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SELCO Librarian
Aurora Jacobsen, Information Services Librarian
Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of the UK has touched off a national conversation about the role of libraries in serving their public. I'm fascinated by the discussion that's occurring, as I often feel conflicted about the role of libraries myself. I saw this reflected in the public I served as a public librarian, too. Many of our patrons really wanted to still be able to find a quiet spot to escape the noise or activity of a busy home life, especially when they were using library resources for research or homework. (Yes, we had plenty of people that still used the library for research.) At the same time, I know many of our preschool mothers were so appreciative of the fact that they mostly got understanding smiles when their children acted like, well, young children and cried or tried to play hide and seek in the stacks. Serving both types of patrons is ideal but not always practical.
The first article describes Burnham's plan. The second article is in defense of the library as a quiet place.
Michael Scott, Assistant Director
First, apologies to Dodge Center Public Library for taking so long to get a post onto SELCO Librarian about my visit there on August 26, 2008. It truly was a privilege to visit with Angie Meyer, the director, and to find out what was happening at her library. The day I visited was a fairly typical Tuesday afternoon. The public access computers were all in use and people were coming in and out to check out or return library materials. The place was certainly alive with activity.
The library is quite a nice space with plenty to offer Dodge Center patrons. There is a meeting room located near the front of the building that community members can use. The children's area is large and contains a large collection of materials for children. The staff at Dodge Center Public have large work area located behind the information desk so that they have a place to work on cataloging or other projects. The adult area is large and contains a number of seating areas for patrons. One of the features that I truly liked were the custom-made shelving units which went on the end of the larger stacks and held DVDs and CDs for easy access. For more pictures from my visit, click here.
I wanted to thank Angie Meyer and her staff for allowing me to visit the Dodge Center Public Library.
Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian
SELCO has partnered with KSMQ and AmeriCorps to bring Clifford the Big Red Dog to eight public libraries in Southeastern Minnesota. The Family Book Event series is a three program series that was spearheaded by KSMQ Public Television, SELCO, and the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation-AmeriCorps LEAP members. Together, the groups are working to support families and children reading together at home, at the library, and at schools. Program #1, the kick-off program at each location, features Clifford the Big Red Dog. Families are able to take pictures with Clifford, enjoy the special Parenting Counts program for parents/guardians, and the kids are able to participate in a fun activity with the AmeriCorps members. The second and third sessions will continue the focus on social and emotional development.
To view pictures from the first five events, please click the below links:
- Spring Grove Public Library -- October 2, 2008
- LeRoy Public Library -- October 2, 2008
- Cannon Falls Library -- October 9, 2008
- Wabasha Public Library -- October 11, 2008
- Preston Public Library -- October 11, 2008
If you missed Clifford at the above locations, you still have three chances to see him and get your picture taken! Please see the schedule below for options:
- Dodge Center Public Library -- Thursday, October 16 @ 6:30 p.m.
- Austin Public Library -- Saturday, October 25 @ 10 a.m.
- Stewartville Public Library -- Saturday, October 25 @ noon
Spring Grove Public Library Director Milly Halverson and her granddaughters pose with Clifford.
Ann B. Hutton, Executive Director
Preston commemorated 100 hundred years of library service with a celebration of the past and a look to the future. Friends and well wishers attended an anniversary party on Saturday, September 27, 2008. Board President, Robert O'Reilly, served as the gracious emcee.
Ila Mae Olstad, Preston resident since birth and long time library user, shared memories from childhood and thanked the numerous individuals and groups for their contributions. Ila Mae serves as a member of the Preston Public Library Board, the SELCO/SELS Board of Directors and the SELCO Library Foundation Board.
Former library director, Janene Roessler (1994-2007) chronicled the library’s history. Janene also proclaimed the names of the 14 librarians who have served the community with dedication from 1908 to the present.
As the SELCO Executive Director, I directed attention to the
most recent 40 years and the involvement of the Preston Public Library in
regional cooperation. Beth Anderson,
current library director, described current library services. While the adult presentations were
informative, the highlight of the event was a special library song sung by some
of today’s juvenile library users.
Some of the SELCO–Preston highlights:
Preston resident, Margaret Morse, represented Fillmore County on an investigative commission whose study resulted in the creation of SELCO in 1971. Margaret went on to serve on the first Board of Directors.
June 1973
Preston joined SELCO.
1974
Participating in the newly created interlibrary loan system,
Preston borrowed 62 books from other
libraries. It is important to note that
in the intervening years the number of titles shared with and by Preston has grown tremendously. In 2007, Preston
borrowed 2,860 items. Even more
dramatic, is Preston’s lending record. It regularly lends more to others than it
receives and in 2007 lent 5,466 items to other libraries!
December 1975
Preston was among the first of three libraries to
participate in the newly created SELCO children’s services programming along
with Dodge Center
and Lake City.
December 1979
Through SELCO, Preston
began offering 8mm and 16mm films for check out.
May 1985
Preston, and 22 other
libraries, received SELCO purchased Apple2e computers. For many this was the first public access
computer in the library or the community.
January 1986
Committed to joining SELCO library automation and came an
Online Library in March 1987.
1987-1997
Focused on a building expansion project and used SELCO
services such as the Space Needs Assessment and Accessibility Access grants
from SELCO to define library needs.
1998
Crafted the library’s first written technology plan which
included moving from limited access on the SELCO automation system to a full
participant.
To the present
Library staff members have been and remain active in SELCO
programs and services, through the migration to a new Integrated Library System
(ILS) in 2003 to today’s well connected library which offers new formats such
as PlayAways.
Congratulations to Preston on its 100 years of local library service and deep appreciation for the 40 years of regional cooperation!
Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian
Lots of cool events are taking place at our local libraries!
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. Refreshments will be provided.
The La Crescent Public Library, ISD #300 Early Childhood Family Education, and Childcare Resource and Referral are collaborating to offer a series of six free Saturday morning workshops designed for friends, family members, neighbors and others who provide childcare, as well as licensed child care providers. The workshops are scheduled for the first Saturday of the month and will be held at the La Crescent Public Library, 321 Main Street, La Crescent from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. The Saturday Morning Story Shop workshops will be centered on a seasonal theme, and all workshops will include refreshments, resource materials, a picture book to take home, a flannel board story and interaction wtih others who care about children. Registration is limited to 20 people. To register or for more information, please contact the La Crescent Public Library at 507-895-4047.
The Friends of the Spring Grove Public Library invite you to meet MN author and teacher Lin Enger on Saturday, October 11, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. at the Schmidt House in Spring Grove. The cost is 25 dollars per person. Enger teaches writing in the MFA program at Minnesota State University--Moorhead. His book, Undiscovered Country, is widely popular and available for check-out via the SELCO catalog. Patrons can also purchase copies of the book for $17 at the Spring Grove Public Library. For more information, please contact the Spring Grove Public Library at 507-498-5800.
The Rushford Public Library will be hosting An Afternoon with Lorna Landvik on Saturday, November 8 at the Rushford-Peterson School Theatre. Lorna will be visiting with guests from 3-5 p.m.--there is no admission, but free will offerings will be accepted at the door going towards the construction of a new building. There will be a silent auction where guests can bid on a chance to have supper with Lorna from 5-7 p.m. Six lucky individuals will get to dine with Lorna! For more information, please contact the Rushford Public Library at 507-864-7600.
The Stewartville Public Library is hosting the Minnesota Crime Wave on Saturday, October 18 at 2 p.m. Please click here for the program poster and here for the publicity sheet for the group. The MN Crime Wave consists of three Minnesota mystery writers -- William Kent Kruger, Carl Brookins, and Ellen Hart. The authors will be talking about their books, will have books for sale, and will be autographing books for mystery lovers! This program is sponsored by Yaggy Colby Associates. For more information, please contact the Stewartville Public Library at 507-533-4902.
Jonya Pacey, Help Desk Manager
At the last Technology Users Group, I demonstrated how we are now able to rearrange the columns on a couple of reports that everyone uses on a daily basis. We have had four libraries respond, asking us to modify either the Notices for Review List or the Request Pull List, or both of them. This will save staff time since the changes made within the tables of the system are permanent. Staff will not have to go in each day and rearrange the columns to suit their needs – changes made on the client side do not stick but have to be redone each day.
I hope more of our Online Libraries will take advantage of this opportunity, either now or when it is convenient to them. Information about this can be found in the “Did you know Horizon could do that?” document found on this page. It’s very satisfying to be able to help streamline someone’s workflow.
We are all aware, the battle against Spam email is an ongoing problem. Nearly a year ago, SELCO installed a new Spam filter, which has greatly improved the amount of Spam getting into SELCO email boxes. Like every solution, the firewall we have is not perfect, and Spammers continually strive to "beat the system" and get their unwanted messages through.
I recently loaded new features onto our Spam email filter. We thought that it may be good time to point out again what we're doing to continue to battle Spam. Here is a list of the new features available to us:
- Invalid Bounce Suppression. The Spam firewall is now configured to reject all Non-Delivery Receipts (NDRs) except those for messages verified to have been sent or relayed out from SELCO's email server.
- Character Set Blocking. Administrators can determine the action to take on a message based on the language and character set detected in the message itself.
- Reverse DNS Blocking. Administrators can determine the action to take on a message based on the originating country, as determined by a Reverse DNS query of the sender's IP address.
Aurora Jacobsen, Information Services Librarian
LaCrescent Public Library recently upgraded some of its older computers by requesting PCs that the city no longer needed. The Houston County News wrote an article lauding the library and city for working together. Not covered in the article is that LaVonne Beach, the library director, worked with Mike Flores, SELCO PC Technician, to reuse one of library's old machines as a donation box, as he wrote on SELCO Librarian blog in September. I always enjoy it when the community notices the effort libraries put into serving their communities as economically as possible.
Rachel Gray, Information Services Librarian
One of the email lists I follow turned me onto an online article today about Jay Walker's personal library. Mr. Walker is the founder of think tank Walker Digital that’s best-known for Priceline.com, and when he built his house, he built it around a 3,600 square foot library that is part museum. It includes three levels of bookshelves and display areas that include everything from Sputnik to a raptor skeleton to the instruction manual for the Saturn V rocket.
The article is “Browse the Artifacts of Geek History in Jay Walker's Library” By Steven Levy and it is in Issue 16.10 of Wired. My jaw dropped at the sheer beauty of this library and it’s amazing collection, and I hope yours does too!
Michael Scott, Assistant Director
I had the opportunity to visit the Rushford Public Library on August 26, 2008. I met with Susan Hart, the library's director and had a great visit. Susan provided me with a tour of the building, which as you can see from the photos on Flickr, is not only a busy place but certainly bursting at the seams! Patrons are certainly well-served at this library with library materials for all ages and public computers with Internet access as well. As many of you remember, the Rushford Public Library was the headquarters for a number of relief agencies during the floods of 2007 and the place in town where residents could access the necessary forms (mostly through the Internet) and assistance 24/7. Though the library made it through the flood fairly intact there are still signs of the flood's effect. The carpet has been removed from the main floor (saying it was in bad shape would be an understatement!) and the basement is still not back to full use at this point. However, there is a glimmer of hope for the future.
The day I visited the library was the day before the kickoff of their "Continuing the Legacy" campaign with the goal of building a new library in Rushford. The site has been picked and now the process of raising funds begins. According to their website, they have a goal for groundbreaking in Spring 2009. Here's wishing them the best of luck in achieving their goal.
I wanted to say a special thank you to Susan for allowing me to visit the Rushford Public Library!
Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian
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 throughout the state of Minnesota and out of state.
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.
Aurora Jacobsen, Information Services Librarian
I've read a number of articles lately about how as library budgets have decreased, library use has increased. One of the best articles about the topic appeared Monday in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Not only does it summarize some of the recent press, it does a good job of explaining exactly what the author gets for the $35 a year she gives the library in taxes and how she feels the value she receives far exceeds that amount.
A bit earlier this month was a report titled "Why Public Libraries Close" was released by Christie M. Koontz , Dean K. Jue and Bradley Wade Bishop of Florida State University and released through WebJunction. It's generating attention and comments on various library blogs and generating some good discussion.
