Monday Morning Eye-Opener

Good Monday Morning! In Today's EYE-OPENER, June 14th, 2010......

1) Borrow Splashy Wii Games From NWILS

2) Enrich Iowa Agreements Due

3) Monona County Libraries Win Grants

4) Announcements / Reminders This Week

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1) Borrow Splashy Wii Games From NWILS

Whether your summer reading program has already started or yet to begin, how about this idea: Northwest LSA recently purchased some new Wii games that perfectly fit this summer’s theme Make a Splash @ Your Library. Added to Endless Ocean: Dive, Discover, Dream, a game purchased last year, we now have:

¨ Big Beach Sports

¨ Water Sports

¨ Kawasaki Jet Ski / Summer Sports (2 for 1 pack)

¨ Endless Ocean: Blue World

¨ Fishing Master World Tour

Northwest LSA purchased a Wii game system last spring and it’s checked out briskly to area libraries ever since. At the moment, it’s here in our office waiting to be checked out.

This would make a great cooperative program for all libraries in a county or adjoining counties—one can reserve it and others in the vicinity can pick it up without the shipping and insurance costs—we’re cool with that! Better yet, plan joint programs and gaming days among your county libraries.

Any Northwest library is welcome to borrow these games from us, just let us know the dates you’d like to reserve them. At the moment, we have the game system hardware here, too, waiting for the next borrower. Find the borrowing policy and reservation form on NWILS website http://www.nwils.lib.ia.us/spcollendpol/wiirental


2) Enrich Iowa Agreements Due

June 25 is the deadline for libraries to sign up for ENRICH IOWA. Summer is the annual sign-up period for ENRICH IOWA, which includes 3 distinct programs:

¨ Open Access

¨ ILL Reimbursement

¨ Direct State Aide

Open Access reimburses libraries for checking out materials to people outside their own city or county. ILL Reimbursement subsidizes the cost of lending books through SILO. And Direct State Aid rewards libraries for meeting service standards. All 3 programs comprising ENRICH IOWA are administered by the State Library.

Note: This year, the State Library is not mailing paper copies of the sign-up form or the terms of agreement. You can find it all on this webpage
http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/enrich-ia The ENRICH IOWA sign-up is a simple 1-page form asking for library contact information, a check mark in any or all of the boxes indicating which programs your library will participate in, and a signature (library director’s signature is fine here) Return the completed signed ENRICH IOWA Letter of Agreement by mail to the State Library by June 25. You may also fax the Agreement to 515-281-6191 or email it to Toni Blair at toni.blair@lib.state.ia.us

Northwest LSA joins the State Library in encouraging you to complete this form in a timely way—ENRICH IOWA is too important to you and your neighboring libraries to pass up! Call with questions...


3) Monona County Libraries Win Grants

Three Monona County libraries received grants from the Monona County Community Partners Foundation this spring. Mapleton PL received $1,265.00 to purchase a multimedia projector and portable screen for training and presentations in their meeting room. Whiting PL received $2,706.00 to purchase 2 new computers. And Ute PL received $3,366.00 to purchase a permanent rotating display of Ute/Charter Oak high school classes to preserve town history. Thanks to Meg Polly from Whiting Library for sharing this story—and congrats to all!


4) Meetings / Announcements This Week

Libraries intending to join WILBOR this spring have 5 days left to turn in their Letters of Agreement. WILBOR is a consortium, now 2 years old, providing affordable access to downloadable audio books. Two signed Letters of Agreement are required for new libraries to fully participate; they’re due at Central LSA office in Ankeny by Friday June18. If you need extra copies of the documentation, just let us know. We’ll be glad to have you join WILBOR—and your patrons will be glad for this new service, too!

Northwest AEA and Prairie Lakes AEA are sponsoring their annual TICL Conference: Technology Integration & Instruction for 21st Century Learners. This happens next week, June 21-23, at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. The fee is $75.00 for the full conference, which includes lunch each day. Details on keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and the full schedule is here http://www.ticl-ia.org/Home.html. Jean and I are attending on Tuesday, maybe we’ll see you there!