February 19, 2010 issue

Prairie Views: Newsletter of the Prairie Area Library System

SYSTEM NEWS

Keynote Speaker for PALS Day

The keynote speaker for PALS Day (Thursday, April 22) is Tracie Hall, founder and principal of GoodSeed Consulting Group.  She is also an analyst for the Boeing Company's Global Corporate Citizenship Division.  Tracie has worked in several different public libraries, served as Director of ALA's Office for Diversity, and was Assistant Dean of Dominican University's Graduate School of Library and Information Science.  In her presentation "May I Please Blow Up This Reference Desk?", Tracie takes a look at how society has changed and how libraries must adapt their traditional services to meet the contemporary needs of their users.  A library director in a neighboring state who recently hosted Tracie for a staff workshop said "She was one of the best speakers, if not the best, that we've had in the area.  I recommend her enthusiastically."

For the first time, both full day and half day (morning or afternoon) options are available.  Registration is currently underway for PALS Day at http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=9511 (full day registration) or at  http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=9707 (half day registration).

MEMBER LIBRARY NEWS

Bettendorf library director resigns
State funding shortage may doom library systems

Library Closing

The Maple Park Public Library will be closed Monday, February 22 to Saturday February 27th while we have new carpet installed in one of our rooms. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Irishfest

Join us for our 2nd Annual Pre-Irishfest Author Event on Friday, February 26 at 6pm sponsored by the Manhattan-Elwood Public Library District and the Irishfest Committee. The Manhattan Music Angels will be performing at 6pm followed by Mary Pat Kelly, author of Galway Bay, who will be discuss her book along with signing copies of her book that will be available for sale. Refreshments will be provided by the library and Kirby's Bakery. This event will be held at the Manhattan Park District Program Center on Rt. 52 (1/2 block west of the library ), doors open at 5:45pm. More information can be found on the library website (www.mpld.org) or by calling 815-478-3987. Flyer attached.

Library Celebrates New Branch Cornerstone

Help us finish laying the foundation of Davenport Public Library’s Eastern Avenue Branch at our “Cornerstone Ceremony” happening on Tuesday, March 2, at 10:30 a.m. at the library construction site (6000 Eastern Avenue).

The cornerstone of this environmentally friendly library is also a time capsule, which will hold important documents, technology, and other artifacts of our era. Library staff have been compiling lists and voting on their favorite items to include in the capsule. Some of the items making the list are: aerial maps of the area, a flash drive with library photos and video; bestseller lists from 2009, a library card, floor plans, the library newsletter, and the official Eastern Avenue Branch Library fundraising t-shirt from the Staff Association.

In addition, the library’s News Blog, asked patrons to vote for their favorite 21st century technology that they consider the most revolutionary of our time.  Options included: a cell phone, Mp3 player, Nintendo Wii, a notebook computer, a digital video recorder, GPS, and a Playaway audio-book. Winning with 38% of the votes was the Mp3 player, which will also be represented in the time capsule.

Students from Adams Elementary in Davenport, winners of the 2009 Summer Reading Program traveling trophy, are also submitting items to include in the capsule. They are writing about their favorite experiences at the Davenport Public Library. A few chosen students will have their work placed into the capsule.

Everyone is invited to attend this special event to help us celebrate another step in the construction process. For more information, visit www.davenportlibrary.com. For more information about the Eastern Avenue Branch Library construction project, visit http://blogs.davenportlibrary.com/eastern. The Eastern Avenue Branch Library is scheduled to open in the Summer of 2010.

CONTINUOUS LEARNING

The Future is Now:  Libraries and Museums in Virtual Worlds

Everyone is invited to participate in The Future is Now:  Libraries and Museums in Virtual Worlds, an online conference to be held on Friday and Saturday, March 5-6, 2010 in OPAL, the webconferencing collaborative service, in Second Life, and in other three-dimensional virtual worlds.
Throughout this two-day conference there will be dozens of presentations, panel discussions, poster sessions, demonstrations, tours, and social events.   You need not be proficient in virtual worlds to participate in this conference.  Orientation sessions will be held prior to the conference dates.
Keynote Speakers:

• Marilyn Johnson, author of the new book, This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All.  She also wrote The Dead Beat:  Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries. 
• Tom Atkinson teaches Instructional Technology at the U. of Central Florida and has over 30 years of experience in designing, producing, delivering, and evaluating interactive instruction on mobile learning platforms and in virtual worlds
• Sharon Tettegah and Cynthia Colongne, co-authors of the 2009 book, Identity, Learning and Support in Virtual Environments.
  

Conference Website:  http://www.facebook.com/l/af587;bit.ly/7L8M1j
Registration Fees:
$25 for individuals who are members of the American Library Association (ALA).
$45 for individuals who are not members of ALA.
$10 for individuals who are students, retired, or between jobs.
$75 for Groups (A group is defined as two or more individuals who are currently directly affiliated with an organization. Participating members of the registering organization need not be in the same location in the real world when they attend conference events.)
Register Now:  http://www.facebook.com/l/af587;bit.ly/7cB88t 

FREEBIES, EXCHANGES & FOR SALE

The Selby Township Library has a rolling steps for sale.  It has four steps with the top step 36" off the ground- railing all around.  Asking $50.  Will deliver within reason.  Can email pictures. Contact Marcia at mbroady2@yahoo.com

YOUTH SERVICES & SCHOOL LIBRARY NEWS

School Library Month Video Contest Hosted by AASL

How does your program help your community thrive?
(ALA, Chicago) – The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) is hosting a video contest in conjunction with School Library Month (SLM) for members and their students to share how their school library program helps their community thrive.

School librarians are encouraged to submit videos to AASL that support the School Library Month theme "Communities thrive @ your library" and detail how the library helps their school community "thrive." This is an opportunity for school librarians to be creative and share why they are essential to their school community.

Entries may include an interview with members of a school community, a typical day in the life of a school librarian or a short skit on why school librarians are essential to a school community.

The winning video will be featured on the AASL Web site, AASL social networking platforms and possibly at AASL conferences. The winner will also receive district access to all L4L webinars and an AASL prize package including “Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action”; “Empowering Learners:Guidelines for School Library Media Programs”; and the forthcoming “Planning Guide for Empowering Learners.” Submissions will be accepted through March 1, 2010. Entries will be vetted by AASL and the top three will be judged by the entire AASL member community starting March 8, 2010. For complete submission details, visit www.ala.org/aasl/slm.

AROUND THE STATE & NATION

OPAL Session to Discuss Stimulus Funding Opportunities for Libraries

Wendy Flaherty, Senior Vice President and Linda Ciaglia, Vice President of First Trust Portfolios are going to talk about the opportunities for libraries to find funding help through the federal stimulus packages.

They will present an overview of market events; a description of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and of BABS; an explanation of Recovery Zone Bonds; and a discussion of financing options for Illinois Libraries. They will answer participant questions.

Ms. Flaherty is responsible for managing the Public Finance Team, client relationships and all aspects of bond financings. She has over 20 years experience in providing financial solutions for municipalities, school districts, park districts, library districts and commercial businesses. She is an active member of the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association, Illinois Association of School Business Officials and Women in Public Finance.

Ms. Ciaglia is responsible for managing client relationships and all aspects of tax exempt financings. She has been an active member of the finance community since the early 1980s both in the municipal and commercial finance industry. For the past 19 years she has specialized in debt financing for government entities and not for profit corporations. Linda is an active member in both the Illinois chapters of the Government Finance Officer Association and Association of School Business Officials.

To register for this session go to http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=9755. 

Article Provides Links to Tools for Reading Recommendations

This Internet Public Library article provides a good deal of useful information and links to tools for those who are in the business of recommending reading to others. The article not only points you to urls where you and your library users can find help with books but even points out how “recommender” software can guide folks to other topics like movies, music and bike paths.  There are sites that not only recommend reading but also can help your library user to keep track of what he/she is reading.   And the article guides you to sites where libraries are already using Library Thing, GoodReads, etc.

National Library Workers Day

April 13, is the day for staff, users, administrators, and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. The ALA–Allied Professional Association has posters, T-shirts, and buttons to assist you in your celebration

ALA Scholarship Program

(ALA, Chicago) The American Library Association (ALA) is committed to promoting and advancing the librarian profession. To demonstrate this commitment, the ALA and its units provide more than $300,000 annually for study in a master's degree in library and information studies from an ALA accredited program, or for a master's degree in school library media program that meets the ALA curriculum guidelines for a National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accredited unit. See the ALA Office of Accreditation's website for a list of ALA-Accredited programs. See the American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) website for the list of Nationally Recognized NCATE-AASL Reviewed & Approved School Library Media Education Programs.

You can apply for a variety of scholarships through the single online application hosted by the ALA Scholarship Program.  Review the following pages for more information on special areas of support or individual scholarship guidelines and benefits:

GRANT NEWS

Penny Severns' Summer Family Literacy Grant Information

The Illinois State Library is offering Penny Severns Summer Family Literacy Grants again this year for projects targeting families who are low-literate or limited English speaking.  If you are interested in learning more, please attend the State Library's informational OPAL session on Monday morning.

Purpose of meeting: Penny Severns' Summer Family Literacy Grant Information
Method of meeting: Online presentation using OPAL through any computer. This grant information session will be recorded.   A link to the recorded session will be emailed several days following the live session.
Date: Monday, February 22, 2010
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Presenters: Cyndy Colletti & Beth Paoli, Illinois State Library Literacy Office
Registration:  Registration is required.  Please register on L2.

At this on-line meeting, Literacy Office staff will go over the application and programming requirements concerning the grant application.

Information for Libraries Submitting BTOP or BIP Grants Applications Directly to the Federal Government

If your library or agency is submitting a BTOP or BIP grant application directly to the federal government, you may wish to listen to this presentation BTOP & BIP: How to Connect with information about all 3 categories of grant. 

ADVOCACY NEWS

Creating Champions for Libraries

With library snapshot day now a success, how do we use the gathered stories and statistics? Mark the week of April 12th, National Library Week, on your calendar. Especially, Friday, April 16th.

On that Friday, or earlier during the week if Friday doesn’t work in your schedule, we’ll focus on making visits to our legislators and presenting them with a handout of the stories collected from their constituents on what the library means to them. PALS will try to be of assistance in setting up appointments, or organize group visits from libraries in the legislative district.

Times are hard, but we repeatedly hear that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We must not allow libraries to be an easy cut without vocal opposition. If nobody speaks up, major cuts are easier to make. We need to build our case and show just how important we are to library users – the legislators’ constituents.

Stephanie Vance, Advocacy Guru, who is frequently used by ALA for advocacy training, points out that any successful legislative project has strong champions both inside and outside the legislative environment.  A critical and often very time consuming first step on the road to success is getting someone to care enough about your specific idea to keep it "on the table," as it were, when the legislative language is flying fast and furious.  You need a member who is willing to say "I'm not voting for this bill unless it includes funding and grants for libraries.”

To get a legislator to that point, you must be able to demonstrate how your issue  connects to people that legislator represents.  The good news is that often you'll find that a legislator has an interest in an issue because it's a big deal in the area he represents, and that’s where our collected stories will come in.

For any of you who’ve watched the Olympics, you’ll find that the background story of an athlete gets our attention and our emotions. We need to practice these same marketing skills in promoting libraries.

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