The Library Connection

The Monthly Newsletter of the Eastern Shores Library System
www.esls.lib.wi.us

Volume 28 Number 11   November 2008

Click here for the Fall 2008 Bookmobile Schedule

New ESLS Board Member 

Another new board member will be joining the ESLS Board of Trustees.Sharon Nieman-Koebert from the Town of Cedarburg has resigned from Board.  The term vacated by Ms. Nieman-Koebert will be completed by James R. Zeisler of the Mequon-Thiensville area.  Mr. Zeisler is a 1995 graduate of Marquette University.

According to his Citizen Appointee Nomination Form, Mr. Zeisler has resided in Ozaukee County since 2002.  He stated, " I love libraries.  I'd be honored to assist in overseeing the operation of the Ozaukee county libraries."

Mr. Zeisler said he felt that, "Since graduating in '95, I've been letting my career dictate too much of my time.  I want to reverse that trend."  The term he is filling will end January 2010. He will be joining recently appointed  Attorney James Hughes of Plymouth who joined the Board in September.

At Great Resource - The UW Sheboygan University Library

A great source of educational information available to the public exists at the UW Sheboygan University Library.  Since the end of May 2007 the University Library has been located on the first floor of the new ACUITY Technology Center.  Holdings include over 42,000 book volumes,(http://collib.wisconsin.edu/)115 current periodical titles,( http://sheboygan.uwc.edu/library/printperiodicals.shtm ) and various audiovisual resources.  Licensed online databases ( http://sheboygan.uwc.edu/library/alldatabases.shtm) also provide many electronic books and online reference sources and a large number of full-text online journals>  A listing of new materials is also available (http://sheboygan.uwc.edu/library/lists.shtm).  We asked Library Director Jeff Ellair a few questions about the library services that are available to all local residents.

Do you have any comments on the new facility, how is it working for you and the users?

It is working tremendously well.  Students find it to be an up-to-date and physically-inviting place to "choose" to come to and study or work, instead of only a place they "have to" come to when they need to check out a book or use something from reserve, etc..  Our gate count has tripled and reference questions have doubled-as compared to numbers from the same time period during our final year in the old facility.  Circulation of print items has increased over 60%.  We provide lots of seating variety for those who want a quiet place to work independently as well as for small groups who need to work together.  The computer lab in the library has become the computing center of choice for students.  The library also has free wi-fi access which has been very popular.

Community residents are also welcome to bring their laptops and connect to the wi-fi, or we can also log them on to our networked computers for guest access (as long as there are available workstations not being used by students).

The facility is also working well for the staff, as we now have sufficient and suitable space for conducting our own work and providing modern academic library services to our users.

Is it only for Sheboygan County, or could residents of Ozaukee County also use it as they do not have a campus in their area?

Residents from surrounding counties are also welcome to use our library and borrow our materials, and in fact, we wouldn't turn anyone away from anywhere else either. For more information go the to the Community Borrowing Policy page at http://sheboygan.uwc.edu/library/communitypolicy.shtm  .

How is the University reimbursed for this usage, or isn't it?

We're not reimbursed.  Sheboygan County owns and provides funding for the campus buildings and grounds, and the State provides financial support for campus operation/programming.  We are a public, community resource. We try to provide as liberal of library access privileges as possible to general community members, as long as that access doesn't interfere with providing resources/services to our students and faculty/staff. 

Must materials be returned directly to your library?

They can be returned to another library and delivered to us via library courier (via the South Central courier service.  However, this does take a few days so plan accordingly).

Does the library have an emphasis on certain subject areas?

Not really.  We're a freshman-sophomore liberal arts campus and so our resources focus on general beginning undergraduate subject matte across a wide range of topics.  Some of our online databases are funded at the UW System level (for all campuses) and we do have access to a broader range of electronic material than one would typically expect to find on a campus our size.

Any other interesting things we should know about the library?

We are also a member of the NEW ERA (Northeast Wisconsin Educational Resource Alliance) libraries.  The community borrower card we issue allows patrons to visit any academic library within Northeast Wisconsin and borrow materials from on-site at those libraries too (not interlibrary loan though).

Jeff invites all Eastern Shores librarians and staff to drop by the University Library.  He also encourages us to share the information about the community open access policies.  I'm sure we all have customers that would find this library very beneficial. Feel free to contact him with any question at jeffrey.ellair@uwc.edu or call 920-459-6679.

Children's Librarians Corner

Programs to Pull Them in!

Tammy Federspiel, Lakeview Community Library

Looking for a great program for elementary age kids? Last summer I had two super special events that pulled in my biggest crowds.  The first event was a long awaited Star Wars Party.  I have several elementary boys who wipe out our Star Wars books on every visit.  I had been promising them a Star Wars program all school year.  This was the kick off for my weekly elementary age summer programs.  I capped registration at 50 and had no problem filling it.  First of all, sorry to say, I am not a Star Wars fan.  But thanks to the wonderful resources on Pubyac, I found ideas that even I could do.  As kids arrived I helped them figure out their Jedi name.  For the first name take the first three letters of your last name and merge with the first 3 letters of your first name - making my first name Fedtam.  The Jedi last name is created by taking the first three letters of your grandparent’s last name (the ones who have a different last name than you do) and merge it with the first 3 letters of your hometown.  My last name is Schran.  Most parents were around to help out with this!  I then split the kids into three groups for activities. 

Our first activity was to make light sabers.  I studied many designs to come up with a fun saber that the kids would like and that they couldn’t hurt each other with.  I bought pipe insulation tubes at Home Depot and cut them in 2 ½ to 3-foot lengths.  I bought about 6 rolls of different colored duck tape and let each child select a color to wrap their handle in.  Then they put nametags on their sabers. Once they had their light sabers, they were ready to begin Jedi training. 

First they had an obstacle course to go through while carrying their light sabers.  I hung black balloons on strings from the ceiling creating a tunnel effect for the kids to battle their way through.  They had to do 5 pumping jacks, battle through the tunnel then hop across the floor only stepping on the Meteors (paper shapes).  If space allows another fun light saber training idea is to have them keep the meteor from hitting the ground. (bouncing balloons in the air with their light sabers.)  All who completed the tasks were given Star Wars cards as prizes. 

The second group made a marble magnet craft and played a meteor throwing game.  The magnets were made out of the marbles with the flat bottoms, round magnets and clear drying tacky glue.  The kids each picked a picture from a variety of Star Wars clip art I had printed.  They used a circle punch to cut out their pictures, then sandwiched them between the marble and the magnet.  While those dried they played the Meteor Shower game.  This involved the kids crumpling aluminum foil squares into a meteor then throwing it at the star wars figures I had lined up on a table.  They were rewarded with a Star Wars card for each action figure that they knocked down.    If you have empty stairs available, they are the perfect place to set the action figures, as the meteor balls roll back down to you!  

The third group of kids went outside with their adult supervisor to play Hot Lava (hot Potato).  We used fun colored beanbags and played Star Wars theme music as they tossed the beanbags to each other.  The two kids holding the beanbags when the music stopped were out.  Once out the kids amused themselves by having sword fights while waiting for the game to end.  The last two kids remaining were given Star Wars cards as prizes. 

After games, we were all ready for the snack.  I had Light Saber pretzel rods that the kids dipped in frosting then sprinkled with bright colored sugar.  I made a batch of “Wookie Cookies” from the Star Wars Cookbook and served Yoda Soda punch from the cookbook also. 

I displayed the cookbooks as well as all of our Star Wars books and let kids check them out after the party.  I was lucky enough to have a young man volunteer to help and he bought himself a Storm Trooper costume for the event!  My adult son is a Star Wars fan and gave me all of his duplicate Star Wars cards to use as prizes.  Everyone had a wonderful time and eventually the staff recovered too!  

The next week I had a Fancy Nancy Party for elementary girls.  (Fortunately only girls signed up!)  This program was much more in my comfort zone!  The HarperCollins website had wonderful downloadable printout activities that I used as handouts.  The downloaded nametags were especially cute!  The girls were encouraged to dress fancy for the party and even the few that didn’t looked fancy by the time they left!  We gave each girl a fancy boa made from sparkly white Christmas garland.  We also gave them each a tiara made from wire star garland with their choice of colored curling ribbon hanging down.  Finally they each got a “Mardi grass” necklace from Oriental Trading. 

I used the Ellison cutter to cut butterflies out of fun foam and the girls used glue dots to attach sparkly jewels to them.  They placed their decorated butterflies on a paper plate and carried them over to the grown up with the glue gun who glued them to barrettes.  

The girls then made cards with pop up paper butterflies in them.  They decorated the cards with markers and rubber stamps.  

I served fancy cookies for lunch that they frosted and decorated with pink, purple and blue (azure) sugar.  I also made punch with ginger ale and cranberry raspberry juice so that it was a pretty pink color! ,While they ate I read the book Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly..  

I had plans to practice fancy walking with beanbags on our heads but we ran out of time!  I will definitely have another Fancy Nancy party someday…maybe for a Mother's Day Mother Daughter Tea.

Bookmobile Referendum Results/Joint County Library Planning Committee

The advisory referendum in Sheboygan County results show that almost 60% of the voters agreed that Bookmobile service should continue to be financed by property taxes.  The advisory referendum in Ozaukee County results show that about 62% of the voters agreed that Bookmobile service should continue.  The staff of the Bookmobile appreciated the words of support and the efforts of many individuals who informed their neighbors and friends about the value of the service. 

This information will be used by a county library planning committee in 2009 to plan for county library service from 2011 to 2015.  Ozaukee and Sheboygan Counties are cooperating to create a joint county library planning committee.  This committee will review the current plan and consider ways to improve library service to non-libraried residents as well as improve library service countywide.  Thanks to the voters, continuing the Bookmobile Service will be part of that plan.

Sheboygan County has approved the committee and is now looking for candidates for the committee - citizen members from Sheboygan County.  Two appointments will be made—one citizen residing in a town or village that does not operate a public library and one citizen residing in a town, village or city that operates a public library.   Applicants should send a letter of interest and brief resume to Adam Payne at the Sheboygan County Administration Building, 508 New York Avenue, Sheboygan, WI 53081.  Applications must be received no later than Friday, December 5^th.

Bookmobile Referendum Results
     Ozaukee County              Sheboygan County
Yes     3,744 (62.09%)          11,189 (59.39%)
  No      2,286 (37.91%)            7,650 (40.61%)  

E-book Readers

Kim Dalhaimer, Reference Services Liaison, Mead Public Library

In working with Amazon's  Kindle for ESLS’s “Gadget Workshop,” I became interested in the past and future of e-book readers.  I wondered why all of the substantial efforts of the past twenty years in developing e-book readers resulted in a share of less than 3% of the book publishing business, and what the future may hold.  Fortunately, a very long article in Searcher Magazine, “The E-book Reader Is Not the Future of E-books,” by Nancy K. Herther, addresses these issues.  Her conclusions were surprising, and I want to share some of them with you.

The first generation of e-book readers in 1990 included three key products: Sony’s Data Discman, Franklin Bookman, and NuvoMedia’s Rocket E-book.  Critics of these devices noted many flaws: use of batteries for power, which restricted multimedia options; very small screens; poor screen resolution; slow response; and the lack of such key features as note fields and the functionality to link to other computers.

Readers of the second era, most notably SoftBook Reader 1998 and Everybook Dedicated Reader 1999, showed improvement over their predecessors by including up-to-date options, greater memory, improved screen resolution, and a deeper choice of available titles.  Despite these advances, these products also languished in the marketplace.

Third generation readers such as the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle began to appear in 2006.  While these new devices offer major upgrades in screen resolution, physical size and weight, speed, and memory, will the book reading public embrace these new arrivals, or have technology and personal tastes simply bypassed the idea of the e-book reader?

The answer is complex, and the solution is uncertain.  Prominent individuals and organizations, like Steve Jobs and the National Endowment for the Arts, are questioning the present importance of reading.  At MacWorld 2008 Steve Jobs shocked the audience by declaring, “It doesn’t matter how good or bad the e-book reader product is, the simple fact is that people don’t read anymore.  Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year.  The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”

The National Endowment for the Arts learned through two studies: Reading at Risk: a Survey of Literary Reading in America (2004) and To Read or Not to Read – a Question of National Consequence (2007) that not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but that the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young.  Are books losing their significance?.  Or, are computers creating a new awareness of non-“literary” reading?  Worthwhile reading doesn’t necessarily mean cover-to-cover, word-for-word activity.  With the ascendancy of the Internet, many people are now spending much of their reading time online – reading texts, emails, checking news and other reports, etc..

Are e-book developers wasting their time since their potential market is rapidly shrinking?  “For any new technology product to succeed today, it must either create a transformational change for consumers – doing something that they couldn’t do before or in much easier, faster, or a previously unimagined better way – or it must provide some true value as a replacement with a level of excitement, satisfaction, or efficiency that makes the change inevitable in the consumers’ eyes.”  Audio CDs and Apple’s iPod are such examples of life-altering technological changes.  “In order to succeed, e-book readers need to offer clear technological advantages that replace existing paper-based books or need to offer such overwhelming bells and whistles so that users are drawn to them despite existing adequate paper-based versions.”

The first three generations of e-book readers have not done much more than produce words on the screen.  What is needed, according to Jeff Gomez in his book Print Is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age “is the ability for the person using the e-book reader to have the ability to read a passage from practically any book that exists, at any time that you want to, as well as the ability to click on hyperlinks, experience multimedia, and add notes and share passages with others.” 

Early sales of the third generation Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader are underwhelming.  Consequently another generation of e-book readers will be needed for the product to be popularly accepted by the reading public.  What components will the truly successful e-book reader of the future need to have?  It should offer multiple formats and functionality with high value to the user, allowing them to do things in a new way.  And what would those features be?  Here are some thoughts:  

The presently unknown directions of e-book readers and reading will be interesting to behold.  And whatever they are, we can be sure that people’s passion for reading will forever be strong.

Interesting Items

* Is that new movie based on a book? Check out these websites for newly released feature films. Random House has: http://www.randomhouse.biz/libraries/movie-tie-ins.html  and Teenreads.com at  http://www.teenreads.com/features/books2movies.asp   the  Edmonton Public Library site http://www.epl.ca/EPLMaster.cfm?id=BOOKMOVIES  

* A reminder that time is running out on your opportunity to become a Founding Contributor of the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center.  The WLHC is off to a good start with the creation of its website at http://heritage.wisconsinlibraries.org (check out the latest entry on the Capitol fire of 1904) and the establishment of the Wisconsin 
Library Hall of Fame http://heritage.wisconsinlibraries.org/hall-of-fame.html.  

Consider asking your library friends group to become a Founding Contributor.  Details on how to become a Founding Contributor are located at http://heritage.wisconsinlibraries.org/support-the-wlhc.html.

www.esls.lib.wi.us