Monday Morning Eye-Opener 1/11/2010

Good Morning! In today’s EYE-OPENER …….

1) Last Push for Online Conference
2) Library Supply Vendors 2010
3) Spencer Claims the Word Blizzard
4) Meetings / Events This Week

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1) Last Push For Online Conference

The 3rd annual ISLOC—Iowa Small Libraries Online Conference—is next week, January 21st. It’s an ambitious all-day-online event sponsored by the LSAs. With limited budgets and too few staff to allow long distance travel to far-flung conference cities, ISLOC fills an important niche for small libraries. And thanks to the State Library for their support, it all takes place in our new Adobe Classrooms.

Year 3 is loaded with great programs throughout the day. The theme for 2010 follows the “libraries in tough times” theme that’s been behind many LSA workshops this year. The title follows suit: “From Lemons to Lemonade: Libraries Surviving and Thriving in Tough Times.” This year, Sara Houghton-Jan as the morning keynote speaker, a popular conference speaker nationwide. She is the Digital Futures Manager with San Jose Public Library and the author of The Librarian in Black Blog.

The evening program is aimed at library trustees. The evening keynoter is George Needham, a nationally known speaker, consultant, trainer, and guest author at WebJunction. “…George understands the many challenges we face in the profession these days: how to stay relevant in a 24/7 networked world? How to make the case for continued funding from public sources in tough economic times?...”

Sandwiched between the AM and PM keynote presentations are plenty of breakout sessions like

· Youth Services Emerging Trends

· Customer Service from Trump Entertainment

· Marketing via Social Networking

· Outreach to Youth

· Beyond the Book Club—More Adult Programming Ideas

· Teaching Adult Learners in Your Library

Registration is open for another week. So Jan.21, why not stay home in your jammies, make a big pot of coffee, and join a great online conference from the comfort of your own hearth! Join us! Registration is open in the CE Catalog.


2) Library Supply Vendors 2010

When shopping for library supplies—from labels to mylar jackets, even shelving and furniture—school and public libraries should take advantage of discounts negotiated with supply companies like Demco, Highsmith, Brodart, Jones Library Sales, and more.

North Central LSA coordinates this project every year. All supply vendors are listed here and note: to be eligible for the discounts, you must reference the bid number assigned by each company:
http://www.nclsa.lib.ia.us/Supply%20Bids/LibrarySupplyVendors.htm


3) Spencer Claims the Word Blizzard

Estherville’s claim to originating the word blizzard is being challenged by nearby Spencer. All because Sharon Joy at Spencer Library was less than overjoyed by the snow dumping of recent weeks. So she did some research and now has evidence that Romanzo Coates, a Spencer pioneer, first coined the phrase—or rather, his wife did. Long story, but suffice to say that the Des Moines Register featured this story January 2nd on their website: www.desmoinesregister.com So it’s Spencer vs Estherville in the battle for blizzard—snowballs at 20 paces! Thanks to Kay and Sharon for sharing the Des Moines Register story!

4) Meetings / Events This Week

It’s Planning for Results this Friday, January 15, the first in a series of online classes from Northwest LSA this winter. Planning For Results describes new service responses for public libraries these days—and offers much easier ways to write mission statements, goals, and objectives. It runs from 9:30—11:30AM; once you register in the c.e. catalog, you’ll receive the link to NWILS Adobe Classroom. Registration is open in the CE CATALOG.