News Archive for October 2007    

Time to File Your Form 470 FY 2008!
~ 471 Window Dates Have Not Been Set ~

Although it’s hard to believe, it’s time to begin posting your Form 470′s for Funding Year 2008! You are encouraged to file your 470′s before Thanksgiving recess which will give you all of January to evaluate your bids, sign your contracts and file your 471.

In December a list of districts that haven’t yet posted their 470′s will be sent out. If you don’t want to be on the list make sure you file soon!

To file visit: Apply for Form 470 and click on ‘Create Form 470.’

The SLD’s 470 guidance can be found at: Form 470 Guidance.

Visit the following link for additional information: Form 470 Helpful Tips

NOTE: The SLD has not yet set the FY 2008 Form 471 Filing Window Dates, but we expect the window to open in mid-November and close either the last week in January or the first week in February.

If you have any questions, please contact Julie Tritt Schell: jtschell@comcast.net

Save time, let someone else stress for you or share this with your colleagues to let them know how you really feel:
http://people.ambrosiasw.com/~andrew/funny/piggy.swf
Click on the pig’s nose. 

Heed the words of advice below before sending emails.

Email – Ask these questions before pressing “Send”

• Does this e-mail message make sense? Are the actions clear and do they have owners?
• Does the e-mail message meet the MPS P.A.S.S test?
  1. What is the Purpose of this communication?
  2. What Action is involved and does it have a due date?
  3. What Supporting information does the recipient need?
  4. Has the communication been effectively summarized in the Subject line?
• Is the message well-written? Is it concise while providing enough data for action to be taken or decisions made?
• Do the links in the message work? Are the attachments included?
• Is the e-mail message being sent to the correct recipients (not too many and not too few)?
• Does everyone on the To line have an action to take?
• Has the message been checked for grammar, spelling, and use of jargon?

Read an article about recent crimes and violence in Los Angeles, CA libraries.  http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-library25oct25,1,4325441.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

 Think about how you would respond if any of these situations happened in your library.

Do you have a good relationship with local authorities?

What signs should you look for to call for help before a situation escalates?

 How would your staff handle a patron asking to use the library as a refugee from others who want to attack him/her?

Take a look at Stephanie Liva’s letter to the editor responding to a recent patron letter.

http://www.pressandjournal.com/viewPointsDetail.aspx?ID=103

Read about a recent board retreat for BLM.

http://www.perrycountytimes.com/news/102507e.htm

FRIENDS OF THE JOSEPH T. SIMPSON LIBRARY
OCTOBER BOOK SALE

Saturday, October 27 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Sunday, October 28 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
at Books by the Gross
400 Cheryl Avenue, Mechanicsburg

Visit the following link for additional information:
SIM Book Sale

Matthews Public Library is on YouTube!

Visit the following link to view their page: Matthews Public Library

For any of you who may already have a YouTube account, either your own or one for your library, please consider becoming one of their subscribers. They hope to post a new video each week on subjects such as book reviews, “how-tos” and DIY crafts and home improvements, nature videos, interviews with folks around the community, puppet shows and some of their favorite storytellers.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Wild Resource Conservation Program (WRCP), will be holding a special program at the Whitaker Center.

Please join us in the the Whitaker Center’s Sunoco Performance Center from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm on October 22, 2007.

You may register for this program by email: tewitmer@state.pa.us, phone: 717-783-1639, or fax: 717-787-9067. Please be sure to include your name, title, telephone number, email address, and the name of the organization you represent.

View the following document for additonal information and the agenda:
Whitaker Center Invite

A Basic Grant Seeking Workshop
A Program Designed for Library Staff in the Capital Area District

This workshop will be held Monday, October 22 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the East Shore Area Library in their Gates Computer Lab.

This workshop, presented by Kief Schladweiler, Coordinator of Cooperating Collections, the Foundation Center, will offer tips and suggestions on how best to identify funding sources, highlighting the electronic and print electronic resources available for your use (free of charge) at the East Shore Area Library.

Please view the following document for additional information:
Basic Grant Seeking Workshop

You will also have an opportunity to meet John Miller, Reference Librarian, who now oversees the Cooperating Collection for the Dauphin County Library System.

View the following excel document for the reference and circulating Grants Collection materials housed at the East Shore Area Library:
Grants Collection

Call for Nominations for the 2008 Thomson Gale Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services

View the following document for additional information:
2008 Thomas Gale Award

Please save the date for the Southeast Chapter’s Annual Conference on Friday, December 7.

The conference will be held at the newly expanded Free Library of Northampton Township in Richboro, Bucks County. The library is located at 25 Upper Holland Road in Richboro, PA 18954-1514. The branch can be reached by phone at 215-357-3050.

The topic will be: “Managing Change“

The speakers will include: Kelly Krieg-Sigman, Executive Director, LaCrosse Public Library, LaCrosse, Wisconsin; Jennifer Nace, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Penn State’s Worthington Scranton campus; and Alexia Hudson, Reference Librarian, Penn State Great Valley.

The following PDF file has the agenda, directions and registration information:
SEPLA Brochure

Mary M. Maguire
District Consultant Librarian
610.278.5100 x124

A Pre-Application Workshop Announcement and Registration form are available for the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund Grant Program for Public Library Facilities in anticipation of the 2008 grant round.

Please view the following document for the Announcement information and Registration form:
Keystone Pre-Application Information

A hard copy should be mailed to each municipality and state-aided public library within the State in early October.

Note: There all 3 available workshops, the event date is for the workshop taking place in Harrisburg.

On April 17, 2008, PANO will host the first Pennsylvania Nonprofit Congress on the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Delegates from charities throughout the Commonwealth will descend on Harrisburg to discuss the issues that impact the sector, and identify ways to work together to achieve lasting results in Pennsylvania. Information collected here will help guide the next National Nonprofit Congress (June 2-4 of 2008) in Washington DC.

View the following document for further information:
PANO-Nonprofit Congress

I am excited to inform the consultants of Lebanon’s surrounding counties know that Michael Kumer will be in the Lebanon Community Library for the day on Wednesday, November 28. We invite board members and directors of neighboring libraries and nonprofit organizations to join us for this evening session.

Unfortunately, because of the costs involved, we need to ask a $20 registration fee. (I truly wish we were prosperous enough not to have to think about dollars.)  Payment and registration are due to Linda by Saturday, November 17.

The evening session will start at 7:00 pm.

The attached brochure has further information and the registration from.
Trustees and Directors Workshop with Michael Kumer

Linda Nicholson
District Consultant
Lebanon County Libraries
125 North 7th Street
Lebanon, PA 17046
717.273.7624 x212

This year the 18th Annual CODI Conference will be held at the lovely Westin Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA from November 7-9, 2007. The Westin Convention Center is located in the heart of the business and art center of Pittsburgh and is attached, via a skyway, to the nation’s first 100% environmentally green convention center, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Eat, Think and Share! is the theme of the conference this year and is a reflection of what the CODI Conference does so well. It is the best opportunity to learn (and think about) the ever changing face of technology, to hear our colleagues’ unique solutions to common problems, and review new products or new features from SirsiDynix and the vendors who attend this annual conference. It is a time to share our thoughts and discoveries with our contemporaries. And, of course, it is a great time to sit down and break bread with both our old friends and new acquaintances.

The Keynote speaker this year will be Roy Tennant, author of a number of books including Managing the Digital Library (2004). Roy is also the author of the monthly column “Digital Libraries” for the Library Journal, and a recognized pioneer in digital library development and internet training.

The program and schedule information may be viewed by visiting the following site:
CODI Conference Program and Schedule

To register visit one of the following sites:
Online Registration
Mail In Registration

Do you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the CODI 2007 Conference Planning Committee? You can email the committee at codi2007@biblio.org

If you are interesting in attending and would like to carpool, feel free to post here and perhaps coordinate rides.

The HSLC/Access PA Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at the Inn at Penn in Philadelphia. The focus of the program part of the meeting will be on marketing, with our speaker Tom Asaker, a prominent marketing, business and branding consultant. To see some background on Tom Asaker please visit his web site at:  http://www.acleareye.com and you may want to specifically view the short video at: http://www.acleareye.com/about/ to see him in action. HSLC Member representatives and Access PA participant contacts will be receiving invitations to attend the Annual Meeting in the next few weeks. Questions and inquiries should be sent to Toni Wharton (wharton@hslc.org).

Do you find yourself totally overwhelmed with too many tasks to do?  Do you get to the end of the day and wonder why you haven’t finished your projects or gotten the results you desired?  Read this article about How NOT to overspend your time on some activities:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/productivity-tip-how-not-to-overspend-your-time-on-a-task.html

 Learn to do NO MORE than is necessary for expected results. 

In a lot of working meetings when the subject of numbers and calculations comes up, everyone around the table groans and seems to struggle.   Learn tricks from this website to impress everyone around a conference table with your quick math mind (and stop complaining that librarians don’t do math!): http://listverse.com/science/10-easy-arithmetic-tricks/