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RCLS Weekly Memo Archives

RCLS 2015 Operating Budget

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Legislative Breakfast Handouts

2015 Page-A-Day Book Lover’s

Calendars

RCLS Weekly Memo 1 August 23, 2010

Serving Member Libraries Since 1959

September 29, 2014

Robert Hubsher, Executive Director Ruth K. Daubenspeck, Newsletter Editor

Ramapo Catskill Library System • http://www.rcls.org 619 Route 17M • Middletown, NY 10940-4395 • 845.243.3747

Younger Americans and Public

Libraries

A new report from the Pew Research Center, Younger

Americans and Public Libraries (PDF file), pulls together

several years of research into the role of libraries in the lives

of Americans and their communities with a special focus on

Millennials, a key stakeholder group ages 16–29. The report

explores their attitudes towards public libraries in great

detail, including the extent to which they value libraries’

roles in their communities.

This is the report that Robert Hubsher, RCLS Executive

Director mentioned in his remarks at the RCLS Annual

Meeting held on Friday, September 12.

RCLS Minecraft Challenge

Congratulations to the teens and staff of the Albert Wisner

Public Library in Warwick for being voted the winner of the

RCLS Minecraft Challenge! They built an amazing replica

of their library using the game. As the winners, they have

opted to put a new version of the game on one of their

computers. To view the winning entry, as well as all the

amazing entries, visit the RCLS website.

International Games Day

@ your library

International Games Day @ your library, Saturday,

November 15, is a chance to celebrate games and libraries,

not to mention the communities that both help to create and

sustain, with other library-lovers around the world. People

all over the planet will join together to celebrate the

mutually-reinforcing power of play and learning.

Visit the I Love Libraries website or International Games

Day website for more information.

RCLS has gaming kits that

member libraries can borrow.

Contact Sue Scott at RCLS

(ext. 247 or suescott@rcls.org) for more

information about the XBOX 360/Minecraft, Playstation 4

and Wii U gaming kits.

RCLS Quilt and

Book Raffle

“Four Patch Posie” quilt

inspired by Sue Monk Kidd’s

novel The Invention of Wings.

Raffle tickets are $5 for one

ticket or $10 for three tickets.

Contact Dan Hulse at RCLS.

September 29, 2014 2 RCLS Weekly Memo

2015 Page-

A-Day Book

Lover’s

Calendar

Order your copy today!

The order form can be found on

the RCLS website.

Librarian of the Year

Library Journal is seeking

nominations for the 27th annual

Librarian of the Year Award to honor

a professional l ibrar ian for

outstanding achievement and

accomplishments reflecting the

loftiest service goals of the library

profession.

Send submissions in an electronic

format such as a Word document or a

PDF via e-mail to Rebecca Miller.

The dead l ine i s Monday ,

November 3.

Budgeting for

Personnel

Reminder: Minimum Wage in New

York State will be increased to:

$8.75 per hour effective

December 31, 2014

$9.00 per hour effective

December 31, 2015

Please also consider consulting the

Living Wage Calculator for your area,

which is available through the

M a s s a c h u s e t t s I n s t i t u t e o f

Technology (MIT) or the Cost of

Living Calculator.

Digitizing Historically Significant

Newspapers Grant Program

The National Digital Newspaper Program is creating a

national, digital resource of historically significant

newspapers that were published between 1836 and 1922,

from all the states and U.S. territories. The program,

created by the National Endowment for the Humanities,

will become a searchable database that will be permanently

maintained at the Library of Congress and accessible for

free on the Internet.

The applicants that win this grant from the Endowment

will select newspapers that were published in their state or

territory in English between 1836 and 1922 and convert,

primarily from microfilm, over a period of two years,

approximately 100,000 pages into digital files.

The Endowment is awarding up to $350,000 each in

cooperative agreements through this program and for a

two-year period. Cost-sharing is not required, but the

Endowment notes that it may be a good idea just in case

your project’s total costs run over the money provided by

the Endowment.

To apply for the National Endowment for the Humanities

National Digital Newspaper Program, visit the application

and submission information section online. You must apply

through http://www.Grants.gov. The deadline for

submission of applications is Thursday, January 15,

2015. If you have any questions about the National Digital

Newspaper Program, contact the Division of Preservation

and A ccess a t e i t h e r 20 2 .606 . 8570 o r

preservation@neh.gov.

Margaret Atwood’s New Text will

Stay Unseen for 100 Years

Depending on perspective, it is an author’s dream or

nightmare: Margaret Atwood (right) will never know what

readers think of the piece of fiction she

is currently working on, because the

unpublished, unread manuscript from

the Man Booker Prize–winning novelist

will be locked away for the next 100

years. Atwood has just been named as

the first contributor to an interesting

new public artwork, the Future Library

project.

RCLS Weekly Memo 3 September 29, 2014

Library Champions

At the RCLS Legislative Breakfast and Annual Meeting held on Friday, September 12 ten Library

Champions gave testimony of why the library is important to them. RCLS staff was fortunate to obtain

some of the written speeches from these individuals. The following is one presentation:

“I hate the idea that when it comes to books and learning, hard is often seen as the opposite of fun. It’s

strange to me that we should be so quick to give up on a book or a math problem when we are so willing

to grapple, for centuries if necessary, with a single level of Angry

Birds.” This was said by the author of The Fault in Our Stars, John

Green. A few years ago I would have dismissed this quote as

nonsense and gone outside to play.

My name is Alyssa Kamara and I’m a seventh grader at Monroe

Woodbury Middle School. I am a volunteer at the Chester Public

Library. I am also an “A” Honor Roll pupil, Expand student, and I am

also part of the John Hopkins University program for talented youth.

Today I am here to talk to you about the importance of libraries and

their programs in my life. My older sister began volunteering at the

library when I was in 1st grade and I admired her for it. Of course, I

had been to a library before, but because of having to constantly drive

back and forth to pick her up and drop her off, I started to visit a bit

more often. I didn’t really enjoy reading at that time. I was an average reader and the younger me would

rather have been playing than reading a book. Eventually my family and I discovered libraries and their

programs. My mom signed me and my siblings up to do the reading logs. Apparently reading to get prizes

appealed to me because I began to read every day. (I still do, out of habit.) I got my own library card and

soon I was checking out several books at a time to read. Sure enough, I started reading just for the

physical rewards I got in my folder. I read because I truly and simply was in love with books. I loved the

feeling of the pages between my fingers and watching a dramatic plot twist happen while picturing the

main character in my head. Thanks to the reading logs, my reading levels had gone up drastically and I am

still on a higher reading level than most 9th graders.

A couple years later, I started going to the teen programs such as book discussions, writing workshops

and things along those lines. These library programs expanded my vocabulary, my point of view and my

horizons.

And finally now I was old enough to volunteer at the library myself. I started doing volunteer work this

past summer, helping out with the activities for the children's Summer Reading Programs. The theme of

this year’s Summer Reading Program was Fizz, Boom, Read. A few weeks ago I volunteered at an activity

called “Gadgets and Goop.” My friend and I assisted the kids in making fizzing, colorful, exploding milk.

While helping, I looked around the room. I was so amazed to see the excitement and surprise and utter

interest on some of the kid’s faces as they made their slime, watched as things fizzed and asked their

questions (which is the very foundation of science itself). Looking up at me with a big toothy grin, one

little boy said, “Now I want to be a scientist!” He had the same look of admiration and appreciation that I

had looked up at my sister and her fellow volunteers with not so long ago.

The library and its programs have gifted me with many things. Friends and kind superiors. Most

importantly though, it taught me to get up and do something; that there is more to life than just playing a

game or sitting in front of a screen. Being involved at the library has taught me that at the end of the day,

you won’t be remembered for looking good in a picture on Instagram but by the mark you leave in the life

of others and your community. It has given me the comprehension of the necessity of education and the

gift of intelligence.

Herman Northrop Frye once said, “The most technologically efficient machine that man ever invented is

a book.” Now, because of the library, I truly agree with both Mr. Frye and Mr. Green.

Thank you for your time.

Alyssa Kamara, Chester Public Library

Library Champion Alyssa Kamara

Share your library news

with the RCLS Weekly

Memo.

Send your article to

rclsmemo@rcls.org

September 29, 2014 4 RCLS Weekly Memo

The Digital Shift:

Libraries @ The Center

Virtual Conference

The Digital Shift: Libraries @ The

Center virtual conference will focus

the attention of library professionals

on libraries' central role in the

transformation of our culture from

analog experiences to digital

experiences. On Wednesday,

October 1, participants will engage in

a dynamic day-long conversation

about our shared digital future. The

conference will examine how libraries

drive change like no other institution,

reaching classrooms and communities

around the globe, and will provide

actionable answers to some of the

biggest questions our profession

faces, including:

How can libraries adapt and adopt

emerging technologies and tools,

new ways of learning, and the

evolving publishing ecosystem?

How can libraries meet the 21st

century needs of children and

young adults?

How will libraries continue to be at

the center of their communities?

Opening Keynote Speaker will be

Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, author of the

New York Times Bestselling book,

The Organized Mind: Thinking

Straight in the Age of Information

Overload (Dutton/Penguin, 2014.)

For more information and to register

for this free, full-day event visit The

Digital Shift website.

Sustaining Cultural Heritage

Collections Grants

NEH's Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections grants

encourage sustainable approaches to preserving humanities

collections. The grant deadline is Wednesday, December 3.

This grant program supports planning and implementation

of sustainable preventive conservation projects that

"pragmatically balance preservation goals, cost, and

environmental impact. All projects should be designed to

be as cost effective, energy efficient, and environmentally

sensitive as possible." Planning grants of up to $40,000

(with an option of up to $50,000) are available to bring

together interdisciplinary teams that will work

collaboratively to identify sustainable preventive

conservation strategies. Implementation grants of up to

$350,000 are available to manage interior relative humidity

and temperature by passive methods; install heating,

ventilating, and air conditioning systems; install storage

systems and rehouse collections; improve security and the

protection of collections from fire, flood, and other

disasters; and upgrade lighting systems and controls to

achieve levels suitable for collections that are energy

efficient. For guidelines, FAQs, and sample narratives from

successful applications visit the NEH Grants website.

Receipt deadline is Wednesday, December 3.

Rosa Parks Papers to Library of

Congress

The Library of Congress will be the

new home of the Rosa Parks

Collection, Librarian of Congress

James H. Billington announced

September 9. It will be at LC on a 10-

year loan from the Howard G. Buffett

Foundation. The collection consists of

1,500 items belonging to the civil

rights activist, including personal

correspondence, photographs,

autobiographical notes, letters from

presidents, her Presidential Medal of Freedom and

Congressional Gold Medal, clothing and furniture, and 200

drawings by schoolchildren. Buffett’s foundation bought

the collection in August, planning to give it to an

institution.

15th Annual Lights On Afterschool

Launched in October 2000, Lights On Afterschool is the

only nationwide event celebrating afterschool programs and

their important role in the lives of children, families and

communities. The effort has become a hallmark of the

afterschool movement and generates media coverage across

the country each year.

The Afterschool Alliance organizes Lights On Afterschool

to draw attention to the many ways afterschool programs

support students by offering them opportunities to learn

new things – such as science, community service, robotics,

Tae Kwon Do and poetry – and discover new skills. The

events send a powerful message that millions more kids

need quality afterschool programs.

This year Lights On Afterschool will be celebrated on

Thursday, October 23.

Teen Bloggers for Teen Read Week

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

has announced the teen winners of its first-ever Teen Read

Week Blogging Contest. Thirty-

one teens were selected from a

pool of 61 applicants. They will

blog about various young adult

literature topics throughout the

month of October on YALSA’s

blog The Hub in celebration of Teen Read Week, which

takes place this year on October 12–18.

More Great Websites for Kids

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

has added eight more sites to Great Websites for Kids, its

online resource containing hundreds of links to exceptional

websites for children.

3D Storybooks for Visually Impaired

Children

Dianna Dilworth of Gallycat writes, “Researchers at the

University of Colorado Boulder have designed a series of

children’s books for the visually impaired. U-Boulder’s

Tactile Picture Books Project uses 3D printing technology

to turn classic children’s books,

including Margaret Wise

Brown’s Goodnight Moon and

Harold and Crockett Johnson’s

Harold and the Purple Crayon,

into books with three -

dimensional tactile experiences.”

RCLS Weekly Memo 5 September 29, 2014

IKEA’s Bookbook Video

Hit

IKEA’s new video touting the power

of a good old-fashioned print catalog

has generated more than 7.7 million

online views in less than a week.

“Experience the Power of a

Bookbook” (2:28) introduces viewers

to a device

that “changes

the way we

live” (the

new IKEA

c a t a l o g ) ,

parodying the tone and language Apple

uses to market its gadgets. In the IKEA

spot, a “chief design guru” highlights

the so-called bookbook’s specs and

innovative features, such as an

“eternal” battery life and “pre-

installed” content.

NN/LM Library Disaster

Readiness Test

Dan Wilson writes, “The National

Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/

LM) offers a

L i b r a r y

D i s a s t e r

R e a d i n e s s

Test. On a

sheet of paper,

give yourself a tick mark for each time

you answer yes to one the 15 elements

of a library at a state of disaster

readiness. Add up your score. Most

libraries will score between 0 and 5.

The NN/LM Emergency Preparedness

and Response Initiative provides tools

and training to create a disaster-ready

culture in libraries so that scores will

be above 10.”

Job Opening Links

RCLS Area

Region

Building your e-résumé

September 29, 2014 6 RCLS Weekly Memo

Deadlines

Monday, September 29 @ 4 p.m.

Registration due for RCLS 2015

Budget Hearing at Suffern (10/1)

Tuesday, September 30 @ 4 p.m. Registration due for RCLS 2015

Budget Hearing at RCLS (10/2)

Wednesday, October 1 @ 8 a.m.

Registration due for Newsletter

Design Marketing Your Library

(10/2)

Monday, October 6 @ 8 a.m.

Registration due for Hackers and

Malware and Spyware, Oh, My!

Keeping Safe in an Online World

(10/7)

Monday, October 6

Registration due for System

Orientation (10/8)

Wednesday, October 8 @ 8 a.m.

Registration due for Newsletter

Design Marketing Your Library

(10/9)

Thursday, October 9 @ 8 a.m.

Registration due for Manor Ink,

Library-based, Youth-led News

(10/10)

Wednesday, November 26 @ 4 p.m. Ballots due for the RCLS 2015

Budget to Robert Hubsher @

RCLS

RCLS Headquarters E-mail and Extension Directory (845.243.3747)

Robert Hubsher ...... Executive Director ....................................................................... 242

Chuck Conklin ........ Delivery & Building Maintenance Supervisor .............................. 226

Randall Enos .......... Youth Services Consultant .......................................................... 240

Linda Hendon ......... ILL/Tech Services Librarian ........................................................ 237

Stephen Hoefer ...... Fiscal Officer ............................................................................... 223

Jerry Kuntz ............. Electronic Resources Consultant ................................................ 246

Grace Riario ........... Public Services Consultant/Outreach Coordinator ...................... 233

John Schneider ...... ANSER Manager and Systems Administrator ............................ 228

System Calendar

For a complete and up-to-date list of events, including

links to additional information, see the RCLS Calendar.

To add information, contact Ruth Daubenspeck.

September - Library Card Sign-up Month

Tuesday, 30 RCLS 2015 Budget Hearing, Monticello

October

Wednesday, 1 RCLS 2015 Budget Hearing, Suffern – 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, 2 Newsletter Design Marketing Your Library, Valley Cottage – 10:00 a.m.

Thursday, 2 RCLS 2015 Budget Hearing, RCLS – 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Friday, 3 Correctional Facility Fall Training Session, RCLS – 8:30 a.m.

Tuesday, 7 Hackers and Malware and Spyware, Oh, My! Keeping Safe in an Online World, RCLS – 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday, 8 System Orientation, RCLS – 10:00 a.m.

Thursday, 9 Directors Association Executive Committee, RCLS – 9:30 a.m.

Thursday, 9 Newsletter Design Marketing Your Library, Warwick – 10:00 a.m.

Friday, 10 Manor Ink, Library-based, Youth-led News, RCLS – 10:00 a.m.