Volume 6, May 20, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) RENEW WASHINGTON GRANT CYCLE RE-OPENS

2) THE USER EXPERIENCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY LIBRARY

3) GET INVOLVED IN WASHINGTON’S FUTURE

4) BOOKS FOR CHILDREN GRANTS

5) MISSION CRITICAL – SERVICES TO SPANISH SPEAKERS

6) USING WEB 2.0 TOOLS TO ENHANCE TECHNICAL SERVICES WORK

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In recognition of National Library Week, the Huffington Post’s Art Brodsky has posted a timely article decrying the all-too-frequent budget crisis in libraries across the country. He cites cuts in places such as Boston, Florida, New Jersey, Indianapolis, etc. He also links to the recent UW iSchool study which reports on the use of library computers for Internet access, and its increasing importance in the lives of Americans everywhere.

Here’s the final paragraph from the post:

Let’s give the last word to someone who has a secret ambition to be a librarian, but whose career went in a different direction. No less an authority than Keith Richards put it best in his forthcoming autobiography: "When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you. The public library is a great equalizer."

In a related article the Huffington Post continues its celebration of National Library Week by letting readers vote on their favorites from a slide show of several amazing library spaces. One of which, not surprisingly, is the "new" downtown Seattle Public Library.

Sometimes partnerships pay off.

Fort Vancouver Regional Library’s partnership with Partners in Careers, made possible through a Renew Washington grant, has been a great success. Partners in Careers is an agency that works with refugees, low income seniors, and adults facing multiple challenges to employment.

The Library noticed that the job agency had contacts with Russian and Spanish speakers.  When the time came to translate their Renew Washington materials into Spanish and Russian to better serve those communities  in their service area, they put together a contract with the agency.

The result worked well for everyone:  Folks who needed work got it and the Library had their job resource materials translated by native speakers.

Recent news reports claim that the job market is improving, but no one is claiming that it’s healthy, or that we’re anywhere close to a full recovery. If you are someone who has found themselves unemployed in the current economy, then you might find helpful this recent article from the NY Times.

The article explains that the biggest hurdle to finding a new job when you’re unemployed is often lack of structure, and provides some advice on how to get over this hurdle and make your job-searching more productive.

“When you get up in the morning, it can seem as if a long clean carpet of time is ahead of you, but then you may decide to go to the gym, have a leisurely lunch, take a nap, check out “Dr. Phil” on TV followed by “Judge Judy,” and then you’re ready to make dinner.

“Or, you may engage in a whirlwind of sending e-mail messages, Googling, calling and appointment-making, only to realize that very little of it got you closer to finding a job.”

Read the rest of the article at nytimes.com.

Volume 5, October 15, 2009 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) FREE TRAINING FROM WSL

2) ALASKA-YUKON-PACIFIC EXPOSITION 1909 – 2009

3) TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT COURSE FROM PLA

4) DISASTER READINESS FROM WEBJUNCTION

5) GRANTS FOR YOUTH-LED LITERACY PROJECTS

6) SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING IN A TOUGH ECONOMY

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