Find Webinars!

A blog post on the ALA learning round table offers some great resources for keeping current with online webinars:

• Google Reader Bundle
if you use google reader for blog reading, here is an easy way to add a bundle of RSS feeds to your reader for library webinars.


• Brad Ward’s Library Webinars blog
a blog of various training opportunities for librarians.


• Stephanie Zimmerman’s Library-Related Training Opportunities Google Calendar
calendar of training opportunities.

Fall e-learning from ACRL

From online multi week seminars to 1-2 hour webcasts, check out some of these online learning sessions for academic libraries which you can attend without leaving your desk!

Here are the details from the 9/6/10 ALA News release:

Copyright and the Library Part 1: The Basics Including Fair Use (Sept. 13 - Oct. 1, 2010): Build an understanding of current copyright law, creating a “copyright palette” for your library and assessing a library’s legal risk with regard to current U.S. copyright law. Gain an understanding of the Fair Use clause, as well as how to legally apply fair use in the library, classroom and broader campus environments.

Designing Usable and Accessible Web Pages: Needs, Analysis, Design Planning, XHTML and CSS Standards, Accessibility Validation, and Usability Testing (Beginners) (Sept. 13 - Oct. 8, 2010): This hands-on course focuses on the basics of website planning, design and content development. The course will also examine Web standards, usability and accessibility. XHTML and CSS (external) will be introduced.

Creating Usable and Accessible Web Pages: XHTML and CSS Review, Navigation, Interactivity, CMS and Other Options (Intermediate) (Oct. 4 - Nov. 12, 2010): Participants in this online course will be able to use CSS layout to design highly accessible navigation and menus; create basic forms; use free JavaScripts to add functionality; design with multimedia; and understand strengths and limitations of CMS.

Successful Budgeting in Academic Libraries (Oct. 11-30, 2010): In this course, participants will learn essential budgeting skills, including how to develop and manage a budget and how to write a persuasive budget request.

Learning Objects: Creating Instruction To Go (Nov. 1-21, 2010): Find out more about learning objects and learn how to create a learning object using a Web 2.0 application or other suitable technology in this course.

The Not-So-Distant Librarian: Online Library Instruction to Engage Students and Faculty (Sept. 14, 2010): Learn practical tips and tools for designing, implementing and assessing online library instruction in this ACRL webcast.

From Idea to Publication Series: Understanding the Research Question (Sept. 23, 2010): Learn to formulate and define good research questions, select appropriate research methodologies and design the research study. Specific topics will include the development of useful questionnaires, techniques used in conducting telephone interviews, working with focus groups and constructing surveys to get the information they need.

So You Want to Create an Interactive Information Literacy Tutorial? (Oct. 19, 2010): Learn about the experience creating an interactive information literacy tutorial from beginning to end in collaboration with a multimedia designer in this webcast. Evaluate the potential of tutorial as an assessment tool and an opportunity for self-evaluation.

From Idea to Publication Series: Analysis and Writing (Nov. 4, 2010): Learn to apply the appropriate analysis methods to your project’s data or information, depending on the research methodology you are using. It is essential to have an understanding of the appropriate forms of analyses (along with their possibilities and limitations). Then comes writing. Readers must be able to comprehend your original question or problem, the process of selecting the appropriate methodology, your processes of analysis and the meaning of your findings.

Building a New Librarianship (Nov. 9, 2010): The future for librarians is bright, but not if we continue on our current path. We must bravely envision a new librarianship, one based on knowledge, activism and embedding ourselves deeply into the academy’s daily work. This session seeks to lay out a foundation for this new librarianship, with real world examples.

New Models for Credit-Bearing Information Literacy Courses (Nov. 16, 2010): Learn about best practices for credit-bearing information literacy courses in this ACRL webcast, based upon a literature review and several years of experimentation with various approaches to teaching a one-credit course.

From Idea to Publication Series: Submitting for Publication (Dec. 1, 2010): Learn how to select an appropriate journal or publisher, learn how to prepare a manuscript for submission and understand what the submission process will encompass. Also learn how to query editors and how to manage your own author rights, including open access licensing.

Online Forms: Interaction and Feedback without the “Paperwork” (Dec. 7, 2010): With courses and departments moving materials onto the Web or cloud computing platforms, review the possibilities available with interactive forms for the classroom and the department.

Complete details and registration information for all fall 2010 e-Learning opportunities are available online at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/proftools/elearning.cfm. Contact Kathryn Deiss at kdeiss@ala.org or (312) 280-2529 for more information.

Library Liaisons Meet

The Library Liaisons met for a luncheon workshop on Wednesday, August 11. Prior to the luncheon, everyone reviewed four documents that concerned liaison responsibilities and policies. One document was a dated work entitled “Liaison Functions,” which was accepted by the UNCG Collection Management Committee in April 1998. The other three documents concerned liaison responsibilities and policies at three other universities—the University of Connecticut, Indiana-University-Perdue-University-Indianapolis (IUPUI), and Boise State University. Although the “Liaisons Functions” document from UNCG is dated and excludes user services responsibilities, it does provide some good information on collection management and development, as well as emphasizing the importance of communication and cooperation with teaching faculty. After discussing all four documents, the liaisons agreed that UNCG needed a new document that would summarize liaison responsibilities. The UCONN and IUPUI documents provide a good outline for such a new document—being 2-to-4 pages in length and highlighting both collections and user services responsibilities, as well as emphasizing the importance of communication and cooperation with teaching faculty. Stephen Dew and Kathy Crowe agreed to write the first draft of a new document for UNCG, which will later be shared with all liaisons for review.

The liaisons agreed that the luncheon workshop was a worthwhile event and that it was good to meet occasionally as a separate group, outside the regular monthly Collection Management Committee meetings, which include other members and focus entirely on collection responsibilities and issues. This summer, the Reference Department started a series of Round Table Meetings for liaisons to discuss instruction and user services responsibilities, and these events will be continued (probably just during interim periods). The liaisons agreed to continue the workshop luncheons (like this one) and to hold two each year, December and May, at the end of each semester.

ASERL's summer summit

I attended the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) workshop because it was focused on the future of the government documents depository system in the southeast region. ASERL is trying to work within the system (and Title 44) to create a new model for depository libraries. The restrictions for being in the Federal Depository Library Program can be overly strict and at times archaic, but its overarching goal is valid--ensuring future access to government information.

The ASERL proposal attempts to create a regional focus for our depositories and to create Centers of Excellence (depositories that commit to collecting comprehensively in a particular agency or sub-agency). These centers would ensure that schools in the southeast have access to stronger print collections than one individual regional school could produce alone. (And I hear you asking already: "Isn't everything already online?" No, not everything is born-digital and no, not everything is being digitized. Not even all of the important stuff is being digitized. No one has the money to digitize it all, even Google). The idea is great and needed, but it will be a long process to get to that point. The group met (mostly government docs librarians and deans) to work through the report and brainstorm and collaborate on improvement. Hopefully this approach will make the FDLP system stronger! UNCG may try to become a Center of Excellence for a smaller agency or sub-agency, but more to come as we move forward.

"3 Topics in 30 Minutes" Schedule

The ERIT department in conjunction with the Staff Development Committee welcomes you to join us in the CITI lab for the first two of five scheduled courses covering the Microsoft Office suite. Two sessions will be offered for each class, occuring at 9:00am and 3:00pm.

Excel I: String Manipulation
In this 30 minute session held in the CITI lab, you will explore Excel's functions that manipulate cells which contain text. Click on the link to open the invitation and sign up!

August 10th at 9:00am: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/FMPUXTAYMKXYBMLGENRZ/excel1-9am

August 11th at 3:00pm: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/EGNNRXSLKFJRQKEFURFI/excel1-3pm

PowerPoint I
This class will start with some presentation basics before examining techniques such as advanced transitions and importing video/audio to spice up the appearance of your presentations. Click on the link to open the invitation and sign up!

August 17th at 9:00am:
http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/MSUBVDTXYHAYVOUOQJFZ/ppt1-9am

August 18th at 3:00pm: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/FQFCCWLZTWQMOBTHQMLD/ppt1-3pm

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there!

-- The Staff Development Committee

Free online classes through HP

Check out the classes available through the HP Learning Center - Free, online classes, available 24/7 in categories of digital photography, home office, business basics, IT basics, MS and Adobe, and graphic arts. Most classes contain 2-6 lessons with demos, quizzes, assignments, and message boards. Some are self paced and some have instructors w/ deadlines. You have to register to take classes but its free. More details here.

ALA Conference 2010

ALA 2010 was held in Washington DC and during a hot weekend (I think it hit 99degrees one day) and of course, meetings were typically back to back, in one hotel and another one 2 miles away! But I love to walk and that is to be expected for ALA: lots of walking, lots of networking and lots of sessions from which to choose. This ALA for me was mainly committee meetings and networking events (and free meals and drinks when I could get them!)

I wrapped up my co-chairing of the ACRL Distance Learning Section's Bibliography Committee after 2 years of work with a fabulous committee, creating the 5th bibliography on Library Services for Distance Learning. Thanks to some of you UNCG Librarians who wrote some annotations for this bibliography!

I also met the wonderful ACRL University Libraries Section Executive Board, where I will now be co-chairing a committee Technology In University Libraries. I asked for this to be a virtual only committee - so none of us has to worry about money to travel to ALA next year and we can explore first hand virtual technologies. One of our committee goals will be to help the ULS carry on conversations and follow up after ALA annual meetings - including ways to collaborate, plan events, and meet - all virtually!

The exhibit hall had a vast amount to take in. I especially liked the Green Pavilion of exhibitors. The poster sessions were also interesting, particularly Games People Play (App State), and On Demand and Just in Time: Putting Tutorials into Subject Librarians' Hands (ASU).

The various socials allowed for time to network, discuss activities, share ideas and simply visit old friends and former co-workers. I showed off our new library video "Ask us @UNCG Libraries" to many people there and got lots of positive feedback and responses like "wow, you work at a awesome library!"