Index
- 2019 Cornerstone Award reception is this Thursday
- Member/Staff News
- Wisconsin Public Library Consortium announces winner of statewide author contest
- Public libraries partner to respond to the opioid crisis
- Supporting Dyslexia Awareness Month with Sora and the OverDrive Resource Center
- Nominations will close Oct. 21 for the national ‘I Love My Librarian Award’
- ALA receives $2 million Google.org grant to develop library entrepreneurship centers
- Continuing Education Calendar
2019 Cornerstone Award reception is this Thursday
Library staff members, library trustees, and library supporters will gather this Thursday, Oct. 17, in Sun Prairie for the annual South Central Library System (SCLS) Foundation Cornerstone Award Reception. This an annual celebration of the work libraries do, and a recognition of the people who make it all happen. Mark your calendars and plan to join in the celebration.
The highlight of the evening is the presentation of the Cornerstone Award, which is given annually to an individual or individuals who have had a significant and long-term impact on enhancing public libraries in South Central Wisconsin and represent the values and mission of the South Central Library System Foundation.
The 2019 Cornerstone Award recipient is Bruce Deming (at right), the owner of Embury, Ltd., which for years supplied furniture and shelving for public libraries. Bruce has also been active at Library Legislative Day. You can read more about Bruce in the previous issue of Online Update.
This year's reception will be held Thursday Oct. 17 from 5-7 p.m. at Buck & Honey’s Restaurant, 804 Liberty Blvd., Sun Prairie, WI (map & directions). This year's reception sponsors are Chase Lumber Company, First Business Bank and Summit Credit Union. The Cornerstone Award Reception is open to everyone, it is free of charge, and there is no need to register. There will be light refreshments and a cash bar.
Mark your calendar and make plans to join us for this annual celebration of libraries, and the people who make them great!
The 11th annual Cornerstone Award Reception continues a fundraising tradition that has raised nearly $100,000 for the foundation in 10 years.
Again this year, the SCLS Foundation will present three awards to recognize the amazing work public libraries do every day while serving their communities. The awards to be announced that evening are:
- Super Awesome Library Award
- Program Wizard Award
- Giddy Up Partner Award
“The annual Cornerstone Award fundraising reception is an excellent opportunity to shine the spotlight on individuals who have given so much of themselves to public libraries, and Bruce Deming is most deserving of our recognition,” said SCLS Foundation Board President Janet Pugh. “This award is also a great way to raise money for the Foundation, which in turn makes funds available for projects that benefit all member public libraries.”
In recent years, the Foundation made $5,000 available to purchase e-book titles for Wisconsin’s Digital Library (OverDrive collection), thereby reducing library costs. It also contributed about $3,900 for the purchase of 10 Lego Mindstorms robot kits that can be used by libraries and is currently supporting library efforts to digitize local historical materials and make them available online.
The October issue of WSLL @ Your Service is now online. Your comments are welcome! Please direct them to the editor, Carol Hassler. In this issue: Indigenous Law Portal -- The Indigenous Law Portal is a valuable resource for researching indigenous law throughout the world. This year, the portal has moved to a new home, LLMC Digital, where researchers can continue to use it for free (read more); New Books -- Our featured titles this month are Environmental Litigation: Law and Strategy and The Lawyer's Guide to Increasing Revenue: Heighten Client Satisfaction, Improve Law Firm Morale, Enhance Revenue and Profitability. Our full October new book list is also available (read more); Tech Tip -- The "related" Google command is a useful way to discover industry competitors as well as like-minded associations (read more); Library News -- Rare books, classes and training opportunities, and more fill up this issue of library news (read more); October Snapshot -- At the David T. Prosser Jr. Library, we've moved some of our public computers into the bookstacks to create quiet workspaces throughout the library (read more).
Wisconsin Public Library Consortium announces winner of statewide author contest
The Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) is proud to announce the winner of the 2nd annual Wisconsin Author Project, a contest recognizing the top self-published fiction in the state.
Out of 75 submissions from local Wisconsin authors in the genres of adult and young adult fiction, the 2019 winner is Ken Hansen, author of The Light of Our Yesterdays.
The Light of Our Yesterdays is a speculative fiction novel about terrorists, religion, parallel universes, tolerance, and discovering ourselves and our beliefs.
“The combination of action, historical places and spaces, and jumps through time appealed to our judges and kept us glued to the story” stated Amy Lutzke, chair of the judging committee. “This book will appeal to fans of Dan Brown and Tom Clancy.”
The Light of Our Yesterdays can be read immediately by anyone statewide in the Indie Wisconsin collection on BiblioBoard Library, by visiting https://library.biblioboard.com/ or downloading the BiblioBoard Library mobile app and searching for the title.
The Wisconsin Author Project gives librarians a chance to engage with the growing group of local authors, along with an opportunity to be active stewards for new works. For self-published authors, the contest is a fantastic prospect to elevate their careers and reach a multitude of new readers through the library.
The Wisconsin Author Project is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Public libraries partner to respond to the opioid crisis
The Public Library Association (PLA) and OCLC will partner on Wednesday, Oct. 30, at 2 p.m. (Central time) to offer a webinar that will present examples from new case studies of libraries that are serving as active partners in addressing the opioid crisis in their communities.
As communities across the country experience the impact of the opioid epidemic, public library staff are finding themselves on the front line of this public health crisis. How should libraries engage? Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Epidemic with Their Community is an IMLS-funded project led by OCLC and PLA to expand libraries’ capacity to support their communities. The project studied a diverse set of communities where the library is an active partner in addressing the epidemic and facilitated discussions with library leaders and a range of government, public health, and community organizations. Presenters will share insights gained from the case studies and emerging practices, opportunities, and challenges, and share resources to help library staff guide their libraries’ response to the opioid crisis.
Presenters will be:
- Lynn Silipigni Connaway, OCLC
- Michelle Jeske, Denver Public Library
- Marion Rorke, Denver Dept of Public Health and Environment
- Kendra Morgan, WebJunction
This is the first in a series of webinars on this topic, highlighting the project findings. Click here to register for free.
Supporting Dyslexia Awareness Month with Sora and the OverDrive Resource Center
By Sydney Kalnay
Overdrive Training Manager
“Dyslexia affects 20% of the population and represents 80–90% of all those with learning disabilities. It is the most common of all neuro-cognitive disorders.” 1
I found this quote while researching dyslexia and intellectual strength on the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity website. Afterwards, I counted myself lucky for being able to reveal and interpret results as quickly and easily as I did. Many of my students wouldn’t have been able to -- not because their internet research skills weren’t up to par, but because they were part of the 20% affected by this disorder.
Dyslexia wasn’t something we talked about openly in my classroom; to this day, I couldn’t say how many of my students -- or my colleagues, for that matter -- lived with the effects of dyslexia. All I knew was that there were students who enjoyed the readings and students who did not, which could’ve been because of a struggle to make sense of the words or could simply have been because of Tess of the D’Urbervilles. (Sorry-not-sorry, Thomas Hardy!)
Even though I’m no longer in the traditional classroom, my teacher’s brain is still wired to consider all the ways I could’ve helped my students with their reading habits and setbacks, and when I find a new tool or resource, I make a mental note to share it with my friends who are still working with students in the classroom or at home every day.
Dyslexia And Digital Content
One of my favorite features of reading ebooks in Sora is the ability to change any text to the OpenDyslexic font. OpenDyslexic was created to improve readability for many readers with dyslexia. The way it works is as follows:
“Letters have heavy weighted bottoms to indicate direction. You are able to quickly figure out which part of the letter is down, which aids in recognizing the correct letter, and sometimes helps to keep your brain from rotating them around. Consistently weighted bottoms can also help reinforce the line of text. The unique shapes of each letter can help prevent confusion through flipping and swapping.” 2
Dyslexia awareness can be a great start to a discussion or lesson plan, too. If you Google “dyslexia animated gif,” you can even find simulations of how text may appear to students with certain types of dyslexia – a strong, visual reminder that our individual reading experiences don’t always look the same.
Whatever tools you use to encourage dyslexia awareness, we‘d love to be part of the conversation. Let us know how you’re using Sora and the OpenDyslexic font as a reading tool by tagging us on social media or emailing your Account Manager with a success story today!
More information is available on the OverDrive website.
Nominations will close Oct. 21 for the national ‘I Love My Librarian Award’
Library users have until Monday, Oct. 21 to nominate superstar librarians for the American Library Association’s (ALA) prestigious I Love My Librarian Award. Members of the public can submit nominations online for library professionals who have transformed communities and improved lives. The award recognizes the outstanding public service contributions of librarians working in public, school, college, community college or university libraries in the U.S.
Each year since the award was established in 2008 the ALA has selected up to 10 librarians from a pool of hundreds of nominations. This year’s award winners will each receive a $5,000 cash prize, a plaque and a travel stipend to attend the I Love My Librarian Award ceremony in Philadelphia on Jan. 25, 2020, during ALA’s Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits.
Over the last decade, library supporters have shared more than 19,000 nominations detailing how librarians have gone above and beyond to connect them to information, educational opportunities, and critical technology. A total of 110 librarians have received the distinguished honor. Information regarding previous award winners, can be found on the website.
To be eligible for the award, each nominee must hold a master’s degree in library and information studies from a program accredited by the ALA or a master’s degree with a specialty in school library media from an educational program accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Nominees must also work in either a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college, or university or at an accredited K-12 school in the United States.
The philanthropic foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York generously sponsors the I Love My Librarian Award. The New York Public Library and the New York Times are co-sponsors of the award. The ALA administers the award through ALA’s Communications and Marketing Office, which promotes the value of libraries and librarians. For more information about the I Love My Librarian Award, please visit ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian.
ALA receives $2 million Google.org grant to develop library entrepreneurship centers
The American Library Association (ALA) has received a $2 million grant from Google.org to develop library entrepreneurship centers and enable libraries across the country to double down on their support for people looking to start a new business.
“Today’s libraries are engines of entrepreneurship,” said ALA President Wanda Brown. “There is no better place than the library to deliver economic opportunity, especially to low-income people and those from underrepresented groups. In cities, towns and rural areas alike, a library card is the key to access market research, expert advice, new technology and business plans.
Google.org President Jacquelline Fuller said, “Libraries play a vital role in supporting aspiring entrepreneurs to thrive in their communities and we're proud to support their efforts. Today marks a continuation of Google’s strong relationship with the ALA and with libraries across the country.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the funding for ALA as part of a $10 million pledge to help entrepreneurs from low-income and underrepresented groups start new businesses via access to training and capital. The $2 million grant builds on Google’s ongoing support of ALA and libraries, including the Libraries Lead with Digital Skills collaboration funded by Grow with Google, which gave ALA $1 million to help libraries provide digital skills training to their patrons. That initiative, announced earlier this year, has already supported 130 libraries across 18 states and will continue to all 50 states in 2020.
The new Google.org grant will enable ALA to fund a cohort of 10 libraries with proven models to increase the number of low-income, business creators they serve from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds. Participating libraries will work to establish new partnerships with community-based organizations and further develop innovative models to bring their library’s resources out in the community. As a result of this initiative, libraries will directly support 15,000 people looking to start or grow their business. With almost 50 percent of libraries in the U.S. providing free space, resources or support to start a small business, they are one of the largest platforms for supporting aspiring entrepreneurs.
The grant will also support ALA in developing a “playbook” accessible to all libraries on what makes a successful library entrepreneurship program. The playbook will contain a set of recommendations to better serve entrepreneurs from diverse communities and common metrics to evaluate success. ALA also plans to build a peer-learning network for librarians interested in developing entrepreneurship programs of their own.
“The Google.org funding will enable ALA to expand library entrepreneurship programs in a handful of places where they already thrive,” Brown continued. “But the greater goal of the project surpasses well beyond the scope of the grant. We are creating a path to success for aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere - in particular, those with the fewest resources to chart new territory on their own.”