Online Update

Index

Online PR Toolkit coming soon, discussion list available now
McMillan remodeling project approved
SCLS provides grants for OCLC Institute MindLeaders course
Member/Staff News
Promotional materials available for Children's Book Week
Libraries asked to update directory information on SCLS website
How to Supervise People is topic of January seminars
Customer service suggestions for your library
‘The Librarian’ gets positive reviews
GIS Day 2004 is Nov. 17
CEs

 

Online PR Toolkit coming soon, discussion list available now

In an effort to enhance the marketing and public relations efforts of public libraries, we’re in the process of creating an Online PR Toolkit that will be available whenever libraries need it.

The kit, developed in consultation with the SCLS Public Relations Advisory Committee, will include basic press release templates, examples of releases written for libraries, planning checklists, photo tips, and links to ALA marketing, PR, and advocacy materials. Currently being reviewed by advisory committee members, the kit will be made available to our libraries when that review is completed. It’s important to note that the Online PR Toolkit is not a static set of files, but rather a dynamic set of resources that will be expanded and updated regularly. The goal is to make it useful for member libraries, so if there is something you’d like added, just let us know.

In addition to the toolkit, we realize that peers at other libraries are a valuable marketing and PR resource. To encourage and enhance communication on issues related to promoting your library and its programs and events, we’ve created a new e-mail discussion list. The new list, which is open to all our member libraries and will be unmoderated, is called scls-pr_help. To subscribe, visit http://lists.scls.lib.wi.us/mailman/listinfo and select “scls-pr_help” from the list provided. You’ll then be prompted to provide your e-mail address, a password, and some other settings to configure your account. Once you subscribe you will receive an e-mail note asking you to confirm your subscription. You must complete this last step before you can receive or send messages.

After you confirm you’ll receive one more e-mail that will give you instructions on managing your subscription. Be sure to save these instructions for future reference.

If you have any questions about the Online PR Toolkit or the new discussion list, contact Mark E. Ibach at (608) 246-5612 or by email.

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McMillan remodeling project approved

The Library Board of Trustees for the McMillan Library in Wisconsin Rapids recently unanimously approved a budget of $350,000 for a remodeling project. Of that, $100,000 will come from the library’s 2005 operating budget and the remainder ($250,000) will come from the Library’s Endowment Fund, which was built from donations to the Library.

The bidding process will proceed soon and the library hopes to complete the project early in 2005, with the goal of opening the newly remodeled area in the spring. More information about the project is available on the library website at http://www.mcmillanlibrary.org (or pdf document).

 

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SCLS provides grants for OCLC Institute MindLeaders course

The following individuals each received a registration key to enroll in the End User Desktop Computing Group of courses available through OCLC's Online Learning program. Each individual can take one or more of the courses listed in this group for a one-year period from the time they register.

• Diana Skalitzky, Marshall Community Library;
• Mary Adler, Marshfield Public Library;
• Lore Ponshock, Lester Public Library of Rome;
• Cathy Borck, Kilbourn Public Library-Wisconsin Dells;
• Carla DiIorio, Madison Public Library-Central;
• Vicki Cothroll, Oregon Public Library;
• Trisha Priewe, Lodi Woman's Club Library;
• Dan Calef, Adams County Library;
• Deb McCabe, Portage County Public Library-Stevens Point; and
• Gerri Hanson, McFarland Public Library.

The continuing education funds awarded for these courses totals $599.50.

 

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Member/Staff News

Peg Hilliker, director at the Lodi Woman's Club Public Library, is celebrating 20 years of service at the library.

Marie Finley is the new library assistant in charge of children's programming at the Rock Springs Public Library.

 

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Promotional materials available for Children's Book Week

Reading is the foundation upon which all learning is based, so it's fitting that each year since 1919 Children's Book Week has been celebrated in the United States. Nov. 15-21, 2004, marks the 85th annual observance that originated simply to share the joy of reading with children. A primary goal of Children's Book Week is to introduce young people to new authors and ideas in public libraries, schools, homes, and bookstores.

Promotional materials have been distributed to all SCLS member libraries. Electronic copies of most packet materials are available at psw.scls.lib.wi.us/pr/cbw.

 

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Libraries asked to update directory information on SCLS website

As 2004 winds down, it’s time again to begin working on the 2005 South Central Library System Directory of Public Libraries. This printed resource is made available to member libraries each year, but we need your help to ensure your library’s information in our database is correct.

To facilitate this annual project, we’re asking that you take some time before Nov. 30 to make sure your information is current. Begin by visiting psw.scls.lib.wi.us/pro/directory.html and selecting your library from the list, then review the information presented there. If anything is missing, or needs to be changed, you can update the information by using the online form at psw.scls.lib.wi.us/directories/directoryform.html. If there are no changes, simply enter your library’s name and put “no changes” in the address field. This way we know that all libraries have reviewed their information.

 

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How to Supervise People is topic of January seminars

The one-day seminar “How to Supervise People,” offered by Fred Pryor Seminars, will teach participants effective leadership skills to maximize employee performance. You’ll learn to:

• slash employee turnover costs and hassles by using the best hiring and interviewing techniques;
• blend different personalities, backgrounds, and age groups into a smooth-running productive team;
• supervise friends and former peers without losing their respect;
• establish supervisor-subordinate relationship boundaries that won’t be misunderstood;
• originate project plans and set goals that your team will support; and
• much more.

The seminars will be held Jan. 12, 2005, in Rockford, IL; Jan. 13 in Madison, Jan. 14 in Milwaukee, and Jan. 18 in Wausau. The cost is $179, but does not include lunch or parking. To register, call (800) 556-2998 or visit http://www.pryor.com.

 

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Customer service suggestions for your library

Improving customer service is an ongoing discussion at many public libraries. Pat Wagner, who has twice been a speaker for SCLS sponsored programs, contributed the following list of suggestions (to enhance customer service at the library) to the CLENERT (Continuing Library Education Network & Exchange Round Table of the American Library Association) discussion list (the week of Nov. 1, 2004).

• Ask the library user his or her name by introducing yourself first and politely asking them theirs. This applies to people of all ages and status.
• Call them by their name. Use a formal form of address (Sir, Miss) unless they ask you to use an informal form, such as their first name. Do not call them by the first name on their library card or identification card unless they invite you.
• Offer your hand to shake when appropriate.
• Offer them a place to sit, if appropriate, such as when you have to talk with them at length, or if you sense they may prefer sitting.
• Offer to move away from other library users if it is a private matter.
• Smile at them with a friendly, relaxed neutral smile.
• Write notes about what they are saying, but otherwise focus on them and keep your body still. You can move your hands, of course, however, avoid fidgeting.
• Ask questions about the situation they encountered.
• Avoid using library jargon, such as interlibrary loan, unless you have evidence (they use the word) that the library user knows what the words mean.
• Do not interrupt them. Allow for small pauses of silence.
• Nod when they are talking so they have physical evidence you are listening.
• Ask them how they want the situation resolved.
• Tell them what the library plans to do to resolve the situation.
• Find out how the library user wants to learn about the resolution: phone call, letter, postcard, fax, e-mail.
• If you are working with a library user who is somehow different from you [age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity], take extra care that you are using the same polite behaviors you would use with anyone.
• If the person has someone along as a helper or companion, such as a family member who is translating or a caretaker who is helping them navigate, remember to talk to the library user as a human being and to treat all parties as equal.

 

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‘The Librarian’ gets positive reviews

A recent review in the Los Angeles Times calls the new novel The Librarian “a wildly inventive, often hilarious and more-than-occasionally over-the-top novel having to do with the perpetration of unspeakably dirty tricks in the final weeks and days of an American presidential-election campaign in an atmosphere not so very unlike ours now.”

More information about the novel by Larry Beinhart is available at http://www.thelibrarian.biz/.

 

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GIS Day 2004 is Nov. 17

If you’re interested in learning more about GIS technology and the substantial contributions it is making in communities across the country, then plan to attend the third annual worldwide GIS Day activities scheduled Nov. 17 at the UW-Milwaukee.

GIS Day is a global event through which thousands of users of geographic information system (GIS) technology open their doors to libraries, schools, businesses, and the general public to showcase real-world applications of this exciting technology. This year’s event is scheduled during National Geographic Society’s Geography Awareness Week, Nov. 14-20.

The schedule of activities includes the hands-on workshops from 9-11:30 a.m. Topics include:

• Intro to GIS;
• GIS on the Internet; and
• GIS and Remote Sensing.

There will also be a series of lectures on GIS technology, two at 9 a.m. and two at 10:15 a.m. Topics include:

• Intro to GIS
• New Developments in Geospatial Technologies;
• Geographically Weighted Regression: Investigation of Spatially Varying Relationships -- Methods, Techniques, and Implementation; and
• GIS Professional Certification.

For more information visit http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/GIS/GIS_Day2004. You may register by calling (414) 229-2391 or by going to http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/GIS/GIS_Day2004/register.html.

You may also want to invite a local consumer of GPS services to present a program at your library. Have them talk about how they use GPS and how their profession has changed as a result of the technology.

 

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Continuing Education -- psw.scls.lib.wi.us/ce/

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