Georgia Public Library Service news, Vol. 12, no. 3 (Dec. 2014)

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

volume 12, issue 3 I December 2014

Staff

GPLS partnership programs

surpass $10 million in value

Ten will be a noteworthy number at
Georgia's public libraries this month -- possibly even on the 10th day -- as the cumulative value of Georgia Public Library Service's strategic partnership programs is poised to exceed $10 million. This year also marked the 10th anniversary of the Atlanta Hawks' Check-It-Out Reading Challenge, the longest-running of the current 10 partnerships.
"Our timetable for exceeding $10 million is not precise," said David Baker, director of communications and strategic partnerships for GPLS, "but based on the current daily average value of the programs, we expect to do so the second week of the month."
In addition to the Hawks, GPLS's strategic partners include the Atlanta Braves, the Center for Puppetry Arts,

the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA), Georgia's Path2College 529 Plan, the Go Fish Georgia Education Center, Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites, VSA Arts of Georgia's Arts for All Gallery and Zoo Atlanta.
"Our program of strategic partnerships at GPLS is the most comprehensive effort of its kind coordinated by any state library," explained State Librarian Julie Walker. "By pursuing meaningful alliances with such a variety of agencies and organizations, we have been able to offer Georgia residents the opportunity to sample a wealth of new experiences through their local public libraries.
"Children and adults alike are See Partnerships, page 4

Just reward
Jay Turner, director of continuing education for GPLS, received the Georgia Library Association's (GLA) Nix-Jones Award at the Georgia Council of Media Organizations' annual convention in Augusta on Oct. 2. The highest honor given by GLA, the award is presented annually to an outstanding Georgia librarian who has made substantial contributions to the profession.

Cornelisen, Everingham named assistant state librarians

Wendy Cornelisen and Jessica
Everingham have joined Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) as assistant state librarians. Cornelisen is serving as assistant state librarian for library innovation and collaboration; Everingham is the new assistant state librarian for library development and support.
Cornelisen
Cornelisen will oversee GPLS's information technology efforts, including the Public Information Network for Electronic Services (PINES) network, a statewide consortium of 285 public libraries

and affiliated service outlets in 143 Georgia counties, offering residents a shared catalog of approximately 10.4 million items. She will also be responsible for training and consulting services provided by GPLS to public libraries across the state.

"Being a librarian is as much a

Everingham

part of who I am as being a daughter,

sister and wife," Cornelisen said.

"Librarianship has presented me with some of my life's

hardest challenges and greatest rewards, and it is what I

See Librarians, page 2

Librarians
Continued from page 1 am most passionate about."
Cornelisen earned a master's degree in information sciences from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She also holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Iowa State University in Ames. She is a past president of the Tennessee Library Association.
Originally from Sioux Falls, S.D., Cornelisen has more than 11 years of library experience. She most recently served as special projects coordinator at the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville, where she man-

aged the Tennessee Electronic Library, helping to increase its usage by 39 percent between 2010 and 2014 . She previously served as a reference librarian at the Brentwood (Tenn.) Library and as a library associate at the Nashville Public Library.
Everingham will oversee GPLS's efforts in youth services; Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding, statistics and research; library construction support; and business services. She will also be responsible for the Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) network, which serves Georgians with print impairments by providing a variety of free services from public libraries and talking book centers across the state.
Everingham earned a master's degree in library and information studies from Florida State University in Tallahassee. She holds a bachelor's degree in administrative services from Valdosta State University and an associate's degree in human resources management from the Community College of the Air Force.

academic library experience, most recently serving as director of the Waycross-based Okefenokee Regional Library System. She previously served as head librarian and library director for Altamaha Technical College in Jesup and as a library clerk at the Athens-Clarke County Public Library. She has also served as secretary for the Georgia Library Association.
"We are delighted to welcome Wendy and Jessica to the GPLS team," said State Librarian Julie Walker. "Each of them brings the specific experience and skill sets to address several statewide needs that have been identified by our public library directors, and they will add new perspectives and great energy to our team." I

Staff Staff

Batting a thousand
Sandra Deal (left), the first lady of Georgia, visited the Augusta-Richmond County Library on Oct. 8 to help Library Director Darlene Price (right) kick off the library's 1000 Books Before Kindergarten initiative. Encouraging parents and caregivers to read at least 1,000 books to their children before they enter elementary school, Deal talked with parents, posed for numerous photos and read to the more than 100 children who attended the event.

"Being a librarian is in my DNA, and I take great pride of carrying on the family tradition of serving the public," Everingham said. "I have the good fortune of being able to say I've spent my entire life in libraries in some form or fashion. As a young girl, I watched my mom work in libraries and after accepting my love of information, computers, and books, I took that wonderful leap into library land and became a librarian."
Originally from Indianapolis, Ind., Everingham grew up in Valdosta, where she was a 1989 graduate of Valdosta High School, later serving in the United States Air Force, the United States Air Force Reserve and the Georgia Air National Guard. She has more than 10 years of public and

Christmas conifer
For the Georgia Governor's Mansion 2014 Christmas Celebration, themed "With a Servant's Heart," first lady Sandra Deal invited volunteer organizations throughout the state to participate by decorating a holiday ornament with names or symbols representing their organization. The ornament above, representing the GPLS/PINES team that coordinated cataloging the Governor's Mansion collection, features a cross-stitched and beaded PINES logo and was handcrafted by Elaine Hardy, PINES and collaborative projects manager, and Terran McCanna, PINES program manager. Friends of Georgia Libraries and 18 local Friends' groups from around the state also submitted ornaments, all of which will be on display during the mansion's Christmas tours, Dec. 7-19.

2
Georgia Public Library Service News December 2014

Bloggers revitalize continuing education Web content

Georgia's library community was obviously waiting on
Nov. 4, when GPLS's Continuing Education (CE) website went live with revamped and revitalized content highlighted by a new blog titled GLEAN Magazine. The site received more than 2,000 page views within the first week, more than doubling its total for the prior month.

each of whom expressed excitement at being part of the endeavor. Julia Huprich, digital services and communications manager at the Cobb County Public Library System, said, "I'm looking forward to working with the blog team -- what an impressive group of folks! I'm honored to be included."

Jay Turner, director of CE, said he felt the time was right for GLEAN, short for the Georgia Library Education Access Network, to evolve into the next phase of its development, bringing greater accessibility and sense of collaboration. Introduced in July 2013, GLEAN is the online learning portal where Georgia librarians can access thousands of self-paced courses and educational videos and textbooks and maintain personal profiles that enable them to keep track of contact hours used for renewing their professional librarian licenses.
"I'm constantly assessing the CE resources we provide to the library community," said Turner. "On one hand, we've had tremendous success with GLEAN, what with staff members logging over 500,000 hours of learning in the system. On the other hand, the initial blog we created to promote GLEAN and to build a community of learning was barely being used. We needed a fresh start, a new look and more voices than my own."
The solution appears to be GLEAN Magazine, which offers three posts per week from regular contributors, as well as submitted posts from guests who wish to add their voice to the discourse. The magazine operates under the simple idea that all anyone needs to participate is the willingness to share knowledge, ideas and opinions. In addition to the expanded blog, the CE website continues to feature popular links to information about Georgia libraries and GLEAN itself, along with a CE events calendar and an e-learning certificate request form.

Joining Huprich from the public library community are Mack Freeman, marketing and programming coordinator at the West Georgia Regional Library System; Belinda
Outwater, library assistant from the Piedmont Regional Library System; Wendy Cobb, library systems administrator and technical services coordinator with Cherokee Regional Library; David Burke, technology coordinator at Statesboro Regional Public Libraries; Gabriel Lundeen, deputy director of
Chattahoochee Valley Libraries; and Tammy Gerson, information services librarian at Athens Regional Library System.
Blog topics will be geared toward library professionals -- whether public or academic, or from school media centers -- but information in most posts can likely be adapted to help learners in nearly any career or job setting. With this goal in mind, Turner reached out beyond the borders of public libraries and found colleagues willing and eager to join the GLEAN Magazine community and contribute their expertise.
"I believe that people learn best when they learn together," Turner said, "so our approach with GLEAN Magazine is to seed and feed a community of learning -- not only for Georgia's libraries, but for libraries across the country. We have a diverse team of bloggers who have a range of expertise and experience and who represent different types of libraries. No matter your position or the number of years invested in your career, I feel confident that you'll find something relevant and useful in GLEAN Magazine."

GLEAN Magazine, found at glean.georgialibraries.org, has 11 regular writers lined up from around the state,

These additional members of the blogging team See GLEAN, page 7
3
December 2014 Georgia Public Library Service News

Partnerships
Continued from page 1 enjoying our state parks, attending popular educational and sporting events, delighting in hands-on learning opportunities and visiting major attractions and lesserknown Georgia gems -- $10 million worth of experiences so far!"
Although the $10 million figure conjures thoughts of lottery jackpots, the winners here are the Georgia residents whose library cards enable them to take advantage of all the programs.
"With these partnerships, we have been able to develop and sustain constructive relationships with many institutions, organizations and businesses across the state," explained Helen Poyer, director of the Cobb County Public Library System. "We know that working together strengthens our institutions and creates new, collaborative ways of helping achieve mutually beneficial goals."

Christian Kruse, director of Savannah-based Live Oak Public Libraries, agrees. "Through these partnerships, GPLS continues to open doors for all Georgians," said Kruse. "Whether it's exploring our natural world or learning about the magic of storytelling, a library card continues to be one of the most powerful cards you can have, and our patrons have benefited in very tangible ways from the different partnerships that GPLS has created over the last few years.
"With many state parks within an easy day trip, the ParkPass progam is a huge hit with our users. These partnerships have allowed many of our patrons access to places they would never have gone without free admission. Lifelong learning is a cornerstone of Live Oak Public Libraries' mission, and these partnerships allow us to extend and expand our offerings."
According to Sally Winchester, marketing and communications manager for Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites, the ParkPass library loan program has been a significant component of the agency's marketing efforts for the past six years.

Courtesy Live Oak Public Libraries

"The program has grown each year, and in FY14 ParkPass circulations totaled almost 16,000," Winchester explained. "That means that many Georgians have even better access to our wonderfully diverse state parks and culturally significant historic sites, along with the numerous educational and recreational opportunities they provide. We appreciate the efforts of GPLS and all the participating public libraries in Georgia for making this program such a success."

The ParkPass program and Zoo Atlanta's Family Loan Pass program, which began in February 2011, are the heavyweights when it comes to annual circulation figures, regularly exceeding 15,000 annual checkouts.

Magic marker
A Georgia Historical Marker for the Carnegie Library in Savannah was unveiled to the public on Nov. 13 by Carnegie Task Force member Helen Washington (left); Urseline Dickey (right), granddaughter of one of the Carnegie founders; Christian Kruse, director of Live Oak Public Libraries; and Dr. Todd Groce, executive director of the Georgia Historical Society. The event was part of Live Oak's yearlong centennial celebration to honor the historic library, which was dedicated in 1914. The building is one of Savannah's few examples of Prairie School architecture. One of only two Carnegie library projects for African-Americans in Georgia, it was the home library to James Alan McPherson, Pulitzer Prizewinning short story writer and essayist, and Clarence Thomas, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Our partnership with GPLS is one that allows Zoo Atlanta to pursue a vital part of its mission -- increased access and opportunities for the people and families of Atlanta and Georgia," said Raymond B. King, Zoo Atlanta president and CEO. "Zoo Atlanta is much more than Atlanta's Zoo. It's Georgia's Zoo, too, and we believe our amazing animal and educational resources should be available to everyone in the state. The library program helps us make this crucial part of our mission a reality."
"I'm particularly pleased that these partnerships have proved beneficial both to libraries and to our partners, as demonstrated by the programs' continued growth and popularity," noted Walker.
See Partnerships, page 5

4
Georgia Public Library Service News December 2014

Partnerships
Continued from page 4 Although several of GPLS's strategic partnerships
include loans of admission passes, Georgia residents also benefit from the author and speaker appearances; educational programs; and touring exhibits provided by the affiliated organizations. From librarian training classes to Zoomobile visits to build-a-puppet workshops, GPLS partners have provided hundreds of hours of free programming and encouraged hundreds of thousands of patrons to visit the state's public libraries.
Between May 2013 and July 2014, more than 30,000 visitors viewed the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust-sponsored library tour of the exhibit "Witness to the Holocaust: WWII Veteran William Alexander Scott III at Buchenwald" at 19 libraries around the state. Thanks to the VSA Arts of Georgia's Arts for All Gallery, the Atlanta Metro Library for Accessible Services has now hosted six art exhibits and earned a spot on the downtown Atlanta art walks. The GEFA Kill-a-Watt Loan Program has saved residents thousands of dollars by helping reduce wasted energy throughout the state.

words our excited Home Run Readers expressed after Freddie and Jared congratulated them on successfully completing this special summer reading program," Poyer said. "Our library system has truly enjoyed and appreciated the benefits of these programs."
As a direct result of the Braves partnership, the Renaissance Family Foundation and the Atlanta Braves Foundation have also awarded Georgia's public libraries cash grants for the support of children's and youth programming and materials.
"Our strategic partnerships have contributed to the number of high-quality programs offered at Georgia's public libraries, and we believe they've fostered an increased public awareness of the value of library service as a whole," concluded Baker.
"We at GPLS appreciate the contributions and efforts of the employees at our partner organizations, and we are equally thankful for the hard work and dedication of the library staff around the state whose enthusiasm for these programs has enabled us to reach this $10 million milestone in added value for all Georgians."

Among the most popular and publicly visible partnership programs, however, are the three supplemental summer reading programs. The Path2College 529 Plan sweepstakes has enjoyed more than 20,000 participants in its first five years and has awarded more than $33,000 to children to use for their college educations and more than $23,000 to public libraries to use for their children's materials and events.

Staff

GPLS's strategic partnership programs are 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. I

GPLS's partnerships with the Atlanta Hawks and the Atlanta Braves have proved wildly popular, inspiring similar summer reading programs to be launched by professional sports teams in other states. The Hawks' Check-It-Out Reading Program has awarded more than 85,000 free tickets to young readers during the past decade, the first six years of which also included the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team.

The Braves' Home Run Readers Program, which completed its second year in 2014, also provides ticket incentives for young readers while promoting libraries and reading on the Turner Field Jumbotron before many Braves home games. All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman and co-sponsor SUBWAY Restaurants' spokesman Jared Fogle made local newscasts when they visited Cobb County's Switzer Library in July to read to children and promote participation in the program.
"`Awesome,' `wow' and `cool' were just a few of the

Friends' advice
Friends of Georgia Libraries (FOGL) presented a program entitled "With a Little Help from My Friends..." at the Georgia Council of Media Organizations' annual convention in Augusta. Leading the session were FOGL President Kathy Ash (right) and board members Keith Schuermann, director of the Troup-Harris Regional Library System, and Rita Spisak, library instruction and outreach librarian at the Horace W. Sturgis Library at Kennesaw State University.

5
December 2014 Georgia Public Library Service News

NEWS IN BRIEF

GPLS reached 1,000 Facebook "likes"
on Nov. 19!


Staff

Stephen Houser has joined the Twin Lakes Library System in Milledgeville as its director. He comes to the system from the Fort Valley State Houser University library, where he served as collection development and digital initiatives librarian for nearly five years.

The Flint

River Regional

Library board of

trustees has

announced that

Natalie

Marshall has

been selected as

the system's

Marshall

executive director, effective

Jan. 1, 2015. She will replace Carrie

Zeiger, who will retire on Dec. 31.

Marshall most recently served as the

system's assistant director for library

development.

Carole Taylor has been named

director of the

Jefferson County

Library System in

Louisville.

Previously serving

as assistant

director, Taylor

has been em-

ployed by the

system for four

years.

Taylor

The board of trustees of the Jesup-based Three Rivers Regional Library System has selected Diana Very as the system's new director. She joins the system from Georgia Public Library Service, where she has served as the agency's director of

LSTA, statistics and research since 2007.

Susie

Brendle, librarian

at the Union

County Public

Library in

Very

Blairsville, is now

serving as interim

director for the Young Harris-based

Mountain Regional Library System.

Evan

Michael Bush

has joined the

Jefferson-based

Piedmont

Regional Library

System (PRLS) as

assistant director.

He will be

Bush

responsible for

children's

services, outreach and collection

development. Bush comes to PRLS

from the Derry Public Library in New

Hampshire.

Tiffany

Little has been

named assistant

director of the

Ohoopee Re-

gional Library

System in Vidalia.

Little joined the

system in March

as its technical

Little

services librarian.

She previously worked at the Clayton

County Library System in Jonesboro

and the Pine Mountain Regional

Library System in Manchester.

Jeannie Grant is the new branch manager at the Sara Hightower Regional Library System's Cedartown Library.

GPLS employees played impor-

Sly as a fox
Tracy Walker, youth services specialist at the Dawson County Public Library in Dawsonville, launched her first storytelling compact disc, "Never Hire a Fox," at the Georgia Council of Media Organizations' annual convention in Augusta on Oct. 2. The CD received a 2014 Parents' Choice Award from the Parents' Choice Foundation, the nation's oldest nonprofit program created to recognize quality in children's media.
tant roles at the Georgia Council of Media Organizations' 26th annual convention, held Oct. 1-3 at the Augusta Convention Center. State Librarian Julie Walker co-presented "Creating the Future by Inventing It." Stella Cone, outreach librarian for the Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS) network, presented "GLASS: Update on Statewide Reorganization -- Let's Reach Out." Elaine Hardy, PINES and collaborative projects manager, served on the Cataloging and Metadata Round Table. Diana Very, director of LSTA, statistics and research, presented "Programming Using Logic Models" and, with PINES Program Director Elizabeth
See News, page 7

6
Georgia Public Library Service News December 2014

Courtesy Library of Congress

GLEAN
Continued from page 3 include Robin Fay, Learning Objects Repository portal manager and developer with Athens Technical College; Charlie Bennett, undergraduate programming and engagement librarian at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Lisa Block, medical librarian with the Atlanta Medical Center; and Dr. Phyllis Snipes, associate professor of school library media at the University of West Georgia.
Said Snipes, "I do feel rather `odd man out' as a [primary and secondary education-focused] library person, but I'm excited about sharing some things that may be of interest to the community. I hope I can make contributions to the GLEAN readers about the influence and impact school librarians have on every single student in schools in Georgia."

Turner shares in the enthusiasm exhibited by his colleagues and in their high hopes for the future of GLEAN and its mission. "For better or worse, I dream big, and I dream out loud," said Turner.
"Over time, my hope is that we can position GLEAN Magazine as the best free national resource for news, trends, resources and announcements related to library staff continuing education and organizational development in libraries."
The GLEAN network and resources are open to public, academic and K-12 librarians.
GLEAN is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to GPLS under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. I
News
Continued from page 6 McKinney, coordinated the annual Pat Carterette Run/Walk. Elaine Black, director of youth services, served on the Georgia Peach Award for Teen Readers committee and coordinated a youth services preconference.

Courtesy Ann Sosbe/Live Oak Public Libraries

One for the books
Susan H. Hildreth (center), director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, visited Georgia's table at the 14th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Dustin Landrum (left), library services associate, and Elaine Black, director of youth services, represented GPLS in the festival's Pavilion of the States.

Courtesy Clay Neely/Newnan Times-Herald

Off the record
On Nov. 2, the Coweta Public Library System's Central Library hosted "The Man and the Legend," honoring the life and musical legacy of Coweta County's Hamilton Bohannon, whose 50-year career in music included a stint as leader of the studio band for Motown Records. He had more than 20 charting hits, and his recordings have been sampled by artists including Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dog and Justin Timberlake. For his work on Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience," Bohannon received a platinum record, which he donated -- along with a signed snare drum, drumsticks, a cymbal and numerous photos -- to the library. Displaying the award are Jimmy Bass (left), director of libraries, and Machelle Hill, Central Library manager, who organized the event.

Dawn Dale, PINES Helpdesk manager, and Terran McCanna, PINES program manager, presented programs at the first Southeast Regional Evergreen Conference, held Oct. 8-9 in Raleigh, N.C.
GPLS has announced the inaugural Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services Boot Camp, to be held March 23-25, 2015, at the Lake Blackshear Resort in Cordele. A full schedule and complete registration details will be announced this month at http://georgialibraries.org/glass. I

Raising the stakes
The enthusiastic crowd responds after author Lois Lowry asked people to raise their books at the 11th annual Savannah Children's Book Festival in Forsyth Park on Nov. 15. Live Oak Public Libraries and the city of Savannah's Department of Cultural Affairs presented the festival, which featured more than 50 authors and illustrators from across the Southeast.

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December 2014 Georgia Public Library Service News

1800 Century Place, Suite 150 Atlanta, GA 30345-4304
A Unit of the University System of Georgia

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE
PAID ATLANTA, GA PERMIT NO. 213

Courtesy Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System

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

Julie Walker, 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

Hitting pay dirt
The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System broke ground for its new Metropolitan Library on Oct. 29 at 11:00 a.m. When it opens in late 2015, the 25,000-square-foot library will replace the system's current Stewart-Lakewood Branch. Lending hands and shovels at the groundbreaking ceremony are (from left) Joyce Sheperd, Atlanta City Council; Patrick Johnson, ai3 Architects; Margaret Rauber and Artis Johnson, Winter Johnson Group; H. Jerome Russell, Heery/Russell; Al Collins, Fulton County Public Works & General Services; Lisa Rushin, Fulton County Manager's office; Markham H. Smith, Smith Dalia Architects; Gayle Holloman, AFPL group branch manager; Joan P. Garner, Fulton County commissioner, District 6; John H. Eaves, Fulton County Commission chairman; Stephanie Moody, chair, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System board of trustees; and John Thomas, Barbara Frolik and Chip Joiner, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System board of trustees.