WSL Updates for February 24, 2011
Volume 7, February 24, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list
Topics include:
1) FIRST TUESDAYS – AUTHORS, ILLUSTRATORS, AND LIBRARIANS, OH MY!
2) SIMPLY WASHINGTON – NEW & IMPROVED
3) LIBRARY LEGISLATION TRACKER
4) DOE GRANT – IMPROVING LITERACY THROUGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES
5) FREE WEBJUNCTION COURSES – MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007
6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK
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1) FIRST TUESDAYS – AUTHORS, ILLUSTRATORS, AND LIBRARIANS, OH MY!
For the State Library’s First Tuesdays program in March, meet local children’s authors and illustrators who love libraries. Learn tips and tricks for successful author programs for children, teens and families at your library. Panelists include authors Clare Hodgson Meeker and Richard Jesse Watson. The conversation will be facilitated by Jennifer Fenton, WSL’s CE & Training Coordinator, herself a former children’s and youth services librarian.
This free online program will be held on Tuesday, March 1, from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PST. For more information (including how to log in), please visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/tuesdays.
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2) SIMPLY WASHINGTON – NEW & IMPROVED
More than a year ago, the Office of the Secretary of State’s communications staff developed and released a free online publication called “Simply Washington,” which features lots of great photos and many fun and interesting facts, figures, and other informational tidbits. It’s an ideal document for students learning civics and state history, visitors, or anyone else who is interested in learning more about the Evergreen State. Many teachers across Washington have commented that it is a useful educational tool.
Due to popular demand, an updated version of Simply Washington has just been released. Not only was existing content updated, seven more pages were added to highlight even more aspects of this great state. Sections on recreation, fish and wildlife, agriculture, and flower festivals were added. All of the original sections were kept, showcasing Washington’s well-known industries, the history of the state, fun trade facts and figures, and how our state government operates, plus much more.
All of the information is in the public domain so people are encouraged to use it as they see fit. Access Simply Washington at www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/SimplyWA.
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3) LIBRARY LEGISLATION TRACKER
The Washington Library Association (WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Thanks to the Legislative Planning Committee of the Washington Library Association, library-related legislation is now summarized on the Washington State Library blog. Access to this information is from the Services to Libraries page at www.sos.wa.gov/library/libraries (look for the 2011 Legislative Session link), or directly from the blog at blogs.sos.wa.gov/library/index.php/tag/legislation.
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4) DOE GRANT – IMPROVING LITERACY THROUGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES
This Department of Education program helps improve reading achievement by providing students with increased access to up-to-date school library materials; well-equipped, technologically advanced school library media centers; and professionally certified school library media specialists.
- School districts may use funds for the following activities:
- Purchase up-to-date school library media resources, including books;
- Acquire and use advanced technology that is integrated into the curriculum to develop and enhance the information literacy, information retrieval, and critical-thinking skills of students;
- Facilitate Internet links and other resource-sharing networks;
- Provide professional development for school library media specialists serving PK-3 students and provide activities that foster increased collaboration among library specialists, teachers, and administrators of PK-12 students; and
- Provide students with access to school libraries during nonschool hours, weekends, and summer vacations.
The application deadline is March 28, 2011. Local education agencies in which at least 20 percent of students served are from families with incomes below the poverty line may apply. For more information, visit www2.ed.gov/programs/lsl/applicant.html.
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5) FREE WEBJUNCTION COURSES – MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007
Planning on using Microsoft Office 2007 a bit longer? That actually might not be a bad thing at all. In fact, it may present you with an opportunity to see what you’ve been missing. How? Well, by taking a course or two on this popular office suite’s functionality and specifically on Excel, Outlook, or Word, you have a chance to learn best practices and new efficiencies for tools with which you are probably already familiar, thus saving you time and preventing frustration.
WebJunction Washington offers free courses for affiliated members. This week’s featured WJ course: Microsoft Office 2007 Basics. Here’s a link to get you on your way: www.webjunction.org/office2007. To register for an account, visit wa.webjunction.org and follow the “create account” link. Be sure to affiliate with Washington to take advantage of the free courses provided by the Washington State Library.
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6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK
Tuesday, March 1:
- First Tuesdays: Authors, Illustrators, and Librarians, Oh My! (WSL); 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PST;
- Diderot Goes Digital: Why Authority, Comprehensibility, and Utility in Reference Sources Still Matter (Booklist); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PST;
- Introduction to the New ProQuest Platform (ProQuest); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PST: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PQ14;
- Library Evaluation for Grant Writers and Others (Infopeople); 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PST;
Wednesday, March 2:
- One World, Many Stories: Summer Reading Program 2011 (NCompass Live); 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. PST;
- WorldCat Resource Sharing Best Practices: Deflection (OCLC); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PST: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/OCLC-05;
- Yes! You Can Raise Big Dollars on Facebook and Other Social Networks (Common Knowledge); 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. PST;
- Project Management and Measuring Success for Digital Projects (Infopeople); 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PST;
Thursday, March 3:
- Mystery Announcements Spring 2011 (Library Journal); 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PST;
Friday, March 4:
- Tech Tools With Tine (Texas State Library); 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. PST;
- ProQuest Administrator Module (ProQuest); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PST: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PQ15;
- My Research (ProQuest); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PST: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PQ16.
All of these sessions are online. For more information and to register (unless otherwise linked above), visit the WSL Training Calendar at www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/training.
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