July 1, 2015

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Topic: 
Directors' Chat

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Chris DawdyEllen Popit

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Lynn Schmit: Met with staff regarding WORLDCAT Discovery. (They took the webinar.) Our ILLINET/OCLC Services Program Member Agreement does not list this service as GS (group services). Will we be charged additional for Discovery? We have fewer requests than ever due to SHARE. Staff discovered we can Google WORLDCAT and get all the information we need. Who can we talk to about this? State Library suggests webinars and tutorials, but they show how to search (which we already know). They don

Chris Dawdy: Lynn, World Cat Discovery is taking the place of First Search, which is part of Group Services. Though we do have many libraries dropping out of the group services contract, for the same reason you note--not much borrowing going on from them, when we have so many items in Polaris.

Chris Dawdy: The libraries that need to maintain their group services contract are the ones who are cataloging libraries. They need access to Connexion.

Lynn Schmit: That is most helpful. But now I wonder if I should be paying $1,200 if I don't need access to Connexion. What does OCLC do for me that I don't already get from IHLS?

Chris Dawdy: And, by the way, if you choose to drop the group services contract, you need to contact Sue Burkholder at the Illinois State Library.

Chris Dawdy: Yep, we're just wonderful!!

Chris Dawdy: By the way, welcome to IHLS Director Chat! Can you believe it's July already?

Kathy Goleman Divernon Township Library: My FOIA officer is going on vacation for 3 weeks and another trustee has volunteered to be secondary FOIA officer while she is gone. She has taken the FOIA training already and is good to go. Question where do I let them know I have a secondary FOIA officer so that if we get a request it will go to both of them since one is going to be gone? Any suggestions?

Lynn Schmit: Sorry I jumped in early, but I didn't want to forget my question.

Ellen Popit: Kathy, it looks like you've covered your bases. That's a really good question and I'm not sure of the legal answer. I would think that since it is only temporary and your board minutes would reflect that action, you'd be fine. Does your website indicate who is the FOIA officer? Maybe change it there for the period of time? We can check if you'd like.

Lynn Schmit: Kathy, one of my staff and I are the FOIA officers, and FOIA requests come to the library. Chances are pretty good one of us will get the request. One of our trustees is the OMA officer.

Kathy Goleman Divernon Township Library: Ellen, I don't believe it is on the website who our FOIA officer is but I can sure add it. We have only had 2 requests since I've been here but the requests did not come to the library they went to the FOIA officer and if she is going to be gone for 3 weeks without internet access. I was jsut hoping there was someone I could call to add the email of the other trustee or at least the libraries email.

Shawn- Elwood Township: It's very quiet, I am not sure if I have a terrible internet connection. I wanted to ask if anyone has ever intergrated their LP into their regular shelves? I have such a small section, and no one looks at them. I thought they might get more c/o if they were together?

Ellen Popit: @Kathy---You'll want to get that up on your website. How do people currently know who to contact for a FOIA request?

Ellen Popit: Shawne,, this is only typing. Nothing to hear!

Shawn- Elwood Township: Yes, quiet, no one was typing :D

Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: Shawn--we are running out of room for our large print, so we just moved our LP Biographies in with the regular print

Shawn- Elwood Township: Thank you Esther. I am running out of room as well. I could use the LP section for something else.

jackie CAMP: We moved our LP to the regular shelves, they weren't going out much and we thought people looking reg print would use LP if the copy was available.

Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: We are trying to find ways to expand our LP--it gets constant use.

Kathy Goleman Divernon Township Library: Thanks Ellen I will do that today. I believe when my FOIA officer took the training the first time she put down that she was the officer and so requests have gone to her and not to the library. I usually know they are coming though because I see people talking about them on the exchange. Guess I will just keep fingers crossed that nothing comes in while she is gone. Thanks so much for your help!

Ellen Popit: @Kathy, I

Linda Richter Trenton public: Our large print section is heavily used

Ellen Popit: Soirry, what I meant to say was that if your website is easy to edit, you could certainly identify the seconday officer for the time being.

Kathy Goleman Divernon Township Library: Yes, it is pretty easy to edit. Do you include their email adress also?

Chris Dawdy: Did you learn anything interesting at ALA Ellen, that you'd like to share??

Shawn- Elwood Township: I agree, that a lot of people don't think of LP as an option. I didn't for a long time. Now I will read anything in any format.

Lynn Schmit: Many thanks to IHLS for the reception and board meeting in Champaign. The food was great and the cake delicious. We should do this more often! : )

Ellen Popit: It's all about spreading the word, Shawn!!!!!!

Jacqueline Allen-Melvin PL: Shawn, Our LP collection is separate and fairly well used as more and more boomers become seniors. We keep it near the circulation desk and refer patrons to it sometimes just to try new authors even if they don't need the benefit of LP.

Ellen Popit: Can't resist throwing out the reminder that many of your LP readers might also qualify for talking books---again, spreading the word!!!!

jackie CAMP: Good thinking Ellen

Ellen Popit: Just saw Chris's e-mail and I can throw out a few things. Our own Sarah Hill, who currently works at Lakeland College and who worked previously as a high school librarian in Paris (IL) and Fairfield was a presenter on a panel discussion the Common Core Standards---I was very pleased to say that I knew her when!

Ellen Popit: I also attended a very interesting program on providing services for "

Ellen Popit: ....for "people who are experiencing homelessness." The presenters shared the fact that this was their preferred term, since in indicated that homelessness was a factor in the lives of these people, but not the defining factor.

Ellen Popit: We heard Gloria Steinem (who looks terrific at 81!) and Maria from Sesame Street.

Shawn- Elwood Township: Yes! Talking books! After SPLMI last month, I know a little more about Talking Books!

Ellen Popit: ILA was there with a booth----California also uses IREAD , so it was a good experience for them.

Ellen Popit: One interesting thought from Kate Kite, the director at Wood River. Kate is the chair of next year's IREAD program. She always reminds people that the money ILA makes from IREAD is used to advocate for Illinois Libraries in a variety of ways, so supporting IREAD is a way to support libraries throughout the state. It was a good reminder.

Shawn- Elwood Township: Does anyone have a good suggestion for weeding an authors books? I have Danielle Steel, and she takes up 4 shelves!!! No one reads her anymore, I was wondering how to weed an author, but to try and keep maybe the more popular books.

Ellen Popit: Certainly, you can start with pulling the duplicates.

Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: If they aren't circulating (for 3 or 4 yrs), you could pull them. If they're in good shape, you can offer them to other libraries and then they would still be available.

Shawn- Elwood Township: No duplicates, just not circulating. The older generation who loved them is all gone. The younger generation doesn't read her.

Ellen Popit: Chris, can Polaris pull reports for Shawn that would be hlepful?

Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: We are constantly running out of space on our shelves and so we get pretty brutal with weeding. There comes a point that if no one is checking it out, then we can use the space for new materials.

Susan Landreth BHPLD: Can documents that libraries need to keep be scanned to a computer to keep? And then get rid of the paper copy?

Shawn- Elwood Township: I don't read her either, and I thought maybe to keep one or two, incase some one wants to try her. I just don't know enough about her to know what to keep

Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: You can use the Find Tool (F12) and get a list of materials by last circ date (or a range of dates)

Chris Dawdy: There you go, Shawn! I got distracted, and Esther beat me to it!

Shawn- Elwood Township: Thank you :D

Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: Glad to help!

Esther Curry--C.E. Brehm Memorial PLD: Actually--I think that doing an item record vs bib record search works better, but still get the info you need.

Ellen Popit: Re: Susan Landreth's question regarding saving records in digital format. You might goodle Illinois State Records Management Manual. It's a .pdf file and on page 12 is does talking about that. It appears that only certain things can be saved digitally, so you might want to check that out.

Ellen Popit: I meant Google!!!

Jacqueline Allen-Melvin PL: Shawn, I have to say, we must serve very different populations! D. Steel and Patterson are still our most in demand authors. We do serve an aging population here but we do also have numerous patrons in their 30s and 40s who read Steel.

Susan Landreth BHPLD: Thank you!

Shawn- Elwood Township: We are a small library, I have the same few dedicated patrons. I don't get a lot of older patrons because of our steps. :(

Jacqueline Allen-Melvin PL: Also, regarding weeding, if you have date due stamps in your books we find the simplest way is to count the number of circulations in a set period as a minimum, say a book must have circulated at least 2 (or 3 or whatever) times in the last 3 (or 4 or whatever) years and if not, withdraw it.

Ellen Popit: There are also some really good online weeding guides that might be helpful.

Jacqueline Allen-Melvin PL: Shawn, have you thought of offering curb service to patrons who can't manage your steps? We sometimes step out front and deliver books to patrons who are having a hard timing getting around but still driving. We will also deliver to a patron's home if need be. We call it "Books on Wheels."

Chris Dawdy: Penny, how's day 3 of being live on Polaris?

Chris Dawdy: Good idea, Jacqueline!

Penny Eilers White Hall Township Library: It is good. A little crazy!! We had training Monday and yesterday was Summer Reading Program so getting everyones cards out and signed up, it was a little bit of a mad house.

Chris Dawdy: Oh, I'll bet!

Penny Eilers White Hall Township Library: I love that I can send books out to another library. I sent around 40 this morning. I keep checking for more requests.

Chris Dawdy: Very good!!

Ellen Popit: That's exciting!

Shawn- Elwood Township: It's a wonderful Idea Jacqueline. We have offered delivery to our patrons. I hope some one takes us up on it soon

Chris Dawdy: It's two o'clock, so time to bring this to a close. Hope everyone has a happy fourth of July!

Ellen Popit: Thanks! Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Shawn- Elwood Township: Happy 4th everyone!

Jacqueline Allen-Melvin PL: Yeah, if we could just do it on roller skates we could really attract some attention. Happy 4th.