2010 LSTA Grants

Wisconsin libraries are encouraged to apply for Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants. Information on the LSTA program and grant categories is available in the LSTA Information and Guidelines for Wisconsin for 2010 . Print copies of the Guidelines can be requested from Terrie Howe, DPI's LSTA and Continuing Education consultant at teresa.howe@dpi.wi.gov. Eligible applicants for each category are listed in the Guidelines. First time applicants are encouraged to apply.

BadgerLink Content Update

The Department of Public Instruction intends to negotiate contracts with EBSCO, Gale’s LitFinder, TeachingBooks, and Heritage Microfilm’s Access NewspaperArchive to provide BadgerLink service.

EBSCO will be providing an expanded package of databases which nearly doubles the content currently available. Libraries in Wisconsin will now have access to thirty-two EBSCOhost databases, including many new ones that were previously unavailable on a statewide basis. EBSCO will also provide an expanded newspaper package. The package includes the following:

Academic Search Premier
Alt HealthWatch
Auto Repair Reference Center
Book Collection: Nonfiction – Elementary School Edition
Book Collection: Nonfiction – Middle School Edition
Book Collection: Nonfiction – High School Edition
Business Source Premier
Consumer Health Complete
Education Research Complete
Educational Administration Abstracts
Encyclopedia of Animals
ERIC
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
GreenFile
Health Source: Consumer Edition
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition
History Reference Center
Humanities International Complete
LISTA
Literary Reference Center
MAS Ultra – School Edition
MasterFILE Premier
MEDLINE
Middle Search Plus
Military & Government Collection
Newspaper Source Plus
NoveList
NoveList K-8
Primary Search
Professional Development Collection
Regional Business News
Science Reference Center

In total, the combined, unduplicated content of this package breaks down as follows:

8,140 full-text magazines & journals (of which, 5,609 are peer-reviewed journals)
1,557 full-text newspapers & newswires (of which, 1,535 are newspapers)
6,755 full-text books & monographs

The above package includes an upgrade to the Premier versions of Academic Search and Business Source; a major newspaper collection (Newspaper Source Plus); the leading reader’s advisory service (NoveList and NoveList K-8); all three versions of Book Collection: Nonfiction; two new health databases (Consumer Health Complete and Alt Health Watch); two new education products (Education Research Complete and Educational Administration Abstracts); high school level science and history resources (Science Reference Center and History Reference Center); an auto repair database (Auto Repair Reference Center), and a pair of literary/humanities collections (Literary Reference Center and Humanities International Complete).

Libraries with individual subscriptions to any of these products should contact EBSCO for a customized offer to migrate to replacement databases.

This is a very exciting time for us as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of BadgerLink.
--modified slightly from the original, published via wispublib, an email list administered by the Department of Public Instruction, by David Sleasman,

OverDrive's Digital Bookmobile in Wisconsin

OverDrive's "Digital Bookmobile" will be in Wisconsin in July--in LaCrosse on July 1, and in Madison on July 2. The Digital Bookmobile is a high-tech, 18-wheel download experience with instructional videos and interactive computer stations.

Tony Evers picks deputy and assistant superintendents

State schools Superintendent-elect Tony Evers has named Michael Thompson as his deputy state superintendent. Thompson is currently executive assistant at DPI. The Wisconsin State Journal also reported the following appointments to assistant state superintendent positions, heading up DPI's divisions: Jennifer Thayer, Reading and Student Achievement; Richard Grobschmidt, Libraries, Technology and Community Learning; Deborah Mahaffey, Academic Excellence; Brian Pahnke, Finance and Management; Carolyn Stafford Taylor, Learning Support: Equity and Advocacy.

Federal stimulus grants go to three Wisconsin library projects

Much of the cost of the proposed new public library in the Village of Webster in Burnett County will be covered by federal stimulus funding, according to a news release from the Office of Governor Jim Doyle. Along with the $360,000 grant to Webster, 15 other community projects will share $7,045,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The City of Necedah in Juneau County will receive $610,000 for a $1.3 million project that will include a library. The Village of Turtle Lake, Barron County, will receive $610,000 for a $1.3 million project that includes a library and a storm shelter.

Highsmith founder, Hugh Highsmith, dies

Hugh Highsmith, founder of Highsmith Co. Inc., one of the country's premier suppliers to schools and libraries, died June 7 at the age of 94. Highsmith started the company in 1956, after ten years as president of NASCO, and the company soon began mail order marketing of books, supplies and furnishings to schools and public libraries. In 1965, the company built a facility near Fort Atkinson that served as corporate headquarters for more than four decades, and at one time employed more than 270 people. Highsmith served as company president until 1987, when he was succeeded by his son Duncan. In addition to his business acumen, Highsmith was known for his charitable and civic endeavors, including service on the board of directors of the Dwight Foster Public Library. Read the full obituary...

State of America's Libraries

The value of America's libraries continued to grow in 2008, as people looked for cost-effective resources, according to ALA's State of America's Libraries report, released April 13, 2009. However, public library funding didn't keep pace with use. There are many other key findings in the report. The full text is available at http://www.ala.org/2009state.

Germantown budget cuts mean staff furloughs, but not for library staff

Dramatic drops in revenue have led Germantown city leaders to propose cuts of $510,000 for the remaining six months of the year and impose furloughs on all city employees except police, fire, and library personnel. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports immediate spending reductions in most departments, along with layoffs of 17 employees.

Culver's donates building to Prairie du Sac for library

Culver Franchising System, based in Prairie du Sac but with restaurants in 17 states, plans to donate its downtown corporate office to the Village for use as a library. Culver's offices are relocating to the village's new business park. The Village Board will meet on Tuesday, June 8 to vote on acceptance of the gift, estimated to value $1 million. According to a June 4 article in the Wisconsin State Journal, the new library could be occupied by summer 2010, depending on fundraising efforts.

Sheboygan School District to cut 11 library media specialist positions

In a May 14 letter to families and staff, the Sheboygan Area School District announced the school board's decision to reduce the number of school library media specialists from 16 to 5. The remaining positions include one at each high school, one at the middle school level and two at the elementary level. The letter also announced plans for a meeting of staff, including the "core group" of media specialists, to meet during the summer to develop a plan for teaching essential library skills at each level.

A letter to the editor from Jo Ann Carr, director of the Center for Instructional Materials and Computing at UW-Madison and president of the Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association, appeared May 29 in the Sheboygan Press. Carr outlines the essential skills and important role that licensed media specialists bring to the school setting, including work with teachers in planning curriculum, knowledge of a range of databases and software, and direct instruction to students. She asks that since media specialists are licensed teachers whose absence will impact students directly, the school board use the same guidelines for reducing media specialist positions as they would for eliminating other teaching positions.