October 6, 2008 -- Please join us to help kick off SELCO's Special Consultant Program with What's the Buzz:  Word of Mouth Marketing on Tuesday, October 28 at 9:30 a.m.!  Special guest Judy Hoffman from the North Suburban Library System and Denise Zielinski from the DuPage Library System will be presenting "What's the Buzz:  Word of Mouth Marketing."  Judy and Denise will share information about a number of recent marketing and publicity projects in their library systems in a repeat of their recent PLA program. After their presentation, each attendee will participate in small group discussions to formulate their own Buzz Marketing Plan.  Denise and Judy will also work with the small groups.  Lunch will be served in the afternoon.  To access the program flyer, please click here.  To register, please visit the SELCO training page or call 1-800-992-5061.

October 6, 2008 -- SELCO announces two scholarships for public library staff interested in attending the 2008 Minnesota Library Association Annual Conference.  The SELCO scholarships will cover conference registration, hotel accommodations, and other conference related expenses such as mileage and meals, up to $735 per scholarship awardee.  The deadline for consideration will be Wednesday, October 15.  Submit your name or the name of a public library staff member today!

October 6, 2008 -- The G. H. Cachiaras Memorial Library, located on the Crossroads College campus in Rochester, went live with SELCO on Tuesday, June 17, 2008.  Now that students and faculty are back for the fall semester, the library is hosting an open house to celebrate!  The open house will be held on Monday, October 27 from 10 a.m.-noon at the library.  Refreshments will be provided.  Please contact Mollie Pherson with questions.  Hope to see you there!

October 2, 2008 -- Meeting materials for the October 8, 2008 SELS Advisory Committee Meeting have been posted to the Meeting Materials page for the SELS Advisory Committee.  The meeting will be held in the Avila Room at SELCO starting at 4:00 PM.

October 01, 2008 -- We have added the Software Development Specialist (PDF, 68 KB) position to the SELCO Job Postings page.  The Software Development Specialist is responsible for:

1. Developing and maintaining software, with emphasis on web-based applications
2. Providing technical support to Online Libraries as a member of the Help Desk & Training team
3. Assisting with administration of servers as a member of the Systems & Networks team

This position will remain open until filled.

October 01, 2008 -- SELCO has accepted Tom Coffee's resignation as Software Development Specialist. During his short tenure here, he refined our web presence and helped move us towards a content management system where all can post and everything is transparent. Please join us in offering Tom our appreciation for his services and our best wishes.

During the coming few days, we will reassign any projects and Help Desk requests for which Tom was responsible.

September 30, 2008 -- Meeting materials for the October 07, 2008 SELCO Advisory Committee meeting have been posted on the committee meeting materials page.  The document links are listed here for your convenience:

Agenda   (PDF, 74.4 KB)
Online Meeting Flyer   (PDF, 88.8 KB)
Transforming the Meeting Atmosphere   (PDF, 49.1 KB)
Interim Recommendation Draft   (PDF, 108KB)
Alternate Model for Advisory Committee Structure   (PDF, 129 KB)
Committee Framework   (PDF, 64.8 KB)
Possible Multitype Meeting Framework Rev.   (PDF, 71.5 KB)
Special Consultants General Announcement (  PDF, 52.8 KB)
LSTA Brainstorming   (PDF, 57.2 KB)

September 30, 2008 --  Day End processing has completed.  All notices and statistics are now available.

September 30, 2008 --   DayEnd did not run last night and has been restarted this morning. This process takes several hours and we will update this page when completed. Online Libraries can access yesterday's reports at that time.

September 24, 2008 -- A number of library staff members and SELCO staff members from the SELCO/SELS region participated in Round 2 of 23 Things on a Stick , which ran from May 15 - September 15, 2008.  Sixteen participants from the region completed the program and are listed below with a link to each of their blogs.

23 Things on a Stick was a self-discovery program that allowed participants to manage their own learning of new and emerging technologies.  Participants were encouraged to work together with others in their buildings and regions and share their insights and discoveries with others through their blogs and in person.  The program was open to all staff in any Minnesota library -- academic, special, school or public -- as well as members of their Governing Boards, Friends Groups, or Advisory Groups.  The program was sponsored by the Minnesota's seven multicounty mulitype library systems (multitypes).  Congratulations to our finishers!

September 23, 2008 -- The annual Minnesota Library Association (MLA) Conference is just around the corner!  The conference will take place on November 19-21 in Bloomington, MN.  Members are now able to view the conference program and register.  You can register with a printed form or register online.  For more information, please visit the MLA website and click on Annual Conference for more information.

September 22, 2008 -- The 11th Annual Hot Reads for Cold Nights products are ready for your order!  This year's theme features the moose and the Minnesota landscape.  Southeastern Libraries Cooperating (SELCO) recognizes the importance of preserving our environment and we are offering a few "Green" products this year.  Our print and promotional materials are reasonably priced and available to all libraries.

Order deadline is Monday, October 13, 2008.

If you are a SELCO/SELS member, please click here to view product information.

If you would like to place an order and you are not a SELCO/SELS member, please click here to view product information.

September 19, 2008 --  The 2009 Collaborative Summer Library Program theme has been announced--Be Creative @ Your Library.  The artwork for the program was created by David Catrow.  The 2009 teen program is Express Yourself @ Your Library with artwork by Brad Sneed.  Product information will be available via the Upstart website starting in October.

September 18, 2008-- A "Learning to Use New Technologies"  workshop will be held in 5 locations in MN October 14 -21, 2008. SELCO will host the workshop Friday, Oct. 17 from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Presenter Maurice Coleman, who has presented workshops on technology at the 2008 Computers in Libraries Conference will provide a workshop on using technological gasgets. Marshall will show staff how to use various technological devices, such as, GPS, Sony E-Reader, iPod, MP3 player, web cams, digital camera with video, and wii. Maurice describes his job at Howard County, Maryland "to help our staff learn about and leverage new and existing electronic and other tools and technologies in a modern library setting."  This workshop meets competencies for MN Certification and counts for 5 contact hours.

Register before October 1, 2008 at:  http://www.arrowhead.lib.mn.us/certification/formtech.htm

After the workshop, staff will be expected to provide a group training or a one-on-one training for targeted library patrons as described in the MN LSTA Plan (for example, Seniors, children, residents unable to access library services due to geographic or technological barriers) on how to use, select and communicate with techies about problems with technological devices.

More information can be found on our training site (registration is only available at the link above.)

This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.

September 18, 2008 -- The Preston Public Library will be celebrating it's 100th Anniversary on Saturday, September 27, 2008.  The library will host an open house from 2-4 p.m. and a celebration program at 2 p.m.   Congratulations, Preston Public Library!

September 15, 2008 --  From Allyn McColley and Delane James: Buckham Memorial Library in Faribault will be closed Monday September 29 through Tuesday October 14, in order to replace our carpeting. Our items will not be available for Interlibrary Loan beginning today, September 16 through October 14. We look forward to sending items out again beginning October 15.

September 15, 2008 -- National Hispanic Heritage Month is the period to recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States and to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture.  The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15.  September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries:  Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.

September 12, 2008 -- The packet for the Joint ILS Operations and Technology Policy Committee meeting is now available on the website. This can be found here.  This meeting is from 3 - 5 pm on August 18th, at the SELCO building.

September 11, 2008 -- Thirty-one librarians and library professionals attended the Technology Users Group meeting on September 09, 2008.  Attendees had the opportunity to hear presentations on a variety of topics, ranging from SELCO's search for a new online catalog to a demonstration of online meeting software.  Meeting information, including presentation slides, is available on the September 2008 Technology Users Group meeting page.  The next meeting of the Technology Users Group is scheduled for January 13, 2009 at 9:30 AM and will be held at the SELCO office in Rochester.

September 8, 2008 -- SELCO added extra delivery stops to 16 public libraries starting on September 3.  Each library that didn't already receive five days of delivery a week was given the choice of adding up to two additional days of delivery or staying at their current number of delivery days.   Here are some quotes from two library directors who have had delivery service expanded:

• "The staff and patrons of the Spring Valley Library are looking forward to deliveries five days a week instead of three.  Better service for the patron and a balanced work flow for all the staff is expected.  We are not hiring additional staff due to budget tightening, but staff members are willing to step up to the plate to improve service for our patrons." -- Dianne Sikkink, Spring Valley Public Library Director
• "One of our regular (daily) customers was so excited about the one day turn-around on his book he requested.  He was our first customer to reap the rewards of everyday delivery.  As for our work load--we are only dealing with 1-2 bins a day instead of the three-four on the old schedule.  We love it!" -- Linda Barsness, Kenyon Public Library Director