Put This in your December 2009 Reminder File

Link to July 22 wisbusiness.com post, "Chicago Fed researcher sees Midwest poised for late 2009 upturn".

Excerpt: It’s always nice to start out with a joke, but there’s nothing funny about this economy,” Chicago Federal Reserve researcher Bill Testa told the Smith and Gesteland Executive Speaker Series at Edgewood College Tuesday.

Despite the impact of losing GM in Janesville, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago research V.P. Testa said Wisconsin has probably seen the bottom of this “Great Recession.”

Too late to have any impact on 2010 municipal and county budget deliberations.

Iowa Sex Offender Law Presents Challenge to Library Policy Development

Link to July 23 Cedar Rapids Gazette article, "Libraries adapting to changes in Iowa sex offender law".

Excerpt: Libraries across Iowa are creating policies attempting to protect their traditional values while complying with the state’s revised sex offender law.

Excerpt: The law, which took effect July 1, prohibits people convicted of sex offenses against minors from being in public libraries, schools and child-care centers without permission, and from loitering within 300 feet of places intended primarily for children.

The new law presents an interesting challenge for library officials, often staunch defenders of privacy rights and freedom of information.

“It is very much a balancing act between those traditions of freedom of information and privacy of the individual but yet also trying to enact the law,” said Ellen Neuhaus, president of the Iowa Library Association and a reference librarian at the University of Northern Iowa.

Stevens Point Bike-mobile

Madison Elementary School, Stevens Point, WI

Link to July 24 Stevens Point Journal article, "Library bikes deliver books".

Excerpt: Children in the neighborhood surrounding Madison Elementary School swarmed around two bicycles piping music and hauling baskets of goodies Thursday.

No, they weren't full of frozen treats, though it was the same concept as an ice cream truck. Instead of snow cones and Popsicles, children found food for thought -- hundreds of books to read.

Sponsored by the Central Wisconsin Reading Council, two Madison Elementary School teachers created a mobile library to ensure all students have the opportunity to read during the summer.

"A lot of these kids don't have transportation to the library, so we bring the library to them," said Paula Bartel, teacher and CWRC president