Member Email
February 12, 2010 issue
Prairie Views: Newsletter of the Prairie Area Library System
Volume: 7
Issue: 6
SYSTEM NEWS
Holiday Closing
The three PALS Service Centers will be closed on Monday, February 15, in observance of the President's Day holiday. There will be no deliveries made that day.
Our Condolences
to Brenda Roman, Coal Valley Delivery Supervisor & Facilities Manager, and Laura Chappell, Driver, on the death of their aunt, Arlene Roman, this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with Brenda, Laura and their family at this difficult time.
We plan to move PALS Day around to each of our service center areas
over the next three years to give each area a chance to have PALS Day
more geographically close.
We are
offering more sessions than ever this year. We have some popular
presenters and topics making a return to provide fresh information.
Next Steps After Snapshot Day
You participated, you gathered information on snapshot day, but now what? The ideas below are from the January 12 ILA newsletter on how you can use the information:
20 Easy Ways to Make Snapshot Day a Success for Your Library
1. Share the results with your elected officials, mayors and council members, members of the Illinois General Assembly, members of the school administration or school board, the deans at your academic institution, or your department head or boss at your company.
2. Set up an appointment with the above mentioned individuals. If you haven't already, begin to establish a one-to-one relationship with your elected officials, so that they know you and your library's concerns.
3. Use the quotes and comments that you collect in your annual report.
4. Feature your participation and your customers in your next newsletter.
5. Share your results with your board.
6. Share the result on your Web site and link to the Flickr photo group.
7. Make a slideshow of the Flickr photos and run it in the library near the check out desk.
8. Make bold signs with your customer comments and display them throughout the library.
9. Take your results, your handout when you visit schools, senior centers, community agencies, and any kind of outreach.
10. Customize the model handout (add your own stats, logo, etc.)
11. Welcome new library card holders with your custom handout.
12. Send an e-mail blast to your customer list or community contacts featuring customer quotes.
13. Let your Friends group know about your participation in Snapshot.
14. Develop your own slide show or Web page featuring the comments and photos.
15. Ask if your town Web site can feature the statistics, the comments, the slideshow.
16. Ask your local cable station if they can use the statistics, the comments, the slideshow.
17. Ask your local newspaper to run a photo and caption. Provide the customer's name and phone number if you have permission so they can contact them for an interview.
18. Design a poster in color and print several copies "in house."
19. Print even more copies and share them with your customers.
20. Have Fun. Everything might not work perfectly, but try this national experiment in telling our stories to our elected officials and the general public.MEMBER LIBRARY NEWS
Manhattan Library Referendum Fails for Third Time
Our Condolences
to the staff at the Bertolet Memorial Library District and to the family of long-time library assistant Shirley Kruse, who passed away this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with Shirley's family and friends at this difficult time.
to Debbie Samuelson, librarian at Dakota School District #201 and member of the PALS Board of Directors on the death of her husband, Steve. Steve was killed in a car accident in Pennsylvania while on his way to visit their son in Norfolk, Virginia. Our thoughts and prayers are with Debbie and her family at this difficult time.
It’s time for The Pigeon Party!
Bettendorf Public Library is pleased to announce the return of the Big Wooden Horse Theatre as they perform The Pigeon Party! a compilation of the first three books in Mo Willems’ stories about that notorious pigeon! (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late and Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog). Performances will be held at the Bettendorf High School Auditorium on Saturday, February 27. Two FREE performances will be given – 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. No registration or ticket is required. Make plans to bring your kids, grandkids, neighbors, or anyone who is a child at heart for this fun performance! Sponsored by ALCOA and the Bettendorf Public Library Foundation.
For additional information contact the Youth Services Desk at the Bettendorf Public Library, 563-344-4178.
CONTINUOUS LEARNING
Register Now for Information Literacy Summit 2010
Problem Solving in our Communities: Everyday Information Experiences
DATES & LOCATIONS - Choose the date/location that is most convenient for you.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
John A. Logan College (Carterville)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Moraine Valley Community College (Palos Hills)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Illinois State University (Normal, IL) *NEW LOCATION*
TIME: (All locations) 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.)
Summit registration is now open. Please register early. Space is limited.
Registration fee: $25. Includes materials, continental breakfast and lunch.
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.
St. Ambrose University Library has the following to give away:
Rand McNally Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide, 2008 Volumes 1-2.
If you are interested in the set, please contact Joyce Haack, haackjoycea@sau.edu or (563)333-6247.
Joliet West HS Giveaways:
Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC),
Vol. 1 (1978) through Vol. 24 (1987) - hardcover.
Barb Peterson
Joliet West HS Library
815 727 6952
bpeterson@jths.org
YOUTH SERVICES & SCHOOL LIBRARY NEWS
New and Updated Items on the PALS Website
The Best Books of 2009, revised die cut list, and the updated Youth Services/Young Adult Librarian Directory are now available on the PALS website.
AROUND THE STATE & NATION
Quick Start
OCLC's WorldCat Local Quick Start service allows library users to easily search all types of materials and have their search results displayed by "relevance and location." Users will see their local library items first, then items held in their consortium, and, finally, the rest of WorldCat. In addition, users can now search the FirstSearch databases from within the Quick Start interface. Access includes the base package of FirstSearch databases (provided for all Illinois libraries by the Illinois State Library) as well as any additional databases for which the library has a subscription (e.g., WilsonSelect Plus). OCLC plans to migrate FirstSearch to the WorldCat.org platform sometime in 2011, so it may be desirable for Illinois libraries to register for and become familiar with the Quick Start service now. For more information about the Quick Start service, please consider attending one of the free webinars scheduled for February 16, February 23. and March 9 at 1 PM (CST). Participants may register here.
FY2010 E-Rate Filing Window Close Extended to February 19, 2010
Due to adverse weather conditions in many areas of the country that may have prevented applicants from filing their FY2010 E-rate applications by the close of the window, USAC – in consultation with the FCC – has extended the close of the filing window to FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2010 AT 11:59 pm EST.
All FCC Forms 471 electronically filed or postmarked by that date and time will be considered IN WINDOW.
Obama Includes Another COBRA Subsidy Extension in Budget
The Obama administration proposed another extension of COBRA premium subsidy benefits this week. President Barack Obama included this latest extension in his proposed federal budget for the fiscal year 2011. The proposed extension would reportedly extend the 65 percent premium subsidy to individuals whose employment is terminated between March 1, 2010, and December 31, 2010, and those individuals would be eligible for the subsidy for up to 12 months. Read more
GRANT NEWS
ISLMA/LBSS Endowment Fund Grant
The Illinois School Library Media Association/Library Book Selection Service Fund will issue its third annual book grants this year. Public and private school libraries as well as public libraries registered in any of the Illinois Readers’ Choice awards programs—the Monarch Award, the Bluestem Award, the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award, and the Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award—are eligible to apply.
Grant recipients will be awarded one set of the 2011 reading campaign books for the award program indicated on their application. The titles in each book award set are determined by the individual committees in charge of the reading award programs. Sets include one copy each of the 20 or 22 books depending on the award program selected.
Information about the grant is available at the ISLMA/LBSS Endowment Fund website (www.lbssfund.org). The online application form will be available at the website beginning March 15, 2010. All grant applications must be submitted by May 15, 2010. Applicants must also be registered for the appropriate 2011 Readers' Choice program by May 15, 2010 (a separate process). Questions may be sent to info@lbssfund.org, by fax to 309/649-0916 or by phone to 309/649-0911.
Prairie Views is the weekly newsletter of the Prairie Area Library System
All subscribers are encouraged to submit contributions and suggestions to prairieviews@palsnet.info. Submissions must be received by Tuesday to appear in the upcoming edition. To subscribe to or unsubscribe from this newsletter, please visit the following link: http://mailman.palsnet.info/mailman/listinfo/pviews
