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Monthly Memo Newsletter | March 2020

ARROWHEAD LIBRARY SYSTEM NEWS

Monthly Circulation Statistics

Total Circulations in February 2020

  • 95,613 Traditional Circulations 88% 88%
  • 9,712 OverDrive/Libby Circulations 9% 9%
  • 3,235 Hoopla Digital Circulations 3% 3%

Libraries Closed, Virtual Programs and Digital Services Continue

Rock County public libraries began closing their doors Monday, March 16, 2020 due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Some libraries continued to offer curbside or locker pickup of reserved materials until Governor Evers’ “Safer at Home” order went in to effect Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at 8:00 am.

Libraries have been ordered closed through 8:00 am on Friday, April 24th or until a superseding order is issued. The holds feature on the SHARE catalog has been suspended and delivery services between library systems and libraries is suspended.

Many of our libraries are offering virtual programs via YouTube, Facebook, or other digital channels. The best way to stay up to date on these events is to follow each library on Facebook.

Digital Services such as Libby, OverDrive, Hoopla, Gale Courses, Lynda.com, Transparent Language, BadgerLink, etc. continue. Many libraries are also leaving their wifi on so the public can use it from the parking lots.

Stay up to date with official WI news at govstatus.egov.com/wi-covid-19.

UW-Extension’s list of Financial Resources for COVID-19.

Enjoy our digital collection

Find eBooks, eAudiobooks, eComics, digital TV Shows, digital Movies, and digital music albums available using our apps/websites: Libby, OverDrive, and Hoopla.

Need a library card?

  1. Visit sharelibraries.info
  2. Select your local library
  3. Click the “Login” link at the top
  4. Click “Don’t have a library card? Click here to register!”

Due dates have been extended to 4/8/2020.

We will reevaluate this on March 30th and will most likely extend due dates again.

No overdue fines will accrue while we’re closed.

System Strategic Planning Postponed, Second Survey Coming

Due to library closures and social distancing orders, the March strategic planning meeting was canceled.

In the next week or so, WiLS will be sharing a simple survey/questionnaire to gather more input from each of the planning committee members in order to start developing strategic priorities for ALS. The survey will be open for at least 4 weeks to offer you plenty of time to complete it.

WiLS will then be scheduling a virtual meeting some time in the future when things hopefully settle a bit. 

Virtual Continuing Education Opportunities

Library Journal Offers Temporary Free Access to All Digital Content During COVID-19 Crisis

To support the work of the library and publishing community as we navigate through the COVID-19 crisis, Library Journal is offering temporary free access to the digitized edition of LJ, as well as al the content on our website.

Get login credentials and more information.

Recollection Wisconsin Digital Projects Toolkit

The Recollection Wisconsin Digital Projects Toolkit is a free online course covering the basics of digitization projects. https://recollection-wisconsin.thinkific.com/ There are 5 modules — project planning, copyright, scanning, metadata, and storage — that each take around 30 minutes to complete. The course was created by Recollection Wisconsin in 2016 with support from WPLC, and updated in 2019 to go along with the DPI-funded digitization kits for public library systems.

Read more.

Library 2.0 / PCI Webinars:
Libraries Stepping Up! Serving the Needs of Communities in Crisis

1. SELF-CARE DURING A CRISIS: BREATHE, THINK, AND GROW

2. WHY AND HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR ONLINE SERVICES DURING THE QUARANTINE

3. SERVING PATRONS IN A CRISIS

4. PREPARING YOUR DIGITAL BRANCH FOR INCREASED USE

Watch recordings here.

Free PLA Webinar Series: Public Libraries Respond to COVID-19

PLA is committed to providing information on the rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19 to PLA members and others working in public libraries. Join PLA for this new, free webinar series featuring updates on the current status of the pandemic, examples of how libraries are dealing with closures and serving their communities virtually, and opportunities to share and learn from each other.

Mar. 26, 2020, 1-2 p.m. Central

Public Libraries Respond to COVID-19: The Current Landscape

What are public libraries doing in response to COVID-19? How are they making decisions? Where are they getting information, and how are they sharing it with their communities? Participants of this webinar will learn about the current public library landscape amidst COVID-19, hear from library leaders about what they’ve done, and have the opportunity to share and ask questions. .

Apr. 2, 2020, 1-2 p.m. Central

Public Libraries Respond to COVID-19: Successful Ways to Work Remotely

With library closures and mandated quarantines, public library staff may be struggling to transition from a public-facing role to working from home. In this webinar, participants will learn about software and technology options, gain best practices for being a successful remote employee or manager, and have the opportunity to share and ask questions. .

Apr. 9, 2020, 1-2 p.m. Central

Public Libraries Respond to COVID-19: Managing Stress and Anxiety

In times of uncertainty, self-care needs to be a top priority. Library managers need to be thinking of the well-being of their staff, and staff need to be thinking of the well-being of their patrons. How do we manage stress and working with an anxious public during these difficult times? In this webinar, participants will hear from members of the PLA Social Worker Task Force on ways to approach self-care, prioritize well-being, and manage stress and anxiety. Participants will have the opportunity to share and ask questions. .

Apr. 16, 2020, 1-2 p.m. Central

Public Libraries Respond to COVID-19: Innovative Solutions in Times of Crisis

Public libraries are ever evolving to meet the needs of their communities. When doors are closed, how are libraries evolving to meet patrons where they are? What about planning for what comes next? Participants of this webinar will hear examples from library staff who have responded to this time of crisis with innovative solutions to services and programs. Participants will have the opportunity to share and ask questions. .

SHARE NEWS

April SHARE Meeting to be Virtual

The SHARE Director’s Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 7, 2020, will now be held virtually at 9:30 am.

Watch your email for an agenda and connection details.

STATE & NATIONAL NEWS

Macmillan Reverses Library eBook Embargo

Tuesday, March 17, 2020 – Macmillan repealed the library eBook embargo it enacted November 1, 2019. Purchasing models will revert back to October 31, 2019 models as soon as wholesalers are able.

Read more at Publisher’s Weekly.

 

WPLC Expands OverDrive Lucky Day Collection to Include eAudiobooks

In the effort to add more digital content in a time of high demand, WPLC has worked with OverDrive to have audiobooks added to the Wisconsin’s Digital Library Lucky Day collection. There are 1861 titles and 2006 copies for check out. Lucky Day audiobooks have a max checkout of 2 per patron at one time and a loan period of 14 days. 

In the effort to add more digital content in a time of high demand, WPLC has worked with OverDrive to have audiobooks added to the Wisconsin’s Digital Library Lucky Day collection. There are 1861 titles and 2006 copies for check out. Lucky Day audiobooks have a max checkout of 2 per patron at one time and a loan period of 14 days. 

Access to Ancestry Temporarily Expanded

Access to Ancestry has been temporarily expanded to library cardholders working remotely, courtesy of ProQuest and its partner Ancestry.  Remote access will be available until the end of April and will be re-evaluated monthly as needed. 

In order to provide for remote access, ProQuest will need to be sure of the following:

  • The link ProQuest provides will be placed on a secure page (password or barcode protected)
  • The link they provide will not be publicly available to non-patrons

If you use EZProxy for remote access of other databases, they can provide information on setting up Ancestry to use with EZProxy.

Due to Ancestry’s restrictions, we are unfortunately unable to provide a username and password. 

Please reach out to ProQuest directly at email.technicalsupport@proquest.com and let them know if you have a secure page, as well as any information you can provide on a remote authentication method you have with other databases, and they will do our best to accommodate remote access for your institution.
In addition, to expedite your request, please provide a set of test credentials so ProQuest can test access. 

Please expect delay for processing and implementation due to high demand.
Thank you!  

Sara Gold
Community Liaison and Service Specialist
1360 Regent St. #121, Madison, WI 53715
sgold@wils.org | 608-616-0355

Public Libraries Respond to COVID-19:
Survey of Response & Activities

Survey Open March 23–30, 2020

Greetings, public library colleagues.

Thank you all for your work at this difficult time for our nation. One challenge we are hearing from our members, policymakers and national media is an information gap related to public library response and activities during the current crisis. We hope libraries will help us to fill this gap by completing this online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/publiclibrariesrespond. We are asking library directors (or their designees) to respond to the survey on behalf of their library systems. If this does not apply to you, please help us by passing this email on to the appropriate staff member. The survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete and you can view the full set of questions and FAQs at http://www.ala.org/pla/issues/covid-19/surveyoverview.

We know there are other crowd-sourced surveys in the field, and the Public Library Association (PLA) will work to map to other data collections and share back information to the field as soon as possible. To speed up our ability to gather and share information, the survey will only be open from March 23 to March 30 at 11:59 p.m. Central.

Please forgive any cross-postings. We are pleased to be working with our Public Library Data Alliance partners to gather and use data to inform our work with and for our members, as well as urgent and ongoing advocacy with IMLS, members of Congress and other national organizations and agencies. Please email Emily Plagman at eplagman@ala.org with any questions.

Thank you in advance for your responses.

Sincerely,

Barbara Macikas
Executive Director, PLA

ALS MEETING CALENDAR

SHARE Directors’ Council:
Tuesday, April 7, 9:30 a.m.
online.
Watch email for details.

Board of Trustees Meeting:
Wednesday, April 8, 6:00 p.m.
online.
Watch email for details.

Librarians Meeting:
May or May Not Take Place
Wednesday, April 15, 9:30 a.m.
online.
Watch email for details.

CONTACT US

Steve Platteter

System Director
608-868-2872
Email: platteter.steve@als.lib.wi.us

Tovah Anderson

Public Information Coordinator
608-868-2872
Email: Anderson.tovah@als.lib.wi.us

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