January 2010

WHEREAS libraries and library systems in the region are of great benefit to the people of Northern New York, providing a wide range of opportunities for learning, research, economic development, childhood education, and access to information resources; AND WHEREAS the use of libraries has increased significantly during the current economic crisis as citizens turn to libraries for job information and training, business development, curriculum assistance, homework help, and the use of research resources; AND WHEREAS the region’s library systems are models of effective cost-sharing among institutions and regionalism that contribute significant savings to municipalities, school districts, campuses, hospitals, correctional facilities, and other institutions in Northern New York; AND WHEREAS the New York State Legislature has reduced state aid to libraries on four separate instances in the past twenty months; AND WHEREAS these reductions have caused significantly reduced opportunities for the people of Northern New York to make effective use of the resources found in libraries of all kinds throughout the North Country; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED on this 3rd day of December, 2009, that this Board of Trustees of the Northern New York Library Network strenuously objects to further reductions in state aid to libraries and urges the New York State Legislature to affirm the value of libraries to the people of Northern New York by making restorations of previously reduced aid to libraries among its highest priorities. (Back To Top)

Where to find it: www.nnyln.org, click on "Classes & Facilities," and under Training, click on "CE Assist: Training on Demand." Staff training can be difficult. Factors such as cost, distance, and scheduling can combine to make it difficult for libraries to provide timely onsite training for their employees. A program called CE Assist - Training on Demand is available through the NNYLN to help its members meet the need for customized staff training. Through CE Assist, member libraries may apply to receive financial assistance to provide onsite staff training or consultations for their library employees. It is hoped this will make it possible for member libraries to provide training and/or consultations in a way that allows them to choose the best possible date and the most appropriate trainer to address each organization’s unique continuing education and training needs. Follow the links online listed above for more information regarding who is eligible, what isn’t covered, how much money is available, conditions, criteria to receive assistance, and how to apply. (What’s on the Web? is a column dedicated to pointing out where information is located on the NNYLN’s website.) (Back To Top)

Linda Braun       Michael Sauers      Jason Kucsma This year’s Winter Webinars will be webcast February 11, February 25 and March 11, 2010. There is no charge for the Webinar series. Class size is limited; please register early for one or all of the sessions. Participants WILL NOT be able to log on without preregistration. To participate in a Webinar session, students will need: Computer with Internet connection. Valid email address. Telephone, preferably with speakerphone feature. Students who sign up for a Webinar will receive information on how to log onto the class approximately two days before the scheduled class date. All Webinar sessions will begin at 1:00 p.m. EST. (Full Webinar descriptions follow below.) (Back To Top)

Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 1:00 pm Crowdsourcing and Libraries Libraries often ask their customers via surveys, focus groups, and interviews about programs and services. But that might not be the most modern way to receive feedback in order to plan programs and services.  Crowdsourcing, giving a group of people the chance to provide feedback or build a program together virtually, is a technique libraries can use. In this webinar students will find out what crowdsourcing actually is, learn about examples of organizations that have used it in their own planning and evaluation projects, and get ideas on how to get started with the crowdsourcing process in their own libraries. Presenter: Linda Braun is a New York City-based educational technology consultant with LEO: Librarians and Educators Online. She provides training, consulting, and project management for schools, libraries, and other educational institutions. Linda has written several books on teens and technology and is a Tag Team Tech Columnist for VOYA. Linda also teaches for Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science, and in July she started her year as president of the Young Adult Library Services Association. Thursday, February 25, 2010 - 1:00 pm Information Use and Reuse in the Library: The Creative Commons Solution With the debate over copyright raging, some are calling for the end of the "all rights reserved" regime, and libraries are feeling caught in the middle. What are the alternatives? Creative Commons (CC) is the most respected alternative available today with its idea of "some rights reserved" as set by the content creators themselves. This presentation will talk about the principles of Creative Commons; show students how they can easily apply it to their intellectual property today, and how they and their patrons can use CC to find material that can be legally reused in the creation of new content. Presenter: Michael Sauers is currently the Technology Innovation Librarian for the Nebraska Library Commission in Lincoln, Nebraska and has been training librarians in technology for more than 13 years. He has also been a public library trustee, bookstore manager for a library friends group, reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant, and bookseller. He earned his M.L.S in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. Michael’s ninth book, Searching 2.0, was released in March 2009 and he has also written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines. Thursday, March 11, 2010 - 1:00 pm Simple Strategies and Tools for Keeping Up with Tech Trends As the World Wide Web matures, the amount of information we have access to is increasingly overwhelming. And the rapid speed which technologies change make it even harder to keep up with what’s new, what’s important, and what’s not worth your time and attention. Still, it’s important for librarians to be familiar with changes in technology, because they will inevitably influence our users’ expectations and may have implications on how we adapt to meet those expectations. This webinar will provide students with a few simple strategies for keeping up with shifts in technology without having to devote valuable work time that could be used more effectively. This webinar will also detail some of the freely available tools to help implement these strategies. Presenter: Jason Kucsma, METRO 3R’s first Emerging Technologies Manager, works to expand and enrich METRO’s online presence and interactive capabilities for members. Jason also manages METRO’s Digitization Grant Program. Prior to joining METRO, Jason worked as the founder and publisher of a nationally distributed, award-winning independent culture and politics magazine (clamor) and was a founding organizer of a national conference for independent media makers. Jason received his B.A. in Interpersonal Communication and his M.A. in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University, and an M.L.S. from the University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science. (Back To Top)