Please comment on MBLC Budget

To: Massachusetts Libraries and Library Users

The Board of Library Commissioners budget cap for FY2011 is a 16% reduction in total funding from this year (FY2010). This is a much more dramatic cut than we have been required to take at this point in the budget-making process than in preceding years, and the resulting reductions in program funding require Board direction.

In order to assure that the library community can comment on the potential impacts of this budget, the location of the October 1 Board meeting has been changed to the Sargent Memorial Library in Boxborough. The regular monthly meeting will be called to order at 10:00 and run until about 11:30. At that time the Board will take a half hour break and at Noon convene a budget comment session. Please take this opportunity to comment to the Board on how to direct a 16% budget cut. The Board asks that speakers limit their presentations to 5 minutes to assure that all who wish to be heard have that opportunity. Written comments for the record are requested and electronic versions of comments are most useful. It is not necessary to appear in person to comment. Comments may be submitted to mailto:robert.maier@state.ma.us

To give a sense of the magnitude of this reduction, one option under consideration is: reduce funding to regions and library of last recourse by 28% (use the remainder of this fiscal year to develop a consolidation plan with the regions), reduce funding to automated networks by 27%, reduce funding to the talking book programs by 16%, level fund State Aid to Public Libraries and the agency administrative account. Clearly, each of these is challenging for the Board, for our libraries and for the residents we serve.

Please take these opportunities to let us know what you think. The Board can make the best possible budget recommendations only after hearing from a broad segment of the library community. This is going to be a very challenging year for all of us and there is no end in sight to the fiscal challenges facing the Commonwealth. Revenues continue to decline and federal stimulus funds used to balance the FY2010 budget will not be available in FY2011. The road back will be rocky at best, so the changes we make in FY2011 should be viewed as permanent.

The Board will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, October 6 at the agency offices beginning at 10:00am. The purpose of this special meeting is to consider the comments received on October 1 and determine how to meet the 16% reduction. The Board’s budget submission which must meet the cap is due October 9.

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Robert C. Maier, Director

Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

98 North Washington Street, Suite 401

Boston, MA 02114

Ph (617) 725-1860 x249

Introducing the WMRLS-One-Card

Inspired by our WMRLS-One-Blog whose goal is to be the one blog for all proud members of the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System to come together to communicate, cooperate, and share, we have created a special WMRLS postcard ~ The WMRLS-One-Card!

Our WMRLS-One-Card aims to provide topic specific information of importance to our member libraries.  Our debut issue focuses upon our newly automated WMRLS Phone System and includes our phone extension numbers so that you can easily reach the person or department that you need. 

Please send us your suggestions for future WMRLS-One-Card topics via ce@wmrls.org.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, Janet Eckert, WMRLS

STILL TIME FOR LIBRARY USERES TO NOMINATE LIBRARIANS FOR 2009 CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK/NEW YORK TIMES I LOVE MY LIBRARIAN AWARD

Nominations are still open for the 2009 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.

The award invites library users to recognize the accomplishments of librarians in public, school, college, community college and university libraries for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community. Nominations will run through October 9 and are being accepted online at www.ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian.

Up to 10 librarians will be selected. Each will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and a $500 travel stipend to attend an awards ceremony and reception in New York, hosted by The New York Times in December.  In addition, a plaque will be given to each award winner’s library.

Each nominee must be a librarian with a master’s degree from a program accredited by the ALA in library and information studies or a master’s degree with a specialty in school library media from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.  Nominees must be currently working in the United States in a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or at an accredited K-12 school.

Nominees will be judged by a selection committee based on quality of service to library users, demonstrated knowledge of the library and its resources and commitment shown in helping library users.

In 2008, Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded the American Library Association (ALA) $489,000 to support the award, which will continue annually through 2012. The award continues in the tradition of one The New York Times presented from 2001 to 2006.

Last year, more than 3,200 library users nationwide nominated a librarian, and 10 librarians received the award. For more information on last year’s winners, visit ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian.

The award is administered by ALA’s Public Information Office and Campaign for America’s Libraries, ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians.

Carnegie Corp. of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” For more than 95 years, the foundation has carried out its founder’s vision of philanthropy by building on his two major concerns: international peace and advancing education and knowledge. Each year, the private grant-making foundation invests more than $100 million in nonprofit organizations to fulfill Mr. Carnegie’s mission, “to do real and permanent good in this world.”

The New York Times Company, a leading media company with 2008 revenues of $2.9 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

UMass Amherst Libraries, Simmons and University of Rhode Island sponsor Library Career Reception

The Indispensible Librarian: Confessions and Tales from a Proud Profession

Are you exploring career options? The Occupational Outlook Handbook says “librarians use the latest information technology to perform research, classify materials, and help students and library patrons seek information.” Whatever your image of a librarian, we want to share stories with you from cutting-edge practitioners in a dynamic and rewarding profession.

On Wednesday, October 21^st, 2009 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. the UMass Amherst Libraries is hosting a Library Career Reception. Come hear about the work of today’s librarians, learn about graduate degree programs in library and information science, ask questions and view the campus from the 26^th floor of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library. The program will include:

·         Jay Schafer - Director of Libraries, University of Massachusetts Amherst
·         Gale Eaton – Director, University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
·         Terry Plum – Assistant Dean, Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science
·         Lauri Kolakoski Fennell - Outreach and Education Coordinator, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region
·         Steven Folsom – Metadata Librarian, Image Collection Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst
·         Beth Girshman – Adult Services Librarian, Jones Library, Amherst, MA
·         Beatrice Pulliam – Library Commons Librarian for Technology and Access, Providence College
·         Georgina Trebbe – Wilbraham Middle School Information Specialist, Wilbraham, MA

Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited, so please send your RSVP tolibadmin@library.umass.edu by Monday, October 19^th, 2009. We look forward to seeing you!

FY2011 Budget and Regional Services

To: Members of Regional Library Systems


Last week at a regular meeting with regional administrators I began a conversation about reductions in the state budget that are being proposed for fiscal year FY2011 (July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011). The Board of Library Commissioners has been given a budget cap by the administration of a 16% reduction compared to this year. Most other state agencies are facing a similar budget-making scenario. This is the result of declining state revenues and the fact that the FY2010 state budget benefits substantially from the use of one-time federal stimulus funds.

Even if a 16% reduction was to be imposed equally on all library programs the impact on regional library systems would be significant. However, given the recent erosion of funding for State Aid to Public Libraries, it is unlikely that that account would be cut further. The reduction in regional and library of last recourse funding may be as great as 28%.

With this information in hand I have asked the regional administrators to work with me and with regional member libraries and regional staff to prioritize regional services for FY2011 and beyond. This planning will include options for the consolidation of regional library systems with the likelihood of 1 or 2 restructured regions going forward and changes in required services including support for regional reference centers.

I fully recognize that changes of this magnitude are challenging. I know that if we work together we can continue to provide the regional services that the libraries and residents of Massachusetts value and rely on every day to improve their lives.

Robert C. Maier, Director,Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
98 North Washington Street, Suite 401,Boston, MA 02114; Ph (617) 725-1860 x249

Exhibit "The Making of a Picture Book: The Marriage of Text and Art"

The UMass Amherst Libraries is hosting an exhibit “The Making of a Picture Book: The Marriage of Text and Art” on the Lower Level of Du Bois Library through December 18, 2009. The exhibit features a behind-the-scenes look at the making of picture books by local authors and illustrators Leonard Baskin, Kathryn Brown, Corinne Demas, Patricia MacLachlan, Richard Michelson, Dennis Nolan, Katy Schneider, and Jane Yolen.

Featured in the exhibit are The Littlest Matryoshka by Corinne Demas and Kathryn Brown; The Perfect Wizard by Jane Yolen and Dennis Nolan; Once I Ate a Pie by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest and Katy Schneider; and Ten Times Better by Richard Michelson and Leonard Baskin.

A reception for the exhibit will be held on October 4, 2009, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Memorial Hall, UMass Amherst, as part of the 11th Annual Friends of the Library Fall Reception. The keynote speaker, author and exhibit curator Corinne Demas will give a talk “Behind the Book: Creativity and Compromise.” Refreshments will be served. The event and exhibit are free and open to the public.

Leonard Baskin (1922–2000) was a sculptor, book illustrator, printmaker, graphic artist, and writer. He was founded Gehenna Press while at Yale in 1942, which specialized in the production of fine books. He taught printmaking and sculpture at Smith College. Baskin received numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Gold Medal of the National Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Jewish Cultural Achievement Award. He had many retrospective exhibitions, including those at the Smithsonian, the Albertina, and the Library of Congress. His works are owned by many major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the British Museum, and the Vatican Museums.

Kathryn Brown is the author and illustrator of Muledred, and has illustrated picture books by many authors, including Jane Yolen’s Eeny, Meeny, Miney Mole, Cynthia Rylant’s The Old Woman Who Named Things, Mem Fox’s Tough Boris, and the poetry collection Climb into My Lap, First Poems to Read Together edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Her most recent picture book is My Little Grandmother Often Forgets by Reeve Lindbergh.

Corinne Demas, professor of English at Mount Holyoke College and fiction editor for The Massachusetts Review, is the author of two collections of short stories, two novels, a memoir and numerous books for children. Her Ph.D. in Literature is from Columbia University. Demas’ books include Always in Trouble (2009), Valentine Surprise (2008), Yuck! Stuck in the Muck (2006), Two Christmas Mice (2005), Saying Goodbye to Lulu (2004), and a memoir Eleven Stories High: Growing Up in Stuyvesant Town, 1948-1968 (2000), among others.

Patricia MacLachlan is known for her award-winning picture books and novels for children, which include The Sick Day; Arthur, for the Very First Time; Sarah, Plain and Tall; and The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt. She has co-authored several picture books with her daughter, Emily MacLachlan Charest, including Bittle. Two of her books were illustrated by local artists: What you Know First (Barry Moser) and Three Names (Alexander Pertzoff). She has received Golden Kite Awards for many of her books and the Newbery Medal winner for Sarah, Plain and Tall.

Richard Michelson is a poet and the author of many picture books, including Tuttle’s Red Barn, Too Young for Yiddish, and Sydney Taylor Award winning As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom. The R. Michelson Gallery in Northampton features the work of many area children’s book illustrators.

Dennis Nolan has written and illustrated a number of picture books, including The Castle Builder, winner of the Prix de Zephir in France, and Dinosaur Dream, a season’s choice in both Newsweek and The New Yorker. He has illustrated T.H. White’s classic, The Sword in the Stone, and two of Bruce Coville’s retellings of Shakespeare plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet, along with numerous other books, including Dove Isabeau and Wings by Jane Yolen. Nolan is an MFA Faculty member of Hartford Art School.

Katy Schneider exhibits her paintings nationwide, and is on the faculty of Smith College. Her most recent solo exhibition was at the Pepper Gallery in Boston. Painting the Wind won the Best Book Award and was her first picture book. Once I Ate a Pie won the Irma S. and James H. Black Book Award. Schneider has a B.A. from Yale University and an MFA from Indiana University.

Jane Yolen is the author of more than 300 books, including science fiction, fantasy, and poetry. Her 150 picture books include How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight, Caldecott award winning Owl Moon, and recently published Mirror to Nature, illustrated by her son, photographer Jason Stemple. She has collaborated with many local illustrators including Kathryn Brown, Jane Dyer, Barry Moser, and Ruth Sanderson. Her books and stories have won two Nebulas, a World Fantasy Award, A Caldecott, the Golden Kite Award, the Jewish Book Award, two Christopher Medals, and many more awards.

For more information, contact Jim Kelly (413) 545-3971, or jrkelly@library.umass.edu, or go to: http://tiny.cc/picturebook.

Graphic Novels - An Easy Intro at WMRLS Oct. 1

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what can graphic novels tell us? We know they are popular. Why? What is the attraction? Art? Story? Something more? Join us for a morning discussing graphic novels, their appeal, how to read them, where and how to purchase them. Lisa Prolman, Assistant Director of the Greenfield Public Library and avowed fan of graphic novels, will conduct our workshop/discussion “Graphic Novels in Libraries: Not Just for Kids Anymore.’

Join us, learn new ways to look at graphic novels, and get the picture. The workshop description and registration information are available at: http://www.wmrls.org/events/.

~ Jan Resnick, Assistant Regional Administrator, WMRLS

Databites

One of the exciting changes to the updated Gale Databases is the ability for your patrons to login and set up individual user accounts. Your patrons can save search strategies or search results over the course of a semester (or longer!) and set up alerts or RSS feeds. They can also create folders into which search results can be sorted by topic and accesssed from any location. These are wonderful tools, especially for students who are working on semester-long projects!

Check it out!
Questions? Call or email me at 413-665-9898 Ext 125 or skeech@wmrls.org
Shirley Keech