March 20, 2009 issue

Prairie Views: Newsletter of the Prairie Area Library System

Help Us Wish Sandy Ringstrom a Happy Retirement!

Sandy Ringstrom will retire from PALS as of April 1, 2009. PALS is compiling an online "retirement reminiscences" that all are encouraged to contribute to. Please contribute to this online "retirement reminiscences" with remembrances of experiences you've shared with Sandy, best wishes for retirement or any other words of wisdom you'd like. Deadline for additions is March 26, 2009. PALS will present Sandy with a copy of the "reminiscences" at her retirement reception on Friday, March 27, from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. at the Shorewood Service Center. Please stop in on the 27th and wish Sandy well.

Register Now for PALS Day – Friday, April 24, 2009!

Timber Creek Inn & Suites and Conference Center, Sandwich, IL, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm
For more information and registration, please visit L2.  Here's some highlights of a few of the programs that will be offered at PALS Day:

Online Safety With the Illinois Attorney General 's Office
What better way to avoid new legislation and new mandates than being proactive and showing that libraries are aware of the  issues and are a resource and are educating their community as well. At the same time, schools are already mandated by law to provide online safety information to students. Mike Hughes, from the Illinois Attorney General’s office, will present two sessions at PALS Day to show a no cost program and resources that you can bring to your own library. The AG’s program offers a number of different presentations which can be geared specifically to younger children, teens or parents and the community. Here’s an opportunity to see the presentation and decide whether you want to bring this to your library.

Mary Todd Lincoln to Speak at PALS Day
Laura Keys will appear in complete costume as Mary Todd Lincoln at PALS Day. Her presentation will focus on the life and losses of Mary Lincoln  on April 14th, 1865, on what scholars have said was the happiest day of both Lincoln’s and Mary’s lives as they took a private carriage ride to Ford’s theater and discussed their plans post the presidency. Through her experience in area theatres for over a decade, Laura Keyes will be delighting PALS Day attendees  with her meticulously researched presentation. Her  degree in Library Studies aided her approach.

Appointments with Fred Schlipf on PALS Day
We still have six 30 minute sessions left to talk to Fred Schilpf regarding your construction, design or space planning questions on PALS Day.  For program information and registration, please visit L2 at https://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=4999.

If you have a problem with your building’s current arrangement, space, lighting, HVAC, accessibility for users with disabilities, etc., schedule an appointment with Fred to discuss it.  Are you thinking about remodeling OR an addition or new building and want to know the first steps to take?  Fred, a retired director of the Urbana Free Library and building consultant extraordinaire, has offered to meet with folks from individual libraries to point them in the right direction toward solving their building issues.  This is not meant to be a full-fledged consultation but just a “bite.”

If you would like to reserve a time slot, please let Debbie Fowler know (debbief@palsnet.info).  We will be offering ten 30 minute sessions.  Let Debbie know your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for time slots. The appointment times that are left are as follows:

9:30 to 10:00 am
10:00 to 10:30 am
1:00 to 1:30 pm
1:30 to 2:00 pm
2:00 to 2:30 pm
2:45 to 3:15 pm

We are not scheduling appointments exclusively with Fred without participation in the other PALS Day programs.  So be sure you are registered for PALS Day first.

Len Lindquist Spirit Award

In celebration of the 5th PALS Day on April 24th, some special things are being planned.  The “Len Lindquist Spirit Award” was created to honor Len (Manager, Technology Services) who passed away suddenly on February 28, 2008.  The award will be given to an employee of a PALS member library who possesses some of the special qualities that we admired in Len.  The award selection committee is comprised of a group of PALS librarians who will review the nominations and select the recipient.  The award winner will be announced at PALS Day.  Len’s wife and daughter are also planning to attend.  See the PALS website for the nomination form, information sheet, and flyer with more details.

Member News

Open House

Please drop in at the Erie Public Library on Sunday, March 29 from 3-5 PM, at an open house to celebrate the re-opening of their library after completion of a new addition. 

Freebies/Exchanges/For Sale

PALS members - please remember that you are asked to not request or release any items whether they are Free or For Sale until Monday following the publication of the announcement in Prairie Views. This gives library staff an equal chance to see the message and request the materials if they are interested. Thanks for your cooperation. 

The Des Plaines Valley Public Library District has the following titles available for freebies.

*Blue Book Building and Construction Chicago & Northwest Indiana 2008
*Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2008
*Time Almanac 2008
*Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007
*Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music 1997
*Great Lives from History American History, 5 volumes, 1987
*Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers 2004
*Standard Catalogue of U. S. Stamps 2003 6th edition
*Chase's Calendar of Events 2008
*Exploring Health Care Careers 2nd Edition 2 volumes
*2002 Exploring Tech Careers 3rd Edition 2 volumes
*2001 Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008

If interested contact:
Catherine Yanikoski
Email: cyanikoski@dpvlib.org.

Youth Services & School Library News

 Legal Workshop

The Youth Services Forum and Young Adult Services Forum of ILA are sponsoring a workshop featuring attorney, Phil Lenzini who will discuss various legal issues facing librarians with an emphasis on youth topics such as Internet safety, privacy and confidentiality of patron records, and visits to libraries by law enforcement agents.  Group discussion of current legal issues for librarians will follow.

The workshop is on Thursday, May 28th at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook from 9:30-noon.  The cost is $25 for ILA members and $30 for non-members.   See http://www.ila.org/events/regforms/LIFTL09_form.pdf  to print a registration form or visit www.ila.org/events to register online.

Academic Library News

Meetings Are Just Around the Corner

Two academic libraries meetings are scheduled for this spring:

The first meeting is on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at the Shorewood Service Center from 930 - 1130.
The second meeting is on Thursday, April 2, 2009 at Kishwaukee College from  930 - 1130.

These meetings are an opportunity to discuss current issues facing academic libraries, to offer potential solutions, to share expertise and to brainstorm ideas for future continuous learning events. If you have agenda items, please send them to Dawn DiVenti (dawnd@palsnet.info). There will be time for networking before and after the meetings.

These meetings are open to any PALS academic library. Please register in L2 if you plan to attend.

Around the State & Nation

Summer Events Requested for Chicago Tribune Special Section

Will your library be holding any special story hours, author readings or other events this summer that you’d want to publicize around the state? The Chicago Tribune is compiling a list of summer events taking place between Memorial Day and late-September.  The special section will feature events from across the state and the Midwest and will run in April. 
 
Please send all relevant information to Zach Morrison at Zachary.morrison@edelman.com by Monday, March 23. Edelman will use relevant information for all media outreach pertaining to summer travel. Of special interest are events in Boone, Winnebago, JoDavies, Lee, Ogle, Carroll, Whiteside, McHenry, DeKalb, LaSalle, Stephenson, Kendall, Kankakee, and Grundy counties.

Seeking Volunteers

The Illinois State Board of Education is seeking volunteers to be trained to become Educational Surrogate Parents.  They would appreciate libraries posting the attached flyer in your library facilities.

Internship Central

Summer is around the corner.  Will your library be offering a Summer Internship?

The library at Packer Engineering, Inc. in Naperville has a summer internship they just posted to the Metropolitan Library System's Internship Central!  Be sure to post your summer and year round internships at http://www.mls.lib.il.us/internships, an online database of library internships in Illinois.

Free to any Illinois Library that is a recognized member of an Illinois Library System, a library simply registers for an account, gets a login and password, and then they can start posting their organization’s library internships.  Searching the internship database is then accessible to anyone.

Features of Internship Central include:
·    Searchable by library type, keyword description, and full or part-time.
·    Posted Internships can be viewed as a List or in Full Detail, including New Postings in the past 7 days.
·    Paid & Non-paid internships can be posted.
·    Each library signs up for their own account.

Check out this one of a kind service for libraries in Illinois today!  Questions about Internship Central can be emailed to internships@mls.lib.il.us

Advocacy News

Invite Legislators to Your School Library during National Library Week

What is foremost in legislators’ minds? How can teacher-librarians link up to legislators’ agenda? Click here to get the scoop on how to reach out to legislators for your school library during National Library Week.

Grants

Applications Invited for 2009 Lois Lenski Covey Foundation Grants

Libraries serving economically or socially at-risk children and teens are invited to apply for 2009 Lois Lenski Covey Foundation library grants. Grants are for the acquisition of books published for young people preschool through grade 12.  To be considered, libraries must have limited book budgets and serve a disadvantaged population. Rural and urban, public, school, and non-profit agency libraries are eligible.  The grants are given to individual libraries, rather than library systems or cooperatives. 2009 grants will range from $500 to $3000.  

Information regarding the Foundation, details regarding the grant program, and a downloadable 2009 grant application form can be found at the Foundation Web site www.loislenskicovey.org.
Libraries unable to download the application form may request a hard copy by writing to the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, P.O. Box 255366, Sacramento, CA 95865 or by sending an e-mail to michael.covey@loislenskicovey.org.

Applications must be postmarked no later than June 15, 2009. 

Prairie Views is the weekly newsletter of the Prairie Area Library System