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.

Presenters: David Newyear, adult information services manager, Mentor Public Library, Ohio; and Daniel Schwartz, library director, Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library, Kerrville, Texas.

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There will be opportunities for discussion before the Webinar from 12:30–1:00 p.m. and after from 2:30–3:30 p.m.

More information and free registration>>

Stay up to date on the latest information and register for the first in the series at: www.oclc.org/go/buildingbridges.

Building Bridges #1: Principles of Advocacy
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 1:00 pm Central/11:00 am Pacific

Public library professionals know the importance of demonstrating their value to their local communities. Are you looking for inspiration to jump-start your own advocacy efforts? Join us to better understand how ongoing community advocacy supports the vital role your library plays in the community.

Speakers include:

• Mary Hirsch, Project Coordinator for PLA and Lynn Slawsky, Program Officer, Turning the Page 2.0, who will discuss PLA’s Turning the Page program

• Janet Sawaya, Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, who will discuss the foundation’s role in funding public library advocacy programs

• Jennifer Pearson, Senior Manager of Advocacy Programs, OCLC, who will discuss the Geek the Library community awareness program.

PowerPoint 2010 Series

• PowerPoint 2010: Getting Started
• PowerPoint 2010: Collaborating and Sharing Presentations
• PowerPoint 2010: Visually Enhancing Presentations
• PowerPoint 2010: Adding Images to Presentations
• PowerPoint 2010: Using Advanced Slide Show Tools
• PowerPoint 2010: Using Multimedia and Animations

As of July 1, 2011 you must be signed in to your WebJunction Illinois account to view and use the Course Catalog. If you do not have an account, click on the  Create Account link to get started.

These courses are provided to WebJunction Illinois affiliates free of charge thanks to the Illinois State Library under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

For additional assistance, please contact Robert Jones at rjones1@ilsos.net or 217-785-1168.

Go to the archived webinar>>

What is the absolute best avenue to getting teens involved and engaged at your school or public library? How can you encourage them to be peer reader advisors and library advocates in the community? Ultimately, if you want to encourage your teens to become lifelong readers, learners, and library users/supporters—and possibly even choose library work for their future career path—there is no better way to go than offering opportunities for active and involved teen library participation. In this webinar, you will explore ways teens can take part in your library, such as advisory groups, volunteering, short-term projects that use teen’s special skills, and partnering with adults. You’ll also get tips on planning, organizing, conducting, and evaluating teen participation. When you team up with teens at your library, it’s win-win! WebJunction is pleased to host this webinar in collaboration with the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).

Presented by: Kelly M Johnson, Office Manager & T.A.G. Staff Liaison, Ketchikan Public Library (AK); and Diane Tuccillo, Teen Services Librarian, Poudre River Public Library District (CO), author of Library Teen Advisory Groups (Scarecrow, 2005) and Teen-Centered Library Service: Putting Youth Participation into Practice (Libraries Unlimited, 2010).

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The Leadership Essentials Course Series can give you a great start, or help fill in your gaps and give you new ideas to motivate, communicate, and lead!

Leadership Essentials 1: Motivating Employees
Leadership Essentials 2: Communicating Vision
Leadership Essentials 3: Building Your Influence as a Leader
Leadership Essentials 4: Leading with Emotional Intelligence

As of July 1, 2011,  you must be signed in to your WebJunction Illinois in order to enroll and launch courses.

Try-It! Illinois offers the staffs and library users of the more than 5,000 ILLINET member libraries the opportunity to survey and evaluate a wide variety of electronic resources. Thanks to partnerships between the Illinois State Library and the participating electronic resource vendors, there is no charge for accessing these databases during Try-It! Illinois.

You will need a login and password to access Try-it! Illinois. Libraries are encouraged to share the Try-It! Illinois login and password with their library users, and provide them an opportunity to use and recommend electronic resources for possible purchase at the local level.

Please do not post the Try-It! Illinois login and password on the Internet or in publicly archived electronic newsletters. This is vital to the success of the trial and to maintaining the relationships that have been established with vendors.

To obtain the login and password log on here and complete the form. If you have questions or comments, please email Gwen Harrison at gharrison@ilsos.net or call her at  217-785-7334.

While public libraries are generally viewed as inclusive spaces, there are large segments of community that do not use them. Beginning in 2004, four large urban library systems from across Canada – Vancouver, Toronto, Regina and Halifax Public Libraries – spent four years working in socially excluded communities, to determine how to make public library services relevant to the needs of underserved communities. As a result, it was discovered that when communities are involved in the identification, development and delivery of library services, there can be an exhilarating effect. Since the conclusion of the highly successful Working Together Project (2004-2008), public libraries from across Canada have integrated community-led approaches and techniques.

This webinar, brought to you in collaboration with Library Journal, will discuss the major outcomes of the project and provide examples of how the bringing this approach into library service planning makes libraries even more relevant to local needs.

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Do you wish you could be more creative in work and life? If you envy those who come up with new and different ideas, but feel that just can’t be you, this self-paced course can help you break through that personal barrier. Creativity isn’t just an inherent talent, it involves specific skills and techniques that can be learned. You may not turn out to be Picasso, but you just might come up with a new way your library can meet its mission!