Index
- Rock Springs seeks new director
- Libraries Step Up advocacy toolkit available
- Member/Staff News
- Library Legislative Day follow up
- Virtual symposium focuses on health & wellness
- Benchmark Briefings for U.S. public libraries
- 90% of public libraries offer electronic collection materials
- Continuing Education Calendar
Rock Springs seeks new director
Applications are being accepted for Library Director at the Rock Springs Public Library, a member of the South Central Library System. This is a part-time position in a small but active rural library. Duties include administering, conducting and planning library services and programs, developing library policies and advising the governing board. The Director will also help organize the move into a new facility in Summer 2021 (pictured at right).
The ideal candidate is community focused, inclusive, creative, and detail oriented. Knowledge and use of computers and software, organizational skills and customer service experience are important. Applicants must be eligible for Grade 3 Wisconsin Public Library Certification, requiring 54 semester credits from an approved college or university. The position is approximately 20 hours per week including occasional Saturday mornings.
A position description can be found at rockspringslibrary.com/employment-opportunity or a copy can be picked up at the library. For questions or more information please call Jean Holtz, Library Board President, at (608) 963-3053.
Applications will be accepted until position filled. All applications will be kept on file for six months. Send cover letter, resume and three references in PDF format to [email protected] or mail a copy to:
Rock Springs Public Library
Attn: Jean Holtz
P.O. Box 246
Rock Springs, WI 53961
Libraries Step Up advocacy toolkit available
Libraries Step Up is a collaboration between OWLS, Bridges, Nicolet and IFLS library systems to draw attention to all the work libraries did in 2020. They have developed postcards and a toolkit of plug-and-play and customizable communications resources that are available for use by libraries across the state.
This effort is to counter the misperception that libraries have been closed during the pandemic. Libraries are encouraged to promote the postcard-writing campaign and the general message through the state, county and municipal budget processes. We want your excellent work to be communicated loud and clear! Empowering your community members to speak up for libraries is a great way to amplify this message to elected officials.
What Can Libraries Do?
Make the postcards available. Identify your key advocates, trustees, friends and fans and ask them personally. There’s an email in the Toolkit.
Give people a way to request postcards or just stuff curbside bags with the postcards and bag-stuffer instructions. Alternatively, make a display with poster, instructions and postcards located where people pick up their holds. Libraries can encourage community members to get and send their postcards using social media and posters.
More information and links to toolkit materials are available on the OWLS website. If you have questions about using these materials or just want to talk about library advocacy opportunities, contact Mark Ibach at (608) 246-5612.
The February issue of WSLL @ Your Service is now online. Please send questions or comments to the editor, Carol Hassler. In this issue: Jury instructions -- We're happy to announce that the Wisconsin State Law Library is now hosting current Wisconsin Jury Instructions on our website (read more); 2020 in the Rearview -- Each February, we reflect on the work of the previous year. 2020 was filled with challenges but we have been able to adapt to meet our users where they are (read more); New Books -- This month’s two featured titles are Judicial Conduct and Ethics, and Securities Regulation in a Nutshell. Our February new book list is also online (read more); Tech Tip -- There are several ways to stay connected with and contribute to your favorite organizations on social media. We cover a few tools for your legal research needs (read more); Library News -- We are giving away a limited number of copies of The History of Wisconsin Black Lawyers, 2019. Also, sign up for our spring webinars, and see upcoming webinars from Westlaw (read more); and February Snapshot -- Our collection is always moving! In this month’s snapshot, new books await labels and circulation stickers (read more).
Library Legislative Day follow up
Last week’s virtual Library Legislative Day went off without a hitch, and links to all the materials and three new videos that feature library patrons from across Wisconsin talking about the impact and importance of their public libraries are available on the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) website.
We have also embedded the videos here for easier viewing, but libraries are encouraged to embed the videos on their library websites to share within their own communities.
WLA Library Videos -- Strong Libraries = Strong Communities
Patron Stories: Lifelong Learning & Literacy -- https://youtu.be/1P9yT_JAZiE
Patron Stories: Access, Workforce Development & Technology -- https://youtu.be/feWjWXxxWOI
Patron Stories: The Pillar of a Community Through a Pandemic -- https://youtu.be/ZKitx9y3re8
Virtual symposium focuses on health & wellness
Building life-long opportunities for strength, self-care, outlook, morale and mindfulness are the themes of a March 24-26 virtual symposium sponsored by the National Library of Medicine.
The free three-day symposium is especially for library staff focused on their health and wellness.
More information, including speaker information and a registration link can be found at https://blossom.heysummit.com/#.
This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Grant Number UG4LMO12346 with the University of Iowa.
Benchmark Briefings for U.S. public libraries
The Public Library Association (PLA) has launched the Benchmark Briefings to support public libraries’ access and use of data. The free resource translates data from the Public Libraries Survey, conducted by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), into accessible infographics to ease library peer comparison across key characteristics.
In the briefings, infographics highlight key measures commonly used by public libraries when making decisions about library investments: expenditures, staff, collections, circulation, visits and programs. The data are organized by library and community characteristics to better enable libraries to quickly benchmark themselves with others with similar attributes.
Whether you are dipping your toes into peer comparison for the first time or can name each of your library’s IMLS-defined characteristics in your sleep, the Benchmark Briefings will give you a clear snapshot into how your library measures up against others. This resource will bridge existing data knowledge gaps and pave the way for deeper data insight, exploration and advocacy.
Stay tuned for more information on PLA's ongoing data work and an upcoming free webinar on how to use the Benchmark Briefings!
The Benchmark Briefings were developed using IMLS fiscal year 2018 Public Libraries Survey data by members from PLA's Measurement, Evaluation, and Assessment Committee (MEAC), PLA staff and the American Institutes for Research.
90% of public libraries offer electronic collection materials
The Institute of Museum and Library Services recently released The Use and Cost of Public Library Materials: Trends Before the COVID-19 Pandemic, a research brief that explores trends of physical and electronic collections expenditures and circulation, including comparisons among subgroups by locale and population size served.
“Online librarianship and the nature of the library as a civic and community place is an ever-changing landscape," said IMLS Director Crosby Kemper. "As you'll see in the brief, the growth and use of electronic books, online databases, and technology has continued to increase through the years, making digital collections a resource libraries continue to heavily invest in. We see that the focus on patron health and welfare and community development and cohesion are more critical than ever. And, as always for public libraries, the importance of reading as the basic skill and best support for improving people's lives remains a constant in American society."
Research questions answered in the brief include:
- Does the trend in overall circulation per person hold for both physical and electronic circulation, and do trends differ between locale and population size subgroups?
- How much has the median library’s per person spending on electronic materials changed in the past four years?
- Do electronic materials enable libraries to provide greater value to their communities than traditional print materials based on cost per item circulated?
The brief includes the following findings, which are also available in table format:
- Between FY 2014 and FY 2018,
- the percentage of libraries offering electronic collection materials increased from 80 to 90%;
- median per person spending on physical materials decreased by 6%, while median per person spending on electronic materials increased by 31%; and
- median cost for physical items circulated increased by 11%, while median cost for e-circulation decreased by 26%.
- In FY 2018, libraries in rural areas and libraries serving smaller populations paid less per electronic circulation than libraries situated in other locales or serving larger populations.
“Our research team at IMLS seeks to understand the evolving approaches used by America’s local libraries in response to shifting public demand for accessible information,” said Matt Birnbaum, IMLS senior evaluation officer. “Using data from our longstanding annual Public Libraries Survey, this research brief captures the recent acceleration in public use and investments in a wide array of electronic information resources. Looking ahead to a post-pandemic future, this brief can provide a valuable foundation for future comparative explorations of approaches that our country’s local libraries use to support and foster a knowledgeable citizenry.”
Each year since 1988, the Public Libraries of the United States Survey has provided a national census of America’s public libraries. The data is collected from approximately 9,000 public library systems comprised of over 17,000 individual main libraries, library branches, and bookmobiles in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.
For more information about the Public Libraries Survey, including a snapshot of rural libraries and state detail tables, please visit the IMLS website.