'Where the Action the Action Is' Workshop


Forty-two Southeastern librarians turned out for the popular workshop, "Where the Action Is!" taught by Roy Kenagy, Central Iowa Library Service Area Administrator on May 3rd at the Mt. Pleasant Public Library. What library staff has the greatest influence on how our readers experience the library? How do we create an inviting library atmosphere? Who is Ranganathan anyway? What is meant by "the library is a growing organism?"







After a day spent discussing the many topics that influence library staff behavior, from library fines to handling cash, and pairing them with Ranganathan's five library priciples, the workshop participants were set to put their libraries in order and save the time of the reader.

Couldn't make it this year? Keep an eye out for future sessions! You'll be glad you came!

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!

Diversity Conference at IHCC Ottumwa
(posted on behalf of Cheryl Leffler, Associate Librarian, IHCC)

"Serving Immigrant Populations: A Library Prototype for Diversity" a nationally broadcast teleconference that is part of the 2006 DuPage Soaring to Excellence Series will be included in the Indian Hills Community College Second Annual Diversity Conference on Friday, April 7th, 2006. The two-hour broadcast will examine how to assess the needs of your library's immigrant population, English as a second language materials, legal issues, work issues, and bi-lingual library resources.

The Diversity Conference is open to everyone, and will feature many informative sessions on serving diverse populations. There is no registration fee, and lunch will be provided to all conference participants at no charge.

Presenters will discuss diversity and its relationship to topics such as religion, health, age, education, disability, immigration, education, gender and the workforce. The conference starts at 8:30 a.m. and the last session is over at 3:00 p.m. All sessions except for the library session will be held in Efner Hall (Bldg. A). For more information, please check out the conference information on the IHCC web page at http://www.indianhills.edu/diversity/index.asp

Lobby From Home!

By now you've surely seen the messages from the Iowa Library Association reminding you that Wednesday, February 22nd, is "Lobby from Home Day." Here's an excerpt from an email from Susan Craig, President of ILA:

"This is the day that ILA asks the whole Iowa library community to contact their state legislators to ask them to support Iowa libraries. This year we are supporting the Governor’s increases in funding for the State Library of Iowa and Enrich Iowa. We are joining the Library Service Areas to ask the Legislature to add $50,000 to the LSA budget to allow them to continue their vital work. In addition, ILA and the IASL are working with allies—including the ISEA and the School Administrators of Iowa—to restore the requirement for a teacher-librarian in each school district. ILA is also opposing the Internet filtering bills and obscenity law revisions that would override existing, locally created, library policies."

We would like to encourage everyone to go to the ILA Website to learn what to say, and who to contact. Remember, your voice is important--and everyone's voice needs to be heard!

Trustees Discuss Funding Difficulties

Ten Library Trustees, representing the four libraries in Scott County, came together at the Scott County Library Headquarters in Eldridge for a Trustee Roundtable last evening. The discussion was lively, and focused primarily on the difficulty of providing quality library service on dwindling budgets. Of particular concern to the group was Senate Study Bill 3085, known informally as the "Essential Services Bill." There is growing concern that if libraries are on a theoretical "non-essential" list that funding from cities will continue to worsen. Directors LaWanda Roudebush (Davenport) and Faye Clow (Bettendorf) were also on hand to provide statistics and definitions to the group.

Other topics included the low reimbursement rate for programs such as Open Access and Access Plus, bills related to obscenity and filters, and the Libraries Together project.

Fort Madison announces Website Re-design

After months of work, the Fort Madison Library would like to invite you to visit their newly-designed website:
www.fortmadisonlibrary.org

Visitors to the site can see a caledar of events, a great set of reference links, and even plans for the new library, which is slated to be open in mid-to-late 2007. Check back for updates!
[Source: Emily Rohlfs, director]

(Director Ardee Ostrem shows off her NEW office!!!)

Columbus Junction cuts Ribbon at new Civic Center Building

Most say it took more than 15 years for this community's dream to become a reality! On February 13, the citizens of Columbus Junction were invited to a ribbon cutting ceremony for the city's new Civic Center. The building, which houses the library, council chambers, city offices, a New Iowan center, and much more, cost an estimated $2 million to build. Approximately $1 million was raised locally, while about $525,000 came from the State in the form of a Vision Iowa C.A.T. grant. Director Ardith Ostrem, her staff, and her Board were all on hand to give tours. Congratulations Columbus Junction!

Regional Roundtables cover Hot Topics

Twenty-three librarians, representing 18 communities in Southeastern Iowa participated in Regional Roundtables during the month of January. During each of two sessions, (graciously hosted by the libraries in Sigourney and West Point) librarians discussed issues related to equitable funding, changes to the SILO locator, upcoming Gates Foundation initiatives, and top library trends.