Category: News    

Delivery has altered its route today, Thursday, Sept. 8.   Some libraries have altered their schedules too.

• No delivery to Perry County.  (MVL is closed)
• No delivery to upcounty DCLS locations (EV, ND, JOH).  All DCLS locations, except ESA, are closing at 2p.m. today.  AFL was closed all day to the public.  HER is closed to the public today.  MDT is recovering from some water damage and no electric and is closed likely through Saturday.
• There was a modified shortrun to DCLS down county locations this morning for some special deliveries.
• CCLS route did not experience delays.

Stay tuned for further updates as the day progresses.  Things may change quickly…  Be safe.

Read a press release about library changes in Lancaster.
Press release–Susan Hauer resigns

Here’s a link to another article: Article at Lancasteronline.com

Here are some links to news and stories about the new DCLS library location in Hummelstown, the William H. & Marion C. Alexander Family Library.

Learn about the library: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/07/hummelstown_library_to_open_we.html

Read about the grand opening from the Patriot News: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/07/new_hummelstown_library_dedica.html

Check out this video of the grant event: http://videos.pennlive.com/patriot-news/2010/07/new_hummelstown_library.html

And here’s a video showing how one piece of art in the new library was created: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0KhBEOSdBA

Enjoy!

Remember to use AFL instead of HUM for local delivery routes.

Check out this article in the Patriot News for a perspective of what’s happening with the state budget: http://www.pennlive.com/ The concluding sentence of the article doesn’t leave those departments and libraries starting with a new fiscal year on July 1 with much security, but I do what I can to remain positive and hope for the best: “No wonder both sides are not shy about saying the June 30 budget deadline can’t contain the oozing plumes of disagreement on so many important issues.”

To libraries, I would suggest that this isn’t the time to get mired in worry about what will happen if state funding isn’t available. You know you are doing your best with the resources that are provided. We’re not here to lobby; the valuable impact we make on the community often speaks for itself, but perhaps it could be time for public libraries to show their value and expertise in using and sharing valuable information.

I read an article over the weekend (thank you Google reader and friends for aggregating news on my interests all in one place) that showcased winners in a contest to make government information easy to access, display, use, and understand. Check it out to see how very complex information can be displayed in a more simple format to share with the public in some of these examples: Government Information Design contest winners. I particularly enjoyed this fun way to compare county level data showing each county’s level of each of the 7 deadly sins: countysinrankings.org/ which relied on data displayed at countyhealthrankings.org/ to give a data picture in easy to compare format.

How can libraries best design and share the information we have to help us showcase the benefits of keeping our funding level strong or of increasing it by 5% as advocated by the Pennsylvania Library Association?

How can libraries assist in the organization of information and facts and data to help our citizens and leaders be literate to can play a vital role as a part of an informed democracy.
Can we send an online information packed display to our public and the politicians showing them an infographic of the impact of budget decisions? As one example, can we show how increased library funding can coorelate with decreased prison funding? How can we use the ROI study to spread the news?

What did your library do today to show the public library role as an aggregator of the range of viewpoints, a wealth of information in multiple formats, and a place for education to enhance our great democracy?

Use this egovtoolkit to make sure your community knows how to access egovernment too.

Ideas always welcomed. :)

Read a recent editorial in the Patriot News about public libraries.
link to 4/21 Penn Live editorial

What do you think?
Feel free to comment, correct, ponder, question or share your thoughts and opinions here.

Extra, extra, read all about it: Middletown Public Library in the news

Libraries strive to meet minimum requirements as outlined in the PA Library Laws, one of them being certification for accepting the role of library director with all the responsibilities of leading a community library. This is a case where the Middletown Public Library would write an official letter requesting a waiver of the standards. A library is likely to be granted the waiver of standards for a limited period of time if they can provide a reason why the standard is not currently met and a written plan for achieving the standard within a reasonable period of time.

The minimum standard in the case of libraries with population under 10,000 is Library Assistant. If you want more information about certification, the information is available here: Public Library Certification Application.

The Middletown Public Library Board of Trustees, employees and Friends are hard at work on sharing their plan to best meet the needs of their community within available resources. They are providing strong proof of the impact a public library makes on a community to help make the case for an appropriate level of staffing.

Middletown spreads good news: “The library is a cheap and convenient place to find entertainment, scholastic assistance, and other services.”
Read the whole article from the Press & Journal
“We probably offer a bigger variety than what you might find elsewhere. We’ve tried not just to duplicate what you can get at other places.”

This poll appeared in the Patriot News. What do you think?
Question of the Week: Cumberland and York county libraries are facing funding cuts, so some are cutting hours. Would you pay more in taxes to keep the libraries open?

Check out the poll on Pennlive TODAY!

Link to LancasterOnline story about libraries and budgets
What do you think?

Update on the happenings at Middletown.
How do local politics effect your library?
Link to Patriot News story
link to Press and Journal story
Middletown Library’s hours changes and financial position from the Press and Journal

Dec. 16th article in Press and Journal
Challenges to staffing borough positions

The Library Technical Assistant program at Northampton Community College
prepares you to enter the workforce as a paraprofessional capable of
employment in a variety of libraries and information centers.

The program’s courses focus particularly on information resources,
services for children and management of a small public library.
Technical skills in such vital areas as acquisitions, electronic formats
and cataloging of all types of materials are addressed.

Although courses can be taken on an as-needed basis to improve skills
in specific areas, a specialized diploma is awarded upon completion of
15 LTA credits. Students in this program are required to perform online
research, and visit libraries to investigate print resources and explore
types of library services, in addition to reading assigned textbooks.

Call the Admissions Office at (610)861-5500 for information on
registration and course offerings or check our web site at
distancelearn

The second Governor’s Report on State Performance is available at the link below:
server.pt?

This report provides details on the accomplishments of 34 state agencies in the 2007-08 fiscal year. Pages 14 to 16 of the report tell of the outstanding performance of libraries in Pennsylvania in areas such as summer reading and other children’s programming as well as One Book, Every Young Child; Family Place; Ask Here PA and POWER Library.

It’s budget time of year for all of the district libraries. Most of you are busy drafting your outlook for 2009, working on plans for the use of state aid, and hoping you can continue to provide the growing quality level of service that patrons are accustomed to. Remember that the district is happy to review your draft budget if you’d like an outside pair of eyes to review your plans.

When making this year’s budget, in this tight economy, look at how you are forecasting your income and expenses.
How would you handle a 20% budget cut like Philadelphia may be facing now?
Where and when would citizens of your community feel the impact of lost dollars?
How evident would the cuts be to your public?
Is there anything you can do to demonstrate the value of your library and the return on dollars invested in order to protect current funding streams?
Are there efficiencies you can implement now to show that library dollars are the best investment?

Read about how Philly is handling dramatic budget cuts: Budget Cuts in Philly and NY

Fredricksen Library Book Cart Drill Team 2008

Check out this great presentation of Fredricksen Library’s ability to market themselves and libraries as a whole. Think about the great message they are sending! Thanks Fredricksen for showing the power of a great promotion!

Note: For those working in libraries without access to YouTube, take a minute at home to enjoy this. It’s worth it.
To know this is done by one of the libraries in our district makes me smile.

How does your library’s collection stack up to the results of a recent Harris Poll that includes facts like?:
-1 of 3 Americans read more than 10 books in typical year.
-1 of 5 Americans purchased no books last year.
-45% of those who read at least one book a year said have less time for reading books today than they did five years ago.

Read the whole poll and interesting data tables for the number of books read, time spent reading, and types and genres read at: The Harris Poll® #37, April 7, 2008

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=891

Check out this article from the NYT: Start Writing the Eulogies for Print Encyclopedias

For better or worse, it looks like the printed encyclopedia is soon to be on it’s way out. Many other print publications will or already have followed suit. Our profession will likely always have some debate of print content versus online format and content, but libraries can’t hide from the fact that the printed encyclopedia and maybe even someday, the printed book as we know it will be fading away in times of technology.
What role must public libraries play to ensure that the gap between the computer literate customer with high speed internet access at home and the person visiting the library, seeking only simple answers, doesn’t swallow us whole?
How might you keep your library relevant in a future world of expensive and personalized reading devices in the hands of those who have and very little in the hands of those who have not?
Finding that balance in serving our populations will be a dilemma. Is it time to refocus our mission to have the greatest impact on those who need it most?

http://www.nea.gov/news/news07/TRNR.html

Take a look at the news story above.  The National Endowment for the Arts just released a study, To Read or Not to Read, that displays some startling statistics about American reading habits.  Check out this article and the complete study for the impact of reading on teens, employers, and our society as a whole.

Consumer News You can Use from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department has articles that may be of interest to your patrons.

This Second Quarterly edition of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s newsletter contains some information on our new Commissioner, some on the consolidation of Highmark and Independence Blue Cross, as well as rental car and vacation insurance.  It also touches on health insurance for small business owners. 

Please take a look!
PA Insurance Department Newsletter July 2007

Claudia Koenig
Office of Commonwealth Libraries

Contact: Megan McFarlane
Campaign Coordinator
mmcfarlane@ala.org

For Immediate Release
July 10, 2007

Ben Roethlisberger named as Library Card Sign-up Month Spokesperson

Free promotional tools now online

(Chicago) The ALA announced today that Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback of the 2006 Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, will be the spokesperson for this year’s Library Card Sign-up Month, which begins September 1. Roethlisberger is featured on an ALA Graphics READ poster, which is being sent to national media by ALA as a public service announcement.

Promotional tools in Spanish and English are available online to promote The Smartest Card. Get It. Use It. @ your library theme for Library Card Sign-up Month. Tools include “52 Ways to Use Your Library Card,” a sample proclamation, press release, op-ed, letter-to-the-editor, PSA scripts and “Smartest Card” artwork. There are also links to “Smartest Card” promotional items available from ALA Graphics.

Sample tools and examples of how libraries have promoted Library Card Sign-up Month using the Smartest Card are available at www.ala.org/librarycardsignup.

Observed the month of September since 1987, Library Card Sign-up Month is a time when ALA and libraries across the country remind parents that a library card is the most important school supply of all and the smartest card a student can own.

The Smartest Card. Get It. Use It. @ your library is part of the Public Libraries Association (PLA) campaign to promote the library card as the most important card in every wallet. For more information on the PLA’s “Smartest Card” initiative, visit www.ala.org/pla.