Library Management Today - A Practical Journal for Library Managers

A new journal focused on the issues of library management and administration - Library Management Today is an online publication with practical articles for today’s library manager. You are invited to submit comments, articles and news about your library.

The first issue brings you a wide range of excellent articles written by respected library leaders from throughout the country including an audio interview with Roberta Stevens, who became the president of the American Library Association earlier this week in Washington, D.C.

See the first issue online at Library Management Today  www.libmanagetoday.com.

Career & Employment Services Partner with Public 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.

In conjunction with this, a Webjunction webinar is scheduled for August 11 at 2:00pm. 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. For more information about the IMLS grant, click here. Visit the Public Libraries and the Workforce page on the IMLS Web site for additional resources.

Save-the-Date: AskAway Awareness Week

AskAway -- the statewide virtual reference service -- provides fast, friendly answers for residents of Wisconsin, any time day or night. 

Mark September 13-17^th as AskAway Awareness Week on your calendar, so you can spread the word about this great service!

Creative ideas and tips for ways your library can participate in this annual celebration are coming soon!

Visit www.askaway.info

MLA 2010 Annual Conference

The Minnesota Library Association is pleased to announce its 2010 Annual Conference, to be held October 6-8, 2010, in Rochester, Minnesota. This three-day conference will be of value to all library professionals and supporters.

We encourage you to share current information about this terrific educational opportunity on your Web site and/or through your regular communication channels (such as newsletters, listservs, and broadcast e-mails). Here are the basic event details:

Minnesota Library Association
2010 Annual Conference
Serious Play
October 6-8, 2010
Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN
Visit www.mnlibraryassociation.org/mlaconference10 for complete details and registration.
Please note the new URL for our conference information!

A press release with additional information is available for download here:http://mnlibraryassociation.org/uploads/conf10/PressRelease10_0622.doc

A PDF flyer is available for download here: http://mnlibraryassociation.org/uploads/conf10/MLA_AnnualConf10_Flyer.pdf. Please feel free to print and post or distribute copies as you see fit.

If you have any questions or would like further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me in the Minnesota Library Association office at the e-mail address above or at 651-999-5343 (toll-free 877-867-0982) oroffice@mnlibraryassociation.org.

Grant Proposal Writing Basics

The L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library will host a free workshop on grantseeking basics for nonprofit organizations on Wednesday, July 7 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  Workshop location: Banbury Place, 800 Wisconsin Street, Eau Claire.  In the Eau Claire Conference Room on the third floor of Building 2. 

The Proposal Writing Basics session will be led by Kief Schladweiler, Coordinator of Cooperating Collections with the Foundation Center (http://foundationcenter.org).  The workshop will provide an overview of the proposal writing process for nonprofit organizations seeking grants from foundations, corporations and grantmaking public charities.  Mr. Schladweiler will offer tips on how best to identify funding sources for your organization, highlighting the electronic and print resources available for your free use at the L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center.  The workshop will include a demonstration of the Foundation Directory Online, the Foundation Center's top-tier searchable database providing information on nearly 100,000 grantmakers and more than 2 million grant records, and will also provide an overview of the free resources on the Foundation Center's website.

Kief Schladweiler has been the Foundation Center's Coordinator of Cooperating Collections since 2005.  Prior to that he served as the Center's online librarian for several years.  He joined the Foundation Center in 1999 after working as a reference library for The New York Public Library.  He received his M.A. in Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Registration is filled but you can get on a waiting list.  Openings may occur.  Contact Information & Reference at 715-839-5004 or e-mail librarian@eauclaire.lib.wi.us.

Trustee Notes - Managing the Library's Money

Managing the Library’s Money—One of the key responsibilities of a library board is helping to manage the library’s money.  Effective money management is based upon a strong partnership between the Board and the Director.  IFLS has developed a brief presentation about Basic Money Management for Trustees and Directors.  It provides an overview of the responsibilities of the Board and the Director. 

In addition IFLS has developed a basic accounting budget spreadsheet that can be used as a basic financial report for the board as well as voucher list for the monthly bills. 

More information is available at the IFLS budgeting page including a sample budget; a long range planning overview and additional budget information from a 2007 Workshop.  If you have questions, please contact John Thompson, Director or Juli Button, Business Manager.

Local Author Gordon Grice

Tracy Hiatt Grice at the Somerset library is proud to announce her husband’s new book: Deadly Kingdom, The Book of Dangerous Animals by Gordon Grice, published by Random House.  Described as a wonderful, slightly terrifying, utterly captivating encounter with the animal world.  Gordon Grice is available for readings or or phone 715-247-2118.