Books & Authors Video Contest - enter and win!

Sing the praises of your favorite author...
.... or a book that rocks your world!

LIBRAREO'S BACK! Last year their YouTube group hosted hundreds of videos professing a deep, abiding love of libraries and librarians. This year they're sending you right to the shelves to honor your favorite books and writers.

Recharge your camcorder batteries while you remember the novel that changed your life or the author who spoke to your soul. Create an original song to proclaim your passion; then videotape your best performance and submit it to the LIBRAREO YouTube Group.

Complete entry details and contest rules available online at LIBRAREO.

Home from Vacation...

I probably should have written this first to be logical chronologically but FLA seemed more pertinent to work.

My trip to Guatemala was great. After climbing through the ruins of buildings that had collapsed during the earthquakes in 1773 on Sunday we experienced a small earthquake Monday night.

In the midst of the fun and games LOTS of work was accomplished. It was interesting to work in a world where steel is less expensive then wood. Lots of cutting of metal to frame rooms so that we could put up paneling and install a drop ceiling. I managed to seriously cut my finger within the first hour of starting work but the bleeding stopped and work continued. I kept my leather gloves on the rest of the week. Members of the team also extended an overhang to keep the kids dry during rainy season and painted a soccer field/basketball court onto the parking lot.

We also had rocket launch with the junior high and high school students. Cousin Charlie works as a rocket scientist at Wallops Island and built a launcher that attached to an air compressor. The kids built rockets from two liter soda bottles and water bottles. Add a little water and they went way higher then I imagined. It was fun to see the kids experiment with more and less water to see what would go the highest. The launcher stayed and I anticipate a lot more 'experimentation' and lots of smiles.

The finale of the trip was climbing Pacaya on Saturday with my cousin and getting to actually walk out into the lava field. I've got some great pictures of the lava actually rolling towards us. It's certainly not like being in the US where they would keep you behind fences and let you look through binoculars.

This week I'm bound for Ft. Lauderdale on Wednesday and then to Solinet next week.

FLA 2008 - Stephanie's view

I'm back safe and sound from Guatemala and in the office for two days hoping to catch up a bit. FLA 2008 at the Tradewinds on St. Pete Beach was great! Good content, great atmosphere, lots of opportunity to network with colleagues. Here's some of what I came back with....

Day 1 - The Opening General Session was great! Kurt Browning, Florida's Secretary of State, welcomed the group and encouraged everyone to write or call Mike Fasano, public library supporter and champion. He also gave a shout out to Bradford County Public Library in recognition of their wonderful public/private collaboration which enabled them to do so much more in their new building. He closed with the statement - "Libraries contribute to the quality of life and you can't put a price on that."

FLA Scholarship Recipients were announced. Congrats to Christine Boatright of Suwannee River Regional Library who received the FSU Scholarship.

Keynoter Joan Frye Williams presentation, "When the Tide Goes Out, Everyone Can See Who's Swimming Naked" was very thought provoking. Some of the highlights for me -

• Emphasize the abundance, don't forget what you have when you're crying poor
• Don't do anything live (programming) you don't record - looks like NEFLIN needs to do a workshop on podcasting, webcasting and/or screencasting
• Floating collections - stop spending so much money to return books to their 'homes'
• Zone staffing - no empty desks, have roll-out service points and provide hip-to-hip service
• Do you have 'green' buildings and services - tell people about it!
• What do you call library patrons? A survey revealed they really want to be called 'members'
• Ask for partners, not donors
• Cool, real-time things to add to your website - live circulation activity (what's being returned), today's hot topics, live program excerpts, new titles just in, parking cam.

I attended a great presentation on the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute. Good overview of the program and it's benefits. If you're thinking about applying the deadline is June 6th. Sessions will be in Manatee and Alachua Counties.

Past-President's Reception in the Exhibits was fun. They did a past-presidents trivia contest and I ended up winning a book. Woo hoo!!

Day 2 - Started the day with Technology is Easy, People are Hard - Leading Technology Shifts in Libraries. Great topic, session was led by Max Anderson of Solinet (until Wednesday when he moves to Chicago). One of my favorite things about Max's presentation is that all his links are up on del.icio.us! So I don't actually have to mention anything but I will highlight some of the things that I thought were interesting -

• University of Alabama has an RSS feed for their new titles done by LC class - are any of you doing this?
• Library Thing Local - lets you add your events to Library Thing - any of you doing this?
• The importance of using technology to further the mission of the library, not just because of technolust.
• Always include "I don't know what this means" as a survey response.

The Book Cart Drill Team demonstration might have been the most fun part of the day! Cheers to Suwannee River Regional Library for making this event happen even after they couldn't get others to participate. And huge thanks to Demco for shipping book carts, subsidizing SRRL travel and awarding SRRL 1st prize of $250! I'm expecting several NEFLIN libraries to participate in next year's demonstration. Check YouTube for ideas...

The Solinet Town Hall Meeting led by Kate Nevins was interesting. I definitely encourage you to attend the session here at NEFLIN on Wednesday, April 30th or watch for the online sessions. If nothing else, watch the merger webpage for updates and additional information. As questions are raised during the meetings, they are adding to the FAQ. Big things from my notes - there will be no change in pricing for 2008/2009 and check the Palinet site for a list of their services and to see what they bring to the table.

The other fun part of my day was break time with past and current Leadership Institute participants and mentors. We had ice cream, pretzels, and candy bars on the beach and we couldn't have asked for better weather. If you want to be part of this group as a participant or mentor, check out the website.

Day 2 ended with the President's Reception and Silent Auction Finale. Great music, food and atmosphere. I know that Mary Brown and her staff at Union County Public Library worked long and hard on the basket auction. THANKS to everyone who contributed either a basket or a bid.

Day 3 - another day starting with Max. Stories from the Front Lines of Public Computing provided an overview of the MaintainIT project and then examples of some of the projects included in the cookbook. Both projects highlighted just happened to be NEFLIN members - Be Astengo from Alachua County Library District's discussed their Laptop Checkout program and then Sherry Millington of Suwannee River Regional Library highlighted some ways they've made the most of their limited resources. We have a few copies of the first cookbook here in the office or you can download them.

Leading Volunteers: Secrets of Success was a great session led by Faye Roberts, formerly of the State Library & Archives of Florida and soon to be Executive Director of FLA. This was one of those times when doing introductions was a great way to learn so much about what's happening with volunteers around the state. News to me - consider calling them consultants, think about potential jobs to not only include what can be done onsite but also what can be done online or at home. Faye had good handouts and I'll try to get copies to post here.

Day 3 ended with what we had all been waiting for... Closing Session, Lunch and the Awards presentations. Lunch was good, business meeting was typical, the Awards rocked!!! Harold George of St. Johns County Public Library chaired the Awards Committee and presented our very own Brad Ward with the FLA Leader of the Year Award. The program ended with a presentation by Gary Mormino of USF about his book, Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams.

Other perks for NEFLIN members? Many went home with door prizes from the vendors

• Gerry Brent, Marion County Public Library, Brodart
• Christine Boatright, Suwannee River Regional Library, Unique Books
• Jae Bass, St. Johns County Public Library, Midwest Tape (an IPOD!!!)
• Michael Sullivan, Jacksonville Public Library, Sebco Books
• Bonnie Tollefson, Levy County Public Libraries, WT Cox Subscription
• Marlene Mitchell, Suwannee River Regional Library, HW Wilson

Check the cool video from Union County! - NEW

Hope to see all of you next year in Orlando!

NEFLIN Interest Groups Ahead

Library Technologies Interest Group

The Library Technologies Interest Group is working on a plan to produce, share and promote online tutorials and webinars for staff and patron training. Join us for this ongoing discussion of the latest developments.
Visit the Library Technologies Interest Group Wiki

Date: Monday, May 5
Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 noon
Location: NEFLIN in Orange Park

Reference Interest Group

Providing reference services has always been challenging and now the means by which it is delivered is always changing - we now must be prepared to provide assistance by phone, email, and chat besides face to face service. How has this affected the way you assist patrons? What tools and resources do you reoly on? Join us for a discussion of Best Practices into Reference 2.0.
Visit the Reference Interest Group Wiki

Facilitator: Jana Ronan, University of Florida
Date: Thursday, May 15
Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 noon
Location: NEFLIN in Orange Park

Adult Programming Interest Group

Do you want to know what successful programs other libraries are offering? Bring your ideas and questions as well as sample flyers and program contact information to this informal and valuable discussion. Leave with new ideas to reinvigorate your library's programming schedule.
Visit the Adult Programming Interest Group Wiki

Facilitators: Mary Brown, Union County Public Library, and Travis Fristoe, Alachua County Library District
Date: Wednesday, May 21
Time: 9:30 am - 12:00 noon
Location: Millhopper Branch Library, Gainesville

Young Adult Interest Group

Could you use some help with Readers Advisory for your Teens and Tweens Which YA books do you always have handy to recommend to a teen? What are your favorites - fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels? Newberys? Sunshine State Young Readers? Join other YA library staff for a lively discussion of the books you love the most. Bring your favorite books along!
Visit the Young Adult Interest Group Wiki

Featured Presenters: Marcia Divack, Marion County Public Library, and Lorranie Stinson, St. Johns County Schools
Date: Wednesday, June 18
Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Location: NEFLIN in Orange Park

Gone Fishing

Stephanie and I will not be blogging next week. We will be in St. Petersburg for the Florida Library Association’s Annual Conference. In the interim here is a little Link Love to hold you over.

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ALA has put out their annual “The State of America’s Libraries” Report.


I am pleased to welcome Dr. Elizabeth Curry who is now employed by one of our NEFLIN member libraries. Elizabeth is the new Director of Library Public Services for Alachua County Library District in Gainesville. Many of you may know Elizabeth from her many speaking engagements at NEFLIN, facilitator of our latest long range planning sessions, or as the facilitator of the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute (SSLLI).

Engaged Patrons wants to offer your users a more engaging and interactive web presence. This is free to public libraries who qualify. Read their FAQ and see what you think.

Thank goodness new episodes of “Lost” start this Thursday. If you feel like some spoilers head over to the Lostpedia. The announcement of an extra hour added to the now three-hour Season Finale is just to good to be true.

NEFLIN Members Presenting at FLA Conference

Many NEFLIN members will be participating at the Florida Library Association Conference as presenters. Check out these colleagues when you attend the FLA Conference in St. Pete Beach next week:

Wednesday, April 23

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Future Leaders of Libraries – How to Find Them and What to Do Once You Have Them
Speakers include: Mary Kathleen Price, Associate Dean, University of Florida College of Law
Future leaders - you! Panelists from different generations and library types lead a conversation about leadership skills needed in the 21st century. Learn about generational differences and their impact on finding new leaders for libraries of all types.

3:30 pm – 4:45 pm

State University Libraries Update
Speaker: Ben Walker, University of Florida
Hear updates from university groups and committees: Technical Services Planning, NOTIS, Endeca, Public Services Planning, Collection Planning, Electronic Resources and others.

Thursday, April 24

8:30 am – 10:00 am

Annual Meeting of Florida Sirsi/Dynix Users
Speaker: Joan Blaylock, Duval County Law Library

Telling Your Library’s Stories in the News Media
Speakers include: Stacie Bucher, Marketing Communications Manager, Jacksonville Public Library
News media members and public relations professional describe how to capture media attention and manage a news crisis.

10:30 am – 12:00 noon

Early Literacy with RALLY Jacksonville
Speaker includes: Kathy Graw, Youth Services Coordinator,Jacksonville Public Library; Cheryl Townsend, RALLY Jacksonville Coordinator, Jacksonville Children’s Commission
Jacksonville’s city-wide initiative includes a Mayor’s Book Club and is kicked-off at the library each year. Learn how this outstanding partnership was established, funded and managed.

Finding Government Documents and Legal Information
Speaker: Elizabeth Outler, Reference/Tax Law Librarian, Frederic G. Levin College of Law, University of Florida
Tips and techniques from an experienced law librarian.

ALA Library Support Staff Certification Program
Speaker: Karen Jessee, Senior Librarian, Jacksonville Public Library
The Chair of ALA/LSSIRT’s Certification Program Committee discusses a federal grant project and the certification program.

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Case Study: RFID in the Real World
Speakers include: Sol Hirsch, Library Director, Alachua County Library District
Explore best practices and real world issues for libraries using RFID technology with a public library administrator and a vendor.

Working Together Works - How to Successfully Collaborate with Schools and Community Organizations
Speakers: Gerry Brent, Community Liaison and Nancy Young, Children’s Services Coordinator, Marion County Public Library System; Miriam Needham, Coordinator of Library Media Services, Marion County Public School System
Learn how Marion County Public Library System has developed innovative programs through partnerships with community organizations and both private and public schools.

When Junior Librarians Find Themselves in Charge
Speakers: Valrie Davis, Sara Russell Gonzalez, and Carrie Newsom, Science Librarians, University of Florida
Junior librarians at the University of Florida are taking on extraordinary roles at the urging of a new administration. Find out how the speakers have instituted change in surprising ways.

Friday, April 25

8:30 am – 9:45 am

Leading the Way: Stories from the Front Lines of Public Computing
Speakers include: Michael Fettes, Automated Services Librarian, Alachua County Library District; Sherry Millington, Technical Services Coordinator, Suwannee River Regional Library System
Barbara Gersh of MaintainIT TechSoup moderates panelists who discuss their successes and challenges with keeping public computers available. Learn how you can adopt best practices from the MaintainIT Project.

Successful Teen Programming Can Be Done @ Your Library!!
Speakers: Mia Clark and Michelle Petrin, Teen Librarians, Jacksonville Public Library
Four special events/program types for teens are discussed - Battle of the Bands, gaming, poetry (clubs, jams, contests), and essay contests.

10:00 am – 11:15 am

Represent Yourself: The Basics of Law Reference for Laymen Librarians
Speaker: Joan Blaylock, Assistant Director of Public Services, Duval County Law Library
This overview of Florida legal resources includes the librarian’s role when helping people doing their own legal work.

Tour of Mumford Library Books

Join Doug McNamara and his staff for a tour of this popular book vendor, and then stay to shop their over 21,000 titles! For 20 years Mumford has provided the service of "Hands On" book selection to over 3,000 public libraries, K-12 schools, and academic libraries.

Host: Doug McNamara, Mumford Library Books
Date: Tuesday, May 6
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Location: 7847 Bayberry Rd., Jacksonville, Florida, 32256

Register today for Mumford Books Tour

Leadership Institute returns to the NEFLIN region

I am pleased to announce that NEFLIN will be managing the fifth year of the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute and that one of the host locations will be in northeast Florida, thanks to the Alachua County Library District in Gainesville.

Here is the official announcement from the State Library:

Applications are currently being accepted for the

Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute – Year Five

Application Deadline is June 6, 2008

Application Form

The Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute will improve your ability to:

· understand your own talents and how to most effectively use them as a leader

· move from managing to leading people

· formulate, articulate, and communicate a vision that inspires others to act

· prepare for and address current crises with a focus on the future

· develop public and private partnerships with other agencies and community-based organizations

· identify and solve existing, but unaddressed, problems within your library

· target library services to individuals of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds; to individuals with disabilities; and to individuals with limited functional literacy or information skills

· target library and information services to persons having difficulty using a library and to underserved urban and rural communities, including children from families with incomes below the poverty line

· increase the level of visibility and value of the library within your broader community

Eligible Participants

The Institute is open to individuals from all types of libraries (public, academic, school, and special) in Florida. It is designed for professional librarians, as well as those in management positions without a master’s degree in Library Science.

Benefits to Libraries

Libraries will benefit from the Institute by having:

· staff members who are prepared to accept leadership roles

· improved services and patron support

· greater community collaboration and stronger alliances

· linkage with other library professionals across the state

Mentors

The Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute includes a formal, organized mentoring program. All participants are required to choose a career mentor who will assist them in setting leadership career goals.

If you are interested in mentoring a Leadership Institute participant, more detailed information is available at http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/bld/leadership.

Commitments

The Institute is an intensive and rewarding learning experience that requires significant time, energy, and commitment from participants and their libraries. Upon acceptance, participants must commit to:

· attend all 10 sessions

· enter into a mentoring relationship

· complete readings and assignments before each session

· identify, develop, implement, and evaluate a library leadership project by the end of the Institute

Fees and Expenses

The program is valued at $2,500 per person. Upon acceptance, participants will be charged a $150 registration fee. Participants are responsible for their own travel arrangements.

The State Library and Archives of Florida coordinates the Institute, which addresses the Library Services and Technology Act priorities.

Locations

Alachua County Library District in Gainesville

Manatee County Public Library in Bradenton

For more information, please contact Jill Canono at (850) 245-6648 or jbcanono@dos.state.fl.us.

Storytime Made Simple

Storytime Made Simple: Register Today

Are you new to storytime or do you just need new ideas for your current storytimes? Are you thinking about starting up storytime programming at your library?

The idea of storytime can be overwhelming, stressful, fear-filled or just exhausting. The reality does not have to be that way. This full day workshop will provide participants with the tools to develop and present a complete storytime program in a straightforward and clear manner. We’ll cover everything from designing an appropriate space for your storytime to the clean-up and storage afterwards.

Subjects covered include: book, song, and fingerplay selection, rules to implement, equipment to use, and suggested timelines. By the end of the workshop participants will have the skills necessary to achieve their storytime goals. Come ready to share and participate.

Pre-Workshop Assignment: Bring a book for Storytime for one or all age groups (Birth - 18 mo., 18 mo. - 3 years, 3 - 5 years). Also, bring a song and/or fingerplay that might be appropriate for Storytime.

Trainer: Kio Fuller, Storytime Trainer
Date: Wednesday, April 30
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

New Location:
Orange Park Public Library
2054 Plainfield Avenue
Orange Park, FL 32073

Storytime Made Simple: Register Today

What you missed at CIL

The annual Computers in Libraries conference took place this past week. They had an army of folks blogging the entire conference, which provided a great way to learn about some very interesting programs and ideas.

I found myself reading the nice recaps provided by the Librarian in Black on her blog. Insightful writing and she covered all the main events.

A "table of contents" view of her posts.

• Opening Keynote by Lee Raine of Pew Internet
• Technology Training for Staff: Creativity Works
  
• User-Generated Content
• Fast & Easy Website TuneUps
• Widgets, Tools & Doodads for Library Webmasters
• Second Day Keynote, Libraries: Innovative & Inspiring
• Innovation Starts with "I"
• Drupal in Libraries
• From Woepac to Wowpac (Part II)
• 2.0 Pecha Kucha
• Gaming for Adults
  
• Online Outreach: Successful Digital Marketing
• Findability: Information not Location
  
• Web 2.0 for Small and Underfunded Libraries
  

NEFLIN Continuing Education Committee To Meet

The NEFLIN Continuing Education Committee will meet on Wednesday, April 16 at the new Anastasia Island Branch Library in St. Johns County. Agenda items include discussions of:

• The current Spring training schedule and ideas for the upcoming Summer schedule
• In-house webinar production including NEFLIN's membership in OPAL
• A review of virtual training including
  
• Solinet LIVE ONLINE classes
• SLA webinars
• College of DuPage programs
  
• and other sources of virtual training
• Upcoming programs at the FLA Conference and ALA Annual Conference
• Information on the next Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute, and
  
• 2008 Leadership Symposium (Middle Managers) on Communication Skills that Bring Real Results: A Toolkit for Library Managers

If you have any comments or input on these or any other topics relating to NEFLIN's Continuing Education Program, please contact Patricia Hay or any of the CE Committee members.

How are Folks using the Internet?

Next Friday, April 18, SirsiDynix is having their latest webinar on how people are using the Internet. The speakers will be Lee Raine, Director of the Pew Internet Project, and Stephen Abram, VP of Innovation with SirsiDynix. The information that the Pew Internet gathers through their nationwide surveying is the best I have seen. There is no charge for this webinar so go register already!

A little teaser for tomorrow's blog post...the Librarian in Black is blogging from the Computers in Libraries conference. Her excellent recap on the keynote from that event features speaker Lee Raine and the Pew reports.

Where's Stephanie?

I'm leaving Saturday to go with 20 people (including my dad and favorite cousin) on our annual trek to Guatemala. Some of you are familiar with this adventure but for those of you who aren't here's a little info. For the last four years I've been part of a team from Trinity United Methodist Church in Palm Beach Gardens that goes to Antigua, Guatemala to work at Colegio Rey de las Naciones. This is the school that my sister is involved with as a full time missionary. The team has done all kinds of neat things - built playground equipment and picnic tables, roofed a classroom building as the school expanded, wired those classrooms and rooms at the 'new' school (Terranova), and added two more classrooms last year.

This year we'll be working at Terranova to add more classroom space and finish the buildings they are currently using. Since my cousin is a rocket scientist my sister has talked him into launching rockets with the kids on our play day. I can't wait to see how much trouble we get into!

The touristy part of the trip will be climbing a volcano on Saturday. A few years ago we climbed Pacaya, an active volcano. It was amazing to be able to get right up to the edge and feel the heat. It was also interesting to climb down in the dark.

I'll be gone from April 12-20 and when I return I'll be at FLA in St. Pete Beach. After that I'll be back in the office a few days before I head to Fleet Week in Ft. Lauderdale and then on to SAMM in Atlanta. Then I think I'll come back so I can go to THE wedding and maybe return to work.

A huge THANKS to everyone in the NEFLIN office who covers for me so I can have my little adventure.

NEFLIN hosts Solinet Town Hall Meeting

About a month ago, SOLINET announced that the boards of SOLINET and PALINET are investigating a possible merger of the two networks.

Solinet is scheduling Town Hall meetings around the region and invite each of you to attend one or more meetings. At each meeting, they will overview the latest information and have an open forum for discussion. SOLINET Board members will attend many of the meetings and will share their vision and rationale for the merger.

Important: Please email Laura Crook with your name and institution and the session you wish to attend.

April 24: Florida Library Association meeting

12:30PM - 1:30PM, Compass Room, Tradewinds Conference Center, St. Petersburg Beach

April 30: NEFLIN, Orange Park, FL

10:00AM - Noon, NEFLIN Headquarters

Solinet will also continue to share updates through the new SOLINET blog dedicated to merger-related discussion and will continue to post online the FAQs submitted by members. Please check the list and submit your own questions.

Throughout the spring, Solinet will continue to discuss this proposal. The Board plans to vote in May on whether to recommend a vote by Governing members to approve the merger. With the Board’s approval, the proposal will go to a vote by Governing members by June 30, 2008. Please use one or more of these effective tools to stay informed and participate in this process.

Cleaning House

Brad has Link Love, I just clean house (or my desk and inbox) ....

We've been hearing rumors but it's official - the Florida Electronic Library to Replace Search Engine. The Florida Electronic Library will replace the current search engine with Cengage-Gale's PowerSearch platform. I think we're all going to love the change.

Couldn't go to Computers in Libraries (CIL) but want to know what's going on? They have their own army of bloggers. Check out the Official ITI Conference Blog.

Members keep asking about how to use social networking in their libraries. Check out Meredith Farkas' blog post - Libraries in Social Networking Software. She's got interesting ideas on how social software can be used by libraries (with lots of examples).

And there was an interesting article in THE Journal on Selling Social Media to Your Team.

Thanks to a recent generous contribution from a Florida donor, The Libri Foundation has a number of April 2008 BOOKS FOR CHILDREN grants available specifically for rural Florida public libraries. Applications are being accepted from rural public libraries that have never received a Books for Children grant, as well as from libraries that received grants in 2005 or earlier. The application deadline for these grants is: (postmarked by) April 15th. Grants will be awarded at the end of April.

News from Patty

Last week my fiance' Jim Morris and I vacationed in Las Vegas! It was my first time there (and my first time out West) and we had a wonderful time visiting many casinos on the Strip as well as downtown on Fremont Street. We stayed at the Sahara with a view of the mountains and the Stratosphere out of our window. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed the beautiful buildings, excellent food and colorful history of Las Vegas.

Jim and I will be married on May 10 in the library at Lake City Community College where he is the Library Director. You may also know Jim as the former NEFLIN Board President. I am so excited! After we return from our honeymoon in Savannah I'll be posting some wedding photos!

Communication Skills that Bring Real Results

2008 Leadership Symposium
Communication Skills that Bring Real Results:
A Toolkit for Library Managers
State Library and Archives of Florida Middle Management Symposiums

Back for it's third year, this year the symposium will directly address two key skill sets that are indispensable for professional leaders: The Art and Practice of Asking Effective Questions, and The Nine Key Ground Rules to foster productive workplace conversations that lead to satisfying and rewarding interaction among library staff at all levels. The Symposium is directed toward Library Middle Managers – library directors, branch managers, or department heads.

Presenter - Lou Wetherbee
Lou Wetherbee is a library consultant based in Dallas, Texas, and has extensive experience in academic and public libraries, library networks, and the nonprofit sector. She is an expert on the organizational implications of emerging technologies for libraries and specializes in the re-design of library services in the electronic environment.

Dates and Locations
June 2, 2008 Broward County Library/North Regional Library
June 3, 2008 Winter Park Public Library
June 5, 2008 Tallahassee Community College

Registration Fee
There is no registration fee to attend a session of the 2008 Leadership Symposium.

Online Registration

Tim Dorsey Book Signing

Tim Dorsey, author of many funny books about lowlifes, criminals, and assorted wackos in south Florida is coming to the Bradford County Public Library in Starke. He will be there on Saturday, April 26, 3:00pm to autograph his books.

A NEFLIN Member is on the Ballot

Judith Russell, Dean, University of Florida Libraries is running for one of the open positions on the OCLC Members Council. Additional information about the new e-voting for the Members Council, SOLINET Board, and other matters is below.

Election of representatives to the Board of Directors and OCLC Members Council will be by electronic voting prior to the Annual Membership Meeting. Ballots will be emailed to eligible voters on Wednesday, April 16; voting ends on Wednesday, April 30. Statements of intent by the candidates Please take a moment to carefully read the important E-voting information on our website. Results of the election will be announced at the SOLINET Business Meeting on May 8. We also invite you to join your colleagues at the conference that will precede the membership business meeting. The conference begins at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 8. Our speakers and concurrent sessions have been selected to promote discussion of the theme “The Transformed Library.”

Blog Post of the Month!

The March "Blog Post of the Month" was a close vote. The winner is Brad's recap of his experience at Karen Schneider's Writing for the Web workshop. Honorable mention goes to "Tiki Wins!".

You too can vote by adding a "comment" to any blog post.

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I had a great experience at a NEFLIN workshop recently, and since all the workshop materials are available online here is a recap with links to a few things.

Karen Schneider, Librarian/Author/Blogger/GreatGal, taught Writing for the Web. It was a nice mix between how to write for online publications (websites, blogs, etc) and a creative writing class.

About two weeks before the class I received an e-mail, as did all registered attendees. It informed me that a “wiki” had been created for this workshop. I clicked the link in the e-mail and went to the wiki. Here I found the Syllabus for the class and handouts.

I spent 20 minutes or so looking over the materials and getting a sense of what we would cover in the workshop. Karen also gave us a link to her recommended writing websites via del.icio.us (there went another 20 minutes).

Then came the day of the class!

I sat expectantly with my 20 or so fellow students as we began the day with only the briefest introduction to Karen and her material. We immediately pressed the pedal to the floor and didn’t seem to stop until the class filed out around 4pm.

Things to Consider
1. How could you make use of a wiki in your own world? This was a great tool for engaging the whole class before, during and after training. Visit the wiki and look over the Syllabus.

2. Each member of the class had a “Class Page” on the wiki, and a laptop. This Class Page could be edited by only one student, but could be viewed by everyone. Each student did some writing and then we viewed their Class Page on our laptop. Discussion ensued.

How you could use this feature in any collaborative effort when the participants are all in one room (and even when they are not)?

Writing for the Web – Tips
1. Write in the first person (this connects with the reader)

2. Ask questions (can be the title of a post or the first line)

3. Cut paragraphs in half (people need more white space when reading on a PC)

4. Read your writing out loud (more important than you might think).

Thanks for reading! -- Brad

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TIKI WINS!

Congratulations to Suwannee River Regional Library! They are the Grand Prize winners in Demco's "You and Your Booktruck" contest and will receive a $245 DEMCO book cart and a $200 DEMCO gift certificate.

Sherry thanks all those who voted for them. You can stop by Live Oak and see the cart if you happen to be driving through.

In other book cart news..... Don't miss the Book Cart Drill Team Competition on Thursday, April 24th from 10:30am - 12:00n at the FLA Conference in St. Pete Beach. Trophies will be awarded for best costumes, best decorated carts, and the WOW factor.

Training in Your Library

Has your libraries travel budget been cut? Do you just not have time to leave for training? There are several interesting webinars scheduled in April that you can attend right at your desk.

Helping Spanish-speaking Patrons Prepare for the Digital Television Transition
Tuesday, April 8th, 1:00-2:00 PM EST
The Digital TV Transition is set to affect millions of people and many will be coming into libraries looking for information and assistance. Because of the language barrier, Spanish-speaking patrons face an additional hurdle in preparing for the DTV transition. Join us for an informative presentation by Patrick Webre of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about the DTV Transition and the DTV resources available to libraries. Instructions for Joining the Webinar.

Cookbook Webinars
Wednesday, April 16th
Grab a comfy chair and participate in a 30-minute discussion where contributors to the Cookbooks share their insights, their secrets, and what *you* can do to get started with projects like theirs. April's Cookbook Webinar features NEFLIN's very own Be Astengo from Alachua County Library District in Gainesville sharing how her team crafted a successful laptop checkout program.

Maximizing the Power of the Web: Pew Internet & American Life Project's 2007 Findings
Apr 18, 2008, 11-12 ET
Lee Rainie will share with attendees the latest from his research into how individuals are using the internet and being affected by it. For library leaders seeking to maximize the power of the Web, Lee will bring to light valuable findings, theories, and arguable conclusions based on his project's research. Attendees will no doubt be interested in discussing one of Pew's latest studies, which revealed just how much young adults and others in the U.S. continue to use public libraries for the Internet and also books. His Project's study paid particular attention to the information-seeking activities of lower-income citizens and where libraries fit into their worlds.

During this session, Stephen Abram will interview Rainie about the year's findings, upcoming trends for libraries and Internet, and much more. Take this opportunity to listen on two of the luminaries in the library and technology communities discuss what's next for the library world.

Welcome, Stranger: Public Libraries Build the Global Village
April 29th, 1:00-2:00 PM ET
Learn about the recently published report, Welcome, Stranger Report by Urban Libraries Council from report authors, Rick Ashton and Danielle Patrick Milam. Find out five strategies for success libraries can use to support successful immigrant transitions. The first 75 registrants will receive a free copy of the Welcome, Stranger report.

What it Takes to Become the Best Small Library in America
May 1st, 2:00-3:00 PM EST
Join a discussion on what it takes to be named Library Journal's Best Small Library in America, and what it means to your community. The staff of the Chelsea District Library in Chelsea, Michigan will be on board to share the methods and programs they use to connect with their community, and the team approach to service that has earned them this year's honor.

Don't forget to check the NEFLIN schedule. Many of you are already viewing the SLA and DuPage programs but Patty has added a whole new series of Solinet Live Online classes that are free to NEFLIN members (if you registered for the 20 Questions series through Solinet it would cost you $120 for each session). The easiest way to see everything on our schedule is to go to the Complete List of Workshops and then sort by Workshop Location = Desktop.

Staff Development Day at Jacksonville Public

Richard Mott sent over this great description of JPL's latest Staff Development Day. There is detailed information posted on NEFLIN's Staff Development Interest Group Wiki (password = neflin) and photos from this event on NEFLIN's Flickr Page. Enjoy!

Note from Stephanie - JPL borrowed two LCD projectors from NEFLIN's Equipment Loan Program to use during their staff development day. This saved them the expense of renting equipment.
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“On March 20, all 350 or so full-time employees and many of the part-timers of the Jacksonville Public Library gathered at the Main Library downtown for our annual Staff Development Day (It’s the one non-holiday a year that the entire system is closed to the public). After registration and a continental breakfast, we gathered in the auditorium for a kickoff session highlighted by a hilarious keynote address by Bill Barnes, the library-world-famous cartoonist of the Unshelved comic strip.

The middle part of the day consisted of three 75-minute breakout session periods. Staff were able to choose from 37 different topics, ranging from Tai Chi and Stress Reduction Through Guided Imagery to Circulation Urban Legends to Excel Tips & Tricks to JPL Pioneers & Milestones: A History of the Jacksonville Public Library.

In the middle of all that, we squeezed in a catered hot lunch. We came back to the auditorium at the end of the day for a closing session, in which we acknowledged some of the individual achievements of the past year, gave a special presentation to Margaret Smith, a retiring librarian of over 30 years, announced a few of the over 70 door prize winners, and watched a humorous video in which a gorilla customer-turned-employee illustrates each of the goals of Destination:Next, our strategic plan.

One of the highlights of the day was our first ever ‘Transform Your Truck’ book cart decorating contest. It was patterned after Unshelved’s national Pimp My Book Cart contest, in which a normal book cart is transformed into some new creation altogether. Ten branches and units participated, transforming carts into a horse from the wild west (the grand prize winner), a pirate ship (the runner up), a hot air balloon, big bird, and many other flights of fancy.

The day had several goals: to make staff feel appreciated for the hard work they do all year, to learn some helpful stuff, to increase the spirit of unity among the staff, and to boost morale. We always see a lot of ways to improve, but most staff have expressed in a follow-up survey that we were successful in meeting each of these goals. If you have suggestions for making the most of Staff Development Day, we would love to hear them. Thanks for your interest in ours.”