What can TBLC do for you?

June 4th, 2009

Florida libraries are going through a time of transition, and many of you are taking on more responsibilities in your job, or even taking on completely new roles that may require targeted training. Or perhaps budget restraints in your library have caused high tension among coworkers.

This is where TBLC comes in. Over the past several months, we’ve offered various workshops to help train our members in new areas, to learn how to keep cool during this demanding time and to deal with change. But we know we can do more for you.

So tell us how we can help you. What other workshops can TBLC offer to get you and your coworkers through this rough transition? Do you need training in certain areas? Do you have a topic that you – or someone you know – can teach? We offer in-person and online workshops, so feel free to make suggestions for either or both.

Additionally, TBLC staff members can come to your library to speak on a sundry of topics, including virtual reference, customer service, resource sharing, advocacy and word-of-mouth marketing.

We look forward to hearing from you. Please email your ideas to Beth Farmer at farmerb@tblc.org.

YALSA’s SummerSlam Reading Jam

June 3rd, 2009

Attention public librarians!

YALSA and World Wrestling Entertainment® have joined forces for the SummerSlam Reading Jam, a pilot project with two great prizes: your library could win $1,000 for teen and tween materials for your library’s collection and two of your tween and teen library patrons can win a free trip for two to WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event in Los Angeles.

Here’s how it works:

·         Sign up online! The first 500 libraries to register for the pilot project will receive mini-posters courtesy the WWE. The deadline to sign up for the SummerSlam Reading Jam is June 8 (although registration will close once 500 libraries have signed up for the pilot project).

·         Check ’em out! Each librarian who signs up will receive 25 WWE mini-posters, which should be distributed to any library patrons between the ages of 10 and 18 who take out two books between June 24 and July 16. The posters are all numbered. Distribute all your posters by July 16.

·         Win prizes! Two lucky poster holders each will receive a Grand Prize of a free trip for two to WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event in Los Angeles, Calif., on August 23, 2009. In addition, they will receive $200 in spending money. WWE will also be giving away 10 copies of the WWE Encyclopedia, which recently made the New York Times Bestseller list. The libraries that distributed the winning posters for the two Grand Prizes will each receive a stipend of $1,000 from WWE for teen and tween materials for your library’s collection.

Full details and the official rules are available here.  (Contest open only to those who reside in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.)

And don’t forget to sign up for the WrestleMania® Reading Challenge, which launches during Teen Read Week in October. Registration is available through Teen Read Week registration through July 31.

Contact Stephanie (Stevie) Kuenn at skuenn@ala.org with questions.

2009-10 Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute

May 28th, 2009

Applications are now being accepted for the 2009-10 Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute.  The deadline for applications is Friday, June 26, 2009. 

Visit the Leadership Institute website for the application forms and detailed information about this program.  Contact Brad Ward at brad@neflin.org or 904-278-5620 with questions.

The Leadership Institute is open to individuals from all types of libraries (public, academic, school, and special). It is designed for professional librarians, as well as those in management positions without a master’s degree in Library Science. Candidates should have a minimum of two years professional library experience and a demonstrated successful professional work experience.

The location for the 2009-10 Leadership Institute will be the Central Brevard Public Library, 308 Forrest Avenue, Cocoa, FL. 32922.

TBLC offers new free video to members

May 18th, 2009

TBLC maintains a collection of free videos that are available to all our members, and we’ve just added a new title.

Supervisory Solutions: 6 skills you need to succeed in management
Do you often feel a little overwhelmed in your role as manager or supervisor? Do you feel that others have unreasonable expectations of you now that you’re “part of management”? While that’s not necessarily fair, it’s usually a fact.

Chances are that you got into management because you excelled at what you were doing. You had mastered a special set of skills. Along the way, others noticed your healthy ambition, desire to lead, and maybe even a natural gift to teach others. All of those skills helped you get to this point. Now, what does it take to survive and succeed in this new management role?

Presented by Janet Kirch.

Click here to request this video or view all available titles.

Amazon Announces the Kindle DX—Third-Generation Ebook Reader

May 15th, 2009

This post is courtesy of Information Today, Inc.

On May 7, just three months after introducing the second-generation Kindle, Amazon officially announced its rumored third-generation ebook reader, the Kindle DX, expected for release this summer (http://amazon.com/kindledx).

The announcement of the product, still in early beta, was made at Manhattan’s Pace University by Amazon’s Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. This “deluxe” Kindle version offers a much larger (9.7″) viewing screen, added storage capacity, and E Ink’s 16 shades of gray, allowing a reading experience “like printed words on paper because the screen works using real ink and doesn’t use a backlight, eliminating the eyestrain and glare associated with other electronic displays.” Offering storage for up to 3,500 books, from a catalog of more than 280,000 titles in the Kindle Store, the new Kindle DX will also offer editions of The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post and textbooks from a variety of major academic publishers.

The new features include a built-in Adobe Reader Mobile PDF capability as well. The system appears, from pictures and prototypes, to be well-designed. “Cookbooks, computer books, and textbooks-anything highly formatted-also shine on the Kindle DX. Carry all your documents and your whole library in one slender package,” Bezos explained. The price tag of $489 is $130 more than the Kindle 2 system, and it seems to have many wondering whether the added functionality will be enough to make the Kindle the future for printed materials.

Amazon’s Cinthia Portugal notes that “Over time, we believe that analog reading, be it paper books, magazines, newspapers, etc., will be replaced by digital. The responsibility is ours, though, to continue making the digital reading experience better than the physical experience.” The Kindle DX, Amazon believes, is a step in the right direction.

Click here for the rest of the article.

Relocating your library

May 14th, 2009

Kent Holle, formally with Professional Movers, is now with a library relocation company called Flood Brothers. Many of our members have used the services of Professional Movers to assemble and prepare collections for relocation, for long-term storage, for painting and recarpeting projects, and much more. Now Flood Brothers is available for all your moving needs.

Visit www.floodbrothers.net or contact Kent Holle at 813-917-8160 or Kent.Holle@Floodbrothers.net for more information.

Thorndike Press discounts for TBLC members

May 8th, 2009

Thorndike Press offers the following discounts to TBLC members. If you are interested, email sherry.cookson@cengage.com. Use promo code L2790 and mention that you are a TBLC member.

***

Thorndike Press, part of Gale/Cengage Learning, is the World’s Largest Publisher of Large Print Books. We offer over 1,200 individual titles a year to choose from, at a 20% discount, and shipping is FREE!

We also have over 37 Large Print Standing Order Plans. Our editors take the guesswork out of title selection. Using the same collection development criteria that librarians use — like Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly and the New York Times Book Review — they look for well-reviewed and award-winning titles for your Standing Order Plans. Large Print readers want to read what everyone else is reading, and we publish the most New York Times bestsellers available in Large Print, as close as possible to the standard print publications date.

Most Thorndike and Wheeler Standing Orders are discounted at 25% and shipping is always FREE! Standing Orders allow you to bring the best there is in Large Print to your patrons automatically each month.

16-point Plantin
NAVH approved
All titles are complete and unabridged

Simultaneous Publications:

Each year, Thorndike Press will publish approximately 105-120 Large Print bestselling titles simultaneously with the Original Publishers’ Standard Print Edition. This allows you to bring these exciting titles to all your patrons, without the wait!

How to Order:
Phone: 1-800-223-1244, ext. 4 or 1048
Fax: 1-800-558-4676
E-mail: sherry.cookson@cengage.com  
Visit us on the web @ www.gale.cengage.com/thorndike/

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KENNEBEC LARGE PRINT

Kennebec Large Print offers high quality, bestselling titles in the popular softcover format at a more affordable price to help you enhance your Large Print collection just when demand is highest.

Kennebec Large Print offers 4 softcover Standing Orders at a 40% discount and shipping is FREE! But if a Standing Order is not for you, any of the Kennebec Large Print titles can be purchased individually at a 20% discount with FREE shipping. And you can combine these titles with Thorndike, Wheeler, and Five Star titles to meet your Librarian’s Choice Plan commitments.

How to order
Phone: 1-800-223-1244, ext. 4 or 1048
Fax: 800-558-4676
E-mail: sherry.cookson@cengage.com 
Visit us on the web @ www.kennebeclargeprint.com

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FIVE STAR PUBLISHING

Our Five Star (standard print) original fiction titles bring you even more title selection for your patrons, also at 20% and FREE shipping on individual titles!

But if a standing order is the way you want to go, when you sign up for a Five Star standing order, you will receive great original fiction standard print titles by bestselling and award winning authors, as well as fresh and exciting voices in the publishing field. An all our Five Star Standing Orders are offered at a 25% discount, and shipping is always FREE. Our titles are well reviewed by Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly. Save Time and money by signing up today so you can start receiving these fantastic additions to your collection.

How to order
Phone: 1-800-223-1244, ext. 4 or 1048
Fax: 800-558-4676
E-mail: sherry.cookson@cengage.com  
Visit us on the web @ www.gale.cengage.com/fivestar

The people of Florida roared and the state’s leaders listened!

May 5th, 2009

On May 3, the House and Senate agreed to fund Florida’s State Aid to Public Libraries program at $21,253,978.

Throughout Florida, folks stepped up, got engaged, and made this happen.  We will never know just how extensive this effort was, but we have seen signs of extensive networks and efforts in Florida’s smallest towns.  There are so many wonderful stories.  So many folks did such innovative and clever things.  And normal Floridians who had never called or e-mailed an official stood up and roared!

Some folks to thank!

-  Senator Crist – He was down there working it with the Conferees.  We asked for his help, and he responded.

-  Rep. Nehr – from Pinellas – and lots of others, who went to the leaders and said you’ve got to do this!

-  Senator Alexander and Rep. Rivera who would not give up on our issue!  And Senator Fasano, Rep. Gloriso, and Rep. Evers who have been there for us since the day one!

-  Secretary Kurt Browning, who has been on the hill, working for us, ably supported by Rivers Buford and Judi Ring.

-  Chris Doolin from the Small County Coaliton – and Danny Hales who has helped keep those folks engaged!  Chris has really been working it!

-  The Florida press corps who picked up our issue and put it out there!

-  Faye Roberts, executive director of FLA, who did a beautiful job communications director, explaining things to the media.

-  Lisa Manners – the Capwiz message count was over 9,000.

-  Tom Sloan and the SEFLIN folks put up a page like Capwiz and handled hundreds of messages.

Charlie Parker
TBLC Executive Director

April Wavelinks now available

April 30th, 2009

The April 2009 issue of Wavelinks is now available for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

Your Input Needed

April 28th, 2009

The Area Agency on Aging has entered into a partnership with public libraries in Florida this year, in order to provide information and assistance to seniors. Five video components have been assembled in order to provide library public service staff and patrons with new resources to access government and community information.

Your input is very valuable to us. If you would take a few minutes to review each component and respond to some survey questions, your comments will help us to finalize a prototype for the Area Agency on Aging/Public Libraries Partnership for Seniors. The prototype is under development and will be a webpage with Agency videos, forms and tutorials.

With your input, the prototype will also be utilized by the Florida E-Government Work Group as a template for any government or community agency that would like to partner with Florida public libraries.

The deadline to respond to this survey is May 1. If you need assistance or have any questions, please email Catherine Cottle at catherine_cottle@yahoo.com.

This project is brought to you by USF School of Library & Information Science, the Tampa Bay Library Consortium, the Area Agency on Aging and the Pasco County Library Cooperative.

The survey includes a link to the video components.  The survey is here.