I had no idea. Wow, do I feel left behind. I’ll bet some of you are already reading a wovel. I was listening to NPR this morning and it’s the first time I’ve heard the word.
The story discussed Firstworld: here’s a quick explanation from the publisher site.
“We give you an installment a week. You vote on what we write next. Does the heroine kill her lover? Will the zombies catch the soliders? Is the box empty, or is it filled with bees? You vote. You decide.”
(Wovel is the name for a pretty inventive snow shovel too.)
So are you hooked on a wovel? Writing one? Let us know.
Are you a new AskColorado librarian? Are you an AskColorado veteran looking to take your virtual reference sessions to the next level? Are you looking for concrete ways to engage better with patrons online?
Then the AskColorado: Online Reference Success Webinar is just what you are looking for.
This interactive session will demonstrate tricks of the trade for engaging with patrons from the greeting forward, provide examples and concrete suggestions for working with patrons of all kinds online, and provide attendees with a reference interview toolkit to ensure patrons get exactly the information they need.
Date: January 14, 2009 Time: 10 AM - 11 AM Prerequisite: Must be an AskColorado librarian from a participating
library
To register, visit the LEO (Library Education Opportunities) Calendar. Posted for the AskColorado Policies and Procedures Committee
With 2009 almost upon us, I thought I’d go the the Colorado Libraries Flickr site and reminisce. Did you know that there are 572 pics of libraries and librarians across this great state? It was heartwarming to see old friends as well as new faces. There is an incredible amount of things happening in libraryland! Which reminds me, send your news or photos to any of the folks at CLiC or the State Library. We’d be happy to post your happenings. Make it a resolution if you have to. Cheers!
Feeling like the hordes of patrons never stop pouring in to your library? Trust those feelings, because the stats back them up!
We all know it takes a little while to aggregate survey results. Now imagine that data being gathered nationally… So, bear in mind that these factoids are based on FY06 data.
Across the United States:
• 2.1 billion transactions were made between public libraries and their users in FY 2006; this total includes books, other printed materials and audio/visual resources. This translates to an average of 7.3 transactions for every individual living in a library service area. (97 percent of Americans live in a library service area.)
• 1.4 billion visits to public libraries were made in FY 2006; that’s nearly 5 visits for every individual who resides in a library service area.
• Children are among the heaviest users of public library resources; children’s materials accounted for 35 percent of all circulation transactions in FY 2006, and attendance at library-based children’s programs was 57.8 million.
• Public libraries play an important role in providing internet access to communities. Nationwide, there were 334 million uses of public-use internet terminals in FY 2006.
These are just some of the numbers you will find in a recent report from our federal friends at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). For more, check out: http://harvester.census.gov/imls/pubs/pls/index.asp
Now there’s all the proof you needed to confirm that you’re busy!
This is so fun! An homage to the old detective movies. Some of you probably listen to Guy Noir, Private Eye on A Prairie Home Companion?
Kris Johnson, AskColorado Coordinator at the Colorado State Library wants you to know that the credit for the production of the public service announcement (PSA) goes to Dee Vasquez and Danny Walter at Pikes Peak Library District. In addition to helping to facilitate the PSA, the CAL Marketing Committee has been working with AskColorado for the past year on re-branding efforts. Kris said “I can’t tell you how helpful this partnership has been to our organization and I want to express my appreciation to current and former committee chairs Kelly Johnson, Katie Klossner, and Shelley Walchak for all their leadership on this project.”
Broadcast ready versions of the PSA for airing on local TV are available. Let Kris know if your library would like a copy. Email her at johnson_k@cde.state.co.us.
Ten libraries are boosting their services to diverse populations by being the first participants in a new program sponsored by the Special Populations & Issues Committee of the Colorado State Library.The Community Conversations program capitalizes on the position that libraries hold in their communities as thriving and active locations where people mingle for education, entertainment and information.
To encourage libraries to mirror their communities’ composition and interests, the program supports the selected institutions with a $500 grant for library materials, mentorships, and technical advice.
Each of the libraries has designed a ‘Community Conversations’ project for 2009.The individual projects will engage an underserved or diverse community, create diversity awareness, or serve a particular customer group through an event or activity.Community leaders and partners will be involved, and the projects will foster dialogue and lifelong learning about cultural differences, as well as celebrate and encourage diversity.
The ten award winners include:
Adams County School District 50, Clear Lake Middle School Library: Peace Banner International Night for students and families.
Arapahoe Library District, Arapahoe County Detention Facility Library:Mental Health Connections, book talks and discussions.
Auraria Library and Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library (Denver Public Library):First Editions & Sequels, exhibition of sculpture and discussions based on African-American women writers.
Fort Collins Regional Library District, Harmony Library:Asian/Pacific American Outreach and Cultural Festival.
Fort Morgan Public Library:Women to Women idea exchange and presentations.
High Plains Library District (Greeley), Diverse Worlds Connect @your library, Somali outreach and cultural appreciation.
Mesa County Public Library District (Grand Junction):Immigrant Outreach Film & Dialogue Series and community engagement presentations.
Pueblo City-County Library District:Books à la Carte outreach to community sites.
Rangeview Library District, Thornton Branch Library:New English Learners classes, conversations and events.
University of Colorado (Boulder), Oliver Lester Math/Physics Library:Bilingual Education, panel presentation from the college, community and educators.
The Special Populations Committee leads a variety of statewide programs and projects to encourage quality library service to ethnic minority populations, persons with physical and mental disabilities, seniors, the under-served, and other groups.Community Conversations is supported by federal Library Services and Technology Act funding.For information, contact 303-866-6900, or visit www.cde.state.co.us/cdelib/librarydiversity.htm.
Our own ALA President-Elect, Camila Alire forwarded this article to LibNet. Great recognition!
Here’s the 1st paragraph but click on the picture to go to full the article.
“Forget about that image of librarians as a mousy bookworms. More and more of today’s librarians must be clever interrogators, helping the patron to reframe their question more usefully. Librarians then become high-tech information sleuths, helping patrons plumb the oceans of information available in books and digital records, often starting with a clever Google search but frequently going well beyond.”
I rarely feel like a mousy bookworm…how about you?
A teacher from the European Principality of Liechtenstein visited Colorado and the Four Corners last summer, and wondered how Colorado became a nearly perfect rectangle, as well as how and when the borders of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah were decided creating the Four Corners.
The State Librarian, Gene Hainer passed the question onto Kris Johnson and our amazing AskColorado librarians. Several librarians jumped at the challenge and passed along information, websites, and citations to help unravel the mystery of Colorado’s borders and the formation of the Four Corners.
The patron was so thrilled with the information and bibliographic sources, that he wrote a letter of thanks to Gene Hainer, and extended an invitation if ever Gene is in Austria, Switzerland or Liechtenstein.
It just goes to show that you never know how your interactions with users can touch someone, even from halfway around the world!
On Thursday I posted the link below on libnet:
“On Wednesday night, NBC had some great coverage for libraries during these times of increased use and decreased funding. You may have to copy and paste the url.” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28165432#28165432
After posting this a few folks at the State Library made these comments in response to seeing the news story.
” The one killer thing this [news story] does once again is promote the misconception that the library is “free.” The Fire Department doesn’t advertise themselves that way and their funding doesn’t get cut! I guess I was hoping that LRS and their ROI studies would have provoked more discussion about how we present ourselves, and the outdated idea that “free” from Benjamin Franklin ever meant “without cost”.
A week-long celebration of events took place during the first week of December to honor the opening of the new Durango Public Library. The photos were taken at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 1, and you can see the wonderful artwork, beautiful views, crowds of people, and notably, the leader of the project, Sherry Taber, the Director of the Library. Her team of volunteers worked years to attain their goal, and they should be proud of the results. Later in the week at the Gala, Gene Hainer from the Colorado State Library and Ross Callender from CLiC were there to join in the celebration.
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