LTLS - Quick Connections

Accessibility Workshop

There is still time to sign up for an all-day workshop full of innovative ideas in making museums and libraries welcome to all. “More Than an Elevator: Accessibility in Museums and Libraries,” presented by the Illinois Heritage Association, will be held at the DuPage County Historical Museum in Wheaton, Illinois, on Monday, April 30, 2007. The cost is $35 and includes handouts and lunch. Deadline for registrations is Monday, April 23.

Workshop topics include: understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act; making everyone welcome; Web site accessibility; services for children with disabilities; and tips for people with low vision or no vision.

Speakers include: Mike Jackson, Chief Architect, Preservation Services, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Springfield; Robin Jones, Director of the Great Lakes ADA and Accessible IT Center, Chicago; Steph McGrath, Former Senior Curator, DuPage County Historical Museum, Wheaton; Holly Jin, Children’s Librarian, Skokie Public Library; Sara Kahlenberg, Community Access Network Coordinator, DuPage Children’s Museum, Naperville; Chuck Dean, Webmaster, Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Evanston; and Janice Klein, Director, Mitchell Museum of the American Indian.

Come and learn what cultural heritage organizations need to know about their legal obligations; how museums and libraries can be more inclusive; ways to include children with disabilities in programs; and how people with limited vision rate accessibility in museums and libraries.

This workshop is partially funded by the Nancy and Hugh Epping Foundation. For more information, contact the Illinois Heritage Association (217) 259-5600 or plmxiha@prairienet.org.

OCLC to Pilot WorldCat Local

OCLC is piloting a new service that will allow libraries to combine the cooperative power of OCLC member libraries worldwide with the ability to customize WorldCat.org as a solution for local discovery and delivery services.

The WorldCat Local pilot builds on WorldCat.org, which allows Web access to the world's richest database for discovery of materials held in libraries. Through a locally branded interface, the service will provide libraries the ability to search the entire WorldCat database and present results beginning with items most accessible to the user. These might include collections from the home library, collections shared in a consortium and open access collections.

WorldCat Local will offer the same feature set as WorldCat.org and will interoperate with locally maintained services like circulation, resource sharing and resolution to full text to create a seamless experience for the end user.

View news release

Library Referenda Show Mixed Results

Three LTLS member libraries had referendum questions on the April 17th ballot.

The Bement Public Library District's proposed tax rate increase from .15 cents to .30 cents passed by a vote of 348 "yes" to 120 "no".

The Mahomet Public Library District proposed a tax increase to fund the construction cost of a new building.  In a close election, the question failed by a vote of 1,384 "yes" to  1,548 "no".

The Newman Regional Library District had a partial success in the proposed annexation of unserved area to the south and west of the library.  The question failed overall, however it passed in one precinct, Murdock, which is contiguous to the existing library boundary, so that precinct will be annexed, and other precincts where the vote did not pass will not be annexed.  The overall vote was 125 "yes" to 403 "no", and the vote in Murdock precinct was 27 "yes" to 8 "no".

Free: Nesting Display Cubes

A set of four solid pine nesting display cubes is free to the first library expressing an interest. The cubes have a medium honey brown finish and show a little wear and tear, but are generally in pretty good condition. They're a nice way to add a variety of heights to a tabletop display. Contact Elizabeth Otto, promotional services manager, at the Champaign Public Library at eotto@champaign.org.

Summer Camp for School Librarians

The Alliance Library System Summer Camp, to be held June 12-14 and 20-21, 2007 in East Peoria, is a continuing education opportunity for school librarians, teachers, and administrators. It consists of workshops on current issues, allows staff to network, and offers innovative ideas. Included are eight half-day workshops and one full-day road trip. Whether you attend one session or all ten, the cost is $25. Two CPDUs will be offered for each session. The Summer Camp brochure is available at http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/CEpdf/summer_camp.pdf.

eBay Seminar at Central Citizens, Clifton, IL

Rural Clifton, IL – Central Citizens' Library District invites everyone to attend an eBay Seminar at the library Wednesday, May 16, at 7:00 P. M. Dr. Brian Hinrichs of rural Watseka will share his knowledge and expertise of eBay. He will provide background information using a PowerPoint presentation and demonstrate the use of eBay via a live Internet connection. He encourages participants to have questions and to bring an item they might want to sell.

Please register to attend by calling 815-694-2800. There is no charge for the program.

Central Citizens' Library District is located at 1134 E. 3100 North Rd., Suite C, rural Clifton, IL.

For more information, please call the library at 815-694-2800.

FY2008 Public Library Per Capita and Equalization Aid Grant Requirements

The Illinois State Library has issued a reminder of the FY2008 Per Capita and Equalization Aid grant application requirements. This year public libraries must update or develop a disaster plan for the library and include it with the application. A suggested outline will be sent in April. Also this year, public libraries must describe the library’s method of orientation for newly hired staff, as well as newly seated trustees. As in past years, public libraries must submit a narrative describing how the library is coping with the current economic climate.

The required disaster plan and the FY2008 application must be postmarked no later than October 15, 2007. The State Library will consider for funding only those applications that clearly demonstrate that all FY2008 requirements have been met completely. For more information, contact the Library Development Group at 800-665-5576, Ext. 1.

Novelist and Novelist K-8

Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White and the Illinois State Library are pleased to announce the E-Rich offering of NoveList & NoveList K-8. NoveList allows adults and teens to find recommended books based on existing favorite books, favorite authors, subject interests and more. NoveList K-8 helps children in grades K-8, parents, & teachers identify books that are appropriate for children's reading abilities and interests. This offering not only provides access to a database, but also offers a wide range of resources that will expand your staff's ability to serve readers of all ages and increase your library's reach. NoveList & NoveList K-8 is available to ILLINET member academic, public, special, high school, middle school and elementary school library buildings. The Illinois State Library will subsidize 50% of the cost for each library building. Application and Invoice Instructions can be found at http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/library/what_we_do/pdfs/novelist2007_invoice.pdf. Please contact Gwen Harrison (gharrison@ilsos.net or 217-785-7334 for further information.

Book Repair Workshop Offered

Registration is now open for the CARLI sponsored preservation workshop: “Simple Repairs for Circulating Book Collections: A Hands-On Workshop.”

This workshop will be offered twice, once at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb on April 25th and again at the Illinois State Library in Springfield on May 1st.

This day-long workshop will give participants an opportunity to learn appropriate archival-quality repairs from trained professionals. The workshop is geared to any staff who want to learn how to perform simple, quick repairs that don’t require much space or equipment.

This workshop is being partially subsidized by CARLI. The registration fee for individuals from a CARLI member library is $30. The registration fee for non-CARLI members is $60. The registration fee includes morning coffee, lunch, training, and approximately $40 of preservation materials. The trainers for the day will be preservation staff from Illinois State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

For more information and to register for the workshop, please connect to http://www.carli.illinois.edu/mem-serv/mem-train/register/070425pres/index.php .

Space is limited so please register early. A waitlist will be established.

LTLS Board Meeting Rescheduled

The meeting of the LTLS Board of Directors originally scheduled for Monday, April 16th, has been cancelled and rescheduled for Monday, April 23, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.