Rhodarian

LYRASIS (formerly NELINET) will be holding a Public Library Symposium on Dec 4 at Sturbridge Village.  The program includes sessions on Taking Risks and Creating Change, Certification for Library Support Staff, Branding for Public Libraries and Using Facebook Markup Language (FBML) to Add Custom Content to Your Library Facebook Profile.

Learn more on the LYRASIS Website.

LYRASIS programs are open to LORI library members through OLIS’ consortial membership in LYRASIS.  For information on how to take advantage of discounted prices via OLIS’ membership, please contact Neshmayda Calderon at OLIS.

Search Engine Watch has posted a brief but interesting article on marketing with Facebook.  While aimed primarily at businesses, there are great tips for anyone using Facebook fan pages as a means of engaging users and promoting services.

OLIS is interested in hearing about libraries using Facebook and Twitter to connect with users.  Please add your comments here or email me.

Museums and libraries are invited to apply for free NASA space shuttle artifacts, including small items such as astronaut helmets, gloves, and boots, and large items such as shuttle Motion Based Simulators and Crew Compartment Trainers. What’s this all about? Read more

A message from the ACRL New England Chapter:

Are you interested in learning more about mobile delivery of services?

• Are you trying to attract the mobile-generation to your library?
• Wondering if the Kindle is right for your library?
• Wondering if mobile is the way to go?

If you answered YES! to any of these questions, then come to the free ITIG Social on “Portable Libraries, Mobile Students”.

Date: Friday, November 20th, 2009
Time: 9:30am-12:30am.
Registration and breakfast: 9am-9:30am
Place: Bryant University. Bryant Center @ Papitto Room.

Cost: FREE if you are an ACRL-NEC Member. If you are a member of ACRL-National you can join the New England Chapter for free. If you are not a member of ACRL-National, you can join ACRL New England Chapter for only $15 or $5 for current GSLIS students.

Register: Register for this free event.

Speakers:

Jenifer Bond & Pat Crawford from Bryant University
This fall, the Douglas and Judith Krupp Library rolled out a Kindle initiative to the Bryant University Community. Having five Kindles with which to work, we considered several concepts and considerations by which to implement this pilot project. We will highlight and discuss several of these points, including : target audience, Kindle content, circulation parameters, marketing, and Community feedback.

Joe Murphy from Yale Science Libraries
Joe Murphy of Yale Science Libraries (libraryfuture on Twitter) will outline a strategy for the application of mobile technology to libraries. Joe will provide an overview of the mobile information landscape, explore emerging trends and their impact on our patrons’ expectations, and suggest priorities for meeting the future needs of information users, and for the shifting needs of libraries.

Talia Resendes (Johnson & Wales University), Laura Kohl & Maura Keating (Bryant University) & Sarah Bordac (Brown University)
Will discuss strategies, implementation, training, advertising and technology of THREE systems, mobile phone and web-based application, for delivering text-message reference.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has just issued a new report on Social Isolation and New Technology.  While a 2006 study argued that since 1985 Americans have become more socially isolated and that the size and diversity of their discussion networks has declined, this study finds that those using digital technologies are actually more socially engaged with a greater diversity of people than those who are not using technology.

According to this latest survey, Americans are not as isolated as has been previously reported. In fact, people’s use of the mobile phone and the internet is associated with larger and more diverse discussion networks. And when examining people’s full personal network, internet use in general and use of social networking services such as Facebook in particular are associated with more diverse social networks.

Check out the study, which shines a new light on the use of mobile devices and social technologies.  And as 85% of adult Americans now have cell phones and 32% use mobile devices for information seeking, it is important for libraries to look to these new arenas as areas where they can serve users.

At the 11th Annual Awards Ceremony on October 28th, inductees to the 2009 RI Employer Honor Roll were honored. This ceremony celebrated RI Employers for their excellence in hiring and support of employees with disabilities.

“Sponsored by the Office of Rehabilitation Service, those who attended the award ceremony witnessed an inspirational keynote by John Robinson, director of corporate support for WMHT Public Television in Albany, NY. He shared his job interviewing experience and determined he wasn’t going to get a job unless he could help the employer see beyond his disability. Employers receiving Outstanding Achievement Awards [at the ceremony] shared their experiences. The common themes were that employees with disabilities are good workers, have a positive impact on the workplace, and any job accommodation made has been worth it.   The bottom line is that it is a good business decision”, reported event coordinator, Vicki Ferrara in the October 3, 2009 issue of RI Employment/Disability E-News which is in a pdf version under TheWORKSEN listserv. Disability E-News is distributed by the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College.   

Disability Employment Awareness month ended October 31st. Vicki Ferrara says “there are still many job seekers with disabilities looking to join the workforce. What else can we do to make a difference?” 

A limited supply of StoryLines New England and StoryLines Midwest CDs are available free of charge through the ALA Public Programs Office.

StoryLines is based on a series titled “Big Sky Radio,” which aired in Montana from 1993 to 1995 with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). StoryLines has been characterized as “a cross between ‘Larry King Live’ and college English class.” The series’ dynamic format combines author interviews and scholarly commentary with listener call-ins. Each program begins with the consideration of a featured book, its historical background and literary significance, using it as a lens to examine the experience of living in each area. Interviews with various guests follow, and then the phone lines are opened to allow listeners to participate in the live, on-air dialog. The discussions are lively and provocative. More

Did this headline catch your attention because you were stunned at such a low literacy rate? Or perhaps you work in the field of literacy and you questioned the data. I am no expert, but I am aware that literacy levels in the United States are not where we would like them to be. When I read headline I was shocked, but probably not for the same reason that you are. You see, the headline is from a 1936 edition of the New York Times. I realized that literacy has been a challenge in the US for decades, but reading the article also provided a delightful surprise. Librarians and public libraries were in the forefront of literacy monitoring and service as far back as the 1930s. I also noted that the California library system of 1936 and its delivery capacities helped promote reading. In Rhode Island today, our public libraries are hard at work offering literacy programs and the OLIS-LORI statewide delivery system plays an important role in getting reading materials into the hands of residents statewide. The challenges of literacy continue and we join together to surmount them! Original article Only Half of Adults Can Read with Ease, © New York Times, August 9, 1936.

After an extensive search, the Tiverton Library Services Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of Ann Grealish-Rust as the new director of Tiverton’s public library. Prior to her appointment at Tiverton, Ann was the director of the public library in Dighton, Massachusetts where she had worked for 14 years.

According to the search committee, Ann stood out for her depth of experience in a library building project, including  her participation in a capital campaign, successful grant writing for funds for planning, design, and construction of a new library, and innovative programming under her leadership. Tiverton is currently planning to build a new green library to replace the outdated Essex Public Library building.

Ann holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and earned her MLIS at Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science. We welcome her to the Rhode Island library community!

The Rhode Island Library Association has issued a resolution calling on Congress to dramatically revise the up-for-renewal USA PATRIOT Act.  Read the resolution on the RILA website. (look for it in the right column)