Digital Learning Day

The American Library Association (ALA) Digital Literacy Taskforce is calling on all libraries to put a social media megaphone to their activities planned for Digital Learning Day, February 1.

As part of the taskforce’s efforts to raise awareness of libraries’ work in this arena and to capture stories and examples of this work, the taskforce asks library staff to tweet (using hashtag #DLDay), blog and even photograph (Flickr) and videotape (YouTube) digital literacy activities and testimonials throughout the day.

Digital Learning Day, which American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) are supporting as core partners, is a culminating event in a year-round national awareness campaign to improve teaching and learning for all children.

To learn more visit http://www.districtdispatch.org/2012/01/libraries-please-share-digital-learning-day-activities/.

Contact Information

American Library Association Office of Information Technology Policy 

www.ala.org

Legislative Updates for Jan. 23, 2012

The following update does not attempt to identify all bills that may impact libraries. The focus is legislation that immediately references libraries. Inclusion on the list is not an indication of support by the West Virginia Library Commission or libraries at large. Some bills may have a negative effect on libraries and/or the agency. The reader should evaluate the impact of the legislation on their individual library.


Please notice that some of the Bills are “rollover” legislation from the previous General Session.


Download the Current Legislative Update

Contact Information

Jennifer Johnson 

jennifer.l.johnson2@wv.gov

News Highlights

• The 2013 SERVICE POPULATIONS are posted on the WVLC web site.  The Budget introduced by the Governor last week does not include an increase in the Library Commission’s Grants to Public Libraries line.  If the Legislature does not increase that line, 2013 Grants-in-Aid (GIA) will be awarded at $4.51 per capita. WVLC submitted an improvement package to increase this to $4.75 per capita but the final number will not be known until the Budget is passed in March.   If you have any problem opening the attachment, contact Jennifer Johnson or Rebecca Rice.
• As you know, the WVLC  2008-2012  Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) plan is currently being evaluated.  We are trying to gather input from West Virginia’s library community about the success of the program.  Please consider attending a Focus Group meeting in your area.  Another opportunity to comment is provided by a web survey that takes approximately 4 - 6 minutes to complete.  Please take a few moments to help us as we try to improve our LSTA program to best meet the library and information service needs of the people of West Virginia.  Click on the hot-link  to start the survey.  http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/779664/West-Virginia-LSTA-Survey
• The 2011 WVLC STATISTICAL REPORT will be mailed to all libraries this week.  TheSTATISTICAL REPORT and the 2011 ANNUAL REPORT will also be posted on the WVLC web site.  In response to your suggestions, the ANNUAL REPORT  was produced in electronic format only this year.  Both documents are in PDF format.
• WVLC is waiting on the final approved list of COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION PARTNERSHIP GRANTS (CPPG) from the House Finance Committee.  As soon as it is received, the grant agreements will be sent to libraries.
• SNAPSHOT DAY is FEBRUARY 14, 2012.  This is a great opportunity not only to take pictures but to get patrons to tell you, and the world why they value the library.  If you are not quite sure what to do check out the list of Success Strategies. Also, keep checking the WVLC web site for Legislative Updates, Grant Opportunities, Continuing Education events, and the popular Library Spotlight.  We are still working on a new version of the E-Bulletin.

Revised Procedures for Rotating and Deposit Collections

To better serve libraries, the Library Commission has revised its procedures for rotating and deposit collections. 

To request collections, please fill out the request form.  The request will go to the librarian responsible for the collection(s).

MARC bibliographic records will be provided for each item in the collections(s).  A file will be sent to the consortium System Administrator to load.  This process will be done before the library receives the collection.  Once the collection is received, the library will only need to attach an item record to the bibliographic record.

Libraries will not need to withdraw the rotating and deposit collection from the online catalog. When the collection is ready to be returned to the Library Commission, scan each item barcode into a notepad document and send it to the System Administrator.  The System Administrator will send the library a copy of the circulation report and remove the rotating and deposit collection records from the online catalog.

To assist the Library Commission in showing the value of the service, please provide feedback on the collection at the end of the loan period by completing the online survey.  All feedback received will be anonymous and kept confidential.  

For more information, see the Rotating and Deposit Collection page.

LSTA Focus Group Meetings

The Library Commission is encouraging libraries to participate in the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Focus Group Meetings conducted by Himmel & Wilson as part of the LSTA Five-Year Plan required evaluation covering the period between 2008 and 2012.  The evaluation is due in the Spring of 2012.


West Virginia, along with a number of other states in the Northeast, has engaged the services of Himmel & Wilson, Library Consultants to conduct the required evaluation. The following meetings are scheduled for Himmel & Wilson to gather information from the broader library community.

• January 26 – 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM – Raleigh County Public Library - 221 North Kanawha Street Beckley, WV 25801 
• January 27 – 1:00 PM -2:30 PM – Martinsburg Public Library - 101 West King St. Martinsburg, WV 25401 – (Martinsburg Room)
• January 30 – 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM – Parkersburg Public Library - 3100 Emerson Ave., Parkersburg, WV26104
• January 30 – 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM - South Charleston Public Library - 312 Fourth Avenue, South Charleston, WV 25303

Please email Jennifer Johnson at the West Virginia Library Commission to confirm whether or not you will be able to attend. Attendance is encouraged but is not mandatory. Thank you for considering participation in this important event.


The Library Services and Technology Act’s (LSTA) Grants to States program provides funding to each state on an annual basis. In order to qualify for the funds, each state is required to submit a plan every five years that outlines how this funding will be used within the state to fulfill specific purposes outlined in the Museum and Library Services Act. Under the Act, each state is also required to conduct an evaluation of its implementation of the Grants to States program every five years.

Contact Information

Karen Goff, karen.e.goff@wv.gov

Capitol Reads

January's Capitol Read is Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Don't think--blink!

In his landmark bestseller The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant--in the blink of an eye--that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work--in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others.

In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink":the election of Warren Harding; New Coke; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing"--filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.

Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology and displaying all of the brilliance that made The Tipping Point a classic, Blink changes the way you understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way.

(Cover copy)

Visit the Capitol Reads page on the WVLC website for more information and future discussion titles.

Looking ahead to February

As if we needed one more reason to love and celebrate libraries in February--the 2012 West Virginia Snapshot Day is scheduled for Tuesday, February 14th--Valentine's Day.  

Since February is already National Library Lovers' Month, media focus increases patron awareness, comments, and attendance on the local level.  By adding Snapshot Day to a long-standing national event, libraries can take advantage of the attention generated by the national event.  

All types of libraries are encouraged to participate and submit photographs and data.  These items are collected, posted, and then taken to Washington, D.C.,  for Library Legislative Day.