I am getting great feedback on WebJunction Courses but we have also run into a few glitches here and there. So I have put together some updated advice and tips that make help you enroll and take a course.

1. Make sure you sign in and click the “Remember Me” checkbox. This assures that the courses show up at no cost and also allows you to move back and forth through the various areas of WebJunction without losing your “Maine Affiliation” or timing out.

2. Turn off Pop-up blockers. You should be prompted to disable pop-up blocking. Make sure you choose “always for this site”…it will make it easier in the long run. The sites to “always allow” will be:

3. 
Skillsoft courses work in the browsers listed below (the latest version of Firefox is not yet supported) I recommend you run the browser test that SkillSoft provides: http://browser.skillport.com/bh/default.asp

For a complete listing: http://support.skillsoft.com/customer/sp_client_techspec_combined.pdf

4.  For UNT LE@D Courses please remember that you will get an email from WebJunction with a username and password. The courses are taken using the University of North Texas WebCT online course environment and typically take 1-2 hours to complete.
Please perform the Browser Check, turn off your pop-up blocker, and say yes when prompted to accept a Java Security Certificate.

Go to WebJunction Maine: http://me.webjunction.org and log into your account.

Please make sure you sign in! You must be a registered user to enroll in free courses.

Take a look at this fun video on how to sign in and set up your account or
just read the how to.
Once you are signed in, click on the Courses tab in the top navigation bar.

[Please note: there is a known issue with the browser, Internet Explorer 7. If you are having problems, try Firefox. If you need help, use the feedback button on the bottom of any MSL web page: www.maine.gov/msl/. We hope this will be resolved quickly.]

Browse the course topics and select one to see the offerings. The “cost” for courses should be $0 now that you are logged in and you are at the Maine WJ site.
Click Add to Cart.

Under My Account, below “Affiliations”, you will see that 1 item has been added to the shopping cart.
Click in the Shopping Cart area where it says (1 item[s]) or “Go to Cart”.

Click “Proceed to Checkout” button (near the bottom right corner).

When you sign up for a course,  the first time you will need to click the Add Address button. Just ignore the credit card Information area; it should be “grayed out”…you do not need to enter any information since the courses are free.

The window to enter your address is a pop up, so you will have to disable any popup blocker. I encourage you to disable popup blocking for WJ-Maine since the courses also use popups.

Please use your Library name and address. This way we can easily track use of WJ by library and also know what library you are affiliated with. Click Save and the pop window closes.
Click Complete Order.

How do you start taking your course??
You can always access your course by using the My Courses link, at the bottom of the My Account box on the right when you sign in to WebJunction Maine – http://me.webjunction.org

When you begin your course,  you will encounter some pop ups.
The first one will be a Security Warning. It is OK to click Run. If you have additional security software installed on your computer,  you need to take extra steps to let your security software know that this software is not harmful.

Make sure when you exit the course you use the Exit button so your place will be saved.

On Tuesday May 13, 2008, the Maine delegation (left to right, Sylvia Norton, Linda Lord, Senator Collins, Gary Nichols, Joyce Rumery, Rich Boulet) to ALA Legislative Day met with first with Senator Collins and key staffers and then with Senator Snowe and her staff who work on library, education and telecommunications issues.  Concerns discussed included: simplification of the federal e-rate application process; the need for more funding for LSTA (Maine’s LSTA funding took a $60,000 cut this year in addition to the $200,000 cut required from the State of Maine because of the state budget situation); the necessity to include libraries in any federal laws, rules and/or regulations regarding broadband connectivity; support of Network neutrality; the importance of including the Skills Act (requiring school districts to ensure that every school within the district employs at least one state-certified library media specialist in each school library) as part of the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind; and the impact of Orphan Works legislation on libraries. Orphan Works copyright holders can not be identified or found.  It is essential that libraries be able to make these works, many of whom are historically or culturally significant, available to the public.

On a more personal note, Senator Snowe, who was in the Maine State legislature in Gary’s early years as State Library, commiserated with him about how fast the years pass; Senator Collins was very aware of a small business near Blue Hill that uses the Blue Hill Public Library as an office because of its two t-1 connections; both Senators are huge library supporters and gave us undue credit for training them well.  Many of you know that Senator Collins worked in the Caribou Public Library as a student. Both Senators been recognized by the National Friends of Libraries Association as key Congressional library supporters.  Their offices are fun to visit as the walls are covered with Maine prints, posters and art work and are beautifully decorated with strong colors.  One staff member had a decidedly non-Maine accent but claimed to be from southern Maine, commonly known as Georgia.  Our meetings were warm, friendly but focused on urgent issues in the library world – issues that were listened to attentively. Today we look forward with great anticipation to meetings with Congressmen Allen and Michaud.  More later, Linda

We’re starting to add program content to the conference website. Go to  www.mainelibraries.info and click on “programs.” As speakers and programs are confirmed, they’ll be posted to the site. See you at Sunday River on October 23-24, 2008! Bookmark this page and visit often to view updates.

Click on Maine Community Heritage Project Grant to find an informational flyer, the full project description, application guidelines, and an application form.   Go for it!

This new report, The IMLS National Study on the Use of Libraries, Museums and the Internet, sponsored by the Insitute of Museum and Library Services “offers insight into the ways people search for information in the online age, and how this impacts the ways they interact with public libraries and museums, both online and in person”.  Just check out the one-page conclusions summary!