Throwback Thursday: Bird in a Cage

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

Happy #ThrowbackThursday!

A bird in a cage is sitting on top of a display of Geisler’s bird seed in this 3″ x 5″ black and white acetate negative. A sign on the birdcage reads: “Geisler’s Authoritative Bird Foods”. This image was taken for Geisler Max Bird Company, located at 113 N. 16th Street in Omaha, Nebraska.

This image is published and owned by the The Durham Museum. The William Wentworth Collection at The Durham Museum consists of 4663 negatives of images that document life in Omaha, Nebraska from 1934 through 1950. William Wentworth worked as both a freelancer and a commercial photographer, providing a unique view of architecture, businesses, and community life in Omaha.

See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

The Nebraska Memories archive 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.

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Tech Kits Through the Mail: Marty the Robot!

Posted on December 11, 2024 by Amanda Sweet

Did you know there’s a walking, talking robot in the Tech Kits Through the Mail collection? His name is Marty the Robot
.

  • Multiple coding options:
    • Code-free
    • Drag-and-drop block coding
    • Text-based coding options
  • Pre-made lesson plans. Some crowd favorites include:
    • Dancing
    • Kick a ball
    • Change facial expression
    • Find all lessons in Learning Portal

How to Use Tech Kits Through the Mail

If you haven’t used the Tech Kits Through the Mail service yet, it’s pretty easy:

  1. Fill out request form (up to 15 copies of each kit available)
  2. Receive kit(s) through the mail, or pick up locally
  3. 30-day loan period
  4. Mail kits back to Commission
    • You only pay return shipping
    • Some library systems offer assistance with return mailing- email your system director!

See the Tech Kit Lending Agreement for full policy details

Request a kit!

Posted in Pretty Sweet Tech, Programming, Technology | Leave a comment

Great Plains Recipe Book Available on BARD!

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

“Wild Seasons: Gathering and Cooking Wild Plants of the Great Plains” by Kay Young is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service. BARD is a service offered by the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress.

For nature lovers as well as cooks, there’s plenty to whet the appetite in this unique field guide-cum-cookbook. Starting with the first plants ready for eating in the early spring (watercress and nettles) and following the sequence of harvest through the late fall (persim-mons and Jerusalem artichokes), Kay Young offers full, easy-to-follow directions for identifying, gathering, and preparing some four dozen edible wild plants of the Great Plains. And since most of the plants occur elsewhere as well, residents of other regions will find much of interest here.

‘This is not a survival book,” writes the author; “only those plants whose flavor and availability warrant the time and effort to collect or grow them are included.” The nearly 250 recipes range from old-time favorites (poke sallet; catnip tea; horehound lozenges; hickory nut cake; a cupboardful of jams, jellies, and pies) to enticing new creations (wild violet salad, milkweed sandwiches, cattail pollen pancakes, day-lily hors d’oeuvres, prickly-pear cactus relish).
Synopses courtesy of University of Nebraska Press

“Kay Young knows more than anyone else I know about wild plants and their uses. . . . If you are interested in wild plants, the Plains, and good eating, you will want a copy of Wild Seasons in your library.” — Roger Welsch, Roger, Over and Out

TBBS borrowers can request “Wild Seasons: Gathering and Cooking Wild Plants of the Great Plains” DBC02011 or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (12/9 – 12/13)

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Holli Duggan
Continuing Education Upcoming Webinars and Events. December 9th - 13th.

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

(Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.)

For more information, please visit NLC: Free Webinars or WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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NCompass Live: Best New Children’s Books of 2024

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Christa Porter

Hear about the ‘Best New Children’s Books of 2024’ on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, December 11, at 10am CT.

Sally Snyder, the Nebraska Library Commission’s Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services, will give brief book talks on titles published in the last year that could be good additions to your library’s collection. Titles for pre-school through elementary school will be included.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

  • Dec. 18 – Fostering Healthy Communication in Your Library
  • Dec. 25 – NO NCOMPASS LIVE THIS WEEK – HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
  • Jan. 1, 2025 – NO NCOMPASS LIVE THIS WEEK
  • Jan. 8, 2025 – Best New Teen Reads of 2024
  • Jan. 22, 2025 – 2025 One Book One Nebraska: ‘The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific’
  • Jan. 29, 2025 – Pretty Sweet Tech

To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, 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 GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

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Pretty Sweet Tech: New Dash Robot Winter Activities!!

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Amanda Sweet

Wonder Workshop sent out this fun new collection of Winter-themed activities for Dash Robot! If your library already has Dash, download the worksheets, or use these activity images as inspiration for your next round of activities!

Check out some kits from us: Through the Nebraska Library Commission’ Tech Kits Through the Mail service, you can check out between 1 and 15 copies of Dash & Dot Activity Pack (includes launcher & xylophone!). All you pay is return shipping. We’ve got everything else covered.

Reserve yours ASAP, before they’re all reserved for the season: http://nlc.nebraska.gov/tech/kits/kits.aspx

(There are other kits available, so give them a try too!)

Posted in Pretty Sweet Tech, Technology, Youth Services | Leave a comment

#BookFaceFriday “Stormbreaker” by Anthony Horowitz

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Tessa Timperley

Saving the world one #BookFace at a time!

It’s Friday, #BookFaceFriday, with “Stormbreaker” by Anthony Horowitz (Philomel Books, 2001), the first book in the The Alex Rider Series, a British Spy novel series for kids. Even better, it’s a brand new addition to the Book Club Collection.
We love it when book clubs and libraries donate their book sets to us after they’re done reading, making them available to all the other book clubs across the state. Thanks to the Central Plains Library System, we have ten copies of this title available as your next book club read. You can also find it in eBook and Audiobook format in Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Kids and Teens collection.

“Readers will cheer for Alex Rider, the 14-year-old hero of British author Horowitz’s spy thriller (the first in a projected series). When his guardian and uncle, Ian, is mysteriously killed, Alex discovers that his uncle was not the bank vice-president he purported to be, but rather a spy for the British government.”

— Publishers Weekly

Book Club Kits Rules for Use

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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Friday Reads: One of Us Knows, by Alyssa Cole

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Lynda Clause

Kenetria Nash finds herself on her way to her new historical preservationist job, as an archivist for a noteworthy home on an island in the Hudson River, with no memory of what’s happened for the past six years—including applying for, or accepting, this new position. A position that seems too perfect to be real. A huge storm is about to hit the island and any boats trying to reach it, cell service is out, and Kenetria—who goes by Ken—is going to have to dig deep for answers, but not in the way the reader might expect.

Alyssa Cole takes an innovative approach to worldbuilding in One of Us Knows, with most of the characters in the book all existing inside one person, Ken. Ken experiences dissociative identity disorder (DID), which used to be known as multiple personality disorder. In this story, all of Ken’s identities, or alters, are fleshed-out characters with motivations, strengths and weaknesses–and while some of them do communicate with each other directly, the whole group has agreed to maintain their system’s communication and survival with an online journal. Some of the alters are behaving in unexpected ways, though—which might be as a result of stress brought on by the fairly new COVID epidemic (the book is set in 2022), or because of something else entirely. But could one of the alters be a murderer? Ken also finds herself in the position of having to figure that out, to save herself and her system.

Cole keeps the internal and external action going at a dizzying but well-sorted clip, and pokes fun at expected psychological horror, thriller, and haunted house tropes. The characters experience parallels between the COVID pandemic and the 1918 influenza epidemic, which affected the original inhabitants of the creepy, castle-like house—the notorious house that hosts much of the action, in more ways than one. Some of the alters use humor as a defense mechanism, which makes for plenty of wisecracks as the mystery of their trauma unfolds, and as the suspense builds. The pace moves fast enough that the reader doesn’t have time to guess what’s around every turn, and most of those guesses would be wrong, anyway. A fresh, unabashed thriller that tackles heavy topics with a deft touch, One of Us Knows is a great read for a stormy weekend.

Cole, A. (2024). One of us knows : a thriller (First edition). William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

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2025 Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Christa Porter

For more grants like this one, check out the NLC’s Grant Opportunities for Nebraska Libraries.

Applications for the 2025 Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries are now open! These grants recognize libraries for their growth of graphic literature and award funds for graphic novel collection development and programming.

The application deadline is January 12, 2025, 12pm CT.

The objective of the Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries is to facilitate library-generated programs and services that will promote graphic novels to library patrons and to the local community.

Two Will Eisner Graphic Novel grants will be awarded in 2025: one Will Eisner Graphic Novel Growth Grant, which provides support to libraries that would like to expand their existing graphic novel collection, services, and programs; and one Will Eisner Graphic Novel Innovation Grant, which provides support to a library or Friends Group for the initiation of a new graphic novel service or program.

All applicants must be current personal or organizational members of ALA in good standing at the time of application. The institution can be a school, public, academic, or special library and must be located in North America – Canada, United States, or Mexico.

Visit the Eisner Grants page for the application form and grant details. Be sure to also check out the Eisner Grant FAQ page for new updates and additional information, including samples of some of the previous winning grant applications.

Check out this recorded webinar for some tips and advice for your Will Eisner Grant application. For any questions, contact ALA Graphic Novels & Comics in Libraries Round Table Staff Liaison, Tina Coleman, at ccoleman@ala.org.

Each winning library will receive a grant award of $4,000 to support initiatives that align with the objective of the Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries.  The grant award will consist of the following: 

  • $2,000 grant in collection development funds to purchase graphic novels,
  • $1,000 grant to host a graphic novel-themed event at a library or another community location, and
  • $1,000 grant to attend the ALA Annual Conference to receive their grant money.  This grant can be used towards any of the following: conference registration, transportation, lodging and food.

In addition, from the book publishers and the Eisner Foundation, the winning libraries will also receive the following graphic novels, valued at approximately $3,000:

  • The Will Eisner Library: A graphic novel collection of Will Eisner’s work and biographies about Will Eisner* (comprising approximately 40 books)
  • A selection of the winning titles from the current year’s Will Eisner Awards* at Comic-Con International (comprising approximately 40 books).

* Please note that some of the titles in these collections are of a mature nature. 

Chosen Grant applicants must agree to take responsibility for organizing a recognition ceremony of their grant in their library.

Will Eisner (1917-2005) was an acclaimed American comics writer, artist, teacher, and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of sequential art (a term he coined) and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential comic series, The Spirit; for his use of comics as an instructional medium; for his leading role in establishing the graphic novel as a form of literature with his 1978 groundbreaking graphic novel, A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories; for his 20 years of teaching at the School of Visual Arts, leading to his three textbooks. In a career that spanned nearly seven decades—from the dawn of the comic book to the advent of digital comics—Will Eisner was truly the “Father of the Graphic Novel.”

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Throwback Thursday: Mr. and Mrs. Oren Thayer

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

Put on your winter coats this #ThrowbackThursday!

This 4″x6″ glass plate negative is full figure portrait photograph of Oren and Tinnie Thayer, from David City, Nebraska. Oren is wearing a three-piece suit with white shirt and knotted tie, a long-haired full-length fur coat with wide collar and a wide-brimmed, felt hat. Tinnie is dressed in a floor-length skirt and white stand-collar blouse, ankle-length, dark wool overcoat with bodice embroidery and wide cuffs on the gathered sleeves with a dark fur collar and fur scarf, wide-brimmed hat with ostrich feather and ribbon trim and black leather gloves, holding a box-style purse.

Oren Mortimer Thayer was born December 4, 1855, in Winnebago, Illinois, to Elbridge & Mary Thayer. He married Mary “Polly” Farrell about 1876. They were divorced about 1905. Oren married Tinnie Belle Van Matre, December 12, 1906, in Schuyler, Nebraska. The photograph is probably their wedding picture. Tinnie was born January 21, 1873 in Illinois. Oren died October 29, 1932, in Dawson County, Nebraska, and Tinnie died January 21, 1934, in Kearney, Nebraska. They are both buried in the David City Cemetery.

This image is published as part of the Boston Studio Project collection, and is owned by both them and the Thorpe Opera House Foundation. The Boston Studio Collection consists of over 68,000 negatives that record life in and around David City, Nebraska from 1893 to 1979.

See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

The Nebraska Memories archive 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.

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WordPress Plugin Update: Weather Widget

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Amanda Sweet

To all the Nebraska Libraries on the Web users, I had to remove the weather widget because it was no longer being updated. But fear not! There is another way to add a weather widget to your site without a separate plugin.

The easy way for you is to just email me at amanda.sweet@nebraska.gov and ask me to add a weather widget to your site, along with the location where you would like the widget added. For example: can you add a weather widget on the home page on the right side, near the top?

Alternatively, you can follow these steps:

  1. Go to this website: https://weatherwidget.io/
  2. Type your location in the “Select Location” area.
  3. Change Units to Fahrenheit
  4. (Optional) Change the size of the widget by clicking and dragging the border. The pixel size will appear on the right side so you know what size it is.
    • Average side bar size is 300px.
    • Average full-width top banner size is 1200px
  5. (Optional) Click on Options across the top and change the number of days in the preview.
  6. Click “Get Code”. Copy to clipboard.
  7. Login to WordPress and go to the section where you want the widget to appear.
  8. Go to WP Code Block and add a code snippet. Paste everything in the <script> tags. Make sure you choose “Javascript as a language type.
  9. Copy everything in the <a class></a> tags.
  10. Go to the page/ section where you want the widget to appear.
  11. Add an HTML block and paste what you copied in Step 9.
  12. Add a WPCode block and choose the name of the snippet you created in step 8.
  13. The widget should appear. If it doesn’t show on the screen, Publish the changes and check if the widget shows up on the actual website.

Again, if all else fails, just email me and I’ll get it added.

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Basic Skills 2025 Courses & Registration Dates

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Holli Duggan
Text "Basic Skills 2025: Schedule" in a light green oval shape on top of a darker sage green oval.

The course schedule for Basic Skills 2025 is now posted!

Registration for the February Customer Service class will be open from December 22nd until January 24th. If you would like to register after that date, please contact me.

The Communication course (usually open in January) is now available to access at any time! Just register for a (free) account on our Niche Academy page and click the course link:

You can find the rest of the 2025 schedule and registration dates below:

If you have any questions at all, please contact: Holli Duggan.

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (12/2 – 12/6)

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Holli Duggan
Continuing Education Upcoming Webinars and Events. December 2nd - 6th.

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

(Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.)

For more information, please visit NLC: Free Webinars or WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

Posted in Education & Training | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

NCompass Live: To Librarianship and Beyond: What’s It Like Being a Corporate Librarian?

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Christa Porter

What’s It Like Being a Corporate Librarian? Find out on next week’s NCompass Live webinar, ‘To Librarianship and Beyond’, on Wednesday, December 4 at 10am CT.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a librarian in a corporate environment? Attend this session to hear Emily Nimsakont discuss her position as digital librarian for a software company. She will compare and contrast her job to more traditional library positions, discuss the pros and cons of working in the corporate world, and offer advice on breaking into this area of library work.

Presenter: Emily Nimsakont, Digital Librarian, Posit PBC.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

  • Dec. 11 – Best New Children’s Books of 2024
  • Dec. 18 – Fostering Healthy Communication in Your Library
  • Dec. 25 – NO NCOMPASS LIVE THIS WEEK – HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
  • Jan. 1, 2025 – NO NCOMPASS LIVE THIS WEEK
  • Jan. 8, 2025 – Best New Teen Reads of 2024
  • Jan. 29, 2025 – Pretty Sweet Tech

To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, 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 GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

Posted in Education & Training, General | Tagged | Leave a comment

Friday Reads & BookFace Friday: “Be Ready When the Luck Happens” by Ina Garten

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Lisa Kelly

If you can’t find a fresh, locally grown #BookFace, that’s fine. Store bought will do.

Celebrity home cooks Martha Stewart and Ina Garten evoke strong opinions. As for me? I love them both. I came to know Ina from her show on the Food Network, which has evolved to a series that now puts her in the interview seat, talking and cooking with celebrities in a show called Be My Guest. Ina doesn’t do anything by halves. She believes in buying the best and freshest ingredients available and never compromising on quality. Easy for her to say with multiple homes in East Hampton, New York City, and Paris. Still, in this book, she reveals this hasn’t always been the case. She married her famous trade, finance, and business expert husband Jeffrey at the age of 20, and moved out of her childhood home and away from her abusive parents who never encouraged her. During a gap in Jeffrey’s military career, Ina and Jeffrey traveled for a summer in Europe on a strict budget of $5.00 a day and slept in a little orange tent. As she evolved personally and professionally, she and Jeffrey separated for a time. This was one of the surprising details of her memoir along with the fact that she’s always owned a convertible and is also a bit of a real estate addict, buying, restoring, and sometimes flipping homes in the various places she’s lived.

I also learned that she is, in her own words, an adrenaline junkie. If she isn’t challenged by something or trying to solve a particular problem, she is bored. From buying her specialty food store, The Barefoot Contessa, with zero small business experience, to creating and writing her first cookbook over 25 years ago, she has challenged herself repeatedly. While she may sound a little obsessive, I found her business and management style to be completely practical, reasonable, and full of common sense. I also found the story of her marriage not at all saccharine, but one where each person “thought they got the better deal.” All you need is one person to believe in you. For Ina, that person is Jeffrey.

Garten, Ina. Be Ready When the Luck Happens: Crown, 2024

This title is also available as an audiobook and eBook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries. Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace or #FridayReads? Check out our past posts on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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Throwback Thursday: Family in Shop

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

Happy Thanksgiving #ThrowbackThursday!

This postcard shows a black and white photograph of a family standing in a general store or butcher shop. There are sausages and cuts of meat hanging on the walls. The man and woman both wear aprons and stand behind a counter with a large scale on it, weighing a turkey, while two children stand in front of the counter.

This image is published and owned by the History Nebraska. They digitized content from the John Nelson and the J. A. Anderson collection. John Nelson came to Nebraska with his parents at the age of seventeen from Sweden. His photographs tell the story of small town life in Nebraska during the first decades of the twentieth century.

See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

The Nebraska Memories archive 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.

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Nebraska Football Book Available on BARD!

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Bailee Juroshek

“Big Red Confidential: Inside Nebraska Football” by Armen Keteyian is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service. BARD is a service offered by the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress.

This book brings to life the raw intensity and richly colorful experience of Husker Power. Yet it also shows that beneath this mighty exterior lies a turbulent, troubled team of players and coaches. It exposes the big-time money and pressures that come with being the winningest team in college football.

TBBS borrowers can request “Big Red Confidential: Inside Nebraska Football” DBC02024 or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS) | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Continuing Education: Weekly Resources

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Holli Duggan
Text reads "continuing education upcoming webinars and events for November 25th- 29th"

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

(Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.)

For more information, please visit NLC: Free Webinars or WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

Posted in Education & Training, General | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

NCompass Live: Pretty Sweet Tech: Internet Librarian 2024 Recap

Posted on November 22, 2024 by Christa Porter

Highlights from Internet Librarian 2024 will be shared on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, November 27 at 10am CT.

Special monthly episodes of NCompass Live! Join the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet, as she guides us through the world of library-related Pretty Sweet Tech.

Just in case you missed it, this Pretty Sweet Tech will offer some highlights from Internet Librarian 2024 that ran virtually from October 22-24. It’s where all the cool kids go to learn about library technology topics. Here are the themes I’ll be covering in the recap:

  • Training for an Unknown Future: Explore new ways to learn new skills, train staff, and brainstorm some skills you might want to focus on in the near future.
  • Libraries Solving Community Problems: Learn how some awesome libraries have built partnerships to tackle big community problems.
  • Hybrid Presence: Uncover new ways to update your web presence to engage with communities who need to come together in new ways to prepare for the same unknown future.
  • Just Plain Cool: Some projects are just plan cool. I want to share a few of my favorite highlights.

I’ll include my usual disclaimer that I couldn’t make it to every session, but I did my best to dig around and catch the cool, helpful, or off the beaten path sessions that caught my eye.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

  • Dec. 4 – To Librarianship and Beyond: What’s It Like Being a Corporate Librarian?
  • Dec. 11 – Best New Children’s Books of 2024
  • Dec. 25 – NO NCOMPASS LIVE THIS WEEK – HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
  • Jan. 1, 2025 – NO NCOMPASS LIVE THIS WEEK
  • Jan. 8, 2025 – Best New Teen Reads of 2024

To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, 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 GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

Posted in Education & Training, Pretty Sweet Tech, Technology | Tagged , | Leave a comment

#BookFaceFriday – “Thanks for This Riot” by Janelle Bassett

Posted on November 22, 2024 by Tessa Timperley

We’re not gonna take it with #BookFaceFriday!

“Thanks for This Riot: Stories” by Janelle Bassett (University of Nebraska Press, 2024) is a part of the Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction and is available as a part of our Nebraska State Documents Collection.

The Prairie Schooner journal selects one short story collection from contemporary writers each year for this prize series. The series is sponsored and vetted by the staff of Prairie Schooner and a venerable committee of judges, and the selected volumes are published each year by UNP with Kwame Dawes as series editor.

One of the most prestigious academic presses in the country, the University of Nebraska Press sends us around 75 select titles per year, which are added to the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse, also known as the Nebraska State Documents Collection. This collection is comprised of publications issued by Nebraska state agencies, ensuring that state government information is available to a wide audience and that those valuable publications are preserved for future generations. University of Nebraska Press books, as well as all state documents, are available for checkout by libraries and librarians for their patrons.

“Janelle Bassett’s voice is one I can’t get enough of. The stories in Thanks for This Riot are fresh and unique and wickedly off-kilter but also burn with a wry, age-old, ironic wisdom. This collection is bitingly funny but sincerely so, with little lies and harmless untruths taking on an edge and inflicting irresistible damage.”

― Timothy Schaffert, author of The Perfume Thief and The Titanic Survivors Book Club

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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