The Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning (DLTCL) has
compiled the responses to surveys about accessibility at public libraries.
Eastern Shores is the only system in which all public libraries report being
accessible in all areas included on the survey. In addition, six ESLS libraries
are on the Accessibility Roll of Honor for having an electronic door opener for
at least one entrance. The six libraries are located in: Cedar Grove, Kohler,
Mequon, Plymouth, Port Washington, and Sheboygan.The memo from Barb Huntington,
Youth and Special Services Consultant for DLTCL states: "Electronic doors
in libraries that have addressed building accessibility issues is an indication
of communities that are going beyond what is required and really striving to
make life easier for people with disabilities." The staff and boards of all
of the Eastern Shores libraries are to be commended for making their buildings
accessible to everyone in their communities.
Rachel Stoyke has joined the staff of the Plymouth Public Library as a reference
librarian. Rachel received her undergraduate degree in music education from St.
Olaf College and her MLS from Emporia State University. Her previous experience
in reference and adult services was at the Boulder Public Library in Colorado
and at the Wisconsin Rapids Public Library. At Plymouth she will be handling
interlibrary loan and coordinating the delivery, answering reference questions,
working at the circulation desk, and leading the two adult book discussion
groups sponsored by the library. Welcome to Eastern Shores, Rachel!
The Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning (DLTCL) is
pleased to report that all Wisconsin public libraries now have Internet access.
Since 2000 this figure has been between 98 percent and 99 percent of libraries
having access.
But over the past six months the final few libraries that previously did not
have access were connected. Furthermore, 96 percent of the state's 387 public
libraries have broadband (high-speed) Internet access. Most of these are through
direct data lines subsidized by the state, and several through their local cable
provider or local phone company.
The division first surveyed public library Internet access in 1994, at which
time just 6 percent had Internet access.
At the local level, ESLS has been providing Internet service to its member
libraries using a high speed data line since 1998. In addition, we also provide
service to the six libraries in the Manitowoc-Calumet Library System, who pay
for their share. Prior to that some of the libraries had Internet service
through local providers. This is the only example of systems in the state of
Wisconsin who collaborate on providing Internet service.
Libraries @ the Heart is the theme of the 2003 WLA Annual Conference and October
28 - 31, 2003 is the date. Will Durst, political comic, has been chosen as the
keynote speaker. The conference will be held at Four Point Sheraton, 4747 S.
Howell Avenue, Milwaukee. You can now call for reservations, telephone
414-481-8000, please refer to the Wisconsin Library Association to get the
conference rates. For complete conference information check out the WLA website
at http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/conferences/2003/
Library patrons at the public library in Newberg, Oregon are helping to offset
the cost of 200 magazines, which cost more than $6,000. They select a magazine
and then pay for it at the main desk. The library places the sponsor's name,
business name, or the name of someone they wish to honor on the magazine's
display cover. When the magazine subscription comes up for renewal, the sponsors
are given first choice to renew their sponsorship.
Gemstar eBook Group Limited announced it is scaling back and winding down its
eBook operations, blaming "today's difficult market conditions." The
company is no longer selling its eBook devices, and will stop selling content on
July 16. Until then, it will reduce the price of most books by 40 percent off
the publisher's suggested list price. For at least the next three years, users
will be able to continue to use their eBook devices and content under the same
arrangements as they do today. The company will continue to maintain and store
purchased content on private "Online Bookshelves" at least through
July 16, 2006. Before then, the company will decide whether to continue to
operate the eBook servers that support these services or not; if the latter,
users' content must be stored locally on the eBook devices or in supplemental
expansion memory.
For more information go to Gemstar eBook's website at: http://www.gemstar-ebook.com
A new set of formatting standards, or Document Type Definitions (DTDs), from the
National Library of Medicine should facilitate increased and simpler exchange of
electronic journal articles among publishers, libraries, and archives. Jeff Beck
of the National Library of Medicine said the standards are the first of their
kind and that most publishers use formats developed in-house, which do not
translate easily to other groups who might want the content. Use of the formats,
which are available free from the library, is voluntary, but Dale P. Flecker of
the Harvard University Library believes many organizations will choose to use
them. "By having a common format for the transfer of e-journal article
information," he said, "it is going to make it possible for many more
relationships between archives and publishers."
This month's idea from the publication "Adults with Special Needs: A
Resource and Planning Guide for Wisconsin's Public Libraries" by Barb
Huntington and Coral Swanson is from the chapter on Mental Illness.
"Arrange for a staff and trustee training session that includes an overview
of the various types of mental disorders, identification of problem behaviors,
and techniques for dealing with them. Often, local mental health support groups
or service providers will provide this training at no cost."
Oprah Winfrey started her book club in 1996 but then stopped it over a year ago,
saying she did not have enough time to make monthly selections. The club is
back, but with a focus on the classics. The first title she is recommending is
"East of Eden" by John Steinbeck. A check of EasiCat a week after her
announcement showed all of the copies owned by Eastern Shores libraries were
checked out.
The American Library Association (ALA) will again partner with Oprah's Book Club
to distribute free book club selections to libraries nationwide. At the request
of Oprah Winfrey, the publisher of each Book Club selection will donate to
school, public and community college libraries that are organizational members
of ALA. Each library will receive two to five copies, depending on the
facility's size. This is the first year community college libraries have been
able to participate in this organizational member benefit.
The satellite antenna has been installed on the Eastern Shores bookmobile. The
antenna allows for a direct connection to the EasiCat server. Prior to this, the
bookmobile staff had to use PC Reliance, the Horizon backup software, to check
materials in and out. They had to then upload the day's transactions to EasiCat
when they returned to the office. They also had to place all of the holds that
customers had requested during the day, as well as check patron records and
follow up with calls or e-mails to customers.Customers can now place holds while
on the bookmobile, check which items they have on hold, view the list of items
checked out or overdue, or know immediately if a specific item is owned by a
member library. With the ability to access the patron records database, the
staff will also be able to renew library cards, register new borrowers, and make
changes to addresses and phone numbers immediately.
Ten million dollars was the price to purchase the only known copy of the 1507
world map, the first to include America as a separate land mass as described by
Amerigo Vespucci after his voyages of 1501-1502 to the New World. Mapmaker
Martin Waldseemüüller named the new lands "America." The map was
housed for more than 350 years in the 16th-century castle belonging to the
family of Prince Johannes Waldburg-Wolfegg at Wolfegg in southern Germany. It
was long thought lost, but rediscovered in the castle in 1901.
The map has been in the custody of the Library of Congress since late June 2001,
when LC made an initial down payment toward its purchase. Contributors to the
purchase include the Congress of the United States, Discovery Channel, Gerald
Lenfest, David Koch, and a number of other donors. Under the terms of the
agreement, the map will be on display in LC's Thomas Jefferson Building. A
formal ceremony, attended by high-ranking representatives of the governments of
both Germany and the United States will be arranged in 2004 to mark the
handing-over of the map, as soon as the gallery devoted to its presentation is
prepared. Still, the map will be previewed in the exhibition "Rivers, Edens,
Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America," which opens to
the public on July 24.
The Woman's Day website at www.womansday.com
now has book recommendations from librarians throughout the country. Twelve
librarians from college and public libraries will be reviewing two titles that
they thought would appeal to the Woman's Day reader. In addition, they submitted
discussion questions or personal thoughts about the books to encourage
discussion among book club participants. Each title will be featured for two
weeks until May 2004. The first book is Ahab's Wife: or, the Star-Gazer
by Sena Jeter Naslund.Woman's Day is a partner with ALA in The Campaign for
America's Libraries. During the last two National Library Weeks the magazine
cooperated with libraries who hosted workshops for aspiring writers led by their
writers and editors.The website also includes lists of recommended books from
ALA, kid's picks, suggestions from Woman's Day staff members, and forums where
readers can discuss books and authors. There are numerous references to
libraries and to visiting your local library and a suggestion that you can find
"a whole lot more with the help of your librarian @ your library."
Children's Librarians Corner
How to Draw a Clam by Joy Sikorski was the basis of the Laugh it Up @
Your Library promotional talk that allowed me to address all the JK-6th grade
classes. Ms. Sikorski used map symbols as the basis of cartoon humor. Her two
earthquake symbols paired with the cold front symbol readily brought to mind the
monsters from Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Her cartoons
became the segue for a "serious" talk on map symbols which went on to
include jokes, stories, the trick of turning George Washington upside down on a
dollar bill without turning the bill over (paired great with Silly Sally by
Audrey Wood for the earlier grades), brain teasers, a string story from The
Story Vine by Anne Pellowski and two upside down picture stories as given in
The Big Book of Cartooning by Bill Blitz which enabled the telling of the
frog prince story.
Kohler Public Library is now in its second week of its second year using the
weekly card reading program. Our program is running from June 16 August 29. Each
week the young people need to come to the library to receive a new reading card.
The young people are able to cross off a reading symbol each time they read 15
minutes, check out five books or complete a math, map, writing or art worksheet
that is new each week and geared to various ages. (The worksheets come from
supplemental teaching material books sold by Scholastic and in teaching supply
stores.) It is my hope that youngsters who may not like to read will still come
and participate by being able to do activities using other modes of learning -
plus each worksheet incorporates a fair amount of reading. The youngsters can
also cross off a symbol by attending a library program. So far this year we have
had the return of the Madcap Puppets (brought back by parent request) and Jeff
McMullen a former Ringling Brothers clown who had the preschool through adult
audience in the palm of his hand.
The youngsters receive a library dollar for each completed weekly card. Any
reading beyond the weekly card is tallied on a bonus card. The library will host
an ice cream party when all the participants reach a thousand additional hours.
Last year the kids read an additional 750 hours but we still held the party.
This year BWI Books was selling publisher display units on their website. The
library bought one and has been very pleased with the selection of books as well
as the professional presentation of our prize books. We mixed in some of the
books we bought at the Scholastic Book Sale to make the kids have to go through
each bin on the display unit to see a multitude of titles. It's so cool having
kids handle books with enthusiasm.
Many kids received a book last year which meant they had to read a minimum of
three weeks to get three library dollars. We were thrilled that 30 young people
read all summer and completed a card each week. It truly is a summer reading
program when kids read all summer.
The 2004 theme will be "Discover New Trails @ Your Library," and will
focus on the Lewis and Clark Trail and other groups that went west in American
history. The topic also serves as a nature exploration theme. Children's book
illustrator Mark Buehner is creating the artwork.
The 2005 theme will be "Imagine Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds."
Award-winning children's book creator Steven Kellogg has agreed to do the
artwork. The general concept for 2006 will be "Pets" and the theme
will be selected at the meeting next year.
Try out this site for carnival type games. Select a theme and there are ideas
for games, decorations, even food and prizes. Many games can be adapted to fit a
theme.
The public library in Lawrence, Kansas has found a way to attract young adults
ages 11 to 18 to the library. They encourage them to get involved in the Young
Adult Advisory Board. The board is made up of a group of teenage library patrons
who love libraries and books. They have a meeting and book discussion one Sunday
afternoon a month. The young people are also encouraged to volunteer, performing
tasks including shelving, putting carts in order, filing, and helping with the
newsletter. Members have input into the selection of the young adult collection
and help plan programming. Contact Kim Patton at (785) 843-3833, ext. 121 for
more information.
ALA Graphics will be releasing "A Slam Poetry Manual: How to Produce a
Poetry Slam and Succeed as a Slam Poet" by Michael Baldwin (Director of
Benbrook, TX. Public Library) this August. Published in support of 2003 Teen
Read Week, Slammin' @ your library campaign, the manual covers the basics of how
to organize, host, emcee, and score a Slam. The manual is not teen specific and
will support other adult and children's poetry events throughout the year. It
will be available online at http://www.alastore.ala.org
and in the catalog August 4th, 2003.
Plus already online at www.alastore.ala.org
under their NEW Digital Art Section is Poetry Resource CD -- Get Poetic on Your
PC (or Mac). Over 50 ready-to-use and customizable art files are featured on
this dynamic CD. Everything you need to promote Teen Read Week and poetry at
your library is in this easy-to-use design resource.
The Poetry Resource CD includes exclusive TRW artwork; official tip sheets,
press release, proclamation, psa, programming ideas, etc.; timeless addition to
your design library; ALA endorsed promotions for schools, libraries, and
literacy programs. These new Digital Art CDs are absolutely fabulous! When it
comes to the artwork for your use - they thought of everything and then some!
The 2003 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children's Literature
were announced June 10. The winners are:
Picture Book: Big Momma Makes the World (Candlewick), written by
Phyllis Root and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. Fiction: The Jamie
and Angus Stories (Candlewick), written by Anne Fine and illustrated by Penny
Dale. Nonfiction: Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey
(Putnam) by Maira Kalman. The 2003 awards will be presented at an October 3
ceremony at the Boston Athenaeum.
Read the picture book Aunt Flossie's Hats (and Crab Cakes Later) by
Elizabeth Howard Fitzgerald. Aunt Flossie shares her "boxes and boxes and
boxes of HATS!" and tells the story behind each hat. Afterwards, have the
children make their own "Memory Hats" so they'll always remember
visiting the library. A simple "60 Second Hat" craft idea can be found
at: http://www.makingfriends.com/d_60sechats.htm
Write like you talk. That's the easiest way to communicate a message in a clear
and compelling way.Yet far too many writers build roadblocks when they write.
They use stodgy words and phrases that slow down readers. Here are six writing
roadblocks you should eliminate from your news releases, media kits, pitch
letters, how-to articles or anything else you send to the media.
• i.e. It means "that is, to be precise" and it is often used like
this: The barnyard had many animals (i.e. pigs, goats, sheep, chickens).
Instead, say: The barnyard had many pigs, goats, sheep and chickens.
• e.g. It means "for example" and is often used like this: The U.S.
Supreme Court decides many controversial issues (e.g. abortion, affirmative
action, civil rights). Instead say: "The U.S. Supreme Court decides many
controversial issues such as abortion, affirmative action and civil
rights."
• Him/her and he/she. Don't say, "Contact the reporter and tell him/her
about your idea." Instead, say, "Contact the reporter and explain your
idea."
• And/or. Don't say, "I want publicity on radio and/or TV." Instead
say, I want publicity on radio or TV, or both.
• Abbreviations after a title that stand for degrees earned, professional
designations or trade associations in which you are a member. Example: Dr. Sally
Smith, PhD, MEd, CSP, LCD. The titles might impress those within your industry,
but reporters view them as nothing more than alphabet soup. And they make you
look unnecessarily highfalutin.
• Foreign phrases unfamiliar to those who speak English only. Soup du jour is
fine. But using the phrase raison d'etre is expecting a lot from your readers.
Reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," a free ezine
featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.PublicityHound.com
and receive free by email the handy list "89 Reasons to Send a News
Release."
A tip from the Sheboygan County C of C June 2003 Newsletter: Keep your writing
spare and clean by adhering to this rule. Use no more than four punctuation
marks in one sentence.
The Government Printing Office (GPO) will close all its bookstores outside
Washington, DC, by September 30. The action is a direct result of the success of
GPO Access, where retrievals of government titles exceed 32 million each month.
Before closing, customers can buy remaining store stocks at a 25 percent
discount. Slated for closure are the GPO bookstores in Kansas City, Portland OR,
Seattle, and New York (closing July 1); Los Angeles, Denver, Pueblo, CO;
Detroit, and Milwaukee (August 1); and Atlanta, Jacksonville, FL, Pittsburgh,
and Houston (August 29).
The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) recently began a process to renovate
its existing website to be more accessible and customer-friendly, thereby better
promoting the agency's mission. A noticeable outcome will be a new look and feel
for the DPI website that will better support new and existing customer needs.
However, the primary goal of the redesign will be to improve users' search
results and make it easier for visually impaired and disabled users to navigate
the site. To facilitate the redesign process, the DPI seeks feedback regarding
user experiences with our website. Information from the online survey will form
the foundation of the redesign process. The survey will help identify what
information users seek and what words or phrases they use to find that
information. Through the redesign, the DPI wants to create a navigational
structure that allows most users to find their information more quickly. DPI
hopes to develop a prototype website sometime early in the fall. Focus groups
then will be asked to provide feedback to the new site. In addition to the
redesign, the DPI also will be shortening its URL. Users are encouraged to
support this process by completing the online surveyat http://www5.dpi.state.wi.us/survey/redesign/redesign.htm
Phone 920-208-4900
Website: http://www.esls.lib.wi.us/
Shared Online Catalog: http://www.easicat.net
Paula Siefert, Administrative Assistant ext 10
psiefert@esls.lib.wi.us
Paul Onufrak, Automation Librarian ext 11
ponufrak@esls.lib.wi.us
David Weinhold, Director ext 12
weinhold@esls.lib.wi.us
Ann Krueger, Library Services Manager ext 13
akrueger@esls.lib.wi.us
Alison Hoffman, Cataloger ext 14
ahoffman@esls.lib.wi.us
Connie Meyer, Bookmobile ext 15
clmeyer@esls.lib.wi.us
Sue Potter, Bookmobile ext 15
slpotter@esls.lib.wi.us
LouAnn Huettner, Bookmobile ext 15
huettner@esls.lib.wi.us
Susie Rahn, Cataloging ext 16
sarahn@esls.lib.wi.us
Larry Baldock, ESLS Delivery
lbaldock@esls.lib.wi.us
Dan Van Straten, ESLS Delivery
Bookmobile Reference
bkmref@esls.lib.wi.us
Cedar Grove Public Library
920-668-6834
Diana Nett, Director
Cedarburg Public Library
262-375-7640
Mary Marquardt, Director
Elkhart Lake Public Library
920-876-2554
Nancy Van Voorhis, Director
F.L. Weyenberg Library of Mequon-Thiensville
262-242-2593
Robert Hafeman, Director
Kohler Public Library
920-459-2923
Jan Gebhart, Director
Lakeview Community Library, Random Lake
920-994-4825
Darla Jean Kraus, Director
Mead Public Library , Sheboygan
920-459-3400
Sharon Winkle, Director
Oostburg Public Library
920-564-2934
Trixine Tahtinen, Director
Oscar Grady Public Library, Saukville
262-284-6022
Linda Pierschalla, Director
Plymouth Public Library
920-892-4416
Martha Suhfras, Director
Sheboygan Falls Public Library
920-467-7908
Scott Gehrig, Director
U.S.S. Liberty Memorial Public Library, Grafton
262-375-5315
John Hanson, Director
W.J. Niederkorn Public Library, Port Washington
262-284-5031
David Nimmer, Director