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Monthly Archives: March 2012
Apply by May 1 to host “Discover Tech,” an interactive traveling exhibition for public libraries
Apply by May 1 to Host Science Exhibit
The ALA Public Programs Office, in partnership with the National Center for Interactive Learning at Space Science Institute, the Lunar Planetary Institute and the National Girls Collaborative Project, announces a new traveling exhibition opportunity for public libraries. Following a competitive application process, eight public libraries will be selected to host an interactive exhibition called Discover Tech: Engineers Make a World of Difference. Public libraries in rural areas and those serving rural populations and underserved groups are especially invited to apply. Online applications must be submitted to ALA by May 1. To apply, visit www.ala.org/programming/discovertech.
Discover Tech is made possible through the support of the National Science Foundation. The exhibition and its educational support materials and outreach opportunities are part of the STAR (Science-Technology Activities and Resources) Library Education Network (STAR_Net), a hands-on learning program for libraries and their communities.
Discover Tech will tour from September 2012 to June 2014, visiting each of the eight selected sites for a period of eight weeks. The exhibition requires approximately 750 square feet of space for optimal display. Each site will be awarded a grant of $1,000 to support public programs related to the exhibition. Each host library will also be asked to join a national Community of Practice (CoP), accessible at http://community.discoverexhibits.org, and is expected to take part in project evaluation. For more information about Discover Tech, STAR_Net and the CoP, visit www.ala.org/programming/discovertech.
The Discover Tech exhibition will focus on a number of timely topics that are essential for understanding the nature of 21st century technology and engineering—both high and low tech— and their potential for helping to solve many of the world’s problems. Through interactive elements and displays, visitors to the Discover Tech traveling exhibition will understand that engineers are real people who, through a creative and collaborative design process, arrive at practical solutions to help solve society’s problems in the U.S. and throughout the world. Exhibit visitors will also learn about the fundamental principles of energy, become aware of their own energy use, and understand the impact of engineering on societies over time and place.
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ALA Public Programs Office
www.ala.org/publicprograms
publicprograms@ala.org
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Fall 2011 State Publications List Available
For those wanting to add records to their catalogs for Nebraska state documents, the Fall 2011 list of Nebraska E-Docs is now available at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/govDocs/ShippingLists/edocsalerts.aspx.
Posted in What's Up Doc / Govdocs
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Masterpiece – resources for book and film clubs for your library!
If you’re a fan of Masterpiece on Sunday evenings, PBS is providing resources to integrate their programming into a book or a film discussion group in your library. PBS has “provided all the tools you need, including the NEW Book and Film Club Handbook (PDF), plus guides with discussion questions, background info, activities, and even recipes. If you’re an educator, don’t forget to check out over 30 Masterpiece Teacher’s Guides.” Downton Abbey fans are still talking about season 2 so take this opportunity to integrate this wonderful programming into a library discussion.
Posted in Books & Reading, General
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Nebraska Library Commission Meeting – March 9, 2012
The Nebraska Library Commission meeting and State Advisory Council meeting on March 9, 2012 will be held at Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Ave, Kearney, NE, not at the Library Commission.
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Music in Our Schools
It recently came to my attention that March is Music in Our Schools Month, a month dedicated to advocacy in favor of music education programs in schools. If you explore Nebraska Memories, you can see many images of Nebraska’s students enjoying music in their schools.
Nebraska’s schools provided opportunities for vocal music, as shown in this photograph of the Irving Junior High boys choir in Lincoln. Students also had chances to
participate in instrumental music, as shown by the North High School orchestra in Omaha or the band at the Girls’ Industrial School in Geneva.
The Polley Music Library collection also includes a number of programs from musical events featuring students. These events include such concerts as those sponsored by the Nebraska Music Teachers Association, as well as Nebraska All State musical concerts.
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.
Scholarship students to attend PLA conference
Thanks to a 21st Century Librarian grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, five scholarship students will attend the Public Library Association 2012 Conference March 13–17 in Philadelphia through the scholarship stipend program.
The Nebraska Library Commission’s 21st Century Librarian scholarship program is not just about paying for Nebraska students’ tuition, fees, and books. It’s about enhancing the students’ educational experiences and helping prepare them for a successful library career. Stipends are payments for use toward approved, scholarship-related expenses in addition to their scholarship awards. Stipend opportunities include the purchase of a laptop computer, attendance at one library-related national or regional conference, and membership in one library-related professional association.
Upon return, students are expected to report on their experiences, by posting on the Nebraska Librarians Learning Together Facebook page, and by presenting during live webinars and conference presentations. And, watch for live updates from the students during the conference by reading their posts the Facebook wall.
For more information about Nebraska’s Cultivating Rural Librarians’ 21st Century Skills program, see NowHiringAtYourLibrary.org.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.
Posted in Education & Training, Now hiring @ your library
Tagged grants, IMLS, scholarships, stipends
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DDC Abridged Edition 15 now available
Abridged Edition 15, the latest print edition of the DDC, is now available!
New features include:
- Many new topics and significant updates to selected fields
- A complete overhaul to the representation of groups of people
- Elimination of dual headings and unbalanced spans
- Cessation of partial abridgement of parallel notation
To learn more, view the archived webinar of the DDC Abridged 15 Sneak Preview, recorded on February 7, 2012.
Save money by ordering your copy of Abridged Edition 15 through the Nebraska Dewey Group Purchase.
The Nebraska Dewey Group offers discounted pricing on the print versions of the Abridged Edition 15 and the 23rd edition of the unabridged DDC, as well as the web-based, enhanced versions of the DDC database through WebDewey and Abridged WebDewey.
For all the details, including pricing and order forms, visit the Dewey Group website.
Posted in General, Library Management
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E-rate: Form 471 Deadline and Online Training Resources
Just a reminder…the deadline to submit your E-rate Form 471 is Tuesday, March 20, 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.
IMPORTANT: Before you file your Form 471, check your Form 470 Receipt Notification Letter for your Allowable Contract Date. Do not submit your 471 before that date. Remember, after you submit your Form 470, you must wait 28 days to submit your Form 471. Your Form 470 Receipt Notification Letter tells you the first date you are allowed to submit your 471 – that is your Allowable Contract Date. Note: This Letter was mailed to you and is on yellow paper for the 2012 Funding Year.
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.
Also, the WebJunction webinar, “E-rate: Form 471 and Beyond!“, has very good instructions, tips and tricks for submitting your Form 471. I recommend viewing the archived webinar and its PowerPoint presentation and related links, too.
If you have any questions or need any assistance with your E-rate forms, please contact Christa Burns, 800-307-2665, 402-471-3107.
Friday Video: The Innovators Forum: Don Tapscott
Carnegie Mellon University hosted Don Tapscott, thought-leader and author of Macrowikinomics, as a guest of The Innovators Forum.
An author, advisor and thinker, Tapscott is the leading authority on the impact of the digital revolution on business and society. The Huffington Post describes his bestselling book Macrowikinomics as providing a “game plan for all of us to fix a broken world.” With transformations across the web, information technology and mass collaboration, we are all part of a new generation of interconnected individuals who want to shape the world they live in.
The Innovators Forum is an exciting new series connecting the world’s top innovative minds with the university community.
For more, visit: http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/society/2012/winter/macrowikinomics.shtml
Posted in Education & Training
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Nebraska Learns 2.0: This month, make your resume interesting and go on an information diet
Nebraska Learns 2.0 (http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/nelearns/) 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 March is: Visualize Your Resume – http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/nelearns/2012/03/01/thing-53-visualize-your-resume/
Let’s just all admit this up front and get it out of the way: resumes are boring! Ok, moving on…So, what can we do about it? This month’s thing takes a look at two online services that allow you to create a visual and interactive online resume. Granted they may not work for every situation, but I think you’ll agree, they’re not boring.
Another facet of Nebraska Learns 2.0 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 March is: “The Information Diet” by Clay A. Johnson: http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/nelearns/2012/03/01/bookthing-the-information-diet/
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!
Posted in Education & Training
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National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grants – applications due May 2, 2012
Posted Date: Feb 29, 2012
Closing Date for Applications: May 02, 2012
Award Amount: Varies
NEH challenge grants are capacity-building grants, intended to help institutions and organizations secure long-term improvements in and support for their humanities programs and resources. Through these awards, many organizations and institutions have been able to increase their humanities capacity and secure the permanent support of an endowment. Grants may be used to establish or enhance endowments or spend-down funds that generate expendable earnings to support ongoing program activities. Challenge grants may also provide capital directly supporting the procurement of long-lasting objects, such as acquisitions for archives and collections, the purchase of equipment, and the construction or renovation of facilities needed for humanities activities. Funds spent directly must be shown to bring long-term benefits to the institution and to the humanities more broadly.
Applications are welcome from colleges and universities, museums, public libraries, research institutions, historical societies and historic sites, scholarly associations, state humanities councils, and other nonprofit entities.
Eligible Applicants
- State governments County governments
- City or township governments
- Special district governments
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Private institutions of higher education
- Others (see text field entitled “Additional Information on Eligibility” for clarification)
NEH welcomes proposals that respond to NEH’s Bridging Cultures initiative. Such projects could focus on cultures internationally or within the United States. International programs might seek to enlarge Americans’ understanding of other places and times, as well as other perspectives and intellectual traditions. American programs might explore the great variety of cultural influences on, and myriad subcultures within, American society. These programs might also investigate how Americans have approached and attempted to surmount seemingly unbridgeable cultural divides, or examine the ideals of civility and civic discourse that have informed this quest.
Details are available at http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/challenge.html.
NCompass Live: Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: An interview with Robert Miller of The Internet Archive – Recorded Online Session
In this month’s Tech Talk Michael will be speaking with Robert Miller, Global Director of Books for the Internet Archive about just what the Internet Archive is and its current projects relating to digitizing books for public consumption.
In this monthly feature of NCompass Live, the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Michael Sauers, will discuss the tech news of the month and share new and exciting tech for your library. There will also be plenty of time in each episode for you to ask your tech questions. So, bring your questions with you, or send them in ahead of time, and Michael will have your answers.
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