Nebraska Library Association

Get ready to learn new tricks and earn Continuing Education credits enjoyably at this year’s Paraprofessional Spring Meeting, which will be held at the Nebraska Library Commission in Lincoln on Thursday, March 18, 2010, from 9:45 am to 1 pm, Central Time, followed by our section’s annual General Meeting. (Please note new starting time.)

This year we are using a new online live webinar format designed to allow participants to “attend” the meeting conveniently from their own desks; all you need is an internet connection! Get together with colleagues or watch on your own. Group viewings will be held in Lincoln at the Nebraska Library Commission (1200 N St.) and in Omaha at the Eastern Library System offices (11929 Elm Street, Suite 18, just off 120th and West Center Road); other get-togethers can be arranged upon request.

Our theme this year is Information, Education, & Motivation @ Your Library. On the program:

• Check-in/Log-in: 9:30–9:45 a.m.
• Remarks by Scott Childers, NLA President: 9:45–10:00 a.m.
• Welcome from Para Chair, Angela Kroeger: 10:00–10:05 a.m.
• Session I: “Searching 2.0” 10:05–10:55 a.m.
• presented by Michael Sauers, Technology Innovation Librarian, Nebraska Library Commission

Trainer Michael Sauers applies the super-search strategies he is known for to the latest generation of Web tools. Blogs, RSS, Flickr, podcasting, mashups, the read/write Web, Google, visual search engines, folksonomies, Firefox Search Plugins, Del.icio.us, and more. Irreverent and fun, this presentation will expose you to some of the more recent tools that make the most of the Web 2.0 environment: from improving basic search skills and evaluating search results to making the best use of search engines, both common and cutting-edge. Sauers will also show you how best to organize your resources for quick access at the reference desk.

• Session II: “Give Up to Go Up: Leading from Within” 11:00–11:50 a.m.
• presented by Dr. Rebecca Pasco, Coordinator of Library Science Education Programs, University of Nebraska–Omaha

Dr. Pasco will discuss the importance and significance of “letting go” in order to be an effective leader. This is a motivational presentation for folks whose heavy loads are “self-inflicted” because they won’t or can’t say no, or won’t or can’t prioritize. Are you one of them?  Help is at hand!

• Session III:  “There’s a Wiki in the Library!” 12:00–12:50 p.m.
• presented by Gregory Sunderman, Instructional Designer, Northeast Community College
• Learn innovative ways to use wikis in a library setting. Manage library documents, create policy archives­or simply communicate. Greg Sunderman will show you the ins and outs of the library wiki!
• Paraprofessionals Spring General Meeting 1:00-1:45 p.m.
• Angela Kroeger, Paraprofessional Chair, will guide us through our annual spring meeting. Those who have paid for lunch at the Omaha or Lincoln site will have lunch at this time. If you prefer, you may bring your own lunch.

Enjoy this opportunity to learn new things, network with other library people, and earn CE credits (3 hours for the day), without driving miles!  Scholarships are available.

For more information and a registration form, see http://www.nebraskalibraries.org/PARA/paraspringmeeting.html
or contact Martha Grenzeback, Spring Meeting Chair, at graymatters@windstream.net
or 402-250-7230.

You may notice something different about the NLA web site.  The NLA blog has switched platforms, from Blogger to Wordpress, and with the change comes a new look!  For now, all of the other pages besides the home page have the same design that you are used to, but I will be working on changing them to match the new blog.  If you have any questions about the new blog, please let me know!

Emily Nimsakont

NLA Webmaster

nebraskalibraries@gmail.com

Rivkah Sass (former Omaha Public Library Director) will be one of
the speakers at the League of Nebraska Municipalities (LONM) conference in
Lincoln at the Cornhusker from 1:15 to 2:30 on February 22nd – with the
topic of: “What is the Future of the Information Age and the Role of Public
Libraries? Are books and literacy as we know them ending?” If your mayor or
an elected or appointed official is attending, the public library director
may attend this session at no cost. Or you could certainly register and
attend for one or both days of the conference. For more information contact
the LONM at (402)476-2829 or by e-mail: info@lonm.org.

Are you a member of the NLA Paraprofessional Section? Have you ever wanted to attend Legislative Day? Would you like to attend this year?

The Paraprofessional Section is currently offering a limited number of scholarships to NLA Para’s to attend NLA Legislative Day, Feb. 9. We are hoping to encourage Paras to be more active in government issues and make them aware of how legislative issues can affect libraries. For more information on Legislative day, click here. The scholarship recipients may be asked to submit a short article to the Para’s newsletter or, if able, volunteer time at the Para’s booth at conference. If you are interested submit a request to jennifer.wrampe@nebraska.gov by Jan. 29, please include your name, address, email, phone, and library affiliation.

I am searching for an excellent story to use on the NLA Legislative
Day reminder cards.

If your library has been part of a project that made you priceless to
your community, please send the information and a photo to
robin.r.clark@gmail.com by January 20.

Robin Clark, NLA Legislative Chair

Tune in to the next episode of the webinar series brought to you by the MidContinental Region’s Collaboration Working Group. Over the past year, the members of this working group collaborated to develop an online resource to share with NN/LM MCR members and others on how to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with people and organizations outside your library. Each of the five webinars includes information and resources, plus an open time to allow attendees to share thoughts and experiences in the topic area. The next episode is scheduled for January 26 at 1:00 MT/2:00CT

Strategies for Overcoming Barriers will be presented by Melody Kinnamon, Consumer Health Librarian, Johnson County Library, Overland Park, KS and Chris Engleman, consumer health librarian/consultant. They will each talk about their experiences as librarians working with community organizations, and will discuss challenges faced and strategies used to overcome those challenges.

To attend, all you need to do is log onto https://webmeeting.nih.gov/Siobhan and sign in as a guest. You will need Internet access and a phone. Registration is not required, but is appreciated. Register online at http://www.tinyurl.com/mcrclasses

To see past episodes and for more information about the series:, go to http://nnlm.gov/mcr/resources/community/collaboration.html

Future topics and dates include:

• Funding – February 3 (Lori Phillips, Associate Dean/Associate Librarian, University of Wyoming Libraries, and Siobhan Champ-Blackwell)
• Lessons Learned – March 22 (Will Olmstadt, Librarian, Becker Medical Library, Washington University School of Medicine)

Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, MSLIS
Community Outreach Liaison
National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental Region
Creighton University Health Sciences Library

Awards will be offered by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental Region to recognize public libraries that have had successful public library/public health partnerships involving health information. Recipients will receive a $200 cash award or gift.

Nomination Requirements and Eligibility:

1. Public library must be an Affiliate or Full Network Member of the NN/LM, MCR. Not a member? Join today, it’s FREE http://nnlm.gov/mcr/services/network/index.html.
2. Partnership must be between a public library and a public health entity. An entity encompasses those organizations whose focus is to protect and improve the health of a community through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for disease and injury prevention.
3. Nominations must demonstrate the success of the partnership
4. Self-nominations are encouraged

Examples of outstanding partnerships can include, but are not limited to:

1. Partnerships to improve access to health information for underserved/vulnerable populations
2. Partnerships to provide access to health information before/during/after a disaster or emergency (i.e. natural disaster, pandemic, man-made disaster)
3. Partnerships to benefit the overall library communities access to health information
4. Partnerships to conduct innovative health information outreach programs

Nomination Process:

1. A summary of the public library/public health partnership supporting success with anecdotes or evidence
2. Do not exceed four typed pages or 1,000 words (double-spaced; minimum 12-point type size)
3. Provide complete contact information, including name, address, phone/fax number and e-mail address of the nominee and nominator
4. Nominations should be submitted in MS Word and sent via email to Dana Abbey @ dana.abbey@ucdenver.edu
5. Questions? Please contact Dana Abbey at toll free 1-800-338-7657, select option 1, then option 2, then option 3

Nominations must be received by: March 16, 2010

It’s almost time for the kids’ video booktalking contest:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6712661.html?q=storytubes

Here are some ways you can be involved:
• work with kids in your book groups or after-school programs to create videos
• contact teachers or librarians at your local schools and invite them
  to work with kids to create videos
• link to the website, www.storytubes.info, from your library’s website
• print out flyers from the website and distribute them at your

library and/or programs

• post info on the contest on your library’s blog or Facebook page
• invite your own cute kids/grandkids/nieces/nephews to join

Questions? Contact me via info below.

Faith Brautigam
Director of Youth Services
Gail Borden Public Library District
270 North Grove Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
Phone: (847) 429-5970
Fax: (847) 608-5099

Registration is now open for NLA Library Legislative Day on February 9, 2010.

A printable form or the option to register online and pay by check or
pay pal may be found at the following link:
http://www.nebraskalibraries.org/legdayreg.htm

The Legislative Committee would like to hear from you about your
special volunteer!

We’d like to recognize your special library volunteer at Library
Legislative Day. The 2010 Legislative Committee would like stories and
pictures of your favorite volunteer before January 20, 2010. An
important note is that we’d like the volunteers, and their families if
possible, to attend Legislative Day and be recognized by their senator
or his/her staff. So please send me a paragraph or so about why your
volunteer deserves to be recognized. We’d love to have a wide variety
of ages, so let’s hear your stories!
Send submissions to robin.r.clark@gmail.com.

Robin Clark

Legislative Committee Chairwoman

Please circle February 9, 2010 for Nebraska Library Legislative Day! We’d like to recognize your special library volunteer at LibraryLegislative Day.

The 2010 Legislative Committee would like stories and pictures of your favorite volunteer before January 20, 2010. We will be choosing which volunteers to be recognized, but I want to thank you in advance for submitting your library’s volunteers.

An important note is that we’d like the volunteers, and their families if possible, to attend Legislative Day and be recognized by their senator or his/her staff. So please send me a paragraph or so about why your volunteer deserves to be recognized. We’d love to have a wide variety of ages, so let’s hear your stories!

Send submissions to robin.r.clark@gmail.com.

Robin Clark, NLA Legislative Committee Chairperson