Online Update, Vol. 2, No. 3, February 6, 2004 -- Souith Central Library System Marketing and Public Relations

LSTA Advisory Committee nominations sought

Four members of the LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) Advisory Committee completed their terms on the committee at the end of 2003, and suggestions or nominations for new committee members are sought.

The LSTA Advisory Committee advises the State Superintendent of Public Instruction on matters pertaining to the administration of the LSTA program. Committee membership oincludes representatives from libraries and public library systems of various sizes and from different geographic areas of the state.

Although many members also are active in various statewide organizations, they do not serve on this committee as representatives of those organizations. Members of the committee are appointed to serve staggered three-year terms and the committee meets twice a year, in the spring and in the fall.

If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else to serve on the LSTA Advisory Committee, contact Peg Branson at (608) 266-2413 (peg.branson@dpi.state.wi.us). Additional information on the LSTA program and a nomination form are available at www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dltcl/pld/lsta.html.

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Training scheduled March 9 & 10 in genealogy databases

The South Central Library System has scheduled two training sessions -- March 9 and 10 -- for librarians to learn more about two new databases that will be available soon.

James L. Hansen, a genealogical specialist and reference librarian at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, will lead the sessions on AncestryPlus & HeritageQuest Online. He has been using both databases with customers who frequent the State Historical Society for genealogy information. During the training session Hansen will provide insight on the strengths of each database and demonstrate how each helps patrons locate information. In addition to acquainting participants with the two online databases, he will bring them up-to-date on the genealogy services available at the State Historical Society and the Archive Research Centers in Wisconsin, as well as information about helpful web resources. Since 1974 Jim has helped several thousand researchers a year in their genealogical and historical research.

The sessions will be held March 9 from 10 a.m. until noon at the Marshfield Public Library and March 10 from 9:30-11 a.m. at SCLS Administration, 5250 E. Terrace Drive, Madison.

To register for either of these training sessions, visit psw.scls.lib.wi.us/ce/program/genealogy.html.

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LINKcat users now can store 'My List' items for 31 days

Last week the LINK User Education and PR Committee responded to requests from users and changed the amount of time that lists created in "My List" are saved. In the past, items in this list were saved for 10 days, but the change means they will now be saved for 31 days from the date they are created or modified.

Automation staff reviewed the system storage space and determined that an increase in the size of saved lists stored in the system should not have a significant negative impact.

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netLibrary launches new interface

netLibrary has changed the interface for its service. The new features include:

Please take some time to try the new interface.

For more information about netLibrary, see our updated "netLibrary in the South Central Library System" document at psw.scls.lib.wi.us/ebooks/netlibrary.html.

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UW-Madison European Studies Center to offer presentations

The UW-Madison Center for European Studies will soon have an outreach coordinator who will be available to make educational presentations at local libraries. The new position is funded by a federal Title VI grant.

As a National Resource Center, part of the center's mission is to extend the expertise and services of the university to the local community. The topics the center is prepared to offer this year include "Islam in Europe" and "Extremism in Europe."

Libraries with interested audiences (either K-12 participants during the daytime, or a more general public in the evening) should contact the Center for European Studies at (608) 265-4778, or send e-mail to eecovington@wisc.edu.

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Marshfield plans evening of 'Timeless Tales'

Work!! We all do it and we all have opinions about it. Join Friends of Marshfield Public Library (FOMPL) Sunday, Feb. 29, at 7 p.m. for "Timeless Tales," an evening of readings, music, and fine desserts. The theme "Noses to the Grindstone, Shoulders to the Wheel" focuses on reflections on the world of work with literature by Carl Sandberg, Tom Wolfe, Charles Frazer, David Sedaris, and John Steinbeck.

The readings will be complemented by vocal and instrumental selections including "White-Collar-Holler," Ten Cents a Dance," Wichita Lineman," and "Five O'Clock World."

Tickets for this event, which celebrates the joy of reading and shared literature, are $6 and are available at the door.

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ECB Surf Report highlights Black History Month

If you are looking for websites with information relevant to Black History Month, the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB) has a collection of resources in its February Surf Report.

To access these and other resources, visit www.ecb.org/surf/blackhis.htm.

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Talking Book PSAs to begin airing in April

The Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped has created a public service announcement (PSA) that will air on television throughout Wisconsin from April through October 2004. The PSA describes the Talking Book program, and the Regional Library is offering the video to any library that is interested in airing the PSA on local public access channels.

The Regional Library is working with the major broadcast networks in the state, but they also want to help libraries work with their local cable stations. To obtain a free copy of the video PSA, contact Marsha Valance, Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped, at (800) 242-8822 (in Wisconsin) or send an e-mail to mvalan@mpl.org. She will need the cable company's name, contact person, address, and the tape format (3/4", 1", Beta, DVC Pro, VHS or SVHS tape) preferred by your local station(s).

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PLA launches online education program

The Public Library Association (PLA), a divison of the American Library Association, has launched an online education program called "E-Learning@PLA." The first course of study to be offered will be "Creating Policies for Results."

In this course, which is based on the popular American Library Association (ALA) Publication, "Creating Policies for Results -- From Chaos to Clarity," participants will work with the publication's authors Sandra Nelson and June Garcia as they encounter real library policy problems. Participants will gain useful knowledge, skills, and judgment that will enable them to produce useable policies tailored to their individual libraries.

Each participant will have approximately six months to finish the course, and then another six months access to the e-Learning@PLA system. Visit www.pla.org for technical requirements and registration information.

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ALA scholarship supports diversity

The American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Diversity recently announced its scholarship program for librarians considering applying to master's level library school programs.

Established in 1997, the Spectrum Initiative is the ALA's national diversity and recruitment effort designed to address the specific issue of under representation of critically needed ethnic librarians within the profession while serving as a model to bring attention to larger diversity issues in the future.

The ALA Spectrum Scholarship provides $6,500 ($5,000 tuition scholarship and $1,500 in leadership development opportunities) scholarships to a number of eligible recipients each year. For more information visit www.ala.org/spectrum.

As ethnic and ethno-linguistic populations grow, the Spectrum Initiative's major drive is to recruit a representative workforce. The Spectrum Initiative recruits and awards scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native American, Asian Pacific Islander, Black/African American, and Hispanic/Latino students for graduate programs in library and information science.

General application information also can be found on the Spectrum Information hotline at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4276.

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PCWorld recommends library websites in reference category

In a world brimming with information sources, kudos this week go to PCWorld magazine for recommending "Your Library's Web Site" in the reference category of its "Web Stars: Best of the Web" feature article in its February 2004 edition.

Here's what the magazine said about your library's website -- "Frustrated by the growing number of pay-per-view web archives? Your local library's website might be able to help, though you may need a library card to enjoy full access. For example, New York Public Library cardholders can read issues of The New York Times online for the past year, and anyone in the world can ask the librarian any question. You'll find encyclopedias, community information, and more than enough reasons to ensure that your library card is up-to-date."

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Library of Congress launches web portal to music collections

The Music Division of the Library of Congress recently launched the new website "I Hear America Singing" (IHAS), a portal to the Library's music and performing arts collections available at www.loc.gov/ihas/.

IHAS integrates the collections, commissions, and live concerts of the Library of Congress, allowing users to discover the Library's music and performing-arts collections through a single online gateway. The site brings together thousands of materials digitized from the Library's vast collections of sheet music, sound recordings, moving images, manuscripts, photographs, and oral histories, along with essays by Library staff and other leading researchers in the performing arts.

The new site showcases the world-renowned tradition of live performing arts at the Library by featuring cybercasts of new concerts and offering a wide selection of historic concerts from the archives, including premieres of important works of contemporary classical music. It makes education a vital component by cybercasting performing arts-related symposia and panels held at the Library and making them available to users.

I Hear America Singing also will become a "virtual community" for scholars, musicians, and music aficionados. Researchers will be able to comment online regarding the materials presented and share their own conclusions and insights about them. Content appealing to the K-12 community of teachers and students will be added in future releases.

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Member/Staff News

Kraft Foods recently closed the Oscar Mayer Foods Marketing Information Center, eliminating the librarian position held by J. Patrick T. O'Toole. His last day of work was Feb. 6. The library has been a multitype member since January 1993.

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Upcoming CEs

February 11 -- Best New Books for Older Children & Teens with Kathleen T Horning, Merri Lindgren, Hollis Rudiger & Megan Schliesman, CCBC Librarians, Four Lakes Distance Learning Network, 3:45-5:00 p.m., Network sites: (K-12 schools unless indicated.) Adams-Friendship, Almond-Bancroft, Auburndale, Belleville, DeForest, Edgewood College, Lodi, McFarland, Middleton/Cross Plains, Monona Public Library, Monroe, Oregon, Pyle Center/UW Madison, Randolph, River Valley-Spring Green, Stoughton, Verona, Waunakee & WTCN-Wisconsin Rapids.

February 13, -- Follow Trails to Your Library Craft Workshop (SLP 2004) with Patti Sinclair, time and site TBA.

February 19 & 20 -- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Part 1), with John Bales, Superintendent, DeForest Public Schools & Jan Berg, Director, DeForest Public Library, 4-8 p.m. & 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at DeForest Public Library.

March 4 & 5 -- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Part 2), with John Bales, Superintendent, DeForest Public Schools & Jan Berg, Director, DeForest Public Library, 4-8 p.m. & 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at DeForest Public Library.

March 9 -- Genealogy Training: AncestryPlus & HeritageQuest Online Databases Plus Web Resources, with James L. Hansen, Genealogical Specialist & Reference Librarian, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 10:00 a.m.-noon, Marshfield Public Library, 211 E. Second Street, Marshfield.

March 10 -- Genealogy Training: AncestryPlus & HeritageQuest Online Databases Plus Web Resources, with James L. Hansen, Genealogical Specialist & Reference Librarian, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 9:30-11:30 a.m., SCLS Administration, 5250 E. Terrace Drive, Madison

March 12 -- Web Filtering: Policies, Software, Staff Training & CIPA, with Mary Minow, library law consultant and co-author of The Library's Legal Answer Book, and Derek Hansen, Ph.D. candidate and research assistant at the University of Michigan's School of Information, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Network sites: Marshfield Clinic; MATC Campus-Reedsburg; Mid-State Technical College, Wisconsin Rapids; Monona Public Library; Pyle Center, UW-Madison; and UW-Stevens Point

March 26 -- Professional Toolkit: Skills for Advancement, with Linda Slusar, College of DuPage, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Network sites: Marshfield Clinic; MATC Campus-Reedsburg; Mid-State Technical College, Wisconsin Rapids; Monona Public Library; Pyle Center, UW-Madison; and UW-Stevens Point.

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For more information about marketing and public relations, contact Mark Ibach at (608) 246-5612 or by email.

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