Teen Tech Week - March 2 to 8

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YouTube Video Description

Video for Teen Tech Week, about the new Plymouth Whitemarsh High School library. Features student and librarian comments and shots of the great features found in the library. PWHS Library - Full of fun new technology!!

© 2008 YouTube, Inc.

Visit the American Library Association Teen Tech Week Website

National Library Week - April 13 - 19

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Video Description

Academy-award-winning actress and honorary National Library Week chairperson, Julie Andrews, invites you to discover the world @ your library in this 30-second public service announcement. National Library Week is April 13-19, 2008.

© 2008 YouTube, Inc.

Trendspotting

Kudos to the Central Massachusetts Regional Library System (CMRLS) for creating a new webpage titled Trendspotting " ... the place for all things new, exciting, and downright cool in the library world and beyond! "

Recent trends posted on the CMRLS Trendspotting website include:

• 13 trends in school libraries
• Ten technologies that will change the world
• Personalized catalogs
  "More and more, patrons can personalize a library catalog and contribute to its data. Those who use C/W MARS can “opt in” to keep a reading history. It’s handy for people who read lots of mysteries, science fiction books or other popular genres and have trouble remembering all those titles. And when a patron has read a title, he/she can rate it from one to five stars. That’s handy for everyone who uses the catalog. They can see the average rating of a title and know what other’s thought about it.* "

*Quoted directly from CMRLS Trendspotting webpage

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Video Gaming in the Library - A WMRLS Leap Year Workshop

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Video Gaming in the Library ~ 10:30 to 2 ~Register online

Friday, February 29 ~ Agawam Public Library [Snow date is Monday, April 28]

The average age of the gamer is 33 and rising, and an estimated 80% of the population under age 34 has played a video game! Beth Gallaway, co-author of Game On: Gaming at the Library (Neal Schuman, 2007) explains why video games matter to your library in terms of entertainment, culture, learning, literacy, and youth development. The session concludes with a hands-on (or feet-on) portion – wear comfortable clothing and clean socks!

By the end of the session, participants will:

• Articulate how video games meet seven development needs of teens, and build developmental assets of adolescents in eight categories
• Examine video game collection development policies, procedures and issues
• Discover best gaming program practices in the US and Canada
• Experience a variety of handheld and tabletop games
• Design a new program of service to appeal to the "gamer" generation.

Janet Eckert is the WMRLS contact person for this program. Registration limit: 35. Registration deadline extended: February 22. Register online

Note: We will take a 30 minute lunch break. Participants should bring a brown bag lunch that requires no refridgeration or heating.

Video Description

YALSA Gaming Extravaganza Midwinter 2008

© 2008 YouTube, Inc.

Meekins Library hosts Author Pam Thompson

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Video Description

Author Pam Thompson reads excerpts from her book "Every Past Thing" at the Meekins Library in Williamsburg on October 18, 2007. [Approximately 23 minutes]

© 2008 YouTube, Inc.

Read Roger Live

In The Auditorium ~ "Read Roger" Live


March 1, 2008 ~ 1:00 pm


Free with Museum Admission


(1 PDP) Join Horn Book editor Roger Sutton as he continues a conversation begun on his blog referencing the imbalance of gender representation of authors and illustrators in the field of children's literature. Panel will include: Jane Dyer, Robie Harris, Regina Hayes and Leonard Marcus.

~ Rosemary A. Agoglia, Curator of Education, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 West Bay Road, Amherst, MA 01002

The Library Helped Me Start My Business

Must reading! The March 4, 2008 issue of Woman's Day Magazine features and article titled "The Library Helped Me Start My Business" by Sally Stich [Pages 28 to 35]. Featured in this article is a tribute to the Hudson and Marlborough Public Libraries by the founder of BookSaleFinder.com, Helen Oram.

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025.431: The Dewey blog AND MORE!

From the 025.431: The Dewey blog website:

"What's 025.431: The Dewey blog?

025.431: The Dewey blog is a weblog covering topics related to the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and knowledge organization."

For more information about the Dewey Decimal Classification, we invite staff of all WMRLS member libraries to register for our upcoming "Basic Library Training in Cataloging" which will run from 9 - noon on Wednesday, April 23 and Thursday, June 12 at WMRLS Headquarters.

This course will also include 6.5 hours of online coursework to be completed by registered participants from April 24 to June 5

[Note: WMRLS will repeat this workshop series in Berkshire County in Fall, 2008]

Description:
Basic Library Training in Cataloging is intended as an introduction to help library staff who have no formal education in cataloging and also as a refresher course on the basics of cataloging for librarians and school library media specialists. The course, consisting of workshops and online training, will cover an introduction to the following: • Technical Services and Catalog Records • Subject Headings • Dewey Classification • MARC Cataloging. Barbara Andrews, Andrews Consulting, will lead this workshop. Janet Eckert is the WMRLS contact person for this program. Registration deadline: April 10. Registration Limit: 30.

Requirements:
To fulfill the Cataloging component of the Basic Library Techniques requirement of the State Aid to Libraries program of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and/or to receive 12.5 Massachusetts Department of Education Professional Development Points Certificate of Completion, participants must:

• Attend two half day training sessions at the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System (6 hours)


• Complete online Alternate Basic Library Education course developed by the Idaho State Library between April 25 and June 5 (6.5 hours)


• Complete the online final examination for each of the four components of the course and submit to WMRLS at the Thursday, June 12 training session.

Register for this course by completing the WMRLS Online CE Registration Form

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

Free Webspace for Non-Profits

Dreamhost.com is offering free Web-hosting plans to non-profits. This could be quite a benefit to a small library that does not need an especially complicated Website. Libraries will need to furnish a copy of their 501(c)(3) determination letter in order to apply for the free account.

Visit Dreamhost's Website for more information about the type of hosting service they offer for their free accounts and to get more information on the process to apply for the account.

http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Non-profit_Discount


You can also get more information about the type of account Dreamhost is offering as well as the application process from the Drupal Website:

http://drupal.org/node/145212

Free discount passes to Mystic Aquarium for libraries

Be sure to visit WMRLS Reads! Summer Reading Program & More! Blog for complete information on the Mystic Aquarium Library Pass program.

Clipart from Open Clip Art Library

Book to Movie Fantasy Reading Club

Hot off the online press ~ WRapper: the newsletter of the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System. Our January/February issue celebrates the new year with a selection of member libraries' Best Library Programs & Services of 2007. Posted below is Greenfield Public Library's "Book to Movie Fantasy Reading Club" by Kay Lyons (page 2):

"Book to Movie Fantasy Reading Club ~ This fall, I started the Book-to-Movie Fantasy Reading Club. When I went to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last summer, the theater showed previews of The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising and The Golden Compass and I knew from visiting the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art that there were big plans for The Spiderwick Chronicles. I had learned from our director that we had increased circulation in all material types in our library with the exception of young adult. In our library as in many, that collection represents kids ages 9 to 13. Thus was born the Book-to-Movie Fantasy Reading Club, geared for exactly that group. For the Susan Cooper and Philip Pullman books, I actually purchased paperbacks enough for a group of 10, and asked our Friends group to subsidize movie tickets. The Greenfield Garden Cinemas are across the street from our library, and owner George Gohl was very happy to cordon off a section of the theater on opening night of each movie for our discussion group. We distribute books a month before the film opens; hold a book discussion on the Monday night of the opening week; go to the opening as a group; and meet after the film to talk about the book and the movie. Our plans for Spiderwick are more elaborate and include a tour of the "Spiderwick: from Page to Screen" exhibit. We have borrowed copies of the five books from other libraries (hooray for the network!) so that ten kids can read all the books and come to five discussion meetings, one for each title. Future titles include Prince Caspian in May and Inkheart when that release date is announced. I highly recommend doing this. It has helped me bond with this age group more than ever and it's a great way to show kids how Hollywood changes books, for good or ill, to adapt them to film. "

~ Kay Lyons, Children's Librarian, Greenfield Public Library, Greenfield