Illinois Library Systems's Blog

Wilson Select Plus Tutorials

Amanda McKay — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:46:14 +0000

Alliance Library System has created some screencasts to help librarians and patrons get more out of the searching experience with Wilson Select Plus. To see these tutorials, just click here.

And if your library is still interested in signing up for the Wilson Select Plus database, you can find all of the information here, including the pricing list as well as the agreement.

Library Leader Passes Away

Amanda McKay — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:57:30 +0000

As the Executive Director of the Illinois State Library, Alphonse F. Trezza was instrumental in the establishment and development of multi-type library systems in Illinois. Throughout his career, he exemplified leadership for libraries on the state, regional, and national levels. His publications and awards are too numerous to name, though he was especially proud of winning ALA’s Joseph W. Lippincott Award and Honorary Membership in ALA. During his career, he worked for Catholic Library Association, the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and Florida State University’s School of Library and Information Science.

He is survived by Mildred, his loving wife of over 60 years, daughter Carol and son-in-law James Johnston (director of the Joliet Public Library), son Al Jr. and daughter-in-law Ranna, six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and a large extended family.

Memories and condolences may be sent to:

Mildred Trezza
2205 Napoleon Bonaparte Drive
Tallahassee FL 32308

Funeral arrangements TBD.

The family requests that memorial donations be made to a library of your choice.

Delivery Best Practices

Amanda McKay — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:38:52 +0000

Below is a video of best practices for delivery. It was created by Lewis & Clark Library System and Rolling Prairie Library System.

We also have some links to other sources for best practices below:
http://www.illinoisdelivers.net/news/36/56/Best-Practice-Protecting-Interlibrary-Loan-Materials-from-Damage.html
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5633653030029225103
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1357857329895885643
http://www.nsls.info/services/delivery/member_responsibilities.aspx
http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/Delivery1/bestdeliverypractices2008.pdf
http://www.dupagels.lib.il.us/pages/delivery.html
http://www.palsnet.info/member-services/delivery-ill/overview/delivery/PALS-Delivery-Procedures.pdf
http://www.shawls.lib.il.us/services/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20helping.pdf
http://www.lcls.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/CourierServicesOpPlan2008.pdf

WebJunction Illinois: State of the Stats

Amanda McKay — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:15:14 +0000

WebJunction Illinois is turning 2 years old and the community has just released a statistical report detailing the progress of the site. Feel free to check out the report at http://il.webjunction.org/wjil/-/articles/content/67211220. There is an executive summary included in the report as well. One particular highlight is the success of the LibraryU courses that have been transferred to WJIL—both in enrollments and completion status.

Libraries lend a hand in tough times

Amanda McKay — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:21:32 +0000

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/31237988#31237988

The ALA Public Information Office worked with the Today Show on this segment and has followed up to encourage NBC affiliates to take up the story locally. But you can help extend the reach of this positive story in several ways:

1) Include the Today Show link on your library Web site

2) Reach out to your local media this week with your local story (particularly NBC affiliates), complemented by national data from the ALA. Two key data points from the Today Show were: 73% of public libraries report they provide the only free access to the Internet in their communities. This rises to 83 percent for rural libraries: http://tinyurl.com/mupmzd and www.ala.org/plinternetfunding. Also, 68 percent of Americans have a library card: http://tinyurl.com/9ewpcc.

3) Take advantage of free ALA resources to help tell your story to media, elected officials and funders:

Job-Seeking in U.S. Public Libraries

http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/ors/plftas/Issues%20brief-jobs.pdf

Using data from the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, the issues brief discusses the range of library resources available to job seekers and the challenges to maintaining these services. Additional briefing reports are at: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/ors/plftas/Issues_Briefs.cfm. Get a free copy of the PDF by emailing Larra Clark at lclark@ala.org.

Advocating in a Tough Economy Toolkit

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/advocacyuniversity/toolkit/index.cfm

Get tips, tools and messages that work.

Get the word out!

For questions or support around media outreach, please contact Macey Morales, mmorales@ala.org, or Jennifer Petersen, jpetersen@ala.org, in the ALA Public Information Office.

For questions or support around advocacy tools, please contact Marci Merola, mmerola@ala.org, or Jaclyn Finneke, jfinneke@ala.org.

For questions or support around statistics and research, please contact Denise Davis, dmdavis@ala.org, or Larra Clark at lclark@ala.org.

Digital Preservation

Amanda McKay — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:44:11 +0000

Check out this fun video about digital preservation!

Illinois Library Systems and You

Amanda McKay — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:23:16 +0000

Check out this document showing the Return on Investment that you, the people of Illinois, get from Illinois Library Systems as a result of the annual grant awarded by the Secretary of State’s office. For every dollar the State of Illinois invests in an Illinois Library System, you will see a return of $8.90!

On a Positive Note

Amanda McKay — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:19:50 +0000

Kitty Pope, Executive Director from Alliance Library System, has been writing a series of articles about how to handle the current woes of the world with a positive spin on things. You can find all of the articles here. She usually updates articles on Monday.

System Standards Presentation

Amanda McKay — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:33:29 +0000

If you want to know more about the process and background for the revision of the Illinois Library System Standards Revision, be sure to check out this powerpoint, prepared by the Illinois State Library.

Also, be sure to leave any comments about the proposed standards at WebJunction-Illinois.

Perceptions 2008

Amanda McKay — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:23:42 +0000

Marshall Breeding has posted his annual report, Perceptions 2008: An International Survey of Library Automation.