Channel Weekly, Vol. 12, No. 38, July 8, 2010

1. New promotional items available for BadgerLink
2. Department of Labor provides guidance to workforce agencies on partnering with libraries
3. Public library visits, circulation spike while staff numbers stay the same
4. Website of the Week - Helpguide.org
5. Calendar
=================================================

1. NEW PROMOTIONAL ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR BADGERLINK

The BadgerLink staff at Resources for Libraries & Lifelong Learning (RL&LL), Department of Public Instruction, along with EBSCO staff are working together to revise the BadgerLink posters, bookmarks and other promotional items. Several of these new products are available now at: http://www.ebscohost.com/custom/default.php?id=325.

You will find:
- MP3 recording of radio ad for commercial radio (aired recently around the state on commercial radio)
- model scripts for radio ads
- subject themed (history, literature, for example) posters and bookmarks
- customizable versions of posters and bookmarks.

Feel free to print and distribute these materials to your library's users OR post these materials on your library's website. We have some materials already printed. Contact us at dpibadgerli@dpi.wi.gov to request any of these.

Last fall the BadgerLink staff asked for the community's opinions regarding promotional material. The BadgerLink team used this input to begin working through revising the materials for libraries. Design, production, and printing assistance are provided by EBSCO as part of its statewide contract with BadgerLink. This current array of promotional items represents the first results from that process.

The work continues! We will add to the material over the coming months adding more posters and bookmarks and other materials. If you would like to give BadgerLink staff feedback or make suggestions let us know at:
https://forms.dpi.wi.gov/se.ashx?s=56301B2D4CC6DCBF.

BadgerLink is a project of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning. The project's goal is to provide access to quality online information resources for Wisconsin residents in cooperation with the state's public, school, academic, and special libraries.


2. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR PROVIDES GUIDANCE TO WORKFORCE AGENCIES ON PARTNERING WITH LIBRARIES

On June 29, 2010, the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA) officially encouraged its state and local workforce investment boards, state workforce agencies, and One-Stop Career Centers to partner with public libraries to extend their career and employment services to job seekers and unemployed workers. The ETA's Training and Employment Notice (TEN) cements a partnership between the ETA and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that was announced on June 25, 2010, at the American Library Association annual meeting.

"Thirty million people used library computers in 2009 to meet their workforce needs. Libraries offer Internet access, welcoming spaces, convenient hours and locations, and, most importantly, librarians to serve as information navigators," said IMLS Acting Director Marsha L. Semmel. "The public workforce system offers a strong network of dedicated professionals with the resources and expertise to help job seekers. Our partnership at the federal level is an important catalyst to partnerships at the state and local level."

ETA Assistant Secretary Jane Oates said, "Permanent partnerships between public libraries and One-Stops are a long overdue effort at the federal level, although we are delighted that this is something that has been taking place informally across the country. These partnerships have been extremely useful and we hope they continue to strengthen and grow."

The TEN provides examples of partnership activities including co-locating One-Stop Career Centers and libraries; collaborating to train library staff about in-person and virtual employment and training resources available through the public workforce system; and training public workforce system staff about the value of partnering with libraries.

An estimated 3.7 million Americans have found work with support from their public libraries, said Semmel, citing a March 2010 study conducted by the University of Washington and sponsored by IMLS and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The report also found that:
  • More than 77 million people over the age of 14 used a library computer last year.
  • 30 million people used library computers to help address career and employment needs in the last 12 months.
  • Among these users, 76 percent reported they searched for jobs online.
  • Among job seekers, 68 percent went on to apply for a job or submit a resume.
  • 23 percent used library computers to receive job-related training.
Other IMLS/ETA activities include sharing of career and training information and tools of the two systems and dissemination of information about workforce-library partnerships via webinars. ETA will host a webinar on July 19 to talk about the IMLS-ETA partnership at Workforce3One. On August 11 at 2 p.m., ETA staff will also participate in a webinar hosted by Project Compass, an initiative made possible by and IMLS grant to WebJunction. The webinar will provide an overview of the public workforce system and present the electronic tools most helpful to library staff that assist unemployed workers. For more information, please go to Helping Job Seekers: Using Electronic Tools and Federal Resources. Visit the Public Libraries and the Workforce page on the IMLS Web site for additional resources.

A web page on Wisconsin LSTA-funded jobs grants is at http://pld.dpi.wi.gov/pld_lstajobs. All of these projects included collaboration with Wisconsin Job Center staff.


3. PUBLIC LIBRARY VISITS, CIRCULATION SPIKE WHILE STAFF NUMBERS STAY THE SAME

Public library visits and circulations per capita increased almost 20 percent between FY1999 and FY2008, while the number of public librarians per 25,000 people has remained virtually the same during that same period, according to the FY2008 Public Libraries Survey (PLS) report issued by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The PLS report, which includes information on population of service areas, service outlets, library collections and services, library staff, and operating revenue and expenditures, also found that Americans made 1.5 billion visits to public libraries in FY2008, up from 1.43 billion total visits the previous year.

More than 9,200 libraries were surveyed in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The survey had an impressive 98 percent response rate due to the cooperative efforts of the chief officers of State Library Agencies, IMLS, and the Census Bureau.

"This year, the FY2008 Public Library Survey incorporates a new set of geographic identifiers called locale codes, which will help researchers and practitioners organize library data according to the community served, whether it's a remote rural area or a densely-populated center city neighborhood," said IMLS Acting Director Marsha L. Semmel. "Locale codes will be a useful new tool for examining the diverse ways that public library services impact local communities."

The report includes a number of key findings that will assist the library community and local, state, and national policymakers in making decisions to better their communities.

* Library visitation per capita has steadily increased over the past 10 years. In FY2008, the average individual in a library service area visited the library just over 5 times (5.1), compared to 4.3 visits per person in 1999, an increase of 19.7 percent. Overall, there were 1.50 billion public library visits in FY2008, up from 1.43 billion total visits the previous year.

* The availability of Internet terminals has nearly doubled over the past 10 years in response to patron demand; Internet PCs per 5,000 people rose from 1.9 in FY1999 to 3.7 in FY2008. Internet PC uses per capita have remained at the same basic level since FY2006. There were 1.16 Internet uses per person in FY2006, 1.22 Internet uses per person in FY2007 and 1.21 Internet uses per person in FY2008.

* Circulation per capita has also generally increased during the past 10 years, increasing by 19.7 percent since FY1999, when per person circulation stood at 6.5. The nation's libraries recorded 7.7 circulations per capita in FY2008, up from 7.4 the previous year.

* Children's program attendance at public libraries gradually rose during the study period, increasing from 181.7 children's program attendances per 1,000 people in FY1999 to 206.8 program attendances per 1,000 people in FY2008, an increase of 13.9 percent. Overall program attendance is on the rise as well, increasing 17.6 percent from FY2004 to FY2008.

* The number of public librarians per 25,000 people has remained more or less the same over the past 10 years, hovering around 4.0 (Figure 12). There were 4.0 librarians per 25,000 people in FY1999 and 4.1 in FY2008 (Figure 2).

* This year's report includes a graphic showing the distribution of library outlets by state and geography type. A large number of the library outlets in the country are located in rural areas. In a sizable portion of the states (16 of the 50) more than 50 percent of their outlets are located in rural areas.

The FY2008 survey is the 21st in the series. On October 1, 2007, responsibility for the PLS was transferred to IMLS from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), along with the State Library Agencies survey. The U.S. Census Bureau collects the data under a contract with IMLS.

For more information on library statistics, visit http://www.imls.gov/statistics.

The report is available in PDF format at http://harvester.census.gov/imls/pubs/pls/index.asp.

The FY2008 PLS data files and documentation were released on May 21, 2010. They can be found at http://harvester.census.gov/imls/data/pls/index.asp.


4. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

Helpguide.org -- http://www.helpguide.org/ -- Launched in 1999 by Robert and Jeanne Segal following the death of their daughter, Helpguide provides expert information and non-commercial resources for mental and emotional health, active healthy lifestyles, and aging issues. Its mission is to help people understand, prevent, and resolve many of life's challenges. Helpguide is primarily funded by Robert & Jeanne Segal, along with others who support its mission. (Website reference courtesy of refdesk.com)


5. CALENDAR

July 8-9, 2010 - Information and Technology Literacy Benchmark Workshop, Tomahawk

July 9, 2010 - Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND) meeting, Wausau

July 12, 2010 - EETT (Enhancing Education Through Technology) Title IID INTEL and Critical Friends Facilitator Training, Rothschild

July 15-16, 2010 - Thinkfinity training for online teachers, Portage

September 10, 2010 - Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND) meeting, TBC

October 26, 2010 - Instructional Media and Technology (IMT) Team Regional Meeting, Oconomowoc

November 1, 2010 - Instructional Media and Technology (IMT) Team Regional Meeting, Rice Lake

November 2-5, 2010 - Wisconsin Library Association annual conference, Wisconsin Dells

November 12, 2010 - Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND) meeting, TBC

November 15, 2010 - Instructional Media and Technology (IMT) Team Regional Meeting, Wisconsin Dells

November 16-17, 2010 - Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Advisory Committee meeting, Madison

November 17, 2010 - Instructional Media and Technology (IMT) Team Regional Meeting, Green Bay

==================================================
To access previous issues of Channel Weekly, or to subscribe or unsubscribe,
go to: http://channel.dpi.wi.gov/chn_chweekly
==========================================================================


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) 267-9207
For questions about this information, contact Roslyn Wise (608) 266-6439