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Continuous Learning, News
Project Compass Workshops in Illinois
March 24th, 2011 | Permalink | Comment?
Libraries are playing a leading role in developing the workforce of the 21st century. Project Compass is a nationwide effort to support public libraries as they strive to meet the urgent and growing needs of the unemployed and underemployed.

Project Compass Workshops are scheduled throughout the State to help public library staff increase their knowledge of available resources and handle the service needs of unemployed and job-seeking patrons. In an economy where more must be done with less, these workshops will also address how libraries can utilize existing resources and partnerships.

The goal of Project Compass is to support the workforce recovery efforts of libraries, particularly in counties with high unemployment. The program will introduce library staff to programs and services which they can deliver to job-seekers in their communities. Workshops are free of charge to eligible participants.

Following is the list of workshops already scheduled:
- Peoria Heights Public Library, April 1
- South Central Transit Training Facility, Centralia, April 15
- Danville Public Library, May 6
- LaSalle Public Library, May 13
- Bourbonnais Public Library, May 18
- Cherry Valley Public Library District, May 20
- Lewis and Clark Library System, Edwardsville, June 3
- Bensenville Public Library, June 10
- Taylorville Public Library, June 20
- Carthage, Carl Sandburg College, July 13
For additional information on these workshops and participant eligibility please send an email to Bill Erbes at projectcompass@benlib.org.

Project Compass is brought to Illinois public libraries by the Division of Library and Information Services, in conjunction with WebJunction/OCLC, as part of a grant funded by the Institute of Museum of Library Services.
Library Systems, News
What’s In a Name?
March 24th, 2011 | Permalink | Comment?
The merger process for Illinois Library Systems continues to move forward with meetings, documents, planning and discussion.

Recent decisions made have resulted in the announcement of new names for the 2 library systems that are intended to form as of July 1, 2011. Following are announcements regarding these names:
- At it’s 22 March 2011 meeting, the Merger Transition Board voted to adopt Reaching Across Illinois Library System – with the acronym RAILS – as the name for the new system. Special thanks to Diane Paulini (at Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare’s Marquardt Memorial Library in MLS) for suggesting that name last month. Thanks also to everyone who participated in the naming process.
- As of February the planning panel for the southern Systems merger approved the name of the merged system as Illinois Heartland Library System
For more information on the progress of mergers please visit the following sites:

Cooperation Today – http://www.cooperationtoday.org/
Merger 2011 – http://www.systemsmerger.info/
ILEAD U, News
ILEAD U Featured in Peoria Journal Star Article
March 22nd, 2011 | Permalink | Comment?

An article related to the State Library’s ILEAD U initiative (Illinois Libraries Explore, Apply and Discover) appeared this week in the Peoria Journal Star. ILEAD U is the State Library’s effort to help library staff understand and respond to user needs through the application of participatory technology tools and an easy-to-replicate model program.

Year Two of ILEAD U just started, but a team of Year One ILEAD U participants and the model program they developed were the subject of a lengthy article in the Peoria Journal Star newspaper this week.

Congratulations to featured representatives Nancy Scott, head librarian at Eureka Public Library; Ann Reeves, associate director of the Eureka library; Shane Howard, public service manager at Farmington Public Library; Karen Bersche, director of Towanda District Library; and Ruth Shasteen, librarian at Central A&M High School.
News, Social Computing
Library News Shared on Twitter
March 7th, 2011 | Permalink | Comment?

If you follow WebJunction’s Twitter feed, you won’t learn what they had for lunch or who were their Oscar picks. Instead, you’ll get links to stories of libraries and the profession in the news, and new online resources they think are worth checking out—all in bite-sized (140-character) chunks.

They also read the tweets of many other library organizations and librarians, and pass along those that will be relevant to WJ readers. The hashtag #libs4jobs is used to mark posts about libraries supporting job seekers, which are fed to the Workforce Resources section of WebJunction Illinois. And, during online conferences, attendees use #wjconf to tag their tweets from the sessions. So, if you already have joined Twitter, you can become one of the 1,400+ followers. If you are new to Twitter, we hope WebJunction’s feed will give you a reason to try it out.
Library Systems, News
Library Systems Update: Merger Fact Sheet for Northern Systems
March 7th, 2011 | Permalink | Comment?

A Merger Fact Sheet has been created to provide general information regarding the merger of the Alliance Library System (ALS), DuPage Library System (DLS), Metropolitan Library System (MLS), North Suburban Library System and Prairie Area Library System (PALS).

The who, what, when, where and how of the merger are succinctly addressed in this colorful and informative resource.
Marketing, News
OCLC Publishes Results from Geek the Library Awareness Campaign
February 4th, 2011 | Permalink | Comment?

Information from OCLC Member Update

A new OCLC membership report, Geek the Library: A Community Awareness Campaign, provides a comprehensive overview of the pilot community awareness campaign conducted in partnership with nearly 100 libraries in Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
The community awareness campaign, designed to highlight the value of public libraries and inform the public about critical library funding issues, positively changed community perceptions about libraries.

The report findings indicate that the campaign not only grabs residents’ attention, but that it helps change public perceptions about library funding. The campaign gets people talking about libraries and helps libraries connect with their communities to engage in important funding conversations.

Exposure to the campaign, through advertising, public relations and other communication vehicles, led many residents to take positive action in support of public libraries. Many residents surveyed for the study said they had or would visit the library or library Web site, visit geekthelibrary.org, talk to family and friends about the library or about the campaign, and some were more likely to vote for a library referendum.
Continuous Learning, Information Literacy, News
Register Now for Information Literacy Summit
February 2nd, 2011 | Permalink | Comment?
Register now for the 10th Annual Information Literacy Summit!

This year’s theme, “Inspiring Creativity,” asks us to connect creativity with the role of libraries, librarians, and information literacy. Randy Hensley, Professor and Head of Instruction of Newman Library, Baruch College, City University of New York, will be the keynote speaker at all three Summit locations.

DATES/TIMES/LOCATIONS
- Monday, April 18 — Illinois State University (Normal)
- Tuesday, April 19 — Moraine Valley Community College (Palos Hills)
- Wednesday, April 20 — John A. Logan College (Carterville)
Breakfast & check-in begins at 8:30
Program 9:00-3:30

COST

$35 (includes breakfast, lunch and materials)

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
- Librarians who are involved with teaching and learning in almost any aspect. Academic, school, public and special librarians attend.
- Teachers and other educators who want to discuss information literacy, student research and student use of information.
CPDUs available.

More information at www.morainevalley.edu/infolitsummit.
Library Systems, News
Northern and Central Library Systems Vote to Merge
February 2nd, 2011 | Permalink | Comment?

Article courtesy of DLS Here and Now

The boards of five northern and central Illinois library systems voted in January to merge into a single library system effective July 1, 2011. The agreement was approved by the boards of the Alliance Library System, DuPage Library System, Metropolitan Library System, North Suburban Library System, and the Prairie Area Library System. The proposed new system will provide services to more than 1,500 public, private, university, and school library members.

Due to the State of Illinois’ unprecedented fiscal crisis, library system management and boards, together with the Illinois State Library, are seeking ways of creating a more sustainable model for system services. This consolidation of five systems will reduce administrative costs, streamline operations, and improve the coordination of resource sharing services.

“Illinois library systems have been a leader in providing library services across the state for many years,” said Su Erickson, Chair of the Merger Design Team. “The merged system, through cooperation and collaborative efforts, will continue to provide these critical services to libraries and their users in the future.”

The financial condition of library systems continues to improve due to the receipt of recent payments from the State of Illinois. In November 2010, library systems received the full balance of FY2010 payments. In January 2011, systems received the first payment from the state for FY2011 (July 2010 – June 2011), amounting to approximately 35% of the total appropriations for the fiscal year.

“As members of the Illinois library community, we must seek to ensure the strength and duration of our foundation of interlibrary cooperation,” stated Anne Craig, Director of the Illinois State Library. “Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White supports library services in the strongest manner possible. He continues to champion library grant programs at a time when competition for each dollar is intense.”

In 2010, a Merger Design Team was formed and is currently developing a FY2012 operational plan and a long range plan for delivering library services through FY2015. The Team is working closely with the Illinois State Library to complete the merger process, which requires the approval of Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White.

Library systems are critical to the state’s library services. Each year, systems deliver more than 30 million books and other materials that are loaned to library users statewide. The online catalogs for more than 800 Illinois libraries are operated by library systems and are used to circulate more than 45 million library resources throughout the state. Library systems also serve all 102 Illinois counties with Talking Book Program services for Illinois residents unable to read conventional print material due to a visual or physical disability.
Continuous Learning, New @ WJ-IL, News, Online Learning, Resource Sharing
New WJIL Course: Essential Elements of Interlibrary Loan
January 24th, 2011 | Permalink | Comment?
WebJunction Illinois is pleased to announce the addition of a new LibraryU course to the WJIL Catalog. Essential Elements of Interlibrary Loan is a customized course for Illinois libraries authored and developed by Kate Boyle (Metropolitan Library System) and Laura Frizol (LaSalle Public Library). After completing this course the learner should be able to…
- Define Interlibrary Loan
- Discuss the ILLINET Interlibrary Loan Code
- Discuss Interlibrary Loan Policies – Do you have one? What should be included?
- Discuss ILL Borrowing Practices – What are your responsibilities when you are requesting an item?
- Discuss ILL Lending Practices – What are your responsibilities when you are lending an item to another library?
- Discuss Photocopies and Copyright Compliance – What are your responsibilities when you are requesting a photocopy?
In addition to the primary content, this free online course includes value added helpful resources such as a flip book of the ILLINET Interlibrary Loan code, presentations on how to write an ILL policy, interactive content reviews and screencasts of various ILL procedures.

Enroll now and find out more about the Essential Elements of Interlibrary Loan in Illinois! Be sure that you are logged into WJIL before clicking on the course links. Only those who are registered WJIL users logged into the site will see the course listed at $0.
Continuous Learning, News, Technology
Computers in Libraries 2011 Discount
January 17th, 2011 | Permalink | Comment?

A group discount is being offered to ILLINET member libraries for the Computers in Libraries 2011, to be held at the Hilton Washington in Washington D.C., from March 21 – March 23. A special rate of $249 is being offered for the three-day event, more than 50 percent off the regular price. In addition, the Internet@Schools East Conference 2011 is running concurrently and is being offered at the discount price of $109. No discount rates are available for the pre or post-conference seminars and workshops. For more information regarding conference topics, a preliminary program, hotel information and exhibitors list, log on to the web site.

To receive a registration form with special discounted ILLINET member pricing, contact Jill Heffernan at jheffernan@ilsos.net or call 217-557-3386. To receive the discount, a completed registration form must be returned to Jill by February 15.

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News

Continuous Learning, News

Project Compass Workshops in Illinois

Library Systems, News

What’s In a Name?

ILEAD U, News

ILEAD U Featured in Peoria Journal Star Article

News, Social Computing

Library News Shared on Twitter

Library Systems, News

Library Systems Update: Merger Fact Sheet for Northern Systems

Marketing, News

OCLC Publishes Results from Geek the Library Awareness Campaign

Continuous Learning, Information Literacy, News

Register Now for Information Literacy Summit

Library Systems, News

Northern and Central Library Systems Vote to Merge

Continuous Learning, New @ WJ-IL, News, Online Learning, Resource Sharing

New WJIL Course: Essential Elements of Interlibrary Loan

Continuous Learning, News, Technology

Computers in Libraries 2011 Discount