National Library Week raffle

Tenney Memorial, up in Newbury: tell us why you love the Library by visiting or emailing, and automatically you’re entered in a raffle for a $25 gift certificate at the Woodsville Bookstore. Each written response counts as an entry.

Hackerspace!

Windsor Public Library took a note from Linda Braun’s Technology Workshop in Barre last summer, and planned an informal hacker/maker space for kids. Sarah Tufts wanted “a place where a kid could feel free to break something apart and not worry about getting in trouble.” She put the word out and collected fans, toasters, a paper shredder, a lamp, a hot plate, an alarm clock, and old zip drives. The library decided not to accept cell phones, computers, with concerns about what the batteries might contain.

Sarah:

We used basic tools (screw drivers – all sizes, wrenches, pliers, wire cutters, flashlights, and ONE hammer). The hammer didn’t really get used until the very end, and probably shouldn’t have been used at all.

I thought about safety glasses, but only had 2 so didn’t bother. They might have come in handy when one kid took a hammer to the glass door of the toaster oven while trying to pry off the handle. The shattering sound surprised everyone; thank goodness for safety glass:)

There were 2 rules:

1. No plugging anything in EVER before, during, or after the program. Recommended: cut electrical cords cut off before the program.

2. All screws, nuts, bolts, etc. get put on a long strip of tape as soon as they are removed from the appliance. This was in case kids wanted to try to reassemble the piece, but mostly so that all those tiny pieces didn’t get lost – so easily camouflaged in our rug.

The Library had David Macaulay’s “The Way Things Work” on hand and also googled images when the book didn’t answer questions.

Total success and an expanded audience including dads.

December is about Devices

December is the best time of the year for a program about eReaders and the different devices available for purchase. If the library hasn’t bought eReaders, look to the town to find expertise. Find people who are comfortable talking about their own devices, Nooks and Kindles, computers and smartphones.

Staff should be ready to talk about library content, free content, and where to purchase eBooks. Make sure the library website has links to the content discussed in the program, preferably icons that go to eBook services. Don’t forget the local bookstores– they have a horse in this race too.

Start planning the next program now– the post-holiday bash when people bring their new equipment in and practice using it.

Banned Books Week 2012

Banned Books Week is coming up fast, September 30 to October 6. There is still time to buy some DANGER/CAUTION tape and pull a quick program together. The Hartland Public Library is holding a Banned Books storytime in the evening for all ages– And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson will be one of the featured titles.

The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum is hosting Alan Gilbert, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. Gilbert will present a discussion of Privacy in the Digital Age on Wednesday, September 12 at 7 PM in Athenaeum Hall.

The Joslin Memorial Library in Waitsfield is holding a “Banned Book Coffee Klatsch” September 29th at 2. They are inviting people of all ages to come in and read from and discuss banned books, or to pick from some on hand. With coffee!

David Clark at the Ilsley Library, in cooperation with ACLU-VT, has mailed free BBW posters to Greensboro Free Library, Fairfax Community Library, People’s Academy (Morrisville), Warren School Library, Thetford Academy, U-32 School Library, Burr and Burton Academy (Manchester), Putney School Library, St. Johnsbury School District, and Concord School. Libraries, schools and booksellers are wonderful partners for this celebration.

For the official scoop, visit ALA. Lots of good ideas there– host YouTube videos from the Virtual Read Out on the library webpage?

Library Card Sign-Up Month

September is coming fast, and the Martha Canfield Library in Arlington has planned many programs to tie in with the national library card signup month. The month begins with a reception for area select boards and moves on through a host of Vermont authors and book panels. Area residents can hear Sue Halpern, Bill McKibben, Frankie Bailey, Linda Furiya, Reeve Lindbergh and poet laureate Sydney Lea. Four programs feature the Internet– social networks, LibraryThing, Facebook, and Linked In. Three more highlight area history: Arlington & the Revolutionary War, Collecting Sandgate Memories, and stories from the Memoir Group.

Two years ago Brooks Memorial Library joined forces with area bookstores in their “Smartest Card” promotion. Card holders could get a 15% discount by showing their library card during September. The campaign also featured local card holders:

“The library is your ticket for liberating the mind” (Marie, Brattleboro)

“Here’s my library card, the most important card in my wallet next to my license,” (overheard at the main desk.)

“You can’t imagine what a gift this library card is!” (Jenny in Whitingham).

ALA has plenty of information to tie local events to the national campaign. Check out audio public service announcements, a Flickr slide show, letter to the editor and more at the ALA Library Card link. This year’s spokesperson is Super Bowl champion Troy Polamalu.

Use Computer Workshops from the Web

Mary Metcalf at the Greensboro Free Library used the My PC workshops from Microsoft for a ten week series. Big benefit: the program is free, tested, and friendly. Well, free except for the staff commitment. Mary figured about three hours a week to hold the one hour programs.

Greensboro has a room which seats 49 and has good wi-fi access. She put out tables and seating, asked patrons to bring their own laptops. Are there adults who have laptops and need training? You bet! Of course, offering library computers or a lab extends the benefit to people without laptops. If the library is too small, consider the local school’s facility.

Here’s more from the My PC website, a list of what does the My PC Series offers.

Access to a complete, comprehensive, and free set of delivery materials for each of the My PC courses and workshops, including instructor guide, a set of PowerPoint slides, student handouts, and a collection of course files needed to deliver each course or workshop.
Access to free materials to support instructors in evaluating the curriculum, learning the software, and preparing to teach, including white papers, and software resource kits.
A full suite of marketing materials and guidance to help attract students, such as customizable flyers, catalog ads in a variety of sizes, and e-mail templates.

Greensboro Free does a good job on publicizing programs with press releases to area papers, posters up 3-4 weeks before the program, website, Facebook and Twitter releases, and lots of word of mouth as people check out their books. The audience in Greensboro was a committed group of 8 who stuck with the program.

Encourage Job Seekers

Some Best Practice suggestions for job seekers seen at Brooks Memorial Library recently:

Post a link or software app for building resumes (Resume Builder, seen in the screenshot above)

Offer Skype sessions and training for face to face videoconferencing for interviews.

Tell people they can apply for longer computer sessions in order to fill out job applications, take online tests

Offer one to one tutorials to teach two basic job application skills: how to get a free email account and how to fill out an online job application

Fairlee Reads across Generations

The Elementary School in Fairlee purchased eReaders for the school with a grant from the Vermont Rural Partnership.

As part of the after school program, the school Visions Director took students to the Fairlee Public Library with the school eReaders. Students met community mentors and the mentors and students used the eReaders to read stories together. Fairlee librarian Judy Russell pointed out that senior citizens are the fastest growing group to use eReaders.

Cool Tools

Libraries all over Vermont are experiencing the usual technology rush as library members come in with their new iPads, smart phones, Kindles and other e-readers to get staff help. Nancy Tusinski at the Springfield Town Library decided to hold tech talks to encourage people to gather (flyer from this workshop is posted below). The Library owns some equipment, and is happy to help with ebook downloads, audiofiles, and general questions.

Debra Tinkham and Gail LaVaude at the Bradford Public Library (www.bradfordvtlibrary.org)  have experimented with tech night themes. Pick a general topic like digital photography, make sure there are plenty of computers to go around, and dig in. Of course the public library doesn’t have a lock on technology;  look to the community to find savvy volunteers willing to share what they know. Programs are held the first Wednesday of the month at 6 PM. Other topics have included downloading audio and eBooks from Listen Up! Vermont, Google Voice and Google Talk, and switching from PC to Mac with an Apple laptop or iPad.

If your library has some insights on raising the staff comfort level and offering training, please add your comments.

Here is the flyer from Nancy Tusinski’s Tech Talk workshops:

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Facebook Valentine’s Day

Valentines for veterans

Vermont libraries on Facebook post events to bring the community in. Poultney and Williston with unique ideas. Dorothy Alling Memorial suggests valentines for Veterans, with a great flag/heart motif:
You can make a difference to active and retired service men and women. Simply make a valentine, write a note if you want and sign your valentine to let our veterans know that they are not forgotten. We will mail all the valentines to the White River Junction VA Medical Center in time for Valentine’s Day. Please have your valentine cards to the library before Friday, February 3rd.

Heres the Poultney Public Library:

What do you love about your Library? February is Library Lover’s Month! Please stop by the circulation desk to fill out a valentine heart or post on our Facebook wall to tell us what YOU love about the Poultney Public Library. Share the love by recommending our Facebook page to your friends. Right now 182 people “like” the Poultney Public Library. Let’s see if we can get that number over 200 by the end of February!