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Table of Contents
1. Public library annual report update
2. Fall 2008 issue of Channel now available online
3. Willeen Tretheway retires from Reference and Loan Library
4. Loretta Harmatuck retires from DPI and Reference and Loan Library
5. First-ever adult literacy data for states and counties released today
6. Website of the Week - Internet Public Library
7. Calendar
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1. PUBLIC LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT UPDATE
Due to problems with the electronic forms system used to gather information for the Public Library Annual Report, the electronic form will not be available until the issues can be resolved. Paper copies of the form have been distributed to public libraries through the regional library systems (along with instructions), and the blank form is also available at
http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/annrpt.html where status of the electronic form will be posted.
DPI will work with the vendor and expects to have the problems corrected later this month. In the meantime, libraries are encouraged to collect information to complete the annual report so that data can be entered when the electronic form is available. Notification of the electronic form's availability will be sent out to library systems and to the WISPUBLIB list; in addition, the form site will be linked on
http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/annrpt.html when corrections are made.
Please check the website for update information. If library directors or staff have questions about the information to be reported on the annual report, please contact your regional library system. Other questions can be referred to John DeBacher, interim state data coordinator at
john.debacher@dpi.wi.gov.
2. FALL 2008 ISSUE OF CHANNEL NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
The Fall 2008 issue of Channel, the newsletter of the Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning, is now available on the web at
http://dpi.wi.gov/channel/pdf/chn4401.pdf.
Among the articles in this issue of Channel are:
-- State superintendent announces budget initiatives
-- Channel changes to quarterly publication
-- Blitzke lauded for contributions to statewide library delivery service
-- AV Wisconsin 2008
-- Allison Coshenet joins staff of Reference and Loan Library
-- Terry Wilcox retires from Reference and Loan
-- Marsha Valance retires after 20 years at RLBPH
-- Best Practices for Public Libraries: The Chain of Command
-- The impact of downloadable audio and video on libraries, Part 1
-- Library systems to share $16.8 million in state aid
-- Free Author Fair kicks off 2009 WEMTA Spring Conference
Previous issues of Channel are available at
http://dpi.wi.gov/channel/channel.html. Issues of Channel Weekly are available at
http://dpi.wi.gov/channel/chweekly.html.
3. WILLEEN TRETHEWAY RETIRES FROM REFERENCE AND LOAN LIBRARY
After 39 years, Willeen Tretheway retired from the Reference and Loan Library on December 29. Willeen worked as a librarian and was responsible for cataloging, collection development and management, and audio-visual materials selection and services. Willeen created quality catalog records for OCLC and WISCAT and is recognized for the excellence of her detailed audio-visual records. She worked through generations of cataloging technology from the manual creation of catalog cards through OCLC retrospective conversion, WISCAT union catalog development, and transfer of records from one system to another. She also worked to assure efficient operation of the Reference and Loan Library audio-visual booking system and the library online catalog. Willeen is also known for her comprehensive knowledge of licensing and copyright issues and law. Willeen set up and managed demonstrations of new technology in the early years of changes from phonorecords to audiocassettes, videodisk, compact audiodisks, DVD, and computer software. More than anyone else at the Reference and Loan Library, Willeen left her mark on the library's collection and the automated means to access it.
4. LORETTA HARMATUCK RETIRES FROM DPI AND THE REFERENCE AND LOAN LIBRARY
Loretta Harmatuck retired in December after 37 years of service to the state of Wisconsin, most of it working for the Department of Public Instruction. Prior to coming to DPI, Loretta worked as Public Services Librarian/Instructor at Beloit College and was a teacher at James Madison Junior High School. Loretta began work in 1971 as the DPI Librarian and for the Wisconsin Dissemination Project, an early program to provide online search services using ERIC to Wisconsin teachers and DPI staff. Loretta began work at the Reference and Loan Library in 1982 as the Government Services Librarian. In 1991 she served on the study committee that helped revise the Wisconsin Documents Depository Program statutes, and in 2002-2003 worked with the study committee that made recommendations on the handling of digital government documents. She wrote manuals for depository librarians and for state agency staff contributing materials to the depository program. Loretta also provided coordination of federal depository libraries in the 1980s.
Loretta also coordinated monthly meetings of the state government agency librarians and encouraged coordination of services among state agency libraries. For many years, she helped produce What's New in Government, a newsletter of recent Reference and Loan Library purchases of interest to state government employees.
Loretta made a major contribution to statewide reference services. She answered reference questions from patrons throughout the state when they were referred to the Reference and Loan Library. She worked with numerous technologies for receiving and responding to reference requests and became an expert in online searching using a wide variety of databases. She used QuestionPoint software to serve library users with virtual reference services and answered requests referred through the state portal when necessary. As one of only several full time reference staff members since 2000, Loretta handled a large volume of reference requests. Many library users have benefitted from her research abilities.
5. FIRST-EVER ADULT LITERACY RATE FOR STATES AND COUNTIES RELEASED
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recently released the "National Assessment of Adult Literacy: Indirect County and State Estimates of the Percentage of Adults at the Lowest Literacy Level for 1992 and 2003", which provides estimates on the percentage of adults - for all states and counties in the U.S. - who lack basic prose literacy skills. The study provides data for 2003 and 1992. This new data is currently the only available snapshot of adult literacy rates for individual states and counties.
To produce this study, NCES gathered data from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), a nationally representative sample of more than 19,000 Americans age 16 and older, and the 2000 Census, which provided "predictor variables" such as education and income.
NAAL data were correlated with the predictor variables to see if there was a pattern among them. From this information, a model was established. Using the model, estimates were predicted for areas where there were not sufficient assessment data. The same approach was also applied to the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), so changes from 1992 to 2003 can be examined.
The report is accompanied by an interactive web tool, which shows the percentage of adults lacking Basic Prose Literacy Skills for all states and counties. In addition to allowing users to view adult literacy percentages for any given state, the web tool also allows for comparisons to be made between two states, two counties in the same state, two counties in different states, across years for a state, and across years for a county.
The report can be found at
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009482.
The Interactive Web Tool can be accessed at
http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/index.aspx.
6. Website of the Week
Internet Public Library --
http://www.ipl.org/div/about/ -- The Internet Public Library (IPL) is a public library for the World Wide Web, founded at the University of Michigan School of Information and hosted by Drexel University's College of Information Science and Technology. Students from a consortium of colleges and universities with programs in information science develop and maintain the IPL. A complete list of consortium members can be found on the Consortium page on the IPL website.
7. CALENDAR
January 29, 2009 - Delivery Services Advisory Committee, Webinar conference call.
February 3, 2009 - WEMTA/WLA Library Legislative Day, Madison
March 13, 2009 - Council on Library and Network Development, TBA
March 22-24, 2009 - Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association Spring Conference, Madison
April 21-24, 2009 - Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians Annual Conference, Green Lake
May 6-8, 2009 - Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries Spring Conference, Wisconsin Dells
October 20-23, 2009 - Wisconsin Library Association Annual Conference, Appleton
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To access previous issues of Channel Weekly, or to subscribe or unsubscribe, go to:
http://dpi.wi.gov/channel/chweekly.html
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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: (609) 266-8770
For questions about this information, contact Roslyn M. Wise (608) 266-6439
Last updated on 1/26/2009 1:44:39 PM
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