ACT NOW! Contact Your Legislator Today!

State budget cuts have put Illinois libraries in jeopardy just at a time when usage is soaring. Don't Delay! The time to act is NOW, before things get worse!

If you have already contacted your legislator, THANK YOU! But your job isn't over! Please contact him or her again via another method--fax a letter, phone with your message, or visit your legislator! We want each legislator to receive 250 contacts so spread the message!

Go to SaveIllinoisLibraries.com, the Illinois library community's response to the grant funding cuts. Let legislators know that their constituents are passionate about keeping their libraries open and funded. At SaveIllinoisLibraries.com you'll see:

• Links to send email messages to your legislators via CapWiz
• Details of the pledge we're asking our legislators to make to Illinois libraries
• Tips on ways to take action on this issue
• A website badge you can put on your library's homepage to show your support
• Stories about library usage, libraries' needs, and the effect of the cuts -- and a place for you to tell your story, too
• A listing of Illinois legislators noting the "good guys" who have signed the pledge. We only have ONE to date!
• A link to a Facebook site that has 900+ fans! Become a fan and increase the fan base by posting info on your personal and library Facebook accounts.

Visit http://www.saveillinoislibraries.com today! Time is of the essence: the Illinois General Assembly will convene this week on Wednesday, October 14, for the Veto Session. The legislators are focused on the budget and they need to hear from the library community.

Send your message today and be prepared with six (6) other email addresses when you do so. You will be prompted to add in these addresses. We need many advocates to make this campaign effective.

For more information about the campaign to Save Illinois Libraries, here's a blog post.

Save Illinois Libraries!

In response to the recent cuts to system funding and library grants, the library community is launching a campaign to secure the future of Illinois libraries. The kickoff for this statewide advocacy campaign, Save Illinois Libraries, will take place during the Illinois Library Association conference on Thursday, October 8, with all activities completed by October 23. Secretary of State/State Librarian Jesse White will be on hand to provide remarks and show his support for this event. Entrance to the exhibits is free, providing an excellent opportunity to show your support for Illinois libraries as we work towards regaining our funding.

Here's what you need to do...

Redefining Spaces at Glen Crest Middle School's LIT

Several schools in Community Consolidated School District #89 were remodeled this past summer. At Glen Crest Middle School, the Library Information and Technology Center (LIT) has taken on a new look with lighter furniture, new carpet, more open spaces, and new windows. The school’s upgraded wiring and technology includes "smart boards" and video projectors both in classrooms and in the library. 

“We redefined our spaces,” said Pam McDermott, Library Director and a member of the DLS board. The remodeled library now provides access to two computer labs and features a student friendly comfortable reading area with an “egg chair.” 

“We have ten video iPod Touches and the iPods plug into the chairs,” noted McDermott. “We added a podcast/TV production room that used to be a conference room,” she added. The room is in the process of being completed and is designed for student productions. The walls will be decorated by a committee of students later this fall.  “The 6th graders can not stop talking about the egg chair,” McDermott said.

The above photo of the LIT's reading area and egg chair was taken by Pamela Kramer, DLS Acting Executive Director, when she visited the library on September 21, 2009.

More photos: 

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Innovate, Create, and Succeed: Thinking Big, Thinking Forward

Date: Friday, November 6, 2009
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Location: Metropolitan Library System, 125 Tower Drive, Burr Ridge, IL 60527

A full day conference for Special Librarians hosted by the Metropolitan, North Suburban, and DuPage Library Systems in partnership with the Special Library Association’s (SLA) Illinois Chapter.

Join us for a day of broad stroke ideas to help you prepare your long-term thinking, so that your library can prosper and remain sustainable. Topics to include:

• Practical ways to facilitate creativity and incorporate it into your work.
• Panel presentations on creative marketing, funding, and use of resources and tools.
• Lunch-hour expo with vendors and our Creativity Playground to include Second Life demos, the SLA Innovation Lab, time to network, and much more.

Speakers:
Anne Caputo, Dow Jones, President Elect SLA
Laurel Ofstein, DePaul’s Center for Creativity & Innovation
Liz Aviles, Upshot
Beth Horner, Storyteller & Dominican GSLIS Adjunct Faculty
Karen Huffman, National Geographic Society

Lunch provided with registration. An SLA / IL Chapter meeting will take place the evening before with President Elect Anne Caputo. Details coming soon. To register for this event, and for more information, go to the Library Learning website.

Theosophical Libraries Go Live on MAGIC

DuPage Library System and MAGIC libraries welcome three new libraries to the consortium. On March 10, 2009, the Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library at the Theosophical Society in America (Wheaton, IL) began using MAGIC's library automation system, along with two of its affiliated libraries, Krotona Institute of Theosophy in Ojai, CA and Emily Sellon Memorial Library at the New York Theosophical Society in New York, NY. Their unique collections have enriched MAGIC's database with 22,988 titles, of which only 1,279 were already in MAGIC.

Funding for this project was made possible by an LSTA grant awarded by the Illinois State Library (ISL), a Division of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Demystifying and Integrating Web 2.0 at the Museum

Date: March 19, 2009
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: Metropolitan Library System, 224 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 680, Chicago
Cost: $45

Museum libraries serve a patron group with extremely specific research needs and whose discipline largely draws upon more traditional resources. This workshop will show how a team of librarians at The Thomas J. Watson Library of The Metropolitan Museum of Art created a program of instruction tailored to this group of users on Web 2.0 tools. They will demonstrate the steps involved in creating this program including team formation, marketing, and follow-up. This workshop will also look at the consequences and effects of Web 2.0 instruction throughout the library and museum, in addition to lessons learned.

Learning Objectives

• Learn how to create, market, and deliver Web 2.0 instruction to an idiosyncratic audience with niche research interests.
• Learn how Web 2.0 tools can be used in a special library and museum.
• Learn how library staff can implement and manage 2.0 applications with minimal technical know-how.
• Learn how to take ownership of 2.0 and other initiatives using a team-based approach that encourages risk taking and experimentation.

To register for this event, or for more information please visit the Library Learning calendar.

SLA (Special Library Association) Illinois Upcoming Events

Name of Event: SLA Click U: Open Source Software for Libraries, Nicole Engard
Date: Thursday, January 8, 2009
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Location: MLS (Metropolitan Library System) Chicago Office
Register by January 1, 2009 at the Library Learning website.

Name of Event: January DineArounds
Date: January 22, 2009
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: West and South suburbs and downtown (details to follow shortly).
Description: DineArounds are an opportunity to network with fellow SLA Illinois members in a location that is potentially more convenient to you away from the regular SLA meetings.
Cost: Each person pays his/her own tab.
Deadline: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Contact person: For general questions, Joanne Kiley, jckiley@michaelbest.com.

Name of Event: SLA Click U: Part 1: Basics of Website Management, David Lee King
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Location: MLS Burr Ridge Office (note different location).
Register by February 2, 2009 at the Library Learning website.

Name of Event: SLA Click U: Part 2: Basics of Website Management, David Lee King
Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Location: MLS Burr Ridge (note different location).
Register by February 16, 2009 at the Library Learning website.

Information about SLA Illinois events is also available on the SLA Illinois website calendar.

MLS Special Libraries Networking Meeting: Space Planning and Design

Date: Friday, February 13, 2009.

Time: 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Location: MLS (Metropolitan Library System) Chicago office.

Description: This meeting will feature a discussion on space planning and design in special libraries. If your library has recently gone through a space redesign, small or larger, come share your experiences. If your library is getting ready to start a space redesign, this meeting is a great opportunity to get ideas and insight from your peers.

Register at the Library Learning website.

MLS Special Libraries Networking Meeting: Digitalization Show and Tell

Date: Friday, December 12, 2008.

Time: 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Location: MLS (Metropolitan Library System) Chicago office.

Description: This meeting will feature a discussion on digitalization projects in special libraries. If your library has recently completed a digitalization project, come and share your experiences. If your library is getting ready to start a digitalization project, this meeting is a great opportunity to get ideas and insight from your peers.

Register at the Library Learning website.

Special Libraries Association Click U Webinars

Metropolitan Library System (MLS) will host the following Special Libraries Association (SLA) Click U Webinars this fall and winter at its Chicago office location:

SLA Click U: Web 2.0 Software and the Embeddable Web, by Greg Notes
Date: October 22, 2008
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Place: MLS Chicago Office, 224 South Michigan Ave, Suite #680
Cost: $20
Register at http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=4274

SLA Click U: Green your Library, Part 1: Why it is important to do it, by Anca Novacovci
Date: December 3, 2008
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Place: MLS Chicago Office, 224 South Michigan Ave, Suite #680
Cost: $20
Register at http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=4335

SLA Click U: Green your Library, Part 2: Easy steps you can take to do it, by Anca Novacovci
Date: December 17, 2008
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Place: MLS Chicago Office, 224 South Michigan Ave, Suite #680
Cost: $20
Register at http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=4358