Twelve Magic Phrases for Communicating with Spanish Speaking Patrons

Would you like help reaching out to your Spanish speaking patrons? This workshop will allow you to learn the very basics of communicating with Spanish speaking customers in an interactive, fun yet powerful workshop. You’ll get some basic tools to handle language and cultural barriers, learn and practice words, phrases and short dialogues that will open the door to your Latino patrons. You will also learn basic library vocabulary and phrases that will help you give directions and understand customer questions.

The Twelve Magic Phrases include

greetings

introductions

language

apologies

help

directions

library cards

check out/return

time and schedules

commands

thank you

goodbye

Trainer: Susanna Baumann, LCS Worldwide
Date: Thursday, July 30

Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Location: NEFLIN in Orange Park

Register Now

See all NEFLIN workshops at www.neflin.org

Libraries and Beyond

The theme of the 2009 SEFLIN Regional Conference is New Technologies: Libraries & Beyond. The Conference will be held on July 30, 2009, at the Kovens Conference Center on the Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus, Miami.

· Registration fee is $165 for Non-SEFLIN Members

· Registration includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

The keynote speaker will be Marshall Breeding, Director for Innovative Technologies and Research for the Vanderbilt University Libraries. Conference sessions will cover a wide range of topics including library automation after Web 2.0, using mobile devices to support library services, and social media literacy.

The conference web page includes a description of all programs. It is New Technologies: Libraries & Beyond Web page. The event Conference Registration allows easy online registration and selection of concurrent breakout sessions.

Get Your Geek On

Geek the Library is a community-based public awareness campaign designed to highlight the vital role of public libraries for individuals and communities, and raise awareness about the critical funding issues they face.

The website, which uses ”geek” as a verb, encourages the public to share what they geek, and the answers range from worms to football to schooners and beyond. This public awareness campaign shows that everyone is passionate about something — yep, even worms — and that the library supports them all.

So what do YOU geek?

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I first spied this on the TBLC blog last week.

Here is some info from the Geek campaign website:

"OCLC is partnering with public libraries in parts of Georgia and Iowa to launch and test this community-based public awareness campaign. A small number of additional communities will be added later this year. In early 2010, OCLC will disseminate the awareness campaign materials and messages, along with information from the pilot campaigns, in order to support libraries across the country in their own community awareness efforts."

The Geek campaign hopes to inspire a conversation about our incredible public libraries and their urgent need for increased support. We hope you tell people what you geek, how the public library supports you and your community, and that everyone in your community benefits from the services your local library provides."

Patty to Chair FLA Committee

NEFLIN's own Patty Morris is the new Chair of the FLA C.E. Committee (or Florida Library Association Continuing Education Committee).

Congratulations to Patty for being recognized for her work in continuing education and training. She has lots to do as FLA seeks to expand their C.E. offerings beyond their annual conference.

Cool Timer

I was on a conference call recently and one-third of the folks showed up late. The reason I was on time, my brain remembers everything (NOT!).

I use a software program called Cool Timer. It is a free download that you can run on your computer when you need a timer, alarm clock, or stopwatch. I mainly use the timer feature which does a countdown in the background and then pops up a message when the timer reaches zero. It has saved me many times. Check it out!

NEFLIN Workshops from NNLM

Will Duct Tape Cure My Warts? Examining Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The goal of this class is to increase understanding of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Students will learn the history of CAM and its impact on medical practices. They will learn how CAM is used, how to avoid “bad science” and how to look up evidence of the effectiveness of CAM therapies. Objectives

• Have knowledge of the definition and types of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Have greater knowledge of the history of CAM and it's impact on medical practice
• Have greater understanding of usage of CAM
• Increase confidence in evaluating health websites Increase skills in avoiding “bad science” found on the Internet or in the news
• Become more proficient in searching for evidence of the effectiveness of CAM

Trainer: Dale Prince, National Network of Libraries of Medicine
Date: Monday, July 27
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 noon
Location: Bradford County Public Library, Starke
Register here

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PubMed for the Rest of Us: Searching the Medical Literature for the Non-Expert

Learn how to search MEDLINE using the PubMed interface. This includes:

• Basic searching
• Advanced searching using the Limits Tab and some field searching
• How to obtain full-text journal articles using Loansome Doc (document delivery)
• The Journals Database for locating journal titles
• The Single Citation Matcher form for quick citation matching

Trainer: Dale Prince, National Network of Libraries of Medicine
Date: Monday, July 27
Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Location: Bradford County Public Library, Starke
Register here

See all NEFLIN events at http://www.neflin.org

Anyone can be a Leader

ALA has opened their Emerging Leaders program to non-MLS library staff. Check it out!

Get To Know Google

Update. Thanks to the 23 folks who joined me for the webinar. We had some interaction, some learning, and some fun. Some + Some + Some = A Lot of Some-thing.

This seemed to be a good experience for both trainer and participant. Expect more NEFLIN content in the future.

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Who has used Google this week raise your hand? Okay, everyone can now put down their hand.

I'm going to be doing a free, one-hour webinar for NEFLIN members tomorrow entitled "Get To Know Google". Thursday, June 25, 10:00am - 11:00am.

This is my first foray into teaching a webinar using NEFLIN's web conferencing service. While we have been using this service for a year to provide a number of programs, I look forward to providing our face-to-face workshop content in this environment. Come join me!

Registration and workshop description.

NEFLIN Technology Conference - Photos

NEFLIN's own Jeannie Owens.

When this is the first person who greets you...you know a good day awaits!




I added photos from the Tech Conference to
NEFLIN's Flickr site.

Thanks to Jennifer O'Neill for taking these!

I tried to do a caption when the photo listed just one individual.

CLENE Events at ALA Chicago

Going to ALA in Chicago? The CLENE (Continuing Library Education Network and Exchange) Round Table has a lot of wonderful stuff going on: Programs, Preconferences, a Discussion Group, and more! We hope to see you at one of our programs and, as always, you’re invited to join us at our Board meetings to participate, observe or just drop in to say hello.

PRECONFERENCES on Friday July 10
Both CLENE Preconferences are SOLD OUT!!

AM Preconference: Making it Stick: Designing, Delivering, and Surviving Presentations

PM Preconference: Punch it up with Pictures: Presentations with Visual Power

CONFERENCE PROGRAMS BY DATE

Saturday, July 11

Creating a Culture of Learning in Your Library, 1:30-3:00

How To Develop a Mentoring Program, 3:30-5:30

Sunday, July 12

Training Showcase: Best Practices for Continuing Library Education, 1:30-3:30
Richard Mott of Jacksonville Public Library is a participant in the Training Showcase

Monday, July 13

Staff Development Discussion Group, 1:30-3:00

BOARD MEETINGS (all welcome to attend)
CLENE Board Meeting I, Saturday, July 11, 8:00-12:00
CLENE Board Meeting II, Monday, July 13, 8:00-10:00

See the CLENE Conference Wiki for locations and more information.

NEFLIN Technology Conference

Lots to share from this event on Friday. For now here is a link to the agenda and presentations.

NEFLIN Virtual Training in July

All a Twitter and Tweeting: Introduction to Twitter for Librarians
What can you say about your library in 140 characters or less? What can you ask your colleagues in the same? Twitter is all over the news these days as a tool for kids these days - but it can also be of use in your day-to-day library life. In this one hour lesson, Nicole Engard will review how to use Twitter to find information, keep up with colleagues, share information from conferences and events, and publicize your library.

Virtual Trainer: Nicole Engard, Open Source Evangelist, LibLime
Monday, July 6, 10:00 - 11:00 am
Via NEFLIN Web Conferencing Service

Young Adult Lit 2.0
How are Web 2.0 tools and social networking impacting the way that YA Lit authors, book publishers, and booksellers connect with teen readers? How can we as librarians tap into these resources to connect our teen patrons with their favorite authors, and how can we use these tools to engage in Readers’ Advisory 2.0?

This two hour live online class will introduce you to the Web 2.0 mediums and tools YA lit authors, book publishers, and booksellers are using to market their materials and engage with their teen readers. We will explore how YouTube, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace are bringing YA authors and books right into the personal learning networks of today’s teens. We will also look at how librarians can embed and use these resources to provide Readers’ Advisory 2.0 to their teen patrons! At the end of this class, participants will be able to:

Identify the Web 2.0 tools and channels YA Lit authors, book publishers, and booksellers are using to reach teens.

Explore ways to embed YA Lit 2.0 content into your library blog, wiki, or webpage.

Identify ways to use information portals, such as iGoogle, delicious, or Pageflakes, to aggregate your favorite YA Lit 2.0 resources

Virtual Trainer: Buffy Hamilton, Lyrasis
Tuesday, July 21, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Lyrasis Live Online Class

23 Things Revisited
Over 350 people participated in NEFLIN’s 23 Things project - hear from the participants what their experiences were like. Which things were their favorites? Least favorites? Which things have they found most useful back on the job? Join this online discussion to share your feedback.

Virtual facilitator: Jennifer O’Neill
Thursday, July 23, 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Via NEFLIN Web Conferencing Service

Status Discarded: The Who, What When, Where and How of Weeding
This live online class covers why library collections must be weeded. Collection maintenance is essential and should be reflected in the Collection Development Policy. We’ll discuss weeding criteria and then take a look at the options and workflow. We’ll discuss assignments you can give your volunteers and Friends of the Library to make weeding a positive experience for everyone.

Virtual Trainer: Jennifer Bielewski, Lyrasis
Tuesday, July 28, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Lyrasis Live Online Class

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
These classes are FREE and available to NEFLIN members only.
You will be emailed access information.

See all NEFLIN Continuing Education Events at
www.neflin.org

Open Source - Webinar

Thanks to Stephanie Race at the State Library for passing on the information about this webinar.
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Open Source: “Free” is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST.

There is no charge for this webinar. Registration is not required.

More information and access information is available online.

The link to this program will be available at 2:30 p.m. on June 24, 2009.

• Is your library trying to reduce costs, streamline procedures, and be responsive to increased/new customer expectations – all at the same time?
• Is it time to begin planning to replace your current integrated library system (ILS)?
• Is your current ILS vendor less than responsive to your requests?
• Do you have a “legacy” ILS that is no longer supported with upgrades?

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, then Open Source is something you should know about, and you should put this webinar on your calendar now!

This webinar will help clarify the differences between the proprietary ILS model and the new OSLS model, including what it means for the library staff and budget.

During this presentation, participants will:

• Receive an introduction to the basic concepts of OSLS and learn how it differs from the single vendor model.
• Explore the costs and benefits of moving to an OSLS.
• Examine alternatives to the RFP process when considering a move away from your current ILS.
• Identify and learn about the major OSLS currently available – Koha and Evergreen.
• Analyze what the Open Source license used by Koha and Evergreen (GPL license) means and how the Open Source licensing and development system works.
• Learn what kinds of service providers exist for libraries moving to an OSLS and how to get help evaluating your options, migrating and supporting your new system, as well as hosting and development options.
• Hear about specific libraries that have made the move to an OSLS, how they did it, and how they are doing on their new OSLS.

This free webinar is the first in an Open Source Series sponsored by Infopeople, Califa, and the Open Source Library Consortium. The first two webinars will be presented by Lori Bowen Ayre, and will focus on Open Source Library Systems (OSLS). Subsequent webinars will be delivered by other instructors and will cover Open Source applications including Drupal, Flickr, and Open Office.

Advanced Drupal Class

Drupal: Theming and Content Management

This Drupal Custom workshop will cover populating the site with content and theming it - two of the most common initial tasks for site administrators who have Drupal up-and-running.

The morning training block will be spent learning best practices for adding and editing content, importing content from other sources, and creating new content types (using the Content Construction Kit) to capture richer, more useful data. It will also cover the various ways to discover and display the content, including basic setup of a content's display page, taxonomy pages, and custom content lists (using the Views module).

The afternoon session will focus on what goes into theming a Drupal site; starting with the basic anatomy of a theme and then, depending on where the students' interests lie, will go in-depth into any number of theming topics including overall page layout, theming individual content types, views, blocks, or overriding existing template files and functions.

The Theming and Content Management course is a natural next step in your Drupal development if you joined us for our first NEFLIN workshop in April. If you weren't able to attend that class, then you should have a good working knowledge of what Drupal is, and the basics of adding simple content to a site.

Optional: Bring your laptop with Drupal already installed to follow along and make it hands-on.

Trainers: Mike Anello and Ryan Price, DrupalEasy
Date: Thursday, July 16

Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Location: NEFLIN

Register Today

See all NEFLIN events at http://www.neflin.org/

Twitter Online Class

All a Twitter and Tweeting: Introduction to Twitter for Librarians

What can you say about your library in 140 characters or less? What can you ask your colleagues in the same? Twitter is all over the news these days as a tool for kids these days - but it can also be of use in your day-to-day library life. In this one hour lesson, Nicole Engard will review how to use Twitter to find information, keep up with colleagues, share information from conferences and events, and publicize your library.

Virtual Trainer: Nicole Engard, Open Source Evangelist, LibLime
Date: Monday, July 6
Time: 10:00 - 11:00 am
Location: On your DESKTOP via NEFLIN Web Conferencing

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

FREE for NEFLIN members.
This program is available to NEFLIN members only.
You will be emailed access information.

Register today

http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?5S,M3,5b644ee9-9ebb-48d0-ad8d-7adbfad66bea

See all NEFLIN events at http://www.neflin.org/

Learn to Teach Online

Lori Reed had an interesting post this week about a website that can help you "Learn to Teach Online...for free...at your own pace". These are all good things.

You can check this out, and all other things training at her site Library Trainer.

We have also been lucky to have Lori do some virtual training for NEFLIN. Last quarter she did a session on Gaming. This summer it will be Marketing Library Services Using Web 2.0.

What do your Customers Think?

It seems like a loaded question, but we do need to know what our customers think. To help with this, NEFLIN provides free access to two different survey tools.

1. A 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 for book awards, etc. You create your own survey. Plenty of samples available.
   
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. Survey as many people as you like at no cost to your library.
   

Contact us today to reserve the workstation, or start using our online surveying product.

Database Man

I had been waiting to put together a Link Love post for a while now, but something always comes up. Anyway, I can't hold off on posting the debut of Database Man! Part of
St. Johns County Public Library's salute to National Library Week. If only I looked so good in a cape...

Blurring Boundaries

Submit a proposal, or think about attending, the fall FACRL program in Orlando.

The event is Friday, October 30, 2009 at Rollins College in Winter Park (outside Orlando). The keynote speaker is Erika Linke, current President of ACRL. The title for the program is Blurring Boundaries: The Future of Library Cooperation in the 21st Century.

Wireless in my Car

I was reading the USAToday last night and saw a photo that reflects what I see in person a lot. On the main page of the Money section (above the fold) is a man using his laptop, while sitting in his car, outside a public library...that is closed for the day. The article "Rural Americans Long to be Linked" talks about people still waiting for the digital revolution to arrive.

I see this all the time at my local public library branch. I will be going to the drive-through book drop (which I love) at night and there will be a smattering of cars in the parking lot using the available wi-fi. Just a thought...are we capturing statistics of folks doing this?

Management 101 Series

Management 101 is a series of progressively related classes dealing with key areas of library management. Register for one or all. All classes held at Tower Road Library in Gainesville from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.

Leadership - Friday, June 26 - 3 seats left
What is Leadership? And how is it different from management? This class examines leadership and leadership styles, the uses of power, leadership theory, and real-life applications. It also covers the "politics" of libraries and the importance of good communication skills and customer service.

Resource Allocation - Friday, July 24
One key to effective management is developing a thorough understanding of the resources one has to draw on. This class will cover basics of budgeting and funding streams; understanding, collecting and using statistical information; working with boards, friends, and other partners; marketing and promotions; and keys to basic time management. Each topic will be presented in a broad overview with key issues and questions highlighted. Participants will be given the opportunity to consider the implications of each area in their own library setting.

Human Resources - Friday, August 21
Your staff is your greatest investment. So, how can libraries attract and retain quality staff in the current financial climate? This class will examine best practices in recruitment and hiring, staff development and training, and "growing" and supervising a diverse staff.

Implementation Issues - Friday, September 18
What are the key issues facing libraries today? What makes managing a library different from managing a for-profit business? This final class in the Management 101 series covers a broad range of issues: the impact of technology on libraries, policies and procedures, models for project management, developing teams, censorship and intellectual freedom. Each topic will be presented in a broad overview with key points and considerations highlighted. Participants will be encouraged to discuss the implications of each area in their own library setting.

See all NEFLIN classes at http://www.neflin.org

NEFLIN Technology Conference - New Speakers Added

New Concurrent Speakers for the NEFLIN Technology Conference 2009

Concurrent Session #1

• New Robot-Powered Search, Drupal and the Semantic Web with Mike Anello and Ryan Price, Drupal Easy
• 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

• New Playing Catch-Up with Technology with Christine Peterson, Amigos Library Services
• Creativity and Open Source with Karen Schneider, Community Librarian, Equinox Software
• Computer Security with Mickey Boyd, MRBCNC

Concurrent Session #3

• New You're Saving Your File Where? In the Cloud? with Christine Peterson
• Tinkering in the Techie Toybox: Staying on Top of Consumer Technology with David Lee King
• Public Access Computers with Mickey Boyd

Also, Round Table Discussions - NEFLIN Members will host round table discussions on technology topics including: Promoting Your Library Through YouTube, Bandwith Issues, Creating an E-Branch, 23 Things, Secrets of an Award Winning Library Website, Green Ideas, Terrific Teen Technology Programs and more!

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.

If you have already registered and want to change your
CONCURRENT SESSION CHOICES, email register@neflin.org

Google Wave and E-Books too

It has been search engine week on the blog, mostly because I'm developing a new workshop on search engines. Consequently, expect a few posts in the coming month regarding search engines, especially Google. Google Wave is an interesting place to start. Plus Google is poised to sell e-books and take on Amazon.

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Here's how it works: In Google Wave you create a wave and add people to it. Everyone on your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly. It's concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave. That means Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages as for persistent content — it allows for both collaboration and communication. You can also use "playback" to rewind the wave and see how it evolved.

Bing

Today was scheduled to be the release of Microsoft's new Search Engine, but they did a "soft launch" and it has been available for a few days. See if Bing makes a bang with you, or just stands for "because it's not google".

Supposedly, over $100 million is going into advertising Bing. (As an aside, $100 million would fund NEFLIN for...doing the math, carry the 3, times 47, square root of pi and the answer is ...about 100 years. Okay maybe 90 years with inflation.)

See if this is same old, same old, or maybe it will work its way into the number two spot on your search engine list.

Google's Search Options

It is not the most original idea, but it works. Find things your competitors are doing well and incorporate their ideas into your products. You probably haven't noticed a new Google feature called Search Options. When you do a search and then click the "show options" link at the top left of the results page you get a number of ways to slice and dice your results.

This is one of the reasons I continue to use other search engines like Exelead was this feature was not available on Google. Oh well, there is always Bing to test run this week.