The Library Connection
Volume 25 Number 1 January 2005
Click here for the Winter 2005 Bookmobile Schedule
The U.S.S. Liberty Memorial Public Library in Grafton is one of the recipients of the 2004 Wisconsin Authors and Illustrators Speak grant. This project is sponsored by the Wisconsin Academy's Center for the Book. The money will be used for the following Wisconsin author program to be held at the library.
On February 17 at 6:30 p.m. the Grafton library will host Ken and Barb Wardius, authors of "Wisconsin Lighthouses: a photographic and pictorial guide" for an evening of slides, music and storytelling about many of the state's lighthouses.
"Bibliotecas Añaden Materiales en Español" (Libraries Add Materials in Spanish Language) was a recent headline in The Sounder, the newspaper that serves a number of residents in the Eastern Shores Library System. Indeed, during 2004 the thirteen libraries and the bookmobile used LSTA funds to add 605 items to their collections. The libraries purchased books, cassettes, videos, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and CDs to better serve their customers for whom English is a second language. Click here to see the bibliography of everything the libraries selected.
The year began in early Spring when fifteen staff members from seven libraries attended ten two-hour sessions on conversational Spanish taught by a representative from the Literacy Council. Then libraries looked at their flyers and policies and sent appropriate ones to the system office to be translated. Five libraries submitted eleven documents for translation. A system-wide brochure was created and translated into Spanish. Copes were printed for the member libraries and distributed to community agencies. Click here to see the brochure.
Also, during the year, ten libraries scheduled Mary Tooley's "Art in a Suitcase" program on Hispanic Heritage at each of their libraries. Those who attended were given the opportunity to make a metal tooling art piece to take home with them.
With the Hispanic population increasing in both Sheboygan and Ozaukee Counties, we believe that the library system and the member libraries used the LSTA funds to significantly improve their services to their Hispanic population.
The Wisconsin Humanities Council offers grants to humanities scholars and non-profit organizations in Wisconsin. Mini-grants of up to $2,000 and major grants not exceeding $10,000 are available. There are six mini-grant deadlines and three major grant deadlines each year. The next mini-grant deadline is March 1, 2005 and the next major grant deadline is April 15, 2005.
Grant guidelines and application forms are available on-line at www.wisconsinhumanities.org
Children's
Librarians CornerI recently attended the 3rd Annual International Children’s and Young Adult Literature Celebration in Madison. The conference was an all-day interactive workshop for K-12 educators, librarians, and literature enthusiasts, with an aim to internationalize statewide reading curriculum. The conference was sponsored by the Wisconsin International Outreach Consortium, Global Studies, UW-Madison, and the Center for International Education, UW-Milwaukee, Cooperative Children’s Book Center, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Friends of International Education, Inc., and the UW Anonymous Fund. I thoroughly enjoyed the conference and credit the quality of the program to the cooperative effort and the number of sponsors. The conference entitled “Open A Book…Open A Door…Open Your Mind…To The World” invited four authors, Jane Kurtz, Deborah Ellis, Francisco Jimenez, and An Na to share their experiences and views.
Jane Kurtz was the first author to speak. She was born in Portland, Oregon, but when she was two years old, her parents moved to Ethiopia. She came back to the United States for college. She found it difficult to share with people here about her childhood home, and after years of teaching she began writing children’s books. She sees books as a tool to teach children about other cultures. Some of her books include Fire on the Mountain, River Friendly, River Wild, and Water Hole Waiting. For more information about Jane Kurtz, go to: www.janekurtz.com/.
Deborah Ellis from Canada is the winner of the Governor General’s Award in Canada for her first novel Looking for X. She’s been a political activist, advocating non-violence, since high school. She works as a mental health residential counselor in Toronto. She spent a lot of time in Pakistan and Afghan refugee camps talking to women and documenting their lives during 20 years of war. Some of her books include Bread Winner, Parvana’s Journey, and Bread Winner. Ellis feels that it is important for children to understand the personal experiences of children and young adults from other cultures through literature. For more information about Deborah Ellis, go to http://aol.bookreporter.com/authors/au-ellis-deborah.asp.
Francisco Jimenez is the Fay Boyle Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Santa Clara University and director of the University’s Ethnic Studies Program. Jimenez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. For many years Jimenez lived in the United States illegally. He shared his personal experiences, and the importance of family, his teachers, and his desire to learn under adverse circumstances. Some of his books include two award-winning books, The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child, Breaking Through, The Christmas Gift, and La Mariposa For more information about Francisco Jimenez, go to: www.scu.edu/SCU/Programs/Diversity/frjim.html
An Na was born in Korea and grew up in San Diego, California. A Step from Heaven is her first novel. Na discussed her experience growing up as a translator for her parents and how she dealt between two worlds and two languages. For more information about An Na go to: www.frontstreetbooks.com/all_books.htm.
All authors stressed the importance of promoting international understanding and good will through books for children and young adults. Next year the International Children’s and Young Adult Literature Celebration will again be offered during International Education Week. Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 19, 2005. Two of the featured authors will be Yuyi Morales who wrote, Harvest Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, and Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book, and Pegi Deitz Shea who wrote, Ten Mice for Tet, and The Whispering Cloth.
Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, by Gary D.
Schmidt
Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko
The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for
Equal Rights, by Russell Freedman
Kitten's First Full Moon, by Kevin Henkes
The Red Book, by Barbara Lehman
Coming on Home Soon, by illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, by Mo Willems
The list from ALA's Association for Library Service to Children
Wednesday, February 16 -- Workshop with Patti Sinclair, the editor of the CSLP manual. The workshop will be held at the Manitowoc Public Library from 12:30 - 4:00 p.m. Contact Paula at ESLS if you want to attend.
Friday, February 25 -- ESLS Youth Services Grass Roots Meeting at the ESLS office from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Contact Paula at ESLS if you have any items you would like to see put on the agenda.
Friday, March 18 -- 2005 Wisconsin Summer Library Program Kickoff at the Wintergreen Resort & Conference Center in Wisconsin Dells. The keynote address will be by Stephanie Stokes of the "Library Media and PR" website. Breakout sessions include: Renaissance Costuming, Recorde Keepinge, Marketing & Publicizing Your SRP, and Dragons from Other Lands. Registration fee of $18 includes all refreshments and lunch. Contact Rhonda Puntney at Lakeshores Library System (262-514-4500 x67)
As January is the month of Presidential inaugurations, let's take a look at some of the "firsts" and "notables" surrounding both inaugural ceremonies and the presidency.
Did you know that ... George Washington gave the shortest inaugural address (135 words) and William H. Harrison gave the longest (10,000 words)? ... William McKinley's 1897 inauguration was the first recorded by movie camera? ...Woodrow Wilson's 1917 inaugural parade was the first that women participated in? For more, visit the Precedents and Notable Events section of "I Do Solemnly Swear . . .": Presidential Inaugurations. This resource, which is part of the Library of Congress American Memory website, is a collection of inauguration-related diaries, letters, memorabilia, and more. It also includes the Oath of Office and a list of when, where, and by whom the Oath has been administered. Visit "I Do Solemnly Swear . . ."
Did you know that ... William H. Taft became Chief Justice after his presidency? ... James Garfield could simultaneously write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other? ... seven presidents have legally changed their names? And are you sure George Washington was the first President? To find out more, visit the Internet Public Library. For more about the first President, see also this article from the controversial Wikipedia.
Now that you know all of these facts, are you ready for an inauguration quiz? Test your knowledge about past Presidential inaugurations by taking NARA's (National Archives and Records Administration) quiz!
Lastly, if you ever find yourself preparing to be inaugurated as President, you might want to consider these rather tongue-in-cheek tips from the BBC!
For more information about U.S. presidents and the office of President, visit the Biographies section of our Reference Tools page; the U.S. Executive Branch section of our Federal Law page; and scan the Document Collections section of our Historic Documents page.
The Census Bureau's FactFinder service is useful for creating maps to display the population density of specific geographic areas. This can be useful to show and understand where residences are clustered and might help determine location of a facility, bookmobile, or delivery routes. When you have located the map of the area you want, you can customize it to display specific demographic data or produce tables of information on your community or region. Go to the U.S. Census Bureau's FactFinder site: http://factfinder.census.gov/
A coffee house in Seattle serves as the headquarters for Delicious Monster, a software company that has developed a program for cataloging collections of books, movies, and games. Delicious Library was launched in November 2004 and generated $250,000 worth of sales in its first month.
The four main employees of the company work for eight hours every day at the popular Zoka coffee shop. They pay their rent by buying coffee, lunch, and dinner. The coffee shop employees enjoy having them as their regular customers.
In addition to cataloging personal collections, the software allows users to browse each other's libraries by location. There is also a checkout manager for keeping track of loans. A recommendation engine built on Amazon.com's recommendation system is included. A particularly innovative feature is the ability to use a video camera to read a product's bar code, which is used to fetch product details from the net.
Sixty more eyewitness accounts of pivotal events, each annotated and explained for teachers, students, and everyone else who loves Wisconsin were added to the Turning Points in Wisconsin History website. New ones are being added daily.
Created by the Wisconsin Historical Society, the website gives free access to original documents, lesson plans, classroom activities, and background essays on key historical events.
State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster announced that the DPI's Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning has received a $192,800 "Staying Connected" grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "Staying Connected" grants are challenge grants, with the Gates Foundation matching funds raised by the state or library systems at a 2-1 ratio. The majority of the grant ($162, 800) will be allocated to the state's 17 regional public library systems to offer workshops and other support for the use of technology in their member libraries. The Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning will use the remaining $30,000 of the grant to support training for its major programs including WISCAT and BadgerLink. Eastern Shores will receive $2,400, which will be used to offer training on Microsoft Office products to staff from member libraries.
"Conducting the Reference Interview" is a 30-minute DVD that uses examples involving walk-in, telephone, and online library customers to show how to conduct a successful reference interview. The program looks at the stages of the interview and stresses the need for both bibliographic and interpersonal skills to achieve a correct and complete answer. It also covers the challenges in handling questions from children, talkative customers, and customers with limited English language skills, as well as some of the special issues unique to online reference interviews.
Use your library's normal interlibrary loan channels to request this DVD from Reference and Loan.
The DLTCL Public Library Development Team has added a new feature on its web home page that highlights recent articles, news, announcements, and other information relating to public libraries and public library systems. Currently featured on the site are links to:
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LSTA and Maintenance of Effort Requirements |
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Instructions and Forms: 2004 Public Library Annual Report |
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2005 LSTA Grant Awards |
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DPI 2005-07 Budget Request for Library Services |
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Wisconsin Public Library Service: 2003 State Summary |
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Integrated Systems and Net Access in Wisconsin Public Libraries |
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Press Release on the Gates Staying Connected Grant |
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2005 Wisconsin Directory of Children's Performers.
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Library Lovers' Month is
a month-long celebration of school, public, and private libraries of all types.
This is a time for everyone, especially library support groups, to recognize the
value of libraries and to work to assure that the nation's libraries will
continue to serve.
You may want to create pre-printed postcards for your customers to fill out with a message for their legislators (be sure to provide them with a list). Have your Friends group gather the postcards, stamp, and mail them.
For other suggestions on celebrating this month see: www.librarysupport.net/librarylovers/