Volume 5: May 21, 2009 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

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

2)  LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE AWARD CEREMONY

3)  CONSUMER REPORTS GROUP PURCHASE UPDATE

4)  STATEWIDE DATABASE TRIALS FOCUS ON “HARD TIMES” DURING MAY-JUNE

5)  FIRST TUESDAYS PROGRAM FOCUSES ON BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE

6)  ADDITIONAL FREE ONLINE REFERENCE CLASSES TO BE OFFERED IN JULY

7)  TECH SOUP WEBINARS AND EVENTS

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1)  A 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.

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2)  LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE AWARD CEREMONY

Fifty-five students were acknowledged at the Letters About Literature Awards Ceremony in Olympia.  To see photos of the ceremony, please visit the State Library’s website at www.secstate.wa.gov/library/lal/default.aspx.

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3)  CONSUMER REPORTS GROUP PURCHASE UPDATE

As a reminder, in July, EBSCO Publishing will exclusively provide library subscriptions to Consumer Reports. The Statewide Database Licensing (SDL) project has arranged a group purchase opportunity, which is open to all types of nonprofit libraries in Washington. There is a goal of 20 or more libraries in order to obtain the maximum discount (25%). The deadline for participation is May 29.

Currently, 7 libraries have already agreed to buy, and an additional 20 libraries are evaluating purchase through trials. For pricing information, and/or to sign up, contact EBSCO Account Executive Erin Cheever [email protected] or 800-653-2726 x2347. For other questions about SDL, contact Will Stuivenga [email protected] 360-704-5217 or toll free 866-538-4996.

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4)  STATEWIDE DATABASE TRIALS FOCUS ON “HARD TIMES” DURING MAY-JUNE

The Statewide Database Trials for May-June 2009 are now up and available. Trials will run through June 30, providing about 6 weeks to check out some interesting resources. This batch of trials focuses on “hard times” resources, and includes some great tools on skills-building, resume creation, job preparation, continuing education, workplace research, small business management, and more. Check them out at www.secstate.wa.gov/quicklinks/Trials09a.

We’d like to stress (again) the importance of filling out an interest form for any product you want to know more about. All the interest form does is to start a conversation between you and the vendor, and allows us the opportunity to arrange better pricing if enough libraries are interested. Please express interest based on the quality of the product, and not on the price, because the price provided to us is always negotiable (and sometimes significantly so).The interest form can be found at www.secstate.wa.gov/quicklinks/DBTrials2009InterestForm.

It’s not too late to express interest in the March-April “Language-Learning” products (but it’s getting close)! That form will be available for the next couple weeks, so if you were interested in either of those offerings, fill it out here: www.secstate.wa.gov/quicklinks/OldTrialSurvey.

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5)  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. Don’t let this discourage you. Click on Participant and you’ll be transported into the First Tuesdays room and the recording of the program will be beginning.

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6)  ADDITIONAL FREE ONLINE REFERENCE CLASSES TO BE OFFERED IN JULY

Due to popular demand, additional free online reference classes from Amigos will be offered by WSL during July. Each class has two two-hour sessions, all from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; participants should plan to attend both sessions.

Core Reference Skills will be offered on 7/6/2009 and 7/13/2009 and again on 7/20/2009 and 7/27/2009.To register, visit www.secstate.wa.gov/quicklinks/refcore.

Tools for the Reference Desk will be offered on 7/9/2009 and 7/16/2009 and again on 7/22/2009 and 7/29/2009. To register, visit www.secstate.wa.gov/quicklinks/reftools.

For questions or more information, contact Jennifer Fenton, [email protected], 360-570-5571 or toll free 866-538-4996.

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7)  TECH SOUP WEBINARS AND EVENTS

Tech Soup will offer a free webinar on 5/21/2009 from 11:00 a.m. to noon, to Learn How TechSoup Can Help Your Organization, showing how to obtain free or discounted software and other technical assistance. To find out more, and to register, see www.maintainitproject.org/events/learn-how-techsoup-can-help-your-organization.

TechSoup’s archived webinars can be found at www.maintainitproject.org/events/archive and their events calendar at www.maintainitproject.org/events. There is also a monthly newsletter; to sign up, go to ga0.org/techsoup/join.html.