Creating a Great Library Board • WISCAT Workshop • WISCAT Tips and FAQ • Merlin Popular Holds • Useful URLs • Reflection

January 11 WISCAT Workshop , 10:00 a.m., Sayner PL

January 12 WISCAT Workshop , 10:00 a.m., Superior PL

January 20 NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting, 12:00 p.m., NWLS

January 23 Library Legislative Day, Madison.

February 7 Technology Update and Planning Meeting, 10:00 a.m., NWLS

March 13 Greener Pastures Rural Library Sustainability Workshop, Rice Lake Public Library (also April 18 in Mercer). For more information, go to http://www.dpi.wi.gov/pld/rural.html

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

April 18 Greener Pastures Rural Library Sustainability Workshop, Mercer, (also March 13 in Rice Lake). For more information, go to http://www.dpi.wi.gov/pld/rural.html

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

• January 22-March 18 YA (Young Adult) Services and Literature Online Course.
• January 22-March 31 Core Elements of Children’s Services (Online)
• January 22-April 7 Basic Public Library Management (Online)
• January 22-April 13 Basic Reference (Online)
• February 7-March 21 Creating Public Library Programming for Adults Online Course.
• February 19-March 18 Basic Reference (Online)
• February 19-March 18 Topics in Library Management (Online)
• June 25-29 Public Library Administration (on-site), UW-Madison
• August 13-17 Cataloging (on-site), UW-Madison

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

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Creating a Great Library Board
From Jim Trojanowski, NWLS Director

Serving as a library trustee is usually a rewarding experience, but it can be stressful and unpleasant. At the same time, library directors often find their work most fulfilling when the library board is operating smoothly and trustees enjoy serving on it. Here are a few tips for helping boards and directors conduct business in a way that makes their work together a pleasant and worthwhile experience.

Focus on the common goal. Every trustee wants to have the best library possible, but what this means is likely to vary a great deal and there may be several paths to getting there. Good planning, both long- and short-term, is essential to developing a common vision of what it means to be the best. As the library develops and implements those plans, trustees and the director must remember they want the same result.

Own decisions as a group. On occasion, the board may make a decision with which one or more trustees disagree. At other times, the board may choose to ignore the advice of the library director. It is important that once a decision is made, each trustee and the library director support that decision. Failure to do so creates divisiveness and fosters an environment of distrust, both of which may lead to poor decision making.

Remain collegial. Some disagreement should be expected at library board meetings, both among trustees and between the board and the library director. Disagreement must be respectful and it must never include a personal attack.

Respect roles. Library directors must recognize that the library board sets policy and they must understand that they act in an advisory capacity where policy is concerned. While the board should carefully weigh the director’s advice it is not bound to follow that advice. At the same time, it is important that the board avoid micromanaging the director. Daily operation of the library is the responsibility of the director, not the board. Tasks such as staff supervision and collection development should generally be left to the director.

Avoid surprises. Hiding potential problems from the board can lead to embarrassment and anger among trustees. It can also force the board to make a decision under crisis rather than through thoughtful discussion, something that may result in a poor choice. Directors should discuss potential problems with the board as they develop.

Even when a problem cannot be anticipated, it may be possible to lessen the surprise through good communication. For example, if the director is aware that an unfavorable article about the library may be published in the local newspaper, it is wise to send trustees an email message before the piece appears that explains what may be written about the library.

Similarly, when a trustee receives a complaint from a patron, it is generally best to ask the patron to address the problem with the library director first. Only if the complaint is significant, frequent, or unresolved should it be brought to the board for discussion.

Following these five simple suggestions can help trustees and directors create an environment of mutual respect and trust. This not only makes the work of the board more enjoyable, it also helps recruit and retain good directors and trustees.

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Linda Bailen, NWLS ILL/Reference Librarian, will discuss interlibrary loan issues and procedures and provide instructions for specific WISCAT tasks. Training from Reference and Loan staff on the new WISCAT ILL Wisconsin resource sharing software will be incorporated into the workshop.

Sessions will be held in Sayner on January 11 and repeated in Superior on January 12. RSVP to Linda Stobbe at lstobbe@nwls.lib.wi.us.

WISCAT ILL Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
From Linda Bailen, NWLS

Replying "Shipped" on Requests as a Lender: When changing requests as a lender to "Shipped" please be sure to choose the correct reply. When you are viewing a single request, you have "Shipped (non-returnable)" as an additional option that is not available when choosing from the list. Reply “Shipped (non-returnable)” ONLY when you are sending a photocopy that does not need to be returned.

Creating a Shortcut After Login: We have found that creating a shortcut after login does not work on a permanent basis with WISCAT ILL. The shortcuts created at NWLS did not work after a few days. If you need to create a shortcut on your desktop for WISCAT ILL, you can use the standard address: http://www.wiscat.net/staff

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Merlin Matters: Popular Holds
From Nikki Bolka, NWLS

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

42/24...Cross by James Patterson
40/4.....The Devil Wears Prada [videorecording(DVD)]
35/28...The Innocent Man: Murder and injustice in a small town by John Grisham
27/17...Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
25/10...The Da Vinci Code [videorecording(DVD)]
21/7.....Pirates of the Caribbean. Dead man's chest [videorecording(DVD)]
21/19...Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille
19/2.....Little Miss Sunshine [videorecording(DVD)]
17/3.....You, Me and Dupree [videorecording(DVD)]
16/5.....Talladega nights. The ballad of Ricky Bobby [videorecording(DVD)]
16/6.....An Inconvenient Truth [videorecording(DVD)]
15/0.....Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
15/2.....The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
14/1.....The Ant Bully [videorecording(DVD)]
14/4.....You, On a Diet: The owner's manual for waist management / Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz
14/6.....Superman Returns [videorecording(DVD)]
14/14...The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
13/2.....World Trade Center [videorecording(DVD)]
13/9.....The Break-Up [videorecording(DVD)]
13/11...Cars [videorecording(DVD)]
12/7.....Ice Age. The meltdown [videorecording(DVD)]
12/9.....Click [videorecording(DVD)]
11/0.....Red Leaves by Belva Plain
10/0.....Step On a Crack by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
10/1.....Gilmore Girls. The complete sixth season [videorecording(DVD)]
10/7.....The Lake House [videorecording(DVD)]
10/7.....Mission: Impossible III [videorecording(DVD)]
8/3.... ..Scoop [videorecording(DVD)]
8/5..... .Inside My Heart: Choosing to live with passion and purpose by Robin McGraw
8/13.. ..The Shape Shifter by Tony Hillerman

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Infoplease: 2006 Year in Review
From www.refdesk.com

Visit infoplease.com to explore the top 2006 events for the nation and the world. Categories include: National news · International news · Timelines/Overviews · People · Science · Statistics · Arts/ Entertainment/ Awards · Sports

MSNBC.com’s Happiest Stories of 2006
From www.refdesk.com

One of the most popular new features on MSNBC.com is Wonderful World. In this section you will find uplifting, happy stories and videos from the U.S. and abroad, tales of rescues and heroism; cute stories about kids and animals; and heartwarming acts of generosity that demonstrate the best of the human spirit.

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This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest …
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!
I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!

-William Arthur Ward

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

NWLS · 3200 E. Lake Shore Dr. · Ashland, Wisconsin 54806 · Telephone: 715.682.2365

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