We realize that many of our members have had to cut back their libraries’ hours due to budget restraints.
We try to keep the information in our Library Finder database as up-to-date as possible. Please take a moment to search for your library in our Library Finder, and if you see that any information is no longer correct, please send your updated info to Karyn Bardes at bardesk@tblc.org.
If you’ve ever heard about Ask a Librarian and wondered what it is and how you and your library can be a part of it, this informational workshop is perfect for you.
Ask a Librarian (www.askalibrarian.org) is Florida’s collaborative virtual reference service allowing users to connect with librarians via chat or email for assistance with reference questions and research. Open 10 a.m. to midnight EST Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST Friday and Saturday, Ask a Librarian is available to users 84 hours a week and is staffed by librarians just like you throughout Florida.
Part of the Florida Electronic Library, Ask a Librarian offers for free to participating libraries the collaborative software, a local desk option, an email management system and robust statistical reports. In exchange, Ask a Librarian participants are asked to staff either the collaborative or academic desk. We work with each library to come up with a schedule that suits their librarians and the overall Ask a Librarian program. The service handles over 4,000 chat sessions and 1,000 email questions monthly.
Ask a Librarian uses a software platform from InstantService, an esteemed and flexible software provider. InstantService allows us to offer libraries a variety of options. This means your library could host its own local Ask a Librarian desk, incorporate a simple chat interface – similar to Meebo – on your library’s website, and so much more.
Learn more about Ask a Librarian and see if it fits your library’s needs by joining an online information session.
Register Today!
Woman’s Day magazine is once again partnering with the American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries, this time to promote the library as a key resource during tough economic times.
Libraries interested in promoting this initiative are encouraged to visit www.ala.org/womansday to download new promotional materials. New materials include a flyer and a new icon that libraries can use to link to the Woman’s Day Web site [link to www.womansday.com/ala] or ALA’s Web site for the public, ilovelibraries.org. [direct link: http://ilovelibraries.org/news/topstories/wdfinance.cfm]
Through May 18th, Woman’s Day is asking readers to write in and share their stories of how the resources at their library have helped through tough economic times. Up to four stories will be featured in its March 2010 issue. Women ages 18 and up are encouraged to submit stories in 700 words or less to womansday@ala.org.
This latest initiative continues an eight-year partnership between the magazine and ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries that has generated millions of dollars worth of editorial coverage for libraries. Since 2002, Woman’s Day has asked its readers to write in about “how the library has changed my life,” “why I would want to be a librarian for a day” and “how I started my business at the library.”
Woman’s Day magazine is a Partner in The Campaign for America’s Libraries (www.ala.org/@yourlibrary), ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe – use the Campaign’s @ your library® brand. The Campaign is made possible in part by ALA’s Library Champions, corporations and foundations which advocate the importance of the library in American society.
Other Partners include Carnegie Corporation of New York, Dollar General, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Univision Radio and Verizon.
Hate to spoil the ending, but here’s what you need to know about Kindle 2.
The second edition of Amazon’s (AMZN) best-selling electronic reader looks better, reads better and addresses the first Kindle’s (metaphorically speaking) torn pages. Still, most of the improvements are marginal enough that owners of the original Kindle ought not feel compelled to upgrade, especially at a pricey $359.
In a turbulent economy, first-time buyers may balk, too. Still, Kindle 2 represents the finest e-book reader you can buy, even if at times it leaves you wanting more. Color is years away. But why, in this day and age, no touch-screen?
Amazon began shipping the new Kindle on Monday, a day before it said it would. I’ve been curling up with one for a couple of weeks.
A free resource from the ALA Public Programs Office
The ALA Public Programs Office is pleased to announce a new online resource to assist libraries of all types and sizes in creating cultural and community programs. The website, www.ProgrammingLibrarian.org, includes a resource library, live learning opportunities and a blog to keep librarians informed of upcoming opportunities and provide inspiration for new library programs. As the site continues to develop, users will find more resources, ideas, and opportunities to network with peers and programming experts.
Development of the site is funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS) to the ALA Public Programs Office, which fosters cultural programming as an integral part of library service. In keeping with that mission, ProgrammingLibrarian.org offers librarians timely and valuable information to support them in the creation of high-quality cultural programs for their communities.
For more information about the ALA Public Programs Office, visit www.ala.org/publicprograms. With questions or comments about ProgrammingLibrarian.org, please contact publicprograms@ala.org.
FLA preconference
May 5, 2009
9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Join your resource sharing colleagues for this informative event.
Topics include:
The Future of the OPAC from the Patron Perspective
Unmediated Borrowing
Panel discussion on Delivery Methods in Today’s Economy
Rethinking Resource Sharing
Register at www.flalib.org.*
Contact Kristine J. Shrauger at (407) 823-5422 or kshrauge@mail.ucf.edu for more information.
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*The Florida Resource Sharing Conference is a pre-conference event of the Florida Library Association’s 2009 Conference and requires separate registration. You are encouraged but not required to register for and attend both conferences.