ROLLING PRAIRIE LIBRARY SYSTEM

Fifth Annual Seminar

Friday, April 22, 2005

RPLS Seminar 2005

Libraries: Telling Our Story

Inside:

Registration 8:30am @DPL
Session 1
Lunch
Session 2
Session 3
Registration Form

Keynote: "Once Upon a Time There was a Librarian; The Promotion of Reading through Storytelling". - Dr. Nancy D. Tolson (9:00 - 10:00 @ DPL)

Don't believe that every child is sitting in front of a television or a computer disconnected from the world. Children still love good stories. And they still love good books. Librarians are still needed to tell the stories that will inspire children to pick up a book. Dr. Nancy D. Tolson will discuss how this process is possible through the art of storytelling.

Nancy D. Tolson has been telling stories all of her life. She began telling stories professionally in Detroit, Michigan in 1990. She has a Masters degree in African World Studies and her PhD in English Education from the University of Iowa. She teaches in the Department of English various children's literature courses, Black literature courses and Storytelling. Her research interests lies in Black children's literature and African Diaspora folklore. She has various publications academic as well as creative. She is a recent Fulbright Fellow where she spent one year in Cape Coast , Ghana as a research/lecturer. She is an Illinois Humanities Council "Roads Scholar". Nancy and her husband, Kenny are presently being raised by their three children, Kenneth, Kinnethia and Kindyl..

The cost to attend the RPLS seminar whether in whole or in part is only $10 per person (Early Bird) for checks received before April 1, 2005 and $20 per person for checks received after April 1, 2005.

Session 1 - 11:00 - 12:00

@ Decatur Public Library -

There Will Be Storytellers
The oral tradition is part of the foundation of many cultures around the world. It reveals the history, beliefs and imagination of a culture through the art form of a story. It is one of the oldest forms of entertainment. This workshop will explore the art of storytelling through a short lecture about the art and the history of storytelling and an oral exercise with the participants.

Nancy D. Tolson, our keynote speaker, will share with us the art of storytelling, as she  has been telling stories all of her life. She began telling stories professionally in Detroit, Michigan in 1990. She has a Masters degree in African World Studies and her PhD in English Education from the University of Iowa.

What’s Happening with Information Literacy on College Campuses?
Cheryl Bushnell, Lincoln Land Community College librarian, will give a short report of various nationwide initiatives and national standards. She will provide a list of computer skills needed, and examples of what is being taught at Lincoln Land Community College in various formats including:

1. General English composition class Bibliographic Instruction session components.

2. Differences in BI for specific classes, such as Speech, Nursing, Religion, Humanities, etc.

3. Handouts: Scholarly, peer-reviewed journals verses Substantial periodicals verses Popular magazines

4. Handouts: Evaluation of Websites – Finding and allowing websites in term papers and speeches.

5. Handouts: List of databases available to the public at Illinois Academic Libraries.

6. Handouts: How to borrow from ILCSO libraries.

Grant Writing Basics for Libraries
Scott Pointon, Assistant City Librarian, Decatur Public Library, will give you some tips on writing grants for your library. Scott will discuss the universal dos and don'ts of grant writing and then relate those to a small/medium sized library situation. He will also discuss the pros and cons of both Governmental and privately funded grants. Attendees will receive a handout(s) with information on where to look online for help in writing grants and for sources of grant funding.

Scott received his B.A. in History from Purdue University and MLS from Indiana University. He is a United States Marine Corps veteran and has worked in the library field since 1992, having held management positions in three Midwestern libraries. Currently, Scott is the Assistant City Librarian at Decatur Public Library and serves as the grant coordinator for the library. In September 2004, Scott attended a week long American Grant Writer’s Association (AGWA) seminar and passed the exam to become a “certified grant writer.”

@ RPLS -
How Can I Manage a Library When I Can't Manage Myself?
Stacks of paper, hundreds of sticky notes, I thought I paid that bill! Reply within 15 days, what did I name that Word document? Is that meeting today? ...and where in the world are my keys?

Need some personal organization? This session will provide guidelines, tips and tricks for time management -- and stuff management. You'll learn at least one thing (and probably several more) that you can use right away to get your day and your clutter under control.

Your presenter will be our own Thea Chesley. Thea (MSLIS 1986, UIUC GSLIS) has been the Librarian for the Illinois Department of Public Health since July 2000. From 1986 to 2000 she was Coordinator of Library Services for the Illinois Department of Corrections, with libraries in 36 adult prisons and youth facilities statewide. Her experience also includes 4 years in technical services at Sangamon State University and 5 years in public services at the University of Illinois Library of the Health Sciences in her native Chicago. She lives in Springfield with two cats, listens to jazz and blues, writes poetry and would really like to write and draw a comic strip. 

Making Connections with CapWiz
Lee A. Logan, Consulting and Continuing Education Director at Alliance Library System will introduce you to CapWiz. CapWiz is an information portal for Illinois library advocacy. CapWiz provides information on the Illinois congressional delegation, Illinois state legislators, legislative issues affecting Illinois libraries, and a statewide directory of print and broadcast media outlets. CapWiz has been developed as a joint project by the Illinois Library Association (ILA), Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA), Special Library Association (SLA), Illinois Library Computer Systems Organization (ILCSO) with assistance from the Illinois State Library and Illinois Library Systems (ILSDO) to provide up-to-date information for library advocacy. CapWiz is hosted on the ILA Advocacy web site and provides an easy tool to find contact information for US and state legislators, and convenient access to the current status and full text of bills affecting libraries.

Lee A. Logan, Consulting and Facilities Director at Alliance Library System oversees the Alliance Library System Legislative Network, develops the system strategy for responding to a particular piece of legislation and is the lead Consultant on State and Federal legislative matters for 17 years. Lee develops district specific packets of information for state and federal legislators, the briefing packets for ALS delegates to ALA Legislative Day in Washington, D.C. He has been the Co-chair of ILA Advocacy Day and ILA delegation to ALA Legislative Day, Past Member of ILA Public Policy Committee and ILA Past President.

Introduction to OCLC Services
OCLC is a nonprofit membership organization serving 42,489 libraries in 86 countries and territories around the world. This is your opportunity to learn about the full range of services for cataloging, interlibrary loan, reference, and preservation, and determine which of these solutions will work best for you.

This session, presented by Laurie Bartolini, ISL ILLINET/OCLC, will provide an overview of some of these services as well as information on OCLC training, support, and pricing. Laurie Bartolini has served in public, special, and academic libraries over the course of her career. A graduate of the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, Laurie has worked primarily in the public service sector both as a reference librarian and as a reader's advisor. In addition to her work with the ILLINET/OCLC Services Office, Laurie has formerly served as the Illinois State Library liaison to Rolling Prairie Library System.

LibraryU and Staff Development: Making the most of Web-Based Training (This session will be repeated in the 1-2 pm time slot.
With reduced staff and budgets, how can libraries continue to educate and train both new and current staff without the cost of time, travel and training fees? The answer: Anytime, anywhere, free training through LibraryU. This free resource has been rejuvenated in the past year through a Gates Foundation grant, and has now been funded for another 3 years of additional modules and enhancement. Come find out how you can use courses such as Merchandising that Works, Planning Story Time for Children, or Basic Web-Based Reference. Learn how to maximize your use of web based training and how to create a place and time for your staff to take advantage of this great free resource to continue developing your staff.

Lisa Barnhart, Coordinator for the LibraryU project, has a BA in English and an MLS from the University of Minnesota, Ms. Barnhart has worked in librarianship, and particularly reference services and library instruction, for over 20 years. After receiving her graduate degree, Ms. Barnhart worked for the MINITEX Library Information Network at the University of Minnesota where her responsibilities included researching and responding to information requests submitted from libraries throughout the state of Minnesota. After moving to Illinois, Ms. Barnhart worked for the Corn Belt Library System where she continued to provide backup reference services as well as member training in electronic resources.

For the past 7 years, Ms. Barnhart has been teaching and training librarians in Illinois through her own consulting business. As a part of her services, she provides training for Illinois librarians in electronic resources, reference topics and library user instruction. Her clients include the Chicago Public Library, Chicago Library System, North Suburban Library System and the Illinois State Library. She provided FirstSearch training for all Illinois library systems south of I-80 when the Illinois State Library first funded access to this resource. In addition to her training services, Ms. Barnhart also develops and coordinates grants projects, writes curriculum and is currently the Project Coordinator for the LibraryU web-based training grant.

Inside:

Registration 8:30am @DPL
Session 1
Lunch
Session 2
Session 3
Registration Form

Lunch - 12:00 - 1:00 (Be sure to sign up for lunch at the correct location.)
 

@ Decatur Public Library -  Roast Beef Sandwich, Turkey Sandwich, Ham Sandwich, or Veggie Sandwich.

@ RPLS - Roast Beef Sandwich, Turkey Sandwich, Ham Sandwich, or Veggie Sandwich.

Inside:

Registration 8:30am @DPL
Session 1
Lunch
Session 2
Session 3
Registration Form

Session 2 - 1:00 - 2:00
 

@ Decatur Public Library -

Teaching Internet Ethics to Teens
Access to pornography on the Internet doesn't tell the whole story. Kids can find themselves in all sorts of ethical hot water when they go online, whether they are instant messaging, e-mailing, or file sharing, Learn about a method that uses realistic scenarios and an online discussion format to teach students to be responsible online citizens. Topics covered include intellectual property rights, appropriate interpersonal online communication, privacy rights, and free speech rights.

Frances Jacobson Harris, the Librarian at University Laboratory High School, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, team teaches a required computer literacy course for eighth grade students, which includes information literacy and Internet ethics components.

Quick Online Answers for the Busy Librarian (Full)
Debbie Webb, Reference Librarian at Chatham Area Public Library, will discuss the fine art of online reference.  She will discuss RPLS QuestionPoint and what the collaborative does. She will also share and demonstrate several of the websites that she finds useful in answering reference questions. Debbie asks that you bring your questions about web resources, so that we can share different web searching strategies.

Debbie has worked as the reference librarian at the Chatham Area Public Library since moving to the area in 2003. She received her B.A. in History / Anthropology from the University of South Alabama in 1995. Debbie started her library career at Penn State University in 1995 working in Government Documents and Social Sciences Reference and moved to Electronic and Regular Reserves as Library Supervisor.

Copyright and the Electronic Age
Deborah Potts, Education Specialist, with the Office of Educational Services in Springfield, will discuss how the daily use of the computer and the Internet has changed our lives. Educators need to guide students to the legal use of the information available through the Internet. This session will look at the copyright implications of using websites, articles/research published on the Internet, and e-mail correspondence.

Inside:

Registration 8:30am @DPL
Session 1
Lunch
Session 2
Session 3
Registration Form

Session 3 - 2:30 - 3:30

Wired....The Last Library Frontier: Tips for Helping to Survive IO (ILLINET, not Jupiter's moon!)

In this session, you will learn practical ideas for keeping track of the IO paperwork (orders; items received and checked out; items returned). Handouts will be available and class input is encouraged.

The presenter, Jan Jones (aka Janice K. Jones and JJ), has been a Librarian with the Pana School System since 1972. She began her career at the Junior High and then graduated in 1989 to the High School. She has taught Junior High English as well as High School classes in Latin and in French Culture. A graduate of Eastern Illinois University, she holds a Bachelor's Degree in English with Library Science and French minors. Her hobbies include reading (of course!), crafts, gardening, and traveling. She lives in Ramsey with her husband Jerry. Their home was built in 1879 and has been an on-going remodeling/restoring project. Their son Ryan graduated from Millikin and is in Graduate School at the University of Illinois, Champaign.!

The Good, the Bad, and the Dark Side: Web Site Evaluation Strategies
This hands-on workshop includes an online exercise that can be used with students. The presenter will also discuss the utility of teaching students about hate and other "disinformation" on the web and will share examples of such sites with participants.

Frances Jacobson Harris, the Librarian at University Laboratory High School, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has presented and published on topics related to young adults, Internet ethics, and digital information. She serves on the editorial board of School Library Media Research.

Writing Grants That Tell the Library's Story
Amy Kellerstrass, retired Illinois State Library's Grant Coordinator, will give you insight into the grant writing process. Learn how to maximize your grant writing efforts. Learn what the most surefire ways to “blow” your chance of getting a grant. Grant writing takes time, thought, effort, and patience. Learn the basic rules of grant writing so that you do not waste your time and effort. Learn how to tell your library's story in a way that makes the grant reader want to give you that grant.

@ RPLS -

The South Africa Story
Kathryn Harris, Division Manager for Library Services at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, will tell the story of her trip to South Africa last fall where she presented workshops on library advocacy with Karen Hartman, the Information Resource Officer for the US Embassy in five different South African cities. The interactive workshop that they gave was aimed at all types of librarians, including those in public, academic, special, or school libraries. In addition to looking at how to market library services, the workshop presenters also covered how to target stakeholders, decision makers, and customers with library promotion messages and discussed the effective modes for delivering such messages.

ROLLING PRAIRIE
LIBRARY SYSTEM

Rolling Prairie Library System
345 W Eldorado St
Decatur, IL 62522

Phone: 217-429-2586
Fax: 217-428-1852
Email:dorism@rpls.ws

Serving libraries to better serve you.

• To Decatur Public Library to whom we are indebted for their hospitality.
• To the speakers and presenters who donated their time and talent for the improvement of us all.
• To the member librarians and their staff who acted as hosts and hostesses and who by their presence made the Seminar a reality. 
• To the member libraries who shared information about their collections.
• To the RPLS staff members who went the extra mile to see that the Seminar went as smoothly as possible.