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Monthly Archives: February 2012
Friday Video: Grand Challenges of Librarianship
R David Lankes, Keynote Swedish Library Association’s Annual Conference 2011, Visby, Sweden.
Abstract: Instead of focusing on the future of our communities we all too often seem to chase them through technology hoping to find new relevance for our collections and buildings. In such a world every new tool is a potential threat, any perceived encroachment into documents or services an enemy to be rationalized and dismissed. This must stop. We must first identify Grand Challenges facing our communities and then evaluate our mission in light of these challenges. Only then can we refine, adapt, and create tools to improve society.
Posted in Education & Training
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A Valentine for Librarians
Barbara Vey, a blogger for Publishers Weekly, has posted a nice appreciation of librarians. It’s just the thing to tuck away for rereading on a day when things haven’t gone so well.
Thanks, Barbara.
Posted in Uncategorized
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Have you registered for Big Talk From Small Libraries yet?
We’ve been listening! A comment we’ve heard pretty often is that so many presentations at conferences seem to be by and for librarians from larger libraries. Well, Big Talk From Small Libraries will change that.
This free one-day online conference is aimed at librarians from small libraries; the smaller the better. Each of our speakers is from a small library or directly works with small libraries.
Topics range from technology (new tech and old tech) to programming to partnering with your community. This eight-hour event means eight topics with ten speakers. Come for the programs on what you’re dealing with now or maybe try something new.
Everyone is welcome to register and attend, regardless of how big or small their library is, but if your library serves a few thousand people, or a few hundred, this is the day for you.
Big Talk From Small Libraries will be broadcast online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. GoToWebinar login instructions will be e-mailed to registered attendees the day before the conference. Please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements and firewall configuration. GoToWebinar works on PCs, Macs and iPads.
This conference was organized and is hosted by Michael Sauers and Laura Johnson of the Nebraska Library Commission and is co-sponsored by the Association for Rural & Small Libraries and Library Renewal.
Big Talk From Small Libraries
February 28, 2012
8:45 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (CT)
9:00 Helping Your Patrons E-Read, Karen Mier
10:00 Community Partnerships, Diane Althoff & Karla Bieber
11:00 The FFL Fabulous Laboratory: Developing a Read/Write Culture in Your Library, Lauren Smedley
12:00 Combo School/Public Libraries, Lindsey Hansen & Linda Holmberg
1:00 Magic Tricks and Maintenance: Helping the Public Learn Technology, Jessamyn West
2:00 Working in the Cloud, Jezymnne Dene
3:00 Gaming and Game collection development, Diane Trinkle
4:00 Closing Keynote: The Best Small Library in America 2012, Julie Hildebrand
Posted in Education & Training
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E-rate: Form 470 Deadline and Online Training Archives
Just a reminder…the deadline to submit your E-rate Form 470 is Tuesday, February 21, 2012.
E-rate Application Filing Window Dates:
The Form 471 application filing window for Funding Year 2012 opened at noon EST on Monday, January 9, 2012 and will close at 11:59 pm EDT on Tuesday, March 20, 2012. The filing window will be open for 72 days. This makes February 21, 2012 the last POSSIBLE date to post a Form 470 on USAC’s website, meet the 28-day posting requirement for the competitive bidding process, and submit a Form 471 by the filing window closing date.
So, do you need help completing your forms? Do you have questions about E-rate? You’re in luck! The recording of December’s “E-rate: Basic Training” online session is now available.
Description: What is E-rate? How can my library benefit from E-rate? How do I apply for E-rate? E-rate is a federal program that provides discounts to assist schools and libraries in the United States to obtain affordable telecommunications and Internet access. Christa Burns, State E-rate Coordinator for Libraries, will cover the basics of E-rate and any changes that have been made to the program this year. This session will be useful to libraries who have never applied for E-rate, libraries who are new to E-rate and current E-rate libraries who just want a refresher on what E-rate is all about.
If you have any questions or need any assistance with your E-rate forms, please contact Christa Burns, 800-307-2665, 402-471-3107.
NCompass Live: Learning4Life: AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner – Recorded Online Session
Learn how to use Web 2.0 tools and other technologies to differentiate instruction while addressing the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Learning4Life standards of collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving. Open source applications such as Xtranormal, Juxio, Prezi, and Make Beliefs Comix will be demonstrated. Samples of student projects using these technologies will also be presented along with ways to integrate into the curriculum. Presenters: Judy Henning, Kearney Public Schools and Dr. Sherry Crow, UNK.
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Posted in Education & Training
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Scottsbluff has one of ten Top Children’s Libraries
Livability.com has announced their list of the Top 10 Children’s Libraries in the country. The Lied Scottsbluff Public Library was named number four on that list. Congratulations to the library, staff, and community! If you get the chance, stop in to visit the library and take a look at the children’s area.
The Top 10 Children’s Libraries
1. ImaginOn – Charlotte, NC
2. Tulsa City County Library – Tulsa, OK
3. Vancouver Community Library – Vancouver, WA
4. Lied Scottsbluff Public Library – Scottsbluff, NE
5. Iowa City Public Library – Iowa City, IA
6. El Paso Public Library – El Paso, TX
7. Laramie County Library – Cheyenne, WY
8. Brentwood Public Library – Brentwood, TN
9. Birmingham Public Library – Birmingham, AL
10. The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County – Cincinnati, OH
To see more information about Scottsbluff’s wonderful children’s area on Livability.com, go here.
Posted in Books & Reading, General, Youth Services
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What’s Sally Reading?
Submit a Nomination for an Amazing Audiobook for Teens,
YALSA is requesting suggestions for audiobooks published in 2011 or 2012 that you believe are outstanding. If you listen to audio books, or if your teens are enthusiastic about a title or titles, go here to complete the suggestion form. The committee is asking for librarians to submit more suggestions for this annual list. Any title included on the most recent list, found here, is not eligible for next year’s list.
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld will be a good picture book choice for the upcoming summer reading program. It is a poetic look at various machinery working at a construction site. Four pages each tell of a particular machine and its work on the building, then that it is time for sleep. Clever illustrations show a cement truck with a blanket only covering a part of his drum, and a bulldozer snuggling into the piles of dirt that look like a bed. Sure to be a hit at story time!
(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
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Friday Video: PressPausePlay
The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent in an unprecedented way, with unlimited opportunities.
But does democratized culture mean better art or is true talent instead drowned out? This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era. presspauseplay.com @presspauseplay Facebook: on.fb.me/y4gEK1
If you like the film you can support us by rating it on IMDB – imdb.to/jUqhFn. Thanks!
Posted in Technology
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Database Trial: World Almanac Online and World Almanac for Kids Online
Infobase Learning, in conjunction with the Nebraska Library Commission, is offering trial access to the following two K-12 school products: The World Almanac Online and The World Almanac for Kids Online.
- World Almanac Online provides students and researchers access to authoritative, essential statistics on hundreds of topics in a searchable online format. Learn more!
- World Almanac for Kids Online expands on the contents of the World Almanac for Kids print edition, along with other award-winning reference books from World Almanac, Chelsea House, and Facts on File. A natural complement to the curriculum, each subject area provides resources for homework, reports, and projects. Kids can explore grade-appropriate topics while developing online research skills with a trusted content source. Learn more!
Trial URL: http://online.infobaselearning.com/Direct.aspx?aid=105792&pid=WE00
Trial Dates: February 2, 2012 through March 2, 2012
Trial Access Instructions: The trial username and password were distributed via a February 3, 2012 message to the TRIAL mailing list. Nebraska librarians who didn’t receive this information or would like to have it sent to them again may contact Susan Knisely.
Posted in Information Resources, Uncategorized
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Access Video On Demand Trial
Infobase Learning, in conjunction with the Nebraska Library Commission, is offering trial access to their public library streaming video service, Access Video On Demand, from February 2 through March 2.
Description: Access Video On Demand is a streaming video service for public libraries. It offers thousands of exclusive educational videos from top producers with unlimited, simultaneous usage, 24/7. Access Video On Demand features nine streaming collections, which can be purchased individually or as a bundle. Learn more online!
Trial URL: http://online.infobaselearning.com/Direct.aspx?aid=105791&pid=WE00
Trial Access Instructions: The trial username and password were distributed via a February 3 message to the TRIAL mailing list. Nebraska librarians who didn’t receive this information or would like to have it sent to them again may contact Susan Knisely.
Posted in Information Resources
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Lied Scottsbluff Public Library named one of the Top 10 Children’s Libraries by Livability.com
Scottsbluff made the list!
Lied Scottsbluff Public Library in Scottsbluff, NE has been named one of the Top 10 Children’s Libraries by Livability.com, a national website that highlights more than 500 of America’s best places to live.
Livability.com editors looked at 500 communities across the country to find the best libraries for kids. The children’s libraries selected not only look amazing, they also offer great programs and get kids excited about reading, learning and exploring. Editors consulted several nationally recognized authorities on the subject of libraries and children’s literature, including the American Library Association, to determine criteria for the ranking. Among them: the library’s responsiveness to community’s needs.
“[A library] should be responsive to its community rather than beholden to some kind of national standard,” said Roger Sutton, editor in chief of The Horn Book, which reviews and tracks children’s and young adult literature. “The best libraries pay attention to their communities and the best librarians are those who really pay attention to the child in front of them, as well as the child who is not there but should be.”
The Lied Scottsbluff Public Library was chosen for its visually appealing spaces for children, full range of programs, large collection of books, integration of new technologies and proven success in getting kids to engage. Read more about why they made the list.
Congratulations to the Lied Scottsbluff Public Library!
Grant Opportunities for Your Library
The latest issue of Programming Librarian includes a great list of “Library Awards and Grants by Deadline.” Even if you’re not ready to write a grant now, it could be worth it to know about the grant opportunities that are out there.
And if you’d like some examples of interesting grant proposals that have been funded lately, the article in the February 1 American Libraries Direct about the projects that 16 public libraries across the coutry proposed and had funded–for 1.2 million dollars–by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation, provide inspiration.
Nebraska Learns 2.0: Share Your Interests With Pinterest
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 February is: Share Your Interests With Pinterest.
This month’s Thing is written by guest blogger Mary Sauers of the Lincoln City Libraries. “I generally don’t get on Facebook much, but I DO browse Pinterest a LOT. It’s a fun, EASY way to see and share recipes, fashion, decorating, crafts, people, places, animals, and things.”
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!
Posted in Education & Training, Technology
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NCompass Live: SOPA and PIPA: What Libraries Need to Know – Recorded Online Session
Have you heard of SOPA? How about PIPA? SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act and PIPA is the Protect IP Act. Both were bills attempting to fight copyright infringement and online piracy, and both have been postponed. But that doesn’t mean they’re gone for good. Brandon Butler, from the Library Copyright Alliance and Director of Public Policy Initiatives, Association of Research Libraries, will tell us what SOPA and PIPA are, how they came about, what’s next now that they’ve both been shelved, and how all of this affects libraries.
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Posted in Education & Training, Technology
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Academic Freedom Video Contest
Nebraska High School Students Speak Out!!
AFCON announces the 2012
Academic Freedom
Video Contest
for Nebraska High School Students
DEADLINE: March 23, 2012
$1,000 in cash & prizes!
Nebraska High School Students: make your 30-second to 2-minute video on topics such as:
- Intellectual freedom in education
- Freedom of believe & expression in class
- Freedom to access information and ideas in school
- Freedom of expression in school newspapers
- Freedom of expression in school theater productions
For contest rules, entry and release forms, and for the contest flyer go to http://www.nebafcon.org/
Posted in General, Youth Services
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Helping the Children
It’s nice when different projects we work on at the Library Commission come together in some way. In this case some biennial reports that we have scanned from our state documents collection are related to a new Nebraska Memories participant.
The Nebraska Children’s Home Society has a long history of caring for children who have been orphaned or become wards of the state. The Society recently contributed images of some of their historical photographs to Nebraska Memories. Dr. Elmer P. Quivey founded the Nebraska Children’s Home Society in 1893 and was the State Superintendent from 1893 to 1920. The Society offered support and assistance to parents committed to keeping their family together, and provided foster and adoptive homes for children who could not stay with their families. It also worked to find homes for children admitted to the state Home for the Friendless. The 1904 Biennial Report of the Home for the Friendless provides a wealth of information about the education, nutrition, health and placement of children who lived there.
In 1923 the Nebraska Children’s Home Society constructed a building at 3549 Fontenelle Boulevard in Omaha. It was a residence for children awaiting adoption as well as the Society headquarters. In this photo a badminton game is being played on the lawn by two boys, while other children watch. I love the bloomer style pants one of the players is wearing! Additions were made to the building in 1948 and 1965.
These fellows are obviously having a great time as toymakers in training. Were the toys being made for younger children at the home, for them to play with, or perhaps to sell to support the Home? They were gaining skills in the shop that would have been helpful for future employment.
These girls were gaining other skills – in the domestic arts – while baking a cake. Do you think the boys ever got to help with the cooking or the girls ever got to work in the shop?
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, Nebraska Memories
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Nebraska Learns 2.0: BookThing #1: Too Big to Know
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.
One facet of the program is BookThing. Each month we pick a single title that we feel has relevance to librarianship and/or information theory. Some of the titles will be very obviously related, while others may not seem so on the surface but there is a connection. Your assignment will be to read the book and create a blog post answering some questions about the title.
The BookThing for February is: Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren’t the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room is the Room by David Weinberger.
You will earn 2 CE credits for reading this title and creating a 300 word blog post or a three minute video, that you then post to your blog.
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 discover new books to read!
Posted in Books & Reading, Education & Training
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