1. Governor issues executive order requiring use of Job Center of Wisconsin website
2. Update on federal broadband funding
3. Partnership with Social Security
4. Libraries as ecosystems
5. Website of the Week - Children's Nutrition Research Center
6. Calendar
=================================================
1. GOVERNOR ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER REQUIRING USE OF JOB CENTER OF WISCONSIN WEBSITE
On April 16, 2009, Governor Jim Doyle announced an executive order requiring all contractors and subcontractors involved in recovery projects to post job openings on
http://JobCenterOfWisconsin.com, Wisconsin's Internet employment site that is free and accessible at all hours of the day.
"With the Job Center of Wisconsin site, we are leading efforts to put people to work and get our nation's economy on the road to recovery," Governor Doyle said. "The executive order I am announcing today not only helps people find work, it helps employers find the skilled workers they need to succeed. We launched this free, easy-to-use site last fall, and it has become a popular destination for job seekers and employers. We are now making it the premiere site for job opportunities on recovery projects."
Under Executive Order # 278, any employer receiving funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is required to list job openings on
http://JobCenterOfWisconsin.com, the Internet site operated by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD).
The Job Center of Wisconsin employment website is averaging 500,000 visits per day. In March, more than 3,500 job seekers posted resumes on the site. The site currently has nearly 13,000 job openings listed.
The DLTCL encourages libraries to add a link to the Job Center of Wisconsin on their library's website.
2. UPDATE ON FEDERAL BROADBAND FUNDING
The Department of Public Instruction has provided a website (see
http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/arrabbfunding.html) with basic information on the $7.2 billion in federal broadband funding. Following are some recent updates:
1) Grant guidelines and application forms will be available in May or early June. Applicants will likely have just 30-45 days to submit an application. The state's BadgerNet staff is investigating submitting a grant to bring fiber to all public school districts and public libraries in the state that are on the BadgerNet network.
2) The DPI recently submitted comments on the broadband funding (see
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants/comments/729A.pdf) to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the federal agency administering the funds. The Executive Committee of the BadgerNet Advisory Council also endorsed the DPI comments. Here are several key DPI recommendations with some background comments:
-- The NTIA should make fiber and its related infrastructure a grant priority. (Comment: Building broadband infrastructure is a major purpose of the funds.)
-- Priority in the grant ranking process should also consider:
- Applications that support a state's list of priorities. (NTIA staff will seek guidance from the states. The DPI is supporting fiber to our schools and libraries as a state priority.)
- Applications that provide long-term benefits. (e.g., fiber)
- Applications that demonstrate a large regional or statewide impact. (e.g., CESAs, library systems, BadgerNet)
-- All schools and libraries should qualify to submit grants for the education and training purposes referenced in the federal law.
If you have any questions, contact Bob Bocher, library technology consultant, at 608/266-2127 or
robert.bocher@dpi.wi.gov. Updates will also be posted to the DPI's broadband funding website referenced above.
3. PARTNERSHIP WITH SOCIAL SECURITY
The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is involved in a wide variety of new and important initiatives. They are asking libraries throughout the country to partner with them to share information about these initiatives with the American public.
Among the initiatives they have asked libraries to help promote is their new national campaign "Retire Online. It's So Easy!" This campaign features a new online retirement application that can be completed in as little as 15 minutes. The application is available online at
http://www.socialsecurity.gov, and can easily be completed at any library computer. A brochure on the subject can be viewed at
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10522.pdf.
In May 2009, as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Social Security will distribute a one-time payment of $250 to over 55 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries. A leaflet which discusses this in greater detail is available online at
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10519.pdf.
Later this year, Social Security will be launching their third annual Mother's Day and Father's Day campaigns promoting the "Extra Help with Medicare" prescription drug plan costs. The SSA will keep libraries updated as to when these new outreach materials are available.
Partnering with Social Security to promote these initiatives will benefit the populations served by libraries. One way libraries can do this is by linking to the agency's website at
http://www.socialsecurity.gov. Publishing articles about these initiatives in library newsletters or other publications is another method of getting this important information out.
For copies of the Retire Online or one-time payment brochures, or for additional information from Social Security, please e-mail Carolyn Houston at
Carolyn.Houston@ssa.gov or call her at 410-965-7603. Please indicate the quantity desired (in units of 100) and where the publications should be shipped.
4. LIBRARIES AS ECOSYSTEMS
Change, interdependence, diversity, balance and sustainability are often used in defining an ecosystem. In a recent article for Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, Jim Rettig, American Library Association president, explained that this same interconnectedness applies to all types of libraries. The title of the article is "Frame of Reference: School Libraries and the Educational Ecosystem." He discusses how students who are confident in their ability to navigate Google may not necessarily have the information retrieval and evaluation skills they need to be successful in college. This is an illustration of current imbalances that exist in parts of our educational ecosystem. His article expands on that to explain that if K-12 students do not have access to school libraries staffed by certified library media specialists colleges will be spending more time involved in remediation rather than moving students forward to higher levels of learning. Both this article and the magazine itself are worth reading as reminders of how all types of institutions and the work we do in each of them impacts all of us now and in the future.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.changemag.org/March-April%202009/full-educational-ecosystem.html.
5. Website of the Week
Children's Nutrition Research Center --
http://www.kidsnutrition.org/ -- Official website for the federally funded Children's Nutrition Research Center, which conducts research on the role of maternal, infant and child nutrition in optimal health, development, and growth.
6. CALENDAR
April 1-30, 2009 - School Library Media Month
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
May 15, 2009 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Stevens Point
June 8, 2009 - Library Information Technology Advisory Committee, Madison
June 28-July 1, 2009 - National Educational Computing Conference, Washington D.C.
July 9-15, 2009 - American Library Association Annual Conference, Chicago
July 10, 2009 - Council on Library and Network Development meeting, Madison
October 12, 2009 - Library Information Technology Advisory Committee, Madison
October 20-23, 2009 - Wisconsin Library Association Annual Conference, Appleton
==================================================
To access previous issues of Channel Weekly, or to subscribe or unsubscribe, go to:
http://dpi.wi.gov/channel/chweekly.html
==================================================
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 4/24/2009 12:46:31 PM
Home
About Us