Youth Services Info

Published May 2, 2008 Uncategorized 0 Comments

Cinco de Mayo program ideas & games:

 

Cinco de Mayo book display ideas: 

May 16 - Prince Caspian movie info and freebies: 

http://www.walden.com/newsletters/042008_PC/index.html

Texas Reading Club Proclamation from the Gov’: 

http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/projects/trc/2008/2008proclamation.pdf

Why do teenagers need libraries?: 

http://www.ctls.net/images/stories/pdf/ContinuingEducation/WorkshopMaterials/Texas-Reading-Club-Lite/40DevelopmentalAssetsforAdolescents.pdf

CTLS Youth Services workshop handouts and follow-up shtuff: 

http://www.ctls.net/content/view/75/132/

Where to buy gaming stuff at a discount: 

http://ctls.wordpress.com/page/2/

Keep up with technology - one tiny, tiny step at a time (via “23 Things”): 

http://ctls.wordpress.com/

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours - check out my tag cloud at del.icio.us: 

http://del.icio.us/suzannyfeler

What to Tell Parents About MySpace – May 29, 10 – noon, Taylor Public Library

Learn about Austin Public’s successful parent class on social network safety.  Register at www.CTLS.net.

-Suzan

Federal & State Labor Posters at your Library

Published April 3, 2008 Uncategorized 0 Comments

This comes as a follow-up to the question:  “What federal and state employment posters am I required to post at my library?”

Various laws require employers to display several posters at the workplace. These posters are available, free of charge, from different agencies.  You can print most of them yourselves, in color or B&W.  Not every poster will apply to your situation.  These posters should be posted clearly so the staff can see them; they need not be posted in the public area.  Your governing agency may already provide these.

Do not pay money for this information.  The FREE versions are listed at http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/posters.html.

-Suzan

Suggestions for Gaming Software

Published March 24, 2008 Uncategorized 0 Comments

Elaine asked Suzan:

What do you know about the Age of the Empires III and Age of the Empires III: The War Chiefs Expansion Pack both by Destineer? I am trying to pick some gaming software and don’t have a clue where to start. These looked pretty interesting to me and different that the mainstream shoot ‘em ups. Currently our teens just play what they can find free on the Internet. I designated some of the Loan Star Grant $$ for gaming software and want to get that money spent ASAP.
I’m also thinking about ordering Britannica Sudoku Unlimited by Britannica Unlimited

If you have any feedback for me, I would appreciate it. Also, any suggestions…

How about it, central Texas library staff? Any thoughts?

Reading Is Fundamental Funding Cut

Published March 7, 2008 Uncategorized 1 Comment

Here’s a blurb from Publisher’s Weekly that sums up this discouraging news:

“Last month, President Bush submitted a proposed budget for fiscal year 2009, which eliminated funding for Reading Is Fundamental’s book distribution program. Through the program, the organization distributed 16 million free books to 4.6 million children across the country last year. More than 30,000 messages have since been sent to Congress urging the reinstatement of a budget of $26 million for the organization’s distribution program. To date 19 senators and 67 state representatives have signed a Dear Colleague letter in support of the organization. RIF is also in contact with local coordinators who are working to spread awareness, particularly in districts where representatives have not yet signed their support. In July, the winners of RIF’s 2008 Program Excellence Honors will visit their Congressional members on Capitol Hill to speak to the effects of the program’s elimination. Additional information is available at the RIF Web site. Congress will finalize RIF’s budget this September. —John Sellers”

Why should we have to fight for such an obviously valuable program?? I emailed my reps that as a public librarian, I am completely on board when it comes to sharing books within a community, but the Reading Is Fundamental program provides so many life lessons for children in addition to improving literacy - the value of incentive, buy-in, and a larger understanding of the world through books, to name a few. When children earn their RIF books by reading x number of books, it gives them a sense of accomplishment. And children learn a sense of agency through the ownership and responsibility of having their own small library. Also, studies have shown that children test better when they have books at home. It is shocking and unthinkable that this wonderful program would be eliminated!

Please email your senators and U.S. reps if they haven’t already shown their support for RIF.

Adult Literacy Curriculum at your Library

Published February 11, 2008 Uncategorized 3 Comments

Shanda is thinking about implementing an adult literacy program at her library and wanted feedback or information on programs (curricula, etc.) that are successful in other libraries. To add to that discussion, here are some resources that might be useful:
 
The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning had some free teaching materials (like “Understanding What Reading is All About” that has 13 lessons for adult learners at the 0-6th grade reading level) available in pdf format.  ALA has some recommended links to curriculum resources, though some of them seem irrelevant to adult literacy. The National Institute for Literacy  provides an assessment strategy tool for adult learners and gives you suggestions for curriculum based on what profile the learner matches. There is also a list of resources from the NIFL.

 So, how do you make your library’s literacy program successful? 

Tax Forms for the Public

Published January 28, 2008 Uncategorized 3 Comments

Barbara asks the blogosphere:

“How many of you stock tax forms at this time of year? Where do you order them from? Last year, we didn’t have the room, but are considering it now. It seems like an important service to provide if we can.”

Program Priorities: Determining Effectiveness

Published January 24, 2008 Uncategorized 1 Comment

A question from a member librarian: 

In determining which programs to continue and which to scale back, we are trying to set up a base level of participation. What kind of formula do other libraries use to determine if a program is successful?

Do you need 15 children in a storytime? One hundred at a puppet show? Do you have different requirements for adult programs and children’s programs?

Any input would be great.

Thanks!

Checklist for a User-Friendly Website

Published December 21, 2007 Uncategorized 0 Comments

After moving to North Carolina in July, Dr. Diane Neal made her first visit back to Texas last week to present two Web Usability workshops for CTLS. Many thanks to Diane for explaining techniques for a better web presence. She referred us to a wonderful scorecard that she helped create when she was invoved in the Texas Library Association’s Automation and Technology Roundtable. The scorecard helps you assess your library’s website — it touches on general appearance, ADA compliance, community, audience, contact information, currency, and enhanced features. You can also visit NTRLS’s website to find the online assessment tool.

 Happy Holidays!!

-Kam

Take the Learning 2.0 Challenge!

Published November 30, 2007 Uncategorized 0 Comments

Have you guys checked out the Learning 2.0 course created by Helene Blowers, Technology Director at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County? She designed it with the support and assitance of several staff and is loosely based upon Stephen Abram’s article, 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006) and the website 43Things.  The Learning 2.0 project was created to encourage staff to experiment and learn about the new and emerging technologies that are reshaping the context of information on the Internet today.

The 23 things to do are listed below and are broken down into a 9-week course. There were prizes for PLCMC staff for completing this course, but alas, you guys are not eligible. Except for the “we’re very proud of you!” prize…

23 Learning 2.0 Things

    Week 1: Introduction

  1. Read this blog & find out about the program.
  2. Discover a few pointers from lifelong learners and learn how to nurture your own learning process.

    Week 2: Blogging

  3. Set up your own blog & add your first post.
  4. Register your blog on PLCMC Central and begin your Learning 2.0 journey.

    Week 3: Photos & Images

  5. Explore Flickr and learn about this popular image hosting site.
  6. Have some Flickr fun and discover some Flickr mashups & 3rd party sites.
  7. Create a blog post about anything technology related that interests you this week.

    Week 4: RSS & Newsreaders

  8. Learn about RSS feeds and setup your own Bloglines newsreader account.
  9. Locate a few useful library related blogs and/or news feeds.

    Week 5: Play Week

  10. Play around with an online image generator.
  11. Take a look at LibraryThing and catalog some of your favorite books.
  12. Roll your own search tool with Rollyo.

    Week 6: Tagging, Folksonomies & Technorati

  13. Learn about tagging and discover a Del.icio.us (a social bookmaking site)
  14. Explore Technorati and learn how tags work with blog posts.
  15. Read a few perspectives on Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and the future of libraries and blog your thoughts.

    Week 7: Wikis

  16. Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them.
  17. Add an entry to the Learning 2.0 SandBox wiki.

    Week 8: Online Applications & Tools
  18. Take a look at some online productivity (word processing, spreadsheet) tools.
  19. Explore any site from the Web 2.0 awards list, play with it and write a blog post about your findings.

    Week 9: Podcasts, Video & Downloadable audio
  20. Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow users to upload and share videos.
  21. Discover some useful search tools for locating podcasts.
  22. Take a look at the titles available on NetLibrary and learn how to download audiobooks.
  23. Summarize your thoughts about this program on your blog.

-Kam

 

Youthful News from Suzan

Published November 8, 2007 Uncategorized 0 Comments

“Useful news splashed out like paint on a Jackson Pollock canvas”

-Suzan

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