We've Got Gertrude

The Director’s Chair video contest was open to Florida high school students to create a 30-second video promoting Ask-a-Librarian for a chance to win some great prizes.

Contest winners have been announced and NEFLIN congratulates Director Jake from from Fernandina Beach High School in Nassau County who received third place and a Zen V Plus Digital Audio Player Jukebox for the video We've Got Gertrude.

Two Things for you Library Admin Types

Thing 1.
If your library currently participates in the FLIN interlibrary loan network you need to update your membership by signing a new agreement. Here is the letter and agreement form sent to you by the State Librarian. The deadline for sending in the signed agreement is February 29, 2008. I would be glad to field questions on this at 904-278-5620 or via e-mail.

Thing 2.
The Suncom phone system used by State of Florida Agencies and many affiliated organizations within the state, like NEFLIN, is undergoing a major change. Suncom numbers will no longer function as of April 1, 2008.

You can still call NEFLIN at 904-278-5620, but not at NEFLIN's Suncom number of 894-5620. All calls for those institutions using Suncom as their phone provider will require 10 digit dialing. You can direct questions about this to the Florida Department of Management Services Helpdesk at 1-850-487-1746.

YouTube for training

NEFLIN's Techies got together today for their quarterly meeting. They were joined by members of the Staff Development Interest Group and spent much of the meeting discussing options for providing staff and patron training through various online medium. Lots of discussion about how to put up training via YouTube and then how to get county IT folks to link to YouTube. All this in an effort to create a stronger grant for NEFLIN.

Jae Bass of St. Johns County Public Library posted a recap to their wiki, which I edited a bit (Thanks Jae!).These meetings are open to any NEFLIN member and are incredibly interesting. All things technology are fair game for discussion and someone in the group is bound to have an answer for you. Monitor the group's Wiki for information about their next meeting.

NEFLIN Technology Interest Group Wiki (password = neflin)

New Movie focuses on Public Libraries

Emilio Estevez is beginning work on his new film The Public. It takes place in a public library and focuses on "the issue of libraries becoming de facto shelters for the homeless".

Read the details at the Hollywood Reporter website.

Developing a Disaster Response Plan for ILL Services

Heather Campbell of the Jacksonville Public Library has agreed to share all her fantastic materials from her presentation at the Florida Resource Sharing Conference held this past December.

First off is her Powerpoint Presentation on "Developing a Disaster Response Plan for ILL Services". Then a Word document with supporting materials.

Thanks again, Heather!

Blog Post of the Month!

The votes are in and the winner for Best Blog Post for the month of January is...The Union County Public Library Groundbreaking!

Each month we will highlight one post on the NEFLIN Blog as the "post of the month" in case you may have missed something especially noteworthy.


January 24, 2008.

A new member library is being built! Stephanie and I had the pleasure of attending yesterday's ground breaking ceremony for a new library in Union County.

Being an amateur photographer (meaning I am both untrained and unskilled) I took a bunch of photos. I posted them on NEFLIN's Flickr page.

We also had an opportunity to meet Mr. Wayne Smith, Chairman, Union County Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Smith received NEFLIN's Library Champion Award for 2007 in recognition of his work in getting this new building project underway.

Congratulations to Mary Brown and the staff on Union County Public who will get to be in their new library in 2009!

Self-Check Systems

The February 2008 issue of Computers in Libraries is devoted to the subject of Self-Check Systems. (This was recommended to me yesterday by a member who is "living the life of riley".)

Worth a look if you are in the market for a system. Here is the Table of Contents. One article is available to read for free.

Especially good is the article beginning on page 29 that lists all the vendors who provide self-check systems and detailed information about their pricing, product specs, etc.

Office 2007 - WebJunction Course of the Month

Special price for February, Office 2007 course for $10!

Having trouble untying "the Ribbon"? The new Office package is changing the old interface with new features on an interface now known as the Ribbon. How do you find the commands you already know? What new commands are available in Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Access? Take a look at the changes in Office 2007 and learn how to make the most of them.

This series is for anyone who wants to be able to locate both old and new commands in the Microsoft Office 2007 applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook.

Features:

• Flash and audio provide animated, interactive Lesson Introductions, Activities, and Simulations. audio accompanies each lesson page throughout the course.
• Activities allow learners to apply course concepts in an interactive questioning environment.
• Exercises allow learners to practice in the actual application being studied.
• Simulations teach learners to perform specific tasks in applications through guided, multi-step exercises.
• Find-A-Word allows learners to look up an unfamiliar term in the Glossary, on the Web, or in a dictionary. In addition, it lets them find other occurrences of the term in the same course.
• Search text enables learners to rapidly search all text within a course to easily retrieve information required.
• Courses challenge the learner with a variety of question formats, including multi-step simulations, true/false, multiple choice, and fill-in-the-blank.
• A skill assessment generates a customized learning path based on the results of a pre-test.
• A glossary provides a reference for definitions of unfamiliar terms.
• Bookmarking tracks a learner's progress in a course.

Registration in WebJunction is FREE to all library staff.

For February this Office 2007 course is discounted at $10—less than half price.

Don't have time to take the course? Contact Patty to request Quick Reference Guides. Watch the NEFLIN workshop schedule for Office 2007 training from New Horizons.

"Creating Effective Search Strategies" class offered again in March

A second "Creating Effective Search Strategies" class has been added to the Winter schedule after last week's class filled up with a waiting list.

Sometimes searching databases can be quite frustrating, you know the information is there but just can't find it. Come join us and learn about:

• Identifying appropriate search terms
• Combining search terms appropriately
• Boolean or logical operators
• Truncation and Wildcards
• Proximity Operators
• Limiting a search
• Field searching
• Troubleshooting failed searches

Participants will have an opportunity to practice what they learn about creating search strategies in the Florida Electronic Library databases and a variety of Internet search engines.

Trainer: Stephanie Race, NEFLIN

Register today!

Looking for online E-Government Resources?

Michelle Howard, E-Government Librarian at Pasco County Public Library System, shares their

• E-Government Blog
• as well as a 10-page PDF E-Government Quick Links
• and bookmarks at their del.icio.us site

A Report released by the Information Use Management and Policy Institute, College of Information at Florida State University, identifies issues and proposes strategies for enhanced roles of public libraries in the provision of E-Government.

The Information Institute has established http://www.libraryegov.org/ to increase access to E-Government information and resources for public librarians. It includes an explanation of what E-Government means and has links for local, state and federal resources.

NEFLIN Members on 2008 FLYP Planning Committee

Planning your FLYP programs for next summer and getting great ideas from the 2008 FLYP Manual? You can thank these NEFLIN members who were part of the 2008 Planning Committee and manual contributors:

• Nancy Young, Children’s Services Coordinator for the Marion County Public Library System
• Beverly Schulz, Youth Services and Outreach Coordinator for the Columbia County Public Library
• Anne Snyder, Children’s Librarian for the St. Johns County Public Library System
• Marcia Divack, Public Services Librarian III for the Marion County Public Library System
• Diane H. Johnson, Children’s Librarian for the Nassau County Public Library System

Library Conferences - CLENE Program Previews

I returned from the ALA Midwinter Conference in Philadelphia recently where I attended Board meetings for the Continuing Library Education Network and Exchange Roundtable (CLENE). The following CLENE programs at the PLA and ALA Midwinter conferences are planned.

PLA Conference, March 25-29 in Minneapolis
What a Day: Effective Staff Development Days: PLA Talk Table Friday, March 28, 8:30 - 9:45 am. Facilitators: Stacy Schrank, Metropolitan LIbrary System, Oklahoma City, OK and Pat Carterette, Cleveland-Heights-University Heights Public LIbrary, Cleveland Heights, OH

ALA Annual Conference, June 26 - July 2 in Anaheim

Preconference: Competencies For Your Staff: From Implementation to Integration
Friday, June 27, 8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Preconference: Implementing a Staff Development Plan
Friday, June 27, 1:00 - 5:00 pm

Preconference Costs: Single tickets: CLENERT Member $110, ALA Member $130, Non-Member $180
Register for both pre-conferences and save: CLENERT Member $198, ALA Member $234, Non-Member $324

Training Showcase: Best Practices for Continuing Library Education
Sunday, June 29, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
The training showcase is a poster session type of program celebrating innovative continuing education, staff development, training initiatives and programs in all types of libraries across the country. Come meet this unique group of trainers, staff development coordinators, and librarians who are sharing the exceptional staff learning opportunities they developed.
Interested in being a presenter at the Training Showcase? Click here for more information.

How to Develop a Mentoring Program
Date and time TBA

All About Library Graduate School workshops held at NEFLIN

Over 30 participants attended two NEFLIN workshops in Gainesville and Orange Park this week that gave information and answered questions about the librarian graduate degree programs at Florida State University and the University of South Florida.

Christie Koontz of FSU (pictured) and Andrea LaRochelle of USF presented the workshops. Students Alice Brown of FSU and Traci Ragas of USF joined them in Gainesville and FSU alumni Harold George (pictured) spoke in Orange Park to give testimonials about their experiences in the Masters Degree programs.

If you're thinking about attending graduate school to become an Information Professional, Librarian or Certified Media Specialist, watch for these workshops to be offered again in July.

NEFLIN Members Want Free Stuff

Many thanks to the 511 NEFLIN members who completed our recent survey. Our goal was to receive input from the membership about possible grant funded projects for 2008-09 and boy did you all come through!

Based on feedback from you, some of the ideas we'll submit to the State Library for possible inclusion in our LSTA grant include e-government support, Florida Electronic Library training (face-to-face and online), technology conference in Jacksonville, expansion of the equipment loan program, and training for special populations.

We're pleased to tell you that we immediately made two additions to the equipment loan program based on your 'wish list' responses. Two overhead projectors and a tradeshow display board are now available for members to borrow. Some of the items we'll be requesting funds for include gaming equipment, digital video camera, a document camera, student response system, and a portable barcode scanner for inventory purposes. We would love to learn how you would make use of this equipment to better serve your patrons. Please send your idea to stephanie@neflin.org.

Library Leadership and LE@D: a free webinar

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
2:00 - 3:00pm
Register online at WebJunction

Join the WebJunction February Learning Webinar featuring Pat Wagner, well-known educator, trainer, writer and consultant for the library community. Pat will discuss what challenges Library Leaders face and how leadership training for all library personnel might help address these issues. She will also discuss why she has partnered with LEAD, Lifelong Education @ Desktop, whose classes are available through WebJunction, as the primary online source for her library programs. Pat will provide a sneak peek at the content of some of the courses she's writing for LE@D, and will also be available for questions and feedback during and after the program.

Free National Library of Medicine Classes in Gainesville

Spring brings new growth and the University of Florida Health Science Center Library in Gaineville invites interested library staff to attend free National Library of Medicine classes in March.

On March 10-12 you can grow in your knowledge of several National Library of Medicine (NLM) databases. Trainers from the National Training Center and Clearinghouse (NTCC) will offer the following classes—free!

PubMed on Monday, March 10 from 8:30am – 4pm
Toxnet on Tuesday, March 11 from 9am – 4pm
NLM Gateway & Clinical Trials on Wednesday, March 12 from 8:30am - noon

Medical Library Association Continuing Education credit is available for all 3 classes.

Please register for the classes no later than February 8.

Questions? Please contact Nancy Schaefer (352.273.8417) at Health Science Center Libraries

Union County Breaks Ground for New Public Library Building

A new member library is being built! Stephanie and I had the pleasure of attending yesterday's ground breaking ceremony for a new library in Union County.

Being an amateur photographer (meaning I am both untrained and unskilled) I took a bunch of photos. I posted them on NEFLIN's Flickr page.

We also had an opportunity to meet Mr. Wayne Smith, Chairman, Union County Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Smith received NEFLIN's Library Champion Award for 2007 in recognition of his work in getting this new building project underway.

Congratulations to Mary Brown and the staff on Union County Public who will get to be in their new library in 2009!

New Technology Available for the Deaf

The Jacksonville Public Library has installed videophones for deaf people at all the library branches. According to a spokeswoman for Sorenson Communications in Utah, it appears to be the first time an entire library system has deployed the technology.

Full article from the Florida Times-Union newspaper

Videophones use cameras so deaf people can communicate in sign language. The process is much faster than using teletype machines and because sign language carries different meaning based on how a person gestures, it is also more accurate.

Contact Stacie Bucher for more information.

Florida Library Jobs Introduces A New Service

The following announcement from the folks behind the "Florida Library Jobs" service:
---------------------------

Florida Library Jobs has introduced a new service to assist libraries in recruiting staff. As many library positions do not require a graduate degree from an ALA-accredited program, Florida Library Jobs has created a new Web site designed to recruit qualified staff from other fields. The new site is called 'Jobs in Florida Libraries' and is now available.

Library employers who use the Florida Library Jobs site to post their job positions have the convenience of using the same administrative login to post jobs to both sites. Job openings are automatically sent to one of the respective sites by simply indicating on the online job posting form whether or not a degree from an ALA-approved graduate program is required. All jobs that require a degree from an ALA-approved graduate program will be automatically sent to the original Florida Library Jobs site. Jobs that do not require this degree will be automatically sent to the new 'Jobs in Florida Libraries' site.

Both sites contain links to the other so that users may easily review jobs in either category. The new 'Jobs in Florida Libraries' site contains introductory material to better introduce persons from other fields to the idea of working in a Florida library. We hope that this new service will be an asset in recruiting staff for your library.

New Barcode Labels for Courier Service

The latest news on the new barcode labels from TBLC.
------------------

"As many of you are aware, this month we began implementing a new barcode label system for Florida's Statewide Delivery System. This enhancement to Delivery is essential for better tracking, more accurate statistics and vendor accountability for lost or late items.

Starting on Jan. 28, 2008, we need all libraries to begin using the new barcode labels. At this time, the vendor will only be scanning at libraries in the Fort Myers area, but needs all bags to have barcodes in order to work out all the kinks before implementing scanning statewide. This testing stage is a crucial next step in fully implementing our new system at all Delivery locations, and we appreciate your participation.

Please be aware of these very important items:

1. Starting Jan. 28, you must replace all of your current labels with the new barcode labels, which you can print from here. As of Jan. 28, our drivers will not pick up any bags from your library that do not have the new barcode label.

2. The new barcode labels cannot be photocopied. Feel free to print as many in advance as you would like, but never photocopy them. Duplicating a barcode will throw off our tracking system.

3. Print out an electronic signature barcode (found here) and place it with or attach it to your statistical forms. When scanning begins in your region, the driver will scan the electronic signature each time he visits your library.

4. Do not include “courteous return labels” with your items. Barcode labels must be printed by the originating library.

For additional information, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page found here: www.tblc.org/delivery/faqs.

If our beta testing stage is successful, we will start scanning the barcodes at all of our other Delivery locations as soon as possible. In the meantime, we appreciate your hard work as we implement this new labeling system and welcome questions and feedback that can help us improve the new system.

We will keep you up-to-date as the implementation continues.

Feel free to email deliver@tblc.org or call (800) 622-8252 with any questions or comments."

Eight Complete Management 101 Training at NEFLIN

Eight attendees have completed all five components of the Management 101 series held at NEFLIN and presented by Solinet trainers.

Beginning in May 2007 and concluding January 15, 2008, the series included classes on Administration, Leadership, Resource Allocation, Human Resources and Implementation Issues. The following attendees completed all classes and were awarded special certificates of completion:

Stella Brown, Putnam County Public Library
Katrina Evans, Columbia County Public Library
Lana Helm, Clay County Public Library
Lynn Jacobsen, Jacksonville Public Library
Robert Perone, Bradford County Public Library
Mikki Sampo, St. Johns County Public Library
Anne Snyder, St. Johns County Public Library
Sarah Thogode, Clay County Public Library

Congratulations to all!

Digital TV Transition

On February 17, 2009 the US will complete its Digital TV transition, and the era of analog broadcasting will be over. This means that many patrons will be filing into the library over the next year looking for answers on how the DTV transition will impact them.

ALA has put together some really good information for library staff on this issue. It includes posters, fact sheets, fliers, powerpoint slides - lots of really useful information.

The FCC will also hold a workshop at the end of January on how the transition will impact those in rural areas. The workshop is taking place in DC, but has a live webcast.

And if you're like me and still use rabbit ears to get your free tv, you can get a $40 coupon for a converter box.

Program Available for 2008 FLA Conference

The Conference Program is now available on the FLA website, along with registration and hotel information. It's a packed agenda with a lot of great programs - give it a look!

The Florida Library Association Conference will be held April 22 - 25, 2008 at the Tradewinds Resort in St. Petersburg.

(Two posts today about conferences being held in St. Pete. Must be the new South Beach. Who knew?!?)

Upcoming SLA Conference in St. Petersburg

The Surreal Landscape ~
Information Professionals Mastering the Challenges of Time & Space (SARC IV) February 27-29, 2008, St. Petersburg, FL

The Florida and Caribbean Chapter, SLA welcomes you to Florida in February! The Surreal Landscape, kicks off Wednesday, February 27, 2008 with an opening reception held on the patio outside our meeting rooms at the Carillon Park Hilton in scenic St. Petersburg, Florida.

Sessions begin Thursday morning with Stephen Abram, SLA's President, giving the opening keynote address and continuing with Graham Farmelo bringing us the Friday keynote address. Sessions will tackle and discuss the challenges facing information professionals in the 21st Century. Join us on Thursday evening, to continue our surreal discussion with a tour of the Salvador Dali Museum.

Visit the Conference website for program, registration, hotel, and vendor information.

Great Recipes for Successful Public Computing

Congrats to Michael Fettes of Alachua County District Library in Gainesville. His 'recipe' for a smart and easy laptop checkout plan is in the MaintainIT cookbook.

And to Sherry Millington of Suwannee River Regional Library System in Live Oak who decentralized their knowledge base and shared the technical know-how of her department and eliminated some of her driving time.

MaintainIT offers a great place to share how your library keeps public computers running. Some of the other interesting ideas I've seen -

• Wireless Policy Checklist
• Making the most of Technical Volunteers - includes ideas on recruiting, supervising, training
• Using your Transporter to Complete Scheduled Maintenance