Volume 8, April 26, 2012 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) REQUEST FOR COMMENTS ON DRAFT LSTA FIVE-YEAR PLAN

2) CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT FACT SHEETS FOR 2011 NOW AVAILABLE

3) FIRST TUESDAYS – TRANSFORMING LIFE AFTER 50

4) REQUEST FOR INPUT FROM PUBLIC LIBRARIANS AND PATRONS

5) GRANTS FOR CHILDREN’S FICTION AND NON-FICTION BOOKS

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) REQUEST FOR COMMENTS ON DRAFT LSTA FIVE-YEAR PLAN

A draft of the Washington State LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) Plan 2013 – 2017 has been posted for review and comment. You are encouraged to provide feedback on the draft plan by taking a survey, which asks three primary questions, three demographic questions, and provides space for optional contact information. The survey is structured in such a way that it can be completed in just a few minutes. If you wish to provide more substantive feedback, boxes for comment are provided.

Why is your review and comment on the LSTA Five-Year Plan important? The Plan guides how LSTA funding will be spent in Washington State for federal fiscal year awards 2013 through 2017. If an activity is not referenced in the plan, LSTA funding cannot be spent on that activity. Although the plan can be amended on an annual basis, there is only one window of opportunity each spring and then implementation of amendments cannot happen until the start of the next federal fiscal year, a lengthy process.

If you have a limited amount of time to review the plan, begin with “Section 3. Goals and Strategies for 2013 – 2017.” If you have some additional time for review, look at “Section 2. Needs Assessment.” These are the two sections most directly related to the potential expenditure of LSTA funding. What statewide needs have we missed? What opportunities for the use of LSTA funding that are important to the library community have not been mentioned?

The plan and the link to the survey are both located at www.sos.wa.gov/library/libraries/dev. We ask that comments be provided by Friday, May 4, 2012, so that we are able to compile them for review by our advisory council, the Library Council of Washington. We hope to submit the final LSTA Five-Year Plan to our federal funding agency, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, in late May or early June.

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2) CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT FACT SHEETS FOR 2011 NOW AVAILABLE

Each year, WSL compiles Fact Sheets that provide information on the use of federal LSTA funding during the previous federal fiscal year. The 2011 Fact Sheets, covering the period October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011, are now available. Organized by Congressional District, award type, and program, they include highlights from 2011, as well as a listing of libraries within each District. To view the 2011 Fact Sheets, and to link to the archive from previous years, visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/factsheets.

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3) FIRST TUESDAYS – TRANSFORMING LIFE AFTER 50

To address the changing nature of aging, the California State Library launched a statewide public library initiative. That initiative has become a national model of innovation, not just for libraries, but for all kinds of organizations that aim to serve and engage mid-life adults, ages 50+.

Transforming Life After 50 (TLA50) is the topic for May’s First Tuesdays webinar, presented by Suzanne Flint, Stephen Ristau, and the Washington State TLA50 Fellows, May 1, 2012, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PDT. For more information about First Tuesdays, visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/tuesdays. To join the presentation, and for instructions, go to www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/FirstTuesdays.

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4) REQUEST FOR INPUT FROM PUBLIC LIBRARIANS AND PATRONS

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is funding the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, a national research effort to study the changing role of librarians, library users, and the general public in the digital age. With Pew and the Gates Foundation spearheading these efforts, libraries will have access to the kind of data-driven information they need to address changing community needs, now and in the future. This study will look specifically at people’s experiences in public libraries, especially their use of e-books and other digital services.

To implement this study, Pew has developed two online surveys. You can help to make this project a success by:

• Taking the 15-minute survey targeted at librarians. Visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PewLenders, logging in with your e-mail address as username and using the password PEWLIBS;
• Encouraging your patrons to take the 15-minute survey designed for their input by going to www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PewBorrow. No username or password is needed to take this survey.

To help you get the word out to your patrons, Pew is making a flyer available, as well as a code, available from Kathryn Zickuhr at [email protected], which can be used to embed the survey on your library’s website. Pew has also created the following brief message that you can share through your website, e-newsletters, social media, and other dissemination methods:

Patron message template:  How do you use your library?    

The Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project is conducting an online survey of patrons of public libraries. We ask that you take the survey to help us out.  All responses will be confidential. The survey should take about 15 minutes. To take the survey, visit: libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/e-book-borrowers.

The Pew Internet Project will also be doing other general surveys of library patrons, as well as non-library-users who own e-readers or tablet computers. If you would like to participate in future surveys, visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PewSignup and sign up for survey announcements. To learn more about the Pew Internet Project’s research on e-reading and libraries, visit libraries.pewinternet.org.

All survey responses must be submitted by Friday, May 18, 2012. The research report will be issued this summer. More information about the project may be found at www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PewDigAge.

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5) GRANTS FOR CHILDREN’S FICTION AND NON-FICTION BOOKS

Each year, the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation awards grants for the purchase of fiction and non-fiction books for children preschool through grade 8 to libraries or organizations with limited book budgets, which serve economically or socially at-risk children and demonstrate real need. Grant applications for audio books will be considered only in the cases of children with special needs, where audio books would be particularly appropriate in addressing those needs.

Public libraries, school libraries, and non-traditional libraries operated by 501(c)(3) agencies are eligible. In order for a library to be considered, it must have been in operation for at least three years. County or district library systems cannot apply as a whole; public or school libraries within a county or district system are eligible to apply individually.

Applications must be postmarked by June 15, 2012. For more information about the grants and to apply, visit www.loislenskicovey.org/6.html.

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6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Monday, April 30:

• Access to Public Records: tensions between the right-to-know and the protection of privacy and the role of Records Management in addressing these issues (SJSU SLIS); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT;
• K-12 Introduction to the New Platform (ProQuest); 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. PDT: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PQ264;

Tuesday, May 1:

• First Tuesdays: Transforming Life After 50 (TLA50) (WSL); 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PDT;
• Rick Riordan and The Serpent’s Shadow (School Library Journal); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT;
• Putting Nonfiction to Work: Helping Youth Nonfiction Circulate in Your Library (Booklist); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT;

Wednesday, May 2:

• Digital Resources of the National Library of Medicine – Online (NCompass Live); 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. PDT;
• ProQuest Administrator Module (PAM) (ProQuest); 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. PDT: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PQ263;
• Maximize What You Learn at Work to Accelerate Your Career (AMA); 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PDT;

Thursday, May 3:

• Curriculum Connection: Bridging Reference and Students (Booklist); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT;
• Introduction to Fundraising Planning (GrantSpace); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT.

For more information and to register (for those not linked above), visit the WSL Training Calendar at www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/training.

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