Friday, June 29, 2007

The Keokuk Public Library and the Ft. Madison Public Library will also be hosting The High Strung (see post below) the following dates and times:

Thursday, July 19th at 3:00 PM – Keokuk PL side yard

http://www.keokuk.lib.ia.us/archive/2007/07/highstrungpr/)

Thursday, July 19th at 7:00 PM – Central Park Gazebo in Fort Madison

Check them out!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

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!

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

(Thanks to Sheila Chaudoin for this information)

West Liberty Public Library is bringing
The High Strung to Eastern Iowa on July 27th. The rock and roll band will be rocking out at Ron De Voo Park downtown West Liberty at 7 pm with local bands opening for them. The High Strung is not a traditional rock and roll band and all ages will find something to rock to!
Contact Janette McMahon, Library Director for further event information or if you would like to perform.


For further information about the band go to:
http://www.thehighstrung.com or
http://www.myspace.com/thehighstrung

Monday, June 25, 2007

From ISLA (the Iowa Small Library Association)...


We have exciting news to share, and are hoping for widespread participation:

We are holding a logo contest for our organization and are seeking submissions from anyone who would like participate (submissions are NOT limited to ISLA members). Your logo should reflect our tagline: “ISLA: Empowering Iowa’s Small Libraries.” The timeline is as follows:

June 20: Contest Announced & Open for Submissions

July 20: Submission Deadline

August 10: Finalists Announced, Voting Open (sorry, only ISLA members will get to vote!)

September 10: Voting Closed

October 10-12: Winner Announced! Logo t-shirts available for sale @ the ISLA booth during ILA Fall Conference!

Prizes for all finalists will be a free logo t-shirt, and the winner will receive 1 year free membership to the Iowa Library Association and the Iowa Small Library Association (or a cash prize of equal value, if preferred).

See our page of the ILA website for judging criteria and further details, and submit questions to Pat Means, ISLA President at villib@mchsi.com.

We look forward to viewing your artwork, and good luck to you!


(Thanks for Tena Hanson - ISLA PR for this blurb)

Saturday, June 23, 2007

A free copy of "Civics and Citizenship Toolkit: a Collection of Educational Resources for Immigrants" is now available for public libraries through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. You can order a copy for your library at www.citizenshiptoolkit.gov . The toolkit contains a variety of educational materials designed to help new residents learn more about the United States and prepare for the naturalization process.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Teacher Librarian Training Grant

Good news for school libraries in Iowa! The University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) has received $881,692 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to recruit and educate teacher librarians. SLIS will use these funds to recruit two groups of 20 students who already have teaching certificates for its masters degree program in library and information science. They will receive fellowships to fund their degrees. The first cohort will begin in the summer of 2008.

Dr. James Elmborg, Director of the UI SLIS program, will coordinate the grant. Most of the coursework in the master’s program will be conducted through distance education systems. Iowa’s Area Education Agencies, the State Library of Iowa and the Iowa Association of School Librarians are partners in the grant and will assist with recruitment and course delivery.

Many details remain to be worked out concerning admissions, timelines, course schedules and method of delivery. A website will be developed to provide relevant information as these details are available. The grant requirements will publicized on the website and by other means. Stay tuned for further details and please inform any teachers whom you think might be interested in a library career of this grant.


(Thank you to Mary Jo Langhorne for this blurb)
Libraries Love Romance

A new contest sponsored by RWA (Romance Writers of America) that celebrates romance fiction in libraries has begun. Entries will be taken from June 1st through August.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Katie’s begun her trek to ALA, but she wanted to share some programs and events that non-attendees can participate in:

Meredith Farkas’ Top Technology Trends screencast
http://blip.tv/file/get/Librarianmer-MeredithsTopTechTrends705.swf or http://litablog.org/2007/06/15/meredith-farkas-top-technology-trends/

LITA BIGWIG – Social Software Showcase
http://litablog.org/2007/06/07/social-software-showcase-sponsored-by-bigwig/

Monday, June 18, 2007

Did you know that contact information for every Iowa library is readily available on the State's website? Be sure to bookmark:

http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/directories/silo-dir

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, in cooperation with the Newberry Library, is pleased to announce that 23 public and academic libraries have been selected to host the traveling exhibition, "Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country." The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has provided major funding for the traveling exhibition.

Libraries selected for the tour will host the 1,000 square foot exhibit for a six-week period between October 2007 and November 2011. All showings of the exhibition and related programs will be free and open to the public.

In our state the library selected was Briar Cliff University/Sioux City Lewis Interpretive Center, Sioux City, Iowa.

For more information about Lewis and Clark, including the tour itinerary, please visit http://www.ala.org/publicprograms.
If you've been thinking about trying a third party agent to assist with your bookselling, now is the time. FOLUSA members will receive free freight on their first shipment to bLogistics through July 31, 2007.

Your group or library also receives 50% of net sales. bLogistics has paid more than $2.1 million to libraries and their Friends organizations since 2003. They recycle more than 2 million books per year...nothing ever goes to landfill!


(from FOLUSA News Update May 2007)

Monday, June 11, 2007

Want to know how to evaluate your library's physical appearance?

http://www.infotoday.com/MLS/may07/Cooper.shtml
Need something new to read?

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

June Learning Webinar from WebJunction

This month we are pleased to offer a reprise of the first learning webinar, Introduction to WebJunction Learning. This session will offer an overview of the e-learning services and resources WebJunction has for library managers, trainers and staff. Closed captioning now available.
Oprah’s got a new book selection!

Do you have followers of Oprah’s Book Club at your library? Learn more about Oprah’s newest pick, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides at her website:

http://www2.oprah.com/obc_classic/obc_main.jhtml
The Fred Karre Memorial Library at Southeastern Community College in Keokuk has a Canon Microprinter 90 with a manual advance to give away. This microfilm reader printer is currently NOT printing, however the first person who picks it up can have it. (They have phased out their microfilm so they haven't looked into how much the repairs might be.)

They also have a lightly used 9th edition (2002) of the McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology that is available to anybody willing to make arrangements for delivery or pickup.

Anyone interested should call Betsy Gardner at (319)524-3221 ext. 1961 or email at egardner@scciowa.edu.

The Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) and IASL awarded the 2007-2008 IASL Book Award bid to Perfection.

This award is for the 2007-2008 and includes:

-Iowa Children's Choice Award
-Iowa Teen Award
-Iowa High School Award

The order deadline has been extended to June 30, 2007. Free posters will be sent with each set ordered while supply lasts.

Public libraries may download an ordering guide by clicking on:
www.iec-ia.org/pages/uploaded_files/IASLOrderForm2007.pdf

For complete information, marketing and support material and downloadable 8.5x11 or 11x17 posters, go to: http://www.iec-ia.org/vnews/display.v/ART/45071eee822c1

Contact Dave Welborn if you have questions.
Iowa Perfection Learning Representative
866-252-6580 ext. 1110
wel5@aol.com
www.perfectionlearning.com

Monday, June 04, 2007


The dates and locations for this year's "Town Meeting" sponsored by the State Library of Iowa and the LSAs have been set. This year's theme is "Extreme Makeover @ Your Library" - use the link below to get more details and mark those calendars!

Friday, June 01, 2007

Banned Books Week 2007


The week of September 29 through October 6, 2007, marks the 26th anniversary of Banned Books Week, ALA's annual celebration of the freedom to read.

We invite you to explore what the week means. Reflect on your freedom to read, cherish it, and, by all means, read what you want to read. As the author of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, said, "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."

Here are some suggestions to help you celebrate the week. We hope one is a good fit for you. If you can think of other ways to celebrate the week, please share them at oif@ala.org. Your ideas may inspire others!

http://tinyurl.com/yvba58

The Iowa Communications Network has hosted 45 video reunions through the Operation Hometown Link initiative and Freedom Calls. There have been birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, and new babies seen for the first time. However, the majority of the sessions have been for no special reason at all, except the wonderful opportunity for spouses and children to see, talk to, and reconnect with their partners and parents serving in Iraq.

Thank you to all the ICN classroom sites who have opened their doors to these families and accommodated them so graciously, and to the many people who have contacted us to help make arrangements for students, family, and friends. We know there are more families out there who could benefit from this and would appreciate your help in spreading the word.

A new brochure is now available describing the ICN's Operation Hometown Link program. If you would like to have a few copies of the brochure sent to you, please contact me. I can also provide the PDF which you can print as needed. It will be available soon on our web site at

http://www.icn.state.ia.us/hometown_link/hometown.html.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me. Again, thank you for your help in this effort.


Gail Geery
Public Relations Manager
Iowa Communications Network
Grimes State Office Building
400 E. 14th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
Visit us on the web: www.icn.state.ia.us

Proud sponsors of Operation Hometown Link