Vermont Library Conference Call for Help!

The 2009 Vermont Library Conference Needs Your Help!

Volunteers are needed to support work on the May, 2009 Vermont Library Conference. Conference proposals are coming in, and we are lining up some great speakers and exciting events for May 12 & 13, 2009. Our keynote, Marshall Keys, is ecstatic to speak to the librarians of Vermont about library advocacy â€“ a topic more important now than ever. It is our hope that the Vermont Library Conference is a meaningful, worthwhile, professional experience for all of Vermontâ€™s librarians, library staff, boards, school boards, teachers, and administrators. We hope to broaden our scope and invite all the people who make our jobs a reality.

However, in order to put on a fantastic conference, we need your help. We are operating with a much smaller conference planning committee than in years past, and have identified areas in which we need your support. If you are interested in any of the jobs listed below, please contact me as soon as possible. You will be given all the information you need to fill these jobs â€“ please donâ€™t feel like you canâ€™t volunteer for lack of experience. We will make sure you have all the support you need to do the job.

Winnie Belle Learned grants available for public libraries

Vermont Public Library Foundation Grants Funded by the Winnie Belle Learned Fund
Deadline for applications: December 15, 2008
Application and information available at:http://www.libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/vplf

WINNIE BELLE LEARNED FUND

Background and Biography

The Winnie Belle Learned Fund is a fund created in 2007 by Dr. Burnett Rawson in honor of Winnie Belle Learned, a Vermont educator and his benefactress. Born in 1863 in Westford, Vermont, Ms. Learned worked through many personal hardships to earn her teaching certificate.

NELA Carpooling Opportunities Still Available

Hi All,

There are still folks with spots in their cars headed to NELA this weekend. If you would like to carpool to NELA, please consider signing up for the VLA Travel Wiki. This tool uses PBWiki and signing up for an account takes seconds if you haven’t done so before, plus there are great tutorials on how to use a wiki courtesy of the Vermont 23 Things section on Wikis. You can request access either by clicking through to the Wiki and requesting there, or you can reply to this email with your name and your preferred email address. It only takes a couple of seconds to sign up and would be a great way to save money and meet new people. If you have an event you think people would like to carpool to, please feel free to add it and encourage folks to join up. I am, of course, happy to help anyone who needs it by adding their information or events to the wiki and answering questions, especially if you feel you need a little time to get accustomed to it.

See you there!
Helen

Going to NELA? Chapter leaders want to hear from you!

College & University Librarians, ACRL-NEC wants to hear from you!

Let us know how your professional association can work for you. Â What are we doing that works and what could we do better?

Vice President Barbara Kenney and I will be holding informal focus groups at the NELA (New England Library Association) Annual Conference in Manchester, NH on October 19, 20, and 21. We’re especially interested in hearing from folks in northern New England. A few minutes of your time during one of these sessions is all that’s needed. Please join us.

NELA is looking for conference bloggers

NELA is looking for novice and experienced bloggers to help out at the NELA Conference on October 19-21.

Once again, Plymouth Rocket, Inc. – http://www.plymouthrocket.com/ – is pleased to sponsor the conference blog and free Internet access for the bloggers.

“Taking Charge of Changeâ€, the 2008 Annual NELA Conference, will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH.

For more information, visit the NELA Web site at www.nelib.org.

Nov. 7 Deadline – 2008 National Survey of Public Library Funding and Technology Access

Hello everyone,

As of this morning, 34 sampled libraries in Vermont have completed the survey, which is a 21.8% response rate.Â Again, we have to attain at least a 60% response rate to be able to analyze each state individually, so hopefully we can get many more in!Â There is now one month left in the survey cycle, as it will close November 7, so anything you can do to increase the responses in our state would be greatly appreciated.Â

Libraries should go to http://plinternetsurvey.org to complete their surveys.Â Thank you again for your help and, as always, please let me know if you have any questions or need more information.

Thank you everyone who has completed the survey.Â Youâ€™re helping us all for future grant applications.

Rob Geiszler

ALA Great Stories Club, provided by Oprah’s Angel Network

http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/ppo/programming/greatstories/club.cfm

Great Stories CLUB logo
(Connecting Libraries, Underserved teens and Books)

Now accepting applications for Round II!
The Great Stories CLUB is organized by the American Library Association Public Programs Office (PPO), in cooperation with the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Major funding for the Great Stories CLUB has been provided by Oprahâ€™s Angel Network.

The Great Stories CLUB is a reading and discussion program that targets underserved, troubled teen populations. The program reaches teens through books that are relevant to their lives, inviting them to read and keep the books, and encourages them to consider and discuss each title with a group of their peers. It seeks to show that reading can be a source of pleasure, a tool for self-exploration, and a meaningful way to connect to the wider world. Its ultimate goal is to inspire young adults who face difficult situations to take control of their lives by embracing the power of reading.

ALA Great Stories Club, provided by Oprah's Angel Network

http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/ppo/programming/greatstories/club.cfm
Great Stories CLUB logo
(Connecting Libraries, Underserved teens and Books)
Now accepting applications for Round II!
The Great Stories CLUB is organized by the American Library Association Public Programs Office (PPO), in cooperation with the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Major funding for the Great Stories CLUB has been provided by Oprahâ€™s Angel Network.
The Great Stories CLUB is a reading and discussion program that targets underserved, troubled teen populations. The program reaches teens through books that are relevant to their lives, inviting them to read and keep the books, and encourages them to consider and discuss each title with a group of their peers. It seeks to show that reading can be a source of pleasure, a tool for self-exploration, and a meaningful way to connect to the wider world. Its ultimate goal is to inspire young adults who face difficult situations to take control of their lives by embracing the power of reading.
Read more→

2008 National Survey of Public Library Funding and Technology Access

Hello Friends,

As of this morning, only 16 sampled libraries have responded to the National Survey of Public Library Funding and Technology Access from Vermont, which is a 10.25% response rate. The survey will close November 7, which leaves 6 weeks left in the survey cycle this year.Â It sounds like quite a while, but it can sure fly by pretty quickly!Â Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1)Â Â Â Â Â The URL to complete the survey for is http://plinternetsurvey.org

2)Â Â Â Â Â They will not be able to analyze the state without at least a 60% response rate from libraries within the state.

To help Vermont libraries obtain grants from various national sources itâ€™s important to have this participation.

Rob Geiszler

Regional Consultant

Vermont Department of Libraries

271 North Main Street

Rutland, VT 05701

(802) 786-3839

MaintainIT Project webinars: laptops, training, and gaming!

Three Fee-Free Library Webinars from MaintainIT: Laptops, Training and Gaming.

Join us for these free webinars. Attend these sessions from your library, no travel needed!

The MaintainIT Project, (www.maintainitproject.org), interviews hundreds of librarians about how they maintain, support, and sustain their public computers. We publish all of these experiences, successes, and challenges in guides called Cookbooks, so librarians can learn from the experiences of others who’ve done it before them. The best part? Everything we do is FREE, and everything is on www.maintainitproject.org. We also produce free webinars every month!