WSL Updates for December 1, 2016

November 30, 2016 Secretary of State's Office

Volume 12, December 1, 2016 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) FINDING SOMETHING TO READ NOW WEBINAR

2) MORE TITLES IN WASHINGTON DIGITAL NEWSPAPERS

3) FREE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH WSL

4) GALE PUBLIC LIBRARY RENEWAL

5) REFERENCE SERVICES COURSE ONLINE

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

—————————————————————————————————————

1) FINDING SOMETHING TO READ NOW WEBINAR

This free First Tuesday webinar will explore ways to improve the reading experience for your online readers, such as the advantages of using OverDrive’s Wish List instead of placing holds.

Finding Something to Read NOW (and More!): OverDrive Tips & Tricks for Assisting Readers, presented by Will Stuivenga, Washington State Library.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016 from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PST

Other techniques explained will include:

power limiting
searching by genre
using the “Recommended for You” feature

We will briefly review other patron assistance options, such as resetting downloads and adjusting the holds queue. Library staff will receive tips on the best OverDrive training and promotional materials. Time permitting, we may also discuss publisher eBook pricing practices and how they affect budgets and collections.

Instructions and Login for First Tuesdays session

First Tuesdays was designed as a continuing-education opportunity for staff of libraries in Washington. The free webinars allow attendees to ask questions and learn about new topics. These special subject presentations are recorded so others may listen at their convenience.

Questions? Please contact Carolyn Petersen, Washington State Library, at [email protected] or 360-570-5560.

—————————————————————————————————————

2) MORE TITLES IN WASHINGTON DIGITAL NEWSPAPERS

There are more historic titles in Washington Digital Newspapers— over 26,000 newly digitized pages are being added to the Washington State Library (WSL)’s online newspaper collection in 2016.

Check out the recently available titles:

The Eatonville Dispatch (1916-1961)
Dankse Kronike (Danish/English) (1916-1917)

Centralia Daily Hub (1914-1916)

More than 50,000 pages will be added in 2017:

The Eatonville Dispatch (1961-2010)
Anacortes American (1905-1922)
Dat Moi (Vietnamese/English, 1975-1986)
Washington Hellenic Review (Greek/English, 1924-1934)

So all issues will have consistent full text and advanced search capabilities, WSL is merging:

Washington State Library’s Historic Newspapers in Washington collection with
Washington newspapers digitized for the National Digital Newspaper Program.

The combined database will be the Washington Digital Newspapers (WDN) collection.

The new WDN website will include historic and more recent titles only available digitally through the Washington State Library. Please pardon the duplication as we work on this considerable project to add Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to all the newspaper pages and unify our collections.

All newspapers dated pre-1923 are considered public domain and are an excellent primary source for teachers, students, genealogists, and researchers. Our new WDN collection will venture beyond the public domain content and, with the gracious consent of each newspaper’s copyright holder, WSL is able to upload more recent pages for non-commercial use. Please remind users that all must respect the copyrights for these materials published after 1922, so that WSL may continue to share these resources.

Questions about the new website? Please email Shawn Schollmeyer at [email protected].

—————————————————————————————————————

3) FREE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH WSL

The Washington State Library (WSL) offers access to Skillsoft through our partnership with WebJunction. This learning management system provides access to online self-paced courses and instructional videos. There are hundreds of available resources on topics that range from using Microsoft Office and Windows to leadership essentials and to creating budgets.

Haven’t tried it yet? Get started here:

Click here to Request an Account
Click on the Register link.
Complete all fields of the registration form, making sure to select your state library as your sponsor.
Affirm and submit the registration form. You will receive an email acknowledging your request.
Within two business days, your account will be reviewed and when it is an approved, you will receive an email notification.
Once approved, you can log in and start learning!

Using SkillPort

After logging in, you will be on the home page. To find learning opportunities, click on The Library link at the top of the screen to browse the courses, videos, and job aids.
You can also use the Search function at the top of the page to search all of the available content.
A course, video or job aid can be launched directly from Search or the Catalog listings, or you can add it to your Learning Plan to come back to later. The Learning Plan allows you to create a personal learning plan of the courses you wish to take.
Once you begin using the courses, you can print certificates of completion and reports of your learning history in the Learning Transcript section. Here you will see both courses you have launched and are still working on, as well as courses you have completed.

—————————————————————————————————————

4) GALE PUBLIC LIBRARY RENEWAL

In partnership with Washington Public Libraries Cooperate! (WPLC), the Washington State Library Statewide Database Licensing Project and Gale Cengage Learning are pleased to offer the 2017 Gale online database group purchase options. This offer is available for all public libraries and provides unlimited number of users and remote access for the subscription term of January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.

What’s new in 2017?

New & improved Small Business Resource Center
New: Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity
New: Indigenous Peoples: North America

The renewal deadline is December 9, 2016. More details are available at sos.wa.gov/q/Gale.

The renewal/signup website is at galesites.com/trial/wplc.

—————————————————————————————————————

5) REFERENCE SERVICES COURSE ONLINE

Highline College Library & Information Services Program is offering LIBR 150 “Reference Services” Online for 5 credits this winter.

Registration begins Monday, November 21, 2016 and classes begin Monday, January 9, 2017.

The course features development of proficiency in providing face-to-face and remote reference services in a variety of settings. The focus is on the nature and purpose of reference services, library principles governing them, customer service, conducting effective reference interviews, and developing familiarity with a broad array of print and electronic resources. Attention is also paid to assisting library users to become proficient in using library resources themselves.

Contact [email protected] for more information.

—————————————————————————————————————

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

December 5