The Season of New Life

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Beth Goble

Spring is the season of new life.   At my house  I have baby bunnies munching on my columbines,  baby birds sitting on the feeder begging to be fed by their parents , baby dandelions sprouting,  and a fresh new crop of mosquitos trying to get  their first meal from ME.    New arrivals in the human world are not limited to spring,  but the abundance of youngsters of all species  this month led me to search on the word “baby” in Nebraska Memories   to   find out what would be revealed.   People love babies and love taking their pictures,  so it was not a surprise to find  nearly  90 images.  Many of them are studio portraits.

Rudolph NuttelmanI confess to being guilty of taking a few “nearly naked” baby pictures of my own children, although not at a studio.   Young Rudolph Nuttelman of Rising City, clad only in his diaper,  is at ease and smiling in this 1906 photo from the Boston Studio  Project.   I am always amazed by the clarity of scanned images from glass plate negatives and can count each one of his toes.   Perhaps a parent was standing behind the photographer doing something silly to make him smile.

Agnes BirkelThis portrait of Agnes Birkel, age 21 months when the photo was taken in 1908, is also from the Boston Studio Project.   She and the puppy beside her are an adorable pair.   Agnes is looking at someone who is making her smile, but the puppy looks rather sleepy to me.   I hope they enjoyed growing up together!

Babies can be hard to get to sleep,  but singing to them helps.     Croonings of the Winds  is a collection of 12 “slumber songs”  in the  Polley Music Library  collection.   This verse from Summer Lullaby by Eudora S. Bumstead really evokes a  Nebraska summer evening.

Croonings of the WindsThe sun has gone from the shining skies,  Bye  baby, bye 
The dandelions have closed their eyes, Bye baby, bye
And  stars are lighting their lamps to see
If babe and birdy and squir’l all three
Are sound asleep as they ought to be
Bye, baby, bye

 

Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

Posted in General, Information Resources, Nebraska Memories, Technology | Leave a comment

The Tech Rodeo is Coming Up July 26

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Laura Johnson

All Nebraska librarians are invited to join us at the Tech Rodeo, Thursday, July 26 midday, through Saturday, July 28 midday, for  some learning through doing.  We’ll bulldog those security steers, rope that screencapture software, and ride the networks!  A Website giving more detail is available at:  http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/rodeo/.  Registration is open on the NLC Library Calendar at:  http://nlc.nebraska.gov/calendar/calendar.asp?Month2Show=7/1/2012.  The numbers of participants is limited, so register soon!

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NCompass Live: Meet the Sony Reader WiFi – Recorded Online Session

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Michael Sauers

In this week’s episode Susan Knisely, the Commission’s Online Services Librarian, will be giving a live demonstration of the Sony Reader WiFi, the only eInk-based device with built-in access to your library’s OverDrive content. Susan will be covering all of its major features and will happily answer any questions you may have about this device.

Download audio (MP3)
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Video (YouTube)
Links (Delicious)
For more information, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

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Join the Nebraska CatExpress Group

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Christa Burns

If your library needs basic copy cataloging and MARC record delivery for up to 7,000 titles per year, OCLC CatExpress may be right for you. CatExpress provides web-based copy cataloging, with limited editing capabilities, at a low, flat-fee subscription price. And, when you join the Nebraska Group, you will receive discounted pricing on your CatExpress Subscription.

Even if you have little or no cataloging experience, you’ll be amazed at how simple it is to use CatExpress with minimal training. And since it’s a Web-based product, there is no special software to install or maintain.

CatExpress accesses records in WorldCat, the OCLC Online Catalog, which contains over 270 million bibliographic records. By accessing WorldCat through CatExpress, you have available to you records for all formats, including sound recordings (spoken and music), videos, electronic resources, journals, maps, and microforms. You can achieve hit rates of over 98 percent for English-language materials – all through an easy-to-use Web interface. You also may expand your resource sharing capabilities by adding your own holdings information to bibliographic records.

With CatExpress, you have…

• Full search capabilities in WorldCat

• The ability to set or delete holdings in WorldCat

• Delivery of OCLC-MARC records for you to load into your local system

• Affordable, predictable pricing options for all sizes of libraries

To learn more about CatExpress, to see the discounted Group pricing, and to join the Nebraska CatExpress Group, go to the NLC’s CatExpress webpage.

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Register Now for Special Library Webinar on ATTRACTING YOUTH HOME

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Mary Jo Ryan

ATTRACTING YOUTH HOME TO RURAL NEBRASKA

May 24, 2012—Noon to 1:00 p.m. CT

Craig Schroeder, Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

Many Nebraska community leaders are concerned about youth out-migration and would like to know what can be done to address it effectively. The exodus of young people has indeed had a significant impact on our rural communities for many years. However, recent research by the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, documents that a sea change is underway, with over half of rural Nebraska youth indicating that they would prefer to live in their hometowns in the future if there are career and business opportunities available. Unfortunately, three-quarters of rural Nebraska youth surveyed also indicate that no one has asked for their input on how to make their hometown a more attractive option to stay or come back to.

On May 24, Craig Schroeder with the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship will broadcast a free one-hour webinar available to Nebraska libraries and community leaders seeking to involve youth in ways that will encourage them stay or return home in the future.

In this session, Craig will address three key topics that are vital to attracting youth:

  • Creating local career and business opportunities for young people.
  • Involving youth in decision-making and community service.
  • Making community investments in youth and their enterprises.

Craig will also announce an exciting new youth project, utilizing local library resources, to help young people develop a richer appreciation of their community’s heritage, and thereby deepen their ownership and pride in their hometowns.

This webinar is being supported by the Nebraska Library Commission under the Library Broadband Builds Nebraska Communities initiative. Please feel free to invite a local community economic development group or youth group to view it with you in the library or outside the library.  

To register for this free webinar, see: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventoeidk=a07e5v9lcta039e16b5&llr=opyrgedab  

This Webinar will be offered using  Adobe connect Webinar software. For library staff that would like to test their connection using this software, Craig will run a library webinar test two times on Monday, May 21, 2012–at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Central.

This is  the web link for both tests:  http://heartlandcenter.adobeconnect.com/pawnee/

This Webinar test link will create offer test PowerPoint slides and will test the audio connect using VOIP (the Internet connection). Libraries will need to have speakers connected to their computers to hear the VOIP audio. They will be able to interact during the webinar by typing into chat boxes when prompted for feedback. Please feel free to contact Mary Jo Ryan, 402-471-3434 questions.

NOTE TO  libraries involved with the Library Broadband Builds Nebraska Communities project—please be sure to report these training hours on your monthly reports.

 

Posted in Education & Training, General, Youth Services | Leave a comment

What’s Sally Reading?

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Sally Snyder

Pottermore Now Open for All!

If you have Harry Potter fans, or are one yourself (like me) you are now able to sign up and explore J. K. Rowling’s site: Pottermore.  I have only just begun to look through the site.  It says there are new writings by J.K. Rowling that can only be found on the site, so I definitely want to take a look at those.  You are also supposed to look for hidden items that will be useful as you go along.  This looks like a fun way to revisit the books and learn more about how Rowling set up Harry’s world and events.

Not too long ago I read Toys Come Home by Emily Jenkins.  A prequel to the first book, Toys Go Out, this title tells how StingRay first came to the house, and her efforts to fit in.  Readers will also learn, among other things, how Lumphy joined the family and how Sheep lost her ear.  Endearing tale of toys learning to care for each other.  The wonderful illustrations by Paul O. Zelinsky add life to the characters.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

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New Book Club Kits added for Young Readers

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Lisa Kelly

Two new book club kits for young readers have been added to our collection. I asked Sally Snyder to write a bit about the two titles. Please use this request form if you’d like to borrow either of these kits or any others from our collection.

Out of My Mind – 4 copies

Melody has a sharp brain in a body with cerebral palsy.  She is frustrated with learning the alphabet over and over when she has a photographic memory (or nearly so).  Since she cannot talk, the neighbor, Mrs. V., first rigs up a word and alphabet board on her wheelchair.  Finally Melody is sent to “inclusion classes” where children from room H-5 experience life in a real classroom for certain subjects.  Melody loves this chance to learn.  But it isn’t until she gets her best “gizmo” ever that she really has a chance to become a part of the class.

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had – 4 copies

Dit (turns 13 during the book) is disappointed that the new postmaster has a daughter instead of a son.  It is 1917 and Dit was looking forward to a summer of fishing and baseball with a new friend.  Emma is a girl, and she is black.  As the summer progresses, they begin a friendship, but there are those in town who think a white boy should not spend time with a black girl.  Civil rights have yet to arrive in the U.S. especially in the South.  Over the summer and into the school year, trouble is brewing.  A wonderful book about coming of age and finding the courage to do what is right, even if it is hard.

 

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Information Resources | 1 Comment

New Books Added to the Library Commission Collection

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Cathy Hatterman

The following books have been added to the collection–please contact the Information Services Team if you’d like to check out any of these titles. Thanks.

Spans in Time: A History of Nebraska Bridges, edited by James E. Potter, L. Robert Puschendorf (third title down on linked page.)

Teaching the Works of Willa Cather, ed. by Steven B. Shively & Virgil Albertini

Railroad 1869; Along the Historic Union Pacific, by Eugene Arundel Miller

Nebraska Quilts & Quiltmakers, edited by Patricia Cox Crews & Ronald C. Naugle

Law & Order in Buffalo Bill’s Country; Legal Culture & Community of the Great Plains, 1867-1910, by Mark R. Ellis

These Nebraska themed titles have been added and will be in the Library of Congress collection.

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Rod Wagner 2012-2013 ALTAFF Vice-president/President-elect

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Mary Jo Ryan

PHILADELPHIA — Rod Wagner, director of the Nebraska Library Commission, has been elected 2012-2013 vice president/president-elect of the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

Wagner has served as secretary/treasurer for ALTAFF and was also on the board of Friends of Libraries U.S.A.(FOLUSA). He has also served on ALA Council and on the board of the Association of Specialized & Cooperative Library Agencies. He served as president of the Nebraska Library Association, on the board of the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, as president of the Western Council of State Libraries and as president of the Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska. He has worked for the Nebraska Library Commission since 1972. He earned an MA in library science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

“My commitment to ALTAFF will continue to be promoting ALTAFF’s assets and directing them toward ALTAFF’s essential mission — supporting citizens who govern, promote, advocate and fundraise for all types of libraries,” Wagner said. “ALTAFF has a great track record in presenting excellent educational programs, providing a rich array of helpful information resources and advocating on behalf of America’s libraries. Building on ALTAFF’s strengths will result in better informed, capable and active library supporters, all devoted to a greater purpose of supplying the kind and quality of library services beneficial to library customers everywhere.”

Two additional ALTAFF board positions were filled during the 2012 election. Diane Sarantakos was elected to the position of trustee at large. Sarantakos is the director of development for the Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma City, Okla. She has served on ALTAFF Annual Conference Committee, the ALTAFF Public Library Association (PLA) Conference Planning Committee and the ALTAFF Trustee Ethics Policy Task Force.

Deborah Doyle was elected to the position of foundation at large. Doyle is interim executive director of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. She has served on the ALTAFF Newsletter and Website Committee. She is the National Library Legislative Day coordinator for the state of California and has also been active in PLA and the Library Leadership & Management Association. She earned an MLIS from San Jose State University.

ALTAFF is a division of the American Library Association that supports citizens who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries. ALTAFF brings together library Trustees, advocates, Friends, and Foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/altaff, or contact Jillian Kalonick at (312) 280-2161 or jkalonick@ala.org.

Posted in General, Library Management, Public Relations | 1 Comment

New Government Publications Received at the Library Commission

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Jennifer Wrampe

Click here to see a list of publications received 03/23/12 – 04/23/12.

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Rest in Peace, Maurice Sendak

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Sally Snyder

Maurice Sendak died Tuesday, May 08, 2012, of complications from a stroke.  His accomplishments in children’s literature are numerous.  As the article in the May 8, 2012 New York Times  noted, he “wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche,” changing the world of the picture book forever.

He received the Caldecott Medal in 1964 for Where the Wild Things Are.  The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) presented him with the 1970 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration.  The ALSC division of ALA presented him with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in 1983.  As noted on the web page “The Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.”

He has one more book to be published; it will come out next February, titled My Brother’s Book.

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Youth Services | Leave a comment

Capturing Online Videos – Recorded Live Session

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Michael Sauers

Jana Maresh, of the Assistive Technology Partnership, walked the Nebraska State Webmasters group through her procedure to Capture Online Videos. The discussion had lots of interaction from the audience and we talked about the rules & regulations, when to capture, capturing services, and Time-coded transcripts.

Download audio (MP3)
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Friday Video: Creating Inspiring Services: Going Boldly Into the Present

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Michael Sauers

Video streaming by Ustream

CIL2012 Keynote: Creating Inspiring Services: Going Boldly Into the Present
Michael Peter Edson, Director of Web & New Media Strategy, Office of the CIO, Smithsonian Institution

Digital strategy has changed, but has your library gotten the message? Ten years ago, digital strategy was mostly about peering far over the horizon to predict a hazy, distant future. But the future we saw then—a world of cheap ubiquitous technology, crowdsourcing, social networks, the cloud, and powerful mobile computing—has become the reality of the present. In this inspiring presentation, Michael Edson, the Smithsonian Institution’s Director of Web and New Media Strategy, will talk about how libraries of all types can adjust their planning and perspective to benefit—not from better vision of the future—but from a better understanding of what can be accomplished today.

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What’s Sally Reading?

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Sally Snyder

Teen Novel Readers Belong to AARP?

I recently read a brief article in the February/March issue of AARP: The Magazine.  The “What’s New” section had a piece called “50 Going on 15” and the author talks about how young adult titles are being read by people from “ages 17 to 70.”  (And younger than that, too.)  My own observation is that movies also are more and more often being made from young adult titles.  Maybe the next display in your adult fiction area should highlight some teen books.  Your adult readers may be surprised at how good they are!

The picture book Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Little Dog Named Baltic by Mônica Carnesi is described by Booklist as a “dramatized version of a true story.”  Children will certainly be worried about the dog and what may happen to him.  Off the coast of Poland, in the Baltic Sea, people noticed a little dog trapped on the broken ice.  He had traveled 75 miles down the river on the ice and people tried to reach him, but couldn’t.  A ship came to the rescue and soon adopted him.  A good lesson about the dangers of ice gently told in with a happy ending.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Youth Services | Leave a comment

Winter 2012 State Publications List Available

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Bonnie Henzel

For those wanting to add records to their catalogs for Nebraska state documents, the Winter 2012 list of Nebraska E-Docs is now available at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/govDocs/ShippingLists/edocsalerts.aspx.

Posted in What's Up Doc / Govdocs | Leave a comment

Scholarships available to attend the 2012 ARSL Annual Conference

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Christa Burns

The Association for Rural & Small Libraries is now accepting applications for three scholarships to attend the 2012 ARSL Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, to be held September 27-29, 2012. 

The Dr. Bernard Vavrek Scholarship will go to a current LIS student. It includes conference registration, hotel, $500 stipend and a free one-year membership in ARSL.

The Founders Scholarship and the Ken Davenport scholarship will go to a current library professional. They include conference registration, hotel, a $500 stipend and a free one-year membership in ARSL. The definition of a “Library Professional” is a library staff member working in a small and/or rural library. A degree or certification is not required.

Candidates do not need to be members of ARSL; however membership is encouraged.

Visit the ARSL Scholarship webpage for more information and the scholarship application.

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Spotlight on Keep It Simple;

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Cathy Hatterman

Keep It Simple; a Guide to Assistive Technologies, by Ravonne A. Green and Vera Blair, Z711.92.H3 G74 2011. 

“Among computer users, about 25 percent have been reported as having difficulty with vision, 24 percent have mobility impairments, and 29 percent of computer users have problems with hearing. “ from Keep It Simple, p. 4. Most of them are unaware of the free assistive technologies built right into the Microsoft software in the library computer that they are using. Keep It Simple  will show you how to find and use that and other free software assistive technology (AT) to help patrons use computers, maybe even your catalogues.

First the authors convince you, and give you facts and figures useful for making a case for turning over computers to AT or writing  a grant for extra computers. They also bring you up to date about the technology available for libraries. But what impressed me most, was that there was so much freeware already built into Microsoft that could be used right now. Here are some examples of other freeware:  Emacspeak which speaks aloud specific printed information, such as a date. FATBITS is a screen magnifier for Windows XP free for downloading which enlarges the screen area abound the pointer. There’s WordTalk, which is a free text-to-speech software for use with Word 97 and later. Free Cursor enlarges the cursor.  SUITEKeys 1.0 for Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, and 2000/XP is a speech recognition system to operate a Windows environment computer, for hands free operation. And then there’s hardware. Scanners can be turned into reading machines with the right software (p.24.)

It might be easy to let the amount of information overwhelm, but there is enough at the basic, free level, to make access to everyday computers for seeing and hearing challenged patrons more accessable.

Please email me, Cathy, with any topics you’d like to see in a blog.

Please contact the Information Services Team if you’d like to check out this  title. Thanks.

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NCompass Live: Digital Resources of the National Library of Medicine – Recorded Online Session

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Michael Sauers

This session focusing on National Library of Medicine Digital Resources, will be presented by Marty Magee, Education & Nebraska Liaison, National Network/Libraries of Medicine. It will include such resources as Turning the Pages, and History of Medicine Resources, tutorials and much more!

Download audio (MP3)
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Video (YouTube)
Presentation Slides (SlideShare)
Links (Delicious)
For more information, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

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Overdrive Releases “Big Data” Report

Posted on May 1, 2012 by John Felton

At the London Book Fair, April 16-18, Overdrive released its first “Big Data” report – a snapshot of their March ebook traffic. In that one month, the 5 million visitors to their digital catalog viewed 146 million pages during 12.6 million visits. On average, the many Overdrive-hosted ebook catalogs experienced more than 408,000 visits each day.

Almost 60% of readers browsed ebook collections instead of searching for a specific title. The most popular genres: romance, then mysteries, historical fiction, and science fiction/fantasy. Read more about the report in a Library Journal Digital Shift article at http://bit.ly/IXCE6e.

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Nebraska Learns 2.0: Free Play & The Shallows

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Michael Sauers

Nebraska Learns 2.0 is the Nebraska Library Commission’s ongoing online learning program. It is a self-discovery program which encourages participants to take control of their own learning and to utilize their lifelong learning skills through exploration and PLAY.

Each month, we offer you an opportunity to learn a new Thing (or lesson). You have all month to complete that Thing and receive one CE credit. You may choose which Things to do based on personal interest and time availability If the Thing of the month doesn’t interest you or if you are particularly busy that month, you can skip it.

* The Thing for May is: Free Play
Pick a technology tool that you already use but we haven’t covered in the previous 54 Things. I’m sure you’re using a mobile app or online tool that we at least haven’t already discussed. Better yet, I’m sure some of you are using tools that we’ve never even heard of.

* The BookThing for May is: “The Shallows” by Nicholas Carr

If you are new to Nebraska Learns 2.0, your first assignment is to sign up to participate at: http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/nelearns/sign-up-2/  This program is open to ALL Nebraska librarians, library staff, library friends, library board members and school media specialists.

We hope you’ll join your library colleagues in the fun as you learn about new and exciting technologies!

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