Action needed to secure broadband fiber expansion to public & school libraries

To help ensure that public and school libraries get the broadband fiber expansion they need, please contact U.S. Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, along with your U.S. Representative!  (Contact information is available via WLA's CapWiz account.) Background information on this issue:

 --  In August 2009 the State of Wisconsin submitted a ARRA broadband grant (ID 174) to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).  The grant proposed to bring fiber broadband connectivity to 467 schools and libraries on the state’s BadgerNet network.  Many of these sites are in small, rural communities but there is at least one site getting fiber in every county in the state.

--  In February NTIA awarded the grant for $22.9 million.  (See Governor Doyle’s press release announcing the award.)

--  The grant will allow our schools and libraries to get more than a  five-fold increase in their Internet bandwidth at NO additional cost. 

--  The grant was submitted and approved based on the State extending its contract with AT&T and other telecommunication providers who provide the BadgerNet circuits.  But now NTIA is requiring additional conditions be placed on the telecommunication providers, including issues related to long-term use of the fiber.

--  From a long-term perspective, the NTIA should focus on getting the State to ensure that it will continue to offer broadband service to our schools and libraries, as is now required under state law.  And the best way to do this is for NTIA to get a reaffirmation from the State based on the network business model (i.e., BadgerNet contract extension) that was in the grant. 

--  It has now been over eight months since the grant was awarded and no schools or libraries have received any fiber.  The delay in getting this grant approved further delays the bandwidth our schools and libraries desperately need and it further delays getting stimulus funding spent to help the overall economic recovery.  

Thank you for taking this action to secure expanded broadband for 467 Wisconsin schools and libraries!

Get Ready for WLA - Tweet #WLA2010

Registration? Check. Hotel reservation? Check. Conference-at-a-Glance? Check. I'm almost ready for WLA 2010, are you? The conference program looks fan-tas-tic! So many intriguing programs, so little time.

We are delighted to host Marilyn Johnson for what is sure to be an enlightening and humorous keynote address on Wednesday (11/3)!

Get more information about the WLA Conference; it's not too late to decide to attend. You can still register on-site!

Are you tweeting about WLA 2010? Use our hashtag #WLA2010!

See you at the Kalahari!

Best regards,

Vicki Tobias
Publicity Chair
WLA 2010 Conference Planning Committee

Voices of Rural Wisconsin Project Features Librarian Recommendations

The Voices of Rural Wisconsin project is a partnership between Portal Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters to share the stories, thoughts and histories of the state's rural population. WLA recruited several members to provide book lists related to the subject. Helene Androski, retired Senior Academic Librarian, UW-Madison Memorial Library, provided a book list for adults; Betsy Bromley, children's and teen librarian at Oconomowoc Public Library, provided the list for teens; Svetha Hetzler, head of Children's Services at Middleton Public Library, created a children's reading list.

Dozens of other WLA members answered the call for assistance and may be used as a resource for future Portal Wisconsin projects.

YSS Book Discussion November 4 at WLA

Are you going to the WLA conference this year? Mark your calendars and start reading for a great program, you won't want to miss. The YSS Book Discussion will be held Thursday (November 4) at 4 p.m. This is your chance to participate in a book discussion led by librarians from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC). Everyone attending should have read either Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper (Atheneum, 2010) or Bruiser by Neal Shusterman (HarperTeen, 2010) in preparation for this session. Participants will follow CCBC book discussion guidelines.

Please go online to Survey Monkey to indicate your book choice.

WLA Foundation Fun at Conference!

WLA Foundation Fundraiser — Bowling & Boards!! (Kalahari Resort Bowling Center, Wednesday, November 3, 8:00 – 11:00 pm) If you haven’t already signed up for this event in advance on your conference registration form, sign up onsite at the Conference (no later than 5 PM Wednesday). Admission to this event ($35 per person) includes a donation to the WLAF, one drink ticket (good for beer, wine or soda), snacks, pizza and a fun evening with friends and colleagues.

Contact Bernie Bellin to register your team of four bowlers OR boarders (prior to October 31st) and each member will get one ADDITIONAL beverage ticket (which you’ll receive when you arrive at the event). If you name your team, let me know that, too. The team with the most creative name … the “Four Pins”… the “Gutter Guys” … the “Boarder Belles” … whatever you come up … will go home with one of the coveted trophies being awarded that night! Don’t have a team – come anyway, you’ll have a good time! Bowlers, don’t forget, this is a BYOS (bring your own socks!) event.

Great items are being donated to the onsite Conference Silent Auction – but, we’re never satisfied – we’d still welcome more! Please bring your donation(s) to the Conference. If that’s not possible, forward them to the WLA office and we’ll find a place to temporarily store them. However your generous donation makes its way to the Kalahari, please let us know by October 31 what you’ll be contributing by returning a copy of the Auction Contribution Form for each item you are donating.

Conference attendees and non-attendees alike – remember to register to bid on the WLA Foundation’s online auction items available for the first time this year at BiddingForGood.com.
--Bernie Bellin, Chair, Conference Fundraiser

Nominations Open for WLA/WEMTA Intellectual Freedom Award

Do you know of someone actively promoting intellectual freedom?  Someone who exemplifies the spirit of intellectual freedom?  If you do, you know someone that should be nominated for the WLA/WEMTA Intellectual Freedom Award.

Anyone who has actively promoted intellectual freedom in Wisconsin is eligible.  Activities within the past five years are eligible for consideration.
*A personal member of either WLA or WEMTA must submit the award nomination.
Individuals and groups may nominate themselves for the award.

This award is sponsored by: TeachingBooks.net and the Center for Information Policy Research and the School of Information Studies at UWM.

Additional information on the award criteria and nomination process can be found at http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/ifrt/.  Nomination Deadline: January 15, 2011

WiFi Access in U.S. Public Libraries (Map)

From the American Library Association (ALA). Wisconsin looks pretty good, doesn't it? http://www.ala.org/ala/research/initiatives/plftas/2009_2010/wifimap0910.cfm

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.

Ruth Ann Montgomery Receives Frances de Usabel Outreach Services Award

Ruth Ann Montgomery, director of the Arrowhead Library System, is the recipient of the 2010 Frances de Usabel Outreach Services Award, presented annually by the WLA's Outreach Services Round Table (OSRT). Jamie Matczak, OSRT Chair, said Ruth Ann was instrumental in helping the workers displaced by the closing of the GM plant in Janesville. Presently, over 1,600 residents in Rock County have participated in the computer classes Ruth Ann developed as part of an LSTA grant.

"It is a great honor to receive the Frances de Usabel award,” said Ruth Ann. “It has been my good fortune to work in a profession that values making buildings accessible to all.  Public library special needs and outreach projects have always been dear to my heart.”

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.  Funding for this award is made possible by the siblings of Frances de Usabel. Ruth Ann will be honored at the WLA Conference Awards Banquet on Thursday, November 4.

Ruth Ann feels fortunate to have a position where a difference can be made. “Every day I get to work with creative people who value library services. It is magical the way librarians share, enhance and promote program ideas,” she said.

Janesville Gazette reports on Ruth Ann's award-winning ways.

Portage Public Library Plans Expansion

The Portage Public Library is discussing an expansion of the library with Plunkett Raysich Architects, with a decision about moving forward possible by November, according to a report in the Portage Daily Register. The plans include expanding the meeting space and children's area, along with several modifications to existing space to create a teen space, correct water drainage problems and improve lighting, heating and cooling. The reported timeline for the project estimates completion by December 2011, but it appears that a final funding package has not yet been approved.