This report just became available in full on January 20. Download the report from their site, or continue reading for a description and links.

Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community, a follow-up to the 2005 Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources, is now available. The new report provides updated information and new insights into information consumers and their online information habits, preferences and perceptions. Particular attention was paid to how the current economic downturn has affected information-seeking behaviors and how those changes are reflected in the use and perception of libraries.

The OCLC membership report explores:

• Technological and economic shifts since 2005
• Lifestyle changes Americans have made during the recession, including increased use of the library and other online resources
• How a negative change to employment status impacts use and perceptions of the library
• How Americans use online resources and libraries in 2010
• Perceptions of libraries and information resources based on life stage, from teens to college students, to senior Americans.

The membership report is based on U.S. data from an online survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of OCLC. OCLC analyzed and summarized the results in order to produce this report.

You might not think about domains very much. Maybe the .coms and .nets and .orgs of the world all run together for you, and it’s what you see before the “dot” that counts. Well now there’s a reason to pay a little more attention.

.Jobs is a new domain with a specific purpose: to help job-seekers find employment.

And since we’re not out of the “hard times” economy quite yet, that’s a purpose that a lot of people can get behind. Expect to see many uses of .jobs in the future, but for now, check out universe.jobs for an excellent browseable map of jobs (worldwide!), and if you’re in Washington State, try http://olympia.wa.usa.jobs/ (or change the “olympia” part to a city of your choice) to find more local job opportunities.

A great video from the Finnish Library Association celebrating their 100th year in 2010.

The Finnish Library Association celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2010. On the occasion of the anniversary The Finnish Library Association wants to promote the important role of the libraries in transmitting cultural upbringing to the next generations.

On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eITfhOwyTU

Thanks to a Renew Washington grant from the Washington State Library, the Mount Vernon City Library is offering a great selection of programs to their community in the coming months. It’s always great to see such a direct community benefit from a grant cycle, and in this way the Renew Washington project has been particularly fulfilling.

The programs kick off with a Resume Writing 101 workshop on February 1 and continue with programs on all sorts of topics, from bicycle maintenance and bee-keeping to learning about hidden job markets and managing your money.

From their website:

The Mount Vernon City Library is proud to announce that for a second year in a row it is the recipient of a Renew Washington grant, this time for $16,750, awarded by the Washington State Library. The Renew Washington grant program is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. These grants are intended to help libraries enhance services to residents hit hardest by the ongoing economic downturn. As part of this grant project, the library is sponsoring the following free public programs in 2011, featuring local and regional experts in their fields.

Learn more about Renew Washington and visit the Mount Vernon City Library website to find out more about the programs they are offering.

In approaching a new contract for statewide database licensing in Washington State, the Washington State Library decided to create two surveys, one for staff at libraries of all types throughout Washington, and another for the users of public libraries in Washington. Today we are publishing a report that provides a summary of that second survey for public library users.

The survey was administered by providing a link and image for public libraries to put on their websites. In the interest of user anonymity, we did not collect any information about which users came from which libraries, which means that we cannot parse out data based on library size. This summary aggregates responses and comments from all users that started the survey. 1,209 library users started the survey, with 90.1% (1,089 library users) completing it.

Interested parties may download the report (pdf) and complete results (xls) below:

• Electronic Resources for Library Users – Survey Report and Analysis
• Electronic Resources for Library Users – Complete Survey Results with Comments

A report and analysis of the survey for library staff will also be published and made available once it is completed.

The Washington State Library’s Institutional Library Services (ILS) team hosted their very own Library Snapshot Day yesterday (1/11/11). Photos and stories from the event are being posted on Facebook, and you can find them under: ILS Library Snap Shot Day.

Photos and stories are rolling in from institutions across the state, including: Washington State Reformatory, Western State Hospital, Washington State Penitentiary (East and West complexes), Clallam Bay Corrections Center, Washington Corrections Center for Women, Eastern State Hospital, and the Stafford Bay Correction Center.

Check them out now over on Facebook.

While you’re over there, check out our other WSL Facebook pages:

• Washington State Library
• Washington Talking Book and Braille Library
• WSL Institutional Library Services

Winter weather is on its way. Or so says the National Weather Service:

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Seattle WA
3:58 pm PST Sun Nov 14 2010

A change to much colder conditions is possible Friday into next weekend…

Cold air is expected to develop over western Canada during the upcoming week. There are strong indications that changes in the wind flow aloft toward the end of the week will allow some of this colder air over western Canada to filter into western Washington Friday or Saturday.

Weather guidance also suggests that there is a risk of snow…or mixed rain and snow showers over portions of the area Friday or Saturday. The highest risk will be where the air is colder…over the north interior.

While weather guidance has been consistent in showing a change to a colder weather pattern…they have been uneven in showing how cold it will get and how much…if any…snow will fall.

Now would be a good time to think about how you could prepare for the first possibility of winter weather conditions in the lowlands. Are your tires ready for snow covered roadways? Are your outdoor pipes and faucets winterized?

All indications are that we’re going to have a cold and snowy winter. Are you prepared? No? We can help!

The Washington State Library has updated the Cold Weather resources on its Hard Times Resource Guide. Check it out for a quick list of resources to help with disaster preparedness, flood preparation and recovery, weatherization tips, and even resources on how to keep your pets safe and happy throughout the cold winter months.

Did you miss out on the live Ref22 webinar this week? Never fear! All Ref22 sessions are archived and available on the website at Ref22: Archived Sessions.

For our October session we had Christa Werle  from Sno-Isle Libraries talking about mastering the reference interview. Check it out!

Whatever our official status, our users think of us all simply as “the librarian.” Join us during October’s Ref22 to discuss how library staff of all levels can engage (and sometimes disengage) our users to best meet their information needs.

Sno-Isle Libraries offers this training quarterly to all staff that work at a public information or customer service desk. The training is a mix of “Reference 101” (for paraprofessionals) and “Reference Refresher” (for librarians).

With a focus on working as a team, this training reminds us of our best practices in how to be a community doorway to reading, resources, and lifelong learning.

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Did you miss out on the live Ref22 webinar last week? Never fear! All Ref22 sessions are archived and available on the website at Ref22: Archived Sessions.

Last week we had Jen Robinson from the Seattle Public Library talking about serving teens (and other “difficult” patrons) via chat. Check it out!

The September edition of Ref22 is proud to present, “When Teens Attack!: Tips for dealing with 12-year-olds and other difficult customers on chat reference” (presented in High-Definition PowerPoint).

Jen Robinson of The Seattle Public Library attempts to explain the reasons why teens (and tweens) are the way they are, and presents some clever ways to best help the under-18 set via online chat.

Virtual and physical reference librarians and any library staff that regularly serve teens will find this session of interest.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sue Polanka of No Shelf Required interviews Ebsco’s Senior Director of Sales for eBooks and eAudiobooks for NetLibrary, Scott Wasinger. The interview cover changes to NetLibrary and how it will integrate into the Ebsco interface.

“Scott and I discussed how EBSCO is implementing the NetLibrary content into the existing EBSCOhost interface, what changes we can expect to see with the Netlibrary interface, new plans for business models, and how the input from librarians is helping them to shape the future of NetLibrary.”

Check out the story at No Shelf Required. Click on the first link (Scott’s name) to open / download the interview, which is a 20MB mp3 file. The interview itself is about 20 minutes long.

While you’re in the mood, check out our nifty statewide eaudiobooks project.