Work Group to Revise Statewide ILL Guidelines Announced

Resources for Libraries and Lifelong Learning and the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) Resource Sharing Roundtable are convening a statewide working group to revise statewide interlibrary loan guidelines.  Feedback on the current guidelines was solicited through conference presentations and surveys distributed throughout the state in 2011.

The guidelines, which were last revised in 2005, will be reviewed by the working group.  Suggested updates will be shared and input will be gathered from the statewide library community.   The group will read and review the current Wisconsin and American Library Association guidelines and the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States Explanatory Supplement.  Additions, deletions, and changes to the existing guidelines will be recommended and discussed.  New language will be drafted to bring the Wisconsin guidelines up to date. The revised guidelines will be shared as online/electronic documents.  The working group does not anticipate distributing a formal, printed version of the guidelines.

The group will meet four times beginning Friday, February 3, 2012, and will complete the draft revisions by April 30.  It will be presented at the 2012 Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) conference by team members in May.

The working group includes representatives of the Wisconsin library community from around the state, including:

Linda Bailen – Northern Waters Library Service
Maureen Welch – Indianhead Federated Library System
Chris Hamburg – Two Rivers Public Library
Matt Rosendahl – Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College
Angela Milock – Wisconsin Library Services (WiLS)
Fred Marini – Melrose – Mindoro Area School District
Nell Fleming – Wisconsin School for the Deaf
Amelia Osterud – Carroll University
Brian Hanneman – Milwaukee Public Library
Bob Zabkowicz – Wisconsin Department of Corrections
Martha Berninger – Resources for Libraries and Lifelong Learning

For more information on this project, please contact Martha Berninger, Resources for Libraries and Lifelong Learning Director, at martha.berninger@dpi.wi.gov or 608-224-6161 or Christine Barth, Interlibrary Loan Coordinator, at christine.barth@dpi.wi.gov or 608-224-6171.
--DPI's Channel Weekly, Vol. 14, No. 17 -- January 26, 2012

SB 95 Passes Senate

The State Senate passed SB-95 today (see previous blog post about this issue) without amending it to delete the provision that removes the 25 percent limit on computer purchases with Common School Fund dollars. The vote was 17-16 along straight party lines. Senator Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) offered an amendment to remove the Common School Fund part of the bill, and she said that she had been contacted by library media specialists asking for the amendment.

Senator Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), who authored the bill, spoke against the amendment saying that school districts need flexibility with the funds and seemed to believe that digital resources could not be purchased with Common School Fund money. The amendment failed on a voice vote.

SB-95 will now be sent to the Assembly.  There already is an Assembly companion bill, AB-130, in the Committee on Education. That committee failed to pass the bill when it voted in early June. Given the subject matter, SB-95 should go to the same committee, and there could be another vote. Or, either bill could be pulled from the committee through a parliamentary maneuver during a floor session. SB-95 could conceivably be referred to a different committee for further action. At any rate, both the Senate and Assembly must pass the exact same bill before it goes to the governor, and SB-95 has not been through the Assembly.

Stay tuned for more information on this important matter.
--Michael Blumenfeld, Lobbyist, Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association

Penworthy Announces WLA Attendee Sponsorship Award

The Penworthy Company is pleased to announce Julia Davis of Kiel Public Library in Kiel, WI as the winner of our 19th annual WLA Attendee Sponsorship Award. Every year, we award a Wisconsin librarian with a $400 sponsorship award to attend WLA’s annual conference, which holds programs to refresh library services, boost professional skills, and help librarians make connections. Congratulations Julia!

WLA thanks The Penworthy Company for their wonderful support of WLA through this sponsorship and decades of exhibiting at the WLA Conference.

The Penworthy Company makes buying children’s books the pleasure it ought to be® with an exceptional selection, sturdy Penworthy Prebound Books and a level of personal service you can trust. Based in Milwaukee, WI for 29 years, we’re proud to support the librarians in our home state.

Come to Library Legislative Day, Rally for Libraries, March 22

Library Legislative Day has been rescheduled to March 22.  After the morning summary, at 9:30, we will meet at Olin Terrace to gather for the rally.  Our goal is call attention to the proposed cuts to libraries in the upcoming Governor's budget.  This is not a political rally, but a show of support for libraries of all types.  We will have some signs made up for you to use, or bring your own.  We will walk down MLK Jr. Blvd, around the square and into the rotunda.  One or two speakers, then we will break up and meet with our representatives. 

This is our time to highlight the difficulties that the proposed budget will bring to our libraries, our patrons and our communities.  Don't let this chance pass you by.  Show your support.  Ask your Friends groups, board members and patrons to join you. 

Please join us.  If you have questions, contact Lisa Strand @ WLA.

Diana Skalitzky, Marshall Public Library

WLA Warns of Significant Threats to Libraries in Governor Walker’s Budget Proposal

The Wisconsin Library Association warns of significant threats to library service if Governor Walker’s proposed biennial budget is approved. Major reductions in school aids, shared revenue to municipalities and UW System aids will mean reduced access to information and professional librarians in public, K-12 and higher education libraries. Wisconsinites could experience reduced access to job training and search tools, interlibrary loan, legal and health information, and school library materials and computers.

“This budget threatens library service at a time when we should be investing in 21st century information resources for all Wisconsin citizens,” said WLA President Rhonda Puntney.  For instance, 10 percent cuts to BadgerLink, the statewide database of thousands of full text newspapers, journals and other resources, will mean the loss of comprehensive job training and search tools during a time of high unemployment.

Shared revenue cuts and the elimination of fair funding rules for membership in library consortia will likely result in curtailed service at many public libraries, with the closure of smaller libraries also possible.

“WLA acknowledges that many programs must share in the pain as our economy struggles to recover, but it is counterproductive to cut libraries when use is increasing and these institutions have been models of efficiency and resource sharing,” said Puntney.

During the last 5 years, public library visits have increased by more than 10% and loans of library materials have increased 15%. During the same time, the number of paid staff has increased less than 1%, according to statistics reported annually by public libraries to the Department of Public Instruction. Nationally, Wisconsin’s public libraries rank 8th in circulation, but 22nd for total operating revenue and 20th for paid library staff per capita.

In addition to lean times for public libraries, students in K-12 and higher education have also suffered the effects of budget cuts that have reduced professional staff to serve students and print and electronic materials. While librarians across the UW System have cooperated to increase shared collections and therefore reduce costs for all, those efficiencies could be threatened by a plan to spin-off UW-Madison, and potentially UW-Milwaukee, into a separate public authority. A $6 million initiative to boost statewide digital resources and make the UW System more competitive with institutions in other states was also not funded.

WLA asks legislators to restore funding levels to allow libraries to continue to share resources and provide the broadest possible access to information, to help grow Wisconsin’s economy and educate its citizenry.

Congrats to Four Wisconsin Libraries Named LJ's Star Libraries

A belated congratulations to four Wisconsin Libraries named by Library Journal as a "Star Library:" Madison Public, 3 stars, in the $10 million to $29.999 million category; Middleton Public Library, 3 stars, in the $1 million to $4.999 million category; Kilbourn Public Library, Wisconsin Dells, 3 stars, $400,000 to $.999 million category; and the Lettie W. Jensen Public Library, Amherst, 4 stars, $10,000 to $49,999 category. Each of these libraries are members of the South Central Library System.

Post-Election Strategy Session to Be Held at WLA Conference

A budget year, a new governor, a “reconstituted” legislature, continuing revenue shortfalls: 2011 is shaping up to be a very challenging year for promoting a library agenda at both the state and federal level. Come join the WLA’s Library Development & Legislation Committee (LD&L) for a brief overview of election results and how they will impact the legislature's leadership and overall agenda. In this new political landscape, where are the points of commonality with the library community? Get ready for a lively discussion of possible scenarios facing libraries and effective potential responses. Results of this program will inform future WLA legislative strategic planning.

Join Paul Nelson, Adjunct Assistant Professor, SLIS, University of Wisconsin-Madison (WLA Legislative Chair) and Julie Schneider, Director, Ebling Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison (WLA Federal Legislative Advocate), and other legislative committee members for this important session.