Channel Weekly
Vol. 8, No. 18, January 19, 2006

  1. ALA to offer Webcast of awards announcement
  2. Six audio PSAs released for 2006 Summer Reading Program
  3. Sunshine Week 2006: A National Dialogue on Open Government and Secrecy
  4. How women and men use the Internet
  5. Website of the Week -- Mental Health Resources
  6. Calendar

1. ALA TO OFFER WEBCAST OF AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT

For the first time ever, the American Library Association (ALA) will pilot a live Webcast of its national announcement of the top books and videos for children and young adults - including the Caldecott, King, Newbery and Printz awards - on January 23 at 7:55 a.m. CST.  The award announcements are made as part of the ALA Midwinter Meeting, which will bring together more than 12,000 librarians, publishers, authors and guests in San Antonio from January 20 to 25.

Online visitors will be able to view the live Webcast the morning of the announcements by following the links that will be on the ALA home page, http://www.ala.org. High-speed access will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Your computer's default media player (e.g., Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player, Real Player) will be sufficient for viewing. Prepare ahead! If it's been awhile since you've installed or used your media player, be sure to update to the latest version ahead of time so you are not bothered by pop up windows as you tune into the Webcast.

This year also marks the premier of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, which honors both the author and illustrator of an outstanding book for beginning readers, and the 10th anniversary of the Pura Belpré Award, which honors Latino writers and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for youth. In celebration of the anniversary, ALA will show (and Webcast) a clip from a new Belpré video created by Scholastic and Weston Woods before the formal press conference announcement begins.  The Alex Awards for the best adult books that appeal to teen audiences also will make their Midwinter Meeting debut. In past years, the 10 book picks were announced during National Library Week.

Awards to be announced January 23 are:

* Alex Awards for the best adult books that appeal to teen audiences
* Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video
* Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children
* Coretta Scott King Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults that demonstrate sensitivity to "the true worth and value of all beings"
* Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults
* May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site
* Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults
* Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States
* Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature
* Pura Belpré Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience
* Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children
* Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience
* Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the outstanding book for beginning readers

The press release announcing the 2006 award winners will be available online at www.ala.org by 10 a.m. CST. Adult book awards also announced during the conference include: Notable Books for Adults, the Black Caucus of the ALA Literary Awards and the Stonewall Awards.  For more information go to http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=bookmediaawards.

2. SIX AUDIO PSA RELEASED FOR 2006 SUMMER READING PROGRAM

The Collaborative Summer Library Program has released a series of six audio Public Service Announcements for use by member libraries in the promotion of libraries' 2006 summer reading programs based on the theme Paws, Claws, Scales & Tales at your library.

The PSAs, produced by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction specifically for the multi-state Collaborative Summer Library Program, feature entertaining references to pets and other animals and are available in English and Spanish.  Ron Anderson, Publications Editor for the DPI, voiced the English versions of the PSAs and did the production work for the Spanish versions which were translated and voiced by staff from Allegro Translation of Madison.  Several of the PSAs feature parts of a poem by Wisconsin writer, performer, and former children's librarian, Judy Farrow-Busack.

The announcements are ready for use on public and private radio as well as in internal library programs and can be previewed and downloaded from the Collaborative Summer Library Program Website at http://www.cslpreads.org/ypsa.htm.

3. SUNSHINE WEEK 2006: A NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON OPEN GOVERNMENT AND SECRECY

 The first national "Sunshine Week: Your Right to Know" was launched in March 2005 and will be celebrated again in 2006 from March 12-18.  Sunshine Week's intent is to raise awareness of the importance of open government to everyone in the community, not just journalists.

On Monday, March 13, 2006, 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm ET, a panel discussion will start in Washington, DC, and link via satellite to locally hosted discussions in communities across the country. A panel of experts from around the country will kick off a discussion about open government and secrecy -- the problems we are facing with it, how it impacts communities, and what the public can do about it. After the panel discussion, locally sponsored programs in communities around the country will discuss issues of access in their communities and how to keep all levels of government open.

Regularly updated information can be found at http://www.openthegovernment.org/article/subarchive/85, including groups sponsoring local programs in our Directory of Registered Sites. Online registration will begin on January 17, 2006. http://tinyurl.com/c57xr. The last day to register will be March 6, 2006.

For other ALA Sunshine Week events, including the Madison and the Cooke awards, go to http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washevents/events.htm.

Sponsors of the events include the American Library Association, American Association of Law Libraries, American Society of Newspaper Editors /Sunshine Week, Association of Research Libraries, Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, League of Women Voters, National Freedom of Information Coalition, OpenTheGovernment.org, and the Special Libraries Association.

4. HOW WOMEN AND MEN USE THE INTERNET

A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows how men's and women's use of the Internet has changed over time. Some highlights:

--The percentage of women using the Internet still lags slightly behind the percentage of men. Women under 30 and black women outpace their male peers.
However, older women trail dramatically behind older men.  

--Men are slightly more intense Internet users than women. Men log on more often, spend more time online and are more likely to be broadband users.   

--In most categories of Internet activity, more men than women are participants.   

--Women are more likely than men to use e-mail to write to friends and family about a variety of topics: sharing news and stories, planning events, forwarding jokes and funny stories.  

--Men and women are equally likely to use the Internet to buy products and take part in online banking, but men are more likely to use the Internet to pay bills, participate in auctions, trade stocks and bonds and pay for digital content.  

Still, the data show that men and women are more similar than different in their online lives, starting with their common appreciation of the Internet's strongest suit: efficiency. Men and women also value the Internet for a second strength, as a gateway to limitless vaults of information.

5. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

Mental Health Resources -- http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mentalhealth.html -- At this National Library of Medicine site you can read breaking news on mental health issues. You can also research symptoms, treatments and finding help. Plus, there are links to articles on coping with mental illness in loved ones and information on specific conditions.

6. CALENDAR

January 20-25, 2006 - American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, San Antonio

January 31, 2006 - Library Legislative Day, Madison

February 2, 2006 - Statewide Delivery Service Advisory Committee meeting, Madison

March 5-7, 2006 - Wisconsin Educational Media Association/Brainstorm 2006 Spring Conference, Wisconsin Dells

March 10, 2005 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Madison

March 21-25, 2006 - Public Library Association National Conference, Boston

March 28-31, 2006 - Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians, Stevens Point

April 11-12, 2006 - Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Advisory Committee spring meeting and public hearing, Madison

May 2, 2006 - National Library Legislative Day, Washington DC

May 3-5, 2006 - Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries meeting, Wisconsin Rapids

June 22-28, 2006 - American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans

October 31-November 3, 2006 - Wisconsin Library Association, Wisconsin Dells

For more details about these and other meetings, see the WISDOM calendar at http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/wisdom.html and the BadgerLink and WISCAT training site at http://www.wiscat.lib.wi.us/pdf/Gates08282004.pdf.

For questions about this information, contact Roslyn M. Wise (608) 266-6439

Last updated on 4/4/2006 4:10:51 PM