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March 2003 |
Public Hearings Set on State Budget Bill
The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee is holding a series of six public hearings on the biennial budget bill (SB-44) in six locations over a three-week period. The schedule was announced by committee co-chairs, Representative Dean Kaufert, and Senator Alberta Darling. All hearings begin at 10:00 a.m. and run until 5:00 p.m. Two hearings are already completed. Following is the schedule for the four remaining hearings:
· Monday, March 31: Milwaukee. Washington High School, 2525 North Sherman Blvd. · Thursday, April 3: River Falls. River Falls High School, 818 Cemetery Road. · Tuesday, April 8: Platteville. UW-Platteville Center for the Arts, 1 University Plaza. · Wednesday, April 9: Madison. Room 412-E, State Capitol.
The committee received the Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis of the bill last week, along with agency briefings. Executive sessions on the bill are expected to begin sometime after the April 9 hearing.
It's Easier Than Ever!
Contact Your Legislators
Don't forget that National Library Legislative Day is on May 13th. In light of Wisconsin's proposed budget cuts and the new Save America's Libraries campaign, every library staff person (and all your friends and family members!) really needs to contact his or her legislators to make them understand the value of libraries. Details of what legislation ALA is urging people to support may be found at http://www.ala.org/washoff/legislativeday.html
There is even a handy Write to Congress feature on the right side of the ALA Washington Office home page http://www.ala.org/washoff By entering your zip code, you get a list of all your representatives, with their pictures and bios; and, if you click on an e-mail address, a form will pop up for your message.
Also, there is a Tell a Friend link so that you can ask others to use the site to write in, too. It couldn't be easier! (adapted from Marketing Library Services, March/April 2003)
Earlier this month the House passed H.R. 13, the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003, which includes the Library Services and Technology Act Reauthorization, by an overwhelming vote of 416 to 2! Representative Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), Chair of the Subcommittee on Select Education and one of the bill's original co-sponsors, specifically thanked the American Library Association for its efforts in helping to pass this important legislation.
Co-sponsors are still needed for the companion Senate bill S.238. Please contact your senators and ask them to sign on to the bill. Mention to your senator or their staff person to call Elyse Wasch (in Senator Jack Reed's office) at 202/224-4642 to add them as a co-sponsor of the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 in the Senate.
"Regarding WISCAT-ILL, it's hard to believe that it's already been almost a year since it was introduced. After getting over the initial hump of learning how to use it, I'd have to say that it's far superior to QuILL. So much so that I hardly even remember QuILL other than how cumbersome it was to use. Thanks [to Leora Young] for your patience with us novices in the early stages of introducing the software. I really like the new WISCAT system. And the folks at the state ILL [office] have been so helpful, too...and responsive to things that needed changing."
-email to WVLS, March 10, 2003
It was a year ago in March that WVLS hosted the first of two workshops introducing the "New WISCAT & WISCAT ILL Software" to the area library community. Since that time, WVLS has worked hard to promote the WISCAT product to as many libraries as possible and to provide training opportunities for those needing help.
Currently, all of the public libraries, 24 schools, two technical colleges, and one medical library in the WVLS area are using WISCAT ILL software to transmit requests.
WVLS is proud of the area libraries that struggled to learn the new software (we know that it wasn't always easy because we were struggling with it, too), and thankful to the staff at the Reference and Loan Library for making a very efficient interlibrary loan product available to all the libraries in Wisconsin.
If your library is not using WISCAT ILL to transmit requests, and would like more information about the process, please contact Leora Young at the WVLS office (715/261-7255; lyoung2@wvls.lib.wi.us).
WVLS has the following items for sale:
For more information or to make an offer, please contact Juanita Thomas at the WVLS office by May 1st. She may be reached at 715/261-7250 or jathomas@wvls.lib.wi.us
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The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same - "The conditions that confront libraries in small towns are very, very different from the conditions of the libraries in a large cities. It is almost like being stationed on the frontier in the service of our country instead of at West Point or Washington. Yet it is all the same service, of the great American ideal, of the public library…and the little country library, insignificant as it may seem to us, may take a vital part in that service.
The little towns send out every year a stream of boys and girls, of men and women, who become citizens but, before they go, the public library has put its stamp upon them. They have breathed its atmosphere, absorbed its ideals and, in that library, formed some idea of what a library should or should not mean to its community. They carry with them those indelible impressions of childhood and youth. And so, year after year, the small town sends out its influence. The greatest problem of the country library is only a problem of getting the people to realize what it is that the library does and the far-reaching importance of its work. The public school reaches a part of the community for a limited number of years. The library, in the rural community, reaches a much larger part of the people and influences them almost from the cradle to the grave. It is not our desire to keep the light of the library under a bushel or to limit it to a few in the community. It belongs to all. In fact, if you are a citizen of this community, it is yours. Be sure that you and your family use it." (Abbotsford [WI] Tribune, March 29, 1923. Check the date - it's not a typo!)
8 Ways Libraries Are Good For The Country - Libraries are here when they are needed, ready to enrich our minds and defend our right to know, just as other institutions protect our safety and property. Without sound minds, however, the American dream of safe streets and secure homes will never be fulfilled.
1. Libraries inform citizens. Libraries make
democracy work by providing access to information so that citizens can make the
decisions necessary to govern themselves.
2. Libraries make families friendlier.
The American family's best friend, the library, offers services guaranteed to
hone coping skills. Homework centers, literacy training, parenting materials,
after-school activities, summer reading programs - like the families they serve,
libraries everywhere are adapting to meet new challenges.
3. Libraries return
high dividends.
4. Libraries build communities. Libraries validate and unify;
they save lives, literally and by preserving the record of those lives.
Community-building means libraries link people with information. Before there
was cyberspace, there were libraries, paving the way for the superhighway.
5.
Libraries value the individual.
6. Libraries level the playing field. Economists
have cited a growing inequity in America, with the gap between the richest and
poorest citizens becoming wider. By making all its resources equally available
to all members of the community the library helps level the playing field.
7.
Libraries open kids' minds. Bringing children into a library can transport them
from the common-place to the extraordinary. Children learn personal
responsibility by holding a library card of their own, a card that gives them
access to new worlds in books, videos, audiotapes, computers, and more.
8.
Libraries preserve the past. Libraries preserve the record; a nation, a culture,
a community that does not understand its own past is mired in its own mistakes.
It is a miracle kept available by the meticulous sorting, storing, indexing, and
preservation that still characterizes library work. (Adapted from an article in
Shhhout! About Libraries, Feb. 2003 - which was adapted from "12 Ways
Libraries Are Good For the Country," American Libraries, Dec. 1995)
Advocacy Tip: Developing Sound Bites - Find your own sound bites about the value of libraries that tell the story to folks in the community. Find something that speaks to you and then share it. Here are some ideas: Libraries are lifelines especially in hard times…Libraries are places of wonder and shapers of lives...Libraries have information showing many points of view so people can make up their own minds about issues…Libraries build stronger families by encouraging parents and children to read together." (Check out ALA's website for more advocacy tips: http://www.ala.org/pio/advocacy/advocacy.html)
-- Heather Eldred
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Children's Librarians! You Just Never Know What They Will Do When They All Get Together! |
| Folks from the WVLS area recently gathered at the Marathon County Public Library to participate in the WVLS Summer Library Program workshop, "Laugh It Up @ Your Library!" |  |
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Guest speaker, Patti Sinclair, editor of the 2003 Summer Library Program Manual, inspired all who attended the workshop, by sharing a wealth of resources she gathered while editing the manual. Throughout her presentation, Sinclair taught several stories, skits and games; she shared samples of great crafts and taught the group how to do them; and, she provided examples of decorations and props for 2003's theme. |
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If you were unable to attend the workshop and would like more information about the 2003 summer library program, please contact Beth Sillars at the WVLS office. She may be reached at 715/261-7255 or sillars@wvls.lib.wi.us
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The Most Challenged Books of 2002
1. The "Harry Potter" series by J.K.
Rowling
2. The "Alice" series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3. The
Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
4. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya
Angelou
5. Taming the Star Runner by S.E. Hinton
6. The "Captain
Underpants" series by Dav Pilkey
7. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by
Mark Twain
8. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
9. Roll of Thunder,
Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
10. Julie of the Wolves by Julie Craighead George
(Rob Reid's Heart of a Child, January 29, 2003)
Harry Potter Gets Vatican's Blessing
Even though some religious groups have accused the Harry Potter books of glamorizing magic and the occult, Harry Potter recently gained the Vatican's seal of approval when an official said the books helped children "to see the difference between good and evil."
"I don't think there's anyone…who grew up without fairies, magic and angels in their imaginary world," Father Peter Fleetwood told reporters. He went on to say that magicians and witches "are not bad or a banner for anti-Christian ideology" and that British author J.K. Rowling was "Christian by conviction, is Christian in her mode of living, even in her way of writing." (BBC News World Edition, Monday, February 3, 2003)
The following are requests of children's librarians by children:
A ten year-old asked for a photograph of heaven
for a report.
Photos of dinosaurs because the pictures from movies were fake.
Photograph of Zeus? And no, a photo of a statue just wouldn't do!
Pictures
of dragons from when they existed.
Pictures of fairies plus where they live,
what they wear, and what they eat.
Photograph of George Washington and not
just those "picture" things
Photo of Shakespeare
Photo of the
underground railroad - one of the 'Stations' where passengers got off and on
No photos, how about a recording of Elizabeth I first major address to the House
of Lords.
There are times when librarians have had to provide brief lessons on the history and time line of photography! But aren't children's librarians lucky to be working with young children - just think of the many times they make you smile! (edited from The Library Connection, newsletter of the Eastern Shores Library System, January 2003)
April 30, 2003 is El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros, or Children's Day/Book Day. The Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA), and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation are working together to promote this event, the main purpose to emphasize the importance of advocating literacy for every child, regardless of linguistic and cultural background. For a brochure that contains an annotated booklist that can be used to celebrate this day, go to http://www.ala.org/alsc/diabooklist.html
For more information, check out both http://www.ala.org/alsc/eldia.html and http://clnet.ucr.edu/library/reforma/resources/ninos/programs.html (Rob Reid's Heart of a Child, March 19, 2003)
Whether you've always wanted to get a book club started but just didn't know how, or your existing book discussion group is looking for an easier way to select books, Hedberg Public Library's new Gab Bags may be just what you need.
Gab Bags include multiple copies of a book from one of several genres, including western, romance, mystery, science fiction, nonfiction, history/biography and general fiction. Gab Bags are also available for children, young adults, and in a special movie/novel combo that includes a videotape of the big-screen adaptation of the book.
Each Gab Bag includes eight copies of a book and a notebook that contains discussion questions, biographical information on the author, a selection of book reviews and a list of "read-alike" books that are similar to the main selection. All conveniently packaged in a cloth bag, the Gab Bags are kept at the Checkout Desk, where a book group member can request a list of available Gab Bags and reserve a bag for an upcoming discussion. Gab Bags may also be reserved from the online catalog. The entire package typically is checked out to one library cardholder for one six-week period (no renewals).
The Gab Bag program is based on similar programs offered at libraries nationwide. In the past, HPL offered book discussions at the library, but arranging for a staff member to facilitate the group and getting good books into the hands of multiple readers was often challenging. "The library wants to continue to support book groups in the community," says collection manager Carol Kuntzelman. "The Gab Bag program takes advantage of the collection team's expertise about books and allows us to help book groups while maintaining our current staffing level." (Library Matters, Hedberg Public Library (Janesville, WI), January 2003, as seen in Library Administrator's Digest, February 2003)
Make Sure You're on the PUBPRGMS Listserv!
All librarians and library supporters who want to learn more about public programs, discuss programming topics with their peers, and be the first to find out about new grant opportunities should join the PUBPRGMS listserv.
To become a member of the list, send a message to listproc@ala.org Leave the subject line blank (or if your system requires, enter "subscribe" in the subject line). In the body of the message, enter the following: subscribe PUBPRGMS YourFirstName YourLastName. To send messages to PUBPRGMS, address them to pubprgms@ala.org For more information, visit http://www.ala.org/publicprograms/overview/eleclist.html If you have questions, contact the list administrator at lhayes@ala.org (Marketing Library Services, March/April 2003)
LII.ORG Special Edition - USA Patriot Act Resources http://lii.org/patriotact A list of 11 sites providing current information about the USA PATRIOT Act. (Librarians' Index to the Internet)
Book Finder http://www.bookfinder.com/ BookFinder.com is a one-stop search site that lets you view the collections of over 40,000 sellers of new, used, rare, and out-of-print books. According to the site, the forty million titles available comprise the largest book catalog available anywhere, either online or offline. (Refdesk's Link of the Day, 3/14/03)
JigZone http://www.jigzone.com Online jigsaw puzzles are available on this site with pieces ranging in number from 6 to 247. Select your image and the number of pieces you want for a custom-generated puzzle. The timer adds more challenge to the experience. Visitors can also sign up to receive a puzzle a day by e-mail.
The Unbound Bible http://unbound.biola.edu This collection of Bibles is searchable and has 10 English language versions, Greek and Hebrew versions, ancient versions, and over 40 versions in other languages. Several other tools are also available online.
Pasta Recipes http://www.e-rcps.com/pasta/home.shtml Are you wondering what to have for dinner tonight? Take a look at Pasta Plus for some meal ideas. They have many different recipes divided into categories including: Quick and Easy; Pasta by Region; Soups; Risottos; Salads; Gnocchi and many more. (Library Currents, December 2002)
Plan to Attend WiscNet's Future Technologies Conference
The 2003 WiscNet Future Technologies Conference will be held May 5-6 at the Monona Terrace and Convention Center in Madison.
Leading off the two-day conference will be Jaron Lanier, renowned computer scientist, composer, visual artist, and author. Best known for his work in virtual reality, he actually coined the term in the early 1980s when he co-developed the first glove device for virtual world interaction and was the first to study full hand interactions with virtual objects. Jaron currently serves as the Lead Scientist of the National Tele-immersion Initiative, a coalition of research universities studying advanced applications for Internet 2.
The day-two keynote speaker is Bill St. Arnaud, senior director of advanced networks for AANARIE Inc., which is Canada's advanced Internet development organization. He will speak about eScience and the third wave of the Internet.
The "Future Technologies Conference" offers a preview of emerging technologies and their potential applications for education. Learn more about future networking directions, IP video, learning objects and digital content, online professional development offerings, networkable gaming, fighting spam, grid computing, and more.
The Conference also will feature ample opportunity for Q&A and idea sharing with colleagues from around the state. The WiscNet executive director will give an update on the state of WiscNet, with the annual business meeting and elections for the Board of Directors rounding out the program. For more information about the conference, including lodging and registration materials, go to www.wiscnet.net/?11=connections&12=outreach&13=ftc (Education Forum, Feb.28-March 7, 2003)
Welcome Home!
The 33rd Annual Wisconsin Volunteer
Coordinator Training Institute Comes to Wausau May 8-9
You are invited to attend the 33rd annual Wisconsin Volunteer Coordinator Training Institute (WVCTI) at the Plaza Hotel and Suites in Wausau on May 8-9, 2003. This year's theme "Welcome Home," brings to mind programs that are invigorating, inviting and inspiring, and promises a wide variety of guest speakers and topics. A sampling of planned events include presentations by Robert Jeffers of Lindsey & Jeffers on "Mastering Emotional Intelligence;" Roberta Bie and Jodi Kreuser, representatives from The Volunteer Center of Marathon County, on "Unearthing Those Hidden Treasure Volunteers;" and Dan Dieterich, PhD., Professor of English at the University of Stevens Point, on "Communicating a Welcoming Image in Your Written Materials." The cost of the two-day conference is $80; Thursday only is $60; and Friday only is $30.00. The registration deadline is April 17, 2003. For more information, contact Juanita Thomas at the WVLS office, at 715/261-7250.
Life Sayings by the Dalai Lama
(CESA #9 News, March/April 2003)
The Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) is pleased to offer two $250 scholarships to attend WAPL's Spring Conference. "Get to the Point" is May 7-9, 2003 in Stevens Point. Full conference program and registration information is at http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/wapl/03waplconf.pdf
These scholarships are open to all WAPL members and recipients must attend the entire spring conference. WAPL will reimburse for any conference-related expenses, up to $250, including registration, travel, lodging and meals.
Two winners will be chosen via a random drawing. To enter, send a letter or email by April 4th to: Becca Berger, WAPL Chair; Door County Library; Sturgeon Bay WI 54235; rberger@mail.nfls.lib.wi.us
Winners will be announced on April 7th.
April 2003 - Culver's "Draw a Picture for National Library Week" program.
April 3 - WVLS V-Cat Council meeting - Rib Lake Public Library - 9:30.
April 4-5 - Biennial Children's Literature Conference - sponsored by UW-Madison School of Library and Information Science. Contact Linda Mundt at LEMundt@facstaff.wisc.edu or visit http:// www.slis.wisc.edu/academic/ces/index.html
April - SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA MONTH
April 6-12 NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK
April 9-11 - WEMA Conference - Four Points Sheraton Conference Center, Milwaukee - for details, visit www.wemaonline.org
April 14-20 - Young People's Poetry Week
April 17 - WVLS Executive Committee meeting - Marathon County Public Library - 1:30.
April 21-27 - TV-Turnoff Week. Check out the site at www.tv-turnoff.org to order your publication kits.
April 24 - Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. This program focuses on expanding future opportunities for children in their work and family lives. Visit http://www.daughtersandsonstowork.org/ for scheduled activities, press links, gifts, and resources for teachers, parents and mentors. (Monday Memo, 3/17/03)
April 30 - El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros, or Children's Day/Book Day
May 5-6 - 2003 WiscNet Future Technologies Conference - Monona Terrace and Convention Center, Madison
May 7-9 - "Get to the Point" - 2003 WAPL Spring Conference - Stevens Point Holiday Inn - program and registration information is available online at www.wla.lib.wi.us/wapl/03waplconf.pdf
May 13 - National Library Legislative Day.
May 17 - WVLS Board of Trustees Meeting - American Legion, 1001 Golf Club Road, Wausau - 9:30.
May 29 - WVLS V-Cat Council meeting - T.B. Scott Library, Merrill - 9:30.
May 29 - WVLS Library Advisory Committee meeting - T.B. Scott Library, Merrill - 2:00.
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
a
newsletter of the Wisconsin
Valley Library Service
300 N. First
Street / Wausau, WI 54403
| EDITOR: Marla Sepnafski Phone: 715/261-7252 FAX: 715/261-7259 |
Contributions are welcome!
News items should be submitted by the first of the month.
The Lamplighter is published monthly alternating between paper and electronic
issues.
WVLS serves Clark, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Oneida, and Taylor counties.
