Online Update

Index - Marketing & Public Relations Advisory Committee members needed - OverDrive promotional materials now available online - SCLS pays WLA memberships for directors, trustees - Member/Staff News - WisLine Web workshops in January - ‘Google and Your Patrons’ with Steven Bell - Spanish for library staff - SCLS will help libraries register shorter URLs - Register for WLA Library Legislative Day - ‘We the People Bookshelf’ grant program expanded - DPI consultants interested in library programs serving homeless individuals, families - Sony BMG will replace problem CDs Continuing Education -- - CEs - Calendar

Did you know… … that Wisconsin public library circulation in 2004 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. --2004 Wisconsin Public Library Statistics

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Marketing & Public Relations Advisory Committee members needed

Effectively marketing the programs, services and resources of public libraries is an ongoing challenge, and we're looking for some people who are willing to lend their expertise and ideas to help all SCLS member libraries be more successful.

Four members of the SCLS Marketing & Public Relations Advisory Committee have served for two years or more and have expressed their desire to let other library staff members take their positions. As a result, we’re looking for volunteers from Adams, Columbia, Green, Portage and Wood Counties (we have representatives from Dane and Sauk Counties).

The primary function of the Marketing & Public Relations Advisory Committee, which is a subcommittee of the Public Library Advisory Committee, is to market public libraries -- their role, value and importance. The primary goal for 2006 is to make this committee more active. Its membership includes seven individuals that represent a cross-section of SCLS member libraries (size and geographic location), while Madison Public Library has a permanent representative. Every effort is made to ensure that three large libraries (2 south, 1 central) and three small libraries (2 south, 1 central) are represented.

The committee’s charges are to

• market system and member library products and services.
• advise and support system and member library marketing and publicity efforts.
• teach and empower member library staffs and boards to communicate effectively and work positively with decision makers.
• encourage public support of member libraries and SCLS.
• explore any other marketing- and public relations-related matters as the committee deems necessary.

If you’d like to volunteer your time and expertise for four meetings per year, contact Mark Ibach at (608) 246-5612 (or by email).

 

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OverDrive promotional materials now available online

In an effort to help SCLS member libraries tell patrons about the new audiobook service available through the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium -- http://dbooks.wplc.info -- promotional materials have been sent to all libraries and are available for download from the SCLS website.

The Wisconsin Public Library Consortium is working to expand the collection, and once the collection is a bit larger we will provide SCLS libraries with more publicity for this service. In the meantime, SCLS has created a sample press release, bookmarks, and a flyer. To access any of the materials, visit www.scls.info/technology/overdrive/index.html#pub.

One copy of the bookmark and flyer were sent to libraries earlier this week. If you’d like copies of the bookmarks or flyers, contact Mark Ibach at (608) 246-5612 (or by email).

 

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SCLS pays WLA memberships for directors, trustees

If you are a member of the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), you will soon receive your membership renewal form. It is important to remember that SCLS will once again pay up to $100 toward the membership of SCLS public library or branch directors, or their designees, and will also pay the membership fee for public library trustees.

For library directors or branch directors (or their designees) to take advantage of this payment, when you receive your renewal form (or that of your "designee"), fill it in completely, and send it to Cheryl Becker, Public Library Consultant (NOT the WLA office!). If your membership dues are more than $100, include a check made out to SCLS (not WLA) for the difference.

If you are not a member of WLA you will not get a renewal form, but you may still take advantage of this offer by contacting me for a WLA membership form, or by visiting the WLA website at www.wla.lib.wi.us/membership/documents/app-personal_002.pdf. Complete the form and follow the procedure outlined above.

Please send your membership form (and check, if your membership dues are more than $100) to me by Dec. 31, 2005. If you joined WLA for the first time in the last couple of years, you may not receive your renewal notice until the anniversary of your membership. SCLS will still pay $100 toward your membership at that time.) Contact me if you do not receive a renewal form and have questions about this. 

Renewal notices for SCLS trustees will be sent directly to me. They will not be sent to the trustees or the libraries. I will return renewal forms, or fill out new membership forms, for any public library trustees who wish to be members of WLA and WLTA (Wisconsin Library Trustees Association). Please let me know by Dec. 31, 2005, the names and addresses of any of your trustees who wish (or whom you wish) to be members of WLA. If I do not hear from you, none of your trustees' memberships will be paid/renewed.

Libraries are reminded that they should be contacting Heidi Moe, SCLS Administrative Assistant, throughout the year with any changes in the membership of your library board of trustees. If you have not done this, now is a good time to make sure that the list of your trustees maintained by the SCLS office is up-to-date. Contact Heidi at (608) 246-7970 (or by email).

If you need a membership form, or have questions about WLA memberships, contact me at (608) 246-7973 (or by email).

--From Cheryl Becker, Public Library Consultant

 

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Member/Staff News

McFarland’s new E.D. Locke Public Library is scheduled to open to the public on Monday, Dec 12, 2005. The library’s new phone number will be (608) 838-9030 and the FAX number is (608) 838-3571. The new library’s address is 5920 Milwaukee Street, McFarland, WI 53558.

LINK News & Tips for the month have been posted to the Automation website at http://automation.scls.lib.wi.us/announce.html.

The December issue of WSLL @ Your Service has been published at http://wsll.state.wi.us/newsletter/issue05dec.html.

 

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WisLine Web Workshops in January

January’s no time to be out on the roads, slogging through the snow to get to a workshop. So next month, the workshops come to you! On Jan. 6, join us for the first of many short “Brain Snack” programs held over the lunch hour. You’ll learn about all the new ways people communicate online -- from IM to wikis to blogs. And on Jan. 26, directors will have the opportunity to learn about filing their annual report. Cheryl Becker will be the presenter for this important program.

WisLine Web allows you to participate in a class by displaying a specific web page on your computer and listening to the instruction on your phone. Learn more about these two great WisLine Web sessions and find out how to sign up online by going to the 2006 Continuing Education Schedule online at www.scls.info/ce/program/2006program.html. While you’re there, take a look at the many other programs in store for next year.

 

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‘Google and Your Patrons’ with Steven Bell

If you weren’t able to attend this live satellite teleconference on Nov. 18, it’s not too late to view the program. The College of DuPage is now making all of the broadcasts available via video streaming for 60 days following each broadcast. To view the program online, use a non-LINK computer with a high speed connection and go to www.dupagepress.com/COD/index.php?id=1029. If you are unable to view the program using this link, please request the DVD from our CE video collection at www.scls.info/ce/program/tapedate.html. It should be available within a week or two.

If you have a computer that is able to receive and play streamed video, you’ll want to know that the entire series is now being delivered both as a satellite downlink (as SCLS has offered the programs in the past) and also via live video streaming on the day of the broadcast. To view the February DuPage telecast using this method, contact Mary Wepking at (608) 246-5613 (or by email).

 

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Spanish for library staff

Would the staff at your library benefit from basic instruction in Spanish? SCLS is currently exploring the possibility of offering a six-week “Spanish for Library Staff” course this spring. The class would meet for a three-hour session each week, tentatively Friday mornings from 9 until noon. We’ll be soliciting feedback from directors in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

 

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SCLS will help libraries register shorter URLs

Some SCLS libraries with websites hosted on the SCLS web server have requested shorter or catchier URLs -- or domain names -- for their sites. Having a shorter or more recognizable URL can make publicizing services and information on your library's website easier.

If you are interested in getting a different domain name for your site, here's what you do.

• Pick a new URL and find out if it is available. Visit www.register.com or another registration service and search for your selection.
• Once you find a new URL that is available, contact Stef Morrill at (608) 245-5799 (or by email).

We will register this name for you and bill you the costs for the yearly registration. Currently, we are using register.com as our registration site. and costs per domain name are approximately $30-35 per year.

Some work will need to be done by SCLS Automation to complete the connection between your website and your new domain name. This work will only be done on a quarterly basis in October, January, April, and July. All requests collected by the last day of the month before (for example, Dec. 31 for January) will be completed in that month.

This means that you have until Dec. 31, 2005, to request a new name if you would like it to be set up in this quarter.

If you have questions about this process, contact Stef Morrill at (608) 245-5799 (or by email).

 

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Register for WLA Library Legislative Day

The Wisconsin Library Association’s (WLA's) “Library Legislative Day 2006” will be held Jan. 31 in Madison, and librarians, trustees, and interested patrons are encouraged to register now to attend this annual event.

Scheduled earlier than in past years, Library Legislative Day is an excellent opportunity to either initiate contacts with legislators, or strengthen existing relationships. A number of library-related items are currently wending their way through the legislative process, so it’s imperative that individuals step forward in support of their library, and libraries statewide. The impact of this input on legislative action can be significant, and building relationships with legislators is a key first step in the process.

Mark Jan. 31 on your calendar and take the first step to attend WLA Legislative Day 2006 by downloading the registration materials from the WLA website at www.wla.lib.wi.us/legis/day/.

 

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‘We the People Bookshelf’ grant program expanded

Public and school libraries are urged to apply for the expanded We the People Bookshelf grant, which this year is based on the theme "Becoming American."

The current round of grants will award a Bookshelf -- 15 classic books for young readers on the theme of "Becoming American" -- to 2,000 school and public libraries. This is four times the number of Bookshelves awarded in the past for a single application deadline! The American Library Association, which sponsors the program with the National Endowment for the Humanities, encourages libraries to take advantage of this easy opportunity to acquire free books.

Guidelines and the online application are available through Jan. 17, 2006, at www.wethepeople.gov/bookshelf/becomingamerican-guidelines.html. Libraries interested in receiving the collection are required to develop and host a program to introduce the collection and its theme of “Becoming American” to students and/or patrons. Unlike past We the People Bookshelves, there will be no second deadline for “Becoming American.” All applications are due by Jan. 17, 2006.

A list of titles and additional information is available at www.ala.org/wethepeople. If you have questions contact publicprograms@ala.org.

 

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DPI consultants interested in library programs serving homeless individuals, families

Many libraries already offer programs to address the specific needs of homeless children and/or homeless shelters, and DPI Youth and Special Services Consultant Barbara Huntington would like to hear from you. She is working on a new publication that addresses serving youth with special needs and wants to highlight individual library programs.

She would also like to know if your library is in a building that is also used as a WIC site, community food pantry, free lunch site for homeless people, or emergency shelter. Also let her know if your library is a collection site for food pantries or clothing drives for homeless people, or if a community giving tree is placed in the library and gifts for homeless children or adults are collected.

DPI Homeless Services Consultant Mary Maronek also is interested in receiving examples of libraries that are working with homeless shelters and homeless adults. She would like information about any policies libraries have on homeless people in the library, which are likely to be part of a larger patron behavior policy statements.

Contact Barbara Huntington at (608) 267-5077 (barbara.huntington@dpi.state.wi.us).

 

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Sony BMG will replace problem CDs

Sony BMG recently announced that it has stopped using a copy protection technology on its music CDs that has prompted computer security concerns, and that the company will replace (free of charge) those CDs. For information about the Sony BMG CD exchange program, visit www.upsrow.com/sonybmg/.

The XCP content protection technology used by Sony BMG hid itself on computers by using root-kit technology. This opened a remote access connection that called out to Sony (or one of its agencies), but it also exposed users' computers to worms that took advantage of the stealth technology.

Sony has agreed not to put root-kit technology on future music CDs as a means of protecting its copyrights, and has provided major software and anti-virus companies a software update, which also may be downloaded at http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/uninstall.html. Sony also plans to provide a simplified and secure procedure to uninstall the XCP software if it resides on your computer.

For more information about this issue from Sony BMG, visit http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/home.html. For a complete list of the infected CDs visit http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/titles.html.

If you’d like more background on this issue, read the New York Times article (free with registration) at www.nytimes.com/2005/11/16/technology/circuits/16POGUE-EMAIL.html, or the CNET article at http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3513_7-6388181-1.html?tag=nl.e757.