Channel Weekly, Vol. 12, No. 40, July 29, 2010

1. DPI offices closed on August 6 for Furlough Day
2. Updates to NoveList software announced for BadgerLink
3. Two new resources for BadgerLink
4. Attorney General issues guidance on new Wisconsin Supreme Court e-mail decision
5. American Library Association files comments on Net Neutrality
6. Helping Job Seekers: Using Electronic Tools and Federal Resources
7. New PSAs to encourage parents to read to their children
8. Website of the Week - World Privacy Forum
9. Calendar
=================================================

1. DPI OFFICES CLOSED ON AUGUST 6 FOR FURLOUGH DAY

As part of an effort to close the state's projected budget deficit, all state of Wisconsin agencies were required to develop plans to manage mandated employee furloughs. August 6 was selected as one of the required furlough dates, and all DPI offices including the Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning (DLTCL) will be closed.

Messages received on August 6 will be returned as soon as possible after employees return to work. We appreciate your patience and understanding.


2. UPDATES TO NOVELIST SOFTWARE ANNOUNCED FOR BADGERLINK

The latest NoveList software release is due at the end of July/beginning of August. NoveList is an online database providing readers' advisory services like Author Read-alikes, BookTalks, or thematic reading lists. During the transition, NoveList and NoveList K-8 may be temporarily unavailable. If so, the outage should not last more than a day. The new release will include, but is not limited to, the following updates:
  • New interface design for NoveList and NoveList K-8
  • More intuitive searching
  • Quick and easy access to reading recommendations for every title and every series
  • New author pages with recommendations for similar authors
  • Addition of Appeal Factors
  • Two new pages for professionals:
    • Teaching with Books for adults working with young readers
    • RA ToolBox for Readers' Advisory training and support materials
  • New page in K-8 dedicated to helping parents find books for their children
A beta site for the new version is available now at http://support.ebsco.com/novelist/beta.php and can also be accessed from the homepages of NoveList.

Free training materials on the new version are also now available - visit the training page on the NoveList Support Center at http://support.ebsco.com/novelist/training.php for materials to support staff training. Free online training conducted by the NoveList librarians is also available at the EBSCO training site at http://www2.ebsco.com/en-us/app/training/Pages/TrainingForm.aspx. To see available dates and times, select New NoveList Training from the Course Name drop-down box.

Visit the NoveList Support Center at http://support.ebsco.com/novelist/ for more information. If you have any questions, please contact EBSCO at NewNoveList@ebscohost.com or contact BadgerLink Technical Support at http://rl3.dpi.wi.gov.


3. TWO NEW RESOURCES FOR BADGERLINK

Resources for Libraries & Lifelong Learning (RL&LL) is happy to announce the addition of two new resources for BadgerLink -- LearningExpress Library and the Wisconsin Newspapers Digital Research Site. The addition of LearningExpress Library improves the ability of libraries throughout the state to help users identify new job possibilities and help them train to take tests to obtain jobs in this time of high unemployment. The other new resource comes from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and provides critical access to the daily and weekly newspapers in Wisconsin. Both new resources should be available by the beginning of August 2010.

LearningExpress Library

Online practice tests, courses, and ebooks for people of all ages to improve test preparation and test-taking skills. Elementary, middle and high school students can practice math, reading, and writing skills improvement. High school students can also prepare for the ACT, SAT, Advanced Placement, PSAT and TOEFL, CLEP and other college placement exams. College students can work on math and reasoning skills, and reading, science, and writing skills improvement. Adults can practice for taking a wide variety of exams in health care, teaching, real estate, law enforcement and other fields as well as building skills in math, reading, writing, and U.S. citizenship. Each user can set up an individual account and receive instant feedback and diagnostic score reports so that they can identify strengths and weaknesses.

LearningExpress Library is funded for the first year through use of Library Services and Technology (LSTA) grant funds from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning hopes to obtain ongoing funding as a part of the BadgerLink program.

Wisconsin Newspapers Digital Research Site

The Resources for Libraries & Lifelong Learning team has worked with the Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA) to help fill the Wisconsin newspaper gap in BadgerLink. Through this new partnership, WNA's Wisconsin Newspapers Digital Research Site will provide access to its 235 daily and weekly member-newspapers. Newspaper content is available from April 2005 with a two month embargo period. Each addition is covered cover to cover in a PDF, searchable format.

This service is available onsite in libraries of all types (except for corporate libraries) and through entry of a library card number. It is not available statewide through IP address authentication as are other BadgerLink resources. Users will be able to access the WNA website through the BadgerLink website (http://www.badgerlink.net) by clicking on Newspapers under Resources by Type (http://www.badgerlink.net/papers.html).

The first year of access to the WNA newspaper database is being provided as a pilot project. The Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning hopes to gain information on needs for Wisconsin newspaper access and to obtain ongoing funding as a part of the BadgerLink program.

Training for both of these new resources will be made available through the fall BadgerLunch series and through scheduled vendor training sessions. Watch for a complete webinar schedule soon!

For questions regarding either of these resources contact DPIbadgerli@dpi.wi.gov.

BadgerLink is a project of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning. Its 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. The project is funded through the Universal Service Fund with additional support provided by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.


4. ATTORNEY GENERAL ISSUES GUIDANCE ON NEW WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT E-MAIL DECISION

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently decided in Schill v. Wisconsin Rapids School District that the Public Records Law (Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31-19.39) does not require the disclosure of the contents of purely personal e-mails sent or received on government e-mail accounts.

The Wisconsin Attorney General has issued a memo with guidance on compliance with the court's decision. That memo reads, in part:

In order to comply with the holding in Schill, a records custodian is responsible to screen e-mails that fall within the scope of a request in order to determine whether, in fact, the contents are purely personal and evince no violation of law or policy. If so, the e-mails need not be released. In making this judgment, however, records custodians should be mindful of the policy behind the Public Records Law. It is "the public policy of this state that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them." Wis. Stat. § 19.31. Therefore, the "purely personal e-mail" exception to disclosure should be narrowly applied. If there is any aspect of the e-mail that may shed light on governmental functions and responsibilities, the relevant content must be released as any other record would be released under the Public Records Law. If a document contains both personal and non-personal content, a records custodian may redact portions of the document so that the purely personal information is not released.

The full memo is at http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/Memo_InterestedParties-Schill.pdf.

Questions concerning compliance with the Public Records Law may be directed to the Department of Justice's public records hotline at (608) 266-3952.


5. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION FILES COMMENTS ON NET NEUTRALITY

Net Neutrality is the concept that there is no network configuration, or practice-outside of end user control-that discriminates against access to any lawful content on the Internet. In other words, the network is "neutral." There have been some instances in which at least one large, nationwide Internet provider blocked access to some content without their customers initially being aware of this action. In June the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asked for comments on this issue from interested parties. Because the library community has long supported open access to information, the American Library Association (ALA) submitted comments to the FCC on July 15. The ALA comments state in part: "Libraries, and indeed all consumers, need to be assured that they will be able to access legitimate Internet content, or use Internet services or applications without fear or concerns that such access or use will be blocked or degraded by any entity with the means and control to do so." Bob Bocher, the DLTCL's Library Technology Consultant, is on the ALA Technology Office Advisory Committee and wrote the ALA comments, a complete copy of which are on the FCC website at: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7020543844. The ALA notice on this filing is at http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=5161.


6. HELPING JOB SEEKERS: USING ELECTRONIC TOOLS AND FEDERAL RESOURCE

You are cordially invited to participate in a free webinar, Helping Job Seekers: Using Electronic Tools and Federal Resources. The US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration will provide an overview of the public workforce system and present the electronic tools most helpful to library staff who assist unemployed workers.

Participants will also learn how to direct patrons to the right tools for their needs and to find local Workforce System partners. The presentation will include an online tour of the O*NET System (http://online.onetcenter.org), CareerOneStop.org (http://www.careeronestop.org), and America's Service Locator (http://www.servicelocator.org) as well as occupational crosswalks, job search and resume preparation, and state job banks and labor market information.

To register for the webinar that will take place August 11 from 1-2:30 p.m. CT, please go to http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventsignup.asp?ID=1661.

All webinars are posted on the WebJunction home page: http://www.webjunction.org.


7. NEW PSAs TO ENCOURAGE PARENTS TO READ WITH THEIR CHILDREN

The Advertising Council and the Library of Congress are launching a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) to encourage parents to read with their children and inspire them to become lifelong learners.

Research conducted by Florida State University found that when parents become involved in their children's literacy practices, children improve in reading achievement, language comprehension, and expressive language skills. Additionally, an overall increase in parental involvement in their child's reading makes children more willing to read. When parents and children read together, it also increases the frequency of a child's reading.

The new PSAs feature the iconic children's literary character Curious George. The television, print, and outdoor advertisements feature George and his best friend and mentor, "The Man with the Yellow Hat," reading books together. These PSAs encourage parents to "Read to your child today and inspire a lifelong love of reading."

"There is no more important influence in instilling a lifelong love of reading in a child than his or her parent or caregiver," said Deanna Marcum, associate librarian for library services at the Library of Congress. "The Library of Congress is pleased to work with the Ad Council to champion such an important cause, which inspires curiosity and creativity in young people, who then grow up to become better informed and engaged citizens."

The new PSAs are launching to coincide with children's summer vacations. A study conducted by The Center for Evaluation, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, suggests that having elementary school students read four or five books during the summer can prevent the reading achievement losses that normally occur during those months.

The campaign, created in partnership with Universal Partnerships & Licensing and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company encourages parents and kids to visit http://www.Read.gov as a source for discovery, learning, family fun, and to experience the joy of reading.

The "Curious George" effort is supplemental to an existing tween-targeted campaign originally launched in 2000 that aims to inspire young readers to become lifelong readers. The objective of the campaign is to inspire fun and promote literacy in all types of learning. From books to magazines to comics, and in all its other forms, reading gives kids an opportunity to explore their imaginations, and "Explore New Worlds."

The PSAs also direct tweens to a website that features the Library of Congress's serialized story, The Exquisite Corpse Adventure. The adventure is written by many well-known children's authors-some of which include Jon Scieszka and Kate DiCamillo, in the form of an "exquisite corpse." Each author tells part of the story for two weeks before the story is given to a different author. A new episode is published every two weeks for a year. Each episode also features the work of award-winning children's illustrators. Between episodes, kids are encouraged to play The Exquisite Corpse Brain Game where they are tested on what they have read in the past and predict what will happen in the future.

More information is at http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/adcouncil/45237/


8. Website of the Week

World Privacy Forum -- http://www.worldprivacyforum.org -- Founded in 2003, the World Privacy Forum is a nonprofit, non-partisan 501 (C) (3) public interest research group conducting in-depth research, analysis, and consumer education in the area of privacy. The Forum publishes privacy-related consumer education resources, including the Top Ten Opt Out list, Search Engine Privacy Tips, Resume Privacy Tips, Tips for Victims of Medical Identity Theft, tips on Security Freezes, and more.


9. CALENDAR

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

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