Friday Notes
Archive

March 17, 2006

The life so short, the craft so long to learn.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Public Library Internet Survey deadline has been extended to April 21, 2006. The survey can be found at: http://survey.pnmi.com/ More than 400 Iowa public libraries received a packet from Florida State University with instructions and an ID. We are hoping that at least 350 Iowa public libraries will participate in the survey so that we can have Iowa specific information as well as contributing to the success of the survey at the national level.

Actually, any Iowa public library is welcome to complete the survey. There is a link to Iowa library ID information on the survey main page.

Most Iowa libraries should complete the questions in both the Branch and System sections of the survey. (This has to do with how FSCS categorizes libraries, trust me on this). If you are filling out information for a branch or branches, you should fill out a survey for each branch, and also complete the system questions.

Libraries that opened after 2002 will not be able to participate in this year's survey. Thank you in advance for your participation. Please let Gerry know if you have any questions.

Gerry Rowland, Consultant Edited by Ken Davenport
State Library of Iowa Begging added.

National Library Week - April 2 - 8, 2006
Link to lots of stuff: http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/campaign/nlw/NLW.htm

Library 2.0 "Library 2.0 simply means making your library's space (virtual and physical) more interactive, collaborative, and driven by community needs. Examples of where to start include blogs, gaming nights for teens, and collaborative photo sites. The basic drive is to get people back into the library by making the library relevant to what they want and need in their daily lives...to make the library a destination and not an afterthought." Sarah Houghton

Good quick discussion: http://www.librarystuff.net/2006/01/library-20-questions-and-commentary.html
Good longer view: http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/2005/12/where-do-we-begin-a-library-20-conversation-with-michael-casey.html

ABOUT THE LSA:

Retirement:
Carol French Johnson will retire as director of the Waterloo and Cedar Falls Public Libraries on Friday, March 31, 2006. Carol's last work day is Friday, March 17.

Interim Director at W'll/CF
Sheryl Groskurth has been named interim director for both libraries by the Boards of Trustees until a director is hired.
Congrats to Sheryl.

The McGregor Library website is up! check us out at www.mcgregor.lib.ia.us
I'll be tweaking and adding to our pages....I'll put in a navigation bar on each page, etc. but so far so good...and more to come.....
Tell your friends and family we're online!!! (maybe you're not as excited as I am!!)
Michele PettitMcGregor Public Library
Ken NOTE: You will need images turned on in order to view the site.

REPORT LISTS IOWA AS THE THIRD MOST LIVABLE STATE
Iowa has been listed as the third most livable state based on a report from Morgan Quitno Press. The publication comes out each year with their state rankings edition. The top five states, in order, are New Hampshire, Minnesota, Iowa, Vermont and New Jersey.

The report is based on 44 factors. The positive factors, or factors that would need to be high to improve a state rankings, include median household income, infant mortality, job growth, and home ownership. Negative factors, or things that would need to be low to improve the ranking of a state, include unemployment rate, infant mortality, poverty rate, crimes per capita and public teacher ratio in public schools.

Iowa ranked 34th in crimes per capita, 48th in state and local government debt, 41st in infant mortality rate, 39th in population in poverty, 49th in fatalities in alcohol related crashes, and number one in change in per capita personal income compared to the year before.

However, Iowa still ranks below the national average in per capital personal income and per capita gross state product. Iowa ranked fifth in estimated public high school graduation rate, ahead of New Hampshire, but Minnesota was third. Iowa was also well below the other two states in percent of the population with a bachelor’s degree.

Even though the Legislature in recent years have attempted, through the Grow Iowa Values Fund and the Great Places program, to improve the quality of life, arts and culture, the report suggests that Iowa has a long way to go in this area. Iowa ranks 44th in funding for state art agencies per capita, spending 41 cents per capita in this area. The national average is $1.02 per capita. Minnesota was eight in this category and California was last.

The 5 least livable states were Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky and South Carolina. The Most Livable State Award is one of six such designations announced each year by Morgan Quitno. Others include crime rankings, the smartest state award, and the healthiest state award.

Data Link: http://www.morganquitno.com/sr05mlrnk.htm

FROM State Representative Roger Thomas Iowa House of Representatives STATEHOUSE NEWS – March 16, 2006

CE
Library 101: Fayettet is an ICN site but will be canceled if there are no reservations - Ken.

Just a reminder to all library staff planning to attend LIBRARY 101 on Friday March 31^st. LIBRARY 101 is offered 4 times each year over the ICN; it serves as an orientation for newly hired library directors and staff.
Note that registration for LIBRARY 101 has moved to the online c.e. catalog here: http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/cgi-bin/cecat/. If you haven’t already done so, you’ll first need to establish a user account before being able to proceed with registering for a class. From the webpage above, click on “Not a Registered User? Click Here to Sign Up” and follow the on-screen prompts. If you have any problems or questions, please call us here at Northwest LSA office—we’re happy to help!