Index
- WPLC buying pool webinar recording available
- Member/Staff News
- Wisconsin virtual reference Meet Up scheduled Sept. 16
- DOJ schedules seminars, webinar on public records and open meetings laws
- CCBC to host statewide online book club
- Mike Cross retires from DPI
- Certification manual now available online
- DPI paper on school, library broadband/internet access
- Continuing Education Calendar
WPLC buying pool webinar recording available
The recording of the Sept. 6 webinar on the WPLC Statewide Buying Pool is now available online. Presentation slides have been posted, as has the recording of the webinar.
If you have any questions about the project, please contact Martha Van Pelt, SCLS Director.
Member/Staff News
Erin Foley, director of the Rio Community Library, has been notified that her article “Keeping Scrapbooks Secure and Available” has been accepted for a book on local materials kept in public libraries. Titled “Preserving Local Writers, Genealogy, Photographs, Newspapers and Related Materials” (Scarecrow Press), the book is scheduled to be published later this year.
Portage County Public Library has installed an Induction Loop System in its Pinery Room for the benefit of hearing impaired patrons. The Loop System provides a better hearing experience for the hearing impaired because it delivers sounds directly to the hearing aid in pure, undistorted form. Telecoil equipped hearing aid or headset users will simply need to switch their hearing aids to the T or MT position. The Loop System can also be used by those without Telecoil hearing aids by using an ILR2 receiver/headset or similar, and in fact is useful to both the hearing disabled and those with normal hearing. Funding was provided through the LSTA grant program, distributed by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by DLTCL. Additional funding for the project was provided by the Portage County Public Library Foundation. “PCPL is thrilled to provide this service to our hearing impaired patrons since their program participation may previously have been hindered by the lack of such a system,” said Director Robert Stack.
The September issue of WSLL @ Your Service has been published at http://wilawlibrary.gov/newsletter/1109.html.
Wisconsin virtual reference Meet Up scheduled Sept. 16
AskAway, WiLS, and Resources for Libraries and Lifelong Learning (RL&LL) invite all virtual reference librarians to meet and discuss, during these difficult economic times, the future of virtual reference in Wisconsin and how we can work together to effectively deliver the best quality reference service to all Wisconsin residents regardless of location or affiliation. The Meet Up will be held on Sept. 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the RL&LL offices, 2109 South Stoughton Road, Madison, or online via live webinar from the in person meeting, via Adobe Connect at http://wisc.adobeconnect.com/wivrmeet/ (simply click the link at the time of the Meet Up to join the session). Those participating by Webinar should enter as a guest; audio will be via Voice Over IP, so you'll need a microphone and speakers on your computer.
For the past several years AskAway, the statewide virtual reference consortium, has been in large part funded by monies from LSTA. Those financial resources are now at an end. The service utilized by AskAway, OCLC's QuestionPoint, is paid through the end of December 2011. Most academic libraries in the state offer their own virtual reference services of one sort or another, and many public libraries offer some service direct to their specific patrons. But it's been AskAway that has provided full 24/7 service to all Wisconsin patrons. Recently AskAway has included a growing number of K-12 schools and was on the verge of offering full Spanish Language coverage. Alongside BadgerLink, AskAway offered a full range of quality reference services statewide so we are left with the inevitable "what now?" question.
The Meet Up will involve all virtual reference librarians in a discussion about the future of virtual reference in Wisconsin.
- How can we maintain valued virtual reference services for all our patrons?
- How can we build on what we have to improve scope, ubiquity and quality of virtual reference?
- How can we blend services to deliver the full range of library services to one and all across the state?
- How can we do this in times of difficult financial resources? and
- What should Virtual Reference look like?
Please plan to join us for this critical discussion either in person at the RL&LL offices or online via the webinar link above. Be prepared to share your thoughts and dreams. Be ready to support your ideas about virtual reference. Be ready to discuss virtual reference in Wisconsin and explore what forms of support your library can contribute, and what your expectations will be for your benefits in return. Let's talk about what should the AskAway consortium, or any other virtual reference consortium, look like going into the future and how could it best serve our patrons.
Even if you cannot attend the Meet Up, completing the pre-meeting survey will greatly help the discussions and ideas. This is your chance to develop the agenda we will be following at the Meet Up. A preliminary agenda will be posted prior to the Meet Up.
-- from Channel Weekly (Vol. 14, No. 1 -- Sept. 1, 2011)
DOJ schedules seminars, webinar on public records and open meetings laws
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has announced that the public, media representatives, and government officials and employees can register to attend upcoming Department of Justice (DOJ) seminars and a webinar on Wisconsin’s public records and open meetings laws.
It’s recommended anyone who is interested in attending the seminars register early because space is limited for the free programs with Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and Assistant Attorneys General from the DOJ.
“I urge anyone who wants to better understand the workings of an open government, as well as a person’s responsibilities and rights under the law, to attend one of these programs,” Van Hollen said. “The best way to prevent violations of the public records and open meetings laws is to educate, and that’s why we hold these seminars every year.”
The three-hour, live programs will be held Monday, Oct. 3, in Pewaukee, and Monday, Oct. 10, in Madison. A webinar also is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 20.
To register for either of the live seminars or the webinar, visit the DOJ website.
CCBC to host statewide online book club
The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) at the UW-Madison will assume an administrative role of Read On Wisconsin, the statewide online book club for Wisconsin students and educators now in its seventh year.
Read On Wisconsin features recommended books each month for students at five different age levels. The book club’s new website will allow students and teachers across Wisconsin to find out more about the month’s selections by linking to information about the books and their creators through resources from TeachingBooks.net. Beginning in early 2012, the site will also feature student-created book trailers for the selected books.
Launched by former First Lady Jessica Doyle in 2004, the program has proven popular with both students and educators.
To administer the book club, staff members at the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) are collaborating with colleagues in the School of Education’s Media, Education Resources and Information Technology (MERIT) unit; the Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning of the Department of Public Instruction; and TeachingBooks.net.
An advisory committee of teachers, librarians, and students from around the state also help to make book selections.
Read On Wisconsin’s featured books for September are:
- Preschool: Always in Trouble by Corinne Demas
- Grades K-2: How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills; City Dog Country Frog by Mo Willems
- Grades 3-5: The Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett T. Krosoczka
- Middle School: The Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- High School: Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers
For more information about Read On Wisconsin, visit the program website.
Mike Cross retires from DPI
Mike Cross, director of the Public Library Development Team at the Department of Public Instruction, has announced his retirement from DPI.
Mike joined the DPI's Public Library Development Team in 1998 as Consultant for Public Library Administration with considerable prior experience with Wisconsin libraries and library systems. Mike had also been active with a number of Wisconsin library organizations.
At the DPI, Mike chaired the group that wrote the Trustee Essentials handbook, as well as a group that updated one of the editions of the Wisconsin Public Library Standards. He also helped staff the 2002 Legislative Task Force that resulted in significant updates to Wisconsin library law. As Director of the Public Library Development Team, Mike led the library consultants who provide a wide range of services that support Wisconsin public library service.
Mike’s last day at the DPI will be September 14.
-- from Channel Weekly (Vol. 14, No. 2 -- Sept. 8, 2011)
Certification manual now available online
The Certification Manual for Wisconsin Public Library Directors 2011 is now available online at www.dpi.wi.gov/pld/pdf/certmanual.pdf. The table of contents contains bookmarks to the different sections of the manual. The Wisconsin Public Librarian Certification web page links to the updated versions of the following forms (all .doc files).
- Application for Public Librarian Certification
- Activity Report for Continuing Education
- Annual Summation of Continuing Education Activities
Below is a summary of the changes that have been made under the new rules:
- Allow grade II certificates to be issued to applicants holding a bachelor’s degree along with a minor in library science if the minor includes or is supplemented by 3 semester credits of coursework, or the equivalent, in advanced public library administration.
- Update public librarian certification requirements for grade II and III certification. Some of the areas of coursework have been changed to reflect the changes in the nature of public library operation. The total number of credits required to be completed will still be a total of 12; however, the rule will provide flexibility as to how those 12 credits may be earned.
- Require certification renewal to include at least 10 hours of technology-related training.
- Modify the temporary certification requirements for grade II and III certification to reflect the new coursework required to get a public librarian certification and require at least one course to be completed annually until the certification requirements are complete.
A limited number of the Certification Manual paper copies will be available soon and sent to public library systems for distribution to member libraries.
For more information contact Terrie Howe at (608) 266-2413.
--from Channel Weekly (Vol. 13, No. 42 – Aug. 25, 2011)
DPI paper on school, library broadband/internet access
Recent debates in the state’s education and library communities on what entities should be able to provide broadband and Internet access has resulted in numerous questions about why this has become such a contentious issue.
To help answer some of these questions, DPI has authored an in-depth background paper, which is available at http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/pdf/bbandnetaccess.pdf. Questions or comments on the paper are welcome, and should be directed to Bob Bocher at (608) 266-2127.
--from Channel Weekly (Vol. 13, No. 42 – Aug. 25, 2011)