The Library Connection
The Monthly Newsletter of the Eastern
Shores Library System
www.esls.lib.wi.us
Volume 29 Number 5 May 2009
Click here for the Summer 2009 Bookmobile Schedule
Budget Cuts in Sheboygan Affect Media Specialists
In an effort to slash the budget the Sheboygan Area School District (SASD) has approved budget reductions that will eliminate 11 media specialist positions throughout the district. SASD hopes to save $715,000 with the cuts. SASD faces a projected $5 million deficit for the 2009-10 school year.
Beginning with the 2009-10 school year 5 full time
media specialists will staff school media centers in 19 buildings.
Restructuring will include: one media specialist at each high
school, one at the middle school level and two at the elementary school
level. Educational
assistants will staff library media centers.
ESLS Director David Weinhold is concerned that the cuts in personal at the media centers will result in library education benchmarks not being met within the district. In a letter to district residents, Judy Kapellen, Coordinator of Instructional Technology spoke to those concerns. She states, “the media specialists will determine the National Technology Standards 21st Century Skills critical for the media specialists to teach, which lessons are to be enhanced by the library educational assistant, and which area are the responsibility of the classroom teacher. The media specialists will be working with the teacher when delivering their instruction.” She further mentions, “Teachers will work together with the media specialist as a resource for those skills being used by the teacher and students to further student learning. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work together to develop the new model for library services for the students in the Sheboygan Area School District.”
A recent editorial in the Sheboygan Press on May 29 by JoAnn Carr, Director of the Center for Instructional Materials & Computing at the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Education stated, "Media specialists are also certified, licensed teachers who provide direct instruction to students, collaborate with teachers in planning the curriculum, and provide professional development for their fellow teachers." She also notes, "Media specialists are frequently the only members of the school's staff who understand the range of databases and software that students need to use."
Joint Library Planning Committee Update
In this historic year for
the Library System, it is fitting that the first Joint County Library
Planning Committee met to begin work on a county library service plan that
will cover both Ozaukee and Sheboygan Counties.
The joint committee was a recommendation of a previous county
library planning committee that saw that each county was currently
collaborating on library services for their non-libraried citizens.
Elected to chair the
Joint Committee is Henry Nelson from Sheboygan and elected as Secretary of
the Committee is Mary Becker from Port Washington.
The Committee is meeting on the third Monday of the month from 5 -
7:00 p.m. They hope to hold
their meetings at libraries that are convenient for both counties. David Weinhold, Library System Director, and Kay Lorenz,
Assistant to the Sheboygan County Administrator, provide staff assistance
to the Committee.
The Joint Committee
reviewed the work of the previous individual county library planning
committees in the 2006 - 2010 County Library Service Plans.
Although both plans from the committees were similar, Ozaukee
County amended its plan and added some additional activities to be carried
out during the five-year cycle. The
differences were reviewed by the committee and additional information
about the plans were requested.
As the Committee reviewed
the elements for the new five-year county library services plan, they made
two recommendations. First,
they affirmed the previous committees’ recommendation on apportioning
the membership to the Library System Board for each county.
The number of members for each county will be based on the
proportion of each county’s population to the total library system
population. Any change will
become effective in the first year after the decennial census which occurs
in 2010.
The other recommendation
was based on a review of the statistics about the libraries.
The Committee reviewed the effect of quantitative standards on the
libraries. These standards
measure the number of library materials per person, the amount of money
spent on library materials, the number of hours open, the number of staff,
and others. The Committee
concluded that all the libraries meet the basic level of library service,
many libraries exceed the basic level in some standards, and a few
libraries attained excellent level in some standards. The Committee recommended that there will be no minimum
standards that a library needs to meet in order to exempt itself from the
county library tax.
Currently, the Committee
is working on a method to equitably reimburse libraries for serving non-libraried
residents. The two counties
have different methods for that reimbursement.
They hope to achieve some consensus on one method.
The next meeting of the
Committee is on June 15.
Children's
Librarians Corner
Investing in Our Future
Sue Potter, Bookmobile Services
According to a recent Frank & Ernest cartoon libraries are "the only ones doing any lending right now". This cartoon illustrates not only the financial situation our country faces but the similarities between banking and libraries. Banks lend money for investment purposes; most of our library collections are for lending purposes. Libraries don’t usually think of circulations as investments but they are. They are investments in the educational and intellectual health of our citizens.
When customers borrow money (materials) from a bank
(library) they have agreed to pay back the loan on time (returning
materials on time) if they do not, a penalty (fine) is assessed. The
penalty fees are used to reinvest (pay for operating expenses) in services
provided. Just like libraries,
financial institutions have rules and restrictions for using it’s
resources. Considering all
these similarities perhaps libraries could do more to improve the
public’s financial literacy.
This year Money Smart Week for the state of Wisconsin is October 10-17 . One of my favorite books on the value of saving money and perseverance is Uncle Jed’s Barbershop by Margaree King Mitchell. Many other titles that can be used for story times or display can be found at these websites: The Kid’s Money store at, http://www.kidsmoneystore.com/kdbk48.htm ; the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension's Money on the Bookself and Tennessee Saves by the University of Tennessee Extension. Libraries can work with local financial institutions for additional programming.
There are numerous websites for teens about finances.
Websites that have games or other teaching resources for younger children are: The Mint at http://www.themint.org/
; My savings quest ;
the Pennsylvania
Office of Financial Education ; the Teen
Consumer Scrapbook; The
Money Instructor and http://www.moneysbestfriend.com/default.aspx?id=128
.
Teaching children financial literacy is important. It is said Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The Great Depression taught our parents and grandparents, who are also great resources for programming, many valuable lessons. They struggled together and saved and became a generation that said “I think I can, I think I can” because the Little Engine that Could, published in 1930, told them anything was possible. The generation that lived through the 1930's saved everything, ask any of the children who have had to clean out their homes. They saved and were self-reliant, the only thing they couldn't plan for was the length of their lives.
Knowing that the Summer Reading Program has already started for many of us, it is difficult to think of fall programming however, this could be a great opportunity. Invest in our all of our future's and get involved in Money Smart Week.
News from Lakeview Community Library
Director update
Darla Jean Kraus, Director of the Lakeview Community Library in Random Lake recently underwent brain surgery to relieve pressure on her brain at the Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee. The Lakeview Library staff report that Darla is doing well and resting at home. She is under doctor's orders to take it easy. It has not been determined when she will be returning to work. Get well soon Darla!
Library Bay Project
The bidding for Phase One of the "Library Bay" project has been approved by the Random Lake Village Board. Two Milwaukee firms will draw up the plans and conduct the bidding process: Kapur & Associated, Inc. and HNTB, a multidisciplinary urban design and planning company.
The expected cost of Phase One is $395,000 but the actual cost will depend on the bids. A Department of Natural Resources $200,000 matching grant for this project has a time limit. A $65,000 donation for Phase One was made by the family of the late Harold J. Mueller and the former Wisconsin State Bank. It is hoped this project will control the constant shoreline erosion of Lakeview Park lying between the lake and Lakeview Community Library.
Libraries
Receive LSTA Adaptive Equipment
LSTA funds in the amount of $2600 were used help make Eastern Shores Library System’s member libraries more accessible and convenient for people with special needs. The purchases were based on each libraries specific needs.
Examples of equipment ordered and delivered to ESLS member libraries include standard sized keyboards with oversized keys; trackballs with an extra large 3-inch rollerball; hand held personal sound amplifiers that provide up to 50+ decibels of sound amplification and convenience shopping carts.
30th Anniversary News
2009 is the year of the
Anniversaries. The Library
System is celebrating 30 years of helping member libraries, the Bookmobile
is celebrating 30 years of county library service, and the Delivery
Service is celebrating 25 years of moving materials among member
libraries. The current Countywide
Library Service Memo details the history of the Delivery Service. (Click
here for other statistical information.)
Two teams have been
working to celebrate these events. The
Bookmobile Anniversary Team is planning celebrations in Ozaukee County and
Sheboygan County. It will be
part of the Luxembourg Festival Parade in Belgium on August 8 and then be
on display on the festival grounds after the parade.
The Sheboygan County plans are not yet finalized, but the team is
looking at two sites for celebrations.
Along with these celebrations, the
Bookmobile will be conducting a drawing for gift baskets.
There will be a basket for three different age categories.
Users can sign up during the summer and the baskets will be given
away at the end of summer. And
if that is not enough, the bookmobile service will also be conducting food
drives with their celebration events.
For the two weeks prior to each event and at the events, the staff
will collect nonperishable food items for each county’s food pantry.
The Library System Anniversary Team is planning an Open House celebration for Sunday, September 13 from 1 - 4:00 p.m. at the ESLS offices. There will be a brief program recognizing the service and support of the many Library System Board members, Library System staff, library delivery service drivers, local vendors, and local and state officials. No ESLS event would be complete without food, and there will be some excellent hors d’oeuvres at the event. Larry Nix, Library History Buff, and founder of the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center, will have a display from his extensive library history collection.
State Budget Impact
Action taken by the Joint Finance Committee on Thursday, May 25 indicates that the state's 2009- 2011 budget will impact library services throughout the state. Funding for BadgerLink would be reduced by $113,900; funding for interloan services from Milwaukee Public Library, WiLS, the CCBC and the Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped would be reduced by $56,300.
Library System aid would be cut by $861,800. For Eastern Shores that would be about $33,000. This would keep the System budget at about the same level of funding as in 2008. The Wisconsin Library Association is working to amend the budget. The state budget should be passed by July 1.
Interesting Items
* 
Encourage your customers to sign up for Step
Up to the Plate @ your library !
*Make your calendars for the Fall WLA Conference in Appleton at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel on October 20-23.
*According to Lisa Neal Gualtieri, Adjunct Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of eLearn Magazine: "People who use the Internet for health information often obtain their first opinion that way, and then, if they go to a doctor, the doctor’s advice is relegated to the second opinion. Using the Internet, or Dr. Google, as a first opinion can be problematic due to misinformation, misinterpretation of valid information, and the fears that can arise due to lack of medical knowledge, inexperience, and limited perspectives. When patients do visit their doctor for a second opinion, some do not disclose the fact they already received their first opinion and often their doctors do not ask. The result is that patients may suffer needlessly if their fears, concerns, misunderstandings, and misinterpretations are not addressed by the healthcare providers with the expertise and skills to assist them. A pernicious disconnect exists between many patients who use the Internet for health information and the medical professionals who care for them".
To read more about health information go to to her blog at: http://lisaneal.wordpress.com/ .
* Library Garden has posted ten questions you should ask a new employee: Library Garden.
