Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Tuesday's Tool: Urban Legends Reference Pages

To delete or not to delete; that is the question... Among the dozens, if not hundreds, of e-mails that arrive daily, how can patrons figure out what is delete-worthy and what should be passed along posthaste to everyone on their address lists?

Enter the Urban Legends Reference Pages, frequently referred to simply as Snopes. One of a number of "debunking" sites, this is one of the most fun in which to spend some time. Here are entertaining, insightful, and authoritative analyses of not only urban legends in the strictest sense, but also pleas, warnings, scares, heart-wrenching stories (i.e., glurge), offers, gossip, fallacies, etc.

In this season, it should be pointed out that there are a number of holiday legends, superstitions, and glurge. One of the most entertaining of the lot has to do with The Red and the Mondegreen, or misheard Christmas carol lyrics. Give it a read for a good laugh! Happy Holidays!

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES

Monday, December 19, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: CFLC "Globe" Trotting #3

While the blog hasn't been very busy lately, the globe was traveling a great deal in November. Here are pictures from its wonderful cruise to Baja California and the Mexican Riviera (note the cliff diving) that it took with the cousins of one of the trainers (who were having waaay too much fun with the towel bunny!):














SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Friday, December 16, 2005

Friday Fun Thing: PNC Christmas Price Index

Any "True Loves" out there? It's gonna cost you! The price of the traditional gifting from the Twelve Days of Christmas song has risen to a 21-year high of $18,348.87!

Check out the PNC Christmas Price Index for a lighthearted, but valid, in-depth analysis of the prices, trends, and economics involved in the gifting. An animated version of the carol opens the page, complete with a scrolling ticker; a Flash presentation describes the factors involved in the pricing (bird flu, rising shipping costs, etc.); and an "Educator's Guide" provides interactive tools for classroom use. (The Flash presentation also provides a truly eye-popping amount for the "True Love" who wants to repeat the previous gifts daily as the song implies!)

And you thought you had shopping woes!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Tuesday's Tool: Technology Reviews

After much too long a holiday break, this week's Tuesday's tool is designed to help you answer those patron questions about which electronic gadgets to purchase. Cnet.com presents lengthy reviews, comparison articles, and video tutorials on products from "car tech" to televisions and from desktops to games and gear.

There are continually changing features and one right now is the most useful Holiday Gift Guide 2005, with "12 hours of answers to your questions on holiday gadget shopping." Includes both price and category browse functions. Not so helpful is the information that there are "only 12 shopping days left...", but who's panicking?!

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Tuesday's Tool: Thanksgiving Sites

In light of this week's holiday, a quick reminder that there are a number of Thanksgiving sites to be found on the web page accompanying the CFLC workshop Holiday Use of the Internet.

Did you know turkeys have heart attacks? How about that they have a 270-degree field of vision? Find more on the InfoPlease page of amazing Turkey Trivia.

Not into turkey? Try the Vegetarian Thanksgiving for an abundance of recipes and tips.

Three...is the "[n]umber of places in the United States named after the holiday’s traditional main course." For more Thanksgiving "by the numbers", see the Census Bureau's Facts for Features release on Thanksgiving 2005.

Be sure and take a break during the holiday--and if parades and football aren't your things, watch one of InfoPlease's Thanksgiving-themed movies.

Finally, check out this turkey greeting card for a good holiday laugh. Happy Thanksgiving, All!

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES

Friday, November 18, 2005

Friday Fun Thing: Happy Birthday, Mickey!

Given that this blog is from Orlando, there may well be a law against blogging a Friday Fun Thing on the actual day of the locally adopted rodent's birth without acknowledging it. So Happy 77th Birthday, Mickey Mouse!

In honor of this auspicious occasion, herewith a four-pack of Mickey birthday goodness:

His biography (no joke!); what originated as a newspaper column honoring his birthday and giving a number of Disney sites; links to arts and crafts celebrating his birthday; and a Mickey Mouse's Birthday theme unit for elementary school teachers.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Tuesday's Tool: A Library-Related Twofer

This Tuesday's Tool entry is a two-for-one of library bounty.

First, this week, November 14-20, is Children's Book Week. Here is the Children's Book Council site giving Children's Book Week materials, history, promotional ideas, useful links, and more.

Second, from the Normative Data Project for Libraries, is this "mash-up" tool showing location of and conditions in public libraries with significant damage from Katrina and/or Rita plotted on a Google map. (Explanations and some pretty cool examples of other mash-ups may be found at both Webopedia and Wikipedia.)

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES

Friday, November 11, 2005

Friday Fun Thing: Unshelved

If any of you have not yet encountered the library-related comic strip Unshelved (formerly Overdue), I recommend a look! If you're new to the series, start with the primer to meet the somewhat quirky staff and patrons of Mallville Public Library.

A favorite recent strip involves the Internet; the week of October 24 dealt with an interesting cataloging conundrum involving a graphic novel (use the > button at the bottom to go to the next of the six on the topic); and Sundays since mid-August have been full-color strips featuring The Unshelved Book Club, a mini book discussion. And, oh yes, you can subscribe to the strip via an RSS reader. Enjoy!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Tuesday's Tool: Find-A-Human

This week's Tuesday Tool is Find-A-Human: IVR Cheat Sheet, a list of verified methods for getting around companies' IVR (Integrated Voice Response) systems to talk to a human being.

Janet Miller, Reference Librarian at the Mims/Scottsmoor Public Library (Brevard County, FL), who posted this reference for the Ask a Librarian list includes the advice, "Notice the upper right corner where you can choose different views (e.g., by category or all in alphabetical order). " Data can also be downloaded, notifications and subscriptions are available, and volunteers are encouraged to participate and add to the database.

Very useful; it's been added to the CFLC Reference Desk under Consumer Information and Directories. Thanks for the heads-up, Janet!

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES

Saturday, November 05, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: National Young Readers Day

National Young Readers Day is Tuesday, November 8. The day was originally "created by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in 1989 as a way to celebrate literacy in schools." Though this post is almost a day late and a dollar short, this Web site (actually part of the BookIt! program's site) provides Starter Kits and ideas for promoting the day.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Friday, November 04, 2005

Friday Fun Thing: Library Thing

This week's Friday Fun Thing is a cool new tool (opened August 29 of this year) designed to allow cataloging and displaying a personal library online, Library Thing Beta. It's free for entering up to 200 books; unlimited entry is available for $10 for a year or $25 for life. Catalogs can be shared or kept personal; displays can be in list or "virtual bookshelf" format. It's no WorldCat, but it has some features WorldCat doesn't, such as tagging (uncontrolled subject headings) and a widget to put on a blog to show current reading. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing." Check it out!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Tuesday's Tool: Comics 4 Libraries

Tuesday's Tool missed the day by a bit, but this week's feature is a relatively new Wiki "designed to collect reviews for comics and graphic novels recommended for libraries," Comics 4 Libraries. As with all Wikis, this is a collaborative effort and users are encouraged to register and contribute. I know from conversations I've heard around the area, there is great interest in graphic novels and manga, so here's a chance to get out there and make your voices heard!

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Blogging Demonstration

Demonstrating blogging to UCF Libraries staff. Tra-la!

Monday, October 31, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: Halloween Tricks & Treats

Happy Halloween!

First, the treat: Be sure and check out the Google Halloween greeting. If you miss it today, the Google holiday and event logos can be found later on here. Enjoy!

Now, the Halloween sort of trick: CFLC has been visited by connectivity gremlins most of the past week. (This includes both Web page and e-mail issues.) If you are trying to connect to the CFLC Web pages, you may for the short-term have to use the IP address instead of "cflc.net" in the URL. Here is what should definitely connect: http://65.41.132.135/.

SUBJECTS: BLOG BUSINESS; CFLC CHRONICLES

Friday, October 28, 2005

Friday Fun Things: NPR Audio Post

In honor of the FACRL workshop held today (see this post), this week's Friday Fun Thing is a very brief library-related audio post from NPR. It's worth a couple of listens--once to get to the punch line, as it were, and once to listen again once you know the subject being discussed. Enjoy!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

FACRL Workshop

Demoing the blog at the workshop...

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Reference Riches: Tuesday's Tool

This is the first entry in an attempt at a weekly Internet reference resource offering. Please feel free to send in suggestions for great - or even just favorite - resources to feature here.

Given the events to come this week, today's sites are Halloween-related. From the CFLC workshop Holiday Use of the Internet come these fun Halloween pages. Halloween history and traditions are also covered, as are Halloween sites specific to children, Halloween stories and crafts, Halloween health and safety, plus much more. (Go to "Edit" in your browser window, choose "Find in this page" and then search for "Halloween" as a word; you'll find loads of entries to inspire and entertain.)

Boo!

EDITORIAL ADDITION 10/31: Happy Halloween! The CFLC site has been visited by ghosts and goblins and creepy crawlers playing tricks with connectivity all week. Here is an alternative IP address that will get you to the Holiday page if the above link does not function. Thanks to Rochelle at Tinfoil + Raccoon for the catch! Be sure and check out the latest entry in the Carnival of the Infosciences there.

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Blog Business: Audioblogging Demo

This is a post created with Audioblogger in preparation for demonstrating that feature at the annual fall workshop of the Florida Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries, E-Merging Technologies @ Libraries, in Orlando on Friday, October 28, 2005. Hope to see you there!

this is an audio post - click to play
SUBJECTS: BLOG BUSINESS; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Saturday, October 22, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: Friday Fun Things

Here's a fun thing to "check out," as it were...
The Librarian's Book Club is a group to read and discuss books that are about libraries and the library profession. Every two months the Librarian's Book Club will select a new book to discuss. All you need to do is get yourself a copy of the current book and subscribe to the discussion list... (Note: Although this book club discussion group is focused towards librarians, we welcome members that are not librarians.)
SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Friday, October 21, 2005

ALA Assortments: 2006 Annual Conference

American Library Association (ALA) President Michael Gorman announced today that the 2006 ALA Annual Conference will be held in New Orleans. See the full press release here.

SUBJECTS: ALA ASSORTMENTS

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: Disaster Preparedness Handbook

From the SELA list comes notification of a new disaster planning handbook. For those interested in this, also watch the CFLC training schedule for upcoming sessions of CFLC's workshop Safety, Security, and Preparedness for Libraries and learn how to plan to keep your library ready for whatever disasters or emergencies might come.
A new resource from the Heritage Emergency National Task Force identifies federal funding to help make an emergency plan, buy disaster supplies, or train staff for next year's hurricane season. Before and After Disasters: Federal Funding for Cultural Institutions provides information on 15 federal grant and loan programs to help cultural institutions and historic sites prepare for and recover from disasters.

Before and After Disasters was produced by Heritage Preservation with support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts. Before the guide was printed, the Task Force made it available electronically as a Hurricane Resource to help victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These resources are located at http://www.heritagepreservation.org/
PROGRAMS/TFHurricaneRes.HTM
.

The programs described in Before and After Disasters help nonprofit arts centers, archives, conservation and historic preservation organizations, historical societies, historic sites, libraries, museums, and theaters, among others.

Before and After Disasters is an updated and expanded version of Resources for Recovery, last issued in 2000. The new booklet covers programs for planning and mitigation as well as recovery. The agency profiles contain information on eligibility and funding levels and include practical examples. A selection of on-line resources helps institutions find professional conservation expertise for their collections and the communities they serve.

Up to 50 copies of Before and After Disasters can be ordered at no charge from the FEMA publications office. Phone 800-480-2520 and ask for FEMA publication #533. The 32-page booklet can also be downloaded from Heritage Preservation's Web site at http://www.heritagepreservation.org/PDFS/Disaster.pdf.

The Heritage Emergency National Task Force has helped to make disaster preparedness and response a higher priority for cultural heritage organizations across the country. The Task Force - an initiative of Heritage Preservation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency - is a partnership of 40 government agencies and national service organizations. Learn the latest information on hurricane recovery efforts and find valuable disaster resources at the Task Force Web site, www.heritageemergency.org.

Questions? E-mail TaskForce (at) heritagepreservation.org or call 202-233-0800.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES; TERRIFIC TIPS; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Friday, October 14, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: Friday Fun Things

For an interesting exploration of a little-advertised librarian sub-culture, check out The Bellydancing Librarian (and her gallery of photos). Give a broader read to the wonderful list on her page of Web sites belonging to "other fabulous, stereotype-smashing librarians."

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Monday, October 10, 2005

OCLC Oddments: Resource Sharing Request Searching Enhancements

From the OCLC Resource Sharing List:
OCLC is pleased to announce that enhancements to request searching were installed on Sunday, October 9. Searching requests in Request Manager can now be accomplished more efficiently using a variety of methods:
* Keyword
* Phrase
* Truncation
* Exact Match

The searching process varies for different search types. These procedures are outlined in full in the online Help files and in online documentation at
http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/resourcesharing/
using/searchrequests/default.htm
.

Please note: this enhancement does not include searching of archived requests as previously announced. Archived request searching will be installed at a later date to be announced as soon as that information becomes available.
SUBJECTS: OCLC ODDMENTS

Monday, October 03, 2005

Terrific Tips: Web Pages that Attract

In various workshops (particularly the Technology Updates and the Boomers & Gamers sessions), attendees have been discussing ways to make library Web sites more active, interactive, and changing to make it worth the users' while to return regularly.

Here is a good example from one library, the Greene County (OH) Public Library, that has done just that. Go here to see their monthly triva contest, which encourages patrons to use their subscription reference databases to find the answers.

Another example is for those of you having trouble attracting teens to your Web sites -- but only if you want to be jaw-droppingly jealous. Check out the AXIS blog for teens from the Ann Arbor District Library. You don't have to go very far back into the blog to discover individual posts that have *hundreds* of comments!

SU BJECTS: TERRIFIC TIPS

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Reference Riches: New to Reference Desk

Quite some time ago, the best holiday and festival calendar site listed on the CFLC Reference Desk page folded and a comparable replacement was not immediately forthcoming.

It's finally turned up! Just added to the Reference Desk page under Time, Dates, Chronologies, & Calendars is this far-ranging resource: Earth Calendar. Earth Calendar is searchable by "today" and by date, country, religion, and more.

So, have a Happy Confucius' Birthday, and enjoy this site!

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES

Monday, September 26, 2005

Reference Riches: CFLC Referencia Electrónica

CFLC now has a Spanish-language Reference Desk! To enable those library staff members who do not speak Spanish to assist patrons who only speak Spanish, the commands and explanations of the resources are in both English and Spanish. The resources themselves, unless the equivalent English title is also linked, are only in Spanish.

To learn more about this new tool and to have some guided hands-on exploration of it, come to the upcoming workshop, Internet Resources for Spanish-Speaking Patrons, at Volusia on Thursday, September 29, from 9 a.m. to noon.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES; REFERENCE RICHES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Sunday, September 25, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: CFLC "Globe" Trotting #2

The CFLC Globe has Trotted again. Cortesy of the husband of one of the CFLC trainers, this is from the second of the two states not part of CONUS, the Continental United States. Now, how about some submissions from "the lower 48"?















These next two photos were taken this month at the Anchorage, Alaska train depot.


























Though it's a bit difficult to tell what's in the background, this last picture actually shows snow-capped Alaska mountains outside of Anchorage.
















SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

CFLC Chronicles: "Ya Still Gotta Eat!"

Found yet another opportunity to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina by simply eating out.

The "Southern Hospitality Relief Benefit" will take place on Tuesday, September 27, 2005, and four Orlando restaurants will donate part of their dinner proceeds to Habitat for Humanity. The participants are:
Linda's La Cantina Steakhouse
4721 E. Colonial Dr. (407) 894-4491

Gleason's Grille
4270 Aloma Ave. (407) 673-2342

Casey's Grill
1335 Tuskawilla Rd. (407) 696-0533

Woody's Bar B-Q
1340 Alafaya Trail (407) 365-2995
Again, bon appétit!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Saturday, September 24, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: "Ya Gotta Eat!"

Two very easy opportunities to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina involve simply eating out.

The first event is the Restaurants for Relief effort on Tuesday night, September 27, uniting the organizations Share Our Strength, OpenTable.com, and Windows of Hope in donating dinner sales profits to the Share Our Strength's Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.

The second event is the Dine for America day on October 5. This is a national fundraising effort with some 12,000 restaurants participating to support the American Red Cross and help those affected by Gulf Coast hurricanes. A number of national chains are involved and will be donating all or part of the day's profits to the cause.

Bon appétit!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Friday, September 23, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: Friday Fun Things

Thanks to an attendee in a CFLC class the other day, I was reminded of a favorite old and forgotten Web site friend. It isn't CFLC business, per se, but since CFLC's audience is libraries and their staff, it will likely be appreciated.

Check out the Book-A-Minute family of sites and catch up on your reading (or film viewing) in no time whatsoever. To paraphrase an old commercial, "Betcha can't read just one!" Enjoy!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Blog Business: Comments

With apologies to those readers who have legitimate comments to make about the content of this blog, the word verification feature has just been turned on. What this means is that to leave a comment, you will have to type in a word that you will see displayed as a graphic.

Annoying, yes, but the reason for this is that there have been a few recent changes with the Blogger system that make it extremely easy for automated systems to see what posts have just been added and spam them. The prior post for the Google Beta Blog Search already generated spam comments! This change has just happened within the last week, but it is taking a great deal of time for the administrator of this blog to delete the spam comments. The word verification will prevent automated systems from adding comments since it takes a human being to read the word and type it in. Again, sorry for the additional step for those of you with legitimate comments.

SUBJECTS: BLOG BUSINESS

Blog Business: Google's Beta Blog Search

With Google owning Blogger, you knew it couldn't be long before they'd dive into the blog search business. It's here in beta; try it out, kick the tires, and see what you think!

The basic blog search is here:
http://www.google.com/blogsearch
and the advanced mode is here (or choose "Advanced Blog Search" from the main page): http://www.google.com/blogsearch/advanced_blog_search.

SUBJECTS: BLOG BUSINESS; WEB SEARCH STUFF

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Blog Business: Demos

Sitting in a CFLC class demonstrating how to blog. Yee-Haw!

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Workshop Wealth: New CFLC Workshops

CFLC will be having a busy fall! Check out the new fall quarter's workshops and classes at the CFLC Workshops Page.

Watch for highlights: QuickBooks 2, a new class; the CFLC Annual Meeting; the State Library's Grantwriting Workshop; and these SOLINET offerings:
  • Evaluating Technical Services, 10/5, 9 am - 4 pm, Brevard County Libraries, Cocoa
  • Demonstrating Value: Evaluating Library Services, 10/26, 9 am - 4pm, Osceola Library System, Kissimmee
  • Customer Service and Communication, 10/27, 9 am - 4 pm, Brevard County Libraries, Cocoa
  • The Successful Searcher in the Connexion Client, 11/9, 9 am - 4pm, Brevard County Libraries, Cocoa.
(For SOLINET class descriptions and registration, please go to:
http://www.solinet.net/workshops/workshop_templ.cfm?doc_id=726.)

Hope to see you there!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Monday, September 12, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: CFLC "Globe" Trotting

First in a new series...CFLC "Globe" Trotting. For this series, we encourage participation by our members. If you spot a CFLC Globe in an interesting new environment (or take one with you somewhere), feel free to send the picture(s), location, and any relevant explanations to the address in the "About" box at the head of this blog and your picture will be published and you will be credited.





These pictures come from the mother of one of our trainers, Dawn Jensen, and document that she and her globe recently visited the top of the crater of Haleakala Volcano on Maui, Hawaii!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Workshop Wealth: Free Dynix Institute Web Seminars

The Dynix Institute is offering free bi-weekly Web conferences facilitated by "industry-leading speakers" focusing on "current topics important to librarians." Topics range from the theoretical to the practical and touch on issues from management to service and beyond.

From the Institute: "Participating in Web conferences is as easy as typing a URL into your Web browser and using our toll-free conference line to dial into the session." Check out and register for the upcoming seminars here or enjoy the past seminars via the archives here.

SUBJECTS: WORKSHOP WEALTH

Thursday, September 08, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: Katrina Recovery

Slighly off-topic for strictly CFLC business, but couldn't resist sharing these compelling pictures from the Beyond the Beyond blog at Wired. From the Austin Convention Center come the necessities of life: piles of shoes, piles of diapers, and a library!

Also, should your library be in a position to help, the SELA list has posted this plea for computers from the State Librarian of Louisiana:
If you are interested and able to send computers, here is the request from the Louisiana State Librarian, Rebecca Hamilton.

"To all--we are in desperate need of computers/printers. We are being inundated with evacuees needing to file FEMA applications, unemployment, search for loved ones, etc. and are coming into our public libraries to use the computers. Our libraries have greatly extended their hours to accommodate the people but they need additional computers and printers. If you can please put the word out that if anyone wants to help immediately, this is our greatest need."

The specs for the computers:
* Pentium 3
* Windows 2000, prefer XP
* Laser printers if you can still get toner for them

Computers may be sent to:
State Library of Louisiana
701 North 4th Street
Baton Rouge, La. 70802-5232

If you are able to assist them by sending computers, please let Rebecca know via email: Rebecca Hamilton [rhamilton (at) crt.state.la.us] just to help them plan. This will help her know what to expect and also help us to know (if necessary) when to stop sending them there. I am sure that we will hear from other states about similar needs.
SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

OCLC Oddments: Katrina Nonsuppliers

This item of interest to members comes from the OCLC Resource Sharing List:
Posted on behalf of SOLINET:

Due to the widespread destruction from Katrina, libraries in Louisiana, Mississippi, and in the Mobile, Alabama area have been set as non-supplier until further notice. Nonsupplier libraries are shown in the OCLC ILL system as lowercase and our [sic] not available for lending material. If you have materials from one of these libraries please contact them before returning the materials to verify their address and if they are able to receive their items. Also, if the libraries in these areas have materials of yours we ask that you are patient with their return.

Libraries in those areas whose ILL operations are continuing to provide service may request a return to supplier lending status at any time by contacting the SOLINET Member Services Help Desk at orders (at) solinet.net or 800-999-8558.
SUBJECTS: OCLC ODDMENTS

Thursday, September 01, 2005

ALA Assortments: Katrina

From the American Library Association:

For Immediate Release
September 1, 2005
Statement from ALA President Michael Gorman on impact of Hurricane Katrina

(CHICAGO) The following statement has been issued by American Library Association (ALA) President Michael Gorman:

The American Library Association (ALA) is deeply concerned about the welfare of the people and communities along the Gulf Coast affected by Hurricane Katrina. We are saddened by the tragic loss of life and widespread damage to homes and communities.

The Chapter Relations Office, which serves as the lead unit in ALA in gathering information on disasters in the United States, already has contacted ALA chapters in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi to get information on damage to libraries in the region. We have just learned that a Louisiana Library Disaster Relief Fund has been established, and monetary donations to assist school, public, and academic library restoration efforts in Southeastern Louisiana can be sent payable to: LLA-Disaster Relief, 421 South 4th Street, Eunice, LA 70535.

American Libraries also is compiling news coverage of library impacts at www.ala.org/alonline. Since many residents, including librarians, library students, library educators and library workers, had evacuated the area and may not be able to return for a few days or weeks, it may be a while before we have a full assessment of the damage.

For individuals wishing to contribute directly to general relief efforts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides a list of agencies accepting donations at its Web site, www.fema.gov, under "how to help."

While work on mitigating and monitoring the terrible human tragedy must and should take precedence, the ALA also is monitoring the situation in New Orleans as it relates to planning for the ALA Annual Conference scheduled for June 22-28, 2006. We will provide updates on affected libraries, library reconstruction efforts and the 2006 ALA Conference on the ALA home page as we receive information in the coming weeks.
SUBJECTS: ALA ASSORTMENTS

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Blog Business: A Demo

Sitting in a classroom in Volusia demonstrating how to create a blog entry. Fun, fun, fun! :-)

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Workshop Wealth: Orlando!

Orlando is the place to be this fall for a number of upcoming conferences of potential interest to CFLC members. Check these soon to take advantage of "Early Bird" registrations.

EDUCAUSE will hold its annual conference, Transforming the Academy: Dreams and Reality ("the premier IT event in higher education"), in Orlando from October 18 to 21. Information and registration (including registration for exhibits only) is available via this page.

FAME, the Florida Association for Media in Education, is holding its annual conference, The Key to Literacy: Your School Library, in conjuntion with the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) annual conference, Exploring the Vision, from October 19 to 21. Registration and information for FAME is found via this page and for AECT is found via this page. AECT is also holding a three-night preconference Seminar at Sea in collaboration with the International Council for Educational Media from October 14 to 17, information for which is found at the main AECT page.

SUBJECTS: WORKSHOP WEALTH

CFLC Chronicles: Member Open House

From the UCF Special Collections comes this invitation to CFLC members:
The University of Central Florida Libraries Special Collections Department will hold an Open House on Friday, August 26, 2005 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Carla Summers, Head of Special Collections, and Elizabeth Konzak, University Archivist and Curator of Manuscripts will lead tours of the collections storage areas and staff will be on hand to answer questions. UCF faculty, staff, students and members of the community are invited to attend the Open House.

After undergoing renovations for the past several months, Special Collections has now reopened to the public. During the course of the renovations, the Special Collections fifth floor collections storage area climate control, security, lighting and fire protection systems were upgraded and new shelving was installed to house the collection. Renovations were completed by MVB & Associates.

For more information or to RSVP, please call 407-823-2576 or e-mail nhelm (at) mail.ucf.edu.
SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Workshop Wealth: Free Digital Workshop

From the Orange County Library System comes this announcement:
If you have been looking for a great opportunity to learn more about the potential for digital projects then we have an opportunity for you! Come to Central Florida on September 30, 2005 and attend a free digitization workshop. Hear from the collaborating institutions that developed the Central Florida Memory project and learn from their experience. More information and the opportunity to register can be found at http://www.ocls.info/_public/cfm_announcement.htm.
SUBJECTS: WORKSHOP WEALTH

OCLC Oddments: WorldCat Reaches One Billion Holdings

In the sprint to add the billionth holding, OCLC set up a page that displays live catalog additions. Go here to watch one record being added every eight seconds or so...and also to get the details on who added the billionth record (on August 11) and what that record was. If you really want to see something amazing, watch the total holdings numbers change as the page refreshes; just in the time it's taken to enter this post, several hundred holdings have been added to the database! (That's not the big counter on the top; it's in the white box just under the statement, "The following record was added...") Enjoy!

SUBJECTS: OCLC ODDMENTS

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Reference Riches: Collaborative Virtual Reference Symposium

From Sharon Morris of the Dig_Ref list comes the information that presentations are now available online here from the Collaborative Virtual Reference Symposium held in July in Denver, Colorado.

For more information and discussion of virtual reference services, come to the upcoming workshop, Ready Reference Using the Internet, at CFLC on the morning of Thursday, August 11.

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Workshop Wealth: Ask a Librarian - Updated Software

From Jennifer Sullivan, Virtual Reference Coordinator:
I will be offering training on the following dates at the locations specified.

The purpose of the training is to show you the new features of the latest version of the Ask a Librarian software.

My goal is for all site coordinators to have some contact with the updated software before we go live on September 1st. If you can not make it to one of these training dates, please let me know and we will work out a time to discuss the changes. Please feel free to invite any members of your staff who would like to attend. Please let me know the names of anyone attending and what location and time.
There are two workshops being offered in the CFLC Region:

Tuesday, August 9th, 12:30-3:30
Central Florida Library Cooperative, Maitland

Wednesday, August 31st, 1:00-4:00
Volusia County Public Library, Library Support Center

E-mail Jennifer Sullivan (sullivj (at) tblc.org) if you will be attending.

SUBJECTS: WORKSHOP WEALTH; REFERENCE RICHES

OCLC Oddments: Update

A recent post of relevance to CFLC members from the OCLC Resource Sharing List:
OCLC Update: ISO-ILL Live: August 2, 2005

OCLC is pleased to announce that we will be live with ISO-ILL for all users of OCLC resource sharing, effective tomorrow, August 2, 2005.

ISO-ILL users may wish to check the list of known issues with ISO-ILL functionality linked from the system alerts page: http://www.oclc.org/support/systemalerts/. This information will be updated Monday evening, August 1.
SUBJECTS: OCLC ODDMENTS

Training Tactics: Florida Electronic Library Training Materials

Orange County Public Schools held their inspiring Media Specialists Preplanning Day yesterday and invited CFLC to explain what the Florida Electronic Library has to offer their students.

As promised to them in those sessions, here is a link from Thomson Gale about where to find ready-made training and publicity materials for using their databases. NOTE: Not all of these databases are available via the Florida Electronic Library.

SUBJECTS: TRAINING TACTICS; REFERENCE RICHES

Friday, July 22, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: Playing Catch-Up

Posting has fallen a bit behind, so here's a smorgasbord of news items.

A news release from the Secretary of State detailing some great news for schools:
July 19, 2005

Secretary of State Announces Unprecedented Initiative Providing Equal Access to Electronic Information for all Students in Florida's Public Schools

~Reinforces Governor Bush's Equity in Education Initiative~

TALLAHASSEE, FL- Secretary of State Glenda E. Hood announced today the Florida Department of State, State Library and Archives of Florida will provide access to a vast array of electronic resources to all Florida public schools through the Florida Electronic Library (http://www.flelibrary.org). The provision of this core set of databases contributes significantly to the Equity in Education component of Governor Bush's One Florida initiative by offering equal information access to all public schools regardless of their location or socioeconomic factors. "The Florida Electronic Library represents the next generation of educational resources," said Secretary Hood. "It is exciting to know that all students attending Florida public schools will have access to this wealth of information whether they live in the state's smallest community or a large metropolitan area."

Currently, Florida has approximately 2,600 public schools, educating over 2.7 million students. In the state of Florida, subscription-based, Internet-delivered research databases are traditionally purchased individually by each school district if their finances allow. An informal survey found that only 26 of the 67 school districts currently purchase some, but not all, of these databases. By funding these electronic resources, the Department of State is leveling the playing field for all students in Florida's public education system. This effort is unprecedented and invaluable. Now, 100 percent of Florida's public school systems will have access to the most comprehensive, accurate and reliable information available through the Florida Electronic Library. School systems that previously purchased databases will now be able to utilize these funds for other important programs and those that currently lack the resources will have equal access to information.

The Florida Electronic library is a gateway to resources that include electronic magazines, newspapers, almanacs, encyclopedias and books, providing information on topics such as current events, business and health issues. The Florida Electronic Library offers information for all age groups, including homework help for students and resources for teachers. These 12 databases, purchased via subscription from Thomson Gale, will be offered free of charge to all of Florida's 2.7 million students enrolled in the public education system.

A statewide study titled, Making the Grade: The Status of School Library Media Centers in the Sunshine State and How They Contribute to Student Achievement, states both statewide guidelines for school library media programs and state-licensed online databases aid in addressing inequities in access to information and quality resources. In addition to substantial per-pupil cost savings, online databases including reference materials, full text magazines, and newspapers guarantee access to students no matter the size or location of their school. "Purchase of the Thomson Gale electronic databases enriches the resources available to teachers and school librarians in planning their classroom curriculum," said State Librarian Judith A. Ring. "The timing is perfect, as educators across Florida are preparing for the new school year."

The Florida Electronic Library, which was launched in December 2003, is provided through a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Florida Department of State, State Library and Archives of Florida. Guided by the Florida Library Network Council and the State Library and Archives of Florida, the Florida Electronic Library features access to a selection of electronic magazine and newspaper databases, Florida's digital library collections, and the Ask a Librarian online reference service.

In 2004, Thomson Gale responded to the great needs of Florida's schools and libraries that were damaged by the state's devastating hurricane season by providing them, free of charge, with much-needed information resources. Thomson Gale (http://www.gale.com) is a global leader in serving the world's information and education needs through resources that are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet.
A related announcement from CFLC: For an extensive guided hands-on exploration of the Florida Electronic Library, come to the pair of upcoming workshops, Florida Electronic Library Overview and Florida Electronic Library Databases at Volusia on Tuesday, August 30.

An item pertaining to the statewide Ask a Librarian service: As of July 19, Ask a Librarian's screens feature "co-branding," with the logos of participating libraries sharing the banner with the Ask a Librarian logo once patrons have selected a participating library. Check out the CFLC/Ask a Librarian page here.

Finally, a CFLC workshop announcement posted on behalf of Daniel Wright, CFLC's Member Services Librarian:
I am happy to inform you that there are still spaces available at the Indian River Community College, St. Lucie West campus location, for the Gentle Introduction to Library IT workshop on Thursday, July 28, 9:30a.m. - 3:30p.m., with IT consultant Mickey R. Boyd.

The Orlando location for the first session is full but there are spaces available for the August & September dates.

Please register for the first in the series by Monday, July 25th at the
CFLC website or by calling 407-644-9050.
SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Monday, July 18, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: More Grant Info from the State Library

This was just posted to the Fl-Lib list:
Subject: State Aid to Libraries Grant Applications available

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

GUIDELINES AND APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR STATE AID TO LIBRARIES GRANTS

Grant applications and guidelines are available for the following program administered by the Florida Department of State, State Library and Archives of Florida:

State Aid to Libraries - Applications must be postmarked by October 1, 2005.

Grant guidelines and application packets for State Aid to Libraries grants are available on the State Library and Archives' Web page at http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/bld/grants/StateAid/StateAid.html. The guidelines and application packet may also be requested by mail from the Grants Office, State Library and Archives of Florida, R.A. Gray Building, 2nd Floor North, 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250; by phone at (850) 245-6620 or SUNCOM 205-6620; or by fax at (850) 245-6643.

The completed application must be mailed to the address indicated above, postmarked on or before the October 1, 2005 application date.
SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Sunday, July 17, 2005

OCLC Oddments: Updates & Status Reports

Here are three recent posts of relevance to CFLC members from the OCLC Resource Sharing List:

Subject: OCLC Update: ISO-ILL Status 7/15

ISO-ILL Testing Status
OCLC recognizes the seriousness of the ISO-ILL system outage and has a senior development team working seven days a week to resolve this problem. In addition quality assurance and product staff, as well as experts from other divisions of OCLC, are assisting and trouble shooting and testing. Resolution of this problem is a top priority at all levels in OCLC.

Progress
Here is an update of where OCLC stands with testing:
* Lending - nearly all messages and workflows are succeeding.
* Borrowing - incoming requests are successfully getting into OCLC but we have not successfully taken an entire borrowing workflow to completion
* Data integrity -data transferring between OCLC and test systems appears to be solid

Success
We are happy to report that testing of lending functionality with CISTI (OCLC symbol: CAI) has been successful. As of Saturday morning, CISTI will be able to receive and process new requests. Libraries that sent requests to CISTI prior to their non-supplier designation on July 9, may begin to see responses to these requests sooner than Saturday morning, as CISTI begins processing their backlog.

We continue to test with four outside systems in parallel and have tested through most weekends including the July 4th holiday weekend.

We apologize again for this extended downtime, and thank our testing partners as we continue to resolve these problems.


Subject: OCLC: ILL Fee Management Program Borrower/Lender Reports (7/14)

With the change in numbering to WorldCat Resource Sharing request identifier numbers, the ILL Fee Management Program Borrower and Lender Reports are incomplete.

When we migrated the system we added an extra digit to the request number. Previously, if we hit request 999,999 we started over with request number 1. Now, we roll over to 10,000,000. The IFM reports only display 7 digits, so this is resulting in missing data.

For example:
A library has IFM data in request numbers:
10,000,001 and
10,000,002 and
10,000,003

The only request appearing in their report is: 10,000,00 (lopping off the last/8th digit in the request number) which actually indicates the first request in that string, but the other two are then being dropped from the report.

We have no reason to believe that the monetary transactions were affected, just that the report information is inaccurate. OCLC Usage Statistics are being revamped to accommodate the 8th digit of request identifiers. We expect this process to be corrected in 2-3 weeks.

We apologize for any inconvenience this is causing our users and will post a message when these reports are corrected. . This problem is not related to the previous problem with IFM reports related to data missing from June 2-30.


Subject: OCLC: Lender Local Data Record (LDR) Display in Requests (7/14)


OCLC regrets to inform users of an open issue regarding lender LDR routing. The following text outlines how lender LDR routing is currently working.

Lender LDR always appears on first lender of a lender string. Lender LDR appears on second/third/fourth/fifth lender IF the previous lender actively responds NO. If a request ages/advances to the next lender automatically, lender LDR data does not appear for the next lender in the string. You will need to check your local holdings manually to fill the request.

Here is an example of how this will work for a request with four lenders:

Lender 1 does not respond, request automatically ages and advances to next lender in the string
Lender 2 does not see LDR information, responds NO, request advances to lender 3
Lender 3 sees LDR information, responds NO, request advances to lender 4
Lender 4 sees LDR information and fills the request

We do not believe that the majority of our users will be affected by this.

This issue will be addressed in a future install, however no date has been determined.

SUBJECTS: OCLC ODDMENTS

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Workshop Wealth: Free from OPAL

OPAL, Online Programming for All Libraries, is offering a free "Webinar" from Bloomington Public Library entitled Thinking Inside the Box: Games, Teens and Libraries on Friday, July 15, 1:30-3:30 p.m. (presumably Central time; it does not specify).

Find details and instructions on The Handheld Librarian blog here. For those who cannot attend but would like to hear the content, there will be a podcast made available on the OPAL archives.

Games in libraries will be a major topic in the upcoming workshop, Boomers and Gamers: Serving Different Generations, at Volusia on the afternoon of August 16 and at CFLC on the afternoon of September 14. Podcasts, on the other hand, will be discussed in detail at an upcoming workshop, Technology Update, at Volusia on the morning of Wednesday, August 10.

Update 7/17/2005: The OPAL webinar is now archived and available here.

SUBJECTS: WORKSHOP WEALTH

Reference Riches: Wikipedia

It has finally happened. This particular resistor has broken down and added the Wikipedia to the CFLC Reference Desk list of tools. Why now, despite having been asked about it by members and workshop participants for quite some time?

Several things. Not using the Wikipedia costs libraries an immediacy not found elsewhere, e.g., the coverage of last week's London bombings began just moments after the first reports and it continues to be updated as news develops, and just today, the information about the rescheduling of the shuttle launch was posted almost the instant NASA announced it. Mostly, however, the answer lies in having found this particularly lucid and cogent description of Wikipedia's pros and cons, which has also been linked as a caveat on the Reference Desk page. (Thank you, Rebecca Hedreen, of the Frequently Asked Questions blog!)

If you have concerns (or especially if you haven’t!) about using Wikipedia, read that post and use the Wikipedia with the appropriate cautions.

More about Wikipedia in specific will be covered in the upcoming workshop, Ready Reference Using the Internet, at CFLC on the morning of Thursday, August 11, while the technology of wikis will be discussed in detail at an upcoming workshop, Technology Update, at Volusia on the morning of Wednesday, August 10.

ADDENDUM: 9:30 P.M.
After contacting Rebecca to notify her of the link to her blog, she responded with a citation to another great post about Wikipedia and how to use it for students (probably junior high through college) as both a critical thinking exercise and a contribution to Wikipedia itself. See Turning Wikipedia into an Asset for Schools by Andy Carvin in his blog, Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth. Thanks for the heads-up, Rebecca!

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Workshop Wealth: Free from WebJunction

Another post from Fl-Lib today:
Ten Steps to Wireless for Libraries - Free 'Webinar' from Web Junction

WebJunction is the online community for library staff "where minds meet" to share ideas, solve problems, take online courses--and have fun.

On Thursday, July 21, 12-1.30pm EDT, you're invited to join a live, online presentation with Randy Nelson (IT Consultant for Blackfalds Public Library, Alberta) and Marshall Breeding (Library Technology Officer for the Jean and Alexander Heard Library, TN). This 90-minute online seminar from wireless and security experts will walk you through the Ten Steps to Wireless, take you on a security tour, and answer your questions, live and (virtually) in person.

This meeting will take place online using Live Meeting software and a telephone conference call. Just be one of the first 50 people to fill out the registration information, and you'll receive confirmation on the following page. You do not have to be a member of WebJunction to participate in this event. [Blogger's note here: the URL posted on Fl-Lib list was removed and the link above replaced, as the original link did not go to the registration form.]

WebJunction thanks OCLC for hosting this presentation.

SUBJECTS: TECHNOLOGY TALES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

CFLC Chronicles: Grant Info from the State Library

This was just posted to the Fl-Lib list:
MEMORANDUM

TO: Florida Library Directors

FROM: Judith A. Ring, State Librarian

DATE: June 20, 2005

SUBJECT: Community Libraries in Caring Program Applications Available

I am pleased to announce that grant applications are available for the Community Libraries in Caring Program administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services. A total of $200,000 was allocated by the 2005 Florida Legislature for this program.

The purpose of the program is to assist small, rural public libraries to improve library collections and services, improve adult and family literacy, and develop the economic viability in targeted counties and communities.

Eligible counties or communities may apply for grants from $3,000 up to $10,000. There is no local matching requirement. Applications must be postmarked by August 19, 2005 in order to receive consideration for funding.

To complete an application, forms and instructions are available on the Web at
http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/bld/grants/CLIC/CLIC.html.

For additional information contact Carole Fiore in the Grants Office via telephone at (850) 245-6629, via fax at (850) 245-6643 or via e-mail at cfiore(at)dos.state.fl.us.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Sunday, July 10, 2005

Workshop Wealth: Disaster Preparedness

This is not intended as any sort of blog discussing current events; there are already way too many places where you can find that. This is intentionally focused through a very narrow lens. However, there are two recent major events, Dennis's close passage to our area and the London bombings, that make it impossible not to momentarily digress.

One of the blogs I monitor, librarian.net, has this very interesting turn in the coverage of the London tragedies that talks about the British Library's proximity to the events and the fact that staff and patrons became locked in place in the library.

Going today to the main page of the British Library, just out of curiosity as to what might be posted there still, one finds this gem of British understatement:
What's new
As a result of the recent major incidents in the King's Cross area, the galleries, bookshop and café at the British Library at St Pancras may close early on Sunday 10 July.
Is your library prepared for "major incidents" such as the two making today's news? If not, come to the Friday, September 9th workshop at CFLC Safety, Security, and Preparedness for Libraries and learn how to plan to keep your library ready for whatever comes!

SUBJECTS: WORKSHOP WEALTH

Friday, July 08, 2005

Terrific Tips: Excel Tricks

From Dawn, one of CFLC’s trainers, come these two great Excel tips. Thanks, Dawn!

1. Watch your cursor! In any given cell, the Excel cursor can have several shapes and do different things depending on the shape. When one or more cells are selected, the cursor can be:

The “fat plus” (Excel’s normal selecting cursor) – mid-cell – ready to accept data from you;

The “skinny plus” (Excel’s “AutoFill” cursor) – in the lower right-hand corner – ready to be dragged vertically or horizontally to create a series;

The arrow – on the borderline of the cell – ready to drag the contents of the cell to another and replace whatever’s in there.

2. Amaze your non-Excel-using friends and co-workers by adding astonishingly large numbers in your head (not!). It will simply seem like magic if they don’t know where you’re looking for the answer.

Enter a column of numbers, select all the cells, and look at the bottom border of the program (just above the taskbar). If you do not see “Sum = X” there near where it shows “NUM” as your data format, then right click on that bottom border. You should see a dropdown menu offering choices of Average, Count, Count Nums, Max, Min, and Sum. Click on Sum and the “Sum = X” choice should show on the border. Voilà! A veritable Rain Man has been created!

To learn both the basics and more tips and techniques for using Excel, come to either of the upcoming Excel 1 workshops – the first at CFLC on Friday, July 15, and the second at Volusia on Wednesday, August 3.

SUBJECTS: TERRIFIC TIPS; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Blog Business: A Demo

Sitting in a classroom demo-ing the blog site...

And now, next day, editing same.

First, to point you to an interesting article from Reuters about the influential role blogs are expected to play in the upcoming Supreme Court nomination process. Check out Blogs seen as powerful new tool in U.S. court fight.

Second, to serve as a reminder that if you want to learn more about what blogs are and how to effectively read them or write them, the Library Blogs & Newsfeeds class will be held again August 16 in Volusia and September 14 at CFLC, both 9 a.m to noon.

SUBJECTS: BLOG BUSINESS; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Reference Riches: Florida Electronic Library Additions

An announcement from the State Library of Florida:

The State Library and Archives of Florida and Thomson Gale are pleased to announce the availability of the following Gale Virtual Reference Library Ebook titles as an enhancement to the current database collection that the Florida Electronic Library licenses for Florida residents:

Macmillan: Biology, 1st Edition, 4V

Gale: Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, 2nd Edition, 4V

Gale: Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer, 1st Edition, 2V

Gale: Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, 1st Edition, 2V

Gale: Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 2nd Edition, 5V

Gale: Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, 2nd Edition, 3V

Gale: Gale Encyclopedia of Small Business, 2nd Edition, 2V

St. James: Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, 1st Edition, 5V

Gale: Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America, 1st Edition, 6V

Gale: World of Earth Science, 1st Edition, 2V

More detailed information on each of these titles, as well as technical information for providing access, can be found at http://access.gale.com/florida/gvrl.

In addition, Thomson Gale is pleased to offer special pricing to members of the Florida Regional Library networks when purchasing Thomson Gale Ebooks from the Gale Virtual Reference Library for their individual collections.

When you call for a quote, be sure to tell your Thomson Gale sales representative if you are a member of one of the following networks in order to receive this special discount:

* Florida Library Information Network (FLIN)

* Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC)

* Southeast Florida Library Information Network (SEFLIN)

* Southwest Florida Library Network (SWFLN)

* Central Florida Library Cooperative (CFLC)

* Northeast Florida Library Information Network (NEFLIN)

Thomson Gale Ebook titles are available to all Florida Electronic Library users at any time either inside a library or by remote access. Since the Virtual Reference library operates on the database model rather than a circulation model, Ebooks are not checked out, but are available at all times. When the Florida Electronic Library migrates to PowerSearch, patrons will be able to search these titles simultaneously with other Thomson Gale databases.

For more information, please contact Mark Flynn, State Library and Archives of Florida, via e-mail at mflynn (at) dos.state.fl.us or via telephone at (850) 245-6626.

An announcement from CFLC: For an extensive guided hands-on exploration of the Florida Electronic Library, come to the pair of upcoming workshops, Florida Electronic Library Overview and Florida Electronic Library Databases at Volusia on Tuesday, August 30.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES; REFERENCE RICHES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

CFLC Chronicles: Know an Outstanding Public Librarian?

Do you know an outstanding public librarian? If so, nominate him or her for The 2005 New York Times Librarian Awards. From the nomination form:

"The purpose of The Times Librarian Award is to recognize those librarians whose exemplary performance and outstanding community service have made their libraries friendlier and more accessible institutions.

Eligible nominees include any librarian with a master’s degree in library science currently working in a public library in the United States. School and university librarians are not eligible.

Nominators are encouraged to nominate librarians who consistently demonstrate the highest level of professionalism, knowledge and public service in the execution of their duties.

Winners will be announced in The Times in November and each will receive $2,500."

All nominations must be received by Sept. 2, 2005.

Wouldn't it be great to have a winner be from a CFLC member library?

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Monday, July 04, 2005

Web Search Stuff: Google's Logos

Happy Independence Day! Searching Google earlier today and seeing the fun holiday logo inspired this post to point out the all-too-well-hidden logo archives. For a break in the middle of a dull day, check out Google's Holiday Logo Archives.

Among some of the more entertaining postings to be found there are these gems: the Dilbert Doodle and the Easter Egg Applet.

For more "stupid Google tricks" and lots of searching hints and help, come to the upcoming workshop, Google Like a Goo-Ru!, at Volusia on Wednesday, August 10.

SUBJECTS: WEB SEARCH STUFF; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Friday, July 01, 2005

Reference Riches: CFLC Reference Desk Updated

The CFLC Reference Desk page has been updated. Check out the greatly expanded sections: Biography; Dictionaries, Grammar & Citation Aids, Thesauri, & Translation Tools; and Encyclopedias.

Some other individual new entries include: Acronyma, a multilingual searchable database of acronyms; Animal Diversity Web, a searchable database/encyclopedia from the University of Michigan; World Atlas of Maps, Flags, and Geography Facts, including free map clip art; and more.

For an extensive guided hands-on exploration of the site, come to the upcoming workshop, Ready Reference Using the Internet, at Volusia on the morning of Thursday, July 7.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES; REFERENCE RICHES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Blog Business: New Additions

Two important blog additions: a "How to Subscribe" page (self-explanatory) and a "Subject Guide" page (explained more fully below).

The Welcome post mentioned that "this will be an evolving work." There is definitely a learning curve in creating a blog and a good deal of that is using it enough to identify some of the features that make up a good blog.

Part of the determination in selecting Blogger as the host for this was price (free) and ease of use for training purposes in a classroom. Blogger will likely stay the host for this blog, despite the fact that there are some features missing from the "most wanted" list.

Chief among these is the lack of subject headings (categories in blogspeak) and trackback pings. (For further details, there are some great posts about comparing features and some workarounds in the Blogger section of the How To Blog blog.)

In an attempt to pretend that there are categories, there is now a slightly clunky Subject Guide page at the CFLC Web site that will at least give some major groupings for readers who would like to see them. Bear in mind, it is "homemade," not technically part of the blog, and will look different from the blog itself. (See the "Subjects" at the end of this posting.) Trackback pings will just have to wait a while...

Feedback, as always, would be appreciated.

SUBJECTS: BLOG BUSINESS; TECHNOLOGY TALES

Workshop Wealth: New CFLC Workshops

CFLC will be having a busy summer! Check out the summer quarter's workshops and classes at the CFLC Workshops Page.

Some of CFLC's new classes include: PowerPoint Level 2; Library Blogs & News Feeds; Boomers & Gamers: Serving Different Generations; Change Management in Libraries; and Internet Resources for Spanish-Speaking Patrons.

Some statewide events scheduled in the CFLC region include: The Gentle Introduction to Library IT series and the New Planning For Results session.

Hope to see you there!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Reference Riches: ALA Program Highlights

From the LITA Blog covering the American Library Association Annual Conference comes a thought-provoking entry, Reference Interactions in the Digital Age: Revising the RUSA Behavioral Guidelines. The revised guidelines themselves, found here, address specific behavioral issues as they apply to general, in person, and remote reference. This particular summary concentrates on the panel's discussions of providing remote reference. The new guidelines and discussion of them will be incorporated into the CFLC Workshops, Ready Reference for Paraprofessionals and The Reference Interview; watch for them soon!

SUBJECTS: ALA ASSORTMENTS; REFERENCE RICHES

Workshop Wealth: Free from SOLINET

SOLINET has announced that there is still plenty of room in its upcoming FREE one-hour Web-based workshop introducing WebJunction, OCLC's ever-growing library online collaborative community. The session is scheduled for Friday, July 8, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and registration is requested by Friday, July 1. Further information about the class and registration information can be found here.

SUBJECTS: WORKSHOP WEALTH

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Technology Tales: Wikis and ALA

Going to the upcoming American Library Association Annual Conference this week in Chicago? Check out the unofficial wiki for the conference: ALA Chicago 2005 Main Page--ALA Chicago Wiki.

At present the site has sections on: Newbies, Conference, Chicago, Calendar, and Links. Use this wiki to gather tips to make your conference experience better, or, since this is an interactive format, contribute your own tips to help others.

Not going and suffering from Conference Envy? Try the "Conference Bloggers" list on the wiki to learn which folks will be blogging their experiences from the conference. Drop in on or subscribe to the blogs and experience the conference without the sore feet!

SUBJECTS: ALA ASSORTMENTS; TECHNOLOGY TALES

Web Search Stuff: Google Help for ALA

In the spirit of killing two birds with one stone, I post this to share with members who may be going to the upcoming American Library Association Annual Conference this week in Chicago and with those interested in things Google.

Check out the beta Google Ride service on the Google Labs page. Chicago is one of the selected metro areas for which you can "find a taxi, limousine or shuttle using real time position of vehicles." Balloons color-coded by company show up on a Google map and indicate the actual location of the vehicles, with the positional information usually less than five minutes old.

So, visit Chicago, have a wonderful conference, and in the event that you need a ride, "enter a zip code, the name of a city or even a specific address" and reduce your wait by finding the company with the most vehicles in your vicinity!

SUBJECTS: ALA ASSORTMENTS; WEB SEARCH STUFF

Friday, June 17, 2005

Tips: "Reveal Codes" in Word?

Does your Word document change styles on you unexpectedly? Are you a former WordPerfect user who desperately misses the "reveal codes" function? During a conversation about exactly that, a workshop participant offered this nugget yesterday: now there is a program that shows those hidden format codes and offers the same functionality for Word.

Check out the information on CrossEyes and note that there is a free trial available. Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement of this product. Not even the participant offering the information has used this program, let alone anyone at CFLC, but it does seem to have great potential and appears to be similar to "reveal codes."

SUBJECTS: TERRIFIC TIPS

Technology Tales: Blogs

The Library Blogs & News Feeds class yesterday at CFLC included lively discussions of the World "Live" Web and may have inspired some of the participants to create their own blogs. Anyone who does create one is invited to publicize it through this blog.

For others who want to join the conversation and learn more about new technologies and how libraries are using them, the workshop will be held again August 16 in Volusia and September 14 at CFLC.

SUBJECTS: TECHNOLOGY TALES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

OCLC Downtime Redux

Again a post of relevance to our members from the OCLC Resource Sharing List:

Subject: Update on ILL Direct Request


Though a great deal of progress was made today thanks to the five institutions testing with us, an issue with loss of patron data on incoming requests was found. Due to the level of effort necessary to fix this problem ILL Direct Request will not be made available until Monday June 20th. A message will be posted to this list when ILL Direct Request is brought up live.

SUBJECTS: OCLC ODDMENTS

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Web Search Stuff: Twingine for Comparison

Having just taught a class and used this tool last week, it occurred to me that CFLC members might enjoy experimenting with and using a relatively new tool that, when searched, displays side-by-side results from both the Yahoo! and Google search engines, Twingine (formerly YaGoohoo!gle).

If you'd like to see Twingine in action, come to the upcoming workshop, Google Like a Goo-Ru!, at Volusia on Wednesday, August 10.

SUBJECTS: WEB SEARCH STUFF; WORKSHOP WEALTH

OCLC Downtime Extended

Again a post of relevance to our members from the OCLC Resource Sharing List:

Subject: OCLC ILL Direct Request to be temporarily unavailable

OCLC has found that ILL Direct Requests are failing at nearly a 90% rate. As a result, we will be taking down ILL Direct Request at approximately 9:15 am EDT today (Tuesday, June 14). If ILL Direct Request is not available by 5:00 pm EDT today, a status report will be sent.

OCLC regrets this inconvenience to our member libraries.

SUBJECTS: OCLC ODDMENTS


Friday, June 10, 2005

OCLC Downtime

Some posts of relevance to our members from the OCLC Resource Sharing List:

REMINDER: WorldCat Resource Sharing/ILLiad Downtime June 10-13, 2005

The WorldCat Resource Sharing data migration weekend has arrived. This is to remind all our members that the system will be taken down tonight at 11:00 p.m. EST and is scheduled to come back live 12:01 a.m. EST on Monday morning (e.g. right after midnight Sunday). This affects users of WorldCat Resource Sharing and OCLC ILLiad.

We encourage all members to check the list where they have seen this message first thing on Monday morning before starting work for any final messages concerning the migration.

Subject: ISO-ILL Downtime June 10-14, 2005

This message only affects libraries and systems which communicate with WorldCat Resource Sharing via the ISO ILL protocol. It does not affect libraries and systems using IDR or Web Services.

As part of the migration of WorldCat Resource Sharing to the new platform the ISO ILL server has also been re-written. To ensure the migration proceeds smoothly for all OCLC member libraries, OCLC will conduct final testing with ISO on Monday June 13th. Therefore the ISO ILL server will not be brought back live until Tuesday June 14th at 7:00 a.m. EST. A message confirming the server is available will be distributed via this and other lists on Tuesday.

SUBJECTS: OCLC ODDMENTS

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Technology Tales: Webcasting & Podcasting

I participated in my first Webcast session on Wednesday and found the content quite good, but the technology fascinating. I would give the citation for the site here, but it is a closed "by invitation only" site. I will talk about it in more detail and show some screen shots from the site at the upcoming Library Blogs and News Feeds workshop at CFLC next Thursday, June 16.

Also finding myself faced with a long drive on Wednesday and Thursday and wanting to make it more productive, I listened for the first time to a podcast, another technology that will be discussed in detail at an upcoming workshop, Technology Update, at Volusia on Wednesday, August 10.

I commend these particular podcasts highly for anyone wanting to learn more about the cutting edge of library technology applications. I found these detailed in an excellent blog, The Shifted Librarian, by Jenny Levine, one of the participants in the conference being recorded, the spring program of the New England Chapter of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. Although I found it very difficult to hear the contents clearly over the automobile and highway noises and had an almost overwhelming desire to take notes while driving, I still enjoyed them and learned a lot. I'll have to listen to certain sections again when I can actually hear them all, take notes, and look at the downloadable accompanying handouts at the same time!

SUBJECTS: TECHNOLOGY TALES; WORKSHOP WEALTH