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February 26, 2010 issue
Prairie Views: Newsletter of the Prairie Area Library System
Volume: 7
Issue: 8
SYSTEM NEWS
Library System Presidents and Directors Chart a New Course for Libraries in Illinois
(Decatur, Illinois) Last Friday, PALS Board President Charlet Key joined other Illinois library system presidents and directors for a meeting in Decatur. Discussion topics included: the current status of system finances and library funding, possible system mergers, restructuring efforts, consolidation and new sustainability service models. The group crafted a resolution that was personally delivered to Secretary of State and Illinois State Librarian Jesse White on Monday February 22, encouraging Mr. White to release Live and Learn Funds so FY 2010 payments due to the library systems can be brought up to date. They further discussed a new vision and model of service with standards and protocols that would re-shape multitype library service in Illinois.
In assessing the meeting, Ms. Key said, “Illinois library systems are at a crossroads. Our primary concern is providing excellent multi-type library service to the membership. Our discussions were open, frank and focused on collaborative actions to support and sustain our vision of the future. Decisions we make in the next few months will be key to our ongoing success. How we cooperate and re-envision our communal future is fundamental to our ability to support multitype library services across Illinois.”
The meeting closed with an enthusiastic commitment by all nine systems to continue the dialogue and forge a new framework to support their discussions. Library system Presidents and Directors affirmed their unanimous support to work together to assure the future of library systems in Illinois. The group will continue meeting in coming months to assess progress and to develop further strategies.
MEMBER LIBRARY NEWS
'Information superhighway' in DeKalb County
CONTINUOUS LEARNING
Did You Miss the WebJunctionIllinois Technology Essentials 2010?
Earlier this month, WebJunction Illinois hosted an on-line conference featuring 10 workshops. If you were too busy to attend on February 9th & 10th, now you have the opportunity to participate at your leisure using the archives. For an overview of the whole conference you can go to http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=8560
Or you can go directly to any of the sessions that appeal to you:
Building Digital Community: Arizona Memory ProjectPALS Public Libraries—Remember that using Tech Atlas for creating a Technology plan is part of the FY2011 Per Capita Requirements!!
***Technology Planning with Tech Atlas for Libraries
Handouts and links are included with the archived presentations. Also a very dedicated attendee has contributed his notes which can be found at http://il.webjunction.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=91851072&name=DLFE-24350002.pdf if you want to see a print overview of the sessions or print them to follow as you watch the archives.
FREEBIES, EXCHANGES & FOR SALE
Black Hawk College Library is offering a book titled Play Index 1998-2002.
If interested contact:
Betty vandusseldorpb@bhc.edu
AROUND THE STATE & NATION
What's New @ WJIL: Free and Accessible Technology Workshops
Technology planning, CONTENTdm, digital community, broadband access, library grants, strategic planning, advice on implementing instant messaging in your library and how to use WordPress as a content management system for your library web site. If you’re interested in any (or all) of these important technology related topics this edition of “What’s New @ WJIL” is for you.
School District Library Grants
(ISL, Springfield) Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White has awarded Fiscal Year 2010 School District Library Program Grants totaling almost $1.4 million to 715 Illinois public school districts. Nearly 2 million students served by school library media programs will benefit from the grants.
The School District Library Grant Program provides funds that can be used for things like the acquisition of library materials to support reading for academics and enjoyment, library subscriptions to electronic resources, or improved technology to support student research.
GRANT NEWS
New Grant Opportunity - March 15 Deadline
The Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board (ISHRAB), using funding from National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), is offering grants of up to $5,000 to Illinois archives, libraries, museums and other historical records keepers to develop and/or carry out projects to identify, preserve, access and use historical records in Illinois. Guidelines and application forms are located on the ISHRAB website.
The application deadline is March 15th. Applications must be printed, filled out, and mailed. They cannot be submitted on-line. All grants require a one-to-one ($1 for $1) in-kind and/or cash match. Grant projects will run for one year.
The Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board is made up of representatives from different archives, museums, universities and libraries from around the state and seeks to facilitate cooperation among historical records depositories and other information agencies within Illinois. The Illinois State Archives serves as the coordinator of the board.
For additional information, email or call David Joens at 217-782-3492.
ADVOCACY NEWS
Set Aside April 16th for Legislative Visits
This is a save the date of importance! Several PALS librarians have already agreed to make visits to their legislator’s offices on Friday, April 16th to present the legislators with handouts of stories gathered on snapshot day to show the relevance of libraries today. Some will head to the district offices that Friday while others will invite the legislators to come to their library.
Think of this as an even more effective advocacy effort than the trip to Springfield with at least six or more hours and travel expense saved in not needing to make that trip. In Springfield, perhaps you got to see your representatives for a few minutes, or, perhaps they were on the floor or in committee meetings and you didn't see them at all.
Save the date for now and as April draws closer, watch for notices of where and what time the appointments will be. If you’re willing to coordinate a visit to the district office, or invite the legislators to your library for a meeting there, please let Inara McGroarty know and PALS will help put the word out so other librarians in your legislative district can join you.
In these tough economic times, it’s more important than ever to remind our legislators of what libraries provide for their constituents. To quote Dr. Seuss:
“Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” We've gathered wonderful stories from our library users. Let's share those stories now.
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
