Calendar
September 30 Northwoods Conference of Library Friends and Supporters, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Rothschild Village Hall Community Room, Rothschild, WI.
October 2-30 What's New in Children's Books? Online Course, UW-Madison.
October 9-12 Technology Basics, 10:00 a.m., NWLS
October 9 - December 17 Fundamentals of Cataloging Online Course, UW-Madison.
2007 UW-Madison's School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) Continuing Education Courses:
- January 22-March 31 Core Elements of Children’s Services Online Course
- January 22-April 13 Basic Reference Online Course
- February 19-March 18 Basic Reference Online Course
- February 19-March 18 Topics in Library Management Online Course
- June 25-29 Public Library Administration (on-site course), UW-Madison
- August 13-17 Cataloging (on-site course), UW-Madison
For more information, contact Anna Palmer at 608.263.4452 or ahpalmer@wisc.edu.
Current Events
Report from the Northwest Wisconsin Children’s Book Conference
From Nikki Bolka, nbolka@nwls.lib.wi.us
Last week I attended the fourth annual Northwest Wisconsin Children’s Book Conference. Once again, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center’s preview of outstanding 2007 books for children and young adults was a big hit. Books were on display for browsing after the slideshow.
One session I really enjoyed was Why Folktales Still Matter, lead by storyteller and author Lise Lunge-Larsen. Lise, originally from Norway, now lives in Duluth, Minnesota and draws from the local landscape for many of her folktales. Her wonderful stage presence leaves no doubt of her ability to captivate kids of all ages. She uses great voices and has an energy that is infectious. She recalled a little boy who, upon hearing her rendition of Billy Goats Gruff at a big school assembly, ran up and grabbed her leg to keep her from hurting one of the goats! That child’s complete immersion in the story and his overwhelming courage in the face of the “big scary troll” are examples of why she feels folktales and storytelling play an important role in developing critical thinking skills and a strong imagination.
The keynote speaker, Kathleen Baxter, School Library Journal columnist and former teacher/librarian, previewed an extensive list of non-fiction books with guy appeal. It was an entertaining presentation that focused on topics like mummies, animals, detectives, pirates, sports, construction, and the perennial favorite, bodily functions. An interesting session to hold during lunch…
If you attended the conference and would like to share your experience or any resources you gathered, please post a message to the NWLS list or consider writing an article for an upcoming issue of the newsletter. I have booklists from the CCBC and keynote sessions as well as a few extra copies of CCBC’s Choices 2006 if anyone is interested.
Technology Basics Workshops Schedule
The Technology Basics workshop will focus this year on software.
Monday, October 9
10:00-12:00: Excel Basics and Refresher
1:00-2:00: Intermediate Excel
Tuesday, October 10
10:00-12:00: Pharos Basics
1:00-2:00: PowerPoint Basics
Wednesday, October 11
10:00-12:00: Website Structure and Maintenance Overview
1:00-2:00: FrontPage Website Basics
Thursday, October 12
10:00-2:00: Assisting Patrons with Technology: An introduction to thumb drives, mp3 players, wireless Internet, and more.
For more information or to register, contact Linda Stobbe, lstobbe@nwls.lib.wi.us, by October 4.
PAGE UP
Merlin Matters: Cataloging
From Mike Sheehan, msheehan@nwls.lib.wi.us
Two Item Record Updates
I just wanted to pass along a couple of notices about changes to item records. First, NWLS staff have modified the label display for a few Item Type (Itype) codes.
Itype 0 is now labeled Non-Circulating.
Itype 1 now reads New DVD.
Itype 3 now reads New Book.
Itype 7 is now labeled Reference.
Libraries who wish to use Itypes they haven't used in the past should contact Marsha Sorensen to set up a loan rule.
Second, when a popular new item returns from a checkout but is damaged, prevent a hold from being triggered by changing the Itype to 0, the Status code to "In Repair" and the Imessage to "needs repair" before checking the item in. Return the item to the owning library.
Bib Templates Reminder
NWLS staff have noticed that some libraries have inadvertently used bibliographic ILL templates for materials they meant to create short temporary bib records. Please note the difference between the two.
ILL bibliographic templates contain a title and (sometimes) an author that are all in caps, and these records are suppressed from the online catalog (noted with a Cat Code of “n”).
Temporary bib records contain fields of ISBN, author, title, publisher, and (sometimes) a subject that are not all capitalized, and carry a Cat Code of “t” to show it needs a full MARC record overlay.
Please let NWLS know if you have any questions or concerns regarding these templates.
From OCLC Weekly Summary for September 10-16, 2006
Google Lets Users Search Online News Archives
A group of online publications has opened up its archives to Google’s Web crawlers, allowing it to index old articles for a new service called Google News Archive Search. Newspapers, such as the Washington Post, as well as news aggregators, like the Dow Jones- and Reuters-owned Factiva, will show up in archive search results according to an article in Forbes.com. The new product is an attempt by Google to match the traffic levels of the news sites of search engine portal competitors Yahoo!, Microsoft and Time Warner’s AOL. Nearly 27 million people visited Yahoo! News in July, according to Nielsen NetRatings, while only 8.9 million went to Google News in the same time period. More...
70 and 71 Millionth Records Added to WorldCat
WorldCat is the world’s most comprehensive bibliographic database. Updated at a rate of nearly one new record every 10 seconds, WorldCat contains more than 71 million bibliographic records and 1 billion holdings contributed by more than 9,000 libraries around the world.
The 70 millionth record was contributed June 7 by BIREME (Biblioteca Regional de Medicina), for an article entitled “Marcacion de nodulo pulmonar guiada por TC con contraste iodado liposoluble para reseccion quirurgica videotoracoscopica: experiencia inicial” from the medical journal Revista argentina de radiologia. This record was added during the first phase of a batch load project of the Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences Database (LILACS).
Added on August 21 by the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago, Illinois, USA, the 71 millionth record was for a microfilmed version of a thesis from the University of Durham, United Kingdom, entitled: The Language of Drama, which was written in 1988.
Useful URLs
Mayo Clinic: First Aid Guide
From www.refdesk.com
Medical emergencies don't occur every day. But when they do, information can help you deal with these situations. This Mayo Clinic: First Aid Guide provides the medical information needed to deal with emergency situations.
Reflection
"If librarianship is the connecting of people to ideas – and I believe that is the truest definition of what we do - it is crucial to remember that we must keep and make available, not just good ideas and noble ideas, but bad ideas, silly ideas, and yes, even dangerous or wicked ideas."
-GraceAnne A. DeCandido
NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
September 16, 2006
NWLS Headquarters, Ashland
1. Call to Order/Roll Call
Mary Poretti called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
Present: Michael Bobin (Washburn County), Kathy Byrns (Iron County), Carol Eder (Bayfield County), Charles LaBelle (Vilas County), Karen Livingston (Douglas County), Al Lundquist (Ashland County), Sandra Mackie (Washburn County), Mary Poretti (Burnett County), Tom Thompson (Iron County), Pam Wallace (Douglas County), Carolyn Wedin (Burnett County), Jim Trojanowski (NWLS), Michael Sheehan (NWLS), Linda Stobbe (NWLS).
Excused: Kate Boyle (Douglas County), Joseph Crawford (Ashland County), Richard Ehlert (Sawyer County), Tuula Harris (Douglas County), Shirley Harrison (Vilas County), Joan Laughlin (Superior Public Library), Shirley Riedmann (Sawyer County), Marcia Wellnitz (Bayfield County).
2. Guest Comments
No guests were present.
3. Approval of the July 15, 2006 NWLS Board Meeting Minutes
Kathy Byrns moved to accept the July 15, 2006, NWLS Board Meeting Minutes. Tom Thompson seconded. Carried unanimously.
4. Approval of July and August, 2006 NWLS Expenditures
Karen Livingston moved to approve the July and August expenditures. Al Lundquist seconded. Carried unanimously.
5. Approval of August 30, 2006 Financial Statement and Budget Report
Michael Bobin moved to approve the Financial Statement and Budget Report. Carolyn Wedin seconded. Carried unanimously.
6. Approval of NWLS Equipment Loan Policy
Charles LaBelle moved to approve the Equipment Loan Policy as amended to clarify liability for damage. Kathy Byrns seconded. Carried unanimously.
7. Approval of Revised Health Insurance Policy
The new policy is proposed to eliminate eligibility for retirees to participate in the NWLS health insurance group at their cost, except under the terms of COBRA. This change should help reduce insurance costs. Carolyn Wedin moved to approve the revised policy. Carol Eder seconded. Carried unanimously.
8. Approval of Merlin By-laws
Michael Sheehan explained that the by-laws were written at a time when only nine libraries belonged to Merlin and that they need to be updated. For example, a quorum under the current by-laws is four members. Carolyn Wedin moved to eliminate Article VII, Section 3. The motion died for lack of a second. Michael Bobin moved to approve the by-laws as amended to change the word “participants” to “The Merlin Consortium” in Article VII, Section 3 and Article IV, Section 7. Seconded by Kathy Byrns. Carried unanimously.
9. Approval of Merlin Confidentiality Policy
Sandy Mackie moved to approve the Merlin Confidentiality Policy. Pam Wallace seconded. Carried unanimously.
10. Approval of Strategic Plan
Carol Eder moved to approve the NWLS Strategic Plan, 2007-2001, as amended to clarify language in various sections. Pam Wallace seconded. Carried unanimously.
11. Approval of 2007 NWLS Budget and Plan of Service
The budget includes no changes in service levels to member libraries in 2007, a 2% pay increase for NWLS staff, and a change in health insurance to require employees to pay 15% of the cost of insurance for spouses and dependents. Michael Bobin moved to approve the 2007 NWLS Budget and Plan of Service. Kathy Byrns seconded. Carried unanimously.
12. Approval of 2007 Member Library Agreements
Carol Eder moved to approve the 2007 Member Library Agreements. Al Lundquist seconded. Carried unanimously.
13. Approval of 2007 County Service Agreements
Michael Bobin moved to approve the 2007 County Service Agreements. Sandy Mackie seconded. Carried unanimously.
14. Approval of 2007 Resource Library Agreement with Superior Public Library
Carolyn Wedin moved to approve the 2007 Resource Library Agreement. Kathy Byrns seconded. Carried unanimously.
15. Director’s evaluation: conducted in a closed session as authorized by Wisconsin Statute s.19.85(1), after which the board will reconvene in open session.
Motion by Michael Bobin to go into closed session as authorized by Wisconsin Statute s.19.85(1) to conduct the Director’s evaluation. Sandy Mackie seconded. On a roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously.
Michael Bobin moved to reconvene in open session. Carol Eder seconded. Carried unanimously. The meeting reconvened in open session at 2:20 p.m.
16. Other business
Jim Trojanowski reported on the following:
-New NWLS website and letterhead
-Meetings with IFLS and WVLS concerning Act 420 payments across county and system lines
-Streams article on resource sharing and the ensuing discussion on the NWLS discussion list
The meeting adjourned at 2:29 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Jim Trojanowski.
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