A Long Island Library Resources Council Blog
Header

“I Didn’t Know the Census Bureau Did That!” Workshop Provides Tons of Resources

May 2nd, 2012 | Posted by Christina in Workshop - (0 Comments)

April 24, 2012-Participants gathered at the Farmingdale State College, Greenley Library, for a hands-on training session on the two main demographic programs; the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey.

After a quick introduction, participants explored the Census website to become familiar with the features available for locating statistics and other information resources.   One of the newest features is the Interactive Map, which allows you to explore data from the County Business Patterns program and the 2010 Census.  Another feature worth a look is QuickFacts, which provides quick, easy access to facts about people, business, and geography for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with more than 5,000 people.

Additional resources include:

The American FactFinder was also explored and sample searches were conducted with attendees.  Resources covered included how to choose summary levels from the Geographic Filter page, how to access ACS Demographic Profiles for census tracts, creating a Census Tract Reference Map, and much more.

Click for PDF version of Handout

Special thanks to guest speaker Rosemarie Fogerty, Information Services Specialist, U.S. Census Bureau, New York Regional Office  for providing the training.  If you have any Census related questions, contact the Census New York Regional Office at 212-584-3440 or visit: www.census.gov/regions/new_york.

Pin It

, , , ,

Highlights from the LILRC 20th Annual Conference on Libraries and the Future

April 16th, 2012 | Posted by Christina in Annual Conference - (0 Comments)

by: Chris Kretz, Dowling College Library, LILRC Annual Conference Committee Chair

LILRC’s Annual Conference on Libraries and the Future reached a milestone last October: twenty years of bringing engaging and thought-provoking speakers to Long Island to discuss the challenges and opportunities looming just over the horizon.  This year’s conference, held at Dowling College on October 27th and 28th, opened with the theme Extinction is Not an Option: Ensuring OUR Future. And for two days, over a hundred attendees from all across the library spectrum were able to hear four speakers elaborating on that theme.

As with most years, the event started off with a Thursday night dinner at Dowling College, filled with fine food and good conversation.  The after dinner speaker was Charles Brownstein, Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF).  In a fascinating talk, he outlined the history of comic books in America, from their explosion onto newsstands in the 1930s to their rising popularity through the war years, to the outrage they inspired from psychologists and the US Congress in the 1950s. Charles detailed how comics eventually evolved to an accepted artistic medium that tackles all manner of issues, many meant for an adult audience. The CBLDF, founded in 1990, works to defend the first amendment rights of comics creators and retailers. They also aid librarians in dealing with challenges to comics in the collection. Charles’ presentation was a valuable lesson in what took place before the presence of comics on library shelves became common place.

The Conference moved into full swing on Friday morning with the first speaker, James G. Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian of Columbia College. In his talk, Virtuality-Virtuosity-Virtousness: Radicalizing the Library for Future, he documented the changing roles of the library and highlighted a number of trends effecting their development. Among other things, James called for radical collaboration between libraries and outside partners; whether they be corporate, cultural, state or national organizations. He also summed up the theme of the conference in one slide, asking: are libraries a phyletic species (evolving into something new) or a terminal species, marked for….well, termination.

The second speaker, Zeth Lietzau, picked up where James left off with his presentation, Evolving with Techology. Zeth is the Manager of the Web Information Services and Community Technology Center at the Denver Public Library. The first half of his talk went into detail on a study he had taken part in at the Library Research Service: U.S. Public Libraries and the Use of Web Technologies. In a data-rich presentation, he detailed public library uses of technologies ranging from social media to mobile platforms, revealing details about who were the early adopters, the level of staffing and expenditures involved, and more. He finished with a description of the Community Technology Center at the Denver Public Library where they provide patrons with a range of computer resources and training opportunities.

Eli Neiburger, Associate Director, IT and Production at the Ann Arbor District Library brought the day to a rousing conclusion with his talk: Libraries in this Century: What to do Now, What to do Later. Although laced with humor, he grounded the problem in reality. Comparing the circulating collection to outmoded technologies that once thrived (think CDs and ice houses), Eli encouraged libraries to look for new value. He reinforced the idea of developing collaborations and saw the greatest opportunities in focusing on what is unique in each community. As he concluded, “The 20th century library brought the world to its community. The 21st century library will bring its community to the world.”

LILRC’s Regional Digitization Program was also celebrating an anniversary (its tenth) at this year’s conference. Regional Archivist, Virginia Antonucci-Gibbons, presented an overview of the program and demonstrated the rich historical resources housed in the Long Island Memories collection. This collaborative project makes the materials from libraries and historical societies Island-wide available online.

The Conference concluded with the traditional poster session. Attendees were able to enjoy dessert while talking with Mercedes Youman (pictured below) as she presented her research into Information Seeking Behaviors of Nurses Using ASHR in Schools and Health Informatics and Information Seeking Behavior of Health Care Practitioners.

Conference Sponsors: Baldessari & Coster LLP, EBSCO Publishing, EnvisionWare, Gale Cengage Learning, Long Island University, Palmer School of Library & Information Science, Nassau County Library Association, and the Suffolk County Library Association.

Visit the the LILRC 21st Annual Conference post at: http://blog.lilrc.org/ce/2011/11/15/20thannconf/ for additional conference materials including speaker presentations, audio and more.

 

Pin It

, , , ,

Academic Librarians 2012: The Future is Now! Creatively Reaching and Teaching in Academic Libraries

March 28th, 2012 | Posted by Christina in Workshop - (0 Comments)

The schedule of events is now posted at the Academic Librarians 2012 website, which is located at http://www.nyla-asls.org/AcademicLibrariansConference/. Follow the Conference on Twitter @ ALConf2012.

TO REGISTER: Visit http://www.scrlc.org/AcadLib2012  (South Central Regional Library Council [NY3Rs] is handling this year’s registration.)

ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS 2012:

The Future is Now! Creatively Reaching and Teaching in Academic Libraries

 June 12 & 13, 2012, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

Value. Learning. Technology. Librarianship.  As with all libraries and organizations, we must constantly demonstrate our value to our stakeholders amidst the changes brought on us at an increasing rate by the technology that we and our students use.  Technology shapes our interactions with others, our learning techniques and styles, and our pedagogy; it can affect the way our value is perceived. This year’s conference explores value, community, collaboration, social awareness, and applications that enhance learning. How do we demonstrate the value of the academic library in this changing information environment? How do we reach and teach our students? How is information literacy being transformed? Is it possible to game to learn or learn to game? What is the new librarianship? We invite you to explore these issues with us!

Academic Librarians 2012 is brought to you by the NY 3Rs Association and the Academic and Special Libraries Section of the New York Library Association; in cooperation with the New York State Higher Education Initiative.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Roy Tennant, a Senior Program Officer for OCLC Research. The Once and Future Academic Library. The academic library has for many years been considered the very heart of the university. Today that centrality is challenged by a new set of digital players and the rapidly changing needs of the organizations we serve. What are the challenges and opportunities we face today in remaining the heart of the university? How are some libraries reconfiguring their spaces, their services, and their staff to better serve the needs of the 21st century university?

Dr. David Lankes, Associate Professor, Syracuse University. The Bad, The Good, and The Great. Bad libraries build collections; good libraries build services (after all a collection is only one type of service); great libraries build communities. In a time of great change and challenges to the very model of higher education, libraries must move beyond a focus on collections to a focus on communities. As new models of instruction (flipped classrooms, inquiry based instruction, etc.) and research emerge (interdisciplinary, large scale, collaborative, data driven), libraries find themselves well positioned – but only if they see their strongest assets as the librarians, not the materials librarians have organized. This talk will look to a new librarianship that moves past artifacts to knowledge and sets a new path.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Demonstrating Value and Building Relationships.

    • Lisa Hinchliffe, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). On Providing and Documenting Value: Dual Imperatives for Academic Libraries. Academic librarians face a multitude of challenges in responding to user needs as well as economic, technological, and accountability demands. The dual imperatives of providing value to our users and then documenting that value can serve as touchstones we embrace today’s possibilities and create tomorrow’s realities.
    • Dr. Nancy Fried Foster, Anthropologist, Director of Anthropological Research, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester. Finding Information: A Relationship Thing. In studies of how undergraduates use the libraries at the University of Rochester (UR), we have come to see the central importance of relationships among students, their instructors, their friends and relatives, and librarians and other university staff. This talk will give a brief overview of the use of ethnographic methods at the UR libraries. It will then review results of recent projects on how students “learn the ropes” and what faculty expect of them, emphasizing changing relationships and the development of academic interests and competence.

21st Century Literacies.

    • Camille Andrews, Learning Technologies and Assessment Librarian, Cornell University. Integrating 21st Century Literacies into the Curriculum. Information literacy, digital literacy, media literacy, visual literacy-what does it all mean and how do they relate? Camille will examine the intersection of current theories of information and other literacies and emerging work in digital media and learning and present some current and possible examples of integration of these 21st century literacies into the curriculum and beyond.
    • Trudi Jacobson, Distinguished Librarian and Head of the Information Literacy Department at the University Libraries, University at Albany. How Metaliteracy Changed My Life, My Teaching, and My Students’ Experiences. It has never been easy to attempt to teach students core information literacy competencies, but in the past there seemed to be a fairly stable information environment to grapple with. Today’s information world is amorphous and changing at the speed of light. How do we even keep up, let alone teach students? Might we rely on our students themselves to help bridge the gap? Hear how a teaching method, changing technology, and a revised conception of what constitutes information literacy came together to address the evolving needs of today’s students.
    • Kaila Bussert, Visual Resources Outreach Librarian, Olin & Uris Libraries, Cornell University; co-author of ACRL’s Visual Literacy Standards. Visual Literacy in Higher Education: New Standards for 21st Century Learners. Visual literacy is essential for 21st century learners. While today’s college students live in a visually-rich, screen-based world, they are not necessarily prepared to critically engage and communicate with images and visual media in their academic work. To provide guidance for librarians and educators, ACRL developed Visual Literacy Competency Standards for a higher education and interdisciplinary environment. This presentation will describe the new standards, cover the connections between information and visual literacies, and provide examples of ways that the standards can be implemented in library instruction.

Gaming to Learn.

    • Chris Leeder, Doctoral Candidate in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. Game-based learning for information literacy. Game-based learning has been the subject of much research, however its application to learning information literacy skills has been barely addressed. The BiblioBouts project explores this possibility through an online information literacy game that engages students in learning research and evaluation skills by competing against their peers to earn points and badges to win the game, while at the same time participating in a learning community through collaborative rating and peer review of the quality of sources. BiblioBouts enlists social gaming to teach information literacy skills to undergraduates while making learning relevant, motivating and fun.
    • John Lester, Chief Learning Officer at ReactionGrid. Intersections of the Future: Gaming Technology, Virtual Worlds and the Web. John will share his experiences using gaming technology and virtual world platforms to augment education.  He will discuss future trends in specific gaming technologies such as Unity3d along with his work with ReactionGrid on web and mobile-based virtual world platforms. John will also explain common pitfalls when exploring virtual world technologies and highlight the unique affordances of virtual worlds when they are interwoven with existing social media and web-based educational content.
    • Dr. Jeremy N. Friedberg, Partner & Lead Developer, Spongelab Interactive. Educating through simulations, game-based learning and the gamification of education. Over the past 40 years we’ve seen the enormous potential game-based learning offers  in professional communities from pilots to surgeons – specifically the ability to teach and assess critical thinking and creativity.  But making them work in classrooms in the main-stream education system is a huge challenge.  Aside from issues with hardware, network security, curriculum, and available time, the effective use of these tools is bound by traditional assessment techniques and the appropriate motivation and rewards to inspire learners.  This talk will focus on the design challenges of building educational games, the gamification of simulation, rewards and drivers, and benefits of game-based learning.  We’ll also look at the Spongelab Platform as an example of community-driven design and collaborative learning approaches.

RECEPTION

Syracuse University’s iSchool will host a late afternoon reception in Hinds Hall on  June 12th.  Refreshments and a Tech Sandbox will be available!

Registration packets will also be available for those of you not staying in the dorms.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Academic Librarians 2012 is being held consecutively with the New York State Higher Education Initiative (NYSHEI) annual meeting, In with the New. The first 30 people to register and attend the free NYSHEI annual meeting will receive a $20 rebate off the price of the Academic Librarians 2012 conference! Two Conferences, One Trip!

Rates (new, lower rates for this conference!):

Early Bird Registration (now through April 15):    $80   NYLA, NY3Rs,  or NYSHEI members*
Regular Registration  (April 16 and after):                $100  NYLA, NY 3Rs, or NYSHEI members*
Non-Members Rates:                                                          $125
MLS/MLIS Students:                                                           $25

*Most libraries in New York State are members of a NY 3Rs Council, either directly or through their library system. Your library need only be a member of one of the Councils for you to qualify for member rates. Contact any of the conference planners listed below or visit www.ny3rs.org if you have any questions. To see if your library belongs to NYSHEI, visit www.nyshei.org.

TO REGISTER:   Visit  http://www.scrlc.org/AcadLib2012  (South Central Regional Library Council [NY 3Rs] is handling this year’s registration.)

Registration Deadline:  June 1, 2012 4:00 p.m.

Website:   http://www.nyla-asls.org/AcademicLibrariansConference/

Twitter  @ ALConf2012

ACCOMMODATIONS

The Sheraton Inn has reserved a block of rooms at the rate of $125+ tax  per room/single or $135/double.  (Be sure to bring your tax-exempt form if this applies to you.) To register with the Sheraton, call 315-475-3000 or 800-395-2105 and reference “Academic Libraries 2012.”  Deadline for room reservations at this rate: May 13th.

Dorm Rooms: Dorm rooms are available at a cost of $48.75 for Tuesday night June 12th (price includes linens).

If you will be reserving a dorm room, please pay when you complete the conference registration form.  If you will be staying at the Sheraton, you will pay separately for the hotel room.

NOTE: All of the conference activities except for the reception and the tech sandbox on the 12th will be taking place in the Schine Student Center, which is a short walk from the iSchool.

TRAVELING TO SYRACUSE

Syracuse is easy to reach and beautiful in June!  The American Automobile Association of Western & Central New York features Syracuse in its Member Connection Spring 2012 issue. See the digital version at http://www.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=99756. Syracuse can be reached by plane, train, bus, or car.

PARKING

$10 per day for those staying on the dorms or commuting to campus; the Sheraton Inn charges $13 per night– $25 up front and they refund $15 upon checkout.

SPONSORS

Thanks to our generous sponsors: EBSCO, Busca, EBL–Ebook Library, LYRASIS, NYLA’s Academic & Special Libraries Section, NY 3Rs Association, Inc.,  Spongelab, WALDO, and the Syracuse University’s iSchool! It is through their generous donations that we could reduce the cost of this year’s conference.

If you are interested in being a sponsor, it is not too late–please contact Mary-Carol Lindbloom @ (mclindbloom@sclrc.org).

Need more information? Contact any members of the planning team:  Mary-Carol Lindbloom, Debby Emerson (demerson@clrc.org), Regan Brumagen (BrumagenER@cmog.org),  Marcy Strong (mstrong@library.rochester.edu), or Justin Kani (jekani@bryantstratton.edu).

Highlights from How To Market Your Library

February 23rd, 2012 | Posted by Christina in Workshop - (0 Comments)

February 22, 2012–Over 60 participants gathered for the LILRC sponsored program, How to Market Your Library, which took place at the Farmingdale Public Library, with guest speaker Victor Caputo, Director of Public Relations/Programs for The Bryant Library.

The session kicked off with an insightful and entertaining look at a variety of commercials and media clips to illustrate how companies creatively evoke a feeling through marketing.  Target Corporation, as a shared example, has created an immediately identifiable brand so that the commercials don’t even mention the word “Target” in them, but rather, are easily identified by the company’s logo.  Here’s just one example:

Libraries can be equally as creative in marketing services.  Here’s just one example:

The discussion continued covering the importance of a Marketing Plan and the contents that make one up including the library mission statement, situational analysis, SWOT analysis, objectives, target market, financial outlook, strategy and goals.

Participants were provided with marketing suggestions, which focused on the library as a community center.  These practical tips included:

  • -Be a presence in the local community–hire local talent for programming, collaborate with public schools and other organizations, and  get to know your local newspapers and businesses.
  • -Promote your library brand–put library logos on bookmarks, reusable bags, pens, etc.
  • -Conduct surveys–there are a number of free resources for this, including SurveyMonkey.
  • -Direct email of library events and services–allows you to reach new users.

Special thanks to the Farmingdale Public Library, Victor Caputo, and all who participated in the program.

Pin It

, , ,

Course Registration Full for Excel and InDesgin

January 25th, 2012 | Posted by Christina in Workshop - (0 Comments)

Please note that following course are now full:

  • 02/03: Intermediate Microsoft Excel 2007, 10:00 a.m.-12:30p.m., Farmingdale Public Library
  • 02/17: Introduction to Adobe InDesign, 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Farmingdale Public Library

If you missed getting into the class this time, keep an eye out, as these programs will be repeated again in the summer!

 

Mark Your Calendars for “How to Market Your Library”

January 23rd, 2012 | Posted by Christina in Workshop - (0 Comments)

Join LILRC on February 22, 2012 at the Farmingdale Public Library from 10:30AM-12:30PM with guest speaker, Victor Caputo, Director of Public Relations/Programs for The Bryant Library for:

How to Market Your Library

It is more important than ever in today’s society for libraries to communicate its value to its consumer base (patrons). This program will look at marketing as a whole then focus on what libraries can do to increase public awareness to the many programs and services offered. Practical tips, tricks, and strategies on how to market your library using traditional forms of advertising as well as the new social media tools will be discussed including community outreach, press releases, newsletters, blogs, email, and more.

About the Presenter: Victor Caputo, Director of Public Relations/Programs for The Bryant Library. Victor has held this position at The Bryant Library for 15 years. He has a B.F.A in Journalism from C.W. Post, an M.S. in Marketing from Hofstra University, and a Masters in Library Science from Queens College.

CLICK HERE FOR REGISTRATION FORM

 

,

Check Out the Continuing Education Program Line-up for 2012!

January 5th, 2012 | Posted by Christina in Workshop - (0 Comments)

Click to view the brochure

The January-June 2012 LILRC sponsored continuing education programs are now available in an electronic version of the brochure here (in PDF format).  Please look for the printed version, which will be mailed very soon.

Guest speakers include:

  • Victor Caputo, Director of Public Relations/Programs for The Bryant Library, presenting How to Market Your Library.
  • Deb Schmidle, Director, Research and Learning Services Olin/Uris Libraries, Cornell University, presenting Critical Strategies for Implementing and Managing Organizational Change.
  • Jean-Paul Vivian, the Principal Law Librarian at the Nassau County Supreme Court Library, presenting An Introduction to Online Legal Resources.
  • Much more…

Be sure to visit the LILRC Continuing Education Calendar online at: http://lilrc.org/calendars/cont_edcalendar.php for additional information on upcoming workshops.

Pin It

Registration Discount Now Available for Computers in Libraries 2012 Conference

December 6th, 2011 | Posted by Christina in Conference Discounts - (0 Comments)

LILRC is proud to announce that we have once again arranged with Information Today, Inc., to offer a reduced rate for the 27th Annual Computers in Libraries conference, to be held on March 21-23, 2012 at the Hilton Washington in Washington, DC.

By registering through LILRC, you are eligible for the special rate of $289 for the 3-day event. This is more than a 50% discount off the regular conference registration price. In addition, you can also register for the Internet@Schools East conference for the special rate of $109.

For additional information on Computers in Libraries 2012, including travel and hotel information, please visit: http://www.infotoday.com/cil2012.

To register for the LILRC discounted rate, visit http://secure.infotoday.com/forms/default.aspx?form=cil and use the priority code LILR12. All registrants will receive a confirmation email and you may request an additional printed confirmation letter via postal mail on the online registration form.

For further assistance, please contact Barbara Felitti by phone at (631) 675-1570 ext. 206.

Pin It

, ,

20th Annual Conference on Libraries and the Future

November 15th, 2011 | Posted by Christina in Annual Conference - (0 Comments)

Extinction is Not an Option: Ensuring OUR Future

This year’s LILRC 20th Annual Conference on Libraries on the Future focused on the theme: Extinction is Not an Option: Ensuring OUR Future.

Thursday night’s guest speaker was Charles Brownstein, Executive Director, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, who discussed the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) among many other issues relating to comic books.

Click for PDF version of Presentation Slides

Charles Brownstein – Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Attendees returned on Friday morning, for the full-day conference programs.  James G. Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian, Columbia University kicked off the conference with his presentation on Virtuality-Virtuosity-Virtousness: Radicalizing the Library for Future.

Click for PDF version of Presentation Slides

James G. Neal – Virtuality-Virtuosity-Virtousness

Following a short break, Zeth Lietzau, Manager, Web Information Services and Community Technology Center, Denver Public Library presented, Evolving with Technology: U.S. Public Libraries and the use of Web Technologies.

Click for PDF version of Presentation Slides

Zeth Lietzau – Evolving with Technology

Following lunch, our final speaker of the day took to the podium.  Eli Neiburger, Associate Director, IT and Production, Ann Arbor District Library presented Libraries in this Century: What to do Now, What to do Later.

Presentation slides coming soon

Eli Neiburger – Libraries in this Century

In addition to the Conference speakers, this year’s LILRC Annual Conference on Libraries and the Future also featured a presentation from LILRC Regional Archivist, Virginia Antonucci-Gibbons, who shared with attendees information on the LILRC Digitization Program, Long Island Memories.

Click for PDF version of Presentation Slides

 

The Conference concluded with a reception which featured the 10th Annual Poster Session participant, Mercedes Youman (pictured below), who shared her research in two posters entitled, Information Seeking Behaviors of Nurses Using ASHR in Schools and Health Informatics and Information Seeking Behavior of Health Care Practitioners.

Special thanks to:

Conference Sponsors:  BALDESSARI & COSTER LLP, EBSCO Publishing, EnvisionWare, Gale Cengage Learning, Long Island University, Palmer School of Library & Information Science, Nassau County Library Association, and the Suffolk County Library Association.

The LILRC Annual Conference Committee, LILRC Board of Trustees, and Connie Litcher.

Dowling College, for hosting this years event.

Pin It

, , ,

Highlights from Measuring the Soft Stuff

October 19th, 2011 | Posted by Christina in Workshop - (0 Comments)

October 12, 2011–Attendees gathered at the Brentwood Public Library for a thought-provoking and enthusiastic presentation from Cynthia Hart, Virtual Librarian at Virginia Beach Public Library, who discussed how “Measuring the Soft Stuff” can show Smart ROI of social media marketing.

Cindy provided a number of valuable pointers including:

  • -Figure out what your brand is.  The public thinks our brand is books, so don’t fight it, embrace it & build on it

Examples of Branding:

  • -Put measures in context; without context measures are meaningless
  • -Ask yourself a key question: “if what you’re doing doesn’t bring results, why are you doing it?”

Cindy also provided a system for how to measure the soft stuff–for example, measure the value of social media.  This included:

  • -Establish goals; the library should have strategies that tie in with your strategic plan.
  • -Create a listening post; use Google alerts and other tools to find out what people are saying about the library
  • -Decide what segment or market you want to reach
  • -Identify possible influencers—people who are key influencers, social influencers and known peer influencers (they can encourage others to participate with you through social media)
  • -Recognize sentiment; what do people like but more importantly what do they not like?
  • -Trigger actions; determine if you want people to read it, repeat it, like it, etc.  What actions do you want your users to take?
  • -Measure the results; monitor and measure what matters and what can be tied directly to your goals.

Cindy provided tons of examples and additional free resources for participants to refer to in order to listen and monitor.  Special thanks to the Brentwood Public Library for hosting the event, Cindy Hart, and to all that attended.

Pin It

, , ,