LAND - O - LAKES FRIENDS GROUP

Recently my wife and I traveled up to Land-O-Lakes and visited the library. We timed our trip so I could sit in on a Friends group meeting. The President of their group, Tony Zoars, had been a participant in one of the recent Northwoods Friends Conference sessions.

The Land-O-Lakes library is an excellent facility. It was built with cooperation of people from both sides of the Wisconsin/Michigan border. The library associations of both states had to get involved to pull it off. Watersmeet, MI is just a few miles away on the other side of the boundry.

Their Friends group had just completed a very successful book sale. A great portion of the meeting was spent analyzing their sale and discussing what should be done to make future sales even better. They had held a Silent Auction in conjunction with the sale, with goods and services being donated by businesses from all over their area. This was a huge success.

I had to leave before the meeting was over as I was committed to attend the Friends of the Minocqua Public Library meeting that afternoon as well. As a result I missed the part of their agenda when they were going to discuss their "Garden Gawk" (Yes, that's Gawk - not Walk). The Land-O-Lakes Friends are a very dynamic group and serve their library well. It's a super place. Stop in and visit if you are in the area. I'm sure you'll be made to feel very welcome!

SOUTH WEST LIBRARY SYSTEM

During the course of our "Road Trip" to Wyalusing State Park my wife and I stopped in at the headquarters of the South West Library System. We spent a little time with Jo Don Anderson (who is the Secretary of Wisconsin Library Trustees & Advocates - WLTA) as well as with the System Director, Krista Ross. SWLS has a very beautiful building on the West side of Fennimore, right on US Highway 18.

We had a chance to discuss the possibility that SWLS will host a Friends Conference in 2008, similar to the Northwoods Conferences we have been holding for Friends groups and other library supporters. WLTA would like to hold one of these get-togethers in a different quadrant of the State every year, and is very happy that South West is considering being the first area to step up to the plate in this program. Another system in that area of the state may be invited to join in as well. In any event, communication is the key, and Friends getting together to discuss problems and opportunities results in improving everyone. We'll keep you posted as the plans for this conference develop.

VISIT TO STRATFORD BRANCH LIBRARY

One of my duties with the Friends of the Marathon County Public Library is to act as an "Ambassador". Each month I am to make a trip to one of the MCPL branches (or to another library), talk to the staff, view the facility, and report back to the Friends group.

This month I visited the Stratford Branch Library and talked with Janice Pankratz, the Branch Coordinator. Stratford is located on the Western side of Marathon County. The library is located in a very smart new building, right across the street from a park, on the North side of town.

Stratford established it's first library in 1930. The present library building was erected in 1995. Stratford is very proud of its library as 50% of the cost was paid for by MCPL and the other 50% was paid for by the community. There is a display on the wall of their nice meeting room which highlights all people who contributed at least $250 towards the building project. The Stratford branch has approximately 17,000 items in its collection, but has access to over 1 million items through MCPL & Wisconsin Valley Library Service's V-CAT system.

Ms Pankratz keeps her library neat, clean, and well organized. While there I saw a couple people going over newspapers and magazines in the reading area. A mom came in with a little girl who immediately rushed over to the play area in the children's section. I'd guess the children's area, which is very well stocked with books, covers 30% of the library's square footage. I saw some of the toys which the MCPL Friends had purchased. The library has 2 Internet terminals and 2 Catalog terminals. Janice indicated that joining V-CAT this past summer has been a big boon to "Home Schoolers" in her area. While there I saw a lady walk out with a huge stack of books which had just come in by courier.

The Stratford branch has a book discussion group, children's programs, and hosts various meetings in their facility. They will be doing their part in the MCPL 100 year celebration in November. Right now they are preparing for a Used Book Sale which will be held on March 7-8-9. Some of their inventory for the sale comes from local donations and some comes from the inventory of the MCPL Friends.

The Stratford Branch Library would be a nice place for you to visit. Janice is a very pleasant lady to talk to, and she'd be happy to show you around her facility.

400 N. Fourth Avenue
Stratford, WI 54484

Phone: (715) 687-4420
Email: Janice.Pankratz@mail.co.marathon.wi.us

WLTA BOARD MEETING

The first 2007 board meeting for WLTA was held in Portage on 2/17/07. The following are highlights of that meeting:

• The new Chairperson welcomed this year's mix of old and new board members.
• The President of the Friends of the Portage Library greeted the group and gave a history of their great library.
• Minutes of the November meeting were reviewed.
• Status of WLTA finances was provided by the Executive Director of WLA.
• Absorption of FOWL into WLTA was discussed. It was decided not to change the organization's name at this time. Rather, an aggressive program of inclusion of Friends activities into WLTA & WLA functions and publications was agreed to.
• WLA DIRECTOR'S REPORT - WLA will be the only group to have By-Laws. All subsidiary units will change theirs to a Policies & Procedures format. Copies of our existing By-Laws were distributed for discussion regarding modification at the next meeting. The Director suggested WLTA consider re-doing their brochure to reflect the new makeup of their constituency.
• COLAND REPORT - WLTA has two representitives on this committee. A report will be issued clarifying the purposes and programs of this group for our new board members.
• LD&L REPORT - None submitted at this meeting.
• ADVOCACY REPORT - Letter from Co-Chair of Library Legislative Day was distributed. Key issues for WLTA were that only 30 non-professional people were in the 160 who attended the session. We will work toward getting more Trustees and Friends to the 2008 session. Program was also outlined to identify the legislative representatives for each of the State's libraries. We will work toward getting board members from all support and monitoring groups to attend so no legislator will be "lonely". We will also work toward providing a "Tool-Kit" for libraries to hold their own LLD events, inviting their representatives to visit them on the library's home turf. Writing letters to the Governor's office were encouraged, to thank him for his budget proposals relating to libraries.
• TRUSTEE EDUCATION REPORT - A one page summary of the first section of the DPI's Trustee Manual was distributed. This report covers the "Job Description" of a Trustee or Board member. The summary was prepared by the Director of Wisconsin Valley Library Service. It will be included in the WLTA newsletter and this blog. We will encourage going to the DPI website and reading/downloading the complete section for review.
• FRIENDS OF LIBRARIES REPORT - A report on running effective meetings will be distributed. A report on comparison of duties/responsibilities of Library Directors, Trustees, & Friends will also be distributed. Information on obtaining free DVDs and brochures from the Gates Foundation regarding Friends groups advocating in their own communities will be published in newsletters and on blogs. Information on buying books with CDs from FOLUSA (Friends of Libraries - USA) regarding advocating activities for Friends Groups will also be published in newsletters and on blogs. WLTA will investigate holding Friends Conferences annually in a different quadrant of the State. These would be similar to the the Northwoods Conference held recently in the Northern part of the State.
• CONVENTIONS REPORT - WLTA will present a session at the Wisconsin Association of Public Library (WAPL) convention in Eau Claire in May, regarding "Top Ten Things" learned at the recent Friends conference. The group voted to co-sponser a session on Intellectual Freedom at the WLA convention in Green Bay in October. They also voted to present a session regarding Statistical Process Control in libraries.
• WLA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT - An extensive reporting of activities at the WLA headquarters was given. A report on current status of all legislative issues pertaining to libaries was distributed. Segments of the report, available at the WLA web-site will also be published on this blog. The Director agreed that WLTA should consider re-doing their brochure.
• DPI REPORT - A written report was distributed which highlighted activites in the Trustee Education area and the ten "Greener Pastures: Rural Library Sustainability" workshops which will be conducted in 2007 around the state. The Gates Foundation recently announced a second round of hardware grants for computers to areas with 10% poverty rates. Local matches will likely be required this time. DPI will also be incuded in a 2008 program to distribute resources, training, and information to assist in service to Spanish speaking communities.
• NEW BUSINESS - A proposal was made by the Chairperson to consider changes to our Policies and Procedures at the next meeting, including a specified level of attendance performance to remain a board member. The Chairperson also suggested that no one be sent to the National version of Library Legislative Day this year, and that we should use the monies for programs such as new brochures and other activities related to our re-organization. The WLA director suggested the possibility of adding Friends leaders to a list-serv currently distributing information to Trustees, Board Members and other library leaders. The Vice-Chair will investigate establishment of a "wiki" allowing Board Members to discuss key issues between the scheduled meetings.
• CONCERNS AND COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS: Information on the Eau Claire multi-million dollar library addition program was distributed. Several board members reported on new library directors in their areas, and continued searches for directors for libraries who currently have voids. Activities at the Janesville library were presented. A seasoned representative from the Portage Library Board talked of activities at that library and his thoughts on acceptance of new programs. Discussion was held regarding "All Politics Is Local" in relation to Friends groups. The Vice-Chair told several lame jokes.
• Next meeting, Saturday May 19th, 2007, Portage Public Library, 10:00 AM.

LIBRARY LOVERS MONTH

The latest LAMPLIGHTER newsletter from Wisconsin Valley Library Service reminds us that February is "Library Lovers' Month"

It informs us that "Library Lovers' Month is a month-long celebration of school, public, and private libraries of all types. This is a time for everyone, especially library support groups, to recognize the value of libraries and work to assure that the Nation's libraries will continue to serve."

Information as to how your library or your Friends group can celebrate this month-long event is contained at http://www.librarysupport.net/librarylovers/

How about sending a Valentine to the legislators from your area to show appreciation for how much they love their library???