NASA Administrator @South Hadley Public Library

The head of NASA during the Carter administration will speak at the South Hadley Public Library on Tuesday, July 21 at 6:30.

Dr. Robert Frosch served as NASA Administrator from 1977-1981. While at NASA, Dr. Frosch was responsible for overseeing the continuation of the development effort on the Space Shuttle. During his tenure the project underwent testing of the first orbiter, Enterprise, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility in southern California. The orbiter made its first free flight in the atmosphere on August 12, 1977.

Dr. Frosch has also served as an Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, and Vice-President of General Motors. He is still active in scientific and technical policy activities, serving as a Senior Associate at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

For more information, contact the library at 413-538-5045 or visit them online at http://www.shadleylib.org

Friends of WMRLS facebook page

Hi all:
The Friends of WMRLS has a brand new Facebook page. So far, even though its existence has not yet been published, we have 11 fans! Why don't you become a fan, too. So far, the Friends of CMRLS has 31 fans. Let's see if we can beat them! All in fun of course. ;-)

Here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whately-MA/Friends-of-WMRLS/98164952633?ref=s

Please post to the page. The Friends will be posting events as they happen, information on upcoming Friends' meetings and the like. Add what you would like to see on the page.

If you see something on the page that should be there that I've forgotten please post that so I can add/fix, etc.

And -- most importantly, thanks to Janet Eckert for formatting the Friends' logo and to Julie Bartlett for figuring out what I did wrong and fixing it!

Forbes Library Budget Announcement

Press Release June 29, 2009

The Trustees and staff of Forbes Library are grateful to the voters of Northampton who passed the override. Director Janet Moulding said that the library will still have to make cuts in services for FY10 because of reductions in the library’s income, but because of funds from the override, those cuts will be much less severe.

Because of reduced income from the city appropriation and state aid, the library will spend less for books, DVDs and library supplies. The only reduction in hours will be that the library will close on Saturdays this summer from July 4th through September 5th. The library will resume its current hours after Labor Day. “We are sorry to inconvenience any of our patrons because we know how important library services are to Northampton, especially in tough economic times. Our usage has increased by 20% since July 2008! We are hoping the economy will improve in the next couple of years, so Forbes can resume summer Saturdays and ideally increase hours in the future,” said Moulding.

Funds from the override have also enabled Forbes to keep its state certification which entitles the library to state aid, grant eligibility and, most importantly, interlibrary loan privileges. Said Moulding, “Without certification, residents of Northampton could not request books and videos from other libraries through interlibrary loan. We couldn’t even go to another library and check out materials. Without certification, Northampton would become isolated from the whole library consortium.” Because of the override, Forbes will also be able to keep the Hampshire Room for Local History and the Calvin Coolidge Museum open for limited hours each week. “We are relieved that we won’t have to turn away historians and genealogists. Our collections are essential to many people’s research,” said Moulding.

Starting July 4th, Forbes will be open from 9:00 to 9:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 1:00 to 5:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 9:00 to 5:00 on Fridays. The library will be closed Saturdays and Sundays until Labor Day.

Contact information:
Janet Moulding
Forbes Library
20 West Street
Northampton, MA 01060
413-587-1016
jmoulding@forbeslibrary.org

Survey - Statewide Delivery Working Group on Ergonomics and Safety

Dear Massachusetts libraries of all types and sizes:

The Statewide Delivery Ergonomic Work Group needs your input. With delivery becoming such a major issue for libraries, we’d like to collect information about equipment and furniture you have found that makes your delivery areas and operations easier and safer. We will post the results, and will also include them in delivery workshops to be conducted across the State in the fall.

If you have items to suggest, please participate in our brief survey at

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=iCcOLDBP0emb25nRYUCRsw_3d_3d

Please try to coordinate within your library to avoid duplicate suggestions from your library.

It would help if you can supply a link to the specific item from the vendor’s web catalog. Otherwise, we’d like at least the name of the vendor and the name of the product. It would really help if you can also supply us with the item’s catalog number, if you can find it easily. And, if you can think of something that might be useful but you don’t know if it exists, where to get it, or what it costs, let us know. We’ll do our best to locate it for you and for everyone.

Thanks so much for your help in guiding libraries across the state to products that can make everyone’s work easier and safer. .

John Ramsay, Regional Administrator
Western Massachusetts Regional Library System
P.O. Box 609, South Deerfield, MA 01373
(413) 665-9898 x. 113
(413) 665-8877 fax
jramsay@wmrls.org
WMRLS Website: http://www.wmrls.org/

Top 10 WMRLS Webpages ~ June 2010

What are the current Top 10 WMRLS Webpages?

Join our WMRLS WIMBA CE Coffee Break for a 7 minute webtour!

Name: WMRLS Classroom - 06/24/2009 13:39
URL: http://67.202.209.252/launcher.cgi?room=wmrls_classroom_2009_0624_1339_57

Instructions:
Select "Participant Login"
Room ID: wmrls_classroom
Name: (Write your name, pseudonym, and/or library name)

Note:

The first time that you visit this website, you may be prompted to run the Wimba Classroom Setup Wizard to ensure that your computer is ready to run this online continuing education program.

North Adams Public Library offers free passes to Herrmann’s Lipizzaner Stallions of Austria Event

Attention Children’s Librarians:

The North Adams Public Library will be hosting the Herrmann’s Lipizzaner Stallions of Austria on Friday August 28 @ 7 pm, Saturday August 29 @ 7 pm and Sunday August 30 @ 2 pm and offers your library two complimentary tickets to be used as prizes for your summer reading program.

If your library is interested in receiving two free tickets please respond to this email and we will send them to you in delivery. Children under six are free, so if a child under six is awarded this ticket during the Summer Reading Program, the ticket may be used by the adult that brings this child. The cost of a ticket is $12 for adults and $8 for children 6-13.

Contact: North Adams Public Library [napl@bcn.net]

Beth Gallaway presents: Pain in the Brain (Library Behavior)

Thanks to all of you who participated in the WMRLS workshop "Pain in the Brain" that I facilitated on Wednesday morning, June 10 at the WMRLS headquarters in Whatley MA! Notes, slides, photos and podcasts (somewhat muted audio - be sure to turn up the volume!) follow.

Audio from all sessions is online at http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&id=30366.

Beth G.

Notes: Icebreaker: Things we find rewarding about working with teens

Links: http://www.delicious.com/informationgoddess29/brain

Drawing Exercise

Drawing Exercise Audio: http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&query=&b=play&id=30366&cast=141871&castPage=

Group 1: Draw a TEEN, from a LIBRARIAN pov

• androgynous
• ipod
• cell phone
• texting
• talking
• trendy clothing
• eyes are - asleep or bored
• piercing
• love wikipedia
• barefoot or expensive sneakers that are untied or sandals in winter
• packs
• text the pack when alone
• unlit
• tattoos
• emo hair
• food & drink
• trail of trash
• waste
• games
• facebook or myspace
• chewing tobacco, sunflower seeds

Group 2: Draw a LIBRARIAN, from a TEEN pov

• old (at least over 25)
• concerned with enforcing rules (no skateboards, no cell phones, no talking loudly, no running, no food & drink, no FUN)
• "Do Not Disturb" sign
• behind a desk
• frowning
• bun & specs
• image may depend on where you grow up and the environment
• shushing action
• fists
• ruler!
• alone
• computer screen as a wall

Group 3: Draw a TEEN, from a TEEN pov

• important thing is being watched (through a magnifying glass)
• in a group
• high tech (cell phone, laptop, ipod)
• designer clothes
• librarian: you're too loud
• being judged all the time
• fashion
• concern - is he looking at me? am i measuring up
• hormonal
• multiple groups
• look older & sophistcated alone, younger when with parents
• insecure
• self-absorbed
• adults are insignificant - interfering annoying sound
• hungry for adult approval, ear to bend
• play it off as cool
• pulled in multiple directions (social pressure, school, etc)

Group 4: Draw a LIBRARIAN, from a LIBRARIAN pov

• androgynous
• many hats all at one time
• cape with a bolt of lightening
• superhuman
• flat shoes
• specs
• smiling
• pleasant
• computers AND books (Twilight)
• pulled in many directions
• social pressures

Questions for the group:
Are there any similarities in these images?
Does we all look like this? Do teens?


Slides: http://www.slideshare.net/informationgoddess29/wmrls09brain

Wmrls09brain

Audio for Slides & Discussion:
Behavior Lecture & Discussion, Part 1
Behavior Lecture & Discussion, Part 2

Handouts:

• Handout: Understanding the Brain
• Handout: Brain Tip Sheet
• Handout: YALSA's Young Adults Deserve the Best: Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth
• Handout: Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents
• Book Coupon: Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, 4th Edition
  

West Springfield Public Library Promotes Summer Reading 2009 on YouTube

New Monday Hours starting July 1

Starting July 1, the Greenfield Public Library will have new Monday hours: 1:00pm - 8:00pm with hours the rest of the week remaining unchanged: Tuesday and Wednesday 9:30am - 8:00pm, Thursday and Friday 9:30am - 5:00pm, and Saturday 9:30am - 2:00pm.

With the monies budgeted by City Council, the Library will be able to remain open on Mondays, reducing service hours instead of closing for the day. Despite an overall budget cut and a loss of three positions, the Library staff is dedicated to remaining open as many hours as possible to serve the residents of Greenfield and the surrounding communities. Though saddened we will be losing Monday morning, the staff looks forward to seeing everyone throughout the summer and the rest of the year.

New Infotrac Password as of July 10!

For libraries that use cookie authentication to access the Gale databases, the password will be changing on July 10 and you will need to re-set the password at each workstation in your library.

If all the computers in your library have a static IP address, you are unaffected by this and do not need to do anything!

You will soon receive a letter that includes the confidential password that you will use to re-authenticate your workstations. Under the terms of the state’s licensing agreement with Gale, this password is for use only by library staff responsible for database access and is not to be shared with other staff or with patrons.

If you have questions, feel free to contact Shirley Keech at skeech@wmrls.org or 413-665-9898, Ext 125.

UMass Amherst Libraries Goes Green with Recyclable Bags

The UMass Amherst Libraries are discontinuing the use of plastic “rainy day” book bags. The Libraries now offer recyclable, compostable bags to users to protect their books from bad weather. The earth-friendly bags are available in the Du Bois Library lobby and at the Circulation desks of the Du Bois Library and the Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library.

For more information, contact Emily Silverman at 545-0995, or essilverman@library.umass.edu.

Westhampton Library Groundbreaking Ceremony

The Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new Westhampton Library took place this Saturday, June 6. It was a perfect day, and a large crowd (200+ ?) showed up, most carrying shovels to help break the ground.