Library Advocacy Day at ALA!

Are you going to ALA? Have you always wanted to share with legislators your library's stories?
Please join your Wisconsin colleagues in visits to legislators in Washington, DC on June 29. Let's demonstrate our support of libraries together.
If you want to join us, please contact Julie Schneider at jschneider@library.wisc.edu

Frances de Usabel Outreach Services Award Applications Due July 1

The Outreach Services Round Table (OSRT) is now accepting applications for the Frances de Usabel Outreach Services Award. This $500 award is presented annually at the WLA Conference to a “library or librarian who has provided exemplary library outreach services to underserved populations."

The award is named in honor of the former Special Needs Consultant for the Wisconsin Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning, Frances de Usabel. Frances worked diligently and successfully to advance outreach services in Wisconsin public libraries for many years. Public, academic, school or special libraries and librarians are all eligible and encouraged to apply for this award.

The application is due Thursday, July 1.

Raise the Visibility of Library Supporters with Easy Campaign Activities

Tony Driessen, WLA Governmental Affairs Advisor, provides a list of 10 easy political campaign activities that can help you build positive relationships with legislators from your area. Some of ideas: Write a short letter to your local paper praising the candidate for his/her work on a specific issue of interest to you. Attend a candidate forum in your area. Invite the candidate to a meeting of a community organization to which you belong. Offer to circulation nomination papers, beginning June 1. Check out the WLA Web site for more great tips from Tony on easy and low-cost ways to support the candidates of your choice and start building important advocacy relationships.

Government Information Day is June 11 in Madison

The WLA's Government Information Round Table (GIRT) will host the annual Government Information Day, Friday, June 11, 9:00 AM to 3:45 PM at UW-Madison, Memorial Library. The program will feature innovative projects in the field of government documents librarianship, along with a presentation on FDSys, the GPO’s new content deliver system that is replace GPO Access.

Hear Chris Brown of the University of Denver demonstrate his program to track online document usage from library catalogs. John Shuler, University of Illinois-Chicago and current chair of the Depository Library Council, will talk about Government Information Online, the only national reference service for government information staffed by library workers. In addition, registrants will have a chance to share what’s happening in their libraries in regard to government information. GIRT will also present the annual Wisconsin Distinguished Document Award.

To register, go to http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/girt/ or http://my.memberclicks.com/wla and click on Events & Registration/2010 Government Information Day.

School Libraries Get $32 Million from Common School Fund

According to DPI's Channel Weekly (5/20/10), on April 26 the Common School Fund (CSF) paid out $32 million to public school districts for the purchase of books, media materials and computer equipment for school libraries. DPI reports that the library aid payments are $25.85 per student for children between the ages of 4 and 20 living in each school district.

For many school districts facing tight budgets, the CSF payments are the main or only source of revenue for the purchase of these library materials. For more information about the CSF, go to http://www.dpi.wi.gov/sfs/comsch.html.

Gays Mills Public Library Part of Village Relocation from Flood Plain

State and federal money will fund costs of relocating the village from a flood plain, including moving the Gays Mills Public Library, according to a USDA blog post. The village flooded extensively in 1978, and again in 2007 and 2008.

The relocated library will be housed in a building that will also include the Village Community Building, Village Offices, Library and Community Kitchen. A USDA Community Facilities Loan of $1,081,500 will help with the relocation of these facilities. The village will also take advantage other grants from federal and state sources.

Maura Otis, library director, says that the design phase is in the very beginning stages at this point, but the project is exciting – and important to the community’s future.

Terry Dawson Receives Outstanding Alumni Award

The University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley Foundation will present Terry Dawson, director of the Appleton Public Library since 1996, with one of two 2010 Outstanding Alumni Awards at commencement ceremonies this Thursday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m.

Terry attended UWFox from 1966 to 1968. During his time on campus he was active in student government and in the effort to bring Dr. Martin Luther King to the campus. He received his B.A. in English from UW-Madison in 1972 and his M.A. in Library Science from UW-Madison in 1975. Since 1996 he has served as Director of the Appleton Public Library. An active and long-time member of the Wisconsin Library Association, he served on and chaired a variety of committees and was elected President of the WLA in 2004.

In addition to his deep devotion to public library services, Dawson has been very actively involved in the Fox Cities community. He has served as President of "Toward Community: Unity in Diversity" and President of the Fox Valley Library Council. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center; Appleton Downtown Inc.; Green Apple Folk Music Society; and IndUS Fox Valley. He serves on the Barlow Planetarium Advisory Committee and the NEW World Cinema Committee. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Appleton and co-chair of the building committee of the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Appleton.

In 1998 Dawson was awarded the MCI Wisconsin Cybrarian of the Year Award. At that time it was said that he has been a leader in the use of computer technology to provide access to information and library services in the Fox Cities. He helped Appleton create the first public library website in Wisconsin and was a part of the initial efforts to form a community network, which ultimately grew into Fox Communities Online, serving as FOCOL Board President in 1995 and as the first webmaster for the City of Appleton.

Dawson met his wife of 40 years, Marsha, while they were students at UWFox. They both continue to regularly support UWFox and can be found serving their culinary specialties as chefs at the annuale.a.t.s. fundraiser for scholarships for needy students enrolled at UWFox.

New Class of WeLead Protégés & Mentors

On Thursday, May 13, six new protégés and mentors met for a WeLead Orientation at the WLA Offices in Madison. The new class was given a formal introduction to WeLead and its efforts to develop the leadership potential of new library professionals. Karen Barr, an instructor from Nicolet College, was on hand to discuss her research on the importance of mentoring in corporate advancement. Everyone in attendance used her tips on successfully fostering a mentor/protégé relationship as a starting point in building an effective mentoring bond.

The protégés and their mentors for 2010-2012 include:

Cynthia Bachhuber, Campus Librarian, Globe University-West Madison, who is paired with Karen Jander, Head of the Serials Dept. at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library

Molly Beverstein, Research Librarian at the architecture/design firm of Cogdell Spencer Erdman, Madison, and her mentor, Mark Rozmarynowski, Library Director, UW-Baraboo, Sauk County

Jennifer McNaughton, a reference librarian at the Hartland Public Library, is being mentored by Marge Loch-Wouters, Youth Services Coordinator of the La Crosse Public Library.

Cheryl Nessman, Head of Technical Services at the Manitowoc Public Library has been paired with Sue Riehl, Technical & Public Services Librarian at the Todd Wehr Library of Carroll University in Waukesha.

Teresa Schmidt, Library Director of the Mercer Public Library in northern Wisconsin, and her mentor, Carol Anderson, Library Director, Spring Green Community Library.

Kelly Wochinske, a librarian at the Milwaukee Public Library, who is being mentored by Leah Langby, Library Development and Youth Services Coordinator, Indianhead Federated Library System, Eau Claire.


WeLead is funded by Embury, Ltd., Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians, Wisconsin Association of Public Librarians, and the WLA Foundation. We thank them for their support.

Milwaukee Public Library Plants Green Roof

Thousands of sedum, chives and grasses were planted across the 30,000 square-foot roof of Milwaukee's Central Library May 7. In a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, Taj Schoening, MPL's business operations manager, said that the green roof will allow rainwater to be collected and stored, rather than running into the city's sewer system. The planting is also expected to double the life expectancy of the flat roof.

Salem Community Library Trustee Not a Fan of Maggie, the Library Cat

Despite objections from Sharon Bower, a village of Twin Lakes trustee who serves on the Salem Community Library Board, Maggie the cat will probably spend her remaining days at the library. On a special diet at 15 years of age, Maggie refused to comment for an article in the Kenosha News and went to nap in the 636s.

Blocking Cell Phones at Oak Creek Public Library?

The Oak Creek Public Library has been discussing options for potentially blocking cell phones inside the library, because of patron complaints about cell phone users. Comments about the plan were mixed.

Library Advocacy Day -- Time to Register!

Are you going to ALA's annual conference? Register now for Library Advocacy Day!

For one year only, Library Advocacy Day (LAD) will replace National Library Legislative Day (NLLD). Register now to attend! For the latest information on LAD, continue to visit the LAD homepage, follow #alalad on Twitter, and visit the Library Advocacy Day pages on ALA Connect.

On June 29, 2010, library advocates from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., will meet at Upper Senate Park on the U.S. Capitol grounds. The event, which will begin at 11 a.m., will feature guest speakers, photo ops, and a chance to cheer on libraries!

After the rally, participants will meet with their elected officials and their staffs. Please get in touch with me if you plan to attend. I'll make the appointments so just email me if you want to share your library stories with our federal legislators in person!
Julie Schneider, jschneider@library.wisc.edu