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Media Clips: Libraries – November 06, 2009

November 6th, 2009 by Ahniwa Posted in For Libraries, For the Public, News and Updates | No Comments »

These media mentions are compiled by Brian Zylstra, Deputy Communications Director for the Office of the Secretary of State, and passed along to us.

We had a special mention in the Lewiston Morning Tribune editorial for our Hard Times Resource Guide:

CHEERS … to Washington State Librarian Jan Walsh. Working with her staff and Washington’s library community, Walsh has spearheaded an online resource guide to help the state’s 315,853 unemployed. The Hard Times Resource Guide – www.secstate.wa.gov/library/hardtimes – offers information on education and training, family and parenting, college costs, finances and money management, employment and job seeking, housing and help for seniors, veterans the disabled and Spanish-speaking residents. Walsh and the state’s library directors came up with this idea when they met in January. It went live Aug. 28. So far, there have been 3,479 visits and 7,459 pageviews. (Lewiston Morning Tribune editorial)

The following links cover Media Clips provided September 08, 2009 – November 06, 2009.

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WSL Updates for November 5, 2009

November 6th, 2009 by Will Stuivenga Posted in For Libraries, News and Updates | No Comments »

Volume 5, November 5, 2009 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) WSL CHANGES INTERNET ADDRESSES

2) ONE HOMELESS MAN’S INSPIRATIONAL JOURNEY

3) THREE FREE ONLINE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

4) SWEET TALK – ROMANCE FICTION IN THE LIBRARY

5) IMPROVING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN TECHNICAL AND PUBLIC SERVICES

6) HUMANITIES WASHINGTON COMMUNITY FORUMS

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Sending Out an SOS: New Emails and URLs

November 5th, 2009 by Ahniwa Posted in For Libraries, For the Public, News and Updates | No Comments »

I SOS by Netream.If you’ve received an email from anyone at the State Library this week, you may have noticed that our email addresses have changed, and pretty significantly. No, we’re not sending out a cry for help, but we are changing all our email addresses and URLs from secstate.wa.gov over to sos.wa.gov. SOS, in this case, stands for Secretary Of State.

The secstate.wa.gov will work for some time, but the sooner you change over to sos.wa.gov the sooner you’ll be hip and in the know. For the web sites, just changing “secstate” to “sos” will do the trick. Our email addresses have undergone additional changes, and are all now using a firstname.lastname@sos.wa.gov format.

So far it’s been a smooth transition, and we hope it won’t cause any confusion for our customers. If you do have any issues or questions, leave us a comment!

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Inmate magazines

November 5th, 2009 by Jill Merritt Posted in Institutional Library Services | No Comments »

Magazines Galore
Magazines Galore

For the most part inmate directed magazines come and go, but we recently started getting a new magazine in our library.  Hopefully, Insider Magazine will stick around.  I am sure funding can be an issue in a lot of cases, but also staff who are willing to take the time to provide the magazine can be as well.  I have only seen a few copies, but so far, so good.  Interesting articles are spread throughout the publication, along with puzzles, humor, inmate poetry and art, and lets not forget advertisements.  However, major points for the advertisements as they are directed to inmates.  However, don’t think this magazine is a slouch in the literary department, the crossword puzzle is harder then it looks.  So for now I am reserving judgment (read waiting for inmate response), but I do believe it has been money well spent.

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WSL Updates for November 3, 2009

November 4th, 2009 by Will Stuivenga Posted in For Libraries, News and Updates | No Comments »

Volume 5, November 3, 2009 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Special Grant Opportunities Issue

Topics include:

1) AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE GRANT OPPORTUNITY

2) SCHOOL LIBRARIES – BOOKS ACROSS AMERICA AWARDS

3) SUSTAINING CULTURAL HERITAGE COLLECTIONS

4) LAURA BUSH 21ST CENTURY LIBRARIAN PROGRAM

5) SUPPORT FOR K-12 LIBRARIES FROM LAURA BUSH FOUNDATION

6) WE THE PEOPLE BOOKSHELF OPPORTUNITY

7) BANK OF THE WEST CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS PROGRAM

8) APPLY NOW TO BECOME A PRESERVE AMERICA STEWARD

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WSL Event, Nov. 12 @ 6:30pm – Author: Richard LeMieux

November 4th, 2009 by Ahniwa Posted in For the Public | No Comments »

image Please join us on Thursday, November 12th at 6:30 when we host Richard LeMieux, author of Breakfast at Sally’s: One homeless man’s inspirational journey.

Breakfast at Sally’s: One homeless man’s inspirational Journey

With author Richard LeMieux

Thursday, November 12, 2009 6:30 pm our doors open at 6:00 pm.

Washington State Library, 6880 Capitol Boulevard South, Tumwater, Washington

Richard was once a wealthy business owner, and able to afford the best that money could buy. The rise of the Internet and the declining need for newspapers signaled the end for his publishing company The Source. As a result he was unable to make a living. Richard LeMieux found himself evicted from his home and penniless.

In his book, Richard tells the stories of the many people he has met along the way. These stories are

familiar to us. These are stories about families living in their cars, veterans, addicts, and lost souls whose only goal is to make it to the next day. Many are fortunate to have a companion, a dog or a cat someone, something to talk to and keep the loneliness away. Richard has his dog Willow to keep him company.

Richard also tells the stories of the people who are often unsung heroes. These heroes are the people who help the homeless; the ones who feed, clothe, and offer a bed for the night. Richard tells how – with the help of his new homeless friends – he began a routine each night enjoying dinner at a different church or at a makeshift diner. He was able to get clothing, snacks, and hygiene items at the churches that help the hungry and homeless.

In his book, Richard gives us an often-neglected perspective on homeless life: that of the homeless person. He shows how even the comfortable and affluent can find themselves homeless, but also how people struggle to survive, and how they hold on to their humanity. Ultimately, his story reminds us that a life on the street does not take away the right to be treated as humans.

Please join us as Richard shares his story of struggle and optimism against diversity.

For more information about our events please check out our website at: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/events.aspx or email our events coordinator at wslevents@secstate.wa.gov.

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Ask-WA Goes Primetime

November 4th, 2009 by Ahniwa Posted in For Libraries, For the Public, Technology and Resources | No Comments »

image Ask-WA had its television debut last Friday night on Komo News! All the video they took was from the UW, but they covered the service well, and in a very good light, and mentioned all the key points. Check it out!

If you’re not in the know, Ask-WA is a statewide cooperative of libraries – academics, publics, and specials – offering 24/7 virtual reference service to all the residents of Washington State. If you want to give it a try, go to the Ask-WA website at http://ask.wa.gov.

Check out the text of the story and more on the KomoNews.com website.

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Clippings, November 2, 2009

November 2nd, 2009 by lhammond Posted in For Libraries, For the Public, News and Updates | No Comments »

Library News

Voters are to decide whether to increase their property taxes so the Whatcom County Library System can buy more books, better serve Sudden Valley readers, and keep its branches open for the same number of hours.  “It’s up to the voters; they’re going to tell us what kind of library services they want us to provide,” said Joan Airoldi, director for the library system that is comprised of nine branches in unincorporated parts of the county and its cities, as well as the Bookmobile.  (Photo)  (Bellingham Herald, 10.19.09) http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/1120289.html

The King County Library System (KCLS) will be holding preliminary budget community meetings to discuss proposed strategic plans and budget allocations for the coming year.   www.klcl.org .  (Voice of the Valley [Maple Valley], 10.20.09)

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Clippings, October 30, 2009

October 30th, 2009 by lhammond Posted in For Libraries, For the Public, News and Updates | No Comments »

Library News

Whitman County Library Director Kristie Kirkpatrick reported to the Palouse City council on the Palouse Library and praised the community’s dedication, support, and patronage of the branch as the reason the library excels in performance measures.  (The Eagle & Boomerang [Moscow ID/Palouse WA], 10.15.09)

Use of public libraries in local cities has increased dramatically since last fall and, in response, librarians are now asking for more funding from Kittitas County government in 2010.  (Daily Record [Ellensburg], 10.15.09)

Fort Vancouver Regional Library District (FVRL), of which the Goldendale Library is a part, has posted the results of an online survey taken by 3,979 library cardholders.  The purpose of the survey was to 1) gauge the level of library patron support for initiating late fees for items returned after the due date; 2) assess opinions of FVRL performance; and 3) identify new services or changes in services in which patrons are interested.  (Sentinel [Goldendale], 10.15.09) http://www.goldendalesentinel.com/features/2009features/10-15-09_features.htm

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Internet Librarian, Day 4 – Wednesday, Oct 28 2009 – #IL2009

October 30th, 2009 by Ahniwa Posted in For Libraries, Technology and Resources, Training and Continuing Education | No Comments »

image Day 4 of the conference started with another great keynote: a panel of two high school students and one college student talking about how they view technology, education, and their own research habits. Some of my favorite sessions happened on the last day. I loved some of the comments that the teen panel made, particularly when the guy from high school said that in the future technology will make our leaves easier [and better], but ONLY if we use it in the right way. I got to attend my first Pecha Kucha session, too, which was neat (20 slides per presenter, 6 minutes and 40 seconds to present).

  • Keynote: Growing and Grown-Up Digital: Net-Gen Speaks
    Facilitated by Stephen Abram, SirsiDynix
  • Mashups for Library Data
    Nicole Engard, Director of Open Source Solutions, ByWater Solutions
  • Technology: The Engine Driving Pop Culture-Savvy Libraries or Source of Overload?
    Elizabeth Burns, Pop Goes the Library ; Sarah Houghton-Jan, LibrarianInBlack.net
  • Pecha Kucha: Innovative Practices
    Amy Affelt, Nicole Hennig, Steve Harris, Matt Hamilton

Other IL posts: Index | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Full session notes available after the cut.

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