Even if you have little or no cataloging experience, you’ll be amazed at how simple it is to use CatExpress with minimal training. And since it’s a Web-based product, there is no special software to install or maintain.

CatExpress accesses records in WorldCat, the OCLC Online Catalog, which contains over 270 million bibliographic records. By accessing WorldCat through CatExpress, you have available to you records for all formats, including sound recordings (spoken and music), videos, electronic resources, journals, maps, and microforms. You can achieve hit rates of over 98 percent for English-language materials – all through an easy-to-use Web interface. You also may expand your resource sharing capabilities by adding your own holdings information to bibliographic records.

With CatExpress, you have…

• Full search capabilities in WorldCat

• The ability to set or delete holdings in WorldCat

• Delivery of OCLC-MARC records for you to load into your local system

• Affordable, predictable pricing options for all sizes of libraries

To learn more about CatExpress, to see the discounted Group pricing, and to join the Nebraska CatExpress Group, go to the NLC’s CatExpress webpage.

May 24, 2012—Noon to 1:00 p.m. CT

Craig Schroeder, Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

Many Nebraska community leaders are concerned about youth out-migration and would like to know what can be done to address it effectively. The exodus of young people has indeed had a significant impact on our rural communities for many years. However, recent research by the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, documents that a sea change is underway, with over half of rural Nebraska youth indicating that they would prefer to live in their hometowns in the future if there are career and business opportunities available. Unfortunately, three-quarters of rural Nebraska youth surveyed also indicate that no one has asked for their input on how to make their hometown a more attractive option to stay or come back to.

On May 24, Craig Schroeder with the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship will broadcast a free one-hour webinar available to Nebraska libraries and community leaders seeking to involve youth in ways that will encourage them stay or return home in the future.

In this session, Craig will address three key topics that are vital to attracting youth:

• Creating local career and business opportunities for young people.
• Involving youth in decision-making and community service.
• Making community investments in youth and their enterprises.

Craig will also announce an exciting new youth project, utilizing local library resources, to help young people develop a richer appreciation of their community’s heritage, and thereby deepen their ownership and pride in their hometowns.

This webinar is being supported by the Nebraska Library Commission under the Library Broadband Builds Nebraska Communities initiative. Please feel free to invite a local community economic development group or youth group to view it with you in the library or outside the library.  

To register for this free webinar, see: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventoeidk=a07e5v9lcta039e16b5&llr=opyrgedab  

This Webinar will be offered using  Adobe connect Webinar software. For library staff that would like to test their connection using this software, Craig will run a library webinar test two times on Monday, May 21, 2012–at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Central.

This is  the web link for both tests:  http://heartlandcenter.adobeconnect.com/pawnee/

This Webinar test link will create offer test PowerPoint slides and will test the audio connect using VOIP (the Internet connection). Libraries will need to have speakers connected to their computers to hear the VOIP audio. They will be able to interact during the webinar by typing into chat boxes when prompted for feedback. Please feel free to contact Mary Jo Ryan, 402-471-3434 questions.

NOTE TO  libraries involved with the Library Broadband Builds Nebraska Communities project—please be sure to report these training hours on your monthly reports.

If you have Harry Potter fans, or are one yourself (like me) you are now able to sign up and explore J. K. Rowling’s site: Pottermore.  I have only just begun to look through the site.  It says there are new writings by J.K. Rowling that can only be found on the site, so I definitely want to take a look at those.  You are also supposed to look for hidden items that will be useful as you go along.  This looks like a fun way to revisit the books and learn more about how Rowling set up Harry’s world and events.

Not too long ago I read Toys Come Home by Emily Jenkins.  A prequel to the first book, Toys Go Out, this title tells how StingRay first came to the house, and her efforts to fit in.  Readers will also learn, among other things, how Lumphy joined the family and how Sheep lost her ear.  Endearing tale of toys learning to care for each other.  The wonderful illustrations by Paul O. Zelinsky add life to the characters.

(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.)

Out of My Mind – 4 copies

Melody has a sharp brain in a body with cerebral palsy.  She is frustrated with learning the alphabet over and over when she has a photographic memory (or nearly so).  Since she cannot talk, the neighbor, Mrs. V., first rigs up a word and alphabet board on her wheelchair.  Finally Melody is sent to “inclusion classes” where children from room H-5 experience life in a real classroom for certain subjects.  Melody loves this chance to learn.  But it isn’t until she gets her best “gizmo” ever that she really has a chance to become a part of the class.

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had – 4 copies

Dit (turns 13 during the book) is disappointed that the new postmaster has a daughter instead of a son.  It is 1917 and Dit was looking forward to a summer of fishing and baseball with a new friend.  Emma is a girl, and she is black.  As the summer progresses, they begin a friendship, but there are those in town who think a white boy should not spend time with a black girl.  Civil rights have yet to arrive in the U.S. especially in the South.  Over the summer and into the school year, trouble is brewing.  A wonderful book about coming of age and finding the courage to do what is right, even if it is hard.

Spans in Time: A History of Nebraska Bridges, edited by James E. Potter, L. Robert Puschendorf (third title down on linked page.)

Teaching the Works of Willa Cather, ed. by Steven B. Shively & Virgil Albertini

Railroad 1869; Along the Historic Union Pacific, by Eugene Arundel Miller

Nebraska Quilts & Quiltmakers, edited by Patricia Cox Crews & Ronald C. Naugle

Law & Order in Buffalo Bill’s Country; Legal Culture & Community of the Great Plains, 1867-1910, by Mark R. Ellis

These Nebraska themed titles have been added and will be in the Library of Congress collection.

Wagner has served as secretary/treasurer for ALTAFF and was also on the board of Friends of Libraries U.S.A.(FOLUSA). He has also served on ALA Council and on the board of the Association of Specialized & Cooperative Library Agencies. He served as president of the Nebraska Library Association, on the board of the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, as president of the Western Council of State Libraries and as president of the Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska. He has worked for the Nebraska Library Commission since 1972. He earned an MA in library science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

“My commitment to ALTAFF will continue to be promoting ALTAFF’s assets and directing them toward ALTAFF’s essential mission — supporting citizens who govern, promote, advocate and fundraise for all types of libraries,” Wagner said. “ALTAFF has a great track record in presenting excellent educational programs, providing a rich array of helpful information resources and advocating on behalf of America’s libraries. Building on ALTAFF’s strengths will result in better informed, capable and active library supporters, all devoted to a greater purpose of supplying the kind and quality of library services beneficial to library customers everywhere.”

Two additional ALTAFF board positions were filled during the 2012 election. Diane Sarantakos was elected to the position of trustee at large. Sarantakos is the director of development for the Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma City, Okla. She has served on ALTAFF Annual Conference Committee, the ALTAFF Public Library Association (PLA) Conference Planning Committee and the ALTAFF Trustee Ethics Policy Task Force.

Deborah Doyle was elected to the position of foundation at large. Doyle is interim executive director of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. She has served on the ALTAFF Newsletter and Website Committee. She is the National Library Legislative Day coordinator for the state of California and has also been active in PLA and the Library Leadership & Management Association. She earned an MLIS from San Jose State University.

ALTAFF is a division of the American Library Association that supports citizens who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries. ALTAFF brings together library Trustees, advocates, Friends, and Foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/altaff, or contact Jillian Kalonick at (312) 280-2161 or jkalonick@ala.org.

He received the Caldecott Medal in 1964 for Where the Wild Things Are.  The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) presented him with the 1970 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration.  The ALSC division of ALA presented him with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in 1983.  As noted on the web page “The Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.”

He has one more book to be published; it will come out next February, titled My Brother’s Book.

Download audio (MP3)
Subscribe via RSS
Subscribe via iTunes
Video (YouTube)

Video streaming by Ustream

CIL2012 Keynote: Creating Inspiring Services: Going Boldly Into the Present
Michael Peter Edson, Director of Web & New Media Strategy, Office of the CIO, Smithsonian Institution

Digital strategy has changed, but has your library gotten the message? Ten years ago, digital strategy was mostly about peering far over the horizon to predict a hazy, distant future. But the future we saw then—a world of cheap ubiquitous technology, crowdsourcing, social networks, the cloud, and powerful mobile computing—has become the reality of the present. In this inspiring presentation, Michael Edson, the Smithsonian Institution’s Director of Web and New Media Strategy, will talk about how libraries of all types can adjust their planning and perspective to benefit—not from better vision of the future—but from a better understanding of what can be accomplished today.

I recently read a brief article in the February/March issue of AARP: The Magazine.  The “What’s New” section had a piece called “50 Going on 15” and the author talks about how young adult titles are being read by people from “ages 17 to 70.”  (And younger than that, too.)  My own observation is that movies also are more and more often being made from young adult titles.  Maybe the next display in your adult fiction area should highlight some teen books.  Your adult readers may be surprised at how good they are!

The picture book Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Little Dog Named Baltic by Mônica Carnesi is described by Booklist as a “dramatized version of a true story.”  Children will certainly be worried about the dog and what may happen to him.  Off the coast of Poland, in the Baltic Sea, people noticed a little dog trapped on the broken ice.  He had traveled 75 miles down the river on the ice and people tried to reach him, but couldn’t.  A ship came to the rescue and soon adopted him.  A good lesson about the dangers of ice gently told in with a happy ending.

(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.)

The Dr. Bernard Vavrek Scholarship will go to a current LIS student. It includes conference registration, hotel, $500 stipend and a free one-year membership in ARSL.

The Founders Scholarship and the Ken Davenport scholarship will go to a current library professional. They include conference registration, hotel, a $500 stipend and a free one-year membership in ARSL. The definition of a “Library Professional” is a library staff member working in a small and/or rural library. A degree or certification is not required.

Candidates do not need to be members of ARSL; however membership is encouraged.

Visit the ARSL Scholarship webpage for more information and the scholarship application.

“Among computer users, about 25 percent have been reported as having difficulty with vision, 24 percent have mobility impairments, and 29 percent of computer users have problems with hearing. “ from Keep It Simple, p. 4. Most of them are unaware of the free assistive technologies built right into the Microsoft software in the library computer that they are using. Keep It Simple  will show you how to find and use that and other free software assistive technology (AT) to help patrons use computers, maybe even your catalogues.

First the authors convince you, and give you facts and figures useful for making a case for turning over computers to AT or writing  a grant for extra computers. They also bring you up to date about the technology available for libraries. But what impressed me most, was that there was so much freeware already built into Microsoft that could be used right now. Here are some examples of other freeware:  Emacspeak which speaks aloud specific printed information, such as a date. FATBITS is a screen magnifier for Windows XP free for downloading which enlarges the screen area abound the pointer. There’s WordTalk, which is a free text-to-speech software for use with Word 97 and later. Free Cursor enlarges the cursor.  SUITEKeys 1.0 for Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, and 2000/XP is a speech recognition system to operate a Windows environment computer, for hands free operation. And then there’s hardware. Scanners can be turned into reading machines with the right software (p.24.)

It might be easy to let the amount of information overwhelm, but there is enough at the basic, free level, to make access to everyday computers for seeing and hearing challenged patrons more accessable.

Please email me, Cathy, with any topics you’d like to see in a blog.

Please contact the Information Services Team if you’d like to check out this  title. Thanks.

Download audio (MP3)
Subscribe via RSS
Subscribe via iTunes
Video (YouTube)
Presentation Slides (SlideShare)
Links (Delicious)
For more information, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

Almost 60% of readers browsed ebook collections instead of searching for a specific title. The most popular genres: romance, then mysteries, historical fiction, and science fiction/fantasy. Read more about the report in a Library Journal Digital Shift article at http://bit.ly/IXCE6e.

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 May is: Free Play
Pick a technology tool that you already use but we haven’t covered in the previous 54 Things. I’m sure you’re using a mobile app or online tool that we at least haven’t already discussed. Better yet, I’m sure some of you are using tools that we’ve never even heard of.

* The BookThing for May is: “The Shallows” by Nicholas Carr

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!

Thanks to a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Nebraska Library Commission recently awarded 21st Century Librarian scholarships to ten Nebraska students in undergraduate and graduate Library Science programs. Nebraska Library Commission Director Rod Wagner commented, “The Nebraska Library Commission is pleased to support Nebraska students engaged in pre-professional library science educational programs. The focus on 21st century skills is essential to meeting the library service needs of Nebraska’s diverse population. We expect that our program will assist in providing students with needed skills leading to higher quality library services across Nebraska.”

Students who wish to apply for scholarships for a Library and Information Services Professional Certificate (offered through Nebraska’s community colleges), an Associate of Arts or Science Degree in Library and Information Services, a Bachelor of Arts or Science Degree with a major in Library and Information Science or Library Media, a Master of Arts or Science Degree in Library and Information Science, a Master of Arts or Science degree in Education with a School Library Media endorsement, or a Graduate-level School Library Media Endorsement should submit application materials by June 1, 2012.

For more information about Nebraska’s Cultivating Rural Librarians’ 21st Century Skills program, see NowHiringAtYourLibrary.org.  For a list of current scholarship recipients, see http://nlc1.nlc.state.ne.us/nowhiring/Scholarshipsrecipients.asp.

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.

April 2012 Scholarship Recipients

Andrea Wright, Omaha
Kimberly Rothgeb, Omaha
Libby Munsell, York
Angela Krejci, Louisville
Nicholas Runyan, Ainsworth
Angela Stacie Bannon, Lincoln
Jill Sempek, Columbus
Carryna Northup, Lincoln
Michelle McCay-Broyles, Holdrege
Monica Tidyman, Stromsburg

“The internships are a great opportunity for students to work in libraries, contributing needed help and sharing skills for a variety of summer and year-round library projects. Benefits abound for all involved – for the interns, for the libraries, and for the people served by the participating libraries,” said Nebraska Library Commission Director Rod Wagner. “The Nebraska Library Commission appreciates the renewal of Federal and foundation support for the internship grants.”

Funding for the project is provided through a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Such funding helps the Nebraska Library Commission and the Nebraska Library Association continue to support the missions and goals of libraries across Nebraska and statewide efforts to recruit the next generation of Nebraska’s librarians.

Student interns will learn about library work as they shadow and assist with day-to-day library operations and implement special projects. Interns will lead youth summer reading program activities, conduct training sessions to teach senior citizens to use technology, facilitate book discussion activities, help develop and update library Website and Facebook pages, create young adult library programs and spaces, work on publicity materials for library programs, sort and preserve archival materials, and assist in a host of other worthwhile activities.

In 2011, interns brought their technology skills to the forefront, much to the appreciation of the library staff, library customers, and community:

•  One intern helped the library set up its social networking page. She wrote weekly entries on it also. She was also able to help patrons set up social networking pages. She enjoyed working with customers and their computer problems. These customers visited the library every day she worked at the library.
• Another intern used her tech skills to help the children manipulate photos of themselves using computer software so they would have crazy/weird pictures of themselves.
•  A third intern headed up an e-reader book discussion for a group of middle school boys.

The following Nebraska libraries received internship grant funding in April 2012:

• Arapahoe Public Library
•  Bassett, Rock County Public Library
•  Blair Public Library
• Chadron Public Library
• Clearwater Public Library
• Howells Public Library
• Lincoln City Libraries
• McCook Public Library
• Norfolk Public Library
• North Platte Public Library
• Omaha Public Library
• Orleans, CB Preston Memorial Library
• Papillion, Sump Memorial Library
• Ponca Carnegie Library
• Randolph, Lied Randolph Public Library
• Rushville Public Library
• Schuyler Public Library
• Scribner Public Library
• Tilden, Raymond A. Whitwer Public Library

Well, this isn’t exactly reading, but I am amazed at what Brian Pichman and Dave Hesse of the Digital Innovation Department at the Mokena (IL) Community Public Library District have been doing with their Evolve Project.  I encourage you to take about an hour and see for yourself.  You may not have the resources they do but you might come up with some new approaches to draw children and families into your libraries.

Go here and click on “Archived NCompass Live Sessions” and then click on: “NCompass Live: Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: The Evolve Project” which aired on April 25, 2012.

Visit their web page, too, to find out how they went about putting this project together.  Who knows what kind of ideas will pop up in Nebraska!

I recently checked Carl Hiaasen’s new book, Chomp, out of the library.  Fans of Hiaasen’s humor and environmental viewpoint will enjoy this one, which is aimed at the middle school age crowd.  Wahoo and his dad, Mickey, are hired to provide animals for the reality TV show “Expedition Survival!” and it is soon clear how fake this particular reality show is.  The star, Derek, is a clueless ham forever getting himself into danger.  When he decides things should go from controlled (on Wahoo and Mickey’s property) to the real, wild Everglades, and then disappears in the middle of the shoot, it is clear Derek could end up really dead.  Loyalty, family love, and courage are spotlighted, along with another look at the Everglades and how fragile it is.

(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.)