Online Update

 

 

 

System Celebration scheduled Sept. 16

Mark your calendars for System Celebration 2004, which will be held Thursday, Sept. 16, at the Dorf Haus restaurant in Roxbury (near Sauk City). This event is our annual thank you to the staff, trustees, and mayors/village presidents of SCLS member libraries for their support and efforts throughout the year.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a social hour, followed at 7 p.m. by dinner and a program. Award nomination forms will be mailed next week, at which time they will also be available at psw.scls.lib.wi.us/about/systemceleb/index.html. Nominations may be made by library staff, trustees, Friends, citizens, etc. The deadline for the return of all nomination forms is Friday, April 23.

 

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WiscNet's Future Technologies Conference is April 26-27

Public librarians are invited to the WiscNet “Future Technologies Conference” April 26 and 27 at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison. On the agenda are keynote speakers Andrew Odlyzko and John Delaney, plus breakout sessions, networking opportunities, and a year-in-review by David Lois, WiscNet executive director.

Each day of the conference will open with a presentation from a leading thinker and practitioner in the field of future technologies. John Delaney, a professor of Oceanography at the University of Washington and chairman of the NEPTUNE project, will share his perspectives April 26. As Chair of NEPTUNE, Delaney leads an international team that is building the world's first regional cabled ocean observatory -- a network of submarine laboratories that enable real-time, long-term, interactive studies of Earth and ocean processes.

On April 27 Andrew Odlyzko will discuss developments at the Digital Technology Center (DTC), an interdisciplinary research laboratory at the University of Minnesota. Under his direction, the DTC integrates research, education, and outreach in digital design, computer graphics and visualization, telecommunications, intelligent data storage and retrieval systems, multimedia, data mining, scientific computation, and other digital technologies. Prior to assuming the position in 2001, Odlyzko devoted 26 years to research and research management at Bell Telephone Laboratories, and AT&T Bell Labs and AT&T Labs.

Breakout sessions are planned throughout the conference on topics ranging from video, advanced networking infrastructure, equipment and dark fiber opportunities, visions of the future of online content, national networking initiatives, Wisconsin networking initiatives, state of the art in municipal networks, initiatives in Wisconsin, the future direction of WiscNet and, of course, the WiscNet annual business meeting and board elections.

Registration for the conference is limited and must be completed by April 2 to receive the special anniversary rate of $60 for both days. After April 2, the rate will be $120 for both days. Complete details and a registration form may be found at http://www.wiscnet.net/ftc_registration. WiscNet also continues to make available one free registration per member institution.

 

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Library Workers Day is April 20

The American Library Association's Allied Professional Association (APA) Council has designated the Tuesday of National Library Week (April 20) "National Library Workers Day.”

The National Library Worker's Day Working Group, ALA, and ALA-APA staff are busy creating promotional materials, strategy recommendations, and celebration ideas for individual libraries interested in commemorating the First Annual National Library Workers Day.

How will your library recognize employees this year, or what have you done in the past? Help ALA-APA brainstorm ideas to be published on the National Library Workers Day web site (to be launched soon).

Please send what you have done, or your ideas for this year's observance, to: Jenifer Grady, Director, ALA-Allied Professional Association, American Library Association, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611; 800-545-2433, x-2424 (jgrady@ala-apa.org).

 

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‘Accessibility Basics for Librarians'

The American Library's Association's Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) will conduct the e-mail tutorial “Accessibility Basics for Librarians” from March 15 through June 18.

This tutorial will address barriers to access to library materials, computers, web sites, and systems; provide guidance on how to maximize accessibility for patrons with disabilities; and identify best practices for ensuring that library policies are compliant with existing law.

The tutorial consists of 20-25 messages written by Jessica Brodey, senior policy counsel at Leslie Harris & Associates, in collaboration with OITP staff. The tutorial course is free to ALA members, and the cost for others is $30.

For more information, contact Kathy Mitchell at kmitchell@alawash.org with the subject line “tutorial” or call ALA's Washington Office at (800) 941-8478.

 

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Apply now for a Coming Up Taller Award

Coming Up Taller awards recognize and support outstanding after-school and out-of-school community arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America's underserved young people, and to provide them with new learning opportunities and chances to contribute to their communities. The Coming Up Taller awards program is an initiative of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Recognizing the exceptional after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs at many of the nation's libraries and museums, IMLS encourages these institutions to apply for Coming Up Taller awards. By honoring these programs, IMLS seeks to promote a creative, engaged, skilled, and confident generation of young people.

Coming Up Taller recipients receive $10,000 and are honored at a national ceremony in the Nation's capital. Apply now for a Coming Up Taller award. Guidelines, eligibility requirements, past honorees, and applications are available on the Coming Up Taller web site at http://www.cominguptaller.org.

Applications must be postmarked by March 25, 2004.

 

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LII 2004 Election Collection

As a national election year, 2004 will present many unique opportunities for libraries to help patrons find the information they need to answer questions about the candidates and the fall elections.

The 2004 Election Collection, prepared by the Librarians' Index to the Internet (LII) is an excellent resource for this purpose. Available at http://lii.org/search/file/election2004/, The Librarians' Index to the Internet (lii.org) is a searchable, annotated subject directory of more than 12,000 Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians for their usefulness to users of public libraries. lii.org is used by both librarians and the general public as a reliable and efficient guide to Internet resources.

This special election resource will be available at least through the end of the year, and topics currently range from absentee voting, to blogging and the 2004 election, to voting machines and voting.

 

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March Surf Report features Castles

The March 2004 Surf Report from the Educational Communications Board (ECB) focuses on castles. Site visitors can discover the parts of a castle, learn about the medieval arms race, or examine floor plans from different castles. Take a virtual tour of castles around the world; most sites involve European castles, but sites from Japan, Africa, and the U.S. are also featured. Visit the Surf Report at http://www.ecb.org/surf/.

 

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Member/Staff News

Beginning March 1 the Black Earth Public Library is open all day on Fridays but will close at 5 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. The new hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. until noon and 2-7 p.m.; Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.; and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

The Sauk City Public Library has received a $1,200 grant from the Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital Foundation to update the library's medical materials, including the purchase of general health information on audio, video, and in Spanish. The staff and Friends of the Library will hold a wellness day in the fall to publicize the new materials.

 

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Continuing Education --

Upcoming CEs

 

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

 

April 16 -- Joe Janes and Colleagues: Preparing for the Future of Digital Reference, with Joe Janes, Associate Professor and Chair of Library and Information Science, the Information School of the University of Washington and Founding Director of the Internet Public Library; Mary Anne Hodel, Director, Orange County Library (Orlando, FL); and Joe Thompson, Project Coordinator, Maryland AskUsNow!. 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; & UW-Stevens Point.

 

April 21-- Enhancing Your Library Services: Convenience Counts: New Tools for Outstanding Library Service, with Joan Frye Williams, Library & Information Technology Consultant, 9:30-11:30 a.m., SCLS Administration , 5250 E. Terrace Drive, Madison.

 

April 21 -- Enhancing Your Library Services: Low-and No-Cost Customer Service Improvements, with Joan Frye Williams, Library & Information Technology Consultant, 1:00-3:00 p.m. , SCLS Administration , 5250 E. Terrace Drive, Madison.

 

 

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