Friday Notes
Archive

April 21, 2006

New Friday Notes: notes for next week

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

A farmer brought his daughter a little, pot-belly pet pig, which she called "Stinky" when she played with it out in the yard, but she called it "Ballpoint" when it was in the pig sty. "Tell me," her father asked, "Why do you have two names for your pig?"

"That's easy," she replied. "Ballpoint is just his pen name."

From: Eye-Opener (edited) 

2)  PLA Session #3: The Role of the Library’s Website: EYE-OPENER articles in recent weeks have pointed to the newly launched PLOW Project (Putting Libraries on the Web) This new initiative, administered by the State Library and funded through a grant from the Gates Foundation, will offer website hosting and email hosting to Iowa’s public libraries.  To date, 219 libraries statewide have turned in a letter of intent, signaling interest in participating.    Remember, the earliest deadline to return your letter of intent is April 28.

So in light of the PLOW Project and so much interest from  libraries, I (Bonny) want to share points from a PLA conference session entitled “The New Branch: What is the Role of the Library’s Website?”  Speakers from Phoenix and Denver Public Libraries shared the dais and agreed that a library’s website must be engaging, relevant, informational, and functional.  They urged libraries to see their websites as educational opportunities to link people to the library’s own collection, but also to other online resources like EBSCO, to package the best of the web in terms of children’s sites, medical sites, consumer information, etc.

The speakers also stressed the need to make library websites functional and convenient.  Here are some of their suggestions for making websites convenient by making them customer-service driven:

• Online fine and fee payment
• Online reserves
• Online overdue notices—days before the items are actually due
• Online reporting of lost or stolen cards
• Online library card applications
• Online donations to the Friends Group or to the library foundation
• Online program registration
• Online meeting room reservation
• Online customer satisfaction—or other kinds—of surveys (“Survey Monkey” anyone?)

Virtual branches much also relay the feeling that there’s a staff behind the web, so always bring forward the staff presence by presenting:

• Email us
• Website feedback
• Blogs
• Virtual reference questions
• Online book discussion groups
• Virtual programming like pod-casting story times

You can see these features in action on Denver Public Library’s website: http://denverlibrary.org/  The PLOW Project promises great website design and content for Iowa’s libraries.  Be sure to join in and ensure that your new website will shine a new light on what your local library has to offer!

3)  Reminder of National Internet Survey:  There’s still time to take part in a national study, The Public Library Internet Survey.  The response deadline has been extended until Friday this week, April 21.  More than 400 Iowa public libraries received a packet from Florida State University with instructions and an ID.  The survey is conducted online here: http://survey.pnmi.com The State Library is hoping for returns from at least 350 Iowa libraries.  Please take some time to complete this online survey so that we have a good showing from Iowa libraries with state-specific data. With so many public libraries in Iowa, we can contribute significantly to this project on a national level.

If your library did not receive an information packet, not to worry: any Iowa public library is welcome to complete the survey.  From the website above, you’ll find a link to the survey’s main page.  Gerry Rowland at the State Library is available to help with any questions—thanks for adding your library’s data to the national picture.  (phone Gerry at 800-248-4483 or email at gerry.rowland@lib.state.ia.us )

“If I were the thief, I’d return it. Librarians have been known to import rare books on voodoo.”

ABOUT THE LSA:

Lansing Public Library is pleased to let you know that the First Lady of Iowa, Christie Vilsack, will be visiting our library on Tuesday, April 25, at 1:15 p. m.  You are cordially invited to this visitation and an informal coffee. 

Mabel Stahl, director/librarian 

The State Library will host two people from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to discuss researching patent and trademark information.  Anyone interested in learning how to get a patent or trademark should attend.  It is free and open to the public.http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/archive/2006/04/patent

Library success: A best-practices wiki
Meredith Farkas created this wiki to be a one-stop shop for great ideas and information for all types of librarians. If you’ve done something at your library that you consider a success, you can write about it in the wiki or provide a link to outside coverage....

Five steps to including a Google Map on your website
Chris Deweese of the Lewis and Clark Library System offered this practical guide to putting a map on your library website at the HigherEd BlogCon last week....
HigherEd BlogCon 2006, Apr. 14

Google Earth: From space to your face
Mark Aubin discusses the origins and operations of Google Earth, and why parts of it are still blurry....
Google Librarian Newsletter, issue 3

Unintended consequences: Seven years under the DMCA
Since they were enacted in 1998, the “anti-circumvention” provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have not been used as Congress envisioned. In practice, they have been used to stifle a wide array of legitimate activities, rather than to stop copyright infringement. As a result, the DMCA has developed into a serious threat to several important public-policy priorities....
Electronic Frontier Foundation, Apr.

CALEA and libraries (PDF file)
This FAQ has been prepared to explain the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and how it relates to our nation’s libraries. This is an important issue because it may affect library budgets in the very near future, require certain technology expenditures, and impose administrative burdens on library personnel to administer certain security requirements under the law....
ALA Office for Information Technology Policy

Learning Activity Written Summary: http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/for-ia-libraries/continuing-ed/online-learningactivitywrittensummary.htm
LSA web site: http://www.ilsa.lib.ia.us/siteindex.htm
NEILSA continuing education  http://www.neilsa.org/classes/current.html
NEILSA e-rate Consortia  Blog http://www.neilsa.org/cblog/index.cfm
NEILSA monthly calendar - http://www.neilsa.org/ncalendar/ncalendarmonth.cfm
NEILSA web site: http://neilsa.org
NEILSA yearly calendar - http://www.neilsa.org/ncalendar/ncalendar_results.cfm
NEILSA Friday Notes archives at: http://www.neilsa.org/fridays/friday.html
NWILSA Blog: http://nwilsblog.blogspot.com
State Calendar - http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/news/calendars/2005calendar.pdf
State Library CE web site at: http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/for-ia-libraries/continuing-ed/index.html
USAC (e-rate): http://www.sl.universalservice.org/

NEILSA closed dates: 5/29, 7/4, 9/4, 11/10, 11/23 & 24, 12/25 & 26, 1/1/2007

• April 24 -  9:00 a.m., Dike  Grundy County Meeting - ER
• April 28 - Letter of Intent to the State Library for Staying Connected 
• April 28 - Google Book Search: Its Impact on Scholarship and Libraries...
• May 3 - Beginning EBSCOhost, 9-11
• May 9-12 - Tech Support on the Fly, 9:00-12:00, in Orange City, Clarinda, Knoxville and Anamosa
• May 18 - Advanced EBSCOhost, 9-11
• June 23 Library 101
• June 24 - 27 - ALA Annual meeting in New Orleans - ER & KD
• July 1 - renew EBSCOhost 
• July 17-18, Rural Sustainability Institute Wartburg College, Waverly
• July 20 Lansing 9:30 Allamakee County Association - KD
• July 31 - Reports due: Direct State Aid & Open Access
• August 1 - Deadline for letter of Intent to the State Library for Staying Connected
• August - Applications for PLM I & II due
• August 31 - Enrich Iowa Letter due at SLI
• September - Library Card sign up month
• September 13 Library 101
• September 21 5:30 Fayette County Meeting Waucoma
• September 23 - 30 - Banned Book Week
• September 27 - State Library/LSA Town Meeting (Waterloo Art and Rec Center)
• September 30 - Cataloging Supplement report due at SLI
• October 11 - 13  - ILA Annual Conference in Council Bluffs
• October 15 - 21 Teen Read Week
• October 17 -  Readlyn, Bremer Co. meeting - 7:30
• October 17 - Clayton County Meeting 7:00 Gutenberg
• October 17 Buchanan County Meeting Independence 7:00
• October 27 -- Arlington 09:30 Fayette County Meeting
• October 30 - Annual Survey due at SLI
• Nov. 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the Spillville Public Library - Winneshiek County Meeting - KD
• Nov. 3 - ILA Planning Meeting
• November 13 - 19 - Children's Book Week

The State Library's 2006 calendar  http://www.silo.lib.ia.us

The fine print stuff
blog - Friday Notes 2 AT - http://radio.weblogs.com/0108327/
EDITORS NOTES:
"x" & "xx" are catalogers shorthand for: x = See & xx = See also
Edited by:
Ken Davenport - NEILSA Consultant davenport@neilsa.org

COPYLEFT NOTICE 2002:
THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS FREE.
It may be copied, distributed and/or modified under the conditions set down in the Design Science License published by Michael A at http://dsl.org/copyleft/dsl.txt

COPYRIGHT
Please note: material found on the web should be assumed to be under copyright and is presented here for purposes of education and research only.
NOTE: If credited [via ???] or [from so & so] it is their material and not covered by my "Copyleft" notice. Ken

LIBRARY SERVICE AREA BOARD Meeting

Next Board Meeting: May 8, 2006 2:00 p.m., Elkader PL