Professional Book of the Week

Title: Managing Money: A Guide for Librarians
Author: Anne M. Turner

Summary:
Do you feel like finances are often another language? Turner clearly lays out a number of concepts and situations which directly impact library budgets. Major topics include budgets, purchasing, requesting bids for projects, audits and finance departments.

PROFESSIONAL BOOK OF THE WEEK

Title: Staff Development: A Practical Guide
Authors: Elizabeth Fuseler Avery, Terry Dahlin, Deborah A. Carver

Summary:
Libraries are in the business off providing excellent customer service. Part of providing that level of excellence is having a well-trained staff. Staff training is one of those things we all recognize the need for, but rarely seem to have the time to do. This book will guide you through training concepts and building a staff development program. The practical nature of this book makes it useful in any type and size of library.

Cedar Rapids Team Named "Librarian of the Year" by Library Journal

January’s issue of Library Journal has named the "Librarian of the Year"…and it’s Team Cedar Rapids! Congratulations to the Cedar Rapids Library.

As they and other libraries impacted directly or indirectly from last summer’s flooding continue to work to bring extraordinary service in extraordinary times, let’s celebrate what libraries of all types and sizes do for, and with, their communities!

Keep the good news coming…we’d love to share it with everyone in the Iowa library community. Feel free to email Kim Kietzman at kkietzman@sls.lib.ia.us with your news as it happens.

Keokuk Receives Grants for "Big Read"

The African American Museum of Iowa has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant to administer The Big Read program in Iowa communities in 2009.

The Keokuk Public Library will be one of seven libraries where people will read "Their Eyes Were Watching God," by Zora Neale Hurston. The Big Read will include speakers, book discussions, movie screenings and a one-woman play relating to the book in January and February. Plenty of copies of the book (including large print and audio) and reading guides are available for checkout at the KPL, 210 N. 5th Street.

This Saturday, January 10th at 2:00 PM is the kick-off for the KPL’s first Big Read of 2009. “Queen Zora”, a one-woman play written and performed by Ruth Anne Gaines, depicting the life of Zora Neale Hurston from her childhood of poverty in the rural south to her rise in the Harlem Renaissance. The program will be 30 – 45 minutes in length.

Find information on other Big Read events at http://www.keokuklibrary.org/ (http://www.keokuk.lib.ia.us/use-our-library/programs/bigread2009/bigread-hurston/) or http://www.blackiowa.org/.

In March, the KPL will celebrate another Big Read with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.

The following is from the American Library Association. If interested, please reply to address below.

Dear Librarian:
The ALA Public Programs Office is pleased to partner with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for the sixth We the People Bookshelf project. This year’s theme, "Picturing America," explores the premise that a nation’s literature, as well as its visual art, can be a window on its character, ideals and aspirations.

Public and school (K-12) libraries are invited to apply online through January 30, 2009 at http://publicprograms.ala.org/bookshelf. A single application may be submitted on behalf of multiple libraries within a library system, school district or community. Individual branch and school libraries are also encouraged to apply.

In spring 2009, NEH will award 4,000 libraries - the most ever under a single Bookshelf grant - a collection of 17 classic hardcover books for young readers, related to the "Picturing America" theme, as well as Spanish translations of three titles, and bonus materials for readers of all ages. Successful applicants will also receive accompanying materials for programming, including bookplates, bookmarks and posters.
For programming ideas and tips, access to the guidelines and application, book titles, and further details, visit http://publicprograms.ala.org/bookshelf. With questions, contact publicprograms@ala.org.

Professional Book of the Week

Title: Library Volunteers – Worth the Effort! A Program Manager’s Guide
Author: Sally Gardner Reed

Summary:
Volunteers can be a staple to library services. Good and great volunteers are worth their weight in gold and then some. Learning how to effectively manage these fabulous resources, and the sometimes not-so-fabulous ones, is one librarians struggle with. Reed, Executive Director of Friends of Libraries USA (FOLUSA), lays out solid advice and guidance on the various situations you may face when dealing with volunteers.