Monday, November 30, 2009

lifehacker Selects the Top 5 Online Data Backup Tools
None of them are free, but are as low as $4.95 per month to back up all your data. There is a detailed explanation of each tool, plus a reader poll indicating lifehacker readers' choice for the best. Learn more at http://bit.ly/8PKhJM.
Using Flickr to Create a Photo Gallery
Using a step by step process, this article will help you set up a photo stream for your website that is easy to update! If you use PLOW, be sure to check with PLOW staff to be sure that the process will work for your site.
Grants for The Big Read from IMLS
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and in cooperation with Arts Midwest, announces the 2010 deadline for The Big Read, a program to revitalize the role of literature in American culture. Organizations may apply for grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 with the grant size determined by community population, number of activities planned, and artistic excellence and merit. Selected communities will participate in The Big Read from September 2010 – June 2011.

Press release and more information at http://bit.ly/62GyUm.
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Integrated Library Systems Webinar
Join WebJunction and ALA TechSource for a December 10 ILS webinar at Noon. They will discuss new features and capabilities available in the most modern library software, and what it really means for these tools to be customizable. Information on the session and for registration, visit http://bit.ly/5luIbd.
ALA Offers Stats and Research on Libraries
From an ALA press release: American Library Association (ALA) members and other Web visitors can now quickly locate library research and statistics with new top-level navigation from the ALA home page.

Library statistics are organized by type of library for easy access and include links to annual studies of library expenditures and services, state-level library data, library value studies (return on investment), opinion research from national household studies, and topical articles such as “Economic Hard Times and Public Library Use Revisited.”

The Research and Statistics section is at http://www.ala.org/ala/research.

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Free Webinar: Writing a Patron Behavior Policy
Infopeople is at it again! They're offering a free webinar on December 10 at 2:00pm CST. The link to the session will be available a half hour before the session at the information page at http://bit.ly/8VCKW6.

As always, Infopeople archives all of their webinars, with slides included if possible, at http://infopeople.org/training/webcasts/list/archived.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Free Space Shuttle Artifacts for Libraries

NASA is giving away artifacts, like gloves, helmets, simulators and more, from the space shuttle program. There are charges for shipping, so for the larger items it could be quite pricey. To get more information and apply to be one of the recipient libraries, visit the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) press release at http://www.imls.gov/news/2009/110609b.shtm.

Imagine how cool your next space themed storytime or library display would be with one of these pieces, not to mention playing a part in preserving and sharing a part of American history!


Teen Tech Week March 7-13
"Teen Tech Week is a national initiative aimed at teens, librarians, educators, parents, and other concerned adults meant to encourage teens to take advantage of libraries' nonprint resources. The 2010 theme — Learn Create Share @ your library — fosters teen creativity and positions the library as a physical and virtual place for safe exploration of the many types of technology available at libraries, including DVDs, music, gaming, video production, online homework help, social networking, tech workshops, audiobooks and more."

For resources, registration and more, visit the YALSA Teen Tech Week website.
From The Bubble Room Blog - Top 10 Things Marketers Should Do
We hear it all the time - librarians need to be marketing their libraries and services. This blog post outlines 10 things that are essential to effective marketing. Read it at Library Journal online.
Photo info:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/altemark/ / CC BY 2.0

Best Illustrated Books of 2009

The November 8 New York Times Book Review offers up its annual list. http://bit.ly/4ub5WA

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

ALA Washington Office Webinar: Get Legislators in Your Library!

One of the best ways to get legislators to listen (and, more important, support you) is to show them what your library does to benefit the community. Believe it or not, members of Congress still think of libraries as “those places with all the books.” The good news is that your opportunities to make a real difference are just around the corner. Members of Congress and their staff will be coming back to their districts for the Thanksgiving and Winter District Work periods (exact dates to be determined).

Whether it’s a meeting with your trustees, friends or employees, a visit to your library or inviting legislators and staff to a holiday event, this session will offer practical tips for making these visits as worthwhile as possible.

*Date:* Wednesday, November 18, 2009

*Time:* 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

After registering <https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/417322194> you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=4010

Monday, November 09, 2009


Washington Public Library Celebrates Grand Reopening
Congratulations to the Washington Public Library! They celebrated the grand opening of their new building on October 17-19. The building is right on the square, and is eligible to be a LEED Silver certified building. Visit our Flickr account for more photos!

4 Webinars from WebJunction

All times posted are Eastern Standard. Registration is available at http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp. Just click on the link to the webinar you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to a registration page.


Reaching Spanish-speaking Agricultural Communities

Date: 11/10/2009
Start Time: 2:00 PM
End Time: 3:00 PM
Spanish-speakers working in agriculture communities are looking to their libraries and other community technology centers for public access to computers. But like the recent Latinos and Library Perceptions Report confirms, there's more to be done to reach out to these communities. Join special guests, Patricia Rempel, PhD, Reference and Collections Librarian at Coutts Education Library, University of Alberta and José Garcia, Teen and Reference Services Librarian, King County Library System and NW REFORMA Past President, for this free webinar as they share insights from research on perceived usages of community public access computers by Spanish-speakers in rural Washington gathered through interviews with information professionals. The presentation will include real life examples of library usage in these communities as well as the direct results of the outreach efforts of the libraries studied.


Using Social Media to Make the Case for Supporting Library Services
Date:
11/19/2009
Start Time: 1:00 PM
End Time: 2:30 PM
Join us and learn how non-profits such as libraries can use social websites to put access to information and libraries on the agenda of community leaders, elected officials, and local and national agencies. The content of this WebJunction and REFORMA co-sponsored webinar includes a background on social websites, how to use social websites for advocacy, national and international advocacy efforts by representatives from American Library Association (ALA) and the International Federation of Libraries and Institutions (IFLA), and suggestions on how to advocate for services for Latinos and Spanish speakers presented by a panel of guest speakers including Meredith Farkas, Head of Instructional Initiatives at Norwich University; Fiona Bradley, IFLA Programme Coordinator ALP; Marci Merola, Director, ALA Office for Library Advocacy; Max Macias, Serials Technician at Portland Community College; and Loida Garcia-Febo, Assistant Coordinator New Americans Program and Special Services at Queens Library.


Library Computer Networking Q&A
Date: 12/2/2009
Start Time: 3:00 PM
End Time: 4:00 PM
WebJunction's November focus is on Networking, and during the month we’ll be collecting your burning networking questions via this short poll. Then, on December 2, WebJunction and TechSoup for Libraries are teaming up to bring you a panel of library technology experts to field your questions in a "Car Talk" fashion that’s sure to be informative and fun! The expert panel includes:

Robert Williams, Technology Consultant at the South Texas Library System
Chris Jowaisas Library Systems Grants Administrator of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Monica M. Schultz, IT Director at the Peninsula Library System
And moderated by TechSoup’s Stephanie Gerding


Integrated Library Systems: Open Source and Customization

Date: 12/10/2009
Start Time: 1:00 PM
End Time: 2:30 PM
Please join us on December 10th for a discussion of Integrated Library Systems (ILSs) and the trend toward customizability through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) with library systems expert Marshall Breeding and representatives from leading vendors in the field. We'll discuss new features and capabilities available in the most modern library software, and what it really means for these tools to be "customizable." This event will coincide with the publication of Marshall Breeding's December 2009 issue of Library Technology Reports and is presented in collaboration with ALA TechSource.


Monday, November 02, 2009

Unique Program/Fundraising Idea
The Beaufort (S.C.) Branch Library, along with their Friends, hosted a tasting festival. Guests tasted signature dishes from towns named Beaufort in a variety of countries across the world. Local restaurants, caterers and volunteers helped create the food. For more information on the festival, contact Amanda Brewer of the Beaufort Branch Library at abrewer@bcgov.net.
Eddyville Unveils Gazebo
From Vicki Vroegh: In September 2009, our outdoor seating project was completed. We raised a little over $10,000 to build a non- traditional gazebo that is located a little bit north of the building. It has built-in wrap around bench seats, with a sidewalk leading to it. A large size picnic table is currently being made to set in the center, which our Friends group is buying. We will hopefully have the table next spring. I have had so many positive comments about the gazebo from the community!