Georgia Public Library Service news, Vol. 4, no. 6 (June 2007)

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

volume 4, issue 6 I June 2007

Good news for libraries in `08 budget
The Georgia Legislature has
approved a $20.2 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2008 that contains plenty of good news for the state's public libraries.
The budget requires Gov. Sonny Perdue's final approval before becoming official, but it contains $12 million worth of public library construction projects, along with $2 million for the purchase of new library books across the state.
The FY08 budget's capital package includes:
I $1,545,000 for construction of the West Georgia Regional Library System's North Paulding Public Library
I $1,035,000 for construction of the Uncle Remus Regional Library System's Jasper County Public Library
I $2,000,000 for construction of the Porter Memorial Branch Library, which will be the second facility in the Newton County Public Library System
I $2,000,000 for construction of the West Georgia Regional Library System's Fairplay Public Library See Budget, page 2

GPLS establishes leadership
institute for state's librarians
To ensure the future of high-quality
library leadership across the state, Georgia Public Library Service has established PINNACLE, the Public Library Institute for New and Creative Leadership Education.

Attendees must hold a master of library science, a master of science in library science or a master of library and information science degree; be currently employed in a public library in Georgia; and have at least two years of professional library experience.
The application process is currently underway, and the inaugural class of up to 20 attendees will be announced in late June. It begins with a one-week retreat in November and will include eight monthly two-day sessions, culminating at the fall 2008 convention of the Georgia Council of Media Organizations.
PINNACLE's steering committee members include David Singleton, deputy state librarian; Lyn Hopper, assistant state librarian for library development; Julie Walker, assistant state librarian for technology services; Kathryn Ames, director of the Athens Regional Library System; and Greg Heid, director of the Newton County Library System.

Ames

Heid

"We want to be state-of-the-art smart," Heid explained. "Other government agencies have established institutes to grow their future leaders, so it's only natural for libraries to do the same. We designed the institute's yearlong curriculum to provide a unique and comprehensive training opportunity for the next generation of public
library leaders in Georgia. It's our obligation as directors and leaders to pass along the knowledge and experience that will help new librarians become community leaders and provide the best possible public
library services."

Session topics at PINNACLE 20072008 will include situational leadership, time management, analytical and creative problem solving, financial management and performance measures, human resource management and administrative law, managing conflict and group dynamics, ethics,
See Institute, page 2

GPLS to participate at ALA's Library Day on Capitol Hill
Georgia Public Library Service has
been invited to participate at the American Library Association's (ALA) Library Day on the Hill, part of the organization's Annual Conference, to be held in June in Washington, D.C.
The GPLS exhibit, which will focus on Evergreen, the open-source integrated library system that the agency developed, will provide ALA and GPLS an opportunity to demonstrate the value of libraries to the members of Congress.
The exhibit will be in the Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office Building from noon until 5:00 p.m. on June 26. It will be open to the public and admission is free. I

Michelle Neumann McUmber

Budget
Continued from page 1 I $1,600,000 for construction of the
Okefenokee Regional Library System's Pierce County Library
I $2,000,000 for the expansion and renovation of the Nancy Guinn Memorial Library, headquarters of the Conyers-Rockdale Library System; and
I $1,895,000 for construction of the Senoia Public Library and the Grantville Public Library, both of which will be part of the Coweta County Library System following its separation from the TroupHarris-Coweta Regional Library later this year.
Gov. Perdue included $2 million for libraries in his budget last year in what was intended to be a one-time

expense, but he added it again this year with the intent of making it a continuing annual budget amount. Both House and Senate approved the measure.
"This show of support from the Legislature and the governor is great news for public libraries in Georgia," said State Librarian Dr. Lamar Veatch. "It is proof that our elected officials recognize and intend to meet our citizens' increasing needs for more and better library services." I
Institute
Continued from page 1 power, best practices, process improvement, project coaching, media relations, leadership in a political environment, and effective presentations. One session will include training in the Public Library Association's planning model, "Planning for Results," which provides an acclaimed results-driven approach to meeting community needs and developing means to anticipate future demands.

Staff

Staff

Lucky stars
Georgia's library community fondly celebrated the long and distinguished careers of three of its brightest stars this spring, as Susan Roberts, Diana Ray Tope and Liza Newsom became retirees. Roberts (top left), former director of Library Grants, Research & Planning for GPLS, shares a laugh with another retiree, Tom Ploeg, who retired in 2005 as director of construction for GPLS. Tope (lower left), former director of the Cherokee Regional Library System in LaFayette, gets a good luck hug from Joe Forsee, director of the Dalton-based Northwest Regional Library System. Newsom (above, center), former director of the South Georgia Regional Library System in Valdosta, is flanked by a number of friends, trustees and other wellwishers at a recent retirement party thrown in her honor.
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Georgia Public Library Service News June 2007

The PINNACLE steering committee worked with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVIG), a public service and outreach unit of the University of Georgia, to design the curriculum, and CVIG will lead the sessions.
"We believe the Carl Vinson Institute has an excellent track record of leadership programs for state and local governments, and its staff has worked with us to balance general leadership skills with specific skills needed in the library environment," Singleton said.
"GPLS is also exploring ways to conduct Web-based training on these and similar topics in the future." I

Annual GOLD/GALILEO users conference set for August 3

The theme of this year's GOLD/GALILEO Users Group
Conference is "Library Collaboration 2.0: It's All About the Joy of Use." The conference will take place Friday, Aug. 3 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel in Athens.

for creativity and joyful change by responding to the ever-evolving needs of our users. It's our goal to convince librarians of the value of change and simultaneously
convince the public of the value of libraries. We just need to go where our users are, build new audiences and have fun in the process."

According to Toni

The conference will include

Zimmerman, Resource Sharing

three sets of concurrent sessions

& Interlibrary Cooperation

plus a GALILEO training showcase.

director for GPLS, the annual one-day event draws

Sessions will feature presentations demonstrating how

librarians, paraprofessionals and technical staff from

dynamic Georgia libraries are using creative

academic libraries, public libraries, schools, technical

collaborations, emerging technologies and highly

colleges and special libraries throughout Georgia

adaptive communication styles, tools and trends

and the Southeast.

to meet the multifaceted needs of information

seekers.

The goal of the conference is to provide a

forum for continuing education and professional

"Libraries seek to be central to the personal

development related to the use of Georgia's

learning landscape of our users," Zimmerman

interlibrary lending and resource sharing

said, "and now -- happily -- the participatory

network, GOLD, and the statewide virtual

and social nature of Web 2.0 innovations has

library, GALILEO. The conference will showcase

made that mission possible in both our virtual

new collaborative trends in library resources and

highlight current partnerships.

Zimmerman

and physical spaces. This year's conference theme celebrates the delight and power this

partnership has enabled and our joy in sharing it

This year's keynote speaker is Diane Kresh, director with each other."

of Arlington County Public Library in Arlington, Va.

"Diane plans to share her forward-thinking vision for

Links to registration materials and hotel information

libraries and the consortia that serve them," Zimmerman will be available soon at www.georgialibraries.org/lib/

said. "She believes that libraries can be Lib 2.0 catalysts

gold.html. I

Hawks, Thrashers to sponsor third reading challenge

In partnership with GPLS, the
Atlanta Spirit is challenging young readers to spend more of their free time reading this summer. Atlanta Spirit is the umbrella organization composed of the National Hockey League's Thrashers, the National Basketball Association's Hawks and Philips Arena.
Designed to enhance this year's "Reading Takes You Everywhere" vacation reading program, the 2007 ThrashersHawks Check-It-Out Reading

Challenge will target young readers entering classes from pre-K to grade 12, allowing participants to earn sportsrelated rewards by reading.
Team mascots Thrash and SkyHawk will make appearances at libraries to promote the program. Each team will also sponsor "Georgia Public Libraries" nights with discounted admission for public library employees, friends and families. At the end of the 2006 program, Atlanta Spirit

awarded vouchers good for approximately 20,000 Hawks and Thrashers tickets to those who participated.
This year's program will include eight public library systems in metropolitan Atlanta. Rules are now available at public libraries in Cherokee, Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gilmer, Henry, Newton, Pickens and Rockdale counties and online at www.checkitoutreading.com. The 2007 program runs from June 4 through July 27. I

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June 2007 Georgia Public Library Service News

Staff

Four of five use PINES weekly, nine of 10 would recommend
Georgia library patrons are using
the PINES service more frequently than ever before. Based on data from the 2007 PINES User Satisfaction Survey, better than four out of five respondents (81.7 percent) now use the PINES catalog at least weekly to renew books online, place holds on books, determine fines or see what items they have checked out.
According to PINES Program Director Elizabeth McKinney de Garcia, this is a dramatic increase from 2006, when 62.2 percent of respondents indicated similar use.
"It's thrilling to see that so many library users throughout Georgia appreciate the PINES system and the convenience of using their card at any member library," said Garcia. "The response is especially gratifying, because this is the first survey following the September introduction of our new Evergreen software and our new, Web-based catalog.

The Public Library Services Branch of the British Columbia Ministry of Education will begin implementation of its own Evergreen-powered system based on Georgia's PINES model later this year. To help ensure a smooth start up to the nicknamed "Northern PINES," a Canadian factfinding contingent visited GPLS employees in Atlanta in April. From left: G.W. Brian Owen, associate university librarian at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C.; Fabien Tiburce, technical architect with BiblioCommons, a Toronto-based initiative that is developing Web services to integrate with libraries' OPAC and circulation systems; Elizabeth McKinney de Garcia, PINES program director; Julie Walker, assistant state librarian for technology services; Ben Hyman, manager of policy and technology for Public Library Services Branch BC; Evergreen design team members Jason Etheridge and Brad LaJeunesse; Katherine Gregory, PINES services specialist; and Brandon Uhlman, systems consultant for Public Library Services Branch BC.

"We believe Evergreen contributed to the increased level of overall satisfaction with the PINES system. Many comments from this year's surveys indicate that users are especially impressed by its intuitive search interface and with the enhanced user services it brings."
A statewide consortium of 265

public libraries in 131 counties, the Public Information Network for Electronic Services PINES, for short offers Georgia citizens a shared catalog of more than 8 million items, with a single library card that is welcomed in all member libraries. GPLS completed the fourth annual user satisfaction survey in April.
See PINES, page 5

GPLS to partner with Canadian university for Evergreen module

GPLS has partnered with the University of Windsor in
Ontario, Canada, in the development of an acquisitions module for Evergreen, the open-source integrated library system introduced in Georgia last September. An acquisitions module will help libraries order materials and track the progress of those orders. The partnership gives Evergreen its first formal international association.

including representatives from Canada, said Julie Walker, assistant state librarian for technology services.
Staff members from Windsor and Atlanta already have begun work on technical specifications for the module. Art Rhyno, systems librarian at the university's Leddy Library, leads the Canadian team.

GPLS recently held a series of focus groups in Rome, Athens, Dublin and Albany, gathering individuals from across the library world to discuss acquisitions. While PINES libraries were well-represented in these sessions, acquisitions and technology specialists from non-PINES libraries and many academic libraries also attended,
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Georgia Public Library Service News June 2007

"PINES staff members took detailed notes as participants discussed the acquisitions process and possible software design," said Walker. "It's exciting for us all to participate in the continuing evolution of Evergreen." The Evergreen-powered Web-based PINES catalog is available at www.gapines.org. I

AAS program to help meet need for Georgia librarians

With the goal of providing an
educated work force for libraries and information centers, Georgia Perimeter College is now offering an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) program in Library and Information Science Technology (LIST).
The program provides vigorous preparation for those interested in careers as paraprofessionals to work in library and information centers without undertaking the rigors and expenses of the full graduate-degree programs required of librarians. In addition to the AAS degree, a certificate track is available for currently employed library paraprofessional staff members who want to sharpen their skills or for those who wish to take only library technology courses.
According to Deputy State Librarian David Singleton, the program will help meet increased needs for a trained and educated work force to serve both the metropolitan and rural libraries and information centers across the state.

overview of the profession required for full participation in today's fastchanging information environment."
The AAS curriculum combines the University System of Georgia's core curriculum with a broad-based blend of technology and business offerings. The design of the LIST curriculum also conforms to the Criteria for Programs to Prepare Library Technical Assistants (1998), a document that has been accepted by the Committee on Education of the American Library Association.
"The students we have are extremely motivated and have unearthed discoveries in library history and practice that are often overlooked in many aspects of library education," explained Dr. Stephen Koplan, LIST program curriculum coordinator. "Some of their research projects include the place of the graphic novel in the modern library, the censorship of
PINES

seemingly innocent children's literature and the Library of Congress as an archive of oral histories of ordinary Americans' everyday life experiences."
Special characteristics of the curriculum include internships with local libraries, which will serve to develop practical skill applications in a work environment. One program participant, Vanessa Turner, recently worked as an intern with GPLS.
"She learned copy cataloging, interlibrary loans and PINES holds, so she gained real-world experience in how Georgia's libraries operate," said Elaine Hardy, library services manager for collections and reference.
LIST classes are currently only offered at the Dunwoody campus. However, as enrollment increases, class locations will expand to other campuses. LIST also will be offered through distance education. I

"I'm excited about the program and how it will help us mold future librarians for Georgia," he said. "Library employees come from a variety of educational backgrounds, and this program helps ensure that

Continued from page 4
Users entering the online catalog between March 27 and April 2 could complete the survey, and more than 1,000 did so.

I If my local library does not have an item I need, it is easy to find and obtain the item through the PINES system; and
I It is easy to renew my materials

many more staff have access to formal education to improve their library skills. This, in turn, improves library services across the state in the long term."
"Paraprofessionals are being called upon to assume more sophisticated and responsible duties in today's libraries," said Dan Veach, head of technical services at the

In addition to increased use, 2007 results showed a higher degree of satisfaction than the already impressive figures from years past. An average of 82.5 percent of respondents up from 77 percent in 2006 agreed or strongly agreed with these statements:
I It is easy to use the PINES online catalog;

through the PINES online catalog.
Approximately 90 percent of 2007 respondents up from 85 percent in 2006 said they would recommend the PINES system to friends. Nearly as many (88.3 percent) agreed with the statement, "I am satisfied with the PINES Statewide Library Card system."

Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center and part-time LIST faculty member. "The program offers

I I typically find what I am looking for using the PINES online catalog;

This year's survey was coordinated by PINES Services Specialist Katherine Gregory, with

students not only the most basic skills but also the kind of balanced

I It is easy to determine if my library owns a particular item;

technical assistance from GPLS Webmaster Darin Givens. I

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June 2007 Georgia Public Library Service News

NEWS IN BRIEF



David Charles "Chuck" Gibson has been appointed director of the South Georgia Regional Library System, based in Valdosta. Most recently associate director of public services for the Worthington Libraries in Worthington and Columbus, Ohio, he is a past winner of the MCI Ohio Librarian of the Year Award.
Elizabeth McKinney de Garcia has been named PINES director. She joined GPLS in 2001 and previously served as PINES program manager.

Bill Shea has

joined GPLS as

business

manager. He

most recently

served as

administrative

operations

director at the

Georgia

Shea

Department of

Human Resources' Public Health

Laboratory in Atlanta.

Elaine Black has joined GPLS as director of Children's Services. She most recently served as events and outreach manager for the Gwinnett County Black Public Library, based in Lawrenceville.

Katharine "Kitti" McKean has been named manager of the new Auburn Public Library, part of the Piedmont Regional Library. She was previously extension services coordinator for the system.

The Hall County Library System has received the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce's 2007 Business Beautification Award. In addition, Ronda Sanders, a staff member at the Hall County Library, recently won one of three grants from the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board.
The Sale City Library in Mitchell County has joined the Camilla-based DeSoto Trail Regional Library. DeSoto Trail has also established the C.M. Stripling Southern History and Civil War Collection. Composed of more than 250 books and 20 videos, the materials are available for loan statewide through PINES. The collection was assembled by the late C.M. Stripling, whose family donated the collection to DeSoto Trail in March.
The Dawson County Board of Commissioners invited Tracy Walker, youth services specialist at the Dawson County Library, to tell her original story The Best Fish Catcher in Appalachia at a board meeting in April. Walker's tale is one of five stories included in the 2007 Vacation Reading Program. I

Janet Florence Blake Weinberger

What she really wants to do is direct...
Wendy Weinberger (right), director of the Screven-Jenkins Regional Library System, became a director of a different sort in April, putting actors -- herself included -- through their paces in a community theater production of "Cheaper by the Dozen." The 1920s-set comedy, performed by the Averitt Stars at the Averitt Center for the Arts in Statesboro, also featured Lois Roberts (left), director of the Statesboro Regional Library System. Weinberger portrayed Miss Brill, the stern teacher, while Roberts portrayed Mrs. Fitzgerald, the housekeeper.

Scott Routsong is the new youth services coordinator for the Tifton-based Coastal Plain Regional Library. He will replace Kathy Griffis, who has been named assistant director for branch services. Max Johnson has also joined the system as cataloging coordinator.

Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. and the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia formally recognized the accomplishments of Nancy Tillinghast, director of the Thomas County Public Library System in Thomasville, who recently received a New York Times Librarian of the Year Award.

Prime Time support
Wal-Mart donated $1,000 to the Chamblee Library to support its Prime Time: Family Time Reading program, which targets Spanish speaking families. From left are Sharon Deeds, youth services coordinator at DeKalb County Public Library; Ev Shepherd, youth services librarian at the Chamblee Library; and Marquita Brown, assistant manager of the Chamblee Wal-Mart.

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Georgia Public Library Service News June 2007

Fulton County Office of Community Relations

Center for the Book earns kudos

The Georgia Center for the Book is becoming a center of
attention. In May, it was named one of five recipients nationwide of the prestigious Boorstin Award. Presented by the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, the honor comes to Georgia's center in recognition of its success as co-founder and sponsor of the new Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival and the "All Georgia Reads" project.

The center was also lauded for its extensive, successful program of statewide author presentations. Funds for these awards were donated to the national Center for the Book by Ruth F. Boorstin, wife of former Librarian of Congress Daniel J. Boorstin (1975-1987).
"The recognition is wonderful, of course," said Bill Starr, executive director of the Georgia Center for the Book. "I'm particularly pleased, because honors from our colleagues acknowledge what we think is at the core of our mission: helping to encourage writing skills among young readers, taking Georgia's rich literary heritage into all parts of the state, and bringing the finest writers in America and the world to Georgia audiences."
Georgia's Center for the Book also has a national winner in this year's Letters About Literature competition, Starr noted. A reading-writing contest that is also sponsored by the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, Letters About Literature encourages students to write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre -- fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic -- explaining how that author's work changed the student's way of thinking about the world or themselves. Sixth-grader Katja Saana Sinikka Martin of Alpharetta, who wrote her prize-winning letter to the late poet Robert Frost, is one of only six national winners among more than 56,000 participants. Martin and other statewide competition winners were honored at an awards ceremony May 19 at the Decatur Library.
A member of the Georgia Center for the Book Advisory Council, Dr. Thomas L. McHaney of Decatur, was also honored in May. McHaney received a 2007 Governor's Award in the Humanities from the Georgia Humanities Council and Gov. Sonny Perdue. A scholar of Southern literature and award-winning author, he is a professor at Georgia State University.
"Members of our Advisory Council devote a lot of unpaid time and energy to help us accomplish our goals," said Starr, "as does Darro Willey, the director of our host organization, the DeKalb County Public Library." I

In honor of Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System Volunteer Appreciation Day, volunteers presented the county's board with an $805,315 "check" representing the value of donated service to the library system and the citizens it serves. Front row (from left): Commissioner Lynne Riley, Rachael McCord, Margaret Roach, Karen Purcell, Marcy Meyers, Lillian Mandyck, Linda Brooks-Cooper, Commissioner John Eaves and Sharon Irver. Back row (from left): Library Director John Szabo, Commissioner William "Bill" Edwards, Commissioner Robb Pitts and Commissioner Emma Darnell.
Atlanta-Fulton system honors volunteers
The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System (AFPL) honored
its helpers and supporters during its 17th Annual Library Volunteer Recognition Program, held April 21. Volunteers received recognition for outstanding hours, longevity of service and specific contributions.
More than 1,600 volunteers and 22 Friends of the Library groups donated approximately 48,000 hours of service throughout the AFPL system in 2006.
The Board of Commissioners of Fulton County later proclaimed May 2 "Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System Volunteer Appreciation Day." I
Noted author returns to scene of crimes
Ann Rule, one of the foremost true-crime writers in
America, will autograph and speak about her newest book, Too Late To Say Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal, June 8 at the Mary Willis Library in Washington. The book tells the true story of Dr. Barton Corbin, a Georgia dentist, and the deaths of two women in his life -- Dolly Hearn, a fellow dental student -- and Jennifer Corbin, his wife.
Rule's appearance at the library is of particular significance because Dolly Hearn was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Carlton Hearn, the latter of whom is a former member of the library's board. Rule interviewed virtually everyone related to the story -- the victims' families, investigators, prosecutors and other sources from Georgia to Australia -- to uncover the truth behind the sensational crimes. I
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June 2007 Georgia Public Library Service News

Staff

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
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

Designs on the future
GPLS sponsored a Libris Design class March 26 and 27 at Georgia Virtual Technical College in Covington. Libris Design is a Microsoft Access database that library staff can use to create library building programs, prepare furniture and equipment cost estimates, plan renovations and produce budgets for library construction projects. Front row, from left, are: Alan Harkness, Pat Barker, Leslie Partridge, Libris trainer Richard Hall of the California State Library, Stella Cone, Erik Lewis, Jean Turn, Mark Cole, Catherine Vanstone, Anne Isbell, Carrie Zeiger and Claudia Gibson. Back row, from left, are Nancy Tillinghast, Gilda Stanbery-Cotney, Dana Peeler, Jennifer Durham, Nathan Rall, Susan Stephens, Charles Gee, Judy Golden, Nick Fogarty, Linda Demmers of Libris Design and Marsha Christy.

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