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Volume 3, Number 23 |
November 11, 2005 |
Second draft of Strategic Plan now available online
The South Central Library System (SCLS) is currently in the process of developing a new strategic plan, and a second draft is now available for review on the SCLS website. Comments or suggestions should be sent by the end of the year to Phyllis Davis, Peter Hamon, or to any other member of the Strategic Planning Committee (PLAC representatives are Barb Dimick, Bob Stack and Maureen Palmer, and SCLS Board representatives are Jack Taft, Janet Pugh and Anne Iwata).
This strategic plan springs from the belief that, as a community, we can do many things that none of us could successfully undertake alone. The plan is based on the results of a survey completed by the member public libraries in mid-2005. The strategic initiatives listed are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all that the SCLS community plans to do. They are instead key priorities, and once ratified will form the core of the detailed 2007 annual plan the system is required to submit to the Department of Public Instruction in accordance with state statute.
This draft was discussed at the Nov. 3 PLAC meeting, and after this opportunity for review it will be considered for action at the Jan. 5, 2006, PLAC meeting. As the next step, an action plan will be developed during 2006 to be included in the System Plan for 2007.
To download a copy of the plan or the survey results, visit www.scls.info/plans/.
Library patrons can now access OverDrive audiobooks
OverDrive, the digital audiobook service available through the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium, is now available. The WPLC site is called the “Digital Book Catalog & Download Center.”
To download audiobooks, patrons will be required to install proprietary software (Windows only) on their home computer. They can then use this software to listen to the book, or copy it to a PDA or MP3 player (supported devices are listed on the Overdrive website). Books downloaded from the site are checked out for a two-week period, at the conclusion of which the files are rendered unplayable on any of these devices. Users do have the option of burning the books to CDs, which do not have an expiration date.
Titles available through this new resource appear in online catalogs, but patrons cannot determine availability until they go to the WPLC website at http://dbooks.wplc.info/. When a patron checks out a title it is then unavailable to any other patron until the two-week check-out period is over.
A new FAQ on OverDrive is available at www.scls.info/technology/overdrive/. If you have any questions about OverDrive, you can contact Nichole Fromm at (608) 246-4521 (or by email).
Some libraries still need to update directory information
If you haven't already checked your library's information on the SCLS website, please do so as soon as possible. We'd like to begin work on the 2006 South Central Library System Directory of Public Libraries, but we can't proceed until all of the information is up to date.
If you’ve already updated your library’s information, thank you. If not, begin by visiting www.scls.info/pro/directory.html and selecting your library from the list, then review the information presented there. To submit changes, use the online form at www.scls.info/directories/directoryform.html (there is also a link to the form at the top of the directory homepage).
If there are no changes to your information, we ask that you still submit the online form so we know that all libraries have reviewed their information and everything is current. Simply enter your library’s name and put “no changes” in the address field.
The New Glarus Public Library recently received a $1,500 grant from the New Glarus Community Foundation, a component of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin Inc. The grant project is titled "LINKing the Greater New Glarus Community through improved access to LINKcat," and grant funds will be applied toward the purchase of four new computer workstations in anticipation of LINKcat's migration to Dynix Horizon.
Clark Rounds, library assistant at the Sun Prairie Public Library circulation desk for more than three years, lost his battle against cancer on Friday, Oct. 28. He was a good friend to the staff and patrons and will be missed by all who knew him.
Stoughton Public Library will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for staff in-service training. Library service will resume as usual at 1 p.m.
The November issue of WSLL @ Your Service has been published at http://wsll.state.wi.us/newsletter/issue05nov.html.
Libraries must post copyright warning notices
As we all know, copyright is a form of protection provided under the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship," and libraries and library staff are bound by the law the same as everyone else. When photocopiers first became available in libraries, we all worried about how we could keep patrons from photocopying whole books or other works, in violation of copyright law.
The Copyright Act of 1976 made things easier for libraries. As part of that act, Section 108(f)(1) gives libraries protection from copyright infringement when a library patron uses unsupervised "reproducing equipment" in the library, as long as the library displays a notice that the making of a copy may be subject to copyright law. The user of the machine is then responsible for any infringement.
In the past, libraries traditionally posted a notice on their photocopiers. However, the law does not specifically define reproducing equipment. Today, libraries must also include the notice on any and all equipment that could possibly be used to make copies. Examples of such equipment include VCRs, audiotape recorders, microfilm printers, computers, printers, and scanners. If your library does not post such notices, the library or its employees can indeed be liable for copies made in violation of the law.
The wording of the notice is not specified, but should be kept simple. One of the most common versions of the notice is "Notice: The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The person using this equipment is responsible for any infringement."
Information about the notice is available on the SCLS website at www.scls.info/management/law/copystate.html. This page also contains links to Word and PDF versions of the notice (with several copies of the notice in one document) for you to print out and put on equipment at your library.
There was also an article about this in the September/October 2005 issue of Public Libraries: "Copyright Concerns: Photocopies, Scanners, and Downloads: Is the Library Liable?"
For more information, contact me at (608) 246-7973 (or by email)
--From Cheryl Becker, Public Library Consultant
‘Brain Snack’ is new SCLS learning opportunity
Need to stay current on what’s happening in the world of libraries and technology, but time and budget constraints make it hard to spend a half-day or more traveling to workshops and training? Then what you need is a “Brain Snack.”
“Brain Snack” is not a low-budget horror movie, but rather a new 45-minute lunch time learning opportunity delivered right to your office or library at 12:15 p.m. Beginning in January 2006, and scheduled thereafter the first Friday of every-other-month, South Central Library System will offer short WisLine Web sessions on timely topics, new technologies, management and program ideas and more. After registering online you’ll receive a web link to join the meeting and a toll-free number to call for the audio portion of the program. A phone with a speaker and a mute feature work best, keeping your hands free to hold your sandwich and ensuring that no one hears you chew!
The inaugural Brain Snack, scheduled from 12:15 to 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, will present the latest and greatest in Online Communication -- from good ol’ email and listservs to IM and chat to wikis and blogs, and how you and your patrons might use them.
Watch the Continuing Education website at www.scls.info/ce/ for details. Upcoming Brain Snacks are being planned around topics like managing library volunteers, MP3s and other audio technologies, copyright updates, protecting patron privacy, and more. If you would like more information on a topic, or think you have a topic that would make a good Brain Snack, contact Mary Wepking at (608) 246-5613 (or by email).
New items added to SCLS Professional Collection
The following titles have been added to the SCLS Professional Collection:
Professional Collection holdings are included in LINKcat but do not appear in the public access catalog. To recommend titles for the collection, contact Cheryl Becker at (608) 246-7973 (or by email).
SCLS has new Playaway audiobook device libraries can review
There is increasing interest in digital audiobooks and the devices on which they can be played (see OverDrive article in this issue), and libraries have another new option for distributing audiobooks to patrons. It’s called Playaway, and it’s a self-playing digital audiobook that requires no downloads or special players. Everything you need is included in one neat little package (2 inches wide, 3.5 inches tall, and about one-half inch thick).
If you’d like to take a look at this new product, contact Stef Morrill at (608) 245-5799 (or by email). You can learn more about Playaway at www.playawaydigital.com/.
Five SCLS county history titles added to state collection
It was announced this past week that five SCLS county history titles have been loaded into the State of Wisconsin collection. The titles, which are all full-text searchable, are:
This project was paid for with LSTA funding.
Pardeeville, North Freedom seek new directors
The Angie W. Cox Public Library in Pardeeville and the North Freedom Public Library are now is accepting applications for directors.
The Angie W. Cox Public Library serves a village population of 2,051 plus rural residents, with an operating budget of $134,790. The position is full-time. The North Freedom Public Library serves a village population of 642 plus rural patrons, and the position is for 20 hours per week.
In each position the director will be responsible for all management tasks related to the operation of the library, including, but not limited to, personnel administration, facility and automation management, collection development, budgeting, planning, policy implementation and library advocacy.
Applicants for each must be eligible for Wisconsin Grade III library certification, and be willing to take additional library courses and continuing education as required to maintain certification. For North Freedom, the library coursework required for certification may be completed after hire, and any costs associated with the completion of this required coursework are eligible for library system grant aid.
For the Pardeeville position, an MLS from an ALA accredited library school program is preferred, as is three to five years of experience in a public library setting with increasing responsibilities.
If interested in the Pardeeville director position, submit a letter of application, resume, and the names, addresses and phone numbers of three references to:
Tom Jensen, Board President
Angie W. Cox Public Library
P.O. Box 353
Pardeeville, WI 53954
The application deadline is Nov. 21, 2005
If interested in the North Freedom director position, submit a letter of application, resume and the names, addresses and phone numbers of three references to:
Judy Shelton, President
North Freedom Public Library Board
P.O. Box 60
North Freedom, WI 53951
The position will remain open until it is successfully filled
Wisconsin public library use continues to grow: state ranks first in interlibrary loans per capita
Wisconsin's public libraries continued to increase the level of services and technology provided to the public, with little or no growth in library income and staffing levels, according to final 2004 data.
Public library circulation surpassed 56.8 million items, an increase of nearly 4 percent over 2003. User visits to libraries increased to almost 32 million. Interlibrary loans, the key indicator of resource sharing among libraries, continued to show a large annual increase growing to 4.8 million, a 17 percent increase over 2003. Meanwhile, library staffing remained at 2003 levels and total library service expenditures increased only about 2.5 percent.
“Public libraries support life-long learning and are essential to the strength and health of our state,” noted State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster. “Wisconsin’s public libraries and library systems are to be commended for continuing to cost-effectively provide all Wisconsin residents with high levels of library service, including BadgerLink, which provides access to more than 700 newspapers and 11,000 magazines. Wisconsin’s public library systems have strong programs of service for their member libraries, ensuring that Wisconsin residents have equal access to informational materials required to do coursework, meet curriculum needs, or pursue personal and business interests regardless of where they live or their special needs or circumstances.”
Public library use has grown at a much faster rate than Wisconsin’s population. While the state has gained only 3.2 percent in population since 2000, library circulation has increased 21.5 percent and the number of Internet-connected public use computer terminals available in libraries has grown by 64 percent. A grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supported the distribution of 743 personal computers and servers to 235 Wisconsin public libraries and branches in 2003. The grant will continue to provide technology training through 2006. All public libraries now have Internet connections, and almost all of them provide high speed Internet access. Informational databases, such as those provided statewide through BadgerLink, are available to all state residents through their local library as well as in homes, schools, and workplaces.
The most recent statistics available from the National Center for Education Statistics (2003) place Wisconsin first in interlibrary loans per capita, eighth in circulation per capita, and ninth in public library visits per capita. An estimated 57 percent of Wisconsin residents, about 3.2 million people, are registered public library users.
For a pdf version of this DPI release, visit www.dpi.wi.gov/eis/pdf/dpi2005_137.pdf.
Continuing Education -- www.scls.info/ce/
November 17 -- Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales: 2006 SLP Workshop, with Kathy Ross (keynote), Geri Ceci Cupery, Kim Ropson, and Karen Wendt, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Olbrich Gardens, Madison.
November 18 -- Libraries in a Google Universe, Soaring to Excellence Teleconference Series (DuPage), with Steven Bell, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., MATC Reedsburg and Truax, Marshfield Clinic, MSTC Wisconsin Rapids, Monona Public Library, UW-Stevens Point, and the Feb. Center at UW-Madison.
November 30 -- Badgerlink: Humanities, with Linda Miller, 9-11:30 a.m., Pinery Room, Portage County Public Library, Stevens Point.
November 30 -- Badgerlink: Resources for Kids, with Linda Miller, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., Pinery Room, Portage County Public Library, Stevens Point
December 2 -- Badgerlink: Ethnic Information, with Linda Miller, 9-11:30 a.m., SCLS Training Room E.
February 3 -- Always a River, Sometimes a Library, with Rick Anderson, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., live teleconference from the College of DuPage. Sites: MATC Reedsburg & Truax, Marshfield Clinic, MSTC Wisconsin Rapids, Monona Public Library, UW-Stevens Point, and the Pyle Center at UW-Madison.
February 9 -- Paws, Claws, Scales, and Tales! SLP Crafts Program, with Patti Sinclair, 9 a.m. to noon, The Wintergreen Resort, Mt. Ranier Room, Wisconsin Dells.
February 23 -- Disaster Planning and Recovery with Miriam Kahn, 9 a.m. to noon, SCLS Administration & Portage County Public Library, Stevens Point (compressed video broadcast to Stevens Point).
March 10 -- Library Management Hot Topics: A Roundtable Discussion with Experienced Library Managers, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Live teleconference from the College of DuPage. Sites: MATC Reedsburg & Truax, Marshfield Clinic, MSTC Wisconsin Rapids, Monona Public Library, UW-Stevens Point, and the Pyle Center at UW-Madison.
For more information about marketing and public relations, contact Mark Ibach at (608) 246-5612 or by email.
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