New NEFLIN Fall Schedule Announced

The Fall Schedule is up - check it out HERE. Highlights include:

Face to face classes include Sherry Norfolk, David Lee King, Faye Roberts and Deborah Fritz:

• Job Success @ the Library
• Youth Services Interest Group: Holiday Programs and Crafts
• Leadership Interest Group: Lessons from the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute
• Collection Development: The New Balancing Act
• Get Off Your Book! Book Talk Skills
• Volunteers Make the Difference
• Building Blocks to Literacy
• Before the Skills: Motivating Readers
• Audacity: Digital Audio Tricks
• GIMP: Digital Image Tricks
• Google Analytics
• Managing Co-Workers and Difficult Customers
• Green Libraries: How You Can Implement Sustainable Practices at Your Library
• Book Blitz I
• Library Tour: Library Partnership Neighborhood Resource Center, Gainesville
• If It's Worth Teaching It's Worth Finding Out If They Learned It! Assessment Basics for Library Instruction
• Windows Vista
• Emerging Trends, 2.0 and Libraries
• Change is Good!

Virtual Training includes:

• Core Competencies
• Digital Collections: Where to Begin?
• Advocacy Series: The Media; and Public Officials
• Continuing Quality Library Services in Times of Staff Reduction
• Serving Seniors with Panache
• How E-Learning and Distance Education Can Really Help You and Your Library
• Marketing Your Library Reference Service
• Library Technologies Interest Group: Secrets of an Award Winning Website
• 20 Questions: Genealogy Basics
• Efficient Email Series: Ways to Manage Your Email That Save Time and Headaches; and Sending the Right Message
• WebJunction: An Introduction

See Everything HERE.

NEFLIN's new Strategic Plan

I'm pleased to be able to unveil NEFLIN's new Strategic Plan. It took about a year from the start of the planning process to having the final document arrive in our office.

This plans covers the next three years and provides a vision, mission and direction for the organization. There is plenty more to the plan that doesn't make its way into the final document. We have a number of goals, objectives and new strategic directions that will keep us busy.

I appreciate the time everyone took if you participated in a focus group, filled out a survey, or took some time to chat with a Planning Committee member on the phone. For those attending the Annual Meeting two weeks hence, you will learn more about the plan and some new services that NEFLIN is considering.

Recipes from NEFLIN CE Committee

Recently the NEFLIN Continuing Education Committee had a potluck lunch as part of their August meeting at the Union County Public LIbrary. Here are two wonderful recipes shared by committee members.

From Amber Waters, Suwannee River Regional Library System:

Taco Salad

1 lb. ground hamburger or turkey meat

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 15 oz. can black beans (drained)

1 15 oz. can corn (drained)

1 bag tortilla chips

½ onion chopped

12 oz. bag shredded cheddar cheese

16 oz. jar salsa

Cook hamburger meat and onion together. Drain.

Mix taco seasoning, corn and black beans in the meat. Add the amount of water it says on the back of the taco seasoning package.

Cook until meat mixture is thick

In a bowl: Layer tortilla chips, meat mixture, cheese and salsa. Repeat.

Optional: Add layers of refried beans, tomatoes and shredded lettuce

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From Betsy Ann Harris, Sidney Lanier School, Alachua County School District:

Chocolate Cherry Cake

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 21-oz. can cherry pie filling

1 6-oz. pkg. (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well. Stir in cherry pie filling, semi-sweet morsels, and nuts. Pour into a greased and floured 9 cup bundt pan or 10" tube pan. Bake at 350 for one hour. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely. Sprinkle top with confectioners sugar, if desired.

This cake is very easy to make and always tasty and moist. If you keep a can of cherry pie filling and a bag of chocolate chips on hand, you can always whip this up on short notice. Enjoy!

Lyrasis and OCLC

Dear Lyrasis Member,

On July 1, 2009, OCLC announced that technical support for its products will be provided directly through the OCLC’s Support Center. In our continuing effort to keep you informed, I would like to take a few moments to update you on this development and what it means for Lyrasis members.

Lyrasis staff continues to support our members who have OCLC products with training, consultation, advice, and product administration including ordering, billing, and renewals. This includes updating member libraries on OCLC products and issues, advising on product enhancements, providing price quotes, ordering products and other purchasing assistance, and training across the range of OCLC services. Lyrasis also provides account management and fiscal services, including your My Lyrasis deposit account. In addition, Lyrasis staff acts as your advocate for OCLC product development and policies.

Please click here for an FAQ with answers to questions you may have regarding these changes to OCLC’s business model. For assistance with OCLC or any other product or service you receive through Lyrasis, please contact the Lyrasis Support Center at 800.999.8558 and 800.233.3401.

In addition to OCLC products, Lyrasis is your one-stop source for a full range of programs and services designed to not only meet but also anticipate your changing needs. As you know, expansion and diversification of programs was a primary objective in the creation of Lyrasis. We are excited about recent additions to Lyrasis’ digital services and new training courses. Look for information about these and our other about programs and services at our web site www.lyrasis.org.

This is a time of great change and challenge for libraries and the organizations who serve them. It is also a time of great opportunity to expand services to meet evolving needs and to build on the impressive legacy of library cooperation. Lyrasis looks forward to continuing to work together to shape our future.

Please feel free to contact me at any time about these or any other topics.

All the best,

Kate Nevins
Chief Executive Officer
Lyrasis

Virtual Bookplates

From the August FLA News Digest.

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University of Florida Libraries Now Using Virtual Bookplates

A team of three technical services librarians at the University of Florida has created and implemented a system of virtual bookplates to recognize gifts and endowments. The virtual (a.k.a. digital) bookplates include colored images and text honoring the donations and are linked within their online OPAC, making them readily visible to donors and development staff. The idea was featured on the Libology Blog.

Steve Carrico, Jason Fleming, and Betsy Simpson have created a presentation on Slideshare (14 slides) providing an overview of their process. You can see an example of an item with a Virtual Bookplate from the UF Libraries, which utilizes an 856 MARC field link to the virtual bookplate. A search box on their Donor web page gives donors (and others) an easy way to locate the donated items. Click here to see the virtual bookplate for a sample item.

Get the Smartest Card

A nice promo for National Library Card Sign-Up Month at the St. Johns County Public Library.

Also, check out their link to 52 uses for this card.

Mystery Book webinar

A webinar a little off the beaten path. Thanks to Stephanie for posting this on FL-Lib.

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Mystery Book Buzz: A Free Webinar

Wednesday, August 26, 2009, from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Eastern

Register here

(Note: If this time doesn’t fit your schedule, you can find this and other programs in the Library Journal archive at http://www.libraryjournal.com/webcasts.)

Mystery fiction is high on the list of public library patrons—and the genre is as broad as it is deep. While detective fiction may be the most popular form of mystery fiction, there are dozens of other variations that keep these avid readers returning to the library again and again, including thrillers, cozies, romantic suspense, and good old police procedurals.

A well-known readers’ advisory consultant, Joyce Saricks, has written that “mysteries tend to be in-depth examinations of human nature, probing the why almost as frequently as the who and how. They are also morality plays, and justice, or the restoration of order, is at the heart of the solution in Mysteries. When ‘legal justice’ is not an option, investigators take the law into their own hands. As they do in most genre fiction, readers expect the good guys to win and the bad guys to be punished.”

Library foot traffic is up all around the country and so is circulation. Help your library patrons escape momentarily from the stress and anxiety of the current economic situation by filling the library shelves with the latest titles from their favorite mystery writers!

Join the 60-minute Mystery Book Buzz webcast sponsored by four leading publishers who will introduce the best of their Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 titles, as well as important midlist and back-in-print titles.

Featured Panelists:

· HarperCollins Publishers, Virginia Stanley, Director of Library Marketing

· Houghton Mifflin, Katrina Kruse, Marketing Manager

· Poisoned Pen Press, Barbara G. Peters, Senior Editor

· Severn House, Edwin Burkhalter, Chairman

Moderator: Wilda Williams, Fiction Editor, Library Journal

Seeking Mentors for Leadership Institute

Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute mentors work one-on-one with their mentees to identify their professional development goals; provide guidance on the design, implementation, and evaluation of a library leadership project; and master the Institute’s leadership competencies.

If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please submit a letter of interest that includes the following:

1) Contact information – name, title, organization, telephone number, e-mail address

2) Brief outline of your area of expertise based on the Institute’s competencies

3) Reason(s) you would like to mentor a Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute participant

We recommend that your letter be no longer than two pages. The letter will be available for program participants to review. It should provide basic information to help them decide whether they would like to explore the opportunity of forming a mentoring relationship with you based on their professional development needs.

Please submit your letter of interest to Jill Canono at jbcanono@dos.state.fl.us by August 28.

For additional information, please feel free to contact Dr. Canono by e-mail or telephone at 850.245.6648.

Need Ideas for New MLL Titles

We are looking to add some new titles to NEFLIN's
Multimedia Lending Library (MLL).

The MLL is a collection of DVD, video, and CD-Roms that are available for loan to NEFLIN members. The collection covers a wide range of topics from business principles to library skills, from technology to customer service.

If you have a new title, or titles, to recommend please contact Patty.

Time Traveling Librarian

Opening in movie theaters today is the Time Traveler's Wife.

(From the book) "This is the story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap."

I haven't read the book, but I don't believe I'm the target audience. The movie is not getting much love from the critics, but that shouldn't spoil your fun if you are a fan of the book. If you see the movie leave us a comment and let us know what you thought.

NEFLIN Virtual Training in September

Library Mashups: Exploring New Ways to Deliver Library Data

Nicole C. Engard, editor of "Library Mashups: Exploring New Ways to Deliver Library Data", will explain what mashups are, how they can be used and share examples from libraries around the world. Attendees will learn what tools to use to mash up library data with content from the web to reach more patrons. Examples include using maps to enhance library data, using Flickr for digital collections and creating library websites with data from several information sources.
Monday, September 14, 10:00 - 11:30 AM


Advocacy Live Online Series
Libraries play an essential role in the community. We know this, but it is now more important than ever to have effective library advocates to share this message in the community. Register for one or all of these LIVE ONLINE courses. Virtual Trainer: Jenny Liberatore, Lyrasis

ADVOCACY #2: COMMUNITY Tuesday, September 22, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Work with your community to start building an advocacy network. This session offers ideas for informing others about library programs, upcoming events and required resources, and will help you find the support available in your community.

ADVOCACY #3: THE MEDIA Tuesday, October 20, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
You must possess certain skills and tools to successfully use the media to promote your library and shape public opinion about libraries. This session teaches what media attention can and cannot do for your library.

ADVOCACY #4: PUBLIC OFFICIALS Tuesday, November 17, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Learn how to attract your public officials' attention. This session discusses how to pinpoint your officials’ priorities, shape the message you want to communicate, and draw officials into your library to raise the visibility of your resources.

To register for these or all NEFLIN events, see http://www.neflin.org/registration.php

Annual Meeting Registration Opens

The NEFLIN Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, September 10 at the Embassy Suites hotel in Jacksonville.

General Registration is now open for both members and non-members. First come, first serve.

We have a great day of fun and learning planned, including Keynote Speaker Andrew Huse, Concurrent Sessions and Cooking Demonstrations.

Find out What's Cooking at NEFLIN!

New NEFLIN Members!

I am pleased to report that two new members have joined NEFLIN. The University of Florida Health Science Center Libraries in Gainesville, and the Borland Medical Library in Jacksonville. Look for their staff to begin attending many of our training classes and other events.

Just for fun...click here and open the UF Health Sci website. Now click the Menu link. I must have done this a dozen times. What a cool way to keep the content of the main page, but have a defacto sitemap appear.

E-Gov Webinar

Just finished up watching a webinar E-Government Tips, Tools and Best Practices. The State Library of Florida put this on with presenter Nancy Fredericks from Pasco County Public Library. The slides are available here, and you can request the full presentation/recording from the State Library.

Some other sites that were mentioned:
Orange County E-Gov Site (Wow!)
Pasco County E-Gov Site (Also, Wow!)

Program Description: Many government agencies are closing offices and offering services exclusively online. Because libraries provide public access computers and offer assistance to patrons seeking information, many citizens naturally turn to the library for help when accessing government information such as food stamps, unemployment compensation, and social security. However, these increasing demands burden already short-staffed libraries that are reducing their services due to budget constraints. In this workshop, library staff will learn how libraries can successfully assist citizens in accessing the government services they need.

JPL's Library Awareness Campaign

Got my new JPL library card recently. The look is nice, and a free keychain version too. Unfortunately, I had my library card number memorized for many years and now I get to learn a new one. Change is tough ::sigh::

JPL is doing a Library Awareness Campaign right now with radio, TV and billboards. The TV spot is worth watching for its visual appeal.

Online Conference next week

OPAL, NEFLIN's Web Conferencing provider, is hosting a series of free webinars next week. It is their first conference of sorts called OPALescence.

I put the blurb from the closing keynote below. It will be interesting to hear what Andrew has to say about OCLC's move into the LMS arena.

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Has your travel budget dried up? Still want that conference experience of fresh ideas, lively conversations, and networking with colleagues? Participate in OPALescence, a free online conference for everyone. Fantastic, nationally known speakers with interesting and informative presentations as well as "unconference" discussions spread over two days.

OPALescence 2009 is two online conferences in one...a "traditional" conference with scheduled speakers, and an unconference with facilitators where you can discuss whatever topic interests you.

Registration

Schedule of Events

August 14, 4 p.m. EST

Closing Keynote: Networking Library Services: A Glimpse at the Future--Moving Library Management Services to Web-Scale

Speaker: Andrew Pace



In April, OCLC announced a strategy to create the first Web-scale, cooperative library management service, extending WorldCat Local to include delivery and circulation, print and electronic acquisitions, and license management.

This highly scalable service will allow libraries to preserve the core functionality they require to manage their collections while also creating a platform on which they can better manage and evolve library workflows. Moreover, the service-oriented architecture will allow libraries to interoperate more easily with other local business process systems.

Andrew Pace will give a summary of the effort, highlighting key milestones for the project and the opportunities for positive change in libraries.

NEFLIN Continuing Education Committee seeks new members

Do you have ideas for training or professional development that you would like to see available to NEFLIN members? NEFLIN is looking for several creative and dependable individuals who would like to contribute to the ongoing development of its Continuing Education program by serving on the Continuing Education Committee. The CE Committee is made up of library staff from NEFLIN members from public, academic, special and school libraries.

The committee meets every other month. Your responsibility would be to attend meetings, give suggestions and input, make recommendations to and work closely with the CE Coordinator, and help promote NEFLIN's training and support services mission. This responsibility is articulated in the "CE Committee Charge" shown below. Your commitment would be for a two year term beginning October 1.

If you are interested, please send a brief statement to Patricia Morris, CE Coordinator, explaining your reasons for wanting to be on the committee. Deadline is Friday, August 21.

NEFLIN CE Committee Charge:

The NEFLIN Continuing Education Committee will work in an advisory capacity with the Continuing Education Coordinator to develop a training program to meet the needs of member libraries.

The CE Committee will be actively involved in the direction of continuing education options such as workshops, webcasts, teleconference, online training, and content for the Multimedia Lending Library.

In addition to generating ideas and feedback essential to a thriving CE program, the Committee will promote these resources to enhance the professional knowledge of fellow members.

Library Tour: Union County Public Library

Union County was pleased to finally open the doors to its new public library facility in July (see our blog post here). In the small rural city of Lake Butler, the library staff and its community have held numerous fundraisers and worked diligently toward seeing the library building project reach its ultimate conclusion. Come tour the new 9,000 sq ft facility with us.

Host: Mary C. Brown, Union County Library Director

Date: Thursday, August 20
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: Union County Public Library, 250 SE 5th Avenue, Lake Butler, FL

Register at: http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?5S,M3,77912f18-1e54-4324-a1e6-98110c521a4b

Sunshine Library Card

The folks down at our sister cooperative, SEFLIN, have a new program. A free direct borrowing service between a municipal library, county public library system, state university, community college, and school district. Using their Sunshine Library Card.

Sunshine Library Card works at five library systems.

Leadership Graduation

It was my pleasure to be able to attend the SSLLI Graduation event at the State Library in Tallahassee last Friday. The fifth year of the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute had thirty-seven graduates from all over the state of Florida.

NEFLIN manages SSLLI for the State Library and we are truly proud of the 200 graduates over these past five years that are making an impact on the community they serve. The sixth year of the Institute will be starting in October (no rest for the weary).

I have included a few photos below, including one of program director, Jill Canono and myself. (Thanks to photographer, Stephanie Race)

New and Improved LCA

The NEFLIN Board has changed the eligibility criteria for the NEFLIN Library Champion Award.

This award is now for any individual who has demonstrated exceptional support for a NEFLIN library. (This is a change from the previous eligibility of recognizing only elected or appointed government officials.)

Nominations may be made by any staff member in a NEFLIN library.

The deadline for nominations is August 28, 2009.

Nomination Form