Volume 5:  May 28, 2009 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1)  STATEWIDE PRESERVATION PLAN UNDER CONSIDERATION

2)  QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION ON THE NEW HARD TIMES GRANT CYCLE

3)  FIRST TUESDAYS PROGRAM FOCUSES ON BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE

4)  FREE WORKSHOPS FROM WSL AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

5)  SCHOLARSHIPS TO ATTEND 2009 ARSL CONFERENCE

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1)  STATEWIDE PRESERVATION PLAN UNDER CONSIDERATION

On May 21, a group of librarians, archivists, and representatives of museums, historical societies, and tribes gathered in Tacoma for an invitational meeting to consider a statewide preservation plan. This was the second of a set of Connecting to Collections conferences, the first held in October 2008, funded by a $40,000 federal grant directly to the Washington State Library from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Four working groups drafted recommendations on Advocacy, Collaborative Disaster Planning, Building a Sustainable Institutional Preservation Plan, and Building a Sustainable Statewide Preservation Plan. Their drafts can be found at http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/libraries/c2c/resources.aspx, the Connecting to Collections website, by the end of this week.

From these drafts and the discussions on May 21, Tom Clareson of Lyrasis (Palinet plus Solinet) will prepare a draft of a statewide preservation plan, which will be available for comment by the end of June at the same site. We believe this is the first time that representatives of all Washington heritage groups interested in preservation have been able to meet together and begin planning for the future. There is a possibility of applying for a $500,000 federal Connecting to Collections grant early in 2010, in competition with many other states.

For further information, please contact Rand Simmons, [email protected] or Jennifer Fenton, [email protected], toll free 1-866-538-4996.

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2)  QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION ON THE NEW HARD TIMES GRANT CYCLE

Hard Times grant project manager Carolyn Petersen and LSTA grants administrator Jeff Martin will host a conference call for answering questions regarding the grant application process. Carolyn will begin with a brief overview of the grant cycle. Questions will be taken after that.

The conference call will be held on May 28 at 9:00 a.m. PDT. To participate, please register at www.secstate.wa.gov/quicklinks/GrantQA by noon on May 27. You will be sent the pin number that you will need to enter the conference call by the afternoon of May 27.

For more information about the Hard Times targeted competitive grant cycle, visit www.secstate.wa.gov/quicklinks/grants or attend the conference call.

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3)  FIRST TUESDAYS PROGRAM FOCUSES ON BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE

Our First Tuesdays program on June 2 at 9:00 a.m. features a discussion on bullying in the workplace, led by Rand Simmons, program manager at WSL. The July 7 program will be on Safety in Small Libraries, led by library consultant Kate Laughlin. The August 4 program will feature Eve Datisman, Port Angeles High School Librarian and Paula Barnes, North Olympic Library System, on forming strong ties between school and public libraries.

Listen in on your computer at webj.horizonwimba.com, select the First Tuesdays room when you reach the lobby. If this is your first use of Wimba, you will need to go through a quick download of the software first.

After a day or two, all First Tuesdays broadcasts are available as archived programs on the First Tuesdays webpage, at www.secstate.wa.gov/quicklinks/tuesdays. Notice that past program names are listed in the right hand column, where you can find all of our past recordings, plus any slides which were included. Incidentally, when you click on the name of the program, it will take you to a screen that has two boxes, Participant or Presenter. Select Participant and you’ll be transported into the First Tuesdays room and the recording of the program will be beginning.

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4)  FREE WORKSHOPS FROM WSL AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

Are hard times catching up with your library? Do you need some tools to help you keep up? The Washington State Library is offering a series of workshops to help you help your customers. Here are some upcoming classes presented by Shelly Drumm of BCR to be held in multiple locations:

Library 2 Point . . . OH! Now I get it: Practical Applications of 2.0 tools: By now most librarians are familiar with a host of 2.0 tools, but many are still wondering how best to take advantage of them. This presentation will demonstrate a few ways that librarians can harness the power of RSS to broadcast quality information into the places that matter most to our patrons: library Web sites, patron iPods, or other community-centered sites. Tools explored will include RSS-enabled sources such as blogs, podcasts, and Web 2.0 favorites like del.icio.us, Twitter, plus Javascript converters such as Feed2JS or Widgetbox.

More Than Just Googling: Of course you know about–and probably use–Google’s search engine, but are you familiar with the collection of other great tools that Google offers? We briefly explore a few of these tools and how they may help you work a little more efficiently, and even perhaps allow you to extend new services to your patrons.

These workshops will be offered at three locations around the state. Library 2 Point . . . Oh! in the mornings from 9:00 a.m. until noon; More Than Just Googling in the afternoons from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. The locations are as follows:

9/2/09: Pierce County Library Processing and Administrative Center, Tacoma

9/28/09: Wenatchee Public Library

9/30/09: Spokane Public Library, Downtown Branch.

Register at www.secstate.wa.gov/quicklinks/calendar. For questions or more information, contact Jennifer Fenton, [email protected], 360-570-5571 or toll free 866-538-4996.

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5)  SCHOLARSHIPS TO ATTEND 2009 ARSL CONFERENCE

The Washington State Library, with funding from the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) invites rural librarians to apply for a full scholarship to attend the 2009 Association of Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) conference in Gatlinburg, TN, September 11-13.

This conference is specifically targeted for rural librarians, providing cutting-edge solutions to small library needs. This year’s theme is “keeping your head while serving the community.” Scholarships will include air transportation, all conference fees, and will cover full per diem.

Requirements for conference attendance eligibility:

· Must work at a small and rural library (serving 10,000 or fewer) in Washington state

· Preference is given to those who have not attended an ARSL conference in the last 5 years

· Must commit to a follow-up project describing conference experience (webinar, printed article, blog post, etc.)

· Demonstrate willingness to share knowledge gained with fellow library/district staffers

· Show how conference attendance will help meet library’s goals related to the six LSTA priorities

· Signed permission from person in your organization who must approve your conference attendance (please attach this with your application)

Applications will be accepted on June 1 through June 30. For application details, contact Kirsten Furl at [email protected], 360-570-5576, or toll free 1-866-538-4996.