Things said in class today:
Oh, coool…..
I’ve always wondered how to do that
Wow, this changes the way I do things at the library
Start with the simplest and most probable solutions. “When you see horse prints look for horses, not zebras.”
Take pride in your solution
Instructor: Shelly Drumm, BCR
Audience: Public librarians who have websites through this project
Location: Utah State Library, Computer Lab, 201
We will review the basics of setting up your pages, adding posts, adding links, news feeds, your online library catalog, and anything else you want. The last part of the session will be for help with your individual site. Come prepared to learn and do! This is a working session. Bring all those who work on your website.
Don’t own a public library website in Utah yet? Contact Colleen Eggett ceggett@utah.gov
See details about the project
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law No. 111-5, will be providing $4.7 billion establishing the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. This program will fund eligible entities to develop and expand broadband services to rural and underserved areas and to improve access to broadband by public safety agencies.
At least $200 million of this funding will be available in grants for upgrading broadband at public computing centers including community college libraries and public libraries.
Get the details about these broadband grants at:
Herriman» Last Thursday, I attended an open house. There were no refreshments, no wine or cheese. Not even root beer and Fritos for that matter. It was in the Herriman City Library.
The Herriman library is actually only a library in the sense that it has books, a few shelves, and is run by women who seem nice enough but are probably capable of violence if you make too much noise. .
Currently, our book repository is just a couple of rooms in a strip mall behind a Jiffy Lube. It’s not bad as small libraries go, but frankly I have more books in my basement. We deserve a better one. Not only has Herriman grown, plenty of us can even read.
The good news is that a new bigger and better library is on the way. The open house was to show off the artist’s renderings and give the public a chance to talk to the architects, county officials and workers without having to whisper.
As a journalist, I had plenty of questions. For the sake of space, here are the answers: “No, there will not be a helicopter pad, XXX-rated reading room, free doughnuts, hot tub, or parking for elephants. Please sit down.”
Before I did, I forced them to admit one important thing. The new Herriman library will have way more books, thousands and thousands of them. Eventually maybe even a million. I’m happy. You can’t go wrong with books.
Driving home I thought about all the libraries of my youth, many of them smaller than our current knothole of a facility. My family moved a lot and books were my drug of choice. There was only one place to get them legally.
———————————————————
The old man said, “You ditched school
for an entire week and went to
… the library?”
———————————————————
The smallest library I ever held a card for was actually a utility truck. The “bookmobile” came through our desert town once a week. Selection was limited but the driver/librarian was a godsend.
The driver’s name was Lloyd and he only had one foot. Depending on the intensity of his breath, he lost the other in the war or a hay baler.
Lloyd saw that I was bored. He introduced me to Joseph Altsheler’s Forest Runner series. We’ll probably never know how many lives he saved among those unfortunate enough to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with me.
The libraries of my life range from that bookmobile to the Library of Congress. Some are better than others but I’ve never visited one I would have complained about being locked in for the night.
I was thrown out of a library only once. A city librarian figured out that no 15-year-old kid belonged in a library three days in a row during the school year and called the cops.
For once, the old man wasn’t mad that he had to leave work and come and get me. He was deeply confused. The look on his face was a blend of pity and pride.
“Let me see if I got this straight,” he said. “You ditched school for an entire week and went to … the library?”
It’s the only time telling the truth ever got me out of a whacking.
– Robert Kirby
Robert Kirby is a columnist for The Salt Lake Tribune. This story originally appeared his “Kirby” column, February 4, 2009. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11617648
Reprinted in Utah Libraries with permission of The Salt Lake Tribune
Washington DC is joining a growing number of public libraries making their catalog easily available to the growing number of hand-held device users.
This is the first library to create their own iPhone app.
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.
The Diane Rehm show today, Wednesday, January 7, 2009, is “The Role of Libraries in Economic Hard Times.”
Libraries today have become multimedia centers, offering not only books but DVDs, e-books and Internet access. They can also be an especially important community resource during times of economic hardship. A look at the future of libraries in a slowing economy.
Diane’s guests today will be Carla Hayden, executive director, Enoch Pratt Free Library and president of the American Library Association; Jim Rettig, President of the American Library Association and University Librarian at the Boatwright Memorial Library at the University of Richmond, Virginia; and Ginnie Cooper, Chief Librarian for the District of Columbia Public Library.
Listen it to it live at 9:00 a.m. on NPR radio stations such as:
Or one hour or later after the broadcast listen to the podcast: