These materials will be free to download and reuse, which will help reduce your library’s burden of developing and finding training materials. They are working with library consultant Stephanie Gerding, author of The Accidental Technology Trainer: A Guide for Libraries, to identify and collect these resources. They also need your help.

Please take a quick survey to select the specific patron training topics of greatest interest to you, to guide Stephanie and WebJunction’s work. The survey will close on September 15, so don’t delay!

Start the survey.

Geek the Library was born out of the findings in From Awareness to Funding: a study of library support in America and is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. OCLC has piloted the campaign with nearly 100 libraries in diverse communities over the past year-with encouraging results. Consumer research shows high appeal for the campaign and the potential to help reverse downward public library funding trends.

Join Jenny Johnson, Executive Director, Branding & Marketing Services – OCLC, and Jennifer Pearson, Senior Manager, Advocacy Programs – OCLC, for this exciting presentation that will provide the back-ground and research that went into the campaign, the results of the campaign pilot and information on the current phase of the campaign making it available to all U.S. public libraries. They will provide information on how to participate and answer any questions you may have about the campaign.

Date:  October 21, 2010
Time:  10:00 a.m. -  3:00 p.m.
CPDUs:  5

This event will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn @ Effingham, IL.  A registration fee of $40.00 is required for all attendees. 

Hotel Information

This event is sponsored by Lincoln Trail Libraries System, Lewis & Clark Library System, Rolling Prairie Library System, and Shawnee Library System.

Register here.

Because WebJunction Illinois is always adding content and constantly expanding, the redesign is intended to try and help users more quickly identify relevant and new content. Take particular note of the following as you explore.

1. We have now added a section of Featured Resources below the Top Story  which will rotate highlighting a variety of resources, courses and other learning opportunities.

2. You will now find the feed from BlogJunction Illinois, the Quick Links and a variety of link icons such as L2, Facebook and Twitter on the right hand side of the homepage with a feed of upcoming calendar events below that.

3. Be sure to check out one of the most interesting areas of the redesign – our Most Popular and New on WebJunction areas. As you might expect, the first one points out some of the resources, courses and areas of the site which have received the most traffic in recent weeks and the second surfaces new content that has been added. These will change periodically also.

Take advantage of the summer lull and explore WJIL and the homepage redesign so you can get the most out of this great resource.

 We invite you to explore all of these resources and to contribute news and information from your library to the section. For Twitter users, the hashtag #libs4jobs will pull your tweets into the Workforce Resources page.

Pritzker Military Library hires new director
Time Out Chicago (blog)
On Friday, Pritzker Military Library announced that it hired John Zukowsky, former Art Institute of Chicago architecture curator, as its interim director. …

Branches given 6 months to find new funding
Evanston Review
3 to pull the branch libraries off the chopping block, said, “I said to the branch library and library supporters, unless there is a funding stream that’s …

Lisle mourning teacher, longtime library board member
Chicago Daily Herald
Whether it was as a teacher in Lisle Unit District 202 or as a longtime Lisle Public Library board member, those mourning …

School Libraries Receive Grants
Pontiac Illinois Community News
Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White has awarded Fiscal Year 2010 School District Library Program Grants totaling almost …

State Bar donates Lincoln books to Edwardsville Public Library
St. Clair Record
Accepting the books is Deanne Holshauser, library director. In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth in 2009, the ISBA is donating a set …

Illinois public libraries face 16 percent funding cut
Peoria Journal Star
Every public library in the state – big, small and medium-sized – will receive significantly less than each has come to expect from the …

Glen Carbon library named best in nation
Belleville News Democrat
It’s been a banner year for Glen Carbon — now its library has been named best in the country. …

Police open office inside Chicago library
ABC7Chicago.com
Chicago police launched a new program Saturday by opening a satellite office in a public library. …

Jesse White awards Public Library Per Capita and Equalization Aid Grants
Quad-Cities Online
Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White has awarded Fiscal Year 2010 Illinois Public Library Per Capita and Equalization Aid Grants …

‘The need is still there’: New Manhattan library rejected
Southtown Star
Voters in the Manhattan-Elwood Library District gave – or rather, bellowed – a resounding “no” to plans to build a new library, …

Sugar Grove voters say no to library a 10th time
Aurora Beacon News
Ten times — since March of 2004 — the Sugar Grove Library Board has asked voters for more money. …

Lyons: Reddick Library missing out on revenue
MyWebTimes.com
The Reddick Public Library District is missing out on revenue by not offering services to Wallace Township residents, said township resident Tom Lyons, …

February brings a sinking feeling to La Grange library
Everything La Grange
Explore all things Titanic at the La Grange Public Library during the month of February. A display of artifacts related to the doomed ocean liner will be …

Lourdes dedicates new library to begin Catholic Schools Week
Herald & Review
Rick Welton and Principal Maryrose Hagenbach take part in a dedication ceremony blessing a new library addition at Our Lady of Lourdes Schoo. …

Des Plaines Library Dist. finally gets its win
Joliet Herald News
Voters on Tuesday approved a referendum proposal to build a new Crest Hill library and renovate libraries in Lockport …

New-look Brookfield Library reopens its doors
Riverside Brookfield Landmark
The spiffed-up Brookfield Public Library reopened on Monday after being closed for refurbishing for the past 10 weeks. The library looks and …

Library contracts for e-book service
Pekin Daily Times
Library patrons can download best-selling and classic audio-books and e-books anytime, anywhere, thanks to a new service. …

Voters reject Winfield Library request
Chicago Daily Herald
Winfield library officials decided to seek the same request despite last April’s defeat, because the facility at 0S291 Winfield Road doesn’t meet …

Naperville library may offer voluntary buyouts
Chicago Daily Herald
The library doesn’t plan to lay off employees or even reduce the size of its staff. The proposed program would be …

Winfield library improvements can wait for better economy
Chicago Daily Herald
Last April, Winfield Public Library officials asked voters to approve a referendum that would allow them to borrow $1.8 million to improve the facility’s …

Moline Public Library now offers free access to downloadable audio books
Quad-Cities Online
The Moline Public Library is now offering free access to downloadable audio books 24/7 via netlibrary.com. The collection features fiction and non-fiction …

Illinois Library Systems Wait for Cash from State
WSIL TV
The Shawnee Library System connects more than one hundred libraries in Illinois’ southern-most counties. Through this network, libraries can share …

Library giving away old magazines; come in and help yourselves
Little Chicago Review
January is the month when we do some library housekeeping chores, including removal of back issues of magazines. Please help yourselves to discarded …

Librarians Say Services in Jeopardy Without State Funding
Central Illinois Proud
Wednesday marks “Save the Illinois Library Regional Systems Day.” Librarians say many services readers rely on could be cut if state funding doesn’t come …

NIU library displays Frank Lloyd Wright collection
Northern Star Online
During January, however, NIU students only have to trek as far as Founders Memorial Library to get a glimpse inside of this historic figure. …

Due to tight budget, Charleston library will hold off on hiring new director
Journal Gazette and Times-Courier
The Charleston Carnegie Public Library will be operating without an executive director for a few more months due to …

Davlin’s budget: Cut 55 jobs, close library branches
The State Journal-Register
The mayor’s recommended budget for fiscal year 2011, which begins March 1, also suggests closing Lincoln Library’s two branches — the southeast branch on …

Library unveils restructuring plan
Rockford Register Star
Marvin Walters might be from Loves Park, but he does most, if not all, of his genealogy research at the Rockford Public Library. …

Yorkville Library trims budget
Aurora Beacon News
The Yorkville Public Library Board of Trustees passed its 2010 budget on Monday night, steering clear of any drastic …

SXU to receive $1.25 million to upgrade campus library, develop STEM education center
Orland Park Prairie
Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) and Senator Dick Durbin worked together to secure funding for Saint Xavier’s library improvements and other local projects a …

Gates Foundation to support librarian training
Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette
The two-year, $484000 contract with the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will support a …

Regional libraries have not received a funding increase since 1989
Chicago Daily Herald
Regional library systems are in a situation similar to that of the second frog – the one that boiled to death. There are 10 regional library systems around …

Big changes for Rockford libraries
Rockford Register Star
The Rockford Public Library will undergo a massive change in operating hours and staffing levels next week as it embarks on a new world of …

Law allows library to borrow funds
Geneseo Republic
A change in the understanding of library law could make it easier for the Geneseo Public Library board to build a new library. …

ISU appoints new library dean
Bloomington Pantagraph
Sohair F. Wastawy has been named library dean at Illinois State University, effective June 1. The appointment was announced Thursday by Vice …

Cook Library board will hire firm to help director search
Chicago Daily Herald
The Cook Memorial Public Library District board likely will rely on an executive search firm to help find a …

City Council considers closing north and south library branches
Daily Northwestern
Bobkiewicz said the city is lucky to have a “robust library system.” But because of the prominent, efficient nature of the main library downtown, …

Library closes deal on old Beacon building
Aurora Beacon News
The city may not have a new downtown library for years, but at least it has a site for the future facility. …

Itasca library honors longtime board presidentChicago Daily Herald
Daily Herald
For 38 years, Swanson has been a part of the Itasca Community Library board of trustees. Four years after joining she was elected president and still holds …