Thursday, August 28, 2008

LYSN SIG Listserv Subscribers

It's barely been 24 hours since we announced the "grand opening" of the first of the 4 special interest group discussion lists, and already we have 290 subscribers. I must admit that we kick-started the list with names of CYC conference attendees, but we've received additional subscribers just about every hour since the announcement. It will be interesting to watch the four subscriber lists grow once we get them all available!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Library Youth Services Network Special Interest Group WEBSITE

It's here at last! The first of four websites specifically designed for communication among library staff and supporters who share a common interest.

The Library Youth Services Network is one of four Special Interest Groups (SIGs) created by Texas Library Association (TLA) District 7 in partnership with the North Texas Regional Library System (NTRLS). The other three SIGs are the Library Program Planners and Presenters Network, the Library Supporters Network, and the Library Technology Network. For more detailed information about the TLA District 7 / NTRLS SIGs, click here.

The website for the Library Youth Services Network SIG was developed first because we wanted to capture the networking excitement created by the Children's and Youth Librarians Conference of North Texas, which took place a little over two weeks ago. The Library Youth Services Network exists to facilitate networking among library staff and supporters involved in library services to youth, from newborns through teens. To read more about the Library Youth Services SIG, either visit the website or simply click here.

In addition to having its own website and an annual conference, each SIG will hold periodic meetings for networking and discussion of business. Some meetings will take place online via chat. Meetings will be called and conducted by District 7 officers.

Each SIG website will serve as a gateway to information about the annual conference, additional SIG-specific resources and an email discussion list where members can network. Archives of the discussion list will be available online. Other features will be added in the future to support the online environment for peer networking.

Future plans for the SIG websites include extended features for online peer networking, such as online chats, blogs, wikis, and other Web 2.0 innovations. As each SIG website is enhanced and the other SIGs come online, members also will be able to maintain online profiles and contact lists.

To join the email discussion list for this first SIG, visit The Library Youth Services Network, click on "discussion" and follow the directions.

Information about the other SIG websites will be posted here as the websites become accessible.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Web 2.1 - Site of the Week, HitmeLater

SiteName: HitmeLater
URL: http://www.hitmelater.com/.

After a long absence, Web 2.1 Site of the Week is back. I took most of August off from the feature to give me some time with my family. :> The site this week has nothing to do with Web 2.o or anything like it, but I thought it was a different concept. You can now hit the Snooze button on your email. If you do not want to deal with an email, you can forward it to 24@hitmelater.com and it will resend the email in 24 hours. If you want the email back in 4 hours, you can send it to 4@hitmelater.com. Microsoft is apparently working on a "Do not disturb" feature for outlook, as I learned through this TechDirt post. I wonder if I can get a snooze button for some other things....

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Colony Public Library Recognizes Homeschoolers in August

I subscribe to a semi-monthly newsletter for homeschool families which is published by a good friend and fellow Bedford resident. I'm always interested in what homeschool families want to know and what they want to tell each other about, so I wasn't surprised to see the following article in the most recent newsletter:

The Colony Public Library Recognizes Homeschoolers in August

Getting a library card has never been so rewarding!

If you are heading to The Colony Library during the month of August for a library card or to check out books, there is a special gift waiting for you.

During the month of August, the library is recognizing Homeschools as their "School of the Month." Home-school students who are getting a library card or checking out books can stop by the reference desk to receive their gift. Students under 17 must be accompanied by a parent with a picture ID.

The library is located at 6800 Main Street, at the corner of North Colony Boulevard and Main Street.

For more information, please call the library reference desk at 972-625-1900, extension 3.

However, I was very surprised that I hadn't heard about this through the invisible library network - especially since The Colony Public Library is a member of NTRLS. I realize that there's no way to know everything that's happening in our member libraries, but I feel badly for not knowing about this. What a great way to get students and parents into the library, getting cards and checking out materials - and it's relatively easy to implement in every library community!

Kudos to The Colony Public Library for implementing this program and for whatever they've done to assure that the homeschool community knows about it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to visit some other NTRLS websites to find more great ideas to share with our readers!