The Library Connection
The Monthly Newsletter of the Eastern
Shores Library System
www.esls.lib.wi.us
Volume 29 Number 1 January 2009
Click here for the Winter 2009 Bookmobile Schedule
Shared Library Automation Committee Takes New direction
The participating libraries in EasiCat elected Pat Bluhm, Access Services Manager at the F.L. Weyenberg Library of Mequon Thiensville, as the Chair of the Shared Automation Library Committee (SLAC). Pat chaired a Circulation Committee during the implementation of Horizon and has contributed suggestions during the implementation of Polaris.
As Chair of SLAC, Pat
will be compiling the agenda and leading the meetings of the Committee.
The Committee decided to meet monthly during this Polaris
implementation phase. The
first meeting is in February and the agenda includes a number of issues
about the use of the Polaris software in EasiCat.
The Policies and
Procedures for the Shared Library Automation Network provides for a staff
member from a participating library to chair the Committee.
Since 2001 the Committee was convened by the Library System Staff.
The Library System continues to provide support services for the
Committee.
During the last five
years, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and the SLAC meetings
alternated month by month. The
agendas of each Committee included topics for both committees and time
would be set aside for those discussions.
These combined meetings worked well after implementation of the
Horizon software was complete.
TAC meets every other month in 2009. Those meetings will focus on other library system services that are not specific to EasiCat. TAC is an advisory committee to the Library System Board. A TAC representative is chosen by the Committee and attends the Library System Board meetings. This librarian presents information from the Committee meetings and any TAC recommendations about library system services. For 2009, the representative is Scott Gehrig, Director of Sheboygan Falls Memorial Library.
ESLS Announces New Board Member
Amy Rachuba, a resident of the Village of Belgium has
been appointed to the ESLS Board of Trustees.
She will serve a three-year term as a member-at-large for Ozaukee
County. Amy states,
“I feel very strongly about the need for ESLS to continue to be a force
in our community and to be accessible to all residents.”
A frequent user of public libraries and the bookmobile, Amy notes
that she uses EasiCat to order almost all of her material and is
“continually amazed and thankful for the wide variety of books and other
materials the consortium of libraries provides.”
Amy has a Master of Science in Library and
Information Science and has worked as a cataloging librarian. She has also studied library administration.
She feels that her education and experience will prove to be
helpful in her position on the Board.
Amy is looking forward to being a liaison between her community and the ESLS Board of Trustees and will “work to keep the citizen connection open.”
Library Board Orientation
Amy will not be the only one learning about Board responsibilities. Since June 2008 the Eastern Shores Library System Board has five new members, one third of the Board. The new members are: Don Dohrwardt, an Ozaukee County Board Supervisor representing the Fredonia area. He will complete the term left vacant by the retirement of William Niehaus. Mr. Dohrwardt has served a number of years on the County Board and is also a past member of the Ozaukee County Library Commission. He was reappointed for a three year term ending in December 2011.
William Goehring a Sheboygan County Board Supervisor representing the Town of Sherman and Random Lake area, completed the term left vacant by the retirement of William Jens. Mr. Goehring has a served a number of years on the County Board and recently completed two terms as County Board Chairman. He is also the Chair of the Town of Sherman. He was reappointed for a three year term ending in December, 2011.
In September Attorney James Hughes of Plymouth joined the Board. He is currently serving his third term on the Plymouth Public Library Board of Trustees. In November, James R. Zeisler of the Mequon-Thiensville area was appointed to fill the term of Ms. Sharon Nieman-Kobert. Mr. Zeisler is a 1995 graduate of Marquette University. His term expires December, 2009.
Due to this turnover on the Board, David Weinhold, Director of ESLS scheduled a Trustee Orientation and Office tour for the new members. The orientation was held Thursday, January 29. It included a tour of the offices and a presentation on the services the library system provides. It provided an opportunity for the trustees to meet the Library System staff and to ask questions about the Library System and its operation.
Children's
Librarians Corner
"Souper Bowl" at Oscar Grady Library
Cindy Franke, Oscar Grady Public Library
January is "Souper Bowl" month in the Children's Department at our library.
For the month of January, Super Bowl month for football fans, we are inviting area children to come to the library and donate a can of soup. For every can of soup donated the children will receive a drawing slip for a chance to win a book prize. The prize will be a soup related story book and/or football related book.
The children may donate as often as they wish. The cans of sop will be donated to the local food pantry when the program ends.
Saukville is a CHARACTER COUNTS community participant. For those unfamiliar, CHARACTER COUNTS is a National Initiative program in partnership with schools, businesses and other organizations to promote universal values within each other and the community through character education. The program is based on Six Pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. We try to incorporate one or more of the Six Pillars of character into our library programming.
Good luck to your favorite football team this Super Bowl. Our donating reading team will all be winners!
Happy New Year and happy programming to all!
2008
LSTA Updates
Battle of the Boxes - Competition on the Coast (BoBCo)
LSTA category -
Innovative Uses of Technology - competitive
Project Administrator:
Robert Hafeman, Manitowoc-Calumet Library System
One of the main purposes
of the grant was to attract young adults ages 13-17 to the library through
one of the newest modes of informational content - gaming.
Manitowoc-Calumet, Eastern Shores, Lakeshores, and Kenosha County Library
Systems together had 31 public libraries use this grant to provide
innovative technology programming and groundbreaking services to not only
the young adult population but by the end of the grant, programming to
all ages.
Six libraries within ESLS participated in the grant. They were Elkhart
Lake Public Library, Lakeview
Community Library, Mead Public Library, Oscar Grady Public Library, U.S.S.
Liberty Memorial Public Library, and W.J. Niederkorn Library.
Participating libraries received the Wii Console, projector, screen, games
and other equipment needed for competition. Libraries held local Guitar
Hero and Dance Dance Revolution competitions. The final intention of the
grant was to hold gaming competitions system-wide then multi-system
similar to what Eli Neiburger does in Ann Arbor Michigan. The final
multi-system competitions could not be held because of local technology
problems,
limited time and staff factors.
The grant was very
successful at the participating libraries in Eastern Shores. Libraries saw
an increase of participation not only in the target age category intended but
also began using the equipment for senior inter-generational programs. This LSTA grant will allow libraries
to continue new and innovative programming for years to come.
Fighting Hate with Literacy: A Book Discussion
Group Project
Category: Adult, Family and Early Literacy
Project Administrators: Connie Meyer and Sue Potter, Eastern Shores
Library System
This grant was originally written to benefit the Sheboygan County Detention Center and the Ozaukee County Jail Literacy Program. Due to staffing concerns the Ozaukee County Jail Literacy Program had to withdraw from the grant. Kettle Moraine Correctional Institute was then invited to partner with the project.
Ten book discussion kits were prepared. An Adult Education Instructor and aide from LTC are the discussion leaders. Each kit contains 40 paperback copies of the same title. When available an audio book, a large print edition, 2-3 Spanish language editions, and a DVD or VHS production were included. Teaching aides and supplemental materials for titles were also purchased.
GED software in English and Spanish language editions was purchased for the Sheboygan County Detention Center. KMCI received $1500 in library material to support the Fighting Hate with Literacy theme.
At the mid-point of the project the staff reported the project had "opened new worlds to students and instructional staff alike." They have noticed more careful interactions and more respect shown by students. The instructor has noted that the grant participation has reignited her fire for teaching and improved the overall learning environment of her classroom. She stated that "the groups are discussing topics she can never recall discussing in her lifetime."
Homebound Delivery Service
Category: Sensory and Mobility Disabilities
Director John Hanson, U.S.S. Liberty Memorial Public Library
$3,000 was spent to improve the large print collection as most homebound clients want or need large print materials. They are currently delivering to four homebound residents and they receive delivery every other month. Each reader has a profile so the reference librarian can select the appropriate books, magazines and audio books. John said, "The volunteer drivers have told us the homebound clients are extremely happy and appreciative to have books delivered to their doors."
Sheboygan County Historical Documents
Category: Digitization
Project Administrator: Bob Thomes, Mead Public Library
Mead Public Library received an LSTA grant in 2006 and in 2008 for this category. The library has digitized 58 items from its local history collection utilizing both grants.
The items chosen provide a view into the social, economic, and political history of Sheboygan and Sheboygan County. Sheboygan was once know as the "City of Cheese, Chairs, Churches, and Children- the 4 'C's". Many of the items digitized are furniture catalogs of the various companies that once existed in Sheboygan: American Chair, Phoenix, Bemis Riddell, Crocker Chair, Geroge Mattoon and Dillingham Furniture to mention a few.
Sheboygan County also rallied in the country's war efforts. Several war records and histories (War of the Rebellion, World War) are also included in the project.
The 2008 grant allowed us to digitize several highly referenced local history volumes: Leberman's 100 Years of Sheboygan, Zillier's History of Sheboygan County: Past and Present and the Portrait & Biographical Record of Sheboygan County, Wis. A wealth of historical information about this county is now readily available to the researcher, genealogist, student and general history buff.
The collection is part of the University of Wisconsin Digital collection. Go to http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WI and click on Sheboygan County Historical Documents. You may also go directly to the Sheboygan Collection by using http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WI/subcollections/SheboyganLocHistAbout.html and click on Browse. Enjoy the wealth of information.
The Weyenberg Wiki
Jen Gerber, Patron Services Manager, Frank L. Weyenberg Library
The implementation of Polaris brought about an immediate need for up to the minute information and training for staff to best serve our Library’s patrons. In order to deliver this information in a more efficient way, the Frank L. Weyenberg Library set up a wiki to communicate. A wiki is a web site which allows users (such as library staff) to add and update content using their own web browser. This is made possible by wiki software. Wikis end up being created mainly by a collaborative effort of the site's visitors.
By using the wiki our library was able to contribute information, ask questions, give answers, and see what other staff members were asking. Questions, search tips, and any other topics that were beneficial for the entire staff to know were posted to the wiki, anyone who wanted to respond or add to a question or comment, were encouraged to do so. For our staff, it became a very efficient way to communicate and share ideas. Daily, I added information on any Polaris updates or changes that affected the department. I asked that staff check the wiki for information, use it to ask questions, and to see what questions their fellow staff members were asking. Having this collaborative line of open communication available during the implementation of Polaris was very beneficial for us. Since Polaris, our library has adapted the wiki as a useful every day tool to send and share information.
There are many sites on the Internet that offer free wikis; the one our library chose is powered by Google and can be accessed at www.wikispaces.com. If you would like additional information on how to set up a wiki or its benefits, please contact me. I also highly recommend viewing the online tutorial titled Wiki’s in Plain English by Lee Lefeever at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY.
ESLS to host Children’s Librarians Meeting
Jenny Kuhn, Youth Educator, from Mental Health America (MHA), Sheboygan County will be the guest speaker at the Children's Librarians meeting next month. Jenny offers presentations on stress management, suicide prevention, depression, test anxiety, bullying and self-esteem for public and parochial schools and other youth groups in Sheboygan County.
Jenny will provide information on MHA’s traveling library, a
collection of books dealing with mental health issues.
The collections are age appropriate and can be reserved through MHA
for up to two weeks.
Discussion on the 2009 summer library program will follow Jenny’s
presentation. The meeting will be Friday,
February 27, 2009 from 9 - 12:30 at the System Office.
Joint Library Planning Committee Update
Sheboygan County has appointed five individuals to the Joint County Library Planning Committee. Three of the members are also Sheboygan County Board Supervisors. Five members will also be appointed from Ozaukee County. This ten member committee will review and revise the current county library service plan which expires at the end of 2010. For fiscal year 2009, over one million dollars was appropriated for library services for the non-libraried residents of Sheboygan County. Ozaukee County appropriated over $320,000 for those services.
William C Goehring, will be representing the Eastern Shores Library System Board. He is from the Random Lake area and is also a Sheboygan County Board Supervisor. Thomas Wegner, will be representing the County Board. He resides in the City of Plymouth. Al Bosman from the Town of Lima ,a County Board Supervisor as well, will represent a municipality without a library.
The two citizen members are: Henry M. Nelson, a resident of the City of Sheboygan will represent a municipality that operates a public library. Mr. Nelson is a former County Board Supervisor and is employed by Werner Homes. Attorney Michael J. Roth, a resident of the Town of Sheboygan will be representing a municipality that does not operate a library. He is a partner in the law offices of Wurtz, Roth, Basler & Brock, S.C.
The committee will meet four to six times in 2009 to develop the new five-year plan for 2011-2015. Sheboygan County will also be providing the administrative support for the committee.
Interesting Items
Teen
Tech Week is March 8-14, 2009. Click on this link: http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=sub_category&_op=126
to take a look at the posters, etc., available through ALA. Click here: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teentechweek/ttw09/home.cfm
to learn about mini grants that are available.
* [prtalk]
On December 23, 2008 ALA announced the exceptional Web Sites for children for 2008. Go to: http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2008/december2008/webforchildren.cfm to check out the new sites. To view all the sites previously chosen click on this link: http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/default.cfm.
* On Tuesday, April 7 from 7:00 - 9:00 at Lakeshore Technical College the Department of Employee Trust Funds will offer a free public presentation on the Wisconsin Retirement System for those participants considering or planning retirement in the near future. No reservations are needed. The presentation will also be available on the Department's internet site as a video recording. To view it go to http://etf.wi.gov/webcasts.htm .
* Check out Mead Public Library's new website at: http://www.meadpubliclibrary.org/
* Looking for programming ideas, inspiration or organization then attend Targeting the Ages: Programming that hits the Mark. It is a College of DuPage Soaring to Excellence web-conference. You can view it at the ESLS Office Friday, February 13 from 11:00 to 12:30. Register with David Weinhold by Wednesday, February 11 at: weinhold@esls.lib.wi.us.
* Check out the list of literary award winners at: http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/january2009/ymawrap.cfm .
* Check out this site at: http://www.free.ed.gov/
and 
at http://www.stateline.org/live/
.
