Online Update

Index

Register now for Annual Meeting
SCLS mobile computer labs available for loan
Questions about SCLS CE workshops?
Wisconsin Collaborative Network Initiative begins
BookExpo America 2004 in Chicago
State Superintendent appoints new LSTA Advisory Committee members
PLA announces public library advocacy campaign
PLA, ALSC announce Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library
Online CE focuses on electronic collection development
Member/Staff News
Upcoming CEs

 

Register now for Annual Meeting

Member libraries are encouraged to register now for the 2004 South Central Library System Annual Meeting, to be held May 4 in the Commons at Olbrich Gardens in Madison.

A copy of the meeting agenda, registration form, and directions are available online at psw.scls.lib.wi.us/about/annualmeeting/index.html.

During lunch we will recognize our colleagues who have provided many years of service to the SCLS community, and we will offer a special welcome to library directors new to SCLS.

We ask that you complete the online registration form by April 27, 2004.

 

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SCLS Mobile Computer Labs available for loan

The South Central Library System (SCLS) has two mobile computer labs that member public libraries can request to use for patron/staff training and programs.

Each computer lab contains one teacher laptop and six student laptops running Windows 2000. Every laptop is loaded with Office 2000, which includes Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word, and Internet Explorer for the Web browser. Each lab also includes a wireless LAN (local area network) that allows a single connection to your Internet access port, and a multimedia projector. The self-contained labs also come with power strips, extension cords, and an extra long cable for the projector.

Besides the two mobile labs there is one presentation package that can be requested for library programs or for conducting presentations about the library to community organizations. This package contains one laptop and one multimedia projector, as well as the necessary cables, power strip, and extension cord. It is loaded with Office 2000 and includes the same programs described above.

The labs can be reserved up to six months in advance, with a library limited to not more than two bookings a month. Delivery of the units to a library is handled by the SCLS delivery system.

To reserve either of the labs, or the presentation package, contact Donna Hussin at (608) 246-5613 or by email.

 

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Questions about SCLS CE workshops?

Do you have questions about the status of your registration for an upcoming continuing education program sponsored by the South Central Library System (SCLS)? Do you need to change the name of a person attending?

Who should you contact at SCLS when you need to

• confirm that your registration was received;
• change the name of a person attending;
• cancel; or
• know where to send money.

For any of these items, please contact Heidi Moe at (608) 246-7970 or by email.

 

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Wisconsin Collaborative Network Initiative begins

The Wisconsin Collaborative Network Initiative (WCNI) has been charged by the Gov. Jim Doyle to restart the process of procuring a new statewide BadgerNet network. WCNI includes representatives from the Department of Public Instruction, the state's education and library communities, and other key stakeholders. Specific responsibilities of the group include:

• review overall network design;
• review estimated vendor costs vs. technical needs;
• review procurement tasks and timeline;
• review procurement work products, e.g. specifications; and
• provide feedback on the above items to the state's Department of Administration

The network that will emerge from the collaborative process will have two components, the first of which will serve state agencies, PK-12 schools, libraries, technical colleges, private colleges, and local units of government. The second component will serve the research and education mission of the UW-system campuses. The two network components will share infrastructure whenever possible and will be interconnected in a practical manner as services warrant.

For more detailed information on WCNI, including a list of the represented institutions, see the WCNI Web site at http://www.doa.state.wi.us/wcni/.

-- From Channel Weekly, Vol. 6, No. 26 (March 25, 2004)

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BookExpo America 2004 in Chicago

The 2004 BookExpo America, which is scheduled June 4-6 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center, will feature more than 2,000 companies and 650 authors participating in the autographing sessions. New areas include Graphic Novel/Comic Pavilion and e-Book Experience, and the Children’s Book and Spanish Book Pavilions will be expanded.

A one-day pass, which is picked up at the show on the day you plan to attend, will cost librarians $45. The registration deadline for the passes is May 21, and one-day passes are not available for purchase on-site. In addition to admission to the Exhibition Hall, the pass provides admission to any Free Special Events or Educational Sessions on the day you attend.

This event is eligible for CE grant funds. There is no coordinated transportation to the event, but several options exist to take advantage of this event, such as getting a group of friends together and driving, taking Van Galder Bus, or the Metra Rail from Harvard or Crystal Lake, IL.

The following Web sites will help you plan for this event.

• 2004 BookExpo America Web site
• McCormick Place Convention Center Directions
• Van Galder Bus Information
• Metra Rail Line Information

 

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State Superintendent appoints new LSTA Advisory Committee members

State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster recently announced new appointments to the LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) Advisory Committee. New members are Rebecca Berger, director, Door County Library; Walter Burkhalter, director, Mid-Wisconsin Federated Library System; Fred Marini, district media director, Melrose-Mindoro School District; Rhonda Puntney, youth services/special needs coordinator, Lakeshores Library System; and Veronica Thompson, library media specialist, Rufus King High School, Milwaukee.

Continuing members of the committee are Mindy LaBonte, librarian, Health Sciences Library, St. Michael's Hospital, Stevens Point; Sandra Lockett, assistant city librarian, Milwaukee Public Library; Kathleen Setter, librarian, Baldwin Public Library; Edward Van Gemert, associate director, UW-Madison Memorial Library; Anne Iwata, technology research consultant, Wisconsin Department of Administration; Jessica MacPhail, director, Racine Public Library; Ida Nemec, director, Plum Lake Public Library; and David Polodna, director, Winding Rivers Library System.

Committee members, who serve staggered three-year terms, advise the state superintendent and the Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning (DLTCL) on the development of the long-range plan for the LSTA program, annual grant priorities and categories, and applications and recommendations for grant awards.

-- From Channel Weekly, Vol. 6, No. 26 (March 25, 2004)

 

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PLA announces public library advocacy campaign

An new campaign to help promote the value of your library and public libraries nationwide was unveiled to public librarians at the Public Library Association (PLA) National Conference in Seattle. The campaign will reach out to national media and decision-makers to deliver an advocacy message.

The campaign will provide sample press materials, posters, downloadable art, and other promotional materials to help get public attention and reach out to key groups in your community. The official campaign launch will be September 2004, which is National Library Card Sign-Up Month.

In the meantime, PLA wants to hear from public librarians about the campaign and what will help them most. This campaign is designed especially for libraries, and must complement and enhance local marketing efforts. To give your input,  complete the online survey at http://www.pla.org/ala/pla/plaissues/smartestcardcampaign/smartestcardcampaign.htm and tell us what you think about this new initiative.

 

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PLA, ALSC announce Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library

Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library is a joint project of PLA and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). Through this project, PLA has developed training and materials that will allow all public libraries to incorporate the latest in early literacy research into their programming for young children.

Children begin to learn literacy skills at birth, but many parents and caregivers need to be taught the importance of early literacy and how to develop critical pre-reading skills so that every child enters school ready to learn to read. A training kit that will help librarians do this will be available soon from PLA/ALSC. The kit will contain everything needed to help parents and caregivers learn the importance of early literacy.

For more information about the project and the training kit, visit http://www.pla.org/earlyliteracy.htm.

 

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Online CE focuses on electronic collection development

"Electronic Collection Development: Collecting and Organizing Web Resources" is an online continuing education class for which librarians can register anytime during 2004. Participants work at their own pace with the Web teacher via Web activities, e-mail, and optional online meetings.

In this hands-on course you will learn to create an e-library collection development plan for free and fee-based Web-accessible resources for a patron community of your choice. Students will focus on developing a collection plan for one library patron group of their choice, for the type of library in which they work (e.g., public libraries, academic library, special library, etc.). Patron groups may include: Healthcare consumers, faculty, students, researchers, general public, children, etc. Each of the five-parts of the course includes lecture, discussion, and hands-on activities that will step participants through creating or assessing a collection plan for developing an e-library collection:

• plan abstract or introduction;
• strategy;
• organization plan; and
• maintenance plan.

A course syllabus is available at http://www.kovacs.com/colldev.html.

The course is designed for Librarians and other information specialists who need to develop or expand e-library collections of high quality Web-accessible information resources. Some experience with information searching on the Web is assumed, as is experience working with the selected target patron group. The level of instruction is intermediate.

Participants should know how to use e-mail and a current standard Web Browser, e.g., Mozilla/Firebird, Netscape 7.0 or IE 5.5 or higher is preferred. Some HTML or HTML editor experience will be useful.

Tuition for the course is $150, and more information about registration is available at http://www.kovacs.com/register.html.

This continuing education program is eligible for CE grant funds through the South Central Library System. For more information, contact Donna Hussin at (608) 246-5613 or by email.

 

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Member/Staff News

Mary Driscoll, the Dane County Library Service outreach librarian who works with the Dane County Jail in Madison, is quoted in a recent New York Times article about the “Pulp Fiction” novels of author Donald Goines. To read the article, go to BadgerLink.

 

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Continuing Education --