All Things Halloween

     It’s a creepy week for sure—Happy Halloween! Trick-or-Treat around the world on the web with a stop at Halloween.Com. This is a neat site, complete with links to costumes, decorations, movies, and crafts. Even links here to haunted houses and attractions.


Other spooky sites:

• From Universal Studios: Halloween Horror Night @ http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com// (labeled too intense for children)
• From Readers Digest, Top10 Kid Friendly Halloween Movies @ http://www.rd.com/
• Halloween Is Here @ http://www.halloweenishere.com/
• Halloween Ghost Stories @ http://www.halloweenghoststories.com/
• Short Halloween Stories @ http://www.shorthalloweenstories.com/ (suitable for kids)

     For a bewitching book & movie display, you might have these to contribute from your collection:

Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Frankenstein
Dr. Jeckyll and Mr.Hyde
Dracula
Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Twilight Series
Do Dead People Watch You Shower?
Do Dead People Walk Their Dogs?
Amityville Horror

The Shining
Psycho
The Exorcist
Ghost
Young Frankenstein
Silence of the Lambs

     And this repeat of a neat fundraising idea from Mitchellville Public Library. This year marks their 5th annual Fall-O-Ween Party. For a $5.00 admission, people enjoy a campfire with hot dog roast and marshmallow toast, beverages, hay rides, straw jump, face painting, and a corn maze. All activities are sponsored by Friends of Mitchellville Public Library. Sounds like great fun—and a great program to replicate @ your library this or any Halloween season!

2011 All Iowa Reads Title Announced

     Attendees at the ILA Conference learned about the next All Iowa Reads title. The 2011 selection is Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos. This review comes from Publishers Weekly:


“…this enthralling second novel takes the reader by storm as Hope Jones, Nebraska mother of three, is whisked away by a 1978 tornado, her body never found. The novel opens 25 years later, when Hope's children—grown but not grown up—gather for their father's funeral after he's killed by a lightning strike.

Llewelyn's death is one of many quandaries haunting his children: daughter Larken, an overweight professor beset by fear of flying; son Gaelan, a television weatherman with too many women in his life; and the youngest, Bonnie, who stays in Emlyn Springs working odd jobs. Alvina Viney Closs, Hope's best friend, also has issues to resolve.



Themes of family bonds and conflicts, secrets and sorrows also marked Kallos's debut novel (Broken For You) and this time she weaves in an idiosyncratic view of the role of the dead in the lives of the living, sharp takes on business, academic and sexual politics, and a palpable empathy for small Midwestern towns. This novel will find a welcome audience in anyone who has experienced grief, struggled with family ties or, most importantly, appreciates blossoming talent..”

      Sing Them Home is the second novel from Kallos. At the Iowa Center for the Book website, you can read more about the author and very soon, you’ll find discussion questions for Sing Them Home to aid your local book groups.

     The book is currently available in paperback, CD, and downloadable audio versions; a large print edition is expected by January 1st. As in years past, NWILS office should receive multiple copies of Sing Them Home in various formats to lend to Northwest libraries—we’ll let you know when those arrive!

Funding Webinar For Rural Libraries

     The ALA Washington Office will host a webinar to assist rural libraries with pursuing funding opportunities from the U.S. Dept of Agriculture (USDA)

     The webinar happens this Friday Oct29 at 1:00PM central time. Reps from the USDA and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, along with the CEO from e-Copernicus, a Washington consulting firm with expertise in broadband connectivity, will all participate.

     Presenters will discuss 3 USDA programs that have funds available expressly for rural libraries to tap: (a) Distance Learning & Telemedicine (b) Community Facilities and (c) Community Connect. iLink Communications powers this online program. To learn more about this webinar—and to register—click here: https://ala.ilinc.com/perl/ilinc/lms/register.pl?activity_id=xyvbmfs&user_id

Summer Library Workshops Start Next Week

As winter approaches, it can be comforting to turn our thoughts to spring—and certainly summer—when a new Summer Library Program kicks into gear. Two themes will be in play for 2011: “One World, Many Stories” for the children’s program and “You Are Here” for the teen program.


Workshops this fall are coordinated by Merri Monks, newly hired Youth Services Consultant at the State Library. This year’s presenters are Missy Mayfield-Cook (Winthrop P.L.) and Cathy Shaw (Edgewood P.L.) Workshops get underway next week and continue around the state through November 5. Some locations might be closer than others, so here’s a look at the complete schedule:

• Week of October 25…
Tuesday Oct26 = Marshalltown
Wednesday Oct27 = Oelwein
Thursday Oct28 = Coralville
Friday Oct29 = Oskaloosa

• Week of November 1…
Tuesday Nov2 = Red Oak
Wednesday Nov3 = Johnston
Thursday Nov4 = Cherokee
Friday Nov5 = Clear Lake

Find all location details and times in the c.e. catalog—register there, too!

E-Books Coming to WILBOR

In late September, WILBOR libraries received a survey asking about your interest in adding e-books—and more importantly—asking about your library’s ability to contribute additional money to make it happen.

The votes are in. With over 100 libraries in the WILBOR Consortium, 85 answered yes to e-books. Now it’s a matter of securing additional money.

This is taking time because it’s complicated: we don’t want to jeopardize the strength of the audio book collection to bring in a new format. Plus, this move to e-books will cost participants more money. So...our next steps...

We’re writing an addendum to the current contracts for WILBOR libraries. Essentially, the contract addendum will outline an e-book pricing model for those libraries that can pay extra. All other libraries not contributing extra money via the formula should still expect to pay a very modest $1.00-per-circ fee for each e-book downloaded by their patrons. The coming contractual addendum will explain; look for that in late October.

Once WILBOR participants sign and return the contracts, e-books will magically begin to appear in the collection by December. Just in time for Christmas! Are e-book readers on anyone’s shopping list this holiday season? Look for more after ILA…call with questions.

Geek The Library Goes National!

About 1 year ago, a public awareness campaign called “Geek the Library” aimed to raise awareness of the public library’s value in the community—and to raise support for library funding. It started as a pilot project, targeting selected libraries in Iowa and Georgia. Sponsored by OCLC and fueled by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Geek the Library has gone national. Which means that any public library in the country can tap into professionally developed campaign resources to use locally.

In this context, the word “geek” is used as a verb and meant to convey something you love doing, something you’re really passionate about. The campaign website shows library users and high-profile celebrities in ads and posters declaring their favorite things. Actor Brian Dennehy, for example, geeks schooners. I geek the Packers (although not lately!)

Geek the Library campaign website is rich with images, social networking features, promo materials, video clips and more. There are also quizzes that reinforce the state of funding for libraries, demonstrating how tax dollars spent on library service proves such a smart investment. And it’s all available to use @ your library. Spend some time here and begin using these materials for your own PR purposes! It’s all here http://www.geekthelibrary.org/

Monday Morning Eye-Opener 8/16/10

1) Early Bird Award to Spirit Lake

2) Annual Report Tip Regarding WILBOR Titles

3) 13Things Class #3 Favorite Blogs

4) Announcements / Office Hours This Week


1) Early Bird Award to Spirit Lake

Annual report season is officially open—hooray for that time of year, right?! Electronic filing via WebCollect opened a few weeks ago. And it’s safe to say that Spirit Lake Library wins the 2010 early bird filing award. At least Spirit Lake’s is the first report our office received in paper copy. If only we had a prize—I guess knowing yours was the first annual report completed is its own reward!

This should come as no surprise for a library that has benefited from the dedication of Linda Bolluyt as director. This month, Linda celebrates 30 years at Spirit Lake Library. Congratulations, Linda, on an impressive career milestone!



2) Annual Report Tip Regarding WILBOR Titles

Back to annual reports—if you are among the WILBOR libraries, you’ll be glad for this tip. When filling out the annual report, WILBOR libraries can count WILBOR audio books as part of your collection only if you have added the MARC records to your own catalog.

Here are the numbers to report:
WILBOR audio book holdings of 3,962. WILBOR audio book titles of 2,910.

Every WILBOR library can count downloaded audio book circs in the circulation section of the report. For your library’s circ stats, check your account information via Content Reserve. Thanks to Karen Burns on the WILBOR Team and Scot Dermont with the State Library for relaying these stats!


3) 13Things Class #3 Favorite Blogs
Northwest LSAs new online series called “13Things” is underway—2 sessions complete, 11 more to go. So there’s still plenty of opportunities to join our conversation about using web tools in the library to change the way we work.

Class #3 is this Thursday August 19. The focus is blogs, but not in the way you might think. No expectation here that you’ll begin your own blog—unless you want to! While we will make quick mention of some blog builders, the real focus is on finding favorite blogs to read to stay current and connected on the job.

Two speakers this week help you get started with finding favorite blogs: Sue Kroesche with Le Mars P.L. and Becky Bilby with Orange City P.L. Both Sue and Becky are blog lovers, writing their own but reading many more. They’ll share their favorites and open a discussion about this technique to keep current and find enjoyable, valuable, professional reading.

For 13Things or any other online class, we truly urge you to pre-register in the c.e. catalog. Registering ensures that you receive follow-up emails with important class information, as well as the link to the Adobe classroom. In addition, we’ve created a dedicated website to help wrangle everything associated with this series, from the schedule to background reading, homework assignments, and speaker biographies. Attendees will be directed to this website in each class.

Join us Thursday for “Finding Favorite Blogs,” episode 3 of 13Things!



4) Announcements / Office Hours This Week

The Reorganization Committee meets again on Wednesday August 18 at Pleasant Hill Public Library. This committee is studying ways to redesign library support services in Iowa, those services you’ve come to know from the LSAs and the State Library. 9:30AM start time.

Episode #3 of 13Things is this Thursday August 19, online in NWILS Adobe Classroom, 9:30-11:00AM. Please pre-register in the c.e. catalog.

And with a lot of road-tripping this week, office hours are shortened nearly every day: Office hours for the week of August 16:

Monday 8:00—1:00
Tuesday 8:00—1:00
Wednesday 8:00—1:00
Thursday 8:00—5:00
Friday 8:00—5:00

Monday Morning Eye-Opener 6/28/10

Good Morning and Happy 4th of July! In EYE-OPENER …

1) Input Sought for Reorganization Study
2) Time Well Spent @ AEA Tech Conference
3) Schaller Library Wins Grant
4) Meetings / Announcements This Week
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1) Input Sought for Reorganization Study

Work is well underway for the Reorganization Committee, a study group called by the legislature to restructure the delivery of library support services. These are the services you’re familiar with from the LSAs and the State Library.

The Reorganization Committee met on June 8 in Pleasant Hill and will be back there again on July 7. Leading up to the next meeting, the Committee is seeking input from the larger library community into what you consider to be essential support services critical to retaining in a new service model. Late last week, you should have received an email with this explanation, along with a link to a Survey Monkey. The survey link is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H7TDY3Q

You may have received this message a few times and if so, excuse the duplication. But this is an important effort and your opinion will be a valuable part of this process. Despite duplicate messages, answer the survey only once; it will remain open until July 2. From Northwest LSA, thank you for completing the survey!

2) Time Well Spent @ AEA Tech Conference

Jean and I could only attend one day, but without question, it was a day well spent! Last week’s Technology Integration Conference, sponsored annually by Northwest AEA and Prairie Lakes AEA, brings in national educators like Scott McLeod, Annette Lamb, and Elliot Soloway as keynote speakers. K-12 faculty from Iowa schools, along with AEA staff, fill in dozens of breakout sessions over the 3-day conference in Storm Lake.

We found so many applications to public libraries! Here are some websites we learned about in connection to the various sessions we attended. Most were new to us…are you aware of:

www.p21.org Partnership for 21st Century Skills developed by educators and business partners to prepare students for a 21st century workforce.

www.readwritethink.org Read-Write-Think includes podcasts that engage kids with books about silly subjects. Also instructs kids about what to say in their online profiles—and what NOT to say.

http://www.greatachievements.org/ Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century. Given my thing for historic milestones, this is a cool discovery for me. And a neat site to visit when you’re in the need for displays, bulletin boards, programming ideas, newsletters, or website news.


www.funbrain.com Part of the Family Education Network, Fun Brain packages teacher resources, parenting advice, homework help, and educational games galore for kids ages K-8.

www.iwaswondering.org A project of the National Academy of Sciences, I Was Wondering is an especially great website for girls, promoting women’s achievements in science.

www.generationcures.org This site is pretty amazing. “…Generation Cures is a kid-led, parent-enabled community all about kids helping other kids. Through original animation, games, and kid-produced videos, children learn how they really can make a difference. Families then turn ideas into action by gaming for good or creating their own fundraiser through this site. Money raised supports Boston’s Children's Hospital in world-changing research, helping kids across the globe…”



3) Schaller Library Wins Grant

In early May, Schaller Public Library learned it had received a $1,000.00 grant from Wal-Mart in Storm Lake. The grant was awarded in conjunction with the Storm Lake store’s reopening ceremony. Library Director Barb Jorgensen says the library will spend the money on 2 new tables and a new computer for kids. Thanks to Barb for sharing this story—and congrats on the grant!

4) Meetings / Announcements This Week

Northwest LSA Board meets tomorrow June 29 at NWILS office in Sioux City. The meeting begins at 10:00AM; the agenda is posted here
http://www.nwils.lib.ia.us/Archive/folder/juneflder/junebrdmtg

The next Career Reading Roundtable is this Wednesday June 30. The title up for discussion this time is The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Pat Dawson is leading the discussion from 9:00—11:00AM. It’s online in Northwest LSA’s Adobe Classroom.

NOTE: Because July 4th lands on Sunday, NWILS office takes Monday July 5 as the holiday. The following Monday July 12 is a furlough day, so on both July 5 and 12, NWILS office will be closed. Which also means the EYE-OPENER goes on hiatus; EYE-OPENER will be back again on July 19. Have a great 4th of July bash!

Questions or comments? E-mail us at bmckewon@siouxlan.net or call 712-255-2939.

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

*************

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!

Monday Morning Eye-Opener 5/24/2010

Good Monday Morning! In EYE-OPENER …

1) Make a Splash with Wii Games
2) Sign Up for ENRICH IOWA
3) It’s WILBOR Time
4) Meetings / Announcements This Week

____________________________________

1) Make a Splash with Wii Games

With summer library programs about to begin, why not make a programming splash with Wii games? Some libraries have Wii game systems, thanks to grants or friendly neighborhood Friends Groups. But if your library hasn’t acquired one yet, you can borrow a Wii, along with 4 games, from Northwest Library Services.

Northwest LSA purchased a Wii game system last spring and it’s checked out briskly to area libraries since. We retrieved it at JAMBOREE, so at the moment, it’s here in the office waiting to go out again. The Wii rents for $10.00 (plus postage and shipping insurance as needed) Libraries can rent the game system and 4 games:

MarioKart

WiiSports (tennis, baseball, golf, bowling, boxing)

Rayman Raving Rabbids

Endless Ocean - Dive. Discover. Dream

Endless Ocean will fit right into this year’s summer library theme “Make a Splash @ Your Library!” 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.

Find more explanation and NWILS rental policy on our website here

http://www.nwils.lib.ia.us/spcollendpol/wiirental

2) Sign Up for ENRICH IOWA

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 program comprising ENRICH IOWA are administered by the State Library

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 from in a timely way—ENRICH IOWA is too important to you and your neighboring libraries to pass up! Call with questions...

3) It’s WILBOR Time

This is a story that bears repeating because the time is now! Time to spring into action and join WILBOR in this open enrollment window. Two years old and growing, WILBOR is a consortium providing affordable access to downloadable audio books. The consortium is managed by Central, Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast LSAs; the vendor is OverDrive. In two years, WILBOR has grown to over 100 participating libraries and the collection has grown to over 3,000 titles.

Here’s the skinny: the annual base price is $300.00 plus 10cents per annual circulation of audio books in FY’09. In addition, there is a one-time setup fee of $500.00 assessed by OverDrive. The operative word here is a one-time fee. In subsequent years, the annual price drops back to the $300.00 formula. Libraries must commit to staying with the consortium for at least 18 months.

Service for new participants goes live on July 1. Two letters of agreement are required to be signed and returned to Central Library Services by June 18. Northwest LSA has copies of both letters of agreement, along with a cover letter explaining the conditions for joining.

We’ll provide promotional bookmarks and hook you up with websites for technical support. OverDrive will offer webinars and Northwest LSA staff and those on our consulting team will provide plenty of assistance, too. So make this the year to join 41 other Northwest participating libraries—and over 100 in the Consortium. Join WILBOR and provide a great new service for your community!

4) Meetings / Announcements This Week

Northwest LSA Board meeting tomorrow, May 25, this time at Lake View Public Library. The agenda is posted on NWILS website; area libraries are welcome to attend.

And speaking of WILBOR and audio books, how about this timely news from the folks at Booklist: there’s a webinar on June 8 at 2:00PM CST called “Now Hear This: Audio Books A-Z.” In this informative hour-long webinar, Booklist Media editor Sue Ellen Beauregard will be joined by audiobook expert Mary Burkey, as well as representatives from Books on Tape/Listening Library, BBC Audiobooks America, and HighBridge Audio, for an exciting discussion of audiobooks. Discussion will include the latest titles featuring popular readers, how to integrate audiobooks into book club promotions, finding crossover titles that fit the bill for summer listening, and much, much more.

Find registration links on NWILS website here http://www.nwils.lib.ia.us/Archive/folder/juneflder/trn

After the cruelest of winters, it’s great to welcome the official start to summer! Next Monday May 31 is Memorial Day; NWILS office will be closed. The following Monday June 7 is a furlough day due to state budget cuts, so NWILS office will also be closed on June 7. This means that Monday Morning Eye-Opener will be back on June 14. Enjoy the Memorial Holiday kickoff to summertime!