Windows XP at 10 - No Life Support

Businesses That Have Not Begun the Windows 7 Transition May Find Themselves Scrambling

A Microsoft official said the company has no plans to extend Windows XP's looming retirement date in order to give companies whose business systems run on the aging OS more time to migrate to a newer version of Windows--and that could be a problem for those who have yet to begin the transition.

"There's absolutely no chance" that Windows XP's April, 2014 end-of-life date, when Microsoft will end all support, will be extended, said Rich Reynolds, general manager for Windows Commercial marketing, in an interview.

Windows XP officially turned 10 years old on Tuesday. Microsoft introduced the software back in 2001, following development under the code name Whistler. It featured numerous enhancements compared to its most immediate predecessor, Windows 2000. XP introduced a streamlined, task-based user interface that allowed users to more quickly find their go-to applications and files through the Start Menu or lockable Taskbar. That, along with improvements to power management, faster startup, new networking features like Internet Connection Sharing, and a general reputation for stability, made XP Microsoft's most enduring enterprise OS to date. 

The company has had difficulty getting customers to upgrade to newer versions of Windows. Only a handful of enterprises moved to the widely-panned Windows Vista and it's only now, two years after its release, that businesses are starting to adopt Windows 7 in significant numbers. 

About 25% of all currently deployed enterprise systems are now running Windows 7, though 90% of businesses have a plan to migrate the OS, according to Reynolds. Reynolds said he's worried that businesses that have not begun the Windows 7 transition may find themselves scrambling as XP's expiration date draws near. "What we're concerned about is organizations that haven't started yet," he said. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing, which began upgrading its 187,000 employee desktops to Windows 7 last year, won't have the rollout finished until next year, said Reynolds.

"It takes anywhere from twelve to fourteen months to do the planning and application remediation," he said. Microsoft is offering a number of tools to help business plan and execute the move from Windows XP to Windows 7. 

Reynolds said very few organizations are planning to move directly from XP to Windows 8, which won't arrive until sometime next year and features a new, Metro-style interface borrowed from Windows Phone.

(Paul McDougall - InformationWeek on October 25, 2011)

Welcome Neillsville Public Library to V-Cat

Neillsville Public Library officially joined the Wisconsin Valley Library Service shared automation system, known as V-Cat on October 11, 2011.  The staff worked very hard to prepare for this switchover from their Follett automation system.  Overall, things went smoothly on their first day of using V-Cat (or the SirsiDynix Horizon automation system administered by WVLS)

At one point on Tuesday, staff had patrons anxiously waiting in line to register for their new library cards.  This was an exciting day for staff and the community.

We wish them success with the new system and welcome to V-Cat.
(Inese Christman, WVLS)

Reading Between the Lines

Apple 2e circa 1986

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."   -- Steve Jobs

Last night’s announcement of the untimely passing of Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc, launched me on a search through my old “Bookmark” weekly newspaper column archives for first mention of Apple computer use as a library professional.

The retrospective viewpoint that follows below is mildly hilarious given all that has transpired in the intervening 25 years. The terminology as well as the technology was all new. The floppy disks were huge and actually still “floppy” in our first Apple 2e, the workhorse of the Apple line which was manufactured from 1983 to 1994 and has the distinction of being the longest-lived Apple computer of all time. One of the smartest things I ever did back then was print paper copies of my columns as a backup. All those disks have long since gone the way of the dodo along with all the machines that could read them.

The Bookmark February 11, 1986

The subject today is computers. Thanks to the generosity of a grant obtained by the Wisconsin Valley Library Service, the Rhinelander District Library now has one! I’ve been writing the Bookmark on the computer for the past three weeks.

That might not seem remarkable to you confirmed “hackers” out there, but you have to remember that I worked in a Children’s Department with one functioning electrical outlet until January of last year. Because there was no place to plug in an electric check out machine, we were still using a pencil dater (rubber numbers held by a metal attachment stuck on a pencil) the way librarians did in 1898 when our library opened its doors. A computer was out of the question until our recent building project.

For the next couple of years, our new computer’s main function will be to help our library participate in a “retrospective conversion” project. The first time I heard that term, it made me think of something a person would do to soup up the exhaust system on a street rod. What it means is converting information about a library’s collection from the traditional card catalog format to machine readable cataloging records. It’s called “retrospective” because it refers to going back through a library’s entire collection rather than just beginning to computerize library materials purchased after a certain date.

First, we make sure that the library owns all the books we think it does by taking an inventory to compare the holdings list (or “shelf list”) against what is actually on the shelves and out in circulation. Then, we see how many of our books match entries already in the statewide data bank, adding our own special code to the existing computerized list so other libraries will know we have these titles, too. Finally the titles unique to our collection here in Rhinelander are entered into the computer so that others using the data bank will know where to find them. We store the information on floppy discs and mail them in to the state for central processing.

Being involved in the statewide data bank will make inter-library loans more efficient. Did you know that we already plug into a mighty inter-library loan network through our library system? Persons doing research in Rhinelander are able to borrow materials from other libraries around the state and nation, and even other countries. Our borrowers aren’t limited to the collection purchased with local tax dollars that’s housed within the four walls of the Rhinelander District Library.

You don’t have to worry that you will walk through the library doors someday soon and see a computer sitting where the card catalog used to be. A computerized card catalog may be in this library’s future, but not immediately. Another advantage of having our holdings list stored in machine readable form is that we will not have to go through the time and expense of keyboarding in all the book titles all over again should we decide to automate the checkout procedure or card catalog later on.

Meanwhile, the computer will also be used to make some of the daily tasks performed by the librarians easier and more efficient. We are still getting acquainted with our new “partner” and working to overcome the fear of pressing the wrong button and sending everything we have done to data heaven!

October 6, 2011

Those of you who have been hanging around WVLS as long as I have will recognize the “retrospective conversion” as part of the WISCAT project. Rhinelander’s new computer “partner” had been purchased by WVLS with LSCA (now LSTA) funds, enabling us to join the 300 libraries already contributing their holdings to a database that was then being distributed to participants on microfiche. Two years later WISCAT offered holdings from nearly 700 libraries on four searchable CD-ROM discs. It would be another five years before Rhinelander’s library began working toward implementing a stand-alone automated system leading to eventual V-Cat membership.

Check here if you’re curious about WISCAT history. Under the leadership of recently retired RL&LL Director Sally Drew, the project made a tremendous difference throughout the state, particularly for rural and school libraries. WISCAT continues to provide important linkage for libraries unable to afford higher priced alternatives.

Thank you, Steve Jobs, for being our modern Thomas Edison and changing the way we store, share and access knowledge. Librarians are the original search engines; you put some remarkable tools into our hands and gave us the courage to do more than this 1974 library school graduate ever thought possible….back then a "blog" was just a typo begging for whiteout.

Steve Jobs timeline

Steve Jobs quotes

Kris Adams Wendt

New Things Added to WPLC OverDrive Site

The news we have all been waiting for!
Library eBooks now available for Kindle.
Here is a newsrelease from the Wisconsin Public
Library Consortium (WPLC) that you can use and customize.

Kindle newsrelease, posters, flyers and graphics to customize
Here is the direct link to WPLC's Overdrive Kindle site.
There are 4951 available titles. Your customers will see the badge to the left on the Overdrive opening page so they can go directly to all the titles that work on Kindles.
___________________________________________________

In continued efforts to improve the user's experience,  OverDrive has added thousands of  free “eBook Samples” to the catalog for immediate access on reading devices and platforms. Patrons can experience stories immediately on their computer or mobile device and decide if they are right for them, ultimately reducing holds and wait lists.

When available, the word “Sample” will appear below a jacket. Curious customers can easily click and enjoy 10 percent of each title before deciding to check it out or not.

The eBook sample will show up in readers’ bookshelf and look just like a regular eBook download. With thousands of popular and bestselling titles to choose from, eBook samples will reinforce the library as the first stop for discovering and enjoying books, both online and off.

To read more see: http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/09/27/ebook-samples-give-customers-instant-access-to-content/

(Monday Memo, October 3, 2011 & WPLC List)

WVLS ANNUAL YOUTH SERVICES

GRASSROOTS GATHERING!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Wausau Room, Marathon Co. Public Library

300 N. First Street, Wausau, WI

9:00 – 9:30 AM Coffee and conversation

9:30 – 11:00 AM WVLS Youth Services Annual Grassroots Meeting

11:00 AM to noon – Ability Awareness Training presented by Shari Brunes, Midstate Independent Living Consultants. Increase your understanding of ability awareness, assistive devices, technology, and local/state resources for library patrons of all ages.

Noon – 1:30 PM: Lunch on your own

1:30 – 3:30 PM Marion Dane Bauer presents “The Power of Story” Bauer is a remarkably prolific author who has received critical acclaim for her ability to step inside the viewpoint of a child, any child or young adult, in a wide variety of circumstances. She has written fiction and nonfiction, picture books, chapter books, young adult novels, writing guides, and much more; she has also contributed stories and articles for periodicals aimed at young people as well as teachers and librarians. Her best-selling novel On My Honor was named a Newbery Honor Book, one of countless awards and citations Bauer has received for her work over the years.

Please RSVP to Kris Adams Wendt 

MARION DANE BAUER WEBSITE

COMMUNITY WIDE PRESENTATION

TUESDAY EVENING!

Young writers and their families are invited to join Marion Dane Bauer at 6:30 PM on October 25 

for a family presentation

“My Story, Your Story: Creating Stories Together.”

John Muir Middle School Auditorium

1400 Stewart Ave, Wausau

A free journal will be distributed to the first 200 young writers attending the event, courtesy of the Marathon County Public Library.

Book sales/signing at afternoon and evening programs provided by Janke Book Store.

Co-sponsored by Wisconsin Valley Library Service, Marathon Co. Public Library and Wausau School District.



ALA Director Keith Fiels At T. B. Scott Free Library October 1, 2011

ALA Director Keith Fiels Highlights Library Volunteer Reception

The public is invited to T.B. Scott Free Library from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 1 for the annual Volunteer & Library Supporter Appreciation Reception in the library’s Community Room.

Refreshments will be served, compliments of the library’s Endowment Fund.

Library volunteers will be acknowledged at the program, but all library supporters are welcome, including library patrons, taxpayers, library board members, and local government officials.

At 2:30 p.m., American Library Association Executive Director Keith Fiels of Chicago, who has written books on the future of libraries and strategies for library supporters, will give a presentation based on his article “12 Ways Libraries Are Good For The Country.”

Fiels’ talk will explore the many ways in which libraries can make a difference.  From #1, Inform Citizens, to #3, Level The Playing Field, to #10, Offend Everyone, to #12, Preserve The Past, he will make you think about what libraries have meant to America, and what they can be in the future.

T.B. Scott Library volunteers have given about 1,000 hours of their time to the library every year, helping out the Youth Services department, keeping books in order through the Adopt-A-Shelf program, indexing obituaries, maintaining the library’s scrapbook, and helping staff with other projects.

Saturday’s program is also part of the library’s year-long celebration of the centennial of the opening of the historic Carnegie building to the public in August, 1911.

Contact the library at 536.7191 with any questions about Saturday’s program.
(Stacy Stevens, Director - T.B. Scott Free Library)

Free Webinar to Help Job Seekers

Join us for a free webinar!

September 21, 2011 2:00 p.m. EST

"Finding Available Jobs & Internships: Target Your Search!"

With Career Management Expert Heather Huhman

Today's job market is undoubtedly competitive. Learn how to stand out in the sea of competitors, and land jobs and internships with Heather's expert strategies!

The expert tips and tricks Heather covers in this special presentation will help job seekers get hired.

You'll learn:

• How to create a successful job search plan
• Where job seekers should really focus their efforts
• The best way to connect with target companies
• And much more!

Don’t miss this chance to help your patrons and students work towards their goals!

 Register here today:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/661269673

Please send your questions, comments and feedback on the webinar series to: webinar@learningexpressllc.com.  
*After registering you will receive a confirmation email from gotowebinar@citrixonline.com containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Space is limited!

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/661269673
The Job & Career Accelerator™ team at LearningExpress, LLC

The Fast Track to Getting Hired!

“Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.” — Alfred Whitney Griswold, Essays on Education

“Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read” has been observed since 1982 as a reminder to Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year's event is September 24 - October 1.

Censorship is a red flag word for librarians and members of the other professions represented by the Banned Books Week co-sponsoring organizations listed below. In a democratic society it is our job to make different types of literature and information covering the widest possible range of viewpoints on different subjects available to the general public.

Reading, thinking, and voting citizens are expected to consider available information and make choices. As Dolly Parton once said, “I don’t need advice. I need information. I’ll make up my own mind.”

Everyone has opinions. No two people think exactly alike nor are required to do so. Under the US Constitution, the viewpoint of a particular person or group cannot be forced on all the other persons in society. No one has the right to say, “Nobody else can read this just because I say so.”

Book banning promotes the thought that different ideas and the people who believe in them are to be feared and eliminated. While a tolerant attitude is difficult to maintain when viewing, reading or hearing something that makes one’s toes curl, the concept is essential to guarding a place for our own ideas.

One of the reasons librarians have long been vigorous protectors of the first amendment right to intellectual freedom is because there is no universal agreement among library borrowers on what is objectionable. Throughout the history of libraries, almost every classic work of literature has been objected to at one time or another, including the Bible.

A library does not function as a controlled information source presenting only sanitized or “safe” ideas. Guided by a thorough book selection policy, librarians purposely seek to challenge readers with choices along a broad spectrum of human thought and experience.

If someone thinks a particular book is absolutely the worst thing printed since Gutenberg cranked up the first press, librarians will defend both his right to hold that opinion and express it. However, if the same person goes on to demand that book be permanently banned from library shelves, then he is treading on the constitutional toes of others who have an equal right to make choices, read and form opinions of their own.

Who knows, but that the next person to check out that same book might think it’s the best thing she ever read? Next Person might also be of the opinion that the ideas held most near and dear to First Person should be erased off the face of the earth and take steps of her own!

When books are challenged, restricted, removed or banned we all lose part of our birthright as American citizens in the resulting atmosphere of suppression. An author may make revisions, less for artistic reasons than to avoid controversy. The editor and publisher may alter text or elect not to publish for economic or marketing reasons. Staff in bookstores and libraries may find published works too controversial and choose not to purchase those materials for fear of reprisal. Unexpressed ideas, unpublished works, and unpurchased books are lost forever.

All of which is why librarians think it is better to add viewpoints to a public collection of books rather than subtract any. There are as many ways of looking at the world as there are grains of sand on a beach. Wouldn’t it be boring if everyone was the same? Wouldn’t it be frightening if everyone was forced to read and think as though they were?

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. In 2011, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; National Coalition Against Censorship; National Council of Teachers of English; and PEN American Center also signed on as sponsors. An ALA press release with links to websites of organizations listed above is here.

For more information on getting involved with Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, please see Calendar of Events, Ideas and Resources, and the new Banned Books Week site. You can also contact the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4220, or bbw@ala.org.

Kris Adams Wendt

NOW WHAT? Life after MOE/MOMS and Local Relationship Building

Thanks to successful lobbying by the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, maintenance of a three year average funding for public libraries (MOE) is no longer a condition for maintenance of membership support (MOMS). What we have come to think of as MOE/MOMS is gone.

The ability of DPI/DLTCL and individual systems to hold loss of system membership and system services over the heads of our local elected at budget time as incentive for doing the right thing by their libraries is also gone. The likelihood that MOE/MOMS will be restored to state statutes any time soon could make the Labors of Hercules look like blowing dandelion fluff.

The next two years are uncharted territory. Towns, cities, villages and counties are operating under a 2% levy limit cap. Shared revenue and road aids have been reduced. There are many aspects of the 2011-2013 state budget that will impact local expenditures in ways yet to be determined.

Library relationships with funding bodies will not be well served in the long term by threats of DPI/DLTCL and system sanctions, even if that was possible. There is value in working through this next year with a non-combative “we’re all in this together” attitude, allowing plenty of room for everybody to do their best under unique conditions.

Because local politics overlay the decisions made by municipal officials dealing with the fiscal here and now, there is potential for focused influence by citizens who need, appreciate, and depend upon services provided by their local public library. If the impetus to eliminate MOE/MOMS truly percolated up to League leadership from the front line ranks of municipal officials, then the key to changing that organizational dynamic rests with individual efforts of trustees, friends and librarians city by city, town by town, and county by county.

If MOE/MOMS has been the centerpiece, the Do Not Cross Line if you will of annual discussions between the director of the AnyTown Public Library and AnyTown Council members, then that director and library board may very well anticipate serious difficulties negotiating the 2012 budget now that the yellow tape has been ripped down. “Maintain this or we will lose that” will need to be replaced with a more comprehensive approach focused on the way library services change people’s lives in AnyTown on a daily basis.

Most Wisconsin public libraries have already been actively engaged in relationship building with the elected local officials who hold sway over their budgets, by showcasing the success stories of citizen library advocates alongside program publicity and statistics as part of their annual presentations. It’s time to step it up a notch.

As the state budget process unfolded earlier this year, library community advocacy efforts to save MOE/MOMS directed at state legislators also raised the consciousness of community advocates, who can now be redirected to pay attention to budget decisions made by officials at the local level. These citizen advocates should be asking: “We lost the MOE/MOMS fight in Madison; will our municipal council and board members now take advantage of that loss and to what degree?”

Having familiar trusted faces in the audience to speak up for libraries during monthly municipal meetings as well as budget hearings can make a tremendous difference. But it’s the informal conversations that are the most effective. Local lobbying is built on pre-existing relationships between library supporters and elected officials forged in neighborhoods and workplaces, Legion halls and beauty parlors, golf courses and bowling alleys, coffee and bridge clubs, church and civic organizations.

Each community is different; the keys to success for one library will not fit the strongbox locks in the community down the road. Networking citizen supporters is crucial to successful library advocacy in any year under any circumstances. For starters, check out these timely suggestions from WLA Legislative Committee chair Paul Nelson.

Kris Adams Wendt



Libraries: A Renewable Resource - 2011 WLA Conference

 Libraries: A Renewable Resource

The 2011 WLA Conference is a Chance to Renew YOU!

You work hard, and you deserve a chance to recharge your batteries! Renew YOU by participating in the WLA Annual Conference, Libraries: A Renewable Resource, November 1-4, in Downtown Milwaukee.  Conference features include:

·         Dozens of breakout sessions to refresh your perspective, plant new ideas, solve problems

·         Exhibitors to share the latest products and services your library users need

·         Keynote speakers to make you think, create, laugh and learn

·         Receptions, parties, tours and awards to help you relax and renew your energy

Register by October 3 to get the best registration rates and a chance to win a free registration!

            Here’s what past conference attendees say:

“Always worth the time and expense away from my desk.”

“My first WLA conference, very high quality compared to those in other states I have attended. J”

“I have never attended a WLA Conference that wasn’t top notch.”

To learn more about the conference, including hotel accommodations and registration, go to http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/conferences/2011/. Or, contact the WLA office at (608) 245-3640.

See you November 1-4  at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and Frontier Airlines Center!

Contact: Brigitte Rupp Vacha, Conference Committee Liaison, ruppvacha@scls.lib.wi.us or Lisa Strand, WLA Executive Director, strand@scls.lib.wi.us or (608) 245-3640