In This 12.14.07 Issue:

OverDrive Survey • HOLA! Hispanic Outreach Library Action • Recipes for a 5-Star Library • Revised Open Government Laws • IMLS Native American Library Grant • Share Your Summer Reading Activities • Local Government and Public Library Initiative • Preserving America's Diverse Heritage • Web 2.0 Online Presentation • Merlin Popular Holds • Useful URLs • Reflection

December 24-25, December 31-January 1 NWLS Closed

January 18 (snow date January 25) HOLA! Hispanic Outreach Library Action, 9:30 - 4:00, Sherman and Ruth Weiss Community Library, Hayward

January 19 NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting, 12:00, NWLS

January 22 Library Legislative Day, 7:45 - 2:30, Inn on the Park, Madison

January 29 Merlin Consortium Meeting, 10:00 - 2:00, NWLS

February 6 Strategic Visioning Summit and Year of the Library's Future, 10:00 - 2:30, Great Lakes Regional Visitor Center, Ashland

February 20 Directors Meeting, 10:00 - 2:30, NWLS

UW-Madison SLIS Continuing Education Courses in Madison.
Visit the School of Library and Information Studies for more information. Online Courses: (Technical courses are also offered)

OverDrive Survey

From Mike Sheehan, NWLS - OverDrive plans to survey end-users of its services beginning next week through January. OverDrive is the company that brings downloadable audiobooks to the patrons of the Northern Waters Library Service area. The survey will be accessible via a link on the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) Digital Collection home page http://dbooks.wplc.info/

Survey results from all respondents will be provided to the WPLC, in which NWLS is a participant. The results of the survey will be helpful in determining the kind of usage by patrons as well as how successful users are in finding what they need.

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HOLA! Hispanic Outreach Library Action

From Leah Langby, Library Development & Youth Services Coordinator, Indianhead Federated Library System - Take a look in your grocery store. Is there an aisle with products from Mexico? If so, that is a clear indication that there are Hispanic immigrants in your community, whether or not you see them in the library. The time to learn how to reach out and serve this community is now, when the population is small but growing. Come to an interactive, all-day workshop for library directors, front line staff, youth services librarians, trustees, school personnel and community partners. Hear from local community leaders about needs, learn from each other, and find out about existing resources to help you do your work! Though specifically geared toward working with Hispanics, the material will also be very useful for reaching out to other immigrant populations. Not only will you come away with tools to serve your community better, you will also get a free lunch!

There are several workshops (sponsored by the Gates foundation) in various parts of Wisconsin, including one on January 18 in Hayward. For a complete schedule of workshops, see http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/hola.html. Contact Leah at langby@ifls.lib.wi.us with questions about this project or Linda Stobbe at lstobbe@nwls.lib.wi.us to register.

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Recipes for a 5-Star Library

From Channel Weekly, December 13, 2007 - "Recipes for a 5-Star Library," is an online manual offering specific "meal plans" on technology-related issues in rural libraries, such as setting up, maintaining, and establishing policies for wireless networks, PC reservation and time management, public print management, and laptop checkout programs. "Recipes for a 5-Star Library," the second manual in a series of resources for small rural libraries, is published by MaintainIT as a project of TechSoup, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Success stories about how libraries are maintaining and supporting public computers are highlighted in the MaintainIT Project guides (called Cookbooks), in articles, and on their web site, http://www.maintainitproject.org. MaintainIT staff encourages users to contribute feedback and ideas, as well as participate in a new discussion forum on WebJunction (linked from the MaintainIT page).

Information on the cookbooks, download options, links to the forum, and options for participation can be found on their site here at http://maintainitproject.org/cookbooks.

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Revised Open Government Laws

From Channel Weekly, December 13, 2007 - The State Programs, Administration, and Revenue (SPAR) unit of the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Legal Services has revised two publications that provide guidance in interpreting Wisconsin's sunshine laws for open government. The "2007 Open Meetings Law Compliance Guide" explains Wisconsin's Open Meetings Law and discusses significant cases that have an impact on the law's implementation. The "2007 Public Records Law Compliance Outline" addresses Wisconsin's Public Records Law and discusses significant cases that have an impact on the law's implementation. Both publications are available for reference or download from the SPAR website at http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dls/spar.asp .

The SPAR site also provides information on how to contact the Department of Justice if you have specific questions about these laws that are not addressed in their resources.

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IMLS Native American Library Grant

From Channel Weekly, December 13, 2007 - The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting applications for the 2008 Native American Library Services Basic Grants and Enhancement Grants. Applicants may choose to apply for the Education/Assessment Option in conjunction with the Basic Grant. This option provides funding for staff participation in library-related continuing education courses, training workshops, and conferences; and for the hiring of a consultant for an onsite professional library assessment.

Native American Library Services Basic Grants are available to support existing library operations and to maintain core library services:

• using technology to bring information to people in new and interesting ways,
• providing a range of traditional library services to ensure that users have access to all the kinds of information they need and want,
• improving services to underserved communities and to persons who have difficulty using a library,
• establishing or enhancing electronic linkages with other libraries and service organizations,
• promoting the use of electronic networks,
• encouraging the sharing of resources within and among communities.

Applicants must apply online through Grants.gov. More information, including guidelines and the application, can be found at http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/nativeAmerican.shtm and http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/nativeEnhance.shtm. Application deadlines are March 3, 2008, for the Basic Grants March 3, 2008 and May 1, 2008 for the Enhancement Grants. Basic Grant and Basic Grant with Education/Assessment Option awards will be announced in June 2008. Enhancement Grants will be announced in September 2008.

For more information, contact Alison Freese, Senior Program Officer at 202/653-4665 or afreese@imls.gov.

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Share Your Summer Reading Activities

From Channel Weekly, November 29, 2007 - The Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, is planning a preconference on Public Library Summer Reading Programs that will be presented at the 2008 ALA Annual Conference. The preconference is titled "Summer Reading Survivor: Overcoming the Challenges."

Librarians are invited to be part of this preconference by participating in a summer programs survey located at
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gVSMuvvqOMUn6IQ8do2hLg_3d_3d.

The purpose of this survey is to gather information on successful programs being provided for children, their parents, teachers, and care givers during the summer months. Survey results will be distributed to preconference participants. The deadline to participate is December 21, 2007. More information about the preconference will be available soon. If additional space is needed to answer any of the questions or if you have questions about the preconference, please contact Carole Fiore at Carole@Fiore-tlc.biz.

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Local Government and Public Library Initiative

From Channel Weekly, December 6, 2007 - The International City/County Management Association's (ICMA) Local Government and Public Libraries Partnership Initiative, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, explores the role of city and county managers as advocates for libraries and how libraries relate to quality of life and community sustainability.

Available on the ICMA Web site in the Reports and Resources section, the ICMA Management Perspective, "Local Government Managers and Public Libraries: Partners for a Better Community," is an executive brief that has been sent to all local government managers along with a suggestion that they use the Management Perspective as a focus for discussion with their librarian. The brief is available at http://icma.org/documents/Final_Mgmt_Prsptv_Libraries_(gates).pdf.

The Management Perspective recognizes the vital role that libraries play in communities and covers the city or county manager's role in supporting libraries through strategic planning, funding, public support of the library's programs, and establishing guidelines for measuring accountability. Additional information about the initiative on the ICMA Web site: http://icma.org/main/bc.asp?bcid=884&t=0.

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Preserving America's Diverse Heritage

From Channel Weekly, December 6, 2007 - The first of a series of four national forums, "Preserving America's Diverse Heritage," sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in cooperation with Heritage Preservation and the High Museum of Art, will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 31 and February 1, 2008. This forum is part of "Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action," a national initiative to care for America's collections, particularly those held by small- and medium-sized museums, libraries, and archives.

Information about the forum is available now at http://www.imls.gov/collections/tour, and advance registration for the first forum is required by January 15. The forum is open to interested staff and board members of museums, libraries, and archives, as well as to conservation professionals and representatives of government, funders, and the media.

The initiative is grounded in the results of A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America's Collections, which reports that:

* 190 million objects need conservation treatment,
* 65 percent of collecting institutions have damaged collections due to improper storage,
* 80 percent of collecting institutions lack an emergency plan for their collections and trained staff to carry it out, and
* 40 percent of institutions have no funds allocated in their annual budget for preservation and conservation.

Information about the "Connecting for Collections" project, the National Tour, as well as useful online resources can be found at http://www.imls.gov/collections/ .

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Web 2.0 Online Presentation

From Channel Weekly, December 6, 2007 - WebJunction will offer a free online presentation, "10 Ways to Make Your Library Great in 2008-via Web 2.0," on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 from 1-2:00 p.m. The webinar will show how to leverage social networking tools such as del.icio.us and LibraryThing to enable knowledge-sharing and create collections of information around professional development. Ten key themes are presented to empower library staff as well as to increase a library's value within the community.

The workshop will be presented by Ed Rossman, adult services librarian at Shaker Heights Public Library and author of "Castles Against Ignorance: How to Make Libraries Great Educational Environments." Registration for the webinar is optional. Additional information, connection instructions, and archived webinars are available at http://www.webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=15543.

Popular Holds

(Holds/Merlin copies)
31/7 .... 7th heaven / James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
16/1 .... 1408 [videorecording(DVD)]
16/4 .... Amazing grace / Danielle Steel
12/5 .... Blood brothers / Nora Roberts
11/4 .... Blood dreams / Kay Hooper
27/24 Book of the dead: a Scarpette novel / Cornwell, Patricia Daniels
34/2 .... The Bourne ultimatum [videorecording(DVD)]
11/14 .. Creation in death / J. D. Robb
29/29 .. Dark of the moon / John Sandford
17/20 .. The darkest evening of the year / Dean Koontz
63/21 .. Double cross / James Patterson
24/13 .. Eat, pray, love : one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia / Elizabeth Gilbert
11/4 .... Fantastic 4. Rise of the Silver Surfer [videorecording(DVD)]
12/2 .... Fracture [videorecording(DVD)]
12/6 .... Georgia rule [videorecording(DVD)]
16/2 .... Gilmore Girls. [videorecording(DVD)] : The complete seventh season
24/2 .... Hairspray [videorecording(DVD)]
10/6 .... Hand of evil : a novel of suspense / by J.A. Jance
11/21 .. Home to Holly Springs : the first of the Father Tim novels / Jan Karon
13/3 .... I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry [videorecording(DVD)]
10/3 .... It's getting ugly out there : the frauds, bunglers, liars, and losers who are hurting America / Jack Cafferty
28/3 .... Knocked up [videorecording(DVD)]
20/3 .... License to wed [videorecording(DVD)]
15/2 .... Live free or die hard [videorecording(DVD)]
18/2 .... Lost. The complete third season [videorecording(DVD)]
11/4 .... The namesake [videorecording(DVD)]
14/1 .... The nanny diaries [videorecording(DVD)]
23/2 .... Ocean's thirteen [videorecording(DVD)]
32/8 .... Pirates of the Caribbean [videorecording(DVD)] : At world's end
31/29 .. Playing for pizza / John Grisham
17/5 .... Plum Lucky / Janet Evanovich
17/16 .. Ratatouille [videorecording(DVD)]
23/6 .... The Santa clause 3. The escape clause [videorecording(DVD)]
10/7 .... Shrek the Third [videorecording(DVD)]
21/8 .... Sicko [videorecording(DVD)]
15/1 .... The Simpsons movie [videorecording(DVD)]
24/2 .... The Sopranos. Season six. Part 2 [videorecording(DVD)]
20/8 .... Spider-man 3 [videorecording(DVD)]
12/1 .... Stardust [videorecording(DVD)]
25/21 .. Stone cold / David Baldacci

print version

Christmas-Cookies.com
A database of nearly 400 Christmas cookie recipes

Christmas-Cookies.com (http://www.christmas-cookies.com/) offers recipes, baking tips such as how to organize baking a large variety of cookies and how to store them, and links to sites that carry specialty baking supplies. Browsable and searchable.

Recalls.gov
Your online resource for recalls

To provide better service in alerting the American people to unsafe, hazardous or defective products, six federal agencies with vastly different jurisdictions have joined together to create Recalls.gov (http://recalls.gov/) for U.S. Government recalls. Visitors to this site can find information about recent recalls of consumer products, motor vehicles, boats, foods, medicines, cosmetics, and environmental products, as well as search for information about past recalls.

A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.

— Garrison Keillor

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, Wisconsin 54806 · Telephone: 715.682.2365
Serving libraries in Ashland, Bayfield, Burett, Douglas, Iron, Sawyer, Vilas and Washburn Counties.

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