Channel Weekly, Vol. 13, No. 30, May 12, 2011

1. Joint Finance Committee actions on library items in the budget bill
2. Librarians explore E-book issues at state Summit
3. Access BadgerLink resources on your iPhone
4. 2011 Wisconsin Public Library directory now available
5. Library of Congress introduces the National Jukebox
6. Games symposium scheduled for June 24
7. Website of the Week: Legistalker
8. Calendar
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Channel Weekly will not be published on May 19, 2011. The next issue of Channel Weekly will be published on May 26, 2011.
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1. JOINT FINANCE COMMITTEE ACTIONS ON LIBRARY ITEMS IN THE BUDGET BILL

On Tuesday, May 3, the Joint Finance Committee held an executive session on, among other issues, library-related budget matters. Below are the motions and votes affecting libraries; options voted on refer to Paper #562 (http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/2011-13%20Budget/Budget%20Papers/562.pdf) from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. They are presented in the order in which they were acted upon by the committee.

Motions on Maintenance of Effort (MOE): Motions to Restore Funding:
  • Motion #80 (http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/legis/documents/Motion80.pdf) (to restore library system funding, BadgerLink funding and the four library service contracts and "require that the governor request federal funding for broadband technology, if available") failed on a vote of 5-11.
  • Option B 2a, 2b and 2c (to restore library system funding, BadgerLink funding and the four library service contracts) failed on a vote of 6-10.
  • Motion to restore 2c (funding for BadgerLink and Newsline for the Blind) passed unanimously (16-0).
After the May 3 votes in Joint Finance, the current status of library items in the budget bill are that the MOE requirement for library system membership would be eliminated, library system and statewide library contract funding would be reduced by 10% in 2012 and flat-funded in 2013, and BadgerLink/Newsline for the Blind would be flat-funded for the two years of the biennium.

After Joint Finance completes their work on the budget, the bill will move to the full legislature for action. The final budget bill is expected to be passed by June 30.


2. LIBRARIANS EXPLORE E-BOOK ISSUES AT STATE SUMMIT

The issue of E-books and their role in the provision of library services is a serious topic of discussion in much of the library world. To address some of the issues involved in providing access and support for e-books, forty librarians and library supporters from throughout the state met in Madison on May 4 for a one-day "E-book Summit." The Summit was sponsored by the Department of Public Instruction's Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning (DLTCL).

The overall purpose of the summit was to recommend statewide strategies for addressing e-content issues, with the primary focus being on e-books. (For example, DLTCL anticipants allocating $300,000 in 2012 LSTA funds for e-content.) The Summit recommendations also contributed to the larger national debate, because many e-book issues must be addressed at that level.

Tom Peters, from TAP Information Services, was the keynote speaker and he provided a good overview of current e-book issues and concerns. Participants then split into small groups to review the key issues which included:
  • Applying leverage to publishers and vendors for better pricing, licensing models and more reasonable copyright or DRM models around shared e-book use.
  • Expanding access to e-books through larger collections and regional, state and national buying pools.
  • Determining whether public libraries need to make e-books available to all system residents on the same basis that they are provided to local residents as now required by statute.
  • Improving the ways patrons can discover what e-books the library offers and the need for technical support, training and public relations.
Each small group reviewed the issues and formulated recommendations to address the issues. Later in the afternoon the attendees as a whole participated in a prioritization process for each recommendation. Some of the recommendations getting the highest priority included the following:
  • The library community needs to be much more assertive in combining the purchasing power of all types of libraries.
  • There is a need for a national conference (meeting of minds) with the library community, publishers and providers to resolve issues, etc.
  • There should be a required basic level of local library support for e-books.
  • All library system statutory requirements/services should be reviewed to ensure they comport with library needs. (Such a review may offer the opportunity to address evolving technologies and possibly make more funding available for e-content.)
  • There is a need to market e-books beyond libraries. For example, libraries need to work closely with local retailers selling e-readers.
These and other recommendations will be incorporated into an E-Book Summit Report. Participants in the summit and the library community at-large will have an opportunity to comment on the draft of the report, which is expected to be available in early June.

The Wisconsin E-book summit was strategically timed to coincide with a similar national discussion sponsored by the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) on May 11 in Washington, DC. Kurt, Kiefer, Assistant State Superintendent for the DLTCL, participated in that discussion and reports that the Wisconsin strategies are being considered at the national level. COSLA intends to issue a follow up document summarizing its recommendations during summer.

More background on the Summit can be found at http://pld.dpi.wi.gov/pld_ebooksummit. Comments or questions can be directed to Bob Bocher, 608-266-2127; robert.bocher@dpi.wi.gov.


3. ACCESS BADGERLINK RESOURCES ON YOUR IPHONE

BadgerLink provides access to quality online information resources for Wisconsin residents.
EBSCO, one of the BadgerLink vendors, has released an iPhone/iPod Touch application for EBSCOhost resources.
  • Go to http://www.BadgerLink.net
  • Click on EBSCO Database List
  • Select any or all of the EBSCOhost resources
  • Click on the link to application
  • Enter your email address to receive further instructions and to download the application from the iTunes App Store
This application allows you access to the EBSCOhost resources (available through BadgerLink) for nine months; after which the authorization process will need to be repeated.

For more information visit: http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/iphone-app?/iphone-app.

For questions or concerns, please contact BadgerLink Technical Support at: http://rl3.dpi.wi.gov.

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


4. 2011 WISCONSIN PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTORY NOW AVAILABLE

The 2011 Wisconsin Public Library Directory is available in PDF and Excel formats on the Public Library Development site here: http://pld.dpi.wi.gov/pld_wipldir, based on data compiled in the 2010 Public Library Annual Report.

Print copies of the Wisconsin Public Library Directory are no longer produced and distributed, but a printable PDF version is available. The PDF version (http://pld.dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/pld/pdf/wipldir.pdf) contains a single combined "Directory of Public Libraries and Their Branches" listed by city, followed by an alphabetical "Name Index." The document also includes system and resource library directory information. An Excel-formatted workbook file is also available containing a spreadsheet by community including of all 384 public libraries, services, and branches; and another of the state's 17 library systems. This Excel file is useful as a merge source for mailing labels or form letters.

Public library statistics covering the year 2011 will be released as soon as editing is complete in separate files, along with year-by-year file sets from 1996 onward, available to view or download from links at http://pld.dpi.wi.gov/pld_dm-lib-stat.


5. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS INTRODUCES THE NATIONAL JUKEBOX

The Library of Congress has announced the National Jukebox, which makes historical sound recordings available to the public free of charge. The Jukebox includes recordings from the extraordinary collections of the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation and other contributing libraries and archives. The site can be found at http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/.

The National Jukebox is a collaborative project of several organizations and even individual record collectors. In 2008, Sony Music Entertainment granted the Library of Congress an unprecedented gratis license to stream over the internet all of the pre-1925 recordings in their catalog, including those of the Victor, Columbia and Okeh labels. The agreement between Sony Music Entertainment and the Library of Congress is the founding charter of the National Jukebox project.

The initial recordings include a variety of genres from classical to jazz, as well as other recordings ranging from vaudeville acts to presidential speeches. Included are over 1300 recordings of operatic repertoire, over 1200 classical sides 62 classified as "whistling," and 32 recordings of yodeling.


6. GAMES SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 24

The third annual Games+Learning+Society Educator Symposium features exciting panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and the opportunity to critically consider how media and technology shape learning today. If you're a classroom teacher, librarian, technology coordinator, or administrator, this event is for you!

The symposium will be held Tuesday, June 14, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Memorial Union in Madison, Wisconsin. This year, it will be held the day before the full Games+Learning+Society conference. Registration is $30 (including lunch) and space is limited. One or two graduate credits, through the University of Wisconsin - Madison, are also available for an additional $150 per credit. New additions to this year's Educator Symposium include a raffle and free happy hour in the game arcade. After spending the day learning and networking, come spend the evening playing some games!

For more information, including the full program, please visit the website. Registration closes on May 31 and workshop space is available on a first-come, first-served basis.


7. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

Legistalker -- http://legistalker.org/ -- This site keeps track of members of Congress through Twitter, YouTube, and hundreds of news sources, with clean feeds that are updated every 20 seconds. Search for a zip code, state, or name to find a member. The site also lists Web sites, e-mail addresses, and phone number for members of Congress. (website reference courtesy of refdesk.com)


8. CALENDAR

May 13, 2011 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Madison

July 8, 2011 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Green Bay

September 9, 2011 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Madison

November 1-4, 2011 - Wisconsin Library Association annual conference, Milwaukee

November 11, 2011 - Council on Library and Network Development, Milwaukee

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