In This Issue: 10.31.08
Libraries Impact Reading Scores • A WebJunction Tour • New Job Service Website • Corrected HAPLR Report • The Millennial Generation • Native American DVDs • NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda • MaintainIT Cookbook Webinars • Useful URLs • Reflection
C A L E N D A R
November 4-7
Wisconsin Library Association Conference,
Madison Marriott West, Middleton
November 8 NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting, NWLS, 12:00
December 9 Directors Meeting,
Winchester,
10:00 – 2:30
December 10 Directors Meeting,
Shell Lake,
10:00 - 2:30
UW-Madison SLIS Continuing Education:
- Public Library Administration, January 7 - March 31
- Basic Reference, February 9 - May 2
- Fundamentals of Cataloging, February 9 - May 2
- Adult Book Discussions in the Library, February 16 - March 13
- Connecting Teens with the Best in New Teen Lit, February 12 - April 5
- Children, Technology, and the Library Instructor; March 9 - April 3
- Graphic Novels in the Library, March 11 - April 8
- Library 2.0: 101, dates to be announced
C U R R E N T . E V E N T S
Libraries Impact Reading Scores
From Channel Weekly, October30, 2008 - A recent study done by Keith Curry Lance and Robbie Bravman Marks published in the September 2008 “School Library Journal” supports the widespread belief that the efforts of public libraries to promote early literacy pays off in terms of higher reading scores during elementary school. There is a positive and statistically significant relationship between children’s services in public libraries and early reading success. Wisconsin ranks in the top half of all states on the reading scores, and also ranks in the top half for attendance at children’s programs and children’s circulation.
Of states ranking in the top half on reading scores, 82 percent also ranked in the top half on circulation of children’s materials per capita. Conversely, four out of five states in the bottom half on reading scores also rank in the bottom half on children’s circulation. Of states ranking in the top half on reading scores, 70 percent ranked in the top half on attendance at children’s programs per capita. Seventy-one percent in the bottom half on reading scores also rank in the bottom half on children’s program attendance.
These findings support the position that public library children’s services make a significant, measurable difference in early reading success.
Since 1990, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has been collaborating with the 50 states and the District of Columbia to compile basic statistics about public libraries, including the circulation of children’s materials and attendance at children’s programs. To read the complete article, visit http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6590044.html
A WebJunction Tour
From Linda Stobbe, NWLS - A few months ago, I wrote an article about inexpensive online training. In that article I mentioned the E-learning Institute offered through WebJunction. WebJunction offers more than online courses and I thought it would be helpful if I gave you a snapshot of the first two sections on the website: Technology and Library Management.
Technology http://www.webjunction.org/technology
• Basic computer skills: help on Office applications and using the Internet.
• Basic computer support: improve your troubleshooting and computer maintenance skills.
• Buying technology: where to find discounts and donations for computer hardware and software. You will also find help on choosing which computer or printer to buy for your library.
• Product Reviews: websites and Internet resources containing product reviews.
• Explore practical emerging technologies: discussions about applications, articles on emerging technologies and presentations. This section is designed to help you learn about, connect with and explore new technologies for you and your library.
• Technology Planning: tools for helping librarians manage technology and write technology plans. WebJunction provides free access to TechAtlas where you can find inventory tools, staff surveys, assessments, and a budget worksheet to help with your planning needs.
Library Management http://www.webjunction.org/management
• Advocacy, Outreach and Marketing: advocacy and outreach brainstorming and marketing tips for telling your story.
• Budget and Finance: examples and a template of a budget presentation and information on developing the library budget.
• Customer Service and Interpersonal Skills: sections on co-worker relations, difficult patrons and diversity.
• Facilities Management: sections on space planning and accessibility.
• Friends and Trustees: resources on organizing a Friends group, offering training to trustees, and best practices for working with these groups
• Funding: dedicated to helping you find resources for fundraising, including how to work with local officials and make a clear case for funding needs.
• Organizational Management: sections on legal responsibilities and strategic planning.
• Personnel Management: contains four subcategories – consultants, hiring, supervision and volunteers.
• Policies and Procedures: computer policies, copyright information, disaster planning, intellectual freedom and censorship; patron services sample policies, and the USA PATRIOT Act.
New Job Service Website
From Channell Weekly, October 23, 2008 - Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has launched a new Website for job seekers. The site, at http://JobCenterOfWisconsin.com, is available 24-hours a day at no-cost to both employers and job seekers. It allows searching for jobs by keywords and searches can be limited to a particular geographic area. Job seekers can establish an account that will allow them to create or upload a resume. The DLTCL encourages libraries to add a link to the Job Center of Wisconsin to their library’s Website.
Corrected HAPLR Report
From American Libraries, October 8, 2008 - The results of Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings published in the October 2008 issue of the magazine of the American Library Association have been recently corrected and can be viewed on the HAPLR website. Thomas J. Hennen Jr., author of this independent study, discovered after the issue was mailed that the figures reflected those compiled in 2006 rather than 2008. The corrected tables are also available in PDF format on the American Libraries website, as well as in the November issue of the magazine.
“Technology is a wonder; it can also be a horror,” said Hennen. “I referred to the wrong data set in my computer files. The result was republishing the last edition, scoring and ranking every library the same for the 2008 as for the 2006 edition. I have now redone things, and I apologize to everyone for this terrible mistake.”
“We sincerely regret this error and the confusion it will undoubtedly cause,” said Leonard Kniffel, American Libraries editor-in-chief. “The HAPLR rankings have been used by many libraries to tout their success to local media, so it is important to get the correct numbers and rankings on the record as quickly as possible.”
The Millennial Generation
From Marketing Your Library, July 2008 - The Millennial Generation (born 1980-1996) represents special challenges to libraries. They are truly distinct and will eventually become larger than the Baby Boom generation. They are digital natives in the land of digital immigrants.
Nearly half of the Millennials now live with broadband connections and complex “media ecology” in their homes. Their technology is mobile: cell phones, MP3 players and laptops. In their recent book, Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa (2007) found that in a survey of 7,705 college students in the US 97% own a computer; 94% own a cell phone; 76% use instant messaging; 34% use websites as their primary source of news; 28% author a blog and 44% read blogs. Almost ½ of them download music using peer-to-peer file sharing and 75% of college students have a Facebook account. About 60% own some type of portable music and/or video device, such as an iPod.
The Millennial Generation think of librarians as info support, akin to what we think of as tech support. When planning services targeted for this audience, keep in mind the Millenniual Generation is team oriented and word of mouth advertising is very powerful.
Native American DVDs
From Channel Weekly, October 30 - The Wisconsin Reference and Loan Library offers an annotated browsing list of Native American audiovisual materials. In time for National American Indian & Alaska Native Heritage Month in November, the list has been updated with the addition of nearly 20 DVDs and CD-ROMs. The list includes over 200 VHS, DVD, and other visual programs containing documentary, informational, instructional, and dramatic presentations that deal with Native American history, arts and crafts, traditional and contemporary culture, government, treaty rights, sovereignty, relations with other cultural groups, and efforts to preserve traditional values. Over 150 sound recordings offer documentary programs, music, and Indian language instruction. Material covers North, South, and Central America, with a significant number devoted to tribes in Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region.
The list is available on the Reference and Loan Library’s website at http://www.dpi.wi.gov/rll/pdf/nativeamericanav.pdf with borrowing instructions. For further information about the materials or borrowing procedures, contact Reference and Loan at 608-224-6169 or toll-free in Wisconsin at 888-542-5543, #3; by fax at 608-224-6178; or email, dpirllill@dpi.wi.gov.
Reference and Loan has the following DVDs available for interlibrary loan:
• Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibway: Coming Home to the Traditions, Pride and the Gardens of a Progressive Native American Community (2006)
• Bimaadiziwin: A Healthy Way of Life (2002)
• Eastman Johnson's Ojibwe Portraits (2008)
• Gaa Miinigooyang: That Which Is Given To Us (2002)
• Gakina-awiiya: We Are All Related (2002)
• George Morrison Reflections (2008)
• Gikinoo'amaadiwin: We Gain Knowledge (2002)
• Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) Videos
• Gwayakochigewin: Doing Things the Right Way (2002)
• Honoring the Maple Sugar (2008)
• The Indian Princess Demystified (2008)
• The Island of the Yellow Breasted Woodpecker - Madeline Island (2008)
• John Peyton Portrait (2008)
• Lighting the 7th Fire (1999)
• The Lost Tribe: St. Croix Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (2007)
• Mikwendaagoziwag: They Are Remembered (2007)
• The Mole Lake Sokaogon Band of Lake Superior Ojibway: A Portrayal of Determination (2006)
• The Mystery of Chaco Canyon (1999)
• Native American Educational Series Volume 1-8 (2002-2004)
• Native Wisconsin: Communities in Wisconsin (2007)
• Ojibwe Wild Rice Harvest Part 1-2 (2008)
• Ojibwemowin: the Ojibwe Language (2002)
• The Oneida Speak (2007)
• Shaman of the Andes (2003)
• Thunder in the Dells (2007)
• Traditional Ojibwe Ice Fishing (2008)
• Tribal Nations: The Story of Federal Indian Law (2006)
• Way of the Warrior (2007)
NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda
12:00 Noon in Ashland at NWLS November 8, 2008
1. Call to order / Roll Call
2. Guest Comments
3. Minutes of the September 20, 2008 Board of Trustees Meeting
4. Appointment of nominating committee for 2009 Officers
5. September and October 2008 NWLS Expenditures
6. October 31, 2008 Financial Statement and Budget Report
7. Amendment to 2008 budget
8. Financial Procedures Handbook Update
9. Director’s Report
10. OPAL demonstration
T E C H N O L O G Y
MaintainIT Cookbook Webinars
From LisNews, October 28, 2008 - MaintainIT Cookbook, "Planning for Success" is on the horizon. This free online resource brings together current ideas and best practices for planning, building, and managing your library’s computer technology. Librarians around the country have contributed their knowledge on topics ranging from security solutions and strategic maintenance practices to community experiences involving Web 2.0 tools and vital partnerships.
For the next month they will be hosting a cornucopia of free webinars to showcase the new materials—from 20-minute introductions to one hour topic specific discussions. Join in on these learning experiences:
Tasty Tidbits from the New MaintainIT Cookbook: A Free Introductory Webinar
20 Samples in 20 Minutes:
10/29/2008 9:30am - 9:50am Pacific Register: http://tinyurl.com/5n7llw
10/29/2008 10:00am - 10:20am Pacific Register: http://tinyurl.com/5aboo3
Get Your Game On - Quick Tips to Start a Gaming Program in Your Library
10/29/2008 11:00 am-12:00 Pacific Register: http://tinyurl.com/69an7m
Recycling and Refurbishing Old Computers: A Free Webinar for Libraries
This webinar is being offered twice! Just register for the time that works best for you.
10/30/2008 9:00am - 10:00am Pacific Register: http://tinyurl.com/6duwsw
10/30/2008 1:00pm - 2:00pm Pacific Register: http://tinyurl.com/6okn4w
Web 2.0 Collaboration Tools and Libraries
11/3/2008 2:00-3:00 PM Eastern Register: http://tinyurl.com/64b2qs
U S E F U L . U R Ls
Native American Authors
This website provides information on Native North American authors with bibliographies of their published works, biographical information, and links to online resources including interviews, online texts and tribal websites. Currently the website primarily contains information on contemporary Native American authors, although some historical authors are represented. Browsable by author, title of work, or tribe. From the Internet Public Library.
URL: http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/
Oyate
A Native American organization working to see that Native Americans' lives and histories are portrayed honestly. Includes book reviews, resource materials, and fiction by and about native peoples.
URL: http://www.oyate.org/catalog/index.html
National American Indian Heritage Month
To promote awareness of and appreciation for the history and culture of American Indians during National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, this National Park Service site showcases monuments, buildings, and other places associated with the prehistory and history of Native Americans. The site includes links to Native American resources.
URL: http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/indian/
R E F L E C T I O N
I am what libraries and librarians have made me, with little assistance from a professor of Greek and poets.
- B. K. Sandwell
Contact NWLS for subscription services or to submit an article for publication: email Marsha at newsletter@nwls.lib.wi.us or call 715-682-2365.
NWLS: 3200 E. Lake Shore Dr. • Ashland, WI 54806 • Phone: (715) 682-2365 • Web: http://nwls.wislib.org • Serving libraries in Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Sawyer, Vilas and Washburn Counties.
