What Do You Do With Your Old Computers?

Here at NEFLIN we give them away to you, our members. But what does your library do with them? If you're looking for ideas, you should listen to the recording of yesterday's MaintainIT webinar, "Recycling and Refurbishing Old Computers."

This 60 minute webinar is based on the "Buying and Deploying Technology" chapter of the newest MaintainIT cookbook, The Joy of Computing: Planning for Success. Feel free to download the book. I'm listening to it as I write this and it's full of really useful ideas, definitely worth the hour. It features Jean Montgomery from the Upper Peninsula Region Library Cooperative in Michigan and Jim Lynch from TechSoup.

Here are some of the resources mentioned during the program:

• Library using Ubuntu
• Community Microsoft Authorized Refurbishers
• Hardware Recyclers
• End-of-life electronics recyclers
• 101 uses for AOL disks
• Electronics Takeback Campaign approved electronics recyclers
• Software to wipe the hard drive
• DBAN
• Killdisk
• Bart’s Nuke

Want to attend more webinars? You can register here:http://maintainitproject.org/events

Happy Halloween!

Technology Adoption Strategies for Library Workers

Reversing the Ratchet: Basic Technology Adoption Strategies for Library Workers
Friday, November 7, 2008
12:00 noon - 1:30 pm
On your desktop from College of DuPage

Are you feeling more pressure in your library to keep up with the latest technologies?

Library workers must constantly learn the latest techno-tweaks to their familiar information systems, but they also face ongoing tension from the expectation that every new technology must be applied to enhance library services. In a technology landscape where gadgets, gizmos, software and Web 2.0 innovations hit us at an ever accelerating pace, how do we successfully manage technology adoption in our libraries?

This Soaring to Excellence presentation addresses the challenge of the technology ratchet and how to keep it from tightening its grip on library workers. Steven Bell will share ideas and techniques for regaining control over library technology with an exploration of better ways to identify, adopt and leverage the technologies that make sense for us and that create a better library user experience for our communities. With the right attitude and approach every library worker can develop a personal professional development strategy for keeping pace with the technology curve.

This program is made available for FREE to staff in Florida Libraries with funds from an LSTA Grant administered by the State Library & Archives.

Register Now! (This registration is for NEFLIN members only. Others should contact their regional MLC or Dan Lhotka at the State Library.)

Other College of DuPage programs are available from the NEFLIN Multimedia Lending Library. Search using "DuPage" as the Vendor for a list of titles.

infoUSA added to Vendor Discount Program

We have added infoUSA to NEFLIN's Vendor Discount Program.

Full information on the new discount is here.

We have over 50 vendors participating in this program...but we want more! Please let us know what other vendors we should contact to invite their participation by e-mailing discounts@neflin.org

New Search Feature Added to the Blog

You asked and we listened (by “you” I mean Ginny Bird, and by “we” I mean the staff at NEFLIN).

We have just added a Search feature to the blog. Look on the right side of the blog and you will see a Google Search box labeled “Search this Blog”. Give it a try.

Thanks Ginny for this suggestion!

American Libraries News for Non-Members

The American Library Association (ALA) has recently announced that several of their news sources are now available to anyone, regardless of membership status.

1. American Libraries Direct, a weekly e-newsletter highlighting library news and resources is now available to anyone who signs up for it. Learn more.
2. The current issue of American Libraries, the monthly magazine that is mailed to all ALA members, is now available for free to anyone as a PDF. You can also view the archives, dating back to 2003. (First-time viewers will need to install the ebrary reader to view issues.) Read more.
3. American Libraries, has launched the Inside Scoop, a blog written by editor-in-chief Leonard Kniffel. Read the first post and learn more.

What Do You Want To Know?

Boston Public Library is running a great ad campaign "What Do You Want To Know?".

There is a nice mix of print, radio and television ads available for viewing on their website.





"The advertising campaign was created to help remind residents and visitors, scholars and students, businesses and families, and seniors and children alike of the vital and friendly resource they have in the Boston Public Library. Our library staff the heroes of the campaign – positioning them as The Ultimate Search Engines."

Internet Librarian Conference

One of the premier library conferences each year is
Internet Librarian held in Monterey every October.

While most of us were not able to attend, the recaps of the sessions have a "wish you were there" feel. I really enjoyed reading the recaps by David Lee King on his blog. To find good recaps of sessions David did not attend try
The Librarian in Black, Sarah Houghton-Jan's blog.

Some of the topics covered:

• Defining & Measuring Social Media Success
• Designing the Digital Experience
• Implementing a Next Gen OPAC
• Library Floorplans 2.0
• User-Centered Library
• Video on the Web

You get the idea!

National Gaming Day @ Your Library

Today's the deadline to get your library registered to participate in National Gaming Day @ Your Library on Saturday, November 15.

You can learn more about National Gaming Day on their wiki. There's LOTS of information about the games you can get for FREE. You just need to register today (sorry I didn't write this last week - Jae told me to).

I've heard from several member libraries who plan to participate and you can see a list of some of the libraries who have registered (this was current as of 9/30). Libraries who've told me they are planning events include Bradford County Public Library, St. Johns County Public Library, and Jacksonville Public Library. If you plan to participate we would love to see pictures and hear about your success stories.

Don't forget NEFLIN has equipment you can borrow. There's a Wii, Xbox (with Guitar Hero), LCD projectors, and screens. The equipment is already booked for this date but if you're planning to host a gaming event at your library you should reserve it now. We've heard great things from several libraries about their successful events.

Bradford County Public Library held their first event on Saturday (when the library was closed) and had about 30 people attend. In addition to the equipment they borrowed from NEFLIN, the Library has formed relationships with the local Aaron's and Movie Gallery who are providing them with additional equipment and games (check out the BIG screen tv they had).

If you aren't sure that a gaming event is right for your library I would definitely encourage you to attend the Get Into the Game @ Your Library workshop being held at Lake City Community College Library on Friday, November 14th. You'll have an opportunity to learn from Vickie Lepore who has been hosting successful events for several years and then you'll get to participate in a gaming.

ALA SLymposium on Virtual worlds and Libraries in Second Life

The American Library Association Virtual Communities and Libraries Membership Interest Group is pleased to announce its first ALA SLymposium to be held in the virtual world of Second Life on ALA island on Saturday, November 8. There is no charge for the event. The fall SLymposium will offer a look at what all types of library-related organizations are doing in Second Life. A companion symposium for spring will explore what all types of library-related organizations are doing in other virtual environments.

The keynote speaker for the SLymposium is Tom Peters, CEO of TAP Information Services, and author of the recently released "Libraries and Virtual Worlds," an ALA TechSource publication. Peters is also one of the conveners of the Virtual Communities and Libraries Membership Interest Group (VCL MIG). Other speakers include Sonja Morgan-Plummer, Tina Coleman from ALA, Carrie Pennell from Harvard University, FT Takacs from University of South Carolina, Carol Perryman from University of North Carolina SLIS, Kelly Czarnecki from Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, and Sue Bergren, a graduate student from the University of Illinois.

To register for this event, go to http://tinyurl.com/5eypww

For more information on the event, view the original post or contact Tom Peters at tapinformation@yahoo.com, Lori Bell at lbell927@gmail.com, or Sonja Morgan at sonjamorgwain@yahoo.com

E-Rate Workshops Scheduled

I just saw the E-Rate Workshop schedule and they start on Friday. The workshop in the NEFLIN region will be held in Lake City at the Technology Training Center

372 West Duval Street Lake City, FL 32055
November 7, 2008
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Register and view the complete schedule

MaintainIT Prepares for New Cookbook

MaintainIT is preparing for the release of their newest Cookbook, Planning with Success, with a series of free webinars next week.

Print Management
October 28 at 12noon Eastern
Kam McEvoy from the Central Texas Library System will host a MaintainIT Cookbook Book Club –a discussion about Print Management. How much do you charge for printing? Is printing done on the “honor system” or do you use some sort of print server system to manage it? Read Meal Plan 6 from the Cookbook and join the conversation. The chapter is available as a free download here: http://maintainitproject.org/files/CB2_Meal%20Plan%20Six.pdf.
Register: https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/wir64hcidxm3/puazkr0hysid

Tasty Tidbits from the New MaintainIT Cookbook
October 29 at 12:30pm or 1:00pm Eastern
MaintainIT is so excited about the newest Cookbook, "Planning for Success"! Join this 20-minute introduction and hear about the new content and the special activities planned for the next few weeks.
Register for the 12:30: hhttps://cc.readytalk.com/registration/14k03hc1ass64/yd6hfxma5fag
Register for the 1:00: ttps://cc.readytalk.com/registration/1jfi0he5ig1wq/us1jlj26nl6l

Gaming in Libraries
October 29 at 2 PM Eastern Time Zone
Join Lori Reed from the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County as she discusses video gaming in libraries.
Register: https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/epzx6037hbat/8fk52p7ytt35

Recycling and Refurbishing Old Computers
October 30 at 12noon or 4pm Eastern
How can you get rid of old computers responsibly? When a computer is beyond repair, or if you’ve decided that you really have no use for it, you have a few options, depending on your situation. Join this free webinar to find out what other librarians have done. Jean Montgomery, Network Administrator for the Upper Peninsula Region of Library Cooperation in Michigan, and Jim Lynch from TechSoup will facilitate this session.
Register for the Noon: https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/k7lw8wpg6hp6/edw55j3xosuf
Register for the 4pm: https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/ksz64ebq4epe/1tkpmekgfx2rn

Book Blitz I at NEFLIN

Register today

As has been said before, “good cataloging doesn't just happen”. This workshop gets right down to the details about how to make MARC records that will work well in each and every MARC-based library automation system out there. Whether you are copy cataloging or making original records, this workshop will teach you the essential cataloging rules and MARC standards that you need to know, and how they fit together. Not only will you learn how to find your way around AACR2R, LCRI and MARC21, but with these 'Core Cataloging Skills' you will learn how to:

• Describe a book in enough detail for your user's needs
• Assign useful search terms, such as authors, illustrators, etc. (not subject headings)
• Choose the correct MARC coding for a book record
• Decide whether or not copied records truly match your items
• Upgrade CIP records to provide missing data or edit changes
• Create 'different edition' or 'near match' records, and
• What 'bad' cataloging looks like, and how to correct it

This is a beginner’s workshop on bibliographic description, providing access points, and copy cataloging; this workshop covers books only. For an experienced cataloger, it is a near certainty that you will learn a few things you didn’t already know.

Required text: “Cataloging with AACR2 and MARC21” by Deborah A. Fritz. 2nd Edition. Chicago: ALA, 2004. ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-0935-5; ISBN-10: 0-8389-0935-3

Trainer: Deborah Fritz, The MARC of Quality
Date: Tuesday - Friday, December 2-5
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: NEFLIN in Orange Park

2009 Cataloging Classes at NEFLIN:

• AACR and MARC for Print Serials - February 12-13
• Book Blitz II - March 16-17
• AACR and MARC for Sound Recordings - May 11-12
• Book Blitz III - June 11-12
• MARC 21 in Your Library - August 17
• Library of Congress Subject Headings II - August 18-19
• Just for Copy Cats - August 24-25

Web Conferencing for NEFLIN Members

You hear it called all kinds of things - virtual classrooms, webinars, e-meetings, webcasts - but we're all talking about the same thing. It's using a web conferencing tool to deliver information over the Internet to multiple people who can be located anywhere.

During a web conference participants sit at their own computers and are connected to other participants via the internet. The web conferencing application allows presenters to display content on the screens of all the participants. The presentation is accompanied by voice communication.

NEFLIN has purchased a subscription to OPAL, a web-conferencing system that will allow NEFLIN and our member libraries to provide web-based programming and training to staff and patrons. The service offers several features:

• Cobrowsing - the presenter can 'push' a web site to participants' computers so they can interact with the site and browse individually
• Public and Private text chat - send messages to everyone or a specific individual
• Polling - real time polling of participants with easy display of results
• Recording and archiving - record both the audio and visual content for future playback
  

There are some great potential uses of this technology.

• Announcements or demonstrations for large and/or geographically dispersed audiences
  
• Q&A sessions with guest speakers or subject matter experts
• Software training
• Meetings of groups in different locations (we already have one library who plans to use this as an alternative to face-to-face staff meetings)

And there are wonderful benefits.

• Save travel time and costs for participants
• Sessions can be recorded and archived for those who cannot attend the live session
• Ability to demonstrate software applications remotely
  

If you're interested in seeing the online classroom in use you should attend the Virtual Open Houses next week. This one hour session provides an overview of the services provided by NEFLIN and lets you see the web conferencing service in action. Your last chance to attend a Virtual Open House is Tuesday, October 28th at 10:30am. If your library would like to schedule a private session for your staff during your regular staff meeting, contact Stephanie@neflin.org.

As we prepared to roll out this new service we've been reminded of the many issues involved with presenting, facilitating, or producing a live, online training session or program. If you've participated in a live webinar you know that the really successful trainers make it look easy and seamless. We want you to be successful when you make use of this service. If you think you would like to use the web conference service at your library we will require that you attend a Moderator Training Session. These sessions will teach the basics of using the software along with providing tips for having a successful event. Sessions are currently scheduled for

• Thursday, October 30
• Wednesday, November 12
• Monday, December 8
  

Happy Birthday Brad!

The image generators is just one of the things you'll learn during 23 Things @ NEFLIN. Learn more about this program during the last Virtual Open House on Tuesday, October 28 at 10:30am.

Genre Form Headings

Library of Congress opening pilot project to create genre form headings to larger audience

Many thanks to Nancy Poehlmann, Head of the Humanities and Special Collections Cataloging Unit at the Florida in Gainesville for this post. Nancy will be posting about cataloging topics.

I find LC’s decision to delegate the creation of subject headings and name authority headings to those of us beyond the walls of “the” Library (and yes, in the late 80’s and early 90’s, staffers at LC really did say that) very interesting. Their decision may have arisen from negative circumstances, such as budget cuts, and Congress’ insistence that LC become the Library “of” Congress and stop acting like our national library. This last decree, with its concomitant scaling back of setting policies or choosing unpopular policy shifts (series treatment being a prime example), left many of us feeling abandoned by the library that had created the policies and procedures with which we ran our own libraries. However, with the expansion of this pilot project, I see a very positive response to filling that vacuum, by allowing more cooperative cataloging and (dare I dream) even policies and standards being set by groups, not individual libraries, no matter how big or important.

Although the pilot project is confined to Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) members, as well as to genre/form headings in moving images and radio, this movement is a step forward, and actually quite swift for LC, since it created the first internal MARC authority record for MARC tag 155 in September 2007. While the radio headings may be helpful only to specialized collections, the moving image headings will be of use to many catalogers, whether at academic or public libraries; the proposed expansion of creating these headings in law, literature, music and religion will impact even more catalogers, including those at corporate and special libraries. I find it very exciting that catalogers from all areas and types of libraries will be able to contribute headings that will allow them to serve their public better.

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Don't forget to check the NEFLIN Workshop Schedule for upcoming Cataloging training.

College of DuPage Programs in November

Funded by LSTA through the State Library and Archives of Florida, NEFLIN is pleased to bring you these upcoming College of DuPage programs. Click on the Program Title to register to receive access information.

Reversing the Ratchet: Basic Technology Adoption Strategies for Library Workers
Friday, November 7, 2008, 12:00 noon - 1:30 pm

Are you feeling more pressure in your library to keep up with the latest technologies? Library workers must constantly learn the latest techno-tweaks to their familiar information systems, but they also face ongoing tension from the expectation that every new technology must be applied to enhance library services. In a technology landscape where gadgets, gizmos, software and Web 2.0 innovations hit us at an ever accelerating pace, how do we successfully manage technology adoption in our libraries?

This Soaring to Excellence presentation addresses the challenge of the technology ratchet and how to keep it from tightening its grip on library workers. Steven Bell will share ideas and techniques for regaining control over library technology with an exploration of better ways to identify, adopt and leverage the technologies that make sense for us and that create a better library user experience for our communities. With the right attitude and approach every library worker can develop a personal professional development strategy for keeping pace with the technology curve. Speaker: Steven Bell, Temple University
Program Overview
Resources

Information Literacy for Life
Friday, November 21, 2008, 12:00 noon - 1:30 pm

Mary Evangeliste, Director of User Services & Outreach at Gettysburg College and co-founder of Fearless Future: Marketing & Design for things that matter, will bring together three librarians from three very different institutions and backgrounds to explore how school librarians, public librarians, and academic librarians can collaborate to create comprehensive information literacy programs that span a user’s lifetime. You’ll get the foundation for starting a local dialogue based on national principles.

Mary will be joined by Alex Hodges, Assistant Director of Library Instruction at American University in Washington; Niketha McKenzie, School Librarian at the Thurgood Marshall Academy, a public charter high school in Washington, DC; and Roshin Mathew, a master’s student at University of Maryland’s iSchool and a teacher of information literacy to older adults through the public library as well as undergraduates at UM’s Freshman Writing Program.

Speakers

November Online Training Opportunities

Are you looking for training on your desktop? Here's a look at some programs available in November. Don't forget to check the NEFLIN workshop schedule and remember that many of these programs will be archived and available for viewing at a later date if you miss the program.

Get Your Game On - Quick Tips to Start a Gaming Program in Your Library (MaintainIT)
Wednesday, October 29 at 2pm EST

Integrating Video Production into Curriculum and Classroom Activities
Thursday, November 6 @ 3pm EST

Branding Libraries and their Services (WebJunction)
Friday, November 7 @ 2pm

Go Team! Quick Tips to Help You Build a Technology Team in Your Library (MaintainIT)
Tuesday, November 11 @ 2pm

24/7 Librarianship: Reaching Patrons with Digital Tutorials (WebJunction)
Wednesday, November 12 @ 2pm

Your Library's Role in Your Community (WebJunction)
Thursday, November 13 @ 2pm

Why Public Libraries Close (WebJunction)
Thursday, November 13 @ 3pm

Tinkering in the Techie Toybox: Staying on Top of Consumer Technology with David Lee King (SirsiDynix Institute)
Friday, November 14 @ 11am EST

Challenging the Assumptions of Legacy Librarianship with Joan Frye Williams and George Needham (OPAL)
Wednesday, November 19 @ 11am EST

Do you know how to protect your pet during a hurricane?

Many thanks again to Kara McClurken, Preservation Services Librarian at Solinet, for this guest post.

As we have seen from past hurricanes, pets are often overlooked in disaster planning. Much has been learned about sheltering and protecting pets in the event of mandatory evacuation since Hurricane Katrina--we pet-owners must be proactive and incorporate our pets into our disaster plans, whether we take them with us or leave them behind. The National Hurricane Center has created a website to assist pet owners in disaster planning for pets.

On this website, you will find some useful tips regarding what to do to prepare your pet before, during, and after a disaster, items to place in a pet disaster supply kit, and a link to pet-friendly hotels.

So, do you have a plan to protect your pet from disasters? What tips to you have for effective disaster planning for pets?

This blog posting is the fourth in a series that SOLINET staff will do for NEFLIN during the hurricane season. If you have ideas/questions for future postings, please let Kara know.

Multimedia Lending Library - New Additions

The Multimedia Lending Library (MLL) is a collection of high-quality DVD, video, and CDROM materials that are available for two-week loan to NEFLIN members.

Newly added materials include:

Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library

Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library Training Kit
Children begin to learn literacy skills at birth. Many parents and other caregivers though, need to be taught the improtance of early literacy and how to develop critical pre-reading skills so that every child enters school ready to learn to read. Kit includes training notebook and an 87 minute DVD.

Playing Around with Words: Every Child Ready to Read

This short but effective DVD explains and demonstrates how playing simple games throughout the day develops phonological awareness, one of the key skills in getting ready to read. Developed by Provo (UT) Public Library.

Executive Leadership Series

In this Leadership Briefing series of 10 DVDs you will learn invaluable skills and leadership techniques from some of the brightest thought leaders in modern business who freely share their wisdom covering important issues. Click on a title for details.

• Coaching a Winning Team with Trish VanDerVeer


• Exceptional Leadership with Jack Zenger


• Executing Leadership Transactions with Scott McNealy


• Leadership Aikido with John O'Neal


• A Leader's Legacy with Jim Kouzes


• Leading by Example with George Zimmer


• Leveraging the Spotlight of Leadership with Jay Conger


• Life Lessons from Playing the Field with Jim Thompson


• Mastery of Speaking as a Leader with Terry Pearce


• The Power of Paranoia with Roderick Kramer

To request any item, email register@neflin.org. Please include title of the item(s) and your name, library and contact information, including a phone number.

See all materials in the MLL here.

Family Portrait Day at the Library

Helene Blowers posted recently about "Family Portrait Day" at the library. For a low cost you can have a wonderful day of taking photos of your patrons and highlight their love of reading.

Here is the original post, plus a link to the photo set on Flickr. Try not to smile while looking at these pictures. It can't be done!

SOLINET Merger Update

The following update was recently provided by Solinet regarding their proposed merger with PALINET.

We are pleased to announce that the Boards of PALINET and SOLINET have approved a recommendation to merge the two organizations. Both Boards completed due diligence and as a result developed the vision and strategy for the new organization.

The combined strength each network brings to the new organization will significantly enhance the education, leadership development, advocacy, technology, and savings on information products and services that our members want, while still providing the high level of service and local connection you currently value.

The combined resources, shared expertise, and improved operating efficiencies will result in

• Rapid implementation of new programs
• Greater consortial savings opportunities
• Extended networking and collaboration among members
• Innovative technology solutions in areas including open source, digitization, and collection management
• An expanded curriculum covering the latest topics with industry experts from both networks.

Your vote is the most important step in this process. By December 1, you will receive specific information regarding the merger plan and necessary legal documentation to inform your vote. The vote is expected to take place in early 2009.

We know you are also eager to hear about several key areas concerning the new organization including the board and membership structures, governance, new name, and locations. Both Boards are completing work on these specific details and will provide this information as part of your vote information packet.

Get Into the Game @ Your Library

If you are interested in hosting gaming events at your library but are not sure how to pull it all together, attend this immersion gaming experience at Lake City Community College while they set up for their eighth successful gaming event. There are three parts to the day:

• Immersion: Play games with experienced gamers. Participants will be paired with gamers, and you will learn the basics of several consoles (Wii, PS2, XBox360) and how to play several games to understand the "learning principles" behind games.
• Nutrition: Brainstorm, compare notes and share ideas during lunch (brown bag it or available on campus)
• Creation: Your choice of different activities as you design your future gaming program:
  **Work on your gaming program promotion (such as creating a flyer, slide show presentation, or bookmarks)
  **Download documents for your gaming night,(nametags, registration sign-up sheets, guidelines, etc.)
  **Create your "To-Do" list
  **Take photos of what a gaming set-up looks like, then use to photo-journal this workshop and of YOU gaming!
  **Set up a gaming blog - it could include research that documents the connection between gaming and learning and literacy,photos from the workshop, or a survey for participants)

Please email Vickie Lepore with specific questions, so we can tailor this experience for your needs.

Please bring a digital camera and wireless-ready laptop, if available.

Host: Vickie Lepore, Lake City Community College
Date: Friday, November 14
Time: 10:00 am - 2:15 pm
Location: Lake City Community College, Learning Resource Center
149 SE College Place, Lake City, Florida 32025
(386) 754-4337

Register Today

Need to borrow Gaming Equipment? Check out NEFLIN's Equipment Loan Program

What Do Your Patrons/Customers/Users/Members Think?

As budgets become tighter it is more important then ever for us to provide justification for all requests that have $$ attached. To help, NEFLIN provides members access to two survey tools.

1. The Touch Screen Survey Workstation can be reserved and used in any setting. We've had libraries use it at branches, take it off-site to poll non-users, creating 'voting' stations. You create your own survey.
   
2. TouchPollWeb is an online survey option that allows you to provide a link to your survey from anywhere. Send out a blast email, create a link from your website, put it on bookmarks - you decide. NEFLIN staff work with you to create the survey.

The benefits of both tools are numerous -

• A variety of question types are available, including single choice, multiple choice, open text, rating scales, and more.
  
• The option to use skip logic or branching to skip questions that are irrelevant given answers to a previous question.
• Automatic tabulation of data, eliminating the hassle of entering paper survey data. If your patrons aren't comfortable with the online survey, provide paper surveys and recruit a volunteer to enter the data. Then all your data is available in one file.
  
• The ability to filter survey responses for comparison purposes.
• Unlimited surveying FREE to NEFLIN members.
  

Contact NEFLIN to learn more about this service.

Alachua County FOL Booksale

5 days of bibliophile glee. Be a part of the BIGGEST Alachua County Library District Friends of the Library used book sale yet. Over 300,000 items available and all must go by Wednesday October 22nd.

430 N. Main Street, Gainesville

Saturday, Oct 18, 9am-6pm
Sunday, Oct 19, 1pm - 6pm
Monday, Oct 20, Noon - 8pm
Tuesday, Oct 21, Noon - 8pm (half-price)
Wednesday, Oct 22, Noon - 6pm (10 cents)

New River Public Library Cooperative Staff Development Day

I got to spend a fun morning with the folks from New River Public Library Cooperative (NRPLC) yesterday for their First Annual Staff Development Day. NRPLC staff were joined by the staff from their member libraries in Bradford, Baker and Union Counties at the fabulous new Bradford County Public Library in Starke. I put my few photos up on flickr and here's a link to Ginny's pictures.

Ginny Bird provided a neat overview of where libraries had come from. She also provided a short tour of the Coops website and reminded the staff to watch the blog for regular updates. Ginny's doing a great job of keeping the blog current. And during the first break we got to take a tour of the bookmobile which is always fun.

I provided an overview of the Florida Electronic Library with highlights of the new PowerSearch interface and the Health & Wellness Resource Center and LitFinder. Training live is always iffy and yesterday proved to be no exception. We had a few IT problems but it was fun nonetheless. Some of the stuff I wanted them to know that might be new to some of you -

• don't forget the great digital content available on the FEL. The Florida Memory Project and Florida on Florida collections are fabulous resources.
• the Ask-a-Librarian service has migrated to a new platform. If you haven't tried it I would definitely encourage you to do so. They have the cool ability to take over your desktop.
• WorldCat.org let's you see which libraries near you own the item you're looking for. And there is a WorldCat application for Facebook (now if someone can just explain to me how to make that work).
• You can add those neat magazine logos that appear in the Popular Magazines & Journals section to your website to increase usage.
• and..... the new PowerSearch interface that has been implemented on the Florida Electronic Library is sooooooo very easy to use.

Perhaps next year this group will get to meet in the new Union County Public Library (check out their blog to see progress on the construction).

Upcoming Workshops Need You

Library Tour:
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry Library

Join us for a tour of one of NEFLIN's "special” libraries. The DPI Library is part of a government agency -- the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry -- and is a special-subject library, with a research collection that helps DPI staff identify and control exotic plant pests and diseases. The tour will also include the insect collection and the biological control insect rearing facility.

Host: Beverly Pope, DPI Librarian
Date: Tuesday, October 28
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Location: Division of Plant Industry, Doyle Conner Building,
1911 SW 34 Street, Gainesville
Register Today

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Putting Library 2.0 To Work for Your Library

This workshop is designed to show how to make Library 2.0 technology work for you. We will not only discuss what the new technology is, but also how you can take advantage of the Florida Electronic Library resources and implement this technology in your library. Come to see and discuss some practical and simple applications of the technology you've been hearing so much about. Three dates and locations.

Trainer: Anthony Shamoun, Library Trainer

Wednesday, November 5, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm at NEFLIN in Orange Park

Thursday, November 6, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm at Tower Road Library, Gainesville

Thursday, December 4 at Ocala Public Library Registrations needed

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Powerpoint 2007 Level 1 - Gainesville
Registrations needed

Is PowerPoint 2007 making you crazy? Register for this hands-on training taught by an expert New Horizons trainer. Level 1 lessons include:

• Getting started with PowerPoint
• Creating a presentation
• Formatting text on slides
• Adding graphical objects to a presentation
• Modifying objects
• Adding tables to presentations
• Inserting charts in a presentation
• Preparing to deliver a presentation

Trainer: New Horizons Expert Trainer
Date: Wednesday, November 5
Time: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Location: New Horizons, Gainesville
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Quick Reference Guides

Is Office 2007 making you crazy? Are you spending too much time providing one-on-one computer help? Do you find yourself explaining the same computer questions several times a day?

Quick Reference Guides can help. These double-sided, full color guides can be given to staff learning new computer programs, made available near your public workstations, or provided as handouts in your computer classes.

Over 100 guides are available including these recently added titles:

• Access 2007
• Internet Explorer 6 and 7
• InfoPath 2007
• OneNote 2007
• Project 2007
• Publisher 2007
• SharePoint 2007
• Acrobat 7 and 8
• Dreamweaver CS3 and 8, and Dreamweaver CS3 for Mac
• Fireworks CS3, and Fireworks CS3 for Mac
• Flash CS3 and 8, and Flash CS3 for Mac
• Photoshop CS3, and Photoshop CS3 for Mac
• Photoshop Elements 5 and 6
• Mac OS X Panther
• Entourage 2004 and 2008
• Excel 2004 and 2008
• PowerPoint 2004 and 2008
• Word 2008

NEFLIN members can review the full list and then contact NEFLIN to request the PDF files you would like.

Link Love

A whole lotta love today…link love that is.

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NEFLIN is now making available our new web conferencing service for members to use with staff and for public programs. Why not do a "2 for 1" and preview this service by watching a program in the OPAL archive. A recent entry
Web 2.0: Is Facebook for your Library? looks interesting.

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I had heard about the Vanderbilt Television News Archive before, but it just didn't click until recently just how amazing it is.

“The core collection includes evening news broadcasts from ABC, CBS, and NBC (since 1968), an hour per day of CNN (since 1995) and Fox News (since 2004).

Special news broadcasts found in the Archive include political conventions, presidential speeches and press conferences, Watergate hearings, coverage of the Persian Gulf War, the events of September 11, 2001, the War in Afghanistan, and the War in Iraq.”

A recent article by Marshall Breeding at Vanderbilt highlighted this collection.

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You have never seen a library like this.

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I have been reading David’s blog for a while, and just recently added it to the rotation. David is a librarian who writes about libraries and technology/social networking.

Tip #1: For those who are reading many blogs or just seek out a lot of information online...use a feed reader.

Tip #2: I have a “Pending” folder in my Bloglines account and follow a new blog for a few weeks and then either add it to the my account or remove it. Don't be afraid to delete/stop reading a blog if it goes for a while without updates or quality content.

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You can finally look up many of those "make no sense/full of jargon error messages" that happen when using Microsoft products. (My Mac friends are now laughing at me.)

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Win an Unshelved Book Club T-Shirt. I entered the contest and so can you. Though my chance of winning decreases when you enter so maybe I should keep this to myself...

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I don't spend all my off time watching things on my Tivo (though it is football season). Here is what I'm reading right now. I'm always looking for good reads, so suggestions are welcome.

• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell
• Pop Goes the Library: Using Pop Culture to Connect with your Whole Community
• Rainbow's End (thanks Mickey!)
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

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Columbia County Public Library Kicks off 50th Anniversary Celebration

The Columbia County Public Library kicked off a year long 50th anniversary celebration with a reception on Thursday, October 9 in the original location of the library - the Lake City Woman's Club. More than 130 Friends of the Library members and community supporters heard a history of the library presented by James Montgomery and received commemorative calendars and bookmarks. See all the details and a summary of the upcoming author events in the Lake City Journal.

Take Advantage of NEFLIN's Equipment Loan Program

NEFLIN knows that budgets are tight and our libraries are being asked to do more with less. So we are continuing to add to our Equipment Loan Program and making it possible for libraries to enhance their services and programming with little or no expense to themselves. It's just one more benefit of membership in NEFLIN.

We recently added almost $2,000 worth of additional equipment to the collection that already includes LCD and overhead projectors, a table top display, and a TouchScreen Survey Workstation. New to the collection this year are projection screens and gaming equipment.

We knew the equipment would be popular but I had no idea how popular. NEFLIN member libraries can reserve any of the available items but you need to plan ahead. All equipment can be reserved up to 12 months in advance. Complete details on available items as well as reservation information.

To learn about this and other services available as part of your NEFLIN membership, attend a Virtual Open House.

Library Tour: Division of Plant Industry "Bug" Library

Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry Library

Join us for a tour of one of NEFLIN's "special” libraries. The DPI Library is part of a government agency -- the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry -- and is a special-subject library, with a research collection that helps DPI staff identify and control exotic plant pests and diseases. The tour will also include the insect collection and the biological control insect rearing facility.

Host: Beverly Pope, DPI Librarian
Date: Tuesday, October 28
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Location: Division of Plant Industry, Doyle Conner Building, 1911 SW 34 Street, Gainesville

Register Today

Reading the NEFLIN Blog = Cold Hard Cash

We received this note from Ginny Bird, Director, New River Public Library Cooperative.

"Today in the mail I received a check for $1500 from Target. It is a grant check for support of the Summer Reading Program. Thanks to Brad and NEFLIN for mentioning this in the NEFLIN blog. I wrote up a simple proposal in May and we received the money today."

Congrats to Ginny for being awarded this grant. You can check out the original post about this grant opportunity. We will keep our eyes open for more!

Blog Post of the Month

Our Blog Post of the Month for September goes to Stephanie's Resource Sharing At Its Finest.

It speaks to the nature of the Blah, Blah, Blah Blog that we occasionally post about things outside the library world, and it's something we can all do...donate used items to help local public school teachers!

Take the LE@D - online courses

NEFLIN now offers LE@D - Lifelong Education @ Desktop - online continuing education courses through the University of North Texas. These high-quality, Internet-delivered, self paced CE courses provide on your desktop professional development opportunities to librarians and library staff. And they're FREE as part of your NEFLIN membership.

Diverse topics include:

• Basic Budgeting
• Creating Compelling Programming in Your School Library
• Copyright Basics for Libraries
• Ethical Standards for Library Leaders
• Info-Age Etiquette
• Gifts for Libraries: Be Careful What You Wish For
• Weeding: It's Not an Option

See the entire list of courses and instructions on how to register.

MaintainIT loves Florida

MaintainIT seems to have their eye on Florida libraries. Suwannee River Regional Library was mentioned in a recent post about gaming and Chad Mairn from St. Petersburg College did a neat post on Creating Music Listening Stations with iTunes.

Taming Technolust

Another October online training opportunity
(see the full list here).

The following event Taming Technolust: Planning in a Hyperlinked World has been re-scheduled for October 22 from 11:00am - 12 noon. Michael Stephens offers ten steps for technology planning in our fast changing, ever-evolving information world. From "Letting Go of Control" to evaluation, this institute will offer ten practical tips for taming your organization's techno-problems.

Full details and registration information.

October is Health Literacy Month

Health Literacy Month, celebrated each October, is a time when health literacy advocates around the world promote the importance of understandable health information. Started by Helen Osborne in 1999, this month is a time for all health literacy advocates to let the world know why health literacy matters.

Health literacy is defined in Healthy People 2010 as: "The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions". The National Library of Medicine has a good web site that covers all aspects of Health Literacy.

Did you know that low health literacy is linked to higher rates of hospitalization and higher use of expensive emergency services? (Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Report, Literacy and Health Outcomes (January 2004)).

Or that more than half of patients reading at a sixth-grade level or less report they go to the Emergency Department when they have an asthma attack compared with less than a third of literate patients? Less than one third of patients with the poorest reading skills knew they should see a physician when their asthma was not symptomatic as compared with 90% of literate patients (Williams, MV, Chest, October 1998).

In metro Jacksonville there are many literacy programs at local public libraries. What does your library do about literacy?

Thanks for this guest post from Dee Baldwin at Find@BCBSF as we begin Health Literacy Month.

Attend a Virtual Open House

What is it? The Virtual Open House is designed to provide an overview of the services and programs available to NEFLIN members. You'll have a chance to learn everything you ever wanted to know about NEFLIN, and how you can get the most bang for your membership buck by taking advantage of more services. This is also an opportunity to preview our new Web Conferencing Service as we model the use of the service.

Who should attend? Anyone who was unable to attend the Annual Meeting in September.

When? Friday, October 3rd from 10-11am (and once a week through October)

Where is it? I can hear you now, "I'm not driving to Orange Park for an hour." You don't have to! The session will be held in our 75 seat online classroom.

How do I access? The sessions are free to NEFLIN members. Registration is not required for these sessions but seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Access and technical information is available online.

More questions? Call 904-278-5620 for additional information.