I am thinking of ways to get this site even cooler than it is. I want to make it so it’s smoother, easier to use. Any ideas from you 2.0 gurus out there? I just joined Library 2.0 on ning and am thinking of some of those features.
Help me obi wan kanobi, you’re my only hope.
I am interested in what training you want in the next couple of years.
Please take this short survey or comment below.
As a result of the last survey, we trained to all of the top topics. Here’s what you said, in order by the most requested, and when we offered it:
Cache County government did a feasibility study this past year to decide whether to consolidate into a county-wide system. While there are difficult issues to overcome, the benefits far outweigh the risks. In the long run, patrons can benefit from the increased number of books and materials available, staff can benefit from an increased network for training and support. It just may move literacy forward in some exciting ways.
Logan City remains supportive of the creation of a Cache County Library System. Jay Monson, chairman of the Countywide Library System Committee, says that “the Logan City Council and mayor hope that the Cache County Council and administration will lead in this endeavor. The beginnings of a system would certainly be a major step forward and far better than no system at all.” Jay talks about a quasi-countywide system as a possible first step. That’s a great idea imho. There is a lot of info on their blog.
Though the task may seem insurmountable at first blush, Cache County should think about how to make it work even though they may not start on opening day with all the pieces that other library systems have taken years to develop. That, too, will come.
By Samantha Hastings, West Jordan Library
The Uplift Grant allowed me to take the Advanced Management of Information Agencies online course through the University of North Texas. The main focus of the course was the strategic planning process, including: library vision statements, library mission statements, conducting information audits, and creating a strategic plan. This brief article will focus on rethinking library mission statements and strategic planning strategies.
Does each member of your library staff know your library’s vision and/or mission? Joseph R. Matthews (2005) explains that “In most cases, these mission statements are too lengthy and don’t really get to the heart of the library’s mission. Too often these statements erroneously include processes that the library uses to deliver its mission” (16). A good mission statement, according to Matthews, could be printed on a T-shirt (16). A good mission statement is meaningful and memorable. According to Scott Beagrie (2005), a mission statement should inspire employees to accomplish or to work toward organizational goals.
By Linda Fields, Richfield Public Library Director
I received a Professional Excellence Grant from the Utah State Library to attend the Association for Rural and Small Libraries Conference in Sacramento in September. I’ve attended the ARSL conference when it was only being held in Columbus, OH and I felt I gained enough from those meetings to make it worthwhile to attend again.
One of the programs I attended was “Video Games in the Library” by Kieran Hixon. I chose to attend this because I thought “Gaming in the Library? No way!” Sometimes I find it wise to learn about something when I have a poor attitude toward it.
The misconception that gaming is done on the internet was the main basis for my attitude. Over the years, children and internet use has proved a challenge to libraries and it was a challenge I didn’t want to tackle. So gaming is not a new activity. If you think about gaming as internet games, board games and card games, gaming has been done in libraries for years. Continue reading
Here are some results from the latest Harris survey:
See the full results: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=949