PLA e-News, February 20, 2004
Volume 7, Number 2

Spotlight on PLA Gold Partner - Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
Thanks to PLA Partners
Smartest Card @ Your Library Campaign
Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library
PLA Sponsors Regional Workshop on Creating Library Policies
PDA Downloads at PLA Conference
Ben Stein to Appear at Thompson Gale Booth During PLA Conference

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Spotlight on PLA Gold Partner Innovative Interfaces, Inc.

Innovative Interfaces is the world's leading provider of Web-powered and Java-based automated library systems. Partnering with libraries for over 25 years, Innovative's systems are installed in thousands of libraries in 39 countries worldwide. Its flagship product, Millennium, is an acknowledged market leader providing the most complete and powerful array of reliable, flexible, and user-friendly features for librarians and their patrons. Innovative also offers a complete suite of digital library solutions including Millennium Access Plus (smart linking, meta-searching, and remote patron authentication), MetaSource (digital collections management), and Electronic Resource Management (subscription database management); and offers INN-Reach, a direct consortial borrowing solution, providing
libraries with a union catalog, sharing technology, and powerful reporting.

Be sure to visit Innovative Interfaces at booth 1900 at the PLA National Conference in Seattle!

Innovative Interfaces
5850 Shellmound Way
Emeryville, CA 94608
Customer Phone No: (510) 655-6200
Fax No: (510) 450-6350
Email: info@iii.com
Customer Contact: Gene Shimshock, Director of Marketing

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Smartest Card@Your Library Campaign

An exciting new campaign to help promote the value of your library and public libraries nationwide will be unveiled to public librarians at the PLA National Conference in Seattle. The PLA/ALA Smartest Card@Your Library campaign will reach out to national media and decision-makers to deliver our message. The campaign will provide sample press materials, posters, downloadable art and other promotional materials to help get public attention and reach out to key groups in your community. The official campaign launch will be September 2004--National Library Card Sign-up Month.

In the meantime, we want to hear from public librarians about the campaign and what will help them most. This campaign is designed especially for you. The campaign must complement and enhance local marketing efforts. Please complete the online survey (see www.pla.org) and tell us what you think about this new initiative.

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Every Child Ready to Read @Your Library

Every Child Ready to Ready@Your Library is a joint project of PLA and ALSC (the Association for Library Service to Children). Through the project, PLA has developed training and materials that will allow all public libraries to incorporate the latest in early literacy research into their programming for young children. As you know, children begin to learn literacy skills at birth. Many parents and caregivers, though, need to be taught the importance of early literacy and how to develop critical pre-reading skills so that every child enters school ready to learn to read.

A training kit that will help librarians do this will be available soon from PLA/ALSC. The kit will contain everything you need to help parents and caregivers learn the importance of early literacy. For more information about the project and the training kit, visit www.pla.org/earlyliteracy.htm.

For more fun and help with early literacy, be sure to visit the ALA Graphics web page for more information about Curious? READ! Based on the beloved children's series, Curious George, this CD uses the latest early literacy research about how children learn to read, to provide librarians with the promotional and informational tools needed to create an effective literacy program.

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PLA Sponsors Regional Workshop on Creating Library Policies

Why should busy library managers spend valuable time reviewing, revising, and writing policy statements, regulations, procedures, and guidelines? Isn't it enough to tell staff what the rules are?

In a word--NO!

The Public Library Association (PLA) is offering a one-day workshop on creating library policies on April 27, 2004, in Scottsdale, Arizona. In June 2003, PLA released the latest entry in the "For Results" series titled, Creating Policies for Results: From Chaos to Clarity. This workshop taught by June Garcia and Sandra Nelson, the book's co-authors, will provide library staff responsible for writing their library's policies the information they need to make the best use of the book's exercises and templates.

Participants will leave this program ready to complete a policy audit, write or revise policies, and communicate effectively about the library's policies with the board, the staff, and the public.

You can find more information and an application on the PLA web site, www.pla.org. Workshop space is limited so sign up today!

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PDA users who will be attending the PLA National Conference--Read On!

PLA will provide PDA download stations in Seattle to download all conference information--programs, exhibits and more--to your PDA. In advance of the conference, you may download from the PLA web page at www.pla.org beginning on Friday, February 20.

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BEN STEIN TO APPEAR AT THE THOMSON GALE BOOTH DURING THE PLA CONFERENCE

Lawyer, teacher, actor, comic, economist, author and veritable renaissance man, Ben Stein will once again offer his support and wit at the Thomson Gale booth (# 614) during the Public Library Association conference in Seattle on Feb. 26, 2004.

Thomson Gale has invited Ben Stein to share his fascination for facts with some of his favorite people: librarians. With Ben's help, librarians will learn how the Gale Virtual Reference Library can transform the reference shelf into a round-the-clock, customizable eBook resource for library patrons -- and they'll do so while having fun matching wits with this celebrated wise guy.

While at the booth, five lucky librarians will have the chance to win dinner with Ben Stein on Thursday, Feb. 26. To enter to win, librarians can fill out a postcard, which will be available at the Thomson Gale booth (# 614) from 4:00 p.m to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, or on Thursday, Feb. 26, until noon.

In addition to Ben Stein's appearance, PLA attendees also have a chance to win the five-book Harry Potter series signed by the collection's famed illustrator, Mary Grand Pre. Thorndike Press, an imprint of Thomson Gale, publishes the entire Harry Potter series in easily readable large print.

For Ben Stein, books and more, librarians should stop by Thomson Gale booth (# 614) during the 2004 PLA conference.

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PLA e-News, February 20, 2004 Volume 7, Number 2

Thanks to PLA Partners