News Archive for February 2011    

Register to attend or watch a live webinar designed for staff to learn how to Browse, Check-out and Download OverDrive content from the district platform available to all Capital Area Library District locations via http://capitalarealibrary.lib.overdrive.com/.

Register online right here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/OverDriveTraining2011 to watch at ESA’s Gates Lab or at CADM’s training lab on Thursday, March 17th at 10:00 AM EDT.

Description: Learn how to browse, check out, and download OverDrive media. At the end of this course, staff should feel comfortable answering basic questions about your OverDrive service.
Duration: 1.5 hours.
Who should attend: All interested staff.

If you or your staff can’t attend live, a recording will be made available.

Find all the details on how to purchase tickets for this Dauphin County Library System event here: http://www.dcls.org/events/HalyAwards/purchasetickets_form.php

Featuring Rebecca Skloot, Science Writer & Best-Selling Author, of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

If you have a library card and PIN for one of the libraries in the area, check out or reserve a digital copy (an ebook in epub format) of the title on the library’s digital media site: ebook of Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

Attend a workshop sponsored by libraries in the Capital Region.
This workshop is intended for Trustees, Friends leadership, and Library staff in leadership roles.

Choose a session to attend at Penn State Harrisburg:
-Friday, May 6 from 8:30-4
-Saturday, May 7 from 8:30-4
Both workshops will offer the same content.

See the complete registration flyer here for Committed to Future Relevance: Relationships, eBooks, and Literacies!: Regional Workshop 2011 for Trustees and Leadership Staff

Online Registration is here: www.surveymonkey.com/s/TrusteeRegistration

Speakers include Pat Wagner, John Houser, and Kathy Silks presenting the Libraries and 21st Century Literacies Initiative.

Cost: The workshop is FREE for Trustees and Friends.
Library staff will pay $10 to attend.
Continuing Education: The workshop will provide 6.5 hours of CE for staff members who attend.

Contact your district consultant for questions.

Attend a workshop sponsored by libraries in the Capital Region.
This workshop is intended for Trustees, Friends leadership, and Library staff in leadership roles.

Choose a session to attend at Penn State Harrisburg:
-Friday, May 6 from 8:30-4
-Saturday, May 7 from 8:30-4
Both workshops will offer the same content.

See the complete registration flyer here for Committed to Future Relevance: Relationships, eBooks, and Literacies!: Regional Workshop 2011 for Trustees and Leadership Staff

Online Registration is here: www.surveymonkey.com/s/TrusteeRegistration

Speakers include Pat Wagner, John Houser, and Kathy Silks presenting the Libraries and 21st Century Literacies Initiative.

Cost: The workshop is FREE for Trustees and Friends.
Library staff will pay $10 to attend.
Continuing Education: The workshop will provide 6.5 hours of CE for staff members who attend.

Contact your district consultant for questions.

How will your local library celebrate Dr. Seuss’s Birthday?
Do you have activities planned for Read Across America?

I know some people who are in colleges in our area and around the country at lots of different levels. In my chats and discussions with many of them, library resources almost always come up. Public libraries try to provide a new layer of assistance to education and to those students using more technology in schoolwork. Do your library staff know the technology that students are using? Can we meet adult students where they already go?

Here are a few things I have learned about electronic resources from some academic and digital perspectives:

-My friend taking classes online via University of Phoenix is having a very positive experience. The online tools that are learned during the educational experience will serve a workforce that must communicate in many methods and technologies. Check out these tutorials on using their library resources there. Access to see the resources are available to current students and affiliates only, but you can also learn about their knowledge network of library information.

-My friend taking classes at HACC got the library resource tour before writing papers in a couple of his classes. HACC shows that their resources directly impact the courses and provide additional value to students: See the Guides They link exactly that a student may need to support specific courses and show their understanding of technology in education.

I was doing a “vanity-search” of various names when I was thinking about privacy when I ran across this really nice example of a press release announcing new board members to the community. Of course, when I saw the name Cleary University, I had to click further. It led me right to private educational opportunities in the Michigan area, which also seemed to include many other online certification programs and graduate programs. Considering online education, this got me to an online education site where I watched a nice demo of a project management skill improvement class.

All this reminded me how much I’d love to see public libraries open more portals to online education. Since the first time I saw it, I enjoyed the idea of this product available to public libraries, which provides access to online classes to students. It could serve as an entry point for people who need affordable and flexible options for education.

Personally, I would love to see it considered for purchase as a project for the Capital Region or Capital District to help libraries demonstrate their value to PA workforce development. I know thet cost of the resource seems daunting, but perhaps there are area employers who would want to consider a sponsorship of the service fees? (I have pricing information from a great vendor representative if it interests anyone, get in touch.) How would other librarians evaluate this resource?

Ideas and Opportunities in a Digital Age:
-More combined marketing of the “library” brand and use of e-resources: Will we create one site to post all the “online resources” available exclusively via libraries (public & academic/school) in our region or state?
-Statewide ideas are in progress for the 21st Century Literacies Platform for PA Libraries; it’s a big task, but will result in great improvements.
-Embrace technology for everyone; start with your staff and board. Encourage intelligent use of electronic tools in your own organizations. Does your library make meeting agendas and meeting notes available remotely and electronically? Can libraries help other nonprofits and local governments by modeling effective use of technologies to share community news, events, and resources?
-Establish strong specialty collections and develop staff member individual interests; then publicize referral links to local experts for collection or reference.
-Determine a plan for how your organization will decide which websites your organization will link to and which you should encourage to link to you? Do your stakeholders promote your digital resources?
-Try to engage active learners and students as volunteers and think tanks. If you know a student, can you propose a homework assignment that could be used in the classroom and apply to a real life scenario to benefit your library? Are you using interns?
-Offer more open access to public meeting spaces: Where can small study groups or project work groups meet in a neutral public place that isn’t school, work, home or a business? Obviously the answer is the public library; some libraries even offer special small group study space.
-Do you support the faculty that live in the community by buying the books they have written? Just think, the local author’s wisdom might even travel through Interlibrary Loan and delivery to make an impact on someone across the country purely because your library stocks it and shares it. If you can’t afford it, perhaps you can approach the local community member/author for a donated copy to get their support for the public library as a community resource sharing place?
-Do you own the rights to any content you can digitize? The current platform for ebooks allows for upload and sharing of local content. Ask if you are interested.
-Know about the population of learners in the community. Find student opinion surveys, learn what classes are being taken or are required in order to select the best resources.

There has been a change to information you received previously regarding the Summer Reading Program vouchers. Find the paperwork you need here. Voucher2011PA

Action Idea: Please make sure the person at your location that is responsible for submitting any orders for the Collaborative Summer Library Program to Highsmith knows to attach the voucher to your order if you want your library to receive the benefit.

Details: Highsmith is offering free shipment for SRP orders for CSLP participating libraries. Each library can use a $20.00 voucher for promotional materials. Note: The voucher is not to be used for reading incentives to give to participants, but for promotional materials like posters, bookmarks, etc. The voucher must be used by April 15. I believe you can use one voucher per library location.

Summer always comes and I know we’re all looking forward to it. :) If you want to share a story about an innovative way or best practice for how your library plans to use the Collaborative Summer Library Program voucher please post it here in the comments area.

Extra Challenge: Did you see the RFP for Administrative Services duties that are performed on behalf of the Collaborative Summer Library Program? You can find it available as a word document download in the middle of the front page of cslpreads.org right now. Think about the organization of the document and the information it provided. Can your library set a goal to improve some of your own documentation that covers many of the areas this paperwork addresses? What is one small thing you can do?

Registration is now open for the Library Instruction Round Table of PaLA (LIRT) Spring workshop dedicated to identifying various learning styles (for all age groups) and how to incorporate critical thinking into information literacy. The workshop will offer 3.5 ACT 48 or C.E. credit hours.

Keynote speaker will be Dolores Fidishun, Ed.D who will present an over-view of learning styles and critical thinking followed by hands-on activities that attendees will be able to incorporate into their own instruction. Dolores is Head Librarian at Penn State Great Valley and at Penn State Abington. Her areas of expertise include: Instructional Design, Instructional Technology and Adult Education and Libraries. The afternoon breakout session will be led by Calvin Wang,Sciences Librarian and Adjunct Professor, School Library Certification Program at Arcadia University. He will address the K-12 approach to identifying the scope and sequence of teaching information literacy to college students.

The LIRT Spring workshop will take place on Friday, March 11, 2011 at the Dixon University Center, Harrisburg from 9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Registration is $20 for PaLA members and $30 for non-members. Registration includes lunch. There is no refund of the workshop fee. If you are unable to attend, please try and send a substitute.

Program brochure and registration information at: LIRT Spring workshop brochure- Learning Styles

If you are unable to access the brochure, please send your registration and payment to: Corrine Syster, Treasurer, McCormick Library, 113 Harrisburg Area Community College, One HACC Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17111.

Please direct questions to LIRT Chair, Lizah Ismail at lismail@marywood.edu.