Promoting Rural Libraries Workshop • Infant Brain Development Workshop • Literacy Leaders Meeting • NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes • Price It! Database • OverDrive Database Reminder • Merlin Popular Holds • Useful URLs • Reflection

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 23 Literacy Leaders Meeting, 10:00 a.m., WITC-Shell
Lake. For more information, contact Carleen, literacy@lakeland.ws

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 Community Center 

April 10 Serving the Legal Information Needs of the Public: A Program for Wisconsin Public Librarians 10:00 - 3:00 p.m., Manitowish Waters

April 11 Serving the Legal Information Needs of the Public: A Program for Wisconsin Public Librarians 10:00 - 3:00 p.m., Eau Claire Indianhead Federated Library System

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

April 25 MilCirc Tips and Tricks, 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., NWLS

Summer 2007 UW-Madison SLIS Continuing Education Courses in Madison (If you have questions please contact Anna Palmer, ahpalmer@wisc.edu or 608-263-4452. Visit the School of Library and Information Studies for course descriptions and registration information.

Continuing Education Courses in Madison:

• June 4-7 Grant Writing, Instructor: Jane Pearlmutter
• June 25-29 Summer Camp by the Lake: Public Library Administration, Instructor: Kelly Krieg-Sigman
• July 14-25 Travel Opportunity-Librarians' Tour to Scotland, Tour Director: Jane Pearlmutter
• August 13-17 Summer Camp by the Lake: Cataloging, Instructor: Debra Shapiro
• August 20-24 Puppets in the Library, Instructor: Susan Santner

Online Graduate Credit Courses June 18 - August 12: Cataloging and Classification, Collection Management, Digital Libraries

Online Skills Courses: In cooperation with a national network of educational institutions, we offer online courses on a variety of technical topics and a few non-technical topics. While the courses do not have a library focus, they may be useful to anyone who needs to develop these skills.

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NWLS Workshop: Promoting Rural Libraries / Children's Services

Join us on March 23 as NWLS librarians lead discussions on how to promote your library and create a successful summer reading program.

In the morning session, Boulder Junction Library Director Cherie Sanderson will share what she learned at Promoting Public Libraries: Using Data and Advocacy to Build Public Support and Funding, a Public Library Association pre-conference sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Cherie will be discussing Needs Assessments, Impact Studies and Effective Advocacy.

In the afternoon session, Ida Nemec of the Plum Lake Library will lead an idea sharing session for the coming Summer Reading Program. Bring photos, flyers, and displays from your own programs and leave with craft ideas, story programs, and prizes for anyone who shares their ideas!!

To register, RSVP to Linda Stobbe at lstobbe@nwls.lib.wi.us.

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NWLS Workshop: Infant Brain Development

Gayle Gonsior, Program Coordinator of ABC Healthy Families, will share the latest research on infant brain development and offer suggestions for working with parents to promote early literacy. ABC Healthy Families provides education on healthy child development and parenting for families in the Chequamegon Bay area.

The workshops are a Library Services and Technology Act project of NWLS open to all member libraries. NWLS Early Childhood Literacy LSTA grant participants are required to attend. Mileage will be paid and lunch will be provided. The workshop is scheduled for 10:00 - 2:30 on March 29 in Iron River at the Evelyn Goldberg Briggs Memorial Library and repeated March 30 in Mellen at the Community Center [directions].

For more information and to register, contact Nikki Bolka, nbolka@nwls.lib.wi.us

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2007 Literacy Leaders Meeting

In an effort to identify area literacy efforts and connect volunteers with available resources, Northern Waters Literacy (formerly the Polk County Area Literacy Council) and WITC are hosting a meeting on Friday March 23 at 10 a.m. at the WITC Campus in Shell Lake.

Agenda items include:
Networking: How can we help each other?
Resources: Who do I turn to for help?
Learners: How do I recruit more?

Lunch will be provided. To RSVP and for more information, contact Carleen (literacy@lakeland.ws) Northern Waters Literacy at 866-405-7323 or Margarete Cook (Margarete@wisconsinliteracy.org), Northwestern Regional Literacy Consultant, Wisconsin Literacy at 715-933-0101.

Northern Waters Literacy is the largest literacy organization, in terms of geographical area served, within the state of Wisconsin. Originally established in 1988 as the Polk County Area Literacy Council, the 501c3 community based organization was subsequently renamed, in 2005, Northern Waters Literacy to reflect the expanded service area. It is governed by a board of directors and has 3 paid part time staff. There are 5 county coordinators and approximately 65 volunteer tutors.

The Wisconsin Literacy Northwestern Regional Literacy Consultant assists new or emerging literacy efforts in Northwestern Wisconsin by providing resource information on grants, tutor training, programming, curriculum, organizational development and other similar issues.

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NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
March 17, 2007
NWLS Headquarters, Ashland

1. Call to Order/Roll Call
Mary Poretti called the March 17, 2007 meeting of the NWLS Board of Trustees to order at 12:00 p.m.

Present: Michael Bobin (Washburn County), Buzz Byrne (Burnett County), Kathy Byrns (Iron County), Carol Eder (Bayfield County), Richard Ehlert (Sawyer County), Bill Farris (Washburn County), Tuula Harris (Douglas County), Shirley Harrison (Vilas County), Charles LaBelle (Vilas County), Al Lundquist (Ashland County), Kathy McCoy (Sawyer County), Mary Poretti (Burnett County), Carolyn Sweeney (Superior Public Library), Tom Thompson (Iron County), Marcia Wellnitz (Bayfield County), Jim Trojanowski (NWLS Director), Mike Sauvola (NWLS IT Manager), Mike Sheehan (NWLS Database Manager), Linda Stobbe (NWLS Office Manager).

Excused: Kate Boyle (Douglas County), Joseph Crawford (Ashland County), Karen Livingston (Douglas County).

2. Introduction of new trustees

3. Guest Comments
None.

4. Approval of the January 20, 2007 NWLS Board Meeting Minutes
Marcia Wellnitz moved to approve the minutes of the January 20, 2007, Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes. Shirley Harrison seconded. Carried unanimously.

5. Approval of January and February 2007 Expenditures
Kathy Byrns moved to approve the January and February 2007 NWLS Expenditures. Al Lundquist seconded. Carried unanimously.

6. Approval of February 28, 2007 Financial Statement and Budget Report
Carol Eder moved to approve the February 28, 2007, Financial Statement and Budget Report. Bill Farris seconded. Carried unanimously.

7. Approval of 2006 Annual Audit
During a check of payroll records auditors discovered that two employees have accidentally been overpaid. Both employees were immediately returned to the proper pay level.

Charles LaBelle moved not to require the employees to repay their overpayment. Richard Ehlert seconded. On a roll-call vote Kathy Byrns, Richard Ehlert, Tuula Harris, Charles LaBelle, Mary Poretti, and Marcia Wellnitz voted in favor. Michael Bobin, Emmett Byrne, Carol Eder, Bill Farris, Shirley Harrison, Al Lundquist, Kathy McCoy, Carolyn Sweeney, and Tom Thompson voted against. The motion failed 6-9.

Tuula Harris made a motion to require the employees return pay in the amount of $1,130.56 and $1,031.42, respectively, over the next 26 pay periods. Bill Farris seconded. On a voice vote Michael Bobin, Kathy Byrns, Emmett Byrne, Carol Eder, Bill Farris, Tuula Harris, Shirley Harrison, Charles LaBelle, Al Lundquist, Kathy McCoy, Mary Poretti, Carolyn Sweeney, Tom Thompson, and Marcia Wellnitz voted in favor. Richard Ehlert voted against. The motion passed 15-1.

Jim Trojanowski said that auditor Mark Van Vlack made two recommendations to help avoid this problem in the future. One is to ask the board to approve pay levels annually and the other is to amend the Financial Procedures Manual to require the director to verify pay amounts any time changes are made in pay. Both items are on the agenda later.

Motion by Michael Bobin to approve the 2006 annual audit. Second by Marcia Wellnitz. Carried unanimously.

8. 2007 Budget Amendment
The budget amendment adds LSTA grants to the budget and provides for use of 2006 carryover to pay down debt, purchase delivery bags, and pay for travel and training costs. Remaining carryover will be left in the Equipment Fund, which serves as fund balance for NWLS. Motion by Michael Bobin to approve the budget amendment. Second by Shirley Harrison. Carried unanimously.

9. Approval of 2006 NWLS Annual Report
Tuula Harris moved to approve the 2006 NWLS Annual Report. Carol Eder seconded. Carried unanimously.

10. Approval of NWLS Pay Scale
Emmett Byrne moved to approve the NWLS pay scale. Michael Bobin seconded. Carried unanimously.

11. Approval of Financial Procedures Handbook
Michael Bobin moved to approve the Financial Procedures Handbook. Bill Farris seconded. Carried unanimously.

12. Approval of Employee Handbook Revisions
Tuula Harris moved to approve the Family and Medical Leave Act Guidelines. Kathy McCoy seconded. Carried unanimously.

Michael Bobin moved to approve the Timesheet Policy. Tuula Harris seconded. Carried unanimously.

Kathy Byrns moved to approve the Rest Break Policy. Carol Eder seconded. Carried unanimously.

Michael Bobin moved to approve the Payroll Deductions Policy. Bill Farris seconded. Carried unanimously.

Michael Bobin moved to approve the Longevity Pay Policy. Marcia Wellnitz seconded. Carried unanimously.

13. Closed session as authorized by Wisconsin Statute s.19.85(1)(c) to conduct an evaluation of the director and as authorized by s.19.85(1)(f) to consider the medical history of a specific person, after which the board will reconvene in open session.

Emmett Byrne moved to go into closed session as authorized by Wisconsin Statute s.19.85(1)(c) to evaluate the director and s.19.85(1)(f) to consider the medical history of a specific person, after which the board will reconvene in open session. Marcia Wellnitz seconded. On a voice vote the motion carried unanimously.

The board reconvened in open session with nothing to report.

14. Director's Report
Jim Trojanowski provided updates on the following:
Act 420 payments.
Bad River Tribal Public Library.
Hayward Library.
Technology planning.
Merlin roll-outs for 2007.

15. Other Business
None.

The meeting adjourned at 4:13 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Jim Trojanowski

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Price It! Antiques and Collectibles Database
From Linda Bailen, NWLS

Price It! Antiques & Collectibles is the most comprehensive antique and collectible pricing tool in the world. This simple-to-use online resource delivers more than 20 million realized prices on treasures nearly 30% of Americans collect, buy and trade. Novice and professional collectors alike can quickly ascertain current market value and maker or artist as well as find currently selling or recently sold like items matching their search. Anywhere they have online access, enthusiasts can find the value of art, books, clocks, furniture, glass, jewelry, porcelain pottery, sports memorabilia, toys, watches … 125 product groupings in all.

Price It! is an accurate aggregating tool, gathering prices from multiple sources — online auctions (GoAntiques.com, eBay), online retail (GoAntiques.com, TIAS) and land-based auction houses — to determine market pricing, allowing users to obtain a realistic expected price for their items. It is the most comprehensive pricing tool of its kind. With more than 20 million prices and 10 million images to make identification easier — and more added every month.

Patrons of libraries in the NWLS area can access PriceIt! at home with a password from your library. Visit the Northern Waters Library Service website and click on the PriceIt! link.

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OverDrive Database Reminder and Warning
From Mike Sheehan, NWLS

This message serves as both a reminder and warning about the e-content available from OverDrive. While the downloadable audiobooks (and now videos) are beneficial in that they can help supplement parts of a library's collection as well as just provide a better service for electronic content, accessibility to these services can come with a price. Any patron curious about the products from OverDrive and wishing to download audiobooks and videos should be reminded to do so from home as this service intends, and not on the library computers. Any usage of these services through the library will add to the slowness of the library and/or network bandwidth that has already encountered dramatic slowdowns.

As NWLS Technology Coordinator, Mike Sauvola, has previously commented, "in one library for example, a fellow comes in nearly every day, and spends hours downloading movies onto his portable drive. The library has a 512k circuit, and the fellow is using 400k for his download. The library also has wireless, which has 56k allocated to it. This leaves only 56k for all the rest of this library's patrons, circulation and staff. About the same as a single dialup circuit!

What does this mean to the rest of the libraries? It would only take 10 people like our friend above, all downloading movies at different libraries at the same time to use up 80% of the total bandwidth available to ALL libraries. And because approximately 10% is already allocated to wireless use, that leaves only 10% left for all the rest of the patrons and staff."

To reiterate, until there is a resolution to this problem with OverDrive, please remind patrons to access and download OverDrive content at home.

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Merlin Popular Holds
From Nikki Bolka, nbolka@nwls.lib.wi.us

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

79/21 . Step On a Crack by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
50/6 ... The Departed [videorecording(DVD)]
39/16 . Sisters by Danielle Steel
36/7 ... Babel [videorecording(DVD)]
30/5 ... The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
30/11 . The Illusionist [videorecording(DVD)]
27/9 ... Flags of Our Fathers [videorecording(DVD)]
26/9 ... Open Season [videorecording(DVD)]
22/2 ... Stranger Than Fiction [videorecording(DVD)]
22/3 ... Flushed Away [videorecording(DVD)]
22/6 ... Man of the Year [videorecording(DVD)]
21/5 ... Marie Antoinette [videorecording(DVD)]
18/2 ... Borat [videorecording(DVD)]
17/1 ... Casino Royale [videorecording(DVD)]
17/1 ... The Secret [videorecording(DVD)]
17/6 ... Flicka [videorecording(DVD)]
15/0 ... Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
15/5 ... The Prestige [videorecording(DVD)]
14/16 . Little Miss Sunshine [videorecording(DVD)]
13/0 ... 6th Target by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
13/2 ... Running with Scissors [videorecording(DVD)]
12/2 ... Half Nelson [videorecording(DVD)]
12/24 . Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
11/0 ... The Alibi Man by Tami Hoag
10/4 ... Flyboys [videorecording(DVD)]
10/6 ... The Black Dahlia [videorecording(DVD)]
10/7 ... Nineteen Minutes: A novel by Jodi Picoult
9/0 ..... Bad Luck and Trouble: A Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child
9/0 ..... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
9/0 ..... Red Leaves by Belva Plain
9/1 ..... Snakes on a Plane [videorecording(DVD)]
9/12 ... Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy
8/0 ..... Blood Diamond [videorecording(DVD)]
8/0 ..... Book of the Dead by Patricia Daniels Cornwell
8/2 ..... Infamous [videorecording(DVD)]
8/2 ..... A Good Year [videorecording(DVD)]
8/2 ..... Crank [videorecording(DVD)]

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The Library of Congress: Women's History Month
From Librarians' Internet Index

Compilation of Library of Congress materials for Women's History Month (March). Features biographies, audio clips, images, classroom materials, and links to relevant collections and exhibits. From the Library of Congress.

Cities Around the World
From Librarians' Internet Index

This site "presents over 6,100 photographic images [of over 450 cities worldwide] from the slide collections of the American Geographical Society Library." Harrison Forman and Harold Mayer took the photographs between 1942 and 1994. Subjects include city life, architecture, neighborhoods, transportation, and business districts. Searchable, or browsable by country or city. From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries.

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"If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday."

- Pearl Buck

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

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