Wisconsin 2006 LSTA Grant Abstracts
March 2006

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Abstracts for the LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) projects approved for funding in Wisconsin in 2006 are available below. These abstracts were included as part of the online grant applications submitted by grant applicants in September 2005. The abstracts are arranged in alphabetical order by project number within the LSTA grant categories. A complete list of LSTA projects for 2006 is available.

CONTENTS

Statewide Delivery Services

Access to State Government Publications

Public Library System Technology Projects

Shared Automated Library Systems

Digitization of Local Resources

Department of Corrections Library Services

Adult, Family, and Early Literacy Projects

Seniors / Sensory Disabilities Projects

Statewide Delivery Services

Northern Waters Library Service 06-111
NWLS Delivery Service Project $17,000

Delivery continues to be a highly valued and highly praised element of the Northern Waters Library Service (NWLS) service program. A combination of federal, state, county, and local library funds support the continuation of this program. The number of interlibrary loans continues to grow and delivery is the means that transports these items throughout our 8,343 square mile service area and to the rest of the state. Patrons expect and deserve to receive materials in a timely manner while library staff require a delivery method that takes the least amount of time as the volume of business grows.

The statewide Delivery Service Advisory Committee and the LSTA Advisory Committee have authorized this non-competitive LSTA category for NWLS delivery because the NWLS service area is not included in the statewide delivery backbone. It is essential for a statewide delivery service to have all public libraries included. If an area such as NWLS did not participate, the additional work of using the U. S. Postal Service would be required for those libraries sending interlibrary loans to and from our area.

NWLS will continue to participate in the Delivery Service Advisory Committee. NWLS librarians and staff will conduct an evaluation of the delivery service including the fact that LSTA has been responsible for a percentage of the cost.

South Central Library System 06-113
Delivery Services $66,000

South Central Library System (SCLS) provides the intersystem (also know as backbone) connection of the statewide delivery service. South Central Library System will use the grant funds to underwrite the increasing vehicle operating costs due to higher fuel and maintenance costs.

Access to State Government Publications

Wisconsin Historical Society 06-114
Enhancing Access to State Government Publications $35,000

Although the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) has been collecting and cataloging Wisconsin state government publications for over 150 years, few of the pre-1976 titles in its collection are fully cataloged online, and access to the information contained in these older publications is extremely limited. Recent work done on these materials as part of a pilot retrospective conversion project confirmed that they have a wealth of information of interest to students, government officials, genealogists, academic researchers, and local historians.

The LSTA-funded project will hire staff to fully catalog 3,800 of the Wisconsin state government publications most frequently requested by users as determined by surveying state government publications users throughout the state. When the work described here is completed, there will be approximately 3,200 titles remaining to be cataloged. The project will add complete catalog records with Wisconsin document numbers and AACR2-compliant name and subject headings to OCLC WorldCat, WISCAT, and MadCat. Publications from a number of state offices and organizations will be targeted for cataloging, including those from the Governor's office and commissions, the Legislature and its committees, the Legislative Council, the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the Dept. of Public Instruction, and the Dept. of Natural Resources. All titles for which a digital version will be created by a concurrent digitization project of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections will have the electronic version linked to the catalog record, providing researchers direct access to that electronic version.

This retrospective conversion work will enhance access to the publications in the WHS Library's collection by making it easier for researchers to search for these documents from their homes, offices, or local libraries. Public and academic libraries throughout the state which rely on cataloging produced by WHS for current Wisconsin state government publications will be able to utilize the catalog records created by this project to describe older titles in their own collections, making those locally-held materials more readily available to their users. Enhanced access will enable the citizens of Wisconsin to acquire copies of these materials from the WHS Library via direct loan, interlibrary loan, or electronically through the Library's document delivery service. Direct access will be provided for publications digitized by the University of Wisconsin.

Public Library System Technology Projects

Arrowhead Library System 06-115
Training Staff of System Libraries $10,202

The Arrowhead Library System has provided computer training for staff and the public for the last five years. Arrowhead contracts for this service with the Hedberg Public Library (Janesville) staff and this grant will be used to cover a portion of this cost. The trainer conducts computer classes for basic and advanced skills and the training is held at the seven public libraries in Rock County, sometimes in cooperation with the school districts, so that the computer labs in these facilities can be used. The training includes group training in the Hedberg Public Library lab in Janesville and the Beloit Public Library computer lab. There is also individual training at single work stations available for public use in the smaller member libraries in Clinton, Edgerton, Milton, Evansville and Orfordville.

Eastern Shores Library System 06-117
Wide Area Network Access 2006 $12,050

Eastern Shores Library System (ESLS) and Manitowoc-Calumet Library System (MCLS) have been providing wide area network (WAN) access to their member libraries since 1998. The connections to the WAN are TEACH T1 circuits. Each member library in the two systems has a TEACH T1 circuit into an SBC frame-relay cloud, with two TEACH T1 circuits connecting the cloud to networking equipment in the ESLS offices. In addition, two TEACH T1 circuits connect the ESLS office to WiscNet, the system's network services provider. The support for the network services are shared by ESLS and MCLS, 2/3 and 1/3 respectively. With the advent of the BadgerNet Converged Network (BCN) in 2006 the topology of the network will change. Each library will still pay for the equivalent of a T1 line. Eastern Shores will have one data service handling all of the bandwidth from the libraries and to WiscNet, as opposed to all of the separate T1 lines.

This LSTA grant will provide funding for Eastern Shores Library System's share of the T1 lines to WiscNet and one of the T1 lines out of the frame-relay cloud under the current topology, and the expenses for telecommunications under the new BadgerNet network. The grant will also pay for part of the cost of the system's member library's T1 lines to the frame-relay cloud and/or the new BadgerNet service.

Indianhead Federated Library System 06-119
System Technology Projects $36,326

The Indianhead Federated Library System (IFLS) is a geographically large system spread across 10 counties in west central Wisconsin. Our membership is made up of 53 mostly small public libraries and 4 county library services.

LSTA funds will be used for telecommunications lines for the IFLS Wide Area Network (WAN), encouraging libraries to establish and maintain websites, assisting libraries to acquire adaptive software and devices for computers to be used by people with disabilities, and continuing and expanding electronic resources available to member libraries. These projects are steps on the path to achieving our goal of helping our libraries use technology to provide better service. No LSTA funds will be used for Internet access or computers that will be used to access the Internet.

IFLS has established a Wide Area Network for Internet access and data transmission by libraries in shared systems. 50 member libraries are connected to the WAN. Funds will be used for the high speed BadgerNet line for our WAN.

To assist 41 member libraries with the costs of maintaining their websites, funding will be used for renewing their domain names. Funding would also support the three domain names IFLS uses.

To work towards our goal that all IFLS member libraries will have an accessible computer, we plan to use funds from this grant to assist another 5 libraries to select, purchase and market adaptive software and devices to people with disabilities. IFLS staff will assist staff from member libraries to select the adaptive devices and software. IFLS will order the software and hardware to get the best price. The IFLS Technology Manager will install the devices and software.

IFLS staff will train staff from member libraries on how to train customers to use the adaptive software and hardware.

To expand the electronic resources available to customers of member libraries we will use project funds to purchase electronic databases and to participate in the statewide virtual reference project, to maintain membership in the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium and participate in the WPLC electronic book and electronic audio books projects.

IFLS staff will provide training on all of the IFLS and state funded electronic resources available for member libraries.

Kenosha Public Library 06-121
EnvisionWare PC Reservation Software $9,310

The Kenosha Public Library applied for this 2006 LSTA Library System Technology Project grant on behalf of the Kenosha County Library System (KCLS). The grant is for additional user licenses for the PC Reservation product from EnvisionWare.

In 2004, Kenosha Public Library opened an expanded Southwest Library with 56 computer workstations for the public. With building project funds the PC Reservation product was purchased to allow for users to sign in to use a workstation using their valid library card and to also save time for circulation staff. The popularity of the product at the Southwest Library has made it very attractive to staff at the other Kenosha Public Library branches and the locations of the Community Library in Salem, Silver Lake and Twin Lakes.

The grant money will purchase server console software for Kenosha and Community Library. A server at Kenosha would run this software for Kenosha's smaller branches and a server at Community Library would run the software at their locations. The software can't be centrally networked because each library system has different Internet use policies which are controlled by the software. Kenosha needs 38 and Community Library needs 30 user licenses to have all public computer workstations using PC Reservation. The grant amount of $9,310.00 will cover purchasing 2 server consoles and 49 user licenses with an overage of $32.00 being paid by KCLS network funds. The extra 19 licenses that would be needed to complete the project on all public computer workstations would be purchased as needed by Kenosha Public Library and Community Library funds.

Lakeshores Library System 06-123
2006 Lakeshores Technology Projects $15,429

Lakeshores Library System will use the funds to maintain and enhance its wide area network. This may include maintenance contracts on routers, a firewall and technician assistance. There will also be home equipment purchase and replacement, as needed. Internet circuits are also funded from this grant.

Lakeshores will also use these funds to provide ebooks to the population of the two counties in Lakeshores, convert the WAN to meet the specifications of the new state network, and join the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium project for downloadable audiobooks.

If funds are available, Lakeshores Library System will also consider forming a wireless application to our network and providing more online databases to our current set.

Manitowoc-Calumet Library System 06-125
System Technology Project 2006 $9,013

This project will help the Manitowoc-Calumet Library System (MCLS) and its six member libraries to continue to participate in a high-speed wide area network that is supported cooperatively by MCLS and the Eastern Shores Library System. In addition, a small portion of the grant will be used to help fund access to electronic books for member libraries through the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium.

LSTA funds will be used to pay for T1 lines for Manitowoc-Calumet's six member libraries at the TEACH-subsidized annual rate of $1,200 per library. The grant also will pay for MCLS's share of three T1 lines that serve the network's central site. Under a contract with the Eastern Shores system, MCLS will use local funds to pay for central site costs, administration, technical support, and the MCLS share of WiscNet email and Internet service. These costs will absorb all but $413 of the $9,013 that is allocated to MCLS in this noncompetitive grant. The $413 will be used to offset the costs for member libraries to obtain access to electronic book (E Book) content through the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC).

The wide area network supported in part by this grant provides the telecommunications backbone for shared automation systems in both Manitowoc-Calumet and Eastern Shores. Within MCLS, all six member libraries currently participate in a shared Dynix system through the Manitowoc-Calumet Libraries Automated Resource Sharing Consortium (LARS). MCLS and all of its member libraries have Web pages which are hosted on the network's central site server. All of the library OPACs are available over the network, and all six libraries use the network for Internet access.

As a small public library system that does not have a designated technology position on its staff, Manitowoc-Calumet has been challenged to meet the technology needs of its member libraries. Providing high-speed, reliable telecommunications through the Eastern Shores/MCLS wide area network is one way for MCLS to offer a valuable and much-needed service without adding costly personnel. MCLS member libraries have repeatedly confirmed that they want the System to continue to maintain the network as a system service. By paying for the T1 lines, which represent a substantial portion of network costs, this grant will help assure that Manitowoc-Calumet libraries and their users continue to have ready and reliable telecommunications to support resource sharing, communication, Internet access, and other activities.

MCLS paid the initial fee to join the WPLC in 2004 out of System funds. Access to E books began in 2005, with the ongoing costs of membership charged back to the member libraries. As was done in 2005, LSTA funds will be used in 2006 to partially offset the costs to the libraries of providing access to electronic content in the form of thousands of E Books now available through the Consortium.

Mid-Wisconsin Federated Library System 06-127
MWFLS Technology Projects, 2006 $18,556

In MWFLS, there are two major technology related projects occurring in 2006. First will be the conversion of MWFLS WAN from the old BadgerNet to the new BCN network in April/May 2006. At the time of this conversion the five libraries on the WACCOOL (Washington County) WAN will be moved from the WACCOOL WAN to the MWFLS WAN. Those five libraries are: Germantown, Hartford, Kewaskum, Slinger and West Bend.

The other major project is the creation of a single shared database from the four consortia that exist in MWFLS. As one of the four existing consortia is the Lakeshores Library Systems WAVE consortium, we are seriously exploring the possibility of this being joint project with LLS to create a single, joint, MWFLS/LLS database.

LSTA funds in this Systems Technology Projects grant will be allocated to the following projects.

1. BadgerNet BCN conversion: $5000 will be used for converting the MWFLS WAN to the new BCN and bringing the 5 Washington County libraries of the WACCOOL WAN over to the MWFLS WAN.
2. Network Consulting and Technical Support: $5000 will be used for Network consulting and support in regard to the MWFLS network infrastructure and technical support for the MWFLS libraries.
3. Joint MWFLS/LLS Shared Automation System: $8556 will be used for issues involved with creating joint MWFLS/LLS shared database. Such issues include: creation of joint domain, DNS issues and creation of a joint web site.

Milwaukee County Federated Library System 06-129
System Technology Projects $40,631

MCFLS plans to utilize the 2006 Library System Technology Project funds toward the purchase of two additional software products from Innovative Interfaces (upgraded telephone notification system and electronic ordering via EDIFACT). We will also use funds for the first year purchase of the Overdrive Audiobooks product. Any remaining funds will be used to help supplement funds for the needed purchase in 2006 of a new server for our III integrated library system.

Nicolet Federated Library System 06-131
NFLS System Technology Project 2006-Gale Database Support $30,678

NFLS, in cooperation with the Outagamie Waupaca Library System (OWLS), purchases five Gale databases to supplement BadgerLink databases. This project will provide part of the financial support for the NFLS portion of the total Gale database cost. OWLS is the contracting agency, and NFLS provides funding to OWLS for the NFLS portion of the Gale databases. Access to the Gale databases is available to all OWLSnet GEAC integrated library system users and Brown County Library Dynix integrated library system users. Such access is made available in-library as well as to users who log in to the Brown County Library or OWLSnet web sites from home.

Northern Waters Library Service 06-133
NWLS Technology Expansion Project $25,758

These technology funds will allow NWLS to continue a basic level of technology support for libraries through:

-- Participation in the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium e-books program
-- Provide technology training and support for member libraries
-- Renew the on-line genealogy database offered in 2005
-- Participate in the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium OverDrive Project
-- Provide Chilton's online database for member libraries
-- Provide an antiques online database for member libraries
-- Provide access to WorldCat for member libraries

Outagamie Waupaca Library System 06-135
Support for OWLSnet Online Databases $14,642

Since 2000, the Outagamie Waupaca Library System (OWLS) and the Nicolet Federated Library System (NFLS) have provided their member libraries and patrons with access to five Gale online databases: General Reference Center, Business and Company Resource Center, Biography Resource Center, Literature Resource Center, and Health and Wellness Resource Center.

Because of insufficient system funding it had become increasingly difficult for the two systems to continue paying for these database subscriptions. OWLS evaluated the use and cost effectiveness of the Gale databases, and the two systems decided to purchase Biography Resource Center and Literature Resource Center archives from Gale. Payments over two years (2005 and 2006) to purchase the archives have significantly increased the annual costs for the Gale products. However, one benefit of purchasing the archives will become readily apparent in 2007 when annual subscription costs are significantly reduced.

OWLS proposes to use LSTA funds to help pay for Gale online database subscriptions and archive purchases in 2006, the year in which a final large payment is being made for the purchase of the Biography and Literature Resource Center archives.

South Central Library System 06-137
SCLS Technology Projects, 2006 $44,816

The LSTA 2006 funds from the Library System Technology Projects noncompetitive grant category (in the amount of $44,816) will be allocated to the following SCLS projects, as approved by the Joint Technology Committee and the Board of SCLS:

1. DIGITAL AUDIO BOOKS: $10,316 of the LSTA funds will be dedicated to the SCLS portion of the Overdrive digital audiobook project through the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC). These funds will be spent on the SCLS portion of the annual fee, content, training, and publicity.
2. WEBSITE SOFTWARE AND TRAINING: $3,000 of the funds will be spent on software and training for member libraries related to library websites. Specifically, the funds will be available to member libraries to purchase Macromedia Contribute and training for that product, and/or for a PDF converter, to be specified by the system.
3. ONLINE TRAINING FOR MEMBER LIBRARIES: $4,000 will be used for SCLS Automation and Administration staff to provide member libraries with online training through WisLine Web.
4. DIGITIZATION PROJECT: $2,500 will be used to digitize a local history title, which will be available through the SCLS web server. If possible, these funds would also be used to add this item to the State of Wisconsin collection.
5. SOFTWARE TRAINING FOR MEMBER LIBRARIES: $5000 of the funds will be used to provide group instruction for member library staff on either Windows XP or a portion of the Microsoft Office suite.
6. BACKUP SYSTEM FOR LINK SERVERS: $18,000 will be used to purchase a server, tape drives, and tapes for backup of the LINK Automation PC backups and for the LINK network servers.
7. RFID INVESTIGATION AND IMPLEMENTATION: SCLS is in the process of investigating RFID technology with its member libraries. In 2006, we would like to use $2000 for education, investigation, and as possible seed money for RFID implementation within the system.

Southwest Wisconsin Library System 06-139
BadgerNet Converged Network (BCN) Access $15,115

This project will enable the Southwest Wisconsin Library System (SWLS) and 23 of its member libraries to participate in the BadgerNet Converged Network (BCN). SWLS will migrate from the current BadgerNet infrastructure to the new BCN in late 2005 and early 2006. Funding will pay for the bandwidth from BCN necessary for SWLS to operate a Wide Area Network (WAN) for its member libraries. Funding will also provide additional subsidies for 23 member libraries for T-1 lines from the BCN. The subsidies for the libraries will be approximately $400. These subsidies are critical in promoting participation of the member libraries in the BCN. The use of the LSTA grant for "telecommunications, (including TEACH lines)" is allowed under the System Technology grant category under the Internet Access component.

Waukesha County Federated Library System 06-141
Virtual Reference, Overdrive and PocketCirc $18,592

This grant will help fund 3 system projects: virtual reference, overdrive and pocketcirc.

Funds will allow the member libraries to participate in the statewide virtual reference project being coordinated by the Reference and Loan library. This will allow County residents to be able to ask reference questions via on-line chat from wherever they are, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By joining this consortia, the staffing is shared between libraries both in Wisconsin and throughout the United States. Our member libraries will have the opportunity to answer reference questions in this format if they want to, they are not obligated to provide coverage. In a presentation, South Central Library System, who has been providing this service for over a year stated that 20% of the questions asked come at a time when none of their 52 member libraries are open.

The Overdrive project is also a statewide project being coordinated through the Wisconsin Public Library Consortia. This project will provide audio books that library users can download onto their own MP3 player or burn to CD in their homes. Initially a collection of 180 titles, with multiple copies, has been purchased to be shared on a statewide basis.

The PocketCirc project will allow members of Cafe, the shared automation group, to purchase handheld pocketPC devices loaded with the SIRSI software so that they can conduct an inventory of their collection utilizing a small device. This device can also be used to check materials in or out at a remote location, such as during a children's program.

Winding Rivers Library System 06-143
WAN Development & Maintenance 2006 $24,098

The WAN Development and Maintenance project addresses issues relating to Shared Automation Systems, by providing support for the central site capabilities of WRLSWEB, our shared technology network, which delivers library automation services to member libraries, the resource library, and WRLS staff. The majority of the grant funds will be used to enhance the central site databases and cover the licenses that provide access to these resources for sharing among member libraries. There will also be funds expended for training of staff to optimize use of the information technology capabilities, and a small amount used for supplies related to training and database support. Finally, about 4% will be used to upgrade central site hardware. By the end of 2005, twenty-four member libraries (71%) will be fully participating or in the process of completing projects to fully participate in WRLSWEB; it is expected that another five libraries (15%) will pursue grants in 2006 and 2007 to join the shared system. One other library is and will remain connected to WRLSWEB for Internet services. This means that nearly 90% of WRLS' member libraries will be dependent in some fashion on the WRLSWEB network before 2008. Continued development and maintenance of the network is, therefore, crucial.

Specific steps in the project will include:

1. Contract with La Crosse Public Library (LPL) for training and technical support services for Winding Rivers and member library staff ($7,148 + $9,586 = $16,734);
2. Contract with LPL for database enhancement services and maintenance of hardware and software licenses for the central site infrastructure ($3,664);
3. Contract with LPL for the provision of training and database supplies needed to fulfill obligations encompassed by one (1) and two (2) above ($2,700);
4. Acquire equipment to replace outmoded computers at the central site ($1,000).

It is expected that by the end of 2007, thirty of our thirty-four members will be connected to WRLSWEB for some level of service. Of the remaining four libraries, two have high speed DSL or cable connections for Internet service. The remaining two libraries either do not have high speed service available in their localities or do not believe they can afford the ongoing costs. WRLS will continue to assist and requesting institution to improve its service, and will utilize block grant funds when possible to enhance connectivity and performance for all public libraries.

Winnefox Library System 06-145
Winnefox Technology 2006 $20,520

The grant funds will be used to help pay for several features on our WALS automated catalog/circ system that will benefit our member libraries and their users.

For several years we have purchased additional content for our OPAC records: contents notes, reviews, excerpts, and cover art from Syndetic Solutions. This content has been well received by both library staff and patrons and has enhanced the usefulness of the OPAC.

API is the report writing module for our Sirsi automated system. This will allow us to purchase additional documentation to allow staff to use the program more effectively. We will continue to maintain a Z39.50 interface to allow other libraries ILL access to our catalog. Finally the SIP2 license allows self-check units and the Overdrive audiobook program to communicate with the patron database.

Wisconsin Valley Library Service 06-147
Implementing Wireless Technology & WPLC Membership $29,264

There are three parts to this grant. The major portion of this grant will enable Wisconsin Valley Library Service (WVLS) area public libraries to start implementing wireless technology in their buildings. The grant will provide the wireless appliance and its installation in a secure environment. Custom installations will be available for those libraries that need it and may require the library to contribute to a portion of those costs. The wireless installation will support personal computing devices that people bring into the building. Those computing devices will need to have a wireless access card in them and the patrons will need to know how to use them. This portion of the grant will be implemented after the new BadgerNet contract is implemented at WVLS and the participating libraries. It cannot be implemented sooner due to bandwidth considerations.

The second part of the grant will cover the cost of WVLS joining the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC). The WPLC is a consortium of Wisconsin public library systems and its purpose is to negotiate the best possible pricing for subscribing to electronic libraries. They currently subscribe to netLibrary and they are working with Overdrive to start a subscription with them in 2006. This grant will cover the costs for WVLS to participate in both subscription services.

The third part of the grant will cover the cost of subscribing to Heritage Quest. It is a genealogy database which WVLS has experimented with using. We have not had it long enough to determine how popular it is with area patrons and would like to add it to our services for another year. The patrons who have used it have made positive comments.

Shared Automated Library Systems

Arrowhead Library System 06-149
Arrowhead Library System Shared Automation System $85,000

The LSTA grant will provide start-up costs for the Arrowhead Library System to implement a shared automated circulation and catalog system. This would be a new venture for Arrowhead, the last system in the state to initiate a shared system.

It would provide one shared catalog and circulation system for the 157,000 residents of Rock County and bring together seven stand-alone systems. The system resource library, Hedberg Public Libary (Janesville), Beloit Public Library, Clinton Public Library, Milton Public Library, Edgerton Public Library, Eager Free Public Library (Evansville), and the Orfordville Public Library boards have all agreed to participate in the shared system that will form the Arrowhead Library System Shared Integrated Library System.

The project had not been possible up to this point primarily because the two large libraries were not ready to change from their stand alone systems with Dynix and Innovative and the five small libraries could not afford sophisticated systems on their own. Each of the five small libraries now has a stand alone Follett System that has an online catalog. Reduced State Aid Funds have prevented the Arrowhead Library System from funding a shared automation system.

The ALS system and member libraries will choose a vendor and implement the shared system in the seven public libraries during 2006, if the grant is successful.

Brodhead Memorial Public Library 06-151
Joining Shared Automation system-LINK $15,000

The Brodhead Memorial Public Library is planning to join the South Central Library System (SCLS) LINK library consortium made up of 40 other libraries that jointly own and operate a Dynix automated library system. As a result of this project the library will more fully share its collection of over 45,000 items. Whether a patron uses a workstation at the library, from home, work, or school, they will be able to check their library account, renew items online, place holds, and select Brodhead Memorial Public Library as the pickup location. When the material is received at Brodhead, Harriet the Dynix computerized system, will call the next day to notify them that the items are waiting on the hold shelf. Patrons may be notified via email or paper notices if they prefer.

The staff will have more time to devote to helping library users as Madison Public Library staff catalogs titles for LINK agencies. Holdings in WISCAT will also be handled by LINK, again freeing staff time.

Indianhead Federated Library System 06-153
Expanding the MORE Shared System $60,000

The Indianhead Federated Library System (IFLS) is a geographically large system spread across 10 counties in west central Wisconsin. Our membership is made up of 53 mostly small public libraries and 4 county library services. Forty-one of our member libraries are in communities of less than 3,000.

In 2001 the IFLS Board of Trustees adopted the goal that the system will provide leadership in identifying new technologies and implementing them so all member libraries benefit. Shared automated information systems are one step on the path to achieving this goal.

There are now 35 member libraries and IFLS in the MORE shared automated system. While libraries not in shared systems have expressed interest in joining a shared system, costs have been a major drawback.

IFLS is submitting this LSTA grant application on behalf of the Augusta Memorial Public Library, Cadott Community Library, the Chetek Calhoun Memorial Public Library, and the Plum City Public Library so that the libraries can join MORE.

The Augusta Memorial Public Library will be the fourth library in Eau Claire County to join a shared library system. The library's current service area is 2789. They will be replacing a stand-alone system when it joins MORE. The library's building is accessible and it will be purchasing adaptive software and hardware in 2006 for one of their computers.

The Cadott Community Library will be the second library in Chippewa County to join a shared library system. The library's current service area is 3195. They will be replacing a stand-alone system by joining MORE. They will be purchasing adaptive software and hardware in 2005 for one of their computers.

The Plum City Public Library is located in southern Pierce County, one of the fastest growing counties in the state. It is the last public library in the county to join MORE. The library's current service area population is 1828. The library will be replacing a stand-alone system when it joins MORE. The library's building is accessible and it will be purchasing adaptive software and hardware in 2005 for one of its computers.

IFLS began merging the 2 shared automated systems in the system area during 2005 by moving the Rice Lake Public Library from a smaller shared system to the MORE shared system. In 2006 the Chetek Calhoun Memorial Public Library will be the second library to move to the larger system in the phased merger. The library's service area population is 4929. The library's building is accessible and it will be purchasing adaptive software and hardware in 2005 for one of its computers.

The limited staffing of MORE at this time makes it difficult to merge both of the shared systems all at once. Moving Chetek in 2006 continues the phased merger and would lay the groundwork for the merger of the other six libraries that are considering the possible move to the MORE shared system during 2007.

The six remaining BCLiC libraries and two additional libraries (Ogema and Stanley) have indicated interest in joining the shared system during 2007. By the end 2006 there will be 39 libraries in the MORE system.

Mid-Wisconsin Federated Library System 06-155
Mid-Wisconsin Shared Automation Project 2006 $86,371

This grant is intended to be a continuation of the process started in 2004 and 2005. In 2005 $85,000 was requested (and awarded) for the first phase of bringing four consortia of Mid-Wisconsin Federated Library System into one shared database. The process pursued in 2005 brought both rewards and challenges.

Practicality entered the proceedings and it was determined that although the three year phased approach had merit the reality was that the problems created to the customer (some libraries on and some libraries off the database) exceeded the financial benefit. Two options presented themselves. First, to continue to merge the four databases in a two year time frame. Second, to merge three of the consortia into the existing WAVE automation system (comprised of the libraries of Lakeshores Library System and eight Dodge County libraries) within the same time scenario.

Major activities for this grant include:

1. Pursue negotiations with Lakeshores Library System to determine feasibility of a joint project (2005).
2. Move forward with the joint project (2005) or
3. Continue moving forward with a single MWFLS shared system (2005).
4. Sign contract with vendor.
5. Assure each library meets the minimum standard for adaptive technology as outlined on pages 6 and 7 of the LSTA Guidelines.
6. Bring remaining libraries, not previously involved in an LSTA grant, on-line.

It should be noted that if a joint system with Lakeshores comes to fruition counties served will also include Walworth and Racine. Population served will increase to over 500,000.

Winding Rivers Library System 06-157
WRLSWEB Expansion, 2006 $60,000

The LSTA Guidelines for 2006 state that, with the Shared Integrated Library Information Systems category, "Funds will assist public library systems ... in ... adding libraries to existing shared systems." One of the types of eligible requests is "Grants to enable public libraries to join an existing shared automated system." The WRLSWEB Expansion, 2006 project consists of precisely these objectives. Winding Rivers coordinated the development of a shared automation consortium in 1998-99, bringing together the Black River Falls Public Library, Taylor Memorial Library, La Crosse Public Library, and WRLS. Libraries in Coon Valley and Wonewoc joined in 2000; libraries in Ettrick, Galesville, Kendall, Mauston, and Viroqua joined in 2002; libraries in La Farge, Necedah, Ontario, Sparta, and Wilton joined in 2003; libraries in Arcadia, Elroy, Hillsboro, New Lisbon, Trempealeau, and Westby joined in 2004; and libraries in Blair, Norwalk, and La Crosse County are joining in 2005.

WRLSWEB is designed to serve the information technology needs of public libraries throughout Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Trempealeau, and Vernon Counties in west central Wisconsin. Except for La Crosse County, the area is predominantly rural with the majority of the public libraries in communities with fewer than 1,600 people. The sharing of resources is a crucial matter for regional library users. The desire to foster cooperative ventures to accomplish this sharing is a hallmark of this region. Therefore, the WRLSWEB Expansion, 2006 project is designed to 1) enhance the availability of materials and resources for local library users through a collaborative venture and 2) move the consortium towards the ultimate goal of having all public libraries in this seven county region participing in the shared technology network. This project will allow the libraries in Alma, Cashton, Mondovi, and Tomah to become full participating members in WRLSWEB by the end of 2006. The project is seeking the maximum $15,000 for each community library.

Funds from this grant will be administered by Winding Rivers Library System but will be utilized exclusively to provide hardware, software, and membership eligibility for the local libraries. None of the requested funds will be used to enhance capabilities or infrastructure at the central site which is founded on the Dynix Horizon platform. While the needs and priorities of each library differ, overall the grant funds will be devoted to the following categories of expenditure:

-- Initial and first year participation fees;

-- Peripheral hardware such as barcode readers, uninterruptible power supplies, adaptive equipment for ADA stations (monitors, trackballs, headphones, keyboard cables), and furniture to accommodate stations;

-- Software needed to assure network security and ADA compliance;

-- Conversion supplies (such as item barcodes and barcode protectors).

Technical support for installation and training will be provided to the participating libraries through consortium contracts by staff from the Technical Services department of La Crosse Public Library and Winding Rivers. These same staff will also provide guidance in performing the conversion process, though the primary responsibility for conversion will rest with the local public library.

By the end of this project, twenty-eight (82%) of the thirty-four libraries in Winding Rivers will be full members of WRLSWEB. Of the remaining six libraries, one has expressed a commitment to join in 2007, one other is investigating the possibility of joining the same year. It is uncertain what the remaining four libraries will do in regard to joing the shared technology network, but we will continue to encourage them to take advantage of the final opportunities for grant funding.

Winnefox Library System 06-159
Winnefox Shared System 2006 $15,000

This project will pay for a portion of the automation charges for Brandon Public Library to join the Winnefox Automated Library Services (WALS) consortium. They are the only Winnefox Library System member library which is not a member of the WALS consortium. As a small library surrounded by libraries on shared systems it is finding it difficult to compete.

Brandon is currently circulating materials on an aging stand-alone system. To fully automate the library needs to convert their collection and patron records. The cost to move from a stand-alone to a shared system is a significant hurdle for a small library. IT has worked to secure funding from county and local sources.

Wisconsin Valley Library Service 06-161
Growing V-Cat $35,000

The Wisconsin Valley Library Service (WVLS) proposes to add its headquarters library, Marathon County Public Library (MCPL), to its shared library automation system - V-Cat. MCPL has decided that with the help of this grant, they will be able to join V-Cat and sustain continued membership. This grant will help MCPL by providing a significant portion of the initial costs.

MCPL will first need to join the WVLS central Internet site and this will be done as a part of the BadgerNet contract installation. By joining the WVLS central Internet site, it will be easier, more efficient, and more economical to provide the same electronic resources to MCPL as to those libraries that already participate in the WVLS central Internet site.

By joining V-Cat, MCPL will more than double the size of its public access catalog. MCPL patrons will be able to place holds on items owned in 22 WVLS area public libraries without the need for an additional patron card and without the need to access multiple catalogs. Patrons from the other 21 libraries will also be able to place holds on MCPL items without the need for an additional card and without the need to access multiple catalogs. MCPL, as well as the current V-Cat member libraries, will be able to reduce the number of WISCAT interloans they need to create, thus saving time at all locations.

MCPL already has a public workstation which can be used by patrons with disabilities. Providing this facility was a part of an earlier WVLS LSTA grant and was a small step toward helping MCPL take advantage of LSTA funds for joining V-Cat.

Digitization of Local Resources

Appleton Public Library 06-163
Appleton Digitization of Local History Materials $5,213

The Appleton Public Library will work with the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center to digitize the following local history books that are owned by the library:

1. 1925 Appleton City Directory
2. 1978 Historic Building Survey
3. 1989 Historic Building Survey
4. Our First 100 Years, 1857-1957
5. Appleton 75th Anniversary Celebration and George Washington Bi-Centennial, 1857-1932 In Story and Pictures
6. Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley Counties of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago
7. Land of the Fox, Saga of Outagamie County

The electronic versions of the books will be available to genealogists, historians, and the general public through the University of Wisconsin Digital Collection web site (http://uwdcc.library.wisc.edu/index.html); the Appleton Public Library web site (www.apl.org); and the Fox Valley Memory (www.foxvalleymemory.org) web site.

The collection will be delivered in the e-facsmile (page turner) model as described on the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center web site, and each page of the books will be saved in TIFF format. An HTML entry page will allow the audience to either browse through the electronic document as they would through a book or use hyperlinks to each individual page.

The digitization project will preserve the information contained in the books that are too brittle to be used directly by library patrons. The metadata created by the library staff will provide access to the information.

Madison Public Library 06-165
Digitizing Plat Books $5,874

Madison Public Library, Baraboo Public Library, Portage County Public Library (Stevens Point), Portage Public Library, and McMillan Public Library (Wisconsin Rapids) will work with the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center to digitize the following historical county plat maps from Columbia, Dane, Portage, Sauk and Wood counties as well as early Madison City Directories:

(Plat Book &) Atlas of Columbia County Wisconsin, Harrison & Warner, 1873, 40 p.

Plat Book of Columbia County Wisconsin, C.M. Foote & Co., 1890, 45 p.

Plat Book of Columbia County Wisconsin, Hall L. Brooks Co., 1916, 60 p.

Plat Book of Columbia County Wisconsin, General Engineering Co. (Portage, WI), 1927, 40 p.

Atlas of Dane County, Democrat Printing Co., 1904, 64 pp.

Plat Book of Dane County Wisconsin, Marathon Map Service, 1947, 35 pp.

Official County Plat Book and Farmers' Directory of Dane County Wisconsin, Farm Plat Book Publishing Co, 1953, 96 pp.

Plat Book Dane County, Wisconsin, East Side Print Shop, Inc. 1955, 52 pp.

Ownership Plat Book of Portage County, Marathon Map Service, Milwaukee, 1949, 38 leaves and 24 pp. (62)

Standard Atlas of Sauk County Wisconsin, Alden Publishing Co. 1906, 136 pp.

Standard Atlas of Sauk County Wisconsin, Geo. A. Ogle & Co. 1922, 100 pp.

Standard Atlas of Wood County, Wisconsin, Geo A. Ogle & Co., 1909, 93 pp. (plus unneeded supplements)

Standard Atlas of Wood County, Wisconsin, Geo A. Ogle & Co., 1928, 85 pp. (disbound)

Madison City Directory, 1858, 178 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1866, 175 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1868, 146 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1871-2, 148 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1873, 136 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1875-76,116 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1877-78, 95 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1880-81, 178 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1883-84, 222 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1886, 256 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1888-89, 280 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1890-91, 242 pp.

Madison City Directory, 1892-93, 375 pp.

Digital versions of these works will be accessible through web sites of the UWDC State of Wisconsin Collection, Baraboo Public Library, Madison Public Library, McMillan Memorial Library, Portage County Public Library, and the Portage Public Library and be available for the future Wisconsin Cultural Heritage Online project.

The project will preserve fragile works for users to enjoy now and in the future. The libraries will promote the digitized books through the media, their websites, programs, and local and county historical and genealogical societies.

Manitowoc Public Library 06-167
Manitowoc Local History Digitization $5,961

Manitowoc Public Library (MPL) would like to make available through the Internet a collection of local history materials that document the history of Manitowoc County. Thanks to a previous grant, a collection of images of Manitowoc from the turn of the century through 1995 is in the process of being digitized. Receiving an LSTA 2006 grant would enable us to expand this collection to include other sources of information that are vital to gain an overall understanding of the history of Manitowoc from its early beginnings. By including this information in a digitized format it will be available to a much larger audience in a format that is easy to navigate. Individuals who would be interested in using the collection would include historical researchers, businesses, students, and anyone interested in learning more about the history of Manitowoc County.

Neenah Public Library 06-169
Neenah Digitization Project $3,812

The Neenah Public Library has digitized a small part of its Local History collection. Local and non-local users have received the digitized collection positively. The library would like to expand its digitization efforts with the guidance and assistance of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center.

The purpose of the proposed project is to digitize a selected group of frequently used materials from the Neenah Public Library's Local History collection. Digitizing the materials will make them more accessible to users interested in genealogy and the history of Neenah, give the materials a wider audience, and help preserve the items for future use.

The Neenah Public Library proposes to work with the UWDCC to digitize the following materials that are owned by the library:

Approximately 225 photos of the Neenah/Menasha area

Konrad's Directory of Oshkosh and Winnebago County Wisconsin, 1914

Sterling Directory Service, Neenah/Menasha Directory, 1920

Wright's Neenah-Menasha City Directory, 1924

History of Neenah, by G.A. Cunningham, 1878

History of Neenah, by S.F. Shattuck, 1958

The library will provide two full-time professional staff members to assist the UWDCC in assigning the appropriate metadata and LC subject headings to the selected materials. In addition the library will promote the project and the UWDC website through local media publications, the library website, the NPL newsletter, and the City of Neenah newsletter.

Nicolet Federated Library System 06-171
NFLS Regional Digitization Project $3,370

NFLS and its member libraries will work with the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center to digitize the following local history plat books and atlases that are owned by member libraries:

1. 1898 Illustrated Atlas of Shawano County
2. 1911 Standard Atlas and Plat Book of Shawano County
3. 1899 Plat Book of Door County
4. 1914 Plat Book of Door County
5. 1923 Plat Book of Door County
6. 1930 Plat Book of Door County
7. 1889 Plat Book of Brown County
8. 1900 Plat Book of Brown County
9. 1928 Plat Book of Brown County
10. 1936 Plat Book of Brown County
11. 1912 Plat Book of Kewaunee County

The electronic versions of these maps and atlases will be available to genealogists, historians, and the general public through the University of Wisconsin Digital Collection web site at http://uwdcc.library.wisc.edu/index.html, the NFLS web site at http://www.nfls.lib.wi.us/, the Brown County Library web site at http://www.co.brown.wi.us/library/ and from links on the web pages of all the other NFLS member libraries. These unique materials will be identified under the heading "Northeast Wisconsin Digital Heritage Collection."

The collection will be delivered in the e-facsimile (page turner) model as described on the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center web site, and each page of the plat books will be saved in TIFF format. An HTML entry page will allow users to either browse through the electronic document as they would through a book or to use hyperlinks to each individual page, labeled by county and/or municipality.

This digitization project will preserve the information contained in the maps that are used heavily by library patrons. In addition, this project will also serve to safeguard the physical items from loss as well as the ongoing damage that they are sustaining due to heavy use. The metadata will be created by the staff of the member libraries who will work with the Terrie Howe of NFLS who will be the lead person to develop the metadata. In addition, Terrie will confer as needed with the staff of the Appleton Public Library, as they are familiar with creating metadata for plat maps, since Appleton received an LSTA grant to digitize plat maps in 2005. This metadata will meet all the requirements of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collection guidelines, and will provide users with easy access to the information.

Mead Public Library 06-173
Sheboygan County Historical Documents $5,377

Mead Public Library selected a broad representation from its local history collection for this LSTA grant. The selection of materials includes County Plat Maps, Sanborn Fire Maps, histories, souvenir booklets, factory catalogs, and war related histories all with specific relevance to the City of Sheboygan and Sheboygan County.

This digitization project will provide 24/7 access to this historical information, as well as preserving these unique items in a digital format. This unprecedented level of availability will allow researchers, students, genealogists, and the general history buff the opportunity to explore a wealth of historical information about their community.

Waterford Public Library 06-175
Waterford Area Historical Digitization Project $5,393

This digitization project would enable us to preserve and index historic books, plat maps and photographs of early Racine County settlements. Once our information is catalogued to the specifications of this grant and becomes part of the University of Wisconsin's Historic Digital Collection, it will then be accessible to the world at large via the Internet. To date, no other Racine County agencies have applied for this grant and we would like for early Racine County history to be Internet accessible.

Department of Corrections Library Services

Department of Corrections 06-201
Coordination of State Institution Library Services $25,000

This grant application seeks LSTA funds in the amount of $25,000 to partially cover the salary of the Library Services Coordinator position and certain position related costs: travel, training materials, professional books and subscriptions, and training and workshops for institution librarians. The Departments of Corrections (DOC) and Health and Family Services (DHFS) will fund $78,005 (DOC $50,703; DHFS $27,302) towards the Coordinator's salary and fringe, and the Department of Corrections will absorb position related office overhead costs of approximately $260.

The position of Institution Library Services Coordinator was established in 1985 in the Department of Health and Social Services. In 1989 the Coordinator position was transferred to Corrections from the Department of Health and Social Services and is now administratively placed within Corrections' Division of Adult Institutions (DAI). When Corrections and Health and Social Services became separate agencies in 1990, an inter-agency agreement was drawn up confirming the unchanged nature of the Coordinator's job responsibilities and continued services to institutions in both departments.

The Library Services Coordinator has responsibility for planning, developing, coordinating, and evaluating all library services in DOC and DHFS institutions. The position reviews current policies and practices, develops and recommends alternative policies and programs to department heads, division administrators, institution wardens and directors, and the institution librarians. The Coordinator administers library grants and acts as consultant on all aspects of library planning and management, facilitates management decisions, and serves as liaison person with outside organizations and agencies on library related issues. Following the Spring 2003 structural reorganization of the Department of Corrections, the responsibility for coordination of education technology was moved to the Library Services Coordinator position.

The position seeks to accomplish both long- and short-term objectives, some of which are outlined in Section IV of this application. Most functions are of a continuous nature, but responsibilities and work assignments change as specific objectives are achieved and new needs arise.

Adult, Family, and Early Literacy Projects

Dane County Library Service 06-203
Every Child Ready To Read $9,857

The "Every Child Ready to Read" grant will address the literacy needs of families attending Head Start and Even Start Family Literacy programs. Head Start is a comprehensive child development program that has the overall goal of increasing school readiness in young children of low-income families. Even Start Family Literacy Partnership provides family centered programming that embraces the whole family as the student. 100% of the parents attending Even Start Family Literacy program have low literacy skills and qualify for free or reduced lunch.

This literacy grant will provide training to Head Start and Even Start Family Literacy Program special needs families through "Every Child Ready to Read" workshops, which were developed by Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children. The Every Child Ready to Read workshops give parents the tools they need to feel comfortable in their role as their child's first teacher. As part of the grant, parents will attend three different 45 minute long literacy workshops: Early Talker, Talker, and Pre-Reader. Each workshop is geared towards a different stage of language development and offers tips to parents on how they can nurture their child's early literacy needs.

It is important to provide parents with low literacy skills the tools they need to assist their children's emergent literacy development. Every Child Ready to Read workshops give parents, who may be unsure of their own literacy skills, the needed training and skills to take an active role as their child's first teacher. Every Child Ready to Read has received excellent feedback from participating parents and partner organizations. Initial findings regarding Every Child Ready to Read workshops offer the following evaluations: "After workshops, parents in all three age groups made very significant gains in their frequency of sharing books with their children. Parents found sharing books more enjoyable with their children and themselves when they used the techniques for sharing books suggested in the workshop. Community partners recognized that the Library's Every Child Ready to Read program added value to their own programs by bringing research on brain development and early literacy." (Public Library Association, What Do Every Child Ready to Read Workshop Participants Have to Say, 2005)

Further support for parents attending the Every Child Ready to Read workshops, will be provided by distributing literacy "Goodie Bags" after each workshop. Literacy Goodie Bags will contain materials appropriate to each Early Talker, Talker and Pre-Reader workshop. Each Goodie Bag will provide parents with simple literacy activities such fingerplays, songs, simple crafts, paper, pencils, and suggested book titles that support each workshop. Before leaving the workshop, teachers will review with parents how to use the Goodie Bag support materials with their child. Reviewing how to use the literacy support materials allows parents to feel confident when using the material with their children.

DeForest Area Public Library 06-205
Adult Literacy in Northeast Dane County $28,885

This project will address the literacy needs of adults in the northeast corner of Dane County by creating a small literacy council made up of three public libraries and other agencies serving those populations most in need. This council will recruit potential tutors, provide trainings for tutors at each of the participating libraries, place literacy materials for students and tutors at each of the libraries, market both for the training for tutors and then for students, and then match students with tutors. The DeForest Public Library will administer the project. Sun Prairie and Waunakee Public Libraries are the other participating public libraries.

The three communities in the northeast corner of Dane County represented by these public libraries are close enough to Madison to be considered suburbs. All have experienced rapid development while retaining some small town and rural characteristics. While some of the developments are upscale, others are starter homes so that the growth experienced in these communities has also brought a more diverse population and a poorer population. All three communities have canneries which hire seasonal migrant workers. A large employer in the DeForest area is the Blue Star Dairy which is a mega-farm that has hired many Russian and Eastern European workers who speak little or no English. There has been an increase of 250% in English Language Learners (ELL) from 1990 to 2005 in Dane County. Not only is there an increasing number of English Language Learners in this part of Dane County, the level of poverty is also on the rise. The number of WIC participants has increased 46% in the past year and those children eligible for Free or Reduced Lunch at the three school districts is over 1,500 students. The Dane County Public Health Nurse and the Dane County Joining Forces for Families worker, who both serve all three communities, report an increased number of ELL patients and clients. The Head Start programs are full in the communities.

The DeForest Area Public Library, under previous grants, developed a manual of story hour ideas for very young children based on early brain research. Those activities and ideas were incorporated into the story hours at the library, at area day care centers, and at WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program) distribution sites. Those sites happened to be in Sun Prairie and the collector site at Northport Drive in Madison where families from all over the county come for service. DeForest WIC families went to those distribution sites as well as families from Sun Prairie and Waunakee so contact was made with those libraries whose residents used those sites. As a result of this, those libraries began working together to bring information about library service to WIC families.

The interactions with WIC parents and with the other libraries, referrals from the Joining Forces for Families worker, and particularly the Dane County Public Health nurse around the activities described above revealed a number of things: 1) There are a large number of low-literate adults with very young children in the northeast corner of Dane County who would benefit from literacy instruction. 2) That the waiting list at the Madison Area Literacy Council to be matched with a tutor is over 3 months. 3)There are a number of immigrants who have low-paying jobs ... such as working in a family member's restaurant, or working at a mega-dairy operation ... who need to learn English to be able to do such simple tasks as acquiring a driver's license, getting a job, or dealing with their infant son's medical condition. 4) There is a large Hispanic population in Sun Prairie. 5) Local school districts have 344 families needing English Language Learning services and 1,501 students receiving free or reduced lunch. While poverty is not necessarily an indicator for low-literacy, it is a correlate. 6) Transportation is a barrier for many ELL and low-literacy adults. Trips to Madison for tutoring or attending the technical college are obstacles for these students. 7) There is willingness to address literacy issues locally by these three libraries in northeast Dane county.

This project, developed in conjunction with various community partners ... area school districts, the Dane County Public Health Nurse, food pantries, Head Starts, and Joining Forces for Families (JFF), the Sun Prairie and Waunakee Public Libraries will provide literacy training and ELL training for tutors from Northeast Dane County, will help develop an area literacy council that will be responsive to local needs and match tutors locally, and will develop a collection of literacy materials at each of the libraries that will support the tutors. The area Rotary Clubs have adopted literacy as their project for the coming year and there are already a number of people willing to become tutors. In order to perform the activities of this project, a half-time position will be needed. A set of GED tapes will be purchased from the Wisconsin Technical College System Foundation with project funds that will supplement print materials already owned by the participating libraries. Literacy materials to support the tutors trained by this project will be purchased for each library. Marketing materials will be created with funds from this grant. Printing and distribution of these materials will be locally funded.

Indianhead Federated Library System 06-207
Partnerships for Promoting Early Literacy $23,007

The Indianhead Federated Library System (IFLS) serves 53 public libraries and four county library services in ten mostly rural counties in west-central Wisconsin. In this region some libraries and other county and community agencies are already working to increase information and resources about early brain development and emergent literacy. Many communities and libraries, however, have not yet become directly involved with this important education effort. With the help of this grant, twenty-seven libraries in the system are hoping to provide parents and caregivers with low incomes the education and resources they need to help stimulate brain development in their young children.

Librarians will participate in a workshop about brain development and emergent literacy tools and providing programming for very young children and parents/caregivers. The workshop will also raise awareness and sensitivity to issues of poverty as they relate to library service and early brain development. Library staff will establish and build on collaborative relationships with other organizations and agencies serving low-income families to increase awareness of library resources and programs, and also to develop interagency programs, such as bringing in the Better Badger Baby Bus or sponsoring a Healthy Kids Day. In addition, libraries will develop deposit collections of materials that will help parents and caregivers stimulate brain development with their children. Deposit collections will be at child care centers, Head Start or Even Start centers, public health clinics, and other agencies that serve families with low incomes.

Lakeshores Library System 06-209
Family Literacy Resources for Grandparents $32,350

"Grandma, Read to Me: Family Literacy Resources for Grandparents Raising their Grandchildren" will enhance the role of public libraries in the Lakeshores Library System and the Mid Wisconsin Federated Library System in the lives of grandchildren and the grandparents entrusted with caring for them. This project will provide resources and training for the librarians at the member libraries, and provide grandparents and grandchildren the opportunity to share literacy experiences at their local library. The project will support the ongoing collaboration between the two library systems, which includes a previously funded LSTA grant in 2005.

Grandparents raising their grandchildren come from all types of economic, racial and ethnic groups. In these households, grandparents are primary caregivers for children whose own parents cannot care for them. The reasons for this may be due to substance abuse, economic hardship, divorce, incarceration, domestic violence, illness, or other family crisis. Grandparent-headed households are twice as likely to live in poverty as other American families.

Statistics from the 2000 Federal Census compiled by the University of Wisconsin Extension Family Living Program show that 55,983 grandparents in Wisconsin live in a household with one or more grandchildren under the age of 18. Of these, 42.3% (23,687 grandparents) are responsible for caring for their grandchildren. Lakeshores Library System has a total 4,025 grandparents living in a household with grandchildren, and of these 1,679 have primary responsibility for caring for their grandchildren. Mid Wisconsin Federated Library System has a total of 2,107 grandparents living in a household with grandchild, and 676 of these are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren.

The member libraries of Lakeshores and Mid Wisconsin and the Racine Literacy Council and the Walworth Literacy Council look forward to promoting family literacy and library services to the grandparents raising their grandchildren in our communities.

"Grandma, Read to Me: Family Literacy Resources for Grandparents Raising their Grandchildren" includes the following components:

1. Sponsor a workshop on family literacy for each system.
2. Host programs and storytimes at each library focusing on the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, and their literacy needs, scheduled in September in conjunction with National Grandparents Day.
3. Offer mini-grants to member libraries to purchase family literacy materials in a variety of formats.
4. Sponsor a workshop for library staff on the needs of grandparents raising their grandchildren.
5. Purchase professional collection material to benefit member libraries and their patrons.
6. Hire a Storywagon series performer for summer library programs in 2006.
7. Market services for grandparents raising their grandchildren through the member libraries, literacy councils, and local media.
8. Provide a workshop on communicating with parents and caregivers through storytime.
9. Create bookmarks, brochures and bibliographies describing library services for grandparents raising their grandchildren.

This is a great opportunity for Lakeshores Library System and Mid Wisconsin Federated Library System member libraries to reach out to grandparents raising their grandchildren.

Manitowoc-Calumet Library System 06-211
Learning to Use the Library in Another Language $20,844

The FY 2006 LSTA project, "Learning To Use the Library in Another Language" will provide the six public libraries of the Manitowoc-Calumet Library System (MCLS) with a bilingual facilitator who will work cooperatively with MCLS, the Hispanic Consortium, the Manitowoc-Calumet Literacy Initiative, local church groups and the students taking Spanish in the school districts of Brillion, Chilton, Kiel Manitowoc, New Holstein and Two Rivers by visiting each community library once per week; instructing Hispanic patrons in the use of library Reference services; creating telephone greetings and translating answers to reference questions in Spanish; reading books in Spanish at Library Story hours; referring ESL candidates to the two county Literacy Initiative for tutors; training library staff in working with non-English speakers and establishing an ongoing volunteer group to continue the essential components of the "Learning to Use the Library in Another Language" project after the grant period ends in 2007. The bilingual facilitator will partner with local high school Spanish classes and Spanish instructors to provide student volunteers in exchange for community service opportunities. The students would be trained to assist patrons by the grant facilitator and monitored by each Library's Director. The grant facilitator will also field questions from phone messages and in person, translate for the librarian and relay the answer in Spanish. An ESL, Spanish picture-book and popular materials collection development component will help solidify the success of the grant and aid in the continuing efforts of the Manitowoc-Calumet Library System to better provide services to its Spanish speaking population. The facilitator, students and volunteers will develop a ready reference FAQ guide with Spanish to English questions that might typically be asked at a public library. The guide will continue as an ongoing effort after the grant has finished in 2007.

Background: A lack of delivery of information services to the Latino/Hispanic population; the lack of an individual to link ESL candidates and those with literacy needs to the proper information or service source and a lack of knowledge in the process of using the public library in another language can be directly and positively influenced by the "Learning to Use the Library in Another Language" family literacy grant. The Latino/Hispanic population of Manitowoc and Calumet counties rose rapidly between 1990 and 2000, with a demonstrated increase of over 130%. In 2000, the Hispanic/Latino population included 1,763 individuals. The same population projection for 2005 included 1,790 documented Hispanics in the two counties with another 3000+ undocumented Hispanics believed to be in the two county region according to Faye Malek, past-Director for nearly twenty-five years of the Hispanic Consortium. The "Learning to Use the Library in Another Language" grant is a logical third step in Manitowoc and Calumet counties. The first step was taken in 2003 with the Manitowoc-Calumet Library System LSTA grant, "Family Literacy: Reaching Out to Latino-Hispanic Farm Families". In 2004 "Marketing Library Services to Hispanic Farm Families" succeeded in alerting the Hispanic Community to the fact that libraries can provide services to them. At the conclusion of this second grant, however, there was an expressed need for a bilingual individual to visit the smaller libraries located in the more rural areas in order to help serve the Hispanic library patron. Accordingly, the MCLS 2006 "Learning to Use the Library in Another Language" grant will engage or make available a qualified bilingual facilitator to provide direct services in each of the 6 libraries in the library system.

With a total of over 1790 documented and an estimated 2500 ... 3000 undocumented Hispanics living in the two counties, the need for a bilingual individual to coordinate visits to member libraries and provide services in Spanish is pressing. Reading Story Hours in Spanish to children has the potential of bringing in the family component as a unit. This is very often needed when assimilating underserved ethnicities into a new group of services. The "Learning to Use the Library in Another Language" grant has the potential of becoming a unifying social feature that revolves around library visits and a much broader reference, referral and information project that points up the library as "social institution" to Spanish speakers as well.

MCLS will use the projected funds to provide a 16-20 hour/week position for a bilingual library reference and resource individual that will have an (in-kind donated) office space at the Brillion Public Library. From there, the grant's library literacy coordinator will create telephone greetings and options in Spanish for all participating libraries; visit each library at least once per week during the grant period to aid in services to Spanish speaking patrons; assist in materials selection and collection development; train library staff for work with Spanish speaking patrons; work with the Literacy Initiative, the Hispanic Consortium; local churches and the local high school Spanish classes and other agencies in referral and reference activities; link the Hispanic/Latino patron with area literacy providers; offer information about GED preparation; instruct Hispanic patrons in the use of the MCLS Webpage and shared online catalog and the links to Hispanic Internet sites; provide a monthly or bimonthly story time in Spanish; collaborate on a translation of a Spanish to English guide for FAQs in a public library and organize and secure a bilingual volunteer base that will continue many of these activities after the fulfillment of the grant in FY 2007.

Because an individual will be hired through a job service agency, the tasks outlined in the grant will not prove to be overly ambitious because the applicants will be screened as to the appropriateness of their skills and ability to work independently.

Through this grant, MCLS will meet planned objectives from its annual System Plan; demonstrate the ability of the library system to coordinate and implement an economy of scale for participating libraries and provide them with a needed service that each library could not afford individually.

Milwaukee Public Library 06-213
Ready to Read with Books2Go $70,040

The Ready to Read with Books2Go training was developed in 2005 as an enhancement to the Books2Go program. The Books2Go program began in 2000 and was funded for the first three years with LSTA grants. Currently the Books2Go program is funded by private donors. Books2Go reaches preschool children through their child care provider. Child care providers are signed up for the Books2Go program and receive a special library card for their center to use. Each center receives a visit from the Books2Go Outreach Coordinator who explains the many benefits of the library to the provider. The Outreach Coordinator drops off a backpack filled with books checked out to the center on their new card and makes arrangements for their first story time at a library. The Ready to Read program enhances the Books2Go program by providing in depth training on developing pre-literacy skills in children to child care providers and parents.

In 2005, Ready to Read started as a pilot program focusing on 18 child care centers, 15 English speaking and 3 bilingual Spanish sites. This program is based on training developed by PLA and ALSC and focuses on six skills necessary for developing pre-literacy skills in young children: narrative skills, letter knowledge, print awareness, vocabulary, print motivation, and phonological awareness. This program has a strong emphasis on brain development and incorporating fun, easy, and educational activities that make a considerable difference in the children's lives.

Each center receives monthly visits from the Literacy Instructor. At those visits, the Literacy Instructor presents age-appropriate story times for the children and models for providers ways to interact with children, using stories, songs, rhymes, etc. The Literacy Instructor explains to the child care providers what she is doing; reinforcing the training the child care providers will receive or has already received. This training, for both parents and providers, focuses on infant brain development and how parents and providers can support and enhance their child's pre-literacy skills. Each child care center in the Ready to Read program agrees to send all their teachers to the training and advertise the parent training session to the parents of the children. In return, the centers receive a minimum of one story time per month, monthly pick up and drop off of library materials and a free book every month. These books are specifically chosen by children's librarians to support the skills demonstrated by the Literacy Instructor. The goal in 2006 is to continue the momentum started in 2005 and perfect the program. The program will be offered to 20 new sites once the 18 original sites have completed 12 months of participation.

The Overall Goals of the program are the same as in past years:

1. Improve reading readiness skills of Milwaukee preschool age children.
2. Strengthen the capacity of the Milwaukee Public Library to respond to the needs of Milwaukee's preschool audience and their caregivers.
3. Expand outreach services to children, families, and child care providers.
4. Promote and market library materials and services for preschoolers and their caregivers.

The library has and will continue to partner with Community Coordinate Child Care (4C), Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA) and Child Care Providers' Helpers to offer providers the Ready to Read training. Through these partners, child care providers will receive credit toward certification or teacher continuing education credits. The library works with these groups, hospitals, Head Start partner agencies, and child care centers to provide training to parents.

South Central Library System 06-215
Building a Community of Emergent Readers $39,000

It takes many hands to mold a new reader. Parents, child care providers, other family members and youth services librarians all play a role in helping children attain the literacy skills they need before they begin reading on their own. Children begin to prepare to read long before they enter kindergarten. By listening to stories, singing songs and enjoying nursery rhymes children attain the literacy skills they need to learn to read and write. Parents are their children's first teachers. While many parents are comfortable introducing books and literacy skills to children, many others are not; they might be teen parents who never bonded with books in their own childhoods, they might be parents who live in poverty and are overwhelmed with providing the bare necessities for survival, or they might be parents who speak English as a 2nd language and are unable to read in their native language. These are the parents that youth services librarians can reach out to and introduce techniques for helping their children develop literacy skills.

Hand-in-Hand: Building a Community of Emergent Readers is the 2nd year in a 0 ... 3 Early Literacy project. In the first year, librarians built partnerships with community agencies that serve families and learned techniques for presenting developmentally appropriate programs for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. In year two, librarians will continue to provide programs for very young children and they will focus on innovative methods for educating parents and caregivers about ways to help their children develop early literacy skills. This 2006 grant project will:

1. Bring national Every Child Ready to Read (PLA/ALSC) training to South Central Library System (SCLS) member libraries.
2. Introduce methods for modeling reading behaviors and speaking directly to parents about literacy skills during library story times for youth.
3. Introduce parents and caregivers to library resources for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.
4. Intentionally introduce babies, toddlers and preschoolers to literacy skills that they will need to prepare for reading, writing and school.
5. Empower youth services librarians to be emergent literacy experts in their communities.

Working with community partners, participating libraries will reach out to target audiences and provide enhanced literacy-based programs for young children, their parents and caregivers. New forms of publicity, such as public service announcements in English, Spanish and Hmong will be created to attract families who traditionally do not read in the home. SCLS continuing education programs will be provided not only on emergent literacy issues, but also on methods of working with families who live in poverty.

Waukesha County Federated Library System 06-217
Waukesha County Baby Brain Boosters $19,640

The Waukesha County Federated Library System (WCFLS) is composed of 16 public libraries. Located on Milwaukee County's western border, Waukesha County is in a period of growth as the population of metropolitan Milwaukee continues to expand west and north. The Wisconsin Department of Administration Demographic Services Center estimates the County's 2004 population to be 373,339, the state's third most populous county. While Waukesha County is a relatively wealthy area, there are families with low income and low education levels scattered throughout. Over 10,000 persons are identified as living in poverty. Being poor in a wealthy area poses challenges for these families--the high cost of housing, competition for jobs with higher-skilled people, inadequate public transportation, and the academic and social difficulties unprepared children face in school. There is also a need to provide programs and library materials in other languages, especially Spanish. According to Wisconsin's Hispanic or Latino Population: Census 2000 Population and Trends, the number of Hispanics or Latinos increased from 5,488 in 1990 to 9,503 in 2000. Waukesha County ranks fifth in terms of total number of Hispanics or Latinos.

Child development experts have identified a critical need, particularly among low-income urban and rural families, to help parents understand the importance of early brain development and offer them strategies to guide their children's development. Recent work in neuroscience has shown that the areas in the brain that control the mouth and speech and the areas that control the hands and gestures overlap a great deal and develop together. Teaching simple gestures, or signs, to babies before they can talk is a way to jump-start the language and communication process, and stimulate intellectual development. It can also confer a host of related benefits, including increased vocabulary, a deeper parent-child bond, enhanced self-esteem and decreased tantrums.

Waukesha County Federated Library System (WCFLS) seeks to implement a four-part "Baby Brain Boosters" program in each of the 16 member libraries.

1. WCFLS will partner with the Waukesha County Birth to Three Program and occupational therapist and early childhood educator Cheri Riehle to design and lead "Baby & Me" sessions for children ages birth-3 and a caregiver at 10 WCFLS libraries that do not currently offer ongoing programs for babies. Birth to Three early childhood educators will partner with Ms. Riehle at the 6 libraries in communities where many of their clients live. This will help insure client participation in the programs and the B-3 staff will be able to do follow-up to encourage continued library use. A Spanish language translator will be available if needed.
2. WCFLS will partner with Allison Schley, a teacher of deaf and hard of hearing children, to offer "Signing with Your Baby" classes in the libraries for parents and caregivers. Ms. Schley will also teach two workshops on using American Sign Language to enhance storytimes and promote early communication and pre-literacy skills in young children. The first will be in conjunction with the Waukesha Public Library's Bright Beginnings program for daycare providers in Waukesha County. The second will target youth services staff at the 16 WCFLS member libraries. A Spnish language translator will be available as needed.
3. WCFLS will provide grants to participating libraries to add library materials for children birth to three and their parents and caregivers. Communities with a significant Hispanic population will be required to add materials in Spanish. The Library System will purchase materials on signing with babies for all libraries. Again, a portion of these materials will be in the Spanish language.
4. WCFLS will promote and publicize the Baby Brain Boosters Initiative through out Waukesha County. Bookmarks, brochures and posters will be provided to libraries in English and Spanish and distributed to social service agencies. The System web site will be updated to include a complete calendar of scheduled "Baby and Me" and "Sign with Your Baby" classes as well a links to available resources.

The collaboration of Waukesha County Federated Library System with Waukesha County Birth to Three Program early childhood educators, Cheri Riehle, and Alison Schley will result in high quality training for day care and library staff and outstanding programming for very young children. Parents and caregivers that participate in these activities will, indeed, give their babies' brains a boost!

Seniors / Sensory Disabilities

Burlington Public Library 06-219
Reaching out to Seniors in Residences $10,400

Seniors over the age of 60 make up 16% of the population of Racine County. Currently, the Burlington Public Library takes programs and library materials to one nursing home in Burlington, Mount Carmel, serving 155 people. Three other large senior residences in Burlington, serving 215 residents, are without library services and materials. Most of these residents are either low-income or have physical or mental disabilities that require an assisted living arrangement.

The Burlington Public Library would like to serve these patrons by delivering deposit collections of materials in large print and audio accessible formats on a rotating basis. Additionally, library staff would provide programs of interest to residents (including book discussions, book talks, and demonstrations) that featured materials available through the library.

Once a rapport is developed with the residents, additional programming would be provided at the library for those mobile enough to attend. Besides enriching the lives of these seniors, these programs would showcase additional materials and services available at the library, as well as the increased handicapped accessibility provided by a reworked entryway from a 2005 LSTA grant. The same grant allowed us to provide staff training on serving seniors.

Building on the services we have successfully established and delivered to Mount Carmel, we need help to provide materials and staff time to reach the additional three senior facilities. By raising awareness of all the library can provide, delivering materials and services to their residences, and making seniors more welcome within the library, the Burlington Public Library hopes to enrich the lives of seniors in Burlington.

Dane County Library Service 06-221
Sensory Kit Project $11,300

This grant will address the needs of people with sensory or mobility disabilities who reside in assisted living, nursing homes or attend programming at Senior Citizen Centers. This project will be collaboration with Southern Wisconsin Activity Professionals Association, Dane County area Senior Centers and Dane County Library Service.

Dane County Library Service currently serves 10,021 people at sixty five nursing/assisted living units and eleven Dane County Area Senior Centers. One of the biggest programming challenges in serving these institutions is the varying degrees of resident abilities. Providing programming and reading materials for Seniors with a myriad of different sensory and mobility limitations requires a great deal of resourcefulness. Activity directors, many who are called upon to serve more than one location, are often the only person on staff dedicated to providing residents with mentally stimulating and enriching leisure activities. It is difficult to include all residents in every programming activity, especially when the resident's sensory abilities are compromised.

This grant seeks to engage Senior Citizens living in Nursing and Care facilities, as well as those attending local Senior Citizen Centers through the use of a rotating collection of Sensory Kits. Dane County currently rotates the highly popular "BiFokal" kits among our Nursing and Senior Centers, but activity directors often have more specific needs than the BiFokal kits that are currently available. This grant will seek to meet the needs of Activity and Senior Center directors, by allowing them input on Sensory Kit themes and materials that work best with their residents.

Sensory Kit materials will further be supported by the purchase of thematically relevant Large Print books. Large Print books will allow residents who are able to read the opportunity to learn more about a particular topic or theme. This grant would also provide theme related books on CD for those residents who are unable to read. Because subject material is not always available in the needed format to meet residents needs, this grant will also support the creation of Brailled and taped materials. Large format subject related "coffee table" style books which feature pictures that are easy to share with residents, will also be provided. Often times residents, who are unable to read or no longer have the attention span for books on tape, enjoy browsing through books that feature large colorful pictures. In 2004, the Area Agency on Aging of Dane County released a report "Task Force on Aging in Dane County," which was created to research the impact of of the "Baby Boomer" generation and how it will influence the social and economic community. One of the recommendations of the Task Force report is: "Engage older adults who are in group homes or nursing homes in intergenerational activities, continuing education, and ongoing personal enrichment." This grant will allow Dane County Library Service to better serve special needs adults who reside in nursing and care facilities, by providing carefully created programming materials to enrich leisure and educational needs.

Eastern Shores Library System 06-223
ESLS=Expanded Services to Library Seniors $7,157

This project will assist the public libraries in Sheboygan and Ozaukee County in providing services to seniors and others with accessibility needs. Ten of the thirteen public libraries and the bookmobile are participating in the project.

"Most people will experience a mobility limitation at some point in their lives. Mobility limitations can be temporary, such as sprains and breaks in bones. Or they can fluctuate between limitation and free movement when caused by something such as arthritis. However, many diseases, accidents, developmental factors, and aging can result in permanent loss or lack of some types of mobility." (Adults with Special Needs: A Resource and Planning guide for Wisconsin's Public Libraries ... p. 45)

"Libraries can make life much easier and more comfortable for patrons who have severe vision impairments by adjusting the physical environment. ... Appropriate lighting is extremely important for people who have limited vision." (Adults with Special Needs: A Resource and Planning guide for Wisconsin's Public Libraries ... p. 85)

All of the participating libraries are accessible but staff at each of them has identified individual needs for equipment to make their services more accessible. Each library has also identified at least one community agency where they will demonstrate the newly purchased equipment, the wheeled carts, the wheelchairs, the full spectrum lighting, and the print enlargers. One library has requested funds for carrying bins to transport items to seniors at a number of care facilities that they serve. The bookmobile will purchase additional items in large print and market them directly to staff and residents at its stops where seniors reside.

The grant also includes a continuing education opportunity for member library staff to learn more about serving seniors and verifying that their buildings remain inviting and accessible, as well as comply with ADA requirements. Large print brochures describing the new equipment at the libraries and/or services to seniors or those with disabilities will be made available to all libraries for distribution to their customers.

Indianhead Federated Library System 06-225
Making Connections: Serving Seniors with Special Needs $23,392

The Indianhead Federated Library System (IFLS) serves 53 public libraries in ten mostly rural counties in west-central Wisconsin. With the help of this grant 23 member libraries are hoping to expand their delivery service and programs for seniors with special needs.

IFLS and participating libraries will survey seniors through County Offices on Aging and targeted residential facilities to determine what their recreational and informational needs are. Each library will then purchase materials to respond to those needs. The ten libraries that already have delivery services or deposit collections will use the materials to enhance their current service. The thirteen libraries that have not yet established these services will collaborate with target agencies and/or facilities to develop them.

In addition, each library will collaborate with these same agencies and facilities to plan and implement a special program for seniors with special needs. Programs might include intergenerational performers, regular book discussion groups or an informational seminar.

Numerous studies point to the link between isolation and depression for seniors who live in their own homes, and also those who reside in institutions. Making connections between library staff and volunteers and seniors with special needs will help meet their informational and recreational needs. Just as importantly, it will decrease isolation and increase the quality of life for everyone involved.

Hedberg Public Library 06-227
Low Vision and the Library: Adaptive Technology $8,564

Serving people who have impaired vision is not a new concept for our library. Collections of large-type books, audio books, and described videos have kept the library viable for many. Technologically, however, there is much more we could do. Our magnifying lamp and a few large-print computer monitors don't offer the access that newer technology now makes possible. Recent helpful suggestions from some community members who address vision impairment on a daily basis have encouraged us to take a fresh look at available adaptive technologies.

Given a higher than usual percentage of people with vision impairment in our community, and given the general aging of the overall population, Hedberg Public Library has developed these goals:

1. To incorporate adaptive technology that will improve access to information and other library services by people with vision impairments.
2. To extend the library's usefulness as a lifelong resource to patrons of all ages and abilities, including persons experiencing vision loss.

This project focuses on purchasing and making available to the public three new adaptive technologies, including a closed caption television, multiple licenses for a software program that translates the printed word into auditory speech, and a scanner that magnifies text. Adjunct activities include staff training on the equipment, public demos and class visits to introduce the equipment, and marketing of all vision-related accommodations via a large-type brochure and extensive community outreach.

Milwaukee Public Library 06-229
"Library à la Carte"-Homebound Service for Seniors $25,000

As a pilot project, Milwaukee Public Library will partner with Goodwill Industries, which administers the Meals on Wheels program, to provide Milwaukee's homebound senior citizens with access to the Library and its vast resources through a home-delivery program. From a meal distribution site, Meals on Wheels drivers will deliver invitations, applications, reading interest surveys and library card applications to approximately 150 homebound seniors along with their regular meal delivery.

Library staff will review completed applications, contact interested homebound seniors and develop reading profiles. Additional large print books, audiobooks, videocassettes and adult photo essay books will be purchased to fill seniors' requests. Staff will gather materials, check them out to patrons and package them for homebound delivery. Canvas bags will be used to carry the materials to and from the meal distribution site.

When the Meals on Wheels drivers receive their manifests for meal deliveries, they will also pick up the book bags for their participating clients. As homebound seniors receive book bags and finish their last packet of Library materials, the drivers will assist with returning the materials in the book bags.

In addition, the Library will expand its senior resources webpage for those homebound seniors who have access to a computer with Internet capabilities and will produce flyers, applications, surveys, booklists and evaluations for this service, taking into consideration the suggestions for printed materials as listed in Adults with Special Needs, page 88.

The Library will provide senior sensitivity training for its public service staff to increase awareness of special needs of seniors and to provide strategies for effective communication with seniors. The Project Coordinator will also be available to give presentations about Milwaukee Public Library to local agencies and organizations serving seniors.

This grant will provide the financial support necessary to fund start up supplies, additional library materials, printed materials, and staff training. When procedures are established and functioning efficiently, service could be expanded to more homebound seniors by developing partnerships with additional meal sites.

Staff will incorporate this service into their daily routine. Ongoing costs for printed materials and library materials will be absorbed into the departments' regular budgets. Most of the materials and supplies purchased in 2006 will also be available to continue the service in subsequent years, which substantially reduces the maintenance costs. Training expenses will also be much lower in future years.

Waukesha County Federated Library System 06-231
Serving Seniors with Hearing Loss $18,550

This project is designed to promote the role of public libraries in Waukesha County in meeting the information needs of seniors who are deaf and hard of hearing. It addresses the need to increase and make more accessible library services to seniors with special needs in response to the increasing senior population in Waukesha County.

The "aging" of Waukesha County's population is taking place at a rapid pace and the need for public libraries to address this growth is apparent. According to "Waukesha County's Older Population: A summary of data from the U.S. Census, 2000" prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Bureau of Aging and Long Term Care Resources on January 30, 2002, "The rate of growth in the older population since 1990 has been much faster in [Waukesha County] than in the state as a whole (45.1% versus 7.9%). In all, 43,434 people in this county are age 65 or older and 5,447 of these are age 85 and older." During a March, 2004, planning session conducted by Barb Huntington, Special Needs Consultant with Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning, representatives of public libraries in Waukesha County identified serving the aging population as the most pressing special needs issue facing libraries in the next three years. In March 2005, representatives of member libraries indicated that Internet classes for older adults with hearing loss are needed. Deborah Kravit, Director of the Adult Services Program, and Pam Bergum, Speech Pathologist at the Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, have also indicated a great need for a project such as this as have representatives from the Waukesha County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.

Building upon a 2005 LSTA grant to increase library services to seniors, this project is designed to serve those older adults in the community who have hearing loss. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, hearing loss is one of the most common conditions affecting older adults. One in three people older than 60 and half of those older than 85 have hearing loss. Offering classes in how to use the Internet and on subjects of interest to older citizens who have hearing loss and making those classes accessible to by employing technologies such as realtime captioning and listening devices (as well as sign language and educational interpreters) will afford participating libraries an opportunity to reach out to those older adults in their communities who have not perceived the library as a resource to them in life-long learning of new technology. The Internet has quickly become the norm for many who are seeking health related information, communicating with family members, conducting business, and numerous other transactions. Public libraries can be a player in providing opportunities for older citizens to have access to the Internet via public computers as well as offering lifelong learning opportunities to older adults as they learn how to use the Internet.

There are three components to this grant: purchasing assistive listening equipment for use in member libraries; providing member libraries with the opportunity to offer public Internet training sessions to older adults who are deaf or hard of hearing; and marketing the classes and accessibility of libraries to older adults with hearing loss.

Wisconsin Valley Library Service 06-233
Accessible Library Services for Seniors with Special Needs $28,843

Over the 30-year period between 2000 and 2030, Wisconsin's young (under 65) population is expected to grow by about 8% while the 65+ population will increase by almost 89%. Wisconsin Valley Library Service and fifteen of its member public libraries are preparing now for this unprecedented demographic shift. This project is designed to improve WVLS libraries' abilities to provide more accessible library materials and services for approximately 14,000 seniors with special needs and their family caregivers, and more accessible library buildings for everyone.

Each of the participating libraries has identified community agencies--ranging from local senior centers to Meals on Wheels volunteers to nursing home/assisted living activity directors--with whom they will collaborate to implement, promote, and evaluate this project. The major activities to be undertaken are:

• to improve library accessibility by retrofitting doors with electronic openers at the Colby, Gilman, Merrill, Rhinelander and Three Lakes libraries, replace restroom doorknobs with levers at the Loyal and Owen libraries, and purchase adaptive/assistive devices (wheeled walker carts, a movable high intensity lamp with magnifier, audiobook players for outreach customers, a mechanical "reacher" arm, and a TV/DVD combo to enable persons to use DVDs described for the visually impaired) for in-library use at selected participating libraries,
• to make library collections more relevant to the lives of seniors with updated and additional materials in alternative formats at Crandon, Marathon County, Medford, Thorp and Withee. WVLS deposit collections for 10 area nursing homes and 30 library locations will also be enriched. Caregiver collections will be developed at Loyal and Minocqua, and expanded in Wausau,
• to train library staff to better serve seniors with special needs and their caregivers in a respectful, sensitive and appropriate manner and to raise awareness of ADA compliance issues through an all-day workshop and a quarterly e-mail newsletter,
• to begin new outreach delivery programs in Medford and Thorp, provide transportation for homebound customers to visit the Colby and Minocqua libraries, and expand outreach delivery programs for the homebound in Crandon, Greenwood, Marathon County, Rhinelander, and Withee,
• to provide special programming for seniors with special needs in Merrill, Minocqua and Rib Lake and caregiver training sessions in Marathon County, and
• to make library services/materials for seniors with special needs well-known and well-used by the target population, their families, and advocates through promotional campaigns utilizing large print brochures, newspaper and newsletter articles, media ads, presentations and personal contact with community service agencies.

For questions about this information, contact Teresa D. Howe (608) 266-2413

Last updated on 2/25/2008 9:05:25 AM