North Central Library District Newsletter
Going the Extra MileNovember 2014
thanksgiving-bounty-header.jpg
In This Issue
New Director at Sullivan County
BLAST: Bringing Libraries and Schools Together
Overdrive News and Stats
Who is Barbara McGary?
LSTA Grant Announcement
Juking with June
Declaration for the Right to Libraries
Alan Miller
New Director at Sullivan County Library


Alan Miller became the new director of Sullivan County Library on September 1, 2014. Alan replaces Ashley Riggs who accepted a position at Canton Area School District. 


 

Alan was born in Somerset and raised in Cambria County. His Bachlor's Degree is in History and Archaeology. In 2007, Alan earned his MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh. Alan has been working in libraries on and off for about 17 years.


 

Alan has a love of history and does historical research as a past time. Alan also likes to garden.


 

Welcome Alan!


 

BLAST: Bringing Libraries and Schools Together

JA Babay, Montgomery House Library director, is partnering with her local school district to introduce kids to the public library. JA and the school librarians gave a presentation to school board members about the benefit of collaborating and sharing resources. They even made a video about how to use Overdrive. Great partnership!

Want to share how you partner with schools and community organizations? Email me. [email protected]
 
Overdrive news and stats
tablet_illustration.jpg 

Overdrive Retires WMA Format

OverDrive had previously announced that they would be retiring the WMA audiobook format. They have now released a timeline for that to happen.

Effective 11/1/2014 WMA audiobooks will no longer be available for sale unless it is the only format in which a title is available.

Also on that date, only MP3 format will be displayed in eBranch2Go unless a title is only available as WMA. This will significantly simplify the download process for new and returning users because MP3 titles are compatible on all platforms running the OverDrive app and can be transferred to a wide variety of MP3 players and portable devices. For the few remaining WMA-only audiobooks, the process will be unchanged.

Effective 3/2/2015 WMA audiobooks will not be sold by OverDrive and WMA format titles will not be available in eBranch2Go either. We will be advised what will happen with titles for which there is no MP3 format replacement available at a later time.

Greetings NCLD Members,
A heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families from the district staff. May you all find the path to home and hearth this Thanksgiving.
Who is Barbara McGary?

In the spotlight this month is Barbara McGary, District Administrator for the North Central Library District and Executive Director of James V Brown Library. We asked Barbara to write a short bio for us. Here's what she said: 

"I was raised in Williamsport. I am one of four siblings. My mother is a retired teacher from St. Ann's Elementary School. My father died of a massive heart attack at 41,which was a profound experience in my life. He was a partner with the McCormick Law Firm. Out of all my siblings, I am the only one that stayed local. My younger brother and older sister both live in the Pittsburgh area and my oldest brother lives in the Baltimore area. I attended a mix of both private and public schools for my secondary education. I earned a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Lock Haven University and a Master's of Science in Libraries from Clarion University. The only other state I lived in was Georgia. In Pennsylvania I've lived in Erie, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. In college I worked in these cities for a non-profit organization called Citizen Action, which was a campaign for the environment.  Locally I've lived in Milton and currently reside in Muncy. I live with my 8 year old son Patrick who is in 3rd grade. Patrick has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. I also love dogs, especially labs, books, and wandering around in the woods; which should in no way be mistaken for hiking. I am very spiritual and am so grateful to be a member of Faith United Methodist Church, where my son is learning to play the electric guitar and serves in Praise Kids. At 8 years old he wants to be a music teacher and a train engineer. I started my first professional librarian career as the Director of the Selinsgrove Library in 2003. I enjoyed working with teens the most because they were brutally honest and unpredictable. They made me laugh a great deal. My strength was in facilitation and administration so I advanced to become the District Consultant for the North Central Library District located at the James V. Brown Library in 2008. There I conducted workshops on board development and lead strategic planning sessions for public libraries. Since 2011 I have been blessed to serve as the Executive Director of the James V. Brown Library which is a tremendous opportunity to work with some amazingly talented people who's ambition is to save the world, one book, and one reader at a time."

~Barbara McGary

LSTA Grant Announcement

 

2014-2015 LSTA Competitive Grants are now open! 

Please note that the documents are different than those of the past.  The application has been simplified and aligned with the new IMLS/LSTA reporting processes. 

The focus continues to be on projects that promote LSTA priorities while advancing the goals set by the Pennsylvania LSTA Five-Year Plan 2013-2017.

 

All eligible Pennsylvania libraries are encouraged to apply. Details on eligibility requirements can be found in the

 Competitive Grant Application Introduction and Instruction Guide.  Click here for the application.  Applications are due December 17, so hurry!

Juking with June shiny-rims.jpg
 
The Emergency Preparedness and Response Summit last week in State College was really interesting! Chad Thomas, with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, gave us an overview of the Ebola outbreak and Philadelphia's response to it. Basically you can only get Ebola by touching the body fluids of someone who is sick with or has died from Ebola, or touching contaminated objects like needles or infected animals. Ebola is not a significant risk in the United States. You can find posters and other information on the  CDC's web site. A meteorologist from Penn State talked about snow storms. Did you know that you should be wary of any snow accumulation prediction made more than 3 days before the event? That the biggest challenge in forecasting is where the dividing line will be between snow, sleet, and freezing rain?

What potential role can libraries play in emergency preparedness? Our libraries can be a power center for recharging electronics, a training site, a volunteer management center, a family reunification center, a distribution site for food and water, a warming/cooling center, and we can bring a sense of normalcy. It was suggested that libraries identify what roles they can play and then reach out to your local municipality or county emergency manager. Get on their resource list as critical infrastructure. They did however caution about overextending. Don't try to do more than your resources allow. Take your disaster readiness quiz here. And you can find a template to create your own service continuity plan here. Check out the information packed web site of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine.

The importance of being personally prepared was brought home to me on my way back from State College. Traffic slowed to a standstill on I-80 near Loganton. A traffic accident had occurred. The wait lasted a little over two hours so I had plenty of time to think about the water, flashlight, blanket, and first aid kit that I didn't have in my car. You can bet I'll be putting a kit together this weekend. Learn how to be prepared at Readypa.org.

Now have a safe and happy holiday!
Declaration for the Right to Libraries

 

The Declaration for the Right to Libraries is the cornerstone document of 2013 - 2014 ALA President Barbara Stripling's presidential initiative, Libraries Change Lives, which is designed to build the public will and sustained support for America's right to libraries of all types - academic, special, school and public. Libraries of all types have held signing ceremonies, where community members have visibly declared their right to have vibrant libraries in their community.  The signing ceremony is intended to serve as the launching point for continued and vibrant community engagement to:

  • Increase public and media awareness about the critical role of libraries in communities around the  country
  • Inspire ongoing conversations about the role of the library in the community
  • Cultivate a network of community allies and advocates for the library
  • Position the library as a trusted convener to help in the response to community issues