Saturday, October 24, 2009

What's Happening @ Little Elm Public Library

Little Elm Public Library newsletter
10/26/2009

By the time you read this I will be in Arizona with my new grandchild. My daughter tells me they are wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts. This means I should be able to travel light, except for all the stuff I bought for the baby. The trick will be to fit everything in a carry on that will not raise suspicion in an airport. Wish me luck.

Some library programs that I wanted to remind you about include the all age (0-3), (4-6), (7-12), (13-19), and (adult) costume contest on Thursday, October 29th that starts at 6:30pm sharp, so arrive early; you can trick our treat at the library on Saturday, October 31st between 10-3; lastly, remember that the fall reading club ends Saturday, October 31st.

An event that I learned of that you might be interested in is the Family Fun Fest that Celebration Covenant Church is holding on Friday, October 30th from 7pm-10pm. Admission is free but tickets are $1.00 each for food, rides, and bounce houses. The event is at 8500 Teel Parkway in Frisco. For more information about this event call 214-387-9833.

Bestsellers added this week include “High on Arrival” by Mackenzie Phillips; “Arguing with Idiots” by Glenn Beck; “Have a Little Faith” by Mitch Albom; “The Perfect Christmas” by Debbie Macomber; “Her Fearful Symmetry” by Audrey Niffenegger; “Rough Country” by John Sandford; and “The Professional” by Robert B. Parker.

If you have not dropped by the library to see the winning posters of the Little Elm Fire Departments 2009 Fire Prevention Week Poster contest, they will be on display through Saturday, November 7th. The theme for this year was “Stay Fire Smart”. Congratulations to first place winners Christian, Lauren, and Aubrey; second place winners Nickolas, Olivia, and Pamela; and third place winners Brianna, Jacob, and Sophia. Brian Roach, Little Elm Fire Marshal reminds everyone to “remember to do your part in preventing home fires.”

For more information about anything, call a library. You can reach the Little Elm library at 214-975-0430 or email library@littleelm.org. We always look forward to seeing you.

Friday, October 23, 2009

What's Happening @ Little Elm Public Library?

I was able to talk to my grandchild the other day. Actually the conversation was a bit one sided since she was less than a week old. I was telling her how excited I was about coming to see her and all the fun we would have when I got there. I also told her that I was bringing some books to read to her and then she can keep them for her mom to read to her. That’s when she started to cry. I was not quite sure how to take that. But none the less, I still plan on reading to her. What are your favorite books to read to your children?

Speaking of reading, new bestsellers added this week include “An Echo in the Bone” by Diana Gabaldon; “The Professional” by Robert B. Parker and “The Year of the Flood” by Margaret Atwood. I am currently listening to “Look Again” by Lisa Scottoline about a mother who unknowingly adopts a kidnapped child. Good story so far.

Reading is for all ages and this week October 18th -24th is Teen Read Week. This year’s theme is Read Beyond Reality @ Your Library, which encourages teens and tweens to read beyond this world, for the fun of it. But wait, there is more! We are also part of the WrestleMania Reading Challenge held from October 19th 2009 through January 19th, 2010. The WrestleMania Reading Challenge is sponsored by YALSA and World Wrestling Entertainment. According to the American Library Association website “It is a program designed to encourage teens and tweens to continue their reading beyond Teen Read Week; by doing so, they can win prizes donated by WWE.” All teens and tweens have to do is read a combined total of ten books, graphic novels, and magazines and design a bookmark around a slogan that promotes reading. Reading logs and bookmark forms can be picked up at the library.

If you are looking for an early Halloween event for children, on Sunday, October 25th between 6pm-8pm, Alter Church of Frisco is holding Kandy Kraze. According to the flyer, there will be 1,000’s of pieces of candy and loads of fun for kids up to 12 years old. Alter Church is located at 9195 Preston (just north of Main in Frisco). If you know of other events, send us an email to library@littleelm.org.

Plan your time for next week too! There will be a costume contest for all ages at the library on Thursday, October 29th at 6:30pm sharp. The age categories range from infants to adult so dress up in your finest or freakyish to strut your stuff at the Little Elm library costume contest. Make sure to show up earlier than 6:30 so we can have time to get you where you need to be for the contest.

For more information about anything, contact the library at 214-975-0430; email library@littleelm.org or visit the website at www.littleelm.org/library. Follow our blog at http://littleelmlibrarypagebypage.blogspot.com/. If you follow the blog you can also go through my learning experiences of web 2.0 tools. At the blog page you can also sign up to become a fan of the library on Facebook. Just click on become a fan, then type in your sign in information for Facebook.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Method #12 Reflection and Evaluation

*First off, I enjoy the "in plain English" videos. Lee Lefever does a great job. Maybe my favorite discovery in this program was finding some good groups to join in the social networking lesson. It is very important to try and learn something new on a daily basis in order to provide the best service possible. My favorite exercise was YouTube. I can see how patrons can sit in the library all day watching them. *TSLAC's A Dozen Ways to Two Step program has enhanced what I learned during the North Texas 23 things program. I have set up accounts for the library in many of these applications and this learning experience will be helpful as we set up our virtual library in the future. *One takeaway from this program that surprised me was the number of social networking sites. I had no idea how many there were. I am thinking about ways to explore marketing our library and libraries in the international market through an international social networking site. * The way this program is put together is very good. Please keep the "in plain English" videos. One improvement would be to introduce the next level of 2.0. New sites that people probably have not heard of so that libraries can be ahead of the game with new concepts. *I would definitely participate in another program. Thank you for providing this opportunity and the CE credits.

Method #11 With Podcasting You Can Talk Anywhere

For this exercise I looked at a couple of podcasting directories. The first directory was the list of podcasting libraries in which I listened to two podcasts. Under Booktalks Quick and Simple, I listened to Todays podcast 10/14/09 that discussed Uncle Sam's America. They were right, it was quick and simple. One thing that I did like about the site was that I also learned about GoAnimate.com which looks like something I would like to learn more about and use with our library. I also listened to the Pro/con Presentation for May 19th Election podcast on the Sunnyvale Public Library site. It sounded like a taped meeting. The next directory I looked into was Podcast.com. I looked at the topics on the sidebar and chose kids and families where I listened to the parenting my teen show #48 where they discussed "sexting". I liked the way the speaker gave good teaser info in between general and show topics. For example, gave teaser info about the topic being hot, then went into general information about the show (when they broadcast type of things), then mentioned the topic "sexting", then went into a commercial, and then went into the show itself. My goal has been to podcast my weekly library newsletter and I am working towards that goal.

Method #10 Wiki Can Be Wicked

Funny thing, I had a hard time with this during the North Texas 23 Things training and I am still having a hard time. Though I am in awe of how others have used Wiki's because it does have major potential, for some reason it is still confusing how to get the information into the various wiki parts. I would like to put together some type of ready reference wiki but I need to understand wiki better. Another thing for my to-do-list :-) I did add a comment to the favorite fundraising page. Under recent activity of the Favorite Things Frontpage, I saw that people added and edited so I hope I followed the instructions correctly by adding a comment. Wiki's are so confusing!

Method #9 IM Chatty

Chat is not a new concept to me. I have tried it years ago and again most recently in various webinars and with a text referencing service that we are involved in called MyInfoquest. When the MyInfoquest libraries meet online for meetings, we use a combination of audio, online, and chat features. It is pretty high energy keeping up with all the various mediums and conversations. When I first tried chat years ago, it was not easy and I did not like it. Now that I have had more training and experience it is a lot easier. Chat/IM in libraries adds a whole new dimension of service. It fits in well with virtual library service. Though we do not currently offer this type of service we do plan to in the future. Currently we encourage people to drop by, call, or send us an email. We also have a Facebook, Twitter, and blog accounts to interact with people as well. After reading about Meebo, I think that would be a great way to start the IM/Chat service because you don't have to be tied to any certain account, it appears to interact with any of the services.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Method # 8 Let's Get Sociable!

Social networking sites are a great way to interact with others, including connecting with past and present colleagues and friends, making new friends, and keeping in touch with family. In regards to libraries it is an excellent way to reach out to both library users and nonusers alike to promote libraries. It would be great if someday everyone would either be physical or virtual library users and social networking is the way to make that happen. In regards to privacy concerns between private and professional life in an online environment, there is nothing wrong with combining the two as long as the personal information that you share does not reflect poorly on your employer. It is also important to remember that anything that is put into the online environment can be read by anyone. Our library is currently using social networking tools including Face Book, Twitter, Ning and a blog. We also have almost 5,000 people signed up on the library listserv. We plan on using more social networking tools in the future. It can be very time consuming but it is time well spent to promote libraries. I currently post my weekly library newsletter on our various sites once a week unless I get emails that let me know someone is following our tweets or wants to be added as a friend. I appreciate the various discovery exercises given on the TSLAC 2.0 because it enabled me to learn about other organizations and groups that I would like to join and follow. One thing that I really like about social networking is that others can learn about what you are doing when you sign up to keep up with what they are doing. Next thing you know many people are learning new things from each other!http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1131775397&v=wall

Method #7 Tags Are Delicious!

Tags are definitely more user friendly and laid back than regular subject headings that librarians try to adhere to. For example, in Amazon, funny was a tag used to describe an item whereas librarians would tend to use the term humor as a subject heading. Whenever I tag my work I try to think how others would look up the information so that I would get the most amount of hits. I actually set up a Delicious account when I took the North Texas 23 Things training and have been using it ever since but I did learn some new things with the TSLAC 2.0 as well. When I took the NT23, I bookmarked a lot of the sites that I add my weekly library newsletter so that I don't have to look each one up separately each time. In the TSLAC 2.0 training, I added Tampa Bay Library Association and TSLAC IDCEC bookmarks to my Delicious network because I saw a lot of good information. After reading the article "Several Habits of Wildly Successful Del.icio.us users" blog, I shared the website with my boss and other department heads and I also requested updates from the Bizzia site because it had a lot of good information as well. I am looking forward to using the information that I learned from both trainings to continue improving how I use Delicious and tagging.

Friday, October 16, 2009

What's Happening @ Little Elm Public Library

Little Elm Public Library newsletter
10/12/09

The most exciting thing happened on Saturday, October 10th. My daughter had her baby (named Annalia Irene, weighing in at 7 pounds 3 ounces). It is a good thing that I came into the 21st century by buying a new phone that has texting and other media capabilities. I was spending a lot of time texting her husband during the time that she was not in the mood to talk due to the labor pains. What was really psychic is that I had not texted for a few hours and then the next time I sent a text asking how she was, he told me she was delivering the baby. There is a lot to be said about a mother’s instinct and intuition. Stay tuned for weekly updates and I would love to hear any of your stories about mother’s intuition and instinct. I am also conducting a survey. For those of you who are grandparents, what do the grandchildren call you?

Bestsellers added this week include “Dexter by Design” by Jeff Lindsay; “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown; “Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman” by Jon Krakauer; “Pilgrims” by Garrison Keillor; “Have a Little Faith” by Mitch Albom; “Hardball” by Sara Paretsky; Perfect Piece by Rebeca Seitz and “Hothouse Orchid” by Stuart Woods. I am currently listening to “Hothouse Orchid” on audio and it is very good.

Speaking of reading, drop by the library on Saturday, October 17th at 10:30am during family story time and listen to stories while spending time with Molly the Schipperke certified through Therapy Dog International. At 1pm, visit the knitting club.

For a future event, mark you calendars for the upcoming business and craft fair held on Saturday, October 24th from 11-2. Representatives from Scentsy Wickless Candles; SATLUP.COM (Buildablanket); Discovery Toys; Local Crafter Linda Dallas; Avon; Local Crafter Raejean; Fu-Jin Restaurant; Little Elm Toastmasters; Occasions and Causes; 1st Class D.J. Service; Tupperware; Local Crafter Norma Perez; Herbalife; Bev’s Designs (jewelry); U.S. Census Bureau (will have giveaway items); and Dickey’s BBQ (free cups while supplies last).

There is still time to buy your hockey tickets to watch the Texas Tornadoes Hockey Team in action on Saturday, October 24th at 7pm. Tickets need to be purchased by Thursday, October 22nd at 5pm. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the Little Elm Public Library. The library receives $5.00 of each ticket sold.

Another event that starts on October 25th and runs through the 27th is the Little Elm Fire Department’s “Care Enough to Wear Pink; Firefighters For a Cure”. Join the firefighters as they support breast cancer by selling pink shirts for $15. Shirts can be purchased at the Central Fire Station between 9am and 5pm Monday through Friday or by emailing James Connor at local4220@hotmail.com. All profits donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

For more information about anything contact the library by calling 214-975-0430; or email library@littleelm.org.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Method #6 Movie Tubes

I have explored YouTube before but had not seen TeacherTube. I am under the impression that I could trust what was on teacher tube because of the educational aspect where as YouTube is a free for all of expression by anyone. I do like the layout of YouTube better, it appears more "user friendly". Since National Library Card Sign Up Month just ended, I chose the YouTube video Scott Township Public Library - National Library Card Sign-up Month at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwn94jqgmVU. I did try to embed the video into my blog but nothing worked, including asking two of my co-workers if they knew how to do it. We all pressed the same buttons and tried the same things and nothing worked. Very frustrating. I would like to do more promotions of the library programs and services using YouTube but I still need a lot more understanding of how to use this medium and also more time, which I just don't have right now. I will keep an eye out for a volunteer or a student who might be able to assist us with this project. This would also be an important addition to virtual branch libraries, which we hope to have some day.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Method #5: Smile You're On Flickr!

First off, I always enjoy watching any "In Plain English" videos by Lee LeFever. I really like how he puts things in general terms so it is easy to understand and the background humming at times and the hand signs are hilarious. I am familiar with Flickr but have not done anything with it since my North Texas 23 Things online experience. In checking out what other libraries are doing with Flickr, I was glad to see a discussion list. This will be a great place to see how libraries are handling certain things or to ask questions. The picture that I have uploaded is from our library's 2008 haunted house. It is one of my favorites. I use the caption "old librarians never die, they just bone up on good books." On a personal note, I can see how Flickr would be useful to categorize all my pictures but one thing that I would need to do first is get my pictures on disk because most of my photos are from Poloroids or disposible cameras (old school) and second of all it would help if I had a home computer. On a professional level, Flickr has a lot of potential for organizing library photos it just gets a little complicated sometimes when there are people in the picture. The hard part is that you want people in the pictures, you just have to be careful how you use them when promoting and marketing programs. It is also very time consuming organizing the pictures. I still would like to do more with Flickr in the future.
When comparing Flickr with Picasa, wow, they both have a lot of good features and it seems like they both do a lot of the same things. Usually when one site does something different, it isn't long before the other site starts doing it too. What was interesting is when I pulled up Picasa, I saw that I already had a couple of photos there already. I can't really say which I like more because I have not used either one a lot but I would probably start working with Flickr, only because the name is familiar. I did like the fact that Picasa could upload pictures into YouTube but Flickr might do that too, I just may not have noticed that in my readings. Can you say "information overload?"

What's Happening @ Little Elm Public Library

Little Elm Public Library newsletter
09/28/2009
Texas weather is pretty cool. Where else can you have spring, summer, and fall weather in the same weekend? Sometimes the weather changes can make it a little difficult to plan what to wear but if you have an inside job the same problem can exist depending on how the air conditioning system works.

One thing that you can do in any weather is listen to audio books. A new audio bestseller added this week is Think Smart: A Neuroscientist’s Prescription for Improving Your Brain’s Performance. Please share any feedback you have after listening.

Speaking of using your brain, there are many different kinds of jobs in the world today. For example, have you ever wondered what it takes to work a job that involves closed captioning? On Saturday, October 3rd you can attend a presentation that talks about what closed captioning is, how it works and how it can benefit you. You will learn about the field of closed captioning, along with what qualifications and equipment you would need. The Little Elm Public Library is hosting a presentation on closed captioning by Dallas Captioning. Volunteers at the program will have an opportunity to use the short hand machine and write their first caption. Learn the importance of Spanish captioning. These and many more topics will be covered on Saturday, October 3rd from 10am-11:30am for ages 17 and up. For more information and to register call the library at 214-975-0430.

Programs taking place on Saturday, October 3rd includes the Closed Captioning presentation at 10am; family story time at 10:30am; a knitting class for ages 8-adult at 11am (costs $10 per person and proceeds go to the library); up-close and personal biography book club for all ages at 12:30pm; and a crafters guild meeting at 1pm.

A hot town event that is taking place on Saturday, October 3rd from 11-2 is the Little Elm Fire Department Open House that kicks off Fire Prevention Month. The Fire Department has a lot of exciting things planned so visit www.littleelm.org and click on Little Elm Fire Department 2009 Open House in the calendar section for more information.

If you like to plan way ahead, the Little Elm Friends of the Library are celebrating their 12th anniversary on Thursday, October 22nd at Town Hall (100 W. Eldorado Parkway). Light refreshments will be available at 6:30pm. At 7pm, guest speaker, humorist, teacher, actress, historian, journalist, and author Rosemary Rumbley will be giving a review on the book “Promised Land, 13 books That Changed America” written by Jay Parini. Please RSVP to Lynn Hidell by emailing lhidell@hidell.com or call 214-215-7720 so that they can have an idea of how many people may be attending.

For more information about anything, contact the library at 214-975-0430 or email library@littleelm.org. The library is open Monday/Wednesday 10am-5:30pm, Tuesday/Thursday 10am-8pm and Saturday 10am-3pm. To sign up for the library newsletter visit www.littleelm.org/library, click on Get Connected, type in your email address, scroll down and check the box marked page by page, then submit. We are looking forward to you joining us.