LIBRARY LOUNGE

Click Here for NPR Article

“There has been an explosion of e-mail in offices across the country, and not all of it is spam. Answering 50 or 100 e-mails a day — or just wading through them — can disrupt workflow and cost money. Business consultant Marilyn Paul offers ways to rein in e-mail — and make it a tool instead of a burden.”

This article is full of good tips for managing your e-mail (and time) better. I would be happy to help you set up your mail program so it does some of the things she mentions. Just let me know.

Mindy

I will be leaving tomorrow after my CLiC presentation on our Social Networking Contest for a vacation. I will return on Monday Apirl 2nd. See you then!

Mindy

Continuing Education Calendar for Colorado Libraries

As discussed at today’s branch manager’s meeting, above is the linke to the Calender of training opportunities in Colorado for different types of Library Training and Conferences.

Mindy

“Much is happening in the world of gaming right now, and it’s not just a lot of teenage boys sitting in the basement staring at a screen for hours on end. No, gaming has tremendous potential for libraries to reach out to new users, offer new services, and help complement efforts in community-building, information literacy, and other areas. - Don’t know much about gaming but you want to know how it can benefit libraries? - Not sure what kinds of services your library could offer (especially on a limited budget)? - Are you an avid gamer who would like to offer services but you need help convincing others? - Just want to hear what other libraries are doing? We’ll cover all of these topics and more in just one hour. Get the scoop that helps you clarify your thinking about gaming and libraries. ”

Go to SirsiDynixInstitute Website for the links to the podcast or the presentation as well as the handouts. Let me know how you like this presentation. I have watched other presentations and read articles by Jenny Levine and they have all been worth my time.

Mindy

I’m looking for a few good bloggers to join the team over @LISNews ( http://lisnews.org/ ). There’s no pay, but it’s a good way to get your name out there, and gain the respect and admiration of librarians from across the globe! Along with the enormous sense of well being that comes with helping your fellow librarians stay informed, you get your name and writing in front of about 8,000 librarians a month.

Founded in 1999, LISNews is a collaborative weblog that focuses on items of interest to the librarian community. We’ve amassed a collection of almost 20,000 stories, and we could use a little more help as we push onward.

The “job” requires only a minimal time commitment, and just some basic knowledge of HTML & Blogging. If you’re interested in joining the blogging team @LISNews, or have any questions please let me know.

-Blake Carver
LISNews.org

If you missed the on-line presentation by the Rolling Prairie Library System/OPAL earlier this week you can watch it at your leisure at this link.

http://www.opal-online.org/copyright20070314public.htm

This was a VERY informative presentation. A good deal of the time was spent answering specific questions from public librarians around the United States. I think that you will find that a lot of your questions and concerns are answered here as well.

Mindy

Some days it is harder than others (and today is one of them) to get on the stair machine or lift weights. I know it is good for me and I feel so much better when I do it but it is still difficult sometimes. Today I found out about another reason for exercising:

A new study found, “exercise boosts brainpower by building new brain cells in a brain region linked with memory and memory loss”. If you want to read the whole article click here.

Mindy

“The heart of Library 2.0 is user-centered change. It is a model for library service that encourages constant and purposeful change, inviting user participation in the creation of both the physical and the virtual services they want, supported by consistently evaluating services. ”

http://tametheweb.com/2006/09/finding_the_future_library_20.html
Patti Butcher, State Library Director

“The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has a cheery article whose headline and deck sum it up: “Teens buying books at fastest rate in decades. New ‘golden age of young adult literature’ declared.”

“Kids are buying books in quantities we’ve never seen before,” Booklist magazine critic Michael Cart told the paper. “And publishers are courting young adults in ways we haven’t seen since the 1940s.”

Popular categories include graphic novels, adventure, romance, humor and “gritty coming-of-age tales. . . . More notably, though, there’s a new strain of sophistication and literary heft as publishers cater to the older end of the spectrum with books that straddle teen and adult markets.”

One aspect helping the boom: “Teens are actively shaping the literary scene, as more libraries–including the Seattle Public Library–form teen advisory groups to attract young readers and help influence collections. Publishers sometimes use them as focus groups, and the American Library Association solicits teen input before it votes on its annual list of Best Books for Young Adults.”

Shelf Awareness 3/9/07

Lets go get ‘em - Mindy