NAME CHANGE

The WLTA Board of Directors met for their quarterly meeting today at the Portage Public Library. Considerable discussion was held regarding the new role of the Division as the home for Friends of Libraries activities in this state. Eventually, it was decided that our name should reflect who we are and what we represent. The new acronym will be WLTF, which will stand for Wisconsin Library Trustees and Friends. The name assumes that "advocacy" is a role that all of us have to play, whether we are a library professional, a trustee, a member of a friends of the library organization, or simply a friend of libraries in general.

A full report of the meeting will be issued shortly. Reporting of the name change will also becoming via many communication methods, and work will be done very shortly to change the existing website.

Welcome WLTF to the Wisconsin family of library organizations!

WLA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The 2007 WLA Annual Conference is fast approaching. This year's event is being held in Green Bay from October 16th through the 19th.

WLTA is presenting or co-sponsoring seven events this year. Thus the views of Friends and other library non-professionals will be well represented.

Be sure to check out the WLA website for details.

SEE YOU THERE !!

I WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AT THE WLA CONFERENCE

I will definitely NOT be speaking at this year's WLA Conference in Green Bay. One of the reasons is highlighted in this photograph which shows the audience the last time I spoke at a conference.

That all means that you should definitely plan on attending WLA this year!

You have until September 18th to get the "Early Bird" discount when you register.

For details on the conference and registration information go to the WLA website http://wla.lib.wi.us/

The program sessions being offered this year are fantastic! Also of note is that Alice Sturzl, librarian from Laona, who is also the President of the Board of Trustees of Wisconsin Valley Library Service, will be honored as the Librarian of the Year.

CAMPING TRIP

I'm heading out for a three-day camping trip at a campground in the National Forest northwest of Minocqua. This is the final family get-together of the season. A couple of the boys head off to UW Eau Claire shortly. Unfortunately, all of the State Forest campgrounds close after the Labor Day weekend. My wife and I had hoped to do some fall camping, but we will have to look farther afield that some of our normal spots.

I'm taking along some recent copies of the Lakeland Times newspaper to study their articles regarding Arbor Vitae and Vilas County objections to being billed by Minocqua for use of their library. MPL is doing this in conformance to the legislation recently passed which was strongly supported by WLA. The Lakeland Times is sort of the Northwoods version of the National Enquirer so the articles must be taken with a grain of salt. However, I'm sure some people are very upset over the prospect of having to now pay for services that their friends in Oneida County had previously picked up the tab for.

I'll be back on the blog before the end of the weekend, as we are leaving our cats at our cottage, and I have to drive back to feed, water, clean litter boxes, etc. I may have some more insight on the Arbor Vitae/Minocqua situation at that time.

Now where did I put that mosquito dope?

WLTA BOARD MEETING

The Board of Directors of the WISCONSIN LIBRARY TRUSTEES AND ADVOCATES group met on Saturday, May 19th, at the Portage Library for it's second quarterly meeting of 2007. Twelve people were in attendance, including two new representatives from Appleton and Madison.

The financial status of the group was discussed. As of this point, proceeds from the WAPL conference held in early May have not been determined. A report will be issued when this information becomes available.


The WLTA representative on the WLA board gave an extensive report. The WLA Board has issued a draft proposal for a Unit Advisory Council that, potentially, would give the divisions, sections, and roundtables of WLA a structure for greater collaboration and communication. The WLTA secretary will Email copies of this proposal to board members. Under changes to the WLA Bylaws, unit By-Laws would be replaced by Policies and Procedures. Only WLA would operate under By-Laws. A draft of the new Policies and Procedures for WLTA will be available for discussion and potential adoption at our August meeting.
The WLTA website will be reviewed and streamlined. It will include a link to the Friends of Libraries - USA website (FOLUSA), so Friends can get direct access when visiting our site. These revisions will be in place and available for discussion at the August meeting.


The WLTA representatives on the COLAND board (Council on Library and Network Development) reported on discussions at their recent meeting. The top issue was the competition between WISCAT and OCLC. It was felt that a state-wide conference must be held to address and resolve the issue.
Also discussed was the fact that several Wisconsin school districts are on the brink of bankruptcy with the resulting effect on libraries.
FBI surveillance under Patriot Act provisions was also mentioned.

Our representative on the LD & L board (Library Development and Legislation Committee) reported on several issues. Included was discussion on My Space access in libraries as well as other social-networking sites.
Also discussed was Police access to surveillance videos. The problem is the videos record not only people who are committing crimes but also other patrons of the library as well. A bill to allow public libraries to release the videos without a court order under very specific circumstances may be introduced this session. WLA is working to make sure that the bill is narrowly constructed such that the privacy rights of patrons are maintained.


The ADVOCACY Mission Report included comments regarding the favorable results of the Joint Finance Committee voting on library issues in the Governor's Budget Proposal.
The Gates Foundation software package on communicating your libraries value in your community that we had discussed in our February meeting was distributed to all attendees of the "Greener Pastures" Rural Library Sustainability series of workshops. Information of this software as well as books available at the FOLUSA website were listed in the lastest WLTA newsletter.
It appears that no one from our group will be attending the ALA & ALTA convention in Washington DC in June.
Status of planning for Wisconsin Library Legislative Day (2/22/08) was discussed.


The TRUSTEE EDUCATION Mission Report included distribution of a one-page summary of Essential Number Two from the Trustee Essential manual. These summaries are being prepared by the Director of the Wisconsin Valley Library Service, who has just announced her intent to retire in fall.


The FRIENDS OF LIBRARIES Mission Report included information that Tomahawk Public Library will receive WLTA assistance at an orgnizational meeting to be held to launch their new Friends Group.
It was reported that the MCPL Friends group will be deciding this month on a variation of the Eau Claire model of "sponsoring" new members, in order to increase the membership ranks.
People in the SouthWestern portion of the state are interested in conducting a Friends Conference similar to the Northwoods Conferences of recent years. WLTA will play a major role in putting on this conference, and hopes to conduct conferences in other quadrants of the state in future years.


The CONVENTIONS Mission Report included a recap of the WLTA presentation on THE TOP TEN THINGS LEARNED AT THE NORTHWOODS CONFERENCE that was given at the WAPL conference. It was decided that a review of this presentation should be included in the next WLTA newsletter.
WLTA will be very busy at the WLA conference in October. We will be co-sponsoring the Pre-Conference with IFRT (Intellectual Freedom Round Table), co-sponsoring a RSRT program (Resource Sharing Round Table), co-sponsoring an IFRT program, putting on a WLTA luncheon and business meeting, as well as putting on three programs of our own. The programs will center around Libraries Involvement in Their Communities, Open Meeting Laws, and "What's My Role?" The group also discussed potentially having a Newsletter display at the conference. We will have a lot on our plate.

Under Association reports, the Executive Director of WLA discussed the association's strategic plan with three major goals: Advocacy, Community, Education (ACE).
They are working on putting together a directory of library supporters for help in the legislative activities.
They will also work on producing a directory of Friends groups in the state.

The DPI report included an excellent report on Trustee Education Resources by System. We will attempt to create a link on our website so it is available to all. Also submitted was a list of 2007 library related meetings in this state.


Under OLD BUSINESS we discussed the absorption of FOWL into WLTA. The discount program on WLA membership was related.
Creation of a new WLTA brochure was discussed. Two "volunteers" were annoited. This work will begin after the Policies/Procedures and the Website revisions are completed. Artwork and layout will be coordinated through the WLA office.

A motion was passed requiring board members to attend a minimum of two meetings per year to maintain an "active" status. Provisions were made for excused absences. This ruling is important for establishing what constitutes a quorum for us to legally conduct business.

Adding WLTA board members to a WLA list-serv has been accomplished.

Further work on the WLTA Wiki has not been done. Coordination with the WLA Wiki was discussed. Action will be reported on by the August meeting.


Under NEW BUSINESS library digitization was discussed. Some libarians have expressed the opinion that they do not feel libraries are being measured properly in the age of computers and internet access. The WLA Executive Director reported that there is a national organization working on a system to do this. People at the Department of Public Instruction are involved in these efforts.

A pitch was made for all board members to sign up for WISPUBLIB. This communication distributes a ton of library related information which should be very useful. It was determined that many people in positions of responsibility are not on the system.

Extensive discussion was held on WLTA funding a scholarship program for 2008 LLD. Several alternate plans were proposed. It was felt we should discuss this among our constituents and library directors and make a decision on a program at the August meeting.


CONCERNS AND COMMENTS among board members generated many interesting ideas. Library and Friends brochures were shared. A great idea was presented by the Janesville representative. They issue Library Discount Cards similar to those sold by high school sports teams. This is a fund raiser for their Friends group and Library.

The moderator of the meeting suggested the possibility of joining AAAA. This is the American Association Against Acronyms.

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.