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IN THE SYSTEM

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Family Reading Night A Success!

            Through a generous grant from the Target Corporation, the Withee Public Library in conjunction with the Owen Public Library and the Owen-Withee Elementary School held a Family Reading Night on March 4th at the O-W Elementary School Gym for 2nd-4th graders and their families.

            The evening started with a performance by Eau Claire children's artist "Magic Mama."  Her music was fun, upbeat and playful.  The audience responded with enthusiasm when asked to participate.  All the children had a chance to play along with the instruments Magic Mama brought, made from simple materials and recycled objects.

            After Magic Mama's concert, the children put on a performance of their own.  Led by reading teacher Katie Hatlestad, second, third and fourth graders participated in a reader's theater performance of Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham.  This story was chosen in honor of the late author's birthday.  Owen Public Library Director Shirley Lehr brought a six foot inflatable “Cat in the Hat” figure to decorate the gym.

            Family Reading Night ended with refreshments, door prizes and a free book for each child.

            Loralee Petersen, Director of the Withee Public Library, remarked that she was pleased with the success of the event, which was attended by over seventy people.  Reading teachers, Katie Hatlestad and Kristine Bejin, and Shirley Lehr all lent a hand in planning and carrying out the event.  In addition to the Target Corporation's grant, Scholastic Literacy Partnership offered the books given away to the students at a discounted price that kept the event under budget, and library book distributor, the Penworthy Company, donated a number of the door prizes.   (Loralee Petersen, Withee Public Library)

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Is It Time To Renew Your Public Library Certification?

            Do you have questions on how to be certified as a Public Library Director?  Inese Christman is now the continuing education validator for WVLS.  Ellen Buchberger, who has been doing this for WVLS for several years, has decided to retire at the end of May.  (Please read the following article about Ellen’s years at WVLS).

            Inese will be happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have regarding certification.   If you are a WVLS public library director and wish to maintain certification, please direct continuing education activity reports and annual summation of continuing education activities to Inese Christman at the WVLS office, via e-mail at:  ichristman@wvls.lib.wi.us or by phone at 715-261-7256.

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Happy Retirement, Ellen!
Inese Christman

            Ellen Buchberger is retiring at the end of May. We will miss her and want to recognize her for her valuable contribution to library service in central Wisconsin.  I had a chance to chat with her about some of the changes and developments that she has experienced during her years with WVLS and the world of reference librarianship.

            Ellen received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and worked as a teacher for two years.  She went back to school and received her Master of Science in Teaching from that same university and then, began working at the Wausau Public Library.

            Ellen started her career with the Wisconsin Valley Library Service in December 1974.  While working at WVLS, she went back to get her Master of Library Science degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and graduated in 1981. 

            Ellen worked the reference desk at the Marathon County Public Library (MCPL) - Wausau and also was responsible for answering a huge volume of questions generated by the Wisconsin Valley Library Service libraries.  Carol Wessler, the first Interlibrary Loan and Reference Librarian for WVLS, had a huge impact on Ellen. Carol was a wonderful trainer and mentor for Ellen.

            At that time, MCPL had one of the finest resource collections in the state and Ellen responded to requests for information from all parts of the state. Without today’s electronic databases and online catalogs, doing reference research and answering interlibrary loan requests required being knowledgeable about a large variety of print resources and also, the ability to utilize every reference tool to its maximum. 

            In the early days, Ellen remembers receiving and sending requests via teletype.  “If you made one error in punching in the information, it would come back to you unsent and you would have to retype the whole thing.”

            As for her retirement, Ellen plans on just seeing what happens and enjoying her freedom from the daily demands of being a great Reference Librarian.  We wish her happiness and good health.      

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Café Society Right Here In Wisconsin

Sara Johnson, librarian at the D. C. Everest Senior High School, was featured in an article in the January 2008 issue of School Library Journal.  The article with the title of “Café Society” talked about school libraries and their efforts to provide a comfortable place for students to read, do research, work on classroom assignments, and socialize with friends. I asked Sara if she would share her story with us.      “Several years ago, I saw a need for students to have a place to go and congregate for study purposes, quiet visiting, computer work, project completion or just be able to check-out a book very early in the morning.

I began opening the IMC/Production Lab at 6:00 a.m. Monday through Friday volunteering my time for that one hour.  Our school has always had a Commons area available for students to visit or have breakfast, but there was no resource center staffed before or after school.  With the passage of time, I got to thinking it would be nice to put a small café area in a corner of the room as a way to encourage more use of the room--- a la Barnes and Noble type of thing.   My principal, Dr. Johansen, was all for it and gave me the green light.  (I have always had a great budget to work with and wonderful support from my administrators).             Three years ago, I began my search for info by checking LM-Net and at the time, did not find a lot of information, however, did receive an intriguing response from a media specialist in Michigan who encouraged me to go ahead and try it. After leafing through vendor catalogs for ideas, I noticed Demco had a section of furniture, etc. that I thought might suit our needs.  A rep came from Madison to see if our ideas were feasible and to suggest a floor plan to make best use of the small space.  We took some of her ideas, purchased some things from Demco, and then did some local shopping for soft seating.  A local woodworker also made café tables and a cupboard.             At the same time, we checked into renting a cappuccino/hot chocolate machine and found we needed to have a water line put in and due to our overloaded 1970 circuitry, we also had to put in additional electrical service.  We negotiated with Sysco Foods and were able to receive free rental of the machine that dispenses hot chocolate and two flavors of cappuccino, as long as we purchase the product from them.  The machine is self- serve and the only work on our part is ordering the supplies, filling the machine, collecting the money at the circ desk, and wiping the tables down.  (Our cafeteria has a similar machine, so we also had to agree not to undercut them.  Had that not been the case, I would be selling it for less than the $1.25 per 12-ounce cup than we do.  My desire was not to make a profit, as that was never the purpose.)             We opened the café in the fall of 2005, and have never looked back.  What takes a small amount of work on our part has been greatly enjoyed and appreciated by the students.  Sometimes you just need o be willing to try new things that meet students at a level they can relate to.  Of course, our other motivation was to entice them into the room to use the great  periodicals, software, books, and other resources that we offer.   We have added checkers and chess along with Scrabble, jigsaw puzzles and a couple of other educational games.  Spills have been minimal and I also feel students treat the area with respect as they realize we are treating them as young adults.  Since the advent of the café and frequent advertising, we usually see 50 students in and out of the IMC anywhere from 6:10 a.m. to 7:40 a.m.  Our numbers have definitely seen an increase and our facility is used quite often in the evenings for adult and student meetings.              For anyone out there who is afraid to try something new, I would wholeheartedly tell them to “go for it”.  If funding is an issue, start small…get the support of your administration… make an appointment with a plan in mind…explain the benefits of doing it.  Contact your food service suppliers to discuss options.  Put a water line in if you are going to use a machine.  Get someone to donate an old sofa or other furniture.  Cover old items with throws, add some beanbag chairs.  Use an old table to put the machine on.  Get your art teachers to rotate student artwork.   Be creative and, most of all, trust the kids.  They will rise to the occasion and will be responsible.  Students like the grown-up feeling that they get from the atmosphere.”   (Sara Johnson, D.C. Everest Senior High School)

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YOUTH MATTERS

Short Story Contest Sees Success at Marathon County Public Library

            The Marathon County Public Library is pleased to report the success of our Teen Short Story contest held in celebration of Teen Literature Day.  Teen Literature Day was on April 17, 2008, and   was a part of MCPL’s National Library Week celebration.  We had eighty-three entries from inside Marathon County and one entry from outside the county.  The teens were encouraged to write a short story no longer than ten pages on anything they wanted!  The stories were varied and interesting, ranging from stories of war to stories of the Hollywood life. 

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CONTINUING EDUCATION

Staff and Scholarship Winners Enjoyed PLA Conference in Minneapolis

The Public Library Association’s March 2008 conference was fabulous!  We learned so many interesting things in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that we decided to share all of them with you.  To read about our adventures, please check out the new WVLS Wiki at:  http://wvls.pbwiki.com
We thought this would be a great way to share our experiences and report on what we learned from nationally recognized speakers by sharing them in a collaborative environment called a wiki.  A wiki is defined as a web space that is open and editable by a group of people.

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INFO TO GO

 ALA - WO Advocacy Webinar Now Available!

            On Wednesday, April 16, advocacy “guru” Stephanie Vance hosted the Washington Office’s second Advocacy Webinar! This is a must-watch for those attending National Library Legislative Day and those participating in Virtual Library Legislative Day! If you missed it, you can watch the webinar in its entirety at:    http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=452 

            Be sure to also check out the first webinar at: http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=406 and Stephanie Vance’s podcasts on March 13 http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=402 and April 8  http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=444

            And don’t forget to print out the Congressional Visit Packet (PDF) and the sample one pager (Word) for the next time you get in touch with your Members of Congress.

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Doing That LibraryThing 

             Have you ever discovered that you have more books than you have space at home? Are they in random order or (like me) in order by what you have read most recently?  I looked at my boxes of books and realized that I needed help in making sense out of what I own.  This gave me a good reason to try out LibraryThing  http://www.librarything.com, the love child of Melvil Dewey and Web 2.0. At its most basic, it enables users to build their own web-based catalog, using information from Amazon.com, the Library of Congress, and over 40 other major libraries.

             It's fairly easy to add titles to your online collection; note that you can make your collection private or public. You can add your own tags, edit any of the fields, and even note what date you purchased the book, when you started reading it and when you finished. You can also import your Wish List from Amazon.com. Your catalog can be sorted by author, title, tag, publication date or even by how many other LibraryThing users also own the book.

             LibraryThing has tools to generate what must be the geekiest stats that you can imagine from a catalog. You can see the average publication date of your collection. You can see a title's "book obscurity number," which measures how many other people own the same book that you do. The lower your number, the more obscure your collection. You can even see the 50 lowest-rated authors within LibraryThing.

             A free account allows you to catalog up to 200 books. A paid account allows you to catalog any number of books. Paid personal accounts cost $10 for a year or $25 for a lifetime; for-profit organizations pay $50 per year for up to 5, 000 books.  Tim Spalding, the founder of LibraryThing, is considering developing a professional version of LibraryThing for institutional libraries.

             Why, you ask, would information professionals be interested in a service that is clearly aimed at the home bibliophile? LibraryThing has several possible applications in addition to the need for some of us to get a handle on what books are under our own roof. For starters, you can search for a book and see a list of books that "people who own this also own." You don't need to set up an account or build a collection of your own books in order to take advantage of this feature; it is displayed when you click on any book title on the search results page. This is often a better indication of true connections than the purchasing record in Amazon.com. Since LibraryThing is a database of books that users not only were willing to buy but are willing to keep, you get more focused and relevant recommendations to identify potentially related books.

             If you are willing to add your collection -- or a specialized portion of it -- to LibraryThing, you can take advantage of several “recommendation” features, including "people with your books also have," "similarly tagged books," "special-sauce recommendations" and, tantalizingly, "most popular books you don't have." Note that these recommendations are not based on just the purchase of one book (as with Amazon.com) but on your entire collection, making them potentially more relevant.

             LibraryThing also provides RSS feeds; information centers can use LibraryThing to notify clients of recently acquired books, LibraryThing users' reviews of books within the information center's collection, or new books with a specific tag. For that matter, you can use this to let your friends or family know about what you are currently reading.

             Right now, LibraryThing has the feel of a test version of a product being developed by someone with brains, passion and an understanding of what users value. It's got real promise.  (Web Search Pacific Newsletter, April 2008)

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Over One-Third of Americans Read More Than Ten Books in Typical Year

            For years, people have been crying about the death of the book. While reading books may be declining, Americans are reading.  Just one in ten (9%) say they typically read no books in an average year.  About one-quarter (23%) read between 1 and 3 books, while one in five (19%) read between 4 and 6 books and 13 percent typically read between 7 and 10 books. And, over one-third (37%) of Americans say they read more than ten books in an average year.

            There are certain groups who are more likely to read more than ten books in an average year.  Looking at the generations, almost half (47%) of Matures (those aged 63 and older) say they read more than ten books compared to just one-third (33%) of Baby Boomers (those aged 44-62).  Women are also more likely to read more than men – 44 percent of women read more than ten books a year compared to three in ten (29%) men. Candidates may not want to try books to reach their partisans, but it may be a good way to reach out to Independents.  Just one-third of Republicans (33%) and Democrats (35%) say they read more than ten books in a year compared to 44 percent of Independents.

            These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,513 U.S. adults surveyed online between March 11 and 18, 2008, by Harris Interactive.

            One reason for lack of reading is lack of time. Just under half (45%) of those who read at least one book a year say they have less time for reading books today than they did five years ago while one-third (33%) say they have about the same amount of time and one in five (22%) have more time. Perhaps not surprisingly, almost two in five Matures (38%) say they have more time for reading compared to over half (53%) of Echo Boomers (those aged 18-31) who say they have less time. Here we most likely see the difference about leaving the working world and just starting into it.

            When looking at the different types of books people read, non-fiction and fiction are almost even (82% and 80% respectively). The largest single genre is mystery, thriller and crime (48% read) followed by history (35%), biographies (31%), religious and spirituality (28%) and literature (27%). Men and women have different tastes in the type of books they read. Women are more likely to read mysteries (57% versus 38%), religious books (32% versus 24%), and, perhaps not a surprise, romance novels (38% versus 3%). Men, on the other hand, are more likely to read history (44% versus 27%), science fiction (34% versus 18%) and political (22% versus 9%).   For additional information, go to this website: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=891   (Stephen’s Lighthouse, April 14, 2008)

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GRANT UPDATE

$300 Grants Available for Writers and Illustrators

            Using grants awarded by the Wisconsin Center for the Book, communities can celebrate and explore the literature of Wisconsin with its authors and illustrators. The Wisconsin Center

for the Book will award up to eight grants of $300 each to qualifying organizations wishing to sponsor a Wisconsin author or illustrator at a public event.  The event must be open to the public and free of charge. The grants are made possible through the cooperation of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, and generosity of donors.

            Wisconsin nonprofit organizations interested in books and reading are eligible to apply. Collaboration among groups is preferred. Such groups may include, but are not limited to, public libraries; public and private elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools; community organizations; and places of worship. Libraries are encouraged to look beyond their Friends groups for partnerships.

Applications may be obtained at:   http://www.wisconsinacademy.org/about/index.php?category_id=3593&subcategory_id=4910

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ON COMMAND

Best Practices Review: Public Library Services

            The Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau announces the release of the following report: Best Practices Review: Public Library Services.   Wisconsin has 388 public libraries, which are funded primarily with municipal and county taxes, and 17 regional library systems supported by state aid. Through surveys and interviews with the directors of individual libraries and all regional library systems, we identified best practices related to collaboration among systems, effectively using volunteers, securing adequate technology support, and periodically assessing patron needs.  A summary and the full report can be found at http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lab.  For additional information, please contact Paul Stuiber at paul.stuiber@legis.wisconsin.gov.

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FROM HITHER & YON

Automated Library Machine Debuts In Shenzhen

A worker from Shenzhen Library demonstrates how to use an automated library machine near the library on Monday, April 7, 2008. [Photo: Shenzhen Special Zone Daily]

             Locals in Shenzhen, a booming city in southern China, no longer need to visit libraries in person. Instead, they can borrow and return books from a library automation machine much like using a bank’s ATM.   Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reports that a sample automated library machine, which is connected to the Shenzhen Library database and powered by Radio Frequency Identification

technology (RFID), began test operations on Monday in front of the new library building.     

             The Integrated Library Automation System (ILAS) enables the automated machines to tap into Shenzhen Library's collection of 2.17 million items.  The ILAS system includes self-check out and return, security gates, programming, and circulation stations. All forms of media available at the library will be RFID tagged, from books to CDs to videos to library cards.

            The report says the machine can hold more than 400 books, which are encased inside a glass window and circulate on a three-layer conveyor belt to facilitate readers' selection. The machine is

equipped with a box to hold returned books and a computer to help readers search for book information. The round-the-clock service system can even issue library cards.

            "It's really convenient. It only took 16 seconds to issue a library card, and half a minute to eject books," a local library patron told the newspaper.

             Readers can also reserve books through the library’s web site or the machine. Once the book is available, the reader will receive a text message, and the book will be delivered to the self-service machine closest to the reader.

            RFID-enabled library automation systems cost no more than 400,000 Yuan ($57,131) and cost much less than setting up a small-scale branch library. The city plans to build 30 to 50 automated library machines this year in public places including subways, supermarkets, and office buildings. The machine can currently be installed only indoors, but outdoor machines are under development.    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com)

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WEBSITES OF INTEREST

Join the circle of wellness @ your library - http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~loriene/wellness/home.html
On this website—rolled out for National Library Workers Day, April 15, by ALA President Loriene Roy and her former LIS student, Henry Stokes—you can read inspiring stories about workplace wellness written by librarians and find out about online wellness resources. Special tools include a Workplace Wellness Inventory and a Wellness Passport.  (School of Information, University of Texas at Austin, Apr. 15, 2008) 

SirsiDynix Archived Workshops - http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/archive.php
Did you miss that great event you wanted to see? Don't worry, past presentations of the SirsiDynix Institute are always available free of charge in the SirsiDynix Institute Event Archive.  Some titles included are: How to Understand Library Users ; Creating a 2.0 Library; 25 Technologies to Watch, etc. 

Top 20 Free Applications to Increase Your Productivity -  http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/top-20-free-applications-to-increase-your-productivity.html
This article will guide you to the top 20 free applications (Web and Windows) for increased productivity. These programs will make your PC faster, stronger, and more productive. (lifehack.org, April 2008)

 State of America's Libraries Report April 2008  -http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/presscentera/piopresskits/2008statereport/2008statehome.cfm
Libraries of all kinds continue to play an expanding role in American communities, serving the needs of patrons of all ages and reaching out to those who have been underserved.   (American Library Association, April 14, 2008)  

Faithful Reader.com – http://faithfulreader.com/  
Features new and forthcoming titles, extensive reviews, book excerpts and more on Christian living, marriage and family life, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, thrillers, romance, memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies. (Capital Area District Library Booklover Links, April 18, 2008)

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Picture This Puzzle
Ann Mroczenski
The new WVLS newsletter editor, Inese Christman, pauses in her work to pose for me.
Can you find the twelve differences between these two pictures?   (hint: You may want to print them out for easy viewing.)

	1	2	3	4	5
a
b
c
d
e

	1	2	3	4	5
a
b
c
d
e

Answers to the above Picture This Puzzle are below.

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MAY

May 5-May 6  COLAND’s Strategic Visioning Summit & Year of the Library’s Future – The Heidel House, Green             Lake, WI  http://dpi.wi.gov/coland/vision.html

May 10  WVLS Board of Trustees meeting – Marathon County Public Library – 9:30 a.m.

May 12  First-class mail stamp will increase from $0.41 to $0.42. Forever stamps, purchased at $0.41, will be honored following the May 12^th increase. For details about the Forever stamp, visit             http://www.usps.com/shop/welcome.htm

May 13-May 14  WiscNet Future Technologies Conference, Monona Terrace, Madison, visit             http://www.wiscnet.net/ftc/

May 13-May 14  National Library Legislative Day – Washington, D.C. or Virtual Legislative Day at  http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washevents/nlld/virtuallibrarylegislativeday/vlld.cfm

May 14  Spring Interlibrary Loan Meeting for Public Library System and Resource Library Staff, Madison

May 15  Delivery Services Advisory Committee meeting, Madison

May 15  Leadership Conference on Adolescent Literacy for Public Librarians, Madison

May 19 Library Information Technology Advisory Committee meeting, Madison 

May 21 “Initiate & Innovate” a one day conference sponsored by the WLA Support Staff Section and co-   sponsored and held at the Waukesha County Technical College Library, Pewaukee, visit             http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/sss.conferences/2008/index.htm

May 22  WVLS Public Library Directors’ Meeting at the Marathon County Public Library at 9:30 a.m.

May 30  Ellen Buchberger retires. WVLS staff will miss her sense of humor and quick wit. Best Wishes!

JUNE

June 5  V-Cat Council meeting, 9:30 a.m., Crandon Public Library

June 7   WVLS Executive Committee meeting at the Marathon County Public Library at 9:30 a.m.

June 26-July 2  American Library Association annual conference, Anaheim, California

June 29-July 2  National Educational Computing Conference, San Antonio, Texas

JULY

July 19  WVLS Board of Trustees meeting at the Marathon County Public Library, 9:30 a.m.

July 23- July 24  WiLSWorld Conference, Pyle Center, Madison. For details visit:                http://www.wils.wisc.edu/events/wworld08/  

AUGUST

August 14  WVLS Library Advisory Committee meeting at the Marathon County Public Library at 9:30 a.m.

OCTOBER

October 11  Northwoods Conference for Library Friends & Supporters at the Rothschild Village Hall at 9:00 a.m.

Picture This Puzzle Answers

A3:  It is so sad to work in a basement all day. It is even sadder when you lose a window.
B2:  What is that award for?
C1, B4 & D5:  The locks (3) are missing on the cabinets.
C3:  The small clock on the speaker when AWOL.
D1:  The Microsoft Windows sticker moved from the computer to the printer.
D4:  Inese must have been posing for quite some time, the white tablet turned yellow.
D5:  Can you use a tape dispenser?
E1:  The yogurt and napkin have been replaced by a cup and small figure.
E1:  Someone gave Inese a box of Kleenex.
E2:  Inese brought her cat, Teddy, to work.
E4:  Of course my dog, Buffy, had to get in the picture if the cats were allowed in.
E5:  The ghost of Inese's cat, Misty, appears in the corner.

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 

LAMPLIGHTER

is a monthly newsletter of the Wisconsin Valley Library Service. 
300 N. First Street / Wausau, WI 54403
Contributions are welcome!

Back issues are available at http://wvls.lib.wi.us/Newsletter/newsindex.htm 
(Note: Web links in past issues are not checked for currency and may no longer work.)