Let your voice be heard! To celebrate their 1-year anniversary, Library Reads is asking librarians to vote on their Favorite of Favorites from the last year. The top ten list will be released December 1.
The list for Young People’s Literature is included with the other categories on the National Book Award web page. I notice one of our recent “Friday Reads,” Redeployment by Phil Klay, posted on August 8, 2014, is on the Fiction list. Though I spend most of my time reading children’s and teen books, I do enjoy taking a look at lists of titles for adults that I might someday read.
At this point I have read one title on the Young People’s Literature list, though several are on my “to read” list and now I need to add a few more to it. How many do you have in your library, and are the children or teens checking them out? The Finalists will be announced on October 15.
Adventure, steampunk, and possible war are included in the 2013 One Book for Nebraska Teens, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. Look for book club kits on the Commission’s list.
(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.)
A blending of Arthurian Legends and High School Chick Lit, Avalon High is a sweet and simple story of girl meets boy for the first (or is it the second) time and then is politely pursued by boy until she clues in that her crush isn’t unrequited; just add a dash of reincarnation and a pinch more of intrigue.
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Elaine “Ellie” Harrison is a typical high school girl who moves with her professor parents for their research sabbatical, temporarily enrolling at a new school. Inundated for the past sixteen years by the facts, literature and legends of the dark ages, Ellie has developed an aversion to all things medieval; but when she is assigned a history report on Arthurian Legends, Ellie finds startling parallels between handsome, golden-boy Will Wagner and King Arthur of legend. But just like Arthur, Will may to be facing dark times ahead. Each chapter begins charmingly with a quotation from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s classic poem, The Lady of Shalott. I give it a solid 3 stars and recommend for junior high readers.
The Nebraska State Historical Society’s September Brown Bag Lecture is tomorrow, (Thursday, September 18th) at 12:00 noon in its new location in the City/County Building (555 S. 10th Street, Room 303). Join this free program, which will discuss Nebraska’s historic Orphan Train.
For this week, the Data Dude looked at the recent Pew Research survey entitled Younger Americans and Public Libraries. Pew broke this down into three different age groups: (1) High schoolers (ages 16-17); (2) College-aged (18-24 – although many do not attend college), and (3) 25-29. The term “Millennial” (for purposes of this study) encompasses all three of these groups. The Dude salutes this group of Millennials, not only for their tech-savviness, innovative thinking, generalized support of libraries, and distrust of “the man”, but because they seem to be getting a lot of other important things right. According to Intelligence Group studies (as reported by Forbes – yes, that’s right, the Dude is citing Forbes) of Millennials:
64% of them say it’s a priority to make the world a better place;
88% prefer a collaborative work culture rather than a competitive one; and
88% want “work-life integration”
OK, the Dude admits that he isn’t exactly certain what is meant by “work-life integration”. It sounds like they might be saying that quality of life is more important than the Camusian like day to day drudgery that many people experience these days. Let’s go with that. The Dude votes thumbs up on this and on making the world a better, more cooperative place. Not that the Dude is lazy or unambitious, because he isn’t. We will label this as the importance of workplace “flexibility” and the ability of society to recognize the value of it. Meaningful thought and creativity can often come outside the hours of 8-5, at the gym, in the can, or on the road. And let’s face it; the world seems to be getting more and more devoid of creativity, empathy, and connectedness. Anyway, enough of this social nonsense, on to the libraries. Here’s the highlights from the Pew Research survey regarding Millennials (those under 30) and libraries:
77% have a smartphone
62% agree that there is “a lot of useful, important information that is not available” online (my emphasis) – a higher percentage than older adults
Slightly more than half (57%) said it was easy to separate good information from bad information online (meaning that almost half found it difficult)
88% reported reading a book in the past year (compared to 79% of those over 30)
43% report reading a book (in any format) on a daily basis (similar to the percentage of older adults)
67% (compared to 58% of those over 30) reported reading a book (in any format) at least weekly
98% use the internet, and 90% say they use social networking sites
Of those who reported reading a book in the past year, 47% reported that it was an eBook (compared to 42% of those ages 30-49)
61% have a library card
57% reported using a library in the past year (compared to 53% of those over 30)
36% (compared to 28% of those over 30) reported using a library website in the past year
Only 19% (compared to 25% of those over 30) reported knowing “all or most” of the services that their library offered
It is encouraging that these results indicate that Millennials recognize the importance of information literacy and are themselves readers. One would tend to think that this translates into their recognition of the value of librarians (or information professionals) and libraries in helping develop this set of important literacy skills. However, merely reading books doesn’t necessarily translate into being a library supporter or a library user. The Dude thinks that the key is in the marketing and packaging of libraries. As this study illustrates (as do many others), the primary challenge is not in potential library users recognizing the value of library services, it’s knowing that those services are even there in the first place. Shaka.
It’s here! The day we’ve waited all year for! Friday it’s Talk Like a Pirate Day. There probably isn’t time to order one of the official t-shirts, and maybe making customers with overdue books walk the plank might be a little extreme, but surely we could all set sail for adventure with a crackin’ good book display or some buried (book) treasure. Have a fun day!
The Nebraska Library Commission has 2 book groups: Adult & Children and I belong to both. This past month we read Cat Girl’s Day Off by Kimberly Pauley. The author pulls off a high school life with superpowers (like there isn’t enough drama already in high school), friends that have way too much worldly knowledge for their age, and too much pink (cats, clothes, dogs, hair). In a family full of “talented people” Nat, our lead, has a lower level Talent–she can talk to cats–which can be embarrassing especially when they start telling boy secrets (you’ll have to read it). The story develops into a celebrity kidnapping mystery you’ll never forget, with twists that are almost believable. Did you enjoy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? That should give you a hint of the comedy, action, and drama that Kimberly unveils for us. As Pauley says on her blog “Find out what happens when the kitty litter hits the fan”. Ages 12+
Pauley, Kimberly. Cat Girl’s Day Off. New York: Tu Books, 2012.
Join us for next week’s NCompass Live: “Broadband and Mobile Broadband Coverage in Nebraska”, on Wednesday, September 17, 10:00-11:00 am Central Time.
As part of a federal grant, the Nebraska Public Service Commission has been working over the last 4 years to determine where broadband has been deployed throughout the state. Through bi-annual data submissions by providers, the PSC has developed a website targeted to consumers to determine where broadband has been deployed in Nebraska. The website has several functions to allow users to investigate broadband anywhere in the state. The PSC has also been working to verify mobile broadband coverage information using a phone app called Mobile Pulse. This free app allows anyone who downloads it to assist in this effort.
Presenter: Cullen Robbins, Nebraska Public Service Commission.
Upcoming NCompass Live events:
September 24 – Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: Mobile Beacon
October 1 – How to Lead a Book Group With No Discussion Questions Provided
October 8 – NO NCOMPASS LIVE THIS WEEK – ENJOY NLA/NSLA!
October 15 – Tech Talk with Michael Sauers
October 22 – Teen Theater Groups: Creating Communities of Empowered Teens
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
The first bank in Nebraska was established even before Nebraska became a state. The Kountze Brothers Bank was opened in Omaha in 1857, when Nebraska was still a territory. It later became First National Bank of Omaha. As more and more of Nebraska was settled, more banks were established. Nebraska Memories contains many images of banks in Nebraska cities and towns, from many different points in the history of the state.
First National was just one of many banks in Omaha. This print from the 1880s shows five different Omaha banks, only a few of the city’s banking institutions.
Of course, smaller towns in Nebraska had banks, too. The bank in Sidney in 1900 shared a stone building with a dry goods store and a millinery shop. This image of the Bank of Brainard gives us a glimpse into the interior of an early twentieth century bank.
A slightly more recent picture, from the 1920s, shows a bank in Richfield, Nebraska. My co-workers and I were commenting that the four percent interest rate advertised in the window is better than what we are currently receiving on our accounts!
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.
Not so long ago a member posted on the YALSA-BK mail group that she had asked her teens what specific “life prep” topics they would like a program on, they responded with the list below:
– making cheap but meaningful gifts
– cooking good meals cheaply (including for a date!)
– finances – getting a loan, establishing good credit, checking and savings accounts, how to budget/save/invest
– buying a car – what to look for/watch out for, what questions to ask, how to test drive, how to bargain, how to weigh your options
– renting – what lease agreements should/shouldn’t include, how to check on the neighborhood, roommate issues, setting up utilities, security, landlord/tenant rights and responsibilities
– how to find/access community help
– fixing appliances
– cleaning tips
– repurposing found/thrift shop items into furniture, etc.
– packing and moving
– travel tips and cheap vacations
– cars – how and when to register, get oil changed (or how to do it yourself), what basic parts look like and do, insurance, trouble-shooting
– relationships – healthy boundaries, saying no, building friendships (especially in a new area) – getting plugged into a new community
Wow! Maybe you would like to think about some possible presenters and then ask your teens what they would like to learn (or learn more). If you have a Teen Advisory Board you could run this idea and/or list by them to find out what they think, and maybe they know someone who could present. Good luck!
Looking for a humorous, fun title for readers? The 2013 One Book for Nebraska Kids is Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith. Look for book club kits on the Commission’s list.
(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.)
Today the New York Times Book Reviewannounced that it is adding 12 new monthly lists: Travel; Humor; Family; Relationships; Animals; Religion, Spirituality and Faith; and Celebrities, with more to come next year. The paper is also redesigning its print best sellers page. All the best sellers lists are available at: http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/overview.html.
Social media is becoming an increasingly important communication channel for small businesses. However, knowing where to start is perhaps the number one obstacle holding many small business owners back. That’s why SBA has teamed up with Hootsuite for a free webinar about how social media can help your small business succeed on Tuesday, September 16 at 2:00 PM ET (1:00 PM CENTRAL).
In this 1 hour webinar, Don Baron, Director of SMB Business Development at Hootsuite will share strategies that can help you better utilize social media for your small business.
Participants will learn:
Why social media is relevant for small businesses
A variety of social media strategies as they relate to marketing, sales and support
Tactics and tools that will help you execute your strategies
Case studies of small business success on social media
Shaka. The results from the 2013 Digital Inclusion Survey (funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services) are now available. Digital inclusion addresses both the digital divide and digital literacy. One unique feature of the survey results is an interactive map that allows the user to access a summary of their own survey as well as valuable information about the library service area (e.g. demographic, economic, education, and health). The 2014 Survey will be launching September 22, 2014 so mark your calendars. In the meantime, the Data Dude wishes to thank you for your participation in last year’s survey, and hopes for a higher response rate than last year’s lackluster 40%. Here is a summary of how Nebraska compares to the national average:
2012-2013 Digital Inclusion Survey Results
Nebraska
National Avg.
Avg. Download Speed
35.9 Mbps
57.4 Mbps
Wifi Availability
94.8%
97.5%
Avg. Number of Public Access Computers/laptops
9.5
19.8
eBooks
62.5%
89.5%
Online Employment Resources
98.6%
95.6%
Mobile Apps to Access Library Services
18.2%
42.6%
Formal Digital Literacy and Technology Training
97.0%
98.0%
General Familiarity with New Technologies
43.4%
67.5%
(e.g. using eReaders, tablets)
Social Media (e.g. blogs, Twitter,
42.4%
58.5%
FaceBook, YouTube)
Education Programs
98.6%
99.5%
Small Business Development
46.7%
47.3%
Hosting Community Events
17.8%
45.6%
(e.g. Candidate Forums, Conversations)
Hosting Creation Events (e.g. Maker Spaces)
4.8%
21.4%
Completing Gov’t Forms Online
98.1%
98.6%
Response rate: Nebraska – 40%, National – 70%
Source: 2013 Digital Inclusion Survey, retrieved from http://digitalinclusion.umd.edu/state-details/NE
Small businesses in certain parts of southeast Nebraska seeking to buy and sell to the federal government soon will be able to take advantage of a program to successfully bid for contracts.
Thanks to a redesignation Oct. 1, Auburn and Nemaha County will be qualified as a Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone). This program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. SBA’s HUBZone program is in line with the efforts of both the Administration and Congress to promote economic development and employment growth in distressed areas by providing access to more federal contracting opportunities.
The program’s benefits for HUBZone-certified companies include competitive bidding for contracts, a 10 percent price evaluation preference in full and open contract competitions, as well as subcontracting opportunities. Moreover, the federal government has a goal of awarding three percent of all dollars for federal prime contracts to HUBZone-certified small business concerns.
The SBA regulates and implements the HUBZone program by determining which businesses are eligible to receive HUBZone contracts, maintains a listing of qualified HUBZone small businesses that federal agencies can use to locate vendors, adjudicates protests of eligibility to receive HUBZone contracts and reports to the Congress on the program’s impact on employment and investment in HUBZone areas.
Auburn and Nemaha County were redesignated based on the high rate of unemployment in that area.
For guidance in southeast Nebraska on bidding for federal contracts, please contact Julie Ann Wilhelm at the Auburn Procurement Technical Assistance Center at 402-414-5077 or jwilhelm@unomaha.edu.
As always, small businesses and economic resource providers can contact the SBA helpdesk at hubzone@sba.gov with your questions. You may also call in to the office hours. Details are on our website at www.sba.gov/hubzone.
The American Library Association (ALA) is encouraging librarians to know how to use My Social Security (MySSA), the online Social Security resource.
A webinar, presented by leaders and members of the development team of MySSA, will provide listeners with an overview of MySSA. In addition to receiving benefits information in print, the Social Security Administration is encouraging librarians and patrons to create an online MySSA account to view and track benefits.
Listeners will learn about viewing earnings records and receiving instant estimates of their future Social Security benefits. Those already receiving benefits can check benefit and payment information and manage their benefits.
Speakers include:
Maria Artista-Cuchna, Acting Associate Commissioner, External Affairs
Kia Anderson, Supervisory Social Insurance Specialist
Arnoldo Moore, Social Insurance Specialist
Alfredo Padilia Jr., Social Insurance Specialist
Diandra Taylor, Management Analyst
Registration is full for the live webinar on Wednesday, September 17, 2014. However, to be notified when therecorded session is available, please go to Lib2Gov Webinar: MySSA.
Speaker: Rick McKinney is Assistant Law Librarian / Legislative Librarian at the Federal Reserve Board Law Library in Washington, D.C., where he has served for the past 30 years. He is the founder and principal editor of LLSDC’s Legislative Source Book on the Internet and has authored numerous articles and presentations in the field of Federal statutory, legislative, and regulatory research.
Learning outcomes: The webinar will discuss the ways in which Federal statutes are published and cited, what Federal legislative histories are and how they are used, the normal steps in compiling and researching Federal legislative histories, and the various resources available for Federal legislative history research – both free and commercial.
Expected level of knowledge for participants: No prerequisite knowledge required
The webinar is free, but registration is required. Upon registering, a confirmation email, which includes instructions for joining the webinar, will be sent to you.
Registration confirmations will be sent from sqldba @ icohere.com. To ensure delivery of registration confirmations, registrants should configure junk mail or spam filter(s) to permit messages from that email address. If you do not receive the confirmation, please notify GPO at FDLPOutreach.
GPO’s eLearning platform is now presenting webinars using WebEx. In order to attend or present at a GPO-hosted webinar, a WebEx plug-in must be installed in your internet browser(s). Download instructions.
For access to other archived Federal Depository Library Program webinars and webcasts and for a calendar of upcoming webinars and educational events, please visit the Training and Events page on FDLP.gov.
ALA is hosting a free webinar to help libraries plan for Money Smart Week @your library®. On Oct. 1, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. CDT, learn how your library can participate in 2015 Money Smart Week @your library®. Register at http://tinyurl.com/opy5mvu and participate in this hour-long webinar that will provide you with resources, promotional materials, programming ideas and ways to partner with others in your community, campus or school to get Money Smart Week going at your library.
Money Smart Week @ your library, April 18-25, 2015, is a national initiative in its fifth year between the American Library Association (ALA) and the Federal Reserve Bank (Chicago) to provide financial literacy programming to help members of your community—retirees, school kids, college students, everyone—better manage their personal finances. In 2014 more than 700 libraries in 48 states participated.
Learn from veterans and first-timers how Money Smart Week @your library® has been a great success for their libraries and how it can be in yours. Discussions will show how easy it is to convey financial topics to your library users.
Topics presented last year include basic banking services, credit and debt management, estate planning, going green to save, housing/mortgages/foreclosures, going to college, identity theft/investment scams/financial fraud, insurance, kids and money, money management for women, preparing for financial emergencies, retirement planning, small business and entrepreneurship, taxes, teens and money and unemployment and job transitioning.
Visit the Money Smart Week home page of the Federal Reserve Bank (Chicago) at http://www.moneysmartweek.org/ for additional details about Money Smart Week.
Let your voice be heard! To celebrate their 1-year anniversary, Library Reads is asking librarians to vote on their Favorite of Favorites from the last year. The top ten list will be released December 1.
Join us for next week’s NCompass Live: “Broadband and Mobile Broadband Coverage in Nebraska”, on Wednesday, September 17, 10:00-11:00 am Central Time.
