- Advocacy training available for SCLS member libraries
- System Celebration 2010 will be held Sept. 21
- Member/Staff News
- SCLS Koha Comments & Questions
- CSLP has PSAs for library use
- New NoveList interface this summer
- Have an impact on the fall elections now
- ‘Say Cheese’ again in 2010
- LZ Lambeau: Welcoming home Wisconsin's Vietnam veterans
- Study looks at impact of public access computers
- Video dominoes at Tea Tree Gully Library
- Continuing Education Calendar
Advocacy training available for SCLS member libraries
The importance of telling your library’s story has never been more important than it is today, and a new advocacy training project of the SCLS Board’s Advocacy Committee is designed to help libraries encourage grassroots advocacy among your supporters.
The committee’s goal was to create a training program that takes the mystery out of advocacy, empowering those who already believe in the value of public libraries to share their passion with others in the community.
We wanted to keep it simple, and we wanted to ensure that everyone leaves the training convinced that they can do library advocacy. To that end, participants will leave the 20- to 30-minute session armed with only two sheets of paper -- one a personal reflection of why the library is important to them and why they use the library, and the other a “Talking Points” sheet with local library statistics that attendees will fill in together.
The training is available for all library, Friends and foundation boards within the South Central Library System, and libraries are encouraged to sign up if interested. Because of the number of member libraries, we’re only able to offer one training session per library. As a result, it will work best if library boards also invite foundation and Friends members.
An email has been sent to all directors, and to sign up a library should simply fill the “Talking Points” document that was attached and return it to Mark Ibach by email. He’ll then follow up to find a date and time that works.
If you have questions about the training, please contact Mark Ibach.
If you’d like some personal feedback from a fellow director, you can contact Tracy Herold, Sun Prairie Public Library; Trish Priewe, Lodi Woman’s Club Public Library; or Pamela Westby, Middleton Public Library. We conducted a training for Sun Prairie in mid-March, and all three were in attendance.
System Celebration 2010 will be held Sept. 21
Planning is underway for System Celebration 2010, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 21, at Wintergreen Resort in Wisconsin Dells.
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). The deadline for nominations is June 25, 2010. 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 2010 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.
Member/Staff News
In celebration of Children's Book Week, the Madison Public Library’s Sequoya Branch is hosting three local authors/illustrators on Saturday, May 15, from 9:30-11:00 a.m. he authors are: Kashmira Sheth, author of Boys without Names; Jacqueline Houtman, author of The Reinvention of Edison Thomas; and Michael Kress-Russick, illustrator of Moon over the Mountain. To register, contact Sequoya at (608) 266-6385.
The April 2010 LINK Library Statistics Summary is posted on Automation's website. Both PDF and Excel versions of this report are available.
Verona Public Library began tagging its collection for RFID on May 6, and hopes to finish in two months. A contractor has been selected to do the building modification, and that work should begin in October. Installation of the sorting unit is tentatively scheduled for November or December.
The May issue of WSLL @ Your Service has just been published at http://wilawlibrary.gov/newsletter/1005.html.
SCLS Koha Comments & Questions
We have created a simple form that you can use to submit your questions and comments about Koha and the Koha migration. This form is available from the LINK Koha Migration Page, and from the SCLS Koha PAC sandbox. You also can access the form directly.
We are developing an FAQ to answer as many of the commonly asked questions as possible, and your questions may appear on the FAQ. We will also reply to you directly. In some cases, we may have to tell you that we don't know the answer yet, but as soon as we have an answer, we will get back to you. Please be patient with us!
Of course, you can still email us or call us with questions, but we hope you also like the new form. It will help us ensure that we don't lose track of any of your questions.
--by Vicki Teal Lovely
CSLP has PSAs for library use
In an effort to help libraries promote the 2010 Summer Library Program, the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) has produced a DVD with public service announcements (PSA) in both English and Spanish.
The DVD contains one PSA for the Teen Make Waves program called “Wipeout,” and one PSA for the Children’s “Make A Splash” program. Both PSAs are about 30 seconds.
You can view the PSAs at www.scls.info/pr/slp/psa.html. These are available on DVD, limit one for each library. Contact Mark Ibach to order.
It’s also not too late to order your personalized copy of the 2010 SLP school visit video. You can view a sample of this year’s production, and place an order, at www.scls.info/pr/slp/2010_video/. Time is running out to get copies made, so please place your orders soon.
New NoveList interface this summer
A new version of NoveList will be released late this summer, with major changes to the user interface. EBSCO is offering three ways for you to get ready for the changes:
- Play in the Beta version -- In the center of the NoveList homepage, you'll find a link to the Beta version. By clicking on the preview link, you'll have access to the new features coming this summer. (Some features, such as NoveList folders, personalization settings, and catalog links are not be available in the Beta version.)
- Check out the NoveList Support Center -- It has information about the new version and its release, including a timeline, screenshots, and information on reading recommendations and the addition of appeal factors like writing style and pace. Training and promotional materials will be added up until the release date.
- Sign up for a webinar -- EBSCO will begin offering webinars on the new version of NoveList to walk you through the new interface and demonstrate the new features. They are offering free 45-minute sessions on May 18 (9 a.m. CST), May 25 (9 a.m. CST) and May 27 (1 p.m. CST). Visit the EBSCO Training Site to sign up -- look for the course name "New NoveList Training," and don't forget the EST to CST time change.
Have an impact on the fall elections now
Many state legislators have announced their decisions not to seek re-election in the fall, making this one of the most wide-open state legislative elections in years. What does that mean for libraries? It all depends on who is elected, but there are things libraries can do to get information out to candidates.
In his blog “Retiring Guy’s Digest,” Paul Nelson says Wisconsin's library advocates need to have face time with candidates for office, and he offers “Ten Easy To Do Political Campaign Activities.”
Paul concludes the blog post by stating: “One can be politically active without committing a lot of time (or money) to the effort. Rather, a little bit of activity every-so-often is recognized and appreciated by candidates. Make a commitment to yourself to do your small part to make participatory democracy serve the public interest!”
‘Say Cheese’ again in 2010
The positive feedback received both statewide and nationally for the WLA Foundation's “Wisconsin Libraries Say Cheese -- A Day in Pictures 2009” event, has encouraged the Foundation's Campaign Action Committee to plan a similar day in 2010.
Mark Nov. 17, 2010, on your calendars as the day to have your cameras ready and your "cheese" activities set to go. The committee is currently in the planning stages for this year's Day in Pictures for libraries across the state of Wisconsin and, as details are finalized, the committee will post the updated information.
We are announcing the 2010 Say Cheese program at this time for the benefit of those libraries needing advance notice for planning their fall activities schedule.
Over 100 Wisconsin libraries of all types participated in the 2009 event, posting more than 600 photos showcasing their activities, programs, patrons, services, and resources to the Say Cheese Flickr account for all the world to see. For those of you who did not participate in last year's event, we hope to see your photos this year and learn of the many creative ways that you were able to use this relatively simple, easy to implement, and cost-effective event to promote excitement and secure benefits for your library.
-- from Pat Eschmanm, WLA Foundation
LZ Lambeau: Welcoming home Wisconsin's Vietnam veterans
Billed as Wisconsin's official "thank you" to Vietnam Veterans, LZ Lambeau is a special event scheduled in Green Bay May 21-23. It is jointly sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, Wisconsin Historical Society, and Wisconsin Public Television, in association with Wisconsin Public Radio and Milwaukee Public Television.
LZ Lambeau is part of the larger Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories project that includes an extensive outreach effort to veterans and communities around the state, a three-hour documentary produced by Wisconsin Public Television, and a companion book by the Wisconsin Historical Society. In their first-person narratives, veterans speak of their memories, their struggles and their losses. The documentary offers a perspective of military service that is neither romanticized nor demonized -- it is simply humanized.
Information about the event is available at http://lzlambeau.org, and libraries are encouraged to help promote the event, as well as tie in book displays and programs to the topic.
You might find the "For Educators" information and the printable fliers useful, among other things.
Study looks at impact of public access computers
The University of Washington recently completed a nationwide study of public access computing in public libraries across the United States. The results of this study are available to all libraries, and can provide a powerful supplement to locally collected data to show community impact from these services.
One of the outcomes from the study are a set of indicators that libraries can use to track their own impact from public access technology, and also to evaluate policy changes overtime and as part of systematic evaluation of public access technology services.
You can also learn more from the researchers during a free webinar on Tuesday, May 18, at noon. Titled “Opportunity for All: The American Public Benefits from Library Internet Access,” the webinar will explore some of the ways that data collected about public access computer use can demonstrate the value of your services in the community and provide valuable information about the needs of your constituents. The webinar will also examine approaches that have worked in using the data to influence funding and support for public access computing.
Every public library has something to say about this, no matter how small; using the increasingly rich sources of data to support your public access efforts is especially critical in times of short budgets to ensure continued funding and support by the local community.
While he webinar is free, you must register in advance.
The University of Washington also has created an online toolbox that libraries can use to promote the data in their own communities. Many of the items can be customized for local use.
Video Dominoes at Tea Tree Gully Library
Not sure what to do with old VHS tapes? Check out what the Tea Tree Gully Library in Modbury, Australia, did.
To celebrate the demise of the video collection and the now unchallenged reign of the DVD, staff felt that the remaining videos must go out with a bang. One weekend staff came in on their own time to film the final stand of the video in a giant domino train throughout the library space as a fitting homage to their service. May the videos now rest in peace. Long live the VHS!
Watch the YouTube video.