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Monthly Archives: December 2010
What’s Sally Reading?
One Book List is Not Enough!
I mentioned the list by Kirkus Reviews last week. Now I see the New York Public Library has posted a PDF of their top 100 titles for children for 2010. If you are interested in seeing what they recommend this year, visit this site. I see some familiar titles, some titles I want to read, and again some titles I haven’t heard about yet. I guess I’ll have plenty to read for the next few weeks.
I recently read the picture book It’s Christmas, David! by David Shannon. This one is right in line with his earlier title: No, David! All the Christmas things children want to do, but shouldn’t, or accidently do is here with his hilarious illustrations. “No peeking!…No snitching!” “Be patient.” He is told. Oh, it is hard to wait for Christmas. Great fun, and the kids will know just what David is going through! (And their parents will, too!)
(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 to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
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ne211.org
When Nebraskans are seeking essential services such as food, shelter, general assistance, employment and job training services, it can be difficult to keep track of what is available. Fortunately, Nebraska has a service called 211 located at ne211.org or by dialing 211. The service is available 24 hours a day in 154 languages. Librarians can direct customers to this number as a referral when we’re uncertain where to begin so experts can better direct citizens to the most helpful resource.
Posted in General, Information Resources
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Read Nebraska Authors!
We’ve added several new titles to the Book Club Kit Collection that have Nebraska connections. When a Nebraska State Logo is included in an entry, it indicates a Nebraska author and/or setting. After you’ve read Cather and Sandoz, you may wish to consider some newer Nebraska authors like Stephanie Kallos or Alex Kava. Check out our list to consider new titles for your book club group. If you have any questions, please contact the Reference Desk.
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Top 10 Must-Have Federal Government Apps
Need to see the FBI’s Most Wanted List to check out that sinister-looking person in the airport restroom? Find the nearest place to get fuel for your alternative-fuels vehicle? Find the US embassy in Paris because your passport just got stolen? The bloggers at the White House have posted a list of their favorite federal government apps for your mobile phone to help you stay connected to government services.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/11/19/top-10-must-have-government-apps
The list is taken from a much larger list on the USA.gov web site http://apps.usa.gov/
Yes there IS an app for that.
A Clever Title With a Pun Involving the Word Graphic – Recorded Online Session
Join Gordon Wyant, Young Adult Services Librarian at Bellevue Public Library, and Lindsey Tomsu , Teen Coordinator at La Vista Public Library, for a short and mostly accurate history of graphic novels and manga for librarians.
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Google Secrets
Tips and tricks for many of Google’s services as of November 2010. Presented at the Bennett Martin Branch of the Lincoln City Libraries in Lincoln, NE on 18 November 2010.
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Connecting to Collections Webinars Recordings Available
Staff of small to mid-sized museums, libraries and archives, who seek to enhance collections care at their institutions, are the target audience for six free webinars presented this fall. Recordings of the first five and login information for the final December 9th session are accessible at
http://learningtimesevents.org/c2c/
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in partnership with Heritage Preservation and the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), presented the series based on the national initiative Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action.
Using the content of the Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, Forums, and Workshops, these highly interactive webinars connect you with experts and colleagues to discuss issues of common concern. The series has a dual focus: four webinars help you learn how to conduct outreach to the media, the public, and funders on behalf of collections, and two webinars help you derive maximum benefit from the Connecting to Collections Bookshelf.
The Library Commission has the Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, which is available for loan to Nebraska library, museum and archive staff.
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Free copy of “With a Little Help” for libraries and schools
Reposted from Cory Doctorow’s Craphound.com
Get a free copy (libraries, schools)
If you’re a teacher or librarian and you want a free copy of With a Little Help, send an email to givewalh@gmail.com, which is staffed by my awesome donations coordinator, Olga Nunes. Be sure to include your institution’s name, address, phone number, and any notes. Once Olga has vetted your request, your name and institutional address will be posted to the donations page so that potential donors can see it.
If you enjoyed the electronic edition of For the Win and you want to donate something to say thanks, go to this list and find a teacher or librarian you want to support. Buy a copy for them and one will be printed and shipped, and we’ll put a note up next to their listing saying that they’ve gotten a copy, and thank you by name. “If you don’t want to be publicly acknowledged for your generosity, let us know and we’ll keep you anonymous, otherwise we’ll thank you on the donate page.”
I’ve done this with four of my titles now, and gotten more than a thousand books into the hands of readers through your generosity. I am more grateful than words can express for this — one of my readers called it “paying your debts forward with instant gratification.” That’s a heck of a thing, isn’t it?
Posted in Books & Reading, General, Public Relations, Youth Services
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The Basic Skills, they are achangin’
I couldn’t resist the title of this posting, even if it does date me.
By now, you’ve heard that our Basic Skills program is changing. Online technologies have evolved, and costs have increased, and well, it seemed that it was time to offer the Basic Skills classes online. Online delivery means that we can offer greater flexibility to program participants–to have shorter, more focussed classes, and more of them–and to offer you some choices in planning your program, so that it fits with your circumstances and needs. Starting in 2011, there will be 6 requisite learning modules, and 7 electives required to fulfill the Basic Skills requirements. These modules are described in the Basic Skills for Nebraska Librarians Courses. A Schedule of modules offered in 2011 and an FAQ are also available to help answer questions.
Registration for the first 2011 module, Customer Service, starts Monday. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to talk about it.
Posted in Education & Training
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What is Linked Data and What Does It Mean for Libraries? – Recorded Session
It has been predicted that beyond the person-to-person interaction of Web 2.0 will be interaction between data in the Semantic Web. How can libraries be involved in this new world of information exchange? One answer to this question is: by transforming their bibliographic data into Linked Data, which can then be linked to information from other web resources. Attend this session to learn the basic concepts of Linked Data, how data from libraries can be integrated with other data on the Web, and what this could mean for the future of libraries and their catalogs.
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What’s Sally Reading?
Kirkus Reviews posts their “2010 Best Books for Children and Teens!
Interested in what one review source selected as the best books for the year? Just to go this page and choose the children or teens list. It’s always interesting to me what one journal or person chooses compared to what someone else chooses. And there are always a few books I’ve never heard of, how do they get by me? Take a look at the Kirkus list then let us know, via comments, what is your favorite book from 2010. We could end up with a Nebraska librarians “Best of” list!
I recently finished a fun title for grades 2-4: The Chihuahua Chase by A. E. Cannon. Addy (in fourth grade) wonders why Teddy Krebs picks on her so much. But when his Chihuahua, Phantom, disappears, she teams up with him to try to find the dog. Two (or maybe 3) possible candidates for dog-nappers will keep the readers guessing. A good early chapter book choice with frequent illustrations to break up the text.
(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 to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
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Fall Conference Roundup – Recorded Online Session
Each year, the Nebraska Library Commission awards Continuing Education and Training Grants to Nebraska libraries to provide funding for staff to attend conferences and training sessions. Join us to hear two Nebraska librarians talk about their conference experiences. Patricia Sloan, Lincoln City Libraries’ Circulation Librarian, attended the “Back in Circulation Again” Conference, which brought 82 circulation librarians together to discuss common issues and share solutions. Sheila Jacobs, Lincoln City Libraries’ Outreach Supervisor, attended the 3rd annual South Dakota Statewide Volunteer Coordinators Conference held this fall in Sioux Falls. She will share her highlights including Leadership & Management Consultant Margaret Sumption’s keynote address, “Selling Up, Down & Sideways”, and a session that spoke to Generational Diversity.
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Nebraska Learns 2.0: Foursquare
Nebraska Learns 2.0 is the Nebraska Library Commission’s ongoing online learning program. The goal of our program is to encourage participants to experiment with and learn about the new and emerging technologies that are reshaping the way people, society and libraries access information and communicate with each other. Nebraska Learns 2.0 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 December is: Foursquare.
“Foursquare is a mobile application that is a cross between a friend-finder, a social city-guide, and a game that encourages users to explore their neighborhoods and rewards them for doing so. We do this by combining our friend-finder functionality and social city guide elements with game mechanics — our users earn points, win mayorships and unlock badges and specials for trying new places and revisiting old favorites.”
If you are new to Nebraska Learns 2.0, your first assignment is to sign up to participate. 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!
Workshops, Meetings… Webinars – Recorded Session
Budgets are tight, travel is limited. So how can you provide training and host meetings without the usual costs? Holding events online is a great way to continue offering your trainings and meetings. In March 2010, the Paraprofessional Section of NLA hosted their first ever online Spring Meeting using GoToWebinar. Learn why they did it, how they did it, and how you can do this at your own library.
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