1. Summer library program workshop to be held in October
2. ALA completes study on library Internet bandwidth issues
3. AskAway Awareness Week winners announced
4. September is Library Card Sign-up Month
5. Website of the Week - The Pulitzer Prize
6. Calendar
1. SUMMER LIBRARY PROGRAM WORKSHOP TO BE HELD IN OCTOBER
Plan now to attend the 2008 Fall Summer Library Program Workshop. The workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16, 2007, the day before the start of the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) Annual Conference, at the request of the Youth Services Section (YSS), although the workshop is not a WLA program. It will be held near the conference site at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in Green Bay. It is being offered through a collaboration of ten regional systems and the Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning (DLTCL). The workshop is open to all librarians and is not limited to those from the sponsoring systems.
Registration forms will be distributed by the regional systems and will be available before the end of August. Space is limited so people are encouraged to register early. The cost for the workshop is $10 which will include lunch. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Regency Suites Hotel, which is the WLA Conference hotel. A Green Bay Metro Transit trolley makes a stop across the street from the hotel and can drop people off at the Wildlife Sanctuary. Participants are encouraged to use the trolley because parking is limited at the Sanctuary.
Sessions will include programs by the Sanctuary naturalists, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff, and Wisconsin librarians. There will be sessions with programming ideas for preschoolers through teens, including Reader's Theater, crafts, and games. There will also be sessions focusing on ideas for bee, dragonfly, and butterfly programs. Science presentations will include sessions such as "Live Inside the Hive" with the Sanctuary naturalist showing the in-door, see-through bee hive, a Painted Lady Butterfly program with a second grade class, and Vermicomposting with worms. Carrie Morgan who is the DNR coordinator of the EEK! program will do presentations showcasing DNR resources.
The systems providing funding for this program are Arrowhead, Eastern Shores, Indianhead, Manitowoc-Calumet, Milwaukee, Nicolet, South Central, Waukesha, Winnefox, and Wisconsin Valley.
2. ALA COMPLETES STUDY ON LIBRARY INTERNET BANDWIDTH ISSUES
Access to adequate Internet bandwidth has emerged as a key issue for public libraries, both here in Wisconsin and nationwide. With a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Information and Technology Policy (OITP) has just completed a study to examine both the barriers to adequate bandwidth and possible solutions to address these barriers. Ninety-eight percent of public libraries nationwide provide free public Internet access. Thus, the issue for libraries has moved from one of getting connected to the more complex issue of maintaining and improving the quality of Internet service. The following are several key findings in the report.
1) Collaboration and aggregation works. A collaborative approach to adequate library Internet connectivity -- at a state or regional level -- is often more successful and sustainable than individual libraries working to obtain more bandwidth alone. (Note: 93% of Wisconsin public libraries get Internet access via their regional library system.)
2) The need for higher bandwidth is exploding. The more interactive Web environment (e.g., video, gaming) requires considerably more bandwidth than "text-only" Websites. The need for constantly increasing bandwidth is not expected to slow in the foreseeable future.
3) There is a lack of awareness of the roles of libraries. Interviews with public officials and telecommunication providers showed that many do not understand the critical role of libraries in providing access to resources and information on the Internet. An awareness campaign needs to be targeted at key decision makers and providers about this role.
Wisconsin is one of several states highlighted in the report (see page 143). The complete report is on the OITP Website at http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/contactwo/oitp/papersa/public_version_final.pdf. Bob Bocher, the Public Library Development Team's Technology
Consultant, chairs the OITP Subcommittee on Telecommunications and assisted in the project.
3. ASKAWAY AWARENESS WEEK WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Congratulations to Ripon Public Library and Wisconsin Technical College-Superior Learning Resource Center, both of which are recipients of $50 cash prizes in recognition of their promotional efforts during AskAway Awareness Week.
Observed May 7-11, 2007, as a way to increase public awareness of the statewide service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, AskAway Awareness Week helped build on the long-time role of libraries as the primary source for general information and reliable answers.
Below are their winning AskAway Awareness Week events:
* Ripon Public Library printed signs and posted them around the library, ordered and distributed bookmarks, sent the AskAway PR to the local papers, and highlighted the week on its website. The library also had a few days where they featured the changing PowerPoint slides at the circulation desk. They also served patrons cookies and posted advertising near the desk.
* Superior Campus LRC, Superior, WI, prepared a poster of "Ask Away" and displayed it in the computer lab, and promoted the service when giving tours, talking to classrooms, etc.
The Statewide AskAway Publicity Committee now has a wiki
(http://askaway.pbwiki.com/pr) where you will find information you can use to help promote the AskAway service in your community. There are quotes you can use, materials you can order such as posters and bookmarks, and other informative items.
If you participated in "AskAway Awareness Week," but did not send an e-mail, you can still share your events with other librarians by sending an email to Renee Ponzio (reneep@eauclaire.lib.wi.us), reference services manager at L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire, and she will place them on the AskAway wiki site. If you want to share events, publicity, or campaigns that you have conducted to promote AskAway at other times, you can also send that information to Renee.
"People want and need reliable information and answers," Ponzio said. "Librarians are trained information professionals, and now their expertise is available beyond the confines of the library's daily operating hours."
Ponzio credited Ripon Public Library and Wisconsin Technical College-Superior Learning Resource Center for taking important steps to help expand awareness of this important statewide service, and thanked the other libraries that also made concerted efforts during AskAway Awareness Week 2007.
For more information contact Renee Ponzio, AskAway PR Committee Chair, at
(715) 839-1683.
4. SEPTEMBER IS LIBRARY CARD SIGN-UP MONTH
The ALA has announced that Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback of the 2006 Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, will be the spokesperson for this year's Library Card Sign-up Month, which begins September 1. Roethlisberger is featured on an ALA Graphics READ poster, which is being sent to national media by ALA as a public service announcement.
Promotional tools in Spanish and English are available online to promote "The Smartest Card. Get It. Use It. @ your library" theme for Library Card Sign-up Month. Tools include "52 Ways to Use Your Library Card," a sample proclamation, press release, op-ed, letter-to-the-editor, PSA scripts and "Smartest Card" artwork. There are also links to "Smartest Card" promotional items available from ALA Graphics. These tools and examples of how libraries have promoted Library Card Sign-up Month using the Smartest Card are available at http://www.ala.org/librarycardsignup.
5. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
The Pulitzer Prize -- http://www.pulitzer.org/ -- Beginning in 1917, and continuing to the present day, the Pulitzer Prize is awarded in 21 different areas of journalism and photography, including published books and music. This site allows you to search or browse each year's winners using the timeline at the top of each page.
6. CALENDAR
September 7, 2007 - Public Library System Annual Meeting, Madison
September 14, 2007 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Hayward
September 25, 2007 - Instructional Media and Technology regional meeting, Rice Lake
October 2, 2007 - Instructional Media and Technology regional meeting, Appleton
October 5, 2007 - System Youth Services Liaisons annual meeting, Monona
October 9, 2007 - Instructional Media and Technology regional meeting, Waukesha
October 12, 2007 - Instructional Media and Technology regional meeting, Wisconsin Dells
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.
Return to the Channel Weekly Home Page
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 9/6/2007 10:51:29 AM
Home
Contact Us