Check out Charleston County Public Library's new Instant Message Reference Service!

Got a question? IM a librarian! NEW!

Got a question and need a quick answer?

Charleston County Public Library patrons now can get instant, interactive help from a Librarian using an online instant messenger service, all in real time and all for free.

CCPL is the first public library in the state to offer full-service, live online chat through AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger or MSN Messenger. This new resource is available seven days a week during the Main Library's operating hours, which means patrons have 69 hours each week to logon and get help electronically from a Librarian.

Using the screen name, ccplhelp, patrons can get help with homework, look up a historic date or fact, check a bit of trivia or ask for assistance with other research and questions.

Last year, CCPL Reference Librarians answered more than 1.78 million questions through e-mail, the telephone and in-person, but this new service means patrons can get instant help with the click of a mouse.

Click here to visit our IM page which includes links to AIM, MSN Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger and get more information.

CCPL - Charleston County Public Library - South, Carolina

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new library blog

Lee County Public Library

check out their new blog!

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My Comments at the Book Festival

Yesterday I had the priviledge of presenting the Palmetto Book Award to Dr. Walter Edgar.  Here are my comments:

Information about the Palmetto Book Award

The South Carolina Center for the Book has presented the Palmetto Book Award annually at the South Carolina Book Festival since its inception in 2002. The Palmetto Book Award honors a South Carolina person or organization that works to promote the literary arts and to foster a creative atmosphere in South Carolina.

Previous winners of the Palmetto Book Award are:

·        South Carolina Young Writers Conference in 2006,

·        the Hub City Writers Project in 2005,

·        the Beaufort County Library in 2004,

·        Tom Johnson of the South Caroliniana Library in 2003, and

·        Sara Breibart of the Charleston County Public Library in 2002.

From 2002-2006, the award was selected by the SC Center for the Book’s advisory committee. The 2007 Palmetto Book Award is the first one selected by a nomination process open to the public.

Information about SC Center for the Book

The SC Center for the Book is the South Carolina affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book in Washington, DC and is a cooperative project of the South Carolina State Library, the USC School of Library and Information Science, and The Humanities Council^SC. Formerly known as the Palmetto Book Alliance, the SC Center for the Book changed its name in 2006 to align with the 49 other Centers for the Book across the country. The Center’s mission is to celebrate South Carolina’s rich literary heritage and bring public attention to the importance of books, writers, and reading. The Palmetto Book Award is just one of the ongoing projects of the SC Center for the Book, which also include the South Carolina Literary Map and the Letters About Literature awards for students.

And now I get to say some nice things about the 2007 award winner:

Every morning on my way to work I tune in to SC ETV Radio and listen to the news, events, and more recently, I’ve been keeping up with Dr. Edgar’s South Carolina from A-Z… Here is my version:

·        A is for Author

·        B is for Bar-b-q (he’s an official judge)

·        C is for honorary degrees he holds from Coker College, Coastal Carolina University (alliteration)

·        D is for another honorary degree from Davidson College

·        E is for ETV radio featuring Walter Edgar’s Journal

·        F is for fiction that he’s read on his other radio show “Southern Read”

·        G is for gardening, one of his hobbies

·        H is for (what do you think this is for?)   HISTORY, the most obvious word we associate with Dr. Edgar

Dr. Walter Edgar has long been a positive force in the literary arts in South Carolina with his numerous publications, his work as editor of the recent South Carolina Encyclopedia, his programs on South Carolina Public Radio, and his position as director of the Institute for Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina, among other affiliations and activities. He received three separate nominations for this awards.

Here is a quote from one of the nominations:  “Dr. Edgar has successfully merged his love of history with a fascination for the South and good literature into several publications that tell the story of life in South Carolina. His talent as a writer, or more appropriately a storyteller, ensures that his work will be read by all types of people, not just historians.”

It gives me great pleasure to present this well-deserved award to Dr. Walter Edgar.

SC Book Festival | Schedule

   

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Communicating Your Library’s Value

No community can afford to lose its public library and the technology services it provides. To help, the Gates Foundation is making available two new tools, entitled Keeping Your Community Connected, that can help advocate for libraries:

• Video Show an eight-minute DVD to launch conversations with local government and community partners.
• Brochure Circulate a related brochure that includes persuasive statistics, library patron stories, and a call to action for community members and leaders.

You can obtain a free set of these materials, including the DVD and 10 brochures, by clicking on the link below. Please provide the following information in the body of your email: 1. Your name 2. Your job title or role in the community (e.g. librarian, city council member) 3. Your mailing address (Please note, we cannot ship to post office (P.O.) boxes) 4. The name of your public library 5. Your phone numberOrder by email: USlibraries@gatesfoundation.org

Related Info - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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Telling you Library Boards about Library 2.0

I was recently visiting the Spartanburg County Public Library for the retirement of Winnie Walsh when the Director, Todd Stephens asked me to see a powerpoint presentation he had just worked on to make his board presentation.  I was so happy to see it was all about Library 2.0.  I also noticed on the board table there were cups strung together with thread and each board member had one in front of their seat.  How clever is that?! To show from Library 1.0 up to 2.0! Way to go Todd!  You can view Todd's blog at http://spartanburglibraries.blogspot.com/.

Image:L2-meme2.gif - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Me in Second Life

Me in Second Life
Originally uploaded by crr29061.

I just got an avatar today, Meu Pessoa, and logged in at home and ran into a lirbarian at the ALA/WO who then took me to the Kansas State Library open house. This is all so new to me! and interesting!!! wish i had all the time in the world to learn more about this. I've got to get some better clothes :-)

SCSL in Second Life!

FROM SCSL's IT dept blog:

It's not much to look at, but thanks to Lori Bell (Alliance Library System) and Kevin Hicks (Society Hill Branch Library), the SC State Library has a building in Cybrary City, at 44, 36, 24. It's just an empty shell right now, but I hope to start moving in and decorating soon.There's quite a bit of activity among library folks about Second Life. Libraries are establishing "branches" all over Cybrary City and Info Island, home of the Second Life Library 2.0. There's even a blog (more than one!) and discussion lists.I've created a forum for Second Life in our Community on the State Library's website. If you haven't registered as a member of our website, well... get with it! :-) Sign up and sign on to the community forums. Tell us about your Second Life aspirations, inspirations, avatars, etc.

IT Matters @ SCSL: SCSL in Second Life

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Joomla in Libraries

check out this web site created by our SC State Library web administrator!

About This Site 

Joomla In Libraries project began as a conference presentation for  Computer In Libraries 2007  hosted by Information Today.   We hope to provide helpful and free resources for libraries interested in using Joomla as their website platform.  

Joomla In Libraries - Home

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Work @ your library - Nebraska Library Commission PSA

Check out this public service announcement about working at a library! Nice job!

Read-In 2007

read-in 2007, a statewide celebration of reading, will be held at the State House in Columbia on Wednesday, March 28, 2007. This exciting event will provide an opportunity for students, librarians, parents and other literacy supporters to demonstrate the importance of reading and the need for library services in our communities. For more information, visit:
Read-In 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007

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NEA's The Big Read

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

The Big Read

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2007 National Awards for Museum and Library Service Nomination Deadline is February 15

Washington, DC--The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting nominations for the agency’s 2007 National Awards for Museum and Library Service. The deadline is February 15, 2007.This award is the highest honor the nation confers on libraries and museums for their outstanding contribution to America’s communities. Selected institutions demonstrate extraordinary and innovative approaches to public service, exceeding the expected levels of community outreach and core programs generally associated with their services. The award includes a prize of $10,000 to each recipient and an awards ceremony to be held in Washington, DC.The main qualification for selection is community service, as demonstrated by the institution's ongoing commitment, at every level, to its community. Nominations should describe the institution's goal in serving its community, the population served, how the community works together to achieve the goal, the outcome of this effort during the past two to three years, and projections for future efforts.The National Museum and Library Services Board reviews the nominations and makes recommendations to the IMLS Director, who makes the final selection.More information and a link to the nomination form are at www.imls.gov/about/awards.shtm.

IMLS - News & Events - Press Releases

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Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

This is a great video created by an anthropoligist at Kansas State and directly relates to Libraries 2.0 and things we need to think about in the library profession.

Learning 2.0 @ Mac!

Learning 2.0 @ Mac!
Originally uploaded by mstephens7.

very cool!

Florence County Library

DSC03037
Originally uploaded by florencecountylibrarysystem.

...another SC Library using flickr. Check out their photostream. Very interesting library panoramas!

SCLA Leadership Planning Retreat

Curtis (me)
Originally uploaded by crr29061.

We had a great time at the retreat today and i was so glad so many people showed up. I announce the theme for the SCLA Annual Conference: Library 2.0: Taking South Carolina's Libraries to the People. I'll be working on getting some speakers and sections, round tables, and committees of www.scla.org will be working on their conference sessions and workshops throughout the year. Remember, when it comes to Libraries 2.0, Think, Learn, Play! :-)

A Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto

Check out this wonderful video! Learn from it. Make a change.

Screenbooks - for library training

Check out this web site! There are many free online tutorials!

Ever found yourself put to sleep after a few minutes of a computer tutorial video? Watching a video is a passive activity, and forcing your mind to follow at someone else's pace is sure to make your eyelids heavy.

Sure, video can be better than text, but what's better than both? Pictures + text. A series of illustrated steps is the best way to learn how to use a computer application. Screenshots + text = Screenbooks. Create them with Screenbook Maker. Screenbook Maker makes it easy to create web-based tutorials and post them to your website.

Screenbooks - Home

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LibraryFind

Oregon State University releases LibraryFind® software

We are pleased to announce the first public release of the LibraryFind
metasearch software, developed by Oregon State University Libraries.
LibraryFind is free software licensed under the GNU General Public License
(GPL).

This first public release, version 0.7,  has a number of advanced features,
such as (but not limited to):

* 2-click user workflow (one click to find, one click to get)
* Integrated OpenURL resolver
* 2-tiered caching system to improve search response time
* Customizable user interface

As this is a pre-1.0 release, there are still a number of features,
functions, and efficiencies we plan to add to the software. We encourage
involvement from others in the library community who are interested in
working on an open source metasearch product.

More information on LibraryFind, including information on how to download
and run the software, can be found at

LibraryFind®—a one-stop search service for library users

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My Flock RSS Feed List

My Flock RSSFeed List
Originally uploaded by crr29061.

I have really grown to love Flock as a browser. It is so useful and user-friendly. This is my list of library-related blog feeds.

Libraries and Podcasting

Podcasting

People have had the ability to put audio content on the Web for over a decade, but not until the term “podcasting” was coined (two years ago) did so many people start taking advantage of this. This can be attributed to both the incredible ease of use of newer recording and syndication tools and the incredible popularity of the iPod and other MP3 players. Go to almost any place where young people congregate and you will see the ubiquitous white iPod earbuds. Podcasting became popular so quickly that, at the end of 2005, podcast was named the Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

Podcasting | TechEssence.Info

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