This year's WiLSWorld, to be presented on July 21st and 22nd here in Madison, kicks off with a talk by Tim Spalding, founder of LibraryThing and a developer of LibraryThing for Libraries, a product for social networking about books through library catalogs. LibraryThing for Libraries is in use at 180 libraries, including both publics and academics. LibraryThing boasts over a million members, with 48 million books cataloged representing over 5 million unique works. Find out more about LibraryThing.

The second day features a plenary by Eric Lease Morgan. He is currently at Notre Dame University, where he is Head of the Digital Access and Information Architecture Department. Eric developed MyLibrary, a personalizable/customizable user interface to sets of library collections and services. It is widely-used, and has been adapted by Eric and others to construct novel access to resources. For example, Eric used it as a framework to develop the Alex Catalogue of Electronic Text, which contains some 14,000 public-domain documents from the areas of American and British Literature and Western Philosophy.

As you may know, WiLS has been working for some time with Lyrasis to arrange access to their Library Leadership Network (LLN) for our Level 1 libraries. They were in the process of redesigning the website so our development was put on hold for a while. The original idea was to provide WiLS libraries access to relevant, filtered information but avoid re-inventing the wheel. We also envisioned a kind of SDI for library directors. It now appears that the content on the LLN site will remain freely available; you do need to create an account in order to get to things like "Leader's Digest," my personal favorite, but there is no cost associated with setting up an account. So we are re-thinking whether it is worthwhile for WiLS to contribute funds to help with the continued development of this resource. We remain committed to our original concept but we are wondering if this is the best place for our money.

Please take a look at the site and let me know if you have an opinion. Go to: www.lyrasis.org Click on the LLN logo on bottom right.

Kathy Schneider
schneid at wils.wisc.edu
WiLS Director

A topic that comes up frequently during the WiLS Community Manager visits is continuing education and assessment. So the recent WebJunction Crossroads item on Library Competencies caught my attention. You may want to take a look—it is very thorough. This same issue of Crossroads has some interesting items on Marketing aimed mainly at public libraries—another hot topic. One Minute Marketing on You Tube is particularly clever!

Kathy Schneider

Prepayment bonuses have recently been posted to accounts that deposited funds to cover 12 months of OCLC Services for FY10 or Calendar Year 2009 or 2010, as applicable. We are hoping, as you are, that interest rates will be more favorable in the near future. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Shirley Schenning
schenning at wils.wisc.edu
WiLS OCLC Business Manager and Services Assistant

Dates and Sessions (sessions are 2:00-3:00pm Central Time)
March 11—Get Real, Be Creative: Social Networking in Libraries with
Tasha Saecker, Director, Menasha Public Library (see Social Libraries),
and Jeff Dawson, Director, Lester Public Library, Two Rivers (see Tame the Web)

March 18—Library H3LP with Cindi Trainor, Coordinator for Library Technology and Data Services, Eastern Kentucky University, and Steve Frye, Reference Llibrarian, UW-Madison

April 1—OCLC Web Services in Action with Karen Coombs, Product Manager for the OCLC Developer Network

April 8—Information, Not Location: the new MLibrary with Ken Varnum, Karen Reiman-Sendi, and Liene Karels, University of Michigan

April 15—Mobile Site Generator with Chad Haefele, Davis Library at UNC Chapel Hill

April 22—Cool tools: Prezi and Zotero with Jason Kucsma, NY Public Library, Joe Morgan
(NeoLib), Ian Benton and Eliot Finkelstein, UW-Madison

Registration
WiLS Level One and MINITEX members register here.
All other libraries register here.

We are pleased to welcome Karen Coyle as the keynote speaker at this year's Peer Council: Karen Coyle, Librarian and Consultant in the area of digital libraries. Karen worked for over 20 years at the University of California in the California Digital Library, has served on library and information standards committees, and has written frequently on technical topics ranging from metadata development, technology management, system design, and on policy areas such as copyright and privacy.

For more information, see Peer Council 2010.

WiLS is actively exploring relationships with providers of e-readers and e-books for our member libraries. As the offerings are continually evolving, WiLS chose to focus on the three ereaders used most by library patrons.

E-Reader Summaries

Amazon Kindle $259 the kindles use E-Ink content is downloaded over the Amazon Whispernet using AT&T. Devices can be used without a computer. Free internet access. Kindle software can also support Windows, iPhone OS, Blackberry and Mac OSX (not yet developed). 1.5 million Devices sold. Specs- 8x5.3x.36 inches, screen size 6inches, weight 10.2 oz, and 2GB storage

Content
• Native Formats are Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible, MP3, MOBI, and PRC.
• Available Content is 400,000 plus books, more than 130 newspapers and magazines and 8,000 blogs all accessed through The Kindle Store.
• Book Sharing can be done between devices with the Kindle app on the same account.

Barnes and Noble Nook $259 the nook includes Wi-Fi and AT&T 3G wireless, uses E-Ink and an additional smaller color touch screen that serves as an input device. First E book reader to be based on the Android platform. Has extra storage. "Lend Me" feature that allows some books to be licensed by publishers for sharing. B&N application software for iPhone, iPod touch, Mac and Windows. Specs- 7.7x4.9x.5inches, screen size 6inches, weight 12.1oz, 2GB of storage with additional available with flash memory card.

Content
• Native Formats are EPUB, ereader, PDF, MP3, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP.
• Available Content is 350,000 books for sale, public domain; about 30 newspapers, magazines and Google Books brings titles total to 1 million.
• Book Sharing is possible can be shared for up to 14 days at a time to one additional user, nook to nook sharing is also allowed, and sharing can be done between personal devices. All done on "Lend Me" feature with the Barnes and Noble application software.

Sony Daily Edition $399 The device has a larger touch screen and 3G wireless (AT&T Mobility) access which enables computer-free access to the Sony eBookstore. Like earlier Sony Readers the display can be oriented horizontally, enabling a landscape style mode, and adds a new mode displaying two portrait-mode pages side-by-side like a book. Includes adjustable font sizes. Specs- 8.13x4x19/32inches, screen size 7.1 inches, weight 12.75 oz, rotatable screen, 1.6GB storage with memory stick expandable capability.

Content
• Native Formats are EPUB, PDF, JPEG, BBeb, TXT, RTF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, MP3 and AAC.
• Available Content includes public domain, the Sony ebookstore and access to public libraries through OverDrive.
• Book Sharing- not available

For an up-to-date overview of the volatile world of e-books, check out this great podcast: From the Frontlines of the E-book Wars

Featuring: Andrew Albanese, features editor at Publishers Weekly Sara Nelson, Books Editor, "O" Magazine Brian O'Leary, Founder & Principal, Magellan Media Partners Mike Shatzkin, Founder & CEO, The Idea Logical Company, Inc., From host Christopher Kenneally: From the debut of the iPad to MacMillan's challenge of Amazon's pricing model for Kindle book downloads, the news in recent weeks on the multiple fronts in the electronic publishing revolution has raised many questions and heightened concerns for the future of our industry. Without any doubt, E-books Wars is the first break-out story of the year in book publishing. And we can expect it to remain a leading headline-maker throughout 2010.

Here is a list of groups that are coming up for renewal July-September. Please let us know if you are interested in joining any of these groups. Please contact Kirsten Houtman for more information khoutman at wils.wisc.edu

July 1—June 30
Academic OneFile (Gale)—academic libraries
AccessScience (McGraw-Hill)—all library types
Booksinprint.com (Bowker)—academic libraries
Britannica Online databases —all library types
Business & Company Resource Center (Gale)—academic libraries
LexisNexis databases—all library types
Oxford University Press databases—all library types

August 1—July 31
ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Press databases—K12 libraries
Academic Search Complete (EBSCO)—academic libraries
ATLA Index and/or Full Text (EBSCO)—academic libraries
Catholic Periodical & Literature Index (EBSCO)—academic libraries
Cinahl Index and/or Full Text (EBSCO)—academic libraries
Criminal Justice Periodical Index (Proquest)—academic libraries
EconLit Full Text (EBSCO)—academic libraries
Education Research Complete (EBSCO)—academic libraries
IIMP (Proquest)—academic libraries
Nursing Journals (Proquest)—academic libraries
Old Testament Abstracts (EBSCO)—academic libraries
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (Gale)—academic libraries
PsycArticles (both Proquest & EBSCO interfaces)—all library types
PsycInfo (both Proquest & EBSCO interfaces)—all library types
RILM (EBSCO)—academic libraries
Research Library (Proquest)—academic libraries

September 1—August 31
Kraus Curriculum Development Online (Bernan)—academic libraries
MLA (EBSCO)—academic libraries
New Testament Abstracts (EBSCO)—academic libraries

Are you currently collaborating with your local school or public library on programming or resource sharing? If so, we want to know. Sara Gold is working on a program for WLA about creating successful school and public library partnerships and she wants to hear from you. Please send your stories, thoughts or questions to Sara at sgold at wils.wisc.edu

WEMTA Please visit Cheryl and Sara, March 17-18 at the Kalahari Resort for the annual WEMTA conference. We look forward to seeing you at booth 506.

WiLS is pleased to announce special pricing for WiLS Members on new programs for School Libraries by OverDrive. Now school libraries can give students the books they need in formats they want. OverDrive School Download Library® extends your school library with eBook and audiobook downloads from your school's website. It's based on a proven platform currently serving over 10,000 public libraries worldwide, including every public library in Wisconsin. OverDrive AudioBook Classroom™ turns every school computer into an instant reading, listening and learning station. This simple solution for digital audiobook delivery works on your local network offering students instant access to a library of 1,001 audiobooks.

Learn more about School Download Library and Audiobook Classroom at the WEMTA conference March 17-18 and learn how your school, in partnership with WiLS, can . Stop by the OverDrive booth or join Brian Potash from OverDrive for one of their hour sessions "Using Digital Books in Education: eBooks and Digital Audiobooks" on Wednesday March 17th at 10am and 4pm.

EasyBib.com is the most popular online bibliography management tool used by over 16 million students, and known for its intuitive design and accuracy. WiLS has partnered with EasyBib to offer free trials and discounts to EasyBib's School Edition premium service. School Edition's main features include:

• The latest bibliographical styles: MLA 7th edition, APA 6th edition, and Chicago 15th edition formatting
• Automatically cite books by ISBN numbers and Web sites by URLs
• Over 55 different source types can be cited
• Import citations from third party databases
• Footnote and parenthetical formatting
• Account management
• Advertisement free environment

You can learn more about School Edition at www.easybib.com/products/bib4school

To request a free trial, go to www.easybib.com/products/bib4schoolpricing. Select your school size, leave the free trial radio button selected, and then click the "Fill out your school information button." Once filled out an EasyBib representative will contact you to orient you with the service and set up the free trial.

Additionally, EasyBib has created reference guides on the new MLA 7th edition and APA 6th edition styles, which have been helpful both students and librarians. You can view and print them at: www.easybib.com/librarians

Please contact Sara Gold for a price quote at sgold at wils.wisc.edu

Did you know you can view your invoices and subscription databases online?

Contact Shirley Schenning, Financial Accounts Manager at schenning@wils.wisc.edu or 608.263.5051 to receive your institution's user name and password.

Colleen Galloway, Public Library Rep for ProQuest, Ancestry and SIRS ProQuest has gone through a reorganization, and the intent of the restructuring is to make them even more attentive and responsive to their customers and needs.

Colleen Galloway will be replacing Bill Brauer as your ProQuest Library Representative. Colleen has been with ProQuest for 10 years and has a well established relationship with WiLS. You can reach Colleen at 800-521-0600 x 7228 or Colleen.Galloway@proquest.com Special Offers and Trial Reminders

Facts On File, in conjunction with Films for the Humanities and Sciences (FFH&S) presents a comprehensive new Curriculum Video On Demand subscription service, a compilation of FFH&S's best high-school-level video content spanning the following core subject areas:

• Science and Mathematics
• Social Studies
• Literature and Language Arts
• Health and Nutrition
• Business and Economics
• Visual and Performing Arts.

Any new subscriptions ordered prior to 3/15/2010 will receive an additional 10% discount above the normal WiLS discount of 10%. Please contact Bob Bridges for a user name and password or price quote at 1-800-322-8755 ext. 4379 or bob.bridges@films.com.

The Learning Language Databases Trial for public libraries is ending this month and we are asking that you please fill out the very brief survey you were sent in the trial email. The information we gather in this survey helps us negotiate the most competitive pricing for our members. Please take a moment and complete it. Thanks!

The February 2010 Access Newsletter is available on the WiLS web site.

WiLS is posting to Twitter! Follow WiLS at twitter.com/wilsill

The Dog of the Month is Tampopo, a ten-year old Labrador retriever, the companion of Jon-Mark Bolthouse, who, after many years at UW-Colleges, recently became the Technology Projects Manager at South Central Library System. Tampopo, named after the Itami Juzo movie of the same name can do about ten tricks from hand signals and if told "off" will not abscond with the steak you've left on the coffee table. For information on adding your dog, see www.wils.wisc.edu/train/contdm.

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UW-Oshkosh Library Director Patrick Wilkinson is the Chair of OCLC's Americas Regional Council. In the effort to involve the membership, he offers these suggestions to OCLC users.

View the first America's Regional Council first meeting at ALA Midwinter, including comments from the general session and the three breakout sessions on Values and Social Contract, Emerging Technologies and Record Use. The three groups all gave brief reports at the final, general session.

Attend the upcoming America's Regional Council meetings
OCLC Member Meet and Greet: Americas Region—at PLA, Thursday, March 25, 2010, from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m., in Suite #1455 at the Doubletree Hotel Portland

Americas Regional Council Annual Meeting—at ALA, June 24, 2010, from 1:00 — 6:00 p.m. and June 25, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon in Washington, DC

Learn more about Global Council and the Americas Regional Council online

Connect with members in an online community: visit the Americas Regional Council Member-to-Member website

Contact the Americas Regional Council Executive Committee directly to share your ideas and suggestions.

Now available: Webcasts of OCLC product and service meetings at ALA Midwinter
Single-search access to your library's electronic resources from OCLC
Reaching Consumers through Nontraditional Methods: What Can WorldCat Do for You?
Redesigning Technical Services Workflows
Web Scale for Libraries: A Sea-change for the 21st Century
Local Impact—Global Reach: WorldCat Local for Your Library

Meet your users through text messaging, Facebook or mobile devices: QuestionPoint provides more channels to meet users where they are, at the point of need.

A complete reference management system, QuestionPoint offers multiple avenues for you to reach users when they need library assistance—including e-mail, chat, and knowledgebases—along with administrative tools for managing the operation. If you are interested in after-hours service, you can be part of 24/7 Reference Cooperative as well, a network of reference librarians that serve users on the Web 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Among the latest enhancements to QuestionPoint:
Text a Librarian. OCLC and Mosio are working together to enable seamless integration of Mosio's Text a Librarian text messaging reference software with QuestionPoint to provide a comprehensive virtual reference solution for libraries.

Mobile WebKit Qwidget. Library users who navigate the Web with mobile devices can use an optimized QuestionPoint Qwidget to connect with a librarian. In addition, iPhone users can download a direct link to the Qwidget to their home screen, represented by an icon (similar to an app icon).

Qwidget for Facebook. Facebook users can now add the QuestionPoint Qwidget to their Facebook pages.

Chat widget displays in WorldCat Local. Institutions that have a QuestionPoint Qwidget or use other chat clients can provide their users the opportunity to chat directly with a librarian from within WorldCat Local.

Custom Qwidget skins and formating. QuestionPoint now offers your Web team the ability to create a custom Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) file for the Qwidget, enabling them to exactly match the color of the Qwidget with the rest of your Web site.

Knowledge bases offered as a Web service. QuestionPoint knowledge bases can now be accessed via other interfaces by using a Web service search-query and data-record link.
Learn more about QuestionPoint enhancements >>

OCLC is pleased to announce that a freely accessible site for searching only OAIster records is now available. With this OAIster site, you are able to search only OAIster and its millions of metadata records.

OAIster records will continue to be indexed in WorldCat.org, and will be integrated in WorldCat.org search results along with records from thousands of libraries worldwide. They will also be included in WorldCat Local and WorldCat Local "quick start" search results. Additionally, they will continue to be available on the OCLC FirstSearch service to base package subscribers, providing another valuable access point for this rich database and a complement to other FirstSearch databases.

OAIster is a union catalog of digital resources hosted at the University of Michigan since 2002. Launched with grant support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, OAIster was developed to test the feasibility of building a portal to open-archive collections using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). In 2009, OCLC formed a partnership with the University of Michigan in order to provide continued access to open-archive collections through the OAIster database.

OAIster has grown to become one of the world's largest aggregations of records pointing to open-archive collections with more than 23 million records contributed by over 1,100 organizations worldwide.

Learn more about OAIster >>

Public Library Association 2010 Conference

OCLC at PLA: registration

A Reference Renaissance 2010: Inventing the Future, co-chaired by Marie Radford and Rivkah Sass, will be held August 8-10, 2010, in Denver, Colorado. This exciting event will feature numerous presentations showcasing the latest reference trends and techniques that will give you new ideas and tools to better serve your customers. Also included are vendor exhibits, presentations specifically focused on products and services of interest to reference and information staff and plenty of opportunities for networking and sharing with colleagues.

Information about registration and the Call for Proposals for this conference will be coming soon. In addition to Virtual Reference, conference tracks will include Meeting Our Users Where They Are and New Roles and Future Directions for Reference Librarians. We welcome submissions from public and academic librarians. In addition to more traditional presentations, lightning round and Pecha Kucha submissions are also encouraged.

To receive email announcements about the Call for Proposals, registration or other information about this event, please send an email to refren@bcr.org. For more information about Reference Renaissance and to see the 2008 presentation programs.

The Proceedings of the 2008 conference will be published by Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. in February 2010.

Related courses in the Fundamentals Series, hosted by ALCTS, include Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management and Fundamentals of Electronic Resources Acquisitions. Courses in cataloging and preservation are coming soon, and one on serials is under development. Taken as a series or individually, these ALCTS courses provide a basic foundation in the principles and procedures of collection management, technical services, and preservation of library materials.To enroll, go to ALCTS web courses.