LTLS - Quick Connections

Talking Book Center Funding

Alliance Library System announced today that the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center (MITBC), located at ALS headquarters in East Peoria, will be able to operate through the remainder of FY2010 and FY2011.  The llinois State Library/Secretary of State has expedited payment to compensate Alliance Library System and will fully fund MITBC and 2 other Talking Book Centers in Illinois.  MITBC is part of a statewide and national network that serves the Lincoln Trail service area by providing library services to more than 5,000 blind and physically handicapped residents in central Illinois.

Bills Are Being Introduced in the Illinois General Assembly

The ILA Public Policy Committee (PPC) will be meeting today at noon at various VTEL locations across the state.  ILA's Legislative Consultant Kip Kolkmeier will begin the process of explaining the various bills introduced that might have an impact on the Illinois library community.  Twenty bills have been identified, so far.  Please click here to see that list.   PPC will discuss these bills to determine their recommendations to the ILA Executive Board.  The next ILA Executive Board meeting is Friday, 12 February at the Prairie Area Library System in Shorewood.  On that day, the ILA Executive Board will hear PPC's recommendations and determine the association's positions.  Both the PPC and ILA Executive Board meetings are open and your attendance is encouraged.

Snapshot Day

Join the Illinois Library Association in showing just how important your library is!

On Wedensday, February 10, libraries across Illinois will be participating in Snapshot Day: A Day in the Life of Illinois Libraries. On this day, libraries of all types — public libraries as well as those at schools, colleges, and universities — will be gathering statistics that show just how in-demand libraries are. In addition, you’ll be able to fill out a very brief survey about your library visit, and even provide testimonials about how much you love your library. Libraries will also be encouraged to take pictures to create a photo record of just how popular the library is!

Don't Forget Today is the Day!

Today is the day! The Illinois library community is being requested to send e-mail messages to Comptroller Hynes and Governor Quinn.  Please mark your calendar now to go to www.saveillinoislibraries.com next Wednesday, January 20.  An easy to use form will pop up on the front page.  Put in your information and send those e-mails.

Mark Your Calendar January 20 to Contact Illinois Governor and Comptroller

Illinois's Regional Library Systems have not received any money this fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2009 along with other state funded agencies.  The Illinois General Assembly allocated money, but payments have not been released.
 
The current budget shortfall ESTIMATE is $13 billion.  This amount is equivalent to all state General Funds spending for the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Department of Human Services, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and the Illinois Department of Public Health.  The entire General Funds -- after accounting for mandatory spending for pension costs, debt services, and other statutory transfers -- is about $26 billion.  Closing a $13 billion gap without new revenue would require devastating spending cuts, on top of those enacted this year.  If such cuts were applied across the board, they would slash about 50 percent of funding from every state program; if not distributed equally, individual cuts would run far deeper.
 
On Wednesday January 20, 2010, the Illinois library community is being requested to send e-mail messages to Comptroller Hynes and Governor Quinn.  Please mark your calendar now to go to www.saveillinoislibraries.com next Wednesday, January 20.  An easy to use form will pop up on the front page.  Put in your information and send those e-mails.

PLA offers politics and networking workshop for public librarians

Now more than ever, being able to navigate the political environment in your community is critical to the success of your public library. In order to help you learn the skills you need to operate effectively with your local government, the Public Library Association (PLA), in partnership with the Ohio Library Council, is offering a two-day Politics and Networking workshop Feb 17-18, 2010 at the Toledo Public Library.

ALA files comments to NTIA and RUS on broadband stimulus programs

The American Library Association (ALA) today filed comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) regarding the implementation of the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

The ALA’s comments called for increasing funding for the Public Computer Center Program, streamlining and simplifying the application and review process, and prioritizing funding for community anchor institutions.

“Libraries are uniquely positioned to deliver on the promise and objectives of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and the Broadband Initiatives Program,” said Carrie McGuire, director for the program on networks for the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP).

“We strongly encourage the NTIA and RUS to make changes to the program prior to Round 2 to ensure that libraries can take maximum advantage of this opportunity.”

The ALA’s comments assert that libraries are key partners in the programs’ goal of extending the opportunities available online to people across the United States. Libraries play the vital role of providing access to employment information, continuing education, government resources, small business opportunities and more; broadband connections are one of the critical elements that allow libraries to provide these essential resources to the public.

Get Legislators in Your Library!

One of the best ways to get legislators to listen (and, more important, support you) is to show them what your library does to benefit the community. Believe it or not, members of Congress still think of libraries as “those places with all the books.”

The good news is that your opportunities to make a real difference are just around the corner. Members of Congress and their staff will be coming back to their districts for the Thanksgiving and Winter District Work periods (exact dates to be determined).

Whether it’s a meeting with your trustees, friends or employees, a visit to your library or inviting legislators and staff to a holiday event, this session will offer practical tips for making these visits as worthwhile as possible.

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.


Read more…

Updated public library technology issues briefs now available online

The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Research & Statistics (ORS) is making available online the most recent data published in the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study (www.ala.org/plinternetfunding). The information provides up-to-date  issues briefs related to public library technology and job-seeking, lifelong learning and Internet connectivity.

Library staffs are encouraged to use these briefing papers as educational tools with community stakeholders, including elected officials, funders and program partners, as needed, to raise awareness of the specific – and sometimes unique – concerns of libraries around technology deployment. Staff may also use this format as a template for providing local data and examples related to a given topic. The briefing reports are not intended to be comprehensive, but rather to share key findings from the largest and longest-running study of Internet connectivity in libraries.

An Important Message to Illinois Public Libraries

Public Act 96-37 created a new Illinois public library construction program.  The new law requires the Secretary of State and the Illinois State Library to file with the General Assembly a comprehensive assessment report of the capital needs of all public libraries before January 1, 2010.  Filing this report is one of the steps that must be completed before the Secretary of State's office can implement the new program to assist public libraries with capital improvement projects.  The new grant program is funded with a $50 million Build Illinois Bond Fund appropriation contained in Public Act 96-35.

In order to compile the assessment report, I am requesting that each Illinois public library complete and submit the one-page online Capital Needs Assessment Survey by Friday, November 20, 2009, even if no capital improvements are needed. It is recommended that you have Acrobat 8.1 or higher installed on your computer to take the survey.