With the support of Citizen's Bank, the Department of Cultural Resources has produced Living Legacy calendars:  The State Library is selling these calendars -- which include a good number of library photos -- to libraries at $5 each; the libraries can resell them as a fundraiser at whatever price they wish. Anyone who wants a calendar should contact Donna Dusell at 271-2392 or ddusell@library.state.nh.us or Kim Williams at 271-7993 or kwilliams@library.state.nh.us.

The state library has received a grant from the Gates Foundation to fund library computer education throughout the state. Charlie LeBlanc and Diana Degen will be training librarians in hardware and software maintenance and security in early 2004.  Tom Ladd will be working on evaluations.

Center for the Book - 603-271-2866

New Hampshire children from preschoolers to those in third grade selected IStink! by Kate and Jim McMullan published by Joanne Cotler Books as the winner of the 2003 Ladybug Picture Book Award. With over 10,000 children casting ballots for their favorite picture book from among 12 titles, I Stink! won with 2,034 votes. The Center for the Book plans an award ceremony for the spring.

Electronic and Government Information Services - 603-271-2143

Diana Degen says there are ongoing problems in accessing AncestryPlus; she begs local librarians to let her know when they're having trouble. She's been assessing HeritagePlus as a possible replacement (although APlus and HPlus approach genealogical research very differently), but access problems have cropped up there, too. Despite all the problems, the State Library is renewing its AncestryPlus license for six months. WorldCat and the Ebsco databases continue to function well. To report problems, please contact Diana at 271-2143 or ddegen@library.state.nh.us.

Library Development Services - 1-800-462-1726 (Lancaster)

The FY2003 NH Public Library Annual Report form will be available after February 1st; that's the target date for Bibliostat to finish uploading it to the web. Paper copies will be available to libraries that do not have Internet access; libraries with Net access must fill out the survey online unless there are extenuating circumstances. For more information, please contact Sue Palmatier at spalmatier@library.state.nh.us or 1-800-462-1726.

The NH Library Trustees Association (NHLTA) is inviting Friends groups in the state to join them at their conference in May 2004.  The Friends will have their own keynote speaker and may attend either NHLTA workshops or their own.  For further information and to express interest in this plan, please contact Sue Palmatier at 1-800-462-1726 or spalmatier@library.state.nh.us.

The FY2002 New Hampshire Public Library Statistics and the New Hampshire Public Library Personnel Data Survey will be online by mid-December; printed copies will be available soon afterward.

The Summer Reading Program Committee of CHILIS has announced the theme for next summer's reading program. Libraries will be encouraging kids to "Check out a Hero" and will celebrate all kinds of heroes: hometown, sports, comic, literary, and even hero sandwiches! Graphic artist Hector Diaz will create the artwork for the poster, t-shirt, reading logs, and reading certificates. Orders for summer reading materials are expected to begin in early December. Watch the CHILIS listserv for more announcements.

Library Services to Persons with Disabilities - 603-271-1498

This is just a reminder that the State Library owns approximately 5800 large print books, which are for you, the libraries in New Hampshire. They have been purchased expressly for the purpose of lending them to libraries around the state. Many, although not all, are listed in the NHU-PAC.

Please consider us when you are borrowing large print books for your patrons. Actually, you should always put the State Library as your first lender in any lender string, according to the ILL Protocol Manual. In the case of large print books, our library code is HRBD. If we own the book you want, please request it first from us. If we don't show up as a lender, you might want to call or email us anyway. Many of our older large print titles are not listed in the NHU-PAC, but we'll be happy to check our catalog for you.

Reference and Information Services - 603-271-2144

The Reference and Information Services Section of the State Library often receives questions about the services that we provide to libraries. For example: What days does the van service not operate due to a state holiday? How do you make a request for an article using Article Express?

The answers to most of these questions appear on the Section's web pages which can be found by going to the NH State Library web site (www.nh.gov/nhsl) and scrolling down to the bottom of the page, and then clicking on Reference and Information Services under Organization or going directly to the web pages http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/refinfo/index.html. If questions are still not answered after consulting these pages, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail us.

Special Services - (Family Resource Connection) - 1-800-298-4321

The Family Resource Connection has been adding to its Spanish language collection of materials for families where Spanish is the first language of parents. A flier has been translated into Spanish to let people know that this collection exists and how to access it. Also, there is a print listing in Spanish of the titles available. Contact Alice Nye or Nancy Cristiano of the Family Resource Connection (1-800-298-4321 or email FRC@library.state.nh.us) if you would like copies of the flier and listing to share with your staff and patrons. A listing of "Spanish Materials" that is partially translated into Spanish is also available at the Family Resource Connection website at www.nh.gov/nhsl/frc/lend.html under the "Browse Subject" search option.