John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award

Your library does not have to be big with lots of money to spend on public relations in order to win the $5000 John Cotton Dana Award. This award cuts across type-of-library lines to select libraries that have distinguished themselves by their public education and public relations efforts.

"Everyone needs to remember," said John Cotton Dana Committee Chair Kim Terry, "that the judges don't look at how much the project costs, but at how creative or effective it was."

In 2001, the Dr. Eugene Clark Library in Lockhart, Texas, won for ‘Up On the Roof With the Loony Librarian,’ for which a librarian camped on the library’s dome for a week to raise funds for a renovation project.

In 2005, the Maricopa County Library District in Phoenix, AZ, developed ‘The Mystery Club of Luna Drive,’ an online young adult novel that gave teens an opportunity to solve a mystery using puzzles, ciphers and critical thinking.

One of the most innovative projects of recent years came out last year from Hackney Library at Barton College, in Wilson, N.C. in 2010. They created a “Band Book Tour,” a music festival centered on a fictional band that “stopped” at literary locations in controversial books. Giveaways of tour t-shirts and “all-access” lanyards and wallets continue to provide the library with exposure to this day, as students are frequently seen on campus with their tour gear.

“The size of your budget doesn’t matter,” Terry added, “so be sure to enter and share your great ideas with the rest of us.”

For an entry form, checklist, guidelines and tips, visit www.hwwilson.com/jcdawards/nw_jcd.htm.

Chippewa Valley Book Festival: Oct 18 - 24

Authors with ties to the Midwest join readers and writers in the Chippewa Valley to celebrate the written word.  Located in western Wisconsin, the Chippewa Valley is an exceptionally beautiful area offering outdoor recreation, unique attractions, and activities for the whole family.

Come meet a favorite author and have your book signed or listen to authors talk about their works.  We hope to see you at one of our many events for children, teens, and adults during the seven day festival.

Wisconsin Public Radio Talks With Librarians

On September 13^th, Wisconsin Public Radio host, Kathleen Dunn, talked with two top Wisconsin librarians about the growth in library usage, and the future of libraries in the Digital Age. Her guests were Marge Loch-Wouters, Youth Services Coordinator, La Crosse Public Library and Erick Plumb, Interim Director, Monona Public Library.

You can listen to the archive by going to this link www.wpr.org/kathleendunnwww.wpr.org/kathleendunn/

Altoona's New Teen Zone

During a summer reading program workshop called “Express Yourself @ the Library”, Altoona Public Library teens painted and decorated their TEEN ZONE lettering.  Youth Services Librarian Regina Arndt’s husband painted the teen zone walls red and added vinyl wall decals.  The “Friends of the Altoona Public Library” paid for the paint supplies, decals and the cool zebra rug.  Librarian Martha Spangler made the black and white pillows.  The end result is quite attractive. 

This is a very popular spot for the kids to hang out and enjoy a good book after school.

Does Your Library Director Have These Skills?

From  PM Magazine.

• Participates. Library leaders belong “at the table” with other local government decisionmakers, involved in overall planning for community betterment and service provision.
• Shares your mission. Libraries and other service providers should know and share the strategic mission of your local government. They should find areas of commonality and ways to share resources and efforts with other departments.
• Builds partnerships. Partnerships with public agencies, nonprofits, and the private sector strengthen programs. Effective partnerships require time and effort to establish, but they are worth the effort if they support the vision of the community.
• Appreciates diversity. Differing cultural norms (organizational and community norms, for example) should be recognized, understood, and respected; and adjustments should be made as needed in program planning and execution. Flexibility and adaptability are key characteristics, needed by all involved in joint ventures.
• Communicates. Communicating with partners, stakeholders, and the larger community is important to grow and nurture partnerships.
• Fosters champions. Champions and advocates are important to make programs successful and sustainable. Library champions have a clear understanding of library services and the role the library plays in the quality of life of a community. They can contribute support in any number of ways, including time, funds, influence, services, goods, and related items.
• Embraces innovation. Reinforcing the library’s transformational nature and having it viewed as a great place to help change people’s lives is critical during tough budget times and when local government must be constantly changing how it does business. The library should be an engine for innovation in a community.

Frederic Public Library Aids Delta Airlines

Here's a good library story from Frederic Public Library:

Wednesday morning we received a call from Delta Airlines in Georgia.  Agent Susana said they had found a carry-on duffel bag with no identification in it, except for a library book with the Frederic Public Library stamp!  She must have traced our address to find a telephone number and contacted us in order to unite the lost luggage with its owner.  We took it from there - looked up the book, called the Ladysmith patron, and she was delighted to learn the bag had been found, since her carry-on held all her traveling essentials.  This is yet another example of how important libraries are to our everyday lives!  BTW, in yet another kind gesture, we waived the 10-cent overdue fine on our book and renewed it for the patron.  

Celebrate AskAway Awareness Week Sept. 13-17!

What is AskAway? AskAway is an online information service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The service is staffed by librarians from across Wisconsin, the United States and the United Kingdom. These librarians are online to help you find resources to satisfy your academic, professional, and personal information needs. You can access AskAway from anywhere there is an Internet connection including home, school, work, the library, or wherever there's Wi-Fi access. For more information and PR materials, click. All ALS libraries and their customers have access to AskAway.