NTRLS First Online Video

We are having some fun on a Friday by experimenting with online video. It is our first attempt. Ironically, I did finish my first Plan of Service today and I am going to Disney World next week so it just made sense to film this commercial.

Professional Collection at NTRLS

NTRLS maintains a Professional Collection of materials that you may check out for one month. We also check out professional journals. We have recently updated to LibraryWorld.com. So please, go check out our online catalog and let us know if we can send you anything!

Collection Development - Materials Contracts Award Winners

The NTRLS Board of Directors met today and approved the Collection Development Contracts recommended by the NTRLS Collection Development Committee. The Collection Development committee met on June 13th to select the winners of the 53 bids submitted. A big THANK YOU! Goes out to Vicki Kemp, Flower Mound Public Library, Katherine Boyer, Roanoke Public Library and Tina Hager, Little Elm Public Library for their work on this project. They spent over two days reading and scoring all of the proposals.

Here is a breakdown of how many bids we received for each RFP along with the name of the winning vendor, and a summary of available discounts. NTRLS will be releasing its 2008 Resource Allocation Manual in Mid-July. This manual will have all the contract details.

Print
Number of bids: 15
Winning Vendor: Brodart
Discounts
General Trade Books: 46.5%
Best Sellers: 46.5% Trade Hardcover 40.5% Paperback
Technical Books: 13%
Children’s Books in Publisher’s Library Binding: 27.5%
Mass Market Paperbacks: 40.5%
Pre-bound Books: 27.5%
Large Print Books: 46.5% Trade Hardcover, 40.5% Paperback



Word Language Print
Number of bids: 5
Winning Vendor: Brodart
General Trade Books: 40%
Best Sellers: 40% Trade Hardcover, 40% Paperback
Technical Books: 20%
Children Books in Publisher’s Library Binding: 20%
Mass Market Paperbacks: 40%
Pre-bound books: 20%
Large Print Books: 40% Trade Hardcover, 40% Paperback



Video
Number of bids: 10
Winning Vendor: Baker and Taylor
Popular/recreational programs on prerecorded DVDS: 28.7%
Educational/Instructional programs on prerecorded DVDs: 28.7%
Foreign Films: 28.7%


World Language Video
Number of bids: 5
Winning Vendor: Book Wholesalers (BWI)
Popular/recreational programs on prerecorded DVDS: 28%
Foreign Films: 15%


Sound
Number of bids: 9
Winning Vendor: Ingram Library Services, Inc

Educational and instructional programs on prerecorded audiocassettes and compact discs: Cassettes:45.8%
Compact Discs: 45.8%
Non-trade titles: 20%

Audiobooks on prerecorded audiocassettes and compact discs
Cassettes:45.8%
Compact Discs: 45.8%
Non-trade titles: 20%



World Language Sound
Number of bids: 6
Winning Vendor: Book Wholesalers (BWI)

Popular and classical music on prerecorded audiocassettes and compact discs:
Compact Discs: 28%

Educational and instructional programs on prerecorded audiocassettes and compact discs:
Compact Discs: 15%

Audiobooks on prerecorded audiocassettes and compact discs
Cassettes: 35%
Compact Discs: 35%


Periodicals
Number of bids: 2
Winning Vendor: Magazine Subscriptions PTP

General: 22%
Technical/Scientific: 22%
Children’s: 22%
Special: 22%


Leased Materials
Number of bids: 1
Winning Vendor: Brodart


Playaway
Winning Vendor: Findaway World
20% discount

Free Civics and Citizenship Toolkits from GPO while they last

Gloria Meraz, Director of Communications for TLA , has reminded us that the federal government has produced a Civics and Citizenship Toolkit and is making a limited number of those available free, to public libraries ONLY, while supplies last.

• Registration is limited to public libraries only and is subject to review to ensure eligibility. Please DO NOT REGISTER IF YOUR LIBRARY IS PART OF THE FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM (FDLP)*.
• If eligible, registrants will receive a copy of the Toolkit on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Resources are limited. Registrants will receive one Toolkit at no charge. See below for information on purchasing additional copies.
• Registration began June 2007 and will be open while supplies last.

*The Government Printing Office (GPO), a member of the Task Force on New Americans, will distribute the Civics and Citizenship Toolkit to its network of libraries in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). NOTE: Please DO NOT REGISTER IF YOUR LIBRARY IS PART OF THE FDLP.

To register, go to http://www.citizenshiptoolkit.gov/RegisterUser.aspx or www.citizenshiptoolkit.org. For a list of products and publications included in the Toolkit plus suggestions for using it in public libraries, go to http://www.citizenshiptoolkit.gov/toolkit.htm.

Purchasing Information

Toolkits may be purchased from the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) Online Bookstore. There are no restrictions to purchase the Toolkit. Interested individuals or organizations that do not qualify to receive a free Toolkit may purchase a copy. Toolkits may be ordered through the U.S. Government Printing Office Bookstore.

Helmet of Mambrino

I read blogs on a weekly basis and often find myself looking for new, interesting reading. Mike VanCampen and I attended Tall Texans together in 2004. I had lost touch with him until I stumbled across his blog, Helmet of Mambrino. Mike is the Chief of Central Services for the Houston Public Library. Mike is an avid reader, excellent writer with a good sense of humor. He is from the generation before mine and has a very unqiue point of view. Check out his blog here.

LE@D courses approved for Western Council certificate program

NOTE: LE@D Courses are available without cost to staff and supporters of NTRLS member libraries through NTRLS. For a complete list, go to http://www.ntrls2.org/default.asp?action=article&ID=159 .

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Library Education @ Desktop (LE@D) is now an approved provider for the Western Council certificate program. Twenty-two western states (including Texas) are members of the Western Council of State Libraries.

The certificate is for library practitioners, defined as library directors or managers without a masters of library and information science (MLS). The certificate requires that the practitioner has completed 240 contact hours in different competency areas and has library experience. LE@D courses are being linked to certificate core competencies and listed with the number of contact hours and continuing education units, so tracking the certificate will be easy.

For more information about the certificate program, go to http://certificate.westernco.org/applinfo.html
For more information about LE@D's totally online courses, go to www.leadonline.info

Professional Education for Small Community Librarians

Please note that the partners in this project are TWU SLIS, TLA and TSLAC, not individual systems. For more information contact Dr. Robert S. Martin or Dr. Ling Hwey Jeng at 940/ 898-2602.

PRESS RELEASE

TWU School of Library and Information Studies receives nearly $730,000 for Professional Education for Librarians in Small Communities (PELSC) project
6/21/07

DENTON - The Texas Woman's University School of Library and Information Studies has received a grant of $691,323 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and a second grant of $38,400 from Tocker Foundation to implement its Professional Education for Librarians in Small Communities
(PELSC) project.

TWU, the Texas Library Association and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission will provide a matching amount of $442,074 in both cash and in-kind services for the project.

The PELSC project offers an online degree program that will enable library workers currently serving in small and rural communities throughout Texas to earn a master's degree in library science. The project will provide full support for tuition, fees and travel stipends. Participants will form a cohort and be assisted throughout their study by mentors who are professional librarians in public libraries in Texas.

"We are extremely excited about the PELSC project," said Dr. Robert Martin, the Lillian Bradshaw Professor of Library Science at TWU and the principal investigator of the project. "This truly leverages the potential for online learning at the advanced degree level, and builds on what the State Library has already accomplished with its Small Library Management Training Program."

The Small Library Management Training Program (SLMTP), administered by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, provides management skills to non-MLS library staff of small community libraries in Texas. Eligible applicants for the PELSC project must have completed the SLMTP or be on schedule to complete it by the first semester of their study. Participants in the PELSC project will be required to attend an orientation event at the beginning of their program, and are expected to receive their degree in two calendar years.

More than three-quarters of the public libraries in Texas serve communities with populations of fewer than 25,000. Few of these libraries are managed by a professional librarian - one having earned a master's degree from a program accredited by the American Library Association.

"This program will result in a significant improvement of the management of libraries serving small communities," said Dr. Ling Hwey Jeng, director of TWU's School of Library and Information Studies and co-principal investigator of the project. "That means better library services for people living in small communities, and more effective use of public resources in those communities."

The grant period begins July 1, 2007 and continues through June 30, 2010.

For more information on the PELSC project at TWU, contact Dr. Robert S.
Martin or Dr. Ling Hwey Jeng at (940) 898-2602.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.

The purpose of the Tocker Foundation is to distribute funds principally for the support, encouragement and assistance to small rural libraries in Texas.

# # #

Chris Jowaisas, Administrator of Library System Grants & TANG Library Development Division at TSLAC, has alerted us that Texas has dropped a notch today in the "What Book Got You Hooked?" contest of OneBook.org.

Go to http://www2.firstbook.org/whatbook/index.php to read more about the contest, see what titles are being shared and which state is in the lead, and - of course! - to cast your vote. Since the winning state gets 50,000 brand new books, be sure to tell your friends and vote again tomorrow! Visitors are permitted to vote once every 24 hours through July 31.

Internet Safety Agreement for Kids

Among the services provided by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas is a Kids' Home Page which offers various activities to help children learn more about the AG, his office and Texas holidays. The site includes an Internet Safety agreement for kids at
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/kids/kidtips.php

Texas Open Government Publications

How recent is your copy of the Public Information Act Handbook or the Open Meetings Act Handbook? Unless it's the 2006 version, it's not recent enough. You can order free publications of those, plus related training resources in CD and DVD formats, as well as several other Open Government publications from the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. An order form for items available free (while supplies last) in print, CD or DVD version, go to
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/newspubs/publications.shtml
Use that form, also, to order free (while supplies last) child support brochures and publications about senior concerns, consumer protection, sexual assault prevention and crime victims services.

All of those publications and recordings - as well as lots of useful information - are available, also, from the AG's website http://www.oag.state.tx.us/index.shtml

For more information about Open Government training materials, go to http://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinopen/og_training.shtml

Genre Fiction Preferences

The Reference and User Services Quarterly has an article in the Summer 2007 issue that lists the survey results for genre fiction preferences. The results are in percentages.

Romance: Well Liked: 23% Disliked: 59%
Religious/Inspirational Well Liked: 12% Disliked: 61%
Literary: Well Liked: 67% Disliked: 10%
Science Fiction: Well Liked: 52% Disliked: 29%
Fantasy: Well Liked: 40% Disliked: 33%
Historical: Well Liked: 60% Disliked: 13%
Mystery: Well Liked: 65% Disliked: 14%
Spy/Thriller/Adventure: Well Liked: 66% Disliked: 16%

Source: Learning From Leisure Reading by Jessica E. Moyer.

Disaster Planning and Recovery Offerings at Amigos

The North Texas area has been bombarded by storms over the last three months. If your library has encountered any kind of damage due to these storms, I recommend you check out the Amigos offerings for Disaster Planning and Recovery. You do not have to be an Amigos member to receive the benefits of their program. Here is an email I received from Elizabeth Klein, Program Coordinator, Imaging and Preservation Service, at Amigos.

Hi, Adam –

Thank you for your time on the phone today. Please let your librarians know that the Imaging and Preservation Service (IPS) of Amigos has a preservation consultant on staff who can advise them of the best way to handle things like wet materials, mold outbreaks, or other damage that might occur in the aftermath of flooding. We are available to help any library west of the Mississippi, even if they are not Amigos members, because of our NEH grant.

During daytime hours, please call the Amigos 800 number in my signature text, and let them know you need emergency assistance from IPS. After hours, please call 469-223-4900 to reach the on-call person (me).

Amigos also provides training workshops in Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery. We offer face to face classes and have a new on-line class starting in September.

You might also check out this site for more information.

North Texas Regional Library System Regional Meetings Set

Here is our schedule for the next NTRLS regional meetings. We had to hold them at a later date this year due to the close proximity of the two System Assembly meetings earlier in the year. I will post a meeting agenda by the end of the month.

REGIONAL MEETINGS SCHEDULE
SUMMER 2007

July 18, Wednesday – Region 2, Bowie - Meeting Set 10 - Noon

August 2, Thursday – Region 5, Kennedale - Meeting Set 10 - Noon

August 15, Wednesday – Region 4, Watauga - Meeting Set 10 - Noon

August 16, Thursday – Region 3, Denton – South - Meeting Set 10 - Noon

August 21, Tuesday – Region 6, Mineral Wells - Meeting Set 10 - Noon

August 30, Thursday – Region 1, Henrietta - Meeting Set 10 - Noon

August 31, Friday – Region 7, Dublin - Meeting Set 10 - Noon

TSLAC Call for Trainers

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission is looking for trainers for an upcoming Spanish Language Outreach workshop series. Here is the email that I received from them.


The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) invites you to submit a letter of interest to be a trainer for an upcoming Spanish Language Outreach workshop series.

This series will focus on providing library staff with the knowledge and resources to reach out to the Spanish speakers in their communities and access to technology.

Each trainer selected for the series will conduct a minimum of 3 full-day (6 hours or more) workshops on the topic of Spanish language outreach. Each trainer will receive training and be required to use the curriculum created for the program. Trainers must live in Texas and be available from October 2007 through May 2008. Fluency in Spanish is not required.

Details on the workshop series are included in the attached documents. Please feel free to forward this message to others who may be interested.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JULY 2, 2007
Email letter of interest, resume, and any additional documentation to mzatopek@tsl.state.tx.us.

For more information, please contact:
Myra Arredondo Zatopek, State Program Coordinator Special Services Consultant Texas State Library & Archives Commission mzatopek@tsl.state.tx.us <<TSLACspecspanish.doc>>

A Race to the Bottom - Privacy Ranking of Internet Service Companies

Web search leader Google's commitment to consumer privacy has come under fire from Privacy International, a British activist group that has previously singled out Google for criticism.

The London-based group released a report on Saturday entitled "A Race to the Bottom--Privacy Ranking of Internet Service Companies" that rates Google, alone among 20 sites, as having an "entrenched hostility to privacy."

With each search on Google, the company gathers information about a customer's tastes, interests and beliefs that could potentially be used by third parties such as advertisers. But the company says it never passes on personal data.

While the preliminary report details a handful of specific concerns, the main threat Privacy International spells out is Google's growing size and scope as the world's largest provider of Web searches, along with the consumer data that the company collects as it delivers ever more personalized Web services.

"This is in part due to the diversity and specificity of Google's product range and the ability of the company to share extracted data between these tools, and in part it is due to Google's market dominance and the sheer size of its user base," the report finds.

The rankings were arrived at after a six-month probe of privacy practices at key Web search companies, e-mail providers, and e-commerce and social networking sites. Privacy International promised to issue a fuller report in September, after further consultation with the companies involved.
Google said the latest report was mistaken.

Link for the complete Reuters article.

Denton Public Library to host “Benjamin Franklin” Traveling Exhibit

This ALA press release announces which libraries will be hosting the “Benjamin Franklin” traveling exhibit. Denton Public Library is listed.

Congratulations to the Denton Pubilc Library for being one of the 20 nationwide selected.

Here is a little more about the exhibit as copied from the ALA press release.

The exhibition for libraries will consist of six sections of colorful, freestanding photo-panels incorporating representations of artifacts from the original Franklin exhibition, and a new text written by the curator. Exhibition content is arranged in thematic sections showing Franklin in the Boston of his youth, Franklin’s family and personal life, as well as the years when he built his business as Philadelphia’s premier printer. The exhibit also looks at Franklin’s commitment to public service, his interests in medicine and public health, and his work in science and philosophy. Franklin’s political career in England, France and the United States, and his contributions to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and other major documents are the subjects of the final two sections of the exhibit.

New Budget for FY2008 Released

I received an email this morning with a new budget total for FY2008. It will be $626,706 which is about $9,362 short of our plan of service request. It is just over a 1% cut. Our anticipated reduction in lease payments will be around $14,000 so I do not believe we will have to cut any other line items.

The reason for the decrease is the Federal Legislature did not give as much to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as the Texas State Library and Archives Commission originally anticipated so the amount Texas received was less than fore casted.

The budget recommendation will be discussed at the June 15th TSLAC meeting in Austin. I will be attending this meeting and blogging about it.

Please Pardon Our Dust

The North Texas Regional Library System will be doing some office reconstruction beginning Wednesday, June 13th. We will be extending our current workroom into the adjacent vacant office to give us a meeting room/workshop space. It should take two weeks for the work to be completed. If you stop by the office during this time, please excuse our dust.

FYI, we have been advertising the current meeting room and storage space for rent since February after we performed a space needs assessment and discovered that we did not need all of the space we currently lease. We have someone willing to take over the space beginning July 1st pending NTRLS Board of Directors approval at the June meeting. If everything works out, the System will save $28K over the next two years by releasing the space.

Is Web 2.o Safe?

As users store more data online, hackers are finding ways to break into the new service sites. Experts say the problems are deep-seated.

Samy Kamkar was really just trying to impress girls. Instead, he made Web hacking history.

Kamkar created what is considered the first Web 2.0 worm--a virulent bug that no firewall could block, and which ultimately forced MySpace.com to temporarily shut down. The Samy worm (named after Kamkar) was among the more prominent of a new generation of Web attacks that some security experts fear may slow the fast-evolving collaborative model of Internet development known as Web 2.0.

For complete article link to PC World.

Robert McMillan, PC World
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 4:00 PM PDT