Index
- System Celebration registration deadline is Sept. 3
- Britannica Online resources now available in BadgerLink
- Member/Staff News
- LearningExpress Library promotional materials updated
- Photos sought for System Celebration slide presentation
- 2009 Wisconsin Public Library Directory now available
- WSLL creates foreclosure tutorial
- Preliminary 2008 public library statistics available
- Planning Commissioners Journal touts libraries as ‘economic engines’
- Register now for OverDrive's Training Month
- Continuing Education Calendar
System Celebration registration deadline is Sept. 3
System Celebration 2009 will be held Thursday, Sept. 24, at Lake Windsor Golf Club in Windsor, located near the intersection of I-90/94 and Highway 19, several miles northwest of Madison.
There will be a social hour from 6-7 p.m., featuring entertainment provided by the Sun Prairie Area High School Jazz Ensemble. Dinner is schedule from 7-8 p.m., and the annual awards program will be from 8-8:30 p.m. Printed invitations will be mailed soon to all libraries and trustees, but you also can register online.
There is no charge for local elected officials, 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. The meal cost for spouses/guests and other attendees is $20, and must be sent by Sept. 3 to South Central Library System, 5250 E. Terrace Drive, Suite A-2, Madison, WI 53718-8345.
This year's menu includes a choice of Chicken Marsala, Top Sirloin, or Pasta Primavera (vegetarian). These will be served with a baked potato, green beans almondine, and a mixed garden salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Coffee, tea, milk and dessert are included. If using the online registration option, all questions must be answered before you can submit the form. If you are using the paper registration, remember to indicate your meal preference.
Only one printed invitation will be sent to each library, but we encourage everyone to use the online registration form. All library staff members and trustees are invited to attend.
Please remember that if SCLS is paying for your meal, and you register but do not attend, we must still pay for your meal. If you are unable to attend, please cancel your reservation before Sept. 10 (there can be no meal refunds after this date). If you must cancel after Sept. 10, please arrange for someone else to attend in your place.
Britannica Online resources now available in BadgerLink
Britannica Online has been added to the offerings made available statewide through BadgerLink. The new resources include encyclopedias geared to elementary, middle, and high school students, a Spanish language version, and several other special categories.
Britannica Online School Edition K12 offers encyclopedias, dictionary, thesaurus, illustrations, maps, biographies, educational activities, exercises, study guides, and related material for students and teachers (kindergarten through 12th grade). Included are the Wisconsin state curriculum standards with links to supporting articles and learning materials. There are separate interfaces for elementary, middle, and high school, as well as for teachers.
The new encyclopedia resources are:
- Elementary School Edition: Britannica Online School Edition
- Middle School Edition: Britannica Online School Edition
- High School Edition: Britannica Online School Edition
- Learning Materials: Britannica Online School Edition
- Learning Zone: Britannica Online School Edition
- Enciclopedia Juvenil
Links to these resources are available on the SCLS Education database page.
The Delivery website now features photos of our driver/sorters. Any Delivery staff member who has been with SCLS for one year or longer is now pictured in a section called "Meet the SCLS Drivers" that also displays how long each person has been working for Delivery.
The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison will celebrate it's centennial in 2010, and to honor this milestone the FPL joined a cooperative project with the UW-Madison to produce oral histories from about 50 FPL scientists and employees. These interviews, which are available in the UW Digital Collections, include early history about the Forest Products Laboratory, the Forest Service, the UW-Madison, the City of Madison, and surrounding communities.
Tom Long has been selected as grand marshal of the Lodi Rotary's Summer Parade to be held at noon on Aug. 8. The honor was bestowed in recognition of Tom's 20th anniversary as the founder and organizer of the Lodi Library Run & Walk. Through Tom's work over the past 19 events, the run walk has brought more than $60,000 in donations to the Lodi Public Library. The funds were originally used to pay for the library building, and later earmarked for technology purchases for the library. The 20th annual Lodi Library Run & Walk will be held that same day, Aug. 8, beginning at 8 am.
LearningExpress Library promotional materials updated
As part of our 2009 LSTA "Jobs: Searching, Training, and Support" grant, SCLS has subscribed to an addition to LearningExpress Library, which makes computer tutorials available.
Promotional materials for LearningExpress Library, which can be viewed at www.scls.info/pr/lel/, have been updated to reflect this addition. These materials are available free of charge, so just let Mark Ibach know how many of each you would like.
Photos sought for System Celebration slide presentation
For the past several years we’ve created a digital photo presentation at System Celebration, and we'd like to do the same again this year. It will include photos from Oct. 2008 through today.
If you’d like us to include photos from your library, please send them to Mark Ibach by email or on CD-ROM. You can also send prints, but please let him know if you want the photos returned. While we’d like to see every library represented at System Celebration, attendance is not required to have your pictures included in the presentation.
Photos should be delivered to Mark Ibach by Sept. 3, 2009.
2009 Wisconsin Public Library Directory now available
The 2009 Wisconsin Public Library Directory is now available online in PDF and Excel formats at http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/wipldir.html. Print copies of the Wisconsin Public Library Directory will no longer be produced and distributed.
The PDF version contains a single combined "Directory of Public Libraries and Their Branches" listed by city, followed by an alphabetical "Name Index." The document also includes system and resource library directory information. An Excel-formatted workbook file is also available containing a spreadsheet by community of all 387 public libraries and another of the state's 17 library systems. This Excel file is useful as a merge source for mailing labels or form letters.
WSLL creates foreclosure tutorial
With the current economic situation, many people have been forced to deal with the issue of home foreclosure and are looking for information. In response, the Wisconsin State Law Library (WSLL) has created an online tutorial, "Help! I’m Facing Foreclosure." The page includes a brief (under three minutes) video directing people to sources of information and assistance, and links to the websites of relevant agencies and organizations. Attorneys and librarians alike may find this to be a useful resource for their clients and library patrons.
Preliminary 2008 public library statistics available
The preliminary 2008 statistics for Wisconsin public libraries, compiled from annual reports data, is available in Excel spreadsheet format from the DPI website.
The preliminary data may be useful for budget or planning purposes. The final Wisconsin data, including county and library system summaries, will be available this fall. The statistics are based on information submitted on the 2008 Public Library Annual Reports. Errors should be reported to John DeBacher, DLTCL public library administration consultant.
Planning Commissioners Journal touts libraries as ‘economic engines’
The summer 2009 issue of Planning Commissioners Journal features an article titled “Libraries at the Heart of Our Communities,’ which touts libraries as “important ‘economic engines’ of downtowns and neighborhood districts.”
The articles opens by mentioning a “dramatic change in the mission of libraries across the country,” and goes on to explain that libraries are “increasingly serving as the hub of their communities, providing a broad range of services and activities.”
You can you can request a copy of the article from Planning Commissioners Journal.
Register now for OverDrive's Training Month
September is OverDrive Training Month, and a perfect opportunity to learn more about this statewide resource. Whatever questions you might have, find the answers you need during one of the many online programs.
Sessions will be offered online throughout September with open enrollment for individuals and groups. Group registration is encouraged so OverDrive may accommodate as many participants as possible. In this case, only one person needs to register on behalf of the group. More than 5,400 librarians participated in Training Month 2008.
Programs that might be of particular interest are:
- Browse, Check Out, and Download! – This is a demonstration of how to browse, check out, and download titles from a library's Virtual Branch website. OverDrive staff also will cover required software, portable devices, help resources, and new features and formats for 2009.
- Patron Assistance – Instructors will help take your understanding of OverDrive download media to the next level so you can share your knowledge through support and training. They'll review frequently asked questions, support tips, and online help resources.
- Community Outreach -- In this session you’ll explore creative, easy, and cost-effective ideas for introducing new patrons to your OverDrive download library. The session also will feature prize winners from this year's Community Outreach Program contest.
- OverDrive's 2009 Partner Update -- OverDrive delivers the industry's leading features and formats to your library users. Learn what's new and coming soon for your OverDrive download library.
For more information, including a complete list of programs, or to register for OverDrive's Training Month, visit www.overdrive.com/products/dlr/training.