Yearly Archives: 2009

Illinois Libraries in the News for the week of December 14, 2009

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Unit 2 board approves increased tax levy
MyWebTimes.com
Employed Ruth Kowalski, library aide at Harding Elementary; Jenna Keigley, reading aide at Harding; and Jessica McNelis, long-term substitute. …

Ill. Library Receives Vinyl Record 47 Years Late
WIFR
Fondulac District Library Director Amy Falasz-Peterson says the album by 1950s pop singer Julius La Rosa was checked out on Feb. 12, 1962 and was returned …

Library offers Internet only card
Naperville Sun
The Naperville Public Library Board on Wednesday decided to offer an “Internet Only” card to the public. The card would allow members of the general public …

Help Sherrard welcome its new library director
Quad-Cities Online
The Board of Trustees of the Sherrard Public Library District is pleased to announce our selection of Laura Long as our new library director. …

Aurora Public Library buying itself a $3.2 million present
Chicago Daily Herald
But a site for a new facility has remained atop Aurora Public Library’s agenda for all that time and on Dec. …

Library To Study Second Floor Layout Trends
Journal & Topics Newspapers Online
As part of the Mt. Prospect Public Library’s recent strategic plan (future initiatives or goals), the library board and staff will study the second floor …

Library approved to buy old Beacon site
Fox Valley Villages Sun
By Christmas Day, the Aurora Public Library will own the Beacon-News building at River and Benton streets. …

Library director set to retire
Franklin Park Herald Journal
After 31 years as a librarian — the last 20 as director of the Northlake Public Library — Jan Schmudde is retiring …

Redesign of library gathering area awaits funding
Park Ridge Herald Advocate
A design concept for a seating area outside the Park Ridge Public Library has received approval from the …

Woman’s book describes virtues of Vermilion County
Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette
Although Hicks is the Danville Library Foundation’s executive director, it never occurred to her to write a children’s story. Then she heard some adults …

Genoa planning for 175th anniversary celebration in 2010
The Courier News
The mural, which will hang on the west wall outside of the Genoa Public Library, 232 W. Main St., shows a man on a sled holding a team of horses as he …

Book returned to library after 60 years
Bloomington Pantagraph
A book has been mailed back to an Ohio library after six decades, accompanied by an anonymous letter of remorse. The biography “Napoleon” by …

Scholarships Available for On the Front Lines

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The Illinois State Library is awarding 30 scholarships for employees of Illinois libraries to attend On the Front Lines: Agents of Change. This conference for librarians and other front-line staff will be held March 15-17, 2010 at University of Illinois, Springfield.

Each scholarship will pay for the recipient’s conference registration, most meals, and
lodging at UIS Founders Hall for Monday and Tuesday nights. The deadline for scholarship application is January 25, 2010. Awards will be announced in early February.

For information about On the Front Lines speakers and events or to register for the conference, go to the event description. Use the conference scholarship application to apply for a scholarship.

Please note that the scholarship does not cover the pre-conference or lodging for Sunday night. If you have questions about On the Front Lines or the scholarship, contact Gwen Harrison at the Illinois State Library at 217-785-7334 or gharrison@ilsos.net.

2009 Best Books

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The Prairie Area Library System is compiling a list of 2009′s Best Books for Young People. Titles are being sought in four categories: preschool/primary, intermediate, oung adult, and non-fiction. If you would like to submit a title, go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G6NS2TQ.

Submissions will be accepted through January 22, 2010. Please limit your nominations to one favorite book per level. Feel free to fill out any or all categories according to the age groups you serve. Remember that ALL BOOKS SHOULD HAVE A 2009 PUBLICATION DATE.

Submissions will be compiled and shared through Illinois library systems and posted on the Prairie Area Library System’s website. If you have questions, please contact Jane Lenser at janel@palsnet.info; 877-542-7257, ext. 4461 or Norma Applegate at normaa@palsnet.info; 877-542-7257, ext.2705.

Literacy Spotlight: World Relief Refugee Services

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Every week the Illinois State Library honors a recipient of one of the literacy grants awarded by Secretary of State Jesse White and the Illinois State Library Literacy Office. This week they shine the spotlight on World Relief Refugee Services, Chicago.

Imagine a life behind a barbed wire fence with no future and no employment opportunities. There have been many twists and turns in the life of this mother who began her life in Burma. Due to family tragedies, she lived most of her young life with relatives until joining her brother in an area that was subject to frequent government raids due to an oppressive military dictatorship. The family was forced to flee their home and go further into the jungle ending up in a refugee camp in Thailand. This young girl grew up in the camp, met and married her husband and gave birth to two daughters there.

After ten years, the Burmese refugees were selected as candidates for refugee resettlement in the United States and Canada. The family applied and moved to the United States. Here they came face to face with a totally different culture, a different language and very different surroundings. That was when World Relief Refugee Services came to their rescue. The mother began working with a volunteer tutor learning English.

After just one year, her English improved dramatically. She continues attending English class while her two-year-old daughter participates in the early childhood education program. Through a combination of intensive ESL classes, in-home volunteer ESL tutoring, family literacy activities and lots of hard work, the mother is able to function well in her new English speaking environment.

As part of the family literacy program, she learned to use the computer and internet at the library for the first time in her life. Her future is bright and she is currently looking for a job. She is grateful her family no longer lives behind barbed wire and her children will have every opportunity for education, good health and ultimately a good future.

2010 ILA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

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“Libraries Out Loud” is the theme for the 2010 Illinois Library Association Annual Conference to be held at Navy Pier in Chicago September 28-30. Program proposals are being sought from all types of libraries and agencies with which they interact – for example, a municipality, a school, a corporation or a university. Organizers are placing emphasis on programs that highlight partnerships — whether those partnerships exist between libraries or with community organizations such as park districts or chambers of commerce. Program proposals are due by January 11, 2010. The call for proposals can be viewed at the ILA website.

All presenters (librarians and any non-library partners) are entitled to a single day registration to the conference as a thank you for their efforts. Join the library community at Navy Pier September 28-30, 2010 and let your voice be heard!

Opportunity Online Grant Update

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Libraries taking part in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Opportunity Online Grant Program should be aware that the verification form you need to document your Opportunity Online matching funds is posted on WebJunction Illinois. Click on the “Matching Funds Verification Form” hotlink. Forms are due to Karen Egan at the State Library by March 1, 2010.

DLS Announces DuKane Day Learning Institute

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All library staff members in the Chicagoland area are invited to DuPage Library System’s DuKane Day on February 26. This school institute day offers more than 20 breakout sessions dedicated to books and reading, copyright, e-books, technology, setting up author visits, and how to deal with change, as well as a keynote speech by Joyze Valenza that will take attendees on a musical exploration to the Wizard of Apps. For more information and to register, visit the program’s listing on L2.

Library Beat Reaches Milestone

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This week at Library Beat, celebrate a major milestone. NSLS Executive Director Sarah Long marks her 200th Longshots podcast with an interview with Peter Lor, visiting professor at the School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, about the situation of libraries in South Africa and the lessons he learned about advocacy and the library’s place in society.

To keep up on all the latest from Library Beat, follow along with RSS feeds or through Twitter. Have thoughts about Library Beat? Let NSLS know!

Two New WJIL Courses

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Two new timely courses have been added to the WebJunction Illinois Course Catalog. Remember, these courses are available anytime, anywhere and are free to registered users of WJIL. Enroll by visiting the WJIL Course Catalog and clicking on LE@D as the Featured Course Provider.

Financial Management in Tough Times (LE@D)

You’ve just been told that your budget is being cut by 10% next year. Or perhaps you must submit a budget showing a 20% or even 30% reduction in the upcoming fiscal year.

  • What services do you cut?
  • Can the budget be cut without laying off staff?
  • What is the long-term result of budget cuts?
  • What about outsourcing?

Is it possible to improve library service to the community while cutting the budget?

Budget cuts can be beneficial to a library and a community. We must examine what our libraries do and how effectively/efficiently we do it. It’s time to responsibly make the right decisions and make the necessary changes to negatively affect the minimal number of people in our community. And, in the process, we may find that our informed decisions have actually IMPROVED library services!

Supervision without Micromanagement (LE@D)

Why is effective library supervision so hard, even for the smart, nice, and experienced library employee? Library supervision in itself is hard because:

  • Humans are not books to be processed
  • Being the boss does not mean you have earned the trust and respect of the staff
  • Supervision requires a different set of skills
  • People who do it well make it look easy

Whether you are a supervisor in waiting or an experienced library manager, this course will illustrate the techniques, courtesies, and responsibilities necessary for you to improve your library’s productivity and workplace relations.

Successor for Wimba

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Illinois State Library Director Anne Craig is pleased to announce that Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro Web-conferencing rooms for each regional library system, the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) and the State Library will be the successor for WebJunction Illinois’ Wimba Web-conferencing access.

Thanks to Kevin Becker of Lewis and Clark Library System, who worked with the systems, the State Library, CARLI and other interested individuals to select a Wimba successor. Each room allows up to 100 participants, voip, screensharing, remote control, archiving, breakout rooms, e-learning, and filesharing, to name a few features. A complete list of features is available on Adobe’s site. Find minimum requirements for computer access for participants/audience and presenters.

Brook Weber of Lewis and Clark Library System will contact Web-conference coordinators with more information concerning access, passwords, training, etc. Once the WebJunction Illinois support team has been trained with Adobe Connect for presenting, troubleshooting, etc., they will share participant and presenter training information.