IMPORTANT SURVEY--FINAL DAY TO TAKE PART

What do you believe are the most important preservation needs of cultural institutions in Illinois?

The Institute of Museum and Library Services recently awarded the Illinois State Museum Society a "Connecting to Collections" statewide planning grant. The Illinois State Library and Illinois State Archives are part of the consortium that received the grant, and the consortium is conducting a survey to identify the preservation needs of cultural institutions throughout the state.

Please complete this survey by August 7th to ensure that the preservation needs of Illinois institutions can be identified and future funding can be secured to address these needs.

In appreciation of your participation in the survey, your name will be entered in a drawing for a gift package of Illinois products valued at $100.

Following the survey, the consortium will convene a free series of "Connecting to Collections" meetings with stakeholders from around the state to further assess needs and priorities for collections preservation. The first session, "Assessing Environmental Conditions & Collections Care", will be held Tuesday, August 25th in East Peoria at the Alliance Library System and at several videoconference sights. For more information or to register for this free session visit L2. At least 10 scholarships of up to $200 each will be available for each in-person regional meeting to offset eligible travel expenses. Go here to apply for a scholarship for the in-person session August 25th at ALS. The deadline to apply for a scholarship is August 10th.

For more information on the Illinois "Connecting to Collections" project, please visit the Illinois State Museum website.

SYNERGY 2010

Information and applications for Synergy 2010, the Illinois Library Leadership Initiative, have now been posted.

ILLINET INTERLIBRARY LOAN TRAFFIC FORM

The FY2009 ILLINET Interlibrary Loan Traffic Form is now available. You can assist our efforts to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of resource sharing by completing the survey.

• For Content/Subject Matter questions contact Gwen Harrison or call Gwen at 217-785-7334. You may also contact Ron Winner or call Ron at 217-785-1168.
• For Username/Password contact Becky Hunter or call Becky at 217-782-7849.
• For Software or Technology Issues contact Bibliostat toll-free at 1-866-785-9935.

You may also reach Gwen, Ron or Becky toll free at 1-800-665-5576, extension 1.

LAST WEEK FOR "ON THE FRONT LINES" SURVEY

This year's "On the Front Lines" conference was extremely successful, and planning committee members want your suggestions about what you'd like next year in terms of topics and speakers. Fill out this survey which will be posted until August 3rd. Mark your calendar now--next year's OTFL is set for March 15-17.

Questions can be directed to Gwen Harrison or call Gwen at 217-785-7334.

NEW LIBRARY SYSTEM STANDARDS BLOG

During the committee's June meeting, the Library System Standards Committee once again discussed the importance of input from the Illinois library community about the draft documents related to the revision of the library system standards. The committee has set up a new blog devoted to the library system standards. In order to comment on the material in this blog, enter your name and email address in the "Leave a Comment" section of the page you wish to comment on. Your email address will not be visible to others viewing the blog, but your name will. If you wish to remain anonymous, please list your name as "Anonymous."

If you would like to review the earlier comments about the standards go here, click on the Discussions tab, then click on the various "Posts."

At its June meeting the committee reviewed the comments to date about the Resource Sharing Standards. Subsequently a few revisions to the standards have been made, and the committee has also posted a response to the resource sharing standards comments. Check out these documents on the new blog.

We need your input to make the standards as meaningful and useful as possible. Please take the time to review the various drafts and provide your input. The committee is very appreciative for the input that has been provided to date.

ONLINE WORKSHOP NEXT WEEK

Log on to L2 to register for the following free workshop offered by ISL staff next week (in the ISL OPAL Room). The workshop is free after signing up for membership in the Illinois OCLC Users Group.

Cataloging with Connexion Browser, Wednesday February 10, 1-4 p.m.

E-RATE NEWS

The SLD's News Brief of July 24, 2009, reviews the USAC's plans to expand its HATS outreach program. HATS - which is the acronym for Helping Applicants To Succeed - was initiated in 2006 to provide one-on-one E-rate training for applicants who were identified as having application and/or compliance problems with the program. HATS representatives would typically spend a half-day with such applicants, reviewing all program steps and requirements.
USAC is now in the process of ramping up the HATS program to cover a greater number of applicants by offering such "visits" by telephone, videoconference, or in person. The following key points are important:

1. HATS visits are not compliance audits. Although we would not expect USAC to overlook obvious problems, HATS "assistants" are instructors, not enforcers. No advanced preparation is required, nor will requests be made to check equipment or to review documentation.

2. HATS participation is voluntary; the offer of a HATS visit can be declined. Feedback from applicants who have had HATS visits has been very favorable, so we encourage applicants to take advantage of the program if offered. This is one example in which the old saying "we're from the government and we're here to help you" is indeed accurate.

3. Applicants (and service providers) can request HATS visits by calling the Client Service Bureau at 888-203-8100.

WJIL NEWS

In this WJIL Focus on Social Networking and Web tools find out how libraries are using the innovations of Web 2.0 tools to collaborate, communicate and connect. WJIL resources listed in this issue include a web 2.0 collaboration tools chart, tips for effective tagging, why blogs are important to libraries, twittering for marketing communications and an archive of the 23 Things Summit webinar.

GOVDOCINFO

There is keen interest nowadays about unemployment figures, and the Illinois Department of Employment Security has a webpage with monthly and annual estimates of the Illinois labor force, employed, unemployed and the unemployment rate for the State, metropolitan areas, counties and municipalities that have a population of at least 25,000.

LITERACY SPOTLIGHT

Every week we honor a recipient of one of the literacy grants awarded by Secretary of State Jesse White and the Illinois State Library Literacy Office. We want to spend a few weeks profiling some of the winners who received Spotlight on Achievement awards recently for outstanding achievements by literacy students. This week we shine the spotlight on Domenico Iannucci, a student at the YWCA Adult Literacy program in Pekin.

Domenico arrived in the United States from Italy in 2002 at the age of 71. He could not speak or understanding any English and was entirely dependent on his English-speaking wife to navigate him through his new culture. Domenico even needed his wife to drive him everywhere. As a former pilot, it was discouraging for him to have to have someone drive him wherever he needed to go. In just a few years of participation in the YWCA Adult Literacy program, Domenico received a driver's license, learned to read food labels and grocery advertisements and purchased a house. He learned how to use a computer in six short months, and enjoys emailing his children and grandchildren in Italy and researching his hobbies on the Internet. Domenico has also mastered a web camera so he can visit with family and friends in Italy. Domenico's next goal is to become a U.S. citizen. To show how much he values his tutor and the literacy program, Domenico wears a suit and tie to each session, and begins and ends every session profusely thanking his tutor and the staff, bowing and shaking hands all around.

CULTURAL AWARENESS: DIVERSITY IN ACTION

The federal government's official website usa.gov has a section devoted to culture and ethnic groups, with many links to helpful websites about American, African-American, Asian American, Native American and Hispanic and Latino culture.

ILLINOIS DIGITAL ARCHIVES

We continue to look forward to this year's Illinois State Fair August 14-23 by looking back at photos from the State Fair Museum. Here are some champion dairy cattle from 1938.

INVENTOR OF THE WEEK

Louis P. Solomon of Chicago is this week's Illinois inventor of the week. On September 23, 1969, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued United States Design Patent Number 215,333 for "ring", with the inscription "United States Navy".

UPCOMING EVENTS

January 11 Library System Standards Committee, videoconference

March 15-17 "On the Front Lines", UIS

March 26 "Empowering Library Staff to Meet the Needs of the Spanish Speaking Community", Bloomington Public Library. Register at L2.

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Questions? Contact:

Pat McGuckin

Illinois State Library

217-558-4029