Concluding Thoughts on Act 420 • Merlin Matters • Useful URLs • Reflection

March 6,7 Children's Book Fest, Rhinelander

March 12 Directors Meeting, 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., NWLS

March 13 Greener Pastures Rural Library Sustainability Workshop, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Rice Lake Public Library (also April 18 in Mercer).

March 17 NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting, 12:00 p.m., NWLS

March 23 RESCHEDULED: Promoting Rural Libraries/Children's Services Roundtable and Idea Sharing, 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., NWLS

March 29 LSTA Early Literacy Project: Infant Brain Development, 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Iron River

March 30 LSTA Early Literacy Project: Infant Brain Development, 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Mellen

April 18 Greener Pastures Rural Library Sustainability Workshop, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Mercer, (also March 13 in Rice Lake).

2007 UW-Madison's School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) Conference and Continuing Education Courses:

• April 23-26 Libraries: Inspiring Spaces ... Functional Places Conference, (on-site), UW-Madison
• June 25-29 Public Library Administration (on-site), UW-Madison
• August 13-17 Cataloging (on-site), UW-Madison
• August 20-24 Puppetry in the Library (on-site course), UW-Madison.

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Concluding Thoughts on Act 420
From Jim Trojanowski, NWLS Director

In the February 15 issue of Streams, I explained why the public libraries in Bayfield County may lose a significant amount of county funding as a result of Act 420. This is not unique to Bayfield County; other libraries in Wisconsin could also lose county funding. It is likely that most directors and trustees at the affected libraries and many county officials would like to see Act 420 repealed.

Despite problems such as in Bayfield County, the majority of the Wisconsin public library community supports reimbursements to public libraries for the cost of serving non-residents from neighboring counties. Repeal of the law could lead libraries that have, until recently, charged fees for use by non-residents or shut their doors to non-residents entirely to return to those practices. In addition, libraries that have not implemented these practices in the past might begin to do so. This would only be possible for libraries whose non-resident borrowers come from counties that belong to a different public library system. Bayfield County residents would, for example, continue to use libraries in Ashland, Douglas, and Sawyer counties without charge since they are all members of the same library system. It is likely, however, that Vilas County residents would again pay a fee to use libraries in Oneida County since they belong to different library systems. Libraries in Park Falls, Rice Lake, Three Lakes, and Frederic might also adopt fees or shut their doors to the residents of Ashland, Washburn, Vilas, and Burnett counties, respectively.

To address these concerns, the Wisconsin Library Association asked Governor Doyle to include language in the state budget that exempts the county library levy from any levy limits placed on counties. Governor Doyle agreed to the request and included the exemptions in his budget. If the legislature approves the request, counties will not be required to include library payments within their levy limits.

If passed, this provision will give those counties that reimburse their own public libraries at amounts greater than 70% the flexibility to continue doing so at the same time they comply with the new funding requirements of Act 420. It will also allow counties that have not funded at more than the minimum amount an opportunity to meet the new requirements without taking money from the budgets of other county departments.

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Searching the Merlin Catalog for Audiovisual Materials
From Marsha Sorensen, NWLS

The following audiovisual keyword searches are recommended until the “material type” advanced/modify search features will work properly in the Merlin online public access catalog:

1. Type the following for a list of Video Cassettes: video** vhs

2. DVDs: video** dvd

3. Foreign Films: “foreign film*”

4. Unabridged Audio Cassettes: unabridged sound recording and not disc* and not music and not ebook

5. Unabridged Audio CDs: unabridged sound recording disc* and not music and not ebook

6. Music on Cassettes: sound recording "music on cassette"

7. Music on CDs: sound recording "music on cd"

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Popular Holds
From Nikki Bolka, NWLS

The following titles have eight or more Merlin holds:
(Holds/Merlin copies)

69/18 .. Step On a Crack by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
40/6 .... Babel [videorecording(DVD)]
38/3 .... The Departed [videorecording(DVD)]
31/16 .. Sisters by Danielle Steel
29/5 .... The Illusionist [videorecording(DVD)]
28/6 .... Open Season [videorecording(DVD)]
27/16 .. Little Miss Sunshine [videorecording(DVD)]
24/22 .. Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
22/4 .... Marie Antoinette [videorecording(DVD)]
21/2 .... The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
21/4 .... Flicka [videorecording(DVD)]
20/7 .... Flags of Our Fathers [videorecording(DVD)]
18/2 .... The Prestige [videorecording(DVD)]
14/1 .... Half Nelson [videorecording(DVD)]
14/13 .. Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky
14/15 .. High Profile by Robert B. Parker
13/1 .... Flushed Away [videorecording(DVD)]
13/4 .... Man of the Year [videorecording(DVD)]
11/3 .... Flyboys [videorecording(DVD)]
11/6 .... The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
10/0 .... 6th Target by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
10/0 .... Snakes on a Plane [videorecording(DVD)]
10/0 .... The Secret [videorecording(DVD)]
10/2 .... Crank [videorecording(DVD)]
10/10 .. Innocent in Death by J.D. Robb
10/15 .. An Inconvenient Truth [videorecording(DVD)]
9/0 ...... Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
9/0 ...... Red Leaves by Belva Plain
9/6 ...... The Black Dahlia [videorecording(DVD)]
8/0 ...... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
8/0 ...... Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy
8/1 ...... Jesus Camp [videorecording(DVD)]
8/1 ...... Running with Scissors [videorecording(DVD)]
8/3 ...... The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer

(printer-friendly version)

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Generation Next: Speak Up, Be Heard
From Librarians' Internet Index

Generation Next: Speak Up, Be Heard is a PBS Online NewsHour companion to a 2007 documentary that "travels across the U.S. and speaks with young adults 16-25-year-olds to gauge their beliefs on today's most pressing issues -- such as terrorism, immigration, environment and health care." In addition to transcripts from the documentary, the site contains audio and video clips, background reports, forums, and a timeline highlighting major events, media, music, sports, and technology related to the demographic.


A Portrait of "Generation Next": How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics
From Librarians' Internet Index

A Portrait of Generation Next summarizes the findings of a study from The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. The January 2007 report "aimed at studying the lives of young people" ages 18-25 (born between 1981 and 1988). It looks at lifestyle and views in areas such as technology, family, religion, social issues, and politics. Includes a link to the full report and to questionnaire results.

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“Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance.”

-Albert Einstein

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