From the desk of Carolyn Petersen.

The recent announcement of the IMLS Basic grants to Washington State tribes reveals the importance placed on learning by the Native America tribes of Washington State.

The following tribes applied and received the basic grant:

• Kalispel Indian community of the Kalispel Reservation–Usk
• Yakama Tribal Council—Toppenish
• Lower Elwha Tribal community—Port Angeles
• Lummi Indian Business Council—Bellingham
• Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation–Suquamish
• Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe—Sequim
• Skokomish Indian Tribe of the Skokomish reservation—Skokomish Nation
• Nooksack Indian Tribe—Deming
• Hoh Indian Tribe—Forks
• Nisqually Indian Tribe—Olympia
• Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe—Tokeland
• Port Gamble Band of S’Klallam tribe—Kingston
• Samish Indian Nation—Anacortes
• Squaxin Island Tribe—Shelton
• Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation—Neah Bay
• Stillaguamish Tribe of Washington –Arlington

In addition to receiving basic grants two of Washington’s Tribal Libraries received special Enhancement Grants.

Yakama Tribal Council – Toppenish, WA

With this award, the Yakama Nation will revive the existing outdated library collection with relevant new books, and audio and video resources. The library staff will focus on professional development in cataloging, reading literacy, and collection development in order to facilitate, support, and assist patrons in meeting their information retrieval needs. The library will also collaborate with the Yakama Nation Tribal School to select readings to enhance student project-based learning research needs. The Yakama Nation envisions building upon their collaborative success by updating the library collection and promoting reading. These developments will enhance library programming, promote reading, and generate enthusiasm for reading at Head Start facilities and at library story hours.

Nisqually Indian Tribe – Olympia, WA

The Nisqually Tribe will utilize a StoryCorps recording studio within the tribal library to record the stories of tribal members. Trained staff will use the recording technology to facilitate sessions where tribal members exchange and share their stories with each other. These recordings will then become part of the knowledge the tribe can share from the tribal library’s collection and will be preserved for future generations.

Tribal libraries are spread all across the state and have a variety of missions.  Some serve as afterschool support for the youth of their tribe.  Others concentrate on early childhood literacy.  Yet others serves as their community’s public library.  Some tribal libraries support college programs both distance and on site while yet others  provide genealogy resources for individuals to prove tribal membership.   There are museum research collections. Some libraries provide resources to preserve their native language.  Each of these libraries is unique and reflects the values of its tribal community.

Volume 11, March 12, 2015 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) WASHINGTON RURAL HERITAGE GRANT CYCLE OPEN

2) RECORDED BOOKS ONECLICK RENEWALS

3) SAN JUAN ISLAND LIBRARY WINS AWARD

4) STORYCORPS COMES TO NISQUALLY

5) WELL-FED & WELL-READ – SUMMER MEAL SITES

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Read the rest of this entry »

Two universities in Washington State were awards three grants by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Laura Bush 21st Century Librarians Program

This grant program supports efforts to recruit and educate the next generation of librarians and the faculty who will prepare them for careers in library science. It also supports grants for research related to library education and library staffing needs, curriculum development, and continuing education and training.

Washington State University Libraries – Pullman, WA
Award Amount: $499,186

“Collaborative Stewardship: Providing Sustainable Digital Heritage Training for Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums” is a three year partnership among Washington State University, the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums, the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, and CoDA, the Center for Digital Archaeology, at the University of California Berkeley. The project will provide: 1) yearly hands on training workshops, 2) a national online digital workbench registry to connect tribal archives, museums and libraries with key resources, 3) set of online resources and web-based tutorials that cover the lifecycle from digitizing to curation, sharing to preservation, all grounded in international standards based protocols as well as the incorporation of tribal cultural values and needs into the process, and 4) a “stewardship kit” that will include a set of guidelines to enhance the video tutorials and a clear step-by-step process detailing the stewardship models. These infographics and multimedia materials can be accessed and downloaded for local stewards to create and implement their digitization and preservation plans.

National Leadership Grants for Libraries

This grant program enhances the quality of library services nationwide by supporting innovative projects that can be widely replicated. Areas of funding include education, research, digitization, and library-museum collaboration.

Research-Support research that investigates key questions that are important to museum, library, and archival practice.

University of Washington – Seattle, WA
Grant Program: National Leadership Grants for Libraries
Program Category: Research
Award Amount: $471,054

The University of Washington, in partnership with Project Information Literacy, will conduct a large-scale quantitative study investigating how recent college graduates find, evaluate, and use information for lifelong learning once they leave campus, particularly in areas such as staying competitive in the workforce, engaging in civic affairs, and personal development. From the data collected and analyzed, researchers will study graduates’ information needs and the information systems they employ as lifelong learners. In related analysis, the team will also study the role libraries currently play in lifelong learning as well as opportunities to enhance lifelong learning that are feasible, practical, and affordable.

Planning Grants allow project teams to perform preliminary planning activities that could lead to a subsequent full project, such as needs and feasibility analyses, solidifying partnerships, developing project work plans, or developing prototypes or proofs of concept. Applications for Planning Grants must include at least one formal partner in addition to the lead applicant.

University of Washington Libraries – Seattle, WA
Grant Program: National Leadership Grants for Libraries
Program Category: Planning Grants
Award Amount: $80,035

The University of Washington Libraries and the Music Library Association (MLA) will conduct a one-year project titled, “National Forum on Online-Only Music: 21st Century Sound Recording Collection in Crisis.” Today’s music industry is increasingly favoring online-only, direct-to-consumer music distribution. This project will examine the possibility of creating an online option to access music collections in library environments. UW and MLA will hire five expert consultants, hold one planning meeting, bring stakeholders together in three national forum meetings, analyze content of the meetings, and develop approaches to the issues including, ideally, a licensing scenario in which libraries may purchase and provide access to online-only music.

Nineteen tribes were awarded funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for Native American Library Services grants.

Native American Library Services Enhancement Grants

Native American Library Services Enhancement Grant projects may enhance existing library services or implement new library services, particularly as they relate to the goals in the updated Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. §9141):

Makah Tribal Council – Neah Bay, WA
Award Amount: $129,436

On behalf of the Makah Nation, the Makah Cultural and Research Center (MCRC) will undertake a multifaceted project that will include the research and development of lectures, information kits, a booklet, a traveling photo exhibit, and instructional videos documenting the important annual cultural celebration called Makah Days. It will also include a lecture series on Makah genealogy to assist tribal members in understanding their personal and family history and how they fit into the fabric of the tribe. The ongoing community need for enhanced technology skills will be addressed with a series of computer classes in partnership with the local high school that will be free to community members. Honors students will provide one-on-one mentoring alongside the instructor. Collections policy and preservation plans will also be developed for the ever-expanding manuscripts collection in the MCRC.

Suquamish Tribal Council – Suquamish, WA
Award Amount: $147,493

The Suquamish Tribe will provide programs, instruction, and resources that will foster positive relationships between the generations—youth and elders, students and teachers, and the community at large. The “Connections: Relationships, Resources & Reading Project” will bring together a team from the Suquamish Tribal Library, Chief Kitsap Academy, Tribal Education Department, Suquamish Museum, Elders Council, and Youth Council as well as the North Kitsap School District, to engage students with culturally relevant learning styles and rigorous academic curricula. An important component of the project will pair students with elders in a reciprocal mentoring program in which elders will share their cultural knowledge with students who will digitally record their stories and, in turn, share their technological expertise with the elders. The new resources developed with this grant will provide fresh and accurate materials for the new “Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State” statewide curriculum.

Native American Library Services Basic Grants

The Native American Library Services Basic Grant is noncompetitive and distributed in equal amounts among eligible applicants. Basic Grants are available to support existing library operations and to maintain core library services. The Education/Assessment Option is supplemental to the Basic Grants. It is also noncompetitive and must be requested. The purpose of the Education/Assessment Option is to provide funding for library staff to attend continuing education courses and training workshops on- or off-site, for library staff to attend or give presentations at conferences related to library services, and to hire a consultant for an on-site professional library assessment.

Quinault Indian Tribe – Taholah, WA
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Stillaguamish Tribe of Washington – Arlington, WA
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Kalispel Tribe of Indians – Usk, WA
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Port Gamble Band of S’Klallam Indians – Kingston, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe – Tokeland, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Makah Tribal Council – Neah Bay, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Spokane Tribe of Indians – Wellpinit, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Upper Skagit Indian Tribe – Sedro Woolley, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe – Sequim, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Lummi Indian Business Council – Bellingham, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Samish Indian Nation – Anacortes, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Lower Elwha Tribal Community Council – Port Angeles, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Suquamish Tribal Council – Suquamish, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Squaxin Island Tribe – Shelton, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $6,000
Grant: Basic Grants

Nisqually Indian Tribe – Olympia, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Yakama Tribal Council – Toppenish, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Nooksack Indian Tribe – Deming, WA
Year: 2013
Amount: $7,000
Grant: Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option

Seven museums or similar entities in Washington State have been awarded over $800,000 by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the Museums for America grants program. One museum was awarded funds under the Sparks! Ignition Grants for Museums.

Museums for America

The Museums for America (MFA) program supports projects that strengthen the ability of an individual museum to serve its public.

MFA grants support activities that strengthen museums as active resources for lifelong learning, as important institutions in the establishment of livable communities, and as good stewards of the nation’s collections.

Each museum award followings under the appropriate grant category..

Learning Experiences

IMLS places the learner at the center and supports engaging experiences in museums that prepare people to be full participants in their local communities and our global society.Projects should provide high-quality, inclusive, accessible, and audience-focused learning opportunities; provide access to collections, information, and educational resources; encourage the use of technologies; and develop programs for specific segments of the public.

Bellevue Botanical Garden Society – Bellevue, WA
Award Amount: $149,600; Matching Amount: $153,716

The Bellevue Botanical Garden will expand and enhance their existing interpretive programs to include a number of new tools. Building upon a previous IMLS-funded project, the garden will produce a new interactive visitor map, install interactive touchscreens in the new visitor orientation room, and develop an application for use on mobile devices. The garden will also design a project evaluation program so the staff can understand and respond to changing visitor interests and demographics over time. Designed to be intuitive and visually engaging, these new tools will pique the visitors’ curiosity and encourage them to be plant explorers and lifelong learners.

Seattle Aquarium Society – Seattle, WA
Award Amount: $103,821; Matching Amount: $103,829

The Seattle Aquarium will design, implement, and evaluate an aquarium classroom program, giving middle school students opportunities to experience how science is actually done. The project is designed to increase science and ocean literacy and STEM performance, and improve attitudes towards animal conservation. The museum will develop the program content in cooperation with practicing scientists, emphasizing the process by which scientists arrive at their conclusions. The project will include two introductory science-process inquiry activities and two content modules based on sea otter research conducted at the aquarium and ocean acidification research by a leading government researcher. The project deliverables will also include one kit based on each research module for interpretation in the aquarium galleries; one for community outreach programming; and one each for the outreach activities conducted by the researchers’ labs. The final product will be a set of guidelines for creating a research-based inquiry activity in cooperation with an active scientist.

Pacific Science Center Foundation – Seattle, WA
Award Amount: $117,340; Matching Amount: $120,619

Pacific Science Center will implement Exploring Earth System Science, a two-year project designed to increase visitors’ literacy of Earth system science through the delivery of programming on Science On a Sphere, a global display system using computers and video projectors to display planetary data on a six-foot-diameter sphere. Museum staff will develop nine content strands covering topics such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and ocean science, with an emphasis on issues related to climate change. A rapid response framework for presentations about emerging natural disasters will be developed so that staff will be prepared to interpret data when a natural disaster occurs. As a result of the project, staff and volunteers will be prepared to provide an enhanced Science on a Sphere experience for community members who visit the museum.

Burke Museum Association, University of Washington – Seattle, WA
Award Amount: $120,557; Matching Amount: $121,201

The University of Washington’s Burke Museum will redesign its website to more effectively serve its visitors and support the museum’s mission, vision, and strategic goals. This project will draw on state-of-the-art user-experience research and proven approaches to design and create a new website that will incorporate visitor-centered technologies that are now commonly used by the news media. The result will be a website inspired by the vision and goals of the museum that meet the needs and expectations of its audience, draws people to the site through their own passions, curiosities, and interests, and more effectively fosters learning.

Community Anchors

IMLS promotes museums as strong community anchors that enhance civic engagement, cultural opportunities, and economic vitality.Projects should harness a museum’s expertise, knowledge, physical space, technology, or other resources in order to address a specific need originating in the community. Museums may undertake the project alone or in partnership with one or more community organizations.

Seattle Art Museum – Seattle, WA
Award Amount: $150,000; Matching Amount: $353,316

The Seattle Art Museum will test new strategies in programming, research, and community-building to broaden and deepen participation by young adults ages 18-35. Based on lessons learned from prior research and a pilot engagement project, the museum will integrate social and interactive experiences with artists and community leaders into several traditional programs. The museum will pilot and evaluate a rewards/participation card to help it evaluate young adult participation patterns to better serve and communicate with them. The project will also include an expansion of the museum’s community partners program, which involves cultural/creative/civic partners in using museum events to share their work more broadly. IMLS funds will be used to support key staff; honoraria for the artists involved in programming; and the development of the reward/engagement card. While targeting young adults for increased participation and membership, the program will also benefit the public at large with a dynamic roster of museum experiences and better awareness of the city’s cultural and civic organizations.

Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience – Seattle, WA
Award Amount: $150,000; Matching Amount: $167,269

The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience will produce a newly designed tour program to empower the Asian Pacific American community to share their stories, help stimulate the local economy, and promote the historic and cultural vibrancy of the district. The Chinatown International District, on the National Register of Historic Places, is Seattle’s lowest-income neighborhood, struggling with multiple issues that threaten its preservation. The revision of the tour program will emphasize community storytelling and audience engagement. A volunteer docent program will serve as a starting place for community member involvement, and technology capabilities will be improved to better analyze data and grow audiences. The project will provide staff and volunteer professional development and increase visitorship to the museum and the neighborhood.

Collections Stewardship

IMLS supports exemplary stewardship of museum collections and promotes the use of technology to facilitate discovery of knowledge and cultural heritage. Projects should address high priority collections care or conservation issues.

Note to applicants: The FY2014 Museums for America grant opportunity encompasses those types of proposals that were previously solicited through the Conservation Project Support program. IMLS maintains its commitment to collections care, conservation, and preservation, and encourages step-by-step, progressive approach to conservation.

No museums in Washington State were awarded funds under this category in 2013.

Sparks! Ignition Grants for Museums

The Sparks! Ignition Grants for Museums program is a special funding opportunity within the IMLS National Leadership Grants for Museums program, which supports projects that address problems, challenges, or needs of broad relevance to museums. These small grants encourage museums to prototype and evaluate specific innovations in the ways they operate and the services they provide resulting in new tools, products, services, or organizational practices.

Center for Wooden Boats – Seattle, WA
Award Amount: $24,748; Matching Amount: $1,302

The collection, storage, and care of large objects present ongoing challenges for museums of all sizes. The Center for Wooden Boats will test photogrammetry on large collection items, or macro-artifacts, to measure size and monitor changes over time. Changes in dimension can help alert collections managers to the need for active or preventative conservation treatment. The project team will develop, test, and refine a procedure for using photogrammetry to monitor dimensional stability on a variety of watercraft and other maritime macro-artifacts, resulting in procedures that will ultimately be usable in vastly different museum environments and subject areas.

L to R:Marja Lentz, Susan Hildreth, Director of the Institute for Museum and Library Services, Crystal Lentz, Head of Public Services, Washington State Library

On Saturday, September 21^st, the Wheedle traveled to Washington, D.C. to represent our state in the Pavilion of the States at the National Book Festival.

The Pavilion of the States represents the reading and library promotion programs and literary events in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. When people entered the Pavilion they picked up a Discover Great Places Through Reading map of the United States, which they took around to each state and territory in the Pavilion to be stamped or stickered.  Over 2,500 Washington State Seal stickers were placed on maps throughout the day.

On the back side of the map was a “Great Reads about Great Places” list of books.  Each state selected a work of either fiction or nonfiction about the state or by an author from the state that is a good read for children or young adults, who are the primary audience for the Pavilion of the States.  Washington’s selection for 2013 was “Wheedle and the Noodle,” written by Stephen Cosgrove and illustrated by Robin James.  Stephen Cosgrove generously had his art department create a bookmark to help publicize the book and 5,000 were quickly given away at the Festival.  Children and adults alike oohed and aahed over the adorable illustrations on the bookmark and many took a moment to page through the book.

While the Pavilion of the States is only open on Saturday, the various genre tents at the Festival were open both Saturday and Sunday.  Over the course of the weekend over 100 authors spoke and many of them signed books as well.  Thousands of people enjoyed listening to authors and learning about books.

The National Book Festival is organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, while the Pavilion of the States is organized by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  The Festival just completed its 13^th year.

Written by guest blogger, Adrienne Doman Calkins, CE/Training Intern, Washington State Library, Library Development

Library staff have questions too. Lots of them. Like: How can I best implement eReader training at my library? What are the current trends in library programming? How can I improve our website? What training materials already exist to help me train my new staff? How can I best help my community with digital literacy skills? I want to brush up on my communication skills, but how can I from a remote area with few training opportunities. How can I learn about project management with my busy schedule?

Most importantly, library staff want to know how to keep their skills current to best serve their evolving communities.

The Washington State Library sponsors online learning for library staff across all 71,000+ square miles of the state through a statewide membership to WebJunction, an online learning community designed specifically for library staff. Washington is one of 18 states partnering with WebJunction to offer sponsored access to online courses and webinars for library staff. While WebJunction has a national presence, it is also a local organization based in Seattle, Washington, since 2003. Washington library staff benefit from WebJunction’s connections to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the parent company to WebJunction, OCLC.

If you’ve used WebJunction in years past, look again. The newly redesigned WebJunction website is easier to navigate and offers more resources.

Library staff across Washington are getting value out of the WSL partnership with WebJunction:

• 700 courses were taken in 2012
• 527 registered users attended 24 different live webinars in 2012
• Library staff from 30 different libraries registered for courses in 2012
• 561 Washington library staff are currently registered as WebJunction Washington members.
• With current membership, courses cost WSL about $22 each. That price gets lower the more members join and take courses. The current contract pays for over 3,600 library staff to join WebJunction.
• WebJunction content is available 24/7 to library staff wherever they have an internet connection, making it a great resource for rural library staff, who may not be able to attend offsite trainings as easily, or any staff who need to be as efficient as possible with their time.
• New content is constantly being added to WebJunction. Upcoming webinars can be found on www.webjunction.org, or look on the Washington Partner page to see these and links to WSL’s First Tuesday webinars. Can’t make the date? Past webinars are accessible as archives, as well. New courses will soon be available in video format when WebJunction adds Lynda.com trainings to their course catalog, increasing the software, business and creative offerings sponsored by WSL. Note: access to Lynda.com trainings will be limited, so registered staff should look for the invitation via email soon.
• Washington library staff can create a free account on the WebJunction site. Sponsored access will be approved by WSL and WebJunction within 48 hours.

Some WebJunction users are really taking advantage of the resources. One power-user, Keyla Gonzalez, a Circulation Clerk 2 from Bellingham Public Library, took 25 courses in 2012. She has built an impressive list of skills using WebJunction: “I have learned cultural communication styles, how to reach out to our non-English speaking patrons and how to better equip myself to be more helpful when answering patron’s requests.” What does Keyla appreciation about the WSL sponsored access to WebJunction? “I love that I can use my own time and finish my course load at my own pace. If there’s a course that is strenuous I know I can go back and re-do it however many times I want. Mostly I love that it is accessible at any time and it is free!”
Another important role in online learning is the WebJunction champion—that person who encourages staff to take courses and attend webinars. Some champions are peers, others are trainers, administrators, managers or supervisors. All of them know access to online learning is only part of the solution to help staff keep their skills sharp. The other part is creating a culture that prioritizes learning and gives staff the time, space and resources to participate in online training opportunities.

One such champion is Patricia Chupa, Circulation Supervisor at the Shelton Timberland Library. Pat, as her staff know her, has built just such a culture in her department. She incorporates online learning into the goals her staff make during annual performance evaluations and goes on to make a contract with her staff: if they “partner with one another to get the materials handling work done in a timely fashion,” then they are guaranteed “protected time to do their courses” and staff help cover for each other by negotiating the best time for trainings. Has the effort paid off? Pat is proud to report “the professional approach to their customer service has improved across the team, and that has readily been demonstrated in the level of satisfaction we see and hear from our patrons.”

The WebJunction Washington partner resources are managed by the Washington State Library, with input from a state-wide WebJunction Washington Advisory Team made up of members from public, academic, and special libraries across the state. It’s the sponsored learners, though, that make WebJunction resources come alive as library staff interact with library patrons with skills learned through this state-sponsored resource.

The kids are back to school and things are kicking into high gear for training librarians. This fall promises to be a busy and educational season for library staff. With our Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) we are gearing up to offer high impact trainings this fall, both on the ground and online.

On September 24, library staff are invited to attend the 2-hour webinar, Legal Research for Information Professionals. Taught by Kim Ositis of the Public Law Library of King County, this webinar will equip library staff with practical skills that will help them to answer challenging legal questions. Kim’s legal webinars have been sponsored by WSL for a few years now and continue to draw crowds.

In October, Arta Kabashi from Amigos Library Services will be coming to Washington State from Texas to train staff in rural libraries on the eReader landscape. Her full-day workshop on All You Need to Know about E-reader Services in Your Library will introduce the concepts and tools necessary in implementing and delivering e-Reader services to library users. E-readers continue to gain in popularity and this interactive workshop is aimed at helping library staff better serve our customers.

In addition to new technologies such as e-Readers, the need for training library staff in traditional skills continues. One of the most requested training topics is Customer Service. Therefore, WSL contracted with Kate Laughlin, Library Consultant, to offer multiple trainings around the state in 2012-2013 on Service Excellence in Your Library. In November, Kate kicks off her full-day workshops in the Tri-Cities. Additional workshops will be scheduled after winter break into spring 2013. Kate’s workshops are guaranteed to be engaging and practical. Our library patrons are sure to benefit as a result of this excellent customer service training.

Continuing to partner with our colleagues is important. As part of a series of joint workshops and webinars, we are pleased to offer a webinar in October about WTBBL (Washington Talking Book & Braille Library) Youth Services. Mandy Gonnsen, the new youth services librarian at WTBBL, looks forward to enhancing services there for children and teens.

In addition to these trainings, WSL continues to offer a monthly webinar series on the first Tuesday of each month called First Tuesdays. Upcoming topics for First Tuesdays include the eReaders: Best Practices,  Summer Reading and Burnout: Avoiding the Flames. Archives of previous First Tuesdays webinars are available at http://www.sos.wa.gov/library/libraries/firsttuesdays/default.aspx.

As the kids return to school, librarians are continuing their education as well through these and many other training opportunities.

Volume 7, August 4, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) NEW LEGACY PROJECT FEATURE “MAKES HISTORY”

2) LAST CHANCE TO HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE

3) CONNECT THE DOTS PRESENTATIONS ONLINE

4) DIGITAL PRESERVATION – WHAT’S NOW, WHAT’S NEXT?

5) DOES YOUR LIBRARY USE TWITTER OR FACEBOOK?

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Read the rest of this entry »

The Washington State Library received notification of the award level for 2011 LSTA funding. The total amount is $3,351,575. This is $231,131 less than the base amount received for 2010.

The award letter dated May 19, 2011 represents the longest wait to receive final award information since LSTA was passed in the late 1990’s. Typically award information is received in a January/February timeframe. Awards are dependent upon the speed of Congress to pass appropriations to fund the various agencies of the federal government.

For more information: http://www.imls.gov/programs/programs.shtm