ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE VALLEY OF THE WISCONSIN RIVER…………
Oops! I think I got caught up in the 200^th birthday celebration for Hans Christian Anderson. He wrote so many things that have influenced our lives that we could celebrate his birthday – and his wonderful gifts to us - all year.

I was thinking that if all of Hans’ ‘creatures’ got together for a party, they would probably have to wear nametags. Thinking of nametags brought to mind an article I read on the ‘net back in April 2000 on the Energize site ( http://www.energizeinc.com ) about nametags - written by Susan J. Ellis. She said, "Nametags range in quality from those peel-off, stick-em-on, "Hello, my name is" cuties (which do not stick longer than ten minutes to any fabric out of which clothes are made) to those lightweight plastic jobs from which the paper insert flies to the floor, leaving an empty, useless shell flopping open on the wearer’s chest. A delicate issue is placement. Attach it too high and it irritates our necks, but pin it too low and it elicits improper stares – a problem increasing in severity with the size of the wearer’s bust line. Further, there’s the raging debate over which is the politically-correct side for the tag…Left? Or right?...Then there’s the matter of attachments. Ribbons to honor board members, presenters, exhibitors, recovering alcoholics, and other dignitaries bedeck chests everywhere in an attempt to impersonate 5-star generals…Of course, it seems perfectly natural to wear this adorned name tag at the event, but when a waitress in the restaurant across town miraculously calls you by your first name and you realize you’ve worn the thing outside, you feel pretty silly…"

Thinking of nametags brings meetings to mind and, at a couple of recent ones (meetings I mean), people were talking about the Open Meetings Law and whether it covered committees……..

OPEN MEETINGS OF BOARD COMMITTEES
 We know that library boards must operate under the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law (OML) but what about committees related to those boards? Are they covered by OML too? According to Bruce Olsen (who made presentations at the Attorney General/Department of Justice meetings early in 2004), if a board is appointed by a governmental body (read ‘library board’ here), then any committees/sub-units created by that board are also considered governmental units and governmental units must operate under the requirements of the OML. Therefore committees have to post proper notice of their agendas, keep minutes that are public records, etc. Boards and their committees also need to be careful that they don’t conduct what should be public business via the phone or e-mail rather than in a public forum. For a review of this law, I suggest you revisit the TRUSTEE ESSENTIALS – A Handbook for Wisconsin Public Library Trustees - #14.

DON’T BECOME PART OF THE PROBLEM!
Here is an authoritative source that has news about the latest hoaxes, real threats and more – http://securityresponse/symantec.com  Don’t be guilty of passing on information about hoaxes, viruses, etc. Check this site first. When we pass things along without checking up on them, we actually become part of the problem.  

WVLS IS TAKING ORDERS!
Inspired by Lance Armstrong’s hugely successful "Live Strong" wristbands, the "Libraries matter" wristband was developed by the Alliance Library System of Illinois. The blue "Libraries matter" wristband acts as a simple reminder of something that is too often forgotten, the importance of libraries in our communities. It also may be used as a fundraiser. Library Journal (3/1/05) mentioned that libraries are selling the wristbands for $3.00 and using the money for purposes ranging from building projects to flood recovery to summer reading programs!

Libraries may place bulk orders at http://librariesmatter.com/ The cost is $80 for 50 wristbands and $150 for 100 wristbands, not including shipping. However, since some of the smaller libraries may not want to purchase the minimum order of 50 wristbands, WVLS is offering to do a bulk order for its members. If interested, contact Barbara Freimund at the WVLS office (715/261-7252 or freimund@wvls.lib.wi.us ) with your order by May 9, 2005.

The first 2005 meeting of LAC will be held on Thursday, May 5th at 9:30 in the Community Room of the T.B. Scott Free Library in Merrill. For more information about LAC, visit the WVLS web site at http://wvls.lib.wi.us/About/lac.htm 

HELP YOUTH RESOLVE CONFLICTS WITHOUT VIOLENCE
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 April:

There are many ways to show caring, so here are 10 tips to show kids you care:

(Taken from 150 Ways to Show Kids You Care, Search Institute © 1998). Reinforce caring behaviors in your home by actively showing young people that you care about them, just as they are. Remember that kids don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.

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MAY IS LATINO BOOKS MONTH!
May 2005 has been designated by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) as the second annual Latino Books Month to promote books by and for Latinos. This month-long celebration provides a fantastic time for booksellers, librarians, and others in the book industry to encourage people in their communities to read books by and for Latinos, both English and Spanish. As part of the initiative, AAP member publishers will hold special author events, and the AAP Task Force on Publishing Latino Voices for America is creating a Latino Books Month Resource Kit, which will include:

• A Latino Books Summer Reading List with recommended books for adults and children, in English and Spanish.
• A Publishing Latino Voices Brochure, which includes a sampling of titles by and for Latinos published by AAP member publishing companies.
• Get Caught Reading / Aja, leyendo! posters featuring celebrities including Gloria Estefan, Maya and Miguel, Jorge Ramos, Dora the Explorer and others.
• "Libros en Espanol" window clings to let everyone know that books are available in Spanish.
• A fact sheet on the Latino community, the fastest growing demographic in the U.S.
• A "how-to" sheet on starting a Spanish-language reading group within a community.

Resource kits will be available to booksellers, librarians, educators, and others who wish to promote a love of reading among Latinos in their communities. To learn more about Latino Books Month, visit www.publishers.org/press/releases.cfm?PressReleaseArticleID=248 
(Children’s Event Organizer E-newsletter, Lakeshores Library System and Mid-Wisconsin Federated Library System, 4/13/05)

EDITOR’S NOTE: To request a Latino Books Month Resource Kit, please contact Marlene Scheuermann at mscheuermann@publishers.org 

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MAY IS ALSO OLDER AMERICANS MONTH
May is Older Americans Month and a perfect time to display books with senior authors, or characters. Below are two sites with lists of books, compiled by subscribers of the Fiction_L mailing list, that would be perfect for your displays:

	Little Old Lady Sleuths: www.webrary.org/rs/flbklists/LOLs.html
	Of a Certain Age: Fiction Featuring Older Adults: www.webrary.org/rs/flbklists/Age.html

(The Library Connection, newsletter of the Eastern Shores Library System, 4/05)

JOAN AIROLDI, FORMER WISCONSIN LIBRARIAN, WINS AWARD
PEN American Center has named Joan Airoldi, a librarian and library director in rural Washington State who challenged an FBI effort to search patron records, as the recipient of this year's PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award. Airoldi will receive the $25,000 prize at PEN's annual Gala on April 20, 2005 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Airoldi was the director of the Northern Waters Library Service, headquartered in Ashland, for many years before moving to Washington.

On June 8, 2004, an FBI agent visited the Deming branch of the Whatcom County Library System in rural Washington, a library not much larger than a family home. The agent demanded the names of all library patrons who had borrowed the book Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America. The FBI made the request after a reader contacted the agency to report that someone had left a handwritten note in the margin of the book that said, "If the things I'm doing is considered a crime then let history be a witness that I am a criminal. Hostility toward America is a religious duty and we hope to be rewarded by God," a nearly direct quote of a statement Osama Bin Laden made in a 1998 interview.

PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE GRANTS AVAILABLE
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is offering Preservation Assistance Grants to help small and mid-size institutions, such as libraries, museums, and historical societies, archival repositories, town and county records offices, and colleges, improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine arts, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, and historical objects. Successful applicants will be awarded an outright grant up to $5000. The deadline for applications is May 16, 2005. See http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/pag.html for more information.
(Newsflashes, newsletter of the Indianhead Federated Library System, 4/20/05)

CELL PHONES, TELEMARKETING AND WIRELESS 411 SERVICE
Did you know that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 places many restrictions on telemarketing calls to wireless phone numbers? Despite this protection, an alarming – but false – email has been circulating warning that after January 1, 2005 telemarketers will be able to call cell phone numbers unless consumers place themselves on the National Do-Not-Call List.

The emergence of this hoax email seems to have coincided with an announcement that several wireless companies plan to compile a 411 directory of cell phone numbers. To add to the confusion, information warning that telemarketers may soon be calling cell phone numbers was reported on national broadcast news. CBS reported that the directory would be on the Internet.

Here are some general facts about this issue:

• It is unlawful to make any call using an automatic telephone dialing system or artificial or prerecorded message to any wireless telephone number [47 USC 227 (b)(1)].
• The National Do-Not-Call List accepts both landline and cellular phone numbers, and you can register at any time. If you regularly give out your cell phone number, you may wish to put it on the Do-Not-Call List.
• As of January 1, 2005 telemarketers will be required to comply with a new law that requires them to "scrub" their solicitation lists every 31 days.
• Wireless 411 directory assistance may be available sometime in 2005. According to the company coordinating the database: consumers will be able to opt-in to the directory; the directory will not be published; and the phone numbers will only be available to operator service centers (the folks who currently provide the standard landline 411 service).

(edited from "Cell Phones, Telemarketing and Wireless 411 Service" in WSLL @ Your Service, an e-publication of the Wisconsin State Law Library, 1/05. For the complete article, visit http://wsll.state.wi.us/newsletter/issue05jan.html)

A preview will be given at the ALA’s annual conference this June in Chicago, and a full launch is planned for the fall.
(ALA News Release, 4/7/05)

ONLINE TRAINING SITES
The Media and Technology Section (MATS) of WLA has gathered sites that offer online training on a variety of library-related topics. Take a look at the MATS Online Classes page to see what they have found so far ( http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/mats/classes.asp ). If you know of other good sites, please email them to bcarpent@mail.owls.lib.wi.us, and MATS will consider adding them.
 (WLA Blog; 2/24/05; http://wlaweb.blogspot.com/ )

THIS MONTH IS 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TWINKIE!
While searching for off-season uses for his strawberry shortcake pans in 1930, Illinois baker Jimmy Dewar, 33, had the "best darn-tootin’ idea" of his life: The Twinkie. Banana filling (which changed to vanilla in a World War II banana shortage) instead of exterior icing made the cakes easy to carry. By 2005, some 500 million Twinkies (150 calories each) find their way into American lunches annually.
(Smithosonian, 4/05)

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for cars, and the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on! At COMDEX, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon." Well, in response to Bill’s comments, General Motors issued a press release stating these 10 amusing comparisons:

• For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
• Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
• Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
• Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to start, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
• Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive – but would run on only 5% of the roads.
• The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.
• The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.
• Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
• Every time a new car was introduced, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
• You’d have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

(From The Newsletter of Internet Terms from NetLingo, www.netlingo.com/, as seen in The Library Connection, newsletter of the Eastern Shores Library System, 3/05)

BLOOM CENTRAL.COM http://www.bloomcentral.com 
This site claims to be "the largest and most comprehensive florist and flower shops portal directory on the web with over 5,000 links to flower and gift related web sites throughout the world." Listings are browsable by continent, country, or type of flower arrangement. (Copyright 2005 by Librarians’ Index to the Internet; LII New this week; 4/21/05)

INTERACTIVE HEALTH TUTORIALS http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorial.html 
The tutorials listed on the U.S. National Library of Medicine site are interactive health education resources from the Patient Education Institute. Using animated graphics each tutorial explains a procedure or condition in easy-to-read language. You can also listen to the tutorial. These tutorials require a special Flash plug-in, version 4 or above. If your computer does not have Flash, you will be prompted to obtain a free download of the software before you start the tutorial. (Refdesk Link of the Day; 10/21/04)

POWER OF HEALTH CARE DECISIONS AND FINANCE LEGAL DOCUMENTS http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/forms/AdvDirectives/index.htm#Print
The recent controversy in the Shiavo case in Florida has caused a renewed interest in living wills. The State of Wisconsin site offers basic legal documents that comply with statutory requirements for anyone interested in pursuing a living will or other documents to direct their health care and finances. (Channel Weekly, 4/14/05)

RECIPE GOLDMINE http://www.recipegoldmine.com 
Not only are there recipes galore for things to eat, there are recipes for beauty products, gardening recipes, home remedies, cleaning products, restaurants menu items (both real and copycat) and even craft recipes and crafts for your children’s programming needs. Check it out.  (The Library Connection, 3/05)

THE NEW SAT http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4528303
In 2005, "the College Board has introduced a new version of the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) that is longer and harder than previous versions and, for the first time, includes a mandatory writing component." This site includes a series of news stories’ reports on the new SAT and also includes opinion pieces on the SAT from education administrators and links to fact sheets and other resources about the test. From National Public Radio.  (Copyright 2005 by Librarians’ Index to the Internet; LII New this week; 3/17/05)

May 

June

July

September

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 

LAMPLIGHTER

is a monthly newsletter of the Wisconsin Valley Library Service. 
300 N. First Street / Wausau, WI 54403
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Back issues are available at http://wvls.lib.wi.us/Newsletter/newsindex.htm 
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WVLS serves Clark, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Oneida, and Taylor counties.

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