l libraries southwestlibrary.beau.org/lsw/lsw-archives/2008_winter.pdftotal of 46,406 passport...

L i b r a r i e s S o u t h w e s t A u t h o r D i n n e r

L y n d a C a r l b e r g A w a r d

1401 Nolan Trace — Leesvi l le, LA 71446

Winter, 2008

L ib ra r i e s Sou thwes tL ib ra r i e s Sou thwes tL ib ra r i e s Sou thwes t LLL SWSWSW ibrariesibrariesibraries

L y n d a C a r l b e r g ,

A M i g h t y O a k

Libraries Southwest

Allen, Beauregard,

Calcasieu, Cameron,

Evangeline, Jeff Davis,

St. Martin and Vernon

Parish Libraries;

McNeese State Univer-

sity and Northwestern

at Ft. Polk University

Libraries; Calcasieu

Parish School Librar-

ies and SOWELA Com-

munity Technical Col-

lege

Marguerite Hudson, au-

thor of Whiskey

Chito Woman

was the guest

speaker at Librar-

ies Southwest’s

annual author’s

dinner. This pro-

gram was sponsored

by Libraries South-

west and a grant from

The Center for the

Book. Approximately 50

people were in atten-

dance.

ager of the Louisiana Government Information

Network (LaGin) , moved up to become a li-

brary consultant and eventually became an

Associate State Librarian. As an

Associate State Librarian

Gretchen provided library ad-

ministrators, trustees, staff, and

friends with advice, information,

new ideas, and solutions per-

taining to many problems, ac-

tivities, and issues they faced in

their daily work. She retired

from the State Library in 2006.

Previous winners :

Sallie Farrell, 1998

Minnie Lou Lynch, 1999

Tom Jaques, 2000

Joy Lowe, 2002

Ralph Boe, 2004

Joe Landrum, 2006

The Lynda Carlberg Award was awarded

to Gretchen Fairbanks for her contribution to

Libraries, at Libraries Southwest’s recent

Author/Award dinner.

Gretchen Fair-

banks received an

MLS from LSU where

she became a mem-

ber of Beta Phi Mu

honorary fraternity.

She began her library

career at the East

Baton Rouge Parish

Library’s main facility

as a reference librar-

ian and the Library

and Information Ser-

vices Assistant before moving

up to manage the department.

From there she transferred to

the State Library of Louisiana

where she began as the man-

My job involves pretty much living in e-

mail. And, based on the amount of e-mail I get

and then need to deal with, so does everyone

else's. (I currently have more than 13,000 e-

mails in my in-box. And I need every one.

Really.) The trick is to see and be seen, and

that's getting increasingly difficult to pull off.

So it seemed like a good time to provide a

refresh on e-mail best practices. (And, full

disclosure: Most of these tips are based on

my own lessons learned — the hard way.

— by Debra Donston

1. Do keep it simple. Most people don’t

have time to read more than - a screen

of text, if that. In most cases, if you

need to write more, you need to pick up

the phone.

2. Don’t expect that readers will be able to

interpret tone. Maybe you were just

kidding, but you can’t be sure how your

sparkling wit will translate in black and

white.

3. Don’t clog up people’s e-mail in-boxes

any more than you need to. This means

sending multiple messages when one

will do, including unnecessary attach-

ments and using a graphical signature.

4. Don't ask people a laundry list of ques-

tions in an e-mail and expect that they

will be answered. Try to make it as easy

as possible for people to respond.

5. Don't "reply to all" unless it's absolutely

necessary. It's nice to congratulate

someone, but you don't need the entire

company to see that you've done so.

6. Do use your subject line wisely, Part 1:

When searching through tons of e-mail,

it's helpful if a subject line summarizes,

or at least is relevant to, the body of the

message.

7. Do use your subject line wisely, Part 2:

When totally switching gears, start a

new thread with a new, relevant subject

line.

8. Do think carefully about who's in the

"To" list and who's in the "cc" list. I've

seen people take issue with being cc'd

instead of being included in the "main"

list, upset at not being included in the

first place but then looped in later, in-

cluded anywhere in the first place ("Get

me off this distro!"), and so on.

9. Don't send messages to your corporate

colleagues from your personal e-mail

address and expect to keep in touch

effectively. Of course, sometimes mail

has to be sent from an alternate e-mail

account, but doing so consistently will

mess people up as it will be difficult to

search on your name for information.

10. Don't respond to an e-mail when ten-

sions are high. You'll regret it. Believe

me.

11. Don't send an e-mail you wouldn't want

forwarded. Because someone will. Be-

lieve me.

— eWeek.com, 10/12/07

E - M a i l s D o ’ s a n d D o n ’ t s

L i b r a r i e s S o u t h w e s t

having a document you can write to the

International Revenue Service and re-

quest the letter:

International Revenue Service

Exempt Organizations

Determinations P.O. Box 2508

Cincinnati, OR 45201

— Eastern Express, Eastern Library Sys-

tem (NE), September 2007

A public library can qualify as a 501-

C-3 charitable giving recipient because it

is a publicly funded agency of local gov-

ernment. If a donor requires documenta-

tion before making a donation to your

library, you need to contact the IRS and

request a letter. Your library does not

need a letter as long as it is funded with

public funds, but if your donor insists on

I R S 5 0 1 - C - 3 D e s i g n a t i o n

Gene Davis is receiving one of the

most prestigious awards given in Louisi-

ana. He is receiving the Governor's Arts

Award in recognition of his work as a

music instructor and community partici-

pant. The award was presented in Baton

Rouge, Thursday, October 11, 2007. Mr.

Davis has been a long-time part of the

Vernon Parish Education and Community

scene. In addition to the many honors his

choirs and bands have received through-

out the state and region, Mr. Davis has

been the director of the Vernon Parish

Community Chorus for over 37 years.

The VPCC performs at Christmas and

Easter each year with the proceeds going

to the Ministers Alliance for helping peo-

ple in need. He is also a member of the

Vernon Parish Library Board. Currently,

Mr. Davis is Choral and Instrumental In-

structor at Vernon Middle School. He has

also been an adjunct instructor at NSU -

the Leesville/Ft. Polk Campus. Several

thousand students have been influenced

by Mr. Davis in his over 40 years as an

educator.

G e n e D a v i s : V e r n o n P a r i s h T r u s t e e

F o c u s o n L o u i s i a n a A u t h o r s

celebrating life, family and county living.

His books include: The Old House; Hearts

Across the Water; Wayfaring Stranger;

Wind in the Pines: and The Mockingbird’s

Song.

Chere Coen is a native of New Orleans and

award-winning arts and entertainment

journalist for Variety magazine in Los An-

geles. She has written

for the Baton Rouge

Advocate, Glendale

News-Press in South-

ern California, Gambit

Weekly in New Orleans,

Where New Orleans

and New Orleans City

Business, among many

other publications,

including ghost writing several non-fiction

books. Her titles include: A Cajun Dream;

The Acadians; The Letter; Emilie, Rose,

Gabrielle, and Delphine.

The Calcasieu Parish Library’s Focus on

Louisiana Authors Programs has featured

three Louisiana authors.

Pamela Thibodeaux, winner of the Coeur

de Louisiana, RWA 1999

“Diamond in the Rough”

Award, and the “Ruby”

Award in 2000. She is co

-founder and acting

President/Treasurer of

the Bayou Writers Group

in Lake Charles. Her

books are: Tempered Dreams; Tempered

Fire; and Tempered Hearts.

Curt Iles, author and

storyteller from Dry

Creek, La. He has

served as a teacher,

coach, and Administra-

tor at East Beauregard

High School. He is the

author of several short

stories focusing on

W i n t e r , 2 0 0 8

“Libraries can be of indispensable service in lifting the dead

weight of poverty and ignorance.”

— Francis Keppel, Address at opening session of annual American Library Association

conference, St. Louis, June 28, 1964, speaking as U.S. Commissioner of Education

S c o f f i n g a t L i b r a r y F i n e s

The consequences are not small. A

debt going to a collection agency can

drop your credit score by 100 points

overnight, Watts notes. That means

beach reading you've hung on to since

last summer can raise the interest rate

you'll pay on your next car loan. Time to

sort through that stack by the bed!

— By Walecia Konrad in AARP, July/

August 2007, quoted in The Lamplighter,

Wisconsin Valley (WI) Library Service, August

Local governments are like the rest

of us - they're looking for more money.

Some are finding it by hiring collection

agencies to deal with unpaid parking

tickets and even library fines. "More and

more people are complaining about

this," says Craig Watts of credit scorer

Fair Isaac. "It started about 10 years ago

[with] strapped municipalities, especially

big cities."

Placentia Library District passed its

million-dollar milestone in Passport Ap-

plication revenue sometime in January

2007, Library Director Elizabeth Minter

reported this quarter. This represents a

total of 46,406 passport applications

processed since the program began in

December 1998.

The cumulative revenue for passport

fees and notary services from 1998

through the end of June 2007 was

$1,185,338. Customers who apply for

their passports at Placentia Library pay

the same fees as they would at a post

office or a passport office. However, the

difference is their processing fees are

used by Placentia Library District to sup-

plement its book budget. Placentia Li-

brary is also more convenient than other

application agencies because it is open

Saturday through Thursday, including

evenings and weekends.

In addition to having its busiest year ever

due to the new U.S. government travel identi-

fication requirements, Placentia Library staff

have been busy since March helping its cus-

tomers navigate the backlog in passport pro

cessing that applicants are experiencing

across the nation. Despite the fact that

the U.S. Department of State Passport

Services Office is financially self-

supporting, it simply does not handle

its current workload.

Library staff check the status of

the backlog on a daily basis and

advise our customers on how to get

their passports as quickly as possible.

For the meantime, however, the best ad-

vice is to plan to process an application or

renewal at least four to five months in ad-

vance.

— Notations, Placentia (CA) Library District,

Summer, 2007

hell of a lot to increase public awareness of

the value of and need for librarians and librar-

ies. And ALA wouldn’t have to put the touch

on members for a change. It would still have

millions sitting in the bank. I hope someone

will tell me why spending some of the ALA

endowment on this crucially important

agenda is a bad idea!

— John N. Berry III, Library Journal, October 15,

2007 : 10

….ALA should more loudly, more effec-

tively use all the media to explain to an in-

creasingly skeptical public the essential value

of libraries to society and to the communities

within which they exist. This priority moves up

the list every time some misguided politicians

or administrators decide to close libraries to

cope with budget deficits….

...Even a small piece, a quarter or a third

of that $31 million (endowment), could do a

P r o g r a m R e a c h e s M i l l i o n - D o l l a r M a r k

T h e E n d o w m e n t ’ s P u r p o s e

A d e b t

g o i n g t o a

c o l l e c t i o n

a g e n c y c a n

d r o p y o u r

c r e d i t

s c o r e b y

1 0 0 p o i n t s

o v e r n i g h t .


Only about 8

percent of us

create a lasting

legacy through a

charitable

bequest.

W i n t e r , 2 0 0 8

Members of Libraries Southwest recently

toured Louisiana Binding Service, Inc., located

in DeRidder. This company moved to DeRid-

der from New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.

They specialize in disaster response and col-

lections recovery, as well as long term preser-

vation and conservation of govern-

ment or private records and archival

collections.

A Louisiana based company, it

was founded by brothers Scott and

Pat Williams in 1987.

L o u i s i a n a B i n d e r y

through a charitable bequest. Clearly

providing for one's loved ones is a para-

mount concern. However, including a

dear charity among your beneficiaries is

also an important consideration, both for

your satisfaction and the long term

needs of your favorite organizations.

Leave A Legacy Greater Williamsburg

hopes to encourage such charitable gifts

to benefit residents throughout the area.

— Ex Libris, Williamsburg (VA) Regional Library,

August 2007

Leave A Legacy is a program that

works to educate communities about

planned giving. The goal is "to inspire

beyond their lifespan when doing good

works." With this in mind, it is exciting to

report that Leave A Legacy Greater Wil-

liamsburg will hold its inaugural events

in September 2007.

A study published in 2000 found that

while 80 percent of Americans support

charities during their lifetime, only about

8 percent of us create a lasting legacy

S u p p o r t i n g t h e L i b r a r y

Mindset list for the class of 2011.

Beloit College (WI) recently released the

Beloit College Mindset List to its faculty.

This 70-item list, a creation of Beloit's

Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom

McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron

Nief, provides a provocative look at the

cultural touchstones that have shaped

the lives of first-year students.

On the average, students of the class

2011 were born in 1989 and are 18

years old. "Latchkey kids for most of

their lives, students entering college this

fall think nothing of arriving home with

parents still at work, then emailing or

texting their friends, instantly updating

their autobiographies in Facebook or

MySpace, and listening to their iPods

while doing their research on Wikipedia.

Following are other observations from

the Beloit College Mindset List for the

Class of 2011 (complete Beloit College

mindset lists for classes 2002-2010 are

available at http://www.beloit.edul-

pubaffi'mindsetl):

What Berlin wall?

They never "rolled down" a car win-

dow.

Pete Rose never played baseball.

They have grown up with bottled

water.

Wal-Mart has always been a larger

retailer than Sears and has always

employed more workers than GM.

Being "lame" has to do with being

dumb or inarticulate, not disabled.

Stadiums, rock tours and sport-

ing events have always had cor-

porate names.

They're always texting "1 n other."

The World Wide Web has been

an online tool since they were

born.

They never saw Johnny Carson live

on television.

The Lamplighter, Wisconsin

Valley (WI) Library System,

September 2007

Y o u t h M a t t e r s


judging. We have five categories for

potential winners, from best tasting to

best doorstop. We will have six local

celebrity judges on hand to lend their

taste buds and their sense of aesthet-

ics. Also to entertain will be the Sigma

Eta Chorus with songs of the season.

The fun starts on Tuesday, December

18 at 5:30 p.m.

The Heron's Eye, Peabody (Columbia City,

IN) Public Library, November 2007

The holidays are many things to

many people, and so is fruitcake. Many

love the heavy, moist, earthy tastes;

some hate the thought of them; others

use them for door stops. In recognition

of this monumental dessert and its

place in our holiday celebration, the

Peabody Public Library is hosting the

first annual (hopefully) It's a Wonderful

Fruitcake Contest. Make your favorite,

let it stew a while, and bring it in for

I t ’ s a W o n d e r f u l F r u i t c a k e C o n t e s t

“Every library should try to be complete on something, if it were only the history of pin-

heads.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes The Poet at the Breakfast Table, ch. 8

out books.

Through the years I have forgotten their

names and faces. Oftentimes, I have won-

dered what happened to the little girl. Today,

she would be a grown lady. I hope she loves

to read, and realizes what a special grand-

mother she had. I have never forgotten that

wonderful lady or her mark. She made a

mark on my life. My love of libraries and my

life has been enriched by that mark.

This grandmother had wisdom and

knew the value of reading. I wish Library

Schools, Library Directors and Children’s Li-

brarians had some of this wisdom. It’s not

about costumes, arts and crafts or puppets...

but books and reading.

“Books are magic carpets

That fly you through the skies

And the wonder of the world

Will unfold before your eyes”

Howard L. Coy Jr.

Almost forty years ago, I was a college

student working at the Anna Meyer Branch of

the Ouachita Parish Library in Monroe, La.

This was when the library was located on

Jackson Street near downtown Monroe. One

evening an elderly lady came in with a small

girl. She wanted to get a library card for her

granddaughter, who she was raising. I gave

her a library card application form and asked

her to fill it out. She said she couldn’t write. I

said that’s ok, just fill the card out, we can

read it. She repeated that she could not write.

I finally said that I would fill the card out for

her, and she could sign it. She repeated

again, that she could not write. It took me a

while to realize the she really could not write! I

filled out the card for her and asked her to

make her mark on the signature line. She said

she wanted her granddaughter to learn to

read so she could be educated and have it

better than she had. She made her mark and

I witnessed the mark with my initials. She

brought her granddaughter in often to check

T h e V a l u e o f a n X

Recently a customer called to ask

"What happens to kids who misbehave

in the library? Do you just allow that to

happen?"

The answer is no. Our staff trains and

works hard to keep your libraries inviting

places to visit. How do we do that?

Every day, library staff evict custom-

ers whose behavior is disruptive to oth-

ers. Usually, this involves children, but

not always. After explaining our Code of

Conduct to them (we allow no one per-

son to disrupt another), the offender is

encouraged to come back the next day -

and follow our rules! When behavior

problems are frequent or severe, the

customer is evicted for six months and a

letter of explanation is provided for the

parent. In order to return following a six-

month eviction, a parent or guardian

must accompany the child to the library

for a meeting to clarify our rules.

Children are allowed to make one

phone call before leaving, but they must

then immediately leave library property.

Do we enjoy asking people to leave

the library? Certainly not! Do we feel

strongly that the library should provide a

welcoming - and non disruptive environ-

ment for ALL our users? Yes! And we

take our responsibility to maintain this

atmosphere very seriously.

This is a public building so these is-

sues will never be totally solved, but our

community needs to know that our ef-

forts will be continuing. So, please re-

member, if someone is disrupting your

use of the library, please tell a staff

member! And, if your children will be

coming to the library, please be sure

they understand our rules, as well as the

consequences for breaking them!

— Check Us Out, Cleveland Heights

-University Heights (OH) Public

Library, September 2007

U n r u l y C u s t o m e r s A r e E v i c t e d

“And we take

our

responsibility to

maintain this

atmosphere very

seriously.“

W i n t e r , 2 0 0 8

Morehouse President to Freshmen: ‘Look

the part. Act the part. Talk the talk and walk

the walk.’

When 20-year-old Marcus Traylor

stepped onto campus last month on the first

day of the fall semester, he was struck by

something he had never seen before on the

Morehouse College campus: a group of 100

or more freshmen walking to class wearing

stylishly new maroon sports jackets, complete

with Morehouse insignia.

During his first two years, it wasn’t un-

common for Traylor to see fellow students

walking across campus wearing pajamas and

flip-flops to class.

That won’t happen under the college’s

new administration, and Traylor says that’s

OK with him.

“I saw the new sports jackets and

wanted one for myself. They are very profes-

sional looking, very smooth,” Traylor says. He

adds that he’ll have to pay for his own jacket,

while every member of this year’s freshmen

class was given one by the university. Next

year, the cost of the jackets for incoming

freshmen will be included in new student

orientation fees.

Morehouse could soon join a growing

number of university campuses that have

instituted dress codes. A handful of public

and private campuses, where students once

exercised the freedom to dress as they

please, have adopted stricter codes of con-

duct that prohibit sagging jeans, flip-flops and

even the wearing of baseball caps inside

buildings.

While other college campuses such as

Paul Quinn College in Dallas and the business

school at Illinois State University recently be-

gan regulating student attire this fall, Elise

Durham, media relations manager at More-

house College, points out that the school has-

n’t officially changed its policy, but has set

forth a set of expectations for students.

Still, candidates running for Morehouse

student government positions are debating

the issue, and the school’s new president is

also talking about it.

Morehouse’s new president, Dr. Robert

Michael Franklin Jr., wants to make being

smart cool again and put morality at the fore-

front of the college’s mission. The jackets are

the first step in that direction, according to

officials. It’s also part of the school’s new,

stricter dress and conduct expectations.

In two separate speeches to incoming

freshmen as well as returning upper-

classmen, Franklin emphasized a laundry list

of unacceptable behaviors and conduct,

which included cursing as well as the kinds of

clothing some students wear.

“We are Morehouse, and we will not toler-

ate sagging pants that gravitate far below

your waistline. No do

-rags; no baseball

caps inside build-

ings,” Franklin said

in his first public

address to students

last month. “No paja-

mas in the class-

room. You are men

of Morehouse. You

are better than that.

I will be watching

and expecting class

from you.”

“Look the part. Act the part. Talk the talk

and walk the walk,” Franklin emphasized to

students who gathered inside Martin Luther

King Jr. International Chapel to hear his

speeches.

Traylor doesn’t mind Franklin’s charge to

the Morehouse student body. “They’re getting

stricter on the dress code, and that’s fine. It’s

a show of pride. I think it’s a good move, a

move in the right direction.”

-- Tracie Powell

From Diverse Online 9/12/07

L o o k t h e P a r t . A c t t h e P a r t . T a l k t h e T a l k a n d W a l k t h e W a l k


Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.

— Mason Cooley in Reader’s Digest Nov., 2007 : 77

- Even before the bell rings each morn-

ing, students at Centennial High School are

lined up to get into the library. But they aren't

necessarily looking for books.

They are waiting for a morning cup of Joe

at the Cougar Cafe, a coffee shop run by stu-

dents. Coffeehouses are springing up in high

school libraries around the country, marking a

big departure from the days when librarians

sternly prohibited food, drinks and talking.

Some health advocates wonder whether high

school students really need any more caf-

feine, or the calories in that caramel mochac-

cino. But school officials say these coffee

shops are promoting reading and studying by

attracting teenagers who might not otherwise

hang out in a library. “Once they have them in

there, they have their eyes and hopefully have

their minds for a little bit,'' said Doug Johnson,

a school library consultant from Minnesota.

The school library cafes are usually simplified

versions of the coffee shops at Borders or

Barnes &Noble bookstores. Centennial High's

cafe, which has been open for only a few

months, has an espresso machine and a milk

frother, and sells fancy coffee drinks, hot and

iced teas and hot chocolate. “School food

reflects the larger culture, so if there's a prolif-

eration of coffee shops in bookstores out in

the world, it's going to happen in schools,''

said Jan Poppendieck, a sociology professor

at Hunter College in New York who is writing a

book on school meals. Marketing students

work as baristas in the Centennial cafe, which

brings in about $200 a day. After expenses,

the cafe should make about $10,000 during

the school year, and that will be turned into

scholarships for the 10 to 15 student employ-

ees. The coffeehouse trend comes at a time

when many school systems around country

are removing junk food and soda machines.

“They're already providing horrible school

lunches. Now they're adding to that with 800-

calorie drinks,'' said Susan Levin, a registered

dietitian with the Physicians Committee for

Responsible Medicine. Many students load up

their coffee with sugar and cream or buy des-

sert-like coffee drinks, Levin said. Terry

Shrader, Centennial High principal, said the

Parent Teacher Student Organization consid-

ered whether it “Then they came in one morn-

ing and watched how many students walk

through the door with Starbucks or those

Vaults, caffeinated drinks,'' he said. “There's

not any increase in the amount of caffeine

they're drinking.'' The cafe uses 2 percent

milk, offers sugar-free syrups and decaf cof-

fee, and doesn't sell doughnuts or danish,

said Robbie Reed, the Centennial marketing

teacher who oversees the coffeehouse. John

Witmer, who has run a before-school cafe at

Hastings High School in Houston since he

became librarian in 2003, said it is extremely

popular with the 2,800 students. Before the

coffeehouse opened, “they were running

about 6,000 visits per year to the library and

checking out about 3,000 books,'' he said.

Now, “we're running about 65,000 visits and

checking out about 45,000 books.'' He has

used the money earned to eliminate library

fines, he said. On a recent school day at Cen-

tennial, 14-year-old Desmond Dwight, who

works at the cafe, was sitting at one of the

small round tables with friends. He said he

visits the cafe “because I can get a cup of

coffee and go sit and read a book.'' Would he

be reading in the library anyway if there were

no coffee? “I don't think so,'' he said,

“because it would be boring just sitting here.''

But 17-year-old Aaron Nall, a senior, said he

doesn't think his fellow students read any

more because of the cafe. “I think this place

is more a social scene than anything,'' he

said. “And it makes it loud if you're trying to

use the library.''

— By Travis Lollier, FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP)

H i g h S c h o o l L i b r a r i e s O f f e r C o f f e e S h o p s

The school

library cafes are

usually simplified

versions of the

coffee shops at

Borders or

Barnes &Noble

bookstores.

W i n t e r , 2 0 0 8

Nothing bad can happen if you haven’t hit the Send key. — David Shipley and Will Schwalbe

in Send

N e w s p a p e r B o o k C o v e r a g e , U p s a n d D o w n s

tion" instead of Sunday coverage. They prom-

ise "new features devoted to book clubs and

reading groups, literary movers and shakers,

and expanded bestseller lists."

The paper notes, "Our expanded books

coverage is built on a belief that a great many

of our readers have a rich and varied reading

life, beyond the newspaper. and while some

national statistics seem to suggest that read-

ing is on the decline, others make a different

case."

— from Publisher’s Weekly newsletter,

1/2/08

Chicago Sun Times books editor Teresa

Budasi wrote about the Grinch Who Stole the

Books Section, telling readers on Dec. 23 "the

Books section in its current form will cease to

exist after today," citing "the economic climate

of the news business." Reduced weekly book

coverage has been merged into the Sunday

Show section of the paper, along with other

arts and entertainment coverage.

On the other hand, next week the New

Orleans Times-Picayune "will debut The Read-

ing Life, which will feature expanded coverage

of books and the New Orleans literary scene

each week on the cover of Friday's Living sec-


Vernon Parish — especially in our hearts."

"Not only does Dr. Biggs provide out-

standing medical care to the citizens of Lees-

ville, he also provides enormous moral sup-

port to our military, both active duty and vet-

erans. He is an invaluable asset to our

community and we appreciate him greatly,"

stated Margie Morris, Protocol Coordinator.

Roger LeDoux, CEO Byrd Regional Hospital,

said, "Dr. Biggs has contributed to the health-

care needs of our community for almost half

a century, and is a living example of quality

family practitioners throughout rural America."

The 2007 Louisiana Rural Health Associa-

tion (LRHA) Awards Luncheon was held Oct.

15 at the Lafayette Hilton. Each year, LRHA

welcomes nominations for Rural Health

Awards from all members of the Association.

Otis B. Biggs, M.D., has been named the

Rural Health Practitioner of the Year by the

Louisiana Rural Health Association. The Rural

Health Practitioner of the Year award recog-

nizes a direct service provider (physician) for

leadership in bringing health services to rural

populations. Dr. Biggs was chosen for this

prestigious award for his contribution to the

healthcare needs of his community.

Dr. Biggs has practiced medicine in Lees-

ville for over 46 years. He has served as Chief

of Staff at Byrd Regional Hospital, as well as

numerous medical staff committees. Dr.

Biggs was nominated for the Rural Practitio-

ner of the Year award by Roger LeDoux, CEO

and Sam Fulton Marketing/Community Rela-

tions Director of Byrd Regional Hospital.

The nomination contained over 31 letters

from a variety of community members and

rural healthcare leaders recommending Dr.

Biggs for this prestigious award. According to

Mayor Betty Westerchil, "Dr. Otis Biggs is a

credit to the medical profession serving a

rural area and all mankind. He has made a

difference leaving handprints everywhere in

V e r n o n P a r i s h L i b r a r y T r u s t e e W i n s A w a r d

Dr. Otis Biggs (5th from right) is surrounded by family, friends and supporters. He was

honored as Rural Health Practitioner of the Year by the La. Rural Health Assoc.

YOU COULD MAKE a strong case that the

phrase "New Web" in this special issue's title

is redundant. More than any communications

medium before it, the Web is a permanent

work in progress that's always new.

Its ability to reinvent itself on the fly

stems in part from the way it continuously

upgrades itself to take advantage of the lat-

est advances in Internet access. For example,

the arrival of speedy, persistent broadband in

the late 1990s dramatically reshaped what

the Web could do for us; so did Wi-Fi a few

years later. Phone-based wireless data is

doing the same thing right now.

But here’s a secret of the New Web

that’s downright discouraging: On multiple

fronts, the United States is no longer among

the most Web-ready places on the planet.

Internet users in other countries - par-

ticularly Asian and Scandinavian ones-enjoy

Internet access that puts ours to shame.

Consider these ugly facts:

According to the UK-based Internet con-

sultancy Point Topic, the U.S. ranked a

desultory 24th in the world for house-

hold broadband penetration as of the

first quarter of 2007, lagging behind

countries large (South Korea, Japan, and

Germany) and small (Luxembourg, Esto-

nia, and Monaco).

The Communications Workers of Amer-

ica says that the average broadband

download speed in this country is 1.9

megabits per second-far pokier than in

high-speed nations such as Japan (61

mbps), South Korea (45 mbps), Sweden

(18 mbps), and Canada (7.6 mbps).

In the U.S., according to the FTTH Coun-

cil, just 1 percent of consumers have

ultrafast fiber-to-the-home connections.

That puts us 11th in its rankings, trailing

much of Asia and Scandinavia .

The Information Technology and In-

novation Foundation publishes broad-

band ratings of major countries based

on penetration, speed, and cost to con-

sumers. It relegates the United States

to 12th place. (Once again, Korea and

Japan are at the top of the heap.)

In the U.S., about 15 percent of mobile

phone users have the handsets and

plans needed to use high-speed 3G

data, says consultant Chetan Sharma;

in Japan, more than 60 percent do.

The Competition Solution

The reasons behind these alarming sta-

tistics are complex and controversial. And I

cheerfully admit to being a layman rather

than an expert on stuff like communications

policy and wireless spectrum allocation.

I do know that the consumers and busi-

nesses that pay for connectivity benefit from

competition-between providers, business

models, and technologies. So the utter domi-

nation of Internet access by a few monolithic

companies depresses me, as do develop-

ments such as the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court

decision denying small ISPs access to phone

companies' DSL lines. I also believe that alter-

native providers need a shot at the wireless

spectrum that will be freed up by the end of

analog 'IV broadcasts in 2009.

As a consumer, I care about this stuff.

As a voter, I'll be asking questions about

it as we head toward the 2008 elections. And

as a publication that aims to help smart peo-

ple make the most of the technology in their

lives, PC World will take stands on the state of

Internet access in America. The country that

invented the Internet shouldn't allow itself to

become an also-ran in the Internet era -- and

it's not too late to get back on track.

Harry McCracken,

PC World, Dec., 2007 : 15

W i l l t h e N e x t W e b R e v o l u t i o n L e a v e t h e U . S . B e h i n d ?

The country that

invented the

Internet

shouldn't allow

itself to become

an also-ran in

the Internet era...

W i n t e r , 2 0 0 8


mation. "Your job is not to silence the

speaker, but to pay attention," ad-

vises Jamie.

3. Restate the problem. Jamie advises

ensuring you understand the guts of

the complaint. While rants and tan-

gents might happen, Jamie advises

staying calm and consistently pulling

the patron back to the root of the

complaint and not engaging in de-

bate. For example, try saying, "I'm

sorry. Is this the book you're con-

cerned about?" to get the patron

back on track.

4. Offer services. Once you understand

the problem, offer an alternative. A

question like, "Can I help you find

something else for your child?" pro-

vides an opening for continued dia-

logue, as well as the opportunity to

send this patron home with library

materials.

5. Offer a follow-up. If advised. The pa-

tron may want to continue with their

original concerns and it may mean

passing them on to the next in line

up the chain of command or paper-

work, such as a "Request for Recon-

sideration" form.

6. Follow up. If you have contact infor-

mation, let the complainant know

the outcome of your library's exami-

nation of the challenged material.

Remember being responsive does-

n't have to mean "agreement."

— ULC Exchange, September 2007

In his new book, The New Inquisi-

tion:

Understanding and Managing Intellectual

Freedom Challenges, Jamie LaRue exam-

ines the history of censorship, the funda-

mental role of libraries in defending free-

dom of information and the core docu-

ments of our profession. The book is a

sensible and practical approach to under-

standing and connecting with your com-

munity.

The New Inquisition provides specific

tips on how to deal with these informa-

tional challenges. Jamie advocates first

understanding who the challenge is com-

ing from and empathizing with their situa-

tion. He notes that the vast majority of

challenges come from parents of toddlers

and young teens, an important market

segment to the library. Parents are under-

standably concerned about what their

children are exposed to. If they're bringing

the challenge, they obviously use the li-

brary, value literacy and pay attention to

what their kids are reading. "They must

not be viewed with contempt," says Jamie.

Jamie advises the following steps in

responding:

1. Apologize. Your patrons had a bad

experience and deserve an apology.

"In these litigious times, many of us

are reluctant to express any sympa-

thy, lest it be viewed as an admis-

sion of guilt. Nonetheless, a simple

'I'm sorry' is both appropriate and

polite," says Jamie.

2. Don't be defensive. Listen. Com-

plaints may contain valuable infor-

R e s p o n d i n g t o M a t e r i a l C h a l l e n g e s

The book is a

sensible and

p r a c t i c a l

approach to

understanding

and connecting

w i t h y o u r

community.

“I have often thought that nothing would do more extensive good at

small expense than the establishment of a small circulating library in

every county, to consist of a few well-chosen books, to be lent to the

people of the county, under such regulations as would secure their safe

return in due time.”

Thomas Jefferson, Writings, vol. xxi, p. 282

by another company or organization for dis-

semination more broadly.

It costs the Open Content Alliance as

much as $30 to scan each book, a cost

shared by the group's members and benefac-

tors, so there are obvious financial benefits to

libraries of Google's wide-ranging offer,

started in 2004.

Many prominent libraries have accepted

Google's offer — including the New York Public

Library and libraries at the University of Michi-

gan, Harvard, Stanford and Oxford. Google

expects to scan 15 million books from those

collections over the next decade.

But the resistance from some libraries,

like the Boston Public Library and the Smith-

sonian Institution, suggests that many in the

academic and nonprofit world are intent on

pursuing a vision of the Web as a global re-

pository of knowledge that is free of business

interests or restrictions.

— New York Times, October 22, 2007

Several major research libraries have

rebuffed offers from Google and Microsoft to

scan their books into computer databases,

saying they are put off by restrictions these

companies want to place on the new digital

collections.

The research libraries, including a large

consortium in the Boston area, are instead

signing on with the Open Content Alliance, a

nonprofit effort aimed at making their materi-

als broadly available.

Libraries that agree to work with Google

must agree to a set of terms, which include

making the material unavailable to other com-

mercial search services. Microsoft places a

similar restriction on the books it converts to

electronic form. The Open Content Alliance, by

contrast, is making the material available to

any search service.

Google pays to scan the books and does

not directly profit from the resulting Web

pages, although the books make its search

engine more useful and more valuable. The

libraries can have their books scanned again

L i b r a r i e s S h u n D e a l s t o P l a c e B o o k s o n W E B

The Glenview Library jumped on board

earlier this year with the latest social network-

ing - a NEW MySpace account viewed at

http://www.myspace.com/glenviewya. This is

a forum for teens to learn about what is going

on at the library with programming, special

events and more. It is also a way for teens to

connect with other teen

library users. The site is

an excellent way for

authors to reach a spe-

cific audience by linking

up to different pages

where it can be viewed by multiple people.

Since opening the account in January 2007,

the library has had over 772 "views" and has

had over 130 "friends" link up to our page

that consists of teens, young adult authors,

libraries, sports teams, past program speak-

ers and others. Many positive comments have

been made on the library's MySpace page

from "friends" who are library advocates.

The page is moderated by Nicole Mills,

young adult librarian. Programs and events

are added as they occur. It is a great way to

reach teens who obtain much of their infor-

mation from these social networking sites as

well as teens outside of Glenview who might

be interested in attending an Anime Fest or

Game Night. Teens are encouraged to com-

ment on library programs, books and more

through the site. After each program, photos

are posted for everyone to view.

— Lines, Glenview (IL) Public Library, Fall

2007

M Y S P A C E a t t h e G l e n v i e w P u b l i c L i b r a r y

W i n t e r , 2 0 0 8


Circulation, financial and leave reports

Salaries

Budget

Meeting room calendar

Reviewing all ILL requests for ordering

purposes

Reviewing all overdue notices for possible

replacement, etc.

Running reports monthly updates to

Dewey, long-standing patron requests, etc.

Daily checking building for needed repairs,

books and shelving for neatness and or-

der, needed building maintenance

Keeping web page, BLOG and Flickr site

up to date

Archives

Keep large screen TV behind circulation

desk updated with graphics and an-

nouncements

Work schedule for staff

Indexing local genealogical publication

Policy and Procedure manuals updated

Active in state library organization, re-

gional library organization and various

other committees, including Federal and

State Document Advisory Councils

Approves all purchases

Newsletter for regional library organization

Frequently helps with shelving library ma-

terials

Ensures that all materials are cataloged,

processed and on the shelf within five

days of arrival

Sends out Thank You notes for donations

And other miscellaneous duties including

all secretarial

What does your Library Director do?

Howard L. Coy Jr.

What a Library Director does varies from

library to library. The duties of directors in

large library systems will differ from those in

small libraries. Some directors in small librar-

ies will be responsible for the budget, fi-

nances, and work at the circulation desk,

empty trash, and all in between. Many times,

because everything seems to run so smoothly,

those outside the library really don’t know.

Some staff doesn’t realize what it takes to get

a book from the review to the shelf.

The following is a description of what one

director does in a medium-sized library sys-

tem. The library has a budget of $850,000,

book budget of $105,000, and a $40,000

audio-visual budget. An average of over 5000

items are cataloged and added to the collec-

tion each year, not counting the many State

and Federal documents. The library has a

bookmobile and two branches in addition to

the main branch. The library has a staff of 13

full-time employees and 7 part-time.

The Library Director is responsible for the

overall operation of the library. Specifically:

Responsible for the branches

Selecting books and audio-visuals and

periodicals for collection

Ordering books

Cataloging materials for collection

Repairing books

Inventory control of equipment

Regular weeding of collection and remov-

ing from automation system

Federal and State documents, including

selection, cataloging, checking-in, and

weeding

E-Rate

Grants

Interviewing and hiring employees

Publicity

Adult programming

W h a t D o e s A L i b r a r y D i r e c t o r D o ?

The Vernon Parish Library sponsored

a special program just before Christmas

while school was out for the children of

the parish. The Library prepared an over-

sized Christmas Card. Posters and infor-

mation was sent to the schools and day-

care centers to promote the

program. Mrs. Sylvia Davis,

professional storyteller pre-

sented the program, and after-

wards, the children signed their

name and wrote messages to

the soldiers at Fort Polk thank-

ing them for their service. The

card was then sent to the com-

manding General. Refresh-

ments were served, and each

child given a small bag of

treats.

C h r i s t m a s C a r d f o r t h e T r o o p s

W i n t e r , 2 0 0 8

Mrs. Sylvia Davis, Storyteller, Santa and Mrs. Brenda Lewis,

Children’s Librarian

The survey results challenge the assump-

tion that libraries are losing relevance in the

internet age. Libraries drew visits by more

than half of Americans (53%) in the past year

for all kinds of purposes, not just the prob-

lems mentioned in this survey. And it was the

young adults in tech-loving Generation Y (age

18-30) who led the pack. Compared to their

elders, Gen Y members were the most likely

to use libraries for problem-solving informa-

tion and in general patronage for any pur-

pose.

Furthermore, it is young adults who are

the most likely to say they will use libraries in

the future when they encounter problems:

40% of Gen Y said they would do that, com-

pared with 20% of those above age 30 who

say they would go to a library.

This report is the fruit of a partnership of

the Univ. of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and

the Pew Internet & American Life Project. It

was funded with a grant from the federal Insti-

tute of Museum and Library Services, an

agency that is the primary source of federal

support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and

17,500 museums.

The focus of the survey was how Ameri-

cans address common problems that might

be linked to government. The problems cov-

ered in the survey: 1) dealing with a serious

illness or health concern; 2) making a deci-

sion about school enrollment, financing

school, or upgrading work skills; 3) dealing

with a tax matter; 4) changing a job or starting

a business; 5) getting information about Medi-

care, Medicaid, or food stamps; 6) getting

information about Social Security or military

benefits; 7) getting information about voter

registration or a government policy; 8) seek-

ing helping on a local government matter

such as a traffic problem or schools; 9) be-

coming involved in a legal matter; and 10)

becoming a citizen or helping another person

with an immigration matter.

There was some variance in the results,

depending on the type of problem that peo-

ple confronted. For instance, those who dealt

The Pew Internet & American Life project

has released a new survey “Information

Searches That Solve Problems—How People

use the internet, libraries and government

agencies when they need help” can be found

at http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/231/

report_display.asp. The PDF of the report is

available directly at http:// www. Pewinter-

net.org/pdfs/ Pew_UI_LibrariesReport.pdf.

The summary from the PEW site --

There are several major findings in this

report. One is this: For help with a variety of

common problems, more people turn to the

internet than consult experts or family mem-

bers to provide information and resources.

Another key insight is that members of

Gen Y are the leading users of libraries for

help solving problems and in more general

patronage.

In a national phone survey, respondents

were asked whether they had encountered 10

possible problems in the previous two years,

all of which had a potential connection to the

government or government-provided informa-

tion. Those who had dealt with the problems

were asked where they went for help and the

internet topped the list:

58% of those who had recently experi-

enced one of those problems said they used

the internet (at home, work, a public library or

some other place) to get help.

53% said they turned to professionals

such as doctors, lawyers or financial experts.

45% said they sought out friends and

family members for advice and help.

36% said they consulted newspapers

and magazines.

34% said they directly contacted a gov-

ernment office or agency.

16% said they consulted television and

radio.

13% said they went to the public library.


I n f o r m a t i o n S e a r c h e s T h a t S o l v e P r o b l e m s — H o w P e o p l e U s e t h e

I n t e r n e t , L i b r a r i e s & G o v e r n m e n t A g e n c i e s W h e n T h e y N e e d H e l p

with a health problem turned to

experts more than any other

source, followed by family and

friends, and then the internet.

And those who had issues re-

lated to big government pro-

grams such as Social Security or

Medicare were most likely to go

directly to government agencies

for help, then the internet.

Most people were success-

ful in getting information to help

them address a problem no

matter what channel they chose

and no matter what problem

they faced.

A major focus of this survey

was on those with no access to

the internet (23% of the popula-

tion) and those with only dial-up

access (13% of the population).

This low-access population is

poorer, older, and less well-

educated than the cohort with

broadband access at home or at

work.

They are less likely to visit

government offices or libraries

under any circumstances. And

they are more likely to rely on

television and radio for help

than are high-access users.

— Greta E. Marlatt

Information Services Manager &

Homeland Security Digital Library

Content Manager

Dudley Knox Library

Naval Postgraduate School

411 Dyer Rd

Monterey, CA 93943

phone: 831-656-3500

fax: 831-656-2842

DSN: 756-3500

email: [email protected]

http://www.nps.edu/library/

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