FREE Webinars in January 2010

Start off the new year with continuing education delivered right to your desktop. Listed here are webinars from a number of different sources. Click on the link to check for further information and registration, and to double-check times. Most webinars are archived for later viewing. Check with the producer for archive info. 1/11/2010 Noon – 1 p.m. (CT) Bite-Sized Marketing: Realistic Solutions for Overworked Librarians Librarians are increasingly under pressure to step up their marketing efforts but where to begin when there’s no plan, no time, no staff and no money? Is it possible to create a marketing plan when your organization has an outdated or nonexistent strategic plan? You betcha! There are many news tools available for marketing. Create effective strategies and avoid the “Shiny Object Syndrome” by learning how to determine which web 2.0 tools are best for your library. Join Nancy Dowd as she shares tips on working with the new marketing mix to find the right combination for your library. She will discuss the newest trends in marketing including mobile marketing, word of mouth marketing strategies, Twitter, Facebook, blogging and Podcasting. 1/12/2010 3 – 4:00 p.m. (CT) Twenty-first Century Reference Collections Reference collections are changing, driven by technology and new patterns of use. Join Booklist’s Mary Ellen Quinn, Editor of Reference Books Bulletin, and a group of library and publishing experts as they talk about how the traditional reference collection is being transformed. Panelists include David A. Tyckoson, Associate Dean, California State University Henry Madden Library; and representatives from Encyclopaedia Britannica, M. E. Sharpe, World Book, and ABC-CLIO. As a webinar registrant, you will receive follow-up correspondence from Booklist publications and may receive other special offers from our sponsors. 1/14/2010 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. (CT) New Copyright Tools and Best Practices: Copyright Law Update 2010 Join Mary Minow to get updates on new copyright tools and best practices that can be helpful for libraries; Learn the latest developments in copyright laws and cases, including the latest in the Google Book Search case, e-reserve and coursepack lawsuits. Learn about a simple procedure to file with the Copyright Office to minimize liability for user-supplied-content. This webinar will be of interest to library staff who confront copyright issues in designing web pages, making digital copies for interlibrary loan and e-reserves, and will help those who fear receiving copyright infringement notices. 1/14/2010 1 – 2 p.m. (CT) Web Usability Testing: part 1 of the “Enhancing Your Online Presence Series” Lana Johnson, CIT DEAL Lab, Communications, Information and Technology, University of Nebraska, will be explaining the process of testing for how ‘usable’ your website is. Usability is the ease with which people can perform a certain task on an object or system to achieve a particular goal. Web usability testing allows us to observe what users do, where they succeed and where they have difficulties. Feedback from this testing can then be used to improve web designs and interfaces for better user experiences. For further info on the series, see University of Nebraska eXtension Free Webinar Series on Enhancing Your Online Presence. The Web meeting room opens 10 minutes before the start time. Go to http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/ecop to view. 1/21/2010 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. (CT) Let’s Get Social: Photo and Video Sharing We’ll look at and discuss photo and video sharing sites, such as YouTube, Flickr, and Picasa. Everyone is welcome to attend this live online event, which will last approximately 90 minutes. If you live outside of Illinois, there is no need to register. 1/22/2010 11 a.m. – Noon (CT) Hot Tools for Tough Times Drive-by Series – Pt. 1: Helping Your Patrons Help Themselves No matter where you are or what kind of library you’re in, times are tough and money’s tight. Your library budgets are most likely getting slashed, and it’s quite likely that your patron’s wallets are a little less thick than they used to be, too. We all know that in dark economic times, more and more people turn to our institutions for help and entertainment, but it’s not always clear how we can best help them – and ourselves – when we have seemingly fewer resources with which to do so. This series of short presentations will hopefully help you brainstorm some creative ways you can add value to the services you provide, without adding more stress to your budget! Part 1: Helping Your Patrons Help Themselves This hour long talk will explore a few ways you can help members of your community who find themselves out of work or just looking to better their financial situation. We’ll briefly discuss programming possibilities, a few free technologies that can be of great benefit to job-seekers, and some smart ways to supplement cash flow and manage money. This is a free presentation given as part of BCR’s Free Friday Forum series. Anyone is welcome to attend. Space is limited, so make sure to register early. 1/28/2010 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. (CT) Libraries and Workforce Recovery The data show that people turn to libraries in tough times. As part of Project Compass, an IMLS grant-funded initiative by WebJunction and the State Library of North Carolina, research has been conducted to assess the type and extent of current patron needs from libraries and the response to those needs by state and local public libraries. Join us for an overview of this initial research, and to be introduced to the project and to a new section on WebJunction for Workforce Resources designed to collect library-specific resources and responses to these tough times. You’ll hear about strategies for triaging social services and how to analyze your library’s services in relation to existing community social services. You’ll discover new ways to create partnerships with community agencies to leverage workforce development efforts. Finally, you’ll get tips on tactics that can be implemented on a shoestring or non-existent budget to respond to patron workforce development needs.