Volume 39, Number 3
March 2006
In its recent budget session, the Wyoming State Legislature approved a budget amendment appropriating $10 million for the state's 23 county library systems, community college libraries and University of Wyoming Libraries. This one-time appropriation will boost collections beyond what library budgets ordinarily provide.
In introducing the amendment, Senator Mike Massie (D-Laramie) said, "This is by far the most underfunded area of the state where we get the most bang for the buck. Everybody knows the importance of libraries in their communities."
Governor Dave Freudenthal commended the appropriation. "A state investment in our public libraries is an investment in the building blocks of Wyoming communities. Libraries have become both a means to further our children's education and to bring people together, and I am delighted the state can aid in those efforts."
Get the new "bucking book" Wyoming Libraries logo on t-shirts, mugs, notebooks and more. Find Wyoming Libraries logo gear at http://www.cafepress.com/wyominglibrary A portion of each sale goes to help support library marketing and promotion efforts statewide. See http://www.wyominglibraries.org for all the details on the statewide marketing efforts.
Top honors have gone to three Wyoming students in the 2006 Letters About Literature Contest. The Wyoming Center for the Book awarded Worland student Greg Luegering first place in Level III (grades 9-12) for his letter to author David Baldacci about the book, The Simple Truth. Kristi Mingus from Powell placed first in Level II (grades 7-8) with her letter to Mary Hahn about her book, Daphne's Book. Britney Titensor from Thayne placed first in Level I (grades 4-6) with her letter to Deborah Ellis about The Breadwinner. All three advanced to national competition.
More than 700 Wyoming students and 47,000 students nationally participated in Letters About Literature. Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, sponsored in partnership with Target Stores. Target, along with its parent company Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), gives back more than $2 million a week to its local communities through grants and special programs. Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs.
For more information about Letters About Literature or other Wyoming Center for the Book activities, contact Susan Vittitow, Coordinator, at 307-777-5915, svitti@state.wy.us, or visit http://will.state.wy.us/wcb/
Once again, libraries across Wyoming and the country will celebrate National Library Week April 2-8, 2006. This year's theme is "Change your world @ your library®." First sponsored in 1958, NLW is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support.
Among the NLW 2006 happenings:
- National Library Workers Day, April 4, 2006, Find out all the details and nominate your favorite library worker "star" at http://www.ala-apa.org/about/
- Laramie County Library System is offering "Food for Fines" to stock local pantries for the needy.
- Since Sweetwater County Library System went fine-free, their food drive had to take a different twist: "Feed your Mind… Feed Your Community." They will collect for local food banks throughout the month of April.
Learn more about National Library Week at http://www.ala.org/ala/events/librarypromotion/librarypromotions.htm
The Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) Public Relations and Marketing Section's Swap and Shop "Best of Show" awards competition seeks outstanding library public relations materials. Winning entries will be on display during the Swap and Shop program scheduled for Sunday, June 25, 2006, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., during the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in New Orleans. All libraries are invited to submit promotional materials produced between January and December of 2005. Entries must be postmarked no later than May 1, 2006. For competition information, instructions and entry form click on www.ala.org/ala/lama/lamaawards/lamaawards.htm or contact Troy Rumpf TRumpf@lclsonline.org. Mail entries to: LAMA PRMS Swap and Shop Best of Show, Laramie County Library System, 2800 Central Ave, Cheyenne, WY 82001.
The 2006 Mountain Plains Library Association (MPLA) Leadership Institute will be held Oct. 29 - Nov. 3 at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. Applications are due by May 14, 2006. Applicants must have two to 12 years of library experience post-MLS and be current members of their state library association. Full details and the application form are located on the MPLA website at http://www.mpla.us. Contact Richard Landreth, Wyoming MPLA Representative, with any questions at rlandreth@ccsd.k12.wy.us.
April is National Poetry Month, celebrating poetry and its part in American culture. Many local libraries, writing groups and other organizations have special events planned during April. Here are a few:
- The University of Wyoming's M.F.A. in Creative Writing Program will host Pulitzer Prize winner and United States Poet Laureate Ted Kooser April 6-7. A public reading will be held 7-8:30 p.m., Thursday, April 6, in the UW Art Museum, and a breakfast discussion on Friday from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Mathison Library, Room 212 Hoyt Hall.
- The Literary Connection will hold a free writing seminar featuring prose writer Robert Michael Pyle and Cuban-American poet Virgil Suarez on Friday, April 28, 1-4 p.m., at Laramie County Community College. Pre-registration required; call 307-778-1285. This event is part of the Literary Connection sponsored by the LCCC Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.literaryconnection.org. The writing seminar is sponsored by Laramie County Library System.
- Laramie County Library System is holding a poetry slam for students in grades 7-12 on April 4 at the main library in Cheyenne. For more information, visit the library's web site at www.lclsonline.org .
- WyoPoets is holding its annual spring poetry workshop on April 22 in Gillette, led by Past Wyoming Poet Laureate Robert Roripaugh. Registration $30. For more information, contact Connie Brewer, 682-9724, cbrewer@vcn.com; or Midge Farmer, 682-3488, pmfarmer@vcn.com. Registration form is available at http://www.wyowriters.org.
- Serendipity Poets' Annual Celebration of National Poetry Month will be held 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, at City News at the corner of 18th St. and Carey Avenue in Cheyenne. For more information, contact Ed Warsaw, 635-4725 or warsaw2muse@yahoo.com .
University of Wyoming Libraries Development Board invites the public to their first annual 2006 Author Luncheon featuring award winning Wyoming author C.J. Box. The event will be held April 19 at noon at William Robertson Coe Library. R.S.V.P. must be received by April 12. Tickets are $50. Call 1.888.831.7795 to reserve your tickets today. C.J. Box is the talented author behind the mystery adventure series of books set in Wyoming and featuring game warden Joe Pickett. The series includes Out of Range, Trophy Hunt, Winterkill, Savage Run, Open Season and the soon-to-be released In Plain Sight.
Carla Howard reports that it's not too late to contribute books and financial donations for Wyoming's "Katrina Project" to benefit schools in Plaquemines Parish. Resources will be forwarded until the end of the year. She is also looking to arrange pen pals between students in Wyoming and in Louisiana. Send donations to Carla Howard, Library Services Department, Natrona County School District, 539 Payne Avenue, Casper, WY 82609. Please make checks out to "Katrina Library Project." For more information on the Hurricane Katrina project, contact Carla at 307-261-6866, carla_howard@ncsd.k12.wy.us.
Howard has been working with librarian Hannah Trufant at the Phoenix School (K-12), which will reopen in June. Trufant writes to those of us in Wyoming: "I am looking forward to next school year, and I know our students will be excited about getting pen pals. I am so grateful and pleased that you all chose to adopt our school. The community is small, and the majority of the people are living at or below poverty; but many of them are working hard to educate their children. And, I know that I speak for all of them, we truly thank you all from the bottom of our hearts."
Big things are happening at Laramie County Library System. On March 15, LCLS broke ground for their new main library building, expected to open in about a year and a half. Earlier this year, Foundation Director Mary Meyer announced a major gift of $350,000 from Carol McMurry and Pat Spieles. Their donation will fund the new library's planned RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) book security system. The Foundation is actively campaigning to raise money for enhancements to the building. For more information, visit the Foundation Office in the main library in Cheyenne, contact Meyer at 635-1032, ext. 127 or visit the library's web site at www.LCLSonline.org for the latest building and fund raising updates.
Two Wyoming authors recently won Spur Awards from Western Writers of America (WWA), and two were finalists:
- Winner, Short Fiction - Lori Van Pelt, Saratoga, for "Pecker's Revenge," the lead story in her collection, Pecker's Revenge and Other Stories from the Frontier's Edge
- Winner, Biography - Candy Moulton, Encampment, for Chief Joseph: Guardian of the People
- Finalist, Novel - W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear, Thermopolis, for People of the Moon
For a full list of Spur Award winners and finalists, visit http://www.westernwriters.org/news.htm#2006
AROUND THE STATE
- Sublette County residents are using their libraries more than any other Rocky Mountain rural area studied, according to the State of the Rockies 2005 Report Card. The report, produced by Colorado College, is available at http://www.coloradocollege.edu/stateoftherockies/05ReportCard.html
- Through a partnership with Encana Oil and Gas, USA, Sublette County Library will hold an event to celebrate children and Hispanic culture, while promoting the library and its services. "El día de los niños/El día de los libros: A Celebration of Childhood and Bilingual Literacy" will be held April 29, 2006 at the main library in Pinedale.
- Natrona Public Library Foundation is hosting its third annual Edible Book Fest Saturday, April 1 noon - 5 p.m. For all the details, visit http://www.natronacountylibrary.org/event.php?id=294
- Natrona County's second One Book, One Community will be held with activities throughout the month of April, featuring Harper Lee's classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Natrona County Public Library is kicking it off on Saturday, April 1 at 2 p.m. by giving away 200 copies of the novel to circulate throughout the community. One Book, One Community is partially sponsored by the Wyoming Council for the Humanities. For more information, call 237-4935, ext. 125.
PERSONNEL-LY SPEAKING
- Meghan Kelly recently joined the Laramie County Community College Library as the new cataloging and instruction librarian. She moved back to her home state of Wyoming in August 2005 after working in a public library in California for the last four years. Meghan is an experienced grant writer and a graduate of the Library Science program of the University of Texas at Austin. She enjoys reading and spending time with her nine year old son and also enjoying the opportunity to continue learning through classes at LCCC.
- Maggie Swanger recently joined the LCCC Library as the Reference/Electronic Resources Librarian. Maggie graduated from the University of Arizona School of Information and Library Science in 2005. Maggie was the recipient of the Outstanding Student Award, awarded by the faculty in December, 2005. In her free time Maggie enjoys backpacking, bicycling, skiing, drinking espresso and brewing beer with her husband, Michael.
LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE NEWS
Visit the New Library Science Publications at the Wyoming State Library webpage (http://will.state.wy.us/ldo/newpubs.html) to view an annotated list of new items added to the State Library's Professional Collection. (Click on the title of each item to put it on hold or to order it through Interlibrary Loan). This month's additions include:
- Getting grants in your community - Discusses how to find and apply for all types of grants. Includes a CD-ROM with sample grant proposals, cover letters, and sponsorship policies.
- Improving the quality of library services for students with disabilities - Discusses how to measure and improve library services to the disabled. Includes surveys and other data gathering systems that can be adapted for use in any library setting.
- Information literacy and the school library media center - The book is an overview to teaching information literacy skills that discusses all the commonly known information processing models and how information literacy skills are important in assisting students to meet state and national curriculum standards in all areas of the curriculum.
- Working @ your library [videorecording]: For love or money? - An advocacy video to help library workers improve their salaries. What can help you make your case when advocating for better salaries? Working@Your Library can help! This 10-minute video accomplishes four goals: Illustrating the importance of work done by library workers, Highlighting the variety of work done by library workers, Emphasizing the inequities of library pay in comparison to other similarly trained professions, Making it clear that something must be done.
For a full list of new items, visit http://will.state.wy.us/ldo/newpubs.html.
A subject-organized PDF of recent New Publications is available at http://will.state.wy.us/ldo/NewPublications.pdf. Contact Jamie Markus, WSL Continuing Education Coordinator at 307/777-5914 or jmarku@state.wy.us with any questions.
TRAINING/EDUCATION
- The Public Library Association is sponsoring a one-day workshop by the authors of Staffing for Results: A Guide to Working Smarter (ALA Editions, 2003) in Denver on May 9, 2006. For more information or to register, call the PLA Office at 1-800/545-2433, ext. 5PLA between 8:30a.m. and 4:30p.m. (CST) M-F, send an email message to pla@ala.org or visit http://www.ala.org/PLATemplate.cfm?Section=plaevents .
- The Laramie Plains Museum will host a hands-on workshop on storage techniques for fragile collection items such as textiles, dolls and old scrapbooks on Friday, April 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Alice Hardie Stevens Center This no-cost workshop is funded by the Wyoming Council for the Humanities. Space is limited; email Judy Knight at jeknight@uwyo.edu to reserve a space. Bring a sandwich; drinks and dessert provided.
- The 28th Annual Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar will be held Aug. 6-11, 2006 at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, immediately following the Denver Antiquarian Book Fair. Keynote speaker is Terry Belanger, founder/director of the University of Virginia's Rare Book School and a recent MacArthur Fellow. Early registration fee is $1,095 until June 1. A limited number of scholarships are available. For more information, visit http://bookseminars.com/ .
- The 6th Annual Symposium on Intellectual Property will be hosted by The Center for Intellectual Property at University of Maryland and held at University College in Adelphi MD on June 14-16, 2006. For detailed information including schedule and how to register, visit http://www.umuc.edu/cip/symposium/
GRANTS/SCHOLARSHIPS
- The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) awards an annual scholarship to a library school student currently enrolled in a graduate degree program in library science. Students are required to be living in the Chapter region (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, or South Dakota) and/or enrolled in a graduate library school program in the Chapter region. Application may be found at the RMSLA website: http://www.sla.org/chapter/crmt/announcements.htm Or, contact Linda Van Wert, RMSLA Academic Relations Chairperson for more information or a scholarship application 303-231-4159, or linda.vanwert@gambrobct.com. Deadline is June 30, 2006.
- The Libri Foundation is currently accepting applications for its 2006 BOOKS FOR CHILDREN grants. The foundation donates new, quality, hardcover children's books to small, rural public libraries. Application deadlines for 2006 are: (postmarked by) April 15, July 15, and Dec. 15. Application guidelines and forms may be downloaded from the Foundation's website at: www.librifoundation.org. For 2006, The Foundation is doing a special project in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. For more information about these special grants, contact the Foundation's office, 541-747-9696 (phone); 541-747-4348 (fax); libri@librifoundation.org (email) or visit its web page at http://www.librifoundation.org .
RESOURCES & TIDBITS
- Author Carol Smallwood is calling for submissions for a new book: Librarians Beyond the Circ Desk: Innovative Librarianship. Public, school, academic and special librarians are invited to submit 1,250-word articles on how they became bloggers, book reviewers, hosts to traveling museum exhibitions, or involved in other complimentary activities furthering librarianship. Article(s) and brief resume are due April 10, 2006. For more details on submitting, and to find out what topics have already been chosen, contact Smallwood at smallwood@tm.net. Smallwood is listed in the Michigan Authors and Illustrators database at http://web.mel.org/miai/miai.html
- On Feb. 27, National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation" program explored the concept of libraries for the 21st century. How are libraries redefining themselves in a world where information technology is changing rapidly? What is the future of libraries? Hear it at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5235518
- ArchiveGrid is a new web site that offers faculty, scholars, librarians, and genealogists access to archive records and finding aids to enable comprehensive research at http://www.archivegrid.org .
- There's been a spirited discussion recently on the Friends of the Library USA (FOLUSA) listserv about what to do with old Readers' Digest Condensed Books. One suggestion: Make furniture with them! The following links show how: http://www.diynet.com/diy/ls_lamps/article/0,2025,DIY_14086_2268395,00.html http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf263676.tip.html http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_lighting_other/article/0,1793,HGTV_3466_1371782,00.html For more information on FOLUSA, including how to join the discussion, visit http://www.folusa.org.
WYOMING LIBRARY JOBS
Publications and Marketing Intern, Wyoming State Library, Cheyenne
The Wyoming State Library is seeking a student intern for its Publications and Marketing office to work on special projects concerning Wyoming books, authors and literature during the summer of 2006. For full details, visit the State of Wyoming's job announcement at http://statejobs.state.wy.us/JobSearchDetail.aspx?ID=9750
Director –Sweetwater County Library System
Director for Sweetwater County Library System in Wyoming. The system consists of three equal libraries and 6 rural branches serving a population of about 40,000 in a boom time with a budget of $3,458,290 for next fiscal year. To learn more about the library go to the website www.sweetwaterlibraries.com. Apply with letter of application and résumé to Director's Search, Business Office, 300 North 1st East, Green River, Wyoming 82935 by May 15 or emailed to delliott@will.state.wy.us. The starting salary will around $69,000 depending on experience. A MLS is required plus five years professional library experience with progressive administrative responsibilities.
Find the latest job board news at http://will.state.wy.us/libraries/libjobs.html
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