Bits from Barb

 Fall Preconference for 2010 SLP
The current plan is to have an SLP pre-conference workshop in October
2009 to introduce the 2010 SLP themes "Make a Splash-Read!" and "Make
Waves @ Your Library." The 2009 WLA Confernce will be held in Appleton.

DLTCL will not be offering a state incentive in 2009.


 Teen Services
Systems will be sponsoring Adolescent Literacy workshops beginning in
March 2009. These training opportunities involve co-sponsorships by all
the regional systems.
The workshop held at NFLS will be on March 18, 2009! 
If you cannot attend on this date,a workshop with the
same speakers will be held at the Waupaca Public Library on March 19. 


 Libri Foundation Awards
The Libri Foundation is currently accepting applications for its
2009 Book for Children grants.  The next deadline for applications is
April 15. The foundation has three application deadlines each year,  so
if you miss this one, applications are also accepted August 15th  and
January 15, 2009.


The Libri Foundation is a nationwide non-profit organization which
donates new, quality, hardcover children's books to small, rural public
libraries throughout the United States.  Since October 1990, the
Foundation has donated over $3,500,000 worth of new children's books to
more than 2,600 libraries in 48 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.


Libraries are qualified on an individual basis. In general,
county libraries should serve a population under 16,000 and town
libraries should serve a population under 10,000 (usually under 5,000)
Libraries should be in a rural area, have a limited operating budget, and 
an active children's department. Rural is usually considered to be at
least 30 miles from a city with a population over 40,000. Libraries with
total operating budgets over $150,000 and county libraries with total
operating budgets over $350,000 are rarely given grants.


A school library may apply only if it also serves as the public
library (i.e., it is open to everyone in the community, has some summer
hours, and there is no public library in town). A branch library may
apply if the community it is in meets the definition of rural. If the
branch library receives its funding from its parent institution, then the 
parent institution's total operating budget, not just the branch
library's total operating budget, must meet the budget guidelines.


Previous Books for Children grant recipients are eligible to
apply for another grant three years after the receipt of their last
grant. Libraries that do not fulfill all grant requirements, including
the final report, may not apply for another grant. Grants will be
awarded April 30th and August 31st. Application guidelines and
forms may be  downloaded from the Foundation's website.


For more information about The Libri Foundation or its Books for
Children program, please contact Ms. Barbara J. McKillip, President, The
Libri Foundation, P.O. Box 10246, Eugene, OR  97440; 541-747-9655
(phone); 541-747-4348 (fax); libri@librifoundation.org (email).  Normal
office hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Time.

Upcoming UW-Madison Continuing Education Courses
Connecting Teens with the Best in New Teen Literature; February 23-April 5

Children, Technology, and the Library; March 9-April 3

Graphic Novels in the Library; March 11-April 8

Tutorial: Spanish for the Library; Begins the 1st of each month



Two Ways to Get an Estimated Reading Level

Reading Level Search on WISCAT
Reading Level Search is a new resource available in WISCAT to
assist K-12 educators, librarians, and parents, to find student
reading-level appropriate material in the WISCAT Union Catalog.  Look for 
the Reading Level Search tab at the top of the page.
      
Reading Level Search is based on the Accelerated Reader (AR),
Lexile, and Reading Counts reading study programs. The "Search For" text
box may be left blank when results showing all items is desired.  A
specific reading level may be selected or a range entered into the text
boxes.

For more details, please see the information sheet at
www.dpi.wi.gov/rll/wiscat/pdf/readinglevelsearch.pdf.
 If you have any questions about this or any WISCAT topic, please contact 
Vickie Long, WISCAT Training & Technical Support, Reference & Loan
Library  (608) 224-5394.


Testing Your "Readability"
Both Microsoft Word and WordPerfect have built in "readability"
tools. These tools analyze documents and return information such as the
grade level, difficulty, and the percentage of passive voice sentences.
Readability tools are touted as a way to improve writing for clarity and
comprehension.

To access the readability function in MS Word, go to Tools and
select Spelling and Grammar. Click on Options and check the box "Show
Readability Statistics." After running spell check, readability
statistics will be displayed.

WordPerfect's  readability tool appears to provides more analysis 
and a better display of results. In WordPerfect, it's possible to compare 
one document to the readability of another document. Writing samples of
Hemingway and the Gettysburg address are pre-loaded for comparison. See
Determining Reading Levels in WordPerfect 10 for step-by-step procedures.

Both MS Word and WordPerfect utilize the Flesch-Kincaid
Readability Test and grade level rating. See the Flesch-Kincaid test
entry in Wikipedia for more information about that formula
--from Tech Tip in Brief - Heidi Yelk in the December 2008 edition of
WSLL@ Your Service, an E-publication of the Wisconsin State Law Library


SYSTEM YOUTH LIAISON POSTING
Barbara Huntington, DLTCL
December 2008