July 10, 2009 issue

Prairie Views: Newsletter of the Prairie Area Library System

System News

 PALS Rockford Service Center Move Update

The Rockford Service Center will move to its new location at 4863 American Road, Rockford, by July 31, 2009.  As of now, it looks like the physical move of the staff will occur during the last week of July. As part of the move, PALS is also moving our phone server to the Shorewood Service Center on Monday, July 27, 2009. It is expected that phone service to PALS will be down for several hours that morning, but staff will still be available via email, IM, cell phones, etc. Other than that interruption, we hope that there will be few other noticeable service interruptions during the move, but please bear with Rockford staff if they are a little slower returning calls and emails.  We will continue to share information about the move as more details are learned.

PrairieCat Training available

PrairieCat Cataloging and Serials training is available on demand. If you would like to request a class, visit the PALS website.  For more information, contact Merideth Willett at ext. 3257 or meridethw@palsnet.info.

Input Needed on Administrative/Leadership Standards for Library Systems

The Library System Standards Committee met recently and approved a draft of Administrative/Leadership standards for comment by the Illinois library community. These standards are posted on WebJunction Illinois.

Please take the time to review the standards and submit your comments. You do not need an account on WebJunction Illinois to view the draft. However, you will need an account to post comments. Go to WebJunction Illinois and click on "Create Account" (in box on right-hand side of page). Your account will be authorized soon.

To view the draft Administrative/Leadership standards and previously posted committee documents, go to the Library Systems page (in the Illinois Center area) and scroll down to the documents posted in the Overview section.

To comment on the Administrative/Leadership standards:

    * Click on the Discussion tab on the Library Systems page
    * Then click on the thread where you want to post comments, i.e. Administrative/Leadership Standards discussion thread
    * Then click on "Reply" in response to the first comment that is posted or another one

You must be signed in to post comments. The "reply" link will not show unless you are signed in to WebJunction Illinois.

Member News

 Sycamore Public Library Program

Author, neuropsychiatrist, physician and medical intuitive, Dr. Mona Lisa Schulz, will speak at the Sycamore Public Library on Friday July 17, 200 from 9:00 a.m. to  12:30 p.m.

Learn how you can improve your health by listening to your body and taking action to improve your life.

Dr. Mona Lisa will talk about the seven chakras and how imbalances can affect your health, take health related questions, and end the morning with a book signing.

Tickets for the event are $20.00. For the ticket price, each participant receives a copy of her book The Intuitive Advisor and $5.00 in proceeds will be used to purchase materials for the library’s health and wellness collection.

Continuous Learning

Continuous Learning Planning

The PALS consultants meet several times a year to plan continuous learning events. Did you know that we plan and coordinate at least 20 annual programs? These include YS/School programs, OPAL Blitz!, Phil Lenzini sessions, trustee training, PALS Day and the all member video conference. We also facilitate programs offered through the Illinois State Library via videoconference to all eight of our neighborhoods when available.  

We regularly seek input from members about their needs and create programs based on those expressed needs. This spring, we surveyed membership via Survey Monkey and received some great feedback. In June, we surveyed SCAL-PALS and LAC for future continuous learning ideas. Thank you for your input. It is already being put to use for summer and fall planning.

If you have additional ideas or feedback, please send them to:
Dawn DiVenti via email (dawnd@palsnet.info).
We look forward to hearing from you.

Grant Writing Workshop

The Crawford Library of the Health Sciences will be hosting a free Grant Writing Workshop on Friday, July 24, at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford, Illinois.  It is a 4 hour session and will
begin at 9:30 AM in room S335.  The session will end at 2:30 PM with an hour break for lunch.

At the Grant Writing Workshop, you will learn basic tips and techniques for writing and organizing grant proposals.  This workshop will focus on the components of successful grant proposals and offer an opportunity for participants to compose sample objectives, methodologies and evaluation strategies.  You will receive 4 MLA Continuing Education contact hours for attending.  This session is free.

The instructors are Ruth Holst and Jacqueline Leskovec who are both from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region in Chicago.

Please extend this invitation to anyone on your staff that would be interested in this training.  Please RSVP to Felicia Barrett to save you a place at 815-395-5660 or fbarrett@uic.edu. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Felicia.

ACRL announces Frequent Learner Program

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announces the launch of a new e-Learning Frequent Learner Program to help academic and research librarians maximize their professional development dollars during these challenging economic times. Starting Sept. 1, individuals or groups that register for three ACRL e-Learning courses or Webcasts will receive complimentary registration to one additional course or Webcast of equal or lesser value to the lowest cost-paid e-Learning opportunity. Complete details and a full schedule of ACRL e-Learning opportunities are available on the ACRL Web site at:
http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/elearning/index.cfm.

 The press release is available at: http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/june2009/frequentlearner_acrl.cfm

Freebies/Exchanges/For Sale

The Moline Public Library has a Canon Microfilm Reader/Printer MP20P Cartridge to give away. 

If interested contact:
Lisa Powell Williams
Phone: 309/736-5748
Email: lwilliams@molinelibrary.org

 Around the State & Nation

Broadband Stimulus Money

As part of this year's sweeping federal economic stimulus legislation, rules for the awarding of broadband money have been released. The first application deadline is August 14. The Illinois State Library is exploring the submission of a statewide application in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under the Public Computer Centers program (part of the Broadband Technology Opportunities program commonly referred to as "BTOP").  Public libraries, community colleges and other Community Technology Centers are eligible under this category.

Please contact the State Library no later than next Wednesday, July 15 if you are interested in becoming part of the statewide application. We cannot promise anything but would like to hear from you as soon as possible. Please provide some anecdotal information about why library users need expanded access to public access computers at your library. How much public computer access do you provide now, and what are the demands that you cannot meet?

Please e-mail Kathleen Bloomberg, and also let Kathy know if you're applying on your own for the funding. We are informally tracking the response to this new funding opportunity.

The following fact sheet gives a good overview of the BTOP program. Additionally, the American Library Association's "Know your Stimulus" website is a great site for tracking the latest information (note particularly the Broadband links).

Tool for Job Seekers: ALA unveils new website

 ALA has just released the Get a job website offering library-job seekers advice, resources, links, best practices and real-life examples.  Full of advice for finding a job in the current tough economy, it features information from a range of ALA divisions and units, as well as links to information about general best practices in job seeking. Check it out!

http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/june2009/getajob_apa.cfm

Tracking Cuts Due to State Budget Problems

The Northern Illinois Center for Non-Profit Excellence shared this information with us.  You or some of your local organizations may be interested in following the information posted or sharing your information with others.

Progress Illinois is compiling a statewide list of the impact of budget cuts.  NICNE encourages you to visit their site and if you decide to participate, send your data to:  contact@progressillinois.com

OCLC Centralizes Product Support for U.S. Libraries; Launches New Online Training Portal

OCLC is pleased to announce the launch of OCLC’s new service model, which will provide OCLC members throughout the U.S. with more choices to obtain OCLC products and services, and expanded training options. OCLC and its Service Partners have collaborated for more than three years to achieve these improvements on behalf of members.

Effective July 1, 2009, all U.S. members will now connect directly with OCLC for product support. OCLC has centralized its capacity to provide direct product support to member libraries throughout the U.S. OCLC teams of product support specialists are available to help maximize application and use of OCLC products and services by providing quality, consistent service. OCLC has also added a team of consultative service librarians, who are dedicated to providing libraries with more ongoing support, such as helping to structure and streamline a library’s workflow, and help coordinate the batchloading of a library’s records into WorldCat.

OCLC also has announced that it has launched its new online Training Portal, which allows members to access, manage and track their OCLC learning online through a single Web interface.

Grants

ALA Releases Information about Broadband Funding and Its Events to Assist Libraries in Applying

The ALA welcomes the release of the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Broadband Opportunities Technology Program (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) and the Broadband Initiative Program (Rural Utilities Service) included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

With community colleges and libraries specifically mentioned in the 121-page document, ALA is optimistic about the opportunities available to America’s libraries through these programs and encourages all members to take advantage of this rare chance to apply for federal funding.

On July 8, the ALA Washington Office held an interactive webinar on the broadband stimulus funding programs led by John Windhausen from Telepoly, Chris McLean (former Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service) and Greg Rohde (former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration), now partners in the e-Copernicus.  The webinar provides an overview of the application process for broadband stimulus funds and includes a question-and-answer section.  Click here to view the webinar.

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