BlogJunction Vermont
A blog by the VT Dept. of Libraries to communicate with the VT library community
BlogJunction Vermont has been moved. It can now be found at: http://vermontdepartmentoflibraries.wordpress.com/
Please don’t forget to go to http://webjunction.org/vt-ce for the Vermont Continuing Education Group.
For the past 4 years, WebJunction Vermont (WJ-VT) has been a service provided by the Vermont Department of Libraries to offer (among other things) online continuing education opportunities to Vermont’s library community. Due to our current funding situation, beginning July 1, courses, content, and community will no longer be available through WJ-VT. You will still have complete access to WebJunction through the main WebJunction site. You will not have to register again, your registration information will be transferred over.
After July 1 you will continue to have access to any courses in which you are enrolled, through your My Courses page, up to one year from enrollment date.
We encourage you to take advantage of the remaining allotment of courses available on WJ-VT through the end of June. If you have already enrolled in a number of courses, but have not finished them, we encourage you to hold off on enrolling in more courses at this time, in order to give an opportunity for other VT library staff to enroll in a course.
The VT Dept. of Libraries is looking at options for continuing to provide free/discounted courses to library staff in VT through WebJunction and other sources. More information will be available in the coming weeks. Content, discussions and calendar of events previously located under the VT Continuing Education tab will soon be found on the VT Continuing Education group on WJ Central. The group can be found at http://www.webjunction.org/833.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact mara.siegel@mail.dol.state.vt.us (802) 828-3261.
Here’s a listing of free webinars offered by WebJunction, Library Journal, BCR, and MaintainIT for October 2008. Click on the highlighted link for more information and to register.
October 7 (2-3 pm) (EST)
Visual Design: Theory & Best Practices for Library Websites (WebJunction)
Today, our users/patrons expect visually engaging and informative websites. The fonts, images, colors and styles of your web pages should support your mission, content, publicity and service goals. Join presenter Michael Leach as he highlights both theory and best practices that support a visually engaging website—what fonts should you choose; which styles work best for content presentation; what types of images and graphics convey information better; and how do colors influence users’ perceptions and use of a website.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
October 8 (2-3 pm) (EST)
Capturing Struggling and Reluctant Readers (Library Journal)
This informative webcast will bring together a panel of experts in reading, media center services, and children’s literacy, including school librarians, educators, and a representative from Capstone Press and Stone Arch Books to cover a range of processes, programs, and ideas that can bolster reading skills, comprehension, and literacy in the K-6 library and classroom. Attendees will learn best practices to engage struggling and reluctant readers, discover multi-level reading resources for classroom and school library integration, and pick up techniques and programming ideas that will encourage the use of fiction and nonfiction. Time will be reserved for Q&A at the end of the webcast.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/webcasts/48747/Webcasts.html
October 8 (2-3 pm) (EST)
Using MaintainIT Resources for Technology Training (MaintainIT)
Do you train library staff to use technology? If you do, please consider attending this free one hour webinar. Learn about resources for trainers and hear about training happening in the field.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?rfe=7sdkia97utgq&udc=8yml38uymdo1
October 9 (2-3 pm) (EST)
TWO Goal Posts: Library & Community (WebJuntion Rural Library Sustainability)
WebJunction and The Association for Rural and Small Libraries presents a free hour-long webinar focused on a topic important to the work of sustaining Rural and Small libraries. Jim Connor and Ellen Miller will facilitate, and will be joined by another veteran trustee, Patricia Fisher. Find out why you need to keep your eyes on TWO goal posts—the library and the community.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
October 10 (2-3 pm) (EST)
Structures for Facilitating Faculty Teaching Other Faculty Members (TLT Webinar)
Free webinar for academic librarians who work with faculty members.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
http://www.tltgroup.org/calendar.htm
October 14 (1-2 pm) (EST)
Latinos and Public Library Perceptions (WebJuntion Spanish Language Outreach)
WebJunction, in partnership with the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, recently published a research report detailing the results of a six-state telephone survey of over 2,860 adult Latinos completed in early 2008. Learn about the findings and implications of the study from WebJunction’s Laura Staley and researchers from TRPI.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
October 15 (2-3 pm) (EST)
Conflict in a Peaceful Library (WebJunction)
Conflict happens! Many of us try to avoid it, some fight with it, some seem to enjoy it and still others seem to handle it with tact and skill. What*s the secret to effectively handling situations of conflict? How can we de-emotionalize ourselves to the situations so that we don’t get caught up in them? Join Andrew Sanderbeck as he explores our dealings with others in the library by defining the conflict situation and using one of three approaches to successfully handle or resolve it. If you don*t like to be yelled at by other people, you*ll really enjoy this fun and interactive webinar.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
October 16 (2-2:30 pm) (EST)
Get Your Game On (MaintainIT Cookbook Webinar)
Join Lori Reed for “Get Your Game On: Quick Tips to Start a Gaming Program in Your Library”. Lori is Employee Learning Coordinator at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg, will lead this fast-paced and interactive session introducing the idea of gaming programs in libraries. Hear what others have done, share your experiences, and think about what you might want to do in the future. Take 30 minutes out of your day to learn from the experiences of others and get something started. This is a part of the MaintainIT Cookbook webinar series where contributors to the Cookbooks share their insights, their secrets, and what you can do to get started with projects like theirs.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
October 23 (2-3 pm) (EST)
Refugees 101 (WebJunction)
In 1975 the United States began accepting large numbers of refugees in response to the Fall of Saigon. Over the next 33 years approximately 2.6 million refugees have been resettled in this country, and many of these individuals are now using our libraries. Join Valerie Wonder, Immigrant & Refugee Programs Manager at Seattle Public Library (WA) and Homa Naficy Manager of Multicultural Education and Outreach Services at Hartford Public Library (CT) as they provide an overview of refugee resettlement in the United States including information on recent refugee populations. She will also highlight some successful approaches to serving refugees in public libraries. Before working for SPL, Valerie was the Community Programs Manager for the International Rescue Committee’s Seattle office where she specialized in refugee services.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
October 24 (4-5:30 pm) (EST)
Cooperation for the Collection: Integrating ILL and Acquisitions Workflows (BCR)
As budgets get tighter and users more savvy, many libraries are blurring the line between resource sharing and collection development by purchasing items requested on interlibrary loan rather than requesting them through traditional resource sharing models. In this Free Friday Forum, we will host a panel of librarians who currently have programs based on this model. Panelists will discuss the costs and benefits of and their experience with purchase-on-demand programs. The session will also have time for questions from the attendees.
For more information and to register for this program, visit:
http://www.bcr.org/training/schedule/programdetail.php?programid=272
If you are enrolled in any LE@D – University of North Texas online workshops through WebJunction or are planning to enroll in any in the next couple of weeks, please read the following message and pass it along to your co-workers. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions at 828-3261 or mara.siegel@mail.dol.state.vt.us.
Mara
From the latest LE@D Newsletter:
In order to serve you better, the University of North Texas will be upgrading from WebCT Vista 3.0 to Vista 4.2 over the Christmas holidays. Therefore, all current LE@D courses must be completed by December 17. Registrations received after December 17 will open January 3 in the new learning management system. Courses on the old server will be closed and will no longer be accessible.
Q. What happens if I start a course before December 17, but don’t finish it?
A. Anything you did in the course prior to the upgrade will not transfer. If you completed the pre-test, for example, that score will not transfer to the new upgrade.
Q. If I have finished the course before December 17, will I have access to the course material in January?
A. No.
Q. I want to register for a class, but don’t think I can finish by December 17. Should I wait to register?
A. Even though a LE@D tutorial can be finished in 2 to 3 hours, we promise a minimum of 30 days access to a course. Registrations received after December 3 will not be activated until January. If you can’t complete the course before December 17, please wait to register.
In addition to the self-paced workshops that are available to the Vermont library community, WebJunction is now offering facilitated courses. These workshops are scheduled on a certain day and time determined by the organization hosting the course. These courses have an instructor who teaches the course content and encourages you to collaborate with other participants in the course. Usually, there is a web conferencing system you must log into. The audio portion of the web conferencing system often uses VOIP but sometimes the audio can be accessed using a telephone.
Before signing up, please note the technical requirements necessary and check to see if your computer has the appropriate technology.
And, as with the other WebJunction offerings, these can be used towards Public Librarian Certification.
The current offerings are:
*Metadata for Digitized Resources
This course meets for four two-hour sessions. There will be two separate sessions offered 10/9/07 – 10/12/07 and 12/11/07 – 12/14/07.
*Social Software in Libraries
This course meets for four two-hour sessions. There will be two separate sessions 10/1/07 – 10/4/07 and 11/13/07 – 11/16/07
*How to Learn Online
This course meets for a one-hour session on 11/08/07
*Creating Your Next Generation Library Website: Incorporating Social Software and Web 2.0 Tools into Your Online Presence
This course meets for three two-hour sessions 11/27/07 – 11/30/07
*RSS and Other Internet Feeds in the Library: Making Content Convenient
This course meets for a two-hour session on 11/15/07
*Developing and Managing Digital Programs Webinar
This course meets for a two-hour session on 10/09/07 or 12/4/07
*Digital Image Quality Webinar
This course meets for a two-hour session on 11/06/07
For more information about the courses and to register, please go to:
http://vt.webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=442
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 828-3261 or mara.siegel@dol.state.vt.us.
Well I am trying to be the very cool librarian at the Burlington airport and blogging on WIFI. Yes it is a bit silly, but I am headed to Washington DC for the Webjunction Community Partner meeting. Too late to get to play at ALA annual, but I hope to learn about some of the good stuff coming up on Webjunction. I’ll also get my first look at your survey input, I think.
Will keep you posted on what comes of the meeting.