Index
- There is still time to nominate your library for an SCLS Foundation award
- Hands-on Adult Programming Workshop
- Member/Staff News
- Why we love our libraries
- Basics of Successful Grant Writing
- ALA to launch Libraries Transform campaign
- Continuing Education Calendar
There is still time to nominate your library for an SCLS Foundation award
Public libraries are amazing places, and in recognition of all you do the South Central Library System (SCLS) Foundation is again presenting three library awards as part of the 2015 Cornerstone Award fundraising reception on Nov. 19 in Portage.
Library staff members, trustees, friends, or residents can nominate their library to recognize the amazing work public libraries do every day while serving their communities. To make an online nomination, click on the award name below. All nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, 2015.
- Super Awesome Library Award -- For the library that was overall awesome in 2015. Maybe they handled a tough situation with grace. Or took a new approach. Or found a lot of money under a rock and did something really cool with it. Or got a lot of local support and kudos because they play well with others. Or are just plain super awesome every day.
- Program Wizard Award -- For a super creative, innovative and fun library program created by library staff. In the library or out. For babies or seniors or anyone in between. A one-off or a regular series. If Dumbledore thinks it's worthy of Wizard status, nominate it!
- Giddy Up Partner Award -- For those strong community partnerships that add value to the library and the community as a whole. It takes two, baby! Or three... or four. Nominate the library and its partner(s) and describe the amazing stuff they’re doing together.
Hands-on Adult Programming Workshop
Join us for a workshop on Oct. 16 at the Stoughton Fire Station about how to get a high quality, low-cost monthly craft program in your library from start to finish.
Kelly Verheyden and Sarah Bukrey, Stoughton Public Library, will talk about and demonstrate how to get started:
- putting your collection to work;
- teaching a technique;
- hands-on crafting; and
- publicity.
The afternoon will be spent engaging in a program idea swap with other library staff members. To register, visit the SCLS Continuing Education Calendar.
The October issue of WSLL @ Your Service has been published at http://wilawlibrary.gov/newsletter/1510.html.
Be sure to read a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by Wayne A. Wiegand, F. William Summers professor of library and information studies emeritus at Florida State University, who now lives in Walnut Creek, Calif. Oxford University Press will publish his new book, "Part of Our Lives: A People's History of the American Public Library," on Oct. 12.
Marquette University Law School and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will host a conference on the future of the American library on the morning of Oct. 29 featuring Wiegand. To register and for more information, go to http://law.mu.edu/future-library.
Basics of Successful Grant Writing
Join library colleagues and SLIS students on Oct. 14, 2015, at 5 p.m. for pizza and a workshop (6-9 p.m.) to help you pursue funding for the projects you love. Whether you’re new to grant writing or looking to hone your skills, this is the perfect opportunity to get you on your way to writing successful grant proposals.
Learn how to take your great ideas and garner funding for library projects. In this fun and interactive session, Tom Linfield will take you through the steps to plan a proposal and communicate constructively with funders. You’ll even create a short proposal and receive feedback.
Linfield is Vice President of Grantmaking and Community Initiatives for the Madison Community Foundation (MCF), and in this capacity he oversees $1.5 million in annual Grantmaking to Dane County organizations. Recent MCF library projects include the countywide Library Collections Project and the Beyond the Page Campaign. Tom has spent his career in non-profits, first as a grant writer and then as a foundation program officer. He has raised over $15 million in grants for education, arts, and community outreach, and he is an avowed library enthusiast.
The cost is $65 per person, and you can register at www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed.htm. The workshop will be held in The Bunge Room, 4207 Helen C. White Hall, 600 N. Park Street, Madison.
ALA to launch Libraries Transform campaign
Based on the belief that transformation is essential to the communities we serve, the American Library Association’s Libraries Transform promotional campaign is designed to increase public awareness of the value, impact and services provided by libraries and library professionals, and will ensure there is one clear, energetic voice for our profession. A primary goal is to showcase the transformative nature of today’s libraries and elevate the critical role libraries play in the digital age.
ALA President Sari Feldman selected the theme of “The Library Profession Transformed” for her presidential term. Working with her advisory committee and with input from ALA members and leaders, the decision was made to develop a campaign to elevate public awareness of contemporary library work to advance ALA advocacy and information policy agendas. The campaign will also refresh the image of the library profession to help support professional recruitment and energize tenured professionals.
With support provided by Overdrive, ALA contracted with the brand strategy and design firm Little Jacket to develop the campaign. Little Jacket specializes in assisting organizations to tell their stories, raise awareness and change culture. In the spring of 2015, Little Jacket proposed the Libraries Transform campaign.
Libraries Transform seeks to shift the mindset that “libraries are obsolete or nice to have” to “libraries are essential” and to change the perception that “libraries are just quiet places to do research, find a book and read” to “libraries are centers of their communities: places to learn, create and share, with the help of library staff and the resources they provide.”
Through the Libraries Transform campaign, ALA will increase awareness of libraries’ vibrancy and vitality through active local grassroots programs, a national social and traditional media campaign, and strategic alliances with corporations, media entities and other organizations.
Feldman introduced the campaign at the June 30, 2015 Inaugural Brunch in San Francisco during the 2015 ALA Annual Conference. This three-year campaign will officially launch to the profession and the public later this fall.
The project website also includes information from the Center for the Future of Libraries, which works to identify trends relevant to libraries and librarianship. New trends will be added as they are developed. This collection is available to help libraries and librarians understand how trends are developing and why they matter.
You can download promotional materials, including web graphics, posters, postcards, articles, and video TedTalks from the LibariesTransform.org Toolkit.
Here are the top ten ways (and one bonus!) that you can engage with the American Library Association’s libraries transform campaign
- Tweet about your most innovative and impactful services using the #librariestransform hashtag.
- Download and print “Because...” posters and hang them around your community. Think about posting them in unexpected places.
- Download and print the postcards and send them to your stakeholders with messages about new, innovative programs and services at your library. Or, use them to reconnect with lapsed cardholders, inviting them to re-visit the library.
- Include Libraries Transform messaging in your community newsletters, e-newsletter or regular email blasts to stakeholders.
- Download the Libraries Transform web banners and embed them on your website.
- Invite your community members to share their stories of how “libraries transform” on your social media platforms – Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc.
- Join in the October 29th Libraries Transform launch by hosting an event to launch/build community awareness of a new creative service at your library (such as a makerspace, new collaborative work spaces or a new digital collection).
- Use the Libraries Transform brand on flyers and brochures to promote special programs and services at your library.
- Include Libraries Transform messaging in your press releases, print and radio PSAs, op-eds, and letters-to-the-editors to local media.
- Conduct your own creative guerilla marketing stunt to delight and surprise your community. For inspiration, check out the Outside the Lines initiative to see how some libraries have creatively connected with their community.
BONUS: Encourage your stakeholders to create their own “Because” statements and share them on social media.
The new public awareness campaign is part of the Libraries Transform project sponsored by the ALA. To receive campaign news and updates, be sure to subscribe to the email distribution list (on the bottom of each web page).