1. 2008 Wisconsin Public Library Service Data available
2. Janesville Gazette now available via NFB-NEWSLINE
3. WRLBPH has a new name
4. Direct links to BadgerLink resources
5. Message from Wisconsin Job Service Regarding New Job Skills Assessment Tool
6. Libraries Invited to Participate in Pennies for Peace Campaign
7. Website of the Week - National Do Not Call Registry
8. Calendar
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1. 2008 WISCONSIN PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE DATA AVAILABLE

The 2008 Wisconsin Public Library Service Data has been posted in Excel-formatted files on the Wisconsin Public Library Statistics Page, http://pld.dpi.wi.gov/pld_dm-lib-stat.

The Public Library Development Team annually collects statistics from the state's public libraries and systems. Excel files of the statistics for 1996-2008 are listed in various levels of detail. Public libraries that wish to compare themselves to peers may find the Statistics at the Public Library Level most useful for sorting and filtering data for comparison purposes. Due to budget constraints, the Division no longer publishes a print edition of the Wisconsin Public Library Service Data. However, the data soon will be formatted and made available in a PDF format for use with Adobe Reader.

For those seeking national library data or comparisons, the national public library data can be found on the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) website, hosted by the Census Bureau. The site includes links to publications, raw data files, as well as a link to a Web-based tool for comparing public libraries. Data is current through 2007: http://harvester.census.gov/imls/publib.asp.


2. JANESVILLE GAZETTE NOW AVAILABLE VIA NFB-NEWSLINE

The Janesville Gazette, Janesville's morning newspaper, is now available for NFB-NEWSLINE users via an RSS feed from the paper's website, GazetteXsta.com. The following sections are available via NEWSLINE: Local news, obituaries, sports, and public notices. There may be some delay in the availability of articles from the print version of the paper until later in the day from the website.

NFB NEWSLINE provides access for blind and physically handicapped people to daily newspapers using a touch tone telephone. Applications for access to the service can be submitted to the Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and can be found on their website at http://talkingbooks.dpi.wi.gov/tab_newsappl.


3. WRLBPH HAS A NEW NAME

The Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has changed its name. It is now the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library. The library is located in the Milwaukee Public Library's Central Library in downtown Milwaukee. All other contact information for the library remains the same and is shown below:

Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library
813 West Wells Street
Milwaukee, WI 53233
414.286.3045 (Milwaukee)
800.242.8822 (Wisconsin toll free number)
414.286.3548 (TDD)
414.286.3102 (FAX)
lbph@milwaukee.gov
regionallibrary.wi.gov


4. DIRECT LINKS TO BADGERLINK RESOURCES

BadgerLink has a great array of online learning and information resources for Wisconsin residents. Would you like to make it easier to get to these resources? Create a direct link to a specific resource from your library's web page.

Below is a brief list of URLs to link directly to a specific BadgerLink resource or interface. Feel free to select which links are best for your organization. If you don't see the link you want, contact us! AND... please be sure to credit BadgerLink. Usually "Provided by BadgerLink" or something close to this phrase near the link is fine. The credit helps everyone understand when funding time rolls around.

AccessNewspaperARCHIVE
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=799&term=

AltHealth Watch
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=165&term=

Auto Repair Reference Center
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=500&term=

Business Source Premier
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=72&term=

Consumer Health Complete
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=1067&term=

Encyclopædia Britannica School Edition PreK-12 (Elementary, Middle & High)
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=1238&term=

Encyclopædia Britannica Spanish Reference Center (Juvenil & Enciclopedia Universal en Español)
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=1292&term=

GreenFILE
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=1028&term=

Humanities International Complete
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=1226&term=

History Reference Center
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=256&term=

Kids Search
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=1026&term=

Literary Reference Center
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=1232&term=

MasterFILE Premier
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=207&term=

Newspaper Source Plus
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=1225&term=

Novelist
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=183&term=

Novelist K-8
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=764&term=

Primary Search
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=206&term=

Professional Development Collection
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=431&term=

Regional Business News
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=258&term=

Science Reference Center http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=818&term=

Searchasaurus
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=1027&term=

TeachingBooks.net
http://www.wiscat.net/homepages/CustomerWide/ValidateGlobalIP.asp?cuid=stwi&lid=stwi&dataid=800&term=

Centralized authentication (the process necessary to be sure a user is a Wisconsin resident) for BadgerLink allows this to happen.

BadgerLink uses a couple methods to authenticate users. The primary way is by registering an IP (or computer's Internet address) or a range of IP addresses. The software can then automatically detect and match the user's IP with the registered IP ranges. When a match is made the user is passed seamlessly into the resource. This registration can only happen when an Internet Service Provider (ISP) can ensure that the IP is for a computer within Wisconsin. Sometimes ISPs cannot guarantee that an IP address is Wisconsin only.

In these cases, a library card barcode number (or similar number) can be used. Anyone failing match a registered IP (which is more likely for an individual from home) will be prompted for a library card before gaining access to the BadgerLink resource(s).

Before posting the links, we strongly advise checking with Lisa Reale, BadgerLink Coordinator, to set up that registration or to be sure that registration is up to date and accurate. For any questions or to discuss this issue further Lisa can be reached at http://rl3.dpi.wi.gov.


5. MESSAGE FROM WISCONSIN JOB SERVICE REGARDING NEW JOB SKILLS ASSESSMENT TOOL

Brian Solomon, director of Wisconsin Job Service, recently announced that Wisconsin has strategically targeted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to implement a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) initiative. The NCRC http://www.act.org/certificate/index.html is a nationally recognized, transferrable, work-readiness credential. While Job Service is currently piloting NCRC availability to Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants throughout the state, work has already begun to expand NCRC availability to all workforce system agencies, programs, and customers.

An NCRC is achieved by customers after successfully passing three work readiness exams in applied math, reading, and locating information. These exams, or assessments, are created and delivered through a nationally renowned job profiling and assessment system known as WorkKeys.

However, because a number of customers need to prepare and practice for the WorkKeys exams (which are proctored by Job Service staff in a very formal test environment), Wisconsin the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has also contracted with a pre-assessment, test prep service called KeyTrain (http://www.keytrain.com/KeyTrain_Workforce_Solutions.htm). Together, KeyTrain and WorkKeys are the foundation of the NCRC and they will help thousands of jobseekers demonstrate their work readiness to employers in this highly competitive job market.

Because KeyTrain is accessible via all internet computers, it is likely that some customers will be utilizing libraries to practice. If a library patron asks about KeyTrain, WorkKeys or the NCRC, please help them understand the benefits of these valuable programs. If you are unsure how to promote these services, please refer customers to one of the above websites or to one of our Job Service Assessment Coordinators.

Laura Wierzbicki, laura.wierzbicki@dwd.wisconsin.gov, 608-267-7248
David Pawloski, david.pawloski@dwd.wisconsin.gov, 608-267-7241

Please contact Brian or any Job Service staff throughout Wisconsin if you have questions or need help.


6. LIBRARIES INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN PENNIES FOR PEACE CAMPAIGN

Pennies for Peace, a program of the 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Central Asia Institute, was founded by Greg Mortenson. Greg is the co-founder and executive director of Central Asia Institute, and co-author of the New York Times Bestseller, "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School At A Time." The Pennies for Peace service-learning program began at Westside Elementary School in River Fall, Wisconsin in 1994, when students, through their own initiative, raised 62,340 pennies to help Greg build his first school in Pakistan. Greg came to Westside at the invitation of his mother, Jerene Mortenson, who was the principal at Westside.

Central Asia Institute's mission is to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The philosophy is to empower the local people through their own initiative. As of 2009, Central Asia Institute has successfully established 130 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide (or have provided) education to over 51,000 students, with a emphasis on girls' education. Over the first decade of Central Asia Institute's evolution, their programs and projects expanded to several regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan with an emphasis on education, health issues, environment and cultural preservation.

Central Asia Institute community projects continue to focus primarily in remote, underserved regions where few organizations serve. Since 2005, Central Asia Institute refined and focused its priority to focus mainly on rural education, literacy, teacher training, and scholarships, especially for females. Central Asia Institute also continues to pioneer and promote education in regions where there are few or no education opportunities. They now put more resources into sustainable initiatives, to improve the quality of education, support teacher training, and help motivated students to achieve their education goals with higher education.

Libraries are invited to join this campaign by doing the following:

• Register at http://www.penniesforpeace.org/.

• Design a creative donation container.

• Get children and the community involved in contributing pennies. Pennies for Peace has lots of suggestions to get you started at:
http://www.penniesforpeace.org/about-the-program/implement-the-program/

More information on the Pennies for Peace program is at http://www.penniesforpeace.org/.


7. Website of the Week

National Do Not Call Registry -- https://www.donotcall.gov/ -- The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. (Website reference courtesy of refdesk.com)


8. CALENDAR

November 13, 2009 - Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND) meeting, Middleton

January 8, 2009 - Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND) meeting, by videoconference

April 11-17, 2010 - National Library Week

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To access previous issues of Channel Weekly, or to subscribe or unsubscribe, go to: http://channel.dpi.wi.gov/chn_chweekly
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Roslyn M. Wise
Editor, Channel Weekly
Department of Public Instruction
Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning
PO Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707-7841
Phone: (608) 266-6439
FAX: (609) 266-8770