State Library of Iowa 1 Footnotes Volume 31, No. 3-4-5 March, April, May 2006 Inside this issue Public libraries provide outreach to child care centers - Pg. 3 Need help fi nding government Do Iowa public libraries want their information? - Pg. 6 Iowa Letters About Literature own Web sites? winners - Pg. 7 The answer is… a resounding yes! At print time, 288 public libraries had sent letters-of-intent to the State Library stating their interest in Web site and e-mail hosting sponsored by the State Library through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Since the original target for this project was 100 libraries, the State Library is delighted with the response. Through the PLOW project – Putting Libraries on the Web, libraries will have Web sites preloaded with a variety of local information specifi c to each library, including links to local catalogs, location, hours, contacts, and trustees. Library customers will also have access to state-wide resources, such as EBSCOHost and FirstSearch databases, through their local library’s Web site. As library staff members are trained and become comfortable with their library’s Web site, they will be able to add their own content. Through the e-mail hosting service, regardless of the Internet service provider, each public library will be able to have consis- tent and stable e-mail addresses making it easier to communicate with customers. In other words, when a library changes ISPs, the library’s e-mail address will remain the same. Participating libraries will also receive technical support provided by a full-time computer / technical support person available to public libraries by phone and e-mail. Starting this fall and continuing into 2007, training will be provided on Introduction to Directory and E-mail Services, Getting Your Web Site Started, Customizing Your Web Site, and more. More information about the project can be found on the Staying Connected Web page. http://www.statelibraryofi owa.org/ld/gates-grants/gates-sc PUTTING L IBS ON THE WEB Breaking New Ground Page 2 Footnotes March-April-May 2006 State Library helps distribute book on the end of slavery in America The State Library of Iowa helped people statewide become better aware of the Iowa Juneteenth Observance by assisting with the distribution of the book Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom, by Charles A. Taylor, to Iowa libraries with populations of 3,000 or more. At a recent news conference, Gary Lawson, founder and general chairperson of the Iowa Juneteenth Observance, said that “too many Iowans are unfamiliar with the sig- nifi cance and importance of Juneteenth as it relates to our national and state history.” Juneteenth is a 141-year-old observance to the end of slavery in America that began on June 19, 1865. The Iowa Juneteenth Observance is a legislated state holiday that was signed into existence by Governor Tom Vilsack on April 11, 2002 and is annually observed on the third Saturday of June. Said Lawson, “It is our pleasure, with assistance from the State Library, to contribute to the greater good of Iowa by providing a means to increase collective knowledge of how June 19th connects to July 4th and why these two “liberty” dates are of primary signifi cance in American History.” As more fundraisers occur, the Connect Foundation’s 2006 Iowa Juneteenth Observance hopes to distribute books to all Iowa libraries. Pictured above, front row, are Monroe J. Colston, consultant, Greater Des Moines Community Foundation and Minnie Mallard, vice chairperson for community relations, Iowa Juneteenth Observance. Back row, Mary Wegner, state librarian, and Gary Lawson. The project is also supported by the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation’s Watson Powell Jr. African American Community Endowment Fund. Certifi cation Update Congratulations to the following public library staff certifi ed for the fi rst time through the State Library’s Iowa Certifi cation Program for Public Librarians. Lori A. Barkema, Cedar Rapids Public Library Mirdza E. Berzins, Carnegie-Stout Public Library, Dubuque Shantelle J. Nagunst, Randolph Public Library Brenda L. Ross, Davenport Public Library Nicole A. Rushford, Wyoming Public Library Page 3 Footnotes March-April-May 2006 Public libraries provide outreach to child care centers When the State Library revised its public library standards program (“In Service to Iowa: Public Library Measures of Qual- ity”) in 2004, the following was added: “The library offers outreach services to day care centers and other entities in which groups of preschool children gather... Outreach service includes collections and programming.” Many public libraries in rural Iowa were fi nding that their pre- school story times were dwindling in attendance and their collections of wonderful picture books were not being used. Because of Iowa’s changing demographics and the number of children in child care and preschools, public librarians saw the need to change one of their most basic services: If children weren’t coming to them for story times, they would go to the children. Research by Clyde Robinson in “Picture Book Selection Behav- iors of Emergent Readers,” reported the most important fi nding was the enthusiastic response of emergent readers to the simple procedure of selecting and taking home books. In another study done by Robinson, “The Infl uence of Selecting and Taking Picture Books Home,” it was found that when preschool children took books home on a daily basis, literacy activities at home increased. These two research studies highlight the importance of getting books to children in other settings. All library sizes, regardless of funding and staff, provide outreach services. Carol Rosenbaum from the Avoca Public Library said, “I deliver books to home daycares. I call and ask if there is anything special they want in their new boxes. I try to add new books every six weeks. I usually take about 25 to 30 books to each home. I choose according to the age and gender of the children. When it works into the home provider’s schedule, I stay and read to the children.” Paula Spoo from the Estherville Public Library noted, “I created a brochure to distribute and display so providers know about the service. I try to do whatever it takes to get services to the daycare providers. I keep the Emmett County Child Care Consultant informed about library services, events and crafts I have done at the daycares. I put what some people may con- sider a lot of time and effort into this, but I consider it a challenge and am willing to do what it takes to bring these patrons in. I try to keep it in a nutshell and have an evaluation form to judge the success of the program that will be completed by my director, the board members, the daycare providers. I already feel the program is a success. Our circulation is up and I am getting out and telling the library story. I have daycare providers coming to the library on their own looking for books for their own families.” Some public libraries use senior citizens, 4-H clubs, and National Honor Society members to help them provide services. Joa LaVille from the Marshalltown Public Library wrote, “We just started a book delivery program called “Books to Go” where volunteers from the Retired Senior Volunteer Program bring 25 books in a rolling suitcase to the Head Start classroom they are assigned to. They then stay and return to the classroom once a week to share the books with kids (informally, on a small group basis...not like story time.) We have done this for more than a year with two ladies, but have just recently added more volunteers and are undergoing a serious recruiting effort. Some classrooms have two volunteers who rotate the responsibility. We trained the volunteers how to select books and helped them with the paperwork required by Head Start. Our priority for this year is to match volunteers with each Head Start classroom (we still have a few to go). Ideally, in the future this service will be available to any daycare center that requests it. Our early volunteers received Every Child Reads Training and we would like to provide that to the others.” While this service varies based on the public library’s staff and funding, more librarians are adding this service all the time. Page 4 Footnotes March-April-May 2006 Marshalltown voters choose overwhelmingly to fund new library On April 11, 2006, Marshalltown voted on a bond issue to raise $5 million for a new library. Sixty-percent yes votes were needed, but incredibly 3,461 voters (70 percent) responded in favor. “I’m just overwhelmed. That’s a defi nite positive yes vote,” library director Carole Winkleblack was quoted as saying. “What really pleases me is all the children that come in and the adults that use the Internet stations, they’re going to have a library that’s good enough for them.” Winkleblack thanked the Friends of the Library and the “New Library for a New Century” committee for all their hard work. For more information about the building project, visit the library’s Web site at www.marshalltownlibrary.org. Fayette County Library Association tells its story at Early Childhood Fair Lezlie Berry, right, Maynard Public Library and Linda Adams, Arlington and Fayette public libraries, are shown at the Fayette County Early Childhood Fair in Oelwein. Amy Parker, Westage Public Library, said “It was a wonderful event. Our table consisted of a trifold display featuring services the 11 libraries in Fayette County of- fer.” Fayette County libraries include: Arlington, Oelwein, Hawkeye, Waucoma, Wadena, West Union, Westgate, Fayette, Maynard, Elgin and Clermont. Parker, who made the banner in the picture that is currently being circulated around the county, said they handed out magnetic bookmarks listing all the libraries’ contact information and an information sheet on the summer reading program schedules for all the libraries.