Index
- Deerfield selected for 'The Great American Read' programming grant from PBS & ALA
- Ruth Culver Community Library seeks new director
- Member/Staff News
- New people counter kits available from SCLS
- Calling all techies!
- More on HTTPS
- New Medicare card webinar invitation
- Continuing Education Calendar
Deerfield selected for 'The Great American Read' programming grant from PBS & ALA
Deerfield Public Library is one of 50 public libraries announced by the American Library Association (ALA) and PBS to receive programming grants for “The Great American Read,” an eight-part television series and multi-platform initiative that celebrates the joy of reading and the books we love.
“We are unbelievably excited to announce that we are one of the recipients of a PBS/ALA grant to support programming related to The Great American Read,” said Deerfield Dirctor Leah Fritsche. “Over 200 public libraries across the country applied for a grant, and we were one of only 50 chosen.”
Hosted by television personality and journalist Meredith Vieira, “The Great American Read” will engage audiences with a list of 100 diverse books, encouraging audiences to read the books, vote from the list of 100, and share their personal connections to the titles.
The series premiered May 22 on PBS stations with a two-hour launch, kicking off a summer of reading and voting and will introduce viewers to the full list of America’s 100 favorite novels selected through a demographically representative national survey conducted by YouGov. The series will also feature interviews with celebrities, authors, super fans and everyday Americans discussing the way particular books have influenced them and their significance in American popular culture.
After a multi-platform initiative throughout the summer, which will include live public events, social media components and national reading clubs, the series will resume in the fall with several themed episodes, including an exciting finale, culminating in the first-ever national vote to choose “America’s Best-Loved Novel.”
More than 220 public libraries applied for cash grants to support at least three public programs related to the series. Grantees were selected through a peer-reviewed, competitive application process managed by the ALA Public Programs Office. View the list of selected libraries.
In addition to the cash grants, the selected libraries will receive a DVD collection of the series with public performance rights; a hardcover copy of the companion book, “The Great American Read: The Book of Books” by PBS (Black Dog & Leventhal, Aug. 21, 2018); print materials for local program promotion and publicity; and a programming guide developed by ALA, PBS and a panel of librarian advisors.
The libraries will also have the opportunity to host screenings of the series premiere and the six fall episodes before they broadcast to the public.
“The Great American Read” is a production of Nutopia for PBS. Funding for “The Great American Read” is provided by The Anne Ray Foundation and PBS.
You can learn more about The Great American Read by watching the official trailer: http://www.pbs.org/video/official-trailer-4hxuuo/.
Ruth Culver Community Library seeks new director
The Ruth Culver Community Library seeks a dedicated and community-minded Director with a commitment to public service and a vision for the future.
About: The Ruth Culver Community Library is located along the beautiful Wisconsin River in the heart of downtown Prairie du Sac in Sauk County, Wisconsin. Prairie du Sac is a vibrant community approximately 30 miles northwest of Madison. The library serves Prairie du Sac and the greater Sauk Prairie area including the Sauk Prairie School District. For more information about the community, please visit the Chamber’s website at www.saukprairie.com.
The library opened at its current location in 2012 and is next to the new Great Sauk State Trail. A member of the South Central Library System, the Ruth Culver Community Library has a staff of approximately 6.9 FTE, a collection of more than 62,000 items, and a 2018 operating budget of $490,389. An engaged Friends of the Library group provides support through volunteering and fundraising efforts.
Requirements: This position requires an MLS from an ALA-accredited university and eligibility for a Grade 1 Public Library Director certification from the State of Wisconsin. Successful candidates will have good verbal and written communication skills, strong organizational skills, as well as knowledge of technology and libraries. Excellent customer service and the ability to work effectively with the Library Board, Village of Prairie du Sac, Friends of the Library, employees, donors, and the community is a must. Three years of library experience is preferred.
Responsibilities: The Library Director reports to a seven member Board of Trustees and is responsible for the overall management of the library. Responsibilities include financial management, supervision of staff, and oversight of the library facility. A complete position description and statement of benefits may be found on the library’s website at www.pdslibrary.org/employment.
Compensation: The minimum salary is $51,000 commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the selected candidate. The Village of Prairie du Sac provides a competitive package of benefits.
Deadline: The application deadline is Friday, June 29. Please submit an employment application, cover letter, resume, and three professional references to apply. Send required materials to Helen Campbell, President of the Library Board of Trustees, at [email protected] or to the Library Director Selection Committee, c/o Ruth Culver Community Library, 540 Water St., Prairie du Sac, WI 53578.
The Ruth Culver Community Library is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Jennifer Endres Way (right) been named Director of the Oregon Public Library, where she will begin work on July 2. She has served as the Director of the Ruth Culver Community Library in Prairie du Sac since 2004, including during the library's building project and capital campaign. Her last day there will be June 20. She was also previously employed at Madison Public Library. Jennifer holds a Masters Degree in Library and Information Studies from the UW-Madison. She has lived in Oregon with her family since 2010 and looks forward to a much shorter work commute.
New people counter kits available from SCLS
SCLS has two new people counter kits available for any member public library to use. These kits are intended for in-library use only.
Kit 1 is a Bi-directional people counter kit -- This is an easy to use basic people counter kit that will provide a count of how many people entered and exited your library. Two counters are included with this kit to cover two entrances.
- 2 Transmitters
- 2 Receivers with displays
- 1 Magnet for resetting the counter
- 1 Instruction guide
- Extra Command Strips
Kit 2 is a USB people counter kit -- This is a more advanced people counter. Rather than a display to see how many people entered and exited the library it downloads data to a flash drive that connects to a laptop where you can see how many people passed by the counter every hour. This would be beneficial if you are interested in seeing trends as to what day of the week and during what time of the day the library gets the most traffic. This counter doesn’t indicate which direction people traveled so you will have to divide the total by two to get an accurate count. Two counters are included with this kit.
- 2 Transmitters
- 2 Receivers
- 1 laptop with people counter software and a power cable
- 1 Magnet for turning on the counter
- 1 USB cable
- 1 Instruction guide
More information about other kits available for loan from SCLS is available at www.scls.info/equipment-list.
Do you have a tech tool that makes library work easier, a technology program or service that draws adults, teens or children into your doors, or cool apps you’ve found or created for library use? If so, consider sharing it with your library colleagues at Tech Days East this September!
All topics related to the intersection of technology and libraries are welcome! Possible ideas include, but are not limited to: gadgets, emerging trends, apps, innovative tools, social media, coding, e-content, privacy, makerspaces, Google services, and teaching tech to patrons. Presentations could also focus on serving specific audiences (preschoolers, tweens, teens, older adults, people who require specific services, etc.) This list of suggested topics is not meant to limit your creativity!
Each afternoon breakout session at Tech Days East lasts one hour, which you can fill with 45-60 minutes of content, or your presentation can be 15 minutes in length and we will group it with other short subjects. You may do a presentation by yourself, or bring together a team. All presenters will receive a complimentary lunch and mileage reimbursement.
You can pickany or alldates and locations for your presentation:
- Tuesday, Sept. 25at Fitchburg Public Library (Dane County)
- Wednesday, Sept. 26at Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve (Outagamie County), or
- Thursday, Sept. 27at Franklin Public Library (Milwaukee County)
Fill out the Tech Days East presentation proposal form and tell us what you'd like to show and share. The deadline for proposals is Friday, June 15, 2018.
There is no charge to attend the 2018 Tech Days East workshop series, thanks to sponsorship by Winnefox Library System, Outagamie-Waupaca Library System, Manitowoc-Calumet Library System, Nicolet Federated Library System, South Central Library System, the Southeastern Wisconsin (SEWI) library systems (Arrowhead Library System, Bridges Library System, Kenosha County Library System, Lakeshores Library System, Milwaukee County Federated Library System, Monarch Library System), and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
For more information contact Joy Schwarz, Winnefox Library System, at [email protected] or 920-236-5218.
by Kerri Hilbelink
TechBits Blog
Do you remember this TechBits post about http and https? If you have time, read it again and be sure to watch the three-minute CommonCraft video because you're going to be hearing a lot more about https in upcoming months.
What are the advantages of https?
- Confidentiality -- information is passed securely between websites and browsers
- Authenticity -- when you see that little lock, you know you're really talking to the website that belongs to that name
- Integrity -- that lock indicates that the content of the site hasn't been changed by a 3rd party on its way to your browser
Chrome and Firefox are the browsers at the forefront of the push to move all sites to https. They already warn you that a page is "not secure" if it is http and prompting you to put in a username and password. Very soon (July 2018 for Chrome), they will be alerting users that ALL http pages are "not secure."
As websites move to https, a couple of things will happen:
- Everyone with a website will be scrambling to configure their sites to be https
- Very old browsers may not be able to use https sites
SCLS has a team of folks looking at what needs to happen to move SCLS websites and SCLS-hosted library websites to https, and we and will be sharing more information on the SCLS Technology News blog and in Top 5 emails as we have more details. If your library has a website that isn't hosted with SCLS, you may need to look into what steps to take to enable https for your website.
In the meantime, if you're looking for some more in-depth information, try these posts:
- LITA Blog -- HTTPS: It’s Way Past Time-A guest post from TJ Lamanna
- CNET -- Chrome soon will warn that lots more websites aren't secure
New Medicare card webinar invitation
Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began mailing new Medicare cards to people with Medicare. They are removing Social Security Numbers from Medicare cards to prevent fraud, fight identity theft, and keep taxpayer dollars safe.
In recognition of the vital role that libraries play as a trusted source of information for seniors and other patrons, there is an opportunity to learn more about the new Medicare cards that CMS is mailing out over the next several months.
A June 6 webinar will cover the background and implementation of the New Medicare Card Project, including background information on the new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) number, the CMS anti-fraud message, and information you may want to share with your patrons.The webinar will last 30 minutes and includes time for questions and comments. Registration is not required, but please RSVP to:[email protected]. The webinar will be held at 2 p.m. (Central time), and connection information is as follows:
- Call-in -- 1-877-267-1577
- Call ID# -- 995 905 282
- Webinar Link -- https://meetings.cms.gov/orion/joinmeeting.do?MTID=f651e6b345f88d992f380f50f07a95d6