How long in this career??

Most Americans switch careers three times in a lifetime!

Here are the average number of years spent in certain careers:

For complete listing of careers - click here

---

25	Barbers	10	Tile setters
21	Farmers	10	Truck drivers, heavy
18	Railroad conductors & yardmasters	9	Administrators & managers
16	Clergy	9	Automobile mechanics
15	Locomotive operating occupations	9	Binding machine operators
15	Millwrights	9	Chemical engineers
15	Telephone line installers & repairers	9	Concrete finishers
14	Airline pilots	9	Dental hygienists
14	Telephone installers & repairers	9	Furnace operators
13	Civil engineers	9	Hairdressers & cosmetologists
13	Crane operators	9	Industrial engineers
13	Grader & dozer operators	9	Librarians (note library clerks are 3 years)

Kindle, Price War Changing the Way We Read | Online NewsHour | Nov. 2, 2009 | PBS

Kindle, Price War Changing the Way We Read Online NewsHour Nov. 2, 2009 PBS: "Kindle, Price War Changing the Way We Read

Jeffrey Brown explores the shifting world of book publishing, and examines how technology and readers are changing the industry."

Prezi for presentations

Check out this cool presentation tool - it certainly catches your attention! It is called Prezi and I recently saw it being used at a meeting.

Accessibility - this is amazing!

7yr-old blind ‘Batboy’ sees with his ears

London, Oct 5 (ANI): A 7-year-old blind boy has been given the nickname Batboy, for he has learnt how to “see” by using his ears.

Lucas Murray, who was born blind, is believed to be the first in Britain to use echoes to visualise his surroundings.

He clicks his tongue on the roof of his mouth, and discovers where objects are based on how the sound bounces back.

The amazing technique allows him to run around his playground, play basketball, and even go rock climbing.

“I really like the clicking system but it was quite hard to learn,” the Sun quoted him as saying.

“I love basketball. I can use my click to find out where the hoop is myself and throw the ball through,” he explained.

The echolocation technique is similar to that used by bats and dolphins, and the little boy can work out how far away an object is by the time it takes the echo to return.

Its intensity tells him the object’s size, and the position is determined through which ear the sound reaches first.

He can even work out movement through pitch – with the echo lower if the object is moving away and higher if it is getting closer.

The lad also uses a cane and has a great memory for places he has already “scanned” with his ears.

He was taught by blind Californian Daniel Kish, 41, who founded the World Access for the Blind charity.

Murray’s parents Sarah and Iain, from Poole in Dorset, saw Daniel on TV and asked him to visit.

“Lucas learned echolocation in three intense days two years ago,” Sarah, 33, said.

“Now he is so independent he hardly needs to ask for help any more than a normal seven-year-old would,” she added. (ANI)

30 Things That You Can Do Now To Increase Readability for Your Webpage

30 Things That You Can Do Now To Increase Readability for Your Webpage

1. Underline your links. Readers expect links to be underlined, so don’t disappoint.
2. Use appropriate space between lines in a paragraph. A quick way to test this is to divide your line-height by your font-size. Ideally you want a value around 1.5.
3. Clearly separate your post from the rest of your design. It should be obvious where the post starts and stops. Your sidebar, comments, post meta etc. should be visually distinct from the actual content.
4. If you use pull-quotes, make sure they’re extremely obvious and near the top of the article. If a user doesn’t spot them quickly, they aren’t of much use.
5. Keep it brief. Odds are that if you’ve written something in 50 words, you could probably say it just as well in 30.
6. Use Snook’s Color Contrast Checker on your font and background colors, to ensure the combination is readable to those with visual impairments.
7. Use a structured hierarchy in your document, e.g. Title – Intro – Heading – Text – Subheading – Text, etc. This gives your page a more logical flow.
8. Refrain from breaking up posts with adverts in the middle. This will interrupt the readers thought train.

For complete listing - click here.

Reaching Your Patrons (and hopefully introduce new users to your library!)

LJ's Bubble Room blogger identifies 13 cultural shifts that libraries can turn into opportunities to reach patrons

By Alison Circle -- Library Journal, 10/1/2009

Five years ago, when I first came to Libraryland, I felt a strong, wary, and mistrustful vibe attached to marketing. It was perceived as irrelevant, a flash in the pan, without intrinsic value. Libraries had managed long enough without marketing, thank you very much, and things are fine the way they are.

Since then, however, I've sensed a shift, a curiosity around the edges as libraries have awakened to the sea change in our culture regarding information and technology and the expansion of our global reach. Even the most skeptical among us are starting to see that marketing can help libraries compound their relevance and add new value.

One bad habit in Libraryland is that too often we look exclusively at libraries for ideas and trends. For example, when redesigning web sites, we look at other libraries, not trendsetting retailers or innovative nonprofits. We're guilty of a little too much me-too-ism. As a marketing professional, I see trends everywhere, ideas ripe for libraries to pluck and make their own in order to demonstrate that we are still here and better than ever. All I see is opportunity.

In no particular order, here is a baker's dozen of trends I'm watching.

1. Twitter

How many times have your friends (or you!) scoffed at Twitter and said something like, “I just don't care that much about the stupid details of other people's lives.” Guess what? I don't either, but pay attention to Twitter. Here's why:

You can speak directly to your customers. Tell them what you want them to know about you.

Instant polling, Twitter provides a free and immediate ability to find out what your customers think about decisions you make as an organization.

Loyalty, If people are interested enough in your brand personality to follow the library on Twitter, these are your über-advocates, and they are your new best friends.

Astonishingly, in the six months between January and June 2009, the Dell Computers Outlet earned $1 million in sales from customers who came to the site only from Twitter. During Ohio's recent budget debacle that slashed state funding for libraries, Twitter functioned as the engine driving the public to voice outrage and opposition. Word on the budget hit the Twitter world even before libraries had a chance to formulate a coordinated response.

2. Value. Value. Value

Move over “location.” The optimal word today is value. Value used to be a code word for the skanky remainder bin of slightly damaged products at the outlet store. Today, sure, everyone is looking for a good deal. But businesses and organizations are turning key information and knowledge into actions that generate an enhanced customer relationship.

Historically, libraries understood their value proposition clearly: books (information and knowledge). But today, that is not enough.

This is what we are up against in library world.........

Telling her mother that she wanted to come to the aid of a library under attack, 11-year-old Sydney Sabbagha stood at the podium before the Oak Brook village board.

"I used to go to the library knowing there were people there to help me find a book. Now there is no one to help me," Sydney said solemnly. "It will never be the same without the people you fired."

Sydney nestled back into her seat, but that didn't stop 69-year-old criminal attorney Constantine "Connie" Xinos from boldly putting her in her place.

"Those who come up here with tears in their eyes talking about the library, put your money where your mouth is," Xinos shot back. He told Sydney and others who spoke against the layoffs of the three full-time staffers (including the head librarian and children's librarian) and two part-timers to stop "whining" and raise the money themselves.

"I don't care that you guys miss the librarian, and she was nice, and she helped you find books," Xinos told them.

"Don't cry crocodile tears about people who are making $100,000 a year wiping tables and putting the books back on the shelves," Xinos smirked, apparently referencing the fired head librarian, who has advanced degrees and made $98,676 a year. He said Oak Brook had to "stop indulging people in their hobbies" and "their little, personal, private wants."

For complete article:

Ugly battle has librarians in Oak Brook turning to Teamsters

By Burt Constable | Daily Herald Columnist

Broadband for Libraries

Broadband for Libraries Video - Texas Libraries Speaking Up!

The Fun Theory

Wouldn't it be nice if the whole world was like this..........

Great viral videos are hard to come by, but Volkswagen (or rather ad agency DDB Stockholm) appears to have hit the bullseye. Their new campaign “The Fun Theory” is a series of experiments, captured on video, to find out if making the world more fun can improve people’s behavior. The top video, Piano Stairs, has achieved over 1 million views on YouTube – I can’t count how many times friends have shared it this week.

Among the experiments: does turning a set of subway stairs into a real-life piano encourage people to use them (answer: yes, 66% more). Another experiment asks whether making a trash can sound like a 50ft-deep well will make people pick up their trash. An upcoming experiment, meanwhile, will turn a bottle recycling center into an arcade game.

The brand placement is as subtle as it could possibly be: a simple VW logo dropped in at the end. And yet the content carries that logo all around the web, as tens of thousands of people pass around the video, along with their positive associations for the VW brand. Isn’t that the definition of a perfect brand campaign?

Reading dog inspires students |West Palm Beach News, South Florida Breaking News, Forecast, Video from WPTV

Reading dog inspires students |West Palm Beach News, South Florida Breaking News, Forecast, Video from WPTV

Posted using ShareThis

Reminder about LOC and FLICKR - cool pics!

The project that begin in 2008 is growing! Check out the Library of Congress' FLICKR site.

FTC Sets Endorsement Rules for Blogs

By Cecilia Kang

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Bloggers who offer endorsements must disclose any payments they have received from the subjects of their reviews or face penalties of up to $11,000 per violation, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday.

The agency, charged with protecting consumer interests, had not updated its policy on endorsements in nearly three decades, well before the Internet became a force in shaping consumer tastes. The new rules attempt to make more transparent corporate payments to bloggers, research firms and celebrities that help promote a product.

"Given that social media has become such a significant player in the advertising area, we thought it was necessary to address social media as well," said Richard Cleland, assistant director for the division of advertising practices at the FTC.

Consumer interest groups have long complained about the lack of disclosure. They say consumers often have no way of telling what corporate payments have been made to bloggers writing on parenting, fitness, dieting and financial services sites, for example.

Fall 2009 Grant Program

Libraries for Literacy is now accepting applications for grants to assist the creation and expansion of library based literacy programs. This grant program provides funds for literacy instruction programs to be established in libraries. Libraries for Literacy endeavors to establish literacy instruction programs in all types of north Texas libraries. Follow this link to read the full article.

NEW! ALA Executive Board approves LSSC - set to launch January 2010!

NEW! LSSC AC09 Briefing Document Now Available!

I want recognition that my job is important, that my work is valued, that I am valued as a human being. This is more important than money. I want to be trusted that I will do what I’m paid for. I need pride in myself and my job.1

This Library Support Staff Certification Program (LSSCP) addresses LSS needs for a national certification program to help the profession standardize expectations for LSS, help the large number of LSS master critical job Competency Sets; provide educators with guidance for training curriculums; and help employers articulate job requirements. According to the 2004 statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 230,843 workers are employed in U.S. academic and public libraries. Of these, 160,150 (69%) workers are library support staff (LSS) holding jobs not requiring a Master’s Degree in Library Science (MLS).2

North Texas Resource Guide

The North Texas Resource Guide has just been released and may be viewed at: northtexasresourceguide.pbworks.com

This guide has federal and state assistance information and links for unemployment, SNAP,TANF, WIC, housing and other programs for assistance for librarians to use with their patrons. You are welcome to share this resource with all staff and library users. Please note that the emphasis is on federal, state and regional organizations and programs. You are welcome to add comments for community specific programs. This is not an exhaustive list, but a resource to help begin the process of assisting library users with their personal needs.

14 Ways K–12 Librarians Can Teach Social Media by Joyce Valenza

14 Ways K–12 Librarians Can Teach Social Media by Joyce Valenza: "14 Ways K–12 Librarians Can Teach Social Media by Joyce Valenza
Permanent link
This is the best time in history to be a teacher-librarian. Major shifts in our information and communication landscapes present new opportunities for librarians to teach and lead in areas that were always considered part of their role, helping learners of all ages effectively use, manage, evaluate, organize and communicate information, and to love reading in its glorious new variety.

A school’s teacher-librarian is its chief information officer, but in a networked world, the position is more that of moderator or coach, the person who ensures that students and teachers can effectively interact with information and leverage it to create and share and make a difference in the community and beyond.

For background, take a look at the Standards for the 21st Century Learner. These information-fluency standards scream inquiry, critical thinking, digital citizenship, creative communication, collaboration, and networking.

For librarians, and for most other professionals, the game has changed. There is no textbook for new practice, and it is absolutely true that some of us are a little more retooled than others. Nevertheless, there are at least 14 retooled learning strategies that teacher-librarians should be sharing with classroom teachers and learners in the 2009–2010 school year."

Linux PR: North Texas Library Consortium Goes Live With Evergreen

Linux PR: North Texas Library Consortium Goes Live With Evergreen: "North Texas Library Consortium Goes Live With Evergreen
Sep 23rd, 00:21 UTC
Thirteen libraries in Texas have gone live with Evergreen, the robust, highly scalable open-source library automation software, creating a shared Evergreen catalog representing nearly 100,000 registered users. Equinox Software, Inc., the support and development company established by the original Evergreen developers, provided bumper-to-bumper support for the migrations and is now providing round-the-clock ongoing technical support."

Libraries and H1N1

September 20, 2009

Asking library users to leave if they have H1N1

Grayson Barber, Attorney, writes:

I am writing to respond to questions about asking customers to leave the library if they appear to have symptoms of the H1N1 flu virus. Kindly allow me to express thanks to Deborah Caldwell-Stone at ALA, who provided very helpful advice.

As a public building, the library is analogous to city hall. Public officials cannot eject members of the public from city hall unless there’s a very, very good reason for doing so. Members of the public similarly cannot be asked to leave the library, without very strong justification.

The library is different from city hall, in a couple of important ways. As we learned from the case of Kreimer v. Morristown, members of the public have a First Amendment right to use the library. This means, among other things, that if we asked a coughing customer to leave, and it turned out the customer did not have swine flu, the customer could sue the library and win.

Another difference between the library and city hall is, of course, that customers don’t sit down for hours at a time in city hall to breathe on computer keyboards, and the like. But the fact remains that librarians are not doctors, and cannot diagnose H1N1. Moreover, if we started ejecting people for H1H1 symptoms, our boards might ask us to eject people for SARS. And MRSA. And conjunctivitis. This is beyond our level of expertise.

There IS one circumstance in which I believe it would be possible to ask patrons to leave, but it would be a scenario like Mexico’s last year, in which the public health authorities declared a state of emergency. Naturally, we all hope it doesn’t come to that.

That is to say, if a local public board of health declared an emergency, and closed the schools, we know that many parents would not hesitate to bring their children to the library. In such a situation, it might be prudent to ask the public health authorities to close the library as well. Again, the decision should be made by professionals who have the relevant expertise.

Meantime, the best we (and city hall) can do is to post information about H1N1 and preventive measures. Disinfectant gels and wipes can be strategically placed near computer mice and keyboards. Let’s encourage one another to get our immunizations, and to STAY HOME if we’re feeling ill. (I bet this last is the hardest for librarians.)

Bottom line: If you suspect a customer has H1N1, and you ask them to leave for that reason, you are taking a huge risk if you guess wrong. The better approach would be to encourage the customer to comply with posted guidelines for protecting himself, herself, and the community. I hope this is helpful.

From LibraryLaw Blog

Digital Books?

Google's digital library may find new life as, uh, real books

It looks like some of the 2 million books from Google's new digital library are going to end up being (gasp!) printed on paper, Wired and the Associated Press report.

Under a deal announced today, Google is opening up part of its index to the maker of a high-speed publishing machine that can manufacture a paperback book of about 300 pages in less than five minutes, the AP reports.

These “public domain” books were published before 1923 — an era that includes classics such as Moby Dick and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as well as very obscure titles.

On Demand Books, the maker of the "Espresso Book Machine." potentially could get access to even more hard-to-find books if Google wins court approval of a class-action settlement giving it the right to sell out-of-print books.

On Demand’s printing machines are in more than a dozen locations in the USA, Canada, Australia, England and Egypt, mostly at campus book stores, libraries and small retailers.

Some of Google’s rivals and a long list of other critics hope to block the settlement, mainly because they say it will give Google a monopoly on the digital rights to out-of-print books, the AP says.

Click here to read Wired's FAQ on the fight over Google's digital

13 New Wii Titles for Checkout!

We now have several new Wii Titles for checkout at the system office.

Heres the List, enjoy!


Wii Resort with 4 Wii Motion Plus Adapters

Lego Batman the Video Game

Lego Star Wars the Complete Saga

Lego Indiana Jones the Original Adventures

Madden NFL ’09 All Play

ExciteBots Trick Racing

Monopoly featuring Classic and World Edition Boards

Trivia Pursuit

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings

Star Wars the Clone Wars Lightsaber Duels

Namco Museum Remix 14 arcade style games

WWII Aces Wings SeriesPunch-Out!!

Facebook: We've got 300 million users...and we're making money

by Caroline McCarthy from C/Net

Another one from Facebook: The company announced Tuesday, just as it was about to take the stage in a "developer garage" event at the TechCrunch50 conference, that it has reached 300 million active users around the world.

Also: It's cash-flow positive.

"As of today, Facebook now serves 300 million people across the world. It's a large number, but the way we think about this is that we're just getting started on our goal of connecting everyone," a blog post from CEO Mark Zuckerberg read. "We're also succeeding at building Facebook in a sustainable way. Earlier this year, we said we expected to be cash flow positive sometime in 2010, and I'm pleased to share that we achieved this milestone last quarter. This is important to us because it sets Facebook up to be a strong independent service for the long term."

So I guess that's code for "no IPO soon."

Web Site to Review Self-Published Works

New Book Review Website Seeking Self-Published Works

Does this sound familiar?

You have gone to a lot of effort to get a book self-published and now you are trying to get the book sold. You have read in numerous locations that one of the best selling devices is to get a book reviewed. However, no one will even look at your book. What do you do? Are you tired of getting ignored by book review authors and publications? A new website dedicated to reviewing self-published works is about to ease your frustration.

"We created Wright's Online Book Reviews for Self-Published Works as a way for authors to have someone consider their book after all their hard work to get it published. We feel that self-publishing is now a legitimate path for an author to take and we want to acknowledge this by taking a look at their book." said co-founder Adam Wright, a long-time librarian and leader in his field.

"At the same time, we realize that libraries and book stores have a difficult time fitting self-published items into their collection development policies because of the lack of credibility attached to self-publishing." Adam continues. "We would like to do the hard work for libraries and book stores by filtering out the jewels from the junk of the self-publishing world."

Adam started the site with his Kerry after visiting San Francisco and reading an article on the plane trip back about how self-publishing has become more widespread but people have difficulty getting their self-published works taken seriously. Adam, as a library consultant, knew that many libraries required at least one reputable review to consider purchasing a book, went searching the web for a review source."

"We didn't find many so we thought it was a shame that some voices were not being heard just because a book had been self-published versus the traditional means. We wanted to change that." Adam stated when asked.

In response, Adam and Kerry started Wright's Online Book Reviews for Self-Published Works (WBR) with the mission of "To promote self-published works by providing honest, credible reviews of them." WBR has figured out a review process that will consider each submission fairly, but only the best of the best will get an actual review written.

"We are going to use Nancy Pearl's 50 page test when it comes to reviewing books. If after 50 pages, we do not feel the book is high quality, we will move onto the next one." Kerry says, a longtime teacher and Speech Therapist. "Every week, we plan to list out the books who made the cut and those who did not. In this way, libraries and book stores know whether the book is worthy of purchase. We also give more in-depth reviews of the good ones."

During the month of September, WBR will accepting inquires from interested authors to be some of the first reviewed by the site, which will debut with reviews on October 11, 2009. Interested authors should go to the website at
http://www.wrightbookreviews.com to fill out the form to have their book considered.

It should be noted that all books received by WBR for review will be donated to a local library.

About WBR

WBR is one of the first sites dedicated to reviewing self-published titles.
It's mission is to help authors promote their books through their reviews.

Culture

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Culture

View more presentations from Reed Hastings.

Web Analytics

Both ClickTale and UserFly offer silent movies of your users' interactions with your website. You place JavaScript on your Web pages that causes users' mouse movements, clicks and keystrokes to be recorded. The result looks like a screen cast of the users' screen. Basic coverage is free for both and pricing begins with increased usage. Great reviews have been posted for both in several computer magazines - check it out if you are looking for Web Analytics.

Wikipedia to Tinge Suspect Entries With Orange Cast

By Erika Morphy
TechNewsWorld
08/31/09 2:20 PM PT

Wikipedia wants to give users more confidence in the reliability of its information, so it has come up with a color-coding scheme that will assign an orange background to less-trustworthy information -- the darker, the more suspect -- and a white background to content that ranks high for accuracy. However, Wikipedia hasn't said much about how it will arrive at its rankings.

Have You Tried Bing Yet?

I spent some time this morning using Microsoft's new search provider www.bing.com. I know many people are looking for alternatives to Google - not sure why other than the fact of using something other than Google- the king of search providers. One facet of Bing I really liked is the video search - very intuitive and provided good results.

Using Typos to Get the Bargain

Typo Buddy takes advantage of poor spelling, poor typing and poor proofing skills. And you can be the winner. Typo Buddy searches Ebay and Craigslist for misspelled items - and you often get good prices since others don't find the auction item.

Flash Drive Security

Check out the Personal Pocket Safe.

How many people have to be offended before we ban a book?

As I read another headline about a banned book, I wondered just when do we accept that a book should be banned? If the material offends 1 person, 10, or over 1,000,000? Seems to me that we either believe in the freedom of information - even when we are personally offended, or we don't. The current headline was about Brooklyn's Chief Librarian banning Tin Tin Au Congo - a book that is racially offensive to some (most?). Whether anyone finds it offensive or not is irrelevant. Do we ban materials? I would guess almost every item in a library's collection would offend someone - somewhere. We can't scream against banned books - and then ban the ones we find personally offensive - that is censorship.

'TinTin Au Congo' book banned from Brooklyn libraries for depicting Africans as monkeys

BY Erin Durkin and Simone Weichselbaum
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Friday, August 21st 2009, 4:00 AM

Brooklyn's head librarian ordered 'Tintin au Congo' off shelves in borough branches after customer complaints.

Take our Poll

Banning Tintin

Is the Brooklyn librarian right for banning 'Tintin Au Congo' for it's dated, racially insensitive language?

Yes, it's offensive and would only serve to promote racist ideas.

No, it's just a comic and shouldn't be taken seriously.

It should be used to educate, not be banned.

Related News

Articles

• Spielberg's hare-raising new project: remake of 'Harvey'

Brooklyn's chief librarian has yanked a nearly 80-year-old book from the shelves because it depicts Africans as monkeys.

Tintin Au Congo is the only book in the city library system hidden from public view after a reader complained that it was "racially offensive."

The popular Belgian children's work - due to be made into a movie by Steven Spielberg - is locked behind a series of hidden doors on the third floor of Brooklyn's central library.

"'Tintin au Congo' was relocated," said director Richard Reyes-Gavilan. It "had illustrations that were racially offensive and inappropriate for children."

The curious have to make an appointment to see the original Georges (Herge) Remi piece. The next available date was Monday morning, said a library official.

Donna Lieberman, head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, blasted librarians "for taking the easy way out" and not considering the "long term in engaging in censorship."

Marcus Ramirez, 26, agreed.

"It's art, it's an expression," said Ramirez, 26, a security guard from the Bronx, looking at a recent reprint of the 1930 cartoon from a Brussels newspaper. "Other people get offended? I don't see why."

'TinTin Au Congo' book banned from Brooklyn libraries for depicting Africans as monkeys

BY Erin Durkin and Simone Weichselbaum
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Friday, August 21st 2009, 4:00 AM

Brooklyn's head librarian ordered 'Tintin au Congo' off shelves in borough branches after customer complaints.

Take our Poll

Banning Tintin

Is the Brooklyn librarian right for banning 'Tintin Au Congo' for it's dated, racially insensitive language?

Yes, it's offensive and would only serve to promote racist ideas.

No, it's just a comic and shouldn't be taken seriously.

It should be used to educate, not be banned.

Related News

Articles

• Spielberg's hare-raising new project: remake of 'Harvey'

Brooklyn's chief librarian has yanked a nearly 80-year-old book from the shelves because it dep

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/08/21/2009-08-21_too_racey_for_kids_offensive_tintin_book_depicting_africans_as_monkeys_banned_fr.html#ixzz0OrORkSNmhhhhhhh

Geek the Library

A great reminder - check out the Geek the Library website.  

"Whatever You Geek, The Public Library Supports It All"

• 
• 
• 
• 

Get your geek on. Support the library.

Geek the Library is a community-based public awareness campaign designed to highlight the vital role of public libraries for individuals and communities, and raise awareness about the critical funding issues they face.

Microsoft in violation selling Word........

Texas judge Leonard Davis has ordered Microsoft to pay 290 million dollars to the company that owns XML for patent infringement. He also ordered the company to stop selling the ever popular Microsoft Word Product.

See the complete article

Open Up Your Library

Jenny Levine, The Shifted Librarian, posted the DOK photo - love the idea of the top shelves removed........it sure makes the library look more open and friendly in my opinion.

Register Your School Library for GiggleIT project

The GiggleIT Project is a global collaborative publishing project hosted by the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL), working in partnership with theInternational Children's Digital Library (ICDL).

The GiggleIt Team recognises the potential of using the digital library to promote cultural understandings, while encouraging children's literacy skills development. Humour is a wonderful "feel good" motivator.

GiggleIT is also registered with the International Year of Reconciliation as an example of how people around the world can connect with each other.GiggleIT - Tutorial -

http://www.iasl-online.org/sla/giggleIT-tutorial/index.htm

GiggleIT - Professional Development Manual - http://www.iasl-online.org/sla/

 

NTRLS looking for writers for webpage!

Writer’s Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in contributing to ntrls.org. Our goal is to provide some guidance and direction in our daily tasks at the library. Please see below for a list of upcoming themes for our website. If you are interested in submitting an article, please read these guidelines carefully.

General Information

• Featured Articles readership consists of people from all areas of librarianship, with varying degrees of expertise. Please keep this in mind when writing articles.
  
• Write in the first person, and do not use passive voice.
  
• Please do a check of all Web addresses in your article to ensure they are accurate and current before you turn it in.
  

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• If possible, please email documents to awright@ntrls.org as a Microsoft Word file. If you are mailing your submission, use the address below. We will not return submissions.
• Please include your name in the filename of your document. For example: JoeSmithRFID.doc
  
• Do not indent paragraphs; rather, leave a blank line in-between paragraphs. Single space
  
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• After the full text of your article, please include brief biographical information. For example: Name, title, organization and city. Then mention any related projects or special experience. Finish with your email address.
  
• If you are going to include any bibliographic references or suggestions for further reading, please include them after your biographical information under the title “References/Further Reading.”
  

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• Do not embed art within your text. If you are sending accompanying pictures, charts, etc., each graphic must be sent as a separate file. We prefer .jpg or .gif files.
  

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• Articles should be between 500 and 1500 words in length.
  

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Conflicts of Interest

To avoid real and perceived conflicts of interest, ntrls.org will not accept articles about subjects from writers who may have a potential financial conflict with the work. We ask that writers tell us about any such work they do in the field. The editors will evaluate on a case-by-case basis whether a conflict exists.

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Ntrls.org requests one-time electronic rights to publish your material on the website. The copyright for the work remains with you. If you submit the same article to another publication, please inform that publisher that the article first appeared on ntrls.org.

Mailing Address

North Texas Regional Library System, Inc.
6320 Southwest Blvd., Ste. 101
Fort Worth, TX 76109

Date Subject

September 2009 - TexShare
October 2009 - Keeping Your Bookclub Fresh
November 2009 - Patron Privacy in the 21st Century
December 2009 - To Buy or Not To Buy – Is a Review Required?
January 2010 - Doing a Job Fair in Your Library
February 2010 - Supporting Your Support Staff
March 2010 - Microsoft Office, Open Office and Google Docs – a Comparison
April 2010 - Accessibility Fairs – Lessons Learned
May 2010 - Technology Trends
June 2010 - Publishing 2.0 – How Self-Publishing is Evolving
July 2010 - Ebooks
August 2010 - Libraries of the Future

Help with Reader's Advisory

Check out FictionDB for all types of information concerning authors and books.  Great information on series, what to read next and listings for all books published by a particular author.  

Everything you need to know about fiction books and authors

Find complete author book lists (bibliographies)

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Search over 250,000 titles using multiple criteria

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NTLP and Facebook

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Job Posting - Literacy Coordinator

North Texas Regional Library System, Inc

Applications will be accepted through August 18, 2009. Please send a resume with a cover letter to awright@ntrls.org, or send to:

Adam Wright

Executive Director

North Texas Library Partners

Home of the North Texas Regional Library System

6320 Southwest Blvd, Suite 101

Fort Worth, Tx 76109

JOB TITLE: Libraries for Literacy Coordinator Exempt

Salary: $42,000 with a comprehensive benefits package.

POSITION FUNCTION: Under the general supervision of the Executive Director, assumes responsibility of all aspects of the Libraries for Literacy program including overseeing the various programs and services offered through the program.

DUTIES:

1. Responsible for designing, developing and providing workshops on literacy.

2. Responsible for designing, developing and providing the online literacy toolkit.

3. Responsible for designing, developing and providing the monthly online brown bag luncheons on literacy.

4. Administers the online literacy tools consortium available through the Libraries for Literacy website.

5. Administers the grant program for online literacy tools consortium.

6. Responsible for the literacy section of ntrls.org and the Libraries for Literacy website.

7. Staff Liaison to the Libraries for Literacy Council

8. Keeps current in literacy instruction theory and methods

9. Assists libraries with literacy endeavors as requested.

10. Other duties as assigned.

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE: The employee must have a Master’s degree in library science or graduation date within one year from a program accredited by the American Library Association, or equivalent experience. The employee must have some previous exposure to some literacy programs. It is preferred that the employee have direct experience in literacy instruction endeavors.

SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS: The employee must have a valid Texas driver’s license, proof of liability insurance and have access to a motor vehicle.

COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS: The employee must understand theoretical and practical applications of computer technology and be able to communicate with others.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, talk and hear. The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel or crouch. The employee must occasionally lift up to fifty pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: While performing the duties of this job, the employee works alone in an office or with others in meeting rooms. The noise level in these environments is moderate.

Please note that NTRLS received a grant for this position. This grant will expire on 08/31/2010. Sustainability of this position will be based upon the availability of further grant funds being acquired, which will be aggressively pursued in upcoming fiscal year.

Top Web Sites for Genealogy from Family Tree Magazine

101 Best Web Sites 2009

By David A. Fryxell

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Count on us to point you to genealogy's top digital destinations: 10 standouts in 10 areas (plus one!) add up to the 10th edition of our 101 Best Web Sites.

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If our ancestors had swung down from the trees with six fingers on each hand, we'd probably be counting by dozens. But thanks to humanity's development of 10 fingers and 10 toes, we count things in 10s, group the years in decades and celebrate anniversaries ending in 0—such as this 10th annual installment of Family Tree Magazine's 101 Best Web Sites.

We're marking the occasion by honoring 10 categories of 10 noteworthy sites each (plus one to make 101, of course). With this 10th roundup of meritorious sites, we've also sought to break the mold a bit and encompass more of the "Web 2.0" sites that are paving the way for changes in online genealogy over the next 10 years. Something had to give, however, to keep our count at a manageable 101, so we've omitted some old favorites—still worth bookmarking, nonetheless—and several excellent foreign research sites of interest to genealogists with that particular ancestry.

Sites that are mostly free but where you might still wind up pulling out your credit card for some purchase or other are marked with a $. Subscription-only sites and those where you have to pay for any meaningful results are indicated with $$.

What's the one Web resource in a class by itself? Ancestry.com $$, of course. What can we say? With its ever-expanding collection of databases and globe-spanning country-specific sites, Ancestry.com comes the closest to realizing the dream of doing real genealogy online—not just finding a few clues, but tracing your ancestors in primary sources. The complete US census, indexed, searchable and linked to images, is only the beginning here. An annual membership is $155.40 for US collections only, or $299.40 for the World Deluxe membership.

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10 Best Web Sites to See Dead People

Use these sites to find obituaries, cemeteries and other traces of your departed ancestors.

10 Best Web Sites for Vital Records

These are the best searchable databases of vital records from health departments, historical societies and state archives.

10 Best Web Sites for Storing and Sharing

Sharing your family history just got easier with these Web sites that let you create a family tree, store pictures and more.

10 Best Big Web Sites

You're sure to find information about your family in these stellar genealogy Web sites.

10 Best Web Sites for Maps

Trace your family's paths, find your ancestors' homes and explore the old country.

10 Best Web Sites for Local Searches

You can thank your lucky stars if your ancestors resided in the areas these Web sites cover.

10 Best Web Sites for International Searches

Tracking down immigrant ancestors has never been easier.

10 Best Cutting-edge Web Sites

Stay informed about the latest technology for genealogists with these sites.

10 Best Web Sites for Military Research

Find ancestors who served their country in these databases.

10 Best Virtual Library Web Sites

Powerful search tools let you explore great library collections in the comfort of your own home.

Interesting Article for Social Media Jobs

Jobs for Facebook addicts   (from Careerbuilder)

If you're a social media guru, here are five jobs to consider in your next job search:

1. Recruiter

Candidates have been on social networks for years now, and it's about time recruiters joined them. Daniel says Dan Temps' recruiters can find candidates faster, screen them better and reach out to individuals they wouldn't see otherwise.

"Dan Temps believes that the environment candidates are accustomed to in a social network will keep the conversations and information real," Daniel says. "Candidates don't feel they are being pressured in that environment like they would in a more formal interview or screening process and are more likely to get real with our recruiters."

2. Strategist

Many companies are seeking social media strategists to find the best way to interact within various social sites and online communities. In this role, you would be the face of social media for your company, creating and maintaining an effective social media strategy by interacting with users, growing brand awareness, creating buzz, increasing traffic and providing valuable information. To thrive in this position, Durbin says you must have a proven track record of achieving goals, or companies will be hesitant to hire you.

3. Enterprise architect

"This is the most exciting job in social media and requires someone with broad experience in networks, multiple platforms, development, security and political infighting," Durbin says. "This is a very rare find. It's for companies looking to completely revamp their content management strategy and internal networks. It could be the most important role in a company in the next five years."

4. User operations analyst

For any company with an online presence, user experience is one of the most vital parts of the business. The only way to monitor that is to have someone in charge of the experience themselves. No matter if the company is blogging, has a Web site or pages on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, user operations analysts interact with users, answer queries, investigate problems and keep track of user habits.

5. Director of social media

Similar to a strategist, companies need someone to organize company blogging, viral marketing, podcasting, etc. This person has a background in building teams and who really gets the promise and the purpose of social media, Durbin says. These folks should be wary of new technologies and be all over blogs, RSS, have Facebook and Twitter accounts, and know the difference between his or her employees playing and researching on MySpace and YouTube.

Searching for social media jobs

You might think that finding social media jobs is difficult but many of these positions under a variety of job titles that don't include "social media."

Try searching job boards and the Internet for "social media," "interactive marketing," "new media" or "branding manager" and you should get a good start in the right direction. 

Western Governor's University for an online degree

Western Governor's University was established by 19 governors and is a private, online university that offers bachelor and master's degrees. It has recently been featured on NBC news shows and in Time magazine.

Tuition is lower than most private universities and it is a non-profit institution. This is a great resource to share with library patrons and staff wanting to further their education.

Free IP Relay &/or Captioning

American Network, Inc. has been providing telecom services since 1991. As of January 2009, they are FCC-approved to provide IP Relay, Video Relay Services (VRS) and Internet Protocol Catpion Telephone Serivce (IPCTS). FreeRelay services are free and are designed to provide FREE services to people with limited hearing and those who contact them. http://www.phonecaption.com/ .

PhoneCaption.com provides free captioning for telephone calls to help those with hearing limitations. It supports normal phones to IP phones and sends voice dialogue via text throught the Internet or your IP phone screen. The low/no hearing party receives captions to read what's being said, via the web or a Cisco 79XX IP phone screen display, for example. For more information, visit http://www.phonecaption.com/ .

Information source: http://blog.techsoup.org/

Age of Aquarius

There is really no great knowledge boost here - but I love a library that knows how to have fun and isn't uptight! Check out the groovy video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRIxnhunF3I

Book-A-Day Blog

From Little Elm Public Library's weekly newsletter:

If you like reading award winning fiction books then you might want to bookmark the National Book Foundation’s book a day blog http://www.nationalbook.org/nba77fictionwinners.html. The National Book Foundation is presenting a book-a-day blog on the Fiction winners from 1950 to 2008 in order to celebrate the 60th year of the National Book Awards. The blog will run from July 7th to September 21st.

North Texas 23

Over 300 participants and 23 "mentors" are involved in North Texas 23, an online Web 2.0/Library 2.0 learning experience designed specifically for library personnel in the 20-county area which makes up TLA District 7 as well as the NTLP service area.

We're pleased with the number of people involved in this first-time NTLP project, but we're especially excited by the fact that all four types of libraries are represented among both the mentors, a.k.a. the Leadership Team, and the participants. Although North Texas 23 is based on a concept which has been around for years and was inspired by a similar project done by the Central Texas Library System last year, it may be the first three-month online learning project which involves personnel from all types of libraries, throughout a Texas State Library System/TLA District, networking with, mentoring and learning from one-another. We hope this leads to many other projects involving cooperation among all types of libraries within this 20-county area.

North Texas 23 began May 7 at TechNet 2009 when TCU Science Librarian and North Texas 23 Coordinator Jeff Bond provided a session which described the project and encouraged attendees to participate and/or develop similar projects for their own groups of colleagues. Registration continued through June 1 and was open additionally to all TechNet 2009 attendees and to anyone who was registered and paid for CYC 2009, the third annual Children and Youth Conference for North Texas Libraries.

As registrations arrived, Jeff assigned participants to individual members of the leadership team so that every participant in this project has someone assigned to encourage, help, provide input and/or additional information to and, generally, mentor them through the tasks. Those people are also tracking the progress of people in their clusters. Participants who complete all 23 things by September 1, 2009, will receive certificates of acheivement; those who finish by August 15, 2009, will also qualify for a chance at prizes.

Many of the participants will receive their certificates and/or meet other participants during CYC 2009. At that conference, Jeff will present a session in which he reviews the project and discusses lessons learned so that others who wish to provide similar projects for their own groups may benefit from experiences of North Texas 23.

Azle Resident Provides New Library & Park to the City

Thanks to the work and support of Ms. Janie Rector, one of its residents, Azle has a brand new library with all-new furnishings and technology as well as an adjacent park. The community has planned a three-day celebration, June 26-28, for the library's grand opening. (See http://www.cityofazle.org/ and http://www.ntrls.org/downloads/41653Invite.pdf for details.)

Whether you make it to the grand opening ceremonies or not, I HIGHLY recommend that you attempt to visit this library at some point.

Ms. Rector is the recipient of this year's NTLP Benefactor of the Year award and also won the 2008 TLA Outstanding Services to Libraries Award in recognition of her successful advocacy of the library to the community (population 10,000). Here's some background information from the LiFTA event which included that award presentation:

In 2000, Mrs. Rector informed Azle Public Library Director Judy Whitt that she wished to do something for the community in memory of her husband, specifically A NEW LIBRARY ON MAIN STREET! After finding and purchasing land for not only the library, but also a substantial portion of a new park, she made her proposal to city officials.

Next Mrs. R formed a committee of Friends of the Library, and they visited at least 25 libraries in the area and out-of-state. Armed with disposable cameras and taking pictures of these facilities (with permission), they compiled four large annotated scrapbooks with typed notes for future reference. Then Mrs. R joined TLA, attending conferences in Austin and San Antonio to get ideas for the new library. She hired an architect and a contractor and saw that Judy Whitt was included all phases of the building project.

In her hands-on mode Mrs. R. volunteer[ed] every Monday afternoon in the previous library to get the feel of library operation—working in circulation, shelving books, assisting patrons. She attends various NTRLS workshops to better understand public libraries.

In addition, this extraordinary library patron furnish[ed] the building and purchase[d] RFID technology and self-checkout in the new facility.

Increased Numbers of Public Computer Users

As unemployment increases, and as the government moves from paper to online forms in general, librarians are seeing the number of public computer users increase exponentially. With that increase comes increased demands on staff to provide one-on-one assistance for those who must complete the forms.

Some patrons have computer skills and simply need help relative to information required to complete the forms. Others have only basic computer skills - possibly from doing email only - and need additional computer training as well as help with supplying the required information. MANY, however, have virtually no computer skills and don't have time to learn even basic skills before completing the online forms which will help them get through tough times.

NTLP has scheduled Suzanne Sears, an expert on e-government resources for academic, public and school libraries, to present two all-day workshops on the topic this month. (See http://www.ntrls.org/Workshops/FY2009/e-gov.pdf )

The sad irony is the fact that the increased demands on their time and presence in the building prevent many library staff members from being able to attend those workshops.

Falling Sales Cloud Book Industry Meeting - NYTimes.com

Falling Sales Cloud Book Industry Meeting - NYTimes.com

Books sales are falling as library usage skyrockets!

The NY Times reports that even juvenile book sales are declining. It is a bit scary to me as a librarian that many libraries still have antiquated views concerning purchasing books that are not reviewed!!! This certainly leads to a homogenous library collection nationwide - head's up - maybe that is why publishers are so slow to accept new authors. Be brave - read non-reviewed books - if you can find any at the library.

Libraries Are America's Lifelines. Leave Them Alone

Posted a couple weeks ago - but this is a great article for library advocacy by Kenneth C Davis

Michael Bloomberg may be the ultimate IT Guy. Okay, maybe that's still Bill Gates. But the point is, Michael Bloomberg took Information and Technology and made himself an empire with Bloomberg News. Then he became King of New York -- or at least Mayor -- and a very good one at that, as far as I am concerned.

So why would a man who built his world around IT want to cripple New York's IT lifeline -- the public library?

In case you haven't heard, New York City's public library systems -- three separate library systems in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens -- are once again under siege, on the chopping block, threatened with draconian cuts in the face of New York City's Great Recession. (The cuts were outlined in an article in Library Journal.)

Library cuts in down times remind me of the classic line from Casablanca: "Round up the usual suspects." The public library is always suspect Number One when it comes to municipal budget cuts. And as librarians everywhere know, this is not a fact in New York City alone.

Underlying this reality are two simple facts. First, libraries do not have a vocal, powerful constituency. Unlike the police, teachers and firemen, they don't have a potent union or benevolent association. There is no "Library Lobby" doling out campaign contributions. But far worse, libraries tend to be viewed by all too many people in power as a luxury.

For complete article

A Librarian's Guide to Gaming!

Just a reminder that ALA has an online toolkit for Building Gaming which is very helpful. If you haven't brought gaming to your library yet - it is time to jump in!

This toolkit includes board games, card games and videogames. "Games of every type play an important role in developing fundamental competencies for life. They require players to learn and follow complex sets of rules, make strategic and tactical decisions, and increasingly, collaborate with teammates and others: all things they will have to do in college and in the workforce." Jim Rettig, ALA President, 2008-2009.

New Wii Gadget!

Okay - I confess - I haven't been on my Wii Fit as much as I should be - but I plan to change that soon. The new Wii MotionPlus peripheral will make my movement even more realistic.

From what I have read, this new gadget will work with newer games - not the sports and fit packages I already have. That is a bummer - but the new gadget will come with the new Wii Sports Resort for $49.99 so I think I'll put it on my wishlist.

Plan to add the Wii MotionPlus to your library's gaming area to keep attracting the teens - and let's face it - those of us over 40 too!

Posterous - the easy way to blog!

Posterous is the new - easy way to blog. Very simple, very easy, very fast - all things I desperately need. You do not have to create an account - just send an email to: post@posterous.com, adding whatever content you want (the subject line becomes the title, while text, images, and video are the body), and hitting send. Posterous will create your blog and email you back with confirmation and a link to view.

Lip Reading Computers??

Lip Reading Computers can even differentiate languages.

The University of East Anglia's School of Computer Sciences are on their way to releasing a computer that can lip read and even check for multiple languages.

This tool will have an impact on the hearing impaired community as well as law enforcement and military advances.

NTLP is responsive to H1N1!

We at NTRLS/NTLP are excited to be providing the 2009 TechNet conference on May 7th at the Lockheed Martin Recreation Area. Please plan to attend - we will have plenty of anti-bacterial cleansers and wipes throughout the building.

If you haven't registered for the event - time is running out!

TechNet 2009

Password Management Site

PC Magazine's Editor's Choice for a password management site is LastPass1.5. While I admit it makes me a bit nervous to have my passwords saved in one location - one secure location - I am always hearing about different security breaches. My mortgage company was hacked, where I buy my shoes was hacked, even my account with a federally funded agency was hacked - so forgive me if I tend to be a bit hesitant. However, this one is highly rated and I think I might give it a try - passwords are constantly changing and my mind just can't keep up!!

LastPass will also fill out forms for you - sometimes this is helpful - sometimes it is not - your opinion here.

And finally - it is free! You can't beat that!

Renting Books and Libraries

As I was driving by another closed Blockbuster store, I realized people do not often want to be bothered to pull out of traffic, park, go inside, and wait in line. Are people actually watching less movies - of course not. But we are watching more movies at home - between Netflix, the Red Boxes around town (which are an onsite vending machine - but more convenient than a Blockbuster), on-demand, fantastic home theaters and sound systems, etc... we want to watch movies on our terms.

With book rentals (Bookswim, Booksfree) becoming more common, will libraries go the way of Blockbuster? I doubt it - but it does give us a chance to rethink part of our service to our communities.

At a time when the economy is tough, our libraries usage stats are going through the roof - we always knew libraries were REQUIRED for a strong community - now it seems others are catching on. But let's start thinking about when our economy strengthens (and yes it will) - how can we keep usage up? Should we be offering more on-demand service for books and movies? Can we have memberships that include enhanced services - and we mail the books and movies? The ongoing debate about everything is free vs. some pay services will remain. What we need to focus on is how do we best serve our users?

Public Libraries Look to New Services in Japan

Public libraries look to new services
Taisuke Takeda and Hiroko Toda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

A "concierge," of Chiyoda Public Library in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, provides people with useful information about its selection of books and even local restaurants.

Amid the global recession, various kinds of rental services have become popular among increasingly budget-conscious people, with many public libraries looking to attract new users with new services in addition to conventional ones.

Fuchu City Library in Fuchu, western Tokyo, has the most extensive collection of audiovisual material among public libraries in Tokyo. It has 44,000 CDs and 20,000 DVDs and videotapes, and 10 special viewing booths. Most of this material can be borrowed.

"An increasing number of people are using the library, where they can borrow items whenever they need to, as a study or reading resource," library director Toshihiko Sakurada said.
Due to the constraints of copyright and other issues, the library usually purchases audiovisual products six months to a year after their first appearance in CD rental shops.

For complete article

Texas Library Association Annual Conference - My View

Just getting back from Houston for the Texas Library Association conference. As always it was great to see librarians and library supporters from around the state. Paula Poundstone was really funny as the keynote presenter - who knew - Melody Kelly was pretty funny too!

I went to many, many meetings and a few sessions. One session in particular was very helpful. It was the CE SLAM - five trainers shared a quick lesson. I think this formula will work for a longer workshop in the NTLP area - have a CE SLAM on often asked about topics that don't require a full day of training.

One site shared that is worthy of time is VoiceThread. This tool allows you to narrate your presentation or video. Easy to use - check it out!

Disaster Planning

One of the local libraries in North Texas recently suffered a water leak that created substantial clean-up and damage. Fargo, ND is dealing with the rising Red River flooding their city. Are you and your library ready if some type of disaster occurs in your area?

dPlan is a free online tool that creates disaster plans - practical plans.

"dPlan is a free online tool that will help you simplify the process of writing a disaster plan. Enter information about your institution using the comprehensive fill-in-the-blank template. This template will guide you through the steps necessary for effective disaster planning.

Once completed, dPlan generates a printed disaster plan specific to your institution. The resulting plan contains contact information for staff and key personnel, preventive maintenance checklists, salvage techniques, and much more. dPlan can be updated continuously to reflect the changes that occur at your institution."

Great Graphic Design Tool

Need to create a poster? Want to display a library image? Try the Rasterbator website. You upload a photo or image and then follow the easy wizard. Your image will be created over multiple sheets which you can then print out and tape together.

Helping Patrons Who Have Been Laid Off.....

In a time with so many people losing there jobs - new creative sites are popping up online. One to check for a powerful networking group is a new organization called LaidOffCamp that is like a free day camp for the underemployed. According to the movement's Web site, it's "an ad-hoc gathering of unemployed and nontraditionally employed people (including freelancers, entrepreneurs and startups) who want to share ideas and learn from each other." You never know whom you might meet.