Dauphin County Library System libraries will be closed in observance of New Years Day. Check local listings for more information. There will be NO inter-library delivery service on this holiday.
Dauphin County Library System libraries will be closed in observance of New Years Day. Check local listings for more information. There will be NO inter-library delivery service on this holiday.
Dauphin County Library System libraries will be closed in observance of Christmas Day. Check local listings for more information. There will be NO inter-library delivery service on this holiday.
Dauphin County Library System libraries will be closed in observance of Christmas Eve. Check local listings for more information. There will be NO inter-library delivery service on this holiday.
Dauphin County Library System libraries will be closed in observance of Thanksgiving. Check local listings for more information. There will be NO inter-library delivery service on this holiday.
Dauphin County Library System libraries will be closed in observance of Labor Day. Check local listings for more information. There will be NO inter-library delivery service on this holiday.
Dauphin County Library System libraries will be closed in observance of Independence Day. Check local listings for more information. There will be NO inter-library delivery service on this holiday.
Dauphin County Library System libraries are closed in observance of Memorial Day. Check local listings for more information. There will be NO inter-library delivery service on this holiday.
Dauphin County Library System libraries will be closed in observance of Presidents’ Day. Check local listings for more information. There will be limited delivery service provided enough locations are open.
Dauphin County Library System Libraries will be closed for observance of Martin Luther King Day. Check local listings for more information.
CCLS will run a limited delivery service to all locations that are open or staffed. Drivers have arranged the schedule and discussed it with CCLS libraries.
There will be no delivery on the Dauphin County route.
Thanks to Dauphin County Library System for purchasing ebook content to add to the Capital Area Library District Digital Media site.
Now, in addition to downloadable audiobooks to listen to, customers can also download ebooks to read on computers, netbooks, tablets, ipads or some of the popular ebook readers like Nooks and Sony Reader. (Sorry, not for Kindles at this time.)
Here are some quick highlights:
-Customers are encouraged to checkout and download and use audiobooks and ebooks on their home computers.
-To use the system, customers also have to download something (OverDrive Media Console, Adobe Digital Editions for books, or a device specific application) that helps with the digital licensing and transferring to portable devices.
-Customers are limited to 3 items checked out per library barcode at a time.
-Customers can pick their loan period for the items from 7 days or 14 days.
-If customers have questions or problems, listen to their concerns, but let them know that we may not have exact answers. First direct them to the help documents on the left hand side of the digital media site. If they don’t find help there, use the “Suggestion Box” link to send a support request directly to someone who might be able to help or feel free to have them email or call the district consultant directly.
In the time period of 12/17/2010 to right now at this moment of posting on 12/22/2010, 85 items in epub format have been checked out from our collection.
Ask if you have questions!
DCLS Locations close at 1p.m.
All CCLS Locations are closed.
There will be delivery to DCLS locations.
There will be NO delivery to CCLS Locations.
Did you know that there is only one program in Pennsylvania that offers a specialized diploma for Library Technical Assistants? If you or your staff is in need of training in order to move up in your library, an LTA degree would help you get there!
Northampton Community College, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, offers an LTA degree after completion of 15 credit hours of library studies. This program is only offered online, so it does not matter where you live or work! You may need to visit a local library (public or academic) to use their resources in order to complete assignments.
Courses cover the history of libraries, their function in society, computers and technology, technical services, reference resources, children’s and young adult literature, and management. All of the courses are taught by librarians who currently work or have worked in the field.
Visit our program page for more information: Library-Technical-Assistant.htm
For application information, visit this page: Apply-Online.htm
Contact NCC Library Director Sandra Sander at ssander@northampton.edu for more information. It’s not too late to register for our spring semester, which begins on January 18, 2011.
Read a press release about library changes in Lancaster.
Press release–Susan Hauer resigns
Here’s a link to another article: Article at Lancasteronline.com
Please consider attending as this is very interesting information on how to enhance children’s programming. This amazing training session will be held at East Shore Area Library 4501 Ethel Street Harrisburg, PA 17109. If directions are needed go to: index.html
Using Parachutes and Sign Language in Storytimes
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
1pm to 5pm
Sign It! Using Sign Language in Your Storytime
1pm-3pm
Heather LeVeck
BLAST
Early Learning
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Did you know that babies can communicate with you before they are able to talk? Sign language gives babies the tools to express their wants and needs before they are able to speak. During this session, library staff and child care providers will discover the rationale for incorporating sign language into their story time with infants, toddlers and/or preschool children. They will also learn basic vocabulary in American Sign Language, and learn how to apply it to their specific group of children.
Flying High In Story Time
3pm-5pm
Sara Figueroa
Children’s/YA Librarian
Indian Valley Public Library
Combining fine and gross motor skills, songs, and early literacy skills, children enjoy a new twist on storytime. In a 30-minute program, we employ the use of the parachute to encourage more active children to participate in storytime. Children who are kinesthetic learners or need to practice transitioning from one activity to another do not always feel comfortable in storytime.
This storytime allows them to thrive. The big movements of the parachute, the songs, dancing, and traditional stories help prepare children for following directions, improving motor skills, transitioning, and helps them get ready to start school. We will learn how to incorporate movement and music into our current programming in a more effective and intentional way.
RSVP by no later than December 10th to jswope@dcls.org.
Where will you be watching the free WebJunction conference? Ask your manager if you’d like to sign up to watch on your own computer or in a group room with others. (Don’t know about Webjunction?–just ask!)
There are a few people who have signed up throughout the district, both at DCLS and CCLS and perhaps at other locations too.
Post your interest here and we’ll connect you with a group or show you how to sign up to watch on your own.
Thursday, December 2 includes the sessions below:
11:30-12:00: WebJunction Welcome and WebEx Orientation
12:00-1:00: Changing Reference Services to Meet Patron Expectations/Nancy Frederick and Ruth O’Donnell
1:15-2:15: TechSoup for Libraries: Sustaining Technology to Serve your Patrons/Stephanie Gerding
2:30-3:30: Morale Issues in your Library/Lori Reed and Maurice Coleman
3:45-4:45: Battledecks
Where will you be watching the free WebJunction conference? Ask your manager if you’d like to sign up to watch on your own computer or in a group room with others.
There are a few people who have signed up throughout the district, both at DCLS and CCLS and perhaps at other locations too.
Post your interest here and we’ll connect you with a group or show you how to sign up to watch on your own.
Wed. Dec 1 Sessions Include the sessions below:
11:30-12:00: WebJunction Welcome and WebEx Orientation
12:00-1:00: Museums, Libraries, and 21st-Century Skills/Mary Chute
1:15-2:15: Staying Committed to Great Customer Service When Your Library is in Chaos/Pat Wagner
2:30-3:30: 21 Ideas for 21st-Century Libraries/Kim Bolan-Cullin and Rob Cullin
3:45-4:45: 2-1-1 and Library Partnerships/Martha Love and Audrey May
Save the date for the Multidistrict Summer Reading Program Planning workshop.
It will be hosted at York this year.
See information tables on each of the chapters in the manual, presentations on topics that will help your summer reading program succeed, and network with colleagues around the region who plan summer programs.
The full agenda can be viewed here.
9:00 – 9:30 am Registration and Chapter tables on display
9:30 – 9:40 am Opening
9:40 – 10:25 am “Libraries and 21st Century Literacies” – Jonelle Darr
Cumberland County Library System
10:25 – 10:35 am Break
10:35 – 10:55 am Two performers (Judy Bower) and
10:55 – 12:15 am “Contests” and “Generating Excitement with Staff”
12:15 – 1:15 pm Lunch and Displays (Letterbox Demo)
1:15 – 2:00 pm “Go Outdoors” – Letterboxing – Kevin Alvarnaz
2:00 – 2:20 pm Two performers (Kathy Eckhaus – Music Together) and
2:20 – 2:30 pm Break
2:30 – 3:15 pm “Volunteers and SRC”
3:15 – 3:35 pm Two Performers
3:35 – 3:40 pm Evaluations
Those who attend will get books to use with the program.
The 2011 SRC “One World, Many Stories” Multi-District Summer Reading Program Planning Workshop is coming up on Friday, January 21, 2011. You can register here to attend the workshop. For directions to Pleasant Acres please click here.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2011.
Middletown Public Library seeks an energetic, community-oriented individual to provide services for children & young adults. Duties include collection development, reader’s advisory, programming, and outreach. Bachelor’s degree in Elementary or Early Childhood Ed, or other degree with previous experience working with children is required. Other qualifications include: strong organizational and interpersonal skills, ability to work independently and a PA driver’s license. A background check, child abuse, and FBI clearances are required upon hire. This is a 12-15 hour part time position with some Saturday and Evening hours. Send resume to:
Borough Secretary
2nd floor Borough Bldg.
60 W. Emaus St.,
Middletown, PA 17057
Did you miss attending the E-Book Summit? You can find it here: but you will need a username and password. Ask you district consultant.
Below are notes taken and thoughts shared by many who attended the conference:
The room that viewed the E-book summit together could not determine a shared common definition for e-book. Discussion included is it just text that is digital or is it when a formerly printed format goes digital or is it something that must be read on a specific e-book device? POWERLibrary offers many “ebooks” via the NetLibrary platform, but these do not seem to be ones our customers are asking for. Our customers do not always share our definition of ebook.
We need to define e-books for our libraries and plan to create an information page to help answer patron questions. The library should have information about this format and our position on it that is easy to explain. (This project is currently underway by the regional e-content committee.)
We talked about the library’s current e-audio book platform, OverDrive, and the planned expansion of that platform to include e-books to read as well as those we listen to.
An overview of where the region is currently at in its ebook negotiations was covered with the group, knowing that nothing is certain until that group has a next meeting and a chance to develop a method of collaboration that will be effective.
eBooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point
Library Journal Virtual Summit: September 30, 2010
Original Research on the Growing Importance of eBooks in Library Collections
Presenter: Ian Singer is VP, Content & Business Development for Media Source, Inc., responsible for driving the growth and expansion of content licensing and identifying new product and business line extensions for MSI’s various business units, including leading its evolving digital strategy. Ian joined Media Source in April 2010, after serving since 2006 as Bowker’s VP, Data Services, where we was responsible for managing its flagship Books In Print data operations in addition to its .COM and Syndetics product lines.
Survey Highlights:
• 2/3 of public libraries have ebooks…Collection size: 1529 available on average
• Public libraries estimate circulation will increase 36% this year.
• Top barriers to usage: lack of awareness, device incompatibility
• Schools and academics primarily report desktop or laptop readers as primary ebook reader.
• Publics report portable device usage is most prominent.
• Only 7% of libraries lend loaded devices. Most are considering doing so.
• Public Libraries spend about 2.5% of collection development budget on ebooks. (Academics 7%)
• 41% of public libraries use single user license model. Academics primarily use simultaneous user model.
• Denver experimenting with ‘anything library’
Early in the Twenty-First Century, Knowledge and Content will Underlie Everything of Value
Presenter: Ray Kurzweil has been described as “the restless genius” by the Wall Street Journal and “the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes. Kurzweil is one of the leading inventors of our time and has authored six books, four of which have been national best sellers. His latest book, The Singularity Is Near, was a New York Times best seller and has been the #1 book on Amazon.com in both science and philosophy.
• Did demonstration of blio.com, free ebook reader for windows based PC’s. Really impressive! They eventually intend to run on every platform.
About Blio: http://www.blio.com/
• K–NFB Reading Technology has propelled reading technology forward for the last 30 years with the invention of omnifont OCR, flatbed scanners, text-to-speech technology, and reading machines for the blind. K-NFB has now created Blio. This free application will work across platforms and presents books as they are intended: in full color, as laid out by the publisher.
• K-NFB is a privately held company dedicated to developing cutting-edge solutions that continually revolutionize access to the printed word for all readers, from a variety of mobile and fixed platforms.
• A joint venture between Kurzweil Technologies and the National Federation of the Blind, K-NFB is headed by CEO Ray Kurzweil, a thirty-year innovator and pioneer in assistive technologies. The National Federation of the Blind is the largest, most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States.
• Talked about how devices will get smaller and smaller, and perhaps people will wear them in their glasses so that the text can be adjusted to the size you want.
The Tipping Point: How eBooks Impact Libraries, Publishers & Readers
Presenter: Eli Neiburger is a lifelong gamer and the Associate Director for IT and Production at the Ann Arbor District Library, MI. His book, Gamers… in the LIBRARY?! was published in 2007; he is currently working on Did you Reboot IT?! Inside and Beyond the Library—I.T. Culture Wars. Neiburger writes a column about gaming and library futures for Digitale Bibliotheek.
• Very thought provoking!!!!! (and entertaining!)
• The value of library collections is invested in the local copy.
• If you can view it, you can save it and have it. If you can transmit it doesn’t matter where it came from
• We need to recognize that the value of the circulating collection is going to eventually become meaningless. So, what do libraries do in the face of this reality?
• We need to return to our roots: Libraries were created to protect access to the records of the community. We need to be involved in protecting and providing access to records about the community and by the community.
• We need to be a platform for unique experiences and content.
Presenter: Steve Potash is President and CEO of OverDrive, Inc., a digital media company he founded in 1986. Under his leadership, OverDrive has become a leading digital distributor for hundreds of leading publishers and content suppliers in the U.S. and abroad. OverDrive distributes over 300,000 premium eBooks, audiobooks, music, and videos to a global network of over 11,000 libraries, schools and retailers.
• Endorses XML non-proprietary format.
• Has Buy it Now feature which encourages patrons to buy content and donate to library.
What Do Libraries Want? Creating the Perfect Public Library Model
Presenter: Stacey Aldrich was appointed State Librarian of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on November 19, 2009 after serving as Acting State Librarian from February 2009.
COSLA report: ebook feasibility study identified 2 big issues:
• Content who owns? Rent? Own? Type of content
• Access platform neutrality
Presenter: Eva Miller is a librarian, a user experience designer and an information architect. Eva conducted this design research for COSLA while working with Pinpoint Logic, a design strategy consultancy in Portland, Oregon. She is currently on her way to new challenges at WebMD. Until then, contact her at evamiller@gmail.com
COSLA research themes:
• Cooperation (economies of scale, shared collection expertise, common platform)
• Librarians need to reclaim role in selecting works from emerging authors
• Librarians need to take advantage of explosion in do-it yourself publishing. Self published work is difficult to track or find. Libraries should be a champion this type of publishing…reflect the community, help emerging authors. Often these are life experience stories, or shared expertise. This would distinguish us from other sources of popular reading materials. Create a public library press, unsung authors tour
• Libraries need to help communities engage in civic discourse and public policy. Libraries should foster serious discussions and leadership, especially around copyright and fair use laws.
• Libraries should serve as laboratories for experimenting with new technologies. If we are no longer warehouses for collections, we’ll have some space for trying new ways to engage the public in a life of the mind.
–“The top barrier to using ebooks is the lack of awareness that libraries have ebooks” – Looks as if libraries will have to aggressively market this resource.
–“Dramatic and sizeable growth in ebooks is anticipated” – We have to seriously consider how much of our collection development budget we can or want to put in ebooks.
–Content should be “platform neutral” and compatible with all sorts of devices. How do we create those platforms of access? I think this is a very important question.
–“ebooks should be able to be read anywhere or on any device; it should be as easy as accessing email.” What it should be and what it currently is are two different things!
I was somewhat intrigued by B & T’s Blio. As they described it, it is a software-based reader, not a device. The reader runs on virtually any device with an operating system, it addresses accessibility issues (for example, for the blind), and is “ideal for rendering richly-formatted material”. Blio for libraries is coming in 2011 and has Baker & Taylor connections.
Other notes:
Sell the fear, offer the hope.
Customers need the information the library has.
Who is the audience who makes time to read?
Why do people read? To be more interesting, to be informed, to solve problems, to understand the world, to be entertained.
Are there times when digital is preferred? When is print preferred?
We need to measure how many people are asking for e-books. It sounds as though a few questions each month are asked at libraries, typically with people who want items for proprietary reading devices. Is the need great enough? Is directing users to free content already available enough until the market settles?
