November 2003
News and Notes from the
Boston Regional Library System, Boston Public Library
BRLS Services are provided through state funds administered by the MA Board of Library Commissioners.
Gale Server Upgrades: The following announcement is a reminder that Gale will be performing some server upgrades in the last week of December. In order to accomplish this work we need to suspend daily content updates for 7 days while the hardware and software are being upgraded. To minimize the impact on you and your customers, Gale plans to do this work during the last week of December (Dec. 24 to Jan 1). New content suspended during this period will be added into our online products the first week of January, upon completion of our server upgrades. Please note that access to your Gale Products will not be affected during this period. If you have any questions regarding this communication, please contact: Doug Hansen Product Platforms Manager, Gale Group
--Marlene Sue Heroux, Reference Information Systems Specialist, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
Boston Region Annual Meeting, The Boston Athenaeum, November 4, 2003
Gallery in the Boston Athenaeum
The Boston Regional Library System's annual meeting was held Tuesday, Nov. 4, at the recently renovated Boston Athenaeum. Deirdre Brennan, Regional Program Administrator, outlined the Region's annual report for the approximately 30 people in attendance. She spoke of the many changes the Region, the BPL and all libraries have seen changes in the past year.
Coming and Going in the Region
Welcome to Our Newest Members
We are delighted to welcome the librarians at three brand-new schools in the Boston Public School system: * Mildred Avenue Middle School Library, Kathleen Ross, Library Teacher * New Boston Pilot Middle School Library, Jillian Buckley, Librarian * Orchard Gardens School, Marta Estrada, Library Teacher .
Fond Farewells
We were extremely sorry to read that fiscal troubles have forced the New England Aquarium to reduce 20% of all staff positions through layoffs. Unfortunately, Aquarium directors have decided to close the library. We will miss Dot Wensink, the insitution's longtime librarian, and we wish her well at this difficult time.
Conflict Resolution with Presenter Vicki Milledge, December 12, 2003
Canceled due to injury. Please check back in the new year; we will be trying to re-schedule in or around February 2004.
Check our Website for Full Listings:
To Check the Full Listing and Descriptions of BRLS CE Workshops and BPL Technical Training classes, please visit our web site at : www.bpl.org/brls/ce/ce.html
Items Coming Soon via Delivery
Please keep an eye out for the following items we are sending via delivery to member libraries:
Delivery Surveys are due!
Delivery Surveys were mailed to all member libraries this October, and these were due back to our office by November 14. If you have not yet completed and returned your survey, please do so as soon as possible. All 29 libraries who currently receive daily or weekly courier delivery service from the Region are required to complete this survey and return it to the Regional Services Office as a condition of continued service.
Libraries who aren't on our route: We sent you a different simple tally form, asking you to record over two weeks the number of items you send out via the US mail. We do want a total number, but what we are particularly looking for is the number of items you're mailing to other Regional libraries, other Massachusetts Regional libraries, and especially those library locations that are already served by delivery routes. You are not required to complete this, but if you are interested in being added to our courier route, it's necessary for us to know how many items you regularly send out.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Directory Online, Frequently Updated
As always, we encourage you to check our online Massachusetts Delivery Routing Directory frequently to find out who is on a route, which Region they belong to, and how to address your delivery labels to them.
Summer Reading Online Manual Debuts on December 15
Children's and youth librarians--keep an eye out for the announcement of the debut of the 2004 Summer Reading Manual this December. Webmaster Susan Babb from the Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System expects to launch the librarian resource site by Dec. 15, 2003, so you can start your planning and promotional ideas early for next summer. Many thanks to Susan and her colleauge Susan Grabski, who did outstanding design and layout work to make this the most attractive and user-friendly manual ever!
Special thanks to all the librarians throughout the state who contributed ideas for creative programming and reading lists tied to the"Explore Other Worlds" theme. In the Boston Region, Sarah Hay and Barbara Walton both contributed great ideas for teens, which will appear in the online manual.
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Grant Opportunities!
he Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) is pleased to announce the FY2005 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant round. In Massachusetts, the focus of the federal program continues to be programs that encourage cooperation among libraries and other service agencies at the local level and to support projects that meet the needs of the diverse libraries and library users in the state. The MBLC awards LSTA grant monies through an open competitive grant process. Click here for more information.
The Massachusetts Library Aid Association Committee on Aid to Small Public Libraries is pleased to announce its Scholarship Program for the spring 2004 term. The purpose of this program is to subsidize training in library and information science for librarians and library staff who are presently employed in small Massachusetts public libraries. Applicants must be currently employed in a Massachusetts public library; may not hold an MLS already and must work in a community of 30,000 or under. The applicant's annual salary may not exceed $30,000. Small grants (ranging from $ 300 -500) will be given to cover courses and training programs which are applicable to public library service. Occasionally a small amount of additional money is available for a travel allowance for those commuting 80 miles or more. Previous grant awardees may apply, however, in no case will more than three awards be made to an individual. The application deadline for spring 2004 is December 11 , 2003. No applications will be considered after this time. You may email your request for an application to me: Shelley.quezada@state.ma.us or contact Rachel Devin, Administrative Assistant to the Library Development Unit of the MBLC at 617 267 9400 or 1 800 952 7403. In all cases, please identify yourself by providing your name, library, community and a telephone, fax and/or email so we may contact you.
Applications are available for Assimilating America: The Life and Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer, a new initiative that provides grants to libraries that present public programs on the life and work of the Nobel Prize-winning writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991). Libraries of all types are invited to apply. To obtain a grant application, please visit www.ala.org/publicprograms. Applications must be received by December 15, 2003. Fifty selected libraries will receive a $450 grant to cover programming costs and support materials, including the authoritative three-volume hardcover collection "Isaac Bashevis Singer: Collected Stories," which will be published by The Library of America in July 2004; a reading group guide; the How to Organize a Singer Program leaders guide; and access to an extensive Singer Centennial Web site that contains a national calendar of events, biographical and critical writings on Singer, continuously updated resources, and relevant links to other sites. Grant recipients also are invited to attend an orientation workshop at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., on June 27, 2004. The centennial celebration, Assimilating America, will provide funding for a variety of public programs, including scholar or teacher-led book discussion groups, discussions of the differences and similarities between the book and film versions of one of Singer's works, readings of Singer's stories by local performers or community leaders, lectures by scholars and others knowledgeable about Singer and his work, panel discussions featuring scholars or writers familiar with the themes portrayed in Singers works, screenings of films based on Singers works or documentaries on the writer, or dramatizations based on Singers works. Libraries applying for a grant are asked to develop a program for a public audience based on one of the aforementioned program ideas or a new idea that explores Singers life and work. Isaac Bashevis Singer, the most famous Yiddish writer of the 20th century, was an immigrant writer who gained recognition as a renowned American writer. His writings include The Family Moskat (1950), The Magician of Lublin (1961), In My Father's Court (1966), The Manor (1967), and The Estate (1969). Assimilating America is an initiative of The Library of America in cooperation with the ALA Public Programs Office, and with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Our Feature Member: Boston Arts Academy/Fenway High School
A place where students integrate research from all their
curricular subjects
The Boston Arts Academy/Fenway High School and the Boston Symphony Education Resource Center is one of our school library members. Meet Kathy Lowe, Bob Roth, and Mary Ann Kearns and learn about their library. Pilot schools are setting the example in the Boston Public Schools, and this is a place where it seems to be working! Read the article.
Connie Dudgeon
Boston Regional Library System
Parents + Schools + Libraries = A Terrific Trio
From Janet Eckert,Youth Services Consultant, Western Massachusetts Region: "Thank you to all who contributed to our Massachusetts Regional Library Systems Exhibit Booth at yesterday's Department of Education daylong training titled 'Parents and Schools: A Powerful Partnership'. Over 60 parents, child care providers, and school staff attended this event and all visited our very impressive display which featured bookmarks, bibliographies, library flyers, and more. Very few of our giveaway items were left at the end of the day! I titled our exhibit 'Parents + Schools + Libraries = A Terrific Trio' and have developed a webpage that features a selection of photos taken at this event - http://www.wmrls.org/wmrls/trio.html Again, many thanks to all for making ours a most successful conference attraction."
Boston Public Library--- To Apply:
To be considered for
current or future openings, please send letter of application, resume and
references to: Director of Human Resources, Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston
Street, Boston, MA 02116. FAX. (617) 266-4673. Or apply in person at the Human
Resources Office. 3rd floor. City of Boston residency is a requisite. Boston
Public Library is an Equal Opportunity /Affirmative Action Employer Committed
to Cultural Diversity.
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