- SCLS Director Phyllis Davis announces June 2010 retirement
- Reminder about changes to database subscriptions
- Member/Staff News
- ‘Speak Up for Your Library’ materials redesigned
- Check out SCLS parking map before visiting
- Remember to register for Library Legislative Day
- ALA Intellectual Freedom webinars for library trustees
- IMLS announces Service Trends in U.S. Public Libraries, 1997-2007
- National Library Week 2010 theme: 'Communities Thrive @ Your Library'
- Continuing Education Calendar
SCLS Director Phyllis Davis announces June 2010 retirement Phyllis Davis announced this week that she will retire from her position as Director of the South Central Library System in June 2010. “Thank you for the confidence you have shown in allowing me to serve in this position, and for your continued support and encouragement,” Phyllis wrote to the SCLS Board. “It has been challenging and humbling, but always rewarding and fun.”
By June she will have served as SCLS Director for four and a half years, and 2010 marks her 25th year at SCLS. It will also be the 40th anniversary of the start of her first library job at Ohio State University.
“I am confident that this is the right time for the System and for me to make this change,” Phyllis wrote. “However, it is not without regret that I write to you of my decision. The people in our member libraries, the SCLS staff and my other Wisconsin library colleagues are wonderfully dedicated, talented and generous people. I have learned more from them and we have shared more laughs than I could ever recount. I have been blessed in my choice of profession and in my professional associates, and I will miss our day-to-day interactions more than I can say.”
Davis said she plans to take some gardening and cooking classes, spend more time with Scot, with her Dad in Ohio and the rest of her “far-flung” family, do some volunteer work, travel and kayak, and catch up on her reading. “That is a good list to start,” Phyllis wrote. “I’ll make up the rest as I go. Thanks again!”
Reminder about changes to database subscriptions
Since not all SCLS member libraries will be subscribing to all of the shared databases in 2010, the look of the “Online Resources by Name” page at www.scls.info/resources/name.html has been modified to reflect this change.
The page now features three tabs;
- "SCLS System-Wide Resources,"
- "Locally-Subscribed Resources," and
- "Help" for questions about Home Library as it relates to database access.
As Cheryl Becker noted in late December, libraries were informed of their 2010 renewal prices, and will be invoiced for these amounts in January by WiLS (Wisconsin Library Services). If you are uncertain which databases your library is renewing in 2010, you will want to speak to your library director, or in some cases the person responsible for database renewals at your library. The best way to see which libraries are subscribing to which databases is to consult the ”Online Resources by Name” page.
In conjunction with these changes, “Home library” now determines access for many resources. Effective Jan. 4, 2010, authentication for remote access to the databases is based on a user’s home library. For LINK libraries, this information will come from the “home agency” field in the patron’s LINK record. This is a change from previous practice, in which authentication was based on a patron’s PSTAT.
Resources affected by this change include:
- SCLS resources subscribed to by all libraries;
- Chilton Library;
- Learning Express; and
- ReferenceUSA Business.
If your library subscribes to resources on its own (Consumer Reports, Tutor.com, DemographicsNow, Global Road Warrior, Newsbank, Value Line, Morningstar, etc), access has not changed for these subscriptions.
More information about how database access is determined is provided in these resources:
- How access to the Online Resources is determined; and
- Info about "Home Library" and access to online resources.
If you have any questions, contact Kerri Hilbelink, SCLS Electronic Resources Support Specialist.
Member/Staff News
The December 2009 LINK Library Statistics Summary is posted on the Automation website. Both PDF and Excel versions of this report are available.
The LINK Minutes from the December 10th meeting are now available online, as are any handouts from the meeting. Both can be found at http://automation.scls.lib.wi.us/committee/link/2009/index.htm.
The January issue of WSLL @ Your Service is now available. In this issue: What's New -- Document delivery fee changes, upcoming library closings, and upcoming classes; This Just In… -- New and updated library materials, monthly new titles list; Tech Tip in Brief -- Password protection for USB drives; and Odds 'n' Endings -- Let it snow…
‘Speak Up for Your Library’ materials redesigned With a new year, and an ongoing need to be more proactive in library advocacy, we’ve redesigned the “Speak Up for Your Library” materials. These are available at no cost to SCLS member libraries, and we encourage every library to make the sign-up cards available to library users. By involving your library users and supporters you also strengthen the position of your library within the community.
If you have the old orange cards, you can either continue to use them until gone, or you can turn them into scrap paper and make a request for new cards. The new cards are blue to match the new logo shown here.
Expanding this list of residents willing to speak in support of libraries is critical, and may be more important than ever if the local and state budget pictures don’t improve markedly before the next budget cycle. Of the list’s nearly 1,800 members, a majority live in Dane County. To be most effective in our outreach efforts, we need to ensure that library supporters in all communities have an opportunity to speak up. That can only happen when all libraries make the cards available.
We have plenty of the cards on hand, and we can get them to you through Delivery in a day or two. Just contact Mark Ibach to place your request. We also encourage libraries to link from their website to the online sign-up form at www.scls.info/pr/speak_up.
As an added advocacy effort, we’d like to encourage libraries to promote the SCLS “Library Use Value Calculator.” This is an excellent opportunity for library users to attach a financial impact to their personal use of the library.
Check out SCLS parking map before visiting
Because SCLS now shares its parking lot with many other offices, it’s important to check out our parking map and be sure to park in the spaces allocated to us. You can access the color map at www.scls.info/about/locations.html (click on “Where to park when visiting SCLS”). Be sure to park in the spaces nearest our building, marked in yellow on the map.
Please remember that the spaces directly in front of our office marked “Reserved” are for visitors, so feel free to use those when you come to our office.
Remember to register for Library Legislative Day
It’s never too early to build relationships with elected officials at the state level, and the Feb. 16 Library Legislative Day is the perfect opportunity to make a significant start.
Scheduled Feb. 16, 2010, the day begins at the Inn on the Park in Madison, and later moves to the State Capital for legislative visits. Speakers in the morning session will provide an overview of legislative issues affecting libraries, and will share tips on how to maximize your time with legislators.
This year we’d like to not only increase library participation, but we’d like to dramatically increase total attendance. To this end, libraries are encouraged to bring a resident, elected official, student, Friend, or trustee as a guest.
The cost to attend is on Feb. 16 is $15, which covers printing, refreshments, and space at the Inn On The Park. An optional box lunch is also available for an additional $15. Information about the 2010 event has been posted to the WLA website, and we encourage you to reserve the date and make plans to attend.
Even if you are unable to attend, we suggest that you prepare a packet
and send it to your legislators with a note explaining the important
role your library is playing locally. You can also participate
virtually at www.wla.lib.wi.us/legis/day/VirtualLLD.htm.
Library Legislative Day is co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Library Association and the Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association. Tony Evers, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, will be one of the featured speakers.
ALA Intellectual Freedom webinars for library trustees
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) is partnering with the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF) to present three one-hour webinars in February for library trustees on the topic of controversial materials in library collections.
The webinars, entitled "Controversial Materials in the Library: Supporting Intellectual Freedom in Your Community," are intended to help trustees understand the basics of intellectual freedom in libraries. They will cover information on collection development policies, procedures for handling challenges to library materials, and tips on responding to controversies that may arise. Angela Maycock, OIF Assistant Director, will lead the webinar series.
The webinars will be offered:
- February 17 from 3-4 p.m.;
- February 23 from 1-2 p.m.; and
- February 26 from 11 a.m.-noon.
Each session will include the same content, and registration is limited to 60 participants per session. The cost is $49 for individuals, $39 for ALTAFF members, and $95 for a group of two or more attendees at the same location.
To register for “Controversial Materials in the Library: Supporting Intellectual Freedom in Your Community,” visit www.ala.org/oif/onlinetrainings or call ALA Customer Service at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5.
IMLS announces Service Trends in U.S. Public Libraries, 1997-2007
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has released the new research brief “Service Trends in U.S. Public Libraries, 1997-2007.” It identifies important changes public libraries have made to address patron needs in an increasingly Internet-centric environment and explores service differences in urban and rural communities.
A comparison of more than 11 years of Public Library Survey data suggests that service changes in U.S. public libraries are having an impact on visitation and circulation, as record numbers of people now use public libraries nationwide. Survey findings include:
- The availability of Internet terminals in public libraries rose sharply between 2000 and 2007, increasing by 90 percent on a per capita basis. This dramatic increase is one example of the way U.S. public libraries are expanding their range of services to meet patron demand.
- Between 1997 and 2007, per capita visits to public libraries increased nationwide by 19 percent. During the same period, per capita circulation increased by 12 percent. This growth in demand for library services occurred even as people increasingly turned to the Internet to meet other information needs.
- The study identified very different trajectories between urban and rural communities for select service trends, highlighting the importance of local context for identifying patron needs and improving services.
Future research from the Office of Policy, Planning, Research and Communication will examine library services in a variety of different contexts from small towns and remote rural areas to central cities and suburbs. This type of place-based analysis can provide important insight into the impact libraries have on their communities, while building a stronger, evidence-based platform for planning library services to meet local needs.
You can read the research brief at www.imls.gov/pdf/Brief2010_01.pdf.
National Library Week 2010 theme: 'Communities Thrive @ Your Library'
National Library Week is an annual celebration of the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians, and the 2010 observance will be held April 11-17. Playing off the reality that libraries are the heart of their communities, the theme for National Library Week 2010 is "Communities thrive @your library."
If you’re looking for ways to raise awareness about libraries and library services during National Library Week, check out the free promotional tools at www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/pio/natlibraryweek/nlw.cfm.