Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Claiming My Seat on Technorati

To have my blog listed on Technorati, I need to prove I am who I am. By posting this super secret code, E5QK2GXQWY3W, I am on the verge of legitimacy!!

Transliteracy

I learned a new word today from Bobbi Newman aka Librarian by Day. Transliteracy. Please check out her wonderful post that offers great resources for any of you who want to jump on this bandwagon with me. Transliteracy.com defines transliteracy as "the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks."

This slideshow from her post sums it up quickly:



If this interests you, be sure to become a fan of the Facebook Page too. Thanks Bobbi!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Feral Learning

Be sure to go and check out my latest post on ALA Learning about Feral Learning. Come on, with a title like that you HAVE to be curious...

Monday, December 28, 2009

Great Way to Tell Your Patrons About Holds

Allen County Public Library puts out the best videos for patron education. Be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel. This one explains the holds process beautifully. Works pretty much the same way here at the Library System of Lancaster County! No email notification... YET - but patrons do get a phone call or letter. LOVE the self service Hold Shelf. A lot of places do that now.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

GoogleGoogleGoogleGoogle

Yes, I do love Google, but the purpose of the title is to direct you to http://www.googlegooglegooglegoogle.com/ You may find this helpful when you're doing extensive research and need to see 4 results at once. Plus, if you click the W, you can do a Wikipedia search and if you click the Green Arrow, you can type in any Website address. So you can use this really to see any 4 sites on one screen if you ever need it. If you're as sick as I am with multi-tasking, your mouth will also drool...
Thanks Tekzilla!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

POWER Library is about to take a HIT!

This just in from the PA District Library Centers Listserv - are you ready Pennsylvania?! This is going to hurt a lot of people...

December 22, 2009

Dear Library Community:

I am writing to update you on the status of the POWER Library.

The contracts for the POWER Library databases will expire December 31, 2009. The Pennsylvania Department of Education issued an RFP for POWER Library Databases, and the proposals are currently being evaluated by agency staff. Our goal is to complete the selection process in time for the POWER Library continues into 2010 without interruption.

Because of the reduction to the Library Access line item in the 2009-2010 budget, the scope of the RFP was limited to the following categories:
  • General full-text periodical database
  • Newspaper index
  • Business Reference
  • Combination of the above databases

Within the current the economic conditions, we are hoping to continue to provide high quality databases of general interest to the public at large and to our K-12 students in particular. However, it is reasonable to expect most subject specific databases will no longer be available after December 31, 2009.

We have heard from all types of libraries about the importance and value of the scope of POWER Library offerings. We will seek to make additional databases available as options and opportunities present themselves.

Thank you for your input and your support of the POWER Library.

Susan Pannebaker

Susan Pannebaker Director
Bureau of Library Development
Office of Commonwealth Libraries
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market St. Harrisburg, PA 17126-1745
Phone: 717-214-4047 Fax: 717-787-2117
spannebake@state.pa.us http://www.education.state.pa.us/