The SELCO Librarian

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

SELCO staff have a variety of job titles and responsibilities. In this SELCOtv mini-series, we'll meet staff members and find out what they do here at SELCO on a day-to-day basis. This episode introduces you to Mick Reese, Systems Manager.

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

This is a recording of the August 18, 2010 meeting of the SELCO ILS Operations & Technology Policy Joint Committee.  The video has been broken into 3 parts for ease of viewing.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

Owatonna Public Library has retired its bookmobile earlier this month.  It served many Steele County communities over the last five years.  No other library services are affected by this closing and all library patrons are served by Owatonna Public Library and its branch in Blooming Prairie.  For more information, see the press release on their website . 

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

Judy Bissen

Judy Bissen was the morning keynote speaker at Early Literacy Camp Read-a-Lot on 8/10/10.  She stressed the importance of reading to and having conversations with pre-school children to get them ready to read and also get them ready for school.

Betsy Bowen

Betsy Bowen is a children's book author and illustrator from Duluth, MN.  She spoke to the Early Literacy Camp Read-a-Lot campers on 8/10/10 about where she gets inspiration for her art and also talked about how the art of woodcutting works.

Sara Waters

Sara Waters is a children's librarian at St Paul Public Library, specializing in newborn-2 year olds. She spoke on 8/10/10 at Early Literacy Camp Read-a-Lot and stressed the importance of making storytimes fun and enjoyable for both kids and adults.

John Carver, creator of Policy Governance, defines the types of information shared with boards into three general categories:  decision-making, monitoring, and incidental.  Recently, Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations(ALTAFF) reprinted a piece in their Tools for Trustees column about designing an information system for more effective communication with board members to help keep them informed.  For more details, check the online resource, BoardSource , which offers authoritative yet concise information for non-for-profit board members and supporting staff.  

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

Participants at SELCO's Camp Read-a-Lot's Grades 2-5 day on 8/11/10 talk about why they came to Camp & what their favorite book they read for Camp was.

The Minnesota Department of Education released a new organizational chart today outlining the reporting structure within MDE for the Executive Team.  State Library Services will report to Assistant Commissioner, Karen Carlson.

Carla Johnson, Cataloging Services Librarian

As of Monday, August 16, 2010, the Minnesota Department of Health has decided to begin the process of closing the Barr Library .  A transition plan and closing date will be finalized and announced soon.

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

Participants at SELCO's Camp Read-a-Lot's Early Literacy day on 8/10/10 talk about why they Camp & what their favorite book they read for Camp was.

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

SELCO staff have a variety of job titles and responsibilities. In this SELCOtv mini-series, we'll meet staff members and find out what they do here at SELCO on a day-to-day basis. This episode introduces you to Jonya Pacey, Help Desk Manager.

Dave Stenman, Networking Manager

As reported to Online Library Directors and Automation Contacts in e-mail, we are going to upgrade our firewall on Saturday night after 6:00 p.m.  Here are some more details for those who are interested.

This new firewall is installed on a Dell Server and is running a current version of Check Point Firewall software.  Our existing firewall is running on an older  Nokia Firewall Appliance and the Check Point version is several revisions older than the current one.  This Nokia Firewall Appliance is nearing end of life as far as support goes.  The new firewall will bring us up to a current version and will provide us with more flexibility in regard to network configuration, routing Internet traffic and other features.  We are expecting this firewall upgrade to have minimal impact on all our library sites.  If the firewall upgrade does not work out we can quickly switch back to our current Nokia Firewall in a matter of minutes.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Mike Flores, User Technology Manager and Jonya Pacey, Help Desk Manager

We are moving to a new notices form on August 23, so that the mailed notices your patrons receive are more up-to-date and offer us more options.

The new forms print out on a regular laser printer, allowing us to use a more standard print method versus the older dot matrix method we were using before.  Once printed, they go through a folding machine that seals them.  Like the previous forms, these forms have security printing on them to ensure that patron data is kept private.  The cost of the new forms is about the same as the older form, so there will be no additional cost to the libraries that we print notices for.

This change only affects the libraries that have SELCO mail out their notices. If your staff processes the notices locally, or if you have your notices printed on white half-sheets, you will not be affected. The email notices will not be affected, other than the addition of a date line at the top.

As the paper is a standard office paper-sized sheet, there will be more room on the notice for lines of text. So we have added a line at the top for the date and for the borrower barcode. We have also extended the number of lines of blocks per sheet and it will possibly save you money as one form can do the work of about one and a half of the former forms.

You have always been able to customize the text that proceeds a block on a notice, such as editing the message regarding legal action if lost materials are not returned or editing the message regarding how many days an item will remain on the hold shelf. In the future, we will evaluate modifying the notices to allow for region-wide graphics, or to accommodate a library that wishes to send notice of a book-sale or a holiday greeting as we have on the receipts.

But at this time, we are glad to be able to update our forms. On August 9, the libraries we currently print mailed notices for will get an envelope in the delivery tubs with samples of the new forms, so that staff can be familiar with them when we begin using the new forms on August 23.

There is a SELCOtv episode if you would like to see the forms. Please contact the Help Desk if you have any questions.

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

There is a new format for notices that will begin being sent out by SELCO on 8/23. Mike Flores & Jonya Pacey talk about the changes in this episode of SELCOtv.

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

SELCO staff have a variety of job titles and responsibilities. In this SELCOtv mini-series, we'll meet staff members and find out what they do here at SELCO on a day-to-day basis. This episode introduces you to Carla Johnson, Cataloging Services Librarian.

As reported by Marla Burns, Caledonia Public Library Director

I had a wonderful chuckle last week and since then I have been thinking about it. Last week a local worker at our Nursing Home came in to get a library card for one of the clients that have been living at the nursing home for a couple of months. The lady wanted some "spicy romance books". Now the best part. This is her first library card and she is 100 years old and doesn't need reading glasses. I spoke with her today and asked her if I could pass this on to you and possibly put some information and an inquiry as to the oldest person to get their first library card. She said whatever!!!

In case you’ve missed it, Old Spice has a new ad campaign .  For those who find the new series of commercials entertaining, you will love the library version. With their popularity, people have been Twittering about the ads and the advertizing agency responded with YouTube shorts including a library promo by the Old Spice actor .  In addition, there have been lots of parodies (some good and some not so good).  The parady produced by BYU is very well done and shot in the Library .  Enjoy!

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

Camp Read-a-Lot is coming up on August 10 & 11 at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro! ; Aurora Jacobsen gives a book review of Where in the Wild by David Schwartz, one of the books on the Grades 2-3 reading list this year.

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

The SELCO Quarterly Board meeting was held on July 27, 2010. ; The SELCO Board is made up of representatives from all parts of the SELCO region and meets once a quarter in January, April, July and October. Since the July meeting is the first of the fiscal year, this meeting is considered the Annual Meeting of the Corporation.  This video has been broken into four parts for ease of viewing.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian

Buckham Memorial Library Youth Services Librarian Frances Veit has an article in the Summer 2010 issue of Young Adult Library Services (YALS), the official journal of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).  The article, Absolutely True Experiences of Two New Librarians:  The Importance of Popular Literature in Educating Young Adult Librarians, offers tips for new YA librarians, examines the critical nature of including popular lit in grad school, and lists some great resources for popular literature selection.  Frances and her graduate school friend, Fumiko Osada, co-wrote the article.  Way to go, Frances!!

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

Ann Hutton, Executive Director, highlights the discussion points of the SELCO Quarterly Board Meeting/Annual Meeting of the Corporation held on Tuesday, July 27, 2010. The Board Recap is a regular program posted once a month after Board & Executive Committee Meetings.  Since the July meeting is the first of the fiscal year, i it is considered the Annual Meeting of the Corporation.

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

Camp Read-a-Lot is coming up on August 10 & 11 at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro!  Mollie Pherson gives a book review of Go, Go America by Dan Yaccarino, one of the books on the Grades 4-5 reading list this year.

Tyler Irvin, Regional Librarian

On Thursday, July 22, 2010, I attended a workshop in Marshall, MN about the Scratch program. Scratch is a computer program designed to teach a younger audience the basics of computer programming.

Of course, "programming" is never said so as not to scare anyone off. In fact, the "meta-teaching component" of the class went over how the presenters normally perform their program for teens. As opposed to the traditional, structure method of education, they use a more relaxed approach. If the kids or teens are playing around with the program during the presentation, they consider it a success and don't fret that they aren't receiving undivided attention. Nor do they follow a set timeline but just move on as the group wears itself on a topic and adjust according to cover what's needed. There were many other interesting comments they made on the teaching of teens. For example, when they did the teen workshop in an impoverished section of the Twin Cities, they found that the teens would lose interest complete and fool around during the beginning of the presentation during the lecture part. However, when the teens actually began working and getting hands-on, they calmed down considerably. The presenters also understood the mentality of just agreeing when asked if everyone's caught up (possibly a variation of Minnesota Nice) and suggest physically checking everyone's screen to make sure they are finding whatever it is they seek. And above all the "sanctity of the mouse" should be respected; never take over and perform an action for someone else. By assisting a person in finding something without doing it for them, they learn and remember far better than just doing it for them.

As for the Scratch program itself, it was quite interesting and harkened back to the days when I was in a Java programming class although Scratch is far more user-friendly. Scratch is available for free download and a creation of an IMLS grant project, the same source as those many LSTA projects SELCO often performs. The program is quite simple to use, especially if one has an understanding of mathematical nesting or boolean operators although neither is required to get it. The elements of the projects can be created in a Paint-style portion of the program or uploaded for just about any source. Once the elements are in place, operators/commands/whatever-you-want-to-call-them can be found on one side of the screen and dragged into the workshop part of the screen. The command pieces are clearly designed and give a feeling of Legos as they can just be snapped together. The combinations are boundless. A project based in Scratch can be as simple as an animation made to recount a story or as complex as creating a RPG (Role Playing Game).

For more information, check the Media Mashup page at ning or the Scratch community page. Below is the animation I created in the workshop. As a disclaimer, it was directed so everyone's was just about the same and I am a terrible artist when using a computer mouse.

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

Camp Read-a-Lot is coming up on August 10 & 11 at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro!  Rachel Gray gives a book review of Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman, one of the books for the Early Literacy day at Camp this year.

Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian

The ebook reader kit in our Techie Toybox now includes an Apple iPad!  Check it out for either staff or patron training programs.  Email booking@selco.info to reserve it today!

Carla Johnson, Cataloging Services Librarian

Locating your file and importing MARC records into Horizon. This is the 4th in a series of videos on using CatExpress.

Because this is a tutorial of Horizon which is proprietary SirsiDynix software, you have to login using your SELCO web account to view this video.

click here to view video.

Carla Johnson, Cataloging Services Librarian

Downloading and file management. This is the 3rd in a series of videos on using CatExpress.

Because this is a tutorial of Horizon which is proprietary SirsiDynix software, you have to login using your SELCO web account to view this video.

click here to view video.

Michael Scott, Assistant Director

I had the opportunity to attend the 2010 MEMO Summer Leadership Workshop on June 12, 2010.  The workshop was held at the Minnesota Humanities Center , located near Lake Phalen in St. Paul.  The speaker was Gary Hartzell, Professor Emeritus from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.  Gary's presentation was "Advocacy, Visibility, and Influence: Leading Your Principal and Others to See Value in the Library and the Librarian."

Hartzell pointed out that in the 50+ years of research, "effective library media programs led by qualified, active, involved librarians with broad-based administrative support can positively affect student achievement regardless of school demographics."  The important caveat to this statement, according to Hartzell, is that correlation is not causation.  In other words, the relationship has between two items (library media programs and student achievement) & the strength of their association has been identified, but it cannot be assumed then that and effective library media program causes high student achievement.  Hartzell stressed that rather than seeing libraries as magic bullets to fix student achievement issues, we look at them as a piece of a puzzle or a stone in a mosiac that are part of the success. 

Hartzell gave examples of areas that he saw that libraries could provide support that would be key to additional student, teacher, & administrator success.  The examples he noted, from his years of experience in school administration, included working with specific student populations, such as at-risk or gifted students, new, veteran "newcomer," or out-of-assignment teachers, or providing information on model programs or research to administration to help them do their job.  In other words, it is about marketing and actually "selling" the skills & knowledge you have as a librarian as well as showing that the library media center under-girds other programs within a school.  In the end, Hartzell noted, it comes down to rethinking the role of the librarian and library media center beyond what they are today to ensure their viability and success in the future.

Overall, I think this was a useful message to hear.  Nothing that was necessarily difficult or profound but rather, practical and achievable.

Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian

Great news!  Minnesota's Greatest Generation (MGG) Kits are now available to book for programming and focus on events and activities for the generation of Americans who grew up in the Depression, fought in World War II, and brought along the Boom in prosperity after.  There are four types of kits available:  Film Festival Kit, Trivia Contest Kit, Craft Kits, and Family Day Kits.  Each kit contains programming ideas, contents lists, craft supplies and evaluations.  Requests for MGG Kits must be made by e-mail.  These kits were created by staff working for the Minnesota Historical Society and Minnesota's Regional Library Systems.  This project was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.  For booking and other information, please click here .

Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian

As part of the Make a Splash @ Your Library Summer Reading Program at the Spring Valley Public Library , Library Director Dianne Sikkink brought in her son, Tim Swenson of Rochester Plumbing & Heating, to give a "Down the Drain" presentation focusing on water and what happens after the rain hits the ground and storm sewers.  Tim used the Roto-Rooter trailer to demonstrate how remote-controlled cameras can be used in the storm sewers.  Sikkink thought the program would stress the importance of taking care of the water supply right in Spring Valley.  Cool idea!

To check out the full article in the Spring Valley Tribune , please click here .

Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian

SELCO staff received a letter of thanks and appreciation from Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty for sending him a copy of the 2010 Poetic Strokes anthology and for the work to promote reading and literature in the state of Minnesota.  To see a full-color scanned copy of the letter, please click here .