NWLS Web Award • Pampering Your Preschooler • Free WebJunction Courses • Library Grants • Fall Workshops • NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes • More than Just Books • Wide Screen and Full Screen DVDs • Useful URLs • Reflection

October 16-19 Wisconsin Library Association Conference, Regency Suites and KI Convention Center, Green Bay

October 25 Merlin Consortium Meeting, 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., NWLS

November 2 Records Retention / Recruiting and Managing Volunteers,
10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., NWLS

November 10 NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting, 12:00, NWLS

December 5 Library Directors Meeting, 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Drummond

December 6 Library Directors Meeting, 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Lac du Flambeau

UW-Madison SLIS Continuing Education Courses in Madison.
Visit the School of Library and Information Studies for more information. Online Courses: (Technical courses are also offered)

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Northern Waters Website Recognized by Wisconsin Library Association
From Jim Trojanowski, NWLS Director

Northern Waters Library Service will receive a 2007 Webbie Award from the Media and Technology Section (MATS) of the Wisconsin Library Association for Coolest Design among library websites in Wisconsin. The award will be presented at the Awards and Honors banquet at the Wisconsin Library Association’s conference on Thursday, October 18.

In nominating NWLS site for a Webbie, Mark Beatty of WiLS noted the site’s marriage of clean design and ease of use, saying “With little clutter, it’s way fast to find what you want, but it’s also quite tasteful and enjoyable to look at.” According to MATS Chair Nichole Fromm, several websites were deserving of recognition, but in the end the “clean lines, attractive layout and modern feel of the site” led MATS to select NWLS to receive the award.

The website was created by Marsha Sorensen of Northern Waters Library Service. Marsha is trained in graphic design and her skills are reflected in the website, which is the first she has developed. To see the NWLS website, visit http://nwls.wislib.org/. To learn more about the Webbie Awards, visit http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/mats/webbies/default.asp

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Pampering Your Preschooler
From the Ashland Daily Press by Karen Hollish

Pampering Your Preschooler is a new five-week Washburn Public Library program that seeks to encourage literacy in preschool-aged children by addressing some of their physical, mental and emotional needs. Every Saturday morning through October 22 from 10 to 11 a local expert addresses a different topic: Infant Massage; Healthy Homemade Foods; Reading to Your Youngster; Sign Language, and Music and Movement. To register for any of the programs contact the library at 373-6172.

Librarian Gina Kirsten was inspired to organize the program last spring after attending a Northern Waters Library Service-sponsored workshop on infant and early childhood brain development and helping children become better readers. "The idea is, with children that age, the more stimuli you can give them in every way will help their brains to begin to grow — so they'll be good learners and readers," Kirsten said.

Kirsten used a grant from NWLS to fund the project and she brought Ashland and Bayfield counties' Birth to 3 program on board as a public-relations partner. Kirsten mined local talent when planning the program, asking community members who are already doing "amazing things with children" to lead the courses.

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Free WebJunction Courses
From Bob Bocher, Technology Consultant, WI Dept. of Public Instruction

From now until December 15, 2007, most Wisconsin public library staff members are eligible to take WebJunction courses free of charge. The Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning (DLTCL) will pay for these courses using funds available as part of the Rural Library Sustainability Grant, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To qualify for the free courses, your library must serve a municipal population under 25,000 or serve an area classified as rural for census purposes (over 90% of the state's public libraries qualify). Course registration and other pertinent information is available at http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/wjcoursereg.html. NOTE: You will see in this information that you must first contact your library system staff to get the required course registration code.

Over 200 courses are available through the WebJunction course listing at http://webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=442 . Most courses generally focus on technology, but within this category there is a wide variation. For example, there are courses on increasing your presentation skills and courses with a more technical focus, like Oracle relational database management. Many courses may be eligible toward recertification requirements for public library directors.

Because of restrictions on the grant funding, all courses must be completed by December 15, 2007. The DLTCL strongly encourages staff in eligible libraries to take advantage of this opportunity. Courses can be taken by library staff, volunteers, trustees, and system staff. If you have any questions, contact Bob Bocher (608-266-2127, robert.bocher@dpi.state.wi.us) or John DeBacher (608-266-7270, john.debacher@dpi.state.wi.us) on the division's Public Library Development Team.

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Library Grants
From Barbara Huntington, Special Needs Consultant, WI Dept. of Public Instruction

The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy Grant Competition
The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy is pleased to announce the 2008 national grant competition. The Foundation's grant-making program seeks to develop or expand projects that are designed to support the development of literacy skills for adult primary care givers and their children. A total of approximately $650,000 will be awarded; no grant request should exceed $65,000. For more information and to download the application, visit http://www.barbarabushfoundation.com/wn.html For answers to questions, please contact Kiev Richardson at (202) 955-6183 or krichardson@cfncr.org.
--American Libraries Direct, August 15, 2007

Prime Time Family Reading Grant
Applications are currently available for Prime Time Family Reading Time®, an award-winning reading, discussion and storytelling series offered by Prime Time Family Reading, Inc. an affiliate of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH), in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office and with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Statewide organizations including state libraries, state humanities councils, centers for the book and library associations are invited to apply. For the first time, applications are also invited from library systems. Applications are available online and can be downloaded from http://www.ala.org/publicprograms. The receipt deadline for applications is November 1, 2007.

Based on illustrated children's books, Prime Time is designed to help low-income, low-literate families bond around the act of reading and talking about books. It models and encourages family reading and discussion of humanities topics, and aids parents and children in selecting books and becoming active public library users.

Libraries interested in participating are encouraged to contact their state library, humanities council, center for the book, library association or system headquarters to initiate an application. Complete information about Prime Time is available online at
http://www.ala.org/publicprograms or http://www.leh.org. Questions about the grant should be directed to Miranda Restovic, LEH, at restovic@leh.org or Lainie Castle, ALA Public Programs Office, at lcastle@ala.org.
--from "American Libraries Direct," August 22, 2007

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UW-Milwaukee Fall Workshops

The UW-Milwaukee, School of Information Studies (SOIS) offers a wide range of courses for those interested in the information profession, including a Bachelor of Science in Information Resources, an ALA accredited Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science and a post-graduate Certificate in Information Science. The SOIS also offers opportunities for professionals and the wider community to update their skills and knowledge through advanced and continuing education courses, workshops, and programs. Seminars and workshops cover the cutting edge of the new information topics and technologies that are integral to the information revolution. The topics range from grant writing and funding alternatives to legal issues, public accesss to resources, and information technology. For complete details and course descriptions visit http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SOIS/CE. Online courses include the following:

• October 8: GLBTQ Literature for Young Adults
• October 8: Graphic Novels
• October 18 - November 10: Genealogy
• November 12: Archiving Audio Visual Materials

In addition to the special courses offered by the SOIS Professional Development Institute you can also participate in a variety of online instructor-facilitated technology training courses. View the complete list of these special course offerings online at: http://www.ed2go.com/uwm

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NWLS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
September 15, 2007, Weiss Community Library, Hayward

1. Call to Order/Roll Call
Mary Poretti called the September 15, 2007 meeting of the NWLS Board of Trustees to order at 10:00 a.m.

Present: Michael Bobin (Washburn County), Buzz Byrne (Burnett County), Carol Eder (Bayfield County), Bill Farris (Washburn County), Tuula Harris (Douglas County), Charles LaBelle (Vilas County), Al Lundquist (Ashland County), Mary Poretti (Burnett County), Carolyn Sweeney (Superior Public Library), Jim Trojanowski (NWLS Director), Mike Sheehan (NWLS Database Manager), Linda Stobbe (NWLS Office Manager).

Excused: Martye Allen (Douglas County), Kathy Byrns (Iron County), Joseph Crawford (Ashland County), Richard Ehlert (Sawyer County), Shirley Harrison (Vilas County), Karen Livingston (Douglas County), Kathy McCoy (Sawyer County), Tom Thompson (Iron County), Marcia Wellnitz (Bayfield County).

2. Guest Comments
None.

3. Approval of the July 21, 2007, NWLS Board Meeting Minutes
Michael Bobin moved to approve the minutes of the July 21, 2007, Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes. Al Lundquist seconded. Carried unanimously.

4. Approval of July and August, 2007, Expenditures
Carol Eder moved to approve the July and August, 2007, NWLS Expenditures. Bill Farris seconded. Carried unanimously.

5. Approval of August 31, 2007, Financial Statement and Budget Report
Tuula Harris moved to approve the August 31, 2007, Financial Statement and Budget Report. Al Lundquist seconded. Carried unanimously.

6. 2007 Budget Amendment
Michael Bobin moved to approve the September 2007 budget amendment. Buzz Byrne seconded. Carried unanimously.

7. 2008 Budget and Plan of Service
Michael Bobin moved to approve the 2008 NWLS Budget and Plan of Service as presented. Bill Farris seconded. Carried unanimously.

8. 2008 Member Library Agreement
Tuula Harris moved to approve the 2008 Member Library Agreement as presented. Carol Eder seconded. Carried unanimously.

9. 2008 County Service Agreements
Bill Farris moved to approve the County Service Agreements as presented. Carolyn
Sweeney seconded. Carried unanimously.

10. 2008 Resource Library Agreement
Al Lundquist moved to approve the 2008 Resource Library Agreement with Superior Public Library as presented. Tuula Harris seconded. Carried unanimously.

11. NWLS Pay scale
Tuula Harris moved to approve the NWLS pay scale as presented. Charles LaBelle seconded. Carried unanimously.

12. Personnel Handbook Revisions
Tuula Harris moved to approve the Performance on the Job Policy as presented. Carol Eder seconded. Carried unanimously.

Tuula Harris moved to approve the Employer Rights and Responsibilities Policy as presented. Al Lundquist seconded. Carried unanimously.

Michael Bobin moved to approve the Initial Employment Policy as presented with the line referring to the I-9 form eliminated. Tuula Harris seconded. Carried unanimously.

Buzz Byrne moved to eliminate the Position Classifications Policy as recommended. Bill Farris seconded. Carried unanimously.

13. Closed Session as authorized by Wisconsin Statute s.19.85(1) to conduct the evaluation of NWLS Director Jim Trojanowski. Michael Bobin moved to go into closed session as authorized by Wisconsin Statute s.19.85(1) to conduct the evaluation of NWLS Director Jim Trojanowski. Bill Farris seconded. On a roll call vote the motion passed unanimously.

Charles LaBelle moved to return to open session. Al Lundquist seconded. Carried unanimously.

14. Directors Report
Jim Trojanowski provided updates on the following:
· Library service in Vilas County.
· Status of tribal libraries served by NWLS.

15. Other Business
None.

16. Adjourn
Mary Poretti declared the meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Jim Trojanowski

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More Than Just Books
From Michael Sheehan, NWLS

The Merlin Catalog contains all kinds of titles in a variety of formats. Listed below is a breakdown of those formats and the number of records associated with each.

Art Prints: 38
Audiobooks on cassette: 10,577
Audiobooks on CD and MP3-CD: 4,484
Audiobooks (downloadable): 1,217
Books (including large print): 297,329
Books (downloadable): 11,545
CD-ROM software: 526
Films on DVD: 8,205
Films on videocassette: 19,666
Government Documents: 5,152
Kits: 1,611
Magazines: 2,118
Maps & Atlases: 458
Music on cassette: 219
Music on CD: 6,666
Newspapers: 13
Pamphlets: 103
Puppets, puzzles, games, & toys: 288
Song Scores: 30

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Wide Screen and Full Screen DVDs
From Michael Sheehan, NWLS

NWLS is finding many instances where widescreen and full-screen movies are sharing the same record. This is just a gentle reminder for catalogers to keep separate formats on separate records. The only exception occurs when you purchase a combination (full-screen on one side and widescreen on the other) that can go on the default full-screen record.

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LingvoSoftOnline

LingvoSoftOnline has a very large collection of free online dictionaries, phrasebooks, and other tools to help learn a language. Each feature can be done in a large variety of languages from Albanian to Yiddish.

Wowio

Wowio offers high-quality copyrighted ebooks from leading publishers to legally download at no cost. Browse from a wide range of categories, including works of classic literature, college textbooks, latest releases, comic books, and popular fiction and non-fiction titles. The collection can also be searched by title, author, ISBN, and keyword.

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If the riches of the Indies, or the crowns of all the kingdom of Europe, were laid at my feet in exchange for my love of reading, I would spurn them all.

Francois FéNelon, French theologian, poet and writer

Contact NWLS for subscription services or to submit an article for publication: email Marsha at newsletter@nwls.lib.wi.us or call 715-682-2365.

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

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