Meet Our New Administrator...



The Board of Trustees of the Southeastern Library Services is pleased to announce that Kim Kietzman will assume the responsibilities of Administrator of Southeast Library Services Area starting June 5, 2006. She will work jointly with Emily Navarre, retiring SLSA Administrator, until June 30th when she will assume total responsibility for Southeastern.

Kim, currently the director of the LeClaire Community Library, comes to SLSA with a variety and depth of library experiences that will be invaluable in her new job. She has been instrumental in the establishment of the LeClaire Community Library and in the supervision of the facility’s expansion, remodeling and construction. She has been an active participant in the Libraries Together project of the four public libraries in Scott County which strives to provide the citizens of Scott County with efficient library services. She helped to write the grants which funded this project and authored the library’s web page.

Kim has been active in statewide efforts to advocate library services with state legislators. Over the past nine years, she has also worked in youth services, reference services, and extension services at the Davenport (IA) Public Library, the Rock Island (IL) Public Library and at the Minneapolis (MN) Public Library. Kim has strong public library, technological, advocacy, and teaching skills.

For further information, please contact Jane Campagna, SLSA Board of Trustees President, at 563-441-4152 or jcampagna@eicc.edu.

Fairfield Library Names New Director

The Fairfield Public Library has recently named Rebecca Huggins as their new library director. Previously, Becky had served as Interim Director, and had volunteered her time at the library. Please join us in welcoming Becky to the Southeastern region!

Former director Judy Bar-Shimon submitted her resignation this winter, after being on an extended leave of absence for health-related concerns.

ILA/ACRL Spring Conference 2006

Information about this year's ILA/ACRL spring conference is available online at:

http://www.iren.net/acrl/conference/2006/index.html

The conference, which meets Friday, April 21st at the Memorial Union in Iowa City, is co-sponsored this year by the Iowa Association of School Librarians. The conference theme for 2006 is "High School to Higher Ed: Helping Learners Make the Leap." The Keynote Speaker will be Professor David T. Conley, Director of the Center for Educational Policy Research at the University of Oregon.

[Source: Mary McInroy, Member, ILA/ACRl Spring Conference Committee]

Iowa Customers of Sirsi/Dynix to Meet

The first meeting of the Iowa Customers of Sirsi/Dynix will meet at the State Library on May 9th, 2006 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The day will include company- and user-led presentations on a variety of subjects of interest to all Sirsi/Dynix customers.

The registration fee for this event is only $15, which includes lunch and refreshments.

For more information, and to register, visit:

http://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/SirsiDynix/sirsidynix.htm

[Source: Monique McLay Shore, Stewart Library, Grinnell]

Workshop DVD Available

Mary Cameron from the State Library reports that the Teen Summer Library Workshop is now available on DVD for checkout.

They do not have a VHS copy right now, but will let you know if we get one. Most of your computers with CD/DVD drives will be able to play this DVD.
(The Gates Computers do have this kind of drive.)

One comment - The sound is not good on the DVDs as there was some problem with the taping of the program.

You can request a DVD from Rinda Kramme rinda.kramme@lib.state.ia.us or 1-800-248-4483.

Order: DVD10 Creature Feature

Spring Conference Announced

You are invited to attend the first ever combined Spring Conference. The Iowa Small Library Association, Public Library and Support Personnel Subdivisions of ILA are sponsoring the first ever combined Spring Conference on May 12, 2006 in the Gerdin Conference Center of the North Liberty Community Center from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm.

John Langhorne of Langhorne and Associates will be speaking on staff morale in the morning and leading breakout sessions on the subject in the afternoon. This will be a very pro-active and invigorating conference. John has come highly recommended to speak on this subject.

For more information, and to register, visit: http://www.northlibertylibrary.org/indexfiles/pande/

[Source: Dee Crowner, North Liberty Community Library]

Tracy Anderson appointed to Southeastern LSA Board

Southeastern Library Services is pleased to welcome Tracy Anderson to the SLS Board of Trustees. Mr. Anderson represents "library patrons" on our board, but he is currently a Trustee on the Kalona Public Library Board. Tracy's term will expire on June 30, 2008.

Iowa Library Friends Association workshop

On Monday, May 1st, 2006, the Iowa Library Friends Association (ILFA) will be hosting a regional workshop for Library Friends groups. The workshop will be held at the Waverly Public Library from 10 am to 2 pm.

Topics will include:

• Where to look for funds/grants outside your Friends activities
• Sharing Ideas among Friends Groups
• What's Ahead for Public Libraries

The fee for this workshop is only $5.00

For more information, please contact Greer Fry, President of ILFA:
golfer319@mchsi.com

Summer Library Workshop recording now available

Mary Cameron from the State Library reports that the Children's Summer Library Workshop is now available on DVD for checkout. They do not have a VHS copy right now, but will let you know if they get one. Most of your computers with CD/DVD drives will be able to play this DVD.
(The Gates Computers have this kind of drive.)

You can request a DVD from Rinda Kramme rinda.kramme@lib.state.ia.us or 1-800-248-4483.

Order: DVD8 Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales

Columbus Junction sets Building Dedication Date



Director Ardee Ostrem has announced that Columbus Junction will hold a building dedication on Tuesday, May 16th, 2006. Details will be announced at a later time.

"Where the Action Is" workshop Returns--Join us Wednesday, May 3rd.

Who has the greatest influence on how readers experience the library? Front-line staff, of course!

Back by popular demand, this workshop will review policies and practices for library access, circulation, and stack management, with a focus on creating a rewarding and delightful customer experience and an inviting public environment. Participants will review effective approaches to fines, overdues, and damaged materials; creating and managing borrower records; placing and delivering holds; interlibrary loan policies and practices; mail and personal delivery programs; returns and pickups; copy and fax services; management and scheduling of Internet, computer, and equipment workstations; management and scheduling of meeting and study rooms; materials packaging, maintenance, and repair; and effective practices for shelving, stack management, and housekeeping.

The workshop will also cover broader accessibility topics such as promoting staff/customer interactions; maintaining confidentiality; physical accessibility; wayfinding and signage; hours of service; and personal convenience issues such as food, drink, cell phones, and noise in the library.

Administrative topics will include training for complex systems under conditions of high turnover; policies and practices for measuring performance, with an emphasis on recording in-house use; and ways to maintain and enhance frontline customer feedback.

For more information about this workshop, and to register, visit the State Library's CE Catalog.

Library-Police Partnerships Workshop Draws Crowd

Nearly 40 librarians from all over Eastern Iowa attended a 5 hour workshop in Coralville on Wednesday, April 5th. The topic at hand: Library-Police Partnerships. Library Director Vicki Hibbert (Clive Public Library) and Clive's Chief of Police, Robert Cox, spoke about the importance of creating and maintaining a positive working relationship with local law enforcement.

Librarians had the opportunity to ask many questions of the presenters, including:

When should I call 9-1-1?
How do I ban someone from using the library?
Can the police department help us get overdue books back?
What should I do if I think there's a registered sex offender using the library?

Five CEs were offered for this workshop, which included a catered luncheon.

Preview "Plone" on State Library Website

Libraries that will be taking advantage of the latest Gates Foundation "Staying Connected" Grant can now get a sneak peek what their sites could look like! The State Library launched its New and Improved website this week at www.statelibraryofiowa.org

The site was created using Plone, the software public libraries will be using to create their own sites. Click around and notice all of the great features--and dream about what your new site will look like!