Volume 6, June 10, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) BCR TO LYRASIS TRANSITION HAPPENING NOW

2) EARLY LEARNING – TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO HAVE YOUR SAY

3) LOUISA MAY ALCOTT LIBRARY GRANTS

4) FLIP-IN’ OUT @ THE LIBRARY

5) NEW POSSIBILITIES IN COOPERATIVE CATALOGING?

6) TALK UP YOUR VALUE IN 30 TO 60 SECONDS

7) CREATING INVITING LOW COST TEEN SPACES

8) CHRISTIAN FICTION BOOK BUZZ

—————————————————————————————————————

1) BCR TO LYRASIS TRANSITION HAPPENING NOW

In April, it was announced that BCR would phase out its operations by the end of December 2010. Part of this process included selling BCR’s building. BCR received an attractive offer and has accepted a contract on the building, and as a result must vacate earlier than expected. Due to this change in timing, BCR has decided to phase out operations sooner than originally scheduled.

Through a special arrangement between BCR and LYRASIS, the Washington State Library’s statewide membership in BCR for FY2011 also covers individual library membership fees for LYRASIS through June 30, 2011. BCR and LYRASIS have agreed that BCR members will be able to transition to LYRASIS earlier than originally proposed. The two organizations will work together to help libraries transition at a time that is right for each library – even as early as this month.

To activate your library’s LYRASIS membership, fill out the BCR Transition Form available via this shortcut link: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/transition. Since Washington libraries purchased their OCLC services via OCLC Western, and not through BCR, it is not necessary to fill out the OCLC billing partner portion of the form.

—————————————————————————————————————

2) EARLY LEARNING – TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO HAVE YOUR SAY

Please be sure to provide input to the Draft Washington State Early Learning Plan no later than June 18! Priority decisions, including funding, will be made using this document. If you do not have the time to review the entire Plan, please read and comment on the following five strategic areas in which libraries could play key roles:

• Strategy #10 – Early Literacy (pages 71 – 72)
• Strategy #13 – Access to Information and Resources (pages 75 – 77)
• Strategy #14 – Parenting Learning Opportunities (pages 77 – 78)
• Strategy #16 – Family, Friends and Neighbors (FFN) Care (pages 79 – 80)
• Strategy #34 – Public Awareness and Commitment (pages 99 – 99)

Find the Draft and the survey share your input at www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/EarlyLearningPlan and spread the word!

—————————————————————————————————————

3) LOUISA MAY ALCOTT LIBRARY GRANTS

Louisa May Alcott is recognized around the world for her novel Little Women, but Alcott is scarcely known as the bold, compelling woman who secretly wrote sensational thrillers, lived at the center of the Transcendentalist and Abolitionist movements, and served as a Civil War army nurse. “Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women,” a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) small grant opportunity, will give public audiences the opportunity to participate in library-sponsored humanities programs that explore Alcott’s life, her work, and her place in American culture.

The library outreach programs are designed to enhance the impact of the documentary film, Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women, the companion biography of the same name written by Harriet Reisen. The film and biography explore Alcott’s extraordinary life and the historical and cultural context that inspired her remarkable body of work. The documentary was awarded Best Video of 2009 by Booklist; the biography was named to best books of the year lists by The Wall Street Journal, BookPage, and Booklist.

The ALA Public Programs Office and (NEH) will offer programming grants of $2,500 to thirty selected libraries to present five reading, viewing, and discussion programs focused on Louisa May Alcott, her body of work, and her era. Online applications will be accepted at www.grants.gov through July 30, but the grants.gov registration process can take up to two weeks to complete, so start early.

This library outreach program is a collaboration among NEH, ALA, and Nancy Porter and Harriet Reisen for Filmmakers Collaborative and has been designated as part of NEH’s We the People initiative, exploring significant events and themes in our nation’s history and culture and advancing knowledge of the principles that define America. Funding was provided by a major grant from NEH to the ALA Public Programs Office. For more information, visit www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/SGL_Alcott.html.

—————————————————————————————————————

4) FLIP-IN’ OUT @ THE LIBRARY

TechSoup’s product donation program includes easy-to-use Flip video cameras that allow you to share your library and community stories. Find out how public libraries are using this technology as a tool for making connections, recording library events, and sharing knowledge. Flip Video’s simple camcorders can be used by people with any level of video experience to create, edit, and share movies. Libraries use these camcorders to give their staff, volunteers, and constituents the ability to further their causes through digital storytelling.

This free webinar will showcase several libraries. The Tonganoxie Public Library in Kansas rocks the Flip at their library. Royce Kitts will share how they use Flip cameras to produce videos of library events, to record staff training, and to share advocacy techniques. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library uses Flip cameras within their system for programming at their branches. Kelly Czarnecki will let us know how they use these videos for everything from library advocacy and outreach to answering questions about current events.

Thursday, June 17, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT. For more information, and to register, use this shortcut: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/flip. For information on the TechSoup Flip Video camera discount program, visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/flipcam.

—————————————————————————————————————

5) NEW POSSIBILITIES IN COOPERATIVE CATALOGING?

Libraries have been happy to share metadata for decades, via OCLC. But what are new ways to expand our data-sharing activities, and thus our cataloging? Today, libraries are putting up open source catalogs and using Dublin Core, MODS, MADS, and ONIX to place their records on the Web and bring them to a much larger audience. This e-forum will explore cutting edge ideas about cooperative cataloging, from record structure alternatives for MARC to new ways of cooperating in sharing metadata. Join us for a discussion about how to make our collections and the records that describe them more accessible to the world than ever before.

June 15-16, 2010. E-forum starts at 7 a.m. PDT and runs until 3 p.m. PDT each day.

An ALCTS e-forum provides an opportunity for librarians to discuss matters of interest, led by a moderator, through the e-forum discussion list. The e-forum discussion list works like an email listserv: register your email address with the list, and then you will receive messages and communicate with other participants through an email discussion. Registration is free, but required: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/alcts-forums.

—————————————————————————————————————

6) TALK UP YOUR VALUE IN 30 TO 60 SECONDS

We are often asked to share what we do and often we lose out on an opportunity to insert impact and influence by shooting from the hip and using too many words, too few or not the right words for the right audience. The key to a memorable and interesting response comes in preparation and the selection of the “right” details based on your “audience.”

• Learn the who, what, why and how method, and how you can apply it to your personal value statement and that of your library;
• Add pizzazz with story and talking points;
• Explore delivery tips.

Free webinar: “Articulate: So what do you do? Talk Up Your Value in 30 to 60 seconds.” Wednesday, June 16, 8:00 – 9:15 a.m. PDT. For more information and to register: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/articulate.

—————————————————————————————————————

7) CREATING INVITING LOW COST TEEN SPACES

Graffiti, anime, slam poetry, WII? Is your service to teens outdated or non-existent? Want to create a space that captures the attention of teens? No space and no money? Creating special spaces in libraries to encourage teens to meet in a safe and stimulating environment is an exciting and challenging project.

In this free Infopeople webinar, participants will:

• Evaluate current service for teens;
• Share ideas about programs for teens;
• Take a virtual tour of new teen spaces;
• Learn how to create an ambience that appeals to teens;
• Review seating, signage, acoustics, finish materials;
• Share tips that promote teen involvement;
• Discover the practicalities and pitfalls of creating spaces for teens.

Wednesday, June 16, 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. PDT. For more information, and to attend, use this shortcut: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/teenspace.

—————————————————————————————————————

8) CHRISTIAN FICTION BOOK BUZZ

Christian fiction is not easily categorized, though most readers would agree that there is a core of biblically-based attitudes, values, and actions, and likely there would be very little, if any, profanity, sex, or violence. Generally, Christian fiction has religious themes infused into a regular genre story. But there are as many subgenres in Christian fiction as there are in popular fiction-from cozy mysteries to legal suspense to fantasy. And readers aren’t all looking for the same message-Christian historical fiction can inform and entertain, while women’s fiction may be sought for comfort or advice.

Many libraries are seeing an increased demand for Christian fiction with more readers looking for inspirational and uplifting stories and finding good writing in newly discovered places, contributing to the cross-over appeal of this growing genre. And Christian Fiction publishers are changing with the times to add a wider variety of stories-including grittier, edgier thrillers and steamier romances-to appeal to that expanding readership.

Find out more about this growing genre. Thursday, June 17, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT. Free Library Journal webcast. For more information, and to register: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/Christian.

—————————————————————————————————————