Volume 6, May 27, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) NO LIBRARY IS AN ISLAND – THE 2010 PNLA/WLA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

2) WASHINGTON LIBRARIES RECEIVE FREE LYRASIS TRIAL MEMBERSHIP

3) BRUSH UP YOUR PR SKILLS – JUNE FIRST TUESDAYS

4) FREE BOOK – GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES

5) TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES

6) POWER TO THE USER – INTERACTIVE ONLINE REFERENCE SOURCES

7) RE-TOOLING FRONTLINE STAFF WITH E-GOVERNMENT RESOURCES

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1) NO LIBRARY IS AN ISLAND – THE 2010 PNLA/WLA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The PNLA/WLA Annual Conference is the best place in the Pacific Northwest to develop professionally, advance your career, connect with colleagues, and learn about new techniques and new products that improve library services for your community. This year’s conference will offer more than 40 programs and will feature more than 50 companies exhibiting their new products and services.

The PNLA/WLA 2010 Conference takes place August 11 – 13 in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia at the Victoria Conference Centre, which is connected to the historic Fairmont Empress hotel. For more information and to register, visit 2010conference.wla.org.

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2) WASHINGTON LIBRARIES RECEIVE FREE LYRASIS TRIAL MEMBERSHIP

On April 5th, BCR announced that it was joining forces with LYRASIS (www.lyrasis.org), the nation’s largest regional library organization. LYRASIS was formed in 2009 when SOLINET merged with PALINET and NELINET. BCR will bring 11 more Midwestern and Western states to the consortium.

Washington has been a BCR member since 2001, and the state’s libraries have been included in that membership. Washington libraries will now become members of LYRASIS effective October 1, 2010. Unlike BCR, LYRASIS relies on individual library memberships. However, the agreement between BCR and LYRASIS provides that BCR libraries will not be asked to pay membership fees to LYRASIS until July 1, 2011. This will give Washington libraries the opportunity to experience the benefits of LYRASIS membership before making decisions about whether to join.

Under the state’s BCR membership, Washington libraries benefited from discounts, training and other services, and it is expected that they will have the same opportunities with LYRASIS memberships. For more information about the transition of BCR members to LYRASIS, visit bcr.org/transition.

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3) BRUSH UP YOUR PR SKILLS – JUNE FIRST TUESDAYS

Marketing 101 is the First Tuesdays CE program for June. Mary Kelly, community relations and marketing director of Sno-Isle libraries, and Beth Gillespie, communication manager of Spokane County Library, will help librarians who are tasked with getting the word out about library programs. They will talk about the elements of a good press release and better yet, how to know where it should be sent.

Tuesday, June 1, 9:00 a.m. PDT. You will find instructions for joining the program at www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/wimba.

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4) FREE BOOK – GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES

If your library could use gently used copies of Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl, the Washington State library will be happy to send them to any library in the state. The copies of this memoir, suitable for community reads programs or discussion kits, are all trade paperbacks that have been property stamped and are left over from a community read. Currently WSL has over 540 copies to distribute and more may be available. Please contact Carolyn Petersen at [email protected] or toll free 866.538.4996 if you are interested.

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5) TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES

Seattle Public Library Board trustee Eric Liu moderated a discussion on technology and the future of libraries featuring panelists Mike Crandall, Debbie Cook, Vanessa Fox, and Monica Guzman on May 8, 2010 at The Seattle Public Library. This “My Library: The Next Generation” session is available from the SPL website’s podcast page: www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=collection_podcasts.

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6) POWER TO THE USER – INTERACTIVE ONLINE REFERENCE SOURCES

Translation tools, visual search, mobile applications-these are just a few of the features that let the user interact with reference databases in new ways. In this free online webinar for librarians in all types of libraries, Sue Polanka, head of reference and instruction at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, and chair of the Reference Books Bulletin Editorial Board, will talk about the value and potential of interactive features, and representatives from Encyclopaedia Britannica, World Book, ABC-CLIO, and Paratext will demonstrate their newest interactive features and give us a preview of what’s coming next. Don’t miss this look at some of the features that are shaping the next generation of online reference sources.

Tuesday, June 1, 11:00 a.m. PDT. To register, visit https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/292689402.

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7) RE-TOOLING FRONTLINE STAFF WITH E-GOVERNMENT RESOURCES

Knowing how to find and use E-government resources is critical for patrons who need access to information related to unemployment, food stamps, Medicaid, tax forms, health and housing; and many people are asking their public library to help them navigate this information. To meet these new and increased demands on frontline staff, libraries in Florida are collaborating with government agencies and social service organizations to provide the best service possible to patrons in their state.

In this free WebJunction webinar, representatives of Florida libraries will share their strategies used to educate both the public and frontline staff on how to access this information and their experiences building partnerships with other agencies in their communities to respond to workforce development needs.

Thursday, June 3, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PDT. Register via this shortcut link: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/eGov.

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