NETLS Updates and Information: 2009-08-16

CRAZINESS IS OVER??
Thanks for sending your Summer Reading Club action shots, they’ve been a great addition to our website. Anytime you have a great photo or story to share, send it on!

It has been a busy (and rewarding) summer, feedback from the CD Symposium and the Tyler, What to Use and How to Choose session has been very positive. Today is the final day of the first round of the BTOP and BIP grants – we’re sending good wishes to those of you who applied.

TANG visits for this year’s group of assessments will be finished soon. We plan to retain Jerry Brock to follow up on concerns identified in the technology assessments and to help libraries meet their technology needs.

Most of our libraries have book sales. Here’s a service that comes and searches your book sale items, identifies the materials in demand, and sells the materials for you on consignment. They were highly recommended by a Metroplex area library.

Directors -invite your staff members to receive these NETLS updates by subscribing to NETLS News email list. The NETLS News list is interactive, members may post. The Directors’ list is a one-way communication from NETLS Staff to directors.

STATEWIDE TRENDS
Cumulative statewide statistics based on annual reports are available. Use these statistics as supporting documentation for your presentations. Since 1997 circulation has increased 43% statewide with a 3% increase from 2007 to 2008. See the full report here.

SURVEY SEASON
We’ll be sending several surveys soon. We promise to keep them short. We expect to continue with courier subsidies and Tutor.com and other consortia pricing and we’ll need to know who is participating. We are interested in identifying other opportunities to provide favorable pricing that is based on combined purchasing power. Please help us help you by responding quickly

HUMANITIES TEXAS GRANTS
Applications for major grants ($1,500+) offered by/through Humanities Texas are due twice a year : March 15 and September 15. Applications for Humanities Texas minigrants (under $1,500) are due at least six weeks before the start of the planned project. For an idea of projects funded, see the current calendar of Humanities Texas events. Links to a sample minigrant grant application and sample major grants are here.

FACILITY AID
Do you have an up-to-date floor plan? Vance Hunt & Associates has generously offered to help libraries by providing basic professionally drawn floor plans. If you are interested in this no obligation opportunity, contact Craig Tappe at 972-740-9008 or 800-228-2623.

We recently received a letter of thanks for this project stating, in part “… with our updated floor plan… we will be able to assist our patrons in locating areas and collections much more efficiently. Computer locations can also be posted to facilitate ease in finding their workstation by the patron, and we will be able to display an up-to-date emergency evacuation plans throughout the building.”

OPPORTUNITIES…
1. The Electronic Information Working Group (EIWG) has vacancies for two public librarians. Please send your nominations to the TexShare Database Coordinator, Russlene Waukechon by September 11, 2009. You may make your nomination (may nominate yourself) by phone (512.463.7402), fax (512.936.2306) or email.

Please include:
Nominee's name
Library
Position
Full contact information
A brief statement of a nominee's qualifications.
Written assurance that the nomination has the support of the nominee's library director.

Working group members should participate in the group's meetings, generally held two to four times annually (with one of the meetings in-person and the others by conference call), and follow through with assignments. Potential members must have the support of their institution for travel to at least one in-person meeting each year. Travel costs are not reimbursed by TexShare or the Texas State Library.

Potential members should have experience or an interest in the program area, a desire to enhance multi-type library resource sharing in Texas, and an interest in designing innovative programs to enhance library services to Texans.

OPPORTUNITIES…
2. The Gates Foundation's Opportunity Online Broadband Grant Program is looking for high-impact stories directly from patrons, commentary from library staff about the services they are able to provide or would provide if they had a broadband connection, and what patrons have done with the increased connection speed if they have gotten a high-speed connection. A video team is planning to be in the state for a week in September to try to get film stories in as many sites as possible. If you are interested in participating in this project please read this blog post and contact Dawn Vogler at (512) 936-4449.

OPPORTUNITIES…
3. The Long Island Coalition Against Censorship is selling banned book week display materials for $40.00.

INNOVATION

The current issue of Library Journal features the self-service library … here are some interesting products:

Book Delivery Computer Vending Movie/Music (fund raiser? Or library adaptation?

FREE TO A GOOD HOME..
Contact Rose Farhood in Leonard if you are interested in a used microfilm reader or used microfiche reader.