1. New law applies to disclosure of library video surveillance
recordings
2. Registration deadline soon for free online courses
3. Most public libraries complete Internet survey
4. Reminder: Nominations for Strategic Visioning Summit due December 7
5. Time to apply for The Big Read
6. Free WebJunction webinar suggests Web 2.0 uses for libraries
7. Preserving America's diverse heritage forum scheduled
8. Report for local government managers extols public library value
9. Website of the Week: Recalls.gov
10. Calendar
1. NEW LAW APPLIES TO DISCLOSURE OF LIBRARY VIDEO SURVEILLANCE RECORDINGS
Senate Bill 214 has been passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Doyle, and has now been published as 2007 Act 34 (http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2007/data/acts/07Act34.pdf). The bill was introduced by Senator Ellis and Representative Kaufert after a library patron was viewed committing a lewd act in the Neenah Public Library. The library, based on advice from the Wisconsin Attorney General's office, declined to disclose surveillance video recordings showing the patron until a court order authorized the disclosure.
The new law creates two new exceptions to the general requirement that a court order be obtained before library records are disclosed that may indicate the identity of library users. The first new exception reads:
"Upon the request of a law enforcement officer who is investigating criminal conduct alleged to have occurred at a library supported in whole or in part by public funds, the library shall disclose to the law enforcement officer all records pertinent to the alleged criminal conduct that were produced by a surveillance device under the control of the library."
This exception pertains to requests for surveillance recordings initiated by law enforcement officials. This exception requires disclosure only of surveillance video recordings pertinent to criminal conduct alleged to have occurred at the library.
The second new exception reads:
"If a library requests the assistance of a law enforcement officer, and the director of the library determines that records produced by a surveillance device under the control of the library may assist the law enforcement officer to render the requested assistance, the library may disclose the records to the law enforcement officer."
This section makes it permissible, after the appropriate determination by the library director, for a library to disclose library video surveillance recordings to law enforcement officials in situations in which illegal activity or other dangerous or disruptive behavior may have been committed and recorded on a library video surveillance system.
2. REGISTRATION DEADLINE SOON FOR FREE ONLINE COURSES
This is a reminder that from now until December 15, 2007, most Wisconsin public library staff members are eligible to register for WebJunction and Education to Go (ed2go) courses free of charge. The Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning (DLTCL) will pay for these courses using funds available as part of the Rural Library Sustainability Program, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To qualify for the free courses, your library must serve a municipal population under 25,000 or serve an area classified as rural for census purposes. (Over 90% of the state's public libraries qualify.) Course registration and other pertinent information is at http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/wjcoursereg.html.
Note: (1) You must register for any WebJunction course by December 15, but you have until February 29, 2008, to complete any course work. (2) The ed2go courses have a registration deadline of December 12. These courses are six weeks and thus you will be finished by late January 2008.
The DLTCL strongly encourages staff in eligible libraries to take advantage of this opportunity. If you have any general questions, contact Bob Bocher (608-266-2127, robert.bocher@dpi.state.wi.us) or John DeBacher (608-266-7270, john.debacher@dpi.state.wi.us) on the division's Public Library Development Team. Contact information is provided on the above Website if you have any specific questions about a particular course or trouble registering.
3. MOST PUBLIC LIBRARIES COMPLETE INTERNET SURVEY
In September, a statistical sampling of 215 public libraries in Wisconsin was contacted to complete the 2007 "Public Library Funding and Technology Access" survey funded by the American Library Association and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As of November 1, only 8% of the targeted libraries had completed the survey. However, by the November 30 survey deadline, 76% had completed the survey. On Tuesday, December 4, John Bertot, the survey manager from Florida State University, sent the division the following message that he requested be shared with the Wisconsin library community. "Please express the thanks of the survey team to the Wisconsin public libraries that took time to complete the survey. The 76% response rate is excellent! The information from the survey will be used by ALA and other library supporters to highlight the importance of libraries in providing free Internet access and Internet-related services, and to advocate for the continued need to adequately support these services. Thanks again!" The division adds our thanks to all library staff who took the time to complete the survey. Results are expected to be released in late spring of 2008.
4. REMINDER: NOMINATIONS FOR COLAND STRATEGIC VISIONING SUMMIT DUE DECEMBER 7
Kathy Pletcher, chair of the Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND), urges Channel Weekly subscribers to nominate individuals to attend the Strategic Visioning Summit on the Future of the Library. The nomination form is located on the COLAND web site at http://www.dpi.wi.gov/coland/index.html. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, December 7.
The Strategic Visioning Summit is a key component of a strategic visioning exercise that COLAND, in cooperation with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster, is conducting with the statewide library community. The summit is scheduled for May 5-6, 2008, at the Heidel House Resort in Green Lake, and will be an invitational event attended by 100 librarians and library advocates from across the state of Wisconsin.
The purpose of the Summit is to develop a vision for how libraries of all types will contribute to the continued prosperity of Wisconsin and its communities by promoting
-- quality of life,
-- health of our democracy,
-- educational excellence,
-- economic and workforce development, and
-- preservation of our heritage and cultures.
The Summit Executive Planning Group will review the list of nominations and select individuals to invite to the Summit. The Planning Group will consider the following criteria in selecting the participants:
-- Diversity - include participants representing different age groups, different user populations, and a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
-- Geography - include participants from all areas of the state.
-- Library type - include participants from small and large libraries, urban and rural libraries, and different types of libraries (public, special, school, academic).
-- Roles - include participants who have different roles in libraries, such as trustees and other library supporters, as well as librarians who directly serve the public (vs. administrators).
-- Library educators - include participants who educate librarians.
-- Non-librarians - include participants such as political representatives, municipal and county officials who fund libraries, school superintendents, instructors, and others.
-- Patrons - the committee will consider how to involve library patrons, including students.
5. TIME TO APPLY FOR THE BIG READ
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), announces the fourth deadline for the Big Read program. The purpose of the Big Read is to revitalize the role of literature in American popular culture. Grants ranging from $5,000 - $20,000 are available to encourage local communities to inspire reading through the Big Read program. This will be the only application deadline in 2008.
Big Read grants require the participation of a library as a lead applicant or a partner. IMLS strongly encourages museums of all types to apply as lead applicants or as partner organizations in the Big Read. Communities across the country have strengthened their Big Read projects by enlisting the support of art, science, history, and children's museums, as well as aquaria, arboreta, botanical gardens, nature centers, and zoos. Some library/museum collaborations include:
* In its celebration of "A Farewell to Arms," the Oak Park Public Library in Oak Park, IL, partnered with the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park to host book discussions and costumed tours of the Hemingway birth home and museum.
* In programs related to Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451," the Attleboro Public Library in Attleboro, MA, partnered with the Attleboro Arts Museum on "Reflections of Fahrenheit 451," the community's artistic response to the book and "The River of Our Voices," a poetry workshop for readers of Fahrenheit 451.
* The major role of animals in Jack London's "The Call of the Wild," spurred the Omaha Public Library in Omaha, NE, to team up with the Henry Doorly Zoo for a talk by local Iditarod participant Matt Anderson and information sessions on various aspects of wolf behavior, diet, and habitat.
Organizations selected to participate in the Big Read will receive a grant, financial support to attend a national orientation meeting, educational and promotional materials for broad distribution, an organizer's guide for developing and managing Big Read activities, guidance on working with local media, inclusion of the organization and its activities on the Big Read Web site, and the prestige of participating in a highly visible national initiative.
The Request for Proposals can be downloaded at http://www.NEABigRead.org. The proposal deadline is February 12, 2008. Questions should be directed to Arts Midwest at 612/341-0755 or TheBigRead@artsmidwest.org.
6. FREE WEBJUNCTION WEBINAR SUGGESTS WEB 2.0 USES FOR LIBRARIES
WebJunction will offer a free online webinar, "10 Ways to Make Your Library Great in 2008-via Web 2.0," on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 from 1-2:00 p.m. The webinar will show how to leverage social networking tools such as del.icio.us and Librarything to enable knowledge-sharing and create collections of information around professional development. Ten key themes are presented to empower library staff as well as to increase a library's value within the community.
The workshop will be presented by Ed Rossman, adult services librarian at Shaker Heights Public Library and author of "Castles Against Ignorance: How to Make Libraries Great Educational Environments." Registration for the webinar is optional. Additional information, connection instructions, and archived webinars are available at http://www.webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=15543.
7. PRESERVING AMERICA'S DIVERSE HERITAGE FORUM SCHEDULED
The first of a series of four national forums, "Preserving America's Diverse Heritage," sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in cooperation with Heritage Preservation and the High Museum of Art, will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 31 and February 1, 2008. This forum is part of "Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action," a multi-year, multi-faceted national initiative to raise public awareness and inspire action to care for America's collections, particularly those held by small- and medium-sized museums, libraries, and archives.
Information about the forum, including the program, logistics, and on-line registration, is available now at http://www.imls.gov/collections/tour, and advance registration for the first forum is required by January 15. The forum is open to interested staff and board members of museums, libraries, and archives, as well as to conservation professionals and representatives of government, funders, and the media.
The initiative is grounded in the results of A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America's Collections, which reports that:
* 190 million objects need conservation treatment,
* 65 percent of collecting institutions have damaged collections due to
improper storage,
* 80 percent of collecting institutions lack an emergency plan for their
collections and trained staff to carry it out, and
* 40 percent of institutions have no funds allocated in their annual budget for preservation and conservation.
Information about the "Connecting for Collections" project, the National Tour, as well as useful online resources can be found at http://www.imls.gov/collections/.
8. REPORT FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANAGERS EXTOLS PUBLIC LIBRARY VALUE
The Public Library Association (PLA) is working in conjunction with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) to inform PLA members about the ICMA's Local Government and Public Libraries Partnership Initiative, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As part of this ongoing initiative, ICMA has formed an advisory committee to explore the role of city and county managers as advocates for libraries and how libraries relate to quality of life and community sustainability.
Available on the ICMA Web site in the Reports and Resources section, the ICMA Management Perspective, "Local Government Managers and Public
Libraries: Partners for a Better Community," is an executive brief that has been sent to all local government managers along with a suggestion that they use the Management Perspective as a focus for discussion with their librarian. The brief is available at http://icma.org/documents/Final_Mgmt_Prsptv_Libraries_(gates).pdf.
The Management Perspective recognizes the vital role that libraries play in communities and covers the city or county manager's role in supporting libraries through strategic planning, funding, public support of the library's programs, and establishing guidelines for measuring accountability. Additional information about the initiative on the ICMA Web site: http://icma.org/main/bc.asp?bcid=884&t=0.
9. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Recalls.gov -- http://recalls.gov/ -- To provide better service in alerting the American people to unsafe, hazardous or defective products, six federal agencies with vastly different jurisdictions have joined together to create this website -- a "one stop shop" for U.S. Government recalls. Visitors to this site can find information about recent recalls of consumer products, motor vehicles, boats, foods, medicines, cosmetics, and environmental products, as well as search for information about past recalls.
10. CALENDAR
January 11, 2008 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Madison
January 17, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, Wisconsin Valley, Wausau
January 18, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, Northern Waters, Hayward
January 24, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, Kenosha-Lakeshores-Mid Wisconsin, Waterford (Snow date January 31)
January 31, 2008 - Delivery Services Advisory Committee, via WisLine
February 1, 2008 - Library Information Technology Advisory Committee meeting, Madison
February 22, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, South Central, Madison
February 29, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, South West, Fennimore (Snow date March 7)
March 5, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, Nicolet, DePere
March 6, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, OWLS and Winnefox, Appleton
March 14, 2008 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Hartford
April 3, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, Winding Rivers, LaCrosse
April 6-8, 2008 - Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association spring conference, Milwaukee
April 16, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, Milwaukee and Waukesha, Milwaukee
April 16, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, Eastern Shores and Manitowoc-Calumet, Manitowoc
April 16-18, 2008 - Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians annual conference, Manitowoc
April 24, 2008 - HOLA! Project workshop, Arrowhead, Janesville
April 30-May 2, 2008 - Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries annual conference, Stevens Points
May 5-6, 2008 - COLAND Statewide Library Strategic Visioning Summit, TBA
May 19, 2008 - Library Information Technology Advisory Committee meeting, Madison
October 10, 2008 - Library Information Technology Advisory Committee meeting, Madison
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 1/3/2008 11:18:42 AM
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