Friday Notes
Archive

December 22, 2006

New Friday Notes: notes for next week

The life so short, the craft so long to learn

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Boxing Day & Kwanzaa

From "the staff" Eunice, Ken & Denise

Reminder December 22 is the first day of winter.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Critical Connectors

During emergencies, citizens and even some disaster workers depend on libraries for Internet connections to the world.

They don?t pilot boats down hurricane-flooded streets or pull people from second-story windows. Nor do they wear uniforms, carry firearms or direct emergency vehicles. But library employees have been first responders nevertheless. People in coastal states who lost their homes to the wind and water of hurricanes Katrina and Rita flocked to public computers housed in libraries. They filed insurance claims, connected with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, contacted family members and found out via the Internet what was happening in the communities they?d had to flee.

"For most people in the community, a public library represents a safe place," says Sharman Smith, executive director of the Mississippi Library Commission. And that?s literally true. Libraries usually are housed in solid, well-constructed buildings, less likely than some other structures to be affected by Mother Nature. And virtually everyone in the community knows where they are. Moreover, a whopping 70 percent of library computer users depend on libraries as their primary access to the electronic world. So it's not surprising that libraries are a natural place citizens turn to during a local emergency.

But while library personnel have, in effect, become de facto first responders, they don't get any additional help to do the job. Recognition of this additional community role that libraries play ? beyond books and reading rooms ? seems to be missing. Nearly half of U.S. public libraries either lost funding or received no additional funding in 2006, according to "Public Libraries and the Internet 2006," a recently released report funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Despite that discouraging fiscal trend, "public libraries," says John Carlo Bertot, a professor at Florida State University and co-author of the 2006 report, "are taking on additional roles at their own expense."

One of those roles is as advisers. Last year, for instance, many seniors flummoxed by the complexity of Medicare Part D flocked to libraries to sit at a computer, pull up Medicare Part D information and ask library employees for help. Even those who had computers at home were turning up at libraries for assistance in filling out online forms, picking plans and answering questions. "Where else are people going to go for help?" Bertot asks. "It's not like other government agencies open up their building and say, "On the first floor, we have a lab and someone there to answer questions." The rubber is hitting the road somewhere and it's the public library."

Nor do libraries get much recognition for providing technological aid and assistance to disaster workers. During a local emergency in Florida, a bookmobile with wireless access was commandeered by local emergency workers: They didn't have their own wireless vehicle and needed to make contact with resources.

In Pasco County, Florida, library staff are literally emergency responders. They organize and run the resident information center that gets activated during storms. They share a room in the emergency management office, which has phone banks and computers, taking calls from residents if the volume of those calls overwhelms emergency services personnel.

Library staff give callers timely information and referrals, such as where they can get water and ice, which hotels are pet friendly, whether there will be an evacuation, where the sandbags are available. It was the library staff that developed a database for this purpose, and it is updated from storm to storm. ?We have at our fingertips as much information as possible to give to people on a timely basis when they?re in a stressful situation, says Stephen Kershner, assistant libraries director for public services with the Pasco County Library System.

It?s a natural fit for library workers who are used to answering questions and giving information and customer service. The only unnatural part: The staff has no emergency training.

If governments are relying on library staffs to be purveyors of e-government and to engage in disaster-relief efforts, they should include library personnel in emergency planning conversations and exercises "to say nothing of offering courses in how to prepare for their roles in a disaster. We're trained to be information professionals," Bertot says. "We're not trained as first responders."

© 2006, Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Reproduction in any form without the written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Governing, City & State and Governing.com are registered trademarks of Congressional Quarterly, Inc. FROM: http://www.governing.com/articles/12talk.htm

Check out the NEILSA main page at: http://neilsa.org

THE LSA:

NEILSA closed dates: 12/25 & 26, 1/1/2007

Consortia members had best check the Consortia Blog at: http://www.neilsa.org/weblogs/consortia.php Next year will be to late

AIR books (Splendid Solution) are all in and ready for your groups to schedule, call or email Denise at the LSA.

"Cars" at the James Kennedy Public Library

FROM: NEILSA Announcements

Looking for something to do over the Christmas break?  Why not bring your family to the James Kennedy Public Library in Dyersville on Saturday, December 30, 2006 to see "Cars".  This wonderful animated film will be shown at 2:00 pm in the Hoffman Community Room using the large screen, projector and surround sound.  Popcorn and punch will be provided.  This free event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

IN case you missed it.

LIBRARY ASSISTANT: Northeast Iowa Library Service Area. Full-Time salaried position, 40 hrs/wk. Salary: $17,000 to $21,000, depending on experience, with benefits including health/dental insurance.

For job description/application visit: http://www.neilsa.org/searchcomm/index.html

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Legal resident of Iowa with valid Iowa drivers license,
2. Ability to lift and move 50 pound packages;
3. This position requires significant computer use;
4. Detail work is major responsibility, bookkeeping experience/training a strong asset, this is the single most important job skill or personality trait for the position;
5. Propensity for placing things in alphabetical and numerical order, you have to love filing
6. One year paid full-time public contact work experience, public library/teaching experience a plus.

DUTIES: In conjunction with other agency personnel, answer phones; assist Library Consultant in day-to-day operations. 6 hours a week are on the road making deliveries. About 30 hours a week are involved with significant detail work including, filing, organizing, tracking and assisting people on the phone or via e-mail/IM.

Application package on line at http://www.neilsa.org/searchcomm/index.html

Skill & knowledge tests may be required.

Deadline: Until filled.

Application forms received before Jan 12, 2007 will be given highest priority.

An Equal Opportunity Employer.

Application package on line.

Your application must contain the following elements:

• NEILSA Application 4 pages
• Resume 1 or 2 pages
• Cover letter outlining strong points as related to duties in the posted job description one sheet

NOTE: Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Mail Application to:

NEILSA System Support I
415 Commercial St
Waterloo, IA50701-1317

CE

Dates for the PLOW class, Getting Your Web Site Started.

Date	Location
January 9	Des Moines
January 10	Des Moines
January 17	Waterloo
January 18	Fayette
January 19	Fayette
January 22	Waterloo
January 23	Council Bluffs
January 24	Kalona
January 25	Marshalltown
January 26	Ottumwa
January 29	Cedar Rapids
January 30	Storm Lake
January 31	Storm Lake
February 1	DeWitt
February 2	Burlington
February 5	Cedar Rapids
February 6	Sioux City
February 12	Carroll
February 13	Clear Lake
February 14	Clear Lake
February 19	Creston
February 20	Fort Dodge
February 22	Emmettsburg
February 23	Emmettsburg
February 27	Dubuque
February 28	Spencer
March 1	Sheldon
March 2	Sheldon

UW-Madison SLIS, Continuing Education Services announces their Winter/Spring 2007 Online Courses. Complete course information and registration instructions may be found on their website, http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed
Questions? Contact Anna Palmer (ahpalmer@wisc.edu) or 608-263-4452

Parents as Literacy Partners - NE -- Overview March 19 & 26, 2007 -- Locations & Fee TBD
Parents are critical to children's readiness for reading, learning, and school. Public librarians have a key role in helping parents learn how to help their children prepare. Mary Cameron will take participants through an overview of a  parent-training model that librarians can use with teachers to train parents on early literacy strategies. A more detailed training will be scheduled for those making a commitmentto participate in the project at a later date.

Grow Your Own @ your library grants PLA is now accepting applications for its popular Grow Your Own @ your library institutional scholarship. This year, PLA will award nine public libraries with grants of $8,000 each to be distributed to staff members who are working to obtain a master's degree in library and information science. One library from each of the nine Public Library Data Service (PLDS) population categories will be selected....

Great CE delivered right to your desktop! Registration for YALSA's fall session of e-courses opened Aug. 21st. The session will run from Oct. 2-30. The courses are meant to be the equivalent of a full day workshop. The cost is $135 for YALSA members, $175 for ALA members, and $195 for non members. To register go to www.ala.org/yalsa. Three courses will be offered, full discriptions in New Friday Notes of 08/25/2006:

PLA announces new start dates for e-learning courses
E-Learning @ PLA, the online education program of the Public Library Association, will offer five new start dates for two of its popular courses. New Planning for Results and Creating Policies for Results will each be offered five times between September 2006 and April 2007....

OPAL: Online Programming for All Libraries--And All Library Users NEW: Streaming Audio Preview of OPAL online events coming in July (playback time: 6 minutes) NEW: Streaming Video Introduction to OPAL (Windows Media Video file; playback time 2 minutes, 39 seconds) FROM: http://www.opal-online.org/

STUFF:

Innovative reading idea grabs attention Dangling around students? necks at the West Hernando Middle School cafeteria in Brooksville, Florida, are book titles. Katelyn McDow, 11, was advertising Can You Feel the Thunder? while her friend Cynthia McDowell sported The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Reading teacher Kathy Eppley asked students and adults to wear cards around their necks with the titles of the books they?re reading. National reading experts are vowing to steal the idea.... St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, Dec. 1

Felines fail to qualify for top cat position A Dallas-area CPA?s offer to give the Spencer (Iowa) Public Library a new cat has been turned down by Librarian Vicki Myron, who says she has also turned down more than 100 other offers from all over the country. Since longtime library kitty Dewey Readmore Books died in November, Myron says she has had more than 500 e-mailed messages of condolence.... Sioux City (Iowa) Journal, Dec. 17

Financially strapped library sets fines, cuts staff With the failure of two library millage proposals in 2006, Lapeer (Mich.) District Library customers will find five fewer branches, books, hours, and employees in 2007, Director Kate Pohjola said. And for the first time in the library district?s history, there will be fines for overdue books and materials. The cuts also involve laying off 33 part-time employees, reducing hours for 15 full-time employees, and closing five branches (including the Goodland branch, above) January 1.... Flint (Mich.) Journal, Dec. 19

Glitch releases library user data As Chris VanOosterhout updated his account with the Hackley Public Library in Muskegon, Michigan, this week, he stumbled upon the personal information of more than 15,000 western Michigan library users. Officials with the Lakeland Library Cooperative?a service used by about 80 libraries in eight counties'say they have secured the data that included names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, street addresses, and library card numbers of library patrons registered on its website.... Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press, Dec. 20

Free Library of Philadelphia partners to help the homeless A group that helps homeless people get back on their feet is posting once-homeless ?attendants? in the restrooms of a downtown library in an effort to help manage the masses who flock there looking for shelter or a bathroom. Project HOME and the Free Library of Philadelphia hope the project, which started in mid-December, will prevent loitering and unsanitary conditions. But they also see the six-month pilot as a unique way to reach out to the homeless.... Associated Press, Dec. 15

Vermont librarian a youthful 85 Marybelle Mason Singer has been director of the Alburgh (Vt.) Public Library for the past 15 years, and at 85 she has no intention of quitting. But there has been nothing more unusual than the way this granddaughter of the first white child born in Abilene, Kansas, has, without seeming to expend any energy, made the library of this town (renamed Alburgh from Alburg last April) into a thriving community center.... Worcester (Mass.) Telegram and Gazette, Dec. 17

Cow stars in ad filmed at Aurora University library A commercial for Oberweis Dairy was shot at Aurora (Ill.) University December 18 because the remodeled library offered more room for 1,700-pound Bridget the Cow and a film crew than corporate headquarters. Outside the reference room, librarians and a handful of students ruminated over their work as usual.... Naperville (Ill.) Sun, Dec. 20

Australian library offers speed-dating A 150-year old Australian public library has a new true-romance section after introducing speed-dating nights for lovers of classic texts. The State Library of Victoria in Melbourne introduced dating with a literary twist after the idea was raised at a staff party. Those who attend must bring a book they either love or loathe as a conversation starter, ensuring there are no uneasy silences during the series of five-minute encounters.... Reuters, Dec. 20

Trawling for patrons in Gloucestershire pubs Gloucestershire County Council?s library service hopes to convert UK binge drinkers into bookworms by handing out 20,000 beer mats in pubs across the county. The coasters give the Oxford English Dictionary definition of lager lout, ?noun, a rowdy or aggressive male,? and read, ?Fill your head with something you?ll remember tomorrow.? On the reverse of the mat is a picture of a man flipping the top of his head open and pouring in a bottle of lager.... London Times, Dec. 14

Google Library Project triggers debate Already facing a legal challenge for alleged copyright infringement, Google's crusade to build a digital library has triggered a philosophical debate with an alternative project promising better online access to the world?s books, art, and historical documents. The latest tensions revolve around Google?s insistence on chaining the digital content to its internet-leading search engine and the nine major libraries that have aligned themselves with the Mountain View-based company....
Associated Press, Dec. 20

One-stop book printer After several years in development, the Espresso "a $50,000 vending machine with a conceivably infinite library" is nearly consumer-ready and will debut in 10?25 libraries and bookstores in 2007. The New York Public Library is scheduled to receive its machine in February. The machine, built by On Demand Books, can print, align, mill, glue, and bind two books simultaneously in less than seven minutes, including full-color laminated covers. Prices for the finished product will vary depending on locations, but the production cost is about a penny per page. Watch a video of the machine in action.... Fortune Small Business magazine, Dec. 14

A guide to anonymous blogging
Ethan Zuckerman offers some advice on security measures for hiding your blog-contribution identity online: "I decided to write a quick technical guide to anonymous blogging, trying to approach the problem from the perspective of a government whistle-blower in a country with a less-than-transparent government."... TechSoup blog, Dec. 15

LC launches RSS feeds
The Library of Congress launched December 18 a series of news feeds using RSS technology. The feeds offer updates on LC news, upcoming events, new on the web, new webcasts, news from the John W. Kluge Center, and what?s new in science reference.... Library of Congress, Dec. 18

Report on RFID meeting in Washington OITP Technology Policy Analyst Mark Bard attended a December 14 roundtable hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee that focused on RFID chips for use in passports and driver?s licenses and offers a brief summary of the discussion. Audio is available on the committee?s website.... District Dispatch blog, Dec. 14

Libraries as sanctuaries for criminals? (PDF file) "In October, several Illinois libraries received FOIA requests for incident reports and records concerning patron and staff complaints about crimes and disturbing behavior taking place in the library," writes Illinois Library Association Executive Director Robert Doyle. "ILA recommended that libraries seek legal advice in complying." This article is in response to those developments.... ILA Reporter 24, no. 6 (Dec.), pp. 12?17

YouTube opens an untamed copyright frontier Larry Richard is one of the millions to have discovered the world of YouTube, the free website that allows people to post, watch, and share video clips. But is it legal, given that at least some of what he?s watching is copyrighted material being disseminated by individuals who clearly do not hold the copyright? The law on this matter is murky and likely to get murkier before it gets clearer, say experts in intellectual property law.... Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 18

DoE wants LSL proposal reviewers The U.S. Department of Education is in the planning stages for a possible 2007 funding competition for the Improving Literacy through School Libraries (LSL) program, and there is a need for proposal reviewers to assist with the peer review process. As many as 700 applications are expected this year. The program will be using the U.S. Department of Education?s e-Reader system. Reviewers will be sent hard copies of proposals to discuss with fellow peer reviewers during conference calls.... ALA Washington Office, Dec. 20

Happy birthday, Bill of Rights! The Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791. "The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One's right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections." Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson.... Don Wood's Library 2.0 blog, Dec. 15

Mozart catalog available online Mozart maniacs, enthusiasts, students, and scholars can now access the immortal composer?s entire catalog through a free online database, launched December 11, which contains more than 8,000 pages of critical commentary published since 1954. Ulrich Leisinger, head of research at the International Mozart Foundation in Salzburg, Austria, said site users can search for a specific work using key words and a scroll-down menu. They also have the option of printing out individual movements.... Associated Press, Dec. 13

Polar Express pulls into San Francisco The electric train layout featuring the Polar Express and Thomas the Tank Engine trains has been a hit this winter with visitors to San Francisco's Main Library. Kids and adults delight in pushing the buttons that activate the trains, a ski gondola, animated sledders, and the village lights. A Lionel O scale replica of the Polar Express, which starred in Chris Van Allsburg's 1985 holiday classic and in a subsequent 2004 movie adaptation of the same name, is the highlight of the display.... San Francisco Public Library, Dec. 12

Google Patent Search Googles new search engine for patents, launched December 13, covers the entire collection of patents made available by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, from the 1790s to the present. The company has converted the entire patent image database into a format, like Google Book Search, that on its advanced page is easy to search by details, classification, inventor, assignee, or date.... Google

Search for a library Marshall Breeding?s worldwide directory of libraries and their websites and catalogs, lib-web-cats, now has an advanced search engine designed to help identify libraries according to the library automation system used, collection size, and affiliations.... Marshall Breeding

IFLA approves new code of ethics The governing board of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions approved a Code of Ethics in December that outlines a set of fundamental principles in order to help the board define what is right, fair, just, and good for the organization in meeting its mission and purpose.... International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Dec. 18

REPEATS:

County Library Association Presidents/Chairs PLEASE send Ken a list of your meetings for 2007 and any spcial activities in which you will be participating, such as county fair, Supervisors Round Robin, Legislative Days et. al.

Reminder: as libraries move to new email addresses with the PLOW project, they need to let NEILSA know of the change

VAN Service:

AEA 267 last delivery date will be Thursday & Friday, December 21 & 22, 2006.  They will resume delivery on Thursday & Friday, January 4 & 5, 2007.

AEA 1 last delivery date will be Monday & Tuesday, December 18 & 19, 2006.  They will resume deliver on Thursday & Friday, January 4 & 5, 2007

Dear Friends of North-eastern Iowa Libraries,

Greetings from the Friends of the Decorah Public Library. We have for some time thought that we all should be sharing more ideas of what good things we are doing and examples we might take from each other that could strengthen our various endeavours. While there are many activities that we have done over the past several years one production we would be willing to share that we are excited about and has proven helpful to our work is a power point program that we have developed to present both the work of our Library and our Friends group to the community at various groups and clubs. If you would be interested to see our presentation as a possible model which you might develop for your Library and community feel free to contact Lois Roberts, 506 Mound Street Decorah, IA 52101 or Lorraine Borowski, Decorah Public Library 202 Winnebago Street, Decorah IA 52101.

Jim Dale Decorah Friends of the Library Chair

Send us an e-photo of your library [flicker it] to post on the NELISA web site, we would like to promote every one of our libraries.

Whats New blog - this is for your use and comments. Let us know what you have been up to. New programs, old programs that worked well, announcements, changes in personell, all the kinds of things that many of you share at county association meetings when you do your Round Robin sessions (some do some don't). The link: http://neilsa.org/weblogs/announcement.php Send announcements to Eunice for inclusion/posting at: riesberg@neilsa.org

Model Trustee By-Laws are at: http://neilsa.org/consulting/boardbylaws.htm

The Independence Public Library is in the midst of fundraising for their new library building.  Recently they were awarded with a $550,000 grant from the CAT (Community Attraction and Tourism) Board, which is part of Vision Iowa.  The fundraising total has just passed $2.5 million of the $3 million goal.  The library will start to go through the formal process that leads to bidding and plans on breaking ground in the spring.  The planned completion for the new Independence Public Library, which will give them six times the space they have now, is spring of '08!!

LINKS:

Learning Activity Written Summary: http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/continuing-ed/learnactform/?searchterm=Learning%20Activity
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/

DUE DATES:

County Library Association Presidents/Chairs PLEASE send Ken a list of your meetings for 2007 and any spcial activities in which you will be participating, such as county fair, Supervisors Round Robin, Legislative Days et. al.

• December 25 & 26 NEILSA Closed for Christmas
• January 27^th Fayette CLA Legislative Day is Saturday, from 9:00-10:30
• April 3 at Shell Rock, Benny Gambiani Library Butler County Library Association Meeting
• April 17 7:30 Sumner Bremer County Meeting
• April 19^th Fayette Spring Meeting is at 9:30 at the Arlington Public Library
• June 21- 27 ALA 2007 Annual Conference in Washington D.C.
• September 19^th Fayette Fall Meeting is at the Clermont Public Library at 6:00 p.m
• Oct. 2 at Allison Public LibraryButler County Library Association Meeting

The State Library's calendar  http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/events
Traffic Counter available on loan from the NEILSA
Experts agree that accurately counting patron traffic with a people counter is the way you can make sound strategic decisions. With help from a Sensource counter, your library can easily evaluate staffing needs, hours and more. With hard data you can be confident that your decisions are based on facts not guesswork.

If you are interested in using the counter, contact Ken at NEILSA to reserve a time slot.  If you would like to learn more about how you can use the readings from the counter to better manage the library and to explain to Boards/City Councils your staffing/use decisions we can arrange that at the same time.

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
The public is encouraged and welcome to attend.

Next meeting Jan. 13, 2007 2:00 p.m., ICN (Keystone AEA 1 in Elkader and Hudson Public Library)