Vampire Energy

Thanks to Techsoup for pointing me to Lifehacker that pointed me to this interesting chart from Good Magazine. Lifehacker sums it up well:

"Good magazine has an interesting chart in their latest issue that details how much energy your vampire devices use, and how much it costs you to keep them plugged in. The guide differentiates between devices that are in "active" (ready to leap to life) and "passive" (just plugged in) standby modes, and some items are real shockers. A plasma TV, for instance, can cost about $160 per year just to keep plugged in. That Wii you got your hands on? $25 before you even hit one virtual tennis ball. The takeaway for me, at least, is thinking about putting some devices on power strips and turning them off if I know I won't be using them for a day or more.

Vampire Energy [Good Magazine via CNET News]"

Online Library Learning Games

Check out Carnegie Mellon University's Library Arcade. The site states:

"The Library Arcade features games designed to help students develop research skills through entertaining and easy-to-repeat activities. At this stage, we are testing each game to better understand how to present them to our users and work through any technical glitches we may find."

I bombed the I'll Get It! game, but did pretty well with Within Range.

Death by Meeting?

Read in Training Doctor News - Dec 2007

"Check out the Meeting Miser from PayScale, a
Seattle based online benefits and compensation company.
Meeting Miser will cacluate just how much you are
losing via ineffective workplace meetings. It's not
a bad idea to have this running and projected on the
screen during your next meeting - to keep people
focused, of course, and to make a point as well."

I tried this out by putting in all of the people present at the last meeting I attended, VERY enlightening!

Way Back When

In my daily email from Smartcomputing, I was directed to a cool site where you can type in a web address and then choose from a date in the past and see what the Web Site looked like.

Here's what my email states:

"Styles change. Fluffy bangs and stonewashed jeans aren't the height of fashion they used to be. Styles of Web site designs change too. Take a look at the awkward adolescent picture of your favorite Web sites at The WayBack Machine. Just type in a URL and you'll find links to snapshots of the Web site from years past.

Way Back When"

I found one of the first incarnations of the Systems's site. Go find something for yourself!

Upcoming WebJunction Webinars

WebJunction has some great Webinars coming up in the new year. Click the links below to register for the webinars. This is a great way to continue your professional learning for free!

USCIS Civics and Citizenship Toolkit for Public Libraries In Depth Webinar
When: Tuesday January 8th, 2008 - 12:00 PM
Where: WebJunction at Central Time

Containing a range of useful materials, the Civics and Citizenship Toolkit is the perfect resource to help your library begin or enhance a collection for immigrants. The free collection comprises immigration and civics publications, handbooks, guidance on product usage, and multimedia tools. Listen to a presentation, meet, and ask questions of the project coordinator during the January In Depth Webinar. The Spanish Language Outreach Program presents a free hour-long webinar focused on the work of libraries who are finding ways to do better outreach to Spanish-speaking communities. Registration is NOT required for this event, but to receive a reminder via email, you may register below. For details about this month's topic and other information on past or future webinar sessions, visit: Spanish Outreach In Depth Webinars

10 Ways to Make Your Library Great in 2008
When: Wednesday January 16th, 2008 - 01:00 PM
Where: WebJunction at Central Time

The E-Learning Institute presents a free hour-long webinar focused on helping library managers, trainers and front-line staff succeed with online learning. Registration is NOT required for this event, but to receive a reminder via email, you may register below. For details about this month's topic and other information on past or future webinar sessions, visit: Learning Webinars.

Rural In Focus Webinar on Collaboration
When: Thursday January 24th, 2008 - 01:00 PM
Where: WebJunction at Central Time

WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) present a free hour-long webinar focused on a topic important to the work of sustaining Rural and Small libraries. Registration is NOT required for this event, but to receive a reminder via email, you may register below. For details about this month's topic and other information on past or future webinar sessions, visit: Rural In Focus Webinars.

Lookybook

Here is a great resource to help you when deciding what picture books to add to your collection: Lookybook.

Their About Page begins:

"Picture books are for looking at. Lookybook allows you to look at picture books in their entirety—from cover to cover, at your own pace. We know that nothing will replace the magic of reading a book with your child at bedtime, but we aim to replace the overwhelming and frustrating process of finding the right books for parents and their kids."

Spanish Outreach Workshops in Full Swing

I now have two of the Spanish Outreach Workshops under my belt. To learn more about these workshops, go here and here. Remember, I will be doing this at the Lancaster Public Library on 5/21/08 - hope to see a lot of you there! Ineavelle Ruiz (one of the other trainers) and I completed our workshops at Berks County Library System and Grove Family Library in Chambersburg PA. They went very well and the guest speakers for the panel portion of the workshop were wonderful.

I have set up a del.icio.us page filled with great links to all of the resources we use or refer to during the workshop. Be sure to check it out if you are doing any Spanish Outreach activities.

I will leave you with some photos from the Chambersburg workshop (sadly, we forgot to take pictures in Berks).

Ineavelle welcomes the participants:

I keep the momentum going during a group activity:

Our wonderful panel:

The New Pequea Valley Public Library

Congratulations to Margie Perella and the staff of the Pequea Valley Public Library. I guess congrats to their volunteers, board, trustees and the whole town are in order! What a wonderful new building. This shows that dedication and hard word DO pay off.

Here is Margie in her new space:

If you'd like to see my family's visit to the library, click here.

It's Friday - Time for a Good Laugh

This is probably my favorite viral video out there. I've seen it a bunch of times, have been sent it a bunch of times, seen it on blogs etc - but I still love it! Most recently, Elisha Bomberger from Lititz Public Library added it to his Facebook page. Thanks for putting this in front of me again Elisha!

Food for Fines

What a great idea from Missouri River Regional Library. Read about Food for Fines where patrons can "bring in 1 non-perishable item for each $1 in fines on your library account and your fines will be cleared."

Betty Glover Library Workout Tape (circa 1987)

Wow, the styles and music in this video bring back some memories. Check out the old card catalogs and other nostalgic library stuff. I graduated from high school in 1987 (yep, my 20 year reunion is actually 2 weeks away!). This is how I remember a library looking in high school and college. I wonder if I would even know how to use a card catalog now...

Enjoy the video, as the YouTube page states: "This was a project I did in college at ASU for class. Yes, I also worked at the library, and Betty Glover (an incredibly sweet lady) was my boss. This was way before non-linear editing. It's a bit dated, but still holds up pretty well, I think."

College Students Today

Thanks to Cindy Trainor at Chronicles of Bean for pointing to this video from Kansas State University target=_blank. More evidence that if you're not staying on top of technology, you're missing way too much!

WHO@

Another nod to Carolyn Blatchley for pointing out the WHO@ site. This stands for Working to Halt Online Abuse.

From the site:

" WHOA is a volunteer organization founded in 1997 to fight online harassment through education of the general public, education of law enforcement personnel, and empowerment of victims. We've also formulated voluntary policies which we encourage online communities to adopt in order to create safe and welcoming environments for all internet users."

Be sure to check out their two-sided online safety brochure.

Leetspeak

Here's something I had not heard of! Carolyn Blatchley, the trainer for the Cumberland County Library System, pointed out Leetspeak on her blog. She states "It's a language created by teens because parents have become too sophisticated and now understand regular text message shortcuts."

Go to Leetspeak and find out what this means: l00|< 3\/3rY0|\|3, 1 c4|/| r34d l3375p34|<

What Should I Read Next?

Not sure what to read? Here is a site that will help you: What Should I Read Next?

From the site:
"Enter a book you like and the site will analyse our database of real readers'
favourite books (over 32,000 and growing) to suggest what you could read next.
(You can register on the results page and build your own favourites list)"

Comic Strip for the Day

I received this in my email. Tried to find where it came from, but no luck. Credit to author Steinfeld:

My Moment on WebJunction

Lucky me, I'm featured on WebJunction's Spanish Outreach page. How nice of them. Thought I would share my moment with all of you :-)

Autism Speaks Videos

Found this post on MOMformation today. I think it is quite relevant to our One Book, One Community event.

Copied from the site:

"This week, Autism Speaks and First Signs, Inc. released their Autism Spectrum Disorder Video Glossary, a web-based tool that can help parents identify signs of autism in their children.

The glossary contains more than 100 video clips demonstrating some of the differences between the behaviors of typical kids and kids with ASD. Autism Speaks hopes the glossary will help parents spot red flag ASD behaviors and encourage early treatment of ASD.

It’s really an amazing resource. I can imagine more like it: sites where the signs and symptoms of childhood illnesses, disorders, and diseases are not only described but demonstrated. Tools like this one would make it much easier for parents to decide whether they need to pursue diagnoses for potential health issues in their children.

For additional information about and news coverage of the video glossary, click here and here and here."

The site does require you to register, but it was quite simple and a quick look at the videos looks very good. Be sure to share this resource with your patrons during your OBOC programming.

Help Feed the Hungry

At FreeRice all you have to do is better your vocabulary to help feed the hungry. It's an easy way to make a difference. Plus, if you're like me and your vocabulary isn't the greatest, it's a way to learn at the same time. What a great combination. For each word you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated. Plus, it adjusts to your level, so you're guaranteed to make a difference. My level is 31. Share in the comments what your level is.

Also visit their sister site Poverty.com for basic information to learn about how you can make a difference. Take note of the pictures flashing at the top of the screen and watch as their names pile up on the right. These are the people dying of hunger. Very sobering...

Go Get Your Media Wall - Today!

John Ditmore, PC Technician Extraordinaire here at the System, sent me a link to an amazing video proving that the future is here. See this video about Jeff Han's media wall.

Upon further research, I found I could go and pick one up for myself at Neiman Marcus.

From the Neiman Marcus site:

"Online Only Media Wall

Creativity is not a static pursuit, and we were never ones to stay in our seats, minding our P's & Q's. Passion, energy, motion—that's what gets us going. Luckily, the future is here with the Interactive Media Wall from Perceptive Pixel.

With an eight-by-three foot screen, the entire wall becomes your canvas, allowing you to navigate, locate, and manipulate information by touching anywhere on the screen. No longer chained to cumbersome physical input devices, your imagination can fly at warp speed in a medium that can easily keep pace. Tap out a sonata with your fingertips, flip through manuscripts with the swipe of your hand, or crop photos with a pinch—it is perfect for grand gestures or the lightest touch.

But don't just take our word for it, view the video here.

Price starting at $100,000.00 (GULP)"

Starting at?!

Nov/Dec 2007 Training Schedule

(NOTE: All links in this post only work from within a library.)

There will be a 2-person minimum requirement for Microsoft courses. If only 1 person registers, the class will be canceled.

Check out the Training schedule for Nov/Dec 2007. It can be found on LILLY's Training Page. You must have Adobe Acrobat Viewer to be able to see the information. Please email the helpdesk if you have any troubles.

You will find the schedule in the Training Descriptions & Schedules section. For full descriptions see the NOV/DEC 2007 Training Schedule. For a quick view of all the classes, see the NOV/DEC 2007 Training At-a-Glance.

This schedule is also available at all times for easy viewing on Calcium’s LSLC TRAINING CALENDAR. Go to http://calendar.lancasterlibraries.org and click the LSLC Training Calendar link (no need to log in first). You’ll see the names of the courses are hyperlinks. Click the links to see descriptions of the courses.

Please be sure to make note of the Prerequisites for the various trainings. This will help you to schedule your training accordingly.

Also, it is very important when people register for trainings that I receive the following information. Many times I just get a name and nothing more which requires a lot of follow-up work. Please help us out by including the following:

IMPORTANT:

In the email, list the following information for the person attending:

• Name

• Library

• Position/Title

• Phone number (where the person can be reached in case of cancellation)

• Email address (if they don’t have email, then an address of someone else who can relay information to them)

• Name of class they wish to attend

• Date and Time of the class they wish to attend

Note: All of the classes listed will be held at the Library System Office

Check out this link on LILLY to get directions from your library to the System Office: http://192.168.0.43/admin/pages/map.htm (scroll past the map for links from each library)

REMINDER:

CustomGuide E-Learning

Be sure to make use of all of the E-Learning materials available. These are available to help you teach yourself many Microsoft Applications.

E-Books available at http://192.168.0.43/training/pages/training_ebooks.htm These books open in PDF Viewer and go along with the E-Learning or can be used as self-study. Be sure to request a Practice Files CD to go along with the E-Books.

Office Clues available at http://192.168.0.43/training/pages/office_clues.htm Here you will find useful tips, articles and tutorials on the main Microsoft Office Applications (Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word). This is updated each month.

November's Issue of OfficeClues is now Available

November's issue of Office Clues is now available for everyone on LILLY (link only works from within a library).

Here's what you'll find in this issue:

• Track record activity in Access
• Link cells between worksheets and workbooks in Excel
• Understand Outlook's e-mail formats
• Organize your pictures in PowerPoint
• Give tables and figures a professional look in Word
  

Find out more by reading the issue.

Each issue of OfficeClues® is designed to boost the productivity of every user in the Library System of Lancaster County. Here you will find useful tips, articles and tutorials on the main Microsoft Office Applications (Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word). This is updated each month.

Never Forget the Attachment Again!

Great advice from the Tricks of the Trade Blog so that you never forget that attachment again!

"If you are sending an email with an attachment, add the attachment first, then compose the message, and then add email addresses tothe send line. Now there's no chance you'll have to send the ever-popular "whoops, forgot to attach the file" follow-up.

In fact, it's a good practice to always put the email addresses of the recipients in last, to ensure that an errant carriage return or mouseclick won't fire off the message half-baked. "

Coffee Shop at Elizabethtown!

This is very exciting news for the community of Elizabethtown. The Elizabethtown Public Library will be opening a Coffee Shop very soon. Be sure to check out their Coffee Shop at the Library page for more details. Check out more pictures of the beautiful space here. They are going all out! Applause, applause to them - way to be innovative!

Collection Development Tricks

From WebJunction's blog: BlogJunction, a great post about resources for collection development. There is a wealth of information here. I hope you have time to check it out!

Here's the beginning of the post:

"Collection development is an exciting, ongoing process of discovery. According to ALA’s Library Bill of Rights: “Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view.” Sometimes it can be a challenge to find a wide selection of balanced materials. The following resources can help contribute to the collection development process at your library."

Go read more to see all the resources....

A Library Champion Lives Here

I received this the other day on the PA: District Library Centers Mailing List. This is such a great idea and obviously did well in this town:

“A Library Champion Lives Here” – A library in Louisville decided to give all children who read 10 books a “vote for me” type of sign that says “A Library Champion Lives Here.” The children stuck the sign in their yards. Soon signs were springing up in yards all over town.

One parent decided to take a picture of her child next to the sign in her yard. She submitted the digital photo to the library, so the library put it on their website.

Of course, when other parents saw that, they wanted their child’s picture on the website too. Soon digital pictures kept flooding in to the library. So library staff made a rotating display of all the pictures on their homepage.

Now the website is the favorite destination in town, as all the parents and grandparents all want to see their child’s picture on the web."

Go check it out! Just watch the pictures rotate on the home page.

The Life of an IT Employee!

Here's a HILARIOUS Platoon parody of a tough day on the job as IT Personnel. I know, you all would NEVER do this...

WOWIO

From SmartComputing:

A Virtual Library At Your Fingertips

Sometimes, it's just not as easy as we'd like to get to our local library branch to check out a good book. When bad weather strikes or the car's in the shop, you can still find some reading material with the help of Wowio. Wowio is a site that offers hundreds of titles for download, ranging from children's books such as "The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin" to more serious works from Kurt Vonnegut or Chuck Palahniuk. And best of all, it's completely free! You'll need to create an account; once it's created and confirmed, you can download up to three books a da y in PDF (Portable Document Format) form. You'll be lost in a good book in no time!

Just One More Book

Since I'm a new Mommy, I'm finding more and more great resources for parents in the online world (since I've lived there much longer than I've been a Mommy). This podcast is very good, and the website provides lots of great reviews of kids books. Check out Just One More Book - "A podcast about the children's books we love and why we love them - recorded in our favourite coffee shop".

From the About Page of their site:

"Just One More Book is a thrice-weekly podcast which promotes and celebrates literacy and great children’s books.

Each weekday morning, we take a few minutes out of our morning coffee ritual to discuss one of our many favourite children’s books. We also feature weekly interviews with authors, literacy related discussions and audio reviews submitted by our listeners.

Through this podcast and its website, we are building a lively, interactive community linking children’s book authors, illustrators, readers (parents and children) and publishers."

Laugh Out Loud @ Your Library Teen Contest

How exciting - a YouTube contest for teens in the Lancaster County area! Please see the Contest Page for more details.

I had a lot of fun helping Renee Christiansen, Youth Services Coordinator and the YIG group to put all of this together. It's great to see Web 2.0 being put to use in our Library System.

The Seattle Public Library is AMAZING!

While at the Training Institute in Seattle, we had a tour of the Seattle Public Library. This is an amazing building. Truly, a work of art. I got a little camera happy while I was there...

Here's a view of the outside of the building:


Here is the children's area of the library, just gorgeous:

Here is a room where children's programming is held:


Next, some amazing views from within the library. Imagine, a wall of OPACs!:

This one shows a cafe to the left, greenery in the building, and an amazing floor plan:

More OPACs and more information staff counters that are scattered throughout the library:

Looking down from one floor to a lower floor, I think there are 7 or 8 floors all together:

Imagine having this many public machines and a technician staffed there FULL TIME!

Here are the stairs to the staff floor, which is also COMPLETELY red:

Photo op:

They have a world department and the floor itself is a work of art with sayings on it in all the languages of the world:

The same department has quite a selection of foreign periodicals:

Here is the teen center, more RED!

And you can't even believe how they sort the book drop, check it out - all the books come into one location and it's like a factory with conveyor belt and all:







Their auditorium can seat up to 400:

And they have a display showing the amount of items by material type that have checked out that day - impressive:



Just goes to show what a library can really be when the people in the area advocate for libraries!

Spanish Language Outreach Training in Seattle

I had the privilege to attend the Spanish Language Outreach Training Institute in Seattle last week. This is a program coordinated by WebJunction through funding from OCLC and the Gates Foundation. Check out this great post on BlogJunction that describes the week and its purpose.

What a joy to get to know the 2 other trainers for the state of PA - Ineavelle Ruiz, the Migrant Program Coordinator/Assistant at the Northeast Branch of the Reading Public Library in Berks County and Susana Baumann, the Director of LCSWorldwide Language and Cultural Services, a company she started in 1996 as a home-based part-time business, as well as the state coordinator, Claudia Koenig from Commonwealth Libraries. We've become quite the team getting everything together for the workshops in PA. Here we are with Yolanda Cuesta, the Institute Facilitator/Curriculum Developer:

And here is the crew of 30 from many states:

Check out the flickr set of many photos from the week.

Here's a Printer Jam I've Never Dealt With!

I work in the IT department here at the Library System. I had a job before where I worked with printers quite a bit. I gotta tell ya - I've never seen anything like this. I received this in an email and don't know the original source:

Come and fix the printer jam please...Call Minnie; Mickey is in trouble!

He's not dead but he's sure stuck!? They do end up getting him out and letting him loose for those of you that are mouse lovers. How'd you like to get to work and find this problem? NO THANKS!

Milanof-Schock Director off to Krygyzstan

Congratulations to Herb Landau, director at Milanof-Schock Library in Mount Joy.

From Sunday News 9/16/07

Librarian on a mission
Herbert Landau, the gregarious director of the Milanof-Schock Library, will represent the United States at the October Issyk Kul International Libary Conference in Bishkek, Krygystan, after the Krygyz Republic asked for two U.S. librarians to offer advice for improving its public libraries.

Who better to go than Landau, who ran Best Small Library in America last year, according to Library Journal and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?

The U.S. Department of State Office of International Programs was impressed with what the Mount Joy library accomplished with limited resources and how it functions as a community center.

Accompanying Landau will be Dr. Leigh Estabrook, professor and director of the University of Illinois Library Research Center.

The two will meet with Krygyzstani public, university and specialty library staffs, librarian groups, students and faculty of the library and information science program at Bishkek Humanities University and the Tokmok and Jalalabat Colleges of Culture, and leaders of the Central Asian Library Association.

To facilitate travel, Landau was awarded a federal U.S. Speaker and Specialist Grant.

Jottit Makes a WebPage in Seconds

You won't get a real fancy looking site, but WOW, you can create a web page in seconds using Jottit. It truly is as easy as filling out a text box. No, I'm not kidding. I created a page in 2 seconds that said Test Page. Go check it out, NOW!

Ransomizr

Be creative with the Ransomizr -





Ransomizr grabs the last bunch of single-letter images from the One Letter Pool on Flickr, arranges them into an array, and waits for you to type something in the entry blank. The result looks just like an old-school ransom note, and may be copied and pasted from here into the page of your choice.

October's Issue of Office Clues is Now Available

October's issue of Office Clues is now available for everyone on LILLY (link only works from within a library).

Here's what you'll find in this issue:

• Export data from Access
• Download pre-made Excel templates
• Use Outlook's AutoComplete feature
• Enhance your presentation with AutoShapes in PowerPoint
• Reuse and recycle shapes or text with AutoText in Word
  

Find out more by reading the issue.

Each issue of OfficeClues® is designed to boost the productivity of every user in the Library System of Lancaster County. Here you will find useful tips, articles and tutorials on the main Microsoft Office Applications (Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word). This is updated each month.

Another Free SirsiDynix Institute Webinar

Dump the Org. Chart: Get `Er Done!: Management for a 2.0 Library

Presented by:
Gina Millsap - Executive Director, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
Rob Banks - Deputy Director of Operations, Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library

Tuesday, September 18, 2007, 11 a.m. - noon Eastern / 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. Pacific

Did you get your MLS in the previous century? Is there a digital divide in your library, not just for customers, but for staff? Are innovation and risk organizational values or ... not so much?

Most libraries are using the same organizational structures and task-driven methods of organizing work and staff they've used for a century or more. The real work is understanding and delivering what matters most to our customers. Be a 21st century library leader from anywhere in your organization! Learn strategies for leading a library organization that shares a vision for exceptional service and works together in new ways to make it happen.

Register now to take part in this FREE webinar.

Gina Millsap is the Executive Director of the Topeka & Shawnee County (KS) Public Library. She's worked in libraries for 30+ years and received her MLS in the previous century. Her degree may be an antique, but her outlook isn't; she's a Library Journal 2007 Mover and Shaker (http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6423399.html.) As a seasoned library director, first at the Ames (IA) Public Library and now TSCPL, she is convinced that leading a 21st century library means knowing and responding to what matters most to library customers and the people who serve them.

Rob Banks is Deputy Director of Operations at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. He has held a number of positions throughout the library in the 18 years he has been with this institution. Rob came to the library as an acquisitions clerk at the time when PC's were just being introduced. He was present for the initial automation of the library and has proceeded to pester those who actually know what they are doing in the intervening years. He has worked throughout the hierarchy and understands the processes necessary to work with the denizens of each level or at least can fake it.

Register for this SirsiDynix Institute webinar at:
https://events.livemeeting.com/SirsiDynix091807Reg.htm

If you have missed previous SirsiDynix Institute events, or are unable to make this one, we have an extensive archive posted at http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/archive.php. You can check them out at any time.

More 2007 SirsiDynix Institute events at http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/.

Great List of Alt Codes

Want a quick way to get any symbol you need? Need to write something in another language but can't find those letters on your keyboard? Check out this great Alt Codes Reference to help.

Fran Vita's Video Review of the OPAC Class

Fran Vita from Quarryville Library was kind enough to give her video review of the Understanding the OPAC class taught last Friday 9/7/07.



Thanks Fran! Be sure to sign up for the training you need just like Fran did!

Meet Joyce Reynolds from OPAC Class

I taught Understanding the OPAC on Friday 9/7/07. Meet one of the trainees present in this class:

Joyce Reynolds is from the Moores Memorial Library in Christiana. She began as a volunteer about 2 1/2 years ago. After 6 months, she was hired. That makes her a part of the staff for the last 2 years. An interesting tidbit about Joyce: she has taken courses in writing for children. Also, two of her stories have been published in magazines!

Hitchhiker's Guide to Library Surveys Online Training

Received today from CLENERT (Continuing Library Education and Networking Exchange Round Table):


On Sept. 18th at Noon Mountain Time (that would be 2:00pm Eastern Time), Brenda Hough of WebJunction, Betti Grow and I here at the Utah State Library are doing an online training designed for rural librarians: "Hitchhiker's Guide to Library Surveys." It is a WebJunction Rural In-Focus webinar.

The goals are to help participants:
Understand why and how to conduct a library survey
Describe the elements of an effective library survey
Evaluate the survey results

Details and a participant guide are on our website. No need to register in advance.

If you have rural librarians that would benefit from this training, please point them in this direction. This is perfect for librarians who want to collect data to advocate for their libraries, evaluate their programs, and design library services.

Colleen

Colleen Eggett
Training Coordinator, Utah State Library
250 N 1950 W, Suite A
Salt Lake City Ut 84116-7901
801-715-6776 (phone) 801-715-6767 (fax)
1-800-662-9150 (in-Utah-WATS)
ceggett@utah.gov

I will be teaching a class at that time, so if you go, let me know how it was!

Poetry Daily

A nice site from Smartcomputing's daily email: Poetry Daily

"Whether you're an avid reader of poetry or are just looking for something to wake your intellect each day, Poetry Daily is a great Web site for you. Check the site every day for a new featured poem, poet, and book. It's a great way to discover new authors and poems."

From their About page:

" Poetry Daily is an anthology of contemporary poetry. Each day, we bring you a new poem from new books, magazines, and journals.

Poems are chosen from the work of a wide variety of poets published or translated in the English language. Our most eminent poets are represented in the selections, but also poets who are less well known. The daily poem is selected for its literary quality and to provide you with a window on a very broad range of poetry offered annually by publishers large and small. Included with each poem is information about the poet and the poem's source.

Our purpose is to make it easier for people to find poets and poetry they like and to help publishers bring news of their books, magazines, and journals to more people. Well over 1,000 books of poetry are published in the United States alone each year, but they can be difficult to find, even in areas brimming with bookstores. The numerous journals presenting new poetry and poets can be even more elusive. We will lead you to them and, in the meantime, we give you a new poem to carry with you through your day and share with others."

Checkout the Bookmobile 2.0 Blog

There's a new blog in town and I think it's going to be very exciting to follow! Go check out Bookmobile 2.0.

Here's a hint - people named Ed and Becky are involved...

Welcome to the NEW & IMPROVED LSLC Training Blog

I thought I would re-post my original post from my first blog as it still rings true. Note that you can now comment for more lively interaction on this blog. Be sure to add this new site to your feed reader! To see posts from my old blog, go here.

Posted 6/9/05 at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/LSLCTraining:
"My name is Stephanie Zimmerman and I am the Training Coordinator for the Library System of Lancaster County. I created this blog in an effort to communicate with all of the staff and volunteers that I come in contact with on the job. I want to keep you all apprised of the various training opportunities here at the system. Also, I come across a lot of interesting information that you may find helpful that I'd like to share with you. Rather than send multiple emails out on our NEWS list, I though a more informal setting would be better. I will continue to send out important developments on NEWS, but place tips, tricks and tidbits of information here as well.

Remember, I'm your Training Coordinator, so if you ever need help using Millennium or other software, feel free to contact me. I won't have all the answers, but I'll do what I can to find them for you or refer you to a resource that can help you. I can be reached at szimmerman@lancasterlibraries.org".