The Library Connection
The Monthly Newsletter of the Eastern
Shores Library System
www.esls.lib.wi.us
Volume 30 Number 5 May 2010
Images are copyrighted. Contact the CSLP for more information.
Click here for the Summer 2010 Bookmobile Schedule
Getting to Know Terika Koch
Terika Koch comes to Frank L. Weyenberg library from McMillan Library in Wisconsin Rapids where she worked as a Youth Services Librarian. Prior to McMillan, she spent several years in Madison attending UW-Madison's SLIS program and working at Madison Public Library.
Terika is ready to 'Make a Splash' as she got hired at Weyenberg just in time for the Summer Reading Program! Terika is interested to see how the Summer Reading Program works in a different community and excited to experience Weyenberg's first Adult Summer Reading Program as well. As Patron Services Manager in Mequon, she looks forward to planning great library programming.
Terika enjoys photography, gardening, and walking --
but would like to add ukulele-playing to her list if anyone gives lessons!
She enjoys reading YA fiction, and can't wait for Mockingjay by
Suzanne Collins to come out in August! Terika recently relocated to West
Bend, where she lives with her husband Greg.
Project
Kenya Mission Trip: February
26 – March 9
Darci Kraus, Cedar Grove Public Library
It was my good fortune to be able to join a group of seven who I traveled with to help finish a school and library in Ribe, Kenya. The group members included Brydie Hill, who is the Director of Project Kenya and our local contact on this mission. We also had three MSOE students from Milwaukee along on this trip. McCoulter Easton, Ryan Barnett, and Jay Konkol, whose talents ranged from construction work to computer engineering. David Howell, a professor and Servant Leadership Director for MSOE also joined us. John and Debbie Tucker from Colorado met up with us on this trip as well. John works in construction and computers while Debbie has a background in computer databases. Then there is me, the token librarian along to help organize the books and get the books into the hands of the children. Overall, we made an excellent team that blended well together. We were sent over to finish the electrical work, put in the windows and doorways, to construct the railings and to help set up the computers so that we were able to catalog books for the library. I can safely say that we have made a good start on the library and have finished the goals for the construction of the school. The windows and doorways are up and the railings are in place.
On day 1, I left through Chicago O’Hare at 4:30 p.m. and reached Amsterdam roughly at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday February 27. This is the start of day 2. I got into Nairobi around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night. From there we went to the local YMCA to get settled in for the night. The next day, day 3, we left for Mombasa by bus. It took us approximately 7 hours to get to Mombasa and then it was on to Ribe by car. We got into Ribe around 6 p.m. where we met our host families and settled in for the night. Ribe is situated near the coast of the Indian Ocean and has a population of roughly 400 in a mostly rural area. The school that we were working at accommodated roughly 740 students ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade. All students wore school uniforms that consisted khaki pants or skirts with green dress shirts. A typical class could range from 75 to 80 students. To teach these students there are a total of 14 teachers. They are taught English and Swahili as the two main languages. So it really wasn’t a problem making ourselves understood at any point in time. The classrooms that they had been using have begun to fall apart and simply cannot hold that many students and be effective. This is where Project Kenya comes in. There were enough donations to build a two-story school that would expand the class space as well as add a computer lab and a larger library for the students. The computer lab will be used mainly to teach the students how to type and learn essential computer basics. Day 4-8 consisted of getting up at 6:30 a.m. and having breakfast at 7 a.m. By 8 a.m. I had to be at the school to work. We received a break at 10:30 a.m. Our break consisted of hot tea and chapatti. Chapatti is a tortilla like shaped bread that is fried in oil. After our break we worked until 12:30 p.m. and then we stopped for lunch. Our lunch hour lasted until 1:30 and we would have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for those 5 days. We would then go back to work until 5 p.m. During those hours that we worked in the library, students would come up during their free time and ask to look at the books. We had anywhere from 10 to 15 students during their free time come over and look at the books we brought. One boy grabbed the Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson and read the book for the whole free hour. Well, as much as he could get done within that period of time. I had a girl named Margaret reading the Bernstein Bears to younger children in another corner. They love books and could definitely use more. We even had the teachers excited with some of the selections that were given. One teacher said that he loved science fiction and even a little fantasy. It was fortunate that in one of the bags we had brought over we had a few copies of Star Wars.
During
these 5 days, Debbie and I had gotten the computers sorted out and had
cataloged over 500 books. It was a little different getting used to
their system of cataloging books. We
worked only with the fiction books that we had brought over and assigned
them a code. An example that I can give would be for the book Stacey’s Movie by Ann M. Martin
(Babysitters Club): Ribe/fic/BSC/SM/001.
The “BSC” would stand for the Babysitters Club and “SM”
would stand for Stacey’s Movie.
Lesley Stahl, on the right, one of the missionaries in Ribe.
She taught English and helped to show us how to organize the
library.
If I happened to have a second copy I would just add a “002” and the second entry would look like this: Ribe/fic/BSC/SM/002. Each book was different when we looked at them individually. I couldn’t always use just the first letter of the title and sometimes I would take the first 3 letters from each word within that title excluding the initial articles. We wouldn’t want a book down the road to have the same code and tried to take that into account when assigning one. We then added them to an Excel database the title, author, publisher, publication date, ISBN, and cataloged code for the books so that eventually the students would be able to check these out. Along with books, we sent along checkout cards and pockets for just this situation. Overall, I am pleased with what we accomplished within those five days in Ribe. They have a good foundation to build on for their library. As a collective whole, our libraries in ESLS and the libraries in the wider Wisconsin network have managed to send over 40 boxes of books to Ribe, Kenya. The books will be taken to Ribe first and also divided with another school that Project Kenya is in the process of helping.
I feel fortunate that I was able to join the group in Kenya and visit the places that we did. It was an eye opener for me on how another family lived and worked outside my sheltered life in the U.S. and gives me a new appreciation for what we have. I would definitely like to go back and would encourage others to go.
Further information can be found at the Project Kenya website located at www.project-kenya.org.
Children's
Librarians Corner
"Green" Thinking and the Summer Reading Program
Lynn Mihm, Children's Services at the Sheboygan Falls Memorial Library
The March Booklist Magazine highlighted "the environment". This
got me thinking what we can do to "go green" at the library and
emphasize the environment to our young readers, especially with the theme
we have this summer.
We can start by saving the summer reading manuals,
since we seem to repeat the theme every ten years.
I have "Summer Splash" from 1988, "Make Waves!
Read" from 1998 and now we have "Make a Splash-Read" from
2010. Many of the ideas were
repeated, but the best part was that I actually saved some of the
decorations from those years. For me this is a very easy year.
There is a downside to all of this.
One needs a place to store these things, so I am lucky to have my
own closet at the library.
We always have a new batch of children, so we can
still use some of our favorite old stories like, "Harry by the Sea,",
"To Bathe a Boa", "Five
Minutes' Peace", "Swimmy", "Sand Cake"
and "A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog."
One of the new books reviewed in Booklist was,
Written
in Water: Messages of Hope for Earth's
Most Precious Resource.
I was happy to see that the manual and some of the programs
emphasized subjects like invasive plant species, invasive fish species
like the carp, and catch and release fishing. It also promoted the use of steel water bottles instead of
plastic bottles so we do not see plastic floating in our lakes and rivers
and filling our landfills.
We should all be doing our part to save precious
water.
Oostburg's
Easy Access
Trixine Tahtinen, Director of the Oostburg Public Library
While visiting the library recently, you may have noticed our newest addition—electronic doors.
The library was able to install these doors after receiving the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grant ($3,000) for Special Needs, which the Eastern Shores Library System applied for on the library’s behalf.
Because the grant did not cover the entire cost of the door installation, the Friends of the Library are graciously paying the remainder of the cost, $1,250.
The installation of these doors brings the library into compliance with the American Disabilities Act by providing powered doors for easy access by disabled persons.
Sheboygan Falls Glass installed the equipment.
Ozaukee County Board Passes Amended County Library Plan
On Wednesday, May 5 the Ozaukee County Board acted on the Proposed County Library Plan for 2011-2015. The Board amended the proposed plan by removing the recommended reimbursement level for libraries and replaced it with the current method where some libraries will be reimbursed at 70% and other libraries at the 85% level. Thus the reimbursement method in Ozaukee County will remain the same as it is currently. The amendment also allowed Ozaukee County to hold the Bookmobile Vehicle Reserve Fund rather than turning those funds over to Eastern Shores Library System. A few supervisors spoke about the plan and proposed amendment. There was no objection to the Bookmobile funding method or the funding method to add bookmobile stops.
The amendment was passed by a vote of 23-5. Those not in support of
the amendment were from Grafton, Cedarburg, and Saukville. The
amended plan was passed by a vote of 24-4. Supervisors from Grafton
and Cedarburg voted no.
Besides Eastern Shores Library System Director David Weinhold, representatives
from Saukville, Random Lake, Port Washington, and Cedarburg libraries were
present at the meeting.
Sheboygan County Reviews County Library Plan
The Sheboygan County Executive Committee met to begin consideration of the Joint County Library Service Plan for 2011-2015 on Tuesday, May 25. David Weinhold, ESLS Director, presented highlights of the report and answered questions. He also provided information on Ozaukee County's amendment to the plan.
The Sheboygan County Executive Committee approved an amendment to the plan
which would reimburse Ozaukee County libraries which serve Sheboygan
County non-libraried residents at the same rate that Ozaukee County
reimburses those libraries. Director Weinhold believes this would
mean that the five Ozaukee County libraries would be reimbursed at either
70% or 85% for their service to Sheboygan County non-libraried residents.
Sheboygan County libraries would be reimbursed according to the plan which
is 90% for 2011 and 2012, 91% in 2013, 92% in 2014, and 93% in 2015.
The amended plan is being referred to a joint meeting of the Sheboygan
County Executive and Finance Committees before it is being considered by
the full Sheboygan County Board. Director Weinhold believes that the
plan will be ready for consideration at the July Sheboygan County Board
meeting.
Cheerios® New
Author Contest
Logo from Spoonfuls
of Stories(R)
If you are an unpublished author, the
Cheerios® New Author Contest is waiting to hear from you.
Grand prize winners will receive
$5000 and a chance for publication. Two First Runner-up prizes of $1000
each will also be awarded. Their
stories will be published at www.SpoonfulsofStories.com.
You
must be a legal United States resident, 18 years old and older and living
in the United States to enter the contest.
Contest
rules require that the story be no more than 500 words in length and
geared to children ages 3-8 years. The
story can be written in English or Spanish.
Official contest rules can be found at http://www.spoonfulsofstoriescontest.com/rules/.
All entries must be received by July 15, 2010. An entry form can be found at http://www.spoonfulsofstoriescontest.com/.
The 2008 contest
winner was Lori Degman who wrote 1 Zany Zoo.
Her book was published
and is available in specially-marked boxes of Cheerios. Laurie Isop won
the 2009 Grand Prize. Her
book, How Do You Hug a Porcupine? is being published by Simon
& Schuster and will be available in Cheerios boxes in 2011.
It can be read at www.SpoonfulsofStories.com.
Winners of the 2010 contest will be notified in October.
Contest results will be posted on the Internet at www.spoonfulsofstories.com
in March, 2011.
Positions Open
Kohler Company is looking for a corporate librarian. EDUCATION REQUIRED: M.L.S. from ALA-accredited library science program and three or more years experience working in a corporate or special library preferred. For more information visit the ALA Job list.
The Lakeview Community Library is located in Random Lake. It is a joint community library supported by the Village of
Adell, the Village of Random Lake, The Town of Scott and the Town of
Sherman. The library serves a
population of over 5,000 and is a member of the Eastern Shores Library
System with participation in EasiCat, a shared automation catalog and
delivery system that includes 14 libraries in Ozaukee and Sheboygan
counties. Lakeview Community
Library has a high benchmark for customer service.
The Lakeview Community Library is in need of two service-oriented
individuals with strong work ethics, computer skills, and a love of books
to serve as a part-time circulation library aide and a children’s
services/circulation aide. Duties
will primarily include circulation, reader’s
advisory, ready reference and general library operations.
Flexibility to work some evenings and Saturday hours is required.
Each position is for 20 hours a week.
Resume and cover letter should accompany application.
Printable position details and employment applications can be found
on the library’s
website or picked up at the Lakeview Community Library, 112 Butler
Street, Random Lake WI. Applications
need to be returned to the library in person. Positions will be open until
filled.
Interesting Items
*American Library
Direct, May 5, 2010
The results of a recent national survey by the University of Washington on
how people use library computers have been released. One of the study's
finding is that 40 percent of computer users at the D.C. Public Library
use the computers to research and apply for jobs and 20 percent of them
report that they found jobs as a result. To read more about the results go
to http://dclibrary.org/node/6866
* Chilifresh is now available to the public on EasiCat. Librarians will be rotating the responsibility of moderating the comments. David Nimmer, Director of the W. J. Niederkorn Library in Port Washington volunteered his library as first to do the main EasiCat reviews. Jen Gerber at Saukville's Oscar Grady Public Library will follow. Chilifresh is not limited to books. You can also review for DVD's and CD's. To review an item first find it in EasiCat and then click on the Write a review or # of reviews on the left hand side of the screen and follow the simple directions to write your own.
* It's almost time to start thinking about local budgets for 2011. Check out the Retiring Guy's Digest, by Paul Everett Nelson, for his Ten Easy to do Political Campaign Activities.
* The Outreach Services Round
Table (OSRT) is now accepting applications for the Frances de
Usabel Outreach Services Award. This $500 award is presented
annually at the WLA Conference to a “library or librarian who has
provided exemplary library outreach services to underserved
populations."
The award is named in honor of the former Special Needs Consultant for the
Wisconsin Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning,
Frances de Usabel.
* The 2010 Children's Choice Book Awards have been announced! The winners of the third annual Children's Choice Book Awards have been chosen by children across the country who voted for their favorite books. Visit the web site to see the winners.
* Visit the Sheboygan Children's Book Festival web site and get involved in the events October 15 - 17, 2010!
Images are copyrighted. Contact the CSLP for more information.