Resource Sharing

The first-ever Inclusive Services Institute will take place March 12-14 and August 12-14, 2018. The Inclusive Services Institute is a professional development and workgroup opportunity for Wisconsin public library and regional system staff who are committed to making Wisconsin libraries more inclusive to all community members and potential library users. The Institute will offer reflective learning experiences on topics of equity and social justice. Participants will work on small teams to develop tools for a new statewide resource. The Inclusive Services Statement from the Division of Libraries and Technology will provide the foundation for the Institute content and workgroup efforts. The Institute is supported through an LSTA grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) administered by the Public Library Development Team at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI)

The recent application process was competitive for the Institute. Sixteen participants were selected from a large pool of applicants representing all 16 regional library systems. Cohort members are listed alphabetically by library system and last name.

The 2018 Inclusive Services Institute Cohort

• Rene Bue, Hedberg Public Library (Janesville), Arrowhead Library System
• Mark Jochem, New Berlin Public Library, Bridges Library System
• Samantha Johnson, Augusta Memorial Public Library, Indianhead Federated Library System
• Lisa Rivers, Southwest Library (Kenosha), Kenosha County Library System
• Jessica MacPhail, Racine Public Library, Lakeshores Library System
• Glenny Whitcomb, Chilton Public Library, Manitowoc Calumet Library System
• Kristina Gomez, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee County Federated Library System
• Holly K. Smith, Monarch Library System
• Bobbie Kuehn, Brown County Library (Green Bay), Nicolet Federated Library System
• Emilie Braunel, Plum Lake Public Library, Northern Waters Library Service
• Elizabeth Timmins, Muehl Public Library (Seymour), Outagamie Waupaca Library System
• Shauna Koszegi, Sun Prairie Public Library, South Central Library System
• Martha Bauer, Brewer Public Library (Richland Center), Southwest Wisconsin Library System
• Irma Keller, Tomah Public Library, Winding Rivers Library System
• Susan Younger, Wautoma Public Library, Winnefox Library System
• Laurie Ollhoff, T. B. Scott Free Library (Merrill), Wisconsin Valley Library Service

Guest Post written by:  Becky  Ringwelski, Minitex

In November, Carol Nelson and Becky Ringwelski from the Minitex office visited the South Central Library System (SCLS) Delivery Service headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. The visit provided an opportunity to see how a high volume operation handles statewide delivery, to share information, and to learn more about each other's delivery service. Minitex has exchanged ILL materials with Wisconsin libraries for over 45 years. They are an important partner and we are both motivated to provide the most efficient, fastest and affordable service we can. The SCLS delivery staff comprise 31 full and part-time employees. They own their own vehicles and have drivers traversing much of Wisconsin on a daily basis. They make about 170 stops per day at libraries within the Madison area and in outstate areas. The delivery system distributes materials going between branches of the South Central Library System as well as interlibrary loan materials and other materials that need special handling. In 2017 they delivered over 12,000,000 items.

We were fortunate to plan our visit during their peak time when all the staff were working furiously to get the materials sorted into bins for hand-off to the drivers. The flurry of activity was impressive as the staff worked on sorting the 600-800 tubs they pack each day. Everyone had their task and the work was done to maximize efficiency. While there we discussed doing a check of our turnaround time for items going between Minitex and the SCLS delivery headquarters and have since verified that we have 24-hour delivery between our sites. We appreciate the partnership we have with SCLS and the opportunity to view their operation firsthand. Many thanks to Brinnan Shaffer, Delivery Operations Manager for her hospitality!

Written by:  Becky Ringwelski, Minitex

We can all agree that patron privacy is important -- but did you know that in WISCAT, you can take extra steps to ensure patron privacy? Within your library's Participant Record, you have the option to Hide Patron Data. This option applies to your library's patrons only, and will omit your patrons' information on shipping labels printed by you and by lending libraries.

Some libraries do make use of patron information on shipping labels in their ILL workflows, but for other libraries, especially those with open hold shelves, this option is particularly useful. Consider whether hiding patron data makes sense for your library and if so, make the change in your Participant Record.

Written by Gail Murray, Resources for Libraries & Lifelong Learning