Consequences of Act 420 • Upcoming NWLS Workshop • Library Notes • WISCAT Tips • Merlin Matters • Useful URLs • Reflection

February 21 Preventing Workplace Violence, 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., NWLS

March 1 Promoting Rural Libraries/Children's Services Roundtable and Idea Sharing, 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., NWLS

March 6,7 Children's Book Fest, Rhinelander

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 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:

• February 19-March 18 Business Reference (Online)
• February 19-March 18 Topics in Library Management (Online)
• 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.

For more information, contact Anna Palmer at 608.263.4452 or ahpalmer@wisc.edu.

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The Unintended Consequences of Act 420
From Jim Trojanowski, NWLS Director

In past issues of Streams, I’ve explored Act 420 in the context of county reimbursements to libraries for serving non-residents of communities with a public library. The primary purpose of these articles has been to create an understanding of how non-resident borrowing developed in Wisconsin, the funding inequities it has created, and efforts of both the public library community and the legislature to address the inequities. Like any solution to a problem, however, Act 420 is likely to have unintended outcomes, too. This week I’ll examine what Act 420 may mean for the libraries in Bayfield County.

In 1990, county reimbursements to public libraries for serving non-residents were relatively uncommon in the NWLS service area. Just four of the eight NWLS member counties provided direct funding to public libraries and, in two cases, it was only a token amount.

Five years later, the landscape had changed. Six NWLS member counties were providing direct funding to public libraries and four of them were providing amounts of $20,000 or more. While this was far less than Act 150 would require beginning in 2001, it was a dramatic change.

In 1990, Bayfield County provided no direct funding to public libraries; by 1995, it paid $46,910 to its public libraries, more than any other NWLS member county. What made Bayfield County unique was that it fully reimbursed its libraries for circulation to non-residents based on a formula agreed upon by the county and the libraries. This formula multiplied operating expenditures (less funding from state and federal sources) by the percentage of the library’s circulation to residents of Bayfield County not living in a community with a public library to determine reimbursements. Red Cliff and Drummond, which had limited non-resident usage, received $2,000 each.

In 2001, Act 150 reimbursements came into effect, requiring counties to make payments to public libraries for serving non-residents. Reimbursements are calculated by dividing operating expenditures (less funding from federal sources) by circulation to determine the cost per circulation for each library. Cost per circulation is multiplied by the number of circulations to non-residents to determine a cost to serve them. Counties must reimburse libraries at not less than 70% of this cost. Bayfield County continued to reimburse at 100% and its direct payments to public libraries reached $80,177 in 2001.

Act 420 uses the same formula Act 150 uses to determine non-resident reimbursements to libraries in neighboring counties. If Act 420 had been in effect a year earlier and counties had been required to make payments across county lines in 2007, several libraries in neighboring counties would have been eligible to seek funding from Bayfield County. As a result, Bayfield County would have been required to pay about $75,000 to libraries outside its borders. Three libraries would have received nearly all that funding: Ashland ($57,200), Hayward ($3,300) and Superior ($13,600).

According to a November 14, 2006, Ashland Daily Press article, the 2% levy cap in force for 2007 permitted Bayfield County to increase spending by $158,000. Act 420 payments would have consumed almost half that.

In most counties in the NWLS area, there is limited threat of reduced funding for public libraries because the counties are already funding them at the minimum amount. Because Bayfield County has reimbursed at a rate higher than required by law, it may reduce funding to its own libraries in order to make up a portion of new payments to libraries in neighboring counties. The chart below demonstrates the potential impact on the libraries in Bayfield County if their reimbursements had been reduced from 100% to 70% in 2007 and they had sought reimbursements from other counties.

Amounts are listed in dollars.

As the chart shows, five of the six libraries in Bayfield County would have lost funding if Act 420 had been in effect a year earlier and the county reduced reimbursements from 100% to 70%. As Bayfield County Administrator Mark Abeles-Allison told the Daily Press, “The potential impact of this is that it will help certain libraries, but it could reduce funding for others, and that is a concern.”

Next week’s concluding piece in this series on Act 420 reimbursements will discuss the Wisconsin library community’s strategy for dealing with concerns such as those of the Bayfield County libraries.

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Upcoming NWLS Workshop: Preventing Workplace Violence
From Linda Stobbe, NWLS

Join us on February 21 for an interesting and informative workshop on safety in the workplace. Chief John Paitl and Investigator Greg BeBeau of the Ashland Police Department will be at NWLS to offer tips for preventing conflict and violence in the workplace and dealing with it effectively when it does occur. To register, RSVP to Linda Stobbe at lstobbe@nwls.lib.wi.us.

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Eleventh Annual Book Across the Bay
From Book Across the Bay

Ski or snowshoe the 10-kilometer course across frozen Chequamegon Bay by the light of the stars and a thousand candlelit ice luminaries. This year's event will take place on Saturday, February 17, 2007 and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Washburn Public Library. What does a nighttime ski race across frozen Lake Superior look like? Check out event pictures from 2005 and 2006.

Fourth Annual Lap the Lake for the Library
From Nelson Lake Resort Owners Association

Experience the excitement of cross country skiing or snowshoeing on Nelson Lake by the light of hundreds of glowing luminaries. Follow the shore of Big Island in the 8-kilometer race/tour or NEW 4-kilometer. Enjoy the fun of food, drink and entertainment in the big heated tent. Celebrate the wonder of a winter night. This year's event has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 3 at 6:00 p.m and benefits Hayward Library. For more information, email hlibrary@hayward.nwls.lib.wi.us.

"Polka In Paradise" Wins 2007 Grammy For Best Polka Album
From Walter E. Olson Memorial Library, Eagle River

Uno Bloom, a former Eagle River, WI native (and brother of librarian Diana Anderson) became a Grammy Winning Songwriter after Jimmy Sturr's album, "Polka in Paradise" won a Grammy for Best Polka album February 11, 2007. Uno Bloom, along with Bobby Vinton and Lance Wing, wrote the song, "Polka In Paradise" which became the title of the album. Bobby Vinton sang the song as a guest on Jimmy Sturr's album. "Polka In Paradise" was released July 11, 2006 on Rounder Records. Uno and his wife Jodi are the owners of Bloom Road Music Group.

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Changes in the WISCAT ILL Request Form
From Linda Bailen, NWLS

You may have noticed that the ILL request form in WISCAT has changed slightly today. The patron name previously included two fields, one for first name and one for last name. Starting today the patron field is one line.

If you are entering the patron information manually, type it in (Last, First). If you are using the Patron Lookup function, you can only find the patron in your user database by last name, so type the last name only in the Patron Name line and then click on "Patron Lookup".

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Reminder: Printing Notices in Merlin
From Nikki Bolka, NWLS

When generating overdues or paging slips/lists in Millennium, once you have prepared the notices and have your results, you must select the "SEND NOTICES" button to print. (Do NOT use the print icon at the top of the screen; you will not get the right format.) After hitting Send Notices, you will get a 'sending entries to print' pop-up box. Choose OK to print. Do not clear notices until you have verified that the action was successful. Once you clear them, they cannot be retrieved.

Popular Holds
From Nikki Bolka, NWLS

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

54/14 .. Step on a Crack by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
30/8 .... The Illusionist [videorecording(DVD)]
28/4..... Open Season [videorecording(DVD)]
28/12... Little Miss Sunshine [videorecording(DVD)]
26/20 .. Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
21/16 .. The Devil Wears Prada [videorecording(DVD)]
20/0 .... Babel [videorecording(DVD)]
17/4 .... The Black Dahlia [videorecording(DVD)]
17/5 .... High Profile by Robert B. Parker
16/1 .... The Departed [videorecording(DVD)]
16/29 .. The Innocent Man: Murder and injustice in a small town by John Grisham
15/2 .... Innocent in Death by J.D. Robb
15/7 .... You, Me and Dupree [videorecording(DVD)]
13/1 .... Marie Antoinette [videorecording(DVD)]
13/5 .... The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
13/7 .... Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky
13/27 .. Cross by James Patterson
12/3 .... Flicka [videorecording(DVD)]
12/5 .... Sisters by Danielle Steel
12/15 .. An Inconvenient Truth [videorecording(DVD)]
11/1 .... Flags of Our Fathers [videorecording(DVD)]
10/5 .... The Ant Bully [videorecording(DVD)]
9/0 ...... Half Nelson [videorecording(DVD)]
9/0 ...... Red Leaves by Belva Plain
9/1 ...... The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
8/0 ...... Snakes on a Plane [videorecording(DVD)]
8/1 ...... Jesus Camp [videorecording(DVD)]
8/15 .... Stalemate by Iris Johansen

(printer-friendly version)

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February Is American Heart Month
From Librarians' Internet Index

According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, "Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability." This site highlights diseases and conditions that put your heart at risk, signs and symptoms of heart attacks, recommendations for a healthy diet and lifestyle, and brief data about women and heart disease. Includes links to related sites. From the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).


Music and Dance of Africa
From Librarians' Internet Index

Music and Dance of Africa provides annotated links to resources on African music and dance. Some of the topics covered include drumming, Afro-Caribbean music, black composers, hip-hop, dance theaters, and music and dance from specific African countries. From Columbia University Libraries African Studies Collections.

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On with the dance! let joy be unconfined;
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.

-Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

Contact NWLS for subscription services to the Streams news: newsletter@nwls.lib.wi.us

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