Index
- Work group exploring options for statewide library publicity- Member/Staff News
- High-tech tool adds dimensions to Sauk City Library
- WPLC conducting survey about OverDrive features
- Database trials underway for SCLS libraries
- PLA, FTC partner to combat identify theft
- Continuing Education Calendar
Work group exploring options for statewide library publicity
A statewide work group with representatives from the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), Wisconsin Library Service (WiLS), the System and Resource Library Administrators' Association of Wisconsin (SRLAAW), and various systems and libraries has begun discussions to develop and enhance statewide library publicity projects and resources.
The goal is to develop projects and resources that help get the word out about the value and importance of all types of libraries in Wisconsin. The South Central Library System (SCLS) is represented on the work group by Mark Ibach, SCLS Marketing & PR Coordinator.
If you have suggestions for statewide projects and resources, or would like to serve on the work group, please contact Mark Ibach.
Peggy Kindschi, former director of Columbus Public Library, passed away over the Labor Day weekend. A memorial
service was held Sept. 7 in Columbus, followed by a funeral in Beloit, her hometown. Peggy is survived by her husband
and two adult children, both of whom were basically raised in the library. Memorials are being accepted in her name. You
can read the full obituary in the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen.
High-tech tool adds dimensions to Sauk City Library
When the Sauk City Public Library purchased a three-dimensional printer, the library’s director didn’t envision it as just a
cool new piece of technology for the small-town library.
He saw it as an entirely new direction.
“In five to 10 years more people will be reading e-books than traditional books,” said Ben Miller, who took over as Sauk
City’s library director in 2010. “We’re looking at moving to across-the-board creation rather than consumption.”
The Sauk City library has had the new 3-D printer for a month and might be the first public library in the state to purchase one. Miller unveiled the printer to the public in a grand-opening display on Sept. 13.
He said he wanted to take a month and familiarize himself with the printer, which melts strands of plastic and shapes them into small 3-D objects from a digital model.
Miller said the $2,000 printer is part of the library’s new focus on transforming the library into a community place for people who want to create. One of the first things he did when he was hired as the library’s director was form a community club for people who wanted to learn to program simple, open-source computer boards.
“The library is not about books. It’s about ideas,” Miller said.
You can read the complete article in the Sauk Prairie Eagle.
WPLC conducting survey about OverDrive features
In summer 2011, Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) submitted a "wish list" of features to OverDrive for future development for Wisconsin’s Digital Library. Many of the requests have been addressed through the website redesign and OverDrive updates, or are likely to be resolved with the upcoming new Content Reserve and next generation service, expected before the end of 2012.
In the meantime, WPLC is preparing a new wish list for OverDrive, and would like your assistance in prioritizing the remaining features from the previous wish list and identifying additional features that you think would be helpful for patrons and staff.
Please consider taking a few minutes to complete the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/22GXWSZ. The survey will ask you to rate the priority of items remaining from the original wish list and to add any other features you'd like to see that are not on the list. Please share this survey link with others who might assist patrons with the Wisconsin Digital Library site.
The survey deadline is Sept. 20, and responses received by that date will be used to create an updated list to send to OverDrive.
Database trials underway for SCLS libraries
Libraries should already have received a letter from WiLS announcing trials of 10 databases, but here is another reminder that you can try out these databases through Oct. 15, 2012.
The trials are based on subject-area recommendations from SCLS member libraries. These subject areas (and databases) include:
- Financial: InvestorEdge and Morningstar
- Language Learning Databases: LiveMocha, Mango, Powerspeak (Gale), and Transparent Languages (formerly BYKI)
- Magazines: zinio
- Reference: AtoZ Databases, Reference USA, and Demographics Now
Links to the trials have been, or will be, sent out via the scls-announce and scls-ref lists so please keep an eye out. Included will be instructions on receiving price quotes for databases included in the trials. The deadline to add databases is Oct. 31, 2012. Any new database will begin Jan. 1, 2013.
Please see www.wils.wisc.edu/ for a list of databases available through WiLS. More than 50% of databases added to the Cooperative Purchasing Program have come from library recommendations, so if you are interested in a database not on the WiLS site, please contact Sara Gold at (608) 890-3012.
PLA, FTC partner to combat identity theft
Every year, identity theft tops the list of complaints consumers report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other enforcement agencies. It’s a serious crime that can damage your finances and credit -- and take a lot of time and patience to resolve.
The Public Library Association (PLA) and the FTC are now partnering to produce and promote FTC’s new suite of materials on identify theft and identity protection The materials include a brochure with tips every consumer should have; a booklet with step-by-step instructions on dealing with the crime; and a brochure on how to recognize a new twist in the identity theft vortex -- child identity theft.
There are also three animated videos that focus on the most important consumer messages -- What Is Identity Theft?, Rapid Response Tips, and What To Do If You're A Victim of Identity Theft.
You can download these documents and more from ftc.gov/idtheft, and you can order free copies for your library at https://bulkorder.ftc.gov.