Friday Fun Thing: Snakes in a Library

Appropriate to nearly Halloween is this article describing Snake on Lam in Library. (There's a pretty amusing accompanying video on the page, too.)

The (sort of) funny part is the statement "...circulation and visits to the library have been down since [the snake's] escape." Go figure...!

SUBJECTS: FRIDAY FUN THINGS

Library Journal Call for Nominations

Sort of on the run today, so this will simply point you to more thorough information in the blog It's All Good, where they explain that Library Journal is calling for nominations for the sixth annual supplement to Library Journal's Movers and Shakers issue. Another hurry, hurry, though, as the deadline is November 1. Nominate those dynamic emerging leaders!!

SUBJECTS: ALA ASSORTMENTS

ALA Assortments: "Participatory Networks: The Library As Conversation"

Coming exactly one month late to this issue, this post describes an opportunity for feedback that remains good for today only...hurry, hurry!

The American Library Association and the Information Institute of Syracuse have put out a public draft of Participatory Networks: The Library As Conversation (see background information in the Library Journal article '"The Library as Conversation" Moves into 21st Century') and have asked for feedback. Putting their money where their mouths are, so to speak, the opportunity for public comment was opened for a month and includes feedback mechanisms of e-mail, an online discussion forum, and a wiki. A "syndication center" keeps track of all the comments and changes in one place.

Although the comments are open only through today, October 25, you can still get a flavor of some of the debate by reading this blog post and comments at librarian.net. and some more musings from this post at Library 2.0: An Academic's Perspective.

SUBJECTS: ALA ASSORTMENTS

Tuesday's Tool: Conference Tracking How-To's

This week is the Internet Librarian 2006 (IL2006, usually) in Monterey, CA. Sigh. This is the tenth anniversary of a favorite conference (having attended the very first one, a relatively intimate affair!) and this blogger is currently suffering from conference lust. The attempt to slake it uncovered a good model for real-time conference reporting/investigating.

For anyone who hasn't tried to "virtually" attend a physical conference recently, there are amazing numbers of tools that help you do so. Using the IL2006 example, there's a very (so far) underused reporting page on their conference planning wiki (ALA has better models for this, but most IL2006 attendees have their own blogs and are reporting there) and also an official blog from the conference sponsor, Information Today, Inc. However, for tracking the majority of the reporting and other goings-on in all the various unofficial sources, one must be more creative and far-ranging. There's Technorati, tags IL2006 and IL06; there's flickr, tags IL2006 and IL06; there's del.icio.us, tags IL2006 and IL06. There are definitely many more than this, but time is not an unlimited quantity and for now, mission accomplished; conference lust slaked!

SUBJECTS: TUESDAY'S TOOLS; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Friday Fun Thing: Halloween

How can Halloween and all its spooky goodness on the Web possibly go unacknowledged as a Friday Fun Thing?

First, a reminder of last year's post on same that refers you to appropriate parts of the CFLC Web page with lots and lots of Halloween sites.

Next, a couple of new things that have been added (or at least found) since. Falling squarely into the "Fun Thing" category, Theoworld's virtual Jack-o-Lantern allows you to carve your own pumpkin online (here's my totally untraditional one - yet another reason not to give up my day job!) for a greeting card you can send your friends. [Warning for those at work, it loads with loud music on.] The Dark Side of the Net: Halloween Food, Recipes and Cooking is the ultimate Halloween food resource, providing a huge collection of links to Halloween food sites of all sorts: lo-cal; diabetic; vegan; traditional; more! Need spooky sounds for your presentations, displays, or parties? Try FindSounds under "holidays" for Halloween creaks, laughs, screams, and, and, and... Finally, for just general all around Halloween games, coloring pages, virtual haunted house, and more, check out the Ben & Jerry's Halloween Fun Stuff site.

Bwahh-ha-ha!

CFLC Chronicles: CFLC "Ask a Librarian" Trifecta

The statewide Ask a Librarian service has just announced the winners of the best transcripts for Summer 2006, viewable here. All three transcripts are from CFLC members! Congratulations to Regina Seguin of Valencia Community College for her detailed chat, to Nicole Heintzelman of Winter Park Public Library for her brief chat, and (I was asked to blog this, honest!) to me for my teaching chat.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

"Globe" Trotting: Paris Redux

Evidently, the globe likes France! This time, it visited the City of Light (or at least some of its eateries and libraries) with Linda Dahlquist from the New Smyrna Beach branch of Volusia County Public Library. It's blogged about at their blog here. Thanks for sharing, VCPL!

SUBJECTS: "GLOBE" TROTTING

Tuesday's Tool: Internet Public Library

If you haven't run across the Internet Public Library, or haven't checked it out recently, it deserves a good look or revisit. Aside from being a really good general reference tool, there are several special features that make this even more useful.

Take a look at one of the most comprehensive collections of literary criticism resources (along with an accompanying pathfinder) on the Web. Then there's the Reading Room, with its own magazine and newspaper collections, plus a lengthy list of collections of electronic books. You'll also find Associations on the Net, a categorized list of worthwhile blogs, and a FARQ file, frequently asked reference questions (e.g., what are the "-gry" words and how do you cite electronic sources?).

In the IPL Kidspace, there's not only the excellent Science Fair Project Resource Guide, but there's also the POTUS biographies of the U.S. Presidents.

The IPL TeenSpace has homework help, a poetry wiki, a guide to graphic novels, and much more.

As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."

SUBJECTS: TUESDAY'S TOOLS

CFLC Chronicles: Public Library Director's Conference

From Marta Westall, CFLC Director:

I just got back from the annual Library Director's Conference which was in Jacksonville this year. Hats off to the State Library of Florida for a very interesting and informative array of programs.

Some of the events are just plain fun, since I see people from around the state that I only see once a year at this conference; sort of a version of Same Time, Next Year.

Programs included: Florida's Future; Future of Libraries; A Vision for Florida's Public Libraries; and Popular Culture, Technology and the Library's Future.

Our sister cooperative NEFLIN did its usual fabulous job on the logistics for the conference.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

FLA Filings: Yet More Belated FLA Annual Conference

Functional Shift: New Library Services in a Changing World was a presentation by Carla J. Stoffle, Dean of Libraries and Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson, at the Florida Library Association 2006 Annual Conference. [NOTE: As of this posting, the links for FLA are not working, as the Web site is being moved to another ISP.]

The program description read: "Academic libraries are experiencing a seismic shift in how they are used. There is growing evidence that users are no longer coming into the library or requesting traditional services. Circulation and reference numbers are dropping across the country. The academic community demands distant and 24/7 access to information and other library services. Carla Stoffle, Dean of Libraries and Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tuscon, will discuss how libraries are changing to meet this demand."

The program was standing room only; the controversy quota high; the ideas exciting. Having waited too long to really blog from cold notes, this post is possible now exactly because of that delay. It has been a long enough time that a relatively new conference proceedings site has appeared that can give you a real feel for the content and what was discussed. Take a look at the PowerPoint slide show Where Next? Library Transformation, a very similar presentation that Ms. Stoffle gave at Living the Future 6: WOW, Where Next? (April 5-8, 2006), and you'll see what you missed (or get a refresher on what you heard) at FLA.

Enjoy!

SUBJECTS: FLA FILINGS

Workshop Wealth: Free Workshop Next Week

Do you look forward to coming to work? Do you feel good about what you do? Whether the answer is yes or no, your perspective would be welcomed at this discussion.

Work - It IS All About You!, facilitated by Cynthia Kisby, Personnel Librarian at the University of Central Florida Libraries, is designed to help you explore ways to get more of what you want out of your time at work. Part one starts with the ancient admonition to, "know thyself", so be prepared to do some personal exercises and homework. You will review factors that could affect your work satisfaction and what you can do to increase the satisfiers and decrease the dissatisfiers.

Part two will help you create a framework for situation analysis and improvement. We will look at employee-controlled strategies for specific personal and environmental issues.

Work: It IS All About You! is Wednesday, October 18, 9 a.m. - noon, at CFLC in Maitland. Please click here to register with CFLC.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES; WORKSHOP WEALTH

Friday Fun Thing: Breast Cancer Awareness

Okay, this post is definitely pushing the "fun" part of the Friday "Fun" Thing, but it's a post in honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There are products galore out there pushing the "think pink" slogan with a portion of purchase price going to research (including M&M's!), but this one isn't going to cost you a cent...just a moment of your time.

Part of the "click to donate" family of sites that many folks know as the Hunger Site, the Breast Cancer Site is one where "[y]our click on the "Fund Free Mammograms" button helps fund free mammograms, paid for by site sponsors whose ads appear after you click and provided to women in need through the efforts of the National Breast Cancer Foundation to low-income, inner-city and minority women, whose awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is often limited."

Check out the site and click on the six different funds (including one for literacy) that take your simple daily clicks and turn them into forces for the greater good!

SUBJECTS: FRIDAY FUN THINGS

CFLC Chronicles: LCLS Staff Day

Many thanks to the Lake County Library System for inviting CFLC to participate in their Staff Development Day this past Monday. Their closing session was fascinating. First, there was a behind-the-scenes look at the detailed and painstaking process that Recorded Books goes through from identifying a title to shipping a finished product. That was followed by a most entertaining session wherein Barbara Rosenblat, award-winning audiobook performer extraordinaire and master of amazing dialects, spoke to the attendees and read several excerpts - though "read" is much too mild a term! Had I not already been a major fan of hers, I certainly would have been after that session.

Unfortunately, you can tell below that my new phone has a camera whose intricacies I obviously have NOT mastered (not planning on giving up the day job!), but nonetheless, the fuzzy person below in the white is Barbara Rosenblat enthralling the group. See biographical information here, an interview with her here, and her audiography here.

Thanks for a very entertaining day, LCLS and Ms. Rosenblat!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

CFLC Chronicles: CFLC Annual Meeting

From Marta Westall, CFLC Director:

CFLC Annual Meeting
December 1, 2006

Be sure to mark your calendars for the Annual Meeting! We'll have a presentation about the Central Florida Memory Project, as well as greetings from FLA and the Library School Dean of Florida State University. It should be a fun and informative day. During the business meeting, members will be able to discuss and possibly adopt a new CFLC Interlibrary Loan Manual.

Refreshments at 9:30, program starts at 10 am.

Celebration Golf Club
Celebration, Florida

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

"Globe" Trotting: Simmons College

The globe has been trotting again! It accompanied Kathy Turner, Director of Instructional Programs at CFLC-member Evans Library at the Florida Institute of Technololgy, to ACRL's Institute for Information Literacy's Immersion '06 program at Simmons College in Boston this past August. And a shout-out to Kathy both for the picture (thanks!) and for being selected with her colleague Nancy Cook for the very selective Immersion program (congratulations!).

SUBJECTS: "GLOBE" TROTTING

CFLC Chronicles: Library School Scholarship

This is a time-sensitive announcement for CFLC library staffers wanting to attend library school next semester. The College of Information at Florida State University has been partnering with several of the cooperatives in an IMLS grant-funded program titled Librarians Serving the Public.

A recent announcement to the partners included this plea for additional participants:

[W]e still have a bit of money remaining and we'd like to use it to fund a few students to start our MSLIS program in January 2007. The admission deadline for spring admits is November 1, 2006, and we'd love to enroll students recommended by you and your member libraries. But time is short, so we need to know quickly if you'd like to recommend some applicants (or not, so we can recruit using other paths). Our intention is to apply for an extension to our current grant for these students and the current second cohort of students. Our hope is that by choosing students recommended by partners and library directors and managers from the multitype libraries we will improve our retention rate from that of our first cohort.

For further information, contact either Michelle M. Kazmer, Ph.D./Assistant Professor, College of Information, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2100, kazmer (at) ci.fsu.edu or Corinne Jörgensen, Professor, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Research, College of Information, Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 32306-2100, 850.644.8116, FAX 850.644.6253.

Note that very looming deadline!

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

Tuesday's Tool: Google News Archive

You are likely familiar with the Google News Search and probably have used it at some point to find something in the last 30 days of news. Need something older or want to get a sense of the timeline of how something evolved historically? Then check out the new tool Google unveiled on September 6th, the Google News Archive Search, which searches 200 years of news sources.

Google's official description:

News archive search provides an easy way to search and explore historical archives. Users can search for events, people, ideas and see how they have been described over time. In addition to searching for the most relevant articles for their query, users can get an historical overview of the results by browsing an automatically created timeline. Search results include both content that is accessible to all users and content that requires a fee. Articles related to a single story within a given time period are grouped together to allow users to see a broad perspective on the events.

This is certainly not the only tool to search archives, but it is a familiar tool for users. Library staff referring patrons there should know that as of this writing, although results display in a timeline sort of format, there is no straight date narrowing on the results page (though there is a date search feature in advanced search) [see this post from the Tales from the Terminal Room newsletter]. Another important factor is that while not all of the resources returned are available free (and the fees levied are from the information providers and do not go to Google), many libraries will have subscriptions to some of this content already.

For much more information and valuable critiques, this link is to an excellent review of the service by Chris Sherman at Search Engine Watch and this link is to a very lengthy commentary on it by Gary Price at ResourceShelf.

SUBJECTS: TUESDAY'S TOOL

Audioblogger Demo

This is a demo of Audioblogger for the same class from this morning in Volusia.

Blog Business: Demo in Volusia

Demonstrating the blog to a class in Volusia. Hi, Mom!

Workshop Wealth: Various Fall Offerings

Lots of interesting workshops are coming up in Florida this fall.

It's a new quarter of classes at CFLC - all of them free for members! Check out the new schedule here.

CFLC is also offering a number of videos and DVDs for training. Find the list in PDF format here and send any suggested additions (with bibliographic information) to CFLC's Office Manager using the address ljava (at) cflc.net.

Next, there's Techology Alphabet Soup: XML, RSS, CSS on Friday, October 13, 2006 in Tampa. "Join the Florida and Caribbean Chapter [of the Special Libraries Association] as Dr. Stephen Bajjaly ladles out the secrets of HTML, CSS, XML and more." Program, price, and registration information can be found here. Note: Registration deadline is Tuesday, October 10, 2006.

The Florida Association of College and Research Libraries Annual Fall Workshop, Shifting Functions: Changing Roles and Duties in Academic Libraries Today is being held on Friday, November 3, 2006, in Ft. Lauderdale. Program description, price, and registration information can be found here, while hotel information is here. Registration deadline is October 27, 2006.

The State Library and Archives of Florida is sponsoring a free workshop titled Academic Library Survey Workshop intended to allow participants to "[l]earn from the experts how to prepare your library for the NCES Academic Library Survey (formerly IPEDS)." The workshop will be offered in four different areas of the state during October and November. Further program description, locations, and registration information may be found here.

The Florida Library Association and State Library and Archives of Florida are sponsoring a Friends, Foundations, and Boards Workshop in six different areas of the state during November and December. The FLA Web site is currently moving to a different server, but the schedule and further information should appear here shortly and is available on the State Library & Archives site here now. Registration deadline is November 1, 2006.

The CFLC Annual Meeting will be held on December 1, 2006, at Celebration Golf Club. Details will follow, but mark your calendars, as all members are invited to attend.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES; FLA FILINGS; WORKSHOP WEALTH