Index
- SCLS launches advocacy, LINKcat facebook pages
- Wisconsin’s ‘Starred Libraries’ are SCLS members
- Letting libraries know when SCLS staff are out of the office
- Member/Staff News
- Collecting typical week stats for annual report 2010
- WLA encourages libraries to join 2010 ‘Say Cheese’ project
- Home improvement books recalled
- Walmart Store, Sam's Club Giving Programs
- Continuing Education Calendar
SCLS launches advocacy, LINKcat facebook pages
This week, SCLS launched two new facebook pages -- one for LINKcat and one for SCLS that will focus primarily on advocacy content.
The new LINKcat page can be found by searching for LINKcat within facebook, or by visiting www.facebook.com/LINKcat/. The new SCLS page can be found by searching for South Central Library System within facebook, or by visiting www.facebook.com/SCLSwi/.
Please use these new resources, and help spread the good word about libraries!
Wisconsin’s ‘Starred Libraries’ are SCLS members
Four Wisconsin public libraries have been named “Starred Libraries” by Library Journal, and all four are members of the South Central Library System.
Libraries were rated on circulation per capita, visits per capita, program attendance per capita, and public Internet computer use per capita, then gives a total score and a number of stars out of a possible five. Wisconsin’s four libraries (and their scores in order) are:
- Lettie W. Jensen Public Library of Amherst -- 17.5, 19.6, 0.21, 2.47, 1,508, 4 stars
- Kilbourn Public Library, Wisconsin Dells -- 16.3, 18.7, 0.73, 11.5, 1,554, 3 stars
- Middleton Public Library -- 27.8, 18.6, 0.57, 7.18, 1,431, 3 stars
- Madison Public Library -- 17.6, 8.6, 0.22, 1.38, 726, 3 stars
These rankings are based on 2008 data released by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) several months ago. The index measures how quantities of selected services provided by a library compare with libraries within its peer group. For each library, each of the four output statistics is measured against the average for the library's peer group.
You can read the complete article in the most recent print issue of Library Journal, or you can find the article online.
Letting libraries know when SCLS staff are out of the office
Our goal is to always provide the best possible service to our member libraries. There are times, however, when work duties, vacation schedules, or personal issues require that staff members be out of the office.
In the event SCLS staff members are out of the office, these guidelines will be followed.
- If a staff member is going to be gone two or more consecutive days, a notice will be included in that week’s edition of SCLS Top 5.
- Staff members have created a conditional voice mail message to alert callers that the person is on the phone.
- Staff members may send an email to some SCLS email lists when they are going to be out of the office (if appropriate).
- Staff members will change their voicemail message to let people know when they will be out of the office for two or more consecutive days.
In the event that you can’t wait for the staff member in question to return, you can always call the SCLS main number at (608) 246-7970.
Member/Staff News
Richard MacDonald will be leaving Baraboo Public Library to become director of the public library in Fort Dodge, IA. Richard said he’s very excited because Fort Dodge has a somewhat famous community band in which he can play: The Karl L. King Band. Richard admitted that you may not have heard of Karl L. King, but if John Philip Sousa did not exist, then Karl L. King would have been known as The March King. (He wrote Barnum & Bailey’s Favorite” among hundreds of others.) Richard’s last day in Baraboo will be the Saturday after Thanksgiving
The September 2010 LINK Library Statistics Summary is posted on Automation's website. Both PDF and Excel versions of this report are posted.
Collecting typical week stats for annual report 2010
As the end of October nears, remember that it’s time to collect certain statistics for your annual report. If you wait until January, and haven't collected these, you are out of luck, so remember to collect them sometime between now and the end of 2010.
- Users of public Internet computers -- For those of you who have Library Online (or some other computer management software), you can collect much of this statistic from reports. However, remember that you need to count usage on any non-LINKcat Internet workstations as well. You also need to count usage on any LINKcat terminal from which you can also access the Internet (even if you can only access certain sites). If you do not have software that counts the usage for you, you must do a survey week (some libraries do two or more survey weeks during different parts of the year and average them) and then multiply by 52 weeks. Information about collecting this information is available at www.scls.info/management/annual/elecres.html.
- Reference Questions -- If an annual count of reference transactions is unavailable, a typical week sample survey (the annual report instructions recommend you select a week in October) or other reliable estimate may be used to determine the actual number. The annual report software gives you three options for "How collected" in a drop-down menu: Actual Count, Survey Week, or Rough Estimate. However, if a library reports a rough estimate, it will not be counted toward the state totals. See www.scls.info/reference/refques.html for more information about reference questions.
- Visits -- Just as with reference questions, if you do not have a "people counter," you may use a survey week (or weeks) to determine the number.
Remember, everyone's data is better if all libraries report all questions.
Additionally, the 2009 report included a new question about the number of library programs targeted to Young Adults. While optional in that report, it will be required in future reports, beginning with the 2010 report you will complete in early 2011. Libraries are not required to offer such programs, but if you do, they should be reported separately. A children's program is defined as one for which the primary audience is children age 11 and under. A young adult program is one for which the primary audience is ages 12-18.
You may want to refer to the instructions for the 2009 Annual Report (these will be updated early next year for the 2010 report).
If you have questions about the collection of data for the Annual Report, contact Cheryl Becker, Public Library Administration Consultant, at (608) 246-7973.
WLA encourages libraries to join 2010 ‘Say Cheese’ project
Confident that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” the Campaign for Wisconsin Libraries, a multi-media publicity campaign sponsored by the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation (WLAF), is again promoting “Wisconsin Libraries Say Cheese!” to spotlight what’s happening in today’s libraries. This year’s event is scheduled Nov. 17, 2010.
Through online sharing of photographs in Flickr, this “day in pictures” provides a way to increase understanding, through photos, of the multitude and variety of resources, services, programs, and activities all types of libraries offer -- with the intent to strengthen the base of support libraries have among the public officials who fund them and the people who use them.
To learn more about the project, how to participate, how to create a Flickr photo site, and suggestions for event planning, visit www.wisconsinlibraries.org/saycheese.
If you choose to participate, you should post your photos to an official library Flickr page, and not one that has a person’s name or nickname. Those individuals managing the project need to know where the photos are coming from.
Home improvement books recalled
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the Oxmoor House Inc. (publisher of Sunset Books and others), recently updated a voluntary recall of a number of home improvement books due to faulty wiring instructions that could result in shock or fire hazard to consumers.
Consumers (and, of course, libraries) should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. More information, including the specific titles, is available at www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10104.html.
For more information contact John DeBacher, DPI Public Library Administration Consultant, at (608) 266-7270.
Walmart Store, Sam's Club Giving Programs
The Walmart Foundation supports the charitable organizations that are important to its customers and associates in their own neighborhoods. Support for local, state and national organizations provides opportunities in the communities the company serves.
Through its Giving Programs, Walmart Stores and Sam’s Clubs can recommend grants beginning at $250 to local charitable organizations. To learn more, visit http://walmartstores.com/communitygiving/238.aspx?p=8979.