- SCLS to be closed Nov. 19-23 for office move
- Order ‘Libraries for Real Life’ promotional materials
- SCLS Professional Collection unavailable in November
- Member/Staff News
- New grants page in Online Update
- H1N1 awareness posters, bookmarks available
- Grant/Award Opportunities
- New phone number for Harriet
- Wisconsin Libraries Say Cheese!
- New titles, features added to WPLC Digital Download Center
- Continuing Education Calendar
SCLS to be closed Nov. 19-23 for office move
South Central Library System’s Administration and Automation offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 19, through Monday, Nov. 23, as we move staff into our new facility at 4610 South Biltmore Lane, Suite 101, Madison, WI 53718. The Wisconsin Library Association will also be moving during this time frame.
Staff will be unavailable even by phone on Nov. 19 because of the switch-over to the new facility
During the closure days, SCLS Delivery staff will continue to provide service as usual.
Order ‘Libraries for Real Life’ promotional materials Libraries are instrumental in shaping the quality of life in our communities, and capturing and sharing these personal stories is a way to capitalize on the goodwill libraries generate. This is the driving force behind the new project “Library For Real Life,” and the reason SCLS is urging every SCLS member library to use the available promotional materials.
“Libraries For Real Life” is the brainchild of the SCLS Marketing and PR Advisory Committee, which felt we needed a system wide way to collect and share the positive stories about how libraries change lives. Committee members are: Vicky Billings, Portage County Public Library; Pam Bosben Rosemary Garfoot Public Library in Cross Plains; Tana Elias, Madison Public Library; Jennifer Endres, Prairie du Sac Public Library; Mary Friesen, Wyocena Public Library; Demita Gerber, Monona Public Library, Mark Ibach, SCLS; and Trish Priewe, Lodi Woman’s Club Public Library. Priewe designed the promotional materials for the project.
The title -- “Libraries For Real Life!” -- reinforces the reality that today’s public libraries are vibrant, dynamic community resources that meet the information, education, and recreational needs of residents of all ages. There is little doubt about the impact libraries have, and sharing those stories is critical to the continued success of these vital community institutions.
We encourage each library to link to www.librariesforreallife.org, using one of the buttons designed for that purpose. We also encourage you to download the press release from the “Information for Libraries” link near the bottom of the page and ask your local newspaper to publish it. Posters, table tents, bookmarks, and printed story submission forms are available free of charge by placing a print request with Mark Ibach.
For more information about the project, click on the website’s “Learn More” link, or contact one of the committee members or Mark Ibach.
SCLS Professional Collection unavailable in November
In preparation for the SCLS office move later in November, the Professional Collection will be
unavailable during the month of November. If you have items you need,
please place your holds before Nov. 1, 2009. After that, all our items
will be unavailable until after the move. We plan on having the collection
ready for holds again by Dec. 1, 2009.
Member/Staff News Several months ago we announced the impending arrival of the
ALA-published book "Moving Materials: Physical Delivery in Libraries"
that SCLS Delivery Coordinator Bruce Smith
wrote/edited with the director from Colorado, Valerie Horton. ALA says
of the book: "Picking, packing, delivering, and returning library
materials can be very time-consuming and expensive; yet it is one of
the most important and least understood functions within the library. Moving Materials
is the guide to contemporary logistics management for libraries." An
autographed copy has been added to the SCLS Professional Collection,
and it will be available for loan when
the library reopens on Dec. 1 (see article above).
Matt Mantsch, a two year SCLS Delivery driving and sorting veteran, has been promoted from part-time to full-time. He will assume his new role in December to fill a spot vacated by Ed Castro, who has been a dedicated Delivery employee for seven years.
The bulletin board in the children's area of the Portage Public Library proudly displays its version of Eric Carle's "Very Hungry Caterpillar" in honor of the colorful crawler's 40th birthday! Reference Librarian Amy Bedessem created the caterpillar, with assistance from youth services librarian Dawn Foster. Happy Birthday, Very Hungry Caterpillar!
Matthew Sonnenberg, the new director at Lester Public Library of Vesper, began his duties on Oct. 28. He is a 2009 graduate of UW-Stevens Point, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in History and Broadfield Social Science.
Kylee Stoor received the third-annual Elizabeth Moon Proctor Scholarship in September at the Lakeview Branch of Madison Public Library, where she is employed as a Library Assistant. The library world, and especially Madison Public Library, was well served when Elizabeth “Betsy” Proctor chose to pursue librarianship as a second career. Betsy enriched and enlivened Madison Public Library from 1967 until her retirement in 1996. Betsy inspired many library careers through her intelligent and tireless dedication to public library service; her commitment to outreach and services to minority and institutionalized populations; her irrepressible, infectious laughter and her enduring friendships. To encourage and assist Madison Public Library employees who plan careers in library and information studies, family and friends established the Elizabeth Moon Proctor Scholarship fund in Betsy’s memory.
New grants page in Online Update
In an effort to maintain a more current grants page for member libraries, SCLS has moved its existing grants blog into Online Update. Information about grants will appear as articles in Online Update and also be posted separately to the “Grants” section of the bi-weekly newsletter (in the sidebar on the right side of this page).
The “Grants” link on the “Blogs, Wikis & More” page of the SCLS website will take you to the new grants resource at http://scls.typepad.com/online_update/grants/. You also can access the page by clicking on the “Grants” link in the sidebar of the Online Update page.
If you have questions about the grants page, or encounter a link that doesn’t work properly, contact Mark Ibach.
H1N1 awareness posters, bookmarks available
With concern about the spread of the H1N1 flu virus dominating news, and delays in getting an adequate number of vaccine doses for Wisconsin, the SCLS has created posters and bookmarks to remind library users that they should stay home when ill.
Using language from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the materials simply remind adults to “Stay home!” when they are ill. Another poster reminds parents to “Keep’em home!” if their children are ill. One poster features the image of a sick adult, and the other a sick child, and below the direct message is the URL for the CDC’s H1N1 information -- www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu. Bookmarks are available in both designs, and these items can be ordered by contacting Mark Ibach. You also can download posters and bookmarks here.
The language on these materials is intentionally brief and direct because the best way to avoid spreading the H1N1 flu virus is to stay away from other people.
Grant/Award Opportunities
Great Stories CLUB -- The ALA Public Programs Office, in cooperation with the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), recently announced the next round of Great Stories CLUB (Connecting Libraries, Underserved teens, and Books) grants. The Great Stories CLUB is a reading and discussion program designed to reach underserved, troubled teen populations through books that are relevant to their lives. Teen participants are invited to read and keep three theme-related books and encouraged to consider and discuss each title with a group of their peers. For more information, visit www.ala.org/greatstories. (application deadline Nov. 2, 2009)
Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award for Exemplary Humanities Programming -- Awarded annually, the Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award recognizes a school library or media center that serves children K-8 that conducted an excellent humanities program during the prior school year. The selected program will receive a $4,000 cash award, a plaque to be awarded at the 2010 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., and promotion of the winning program as a model for other school libraries. For more information, or to download an application, visit www.ala.org/jaffarianaward. (nominations accepted through Dec. 15, 2009)
New phone number for Harriet
Starting Nov. 20, 2009, the Telecirc ("Harriet") phone number will change to (608) 242-4700. Please note this change for library patrons that want to call Harriet to renew items, or to review their list of holds, items checked out, or items overdue.
As a reminder, you also can encourage patrons to sign up for e-mail notification for holds. If patrons have specific problems related to LINKcat, they can contact SCLS through an online form at www.scls.lib.wi.us/linkcathelp/suggestions.html.
Wisconsin Libraries Say Cheese! "Wisconsin Libraries Say Cheese!" a Nov. 18 promotion to show the diversity, the business, and the busy-ness of Wisconsin libraries, is just around the corner!
We hope you will participate! Choose a day between Nov. 1 and 8 and take some great pictures of people, activities and services at your library to upload to the "Wisconsin Libraries Say Cheese!" flickr account before Nov. 18.
Do you have questions? Visit www.wisconsinlibraries.org/saycheese/libraries.html for more information.
There is information about photo permissions, a sample news release, downloads and more. Want to talk to a person? Go to "Contact Us" on the website. "Wisconsin Libraries Say Cheese!" is sponsored by the Campaign for Wisconsin Libraries and the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation.
New titles, features added to WPLC Digital Download Center
Changes in the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) Digital Download Center have occurred in the past few weeks, including the addition of new ebooks and improvements in functionality.
Starting on Monday, Nov. 2, the WPLC OverDrive collection will include two new formats and some new features.
- eBooks -- The initial WPLC collection of eBooks contains over 200 titles. New links on the left navigation pane will help users find these titles in the collection. Two formats will be included -- Adobe EPUB and Adobe PDF (Digital Editions). To learn more about these formats and how to use them, please follow the link "Learn more" in the introductory paragraphs at the top of the WPLC OverDrive website, where you will find a lot of helpful information. (The new help pages will be available beginning on Monday.)
- Star-rating -- Users will be able to rate a title. Once signed in, users will be able to rate titles on a scale of 1-5 stars. If a user has previously rated titles, the user can review and, if desired, change or remove these ratings at a new 'My Ratings' page. Average ratings are displayed to all users.
- Share via Social Networking -- In addition to the existing option of sharing information on a title with a friend via e-mail, users will also be able to share information on a title via Facebook and Twitter.
To access the WPLC Digital Download Center, visit http://dbooks.wplc.info.