Friday, January 24, 2003

Friday Notes 2.  An on-line resource for NEILSA Librarians DEADLINES & DATES: I'll try to list all the upcoming dates of importance here, you will have to mine for the details.  February  - BYCA  (Before Your Computer Arrives), someone from your library MUST attend the BYCA workshop. Late spring/early summer workshops. March 24, 25, and 26 Upcoming Grant Application Deadlines Nominate an Outstanding Museum or Library for National Service Award These awards are the nation's highest honor for the extraordinary public service provided by museums and libraries. The deadline is February 15, 2003. See: http://www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/112102.htm National Leadership Grants for Museums: March 1, 2003. http://www.imls.gov/grants/museum/mus_nlgm.asp National Leadership Grants for Library/Museum Collaborations: April 1, 2003. http://www.imls.gov/grants/l-m/l-m_lead.asp All IMLS grant and award program deadlines can be viewed at: http://www.imls.gov/grants/dedln/index.htm     County Meetings Scheduled: If your county meeting is not on the schedule please contact NEILSA •    Allamakee County Meeting •    Black Hawk County Meeting - When called - seldom •    Bremer County Meeting - April 8, 2002 @ 7:30 in Readlyn •    Buchanan County Meeting - April 22, 2002 @ 7:00 in Fairbank PL •    Butler County Meeting  - April 1, 2002 7:00 Shell Rock PL •    Chickasaw County Meeting •    Clayton County Meeting - April 22 @ 7:30 McGregor PL •    Delaware County Meeting - May 13, 2002 @ 7:00  Edgewood P L •    Dubuque County - •    Fayette County Meeting -  April 10th at 1000 @  Fayette Library •    Grundy County Meeting - All meetings start at 9:00 am - 2003 schedule         1/27 @ Conrad, 4/28 @ Dike, 6/28 @ Grundy Center, 10/27 @ Reinbeck •    Howard County Meeting   - April 7, 2003 @ 7:00 Elma PL •    Winneshiek County Meeting CE: Special Workshops: One & two hour workshops at Fall & Spring county meetings, item specific workshops. February  - BYCA  someone from your (each) library MUST attend the BYCA workshop.  Before Your Computer Arrives workshops. There will be 2 contact hours of CE credit for this workshop.     OTHER CE: You must register with the listed provider.  Check: http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/for_ia_libraries/continuing_ed/index.html         Self-Directed Learning Opportunities: http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/Certification/alternate.htm ANNOUNCEMENTS: Re: Library Supply Bid for calendar year 2003. Click on: http://www.nclsa.lib.ia.us/2003vendoragreements.pdf Seven supply vendors have offered discount prices. Agencies may purchase from any vendor listed to receive the benefit of state pricing. Contact each vendor individually. Shipments and billing will be made directly to your facility. Please use the appropriate bid number for each vendor. All bids run from January 1, 2003 through January 31, 2004. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. ---- Karen M. Day, Administrative Assistant North Central Library Service Area 22 North Georgia, Suite 208 Mason City IA 50401-3435 641-423-6917 - voice 641-423-6261 - fax kday@nclsa.lib.ia.us TELLING THE LIBRARY STORY - The down side From: Library Stuff "For the past month, I (Steven M. Cohen) have been posting articles regarding library closures and cutbacks to a weblog that I created (with the help of a friend) entitled Save our Libraries (SOL) [http://www.saveourlibraries.org/blog/]. I have had contact with various people at ALA (including Mitch Freedman) regarding SOL and their recent press release on the subject [http://www.ala.org/news/v8n16/campaigntosave.html] and hope to work with ALA in any way that I can regarding this important aspect of our profession. As always, if you see any stories that would fit into the SOL schema, please contact me [http://www.librarystuff.net/form.php] as well as promoting the site on your own weblog or library web site. (1/20/2003 8:08:00 PM) NOTE: If you wish to forward to me, especially local experience, I will forward to SOL.  Ken (:-{}}}     In the EYE-OPENER from NWILSA: 1) ICN Planning Session for "ALL IOWA READS:" The ALL IOWA READS Committee is planning an information session over the ICN on February 4th, from 7:00--8:30PM at 20 ICN locations across the state. The purpose of this session is to encourage libraries, schools, and book discussion groups to plan programs in the coming year based on PEACE LIKE A RIVER by Leif Enger, selected as the ALL IOWA READS title for 2003. Participants will meet some of the ALL IOWA READS Committee members and learn about the many resource materials available for planning book discussions, hear programming ideas, and learn where to obtain multiple copies of PEACE LIKE A RIVER. First Lady Christie Vilsack is expected to attend; State Library Commissioner Dale Ross will speak about how to lead effective book discussions. This isn't just for library staff and trustees, but for organizers and members of local community book clubs.  ALL IOWA READS is an initiative of the Iowa Center for the Book at the State Library. (If you need a testimonial: Janie, Chris, and I read PEACE LIKE A RIVER in December and we all really enjoyed it. Really a great story, although we all felt differently about the ending--which I won't reveal:-) For more information, go to: http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/misc/All-Iowa-Reads 2) DuPage Teleconference - Past Ken 3) Discounts on Library Supplies for 2003: North Central Library Services has again negotiated statewide discounts off library supplies from 7 supply vendors. Public and school libraries can take advantage of substantial savings when purchasing supplies through Brodart, Demco, Gaylord, Fordham Equipment, Highsmith, The Library Store, and Quill. The newly negotiated discounts are effective until January 31, 2004. You must contact each vendor individually; shipments and billing will be made directly to your library. Be sure to include the correct bid number that corresponds to each vendor when ordering. For details describing the discounts--and to find the bid numbers for each vendor--go to: http://www.nclsa.lib.ia.us/2003vendoragreements.pdf Speaking of discounts, don't forget about the book discounts available to Iowa's public and school libraries through Baker & Taylor and/or Ingrams. In the last few weeks, and in the course of other conversations, I've heard about 5 Northwest libraries tell how they routinely order their books from local book stores, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Waldens, etc. While these stores can be convenient, it's unlikely that your library is benefitting from the much more sizable discounts available by ordering the bulk of your materials through Baker & Taylor or Ingrams. These are national book vendors, offering as high as 40% off most mass market best sellers. These discounts are negotiated each year by the State Library; the current contracts run through August 2003. Plus, when ordering through B&T or Ingrams, you can also purchase catalog card kits or MARC records, greatly speeding the cataloging and processing time when the book shipments arrive. Be sure to take full advantage of these statewide discounts on books and supplies--limited dollars will stretch further:-)             New LINKS of interest: [from Library Stuff] - Am I the only one who hasn't seen Google Webquotes [http://labs.google.com/cgi-bin/webquotes] yet? This is a narcissistic's dream (reminds me a bit of Googlism [http://www.googlism.com/]. Put in a name and quotes from webpages indexed in Google about the name will be spit out at you. I typed in my name and found out that someone wants to buy me a latte. (1/14/2003 7:59:00 PM) Commercial Ad - clipped but it looks like it might be of interest despite that (Ken): A librarian can ask a colleague, or ask a professor, or ask a search engine, "What are the best sources of information about this subject?" A subject specialist knows the answer. An engine does not. The research recommendations of librarians and professors are available at:  The Infography  http://www.fieldsofknowledge.com/infography.html We have made it convenient to create a link to The Infography from your reference web page to serve your library users and colleagues: Link to The Infography http://www.infography.com/linktoinfography.html Suitability of The Infography as a reference resource for your library: --provides superlative citations selected by the world's foremost scholars (93% of The Infography's subject specialists are college professors) --answers the most common question in a library, "Can you help me to quickly find references to the best information about..." --is an indispensable tool for librarians in collection development, interlibrary loan, and reference assistance --predominantly cites books, articles, and other library resources, rather than only citing web sites referring to other web sites referring to other web sites... --requires no fees and no registration or log-in --created and developed by librarians and educators, not by dot.com/slashers For your comparative analysis: --A search for "Business Ethics" at the most popular search engine returns 271,000 citations to (only) online sources, selected by a machine. The "Business Ethics" entry at The Infography offers citations to six superlative and eleven other excellent sources from various media, selected by a professor who developed a business ethics curriculum at the Harvard Business School. --The references cited about "Science: Physics: History" in the Open Directory (dmoz.org; used as a subject directory by the most popular search engines) are selected by a high-school student in India. The references cited about "Physics -- History" in The Infography are selected by the Director of the Center for History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics. FEEDBACK: - "In the year following the passage of the Patriot Act, librarians' response to law enforcement requests for patrons' records has been sharply divided, according to a nationwide survey." "The Patriot Act allows investigators to seize patrons' book-borrowing and Internet-surfing records to investigate terrorist leads; it also prohibits library staff from publicizing law enforcement requests for such materials." "The survey (http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/gslis/research/finalresults.pdf) of 906 libraries by the Library Research Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that in the year following the Sept. 11 attacks, federal and local law enforcement agents visited at least 545 libraries to inquire after patrons' records." "When asked to voluntarily forfeit patrons' records, roughly half the librarians cooperated with investigators without demanding a subpoena or court order, the study found." "What surprised me most was real tension between personal beliefs and concern about what librarians are obligated to do under the law," said center director Leigh Estabrook. (from Wired News via Library Stuff [http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,57256,00.html])  (1/16/2003 5:09:00 PM) Same Old Story: - "When parents take their preschoolers to storytime at the Duxbury Free Library, they may find their normally subdued librarians raising a ruckus." "Just last week, a dozen library workers held signs outside the building asking residents to support their contract negotiations with the town." "''Your library staff has been in negotiations for 14 months trying to get a contract with benefits comparable to other town employees,'' read a statement on a fact-laced bookmark the librarians passed out to patrons. The bookmark included a phone number for the selectmen's office and individual selectmen's town e-mail addresses." ''We want to be treated professionally and receive benefits like those of every other group of employees,'' said Rose Hickey, head of technical services for the library department." (from The Boston Globe) (1/16/2003 1:45:00 PM) A New Twist - "Over a pint of beer, agents Kinney and Todd started brainstorming ideas for an IE mission centered around a fake protest. What would be the most absurd place to picket? What is the one place that no one in their right mind would oppose? The answer was clear: the public library." "A fake organization was born, Writers Against Piracy (WAP). The members of WAP would be published authors who were fed up with their intellectual property being "loaned" out for free in the public library system. A slogan was created, "Libraries = Napster for Books". WAP would do for books what Metallica did for music. Utilizing Agent Sung's brilliant graphic design, Todd created a website for the group (which can be viewed here [http://improveverywhere.csbl.net/wap/wapsite.html]), and he and Agent Kinney prepared for the protest. (via LACK) (1/16/2003 1:20:00 PM) CHANGES: Updates – Addresses & such - Delhi - NEW  Mary Lahr is the main director and JoLynn Heims as the children's director Waterville Public Library <waterpl@acegroup.cc>; Theresa Mikulas  Director CONSORTIA NEWS & E-Rate: From Fund for Learning [http://www.fundsforlearning.com/]     * SLD Sets March 10 as Goal for Completing Application Review 1/22/2003 - The Schools and Libraries Division and its contractor have set March 10 as their goal for completing the review of all pending funding requests for the 2002 funding year.     * SLD Projects Potential Rollover of $370 Million 1/22/2003 - The Schools and Libraries Division reported January 22 that it expects to have $370 million available, starting next quarter, to roll over to increase the potential E-rate funding pot in the future.     * SLD Takes Steps to Toughen Its Enforcement Efforts 1/22/2003 - The SLD is planning to more than double the size of the staff that performs its "Selective Reviews" in the coming months to better address issues that are turning up in both internal and external audits of program participants. Gates Foundation Grants News: Replies to Gates BYCA letters were due 1/22/03 Even if you have decided to skip the program you should reply and tell them you are withdrawing.     END PLATE: Long Announcements, Supporting Documents, & other "stuff"   I (Mike Wessells) made the following early New Year's resolutions:     * I'm going to do a better job of telling the library's story. On the Google website I noticed a service called Google Answers, which seems to be Reference For A Fee. In fact, it looks to me as if the more you pay, the better answer you get to your question. Wouldn't it be something if there were a place where you could get top-drawer answers regardless of your ability to pay? Well, there is!! I work in it!! I need to tell our community about the value we add, about the amazing possibilities of Internet access at the library rather than just the insidious temptations, about the wonderful success stories of people whom the library has helped in so many ways. At least three libraries in my state were recently faced with imminent closure, but one by one, their communities have rallied to save them. Success stories breed success. I resolve to break out of my strictly defensive mode against censors, and go on the evangelistic offensive about the terrific value of libraries to the citizens of a democracy. * I'm going to do a better job of using freedom to combat the stranglehold of fear. It seems to me that all censorship is based on fear: "If certain people become aware of this information or image, horrible consequences will ensue; therefore, I will stop them from seeing it." Since childhood, I have been able to conjure up an astounding array of fearful monstrosities that might lurk in a dark room, but once I turned on the light, I could ascertain what was really there and deal with it. Truth benefits from light, not darkness; speech, not silence. In the wake of the war on terrorism, extraordinary measures have been taken to increase surveillance on citizens and at the same time decrease access to information provided by and about government, on the assumption that terrorists might find it useful. The mantra is, "The government needs to know more about you; you need to know less about the government," which seems to me to have it precisely backward. Mike Wessells Chair, IFRT from: IFRT Report Intellectual Freedom Round Table No. 50-51, Winter 2003 http://www.nd.edu/~jarcher/ifrt/home.html HUMOR?: Having a bad day? There was a case in one hospital's Intensive Care ward where patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11 a.m., regardless of their medical condition. This puzzled the doctors and some even thought that it had something to do with the supernatural. No one could solve the mystery... as to why the deaths occurred around 11 a.m. on Sundays. So a World-Wide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents. The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11 a.m., all doctors and nurses nervously wait outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits. Just when the clock struck 11... Pookie Johnson, the part-time Sunday sweeper, entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so that he could use the vacuum cleaner. Having a Bad Day? The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was $80,000. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both. Still think you are having a bad day? A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his Walkman. STILL think you're having a BAD day? Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn, Germany. Suddenly, all two thousand pigs broke loose and escaped through a broken fence, stampeding madly. The two hopeless protesters were trampled to death. What?????? STILL having a BAD DAY? Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet didn't pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with "return to sender" stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits. There now, feeling better? The fine print stuff blogs - Friday Notes 2 AT -  http://radio.weblogs.com/0108327/ NOTICE – DISCLAIMER - pick one, any one will do. MY disclaimer: Basically my opinions are my own, shared by no one else (sometimes), and are not the opinions of my agency, my board, my co-workers, my parents, siblings, relatives, my dogs or most any other know life form.  Except, of course, those very bright concerned, sensitive, perceptive &, in general, well educated, widely read and cultured individuals who wish to share this peculiar road to ruin, as well as a couple of down & out drugged out beatniks from the good old days. OK?  The "Prime Directive" applies. Edited by: Ken Davenport - NEILSA Consultant davenport@neilsa.org COPYLEFT NOTICE 2002: THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS FREE. It may be copied, distributed and/or modified under the conditions set down in the Design Science License published by Michael Stutz at http://dsl.org/copyleft/dsl.txt © COPYRIGHT Please note: material found on the web should be assumed to be under copyright and is presented here for purposes of education and research only. NOTE: If credited [via ???] or [from so & so] it is their material and not covered by my "Copyleft" notice.  Ken SOURCE: {Consultant} D:CorelwpdocsFridayNotes0124A.wpd  August 2, 2002 BOILER PLATE FOOTNOTES: 1. WARNING: I will be able to give you about a 5 working day warning on deadlines (by e-mail, less otherwise) I have 10 days to reply, if I miss the deadline, well I won't miss, if you miss  ... I'll send it in late but ... 10:59:48 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Ken Davenport. Last update: 2/7/03; 2:08:33 PM.