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December 2003/January
2004 |
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
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Holidays have a way of confusing things for me – in both pleasant and unpleasant ways. We don’t work full weeks…we find ourselves in different cities/homes/hotels …our regular diets take a backseat to richer seasonal treats…our sleep patterns are often disturbed…etc.
One thing that isn’t confusing is that this time of year is a time of sharing ourselves…our time, our creativity, our largesse, etc., with those we care about. Since I can’t send you tangible presents covered in beautiful wrappings and gold bows, I’ll send you another of my favorite things – library-literature based quotations that you can use throughout the year………
About Librarians:
"In fact a few simple mathematical calculations reveal that if reference librarians were paid at market rates for all the roles they play, they would have salaries well over $200,000." (Will Manley – The Truth About Reference Librarians. McFarland, 1996, p. 30)
"Mary Kay is one of the secret masters of the world: a librarian. They control information. Don’t ever piss one off." (Spider Robinson – The Callahan Touch. Ace, 1993, p. 64)
"You honor your reservations; you go to your meetings so we can clean the rooms; you’re relatively quiet; and you drink more than the American Legion." (Anonymous hotel official, on why he liked the ALA annual conference – 29 June 1990, Tempo section, p.1)
"Our whole American way of life is a great war of ideas, and librarians are the arms dealers selling weapons to both sides." (James Quinn – WESTPAC/NOCALL joint meeting, 1990)
"Most people don’t realize how important librarians are. I ran across a book recently which suggested that the peace and prosperity of a culture was solely related to how many librarians it contained. Possibly a slight overstatement. But a culture that doesn’t value its librarians doesn’t value ideas and without ideas, well, where are we?" (Neil Gaiman – The Sandman. Line spoken by Lucien, Librarian of the Dreaming.)
About Books & Reading:
"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves." (Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, 7 August 1991)
"If this book be false in its facts, disprove them; if false in its reasoning, refute it. But, for God’s sake, let us freely hear both sides, if we choose." (Thomas Jefferson, 1814)
"One can never have enough socks, said Dumbledore. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books." (J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Scholastic, 1997, p. 214)
"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test." (George W. Bush speaking at Townsend Elementary School, Knoxville, TN, 21 February 2001)
About Knowledge & Information:
"Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense." (Gertrude Stein – untitled essay, 1946)
"I worry more about poor quality of information online, and students’ lack of skills for evaluating information, than I worry about frequently discussed evils like pornography." (University of Washington Internet researcher Malcolm Parks as quoted in Newsweek, 10 May 1999, p. 48)
"The first information survival skill we will all need is the ability to decode propaganda and de-mythologize the highly commercialized and entertainment-based U.S. culture. Psychologists politely call it "resistance to enculturation." Writer Ernest Hemingway had a less elegant term: ‘crap detecting.’" (Karl Albrecht, Training & Development article, February 2001, p. 24)
"There’s no such thing as knowledge management; there are only knowledgeable people. Information only becomes knowledge in the hands of someone who knows what to do with it." (Peter Drucker quoted in Industry Week article, 24 January 2000)
(The above quotes were seen at this website: http://www.laughinglibrarian.com)
On 12/15/03, Mark Arend (Winnefox Library System) celebrated the ratification of the U.S. Constitution on 12/15/1791 by sharing some relevant quotes on the IF-WISC listserv……
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759)
"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." (Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas)
Happy Holiday season to all,
Heather Eldred
Polly Gropen recently resigned as director at the Frances L. Simek Memorial Library (Medford). Her replacement is Ann Harris.
Crescent Kimpel has resigned as the director of the Withee Public Library. The Acting Director is Lori Thieme.
On December 31, 2003, director Karen Guth retired from the Crandon Public Library. Tina Inger has been named as the Acting Director.
Annual Report Workshop Slated January 15th!You Asked for It!
If you are having trouble filling out the DLTCL’s public library annual report accurately, you should plan to attend the WVLS "Annual Reports & Horizon Reports" Workshop at the T.B. Scott Free Library (Merrill) on January 15, 2004.
In a two-hour morning session, DLTCL financial guru, Al Zimmerman, will review the annual report and identify information needed to complete the report, and discuss possible problem areas. In the afternoon, Ellie Schwartz (T.B. Scott Free Library, Merrill) and Ann Mroczenski (WVLS) will present ways to extract data from the Horizon system to answer specific annual report questions.
If interested in attending this workshop, please contact Marla Sepnafski, WVLS Workshop Coordinator, at 261-7252 or msepnafs@wvls.lib.wi.us Registration deadline is Monday, January 12th. Following is the agenda for this workshop:
9:00-9:30 Coffee and Registration
9:30-11:30 Al Zimmerman - How to fill out and file public library annual reports
Lunch On your own
1:00-3:00 Ellie Schwartz & Ann Mroczenski - How to retrieve data from the Horizon automated system to answer annual report questions.
17th Annual Children’s Book Fest Scheduled for March 9 and 10, 2004
Northern Wisconsin librarians, teachers, parents and members of the general public who are interested in learning about the best books for young people are invited to attend Children’s Book Fest 2004, a two day conference held at the Rhinelander Holiday Inn Express on March 9 and 10.
Three of the country’s top children’s literature specialists from the nationally acclaimed Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) in Madison, Wisconsin will discuss books for children and young adults at an evening presentation on Tuesday, March 9, as well as at a day presentation on Wednesday, March 10. Both sessions will include a CCBC exhibit of the best books from the year 2003 for young readers.
Conference speakers, Kathleen T. Horning, Megan Schliesman and Merri V. Lindgren are the co-authors of CCBC CHOICES, an annual recommended best books list. Children’s Book Fest participants will receive a free copy of the 100-page booklet as part of their registration package.
Plans include an opportunity on both March 9 and 10 for individuals to purchase award-winning books highlighted by the speakers through an independent arrangement with Brown Street Books of Rhinelander.
Local supporters of Children’s Book Fest include Stora
Enso North America, M&I Merchants Bank, Ripco Credit Union and Wisconsin
Public Service. Additional assistance is received from the Indianhead Federated
Library System, Northern Waters Library Service and Wisconsin Valley Library
Service.
Complete registration information about Children’s Book Fest 2004 may be found at http://wvls.lib.wi.us/Workshops/workshop.html Telephone inquiries for the March 9 presentation may be made to Headwaters Reading Council members Joan Belongia Mode (362-5111) or Lynne Kagelman (873-4879). Queries about the March 10 presentation may be referred to the Rhinelander District Library (365-1070).
David Diaz visits Wausau, Wisconsin
Caldecott Medal award-winning artist David Diaz will travel to Wausau, Wisconsin for a series of programs sponsored by the Marathon County Public Library, Wisconsin Valley Library Service and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum.
On Saturday, January 24, at 10 a.m. Diaz speaks to adults at the Woodson Art Museum and signs books following his gallery talk. He moves to the Marathon County Public Library in downtown Wausau for "Let’s Face It" at 1:30 p.m. This is a program for children in grades 3-7 to practice drawing techniques with Diaz to make characters – real or imagined – come to life. Sign ups are not necessary for either program.
Diaz is the special guest at a "Family Fiesta" at the Woodson Art Museum on Sunday, January 25, from 1:30-3:30 pm. Traditional stories and songs will be told and sung in English and Spanish, and presenters Clare Norelle and Gilma Arenas of Madison encourage audience participation. Fiesta food will be served throughout the day. Spanish-speaking translators from Advocates for World Languages will be on hand.
For more information contact:
(edited from Rob Reid’s Heart of a Child, 12/17/03)Based on research conducted since 1958, Search Institute has identified 40 developmental assets that all young people need to grow up to be healthy, principled and caring adults. The more assets a young person has developed, the more likely they are to make positive choices. Conversely, the fewer assets a young person has developed, the more likely they are to become involved in risk-taking behaviors. It has been found nationwide that most students have fewer than half of these 40 assets.
The list of 40 developmental assets as well as tips for focusing on each one is too long to include in its entirety here, but may be requested from Beth Sillars at the WVLS office (715/261-7255 or sillars@wvls.lib.wi.us). Following is the featured asset for December:
December Asset: #29
Honesty
Kids who have this asset tell the truth even when it’s not easy.Tell children and youth you expect them to be honest with each other and with themselves. Model honesty in your daily life. Return the extra change from the cashier, don’t take or keep things that don’t belong to you, honestly acknowledge feelings and admit to both your successes and your mistakes. Discuss the many different ways of being dishonest and help children recognize them, including exaggeration, deception by omission, outright lying, cheating. Don’t overreact if your children lie to you. Tell them that you are having trouble believing what they are saying and give them an opportunity to tell the truth. Allow them to help you be more honest also, when you are tempted to "fudge" the truth. Talk about situations they have observed at school, church, in the community or at home when someone acted dishonestly and honestly. Help them see who gets hurt when people are not honest – often it’s the one who didn’t tell the truth. When kids are honest and they confess doing something they know is wrong, make sure the consequences are for the wrong action, not for the honesty in reporting.
New Resource for Your Patrons!
A two-page handout, The Librarian’s Guide to Great Web Sites for Kids, is now available as a PDF document on ALA’s Great Web Sites for Kids site. You can access the brochure from a link near the top of the Great Web Sites for Kids home page at: www.ala.org/greatsites The brochure offers tips and guidelines that will help children, parents and caregivers safely enjoy the benefits of the Internet. Feel free to download the document and distribute at your library.
The Attorney General and the Department of Justice continue to advocate for open government. Wisconsin’s Open Meeting law, enacted in 1976, attempts to promote openness in government and to provide Wisconsin citizens with an opportunity to observe and educate themselves about their government’s operations. Below is a list of open meeting notification reminders for librarians and trustees:
* Must post a notice of the meeting in a place that the public would most likely see it, e.g. village or city hall, village or city bulletin board, library lobby.
* Must send a notice of the meeting to the newspaper that serves the area served by the library, and to any other news media that requests a notice.
* Notice must set forth time, date, place and subject matter of the meeting. Subject matter should have some degree of specificity. "Other items" is not specific.
* Notice must be given at least 24 hours in advance of a meeting unless impractical. In emergency cases, notice must be made no less than 2 hours in advance of the meeting.
* Committees of library boards are also subject to open meeting laws and notice requirements.
(The Library Connection, Eastern Shores
Library System’s newsletter, November & December 2003, as seen at http://www.doj.state.wi.us
)
NOTE: For a copy of the new Wisconsin Open Meeting Law, go to http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dls/docs/op_rec.pdf
In 2004-
Write
a Monthly Column for Your Community’s Local Newspaper
To get started it is important to develop a working relationship with your local newspaper. It is helpful if your library already purchases signature ads and feature ads in special supplements, such as a county fair results feature or a salute to county volunteers. Many times an editor will be more receptive to a column if the library is a strong ad-copy customer.
Once you have asked the editor for an opportunity to write a column and the concept is agreed upon, it is time to write. Create your column in a pre-arranged simple format (MS Word) and then e-mail the column to the editor. This alleviates any time-consuming re-keying by the newspaper staff.
Rural library directors may not consider themselves "writers," but being a writer is not necessarily a prerequisite to writing a column. If a passion for library service exists, it will come out in the column. Simply walk around the library with a notebook and write about what you know. Keep in mind areas patrons might be unfamiliar with, such as new formats and services. The following are column examples:
* Initial Introduction Column: Introduce
yourself and why the column is being written. Include basic information such as
how the library is funded, the hours open. etc. List some of your favorite
"reads."
* Online Reference Resources: Share information about how to
access your library’s online reference resources.
* Holiday Reads: Include a listing of fiction and nonfiction
holiday titles.
* Books on Tape/CD: Introduce your patrons to the idea of
listening to a book. Describe activities such as road trips, harvesting,
long-distance travel, gardening, etc., where it would be appropriate to
"listen to a book." Include some of your favorite titles.
* Local History and Genealogy: Share information regarding the
library’s local history and genealogy collection.
* Magazines and Newspapers: Provide a partial listing of magazines
and perhaps a full listing of the newspapers your library maintains.
* The Library’s Web Presence: Encourage patrons to visit your
library’s web site. Provide links and contact information for the staff. Let
them know about the library’s calendar of events and other web data.
* Summer Reading Programs: Promote your library’s summer reading
program and the importance of literary development in youth. Provide a schedule
of events, themes and contact information.
* Special Information Areas: Write columns on areas of the library’s
collection addressing sensitive subjects such as dealing with loss and grief,
mental health, etc. Other column subjects can provide information on hobbies,
travel, self-help, history, religion, etc.
(Used with permission, Rural Library Services Newsletter [July/August 2003], Paulding County Carnegie Library, 205 S. Main Street, Paulding, OH 45879)
· Submit the release early (preferably a week before publication).
· Get it in the editor’s hands midweek (they’re overloaded on Mondays).
· Identify "PRESS RELEASE" clearly.
· If a release is not published, follow-up with a quick call or e-mail and solicit ideas for improvement.
· Make sure essential people read the release before it is sent out.
· Better no quotes than bad quotes.
· Double check facts.
· Avoid abbreviations, jargon, and acronyms.
· Have someone proofread once, twice, three times.
(edited from "Extra! Extra! Extra! Read All about It!," Public Libraries, Sept./Oct. 2003)
In the New Year, many individuals will resolve to improve their eating and exercise habits. The following websites may be of help…
America’s Walking http://www.pbs.org/americaswalking/
Companion site for the PBS series of the same
name, this walking, fitness, travel, and active lifestyle site that offers
information on how to start a daily walking habit, personal health, food and
water, gear, how to make our communities more pedestrian-friendly, and the most
walkable cities in the United States.
iVillage Diet and Fitness http://www.ivillage.com/diet
A diet and exercise portal designed by women
for women. Learn the basics of the popular diets, e.g., Atkins and the Zone, and
hear about the actual experiences of iVillage members who followed these diets.
Browse a directory of weight-loss topics such as "fitness trend" and
"diet blocks." Take a health quiz or use some of the free tools on the
site such as the "health calculator," or the "fitness
horoscope."
Nutrition Navigator http://navigator.tufts.edu/
The Tufts University Nutrition Navigator is
an online rating and review guide that attempts to help individuals sort through
the large volume of nutrition information on the Internet to find accurate,
useful information about nutrition.
Your Personal Fitness Center
http://www.justmove.org/
This site by the American Heart Association
provides many resources you need to keep physically fit. Tools available include
an "exercise diary," "fitness resources," and "my
fitness," that helps you learn what fitness best describes your lifestyle
and how to get the greatest benefit from physical activity in your life.
Other Sites of Interest…
The Invisible Web – a part
of the Internet that is not readily available unless you know how to access it,
which might contain more in-depth information than commercially available web
sites. Such sites include:
(Edited from "The Invisible Web; What is it?" by Chris Jameson in WASL Speaks, Fall/Winter 2003/2004)
Declare Yourself http://www.declareyourself.com/
Designed to energize and empower a new
movement of young voters to participate in the 2004 election, this site provides
information about voter registration, absentee ballots, and locating polling
places. It also includes brief information about presidential candidates, video
clips promoting voting, and links to related sites.
2003 Snow Sculpture Championships http://www.themoens.com/Photos/Events/snowSculpture/y2003/main.htm
Photos from this year’s championships and
previous years’ as well, along with a video on how they make the gigantic
blocks of snow.
Early Bird Tax Information
The New Year means that individuals will begin to organize their tax files.
Remind your patrons that forms may be downloaded anytime by visiting the IRS at http://www.irs.gov
or the Wisconsin Department of Revenue at http://www.dor.state.wi.us/html/indiv.html
Try this…it’s really cool, and only takes a minute…
1. Key in the first 3 digits of your phone number into a calculator (not the area code)
2. Multiply by 80
3. Add 1
4. Multiply by 250
5. Add the last four digits of your phone number
6. Add the last four digits of your phone number again
7. Subtract 250
8. Divide by 2Is it your phone number?
This month's Featured Kit
922P Where the Wild things Are Kit
For
more information on this kit visit the
WVLS AV & Programming Materials Page
January 15 – "Annual Reports & Horizon Reports" – a WVLS workshop – T.B. Scott Library, Merrill – 9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. See article above for more information.
January 17 – WVLS Board of Trustees meeting – Marathon County Public Library – 9:30 a.m.
January 24-25 – David Diaz to Visit Wausau – for more info, see article above.
FEBRUARY – It’s time to start planning what you can do
for LIBRARY LOVER’S MONTH. This one is wide open. Here are a few
suggestions: Have a contest for short essays on "why I love my
library" and get some published in the local newspaper/newsletter/web site
to help prove your worth to others; and write a humorous top-10-style list of
why people should love your library.
(Marketing Library Services,
Nov./Dec. 2003)
February 3 – Library Legislative Day – Inn on the Park, Madison. Visit http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/legis/day/index.htm for more information.
February 5 – WVLS V-Cat Council meeting – Marathon County Public Library – 9:30 a.m.
February 20 – WVLS Summer Library Program – details forthcoming.
February 24-28 – Public Library Association National Conference – Seattle, WA.
March 1 – Public Library Annual Reports due to DLTCL.
March 2 – Read Across America Day – www.nea.org/readacross
March 9-10 – 2004 Children’s Book Fest – Rhinelander – complete registration information may be found at http://wvls.lib.wi.us/Workshops/workshop.html
March 23 – "Celebrating the Book" – a WVLS Reader’s Advisory Workshop – Marathon County Public Library – watch for details in the January issue of the Lamplighter.
April 28-30 – WAPL Conference, Wisconsin Dells
May 14 – WVLS Library Advisory Committee meeting – Rhinelander District Library – 9:30 a.m.
May 19 – WVLS Latino Grant workshop – details forthcoming.
"No Snowflake
in an avalanche ever feels responsible."
--Stanislaw Lee
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
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.)
| 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.
WVLS serves Clark, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Oneida, and Taylor counties.
When the most recent issue becomes available, readers are alerted by a notice
posted to WISPUBLIB, or sent an email.
To subscribe to WISPUBLIB, send an email message to wispublib@badger.state.wi.us
In the body of the message (subject line is ignored) type: subscribe WISPUBLIB.
Then send your email. To have The Lamplighter emailed to you without subscribing
to WISPUBLIB, contact Barbara Freimund at 715/261-7252, or email freimund@wvls.lib.wi.us
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