Author Archives: Laura Johnson

Here’s some programs coming up. Remember to report your attendance for C.E. credit. That form (you know the one) is at: http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/libdev/ce/CEform2.html. I’m really interested in what you think of the Webinars, so if you’d like to drop me an email after the program telling me what you think–was it worthwhile content? Was it easy to participate? Did you like the format and/or presenter? I’d like to hear from you.
Visual Design: Theory & Best Practices for Library Websites
10/7 1-2 P.M. (CT) WebJunction
Today, our users/patrons expect visually engaging and informative websites. The fonts, images, colors and styles of your web pages should support your mission, content, publicity and service goals. Join presenter Michael Leach as he highlights both theory and best practices that support a visually engaging website—what fonts should you choose; which styles work best for content presentation; what types of images and graphics convey information better; and how do colors influence users’ perceptions and use of a website. For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
Capturing Struggling and Reluctant Readers
10/8 1-2 P.M. (CT) Library Journal
This informative webcast will bring together a panel of experts in reading, media center services, and children’s literacy, including school librarians, educators, and a representative from Capstone Press and Stone Arch Books to cover a range of processes, programs, and ideas that can bolster reading skills, comprehension, and literacy in the K-6 library and classroom. Attendees will learn best practices to engage struggling and reluctant readers, discover multi-level reading resources for classroom and school library integration, and pick up techniques and programming ideas that will encourage the use of fiction and nonfiction. Time will be reserved for Q&A at the end of the webcast. For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://www.libraryjournal.com/webcasts/48747/Webcasts.html
TWO Goal Posts: Library & Community
10/9 1-2 P.M. (CT) WebJunction Rural Library Sustainability
WebJunction and The Association for Rural and Small Libraries presents a free hour-long webinar focused on a topic important to the work of sustaining Rural and Small libraries. Jim Connor and Ellen Miller will facilitate, and will be joined by another veteran trustee, Patricia Fisher. Find out why you need to keep your eyes on TWO goal posts—the library and the community. For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
Structures for Facilitating Faculty Teaching Other Faculty Members
10/10 1-2 P.M. (CT) TLT Webinar
Free webinar for academic librarians who work with faculty members. For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://www.tltgroup.org/calendar.htm
Latinos and Public Library Perceptions
10/1414 1-2 P.M. (CT) WebJuntion Spanish Language Outreach
WebJunction, in partnership with the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, recently published a research report detailing the results of a six-state telephone survey of over 2,860 adult Latinos completed in early 2008. Learn about the findings and implications of the study from WebJunction’s Laura Staley and researchers from TRPI. For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
Conflict in a Peaceful Library
10/15 1-2 P.M. (CT) WebJunction
Conflict happens! Many of us try to avoid it, some fight with it, some seem to enjoy it and still others seem to handle it with tact and skill. What’s the secret to effectively handling situations of conflict? How can we de-emotionalize ourselves to the situations so that we don’t get caught up in them? Join Andrew Sanderbeck as he explores our dealings with others in the library by defining the conflict situation and using one of three approaches to successfully handle or resolve it. If you don’t like to be yelled at by other people, you’ll really enjoy this fun and interactive webinar. For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
Get Your Game On
10/16 1-1:30 P.M. (CT) (MaintainIT Cookbook Webinar)
Join Lori Reed for “Get Your Game On: Quick Tips to Start a Gaming Program in Your Library”. Lori is Employee Learning Coordinator at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg, will lead this fast-paced and interactive session introducing the idea of gaming programs in libraries. Hear what others have done, share your experiences, and think about what you might want to do in the future. Take 30 minutes out of your day to learn from the experiences of others and get something started. This is a part of the MaintainIT Cookbook webinar series where contributors to the Cookbooks share their insights, their secrets, and what you can do to get started with projects like theirs. For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
Refugees 101
10/23 1-2 P.M. (CT) WebJunction
In 1975 the United States began accepting large numbers of refugees in response to the Fall of Saigon. Over the next 33 years approximately 2.6 million refugees have been resettled in this country, and many of these individuals are now using our libraries. Join Valerie Wonder, Immigrant & Refugee Programs Manager at Seattle Public Library (WA) and Homa Naficy Manager of Multicultural Education and Outreach Services at Hartford Public Library (CT) as they provide an overview of refugee resettlement in the United States including information on recent refugee populations. She will also highlight some successful approaches to serving refugees in public libraries. Before working for SPL, Valerie was the Community Programs Manager for the International Rescue Committee’s Seattle office where she specialized in refugee services. For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
Cooperation for the Collection: Integrating ILL and Acquisitions Workflows
10/ 24 3-4:30 P.M. (CT) BCR
As budgets get tighter and users more savvy, many libraries are blurring the line between resource sharing and collection development by purchasing items requested on interlibrary loan rather than requesting them through traditional resource sharing models. In this Free Friday Forum, we will host a panel of librarians who currently have programs based on this model. Panelists will discuss the costs and benefits of and their experience with purchase-on-demand programs. The session will also have time for questions from the attendees. For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://www.bcr.org/training/schedule/programdetail.php?programid=272
“Challenging the Assumptions of Legacy Librarianship” with Joan Frye Williams and George Needham
11/19 10:00-11:00 A.M. OPAL
In this updated version of their PLA presentation, library consultant Joan Frye Williams and OCLC Vice-President George Needham will take a humorous, no-holds-barred look at recent data that challenge traditional library thinking, and will offer some surprising suggestions for re-imagining the library. Participants will learn about:
• The most recent OCLC-commissioned research findings about social networking and library advocacy.
• Suggestions about which library services align well with emerging customer requirements, and which services might need to be discontinued or changed.
• Successful new service models, with practical implementation tips.
This webinar is designed for librarians, public service and branch staff, library workers with customer service responsibilities, friends, trustees and commissioners, plus anyone with both a connection to the library community and a sense of humor. For more information and to register for this program, visit: http://www.opal-online.org/progschrono.htm
Thanks to Jamie Marcus of the Wyoming State Library for originally compiling this list and generously sharing it.

David Macaulay, author and illustrator, will host a live Webcast Tuesday, October 7 at 9 a.m. CST. He’ll interact with students, and discuss his career and his new book, The Way We Work. Register to attend the Webcast at the Houghton Mifflin Website.
After you’ve attended the Webcast, be sure to let Linda Jensen at the Nebraska Library Commission know so that she can record Continuing Education credits for you. Just print the Continuing Education Activity Report form (horrible title. We’d welcome suggestions for a better name for the form.) from the Web, fill it out and send it to Linda.

Basic Skills: Organization of Materials, one of the four Basic Skills courses required for Nebraska Public Librarian Certification, is sponsored by the Nebraska Library Commission and Nebraska’s Regional Library Systems. It covers:

• Basic principles of organization in libraries
• Subject cataloging
• Dewey Decimal Classification
• Card catalog format
• Automated catalog format
• Library automation systems.

The course will be available on-site in each of the six Regional Library systems, as well as online.

Online – March 19 – April 28

Seward – March 3,10,17

Norfolk – March 18, 25, April 1

Fremont – April 4, 18, May 2

Scottsbluff – April 4, 11, 18

Kearney – April 11, 18, 25

North Platte – April 8, 15, 22

The on-site classes require attendance at all three class sessions. In addition to in-class or online participation, requirements include the completion of assigned exercises. Instructors will review assignments and provide participants with feedback.

The registration fee is $35.00, which includes the materials that will be provided.

Register for the class most convenient for you on the Nebraska Library Commission Training Calendar. Registration for each class will close 10 days before the class starts.

The LE@D (LIfelong Education @ Desktop) program from the University of North Texas is offering a chance for library workers to take their Managing Difficult Patron with Confidence online course for free. Just fill out the simple application form and indicate whether you’d like to start in October, November or December. Four hundred scholarships are being offered. This is a great way to try out online education (if you haven’t tried it already) and to earn C.E. credits.
To report your C.E. participation and get credits once you’ve completed the online class, just fill out the form available on the Nebraska Library Commission Website and send it in.

Thinking Outside the Borders, a multi-national institute for librarians to examine, explore, and discuss issues that affect all librarians regardless of country, is coming to Nebraska, October 22-26. Attendees will:

• Learn cross-cultural communication strategies
• Develop an understanding of librarianship and the world community
• Focus on leadership issues affecting librarians regardless of country
• Build mutually-beneficial global professional relationships

Nebraska’s “Thinking Outside the Borders” experience will pair about 15 Nebraska librarians with the same number of international librarians taking part in the Mortenson Center Associates program. Applications for Nebraska participants are now being accepted. Costs of the program are covered by a grant. Thinking Outside the Borders: Library Leadership in a World Community is a joint project of the Nebraska Library Commission and the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Library, funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)

Web Junction presents a webinar on February 28, from Noon to 1 P.M on “Social Software and the Rural Library: Blogs, Wikis, IM, and more!” How are these tools being used in libraries? What is the potential? What might the future hold? Moderated by Brenda Hough, Technology Coordinator, Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS). Simple Instructions on how to participate are available from Web Junction. The Webinar will use the OCLC Online Meeting Place and a conference call to an 800 number. “Each month the Rural Library Sustainability Project is presenting a webinar focused on a particular topic of importance to the work of sustaining Rural and Small libraries.”