1. Legislative Audit Bureau conducting best practices review of public
libraries
2. Preliminary results from public library funding and technology access
study
3. Deadline approaching for WLA WeLead program
4. Keith Curry Lance PowerPoint presentations at WAPL available on Web
5. All Wisconsin Blue Books now online
6. Website of the Week - Language Dictionaries
7. Calendar
1. LEGISLATIVE AUDIT BUREAU CONDUCTING BEST PRACTICES REVIEW OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES
The Legislative Audit Bureau is a non-partisan legislative service agency created to assist the Legislature in maintaining effective oversight of state operations. The Bureau conducts objective audits and evaluations of state agency operations to ensure financial transactions have been made in a legal and proper manner and to determine whether programs are administered effectively, efficiently, and in accordance with the policies of the Legislature and the Governor. The results of these evaluations are provided to the Legislature, along with recommendations for improvements in agency operations.
In compliance with s. 13.94(8), Wis. Stats., the Legislative Audit Bureau also performs periodic reviews of local government best practices, known as Best Practices reviews. Past Best Practices reviews have included county emergency management activities and utilization of user fees by local governments. Topics for consideration for Best Practice reviews are determined by a Best Practices Advisory Council, which consists of representatives of local governments. Best Practices reviews provide local governments with information about innovative and effective ways for local governments to provide services. In May 2007, the Legislative Audit Bureau began a Best Practices review of services provided by public libraries.
To complete the review, the Legislative Audit Bureau plans to visit libraries and regional library systems across the state conducting interviews. The Legislative Audit Bureau will also conduct an on line survey of all 388 libraries in the state later this summer. Upon completion of their review, the Legislative Audit Bureau will issue a report that identifies best practices related to library services. If they should contact you for a visit, please welcome them to your library and share your views and opinions with them.
2. PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM PUBLIC LIBRARY FUNDING AND TECHNOLOGY ACCESS STUDY
In June, the ALA will begin sharing results from the 2007 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study. (185 Wisconsin public libraries participated in this study.) Preliminary data will appear in a postcard inserted in the June/July centennial issue of American Libraries, and initial findings will be presented to the study advisory committee Saturday, June 23, at the ALA Conference in Washington D.C. (Bob Bocher on the division staff is on the advisory committee.)
Among the 2007 findings:
* More than half (54.2 percent) of U.S. public libraries now offer free wireless Internet access. (In Wisconsin, just 43% of our public libraries offer wireless access. There is a 2008 LSTA grant category to encourage more libraries to install wireless access.)
* Library staff in more than half of public libraries provide assistance to patrons applying for or accessing e-government
* Sixty-eight percent of libraries offer online homework resources - serving the educational needs of more than 36 million school-age children
The final 2007 report will be available online and as a print-on-demand book in September 2007. More information, including links to more than a decade of related research on public libraries and the Internet conducted by the Information Institute at Florida State University, is available at http://www.ala.org/plinternetfunding.
This project was made possible by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the American Library Association.
3. DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR WLA WELEAD PROGRAM
The deadline for applying to the Wisconsin Library Association's leadership and mentoring program is approaching. The deadline to submit materials is Friday, June 15th at 5 pm. Not many applications have been received, so WLA would like members to think of colleagues likely to benefit from participating in this endeavor and encourage them to apply. Applications and more information are available at http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/welead/.
The WeLead Program (Wisconsin Emerging Librarians Exploring and Developing) began with its first class of protégés in 2005. The initiative was created to attract new WLA members and to help cultivate and prepare future leaders. WeLead offers benefits to those who are selected: * a one-year membership to WLA; * stipends to attend the WLA annual conference for three years; * a stipend to attend one section conference during the three-year initiative; * an appointment to a WLA committee; * special leadership programming opportunities; and * pairing with a mentor who is already a leader in the library field.
For protégés the requirements include: * Applicants must be students, paraprofessionals and professionals currently in the field of library science; * Applicants should have demonstrated potential to be future library leaders; * Applicants must be willing to attend the WLA annual conference for the three years during the three-year WeLead Initiative; * Applicants must be willing to attend one additional conference (WAPL, WAAL or WEMA) during the three-year WeLead Initiative; * Applicants may either:
1) have never been a member of the Wisconsin Library Association /or/ 2) have been a member for three years or less.
Because the program's most important feature is the relationship that the protégés develop with their professional mentors, WLA is also recruiting mentors. It's a way for current library leaders to share their wisdom and expertise, and to gain new ideas. For mentors, the requirements are: * Must be willing to make a 3-year commitment to the initiative, beginning in July 2007; * Must be able to attend the mentor training in July, the WLA Conference in October, and a spring division conference in 2007 (if applicable). * Willing to meet and communicate with protégé on a regular basis; (e.g., meeting at conferences, exchanging emails, telephone conversations, and personal meetings when appropriate.) * Have at least 5 years of experience working in the library field. * Be a current WLA member and retain membership during the 3-year initiative.
4. KEITH CURRY LANCE POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS AT WAPL AVAILABLE ON WEB
The PowerPoint presentations of Keith Curry Lance, a speaker at the May 2007 Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) conference in Eau Claire, are now available on the WLA website at http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/wapl/conferences/2007/postconf.html. Lance, the retired director of the Library Research Service of the Colorado State Library, gave the keynote address at the conference, "Making It Count @ Your Library: the Strongest Messages, the Latest Facts, the Best Sources." His PowerPoint for this session contained many references to resources librarians and others may find useful. Lance also participated in a break-out session at the conference with Al Zimmerman, consultant on the DLTCL staff. The PowerPoint for the break-out session, "It's a Numbers Game," also is available on the web and covers ways to gather and present statistics to describe and defend your library.
5. ALL WISCONSIN BLUE BOOKS NOW ONLINE
The complete text of every Wisconsin Blue Book is now online, thanks to a project by the UW Digital Collections Center, with the support of the Legislative Reference Bureau and funding provided by the UW System. The Wisconsin Blue Book database is available at http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WI/subcollections/WIBlueBksAbout.shtml.
The State of Wisconsin Blue Book is the primary one-volume reference source about the state, documenting the organization of the state's three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial). Typically, each volume also includes extensive description and statistics on virtually all aspects of life in Wisconsin, including major sections on the state's population, geography, history, election data, educational resources, social services, finance, agriculture, industry, and transportation system. Various useful lists are also provided, such as of statewide associations, news media, local governmental units, post offices, and political parties.
A Wisconsin State Journal article about the digitization project is available at http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=158578&ntpid=1.
6. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Language Dictionaries -- http://www.yourdictionary.com/languages.html -- There are over 6,800 known languages spoken in the 200 countries of the world. 2,261 have writing systems (the others are only spoken) and about 300 are represented by on-line dictionaries as of May 11, 2004. This site by yourDictionary.com presents its currently list. New languages and dictionaries are constantly being added to yourDictionary.com; as a result, this site contains one of the widest and deepest set of dictionaries, grammars, and other language resources on the web. (Website courtesy of
refdesk.com)
7. CALENDAR
June 21-27, 2007 - American Library Association Annual Conference, Washington DC
July 13, 2007 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Verona
September 14, 2007 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Cable
October 12, 2007 - Library Information Technology Advisory Committee meeting, Madison
October 16-19, 2007 - Wisconsin Library Association Annual Conference, Green Bay
November 9, 2007 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, location to be announced
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://dpi.wi.gov/rll/wiscat/training.html.
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For information about Channel Weekly or to submit article ideas, please contact:
Roslyn Wise, Editor, at (608) 266-6439
For questions about this information, contact Roslyn M. Wise (608) 266-6439
Last updated on 7/3/2007 10:35:43 AM
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