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Author Archives: Laura Johnson
Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced
No Prize for Fiction was awarded! That was the big surprise of the 2012 Pulitzers. There are 21 Pulitzer categories–7 of them for Letters, Drama, and Music, one Special Award and the rest for Journalism. For the first time since 1977, no Pulitzer Prize for Fiction was awarded. The winners in the Letters and Drama categories were:
- History: Manning Marable: Malcolm X: A Life in Reinvention
- Biography: John Lewis Gaddis: George F. Kennan: An American Life
- Poetry: Tracy K. Smith: Life on Mars
- General Nonfiction: Stephen Greenblatt: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
- Drama: Quiara Alegría Hudes: “Water by the Spoonful.”
The fiction titles nominated for the prize were:
- Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson
- Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, and
- The Pale King, by the late David Foster Wallace
For further information on the 2012 winners and on the Pulitzer Prizes, see
http://www.pulitzer.org/.
Posted in Books & Reading, General
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Have Your Trustees Attended the Academy?
This set of five Webinars, each a little under an hour long, is available FREE to every public library trustee and public library director in Nebraska through the end of 2012.
By viewing the Webinars, library trustees can
- become more effective community leaders
- build skills in governing
- learn communication and leadership techniques
- earn board certification
Through over 400 viewings of Trustee Academy Webinars in the last year, a lot of Nebraska public library board members have already found out what great information the Trustee Academy offers.
Each of the five Webinars is self-contained, and can be viewed from almost any computer with Internet access, so board members can view individually or have a viewing party. Contact Laura Johnson for your season tickets for the events. She will send you the Web address and password to get you started on a great learning experience.
Romance Award Finalists Announced
The Romance Writers of America have announced the finalists for their annual Rita Awards. The RWA Awards can be great collection development guides. If romance novels are popular in your library, maybe you’d like to check out this list for possible purchases–in print or as e-books. The Awards for best book in each of the 12 categories will be announced July 28th.
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ProQuest Will Publish the Statistical Abstract
ProQuest announced today that the company will publish the Statistical Abstract of the United States in both print and digital formats. The U.S. Census Bureau, which had published the annual resource, decided earlier this year to cease publication after 2012. The Statistical Abstract has been produced since 1878. The ProQuest announcement includes more details.
Encyclopedia Britannica No Longer a Print Resource
A moment of silence! The 2010 edition of the venerable Encyclopedia Britannica (first published in 1768) will be the last to be available in print. The company will now focus on its online encyclopedias and curricula for schools. Read more in the New York Times. (seen in PW Daily.)
Posted in Information Resources
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Audible Video for Book Discussions
Wow! Here are some resources where three different media meet. Audible, the audio book service, is offering videos about making recordings of books. They’re available through Audible’s YouTube Channel, AudibleAccess. if you’re a fan of audio books–and who doesn’t like to be read to–they’re great fun. With over a hundred videos of various lengths, book trailers, author interviews, narrator interviews, these could enliven a book discussion or a new materials list on the library Website.
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Additional Webinars in February
Several Webinars have been added to the Free Webinars list for Feburary since the list came out at the end of last month. Additions are marked with an asterisk. The added titles include:
- 2/22: Library P.I.: Process Improvement Library-Style (Infopeople)
- 2/27: The Legislative Process and You: How it Works and How to Make a Difference (ALA)
- 2/28: Getting Started: An Introduction to Convening Forums @ your library (ALA)
- 2/28: Strategic Downsizing (Infopeople)
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.
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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.
Want a C.E. project for 2012? How about learning to program?
Wouldn’t you like to know how to get from “Wouldn’t it be great if…” or “Our Website could really use…” to “Here’s our new library app?” Codecademy is offering some digital empowerment in the form of a year’s worth of lessons in computer programming–free! When you sign up for the Code Year program, you’ll get an interactive programming lesson sent to you each week. The first lesson will be emailed next Monday, January 9. The developers of the program make a pretty good case that knowing how to program (digital literacy) is becoming an important skill that will make you more employable, and just better at navigating this increasingly technological world.
If you’re enrolled in the Nebraska Librarian Certification program, this would be a great way to earn C.E. credit–complete the code year and earn 15 c.e. credits–a year’s worth! If you’d like to do this, drop me a line. Then sign up at Code Year, do the lessons–share your progress with friends, if you like. I’ve signed up; Michael Sauers is signed up–maybe we’ll all become programming ninjas!
Here’s an article from Slate with some more info. There’s a time commitment involved, but acquiring digital literacy could really be worth it.
Posted in Education & Training, Technology
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New Book Club from the Huffington Post
The HuffPost Book Club, starting January 3, hopes to combine virtual and in-person modes of discussion. They plan to read 10 books during the year–first up is The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht. Follow the book club on Twitter or Facebook, or sign up for email updates. It may be fun to join in. It’s sure to be interesting from a professional standpoint to see how this hybrid format works.
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National Book Awards Announced
The 2011 National Book Awards were presented Wednesday the 16th. The winners are:
- Thanhha Lai for Inside Out & Back Again (Young People’s Literature
- Nikky Finney for Head Off & Split (Poetry)
- Stephen Greenblatt for The Swerve: How the World Became Modern (Nonfiction)
- Jesmyn Ward for Salvage the Bones (Fiction)
All the finalists are listed by the National Book Foundation. There are more details on the awards dinner in the stories in Publisher’s Weekly and the New York Times.
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Continuing Education and Training Grants Available
The 2012 Continuing Education and Training Grants are now available to accredited Nebraska public libraries, to Nebraska institutional libraries, and to Nebraska Library Systems. This year the grants have been revamped to make them more responsive to the needs of the library community and easier to apply for. There are three categories of grants, each with its own application requirements: reimbursements for taking an online course, reimbursements for attending a professional conference, and funding for a program or project.
2012 Basic Skills Schedule Available
The 2012 schedule of Basic Skills online classes was annnounced at the recent NLA/NEMA Conference. We’ll get the classes entered into the Nebraska Library Commission Training & Events Calendar within the next couple of weeks. As promised, each of the classes will be offered during 2012. We’ve included the dates that registration will open for each class.
The Basic Skills requirements for librarian certification can be fulfilled by taking six requisite and seven elective courses. Participants new to the certification program have three years to fulfill the requirements. If you have any questions about Basic Skills, or about certification, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
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New Report on Community Involvement and a Way to Earn Board C.E. Credit
We hear pretty often from library board members who are looking for ways to earn C.E. credits for board certification. Here’s one—read the recent 20-page report from the International City/County Management Association titled “Maximize the Potential of Your Public Library” (available in .PDF at http://icma.org/en/icma/knowledge_network/documents/kn/Document/302161/ Maximize_the_Potential_of_Your_Public_Library) It says, “This new report and accompanying case studies provide examples and instructive guides on how public libraries in jurisdictions large and small are partnering with local governments and organizations to develop innovative solutions for important strategic community initiatives.”
Each board member who reads the report can earn 1 C.E. credit. And if library directors or staffers want to read the report, each of them can earn 1 C.E. credit toward their own librarian certification.
You can check public library board certification status at: http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/trustees/CertStatus.asp.
Any questions? Contact Laura Johnson, 402.471.2694 or 800.307.2665 or via email.
Posted in Library Management, Public Relations
Tagged community involvement, partnerships, reports
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Registration for Basic Skills: Communication Opens August 18
Registration for the required Basic Skills course, Communication, will open Thursday, August 18th on the Nebraska Library Commission Calendar at: http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/calendar/calendar.asp?Month2Show=9/1/2011. The class will be held September 19 – 30.
Communications has been named the most important skill for library directors. In this class, we will cover general communications skills as well as some specialized forms of communications such as community relations, advocacy and marketing.
Other Basic Skills classes coming up in 2011 are: Library Services to Children and Youth, Reference, Intellectual Freedom and the Core Values of Librarianship, and Collection Management. Registration has filled up for Library Services to Children and Youth. Registrations for the other classes will be announced. The complete 2011 schedule is available at: http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/CE/BasicSkills/NBScalendar.aspx.
The 2012 schedule of Basic Skills courses will be announced at the NLA/NEMA Annual Conference.
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2011 Rita Awards Announced
The Romance Writers of America recognized “outstanding published romance novels and novellas” and presented Rita Awards in 12 categories. They are:
- Regency Historical Romance: The Mischief of the Mistletoe, by Lauren Willig
- Historical Romance: His at Night, by Sherry Thomas
- Inspirational Romance: In Harm’s Way, by Irene Hannon
- Young Adult Romance: The Iron King, by Julie Kagawa
- Contemporary Series Romance: Welcome Home, Cowboy, by Karen Templeton
- Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure: The Moon That Night, by Helen Brenna
- Novel with Strong Romantic Elements: Welcome to Harmony, by Jodi Thomas
- Romance Novella: “Shifting Sea,” by Virginia Kantra, in Burning Up
- Romantic Suspense: Silent Scream, by Karen Rose
- Paranormal Romance: Unchained: The Dark Forgotten, by Sharon Ashwood
- Best First Book: Pieces of Sky, by Kaki Warner
- Contemporary Single Title Romance: Simply Irresistible, by Jill Shalvis
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Registration for Basic Skills: Leadership Is Open
The Basic Skills: Leadership class starts August 1 and runs until August 12. You can register on the NEW NLC Calendar until July 26. Leadership is one of the elective courses to fulfill Basic Skills requirements.
There’s still time to register for Basic Skills: Library Governance. That class starts July 11 and runs until July 22. Registration will be available through next Wednesday, July 6.
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Making Receipts a Marketing Tool
Why couldn’t receipts be more fun? More interesting? That’s the question that British design firm Berg ran with. Applying the idea to libraries, why shouldn’t date due slips include mini-book reviews, or reminders of upcoming programs, or even fun facts? It seemed like an idea with a lot of possibilities. What do you think?
Posted in Library Management, Public Relations
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Bookmobile & Outreach Conference Offers Grants
ABOS, The Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services, which is associated with ALA, is offering travel grants to library staffers who’d like to attend their Annual Conference in Cleveland, OH, from October 13-15, 2011. ABOS also offers scholarships to library school students interested in Outreach, and the ABOS John Philip Award to a leader in Bookmobile and Outreach services. Application deadline for all awards is August 1, 2011
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