Muscatine! The Musical

MUSCATINE! THE MUSICAL is an original book written by Peter Press (recently retired director of the Muscatine Public Library) and his wife Marie, using elements of local history for a musical work of historical fiction. Set in September-October of the year 1896, at the height of the bicycle craze, Muscatine was at the cusp of its influence as a river town on the great Mississippi River. "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" made its first appearance in Muscatine on October 1st of that year and Oscar Grossheim was just getting started in his photography business.

Although the musical begins and ends with the new library about to be built in 1901 for Muscatine-and Buffalo Bill and Mark Twain's arrival for a Grand Ball at the Blackwell Mansion-the central story is about a mother's heart-wrenching choice about her daughter.

With a full cast and a big production, this is a story full of twists and turns...just like the mighty Mississippi. Orchestrated by Grammy Award winner Robert Sadin, the songs and lyrics of Peter Press and fellow inimitable collaborator, Dan Warschauer, will dazzle you as they come to life through the playing of the Muscatine Symphony Orchestra.

Don't miss the world premier of MUSCATINE! THE MUSICAL, family entertainment at its finest-showtimes are from October 12th through the 20th!

Visit http://www.muscatinethemusical.com/ to buy your tickets or for more information.

Professional Book of the Week

Title: Gamers…in the Library?!: The Why, What, and How of Videogame Tournaments for All Ages
Author: Eli Neiburger

Summary:
As many of you know, Southeastern Library Services makes gaming kits available to libraries, and we are in the process of adding the Nintendo Wii system in addition to our Sony Playstation 2s. Planning on how to set up a gaming night, or tournament, may seem a daunting task if you’re not familiar with the culture. Neiburger ably breaks down and explains types of games, gaming culture, technical and supply considerations, planning, setting up, promoting and running your event. Neiburger will be speaking at ILA in Coralville and this book will be a perfect companion piece. Be sure to check out the Gaming Fun area at the Conference Welcome Reception on Wednesday, October 10th if you’re attending and are interested in seeing what games are out there.

As always, this book and many others are available from the SLS office through Interlibrary Loan.

OCTOBER CE CLASSES

October is right around the corner and we’ve got a great line-up of CE opportunities waiting for you! Sign up today to reserve your spot.

COMPUTER TROUBLESHOOTING - 2 CE credits

Frequently frustrated with your computers? No IT guy (or gal) to come to your rescue? Join us as we share our tips and tricks for solving our most common computer woes. Come prepared to share examples of problems you've encountered (and any solutions you've discovered).

Tuesday, October 2nd
Sigourney PL 1-3 pm

Thursday, October 4th
West Liberty PL 10 am - 12 pm

Tuesday, October 23rd
Fairfield PL 1-3 pm

WORKING WITH WEBJUNCTION - 2 CE credits

Are you using WebJunction to its fullest extent? Online classes, technology planning, forums for collaboration with librarians across the country and more await you with this powerful tool. Michele Leininger of the State Library will be with us to explain it all. The State Library of Iowa partners with WebJunction to offer WebJunction's services for free to Iowa libraries. Visit it at http://www.webjunction.org/

Thursday, October 18th
Burlington PL 1-3 pm

BLOGGING WITHOUT FEAR: BLOGS AND RSS FOR LIBRARIES - 2 CE Credits

What is this funny thing called a Blog? How can blogs be useful to libraries of all sizes? How do you get started in the blog universe? And what in the world is RSS and what does it have to do with blogs?! These questions and more will be answered in this informational session, presented by Louise Alcorn of the West Des Moines Public Library. This ICN session will include examples of great library blogs already out there, a live demonstration of setting up a simple blog, and a basic explanation of RSS and how you can use its power to bring the information to you.

Topics to be covered: Using blogs to promote your library—news, new library items, programs, etc. Examples of libraries already doing this will be shown and discussed. Useful blogs for library informational needs and professional development. Basics of RSS. Reading blogs through RSS aggregators (Bloglines, etc.). Live examples will be given of setting up a Bloglines account and (if time) creating a basic blog.

This is an ICN session - original broadcasting site booked is Oskaloosa Public Library.

Friday, October 19th
Oskaloosa PL 10 am - 12 pm

Register for these classes, and all of our other upcoming CE opportunities through the State CE Catalog.

Also, don’t forget to sign up for the Iowa Library Association Annual Conference in Coralville from October 10-12. Registration ends soon! Lots of CE credits await you!

BORDERS’ EDUCATORS APPRECIATION WEEKEND

If you live near a Borders or Waldenbooks, be sure to stop in this weekend (September 26 – October 2) for your 25% discount. As usual, some exceptions apply.

Keokuk Public Library Foundation Republishes Twain Book

Reserve your copy of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass for your library or that Twain lover in your life – just in time for Christmas.

In 1856 Samuel Clemens was inspired to travel after reading stories of Lynch and Herndon’s exploration of the Valley of the Amazon. Clemens approached George Rees of the Keokuk Daily Post with the idea of sending travel letters to the paper to help pay his way, and Rees agreed to pay him $5 for each letter. In 1928, the travel letters were printed in a limited edition of 375 books, dubbed The Adventures of Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass.

All of the printing and binding is being done locally, in Denmark, Iowa.

The cost is $49.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling, if delivered.

For more information on the project, see the library’s website: http://www.keokuk.lib.ia.us/archive/2007/09/snodgrass-pr

To reserve your copy, email Emily Rohlfs: erohlfs@keokuk.lib.ia.us

Professional Book of the Week

Title: Blogging and RSS: A Librarian’s Guide
Author: Michael P. Sauers

Summary:
Sauers presents blogs and RSS feeds in an easy-to-digest manner. A multitude of examples demonstrate the marketing and current awareness power of these services for libraries and librarians. Technical explanations of how the services work, as well as how to use them, are included. This is an excellent resource for those interested in learning more about these, but are unable to attend the upcoming class taught by Louise Alcorn on October 19th (or the pre-conference she is presenting at ILA on October 10th).

Read-a-likes:
The Virtual Reference Handbook by Diane K. Kovacs
Teaching Web Search Skills: Techniques and Strategies of Top Trainers by Greg R. Notess

(As always, these books are available for interlibrary loan from Southeastern Library Services)

“Avast, ye mateys!”

It’s a little late to program for this year, but start planning for next! September 19th is International “Talk Like a Pirate” day. Storytimes and more can all incorporate the hot topic of pirates. Learn more at:

http://talklikeapirate.com

Professional Book of the Week

Title: Managing Budgets and Finances: A How-To-Do-It Manual
Authors: Arlita W. Hallam and Teresa R. Dalston

Summary:
For those new to developing a budget from scratch, or needing to understand an existing one so you can update it, this book lays out the basics of what you need to know. Topics are clearly organized to orient the reader, and the many sample budgets and financial documents add value to the text. Even if you are only in need of a refresher on the topic, this is the perfect book to review.

Readalikes:
Creating a Financial Plan by Betty J. Turock and Andrea Pedolsky Finance Management for Small and Medium-sized Libraries by Madeline J. Daubert

(All of these titles are available by Interlibrary Loan from the Southeastern Library Services office.)

Be a Successful E-Learner!

Most of us are well acquainted with learning in the traditional classroom, but it often takes time and experience to become successful in an online learning environment. In this month's Learning Webinar we will answer some commonly heard questions about e-learning (what does asynchronous really mean?), take a look at the types of e-learning that are available and some of the pitfalls to avoid in order to be a successful e-learner.

SLS will soon be offering Learn How to Learn Online classes and online classes. Learn from your desk, or at home! We will continue to offer traditional classroom setting training, but we will work on translating topics to the online environment to offer you more opportunities to develop your professional skills and knowledge!

Rural In-Focus Webinar: A Hitchhiker's Guide to Library Surveys
This September 18th Webjunction webinar will help answer the questions: When should you conduct a survey? What are the essential elements of an effective survey? How can you best evaluate your survey results?

Wondering what "digital natives" want and need from your library? The Idaho Commission of Libraries has released a study on users who have grown up in an on-line and accessible world. To read the results, visit http://libraries.idaho.gov/files/default/2007-digital-native-rpt.pdf.

Want a taste of the blogging life?

You may have heard we have an upcoming program called “Blogging Without Fear: Blogs and RSS for Libraries” presented by Louise Alcorn on Friday, October 19th. Louise will be discussing how you can implement blogs as a marketing tool for your library and a current awareness tool for your staff. But say you want to get a taste of what “Libraryland” blogs are like before the class. The Carnival of the Infosciences (COTI) is a rotating biweekly feature of the stories capturing other librarians’ interest. For more on what COTI is and the schedule of upcoming appearances, visit their wiki at http://infosciences.pbwiki.com/.

Downloadable Books

The Southeastern and Southwest Library Service Areas are working on a project to make downloadable audiobooks available to patrons of member libraries. We would like to form a consortium which would use Overdrive to provide content and services. (An example of such a consortium is NEIBORS, a project of NC, NE, and EC LSAs: http://neibors.lib.overdrive.com/ )

Libraries in the consortium would be responsible for a monthly service fee, divided among the participating libraries, as well as money to develop the collection of titles. The more libraries who participate, the lower the monthly cost--and more libraries accessing the collection, which means the consortium would want to invest in as many titles as the libraries are able to afford.

Because the cost to each library will depend on the number of libraries participating, we would like to assess the number of libraries who would be interested in participating in the consortium, and the level at which they would be able to contribute monthly. Below is a link to an online survey that we ask you to complete if you are at all interested in participating. Your responses do not bind you, but please answer as realistically as possible so we can make plans for the project.

Survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=dnWLLj6niTa_2fD4TCPXqMBQ_3d_3d

Job Listings

Bettendorf Public Library – Youth Services Assistant

Seeking creative, enthusiastic individual to work in our Youth Services Department. Must like to work with children and adults in a busy library setting. Responsibilities include: children’s programming, readers’ assistance, selection of audio materials and other duties related to the daily operation of the department.

Requires a level of knowledge normally acquired through completion of a high school diploma program. Three to six months of library related work experience. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office products. Training in Early Childhood Development desired.

Work hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:30-9 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; alternate Fridays and Saturdays, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., some Sundays, 12:45-4 p.m. (Non-negotiable)

Starting Salary: $16.2279

Applications are available at all City buildings or on the web site www.bettendorf.org. Applicants must turn in letter of interest, resume and City application by Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. to Human Resources, City Hall, 1609 State Street, Bettendorf, Iowa. The City of Bettendorf is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer. The City of Bettendorf complies with Americans with Disabilities Act.

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Drake Public Library - Director

Is seeking a full-time Director to manage the day to day operations of the library. This person is responsible to plan, organize, direct, administer, supervise and evaluate all activities of the library. Qualified candidates will have a Bachelor’s Degree, Master Degree preferred. Should hold the State Library of Iowa Public Certification or be willing to become certified in one year of hire. Must have a minimum of two years experience working in a library system and two years supervisory experience. Excellent written and oral communications skills are necessary, must be organized and have a strong interest in community relations. Fund raising and grant writing experience a plus. Must be computer literate. The library will be going though many exciting changes during this coming year and we are looking for a strong leader who is willing to help direct this process.

Interested candidates may submit resumes by September 14, 2007 to:

Drake Public Library
115 Drake Ave.
Centerville, Iowa 52544
Attention: Lottie Wilson

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The North Central Iowa Library Service Area seeks a consultant to provide continuing education and consulting for 83 public libraries in a 13-county area in north central Iowa.Coordinates continuing education; consults with librarians and trustees on-site and through e-mail, telephone, the web, and in person; trains in online searching, interlibrary loan, and e-rate; manages statewide programs for the Summer Library Program.The ability to work effectively with librarians in communities ranging in size from 165 to 35,000 is essential.MLS preferred; will consider candidates with a Bachelors Degree with expectation of acquiring an MLS. Experience as a professional and/or administrative-level librarian, library consultant, or library trainer preferred. Training and experience in library automation desired. Valid driver’s license required.Hiring range: $35,000-$40,000 DOQ; with benefits. Position open until filled; review of applications will begin September 10.Full job description available at: http://www.nclsa.lib.ia.us/consultant.htm.Send letter of application and resume to Barbara Shultz, Administrator, North Central Iowa Library Service Area, 22 N. Georgia, Suite 208, Mason City, IA 50401; bshultz@nclsa.lib.ia.us

Professional Book of the Week

Title: The Teen Reader’s Advisor
Author: RoseMary Honnold

About the book:
Honnold presents a comprehensive resource for those interested in developing or enhancing existing reader’s advisory services for young adults/teens. The first part of the book includes practical advice for developing and maintaining the service. The second part is a wide ranging listing of suggestible books organized by main topic area. This easy to use reference tool is the perfect aid for anyone dealing with teen readers.

Read-a-like:
Guiding the Reader to the Next Book by Kenneth D. Shearer

Other notes:
Katie’s specialty is reader’s advisory and is happy to train on techniques as well as assist in developing suggestions for patrons.

More Teens and 'Tweens Are Creating Content and Connecting Online for Educational Benefits
Offering Schools New Opportunities to Use Technology Reports New National School Boards Association Study

Alexandria, VA - August 14

A new study released today by the National School Boards Association and Grunwald Associates LLC exploring the online behaviors of U.S. teens and 'tweens shows that 96% of students with online access use social networking technologies, such as chatting, text messaging, blogging, and visiting online communities such as Facebook, MySpace, and Webkinz. Further, students report that one of the most common topics of conversation on the social networking scene is education.

Nearly 60 percent of online students report discussing education-related topics such as college or college planning, learning outside of school, and careers. And 50 percent of online students say they talk specifically about schoolwork.

Students report they are engaging in highly creative activities on social networking internet sites including writing, art, and contributing to collaborative online projects whether or not these activities are related to schoolwork.

Today, students report that they are spending almost as much time using social networking services and Web sites as they spend watching television

In the future, schools that incorporate social networking tools in education can help engage kids and move them toward the center of the learning process.*

The report, Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking, is based on three surveys: an online survey of nearly 1,300 9- to 17-year-olds, an online survey of more than 1,000 parents, and telephone interviews with 250 school districts leaders who make decisions on Internet policy.

The study was carried out with support from Microsoft, News Corporation, and Verizon, and does not necessarily represent the views of the underwriters.

Further details and a link to the full-text of the report is available at:

http://onlinesocialnetworks.blogspot.com/2007/09/creating-connecting-research-and.html


***To keep in touch with the things mentioned (MySpace, blogging, etc.) above and how to make it work for your library, be sure to check out our upcoming classes on the CE catalog!***