A searchable version of the statewide book bid is now available at http://pierce.state.nh.us/bookbid/. You can also get to it by going to the State Library homepage (www.state.nh.us/nhsl/) and clicking on Statewide Book Bid. You can either search for a particular vendor by entering all or part of a vendor's name, or you can search by format (cloth binding trade discount, cloth binding non-trade discount, etc.) by clicking on Other Search Options. This will give you information on vendors offering discounts on that particular format. All types of libraries are eligible for these discounts. This replaces the pdf version of the book bid. If you have any questions, please contact Katie McDonough, 1-800-499-1232 x4, 603-271-8520, or kmcdonough@library.state.nh.us.

In response to concerns raised by libraries that their bills for the State Library's card service were so small that the cost of cutting a check was more than the amount of the needed check, Network Services has implemented a new billing system. The new schedule is as follows: February bills will cover November-January; May bills will cover February-April; August bills will cover May-July; and November bills will cover August-October. If you have questions about your bill please contact Mary Russell, 1-800-499-1232 x3, 603-271-2141, or mmartin@library.state.nh.us.

Circulation figures getting you down? Tired of the same old, same old? Here are some ideas to give those statistics a boost!

Alton - Alladin TeleSensory Machine "donated by the Lions Club. It is a magnifying machine for those with poor eyesight. It also has different color combinations for those with sight disabilities. We loan this out to the town on voting days. It's a little too heavy for people to simply check out at will, but we do make arrangements when possible."

Ashland - Tape players with headphones

Bethlehem - Ice skates (donated)

Candia - Chess pieces, board, and beginner chess books

Hampstead - Wheelchair (good for visiting elders who come by plane); kit of items for resident grandparents who expect visiting grandchildren. Kit was a plastic bin holding materials on a single theme: dinosaurs, farm animals, vehicles. The materials included books, toys, a tape or two, puppets, etc. relevant to the theme. These were popular for quite awhile, but have now been discontinued.

Hampton - Umbrellas on rainy days (library cards with bar codes are attached to each)

Holderness - Board games, including Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble; box of rock and mineral samples; Tarot card set; wooden puzzles for children; jigsaw puzzles for older; some computer games and programs; for in-library use - a set of Duplos (large Legos for little kids, no small parts), several stuffed animals, and many computer games and programs

Jaffrey - Puppets. "We have a collection of about 100, add new ones and pull and discard as needed. We've had them available for more than 20 years and the kids just love them. Each has a bar coded card for checkout, and there are cloth drawstring bags to transport home." Jigsaw puzzle exchange: "It's not formal at all, just take one you want and bring it back whenever (or not), or bring back a different one. We also have an ongoing puzzle laid out for whoever likes to settle down awhile to work on it."

Kensington - Polaroid camera (patron buys the film) - popular for birthday parties and such

Milford - Slide projector, overhead projector, and an LCD projector (with heavy restrictions). They also have a rack in the lobby where patrons can bring in magazine issues to swap with each other - no requirements, help yourself.

Newton - 3' x 8' tables with folding legs and 40 folding chairs

North Conway - Games such as Trivial Pursuit

Northfield - Knitting needles, yarn, puzzles, none of which have to be returned

Ossipee - Telescope, tape recorder

Peterborough - Slide projector, typewriter, headphones, calculator, framed prints

Sandown - Cake pans (old theme pans, donated) - popular for awhile, then died out; dog and cat with cage, camera, notebook, food dish, and crayons - "Each STUFFED animal has its own travel cage. The child is only supposed to take two pictures which, when we develop them, are pasted with whatever they wrote in the book…started this during the summer reading program Reading Cats and Dogs. A few animals were retired and raffled off. It has started to slow down, but we had a list for a long time."

Washington - Tape player for kids to play audiotapes (or for any other age), tent awning for a church fair, folding chairs and tables

LOON, Libraries Online/Outreach North (www.ourkingdom.com/nonprofit/loon/) has a "modular program" all ready to go if anyone's looking for a health-related program to sponsor. It's "Communicating with Your Health Care Provider," and includes a PowerPoint presentation on disk, handouts from the National Institute on Aging, and other resources. LOON developed it for a program at the Littleton Public Library, but it's ready to go another round! All you would need is a willing presenter, and because the program is "done," the person presenting would not need to spend a great deal of time getting ready. Please contact Linda Ford, Librarian at the Gale Medical Library, Littleton Regional Hospital, 603-444-7731 x164, lford@littletonhospital.org, for more information.

The State Library's Spring Course Catalog is out! The print version has been distributed, and it is also available online at webster.state.nh.us/nhsl/training/course.html.

The State Library is proud to announce that the end of two successful years of providing statewide database access through the NHewLINK program is almost completed. A total of 178 public libraries, 75 high schools, and 144 K-8 schools are registered for this program. In 2001, more than 250,000 bibliographic and full-text records were accessed. We hope the next two years will be even more successful and that we see 100% participation in the program by all eligible libraries.

To make that happen, we need your help. First, if your public library or public school is not registered, please contact the State Library at 271-2143 to request registration information. It's quick, it's easy, and, best of all, it's free! It is also time to evaluate the current product as well as take a look at what other vendors have available that meets the needs of NH libraries. A committee with representation from 5 Rivers, CHILIS, GMILCS, NHAIS, NHEMA, NHLA, READS, and the State Library has been established to help advise the State Library. We hope to put together a package that not only meets the needs of public and high school libraries, but K-8 as well. We need your help to select the product(s) your patrons and students need and will use. Trials for all the products are being established. You can try any of the products available--URLs, passwords, and any additional information about particular products can be found at www.nhewlink.state.nh.us/trials.sht.

We hope you will try all the products and let us know what you like and don't like about them. Please take a few minutes to let us know what you think about them by filling out the evaluation survey. Do not hesitate to contact Theresa Pare, tepare@library.state.nh.us, with any questions.

The first eBook workshop was held on January 18, 2002, at the State Library. The workshop was conducted by David Sturges and John McCormick, both of the Reference and Information Services Section. Topics covered were the history of the eBook reading devices, current trends, an overview of information resources available on the State Library's eBook web page ( www.state nh.us/nhsl/ebooks/index.html), with an emphasis on how public libraries are currently circulating these devices, and hands-on instruction on using RCA REB 1100 and 1200 and a HP pocket PC. Nine libraries from a total of twenty were randomly chosen to attend the workshop. At the end of the workshop, each library was able to borrow the three different eBook reading devices for a period of seven weeks.

The next workshop will be held at the end of March. In early March, a notice of the date of the workshop will be sent out via the NHAIS listserv. All libraries interested in attending should respond. Workshops will be scheduled every other month until all libraries that are interested have had an opportunity to attend.

The State Library continues the formidable task of providing basic level library training for New Hampshire library staff. While primarily designed for those without a library degree, many of these training "modules" may be of great interest as refresher or update training for librarians of great experience and education. Some "modules" are designed to stand alone; others may be taken individually or as part of a "track" to approximate the content of a full course in the topic area. The cost for each student is $100 per module. This program is self-supporting and this fee pays for the instructors, the texts, printing, site fees, etc.

Texts for modules will be provided on a "book-bag" basis. They will be loaned to enrolled students for the duration of the module. Spring 2002 Modules: Cataloging Overview; Juvenile Non-Fiction Collection Development and Management; Programming for Adults; Programming for Children; Programming Overview; Puppetry Programming; and The Reference Interview.

This information and registration form (plus much more!!) is available on the "Library Education in NH" website: www.state.nh.us/nhsl/libed/index.html and in the State Library's spring course catalog. Questions? Please call or e-mail Tom Ladd, 1-800-462-1726, 603-788-0914, or tladd@library.state.nh.us.

LIVE!@YourLibrary applications are now being accepted by the ALA Public Programs Office for March 15 and June 30 deadlines. The LIVE!@ program provides grant opportunities to libraries and partnering organizations to present cultural programs for adult and family audiences in libraries. For an application and guidelines, please visit www.ala.org/publicprograms/live or send an email message to publicprograms@ala.org.

The Keene Public Library is the 2002 recipient of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)/Book Wholesalers Summer Reading Program Grant. The award is presented by ALSC, a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

The $3,000 grant, donated by Book Wholesalers, Inc., provides financial assistance for public libraries to develop outstanding summer reading programs for children. The grant also recognizes ALSC members for outstanding program development.

ALSC member Gail Zachariah submitted the winning grant application. Featuring the theme "Go Wild! Read," the program is notable for its partnerships with other community organizations, including the local Housing Authority, Head Start Centers and a mental health agency, as well as for the library's commitment to outreach. The library will offer a "Mother Goose Meets Mother Nature" training program in order to teach childcare workers, social service caseworkers and families how to use books with children.

Are you still having trouble getting into the NHAIS ILL module? Here's what to do: call Network Services at 603-271-2141. Scores of libraries have done so in the past couple weeks and most were connected within a minute or two.

Laura Bush has announced a proposed $10 million initiative for 2003 to recruit a new generation of librarians. This initiative will be managed by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. In announcing the initiative, Mrs. Bush said, "In May 2000, Library Journal magazine reported 40 percent of America's library directors plan to retire in 9 years or less. And, according to the July 2000 Monthly Labor Review, in 1998 57 percent of professional librarians were age 45 or older." For the full press release see: www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/011002-1.htm.

The State Library is currently negotiating with Epixtech to provide a new Web-based system to run the NHU-PAC. On the date a contract is signed, NHAIS registration will be closed to new members until the system is implemented to allow for complete training of all system users. Libraries will be able to register with NHAIS again as soon as the implementation is complete.

Starting last summer, all NHAIS libraries with outdated registration forms on file at Network Services were asked to submit new registrations. Only those libraries with current registrations will be eligible for the first round of training on the new system.

Please direct questions about this to the NHAIS Help Desk at 271-2141.

On December 13, 2001, the Next Generation Committee recommended to the State Librarian that an Epixtech system be installed as the new NHU-PAC. The system selected by the committee will provide NHAIS libraries with an entirely Web-based interface through which they can search the NHU-PAC, download MARC records, and request and manage interlibrary loans. NHAIS libraries will need only Internet access and a Web browser to gain access to the new system. If a satisfactory agreement can be reached between Epixtech and the State of New Hampshire, the new NHU-PAC should be fully up and running by fall 2002.

A committee has been appointed by the State Librarian to work with the Network Services staff to plan a smooth implementation of the new system. Training for NHAIS member libraries is expected to be held this coming spring & summer. Training announcements and information on the implementation will be distributed through listservs, the NHSL Web page, and mailings to those libraries that verified their NHAIS registrations with Network Services this past year.

On the date that the contract is signed, NHAIS registration will be closed until the new system is implemented to allow for full and complete training of all system users. Libraries will be able to register with NHAIS again as soon as the implementation of the system is complete. Please contact Mary Russell, mmartin@library.state.nh.us, or Charlie LeBlanc, cleblanc@library.state.nh.us, 1-800-499-1232 x3, or 603-271-2141, if you have questions.

On February 4, after a 3 hour public hearing on whether to bond $7 million for a new library building, the Portsmouth City Council passed the bond in a 7 to 2 vote. Only one speaker was against the bonding!

At the public hearing, seven New Hampshire librarians who are Portsmouth residents spoke or wrote letters. Thank you for your eloquent support -

Barbara Bolko, McIntosh College Librarian
Joan Christy, Portsmouth High School Librarian
Janice Gallinger, Plymouth State College Library (retired)
Lesley Gaudreau, Wiggin Memorial Library Director, Stratham
Bobb Menk, formerly at Lane Memorial Library, Hampton
Claudia Morner, Dimond Library Director, UNH
Catherine Redden, Lane Memorial Library Director, Hampton

The public hearing was a tribute to the library staff who do a terrific job providing excellent library service each and every day.

Meetings at the Kensington Social/Public Library are always VERY well attended. Here's why!

½ cup shortening
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ pint sour cream
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts

Cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla thoroughly. Add eggs, singly, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder, and soda together. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, blending after each addition. Spread half of batter in 10-inch tube pan that has been greased and lined on the bottom with wax paper. Cream butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Add nuts, mix well. Dot batter in pan evenly with half of nut mixture. Cover with remaining batter. Dot with remaining mixture. Bake at 350 about 50 minutes. Cool cake 10 minutes, remove from pan.

There are a number of state publications that were or are being sent free to every public library in New Hampshire. As the amount of space available for them decreases, questions on disposition are more and more frequent. A list of these publications and what can be done with them can be found at www.state.nh.us/nhsl/disposition.html. This does not apply to any library that is designated a depository library. If in doubt about anything, call the Law Library at 603-271-3777 or the State Library at 1-800-499-1232 x7 or 603-271-2429.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has updated the Library Peer Comparison Tool site on the Web at nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/liblocator/library.asp. This information provides a way for library directors and others with an interest to see how their library data matches up with other libraries'. Searches can be limited to specific states, or comparisons can be made on any of the data elements that libraries have been submitting for the past 11 years as part of the Federal/State Cooperative System for Public Library Data (FSCS), so searchers can call up data about libraries with similar budgets, populations, collection sizes, and so on. Be advised that this tool works best using the Internet Explorer web browser. Please contact Sue Palmatier, 1-800-462-1726, 603-788-0914, or spalmatier@library.state.nh.us, if you have any questions.

Information about the USA PATRIOT Act can be found at:

American Library Association. Office for Intellectual Freedom. Alert: USA PATRIOT Act www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/alertusapatriotact.html

Minow, Mary. The USA PATRIOT Act and Patron Privacy on Library Internet Terminals. Law Library Resource Xchange, LLC, February 15, 2002 www.llrx.com/features/usapatriotact.htm

The State Library has some new books in its professional collection that should be of interest to those serving children and young adults. Please remember that if you would like to borrow any of them, you can request materials through interlibrary loan and they will be sent on the van or by U.S.P.S. If you have questions, you can call the circulation desk at 1-800-499-1232 x2 or 603-271-2616. The following titles are now available:

Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K - Grade 6, 12th ed. (NCTE, 1999)
LIS 016 N277a 1999
Thematic/genre lists of books, most of which include a review. Examples of themes are Families, School Life, Genre Issues, and Native American Voices and Experiences.

Booktalking that Works (Jennifer Broman, Neal-Schuman, 2001)
LIS 028.5 B868
Building on the fundamentals of booktalking for teen readers, this title includes lots of innovative ideas. Sample booktalks are included.

Booktalks Plus: Motivating Teens to Read (Lucy Schall, Libraries Unlimited, 2000)
LIS 028.5 S298
A compilation of booktalks arranged thematically. Each entry includes a summary/description of the book, a booktalk, related activities, and a list of related works.

Censorship and Selection: Issues and Answers for Schools, 3rd ed. (Harry Reichman, ALA, 2001)
LIS 025.2 R352 2001
Addresses all issues related to school censorship including Internet filtering and challenges to gay and lesbian literature.

Gifted Books, Gifted Readers: Literature Activities to Excite Young Minds (Nancy J. Polette, Libraries Unlimited, 2000)
LIS 371.95 P765g
Activities centering around books geared to gifted children. Chapters cover picture books, fairy tales, poetry, diversity, historical periods, and heroes and heroines.

Introducing the Internet to Young Learners: Ready-to-Go Activities and Lesson Plans (Linda W. Braun, Neal-Schuman, 2001)
LIS 372.133 B825
Lessons cover basic navigation skills, search strategies, evaluation of websites, e-mail, chat rooms and other topics.

Lapsit Services for the Very Young II: A How-to-do-It Manual (Linda L. Ernst, Neal-Schuman, 2001)
LIS 027.625 E71a
Discusses background issues such as child development and service areas and then describes the program building blocks. Includes bibliographies and sample handouts.

Leading Kids to Books Through Crafts (Caroline Feller Bauer, ALA, 2000) LIS 027.625 B344c
Presents ideas for book programs that introduce children to books while giving them the opportunity to make quick and inexpensive crafts.

Reading Fun: Quick and Easy Activities for the School Library Media Center (Mona Kerby, Scarecrow Press, 1998)
LIS 027.8 K392
Homemade activities and homemade designs for the school librarian.

The Storytime Sourcebook: A Compendium of Ideas and Resources for Storytellers (Caroline Cullum, Neal-Schuman, 1999)
LIS 027.625 C967
Designed to help locate the appropriate idea for programs. Over 140 themes are included.

Unattended Children in the Public Library: A Resource Guide (ALSC, 2000)
LIS 027.625 A512u
Addresses the issues including policies and procedures, program ideas, and relationships with community organizations.

What Works: Developmentally Appropriate Library Programs for Very Young Children (Jane Marino, New York Library Association, 1999)
LIS 027.625 W555
Complete programs for the Mother Goose set, toddlers, and preschoolers.

For information about two upcoming conferences of interest to children's and young adult librarians, see the following website: www.ber.org -- The Bureau of Education and Research. On the Seminar page, you can find details about conferences in Nashua. One is called Read! New and Classic Ideas for Bringing Children and Books Together, presented by Caroline Feller Bauer on March 5. The other conference is What's New In Young Adult Literature (grades 6-12) presented by Kathleen Odean on March 8.