Southeastern Library Services has completed PLOW training and our new website is up and running! While there's still a few "tweaks" that need to be made we welcome you to stop by and check it out. There you'll be able to not only see a finished PLOW website in action, but also access many new helpful features and documents. The web address is:

www.sls.lib.ia.us

Kids First Conference

Congratulations to Emily Rohlfs of Keokuk Public Library, Gabbriella Stevens of Ft. Madison Public Library and Deborah Stanton of Kalona Public Library for winning Southeastern Library Services' Kids First conference scholarships! The scholarships will send them to the Kids First conference, in Ames, Iowa April 24th-April 27th for free!

Go to http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/youth-services/kidsfirst/kidsfirst2007 for more information on speakers and registration.

Interested in receiving a scholarship? Keep your eyes peeled for more to come...

For Your Information...


-If you are a PLOW library you should have recently received, or soon will receive, your training location and date. That information can also be found here at SLS.

-For those of you attending the Summer Reading Program session on March 7th in Fairfield, Iowa from 9-noon we encourage you to stay around for our Youth Services Roundtable from 1-3pm. This is a great opportunity for you to meet other YS librarians in the area as well as exchange ideas, information, and maybe let off some steam!

-Sally Reed, executive director of Friends of Libraries USA, will be in North Liberty at the Gerdin Conference Center on April 14th, 2007 from 10am-3pm to share successful strategies for mobilizing Friends, Trustees and supporters on behalf of your library. There you will learn how to unite those voices to influence decision makers at the local and state levels. You'll receive 5 CE credits and the cost is $25.00 per person, $20 for an Iowa Library Trustee or Friends Assosiation member and includes handouts, a catered lunch and snacks. Ask about group rates!

Go to http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/cgi-bin/cecat/ to register for these events or check out new ones in your area.

TEEN TECH WEEK

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is introducing Teen Tech Week next month from March 4th through March 10th. What better way for your library to celebrate than holding your very own MySpace/blog beginner night or game night? Southeastern provides a brand new Ps2 and 3 games (your choice) for only $5 a night plus the cost of shipping. You can choose from favorites like Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution, Nascar, and many more! All come with accessories like dance pad, guitar, steering wheel, etc. and best of all they not only promote fun, but exercise!

For more information or to reserve check out our website or call Amanda at (800) 397-0029. Be sure to ask about how you can save on shipping or rent an additional system for your night!

Did you know that Wednesday, February 28th is 'Lobby From Home Day'? Information on the Legislative Agenda can be found at:
http://www.iowalibraryassociation.org/associations/2221/files/2007%20legislative%20agenda.pdf ...and how to participate can be found at http://www.iowalibraryassociation.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=13.
Needing support is the ILA push to restore LSA and State Library to FY01 levels and increase Enrich Iowa funding.

Do you have a Borders or Waldenbooks store near you? If you do, be sure to save your shopping for between March 22nd - 27th for the Educator Savings Weekend. You’ll receive 25% off the list price of books, CDs, DVDs and more. Borders stores are even hosting a reception on Friday, March 23rd between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Librarians are included in the definition of “educator” and all you have to do is bring in “proof of educator status”. (Katie has used her paycheck stub or a nametag in the past for this.) Visit the Borders website or call your local store for more details and fine print.

For those looking for more information on technology issues, TechNotes, sponsored by the Public Library Association , is a great place to start. Issues covered range from public computer time and print management to software for children to web services. Topics are constantly being added to, updated or deleted so be sure to check back often!

Meet Our New Consultant...

Katie Dunneback has a long history with librarianship as family members have been librarians for over seventy years. She received her M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003. Katie has spent the last three years full-time at the Westchester (IL) Public Library as a Reference Librarian, where she provided reference and readers’ advisory services, managed non-system interlibrary loan functions, parts of the collection, and taught the public computer classes in addition to numerous other duties. She also worked part-time at the Tinley Park Public Library as an Adult Services/Reference Librarian, providing reference desk coverage on weekends. Katie’s strengths include adult services and technology, with a particular interest in adult readers’ advisory services.

While job hunting, Katie got involved with the New Members Round Table of the American Library Association, and she is currently their Member Services Director. Katie was recently appointed to the newly formed Reading List Council which is a committee of the Reference and User Services Association’s Collection Development and Evaluation Section dedicated to acknowledging the best of genre fiction. She will be serving on the council until the 2009 ALA Midwinter Conference.

Katie has also contributed to professional literature with an article on developing professional portfolios available on LISCareer.com, an article on Adult Service Librarianship to be published in the upcoming book, A Day in the Life, edited by Priscilla K. Shontz and Richard A. Murray, and is working on part of a book chapter on serving the romance and other genre readers in the library. She also owns The Young Librarian website and blog.

Katie is more than happy to answer any questions you may have and is looking forward to working with everyone in the Southeaster Library Services service area.

'Wish for Lit' Grants

Amazon.com has a announced a program aimed at giving more than $20,000 in Amazon.com products to three deserving libraries in the United States. The "Wish for Lit" program is designed to give libraries an opportunity to create "Wish Lists" on Amazon.com to receive the books and supplies that they need the most. Amazon.com's Library Wish Lists is an online tool that easily connects donors to a library's catalog of most-needed products.

Beginning today, libraries interested in participating must submit an online entry form at http://www.blogger.com/www.amazon.com/wishforlit and create their Library Wish List. Applications will be accepted until February 16, 2007, and will be evaluated based on the following equally weighted criteria:

-Quality of the application
-Urgency of the need
-Value the award would give to the library/community

One library in each of three categories (K-12, Academic and Public), will be selected from Amazon's registry of Library Wish Lists by a panel of five judges selected by the ALA Chapter Relations Committee. Each winning library will receive a $5,000 gift certificate for Amazon.com products, as well as up to $2,000 of Amazon.com products that are on the library's Amazon.com Wish List. All of the items will be shipped directly to the libraries to be put to immediate use.

Amazon.com's Library Wish Lists tool connects libraries with donors who wish to purchase the most-needed items from a library's Wish List and have the products shipped directly to the library in an easy and seamless manner. Library Wish Lists allow each library to have more than one Wish List, and each list can be managed by multiple library personnel. Donors can make online contributions to the library of their choice by visiting http://www.blogger.com/www.amazon.com/wishlist and searching by library name.

The winners of the "Wish for Lit" program will be announced by Amazon and the ALA in the first week of April on the Amazon Librarians' Store Web site at www.amazon.com/libraries.

Good Luck!

Need A Job?

The Scott County Library System is currently accepting applications for the position of library director. The Scott County Library System is headquartered in Eldridge, Iowa and serves a population of 26,000 people through a new headquarters, five branches and a bookmobile. The system is governed by a nine person board and funded through a per-capita tax. Additionally, the system boasts a strong foundation and friends groups. The library system has a strong history of cooperation with area Illinois and Iowa libraries and shares a SIRSI system with other members of the Prairie Area Library System. Additionally it participates in Libraries Together, a cooperative project among the four libraries in Scott County founded to provide the citizens of Scott County with better, and more efficient, library services.

Requirements: An ALA -accredited MLS.5+ years of progressively responsible experience in public librariesSignificant budgeting, personnel, long-range planning and library automation experience required.Experience with public relations, grant-writing and facility management desired.

Hiring Range: $58,000 - $65,000 with excellent benefits packageApplications accepted until February 28.

To apply, send cover letter, resume and a minimum of four references to:

Doug Morrell
Board President
Scott County Library System
200 N 6th Ave
Eldridge, IA 52748

Or email to: cdavis@scottcountylibrary.org

Services!

Be sure to take note of and make use of Southeastern Library Services' new services! These include disc resurfacing and cleaning (.25 cents for a clean-.50 cents for a complete "like new" resurface), die cut rental or service, PS2 game night rental and our bookmark and bookbag sales. If you'd like more information about any of these check out our website at www.sls.lib.ia.us or give us a call!

***REMINDER***

If you are a tier one or two library, remember that Gerry Rowland at the State Library will need copies of your policies. If you need help developing policies, or working with the ones you have, give us a call.

If you’re a small library, check out our wiki at http://libtips.pbwiki.com/. You can comment, post, and create an interactive community for small library directors and staff. Be sure to check it out and post your own helpful tips and tricks!

Our new web site will hopefully be up and running some time during the first full week of February. The address remains the same, as do our email addresses, but the look will change!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Crew Public Library in Salem, Iowa for committing to the New Planning for Results process (facilitated by Kim) before they forge ahead on their plans for a new library!

Upcoming Workshops

Do you wish someone would show you the money? It’s out there, but getting a grant can be a complicated, stressful and tricky proposition. Join us and learn some of the basics of seeking and applying for grants. Sessions will be canceled if not enough participants though, so register soon! The dates and locations are:

February 14, 2007 10-noon
February 15, 2007 10-noon
February 23, 2007 10-noon

Also, don't miss the upcoming booktalks over the ICN on February 21st and the Summer Reading Program workshops that are held in our region-

Go to http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/cgi-bin/cecat/ to more information and to register. Call our office with any questions.

Check out this web site for free sheet music-great for patrons whare looking for a new hobby! Listed by instrument, it also includes free online lessons. http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/77902136/

Thanks to UNI librarian Herbert Safford for bringing it to our attention!

New Children's & Young Adult Literature Book Talks

As some of you may know the New Children’s & Young Adult book talks over the ICN are fast approaching (2/21/2007). This year we are proud to announce that we have 16 convenient locations throughout Southeast for you to choose from. While the fliers have just been sent out we know you guys may have not yet received them. Our sites and the general information for the book talks is now on the State CE catalog and available for viewing (please use as a reference, not for registration).

Once you’ve decided on a location, please register as soon as possible with East Central Library Services. You can do so by calling Linda Lumsden at (319) 365-0521 or sending in the form on the flier to 222 3rd Street, Suite 402 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401.

Please remember if you have any questions about the actual event, please call our office.



Hope to see you there!

Thanks to their local Presbyterian Church, dedicated staff and volunteers Drake Public Library in Centerville is proud to announce their first sign in 104 years and very successful first quilt show. Keep up the good work Drake!

Upcoming Workshops...

The All Iowa Reads ICN session is almost here! Mark January 30, 2007 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on your calendar today. Log into the CE calendar to see ICN locations and to register!

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Also, Library 101 dates been set for 2007. If you’re looking for an introductory course to running a library, log into the CE catalog at http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/cgi-bin/cecat/ and register for an ICN session.

The dates are:

March 22 (Thursday)
June 8 (Friday)
September 11 (Tuesday)
December 6 (Thursday)

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The two closest Summer Reading Program workshops are in Fairfield on February 12 and in North Liberty on February 13. More locations and dates are listed in the CE catalog. These workshops are a great way to get a feel for this year’s theme, share and borrow ideas from each other, and get energized for the summer. Register soon!

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Finally, SLS is sponsoring national speaker on library advocacy Sally Reed, Executive Director of FOLUSA (Friends of Libraries USA) and will provide a workshop on public awareness and proactive local level advocacy for staff, Trustees and Friends. If you’re looking to get your library front and center, this workshop is for you. The workshop will be held in North Liberty at the Gardin Conference Center on Saturday, April 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch is included. Workshop fee is $25, with a $5 discount for ILA members with additional membership in the Iowa Library Trustees Association or Iowa Library Friends Association. Membership forms available at the event. Reduced fees for libraries sending 5 or more representatives, call Kim at SLS for more information. The workshop is on the CE catalog, so get your Trustees, staff and Friends registered today!

We hope to see you soon!

Job Announcement

With Judy Jones' retirement in December, the State Library is seeking applicants for the open Consultant position. For more information on the job description, qualifications and application information, visit the DAS-HRE
website: http://das.hre.iowa.gov/iowa.jobs.htm, click on Iowa.Jobs for all applicants, and then Search openings and enter 1210BR at keywords.

Big News!

Beginning February 12, 2007, SLS will be fully staffed again! Our new consultant is Katie Dunneback, hailing from the Chicago area. She has a great deal of technical expertise (whew!), and direct service experience with the public. Katie will be introducing herself on the blog and listservs once she on board, and we’ll be making an effort to get out in the region in the spring so as many of you can meet her in person as possible.