Utah Libraries » Utah

Trading Spaces: Utah Library Mentoring program

Colleen Eggett — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:19:55 +0000

Trading Spaces is a mentoring program designed to enable Utah library staff to learn skills from each other. Library workers sign up for the program, get approved, and then work with their mentor on a specific project that might lead their library in positive directions. Complete details are on the Utah State Library website

Apply by filling out the application form or applying online:

To be mentored: mentee application

To become a mentor: mentor application

Goals of the program:

Developing 21st century skills for all Utah library staff
Finding new ways of doing things and solving problems
Sharing expertise through collaboration and networking
Supporting newcomers to Utah libraries

Mentors are matched with applicants by Trading Spaces Committee members. There will be an opening session to explain the program and discuss the mentoring relationship. At that time, applicants will be matched with mentors and develop an action plan. The program goes from July 1-June 30, with application deadlines twice a year: June 30 and Dec. 31. Meetings should be planned based on the scope of the project. They may take place in person, by phone, or online.

You may apply for a:

Compact program (1-8 hours of instruction)
Mid-sized program (2-5 days spread over time)
Luxury program (2-6 month commitment)
Custom built program (tbd by participants)

Who might request a mentor?

Any library staff member that wants to learn new skills, with the approval of their manager or library director.

Why request a mentor?

Mentors can share advice on professional development and specific library functions
Mentors can help you get involved at local and statewide levels

Mentors can offer different perspectives

Why be a mentor?

Expand your resume/ cv
Increase your job satisfaction by helping others grow professionally
Develop your communication and teaching skills
Pass on your professional legacy
Increase your library’s visibility and value to the community

Guidelines for Participants

Decide in advance what goals you would like to accomplish
Apply online or by filling out the print application
Value and take advantage of this opportunity
Evaluate your experience at the conclusion

Guidelines for Mentors

Have working knowledge and experience in the library profession and be willing to share that with others
Apply to the committee to become a mentor
Indicate your areas of expertise
Receive a mentor certificate upon completion

Finances:

To offset expenses and encourage collaboration, Utah State Library offers a grant available to institutions that provide mentors

Time commitment	Funding level
1-8 hours of instruction	$100
2-5 days spread over time	$250
2-6 month commitment	$1000
tbd by participants	tbd; advance approval required

Upon pre-approval, Utah State Library will pay a scholarship of $150 which should be used for any costs incurred while participating in the program
Expenses incurred over the above rates will be the responsibility of the individual or their library

Trading Spaces Committee 2010/11:

Britton Lund, Washington County Library
Colleen Eggett, Utah State Library
Jason Cornelius, Logan Library
Jennifer Fay, SL County Library
Linda Fields, Richfield Library
Lynn Darrough-Walton, SL County Library
Ruby Cheesman, Utah Library Assoc. President / SL County Library
Safi Safiullah, SL City Public Library
Steve Decker, Cedar City Library
Susan Hamada, SL County Library

Contact: Colleen Eggett, Utah State Library Training Coordinator/ Consultant
(801) 715-6776 or (800) 662-9150 x776 (Utah toll-free) ceggett@utah.gov

Connecting to Collections Town Hall

Ray Matthews — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:24:29 +0000

The results of our recent statewide Connecting to Collections Preservation Assessment are now compiled and a final report defining the State of Preservation in Utah has been drafted by Tom Clareson, our consultant on this project.

Everyone with a vested interest in the long-term health of collections in Utah is now invited to attend a Town Hall Meeting. This Town Hall Meeting will give you an opportunity to hear from our consultant about the survey results and discuss with the Connecting to Collections Steering Committee possible next steps for improving preservation in Utah. The Town Hall Meetings are scheduled for:

Cedar City
Tuesday 30 March, 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Southern Utah University, Sherratt Library
351 W. Center, Cedar City, UT 84720
Local contact: Janet Seegmiller, (435) 586-7945, seegmiller@suu.edu

Vernal
Wednesday 31 March, 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Uintah County Library
155 East Main , Vernal, Utah 84078
Local contact: Sam Passey, (435) 789-0091, passey@co.uintah.ut.us

Logan
Thursday 1 April, 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library
3000 Old Main Hill, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-3000
Local contact: Brad Cole, (435) 797-2631, brad.cole@usu.edu

Members of the Connecting to Collections Steering Committee include:

Donna Jones Morris, Director/State Librarian, Utah State Library
Patricia Smith-Mansfield, Director, Utah State Archives
Philip F. Notarianni, Director, Utah State History
Brent G. Thompson, Preservation Director, Church History Library
Colleen Eggett, Training Coordinator, Utah State Library
Laurel Casjens, Museum Specialist, Office of Museum Services
Scott Duvall, Associate University Librarian, Brigham Young University
Chris Erickson, Digital Preservation Officer, Brigham Young University
Randy Silverman, Preservation Librarian, Univ. Of Utah (chair)
Thomas F.R. Clareson, Director for New Initiatives, Lyrasis, Philadelphia, PA

These two-hour Town Hall Meetings are a one-time opportunity for you to participate in this evolving plan to improve preservation in this state and for your institution, and are made possible by a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Documentation

Clareson, Thomas F.R. (10 March 2010). Utah connecting to collections survey report [Final consultant's report; Utah C2C survey final report]. Atlanta, GA: LYRASIS.

Utah’s Connecting to Collections project: a statewide preservation initiative. Applicant: University of Utah (2009). Institute of Museum and Library Services. Available online: http://www.imls.gov/applicants/samples/CtoC/Utah.pdf.

A public trust at risk: the Heritage Health Index report on the state of America’s collections [HHI]. (2005). Heritage Health Index, a partnership between Heritage Preservation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Available online: http://www.scribd.com/doc/12928521/The-Heritage-Health-Index-Report-on-the-State-of-Americas-Collections.

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND A TOWN HALL MEETING NEAR YOU

Help for the technophobic librarian

Colleen Eggett — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:32:40 +0000

Today’s class on Help for the Technophobic Librarian was fun! We talked about all things techie, with folks that have patrons in every day doing techie things. Library directors and others who are interested in technology came to the event. Some takeaways:

Our patrons are doing 2.0 things every day on our computers. Are our librarians in the 2000′s or are we back in 1999?

Thomas Friedman said, “It’s all about how you horizontalize. It’s who addresses this clean power challenge the best that will find the most productivity.” Thomas Friedman, \”The world is flat 3.0\”

We need to realize that it’s the masses of people who are deciding how businesses run and even the libraries. We need to “learn it or die” as one attendee said. After all, “the people in the library are doing it like crazy,” continued another librarian.

Utah Photos in Online Government Digital Libraries

Ray Matthews — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:16:48 +0000

Are you in need of that perfect Utah photo for your library website? Did you know that U.S. Federal government agencies offer some of the richest collections of photos relating to Utah? If you rely on Google Images for finding photos of Utah, you’re missing the big picture.

The Bureau of Land Management, for example, has recently launched an enhanced version of their BLM Photo Library, http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/bpd.html, that contains 60,000 digital photographs in the public domain of landscapes and historical images that primarily of public lands in 12 Western state including Utah. The Utah photos include those of arches, rock formations, scenery, rangeland, wild mustangs, cowboys, Indian rock art, and oil and mineral extraction. The collection cannot be browsed and retrieving images using the search is dicey because search terms have to match those in the limited metadata associated with each photo. Searches for features and places seem to retrieve the best results. Because the photos are in the public domain, this may be a great resource for teachers, webmasters, local governments, and those needing photos for tourism and related needs. A shopping cart feature allows users to collect several images and then download them in a compressed folder.
Some other federal government agencies that have large public collections of photographs of scenes in Utah include: