APL Book Brigade in competition

At yesterday's statewide book-cart drill team competition, APL's Bookcart Brigade scored an Honorable Mention. Some of us thought they deserved better for their excellent performance, but we might possibly be biased. Nevertheless, they collected a lot of cheers, won a gift certificate from sponsor Demco, and had some fun. We're very proud!

2009 State Legislative Day

Every Winter, librarians and library supporters from around the state descend on the State Capitol in Madison for an exercise called "Library Legislative Day." Several of us from APL will be there, with appointments to visit members of the Assembly and State Senate. It's an opportunity to get to know out elected state officials and acquaint them with library concerns.

Let's be real: nobody expects significant funding increases in this environment. Our library does not receive direct state funding, though we benefit from lots of programs. But what it comes down to is making sure first that legislators know what we do and why it's important, and then how the state legislatures actions fit into our services.

The following legislative agenda was developed by the Wisconsin Library Associations Library Development & Legislation Committee, and approved by the full association. On Jan. 20, our Board of Trustees endorsed the agenda, with seven votes in favor, one trustee opposed and one abstaining from the vote.

WLA State Legislative Agenda
For the 2009-11 Biennium

The Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), established in 1891, unites and supports people from all types of libraries to develop and advocate for dynamic, responsive Wisconsin libraries. Our 2,000 members, including librarians, libraries, library trustees, and friends from across the state, share this common purpose.

Legislative Priorities for 2009 Legislative Action

• Increase state funding for public library system aids to 13% of local library expenditures, as specified in Wisconsin statutes.
• Support expanded funding for BadgerLink resources.
• Preserve the use of the Universal Service Fund for BadgerLink and other library services.
• Increase funding necessary to support traditional service levels for state contracts:
• Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped
• Cooperative Children's Book Center
• Wisconsin Library Services (WiLS) and
• Milwaukee Public Library/Interlibrary Loan
• Support funding for statewide delivery of library materials.
  
• Support increased funding of the University of Wisconsin System libraries.
• Support funding for the UW Digital Commons Initiative.
• Support the statutory use of the Common School Fund.
• Support the need for libraries to have access to sufficient bandwidth.
• Support public library district enabling legislation.
• Support the Wisconsin State Law Library and the Milwaukee County and Dane County Legal Resource libraries.
• Oppose any proposals that mandate a specific percentage of funding for educational institutions be spent on classroom instruction.
• Support access to government publications/documents.
• Support full funding for the Wisconsin Historical Society Library.
• Support updated standards for school library media centers.
• Support the employment of at least one full-time certified school library media specialist and appropriate support staff in every school; support additional professional staff and support staff in schools of 650 students or more.
• Support the employment of at least one full-time instructional technology professional and appropriate support staff in every school; support additional professional staff and support staff in schools of 650 students or more.
• Continue to promote the importance of publicly-funded free and open access to library materials to all Wisconsin citizens.
• Support continuation of maintenance of effort funding levels by local units of government as a requirement for public library system membership.
  

Legislative Policy Statements

The Wisconsin Library Association affirms:

• That library services address essential informational, educational, cultural, and recreational needs for Wisconsin residents and merit strong legislative support.
• That the state’s libraries, by providing lifelong learning opportunities, make a significant contribution to the quality of life for all Wisconsin residents.
• That the state’s libraries through a statewide knowledge network provide essential information resources for the state’s economic development.
• That the state’s libraries, through multiple cooperative arrangements, serve as models for regional and statewide cooperation.
• That the state’s librarians provide Wisconsin residents with the essential information services they need to succeed at school, at work, and in their personal lives.

The Wisconsin Library Association supports state legislative policy that:

• Ensures that all the people of Wisconsin have the broadest possible access to information resources and materials.
• Preserves the fundamental principle of publicly funded free and open access to library materials and services.
• Ensures privacy in the use of library materials and services.
• Strongly supports the development of collections and resources for libraries of all types.
• Broadens the availability of communications technology for educational and information resources.
• Promotes regional and statewide sharing of library and information resources.
• Supports strong statewide leadership for library development and cooperation.

The Wisconsin Library Association opposes state legislative policy that:

• Restricts access by the state’s residents to information resources and materials.
• Affects local and state taxing options that could have an adverse affect on libraries.
• Intrudes on the privacy of library users.
• Interferes with the right of local public library boards to independently determine local library policy, staffing, and services based on community standards.

Project Play @ WLA

I'm missing the state library conference -- durn it. But I'm glad to be able to follow some things on the WLA Blog. One presentation I would've enjoyed was the one about Project Play. Not surprisingly, however, Beth Carpenter has nicely blogged the presentation. The whole thing's worth reading as a nice summary of the program, but the slideshow and video are great for a quick overview.


Check out the full post -- lots of great links. Thanks again to Beth, Joy and Stef!

Jamie LaRue's Vision Keynote: the 21st century library needs to be community-centric

Jamie LaRue is Director of the Douglas County Libraries in Colorado and author of The New Inquisition: Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges. Last week he keynoted Wisconsin’s "Strategic Visioning Summit on the Future of the Library." The following notes are a mixture of what I jotted down at the time and points he reiterates on his blog.

His presentation covered four themes, six trends, five numbers that matter, and two big ideas:

Four themes:

• save our stories
• libraries mean business
• libraries make citizens
• family literacy

Six trends:

• self-service
• merchandising
• emergent literacy
• community reference
• convergence of libraries and museums
• passing the torch

Five numbers that matter (especially as statistical trends):

• staff / 1,000 served
• total expenditures per capita
• library visits per capita
• circulation per capita
• program attendance per capita

Two big ideas:

• statewide library card
• public library districts

He noted:

the Colorado library card idea was actually easy enough to do (aside from politics!), and cost almost nothing. The library district has been clearly shown to be the most effective kind of public library, because it ties the funding to the actual users.

LaRue included several useful observations along the way, such as “every library employee believes themselves to be a graphic design wizard -- they are wrong; libraries need to require consistent use of fonts, graphics and colors" and "if you want to move materials, build displays, not bibliographies." In support of community reference, he encouraged libraries to put reference librarians into the community and let paraprofessional staff handle the 84% of reference questions that don't need a librarian.

"Easy enough (aside from politics!)" -- I like the optimism of that. One more: "The library should be the hearthstone around which storytellers gather."

The final report of the Strategic Visioning Summit will be released later this year.

WAPL Conference Notes: an index to blog entries

The 2008 Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries Conference was held in Stevens Point on April 30th-May 2nd. Several members of WAPL and the WLA Media and Technology Section (MATS) have blogged the conference, reporting on many individual programs. These included Joy Schwarz, Michael Golrick and myself on the WLA Blog, Tasha Saecker on Sites & Soundbytes, and Nichole Fromm on nichole's auxiliary storage . Michael has also posted on his Thoughts from a Library Administrator.

See also the Post Conference Resources page for handouts, etc. -- includes some great PowerPoints!

Sessions blogged:

• Keynote: The Economic Impact of Wisconsin Public Libraries (Saecker)
• Keynote: The Economic Impact of Wisconsin Public Libraries (Golrick)
• Investment Returns: Using the Public Library Economic Impact Study Results in Your Library (Saecker)
• Investment Returns: Using the Public Library Economic Impact Study Results in Your Library (Golrick)
• Digitization of Local History Materials: LSTA Success Stories (Fromm)
• Imagine That: Intergenerational Storytelling with People with Dementia (Dawson)
  
• Unintended Consequences: Traditional Library Practices as Barriers (Saecker)
• Where Are We Going? Strategic Planning for Results (Golrick)
• "One Book, One Community" Programs: the Do's and Don'ts (Dawson)
• Jay Rath: The Writer's Real Life, or Be Your Own Boss! Work at Home and Pray for Universal Coverage (Saecker)
• Jay Rath: The Writer's Real Life, or Be Your Own Boss! Work at Home and Pray for Universal Coverage (Golrick)
• Continuing Education in Your Pajamas-New Technologies Bring New Opportunities (Golrick)
  
• Continuing Education in Your Pajamas-New Technologies Bring New Opportunities (Dawson)
• MySpace - Don’t Be Intimidated By It! Can It Work For Your Library? (Schwarz)
  
• MySpace - Don’t Be Intimidated By It! Can It Work For Your Library? (Saecker)
• Have You Heard About... (Golrick) & the del.icio.us page of resources
• Have You Heard & Be the Boss of Your Browser (Saecker)
  
• Notable Genre Book Discussion (and bonus Have You Heard...) (Fromm)
• Dick Bennett: "The Rule Rather Than the Exception" (Golrick)
  

LSTA: allocating federal funds

I'm two days in Madison for the Spring meeting of Wisconsin's LSTA Advisory committee, which advises the Department of Public Instruction on allocation of federal grant funds. The annual appropriation of funds for Library Services and Technology Act, under Wisconsin's five year plan, has the committee reviewing DPI staff proposals and making recommendations for grant categories and amounts. Each state has its own allotment, based on population, and its own approved plan and distribution of the funds. The program overview of Wisconsin's LSTA info on the web notes:

The LSTA funds in the states grants program provide seed money for projects that improve library services throughout the United States. The program is designed to ensure that everyone can have the information resources they need for school, work, and daily living.

Funds in the LSTA state grants program can be used

• to improve library services through the use of technology
• to encourage libraries to establish consortia and share resources, and
• to target library services to persons having difficulty using a library and to underserved urban and rural communities.

Some states may use all their federal funds for statewide programs, but I like the balance we strive for in Wisconsin. With a bit over $3,000,000 to allocate, some of it is designated to support statewide programs, some of it is allocated to library systems, and some is designated for competitive grants for systems and individual libraries. There's a list of this year's Wisconsin grants on the state website.

Naturally, any time you strive for balance, there will be strife in determining that balance. Grant funds supporting literacy projects, disability access, digitization and innovations in library automation fall short of needs and requests. As a public librarian, I appreciate state and system level support, but would like to see more of the funds designated as competitive grants to individual public libraries.

Wisconsin makes a good effort, bringing together a cross-section of the state library community in our Advisory Committee to debate allocations in the Spring and make grant recommendations in the fall. The final determination is in the hands of the elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction, but the opinions of many who volunteer to review grants and the Advisory Committee are given a lot of weight.

There are tremendous disagreements, and good professional arguments. This is my third and final year on the committee, and though it is difficult and intense, the time has flown by. I appreciate the work of state staff, especially Peg Branson and Terrie Howe, the LSTA coordinators in the past three years.