype award are given.)
- Public Official Award -- Recognizes the outstanding contributions to a library or libraries by a mayor, village president, city administrator, supportive council member, legislator, or any other public official who does not serve as a library trustee and whom you feel should be recognized.
- Special Award -- Recognizes an individual or group that has worked to promote and/or improve library services. Individuals may be a resident, a trustee or a library friend (does not have to be a member of an official Friends group). This award is NOT for a library, librarian, or public official.
- Chester Pismo Snavely Award for a Nifty Activity -- Recognizes a library, other organization, or persons' out-of-the-ordinary nifty library activity or service.
- Partnership Award -- The SCLS Partnership Award is presented each year to a community organization, agency or business that works with the South Central Library System or its member libraries to provide new and innovative library programs and services. In some cases, a member library may also be acknowledged in conjunction with the community partner.
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 the awards are an important component of that recognition. Take a moment to nominate a library, activity, or library supporter who makes a difference for you and your library.
The call for nominations and the nomination forms are only available on the SCLS web page. In addition to using the nomination forms yourself, please share the call for nominations with others in the SCLS community who may not have received this information via email or through Online Update.
Online registration will be available later this summer.
Burmaster announces 2009 LSTA grant awards
Over $3 million in federal library funding will help Wisconsin libraries demonstrate innovative uses for technology, create digital copies of historical resources for statewide use, and improve literacy and reading skills in their communities. In addition, in response to high unemployment rates across Wisconsin, the Department of Public Instruction is awarding $200,000 to help libraries serve job-seekers and those who want to improve their job skills.
The federal budget that was recently signed by President Obama included an unanticipated increase in Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) 2009 funding for Wisconsin of about $200,000 over 2008 funding. These funds will be used to help the public library community respond quickly to the current economic situation that has affected families and individuals across the state. Many libraries and library systems have services and resources for jobseekers, and are working cooperatively with employment and social service agencies around the state that are also assisting the unemployed and underemployed. These federal funds will be used to supplement and expand these efforts with support for training, computer labs, and additional library materials.
A total of 98 projects are funded through 2009 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants. A list of the projects can be found at www.dpi.wi.gov/pld/pdf/09grants.pdf .
Seventeen library systems will share more than $50,000 to help public libraries better serve persons with disabilities that make it difficult for them to visit the library. These projects include making computer workstations at the library more accessible with touch screens and other adaptive equipment. About $230,000 was awarded to grant projects targeting adult, family, and early literacy users. Literacy projects include several outreach programs for youth and teens with reading needs, physical disabilities, and language barriers. Another $350,000 was awarded to libraries and library systems to continue to electronically link libraries with educational, social, or information services and defray costs for libraries to acquire or share computer systems and telecommunications technology.
The Department of Public Instruction’s Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning administers Wisconsin’s yearly LSTA allocation from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency responsible for strengthening museums and libraries. The Wisconsin 2008 LSTA Advisory Committee as well as outside reviewers from the library community evaluated all grant applications and made recommendations on grant awards for projects to take place from January through December 2009.
Members serving on the LSTA Advisory Committee in 2008 were Jan Adams, Cooperative Educational Service Agency 10, Chippewa Falls; Roxane Bartelt, Kenosha Public Library; Phyllis Davis, South Central Library System, Madison; Terry Dawson, Appleton Public Library; Becki George, Rice Lake Schools; Jeff Gilderson-Duwe, Oshkosh Public Library; Jim Gingery, Milwaukee Federated Library System; Joan Johnson, Milwaukee Public Library; Deborah Kabler, Barneveld Public Library; Bea Lebal, T.B. Scott Free Library, Merrill; Mildred McDowell, Milwaukee Public Schools; Jane Pearlmutter, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Tasha Saecker, Menasha Public Library; Zora Sampson, University of Wisconsin Barron County; and Michael Sheehan, Northern Waters Library System.
--from Channel Weekly (Vol. 11, No. 33 -- May 28, 2009)
Space still available on ALA Conference bus
Space is still available on the SCLS bus to the ALA conference in Chicago, July 10-15., so book your seat today.
Registration is limited to SCLS public library members, including staff, trustees and Friends of the Library, and SCLS staff. If space permits, spouses, MALC member library staff, and members of other library systems are welcome. Priority will be given to SCLS member public library staff. The registration deadline is July 1, 2009.
There are several travel options available, so visit www.scls.info/ce/alabus.html for more information, where you also can register for the bus. SCLS public library staff may use CE Grant funds to cover the cost, and these grant applications must be submitted July 1, 2009.
WEMTA to sponsor Madison Mallards tailgate party
Summer means baseball, the Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA) has invited library staff members within the South Central Library System to join in a tailgate party and Madison Mallards baseball game on Saturday, July 18.
The fun begins at 4:05 with a Ballpark Buffet in the Tailgate Tent at the Duck Pond (Warner Park) in Madison. The first pitch against visiting Eau Claire Express is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Combined tickets for both the Tailgate Party and game are only $15, with a special $5 ticket for children under the age of five. Families and friends are welcome, too.
To reserve your tickets, complete the order form and send a check made out to WEMTA to: Susan Fulks, WEMTA Membership Chair, CESA 5, P.O. Box 564, Portage, WI 53901. Ticket orders must be received by June 12.