1) Gaming Survey From Game Lab
2) Scholarship Announcement for Small Libraries
3) Spring Paper Order Through IEC
4) Meetings / Events This Week
1) Gaming Survey From Game Lab: The Library School at Syracuse University, in cooperation with Champaign-Urbana University in Illinois and ALA, has been researching gaming programs in libraries for about 2 years. Via an online survey, they’re asking input from libraries of all types that held gaming programs in 2008. Since many of you gamers are freshly back from Northwest’s “Get Your Game On” workshop in Storm Lake, you’ll be interested in this survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2f7OHgA9CgOiCtqEc_2bjGnug_3d_3d
Here’s a description “…Time for the census of 2008 library gaming programs! Did your public, academic, school, or special library run a gaming program in 2008? Did you have Chess, Scrabble, Computer games, Console games or ANY other type of gaming as a library program? It's time to tell us about it. These surveys have been valuable in helping us to understand how libraries are using the data. Additionally, survey answers are useful in getting grant funding for the field and helps us to demonstrate how we are taking gaming seriously…You can take the survey at—the survey will be open until May 31st…”
From the Library Game Lab of Syacuse “…Many libraries are integrating gaming into their offerings for users, targeting younger members of the community. Libraries are bringing in teenagers through gaming programs who haven’t visited since their parents brought them to storytime, and many are being exposed to other library services in the process. Cleverly placed books and media on computers, games, and other related activities go home with the users. One role of many libraries is to serve as a community center where people living in the same area can meet and enjoy activities together. Games, as the next new media, are quickly being integrated into library services as an offering for groups of users who may not frequent the library for other reasons. As with any phenomenon, scientists wish to understand more about this intersection of gaming and libraries…”
To see the publications that have come from previous surveys, click here http://gamelab.syr.edu/publications/
2) Scholarship Announcement for Small Libraries: Very cool news from the Iowa Small Libraries Association (ISLA) The Exec Board has approved offering a $500.00 scholarship for one ISLA member to attend the Association For Rural and Small Libraries Annual Conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The national conference is September 11-13 in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
ISLA has finalized the application criteria; an email went out last Wednesday with full details. It’s too much to reprint here, but essentially an essay contest will determine the winner. Applicants must be able to verify that they’ll have the full support of their board and can pay for travel and other incidental expenses beyond the scholarship amount. In fact, essays must be accompanied by a letter from the board confirming that very thing. The $500.00 scholarship is slated to cover conference registration and hotel expenses. Essays are not to exceed 1,000 words. Applications will be accepted until June 15, the winner will be notified by July 1.
Have you heard of the ARSL? Here’s their mission statement “… “The mission of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries is to provide a network of people and materials to support rural and small library staff, volunteers, and trustees to integrate the library thoroughly with the life and work of the community it serves…” For more information about the Association For Rural & Small Libraries, visit their website.
So there are membership opportunities aplenty here! Again, scholarship applicants must first be members of ISLA; find out about how to do that at their website. And I’ll bet whatever Iowa library staff is awarded the scholarship will want to join ARSL, too.
Again, full scholarship details were posted on IOWALIB last Wednesday. If you didn’t see it come through, you’re welcome to contact NWILS office and we’ll gladly forward the information. Wouldn’t it be great if a Northwest library is the lucky winner?!
3) Spring Paper Order Through IEC: If it’s time to load up on your paper supplies, then there’s no time like the present. And no way to beat the prices through the Iowa Educator’s Consortium. The IEC spring paper bid was awarded to the Paper Corporation in Des Moines and the bid offers excellent pricing on a large variety of copy paper, colors, and sizes. Orders are due by May 26. From the IEC website, you can see all the paper choices and download an order form. This is a very good option for libraries large and small. Northwest LSA buys our paper this way and we just ordered 6 cases of varied colors (10 reams per case) for approximately $185.00 including shipping. Act quickly and visit the IEC website for this paper deal—and lots of other good deals!
4) Meetings / Events This Week: Another Career Reading Roundtable this Friday May 22nd—online in Central LSAs Wimba Classroom. The time is 9:00AM—11:00AM and the book under discussion is Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill. It’s a good book for all you shopaholics out there! Registration is still open in the c.e. catalog; the roundtable is worth 1 c.e. credit. Here’s the link to Central LSA Wimba Classroom
http://webj.wimba.com/launcher.cgi?room=ia_cilsa
We’re closing in on one full year of Career Reading Roundtable, an online book discussion group with a twist: a chance for library staff to read books on topics like public speaking, customer service, communication skills—books outside of library literature. But it’s the online discussion that sparks conversation about how to apply the ideas to library service. It’s a neat concept and one that lots of people statewide have been enjoying.
Since last summer, this book group has read Made to Stick, Everything is Miscellaneous, The Power of Nice, The Back of the Napkin, Good in a Room, and this Friday’s title Why We Buy. This book group has been a great way for me to stretch my personal reading choices. And it’s always fun to hear how others make the connections to library service. And one more benefit: these titles are highly recommended business books to buy for your library collection.
Upcoming titles on deck:
How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, Grown up Digital, and The Power of Small. Watch the c.e. catalog for dates. And join us this Friday for Why We Buy!
Next Monday is Memorial Day—already. NWILS office will be closed and EYE-OPENER takes a holiday too. With Memorial Day and a vacation following, EYE-OPENER will be back on June 8. Enjoy a safe holiday weekend!
Past issues of Monday Morning Eye-Opener are archived on NWILS website…
No comments:
Post a Comment