CTLS Board of Directors

Laurie Mahaffey Named

CTLS Executive Director

July 2014 No. 136

CTLS Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE:

Laurie Mahaffey Named CTLS ED Page 1

Romance Writers of America Pages 2

News You Can Use Page 2-3

Youth News Page 3-5

What’s Happening Page 6

CTLS Calendar & Staff Directory

Page 7

Larry Ringer Chair

Gretchen Pruett Vice Chair

Alice Nixon Secretary

Nicki Stohr Treasurer

Eileen Altmiller

Larry Koeninger

Jean Phipps

Kelly Skovbjerg

On behalf of the Board of Directors I am pleased to announce that Laurie

Mahaffey has accepted appointment as Executive Director of CTLS, Inc. Laurie

has been an important member of the CTLS staff since 1991, serving as Deputy

Director since 2005. She has long experience in public libraries and is commit-

ted to the public libraries of Texas. Her enthusiasm for libraries and the role of

CTLS in supporting and improving public libraries in Texas promises continued

success for the organization.

I know you join me in welcoming Laurie to the position of Executive Director and

look forward to continuing to work with her and the staff for the benefit of public

libraries in Texas.

Larry Ringer

Chair, Board of Directors

News You Can Use By Laurie Mahaffey

The Houston-based nonprofit Romance Writers of America is holding their annual conference in San Antonio and will be hosting a one-day seminar enti-tled “Librarians Day.”

This event, which features educational sessions as well as networking opportunities with authors and a luncheon, will be held at the Marriott Rivercenter & Riverwalk on Wednesday, July 23.

The attendance fee is only $25 and encompasses the educational sessions, the luncheon, a librarian/author mixer, and offers parking on-site at the hotel. For more information, please see the event flyer or visit www.rwa.org/librariansday.

Romance Writers of America host

Librarians Day in San Antonio

Texas Book Reviews Lens on the Texas Frontier is a new book with old photographs “from 1846 to 1945 and includes examples of daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, and paper print photos. Many of these were produced as cartes de visite, cabinet cards, and stereographs.” Lawrence T. Jones III produced this book, provid-ing historical contexts for the photos. He started collecting in the 1970s and began to focus on early Texas photographs in the 1980s. Published by Texas A&M Press, the book is $40 and is a good choice for Texana or photography collections. It was reviewed favorably in the Austin American Statesman on April 20, 2014.

Lonn Taylor, a well-known Texas writer who was also the director of the University of Texas Winedale Historical Center, has compiled his newspaper columns into the book, Texas People, Texas Places. Recently published by Texas Christian University Press, the book pays tribute to Tay-lor’s favorite librarians, Texas courthouses, and the Big Bend area. It sells for $22.95 and was favorably reviewed in the Austin American Statesman on April 20, 2014. Lonn wrote the excellent book, Texas Furniture, which is considered the definitive work on the subject.

Fetch the Devil is a true crime book which focuses on the murder of a woman and her daughter in West Texas in 1938. These wealthy ladies were driv-ing from California to South Carolina, a journey which took them through Texas, in a Packard. “Their bodies were found, nearly nude and face down, a few miles from Van Horn.” Clint Richmond, an Austin author, “weaves a compelling tale about the case, which was never solved…” A Nazi spy ring and an El Paso doctor may have been involved. Published by ForeEdge Press, the book is $29.95 and was reviewed favorably in the Austin American Statesman on June 22, 2014.

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Do Tell!

We love to hear from our members! Please don’t forget to let us know what is going on in your library! Brag, share photos, share success stories, and share lessons learned! With your permission, we will

always pass it along on our website, in the newsletter, or through social media.

Contact any of the staff via email or share with us on Facebook or Twitter!

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New Accreditation Standards Proposed

In 2013, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and the Texas Library Associa-tion (TLA) created a joint task force to review the TLA Public Library Standards and the TSLAC Mini-mum Criteria for Accreditation. Two groups were formed; one reviewed the Texas Library Association Public Library Standards and the other reviewed the TSLAC Minimum Criteria for Accreditation. What is the difference between the two? Anything TLA develops is a good baseline to reach for. Anything the state library develops is required for accreditation in the Texas Public Library System. Some librarians and library supporters were not happy with the changes, which can be viewed on the state library’s website at: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ldn/atf. The bottom line is that these changes can help libraries receive more income from their governmental funding authority (library district, city or county government). A very few libraries may lose accreditation; we sincerely hope that doesn’t hap-pen. It is not the intent of the task force to do that. For those of you who have not been in the library business long, a little history is appropriate. The original Library Systems Act of the late 1960s-early 1970s had a minimum budget for the smallest li-braries of $5,000 a year. It is clear that one cannot buy today with $5,000 what one could buy in 1972. That’s one of many reasons why the standards and the Minimum Criteria needed to change with the times. Revisions to this number and other parts of the Minimum Criteria have been updated gradually since the mid-1990s. CTLS Board member and New Braunfels Public Library Director Gretchen Pruett served on the Task Force. Please contact either Gretchen or me with questions.

YALSA’s Young Adult Literature Symposium Date Change: November 14-16, 2014

Austin, TX

Registration is now open for the YALSA, Young Adult Literature Sym-posium to be held in Austin at the Hyatt Regency. Please note the date change from previous announcements. Visit their website for more in-formation: http://yalitsymposium12.ning.com/

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Youth News By Kim Lehman

Science Stuff

Human Body Program

Comanche Public Library did a program on the human body. They invited a local physician to come and do a program at the library. He brought a nurse and his eight year old young daughter to help with the presentation. They played a game using a body vest and organs which were attached using velcro where they should be on the body. The doctor reassured children not to be afraid when they need to go to the doctor. It was a record breaking crowd. Pat Salmon said it was great for the community and the doctor already requested to come back next year as a community service. Here are some other ideas for presenting a Human Body program. Presenters

Invite a doctor, nurse practitioner, or clinic to come or let you borrow equipment. Activities

Stethoscope - let kids listen to heart beats (You can make a homemade stethoscope.) Pulse meter that clips to your finger. - Let them take their resting pulse, then run in place or do jump-

ing jacks and check it. (You can also use a stop watch and fingers on wrist or neck.) Blood pressure - measure blood pressure Magnifying glass - look at skin, scabs, hair, finger nails Finger prints - make prints using an ink pad, then use a magnifying glass to look for similarities and

differences. Exercise- yoga positions, strength building, stretches, sit ups...talk about working different muscle

groups. Need to stretch. Relaxation and stress relief - tips on how to calm nerves if giving a report, getting in front of people,

stressed out. Have kids breath deeply, lie on their backs, maybe even take them through a guided meditation.

Some good activities: http://www.lovemyscience.com/cat_senses.html

Science Songs Science Song Database There is a science song database that allows you to search for songs using keywords and age ranges. Sing About Science and Math Here is one song I found about the human body using the database. Click here.

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Don’t forget to follow CTLS, Inc.

on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Monty Harper Monty writes a lot of songs based on interviews with scientists about their work. Remember if you use any of these songs please give credit to Monty Harper. Some of his most accessible science songs are You're a Dinosaur, Roundy Round, Wind Energy, Citizen Scientist, and Born to Do Science - is sort of about the scientific process; it's about how even babies learn by testing out hypotheses, just like scientists.

Here is a complete list and here is Monty’s YouTube channel.

Here Comes Science They Might Be Giants have a CD called Here Comes Science. It was nominated for a Grammy award. Some of the song titles include Meet The Elements, I Am A Paleontologist, The Bloodmobile, What Is A Shooting Star?, How Many Planets?, Why Does The Sun Shine?, Why Does The Sun Really Shine? And Solid Liquid Gas

Anime Want to show anime films in your library? Sign up for a free account at Crunchyroll! This very popular streaming service has a wide variety of anime available, many of which aren't yet available anywhere else because they are being simulcast with what's airing in Japan, and they have a specific sign up for libraries that allows for streaming access, no ads, and minimal effort of your part. To find out more and see recommended titles go to this article from No Flying No Tights. Click here. Texting Element Chart Here is another program that our teen book club helped me with. On Pinterest I found a Texting Element Chart that lists the popular texting abbreviations. The teen group devised 6 separate messages using the chart. The idea is that the library's gmail account will be used to push out their messages as an SMS text every Friday of the program. Participating members must come into the library that next week to decipher the message by first locating the Texting Element Chart [which will travel the library] and second by translating the crammed together message. Prizes for locating and decoded the messages will be a free entry in a teen prize drawing selection of their choice. For a copy of Texting Element Chart click here. Contributed by Nicki Stohr from Wilson County Public Library in Floresville.

Teen Scene

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Teen Read Week Blogging Contest YALSA has a great contest for your local teens! Teens aged 12 -18 can sign up now through August 1, 2014 for a chance to guest blog for YALSA’s young adult literature blog, The Hub. Winning teens will blog about a wide range of topics re-lated to YA literature while also further developing their writing and blogging skills. The contest is sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Blog posts written by the teen bloggers will be featured during the October, 2014 celebration of Teen Read Week. Get all the details and guidelines about the contest on the Teen Read Week website under the Teen Corner tab at http://teenreadweek.ning.com/page/teen-blogging-contest.

Teen Read Week is a national adolescent literacy initiative created by YALSA. Its purpose is to encour-age teens to be regular readers and library users, and it will be celebrated Oct. 12 -18 this year with the theme “Turn Your Dreams into Reality @ your library.” Banned Books Week Sept. 21 – 27, 2014 http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/ There you will find a list of banned literary classics. You can also post your events. Libraries are encouraged to film their patrons reading excerpts of favorite banned book and upload the videos as part of their Banned Books Week celebration. Teen Read Week Oct. 12 – 18, 2014 http://teenreadweek.ning.com/ Austin Teen Book Festival October 18, 2014 St. Edward’s University 3001 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704 http://texasteenbookfestival.org/ This free event has grown from a modest teen event held in 2009 at Westlake High School, to one of the largest teen book festivals of its kind. The Publicity Director is Jen Bigheart from CTLS member West-bank Community Libraries.

Teen Calendar

What’s Happening Around the State

The Lago Vista Community Library hosted Lucas Miller, children’s author and musician, at their li-brary and Peggy Gibson gave us a full report: “He is absolutely great. He entertained 62 children, 31 adults for an hour and everyone participated and had such a good time. He is an outstanding performer and the children really do love him.”

Construction is well under way at the Lampasas Public Library. They have modified their Summer Reading Program and made additional signage to help patrons locate items more easily during con-struction. We cannot wait to see more progress!

On June 2nd, Westbank Libraries dedicated its new outdoor chess board at Laura's Library. The chess board was built by Michael Baum as part of his Eagle Scout project. The beautiful teak pieces were sponsored by library members as a fund-raising event run by the Friends of the Library, who also run their extremely popular chess program. Under the amazing leadership of Julia Hall, the chess program includes weekly open chess play (all ages), tournaments, lessons, and demonstration events like blind simultaneous play against chess grandmaster Timur Gareev. Mi-chael Baum's Boy Scout troop is also making benches for the library which will store the pieces when not in use.

CTLS Calendar of EventsCTLS Calendar of EventsCTLS Calendar of Events

CTLS, Inc.CTLS, Inc.CTLS, Inc.

Connecting Texas Libraries StatewideConnecting Texas Libraries StatewideConnecting Texas Libraries Statewide Laurie Mahaffey, Executive Director laurie.mahaffey@ctls.net Kim Lehman, Youth Services Specialist kim.lehman@ctls.net Katelyn Patterson, Communications Coordinator katelyn.patterson@ctls.net Samantha Simpson, Vendor Program Manager ssimpson@ctls.net

CTLS, Inc 5555 North Lamar Blvd, Suite L-115, Austin, TX 78751 Toll Free (800) 262 - 4431 Office (512) 583 - 0704 Fax (512) 583 - 0709

We look forward to hearing from you!

Register with the above links or go to www.ctls.net

July 8-11, 2014 TLA Annual Assembly Hyatt Regency, Austin, TX For more information July 11, 2014 Texas Library Districts’ Meeting Wells Branch, TX September 21-27, 2014 Banned Books Week http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/ September 26, 2014 CTLS Membership Meeting Kyle Public Library October 12-18, 2014 Teen Read Week http://teenreadweek.ning.com/ November 7, 2014 CTLS Performers’ Showcase Georgetown Public Library To register