Koha Open Source ILS Webinar Series

Register for one or all three of these live online webinars on Koha Open Source ILS with Virtual Trainer Nicole C. Engard, Director of Open Source Education at ByWater Solutions.

Attendees should have a basic knowledge of what Koha is, even if you have never used it.

See http://koha-community.org/documentation/other-docs/ for tutorials and videos

Koha Circulation and Patron Management

Tuesday, July 20, 10:00 am - 12:00 noon (Note Date)

In this two-hour live online session attendees will learn how to use the Koha ILS to manage both patrons and circulation. Topics include: adding and editing patrons; searching the catalog via the staff clientand the OPAC; checking books in and out; placing and managing holds; and running circulation reports.

Koha Technical Services Management

Tuesday, August 10, 10:00 am - 12:00 noon

In this two-hour live online session attendees will learn how to Use the Koha ILS to perform technical services actions such as Cataloging and system administration. Topics include: setting general system preferences; managing basic system setup; both copy and original cataloging; and Koha tools.

Koha Advanced Functions

Tuesday, September 7, 10:00 am - 12:00 noon

In this two-hour live online session attendees will learn how to Use the Koha ILS to manage serials, acquisitions and reporting functionality. Topics include: adding vendors and budgets for acquisitions; adding serial subscriptions; placing and managing orders; and advanced reporting options.

Supervisory Skills: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Webinar

Due to the number of registrations, we've added a second showing of the online class "Supervisory Skills: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...Dealing with Difficult Behaviors and the Conflict They Sometimes Cause" for Wednesday, June 30 from 2 - 4 pm.

Webinar Description:

In this session, we will study four of the behaviors we all try to avoid – tanks, snipers, whiners, and grenades. We’ll find out why they do what they do and how we should – or shouldn’t – react to them. How can we communicate with them more effectively? And in case conflict creeps onto the scene, we will learn how to be an example to others, as well as specific tips on how to help others deal with conflict. These topics aren’t what we think of as “fun topics” – but if we handle them well, our workplace will be more fun. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to deal with some of the “negatives” more effectively!

Virtual Trainer: Linda Bruno, Library Consultant

Wednesday, June 30, 2:00 - 4:00 pm on your DESKTOP

Register today at http://bit.ly/9edVrE to get a seat!

• FREE for NEFLIN members.
• You will be emailed access information

Build-A-Bear Grants

Build-A-Bear is accepting grant applications as part of its annual giving program. The Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation provides grants for children in literacy and education programs such as summer reading programs, early childhood education programs, and literacy programs for children with special needs. Grants are a one-time contribution and range from $1,000 to $10,000.

The Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation began accepting literacy and education applications in March, and will accept additional applications on a rolling basis throughout the year.

For more information visit the Build-A-Bear Workshop website.

Source: State Library and Archives of Florida

Library Tour: Flagler College

Join us for a tour of this academic jewel that includes both the Proctor Library and highlights of the distinctive Flagler College campus.

Opened in 1996 and designed to model the architectural elements of the historic campus, the 60,000 square foot library offers both an elegant and aesthetic environment to all users while at the same time providing the latest and most current information services and technology.

Legacy Tours of Flagler College will highlight the architectural heritage of the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, listed as a National Historic Landmark and considered one of the finest examples of Spanish Renaissance architecture. The tour includes the Rotunda where you’ll stare up into an 80-foot domed ceiling supported in part by eight ornately carved oak caryatids, the Dining Hall where 79 of Louis Comfort Tiffany's stained glass windows are displayed, and the Flagler Room, originally the hotel's Grand Parlor, where visitors gaze upon Tiffany Austrian crystal chandeliers, a massive onyx Thomas Edison clock - one of the first ever to be used in a public building - and a historical photo gallery of the Flagler family.

Hosted by Michael Gallen, Library Director

Wednesday, July 14, 1:00 - 3:30 pm

Register here. See registration page for directions and parking information.
Free for all.

Link Love "Overtakes" Blog

Some love before the weekend.

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Facebook Seeks to Overtake the Reference Business

I then followed the link to this section of Facebook...

As a beta tester, your job will be to ask great questions and provide great answers about your favorite topics. Economics? Skydiving? Relationships? Mexican Restaurants? It's up to you. You'll be the first person outside of Facebook to use this product. Your expert writing will be seen by tens of millions of people — including job recruiters. And we'll bring our best beta testers out to California to tour Facebook headquarters and meet the team.

Ready to get started?

Before we can give you exclusive beta access, we'd like you to submit three great sample questions and answers. We're looking for evidence that you can write clearly and authoritatively on familiar subject matter.

Here are some guidelines to follow when submitting your questions and answers:

Choose provocative questions. Write about things you know. Some examples:

• How can I get over my fear of flying?
• What are some fun family activities to do with two small children on the weekend?
• What caused the U.S. stock market to crash in 2009?
• What's the secret to throwing a great housewarming party?
• What are the main differences between Google Chrome and Internet Explorer?
• What are women looking for in a relationship?
• What methods has BP tried to clean up the oil spill?
• What should I do to prepare for the Bar exam?
• How did The Beatles find success?

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Sony says ebooks to overtake print in 5 years. I bet they have an ebook reader on the market.

Shameless NEFLIN workshop plug: Ebooks and the Impact on Library Processes

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Funny Videos Overtake News in Online Viewing. 'Nuff said.

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Nice series of blog posts by Cindi Trainor on Take Pictures and Tell Stories at Your Library.

(Couldn't work in "overtake" here. Sorry.)

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My thoughts are overtaken by the Top Travel Destinations from Trip Advisor. The categories:

• Beach and Sun
  
• Culture & Sightseeing
• Emerging Destinations
• Family
• Food & Wine
• Nightlife
• Outdoor & Adventure
• Relaxation & Spa
• Romance
• Top 25

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Now that Lost and 24 have ended their series runs, what TV show has overtaken them as the number one "Season Pass" on my TiVo? (Both shows that are in the running start with "B"). Stay tuned.

Oral History Interviews for Librarians

Learn the principles of organizing and conducting oral history interviews in your community. Identify interview subjects, develop questions, obtain permissions for use, schedule and conduct interviews, and prepare and make interviews available. The session will discuss recording methods and available editing software.

Trainer: George G. Morgan, Aha! Seminars

Tuesday, June 29, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm at NEFLIN in Orange Park

Register today here. Limited seats available.

Call for Mentors

Have you been thinking about being a mentor? The good news is that you can do so with a participant from the Leadership Institute. You would be working with a motivated, engaged, emerging leader, to pass on the knowledge you have learned in your career. Sign up now!

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The Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute will begin its seventh year in October 2010. One of the nationally recognized components of the Institute is its formal, organized mentoring program. All Institute participants are required to choose a mentor whose primary responsibility over the 10 month duration of the program is to assist the mentee in setting leadership goals and mastering the competencies necessary to achieve them.

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 June 30.

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

FLA Annual Conference in 2011

Don’t miss out next year. The FLA Annual Conference will be May 4-6, 2011 at the Doubletree Hotel at the Entrance to Universal Orlando. Program proposals are due August 24, 2010. The online proposal form is available now on the FLA website.

(Miss the 2010 FLA Conference? Check out the presentations, photos, handouts, etc).

BBB Joins Top Library Blogs

This week the Blah, Blah, Blah Blog was recognized as one of the Top 25 Librarian Blogs. You keep reading...we'll keep writing. Thanks all!

Valuing School Libraries Webinar

Often school media specialists and their libraries are the most vulnerable when school budgets get slashed. What can you do? First, you must be able to measure the value of your library and second, to be able to communicate that value and demonstrate your library's impact on the school and community.

This webinar, developed in New Jersey and using WebJunction "Demonstrating Impact" documents, utilizes the "Valuing Libraries Toolkit". It's a simple method to quickly calculate a library's return on investment and demonstrate its value.

After the webinar, participants will be able to:

• Describe what is valuable to customers, funders and stakeholders
• Execute a seven part strategic process
• Identify and quantify the library's value

Virtual Trainer: Joanne Roukens, Highlands Regional Library Cooperative, Denville, NJ

Monday, July 12, 2:00 - 3:30 pm on your DESKTOP

Register today here

Free for NEFLIN members

See all NEFLIN's Training Events here

NEFLIN's Summer Schedule is HOT!

The NEFLIN Summer Schedule is up! There are lots of virtual and face to face classes to keep you busy, including:

*20 Questions Live Online Series

*Koha Open Source ILS Live Online Series

*Valuing School Libraries: Live Online

*Library Tour: Flagler College

*All About Graduate School: Live Online

*Ebooks and the Impact on Library Processes

*Free Legal Resources

*Handheld Librarian Online Conference

*Bandwidth Management in the Library

*MORE!

See the NEFLIN CE schedule here

Free Library Webinars: June Update

On our sister blog, Library Webinars, we have just put up the monthly list of live webinars.

We have found numerous webinars in June that can assist with your professional development. Here are some randomly selected topics:

• Cataloging More Icky Things
• Christian Fiction Book Buzz
  
• Creating Inviting, Low Cost, Teen Spaces
• Effectively Planned Web-based Presentations
  
• Leaders: Avoid These Fatal Flaws
  
• Re-Tooling Front Line Staff with E-Government Resources
• Successful Event Promotion with Social Media
• YA Classics
  

Check it out!

NEFLIN Library Awards

NEFLIN has two library awards that will be presented at the NEFLIN Annual Meeting on Friday, September 17, 2010. Nominations are now being sought for:

1. Library Champion Award. This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated exceptional support for a NEFLIN library.

2. Innovation Award. This award recognizes an innovative program or service that has demonstrated impact on the community a NEFLIN library serves.

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

The deadline for nominations is June 30, 2010.

Nomination Forms

Training Showcase at ALA Conference - Participate!

If you are attending the ALA Annual Conference in Washington DC and have a cool training program or staff development idea, volunteer to participate in the ALA Learning Round Table Training Showcase.

All it takes is 2 hours on Sunday, June 27, 1:30 – 3:30 to share your training and/or staff development ideas and programs with conference attendees. Participating affords you the opportunity to share information about your program as well as learn about the best practices of other libraries and organizations. There is NO COST to participate! All you do it stand by your table and talk about your cool program with people who stop by. It’s really fun and the Training Showcase is always a popular event at the ALA Conference.

Participant applications can be found here. The deadline is May 31!

The Learning Round Table is a great group - see more information at http://alalearning.org/ or http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/clenert/index.cfm

Quick Reference Guides

Quick Reference Guides for NEFLIN Members Quick Reference Guides are double-sided, full color tip sheets that can be given to staff learning new computer programs, displayed near your public workstations, or given as handouts in your computer classes. There are over 100 guides to choose from including Microsoft, Adobe and Mac programs such as: Excel 2007 Office 2007 Outlook 2007 Photoshop 7 Visio 2007 Windows Vista Appleworks 6 Mac OS X Tiger Word X for Mac Review the full list here, then contact register@neflin.org to request the Quick Reference Guides you want.

Winning the Budget Wars

Will Manley has some interesting observations on libraries and their budget battles.

I've always appreciated Will's wit and common sense approach.

Let a Smile be Your Secret Weapon

Leadership Institute Application Deadline Approaches

The deadline for applications is a postmark date of June 1.

Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute: Year 7

The Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute prepares individuals to lead libraries today and into the future. If you are a dynamic, creative, and achievement oriented individual who is interested in increasing and improving your library leadership knowledge and skills, apply today.

Beginning in 2010, the Institute will be a blended learning experience that includes:

• 3 online classes

• 7 face-to-face faculty-led classes (Ft. Lauderdale or Ocala)

• Online resources including a wiki and webinars

• Self-selected, goal-based mentoring partnerships

• Live and online performance and learning support

Schedule of online and faculty led classes

Applications online at http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/bld/leadership

Applications accepted from March 15, 2010 – June 1, 2010

Notification of Acceptance – August 1, 2010

Introduction to WorldCat Resource Sharing

In this workshop we will introduce you to the basics of using OCLC’s interlibrary loan system (WCRS) to loan and borrow materials.

Topics that will covered during this workshop are:

• Borrower and Lender Basics
• Constant Data Records
• Request Manager
• Custom Holdings
• ILL Policies
• Pricing

You are welcome to bring samples of any forms you use or workflow/processing methods to share.

Trainer: Brad Ward, NEFLIN

Tuesday, June 8, 9:00 am - 12:00 noon at NEFLIN in Orange Park

Register today: http://bit.ly/aFAqCP

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

New Vendors added to Discount Program

NEFLIN has just updated many of the vendor discounts it has negotiated on your behalf.

Plus, eight new vendors have been added, bringing the total to over 50.

Go to www.neflin.org/discounts to view the offers and let us know what other vendors we should contact.

New Vendors:

• eBrary
• Gale Cengage
• Gareth Stevens Publishing
• Optimal Resume
• Relais International ILL
• Rosen Publishing
• R.T. Barbee
• Wolper Subscription Services

Bilingual Storytimes - NEFLIN workshop in Gainesville

Bilingual Storytimes are the new library frontier. In a world where language barriers become smaller every day, they might also be the future. This full day workshop will expose participants to the tools they will need to develop bilingual storytimes, with a focus on Spanish-English storytimes. We will discuss whys and hows of bilingual storytime as well as themes, book and song/activity selection.

Who Should Attend: This program is for staff in libraries that want to start bilingual storytimes, but would like more help in the development phase. Whether you are bilingual or not, you can start a bilingual storytime at your library!

Pre-workshop assignment: Find and bring with you a simple concept book (colors, numbers, shapes, etc.) - IN ENGLISH!

Trainer: Kio Fuller, Storytime Trainer

Tuesday, June 15, Time: 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Location: Alachua County Library District, Millhopper Library, 3145 NW 43rd Street, Gainesville, FL 32606

Register now at: http://bit.ly/9EKI8n

See all NEFLIN training at http://www.neflin.org/registration.php

Mobile Link Love

I hadn't planned it, but the main links this week all regard mobile tech, thus the title of this post.

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OCLC is hosting a free online symposium later this month. The Future is Mobile, Is Your Library Ready? Thursday, May 20, 1:00pm-4:00pm.

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So I'm reading TV Guide this week (Yes, I know TV Guide. 15 million of us still read it weekly, thank you.) And there are a number of "mobile tags" in the issue (see above). I was intrigued.

I did some investigating and learned a little about how these tags work. The diagram below from the wikipedia is a good illustration.

Using your smart phone or Blackberry you can take a picture of a "tag" in a magazine or other print source and the tag is decoded by your phone and then takes you to a website with more information.

Some libraries have already adopted these tags (e.g., QR Codes) in the stacks or catalog. A few examples.

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Google is looking to compete with Amazon and Apple by opening their Google Editions (E-Bookstore) this summer. This would be a separate program from the scanned collection in Google Books.

"The e-books would exist in a 'cloud library', which could be accessed from potentially any device, including laptops, smart phones or e-readers."

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I love genealogists, but now they want my DNA? Just kidding, Arnold. I had no idea that genealogy folks were into this. Check out this program at the Clay County Public Library tomorrow if you are interested in learning more.

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Those who know of my TiVo addiction must realize that May is a wild month with most TV series winding down to their season, or series, finales.

I am going to miss both Lost (6 year run) and 24 (8 year run).

Oh well, I will just have to move on and just enjoy the other quality TV programs and movies that TiVo provides me with each week!

AAL Workshop at NEFLIN

Attention, NEFLIN members!

Space is still available in the full-day Ask a Librarian workshop at NEFLIN on Thursday, May 27th. Join us for a hands-on introduction to virtual reference and the software used on Ask a Librarian, Florida’s virtual reference service.

Following this workshop, you will be able to:

• Understand how to use the Instant Service software.
• Develop a comfort level with providing virtual reference assistance to statewide users.
• Be able to identify the basics of a good virtual reference transaction and how to increase your success in helping your user.
• Understand the collaborative nature of the service and learn about the electronic resources that help you help users.

Previously-trained staff who wish to increase their skill and/or comfort levels on Ask a Librarian are always highly encouraged to attend!

If you have any questions, please email Traci Avet, Virtual Reference Coordinator, at avett@tblc.org.

Register

WebJunction Florida Now Available

The State Library and Archives of Florida is proud to announce WebJunction Florida. This Web site provides Florida library staff access to free, self-paced online courses.

Course topics include:

• Application Software
• Customer Service and Interpersonal Skills
• Library Management
• Library Services
• Networking and Security
• Organizational Management
• Personnel Management
• Technology
• · Web Design and Development

The complete list of courses and details on how to register for this new service can be found at WebJunction Florida. Please note that your registration must be approved before the list of courses becomes visible.

For more information, contact Stephanie Race at 850.245.6630.

Brad Ward elected to ASCLA

Brad Ward, NEFLIN’s Executive Director, has been elected to the Board of Directors of ASCLA, a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

Brad has been active in ASCLA for many years. This is the division of ALA that includes library cooperatives such as NEFLIN. His two year term will begin with the Annual Conference this summer in Washington D.C.

Multimedia Library Updated

New Format makes using NEFLIN's Multimedia Lending Library Easier than Ever
We now have information about each MLL item in Excel. We have added "Topics" so that you can sort the spreadsheet by using a limited number of subject headings. You also have the ability to sort by: Format, Length, and Vendor. A Description of each item is also provided. The spreadsheet is located at http://www.neflin.org/mll
NEFLIN's Multimedia Lending Library (MLL) is a collection of high-quality DVDs, videos, audio CDs, books, and CD-ROMs that are available for two-week loan to NEFLIN members. Just a few of the 240 items available are listed at right. See all titles here then email register@neflin.org to request an item to borrow.	Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library- Early Literacy Training Kit 97 minute DVD Diversity Beyond the Obvious: College of DuPage 120 minute DVD Customer Service in the Library 17 minute DVD Wikis, Podcasts, and Blogs, Oh My! 30 minute DVD I Need a Book: Readers Advisory for Adults 25 minute DVD How to Present a Professional Image 2 VHS tapes