Online Update

Index

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month
Eagle Scout completes project at Monona Library
Summer Days at the Library Emporium
Member/Staff News
Celebrate International Literacy Day
MATC to offer Disney program in customer service training
Banned Books Week is Sept. 25-Oct. 2
Register today for ‘Creating Policies for Results’ online course
2004 ALA convention program information available on SCLS website
PLA 2005 Spring Symposium registration opens Sept. 1
Upcoming CEs

 

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month, a time when the American Library Association and libraries across the country remind parents that a library card is the most important school supply of all. This year, the Public Library Association (PLA) is launching a new advocacy campaign -- "The Smartest Card. Get it. Use it. @ your library." The goal is to make the library card the most valued and used card in every wallet.

Promotional materials have been sent through delivery to libraries, and electronic copies are available at psw.scls.lib.wi.us/pr/sign_up/index.html.

 

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Eagle Scout completes project at Monona Library

Andrew Blair of Monona recently completed his Eagle Scout project at the Monona Public Library. The project involved planning, cutting, sanding, priming, and painting 152 shelf back-boards for the library shelving.

To complete the project, an installation crew of scouts from both Troop 146 and Pack 424 (both of Monona) removed books, dusted shelves, installed the back-boards, and re-shelved the books on 152 shelves.

According to Director John DeBacher, the project helped solve a problem in the paperback and video sections where a number of shelves were too deep for the items -- they would shuffle around, hide behind other items, or squirt out onto the floor during straightening. John said solutions from the shelving supplier were cost prohibitive, so when a local scout was looking for a service project John had his solution. He suggested Andrew cut 2x4s to the correct length then prime and paint them to match the shelving. The library paid for the lumber, but Andrew raised the money for the other materials, made the blocks, and installed them.

Andrew will be a senior at Monona Grove this fall and is a member to Scout Troop 146, which is sponsored by St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church.

 

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Summer Days at the Library Emporium

This summer has seen ever increasing sales and revenue for the family of libraries participating in our services. We are proud to announce that 14 public libraries from the South Central Library System and four Academic Libraries from across the state are now actively participating with us and are turning extra materials into revenue.

In just six months time the Emporium has made 536 sales to customers all over the world and returned $2,130.51 (as of July 31) in revenue to participating libraries. We have received very positive feedback and support from ebay customers and participating libraries and friends groups over the course of our first six months, and we have used suggestions to improve our services and offer the best opportunity to generate fresh funds for our community.

Our current Library Emporium family includes:

• Black Earth Public Library;
• Jane Morgan Memorial Library, Cambria;
• Columbus Public Library;
• Deerfield Public Library;
• Deforest Area Public Library;
• Madison Public Library: Monroe St. Branch;
• Madison Public Library: South Madison Branch;
• McFarland Public Library;
• Monona Public Library;
• Monroe Public Library;
• Monticello Public Library;
• Mt. Horeb Public Library;
• Oregon Public Library;
• Sauk City Public Library;
• Edgewood College: Oscar Rennebohm Library;
• Lawrence University: Seeley G. Mudd Library;
• Viterbo University: Todd Wehr Memorial Library; and
• UW Madison: Mills Music Library.

The one aspect of our service that has received a great deal of attention from library customers is our use of the online marketplace to generate revenue and spread the word of the South Central Library System and the Wisconsin library community. ebay is an incredible sales forum that not only serves the global sales needs of our community, but also has found its way into mainstream vocabulary. Any person with a mouse in hand can browse our selections 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

With the combined efforts of library volunteers, staff members, directors, and supporters we have opened up a very positive way to generate awareness, good will, and revenue for our incredible community of libraries. We at the Emporium look forward to continuing this effort into the years to come.

Not participating yet? Have a basement full of stuff and nowhere to sell it? Send it over and we’ll start turning those collections into proceeds for your library. For more information, or to arrange a pick-up, contact Troy Baumann, Emporium manager, at (800) 209-8672 (emporium@scls.lib.wi.us).

Follow the links to the store and beyond to see what’s up on the auction block and to view any changes in our policies.

To visit the Store, go to stores.ebay.com/thelibraryemporium.

To visit the Emporium website, go to psw.scls.lib.wi.us/emporium/.

 

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Member/Staff News

Gerry Heuer recently joined the staff at Poynette Area Public Library to cover evening desk hours. Her day job is with the DeForest Schools. Sue Trulen, who also has a job at the Poynette Schools, decided to leave her evening position at the library after more than seven years of doing both.

The Rosemary Garfoot Public Library in Cross Plains marked its 40th anniversary Aug. 5 with an evening of entertainment, a silent art auction to benefit the library building project, and refreshments. Guests enjoyed music by jazz pianist Moe Hirsch and local harpist Judith Lary. The library officially opened its doors on June 1, 1964.

 

 

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Celebrate International Literacy Day

Since 1967, Sept. 8 has been observed as International Literacy Day, the aim of which is to focus attention on the need to promote literacy worldwide. It is estimated that nearly 900 million adults around the globe -- two-thirds of them women -- are unable to read or write. Over 100 million children lack access to education.

Libraries can join in this promotion of literacy by planning programming to encourage adults and children to read. For program ideas and activities, visit the International Reading Association website at www.reading.org/meetings/ild/.

 

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MATC to offer Disney program in customer service training

Madison Area Technical College (MATC) will offer leadership training from Disney with full-day programs at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee on Sept. 29 and at Monona Terrace on Sept. 30. The Wisconsin Department of Tourism is helping MATC organize the sessions.

“The Disney Keys to Excellence” sessions -- four at 90 minutes each -- will show how participants can use Disney “success strategies” in leadership, service, management, and loyalty to improve their own organizations. Although Disney specializes in hospitality, the program can help professionals in other industries, such as education, banking, retail, and libraries.

The fee for registration, tuition, and course materials is $99 per person, per session, or $349 for all four sessions and lunch. To register, visit www.wigcot.org/disney_info.htm or call (608) 243-4455.

 

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Banned Books Week is Sept. 25-Oct. 2

In this election year there is significant discussion around our form of government, the role it should play in our society and the rights we as citizens are guaranteed, and it is timely that we observe Banned Books Week Sept. 25 through Oct. 2 with the theme “Elect to Read a Banned Book.” Promotional packets will be sent to libraries next week and materials will be available on the SCLS website.

Since 1982 the annual event has reminded Americans to celebrate the precious freedom to read. Each year the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives hundreds of reports on books and other materials that were “challenged” by people who asked that they be removed from school or public library shelves.

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. The Library of Congress Center for the Book also endorses the annual observance. More information is available at www.ala.org/bbooks.

 

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Register today for ‘Creating Policies for Results’ online course

e-Learning@PLA and elearn libraries will offer a new session of the online course “Creating Policies for Results: From Chaos to Clarity,” beginning Sept. 20, 2004.

This innovative desktop learning course will lead library managers through every step required to write effective library policies. Find more information on the PLA website at www.pla.org/ala/pla/plaevents/elearningpla/elearningpla.htm, including course demonstrations and registration information. Registration closes Sept. 13, 2004.

This course is CE grant eligible.

 

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2004 ALA convention program information available on SCLS website

The following are brief descriptions of programs attended by Donna J. Hussin, SCLS Continuing Education Coordinator. If you would like any of the materials she has referenced for a particular program, contact her at (608) 246-5613 (dhussin@scls.lib.wi.us). More detailed descriptions of these programs are available at psw.scls.lib.wi.us/development/ala04.html.

• Programs with a view: Engaging the Community Through Viewing and Discussion -- Topic covered reaching out to the community using engaging documentary films and people with a local interest in the subject as the discussion facilitator.
• Rural Libraries: The Heart of the Community -- The theme of this program was how your library can serve as the community commons for your town or village.
• The Boomers are Coming! The Boomers are Coming! Emerging Programs for Meeting the Needs of Retired Boomers -- The program covered library programs and activities that are already taking place to meet the needs of the growing number of adults referred to as “Boomers.”
• The Public Library Geographic Database: A Nationwide Digital Resource & Map for Public Libraries -- A tool to use at the local level to scan demographic and geographic data with library data. The database includes locations of 16,000 public libraries mapped at the 1999 geographic location, data sets from the U.S. Census 2000 and library use statistics from the National Center for Educational Statistics. Information obtained can be used to facilitate public library decision making.
• If We Could Start Over, What Would Reference Look Like? -- This was an unrehearsed dialog in which the panel discussed a hypothetical town and the library services needed to accommodate it. The town of 65,000 people was near Lake Erie and a 30-minute drive from a major metropolitan area. Fourteen percent of the population was under the poverty line, 10 percent were college educated, 20 percent were Hispanic, and 34 was the median age. There was also a small private liberal arts college and a community college within the city limits.
• Throw Out the Golf Pencils: Surveying Made Easy (Poster Session) -- Showed how NEFLIN Inc. is using the product TouchPoll with libraries to survey their publics anywhere, anytime, in the library or off-site. The software is user-friendly so staff can easily program customized polls. Patrons touch their answers right into the touchscreen computer.

 

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PLA 2005 Spring Symposium registration opens Sept. 1

Registration for PLA's 2005 Spring Symposium in Chicago will open next Wednesday, Sept. 1. This year's symposium features a new format that includes a mix of several half-day programs, all-day programs, and day-and-a-half programs.

The event, which will be held March 7-9, 2005, at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago, also will feature an opening general session, an author luncheon, a PLA store, and several networking opportunities. More information about this event and the preliminary programs is available at www.ala.org/ala/pla/plaevents/plaspringsymp/pla_spring_symposium.htm.

As for travel to Chicago, some options include Van Galder bus service from Madison and Janesville, the Metra from Harvard, IL, or carpools.

The symposium is CE grant eligible. The system will not be handling group registrations unless there is sufficient early interest. For more information contact Donna Hussin at (608) 246-5613 or by email.

 

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Continuing Education --