Growing Up WILD Workshop

A BIG THANK YOU to Pam Landry, Education Coordinator, MassWildlife, who led this week’s Growing Up WILD workshop. Growing Up WILD is an early childhood education activity guide (ages 3 to 7) that builds on children’s sense of wonder about nature and invites them to explore wildlife and the world around them. Through a wide range of activities and experiences, it provides a foundation for developing positive impressions about nature while also building lifelong social and cognitive skills. This interactive six-hour hands-on workshop included crafts, music, conservation activities, reading and math connections and much more.

Reads More About ... MassWildlife's Growing Up Wild Project

Register soon for our next WMRLS MassWild Life Nature and Wildlife workshops – held in 2 western Massachusetts locations!

• Project WILD ~ Friday, April 9 at the Lenox Memorial Middle High School Library

• Project WILD ~ Friday, April 16 at the Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls

~ Janet Eckert, WMRLS

Web 2.0 Week at WMRLS ~ Today: Wordle & Simply Box

The Wiktionary defines Web 2.0 as "The second generation of the World Wide Web, especially the movement away from static webpages to dynamic and shareable content and social networking."  This week, the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System (WMRLS) will celebrate Web 2.0 applications as they apply to library service.

Today, we will take at look at the "More Than Word Art" tool, Wordle and the "web bookmarking tool for visual learners" SimplyBox via the archived session of our first WMRLS Continuing Education Coffee Break Session "Best Websites for Teaching and Learning".

Your invitation to view the archived session of our recent January 8 WMRLS CE Coffee Break Session on Best Websites for Teaching and Learning:

Name: WMRLS Classroom - 01/08/2010 10:00

URL: http://67.202.209.252/launcher.cgi?room=wmrls_classroom_2010_0108_1000_22
Room ID: wmrls_classroom
Name: [Enter your name}


~ Sincerely, Janet Eckert, WMRLS

Continuing Education for Libraries - One of the Many Benefits of WMRLS Membership

Spaces are still available in the following WMRLS CONTINUING EDUCATION WORKSHOPS (be sure to register online at http://www.wmrls.org/events/ )

MARC 101 – A Live Online Instructor Led Course – (This course consists of two 2-hour sessions – 2pm. to 4pm. on September 8 and 9 – attendance at both sessions is required). WMRLS will send a coupon code to all registrants that will waive the $360 per person fee – one of the many benefits of WMRLS membership.

IT'S A FREE SPREE - NEW CHILDREN'S & TEEN BOOKS! Friday, September 11 at WMRLS and repeated on Friday, September 18 at the West Stockbridge Public Library (This is a “Drop In” event – any time between 10 and 1)

THE CIRCULATOR: A FUN LOOK AT WORKFLOW, CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SAFETY IN THE LIBRARY – Tuesday, September 15 from 10 to noon at WMRLS

TOOLS FOR THE REFERENCE DESK – A Live Online Instructor Led Course – (This course consists of two 2-hour sessions – 2pm. to 4pm. on September 17 and 24 – attendance at both sessions is required). WMRLS will send a coupon code to all registrants that will waive the $360 per person fee – one of the many benefits of WMRLS membership.

CUTTING IT OUT WITH DIE CUTS – Friday, September 25 from 10 to noon at the Palmer Public Library

DO-IT-YOURSELF READERS THEATER – Friday, September 25 from 1 to 3 at the Palmer Public Library

TECH TOPICS: LIBRARY 2.0: Live Instructor Led Online Course – A Live Online Instructor Led Course – (This course consists of one 2-hour session – 2pm. to 4pm. on September 28). WMRLS will send a coupon code to all registrants that will waive the $240 per person fee – one of the many benefits of WMRLS membership.

WELCOME ABOARD! A PARTICIPATORY WORKSHOP FOR LIBRARY TRUSTEES AND DIRECTORS – Tuesday, September 29 from 6:30 to 9 in the evening at the Spear Library in Shutesbury.

Liz the De-Clutter Wiz - Notes from a WMRLS Workshop

A BIG THANK YOU to Elise Bernier-Feeley, Local History and Genealogy Librarian,Hampshire Room for Local History, Forbes Library,Northampton, who has granted WMRLS permission to post her delightful "Ogden-Nashery-type poem" summation of our successful WMRLS January 10 continuing education program "Clear Your Path: Organizing With Intention" conducted by Liz Farrell, founder of Gone by Noon LLC.

Liz the De-Clutter Wiz

I was drowning in clutter, my life submerged in paper peril,
So I went to a WMRLS seminar taught by gonebynoon's Liz Farrell---
She's a specialist in trashing trash, in thwarting disorganization,
Teaching cool ways of digging out of disgusting litter contagion.

She's got a psychology and methodology which eliminates confusion,
If she was a shrink she'd teach you to think that hoarding's a delusion.
From Liz I learned to look at a mess with compassion and real empathy--
Of nigglies and things on a journey in quest to find kinesthetic synergy.

She taught me to mutter, eshewing the clutter, to break things down visually,
Now East is Least--I focus on one 'stead of being lost in a jumble pathetically.
I've traded "stash and punt" for a treasure hunt, my four box technique rocks--
My body double's rioting, I've aged 'til ripe and dieting, I even file my socks!

Friends, acquaintances, strangers all told me the dangers of procrastination--
But Liz gave me ways of booting the days of paper and clutter frustration!
So here's to you, Liz, you're really a wiz, at de-cluttering you knock 'em dead,
You've read my poem, don't mutter, don't moan,--just put it in the shreder and SHRED!

With appreciation for your wonderful presentation, Elise

10 Ways to Make Your Library Great in 2008

From the WebJunction "Learning Webinars" website:

10 Ways to Make Your Library Great in 2008—via Web 2.0

1/16/08 - 2 - 3 PM ET
As you think about your resolutions for the New Year, why not resolve to make your library a great educational asset within your community? This webinar will show you how to leverage social networking tools such as del.icio.us and Librarything to enable knowledge sharing and create collections of information around professional development. Ten key themes are presented to empower library staff as well as to increase a library's value within the community. Presented by guest speaker Ed Rossman, adult services librarian at Shaker Heights Public Library and author of Castles Against Ignorance: How to Make Libraries Great Educational Environments.

Note that registration for this free webinar is optional. If you wish to register and receive email reminders with instructions for attending, please visit the WebJunction website - http://www.webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=15543