Search the Blog
Categories
- Books & Reading
- Broadband Buzz
- Census
- Education & Training
- General
- Grants
- Information Resources
- Library Management
- Nebraska Center for the Book
- Nebraska Memories
- Now hiring @ your library
- Preservation
- Pretty Sweet Tech
- Programming
- Public Library Boards of Trustees
- Public Relations
- Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS)
- Technology
- Uncategorized
- What's Up Doc / Govdocs
- Youth Services
Archives
Subscribe
Category Archives: Uncategorized
School librarian’s workshop: federal government resources for K-12
A live training webinar, “School Librarian’s Workshop: Federal Government Resources for K-12 / Taller para maestros de español: Recursos de gobierno federal para niveles K-12,” will be presented on Tuesday, May 31, 2016.
Click here to register!
- Start time: 2:00 p.m. (Eastern), 1:00 (Central)
- Duration: 60 minutes
- Speaker: Jane Canfield, Coordinator of Federal Documents, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
- Learning outcomes: Are you a school librarian? Do you work with school librarians or children? The School Librarian’s Workshop will provide useful information for grades K-12, including Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government and Kids.gov. The webinar will explore specific agency sites which provide information, in English and Spanish, appropriate for elementary and secondary school students. Teachers and school librarians will discover information on Federal laws and regulations and learn about resources for best practices in the classroom.
- Expected level of knowledge for participants: No prerequisite knowledge required.
Closed captioning will be available for this webinar.
The webinar is free, however registration is required. Upon registering, a confirmation email will be sent to you. This registration confirmation email includes the instructions for joining the webinar.
Registration confirmations will be sent from sqldba[at]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.
GPO’s eLearning platform presents 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.
Visit FDLP Academy for access to FDLP educational and training resources. All are encouraged to share and re-post information about this free training opportunity.
Webinar — Increasing Veterans’ Access with eBenefits
A live training webinar, “Increasing Veterans’ Access with eBenefits,” will be presented on Thursday, June 16, 2016.
Register today for “Increasing Veterans’ Access with eBenefits”
- Date: Thursday, June 16, 2016
- Start time: 2:00 p.m. (Eastern), 1:00 (Central)
- Duration: 60 minutes
- Speaker: Zorina Pritchett, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Description: Would you like to do more to help veterans? Learn the basics of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ eBenefits web portal, which allows veterans, service members, and eligible dependents to directly access VA benefits and services. Understanding eBenefits will allow you to assist eligible users in accessing the portal so they can effectively manage their VA benefits and military information. This webinar will present an overview of the eBenefits registration, basic navigation, reference contacts, and key resources.
- Expected level of knowledge for participants: No prerequisite knowledge required
Closed captioning will be provided for this webinar.
The webinar is free, however registration is required. Upon registering, a confirmation email will be sent to you. This registration confirmation email includes the instructions for joining the webinar.
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.
GPO’s eLearning platform presents 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.
Visit FDLP Academy for access to FDLP educational and training resources. All are encouraged to share and re-post information about this free training opportunity with others.
Webinar — The Outreach Bridge to Engaging Latino and Spanish-speaking Families
This webinar presents strategies for library outreach to and engagement with Latino and Spanish-speaking communities, laying the groundwork for successful programming.
If you want to attract Latino and Spanish-speaking families to your library, the instinct is to launch a bilingual or Spanish-language storytime. It’s the “if we build it, they will come” logic for attracting community members who are not being served by the library. Libraries may be disappointed to discover that it doesn’t necessarily work that way. In this webinar, recognize the critical role that outreach plays in bridging the gap between Latino and Spanish-speaking families and library services. Hear real-world examples of outreach strategies from librarians who successfully connected with their Latino and Spanish-speaking communities, and learn a basic outreach process that you can adapt for your own community.
Presented by: Katie Scherrer, Connected Communities, consultant and co-author of Once Upon a Cuento: Bilingual Storytime in English and Spanish; and Lauren Simon, Community Librarian, Tualatin Public Library
Related Resources:
- On WebJunction:
Helping Schools Ensure the Civil Rights of Transgender Students… U.S. Department of Education: Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students
The U.S. Department of Education is committed to providing schools with the information they need to provide a safe, supportive, and nondiscriminatory learning environment for all students. It has come to the Department’s attention that many transgender students (i.e., students whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth) report feeling unsafe and experiencing verbal and physical harassment or assault in school, and that these students may perform worse academically when they are harassed. School administrators, educators, students, and parents are asking questions about how to support transgender students and have requested clarity from the Department of Education. In response, ED has developed Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students.To see, and/or print this 25 page report, click on the title above.
The Data Dude on Public Library Survey Completion
Shaka. Thanks again to all of you who submitted your public library survey via Bibliostat, and to those unaccredited libraries who submitted the survey on paper, answering the federally required questions. Our data has been submitted to IMLS, and as soon as some cleanup occurs, the full data set will be available on our website. Our response rate jumped a bit this year, up to 89%. For those of you who might be new to the survey, now would be the time to start collecting your statistics for next year’s reporting cycle, which begins mid-November. If you are a new director, take a look at our guide for new directors. If you are one of those unaccredited libraries who responded to the survey on paper, if those statistics are submitted online next cycle, you will be eligible for a Dollar$ for Data grant payment.
Posted in General, Library Management, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
The Data Dude on State Aid
Shaka. The 2016 state aid calculations are now complete. State aid letters have been mailed and payments are in process. In the meantime, if you want to know more information about state aid (in general) go to that part of the NLC website. Here is a list of the state aid distributions for 2016, and here is a link to a press release you can customize and use for your particular library.
For those libraries that aren’t accredited, now may be the time to consider the accreditation process, as you would then be eligible for state aid next year. You also need to submit your public library survey online with Bibliostat. The accreditation process starts later this summer, and the next public library survey collection cycle begins in November.
Posted in General, Library Management, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
Activate, Collaborate, and Educate: Health Outreach and Programming in Your Community
June 2, 2016 – 10-11 AM Central / 9-10 AM Mountain Time (online)
National Network of Libraries of Medicine MidContinental Region
Presenter: Community Engagement Coordinator, Dana Abbey.
Description: This presentation will provide an overview of ideas to conduct health outreach and create health programs for libraries and community/faith based organizations. Participants will learn how to integrate resources from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and other reputable agencies to introduce community members to NLM resources in fun and engaging ways. Examples of programs for children, teens, adults and/or seniors using NLM and other National Institutes of Health center and office resources will be shared. The examples in this session will focus on a nutrition and food label program for families to align with the summer reading 2016 theme.
This class has been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credits by the Medical Library Association and is eligible for MLA Level 1 and Level 2 Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS).
Registration required. Visit http://nnlm.gov/mcr/training-schedule for registration link and more information.
Annette Parde-Maass
Health Information Literacy Coordinator
National Network of Libraries of Medicine
Creighton University|Health Sciences Library
AnnetteParde-Maass@creighton.edu
402.280.4156
Genealogy Essentials: Helping Patrons Search for Family Roots
Curiosity about where one comes from is innate to the human spirit. Did my grandmother adorn graves with marigolds for Día de los Muertos too? Mom, why do we fast for Ramadan? Did my great-great-grandfather really elope from Ontario to Wisconsin? Where do my people come from? Who am I?
Our personal histories are often a mix of heritage, culture, ethnicity and religion. One way to connect with our roots is through genealogy research. So many internet-based tools exist to help our patrons explore their histories, but as library staff we can help guide patrons to connect successfully with the details and stories of their ancestry.
On May 19, WebJunction will hold the free webinar Genealogy Essentials: Helping Patrons Search for Family Roots to show you how to assist patrons with genealogical questions using FamilySearch.org, a leading genealogy resource.
Most communities encompass many different cultures and heritages. This presents opportunities for libraries, and if you’re looking for ways to expand how you bring together the different facets of your community, check out the archived webinar Community Engagement: Serving Diverse Communities Where They Are.
Knowing that Latino and Spanish-speaking communities are growing around the country, we’re curious in our May Crossroads poll specifically if and how you are reaching these communities at your library. Let us know!
Date : 19 May 2016
Time: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)
Future Historical Collections : Archiving the 2014 Ebola Outbreak
In October 2014, Marty Magee shared some informative resources about Ebola with the NCompass Blog community. That month the National Library of Medicine (NLM) began capturing and preserving born-digital content about the Ebola outbreak as they anticipated its use as primary source material for future research. The subsequent Ebola Outbreak 2014 online collection provided opportunities to compare web pages and dates. For instance, the USAID Ebola web page could be compared to one from the CDC or it could be compared to itself. What was the USAID Ebola page like on October 22, 2014 versus January 20, 2016? Or how did tweets containing #ebola from October 4, 2014 compare to those from June 20, 2015? You can see for yourself by visiting https://archive-it.org/collections/4887?fc=websiteGroup%3AEbola+Outbreak+2014 .
For more information about the development of the Ebola Outbreak 2014 digital collection and archiving born-digital content, check out these blog posts and lecture recordings from Christie Moffatt, Archivist & Manager of the Digital Manuscripts Program in the History of Medicine Division of the NLM:
Christie Moffatt described the reasoning and beginnings of the collection on an NLM Circulating Now post, November 19, 2014: https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/11/19/future-historical-collections-archiving-the-2014-ebola-outbreak/
History of Medicine Lecture by Christie Moffatt about the development of the Ebola Web Archive, March 10, 2016: http://videocast.nih.gov/launch.asp?19543
NLM Circulating Now blog interview with Christie Moffatt about herself and her work, March 10, 2016: https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/03/10/future-historical-collections-archiving-the-2014-ebola-outbreak-2/
(via Annette Parde-Maass)
A little note on the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) coordinators in Nebraska:
Since October 2014, Marty moved to another position at UNMC, Christian Minter was hired in Marty’s former position NN/LM, and Annette Parde-Maass was hired as Creighton University’s NN/LM Coordinator (formerly the position held by Monica Rogers).
The Data Dude on Dollars for Data
Since 2005, the Library Commission has provided funding for the Dollar$ for Data program. In a nutshell, if an unaccredited library submits their annual statistics online using the Bibliostat tool, they are eligible for a $200 grant payment. This year, there are 49 unaccredited libraries who submitted their statistics and will receive the payment. Letters have been mailed to those libraries, but a complete list is also on the NLC website. The purpose of this program is to encourage unaccredited libraries to submit their data and encourage them to take the next step and apply for accreditation. The accreditation process begins in July, and more information can be found here. Shaka.
Posted in General, Grants, Library Management, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
Download 67,000 Historic Maps
If you love looking at maps as much as I do, you and your patrons will really enjoy the website I’m sharing with you today. Please read on…
Stanford University is excited to announce the arrival of the David Rumsey Map Center in April. While these kinds of university improvements are rarely of much interest to the general public, this one highlights a collection worth giving full attention. Well, for those of us, that is, who love maps.
You do not need to be a Stanford student or faculty or staff member to access the vast treasures of the Rumsey Map collection, nor do you need to visit the university or its new Center. Since 1996, the Rumsey collection’s online database has been open to all, currently offering anyone with an internet connection access to 67,000 maps from all over the globe, spanning five centuries of cartography. Rumsey’s holdings constitute, writes Wired, “the dopest map collection on Earth,” and though its physical housing at Stanford is a huge boon to academic researchers, its online archive is yours for the browsing, searching, and downloading, whoever and wherever you are.
Pages like the 1867 map “Twelve Perspectives on the Earth in Orbit and Rotation,” contains detailed publication information, the ability to zoom in and examine the tiniest details, and an “export” function allowing users to download a variety of resolutions up to 12288 pixels. (The same holds true for all other maps.) There’s also a new feature for many maps called “Georeferencing” (see a short introductory video here), which matches the map’s contours with other historic maps or with more accurate, modern satellite images.
In the case of “Twelve Perspectives on the Earth in Orbit and Rotation,” the georeferencing function returns an error message stating “this is not a map.” But in terrestrial images, like the topographical map of the Yosemite Valley above, we can choose specific portions to georeference, use the “visualize” function to see how they match up to contemporary views, and conduct an accuracy analysis. (Georeferencing requires sign-in with a free account, or you can use your Google, Facebook, or Twitter log-ins.) Georeferencing is not available for all maps, yet. You can help the Rumsey collection expand the feature by visiting this page and clicking the “Random Map” link.
The Rumsey Collection contains a seemingly inexhaustible supply of cartographic images, such as the colorful aerial view of New York City from 1900, above, and the 1949 composite map of the Soviet Union, at the top of the post. In addition to the maps themselves—most works of art in their own right—the database is full of other beautiful images related to geography, such as the fabulous, full-color title page below for the 1730 Atlas Novus sive Tabulae Geographicae by Matthaeus Seutter.
David Rumsey—currently President of the digital publishing company Cartography Associates—began collecting maps and “related cartographic materials” in 1980. Since then, his physical collection has grown to include over 150,000 maps, to be housed at the Stanford Center that bears his name, and he has received several awards for making his collection available online. The cartography enthusiasts among us, and the hardcore scholars, can likely look forward to many more maps appearing in the web archive. For now, there’s no shortage of fascinating material.
On the site’s homepage, they highlight these areas worth exploring:
The historical map collection has over 67,000 maps and images online. The collection includes rare 16th through 21st century maps of America, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Pacific, and the World.
Popular collection categories are celestial, antique atlas, globe, school geography, maritime chart, state, county, city, pocket, wall & case, children’s, and manuscript maps. Search examples: Pictorial maps, United States maps, Geology maps, California map, Afghanistan map, America map, New York City map, Chicago map, and U.S. Civil War maps. Browse map categories: What, Where, Who, When. The collection is used to study history, art, genealogy, explorations, and family history.
Enjoy!
Reprinted from Open Culture : the best free cultural & educational media on the web, April 20th, 2016.
The Data Dude – Do Space
“Some of the simplest, most innovative things I’ve thought of just happened through conversation,”– Hans Bekale, Classless Agency, Omaha, NE
This week, the Dude almost decided to end his streak of weekly posts (and it will happen sooner or later), but then listened to a recent NET story about Do Space and for some reason started thinking about Marcus Aurelius and the exchange of ideas (no kidding). Now, before we get to the Do Space plug, a little side note. There could, theoretically, be a long dissertation on Marcus Aurelius, collaboration, and the power of patience, but another newfound quote seems to illustrate the Dude’s thoughts on these things a whole lot better:
The most valuable skill of a successful entrepreneur … isn’t ‘vision’ or ‘passion’ or a steadfast insistence on destroying every barrier between yourself and some prize you’re obsessed with. Rather, it’s the ability to adopt an unconventional approach to learning: an improvisational flexibility not merely about which route to take towards some predetermined objective, but also a willingness to change the destination itself. This is a flexibility that might be squelched by rigid focus on any one goal.
–Oliver Burkeman
So if you are planning a collaborative learning space or collaborative library program, check out the NET story. Perhaps this could inspire you or just give you a bit more information about the great work that is occurring at Do Space, both concerning collaboration and technology. Shaka.
Posted in General, Technology, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
USDA Seeks Applications for Nearly $12 Million in Broadband Grants for Rural Communities
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that USDA is soliciting applications for grants to establish broadband in unserved rural communities through its Community Connect program. Community Connect is administered by USDA’s Rural Utilities Service and helps to fund broadband deployment into rural communities where it is not economically viable for private sector providers to provide service.
“Through Community Connect and our other telecommunications programs, USDA helps to ensure that rural residents have access to broadband to run businesses, get the most from their education and benefit from the infinite services that fast, reliable broadband provides,” Vilsack said. “USDA is committed to supporting America’s rural communities through targeted investments in our bioeconomy and renewable energy, local and regional food systems, conservation initiatives and rural development.”
USDA plans to award up to $11.7 million in grants through the Community Connect grant program. The grants fund broadband infrastructure to help foster economic growth by delivering connectivity to the global marketplace. The grants also fund broadband for community centers and public institutions.
USDA has invested $160 million in more than 240 projects to bring broadband to unserved rural communities since the Community Connect Program was created in 2002.
In 2009, the Wichita Online telecommunications company in Cooperton, Okla., received a Community Connect grant to build a community center with computers. The center serves as an Internet library for local residents and is used by several government agencies. The sheriff’s office and volunteer fire department coordinate their public safety, fire protection and other emergency services from the center. During harvest season, many farmworkers use the computers to communicate with their family members far away. Cooperton is a farming and ranching community between the Slick Hills and Wichita Mountains in Southwest Oklahoma.
The minimum grant is $100,000 for FY 2016. The maximum award is $3 million. USDA announced new rules in 2013 to better target Community Connect grants to areas where they are needed the most. To view the rules, go to http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-connect-grants
Prior Community Connect grants cannot be renewed. However, existing Community Connect awardees may submit applications for new projects, which USDA will evaluate as new applications
This Community Connect round builds on USDA’s historic investments in rural America over the past seven years. Since 2009, USDA has worked to strengthen and support rural communities and American agriculture, an industry that supports one in 11 American jobs, provides American consumers with more than 80 percent of the food we consume, ensures that Americans spend less of their paychecks at the grocery store than most people in other countries, and supports markets for homegrown renewable energy and materials. USDA has provided $5.6 billion of disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; expanded risk management tools with products like to Whole Farm Revenue Protection; helped farm businesses grow with $36 billion in farm credit; provided $4.32 billion in critical agricultural research; established innovative public-private conservation partnerships such as the Regional Conservation Partnership Program; developed new markets for rural-made products, including more than 2,500 biobased products through USDA’s BioPreferred program; and invested $64 billion in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America.
Since 2009, USDA Rural Development (#USDARD
) has invested $11 billion to start or expand 103,000 rural businesses; helped 1.1 million rural residents buy homes; funded nearly 7,000 community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care facilities; financed 180,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines; and helped bring high-speed Internet access to nearly 6 million rural residents and businesses. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/results.
Friday Reads : The House Girl
From Amazon:
“The House Girl, the historical fiction debut by Tara Conklin, is an unforgettable story of love, history, and a search for justice, set in modern-day New York and 1852 Virginia.?
Conklin’s use of alternating chapters weaves together “the story of an escaped slave in pre–Civil War Virginia, and a determined junior lawyer in present-day New York City. The House Girl follows Lina Sparrow as she looks for an appropriate lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking compensation for families of slaves. In her research, she learns about Lu Anne Bell, a renowned prewar artist whose famous works might have actually been painted by her slave, Josephine.” While retracing Josephine’s often-elusive path, she also uncovers some troubling facts about her own life and parents, and the startling lie that formed the basis of her childhood and young adulthood.
I started listening to The House Girl on audio, then was so caught up by the story, that I checked out the book from Lincoln City Libraries. Definitely a good read!
Posted in Books & Reading, General, Information Resources, Programming, Uncategorized
Tagged Friday Reads
Leave a comment
The Data Dude on the Latest NLC Data Illustration
Thanks to all of you for submitting your annual public library surveys. Our data collection is now closed, and we have upped our response rates to almost 90%. Now begins the process of submitting the data to IMLS. In the meantime, in case you missed it, check out our latest data summary handout, using the most current 2014 data. Special thanks goes out to Tessa Terry here at NLC, for helping the Dude with these illustrations. Shaka.
Posted in General, Library Management, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
The Data Dude on Maintenance of Effort (MOE)
State aid time is just around the corner. But first, let’s talk about this little thing called maintenance of effort (a/k/a MOE). Some of you are aware of this, as you recently received letters explaining it. If you didn’t receive a letter, then you don’t have to worry about it. But for future reference, read on. The MOE requirement applies to libraries who will be receiving state aid, which means that they are accredited and they have submitted an annual public library survey via Bibliostat online. The maintenance of effort requirement is that the “local income support for the library is at least equal to the lowest annual income from the three previous years.” In other words, we look at the local funding (as reported on your public library survey) for the three prior years (in this case 2011, 2012, and 2013) and compare that to the current data that we use for state aid calculations (in this case 2014 data). The most recently submitted public library survey covers the 2015 year, and that data will be used in next year’s calculations. If you did not receive a letter in the mail, then your library met the MOE requirements. For those libraries that didn’t meet the MOE requirement, it’s possible that their state aid will be reduced by the percentage proportionate to the decrease in local funding. Now today’s post is also a quick reminder for those that received MOE letters that the deadline to file a waiver is April 15, 2016. Some of you have already filed waivers or otherwise explained reporting errors, and that data has been adjusted. If the city clerk can verify that the library budget was reduced at the same percentage as that of the rest of the city budget, then that is grounds for a waiver. So, if you are filing a waiver, get it in soon – like by the end of the week. State aid letters indicating what your payment will be will be send out toward the end of April. Photo of the jacked up car awaiting maintenance by the William Masters lookalike is courtesy of Nebraska Memories. Shaka.
Posted in General, Library Management, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
New Nebraska State Agency Publications
New Nebraska State Agency publications have been received at the Nebraska Library Commission for March 2016. Included are Annual and Audit reports, publications from the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Roads, Nebraska Public Power District, the Nebraska Legislature, and new titles from the University of Nebraska Press, to name a few.
The Data Dude on Makerspace Survey (pt. 2)
Last week, we took a brief look at some of the survey data from a recent (2016) NLC survey on makerspaces (part 1). Specifically, we looked at the most common items that are available in existing Nebraska library makerspaces. Today, we will look at those libraries that expressed interest in having a makerspace in their library, but do not currently have a space. Many of these libraries are in the planning stages. There are a few similarities and a few differences with the items already in Nebraska library makerspaces and those that have only thus far expressed interest. Namely, at the top of both lists are arts and crafts items and Legos. Hands down, these are the most common. In fact, 4 out of the 37 respondents who reported having an existing space call the space Lego something or other. This makes a lot of sense, as Legos and arts and craft items are low cost, simple items to have and might not require a great deal of physical space. The differences, however, lie in the fact that among survey respondents who have existing makerspaces, the top items lack a great deal of technology (it should be noted that 3D printers were at least prevalent enough to make the chart). Conversely, among those interested or planning spaces, technology related items (computer app creation, computer programming, and robotics) were noted as higher, in addition to 3D printers.
Finally, a couple of maker plugs. The Three Rivers Library System is sponsoring a makerspace workshop with NLC Technology and Innovation librarian, Craig Lefteroff next week on April 12, 2016. Secondly, the upcoming April 27, 2016 NCompass Live, titled Lessons Learned Establishing a Technology Makerspace – Online may be of interest. Shaka.
Posted in General, Library Management, Programming, Technology, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
The Data Dude on the Makerspace Survey (pt. 1)
Earlier this year, we launched a survey to gather data on library makerspaces. Today’s post, and this might have the capability to be milked, er, I mean stretched out — over the course of a few weeks, will provide a brief overview of the data collected. First off, there were 150 responses, which is splendid news. A number of the surveys were completed in the first few days after launch. Out of those 150 respondents, only 37 reported currently having a makerspace of some sort in their library (25%), and of that 37, only 14 reported having a permanent space set aside specifically for these activities (9%). The remaining 23 have spaces that are temporary (e.g. they function as meeting or conference rooms but sometimes have makerspace programs, presumably storing the equipment and supplies between events). Today, we will provide a brief synopsis of some of the items in those existing spaces, as illustrated by the bar chart at the right. Specifically, Legos and arts and crafts items make up more than 70% of all items in the spaces. That is a rather large percentage, and goes to show that you can do meaningful or relevant things on the cheap. When we think of big ticket items, we generally think about things like CNC routers, 3D printers, laser cutters, and other techy things; arts and crafts don’t typically come to mind. The point being that it doesn’t take a huge amount of investment to provide programs, and to reap the benefits of community collaboration.
The Dude recently read an article entitled “How to Start a Makerspace When You’re Broke”, which might be good reading for you naysayers that report limited or no funds to provide these sorts of activities. For those of you who have limited space, keep in mind that many libraries (as noted above) have dedicated spaces in those dual purpose areas (or temporary) that might function as a meeting room for some of the time, and maker events for the other. Load the stuff on a cart and wheel it in there, then wheel it back. With warm weather around the corner, head outside on nice days. These might be pragmatic solutions to get you in the game. Shaka.
Posted in General, Library Management, Programming, Technology, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
The Data Dude’s Reminder to Check Your Map Marker
Are you aware that the Library Commission has a number of public library maps available on its website? In addition to a number of other maps, this page includes the basic public library maps (both by population and library system), a map of libraries and legislative districts, and the Pioneer Consortium participating libraries map. Now for today, the Dude asks that you check your library marker on these public library maps to make sure it displays accurate information. The markers have some of the generic information but also links to the library’s website and social media pages. If you have not updated that information via our supplemental survey, your information on the map may not be up to date. So today is a short little reminder to check those things and let the Dude know if you notice any errors, or log in to your supplemental survey and review the information there. Shaka.
Posted in General, Library Management, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
