In This Issue: 09.19.08

Duplicate Merlin Titles • DPI Budget Request Highlights • Wisconsin Library Conference • Why Public Libraries Close • Why People Love Libraries • Back to School Books • NWLS Board Agenda • Microsoft Word Shortcuts • Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack • Useful URLs • Reflection

September 20 NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting, NWLS, 10:00
September 22 Using Statistics to Protect Your Library from the Budget Knife, NWLS, 10:00 – 2:30
October 2 Sharing Your Love of Great Books, Telemark Lodge, Cable, 10:00 – 3:00
October 2-3 Northwest Children’s Book Conference, Telemark Resort, Cable
October 14 Technology Tools for Library 2.0, 10:00 – 2:30, Washburn
October 15 Technology Tools for Library 2.0, 10:00 – 2:30, Mercer
October 23 Merlin Consortium Meeting, NWLS, 10:00 – 1:00
November 4-7 Wisconsin Library Association Conference, Madison Marriott West, Middleton

UW-Madison SLIS Continuing Education:

• Basic Public Library Management, September 22 - December 12
• Library 2.0: 101, September 29 - October 26
• Back in Circulation Again: A circulation services conference, September 26-27
• What's New in Children's Books? October 1 - 31
• Gaming as a Service, October 1 - 31
• New Rules of Web Design, November 1-31

Duplicate Merlin Titles

From Michael Sheehan, NWLS Assistant Director - Merlin, the automated shared catalog for Northern Waters Library Service member libraries, has existed since January 2000. In that nine year life, the catalog has had a few different kinds of evolutions. One area of evolution has been in the reduction in the number of duplicate titles found in the catalog.

In a broad sense, some duplication will always be found in a library catalog because cataloging standards require separate records to exist for varying formats of the same title (e.g. Gone with the Wind as a book as well as a DVD) or different editions of the same title. However, frequent variations in the published media make it easy for a library cataloger to mistakenly consider even the slightest difference in wording a means to create a new unnecessary record.

While the initial creation of the Merlin database involved some deduping (or merging), the duplication of records occurred mainly over time. In our case, there are specific tracked events that have caused some glaring duplication. These have taken the form of loading or reloading records from libraries owning separate automation systems before they were added to Merlin and as they migrated to Merlin. Normally, record loading is based on a match point, and overlaying incoming records to an existing record in Merlin covers 70%-75% of the additions. It is that weird remainder that do not match well or consistently that we see in the catalog. Sometimes they affect older titles and sometimes the newer bestsellers.

NWLS has routinely used one to two staff members who, as part of their job duties, would merge duplicate records. Deanna Regan, the current Database/ILL Assistant, continues this work. In doing some research on the history of the Merlin title deduping, I discovered five areas of major merging effort. Four early phases of record deduping accounted for 25,462 title merges. The current phase of title merging has accounted for 4,196 records. The grand total of all efforts has resulted in 32,939 duplicates being removed from the Merlin catalog as of September 15, 2008. This total accounts for 5% of the number of deleted records in the database. This number does not represent what is merged as part of a daily report that the system generates.

NWLS has in the past made every effort and presently strives to reduce the number of duplicates in the catalog. There are some steps taken that have helped in this process. First, by migrating pre-automated libraries into one consistent program, there is an elimination of duplicates from piecemeal or haphazard record additions. Second, the NWLS process of isolating and merging duplicate records has evolved and become more efficient as well. Third, Merlin libraries agree to catalog by following the process of exhausting their search for a title match in Merlin before attempting to bring in a new (and potentially duplicate) record from an outside source.

The benefits of a catalog with minimal title duplication have been twofold: (a) NWLS staff can maintain the integrity of the catalog with more control and less effort, and (b) patrons can search for materials more successfully and access materials more efficiently. This last is the obvious benefit that makes all the hard work well worth the effort.

DPI Budget Request Highlights

From Mike Cross, Director, Public Library Development Team, Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning - On September 18, State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster presented a budget request for the next biennium that includes the following library-related items. The budget request will now be reviewed by the Governor, who will submit a proposed budget to the legislature early in 2009. A summary of the full DPI biennial budget request is available on the DPI's web site at http://dpi.wisconsin.gov/pb/index.html.

• Public library system funding at the 13% index level of $27,260,300 for 2009-10 and $28,078,100 for 2010-11. This compares to 2008-09 funding of $16,783,500.

• BadgerLink funding of $3,234,000 for 2009-10 and $3,469,400 for 2010-11. This compares to 2008-09 funding of $2,111,000. The requested funding would allow for the addition to BadgerLink of curriculum-supporting information databases.

• Library service contract funding for the Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (WRLBPH), the Milwaukee Public Library, Wisconsin Library Services (WiLS), and the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) totaling $1,145,300 for 2009-10 and $1,180,800 for 2010-11. This compares to 2008-09 funding of $1,097,200. The requested funding would fully fund the service contracts.

• Library delivery service funding of $216,000 for 2009-10 and $232,000 for 2010-11. This funding would cover an estimated 50% of the statewide backbone delivery costs currently incurred by public library systems.

• NFB-Newsline funding to support newspapers accessible by telephone for blind and physically handicapped people of $113,000 for 2009-10 and $117,700 for 2010-11. This compares to 2008-09 funding of $108,000.

• Maintain current authority to distribute Common School Funds of up to $40,000,000.

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Wisconsin Library Conference

The 2008 WLA annual conference, "Wisconsin Libraries: Building a Better Tomorrow" will take place November 4-7 at the Marriott Madison West Hotel and Conference Center in Middleton. The conference is an excellent professional development opportunity to take in over 70 substantive programs, several nationally known speakers, excellent vendor exhibits, and colleagues from around the entire state. Programs include amusing stories from Wisconsin's past, building library Quality Improvement teams, reaching out to remote populations, supporting adolescent literacy, streamlining your technical services workflow, and a library directors' leadership forum.

Plan Ahead:
• Take advantage of early bird rates by registering by October 6.
• Cast an absentee ballot if conference attendance prevents you from voting locally. For more info, visit the Wis. Elections Division's absentee ballot webpage.
• The annual WLA Conference Food Drive will be accepting nonperishable food items for the Middleton area food pantry.
• The Marriott Madison West Hotel is located in Middleton (1313 John Q. Hammons Drive) and prices range from $104 for single occupancy to $124 for a suite. Call toll-free for reservations: 800-228-9290.

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Why Public Libraries Close

From the Why Public Libraries Close report, Florida State University - Public libraries receive over 90% of funds from local services. As local government monies continue to diminish and officials try to collapse and coalesce public services, library managers will need strong theoretically based research for ensuring the continuation of quality library service during such transitional periods or, if needed, to oppose closure plans.

Why Public Libraries Close is a report on a nationwide study of the impact of public library closures conducted by Florida State University and sponsored by OCLC. The study provides a framework to identify and, hopefully prevent, a permanent library closure that denies library services to those with the fewest alternative resources for information access.

The City of Salinas, California fueled the study when a financial crisis threatened to close the entire library system in 2005. Public outcry and the efforts of a number of officials eventually prevented a complete closure and resulted in a resolution by the American Library Association (ALA) opposing such an action. ALA contacted the senior authors of this study to better understand the public library closure issue. The crisis raised questions by media, citizens, and other library and information studies (LIS) profession stakeholders such as: where have library closures occurred; why; what were the effects of such closures on the library user population; can (or should) such closures be prevented; and if so how?

Some national trends identified during this study and time period include:

1) specific actions to minimize potential impacts of the closure on existing library users are rarely if ever taken. Librarians may benefit from guidelines and recommendations geared to this type of closure

2) during the 1999-2003 time period of this study, the population within the immediately surrounding 1 mile radius of the closed library tended to be poorer, less educated, and with more renters than home-owners when compared to the U.S. population in calendar year 1999 year as a whole. These characteristics are often associated with lower mobility and fewer alternatives for information access. Where these population characteristics prevail, closures could disproportionately impact potential library users who may need the public library more than most, unless actions are taken.

3) migration of America’s population to large population centers may be creating problems for rural libraries. These libraries may find it more difficult to replace library staff. The lowered tax base may make it more difficult for these rural library facilities to upgrade and accommodate the latest information technologies. These factors can contribute to closure.

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Why People Love Libraries

From Library Journal, 8/18/2008 - Women across the country are sharing stories through Woman's Day magazine contests for essays about the impact libraries have on women's lives. The essay contests have been held by as part of an ongoing partnership with the American Library Association (ALA) and its Campaign for America's Libraries. 2,000 readers in 2007 shared touching stories on the topic “How the Library Changed My Life,” some of which were published in the March 6, 2007 issue. This winter, the topic was “The Library Helped Me Start My Business,” with winning essays published March 4, 2008. In 2009, the magazine will publish essays on the topic “How the Library Improved My Health.” To read these wonderful tributes to the power of libraries to touch people's lives visit ilovelibraries.org.

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Back to School Books

From Sheilah Egan, Children’s Literature, 7/30/08 - Parents and caregivers are faced with the emotions associated with the beginning of a new school year. For some there is great trepidation connected with starting school for the first time, or starting a new grade, or going to a different school. Others seem to anticipate starting a new school year with excitement and curiosity. Still others display a studied indifference to the whole subject of school. Whatever the case in your household, the following book selections will offer many different choices of subjects and grade levels.

1. The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo. Ages 10 to 14
2. Brand-new School, Brave New Ruby by Derrick Barnes. Ages 7 to 10
3. The Bully from the Black Lagoon by Mark Thaler. Ages 6 to 9.
4. How Not to Start Third Grade by Cathy Hapka and Ellen Titlebaum. Ages 5 to 8.
5. Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House by Haven Kimmel. Ages 7 to 12
6. Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf: A Year Told through Stuff
Jennifer Holm. Ages 9 to 13.
7. Naked Bunyip Dancing by Steven Herrick. Ages 9 to 12.
8. Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs by Katherine Applegate. Ages 7 to 10
9. The New Bear at School by Carrie Weston. Ages 4 to 8
10. Off to First Grade by Louise Borden. Ages 5 up.
11. Ridiculous/Hilarious/Terrible/Cool; A Year in an American High School by Elisha Cooper, Ages 14 to 18.
12. School Success for Children with Special Needs: Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Child Learn by Amy James. Ages Adult
13. School Time Riddles 'n' Giggles by Diane Namm. Ages 5 to 7
14. Something for School by Hyun Young Lee. Ages 5 to 7.
15. Stay Safe: How You Can Keep Out of Harm’s Way by Sara Nelson. Ages 10 to 14
16. Take a Stand!: What You Can Do About Bullying by Carrie Golus. Ages 10 to 14.
17. Teacher's Pet by Hongying Yang. Ages 7 to 10
18. Trouble Talk by Trudy Ludwig. Ages 8 to 12
19. X-Men First Class by Jeff Parker. Ages 12 to 14
20. Zip, Zip…Homework by Nancy Poydar. Ages 5 to 8
21. The Night Before Kindergarten. Wing, Natasha. Ages 3-6
22. The Night Before First Grade. Wing, Natasha. Ages 3-6
23. First Day Jitters. Danneberg, Julie. Ages 5-9

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NWLS Board of Trustees Agenda
10:00 a.m., September 20, Northern Waters Library Service, Ashland

1. Call to order / Roll Call
2. Guest Comments
3. Approval of the July 19, 2008 meeting minutes
4. July and August 2008 NWLS Expenditures
5. August 2008 Financial Statement and Budget Report
6. 2009 NWLS Budget and Plan of Service
7. 2009 Member Library Agreements
8. 2009 County Service Agreements
9. Superior Public Library 2009 Resource Library Agreement
10. Executive Session as authorized by Wisconsin Statutes s. 19.85 (1)c to conduct the Director’s evaluation after which the Board will reconvene in open session.
11. Director’s Report
Adjourn

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Microsoft Word Shortcuts

From Linda Stobbe, NWLS - The following shortcut tools are available in Microsoft Word:

Rearrange Paragraphs - Do you need to swap the second and third paragraphs in the document you're working on? Don't waste time dragging text around within your document using the mouse. Just click on the paragraph you'd like to move, hold down Shift-Alt, and move the paragraph up or down using the arrow keys. Each press of the arrow key causes the selected paragraph to jump over one adjacent paragraph.

Using the Paste Special Command - When you copy text from the Web or another document into a Word file, Word will reproduce the typeface, color, and font size displayed in the original page. If you want the pasted text to match the formatting in the destination document, use Edit | Paste Special, and choose Unformatted Text.

Drawing a Line - You can create a line across the page of your Word or Outlook document with just a few keystrokes. Type three consecutive hyphens and press Enter to get a normal line. Type three underscores and Enter, and you'll get a bold line. And if you type three equal signs and press Enter, you'll get a double line.

Changing Font Size - To change the font size of selected text, try these keyboard shortcuts: To increase or decrease font size incrementally according to the sizes listed in the font size drop-down list:
• Increase: [Ctrl] + [Shift] + >
• Decrease: [Ctrl] + [Shift] + <
To increase or decrease font size one point at a time:
• Increase: [Ctrl] + ]
• Decrease: [Ctrl] + [

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Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack

From Tony Kriskovich, NWLS - Microsoft has introduced a new file format for Office 2007 documents. You may or may not have encountered some of them. The most common being; .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx. The new file format called Office Open XML Formats, stands for Extensible Markup Language. It provides added security, improve file and data management, data recovery, and interoperability with line-of-business systems.

Microsoft is trying to make a transition by adopting an XML-based file format for MS Office Excel 2007, MS Office Word 2007, and MS Office PowerPoint 2007. They extend what is possible with the binary files of earlier versions. Any application that supports XML can access and work with data in the new file format.

The Office version we are running (Office XP) for the most part is unable to open the new format without a converter tool. By installing the Compatibility Pack to your older versions of MS Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able to open, edit, and save files using the new file format. To install the Compatibility Pack visit http://tinyurl.com/officecompack

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Wisconsin Library Directory

The Reference and Loan Library has developed a directory of Wisconsin libraries that can be searched by library name, county, city, or public library system. Each entry includes the library address, phone, fax, library type, and web links (website, catalog, Google map with directions).

To access the directory visit BadgerLink (http://www.badgerlink.net under Library Directories at the bottom of the homepage) or the Department of Public Instruction Library-related resources and services (http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dltcl/tm-lib2-svcs.html).

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When I got my library card, that's when my life began.

- Author Rita Mae Brown

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.