Category Archives: General

Throwback Thursday: NLC Go Big-Read Campaign, 1970

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Nebraska Library Commission Go Big-Read Campaign to promote reading in Nebraska with Congressional leaders, 1970.

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The Data Dude on Other Materials

Gold Guy Surfing On Business ReportsThis week, the Dude looked at a part of the public library survey that is often forgotten, element number 4.33, Description of Other Materials. In Nebraska, the leader in this category is cake pans (74), followed by puzzles (33), and discovery packs (9). Others include some fairly obvious choices such as framed art, sculpture, watt meters, toys, puppets, eReaders, games, gaming equipment, and quilt patterns. Some not so obvious choices (but good ideas) include grief kits (Bellevue Public Library), compasses (Lied Randolph Public Library), CD/DVD cleaners (Sidney Public Library), umbrellas and Frisbees (South Sioux City Public Library), overhead projector (Verdigre Public Library), and a Moon Kit (Yutan Public Library). It’s important to note that the other item holdings often differ based on the unique needs of the local communities. Another other material that is worth mentioning is the seed exchange (although the Crete Public Library is the only public library to report this on their survey, there certainly are more Nebraska libraries doing this). While seed exchanges are, technically illegal (but generally unenforced) due to antiquated legislation, there is a current bill in the Nebraska Legislature to legitimize seed exchanges by adopting the Community Gardens Act. But while part of the focus of this post is to applaud these other materials offerings, it also is to point out what is missing from it.

So what is noticeably absent? Tools. Not one Nebraska public library reported having tools of any sort. Why is there more of an emphasis on baking a cake than a bathroom remodel? You say cake pan, I say wet saw, lawn aerator, or sawzall. Is it a liability issue? Perhaps. Maintenance issue? Sure, it could be. Expense? Likely, yes. Gender? I dunno. Could it simply be that tools are loaned person to person, and a library isn’t necessary? Possibly. There isn’t a local outcry for tool offerings? Maybe not, but is there a local outcry for cake pans? Conceivably, there could be more investment in a comprehensive tool library and time consumption for maintenance. Now that the Dude has exhausted all synonyms for the word maybe, what about basic or specialty tools that probably aren’t real expensive? What about donated tools? You see, the Dude recently is in the process of working on cleaning a clogged bathtub drain and in the process of the strainer extraction, he broke the screw holding the drain together. Guess what he now needs? A special extraction tool. The Dude will most likely purchase this tool (it’s still cheaper than calling a plumber), and probably only use it once (if it is needed at some point down the road undoubtedly it will become lost in sea of other garage residents or forgotten altogether). This is the kind of thing that would be an ideal choice for donation to a tool library.

But the point of all this is not to say rush out and get sets of tools (or Frisbees, or moon kits, or framed art), but to say what does your community value? How can you achieve the goals of providing things that are important to them? How do you know? What about bringing local community talents together for programs, then evaluating interest?

Finally, the Sacramento Public Library is worth noting, as they have jumped into the deep end of this sort of thing, implementing a Library of Things project. The idea is that many residents of their community don’t have the money or storage space for things they don’t often use but occasionally need. The Sacramento Public Library funded its Library of Things from a $10,000 LSTA grant. They set up a separate webpage to collect votes for “arts and innovation” items requested to be made available. You might get ideas from the top vote getters, which were card or board games for children and adults (196 votes); craft tools such as sewing machines and others (183 votes); musical instruments (178 votes); Go Pro cameras (177 votes); camping kits (160 votes); artifacts for the classroom/school students such as WW II memorabilia and other things that illustrate life in earlier times (143 votes); and a binding machine for creating your own books, journals, etc. (134 votes). Some of the Dude’s favorites, but not necessarily top vote getters include garden tools (e.g. loppers, rototillers, etc.), old school/nostalgic video game systems (think Atari, Nintendo, etc.), button makers (hey, the Dude has an upholstery button maker he hasn’t used in about 12 years. Perfect!), food dehydrators, Karaoke machines, carpet steam cleaners, telescopes, basic wood tools, ladders, bread machines, unicycles, bike tool kits, paint sprayers, Kreg Jigs, a drone with HD camera, chain saws, and soldering irons. The Dude would add croquet sets/bocce balls and surfboards or stand up paddleboards to the list. The boards are worth noting because they still are on the Dude’s to-do list for making as soon as the garage gets cleaned out. The Dude is still deciding whether or not to try a hollow SUP type board or a more classical Alaia (Tom Wegner is the master of this craft). The other advantage to having these sorts of things in a library is that they can be found, unlike many things that reside in the Dude’s garage, but are impossible to locate when needed. Shaka.

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Focus on Nebraska authors: Mary Pipher

If your book group would like to select a nonfiction title to read, let me suggest getting to know Mary Pipher. Mary lives in Lincoln with her husband Jim and has written 9 books – four of which we have in our Book Club collection. My book group read The Middle of Everywhere a few years ago and as the setting for the text is Lincoln, many people recognized several locations and people mentioned. That is always an intriguing element of a book with a local author. The book is also informative as Mary presents Lincoln as a refugee relocation center and illustrates how new citizens of Lincoln need assistance. She coins the expression cultural broker and explains the sorts of ways she provides help to refugees earnestly trying to make the United States their home. My group had an excellent discussion with this title and I think yours could too.

A colleague and I both read Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World at the same time and had great discussions. With this book we learned about Mary’s background and her personal life especially in terms of negotiating balance between her family and promoting her books. Mary read from this book at the Nebraska Book Festival sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book and it was a pleasure hearing her voice present her own text.

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What’s Sally Reading?

Amelia Bloomer Project Announces the 2015 Booklist

As part of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association, the Amelia Bloomer Project focuses on feminist books for readers age 0-18.  Each year the committee creates a booklist to recommend to librarians and others.  The 2015 list also includes a Top Ten list selected by the committee.  I hope you all have a few of these titles in your collections, and maybe you will find another one or two to add.

MiddletonElya012Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya is a good picture book choice for the upcoming summer reading program.  When the wolf tricks Roja into picking some flowers for her grandma, he sneaks off with her red cape to visit grandma.  Can Grandma and Roja handle a wolf and save the day?  The sprinkling of Spanish words are understood within the context of the story, and the author has included a pronunciation guide and translation of each in the front of the book.  Watch the pages for the Three Blind Mice and a couple of tiny troublemakers:trickster elves.  A good read-aloud for Story time, and a 2015 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book.

(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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Throwback Thursday: Nebraska Union Catalog, 1978

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Nebraska Union Catalog located at NLC, 1978.  Computers have really changed how we do Interlibrary loans.

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The Data Dude on Motion Charts

motion_chartShaka. Today, the Dude will focus on Google motion charts. This may be a complex or simple matter (depending on your perspective and degree of tech-savviness). It also may depend on your interest in data displays, which might currently be in the toilet after looking at all the survey data you have been reporting. This won’t stop the Dude from making a feeble attempt to show how the data you collect and report might be valuable to illustrate library trends, and that may rescue those that hold to the belief that there is excessive frivolity in the survey reporting.

First, some background information (or filler material). The Dude was introduced to the motion chart (aka interactive bubble chart) by Hans Rosling’s TED talk. Watch it and you will be entertained. The software for the bubble (or motion) chart was created by Rosling’s Gapminder Foundation. In 2007, the motion chart was acquired by Google, and now anyone can create these interactive charts with a free Google account. The Dude will skip the steps on how to get the data into the chart (that will be saved for another day), but basically you load a spreadsheet and tweak the columns a bit.

The chart above is a static version from a motion chart the Dude created with the data from the Nebraska public library surveys from 2007 to 2013. It encompasses all the reported data for libraries in the state. The bubble (in this case there is only one, but you can add many more if you create your own chart) represents the size of the entity (typically population, and in this case the total legal service population of Nebraska libraries). There are two axes and the data for either one can be changed by clicking on the little arrow next to the description. There is a slider at the bottom that has a play button to set everything in motion by time.  When you do this, the bubble moves either up or down depending on the changes in the data on the vertical axis. Simultaneously, the bubble moves either left or right, depending on changes in the data on the horizontal axis. In this example, the Dude compared the number of adult programs to adult program attendance (if you load the actual motion chart from the link above, you will have to select this from the menu bars on the left and the bottom). As you can see from the static image, programs went up with attendance remaining mostly the same from 2007 to 2008, then there was a decrease in programs and attendance from 2008 to 2009, and then a nice, consistent increase in both from 2010-2013.

As with anything else, sometimes the motion chart might not always be the best choice for your data visualization. Andrew Abela has created this nifty chart chooser to help you decide what visualization you might want to use, depending on what trend you might like to show. The Dude is working on more motion charts, with more bubbles, perhaps to take the public library survey data and illustrate all the libraries and their data together, or perhaps just a particular library and its peers. Any feedback on this project would be nice to have, and if any of you need assistance with motion charts, feel free to let me know.

 

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Privileges and Responsibilities

In February and March many Nebraskans like to go to the State Capitol to testify or talk with their senators about  bills they support or oppose.  This week I will be attending the Nebraska League of Women Voters/American Association of University Women legislative day.  The Nebraska Library  Association  Advocacy Day is in March.  As a naturalized citizen I consider  voting  a privilege and a responsibility, and  February  is  a good time to be reminded of the struggle to extend those rights to every citizen.  Susan B. Anthony,  anti-slavery  campaigner and champion  of women’s voting rights, was born February 15th, 1820. In 1878 she and Elizabeth Cady Stanton presented the U.S. Congress with wording for  the 19th amendment  to the Constitution, ratified 24 years later on August 20, 1920.   “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the Unites States or by any State on account of sex”.

Business and Professional Womens Club display windowNebraska Memories includes several images related to voting and elections.   This Butler County Gallery photo taken  October 1940 shows a window display by the David City Business and Professional Womens Club.  It  supports Franklin Roosevelt’s campaign.  A photograph of a professionally dressed woman bears the caption “Business women in a democracy vote!”

A program from the  Polley Music Library collection  also celebrates women’s right to vote.  Equality Day celebrationOn August 24, 1991 an Equality Day Celebration was held in Lincoln to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the 19th Amendment. It was sponsored by the Women’s Information Network of Lincoln and the Nebraska Commission on the Status of Women.  Senator LaVonne Crosby and former Senator Shirley Marsh attended .   The afternoon included music, an art display,  and  Marlene Snyder impersonating  suffragist leader Clara Colby.   I remember it as a great event!  Jim Dahlman campaign

Nebraska Memories also includes some photographs of  election campaigning in Nebraska.   This photo from the Crawford Historical Society and Musuem collection is particularly interesting.  Several men involved with the  1910 Jim Dahlman Campaign for Governor  sit in a Franklin touring car.   Mr. Dahlman did not win the race. Apparently  Doc Middleton was a supporter.  Maybe that’s the reason he lost!   Doc is in the back seat on the left side in the photograph, wearing a tall hat. 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, Historical Services Librarian, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

 

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Nebraska Libraries Invited to Apply for “Latino Americans: 500 Years of History” Grants

ala_newsApply now for Latino Americans: 500 Years of History grants. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and American Library Association (ALA) are accepting applications for Latino Americans: 500 Years of History, a public programming initiative for libraries and other cultural institutions.

Latino Americans: 500 Years of History will support the American public’s exploration of the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have helped shape the United States over the last five centuries and who have become, with more than 50 million people, the country’s largest minority group.

The cornerstone of the project is the six-part, NEH-supported documentary film “Latino Americans,” created for PBS in 2013 by the WETA public television station. The award-winning series chronicles Latinos in the United States from the 16th century to present day. (Learn more about the series at www.pbs.org/latino-americans/en/.) The application deadline is May 1. Read the guidelines and apply online at www.ala.org/latinoamericans.

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Throwback Thursday: LBPH tape duplicator, circa 1970-1980

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Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped tape duplicating machine, circa 1970-1980

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The Data Dude – Game of Thrones Data Visualization

Gold Guy Surfing On Business ReportsWell, this week’s post almost didn’t happen because the Dude has been swamped with surveys, Monday was President’s Day, and the Dude is home today with a sick kid. As an update to the public library survey (the deadline was last Friday the 13th), thank you e-mails have been sent out to those of you who have submitted and finalized your surveys. There are some surveys that have issues that are in need of a little TLC, and you should have received e-mail questions or calls about those by now. If all your issues are cleared up (or if you had no issues to begin with) you should have received an e-mail about the supplemental survey. If you haven’t, please let me know and I will check on the status of your survey. Since the Dude is still working on finalizing some surveys, wait a few weeks for the final numbers on our survey response rates.

With the Dude suffering from a bit of a survey hangover, there is a shortage of material for this week’s post. Now, some of the abstract ideas ranged from word clouds, stories about robots in libraries, and more statistics on technology. But let’s be honest; the Dude finds most word clouds to be a bore, so they will be saved for another day when boring is on the menu. So for today the Dude will keep it simple, and note his interest in Reddit’s DataisBeautiful, mostly because the data there is usually interesting but also because it is often uniquely presented. Using data in a simple way such as this not only gets a point across, but fits the innovative bill as well. Enter this image, illustrating the number of deaths in George RR Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series. For GOT fans, the image says it all. For the record, the Dude is a fan of the HBO series (since the Dude doesn’t have cable, he wishes to thank Lincoln City Libraries for selecting the DVD’s in their collection), but found the books (after about the first 1/3 of Storm of Swords) to be long-winded. The Dude ain’t afraid to say it. Shaka.

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What’s Sally Reading?

Read Across America Day is March 2!

Sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA) Read Across America Day is usually held on March 2, in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, but you can choose a day that works for you and your community to celebrate.  Visit the NEA for some artwork and downloadable items you can use, as well as fact sheets and media tips.

If you are planning to celebrate Read Across America Day, you may want to take a look at the Central Plains Library System’s Pinterest page with plenty of different ideas!  I took the Dr. Seuss Trivia Quiz and only missed a few!  And thank you to Denise Harders for sharing the ideas she found.

Yelchin183Arcady’s Goal by Eugene Yelchin tells of Arcady (12) who lives in an orphanage in Soviet Russia for children of people declared to be enemies of the state.  Miss Hannigan is a push-over compared to the director and guards of the orphanage.  It is the late 1930s, Arcady can earn an extra piece of bread if he defeats several other children, one at a time, with his soccer skills.  He is unbeatable.  But when he is adopted by a gentle man he begins to call “Coach” he finds himself lost in a world he doesn’t know.  A look at another place and time, this title is aimed at grades 5-8.

(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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SBA Has a New Online Tool To Match Lenders To Entrepreneurs

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The Small Business Administration is launching a first-of-its-kind tool on their website that will allow entrepreneurs looking for a small business loan to get matched with a SBA lender. This new tool, called LINC (Leveraging Information and Networks to access Capital) will have small business owners fill out a simple online form of 20 questions and connect them with lenders within 48 hours. By directly connecting with prospective borrowers, the agency will be able to provide more guidance and ensure more capital is reaching our nation’s entrepreneurs.

“LINC will bring entrepreneurs and SBA lenders together. There’s a hunger among entrepreneurs to find financing to get their business off the ground or take the next big step in their expansion plan. The SBA stands there ready to help them, now with a few simple clicks,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. “Across the country, thousands of small business owners pound the pavement every day looking for term loans, equipment financing, lines of credit, invoice financing, and real estate loans to help them hire and grow. If you have a bankable business idea backed by good credit and sound financial planning, the SBA wants to streamline the process for you to get the capital you need.”

After filling out the form, a borrower’s answers will be sent to every lender in that borrower’s county, as well as to other lenders with a regional or national reach. Once lenders have reviewed the information that matters most to them, they’ll respond within 48 hours, all this for no fees or commitment. This option will untether entrepreneurs from the one neighborhood bank, using technology to get their foot in the door at any number of institutions and improve their access to capital.

LINC will roll out in waves.  It will begin by connecting small business owners with nonprofit lenders that offer free financial advice and specialize in micro lending, loans in our Community Advantage program, and real estate financing. In the longer-term, SBA will look to add more traditional banks that offer an even wider array of financial products.

As of the launch of LINC, 124 lenders across SBA’s lending programs are participating in the outreach effort, operating in all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico.   Since 2009, these borrowers have made more than 42,000 SBA loans, totaling more than $17 billion. Prospective borrowers may immediately go to https://www.sba.gov/tools/linc.

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Throwback Thursday: Western Union/TWX machine, circa 1970-1980

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Western Union/TWX machine used by NLC for interlibrary loan and reference, circa 1970-1980.

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The Data Dude – Technology Tidbit

Gold Guy Surfing On Business ReportsThe Dude has been busy reviewing all your public library surveys and trying his best to answer your questions about what to report where (sometimes it’s a judgment call), but took a bit of time to throw together this little technology tidbit. Keep the surveys coming, as the response rate is roughly 50% at the moment, and the deadline is Friday the 13th of February. One more item of note before heading to the stats, and that is, please let me know about any suggestions for next year’s survey (and keep in mind that getting rid of it altogether is not an option). Some of you have already sent suggestions, and I have ideas of my own, but I’d certainly like to hear your thoughts.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, More than 21% of Nebraskans do not have access to high speed internet (a paid internet service other than dial-up) at home. This is close to the national average (about 22%), and thus underlies the importance of public offerings for technology services (such as libraries). The leader is New Hampshire, with almost 86% of its residents living in a household with high speed internet, and just over 93% in a household with a computer. These numbers do not address the FCC’s recent redefinition of what constitutes “broadband” (and by implication “high speed”), as the FCC now labels broadband as anything more than 25 Mbps.

According to the 2013 public library survey (last year’s survey), Nebraska libraries provide:

  • Free public internet access (99% of libraries with 2.2 Million annual uses)
  • Free WiFi (94% of libraries)

Even if, or rather, when, improvements are made to services and pricing so that high speed or broadband becomes more prevalent in more households (and hopefully the FCC’s redefinition expedites that), there will still be the need to address the digital literacy of the users. Just because I got the new dual motor, AWD, 691 hp, 3.2 seconds to 60 mph, all electric, zero emissions Tesla Model S P85D doesn’t mean I know how to drive it well. The Dude would have the patience to try and learn, however, if given the opportunity. OK, perhaps comparing the Tesla Model S P85D to 25 Mbps broadband isn’t an apt analogy, but the point is that even with increased speed and access, there will be a need for assistance navigating the waters, and that’s where libraries and librarians have the opportunity to excel. To further illustrate, last year’s Digital Inclusion Survey noted that Nebraska libraries also provided:

  • Online employment resources (98% of libraries)
  • Computer training (97% of libraries)
  • Assistance with completing government forms online (98% of libraries)

Shaka.

 

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La Vista Public Library Awarded One of Twenty Teen Tech Week Grants

Congrats Lindsey Tomsu and  La Vista Public Library ala_news

The recipients of the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Teen Tech Week grant have been selected. La Vista Public Library is one of 20 recipients from a pool of 127 applicants were selected to receive Teen Tech Week grants of $1,000 each, funded by Best Buy, to support activities aimed at helping teens build the digital literacy skills they need to be successful in college and careers.

In addition to the grant, the library will receive a gift pack of themed posters and bookmarks, as well as other “making” resources. Other libraries wishing to celebrate Teen Tech Week can sign up on the Teen Tech Week website for access to free digital downloads of themed posters, bookmarks, webinars and other resources. Learn more about making in libraries via the resources on YALSA’s wiki, including a free webinar and downloadable toolkit. Read YALSA’s recent report “The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action” to learn more about libraries’ role in helping teens extend their learning beyond the classroom in order to gain the digital literacy skills needed for 21st century careers. The report can be accessed at www.ala.org/yaforum.

Teen Tech Week is a national celebration that offers libraries the chance to highlight all of the digital tools, resources and services they offer to teens and their families. It will be celebrated with the theme “Libraries are for Making…” and takes place March 8-14. To learn more about Teen Tech Week, visit www.ala.org/teentechweek, or check out #TTW15 on Twitter. Best Buy is the official sponsor of Teen Tech Week.

Supplemental products related to Teen Tech Week and digital literacy, such as a Makerspace Safety poster, a Good Digital Citizen poster and bookmark and YALSA’s Teen Read Week and Teen Tech Week: Tips and Resources for YALSA’s Initiative publication are available for purchase through the ALA Store. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, (800) 545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.

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The Hub Reading Challenge Starts Now!

The Hub is “the literature blog for YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association.”  Starting today, The Hub is challenging all who wish to participate to read or listen to 25 titles off of the eligible title list.  A PDF of the list is available here.  Their rules state you must read the 25 books during the challenge period: 2/9/15 – 6/21/15.  Be sure to read all the rules and register if you are going for the prize.  If you complete the challenge within the time period and fill out a completion form, you will be eligible for the grand prize drawing for a tote bag filled with 2014 & 2015 YA titles!

If you, like me, want to participate in your own way, that’s great too!  I am going to try to read all of a couple of the lists, but am not going to compete for the grand prize.  Join in and blog or tweet about how you are doing on you own challenge.  Hope you enjoy it!

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What’s Sally Reading?

Finding Upcoming Titles

Recently I was asked for some suggestions of how to find out about titles that are soon to be published, including subsequent titles in series.  Here is a good start: Naomi Bates wrote a blog posting about different sites that help readers keep up with teen lit, including recommendations and series.  Take a look at the sites she included, you may find a new favorite!

Two sites mentioned in the comments section of her blog posting are FictFact; you can click on any day on the calendar to learn which titles are being published that day.  This web page appears to focus on teen titles in series.   Also mentioned is Recaptains, which gives a summary of the action in each title in an included series, great for reminding you what happened in book 2 before moving on to book 3.

Becker197Quest by Aaron Becker is a wordless picture book and a follow-up to his 2013 title, Journey.  In Quest the girl and boy, each with their special crayon, encounter a king who also has a special crayon.  He gives them a map and some unusual items before being pulled back through a door.  The children follow and  they journey through this land trying to help the king.  Beautiful artwork and the solving of a puzzle will appeal to the intended audience of Kindergarten through grade 3.

(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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ALA Youth Media Awards

Monday, February 2, the American Library Association, Youth Media Awards were announced and once again, there were some I have not read (yet).    A few of the awards are listed below, to see a list of all the winners, go here.

The Newbery medal was awarded to The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. Two honor books were named.

The Caldecott Medal was awarded to The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend illustrated and written by Dan Santat. Six honors books were named.

The Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustration went to Christopher Myers for Firebird. Two honor books were named.

The Coretta Scott King Author Book Award went to Jacqueline Woodson for Brown Girl Dreaming. Three honor books were named.

The Printz Award went to Jandy Nelson for I’ll Give You the Sun. Four honor books were named.

The Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award went to Yuyi Morales for Viva Frida. Three honor books were named.

The Pura Belpré (Author) Award went to Marjorie Agosín for I Lived on Butterfly Hill. One honor book was named.

The Best Fiction for Young Adults, Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, and other lists are now available here, scroll down to “Selected Book & Media Lists.” If you are getting ready for The Hub Challenge (more on that Monday, February 9, 2015), these lists will be necessary.

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Throwback Thursday: LBPH recording studio, circa 1970-1980

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Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped recording studio located at NLC 14th and P Street location, circa 1970-1980.

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The Data Dude – Public Library Survey

IMLSShaka. It is getting close to crunch time for the annual IMLS Public Library Survey. The deadline is February 13, 2015, a mere 9 days away. The Bibliostat Collect portion of the data services section of the NLC website has a link to the login, instructions, tips, and other tidbits to help you complete the survey. Keep in mind that the survey is required for your library to receive state aid if you are accredited. If you aren’t accredited, you still have an incentive to complete the survey ($200), called Dollar$ for Data.

As of this morning, around 33% of Nebraska public libraries have completed the survey. I know some of you are waiting for figures from governmental entities or perhaps are just procrastinators. Please don’t wait until the last minute, just in case you might have problems or if issues arise.

I am here to help you with the process in any way I can. Don’t hesitate to contact me. Thank you in advance for your participation and patience.

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