Georgia Public Library Service news, Vol. 11, no. 5 (Apr. 2014)

A newsletter for friends and employees of Georgia's public libraries

volume 11, issue 5 I April 2014

Legislature adds four library capital projects,

MRR and computer funds to FY2015 budget

Jennifer Wells

Georgia's General Assembly recognized the importance
of the state's public libraries on March 20, when it adopted its $20.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2015.
Included are $4,780,000 in bond funds for four library construction projects, $2 million to replace obsolete computer equipment statewide and $1,676,592 in redirected bond funds for library repair-and-renovation projects.

"We are pleased that the General Assembly allocated funding for several important initiatives for public libraries in the coming year," said Deputy State Librarian Julie Walker.
"Funds for computer replacement will address critical needs in every part of the state, as demand for public computing in libraries continues to rise. Major Repair and Renovation (MRR) funds will assist library systems in maintaining current facilities to ensure patron safety and comfort. And library supporters in Barnesville, Walker Hogansville, Young Harris and Villa Rica are thrilled with the allocations for new and muchneeded additions to library facilities."

The largest capital grant, for $2 million, will be used to build a new Hogansville Public Library in Troup County. The proposed 10,000-square-foot facility will be more than three times the size of the current Hogansville branch, which was built in 1991 and has struggled for years to keep up with the area's huge population growth and to remain technologically viable.

Capitol kisses
At the "Read Across Georgia" kickoff event March 5 at the state Capitol, Elaine Black, director of Youth Services for GPLS, shows appreciation to Clifford the Big Red Dog for his upcoming eighth "Tour de Georgia." Each May since 2007, Clifford has helped Georgia's public libraries celebrate Children's Book Week, the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. To date, his tours have covered almost 8,000 miles and brought smiles to more than 11,000 children and parents. This year's tour will take place May 12-16, with stops at libraries in Brunswick, Folkston, Blackshear, Valdosta, Ephesus, Powder Springs, Chamblee, Dalton, Ellijay, Dawsonville, Jonesboro, Atlanta and Conyers. Local celebrities and library staff will share stories and songs about the Big Red Dog at each event, followed by a meet 'n' greet with Clifford himself.

The number of patrons served by this facility has doubled since 2007 and continues to increase, explained Keith Schuermann, director of the LaGrange-based Troup-Harris Regional Library. As a result, many children have Schuermann had to be turned away during popular Summer Reading Program events because of overflowing crowds and the lack of space to contain them.
"Our current library was built well before the demand to provide public-access Internet services," Schuermann stated. "While the accommodation of evolving technol-
See Budget, page 2

Budget
Continued from page 1 ogy will be at the forefront of design, simple things -- like available parking and meeting areas, which the Hogansville community deserves -- will also be evident."
As a part of the city of Hogansville's 2010-2030 Comprehensive Plan, municipal operations currently housed in the Royal Theatre will move to the soon-to-be vacated library on East Main Street. The new library will serve as an anchor tenant for a new development by Johnson Street Park, dovetailing into municipal plans for better housing, parks and recreation, and downtown economic development.
"What really made this happen was the work of our trustees, especially Carol Todd and Kay Durand, and city of Hogansville representative Laura Faulkner," Schuermann said. "They served as tireless champions of our cause, and their energy is what successfully relayed the need for this library to our legislative delegation. We hope to see the project completed by the end of 2015, and if that schedule is met, what a wonderful holiday gift

this will be for the community."
Another $1.38 million was earmarked by the General Assembly to fund a 4,000-square-foot addition to the Flint River Regional Library System's (FRRLS) Barnesville-Lamar County Library. According to Library Manager Kelly Hughes, the facility is consistently overcrowded and too often leaves patrons frustrated when trying to use its outdated technology and slow network connections to conduct Internet job searches and pursue educational opportunities and requirements.
"This new expansion will allow us to meet the demands of our growing population with adequate technology access, space for children's programs and community involvement," Hughes said. "Our staff will also benefit from having more efficient work space to accommodate our statewide library system services."
"The proposed expansion and renovation will practically create an entirely new 13,000-square-foot library," noted FRRLS Director Carrie Zeiger. "Kelly, the Barnesville-Lamar County board and I want to thank Sen. Ronnie Chance; Rep. David Knight; Rep. Johnnie Caldwell;

FOGL to hold annual meeting, workshop

Noted Georgia author and library
supporter Terry Kay will be guest speaker at this year's Friends of Georgia Libraries (FOGL) annual spring business meeting and workshop, entitled "Successfully Navigate Quicksand."
The event will take place Friday, April 25 at the AthensClarke County Library at 2025 Baxter St. in Athens, and it includes a box lunch. The cost is $20 for FOGL members or indi-

viduals representing a Friends group that is a member. The cost for nonmembers is $30, which includes an annual membership.
Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. The all-day workshop aims to inspire, inform and share pointers about strengthening relationships both with libraries and with funding agencies. More information and the required registration forms are available online at www.georgia-friends.org. I

Julie Walker and Lamar Veatch of GPLS; and the citizens of BarnesvilleLamar County for their support. All of them were instrumental in making this expansion happen."
The General Assembly also included $900,000 to help construct and fund an addition to the Mountain Regional Library System's (MRLS) headquarters library in Young Harris.
"We are so excited about the opportunities for our library users and staff with the funding for the renovation and expansion of our library," said Donna Howell, director of MRLS. "The population of our region has increased by approximately 111 percent since the current headquarters was built (in 1978), and we've long outgrown it."
Plans for the renovation and addition include an updated children's area with more space for storytime and learning activities, an all-new teen area, new furniture, a computer teaching lab, new meeting and training space, expanded work areas, new parking, new lighting, and updated technology and physical infrastructure for the entire building.
"One much-anticipated new addition," Howell added, "will be space for Friends of the Libraries of Towns County to have a place for receiving donated materials and a storefront for their activities. We are so dependent on their support that a place for them to operate is needed."
Funding for the Young Harris project includes a local match from a Towns County capital specialpurpose, local-option sales tax (SPLOST); a bequest from a former Friends member; and additional funds from the Friends group.
"We are so blessed that our See Budget, page 3

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Georgia Public Library Service News April 2014

Budget
Continued from page 2 community shares a common belief that the best form of economic development we can offer our communities is the development of our human capital and that libraries play a vital role in that effort," Howell said. "In fact, more than 1,900 letters of support for our project were collected in Towns County and delivered to the Capitol by one our patrons, Shirley Stallings, during Georgia Council of Public Libraries' Hot Dog Day in January. That number of letters represents more than 18 percent of the county's population!"
The last of the capital projects approved by the Legislature is a new, 15,000-square-foot Villa Rica Public Library. The current library was built in 1992 to serve a population of 6,500, which has since grown to exceed 14,000.
"This is a very active library," said Roni Tewksbury, director of the Carrollton-based West Georgia Regional Library. "Because of its popularity in the community and our attempts to offer a good selection of programs and a well-rounded collection of print and nonprint materials, we are bursting at the seams. In fact, we probably outgrew the current location about eight years ago."
Last year, Tanner Medical Center offered the land to the city of Villa Rica for the purpose of building a new library. The state funds will be used with city of Villa Rica SPLOST funding to construct the $3 million facility. Features of the library will include a local history room, a business conference room, small study rooms, a larger meeting room, and an area for patrons to come in for self-health assessments.
"An added plus is that we'll just

have more room for everything: a larger staff workroom, room for additional public computers and more room for the library collection," Tewksbury said. "Our thanks go out to Rep. Dustin Hightower, Rep. Micah Gravley and Sen. Mike Dugan, each of whom championed this project in the Legislature. Additional thanks go to Mayor J. Collins of Villa Rica and to Clint Chance, chair of the Villa Rica Library Advisory Board's Expansion Committee, who worked tirelessly for the project."
One of the most important library-related inclusions in the General Assembly's budget is the $2 million targeted for the purchase of new public-access computer equipment to replace aging and obsolete machines statewide.
"These funds will pave the essential last piece of the road we've been building in order to bridge the digital divide in Georgia," said Emily Almond, director of Information Technology for GPLS. "In addition to an ongoing effort to upgrade publicaccess computing, we have been partnering with our library systems to upgrade our statewide network. These funds provide us the opportunity to not only continue to buy computers for public use, but also to provide the essential technical infrastructure necessary to build a high-speed broadband network in every system and in every branch.
"Without them, we would not be able to take advantage of the availability of low-cost, high-speed bandwidth for library patrons across Georgia."

state when the system determined that this project would not move forward.

Typically, MRR grants pay up to 50 percent of approved costs associated with necessary structural repairs; roofing projects; heating, ventilation and air conditioning repairs; and required life safety, accessibility and code compliance. All projects require matching local funds to complete.

"Because these are 20-year

bonds, all projects must also pass the

Georgia State Financing and Invest-

ment Commis-

sion guidelines

for usage of

bond proceeds,"

explained

Nathan Rall,

director of Library

Planning and

Construction for

GPLS. "We will

Rall

revisit the scope

of work from our

existing FY2015 MRR requests and

determine which projects meet that

useful-life criteria. Once a project list

is finalized and the required match-

ing local funds are secured, these

projects may begin immediately,

because the bonds have already been

sold."

"We are thrilled and thankful that the House and Senate have joined to support the state's public libraries -- both with these new construction projects and with muchneeded funding for updating existing technology and facilities," said State Librarian Dr. Lamar Veatch.

The remaining $1,676,592 for MRR grants for public libraries is a redirecting of unspent FY2010 bond proceeds that had been earmarked for the Northeast Regional Library of the Sequoyah Regional Library System but were returned to the

All library-associated bond funds were added or redirected by the House and Senate to Gov. Nathan Deal's original budget recommendations for FY2015. The revised budget now awaits the governor's approval and signature. I

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April 2014 Georgia Public Library Service News

Athens library finalist for nation's highest IMLS honor

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has
announced that the Athens-Clarke County Library is among the 30 finalists for the 2014 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The National Medal is the nation's highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for service to their communities.
"Museums and libraries serve as civic engagement centers, providing invaluable educational, social, and skillbased resources to their communities," said Susan Hildreth, director of IMLS. "The 2014 National Medal finalists have gone above and beyond to create an environment that allows individuals to learn, play, connect and remain curious."
This year, IMLS celebrates the 20th anniversary of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. For the past two decades, the National Medal has honored

outstanding institutions that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities. Since 1994, 132 institutions have received this honor, and 10 additional institutions will be recognized in 2014.
"Children's author Gail Karwoski nominated the Athens-Clarke County Library for this medal, and the nomination was seconded by several prominent Athenians," said Kathryn Ames, director of the Athens Regional Library System. "It's very exciting for our staff, and we greatly appreciate having made it to the finalist level."
IMLS invites library users to visit its Facebook page by April 11 and post photos, videos, stories, links or "fun facts" about how their favorite finalist makes a difference in their and their families' lives and in the community. I

Staff

Georgia HomePLACE receives funding

Almond (left) lauds Brock at his retirement party in Atlanta on March 25.
E-rate director retires
Richard Brock, E-rate program
director for GPLS, has retired.
"For 12 years, Richard has worked diligently to make sure all of Georgia's libraries stay connected," said Emily Almond, director of Information Technology for GPLS. "By navigating the intricacies of the E-rate process on behalf of Georgia's libraries, he has made it possible for us to fund high-speed bandwidth to our patrons across the state. He has been a wealth of information and support for library system employees statewide." I

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) have announced that they are again lending their support to the Digital Library of Georgia's (DLG) Georgia HomePLACE project.
The Gates funds, valued at $100,000 over the course of two years, will allow the DLG to initiate new digitization projects with public libraries, as well as update the Georgia HomePLACE survey to foster better understanding of the digitization needs of the state's public libraries. The funding will also provide public libraries with ways to connect their community history to the larger national narrative through easy-to-create online exhibits.
"We look forward to this exciting opportunity and next step in the evolution of Georgia HomePLACE, DLG and the DPLA," said DLG Director Sheila McAlister. "Inclusion in the DPLA will help expose the rich local history collections of Georgia's public libraries on a national scale."

Beginning in May, DLG and DPLA will provide daylong training sessions to public librarians in middle, south and north Georgia. The sessions, which are also planned for August and October, are designed to introduce the basics of digital projects, including:
I Selecting appropriate content for digitization
I Scanning and metadata standards for sharing of content
I Understanding copyright and alternative forms of licensing
I Writing for the Web and best practices for online exhibit curation
I Utilizing the Omeka platform to represent and share digital content
I Understanding the DPLA portal and Application Programming Interface and how to use them
After the workshops, DLG staff will assist attending library staff in selecting historic materials from their own collections for digitization and inclusion in the DLG and DPLA. Also, the librarians and DLG staff will curate three online exhibits. I

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Georgia Public Library Service News April 2014

Public libraries getting fizzy

for annual summer reading

This summer libraries will be filled
with the hiss of erupting baking-soda volcanoes, the faint odor of soap expanding in microwave ovens, and the giggling delight of children using dishwashing liquid to create bubbles like mad scientists. These are just a few of the displays of scientific experimentation to bedazzle and educate children this summer at your local library. And hopefully it will take place with very little cleanup required.
Georgia's public libraries invite patrons to peer into the worlds of science and discovery with the annual Summer Reading Program (SRP). "Fizz, Boom, Read" is this year's theme for children, with the likeminded "Spark a Reaction" and "Literary Elements" respectfully encouraging teens and adults to read.
Each year, Georgia's public libraries use the SRP to promote family literacy and education and to demonstrate to kids and adults -- young and not so young -- that reading and learning are fun. More than 481,000 people attended an SRP-related program designed for and offered to them by the state's public libraries in 2013.

"This year's science-is-fun theme is really resonating with everyone," said Elaine Black, director of Youth Services for GPLS. "I love hearing about the different events planned for Georgia's public libraries across the state, and I can't wait to see these programs in action. There's definitely been a run on mad scientist wigs and glasses, and lab coats are de rigueur this summer."
Dan Santat is the featured artist for the children's program, whose work also includes video games and editorials in national periodicals. Most notably, he is the illustrator for Otto Undercover by Rhea Perlman, the actress best known for her work on "Cheers," and Because I'm Your Dad by Ahmet Zappa, writer, actor and son of musician Frank Zappa.
The designs for "Spark a Reaction" were created by Tim O'Brien, whose work has graced several U.S. postal stamps. He has more than a dozen paintings in the collection of the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and is a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
The illustrator for "Literary Elements," Larry Jones, is an artist with 23-plus years of work in a variety of media. He also provided
the featured art for the adult SRP in 2012.

who were eager to see what their colleagues were planning. Among the kid-friendly experiments on tap are using sewing to teach circuitry by wiring bracelets with LED lights and other activities teaching children how to create glow-in-the-dark games and decorations.
"Our first virtual Share-a-rama went very well," said Black. "We look forward to presenting future continuing education events like this for youth services staff to share programming ideas with a statewide audience."
This is Georgia's seventh year as a member of the nationwide Collaborative Summer Library Program, a consortium of all 50 states, the District of Columbia and multiple U.S. territories working together to provide high-quality summer reading program materials for children at the lowest cost possible for their libraries.

In an effort to provide insight and ideas into this year's program, Black moderated an inaugural webinar "Share-arama" that featured presentations from children's librarians around the state. The session drew more than 50 attendees

Georgia's SRP is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to Georgia Public Library Service under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. Visit www.georgialibraries.org for additional information about these and other family literacy activities. I

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April 2014 Georgia Public Library Service News

NEWS IN BRIEF



The board of trustees of the Ohoopee Regional Library System has announced the appointment of Martha PowersJones as the system's director. Powers-Jones She joined the system in 2006 and most recently served as its youth and family services librarian. Powers-Jones replaces Dusty Grs, who retired March 1 after serving as director for 22 years.

The Northeast Georgia Regional

Library System board has appointed

Delana Knight

as director of

system services,

effective July 1.

Currently man-

ager of the

Clarkesville-

Habersham

County Library,

Knight

Knight will succeed

Emerson Murphy, who will retire in

June, having served in the position

since July 1988.

Staff

Wythe-Grayson Regional Library, based in Independence, Va. She previously worked in Georgia as assistant director at the FitzgeraldBen Hill County Library and as head librarian at the Tifton-Tift County Public Library.

Dawn Dale,

PINES helpdesk

manager for

Georgia Public

Library Service,

has earned her

Associate of

Applied Science

degree in Library

& Information

Dale

Science Technol-

ogy from Georgia Perimeter College.

Jay Turner, director of Continuing Education for GPLS, will present "The Only Limitation is Your Imagination: Unleashing Creativity and the LGM to Drive Learner Adoption" at the 2014 Global Skillsoft Perspectives conference this month in Las Vegas, Nev. Along with Jeff Laws, organiza-

tion, development and learning coordinator at Georgia Southern University, and Mike Allen, public sector account executive at Skillsoft, Turner also co-presented a session on implementing e-learning programs at the University System of Georgia Human Resources Association and Payroll Spring 2014 Joint Conference on March 27 in Marietta.
GPLS and its GLEAN (Georgia Library Education Access Network) online continuing education program have been nominated for a 2014 Skillsoft Innovation Award, which honors client organizations for their work in learning and development. Mike Allen and Kristin Shackelford of Skillsoft Georgia nominated GPLS for the award in recognition of the high utilization rate of Skillsoft courses by library employees since the program's launch and the creative approaches GPLS has taken with utilizing and marketing Skillsoft products to evolve continuing education and training in Georgia's libraries. I

The board of trustees of the Conyers-Rockdale Library has
announced the appointment of Ben Carter as director. He was previously the system's assistant director and interim director.

The Houston

Carter

County board of

trustees has

named J. Sara Paulk as system

director, effective May 1. Paulk was

most recently regional director of the

Read Across Georgia
The state of Georgia kicked off "Read Across Georgia" month, an initiative launched by first lady Sandra Deal to raise literacy proficiency levels among Georgia's youth. Representing public libraries at the March 5 event at the state Capitol are children's and youth services staff members (from left) Jennifer Wells of the Cobb County Public Library, Elaine Black of GPLS, Jessica Miles of the Northwest Georgia Regional Library, Amy Billings of the Gwinnett County Public Library and Betsy Powell of the Northwest Georgia Regional Library.

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Georgia Public Library Service News April 2014

Georgia library systems to participate in Edge Initiative

Through a joint effort between GPLS and LYRASIS, 16
Georgia public library systems have been selected to participate as national sample libraries in the Edge Initiative, a management and leadership effort that aims to both survey and provide needed tools to help public libraries assess current technology services and make improvements to better serve their communities.
"By giving Georgia libraries the opportunity to compare their results with comparable library systems in other parts of the United States and vice versa," said Emily Almond, director of Information Technology for GPLS, "the Edge Initiative surveys will not only help Georgia libraries and communities, but those across the nation."
The Edge Initiative was developed by a national coalition of leading library and local government organizations, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

and led by the Urban Libraries Council. IT Program Manager Tamika Strong will head the project for GPLS.
Participants include the Athens Regional Library System, the Catoosa County Library, the Clayton County Public Library, the Jefferson County Public Library, Live Oak Public Libraries, the Ohoopee Regional Library System, the Sequoyah Regional Library System, and the Troup-Harris Regional Library. Prospective systems include the Chattooga County Library System, the Chestatee Regional Library System, the Flint River Regional Library System, the Henry County Library System, the Ocmulgee Regional Library System, the Oconee Regional Library, Okeefenokee Regional Library System and the South Georgia Regional Library System.
Additional interested systems will have the opportunity to participate in the coming weeks. I

Courtesy of Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System

GPLS to offer NoveList Select
Georgia Public Library Service is helping library patrons
find great books to read by offering NoveList's catalogenrichment service, NoveList Select, statewide. Readers will be able to see reading recommendations, series information and e-resource recommendations directly in the library catalog.

By putting the answers to frequently asked questions and information about books into the catalog, NoveList helps make the content easily available to users and staff. Each one of a library's title records becomes a virtual display that showcases a library's collection and database resources. As a result, information that librarians have been using to answer questions is now available in the resource readers already use the library's catalog.

GPLS will subscribe to this service on behalf of all of Georgia's public libraries. This will increase access to resources from GALILEO, the state's virtual library. This will be especially beneficial for those libraries that compose Georgia's PINES network because it will increase access to an already extensive collection of materials and other resources from a single search interface.
PINES Program Director Elizabeth McKinney said she believes NoveList Select will make it possible for people to discover new resources. "We are delighted to make NoveList Select available to Georgia's public libraries. The resources available through this service will allow our patrons to integrate recommendations for GALILEO's electronic resources into the PINES catalog." I

Building a better Fulton County
On Feb. 25 and March 25, respectively, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library (AFPL) system broke ground for a new 10,000-square-foot library for Palmetto and a new 25,000-square-foot library for Alpharetta. Both are part of Phase I of the system's building program. Top: Readying their shovels at the Palmetto event are (from left) John Thomas, library foundation chair and trustee; Stephanie Moody, board chair; John Eaves, Fulton County Commission chair; William "Bill" Edwards, commissioner, District 7; Michael Russell of H.J. Russell & Company; Doug Davidson of New South Construction; and Dennis LaGatta of Heery International. Above: Turning ground in Alpharetta are (from left) Roy Kenski, project manager for Heery; Dwight Ferrell, county manager; Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta); Commissioners Rob Pitts and Liz Hausmann; Eaves; Thomas; Moody; David Belle Isle, mayor of Alpharetta; Roger Rupnow, trustee; Mehndad Nankali of Moss Construction; and Anne Haimes, AFPL director.

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April 2014 Georgia Public Library Service News

1800 Century Place, Suite 150 Atlanta, GA 30345-4304
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PRSRT STD US POSTAGE
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Tim Spindler

CONTACT US

Georgia Public Library Service 1800 Century Place, Suite 150 Atlanta, GA 30345-4304 404.235.7200 404.235.7201 fax www.georgialibraries.org

Lamar Veatch, state librarian David Baker, editor Dustin Landrum, assistant

Georgia Public Library Service News (ISSN 1546-511X) is published bimonthly by the Georgia Public Library Service, the state agency that supports public libraries and works with them to improve the quality and variety of library services available to Georgia citizens of all ages.
This publication is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Georgia Public Library Service under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.
Information presented in this newsletter will be provided in alternative formats on request. For more information about Georgia's libraries and literary events, or to post an event, visit our online calendar at www.georgialibraries.org

'Green state
Chris Sharp, PINES system administrator, delivers the "State of Evergreen" address at the 2014 Evergreen International Conference on March 19 in Cambridge, Mass. Elizabeth McKinney, PINES program director; Terran McCanna, PINES program manager; Elaine Hardy, PINES and collaborative projects manager; and Dawn Dale, PINES helpdesk manager, were also presenters at the event.