“Cloud computing” seems to be all the rage, but what actually is it? This overview presentation will explain what cloud computing offers libraries, how libraries are using these services, and what you should consider when thinking about using a cloud service in your library. A distinction between services for end-users and services for organizations will be made, explained, and illustrated, as well as the terms used to describe cloud services. Learn how quick and easy it now is to deploy applications “in the cloud” using tools such as Google Docs, Google App Engine, and Amazon’s Web Services, among others. Resources for further exploration will be included.

*If you require Closed Captioning in order to attend this webinar, please contact Jennifer Peterson by February 3 petersoj@oclc.org.

Thursday, February 9, 2012
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m
Onnline

For additional details and registration information visit: WJ: Cloud Computing 101

Engaging today’s youth through technology is critical to reach a generation that has had access to advanced technology throughout their entire educational and personal lives. Reaching this “tech generation” may seem overwhelming as the proliferation of technology advances and the ever-changing trends make it difficult to determine what efforts will be effective. This webinar will focus on what you can do to educate and engage youth using technology.

*Find out how prevalent technology is in the lives of youth.
oTake a look at the facts
*Understand the opportunities to incorporate technology into your youth programs.
oCheck out what other libraries are doing
*Determine where to start.
oReceive tips and tools to engage youth using technology.
*Learn how to get things moving.
oReceive resources that can assist you with next steps.

By the end of this webinar attendees will have the basic knowledge to incorporate technology into your programs engage and educate youth.

This one-hour introductory webinar will be of interest to library staff that are ready to embrace online technologies to engage their young patrons.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Online

For additional details and registration information visit: InfoPeople: Youth Media Activities in Your Community: Teaching Digital Natives

The State Library continues its partnership with OCLC’s WebJunction project as it makes some important enhancements in the coming months.  In mid-March WebJunction Connecticut will disappear as a standalone domain (ct.webjunction.org) and will become one of the partner sections on a new www.webjunction.org.  This means all our current content will be moved to a new section of the main WebJunction website.  Navigation, organization, and functionality should improve with this new Connecticut section of WebJunction.  All the web content of the State Library’s Division of Library Development will continue to appear on WebJunction rather than in the State Library’s main web site.  And those who have book-marked specific web pages on our current ct.webjunction.org site will be re-directed to the appropriate page on the new web site.

As part of the upgrade, online self-paced courses will be made available in a separate system so that WebJunction members can plan and manage their course-taking more easily.  As a consequence of this change, however, you will lose a record of all incomplete courses that you are still enrolled in on February 29.  You should complete those courses before the 29^th, if you can.

Also, all WebJunction Connecticut members who have logged into WebJunction since July 2010 will automatically have their membership account transferred to the new WebJunction website.  If you have not signed in since then, however, you will want to do so before February 29 or lose your account.

The State Library looks forward to its continued partnership with WebJunction in providing professional development and continuing education opportunities for Connecticut’s library staff.

• Frustrated that you cannot think of a recommendation when a child asks for a “good book to read?”
• Tired of recommending the same books because you can’t think of anything new to recommend to a child visiting the library?

Discover the new books that you can recommend to children who use your library! Hear about books published in 2011, and upcoming Spring 2012 titles, that will be popular with children ages 0-12. These include picture books, easy readers, transitional fiction, genre fiction for middle grades, graphic novels, poetry, nonfiction, and more! Hear about books that will appeal to the “reluctant reader,” boys who may have drifted away from reading, and books that will have popularity with a wide audience of children.

At the end of this one-hour webinar, participants will:

• Be able to identify “read-alikes” – other books you can recommend to children after you find out their favorite book
• Discover books that will grab the attention of reluctant readers, including the newest graphic novels for kids, nonfiction including “gross” topics, and popular culture titles
• Hear a recap of the recent ALA awards (such as Newbery, Caldecott, etc.) and other recent children’s book awards, to make sure you have these available to recommend
• Take away a list of helpful websites to use when doing readers’ advisory, and sites that will help you keep up-to-date on the latest children’s books

This webinar will be of interest to any library staff or volunteer who serves children ages 0-12, in either public or school libraries.

Thursday, February 2, 2012
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Online

For additional details and registration information visit: InfoPeople: Children’s Literature Update 2012

Libraries are reminded that the Connecticard reporting year ends with the FEBRUARY report.  The “Connecticard 2011” report form has columns that start with March 2011 and end with February 2012.  Therefore the January and February columns of the report should have 2012 figures and not 2011 figures.  Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

As debates rage on about e-books, publishers and privacy, how are libraries approaching policies for managing e-readers? Join us for this webinar focused on the nuts and bolts of serving patrons with gadgets, including policies and procedures for libraries lending e-readers and for patrons using their own readers to access library e-book collections. Hear from a library who has e-reader policies and procedures in place, including how they review and update polices; and from a library who’s recently developed policies and procedures after researching and learning from many other libraries.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Online

*If you require Closed Captioning in order to attend this webinar, please contact Jennifer Peterson by January 25 petersoj@oclc.org.

For additional details and registration information visit: WJ: Developing and Maintaining E-Reader Policies & Procedures for Libraries

In this free, one-hour webinar, we will share valuable information regarding creating and using apps in libraries and nonprofits. Thanks to a grant from Microsoft, TechSoup’s App it Up project has enabled us to learn about the kinds of apps nonprofits and libraries are using to engage constituents, tell stories, and accomplish their goals. Discover popular apps you can put to use right now. Listen in when Shawn Michael of NPower explains how her organization effectively uses apps. Find out how to develop and deploy an “app-propriate” strategy when we share tips and lessons learned on the entire process of developing apps.

Thursday, January 19, 2012
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Online

For additional details and registration information visit: TechSoup: App it Up!

Publishers, authors, booksellers, and librarians have traditionally thought of discovery as something that happens in a physical place. A patron browses the shelf, a librarian offers some reader’s advisory, a new author is picked up from an artfully created display. Online discovery lags behind, despite Amazon’s best efforts. People still pick books up based on word of mouth. Libraries, with entire sections of staff devoted to helping people pick out books, are word of mouth engines, but struggle to prove our worth to the rest of the book ecosystem. Ebooks make that even more difficult when the library as place is taken out of the equation. This session will explore some possibilities for libraries as channels of discovery in an ebook-dominated market.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012
3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Online

For additional details and registration information visit: GLS: Ebooks, Discovery, and the Library

Does your organization need a new web site? One that is more dynamic, easy to update and can easily incorporate social media and other ways to communicate with your library’s patrons/customers? WordPress (free, opensource) may be the answer. WordPress is a powerful web Content Management System (CMS) that has grown far beyond its origins as a blogging tool.

WordPress can be used to power your library website and help you build a dynamic web presence for your library, school, personal web site, business or other project. Its ease of use and flexibility make it a perfect choice for libraries that are struggling to keep their websites up to date and/or looking for a more up-to-date look for their website. Its extensibility via plugins and other customizations make it a great choice for more complex sites as well.

This webinar will cover:
*Examples of sites built with WordPress
*Why WordPress is a great choice for schools & libraries
*Hosting options and requirements
*WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
*Making it look great: Themes
*Building blocks of WordPress: Posts & Pages

You’ll leave the webinar with an understanding of how to get started building your own WordPress site and be able to evaluate whether WordPress is the right solution for your library’s needs. (If you’re interested in learning more about WordPress, ALA is offering a 6 week WordPress eCourse starting in January.)

Wednesday, January 18, 2012
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Online

For additional details and registration information visit: GLS: WordPress for Library Websites (and more!)

Attention Public Library Staff Who Completed the 2011 Annual Report for the State Library:

Thanks go out to those who helped fill out the Report last fall.  Before the State Library examines what should be on next year’s Report, we would like to get some feedback from those of you who will have to suffer through it.  We are not expecting the Report to change much, but we would appreciate getting your answers/opinions on some of these questions:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CTAnnualReportSurvey

A short survey, there are only 10 questions.  Thanks for your help.