ALA Office of Itellectual Freedom looking for challenged books
"OIF Seeks Reports of Book Challenges in 2008" http://blogs.ala.org/oif.php?p=2980&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 With the end of the year approaching, the Office for Intellectual Freedom will be compiling our yearly list of most frequently challenged books. We collect information for our challenge database from newspapers and reports submitted by individuals and, while we know that many challenges are never reported, we strive to be as comprehensive as possible in our records. We would greatly appreciate if you could send us any information on challenges in your library or school from 2008.
Help NEEDED for 2009 and 2010 Vermont Library Conferences!
Over the past few years the planning and preparation that makes the Vermont Library Conference a major continuing education opportunity for library staffs across the state have been carried out by relatively small teams of VLA and VSLA members whose hard work has compensated for there never quite being enough hands available for the amount of work involved in this project. In the past couple of years it has been extremely difficult for the VLA board to fill leadership and other positions key to mounting the Conference.Read more→
3M/NMRT Professional Development Grant for ALA Annual Conference
APPLICANTS SOUGHT FOR 3M/NMRT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT
Deadline: December 15, 2008
Members of ALA’s New Members Round Table (NMRT) can apply to receive a grant, sponsored by 3M Library Systems, which will cover expenses to attend the ALA Annual Conference, July 9-15, 2009, in Chicago, IL.
Want to read about the ALA experiences of last year’s winners? Take a look at the August 2008 issue of Footnotes at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/nmrt/news/footnotes/august2008/index.cfm. You will see how professionally rewarding attending an ALA conference can be.
Adirondack Author Creates a Science Reference Website
I spoke at the Vermont Library Association Conference a couple years back and at that time was developing a science reference website for K-8.  The site has just received the American Library Association inclusion in their 2008 Great Web Sites for Kids.
I hoped librarians in Vermont might share it with their teachers and students if it is helpful. It’s called the Exploring Nature Educational Resource.  http://www.
I hope you find it useful for a science supplement.
Best wishes,
Sheri Amsel
Exploring Nature Educational Resource
Shirley Olofson Memorial Award for ALA Annual Conference
Are you looking for funds to help pay for your trip to  ALA Annual 2009 in Chicago? Apply by December 15, 2008 for the Shirley Olofson Memorial Award and you may receive a $1000 check to help defray the cost of attendance!
Applicants must:
1. Be a member of ALA and NMRT
2. Be active in the library profession
3. Show promise or activity in the area of professional development
4. Have valid financial need
5. Have attended no more than five ALA annual conferences
To apply, please visit:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/
awolofson/Shirley_Olofson_
Jane Austen Society Vermont Birthday Tea
Hi all,
I append the information on the JASNA-Vermont Birthday Tea, December 7, 2008, 2-5, at the Champlain College Hauke Conference Center. This is in plain text, no graphics. If anyone would like the flyer in a pdf file or a plain word document for displaying in your library (which we would very much appreciate!), please email me privately and I will forward the attachments to you directly.
If any of you will be in the Burlington area that weekend, we would love to have some of you (and your patrons!) join us … there will be a English Country Dancing with live music, an English Afternoon Tea and as always, good conversation! Regency dress encouraged (not required), dancing strongly encouraged!
If questions, or to RSVP, please contact me at bygone.books@verizon.net or 802-864-0517
NELINET Launches New Web Site Using Open Source Platform
SOUTHBOROUGH, MA, November 13, 2008 – For the past few years NELINET, a non-profit library consortium serving New England, has been championing the benefits of open source software to the library community. The rise of interest in open source solutions in the library world reflects the needs of many organizations to easily develop customized and cost effective solutions for everything from integrated library systems to web sites.
NELINET is truly committed to the open-source movement. To underscore this commitment, NELINET just launched its new web site (www.nelinet.net) powered by the Drupal, the open source Web 2.0 content management/portal system. NELINET Executive Director Arnold Hirshon is excited for what the future of open source offers for libraries. “By developing our new website with Drupal, we are able to show our members the possibilities of what you can do with open source software – even those who have limited resources – and advance a key strategic objective of providing our members with technologies that enable them to work together as a community and exchange ideas.”
2008 National Survey of Public Library Funding and Technology Access
Hello Everyone,
There have now been 95 responses, giving us a response rate of 61%! That is GREAT – you all made it happen! I believe this is the first time Vermont will be able to be analyzed individually!
The survey will be open for another week, now ending this Friday, November 14. Additional responses are still welcome! So, you can still participate by going to www.plinternetsurvey.org .
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Librarians rule.
Rob Geiszler
Vermont Department of Libraries
Supporting innovation and investment in the nation’s libraries – Lifelong Access Libraries Leadership Institute
Supporting innovation and investment in the nation’s libraries – Lifelong Access Libraries Leadership Institute
December 1-2, 2008
Newton Free Library, Newton, Massachusetts
Library Services for 50+ Adults are Focus of New England Institute
New York – October 26, 2008
Specialists in the fields of aging, work, intergenerational programming and healthy aging will join Lifelong Access Fellows at a special Institute for New England’s library leaders to be held December 1-2 in Newton, Massachusetts.
Libraries for the Future (http://www.lff.org), a national non-profit dedicated to supporting innovation and investment in public libraries, has announced the following confirmed speakers:
- Mary Catherine Bateson, Anthropologist and Author
- Robert Tietze, Director, Philadelphia Experience Corps
- Diantha Dow Schull, Former Director, Libraries for the Future
Supporting innovation and investment in the nation's libraries – Lifelong Access Libraries Leadership Institute
Supporting innovation and investment in the nation’s libraries – Lifelong Access Libraries Leadership Institute
December 1-2, 2008
Newton Free Library, Newton, Massachusetts
Library Services for 50+ Adults are Focus of New England Institute
New York – October 26, 2008
Specialists in the fields of aging, work, intergenerational programming and healthy aging will join Lifelong Access Fellows at a special Institute for New England’s library leaders to be held December 1-2 in Newton, Massachusetts.
Libraries for the Future (http://www.lff.org), a national non-profit dedicated to supporting innovation and investment in public libraries, has announced the following confirmed speakers:
- Mary Catherine Bateson, Anthropologist and Author
- Robert Tietze, Director, Philadelphia Experience Corps
- Diantha Dow Schull, Former Director, Libraries for the Future