Inform thyself! SLIS faculty and staff release statement on SB11

The SLIS faculty and staff have released a statement about the Budget Repair Bill (click on the picture to enlarge):

Inform thyself! We have a copy of SB11 at the SLIS Circ Desk

That's right, folks!  We have a paper copy of Senate Bill 11, aka the "Budget Repair Bill" on reserve at the SLIS Circ desk.  Earlier this week, we encouraged all SLIS students to acquaint themselves with the contents of the bill, so we're providing access to the document itself.

Please stop in and inform thyself!

Librarian: Inform thyself! Read SB11, the bill that is causing all the fuss.

The crowds of protesters inside the Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda

SLIS Library strongly urges all students to get informed about Wisconsin Senate Bill 11 (the "Budget Repair Bill").  This is the legislation that has caused Madison to erupt in massive protests from workers from around the state who oppose Governor Walker's proposed cuts and has initiated unprecedented procedural stalls on the part of Wisconsin Democrats.

As future information professionals, and as librarians who are likely to have public service jobs, it is of utmost importance that each of us understands the documents associated with this legislation.  We need to be able to access and provide accurate, non-partisan information about what is happening so that we and our patrons can form knowledgeable opinions.

You don't necessarily have to read all 144 pages of SB11 (though if you want to, you should!). The first 7 pages of the Bill constitute the Legislative Reference Bureau's official analysis, and offer an excellent summary of both the proposed actions and the working groups that will be affected.

Below is a list of links to nonpartisan references about this piece of legislation, how it came to be, and its repercussions. Many thanks to Prof. Louise Robbins, who is teaching Government Information Sources this semester and contributed this list of resources.

MORE INFORMATION:
Wisconsin Senate Bill 11 "The Budget Repair Bill"

Wisconsin State Legislature - Legislative Fiscal Bureau
Recent publications associated with the budget

The Wisconsin State Legislature

Wisconsin State Legislature - Documents
A link to to 2011-2013 Wisconsin State Budget Overview (Overview of State Agency Major Request Items) 

Wisconsin State Legislature - Joint Committee on Finance
Includes description of the Committee's responsibilities as well as a list of Senate and Assembly members.

Wisconsin Eye
An excellent nonpartisan news outlet that has a series of good videos about the bill and the current political battle.

Note On My Door 
Prof. Greg Downey of the SLIS and Journalism departments provides a comprehensive guide for understanding what's going on and how to determine your position.

The Plight of the Solo Digital Librarian

Technology is a big deal in libraries today. I am going to assume that this is not a controversial statement. With rapidly changing technological standards, a general shift toward digital and away from analog, and more of us librarians-in-training leaning toward the techie side of things, it can be overwhelming out there in the world. I came across this article, linked to by iLibrarian. Jane Monson, a 2009 graduate of the University of Iowa, now works at Truman State University’s Pickler Memorial Library in Kirksville, MO. She writes about lessons that she has learned as a solo digital librarian. It's a nice read for all of us, as it puts into perspective the kinds of things we learn in school and how they can apply to a real world setting. The article is framed in terms of lessons that Monson learned in her first year on the job - good lessons for all of us to keep in mind as we enter the job market.

In other news, with all of the excitement happening here in Madison, the LibGuides workshop and Michael Witmore's lecture have both been postponed to later dates. We will keep you all posted about their rescheduling.

This week at SLIS

We have some exciting events coming up this week at SLIS! Clear your schedule for this Thursday, February 17! Come to a workshop on LibGuides at the SLIS Computer Lab from 11:30-1pm, or if workshops aren't your style, attend the Print Culture Colloquium with Professor Michael Whitmore "Data-Mining Early English Dramatic Texts from the Text Creation Partnerships" at the SLIS Commons from 12-1pm. Stick around later in the day (4:30-5:30) to hear a talk from Faith Chao, titled "Bringing information literacy to rural China" in the SLIS Commons.

We hope to see you!

Workshopolooza!

Ever feel frustrated that you can't make SLIS Library workshops during the week because of class or work?  Well, here is your chance to knock out a bunch of workshops in one fell swoop!  Tomorrow (Saturday, February 5), the SLIS Library will be hosting our first Workshopolooza, featuring four workshops in five hours!  Come  to the library and learn to build a website with Dreamweaver, led by Tien-i Tsai at 12.  Get organized by learning your way around Zotero with Rebecca Karr at 1:15.  Delve into the open source integrated library system Koha, at 2:30 pm with Walker Evans.  And close the day with a demonstration of Forward, UW's experimental resource discovery tool at 3:45!

We look forward to seeing you all in a day designed for fun and cooperative learning!