NEFLIN's Summer Schedule is Online

The Summer Schedule is up - check it out here. Highlights include:

• Black Belt Librarians
• Grants and Fundraising for Small Libraries
• Public Libraries and E-Government
• Green Libraries
• More Drupal - Theming and Content Management
• Spanish for Library Personnel
• Screencasting
• Power Google
• Library Tour: Union County Public Library
• Two Customer Service workshops
• Library Videos
• and Hands-on Art for Librarians

Virtual Training including:

• Young Adult Lit 2.0
• Status Discarded: Weeding
• Advocacy Live Online 4 part series
• Virtual classes on Twitter, Mashups, Marketing

and More! See everything HERE.

http://www.neflin.org/registration.php

NEFLIN Annual Meeting

Just a "mark your calendar" post. The NEFLIN Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, September 10, 2009 at the Embassy Suites hotel in Jacksonville.

We are going to have food on our mind (and in our tummies) because our food-related theme this year is cooking. I'm thinking a tagline like What's Cooking at NEFLIN?. Registration will be available this summer.

Proposals now being accepted

Proposals for concurrent or poster sessions are now being accepted for the 2010 Florida Library Association conference. This event will be held at the Rosen Plaza Hotel, April 7-9, in Orlando.

Details are here (Word document).

The proposal submission deadline is August 24, 2009.

Applications Available for Leadership Institute

Applications are now being accepted for the 2009-10 Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute. The deadline for applications is Friday, June 26, 2009.

Please visit the Leadership Institute website http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/bld/leadership/institute.cfm for the application forms and detailed information about this program. Questions? Contact Brad Ward at brad@neflin.org or 904-278-5620.

The Leadership Institute is open to individuals from all types of libraries (public, academic, school, and special). It is designed for professional librarians, as well as those in management positions without a master's degree in Library Science. Candidates should have a minimum of two years professional library experience and a demonstrated successful professional work experience.

The location for the 2009-10 Leadership Institute will be the Central Brevard Public Library, 308 Forrest Avenue, Cocoa, FL. 32922.

Seeking Members for Ad-Hoc Committee

NEFLIN is seeking members for an Ad-Hoc Awards Committee. This committee will meet virtually as needed in the next 30 days.

The committee's charge is to establish criteria for a new "NEFLIN Innovation Award" that was recently created. Also, to review the criteria for the other award NEFLIN offers, the NEFLIN Library Champion Award.

Interested members can e-mail Brad (brad@neflin.org).

Staff Development Interest Group - ONLINE

Libraries need a plan for the future. Are you interested in developing or have you already developed a need-based and outcome-oriented training and development program that responds to the changing needs of your library and has measurable outcomes? The University of Florida, Smathers Libraries will be implementing such a program and would value an open discussion.

Share your experience, bring your questions and join a discussion on how to implement a directed and measurable training program. The Interest Group discussion topics may include how to:

• Assess library-wide training and organizational development needs
• Develop and implement strategies for delivering training and development program
• Measure outcomes of training and development programs
• Facilitate improvements to the training and development programs based on the measured outcomes

Facilitator: Bonnie Smith, Personnel Services and Employee Development Coordinator, University of Florida – Smathers Libraries

ONLINE via NEFLIN Web Conferencing
Register to receive access information

New Vendor Discount

NEFLIN has made arrangements for a new vendor discount with some products from Cengage (Gale). More on the discount program, or just dive into the specifics.

------------------------------

Vendor: Cengage Gale

THORNDIKE PRESS® LARGE PRINT BOOKS
Thorndike Press, part of Gale/Cengage Learning, is the World’s Largest Publisher of Large Print Books. We offer over 1,200 individual titles a year to choose from, at a 20% discount, and shipping is FREE!

KENNEBEC LARGE PRINT (softcover)
Kennebec Large Print offers 4 softcover Standing Orders at a 40% discount and shipping is FREE! But if a Standing Order is not for you, any of the Kennebec Large Print titles can be purchased individually at a 20% discount with FREE shipping.

FIVE STAR PUBLISHING
Our Five Star (standard print) original fiction titles bring you even more title selection for your patrons, also at 20% and FREE shipping on individual titles! And all our Five Star Standing Orders are offered at a 25% discount, and shipping is always FREE.

Please contact Sherry Cookson get the proper promo code before ordering.

Click HERE for more details (Word document format)

Contact:
Phone: 1-800-223-1244, ext. 4 or 1048
Fax: 1-800-558-4676
E-mail: sherry.cookson@cengage.com

Video Workshop coming to NEFLIN

Mary Brown and Mary Weatherholt of the Union County Public Library have worked up a very informative presentation on using video for a variety of things around the library.

They presented last week at the FLA conference and will be doing a longer session at NEFLIN this September. Here is some info from Mary Brown.

--------------------------

Last week FLA held a very successful conference and now we are all getting back to catching up at our own individual libraries. Congrats to all those who helped make FLA 2009 one of the best conferences ever!

As promised to those who attended the workshop, "Hey! I Saw You On That Library Video!" here is the URL for the slideshow presentation:

http://www.slideshare.net/Maryn7a/hey-i-saw-you-on-that-library-video

Remember, we hope to hear from you soon about additional ways that you are planning to use videos in your own libraries. For those of you who did not attend the workshop, or would like to see it again w/more added features, Mary Weatherholt and I will be presenting this workshop at NEFLIN on Sept 23. (Watch their Fall schedule for details!)

The workshop really was a lot of fun and all of you who participated by attending and sending videos made it work! If you have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you!

Demonstrating Value: Live Online Class

Register today

Libraries are under pressure to demonstrate their value to the communities they serve. Funding agencies and governing bodies that make investments in libraries wish to know how their resources are being spent, and what impact, benefits, and quality of service the libraries are providing to their communities. Common questions include:

• For every dollar invested in the library, what does the community get in return?
• How, and in what ways, do patrons benefit from reading online or print material?
• Does the library need to continue to fund print collections in the same amount or can more resources be diverted to online material?
• How do users rate the quality of the services they receive from the library?

Librarians, however, are often unfamiliar with the best methods and strategies for collecting, analyzing and communicating this information. This live online class meets over three days and provides practical solutions for resource-effective evaluation practices. Attendees will gain an understanding of:

• Different approaches for evaluating the library’s impact
• How to choose an evaluation approach suited to their needs and those of funding or community agencies
• How to develop and implement an evaluation plan
• Strategies for analyzing evaluation data
• How to interpret results
• How to effectively communicate the results of evaluation

Virtual Trainer: David Greenebaum, Solinet

NEW DATES: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, June 9-10-11
Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 noon

This is a 3 day Live Online class. You must attend all days.
FREE for NEFLIN members. This program is available to NEFLIN members only.
You will be emailed access information.

Register today

Hurricane Season

Hurricane season begins June 1. Good time to catch up on what is being done at FSU to help libraries prepare and respond to a hurricane.

-----------------------------

Florida’s individual public libraries provide a range of useful hurricane and disaster preparation and recovery services to their communities but their individual efforts are often isolated and unavailable to the rest of the library community. There has been no systematic effort to identify the roles, best practices, activities, tools and resources developed by local public libraries for their communities and to make them available to the larger library profession.

All public library managers could help their communities respond better if they had the benefit of some portion of their fellow library managers’ disaster experience. This project will reduce the state’s overall risk by raising the capacity of all the state’s public libraries to meet the challenges posed by these catastrophes. Project website http://www.ii.fsu.edu/hurricanes/

Libraries as Learning Organizations

"Libraries as Learning Organizations", a free webinar on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 from 2:00pm - 3:30pm EST.

Co-sponsored by WebJunction and CLENERT

Register online: http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventsignup.asp?ID=1592

Can’t watch it live? Watch the archive at http://www.webjunction.org/events/webinars/webinar-archives

What makes a library a learning organization? What does it take to build an organization-wide commitment to team and individual learning? Why make the effort, especially in these economic times?

Panelists representing libraries at different mileposts on the road to becoming learning organizations are finding their own answers to these questions and will share challenges, strategies, and successes about the four Bs of the journey:

• BENEFITS of a learning culture
  
• BUILDING the environment
• BEING a learning champion
• BEYOND to sustainability

Hear about ways to use technology appropriately to enable faster, more personalized learning and to institutionalize knowledge sharing. Because most learning occurs on the job, at the point of need, you will discover ways to create a positive performance environment.

Even if your library is not yet moving in this direction, you will take away ideas that you can use immediately to implement learning solutions individually and organizationally.

Panelists: Sandra Smith, Training and Development Manager, Denver Public Library; Michele Leininger, Information Experience Director, and Elizabeth Laukea, Learning Manager, Pierce County Library; Julia Lanham, Human Resources, Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

NEFLIN Technology Conference 2009

Registration for the NEFLIN Technology Conference 2009 is now open.

Highlights:

Round Table Discussions

Concurrent Session #1

Designing the Digital Experience with David Lee King, Digital Branch & Services Manager, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library

Making Technology Green with Maria Gebhardt, Libraries Manager, Broward County Public Library

Concurrent Session #2

Creativity and Open Source with Karen Schneider, Community Librarian, Equinox Software

Computer Security with Mickey Boyd, MRBCNC

Lunch
Keynote with Stephen Abram: Innovation in Libraries: Now More Than Ever

Concurrent Session #3

Tinkering in the Techie Toybox: Staying on Top of Consumer Technology with David Lee King

Public Access Computers with Mickey Boyd

Go Home. Brain Full.

Date: Friday, June 19
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location: Embassy Suites Baymeadows, Jacksonville
Cost: NEFLIN members: Free; Nonmembers: $100

Registration is first come, first serve.

Young Adult Interest Group @ NEFLIN: Best Books Survey

The Young Adult Interest Group meets for informal discussions on topics of interest to library staff that serve teens and tweens.

This month the discussion will include finding non-fiction books for teen readers, and working as a team to develop local book awards.

Facilitator: Diane Colson, Alachua County Library District
Date: Tuesday, June 9
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 noon

Location: NEFLIN in Orange Park

Cost: Free for NEFLIN members, $25 for nonmembers

FLA Conference Recap

Some rambling thoughts after returning from the Florida Library Association conference last week.

Best of conference: Danny Hales receiving the FLA Lifetime Achievement Award. Woo hoo!

Worst: No wireless Internet in the hotel rooms or conference center (those who stayed at the conference hotel had free wireless but were huddled about in the lobby). A hotel within walking distance had rates as low as $29 per night with free wireless, and probably free breakfast too. ::sheesh::

Award Winner: St. Johns County Public Library won the "Best Website Award" See why.

Panel that kicked other panel's behinds: Leadership Institute alumni; Laura Brenkus, Harold George, Jason Martin and David Woolard, provided a great session at the FLA Conference on their experiences and research regarding the Leadership Institute. Check out their presentations.

Slide Show on Resilency

Technology Playground

Best Keynoter: Richard Madaus. Thought provoking, as usual.

Best Reception: The Leadership Institute had a reception for current and past participants. Good food, folks, and fun.

A positive mood was definitely a part of this conference. There was obvious relief over state funding for public libraries being restored at the 11th hour. Beyond that there was a good deal of optimism that I encountered in the sessions, exhibit hall, or anytime I spoke with other attendees.

Bottom Line: One of the best FLA conferences in recent memory.

Gaming in Libraries: Online with Lori Reed

Are you looking for ways to reach and engage more customers? Gaming programs can be as simple as a few board games or elaborate as a cross library Super Smash Brothers Tournament. Providing a great return on investment, gaming programs attract library users of all ages and can be implemented with minimal start up costs. Whether you are a gaming pro or novice please join us and contribute to the discussion.

For a primer on gaming in libraries, read the MaintainIT Project Cookbook Chapter from the Planning for Success Cookbook. http://maintainitproject.org/cookbook-3/innovation/gaming-in-libraries

Virtual Trainer: Lori Reed, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County

Thursday, June 4, 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Free for all NEFLIN members

Register to receive access information.

Upcoming Online Event

Nassau County Public Library will be hosting part two of a discussion with author Louis Bayard in NEFLIN's
web conferencing room.

Join us on Tuesday, May 26 at 6:00pm, especially if you have been thinking about having this type of event for your community. (Read more about
NEFLIN's free web conferencing service for its members.)

----------------------------------
Join us to hear Professor Chris Twiggs moderate the concluding discussion of the One Book, One Community selection, The "Black Tower" with author, Louis Bayard, on May 26 at 6:00pm. The program is free of charge.

Blog Holiday this Week

Patty and I will be in Orlando for the annual Florida Library Association conference. No blog posts this week. We will return next Monday, May 11th.

NEFLIN Technology Conference

We're pleased to announce such a great program for this event. I will let you read all about it here.

What to expect? Great speakers, fantastic venue, good food, no cost to NEFLIN members, and a good time will be had by all. See you on June 19!