The texting program is intended for simple, quick reference questions, up to 160 characters, that can be answered with a brief response.

Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White says the new texting service offers another way to meet patrons’ information needs. The Illinois State Library already offers reference and information services in person, by e-mail, telephone or fax.

The Illinois State Library won’t charge for the service, but message and data rates from cellphone users’ service carriers still apply.

Texts can be sent to (217) 953-0575, by starting the body of the text with the keyword ASKISL, followed by a space and the question.

The project will deliver local workforce recovery workshops to public library staff, and Illinois is one of 20 states selected to participate.  While local workshops will take place in critical need areas, the program is being designed to reach across the nation with support and resources for all public library staff serving the unemployed.  This will be done by publishing workshop curricula and all project materials on WebJunction.org, by producing local programs such as conference presentations at state or regional gatherings, and by delivering free workforce recovery webinars.
 
As the curricula are being planned, your suggestions and advice are very much needed.  You can help by completing a short survey at:  www.surveymonkey.com/s/workforcerecovery.
 
To be included in the discussion, surveys must be returned no later than February 1. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Bill Erbes at the Bensenville Community Public Library District, billerbes@gmail.com

Follow these quick and easy tips to find out how to help your patrons who are seeking jobs.

From November 2009 to November 2010, Illinois libraries and patrons conducted almost 6.4 million searches and downloaded more than 257,800 full-text documents. Using the First Search databases, there were 2,669,199 searches at academic libraries, 1,767,437 searches at public libraries, 378,470 searches by students at school libraries, and 94,594 searches at special libraries.

The group will meet December 16 to discuss potential program proposals for the ILA 2011 annual conference, the theme of which is “Bold, Brilliant, Brave”.  Program ideas that focus on adult reference and creatively doing “more with less” are especially encouraged.  If you would like to participate in the planning discussion, or, simply have programs you’d like to suggest, please contact Colleen Waltman at cwaltman@newlenoxlibrary.org.

A Guide to Job-Hunters: One Size Does Not Fit All

• Job-hunters arrive with different backgrounds and differing needs. Get to know some of the prevalent varieties in this 12 minute video.

You Want to Help and the Clock is Ticking

• Learn how your library can best serve job-hunters and when it is appropriate to enlist help from other agencies and partners. This video is 30 minutes.

Three more videos—on social media’s role in the job search, job hunting scams, and stress management—will be available soon.

mySkills, myFuture: A New Tool for Job Seekers

As part of the ongoing collaboration between IMLS and the Employment & Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL/ETA), WebJunction is hosting this ETA presentation on the new job-seeking tool, mySkills, myFuture. Coming in September, this free online tool will enable job seekers to increase their career mobility and economic prospects.

Specifically, the self-paced tool will help previously employed to (1) use their previous experience to identify occupations that they might be qualified for; (2) identify the skills s/he needs to acquire to qualify for a specific job; (3) identify education or training institutions where these skills can be obtained; and (4) provide links to relevant job opportunities in national and state job banks. Libraries will want to add mySkills, myFuture to their resources to help job-seeking patrons in their community.

To register for this relevant and vital workshop visit L2.

Course Description

Increasingly, libraries have become the “go-to” place for help with all kinds of things. Because you are the librarian, people expect you to either have all the answers, or to at least know where to find them.

This course will provide you with some of the tools to help you do this and do it well. You will learn how to use search engines effectively, so that the results are both relevant and reliable. You will learn how to identify what is and what isn’t a reliable source of information.

The tips and techniques shared in this course will make you an even more effective librarian, better able to respond to patron requests for help.

Learning Objectives

In this course, you will:

• Learn how to prepare yourself and your library resources to better respond to questions posed to staff members every day.
• Create lists of reliable online resources to use with frequently asked questions.
• Learn how to evaluate online information sources, and to decide which Web sites you can trust as authoritative and reliable sources of information.
• Learn skills to pass along to your patrons, in either formal or informal workshops offered at your library.
• Get an overview of copyright issues, and understand why you need to be aware of this.
• Hear about ways to continue to improve your own skills, to keep up-to-date on the ever-evolving online world of research and learning.

To enroll in the course, visit WebJunction Illinois, click on the IL Course Catalog tab and then explore the “Reference and Information Resources” link under the “Library Services” topic. You must be a registered user of WJIL to enroll in this course for free.

Prepare and Respond: Partnering with Local Emergency Management, Tuesday August 3, 1:00 – 2:00 pm CT

Libraries are looking for ways to be better prepared for disaster response and recovery. Join guest presenter Lauren Mandel, research coordinator at the Information Use Management & Policy Institute at Florida State University’s College of Communication and Information, as she introduces a new key service role, Get to Know Your Emergency Operations Center (EOC), to the existing Hurricane Preparedness & Response for Florida Public Libraries Project. The Florida-based project helps libraries throughout the U.S. serve their communities through partnerships with fellow responders (e.g., emergency management, local government and other agencies) and become a safe haven, recovery center, information hub and evacuee resource. Come learn how this project can inform your library’s disaster preparedness plan and how your library can play an important role in community preparedness and recovery by working with your EOC.

Helping Job Seekers: Using Electronic Tools, Wednesday August 11, 1:00 – 3:30 pm CT

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) invests in resources and services to support national and local workforce development needs. ETA staff will join us for a 90-minute webinar to provide an overview of the public workforce system and present the electronic tools most helpful to library staff who assist unemployed workers. Attendees will learn how to direct patrons to the right tools for their needs and to find local Workforce System partners. The presentation will also include an online tour of the O*NET System, CareerOneStop.org and America’s Service Locator and including Occupational Crosswalks, job search/resume preparation and State Job Banks and Labor Market Information.

Digitization and Preservation Symposium, Wednesday August 25, 1:00 – 3:00 pm CT

WebJunction is hosting a two-hour symposium that will feature four presentations on current trends and practical approaches to library digitization and preservation projects.

Our guest panelists will address:

• Designing a digital preservation system using a framework that includes all stakeholders, from library administrators to archivists to IT workers to vendors.
• The difference between access and preservation tools, and why we need to consider both.
•  Harvesting social networking websites for preservation.
• The organizational “long-view” of preservation resources, technology, costs and policies.

Panelists include:

• Sarai Lastra, Vice Chancellor of Information Resources/Director of Virtual Library at Universidad del Turabo, Puerto Rico.
• Sarah McHugh, Statewide Projects Librarian, Montana State Library, including Montana Memory Project.
• Amy Rudersdorf, Director of the Digital Information Management Program, State Library of North Carolina and lecturer at San Jose State University, School of Library & Information Science.
• Taylor Surface, Senior Product Manager, Digital Collection Services, OCLC.

For more information on all WJ webinars visit L2.