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March/April 2004 |
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WVLS In Compliance
Based on information from WVLS public library annual reports, we are pleased to report that all WVLS public libraries are in compliance with statutory and WVLS requirements for membership in WVLS. Staff is compiling data from those reports for the annual WVLS statistical report and the county benefit reports. Both will be distributed by mid-May at the latest.
What Do We Do With Our Tax Dollars?
Since the economic downturn, many state libraries, public libraries, and even university libraries have had their budgets slashed dramatically…I believe we have failed to demonstrate the value we are returning for public funds…What are we doing wrong? Well, for starters, we don’t even have a decent motto, one that has a ring to it and tells people what we do that matters…We’ve been trying to get out from under the public perception of libraries as all books and cobwebs by selling ourselves as information providers. Sorry, but that’s like a farmer saying he grows better soybeans than anyone else. Since the internet came along, people think information is free…We have sabotaged ourselves by failing to tell people that the databases we provide for them by way of the internet may be free to them, but in fact are astoundingly expensive resources that only a library can afford to buy. Remember, most people make no distinction between ON THE NET and BY WAY OF THE NET.
If we don’t emphasize that our databases are free only because we have paid the subscription fee, we may fall victim to the public perception that people don’t need the library because, after all, all those wonderful databases are free on the net…I don’t think we’ve done a good job explaining to citizens – or to our funders – how we spend their money and how that advances their goals…I think it’s past time for us to explain the value we’re giving for money, not in the mind-numbing prose of annual reports…but in simple, understandable bullet points.
It’s also time for us to explain what librarians do. Too many people…still think all we do is stamp date due slips as we check books out to people. What we need to provide, I think – on our web sites, on bookmarks, in newsletters, in reports to the people who make funding decisions – is something like this:
Now, doesn’t that impress even you, who already know what librarians do every day?…I suspect we’ve gotten complacent, assuming that of course any town/state/corporation/university has to have a library. We’ve assumed that doing a good job was enough to win public support. We’ve believed so completely that libraries are the heart of our communities that we haven’t recognized how many people don’t share that belief, and don’t much want to spend good money supporting ANY public institution. Instead of assuming automatic public support, I think we need to earn it. Not just be quietly doing a good job, but by showing how our work improves the lives of our communities and our users. (Excerpted from an article by Marylaine Block who writes a weekly electronic magazine for librarians.)
Libraries Need Help…Financial and Otherwise …Be An Advocate
Who can be a library advocate? Anyone who cares about their library! Library advocates play a key role in educating our communities about why libraries and librarians are essential services (not ‘emergency’ services but ‘essential’ services) in an information society. While the Wisconsin Library Association is ably represented in Madison, the voices heard from around Wisconsin make the difference in the success or failure of legislation and/or financial support at all levels. There are many ways to participate as a library advocate:
Quotable Quotes About Libraries
On the ALA web site at http://ww.ala.org/ala/pio/availablepiomat/quatablequotes.htm you can find a wonderful list of quotes about libraries. One of my favorites, by Vartan Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corporation is:
"We are not mere gatekeepers and doorkeepers of humanity’s heritage, we also must protect its dissemination. We must beware of all censorship in whatever form it comes, because to censor, to tamper with truth, to tamper with our memory, is to commit a historical sin. We, as librarians, have a major duty that we must all share all over the world, in order not to allow anybody to control, to twist, and most important of all, to manipulate our human will and through it our free institutions."
Keep that in mind as you think about the overall effect that legislation like the Patriot Act is having on open access to information!
-- Heather Eldred
Governor Appoints WVLS Trustee to COLAND
Governor Doyle’s office recently announced six new appointments to the Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND). Created by the Wisconsin State Legislature in 1979, COLAND advises the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to ensure that all state citizens have access to library and information services. Council findings are communicated as advisory recommendations to the state superintendent, governor, and legislature.
The 19-member council functions as a forum through which librarians and members of the public identify, study, and collect public testimony on issues affecting Wisconsin libraries and other information services. Members serve three-year terms. Membership includes ten professional members who represent various public and private libraries as well as library educators. The remaining nine council positions are held by public members with a demonstrated interest in libraries or other types of information services.
Three of the new members are professional appointments: Barbara Arnold, Madison, UW-School of Library Information Studies; Lisa Jewell, Superior, Director of Learning Resources, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College; and Catherine Hansen, Shorewood, Adult Reference Librarian, F.L. Weyenberg Public Library. New public members are Donald Bulley, South Milwaukee; Kenneth Forbeck, Beloit; and WVLS Trustee, Douglas Lay, Mosinee. Additional information about COLAND may be obtained at http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/coland/
Nominated by representatives from the Langlade County 4-H Group, Antigo Middle School and Antigo High School, the Antigo Public Library recently won the WAE4-HYDP (Wisconsin Association Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals) award in the category of teamwork and cooperation for their inspiring achievements in developing young adult book clubs in Langlade County. Dawn Schneider, Langlade County 4-H Coordinator, who nominated the library for the award, claims that several of her colleagues have started YA book clubs in their counties based, at least loosely, on what has been developed in Langlade County.
The award will be presented to Antigo Public Library at the WAE4-HYDP Convention on April 14th in Stevens Point.
Congratulations, Antigo Public Library!
Help Young People Realize Their Personal Power
Based on research conducted since 1958, Search Institute has identified 40 developmental assets that all young people need to grow up to be healthy, principled and caring adults. The more assets a young person has developed, the more likely they are to make positive choices. Conversely, the fewer assets a young person has developed, the more likely they are to become involved in risk-taking behaviors. It has been found nationwide that most students have fewer than half of these 40 assets.
The list of 40 developmental assets as well as tips for focusing on each one is too long to include in its entirety here, but may be requested from Beth Sillars at the WVLS office (715/261-7255 or sillars@wvls.lib.wi.us). Following is the featured asset for March:
March Asset: #37
Personal Power
Young people who have this asset feel that they have control over many things that happen to them.
Express confidence in your children’s abilities. Kids who trust their own abilities have personal power. Help young people understand that they do control what they say and do but they can’t control what other people say and do. Encourage kids to find solutions when faced with a challenge. Ask questions like, "What do you think about this? How do you feel about that? What do you think should be done next?" Give kids age appropriate choices at all stages of their lives and let them experience the consequences of their choices. Work to build social competencies in your child. Kids who know how to respond to a variety of social situations feel a sense of personal power and accomplishment. Encourage young people to serve others. Kids who believe they can make a difference in the world have an enormous sense of personal power.
April Is the Deadline to "Get On Board and Read"
Now is the time to remind teens that they only have until April 24 to submit an entry in the "Get on Board and Read @ your library" program for their chance to win an opportunity to meet pro skateboarder Tony Hawk.
To enter, teens between the ages of 12-18 select a book from the library and create an entry about the message of the book and why it's meaningful to them. Entries may be submitted in a written essay or a creative entry consisting of a poem, painting or video, and may be created individually or as a team. Each teen or team must have their librarian sponsor them in the contest by having the librarian fill out a sponsor form.
More teen entries can win librarians special incentives, too. Incentives include 20 HERSHEY'S Milk coupons for librarians who submit at least 5 teen entries; 50 t-shirts for those who submit 15 to 24 entries; and an autographed poster of Tony Hawk as well as t-shirts for 25 or more entries. Librarians who also submit a report on how they promoted the program, along with sample publicity materials and at least five teen entries, will be entered into a drawing for a $100 bookstore gift certificate.
One of the most effective ways to jump-start the program is to collaborate with teachers in your school or at schools in your area. Let them know about the program. Provide flyers or posters for them to hang in their classrooms. Suggest that they talk about the program in class and even make it a class assignment.
All of the information about the program, including free online tools to help promote it, are available on the "Get on Board and Read @ your library" at http://www.hersheysmilk.com/getonboard/getonboard/index.asp
Library Director/Storyteller Michael Sullivan is passionate about boys and reading. This New Hampshire resident recently flew across the country to speak to a packed room at the 2004 Public Library Association Conference in Seattle. His message? Boys do not make connections to books as much as girls do nor do they make the connection in the same way. He had some definite ideas on what libraries can do about that.
Sullivan began the program acknowledging that while we unfortunately speak about the two genders in generalities, many statistics back up those generalities.
- Boys are generally 1½ years behind girls in reading.
- Girls at the age of 15 read twice as much as boys.
- 80% of high school dropouts are male.
- 95% of hyperactive elementary students are male.
- 85% of special education students are male.
- Studies show that there are direct links between reading and mental disturbances.
Studies show that boys move around a lot to improve their study skills. What do we do with movement in schools? We make them sit still. Boys are not wired to learn that way. They need to move.
Boys like reading material they’re comfortable with. They’ll re-read favorites. They’ll pick lower-level material. They’ll feel bad about reading if they’re told to pick something "more worthwhile." Studies show that the number of hours one reads is more important to improving reading development than reading higher-level material. Reading four Captain Underpants books is better for many boys than reading one Sharon Chreech novel.
What can libraries do to help boys? Involve adult males in your library programs. Boys need to see men involved with books and reading. Look at your program environment. Let boys use a lot of space. Don’t confine them to tables and chairs. Let them sprawl or even stand during a story program. Connect reading to things boys like – nonfiction, fantasy, graphic novels. Boys read a lot when they are online.
One specific idea: Fit sports into your programs. Invite an umpire to give a program on hand signals used in baseball. This could lead to a sign language program. Invite coaches to talk about their playbook. This could lead to a program on secret codes. Invite players to talk to the kids in the audience. Have a March Madness program. Cover the wall with a chart of the college basketball teams in the playoffs. Have one wall for men’s teams and another for women’s teams. Keep the charts up to date as the tournaments progress. Place sports books and magazines on display near the chart. Boys (and some girls) will swarm to it.
For more ideas, get a copy of Sullivan’s book Connecting Boys with Books: What Libraries Can Do (ALA, 2003) and check out his website ( http://www.geocities.com/talestoldtall/ ), which includes a long list of books that boys like. –Rob Reid, Indianhead Federated Library System (YSS Press, Spring 2004)
Are You Drinking Enough Water?
- 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
- In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
- Even mild dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 3%.
- One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
- Lack of water is the number one trigger of daytime fatigue.
- Preliminary research indicates that drinking 8-10 glasses of water per day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
- A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer or a printed page.
- Drinking 5 glasses of water per day decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, can reduce the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and makes one 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.
(by the American Water Works Association as seen in Wausau Water Works, Winter 2003/2004)
YSS Offers Scholarship to Attend WAPL
The Youth Services Section (YSS) of the Wisconsin Library Association will be awarding an $85.00 scholarship to a YSS member to cover registration costs to attend the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries conference in the Wisconsin Dells, April 28-30, 2004. The winner, selected by a random drawing, must attend both days of the conference. Any YSS member interested in applying for the scholarship needs to send name and contact info to Roxane Bartelt at rbartelt@kenosha.lib.wi.us or call 262/564-6151, or mail to her attention at Kenosha Public Library, P.O. Box 1414, Kenosha WI 53141-1414. Application deadline is April 16, 2004.
A More Perfect Union: Wisconsin Reads
Have politics gotten worse? Was there really a "good old days" of noble statesmen? Does it really matter?
According to the Wisconsin Humanities Council (WHC), your first decision this election year isn’t who to vote for. It’s whether you put any faith at all in the process by which our elected officials are chosen and govern. To assist with this process, the WHC is sponsoring A More Perfect Union: Wisconsin Reads reading and discussion group, whereby participants use literature to learn more about their country, its history, political system and elections.
The four books in the Wisconsin Reads series, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph Ellis, In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien, The Oresteia by Aeschylus and translated by Ted Hughes, and The Children’s Story by James Clavell, were chosen for their perspective on key issues behind our political process.
If you have not yet started an A More Perfect Union: Wisconsin Reads discussion group at your library, there are still sets of books, provocative discussion guides that tie the classic and popular works of literature to current events, and grant money available. An application to borrow books and/or apply for money can be found online at http://www.wisconsinhumanities.org/ethics/wireadsgrants.html . If you have more questions about Wisconsin Reads or the A More Perfect Union initiative, please contact the WHC office at 608/263-3155.
Celebrate National Library Workers Day
The first National Library Workers Day (NLWD), "Libraries Work Because We Do," will be celebrated April 20th during the annual National Library Week (NLW) observance, April 18-24. Established by an ALA-APA Council resolution adopted during the 2003 ALA Annual Conference in Toronto, the purpose of NLWD is to recognize all library workers, including librarians, support staff and others.
Library workers are invited to use the slogan, "We work @ your library" to tie into ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries. Libraries may customize the "Libraries Work Because We Do" slogan by adding their library’s name to the beginning, such as "Freedom Public Library Works Because We Do."
Libraries are also encouraged to use NLWD to focus on individuals or units responsible for the various elements of library service, including those who compile materials; handle requests; answer reference questions; plan, publish and present programs; or develop and maintain the library’s website.
New customizable promotional tools and materials are available on the ALA-APA website at www.ala-apa.org including a proclamation, a sample letter to the editor, an op-ed article, radio PSAs, and a sample press release. Also posted are programming ideas, such as hosting employee-recognition days and conducting library tours. (American Libraries, March 2004)
Most libraries now include CDs and DVDs in their collections. If you have ever wondered about the best way to care for this type of media, you’re in luck! There is information on the web that will help you with all of your questions:
Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs: A Guide for Librarians and Archivists (http://www.dir.org/pubs/reports/pub121/pub121.pdf ) is available online in Adobe PDF format. It was co-published by the Council on Library and Information Resources and the National Institute of Standards and Technology and includes such topics as ensuring that digital content remains available; disc structure; how long CDs and DVDs may be stored; conditions that affect CDs and DVDs; and cleaning. (OWLS Tidbits, December 2003)
The Library Media & PR website (www.ssdesign.com/librarypr) has a list of handouts and helpful information about DVD care. You can download bookmarks, inserts for DVD cases, and a counter sign.
Four articles about DVD care are also available as links from this site. One suggests baking soda toothpaste or car wax as an alternative to costly commercial DVD cleaners. If your DVDs are beyond repair, you might want to look at the article on crafts from CDs, diskettes, and jewel cases for kids and grownups. You can find everything from making a locker magnet to a coaster to (if you really plan ahead) a banner for celebrating New Year’s 2005. (The Library Connection, February 2004)
The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, will be knighted in May by Queen Elizabeth II in honor of his services to the global development of the Internet. He will receive the second highest rank of Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire.
Berners-Lee is the director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which teams with the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT, European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) in France, and Keio University in Japan to lead the Web to its full potential, ensuring its stability.
Seldom do technology leaders receive accolades that give them celebrity status. Berners-Lee joins the ranks of other scientists including Isaac Newton (the first scientist to be knighted) and physicist Stephen Hawking, as well as performers including Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney, previously of the Beatles. (Smart Libraries Newsletter, March, 2004)
Longhorn: The Next Generation of Windows
Microsoft is currently in the early stages of building the next version of Windows, code-named "Longhorn." "Longhorn" (could be called Windows 2006) is expected to debut in 2005 or 2006, and will be the successor to Windows XP. It is expected to include better graphics, a redesigned storage system and a new look and feel.
Microsoft Windows XP is the first step towards the realization of a model of computing designed around end-to-end experiences that improve the productivity and decision-making abilities of organizations while informing and entertaining customers at home. "Longhorn" will be the next step in this new wave as personal computing becomes a powerful asset in the everyday lives of millions of people worldwide.
For more information , browse your search engines for "Longhorn" or type in a search at www.microsoft.com
(Used with permission, Rural Library Services Newsletter, Paulding County Carnegie Library, 205 S. Main St., Paulding, OH 45879; January/February 2004)
Peep Research
http://www.peepresearch.org/
Tongue-in-cheek reports of science experiments on
marshmallow peeps; also observe the library research methods of peeps (which
greatly resemble those real live students) at http://www.millikin.edu/staley/fluff/peep_research.html.
And if you can’t get enough marshmallow fluff, try Lord of the Peeps, where
they portray key scenes from LOTR, http://www.lordofthepeeps.com/
(Neat New Stuff I Found This Week, http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html,
Copyright, Marylaine Block, 1999-2004, 4/24/03)
Boy Meets Book http://www.geocities.com/talestoldtall/BoyMeetsBook.html
Michael Sullivan, author of the new ALA publication, Connecting
Boys with Books, offers a list of titles boys will enjoy and tips for
parents of boys. (Neat New Stuff I Found This Week, http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
Copyright, Marylaine Block, 1999-2004, 3/19/04)
A Household Products Database
http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov
Unveiled by the National Institute of Health,
this site offers easy-to-understand information on the potential health effects
of more than 2000 ingredients contained in more than 4000 common household
products. For more technical information, users can launch a search for a
product or ingredient in TOXNET from the product page in the database.
Information includes brand-specific labels and data provided by manufacturers
and their web sites. The list of products covered will be expanded and
information will be updated at least annually. (Library Hotline, September 2003)
LearnPysanky.com
http://www.learnpysanky.com/
Formerly known as "How to Make Ukrainian
Easter Eggs (Pysanky)," this site offers basic instruction in this unusual
craft. The site includes a designs page with free step-by-step diagrams,
suggested supply sources, a list of workshops by area, resources, hints and
tricks, a FAQ, coloring pages, links, and a gallery of designs, from an artist
of Ukrainian heritage. (Copyright 2004 by Librarians’ Index to the
Internet, LII; LII New This Week, 4/1/04)
April 18-20 – WEMA Spring Conference, Madison.
April 18-24 – NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK
April 20 – 1st National Library Workers Day – for details, see article in this issue of the Lamplighter.
April 22 – WVLS Executive Committee meeting – Marathon County Public Library – 9:30 a.m.
April 26-27 – WiscNet’s Future Technologies Conference – Monona Terrace Convention Center, Madison – details at http://www.wiscnet.net/ftc.
April 28-30 – WAPL Spring Conference – Chula Vista Resort, Wisconsin Dells – for information about the conference, go to www.wla.lib.wi.us/wapl/conferences/wapl2004.html.
May 3-4 – National Library Legislative Day – Washington, D.C. – for details, see article in February 2004 issue of the Lamplighter.
May 8 – WVLS Board of Trustees meeting – 9:30 a.m.
May 14 – WVLS Library Advisory Committee meeting – Rhinelander District Library – 9:30 a.m.
May 19 – WVLS Latino Grant workshop – details forthcoming.
May 25 – "Being Part of the Team" – Support Staff Conference – Neville Public Museum, Green Bay.
June 3 – WVLS V-Cat Council meeting – Rib Lake Public Library – 9:30 a.m.
June 10 – WVLS Executive Committee meeting – 9:30 a.m.
"He who truly knows has no occasion to shout."
--Leonardo da Vinci
(Refdesk Thought of the Day, 3/20/04)
ATTENTION: WESSLER SCHOLARSHIPS are available to cover some/all costs associated with attendance at reference and/or interlibrary loan continuing education events. If interested in becoming a Wessler Scholar, contact the WVLS office (715/261-7250) for more information. The application form and more information are available at http://wvls.lib.wi.us/About/wessler.htm
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