Shame on the SC Ports Authority!

This is horrible! Especially when South Carolina's libraries are really feeling the hurt from recent budget cuts. Give the $750,000 to libraries so that more students can have books and resources to get ahead in the world!
---
South Carolina's ports authority offloads nearly $750,000 in bonuses

SouthCarolina’s embattled State Ports Authority is awarding $208,000 inbonuses to its top managers and some $500,000 to the rest of its employees.

It’s awfully nice of them, but it has horrible political timing.

So, let’s see: You’re a state-legislated monopoly, in a state that is having massive budget shortfalls (and is having trouble paying unemployment), your performance has already been sucking, and you’ve all but lost your biggest customer.

So what do you do? Dish out 3/4 of a million dollars in bonuses because
that shows you’re an organization that cares about the state.

Sigh. Really poor timing by the ports authority.

Go catch up on all the drama over at The Post and Courier.

What makes the decision even worse for the authority, is that Charleston’s S.C. Senate Rep. Glenn McConnell (and the highest ranking member of the Senate) is using the authority’s decision as a chance to denounce them. Which will help his case to privatize the port.

But, I’m already inclined to think privatization might be a good thing.

Hyperwords 3.0, with Views

I just noticed this on the M Word - Marketing Libraries blog and can't wait to try it out!

USC SLIS Panning for Gold CE Classes

The School of Library and
Information Science (SLIS), University of South Carolina, presents the
fifthteenth annual calendar of scheduled continuing education (CE)
events. We hope that you will participate in many of the programs
listed in this Schedule of CE Events for Spring 2009.

This year, as in the past, the CE Committee has
worked to develop programs in cooperation with other CE providers
throughout the stateand region. We want to continue to work with your
organizations to bring the best continuing education opportunities to
you and your colleagues. Please let us know what we can do.

This webpage lists workshops that were scheduled
by December 12, 2008. Check our flyers or our
home page for additional events.

Continuing Education Committee

School of Library and Information Science

University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208

Phone: 803/777-5277

Fax: 803/777-7938

Email: nprice@mailbox.sc.edu

Should libraries scruitinze their newspaper holdings?

According to the Pew Research Center for the People & The Press, the Web overtakes all media except TV as a major source of news.  Libraries need to follow this trend and make decisions about which in-print newspapers they subscribe to.  I was recently at a holiday party and the topic of newspapers came up and a majority said they actually don't subscribe to the print version any more.  This is a drastic change in the past couple of years just by my own personal observation of friends.  Now that this study is out, libraries need to carefully think through: Do we need to stop many or all of our in print newspaper subscriptions?  Do we need to set up more public internet workstations? What is the difference in cost to setting up another internet workstation vs. subscribing to the in-print version of a newspaper?

Check out the Reading Rooster Recommends for December 16 2008

Want to improve your Web site? Delete your content.

I love this article! So many libraries have poorly organized web sites with difficult to find information. This article speaks to you! Go forth and delete old info!

Want to improve your Web site? Delete your content
By Gerry McGovern

The more you simplify your site, the better the chance Web visitors will find what they need

I recently worked with an organization that managed to delete a
substantial quantity of content from its Web site. It was not an easy
process. In fact, it took years of effort to build up an internal
consensus that actually deleting content was a good idea.

"You can't delete that," people would say, "because you never know
when someone might need it." Even content that had become out-of-date
and was now actually misleading was defended. "I don't have time to
review or delete," was another excuse.

Working with another organization I found a page that was old and contained content that was now clearly wrong and misleading.

"You can't delete that," the Web manager said to me tersely.

"Why not?" I replied.

"It will hurt our search engine optimization."

It will what? This Web manager—to call him a manager, I know, is
stretching the meaning of the word—had become a search engine
optimization fanatic. (There are quite a few out there.)

Blindly, he believed that the more pages he had, and the more
content he had on each of these pages, the more likely he was to get
found in search engines. (As if getting found was the Holy Grail of Web
management.) Bringing customers to a page with wrong content is like
bringing customers into a car salesroom to show them your cars that
won't start and have scratches all over the paintwork.

Back to the Web site that deleted lots of its content. It was hard
going. It took leadership. Compromises had to be made. Some content was
not deleted but was changed so that it would not be found when
customers used the search engine.

The results were more dramatic than anyone could have imagined.

Customer satisfaction with the Web site remained stubbornly low for
several years despite many other initiatives. Well, when they deleted
the content, customer satisfaction shot up. Why?

Most customers come to your Web site to complete top tasks. The more
irrelevant and out-of-date pages of content you have, the greater the
chances they will arrive on these pages. There is simply nothing worse
than presenting a customer with useless content. It infuriates them,
wastes their time, and drives them away from your Web site like a
plague.

Every time I hear the word "redesign" I shiver a little. The Web
site has grown more and more useless because of badly managed and
out-of-date content. Management should have mandated the boring,
politically difficult and thankless work of regularly removing poor
quality content.

Instead, many Web managers—particularly the newly appointed
ones—want to do a redesign. This is much more fun. It involves hiring
latte-drinking, cool-haircut Web designers, who will eulogize the brand
and dress up the first couple of levels of the Web site in shiny new
graphics.

But the rot of out-of-date, badly organized content remains. The
organization feels good because it has "done something." But what has
it done? It has engaged in the classic, ever-popular pastime of putting
lipstick on a pig.

Gerry McGovern is the founder and CEO of Customer Carewords and New Thinking e-mail newsletter. Contact Gerry at gerry@gerrymcgovern.com.

12/06/08: President-elect Obama's Weekly Address

Obama mentions the importance of improving the nations schools AND LIBRARIES!!!

College of Charleston Flash Rave in the Library

Well, I certainly hope no books were damaged! :-) Looks like the most fun in a library I've ever seen! Certainly would be a good event to have to blow off exam steam!

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams - Libraries Offer Free Relief in Tough Times

GovLoop - Social Networking for Government

A Colleague of mine in State Government told me about GovLoop recently. It's really an interesting social networking tool for government staff of all kinds. It's not as easy to navigate as Facebook but it does have some interesting groups and I think will grow to have much to offer government employees. I noticed there was no group devoted to libraries so I created a Library Group! Check it out and consider joining GovLoop today!

Reading Rooster Recommends

Reading Rooster Recommends
Originally uploaded by South Carolina State Library

Reading Rooster Recommends

is a children's book recommendation series on YouTube and TeacherTube sponsored by the SC Center for Children's Books and Literacy, the USC School of Library and Information Science, and the South Carolina State Library.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBRrMLPLusc

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=edba505619c3623a19a7

Letter I received from Arts Commission

Letter I received from Arts Commission
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

I thought this was very nice! I also think it is important for library staff members to get out and about making presentations like this to share the knowledge of things were doing...

UNC-CH libraries leave Christmas trees in storage

Good move on the library's part. Libraries, as well as all other government-related and/or funded organizations and institutions should understand that there is (or supposed to be) a separation of church and state. I agree that the library specifically is not a place for the celebration of a single religion, but should provide information on all types of religious beliefs instead of just concentrating on one.  However, I wonder why the reported only got a comment from the university's College Republican's group? 

Eric Ferreri, Staff Writer

UNC-CH libraries leave Christmas trees in storage

CHAPEL HILL - For as long as anyone can remember, Christmas
trees adorned with lights and ornaments have greeted holiday season
visitors to UNC-Chapel Hill's two main libraries.

They aren't there this year.

The
trees, which have stood in the lobby areas of Wilson and Davis
libraries each December, were kept in storage this year at the behest
of Sarah Michalak, the university's associate provost for university
libraries.

Michalak's decision followed several years of queries
and complaints from library employees and patrons bothered by the
Christian display, Michalak said this week.

Michalak said that
banishing the Christmas displays was not an easy decision but that she
asked around to library colleagues at Duke, N.C. State and elsewhere
and found no other one where Christmas trees were displayed.

Aside
from the fact that a UNC-CH library is a public facility, Michalak
said, libraries are places where information from all corners of the
world and all belief systems is offered without judgment. Displaying
Christian symbols is antithetical to that philosophy, she said.

"We
strive in our collection to have a wide variety of ideas," she said.
"It doesn't seem right to celebrate one particular set of customs."

Michalak,
UNC-CH's chief librarian for four years, said at least a dozen library
employees have complained over the last few years about the display.
She hasn't heard similar criticism from students, though they may have
voiced their concerns to other library staff.

Public libraries
generally shy away from creating displays promoting any single
religion, said Catherine Mau, deputy director of the Durham County
library system, where poinsettias provided by a library booster group
provide holiday cheer.

If religious or holiday-themed books are
put on display in December, they tend to be broad in range and subject
matter, she said.

"It's a conscious decision," Mau said. "We want everyone to feel welcome."

At UNC-CH, student Derek Belcher sees a case of political correctness running amok.

"I
don't understand it," said Belcher, a senior from Havelock and
president of the university's College Republicans. "We have Christmas
as a federal holiday. If we're going to remove the Christmas tree, do
we have to remove that holiday?"

eric.ferreri@newsobserver.com or 919-932-2008

Coming Up Taller Awards Program Seeks Nominations. Deadline: January 30 2009

The President's Committee on the Arts and the
Humanities (PCAH) is inviting nominations for the 2009 Coming Up Taller
Awards.  In partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), we are embarking on the
twelfth year of the Coming Up Taller Awards, which recognizes the
accomplishments of exceptional after-school and out-of-school arts and
humanities programs.

Coming Up Taller finalists receive $10,000,
an individualized plaque, and an invitation to attend the Coming Up
Taller Leadership Enhancement Conference.

2009 Nomination Form

 

For additional information, visit the Coming Up Taller website at www.cominguptaller.org. 

 

The deadline for nominations is Friday, January 30, 2009.   

If you have questions, please contact the President's Committee at (202) 682-5409.

Library's free classes can give job seekers an edge

Very COOL to see this highlighted!

TODAY'S
FOCUS

Library's
free classes can give job seekers an edge

By
JENNIFER LIVELY

Technology Learning Center Manager, Charleston County Public Library

Special to CharlestonCurrents.com

DEC. 1,
2008 - "Applicant must be extremely proficient with all Microsoft
Office programs, including Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint." This
sentence seems to shriek from the pages repeatedly as anxious job seekers
thumb through the classifieds each week. Layoffs, furloughs, service cutbacks
and shutdowns have fostered an environment of uncertainty among the employed
and unemployed alike. So, with fewer available jobs and an increasing
number of applicants, how can you emerge as a qualified contender?

for rest of article, visit http://www.charlestoncurrents.com/

No Scents

2008-11-27-dscn6724
Originally uploaded by martin_kalfatovic

no, it's not that they don't give you change for your paper money... they don't want you to smell - good or bad, i guess. this is at the Royal Ontario Museum library...

How to Subscribe to the State Library’s News Podcast

The Lions are roaring about something new from the South Carolina State Library! Today, the library launched its biweekly podcast, the Lion’s Roar, featuring South Carolina library-related news and information. Users can now directly subscribe or listen to the podcast at http://www.statelibrary.sc.gov/podcasts/thelionsroar.rss. Soon, users will be able to subscribe to the library news podcast via iTunes by searching for Lion’s Roar or South Carolina State Library in the iTunes store.

Each podcast will highlight recent news and information of importance to South Carolina’s library community, a featured library-related web site, and upcoming important dates. If your library or organization would like to have your news items considered for inclusion in the podcast, please contact Communications Director, Dr. Curtis R. Rogers at crogers@statelibrary.sc.gov or 803-734-8928.

New SC State Library podcast - The Lion's Roar

New SC State Library podcast - The Lion's Roar
Originally uploaded by South Carolina State Library

Columbia, SC – The Lions are roaring about something new from the South Carolina State Library! Today, the library launched its biweekly podcast, the Lion’s Roar, featuring South Carolina library-related news and information. Users can now directly subscribe or listen to the podcast at www.statelibrary.sc.gov/podcasts/thelionsroar.rss. Soon, users will be able to subscribe to the library news podcast via iTunes by searching for Lion’s Roar or South Carolina State Library in the iTunes store.

Each podcast will highlight recent news and information of importance to South Carolina’s library community, a featured library-related web site, and upcoming important dates. If your library or organization would like to have your news items considered for inclusion in the podcast, please contact Communications Director, Dr. Curtis R. Rogers at crogers @statelibrary.sc.gov or 803-734-8928.

dispatched service

dispatched service
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

This is a great slide from a webinar I'm listening to right now. I really like the idea of dispatched services. Especially the part about the dispatcher who matches the question to the right person and librarians working on call.

"Challenging the Assumptions of Legacy Librarianship" with Joan Frye Williams and George Needham

www.opal-online.org/index.html

zone staffing

zone staffing
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

I'm listening to a great webinar right now on OPAL and one of the important points is Zone Staffing. It's important for libraries to place staff in specific zones within the library to provide the best service possible.

"Challenging the Assumptions of Legacy Librarianship" with Joan Frye Williams and George Needham

www.opal-online.org/index.html

Proposals Sought for Grassroots Programs at 2009 ALA Annual Conference

Do you have a great idea for an Annual Conference program but don’t belong to a committee or other group that can plan and produce a program? As part of ALA President Jim Rettig’s “Creating Connections” initiatives, you are invited to submit a proposal for a program to take place at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference July 9-15 in Chicago.

The purpose of a Grassroots Program is:

• To expand opportunity for participation in ALA by giving members who do not belong to committees or boards within ALA an opportunity to plan and produce a program at the Annual Conference

• To provide programs at the Annual Conference that address very current issues by compressing to the greatest degree possible the program planning schedule

• To enrich the variety and quality of programs at the Annual Conference.
Proposals can be submitted by a single ALA personal member or by any group of ALA members who do not serve together on a committee or board within ALA. Proposals can address any topic of interest to ALA members. Proposals must be original; they cannot replicate a program previously presented at an ALA Annual Conference, Midwinter Meeting or national divisional conference. Proposals previously submitted to a committee, board or task force in ALA, one of its divisions or one of its round tables, cannot be resubmitted Proposals will be judged on:

• Relevance of the program’s topic to ALA members and the profession at large

• Timelines

• Knowledge of proposed speaker(s) on the topic

• Originality – i.e., the degree to which the proposed program looks at a topic in a new and fresh way or treats a topic that has not received as much attention as it deserves, either because it is very new or due to some other factor
Proposals can address ALA’s key action areas:

• Diversity

• Equitable Access to Information and Library Services

• Education and Lifelong Learning

• Intellectual Freedom

• Advocacy for Libraries and the Profession

• Literacy

• Organizational Excellence or other areas.

A jury will select up to 10 programs to take place during the conference. The jury will be made up of members of the student ALA chapters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UCLA as well as several members of Jim Rettig’s presidential initiatives advisory committee.

Each selected program will be listed in the program book for the 2009 ALA Annual Conference and will be noted as being part of the Grassroots Program Track as a juried program. You are also welcome to publicize your program by whatever means you would like, but please indicate that it is part of the “Grassroots Program Track.”

Each program will be allotted a $500 budget to cover speaker costs or other expenditures.

Additional information and a submission form can be found at
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/officers/grassroots/grassrootsproposal.cfm.

Deadline for submission is Feb. 6, 2009.

2008 Latest Edition - Did You Know 3.0 - From Meeting in Rome this Year

what does this mean for libraries? What are the next ways we should be serving future patrons?

Free IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf

Museums, Libraries, and Archives Urged to Apply for
Free IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf

Apply between January 5, 2009, and March 9, 2009

Washington, DC—Based
on the enthusiastic response from museum, library and archive
professionals throughout the country, the Institute of Museum and
Library Services (IMLS) will offer a third, and final, round of
competition to distribute an additional 1,000 copies of the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf.
Online applications can be submitted to the American Association for
State and Local History (AASLH) between January 5, 2009, and March 9,
2009, at www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf.

Books Change Lives

The International Book Bank distributes books and other educational materials to non-profit organizations that sponsor community libraries, reading rooms, and children's homes, in developing countries around the world. These materials have been generously donated to us by North American publishing companies, and we send them to programs that serve children, the needy, or the ill, who are learning to read and who lack educational materials. 


http://www.internationalbookbank.org/

New Grant to Support Non-Traditional Use of Libraries

Grants support local governments’ efforts to innovatively use public libraries to address community needs.

Once an institution devoted to book circulation, the public library is evolving. A recent study of the members of ICMA, the premier local government leadership and management organization, found some communities are using their public libraries for compelling new projects, such as providing services for teens, immigrant residents, recycling, health, and public safety.

During the next two years, with the help of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ICMA plans to encourage adoption of more such leading practices among local governments and demonstrate the value of public libraries as a vital tool in supporting community sustainability through the ICMA Public Library Innovation Grant. Local governments can employ these grants to develop new and creative ways of using their public library to deliver services in areas such as public safety, disaster preparedness, sustainability, health, immigration, civic engagement, and economic development.

Recognizing the importance of the manager/librarian relationship to create and sustain change, each Public Library Innovation Grant will be anchored by a partnership between the office of the chief administrative officer (city, town, and county managers) and the public library. A series of leadership workshops and project coaching will help grantees solidify the partnership, ensure the short-term success of the project, and secure new resources to support the long-term use of libraries in addressing community goals.

Through the program, ICMA will provide a total of $500,000 in Public Library Innovation Grants. Individual grants will range from $20,000 to $60,000. Only U.S. local governments and libraries are eligible to apply.
The Public Library Innovation Grant program is the result of an ongoing partnership between ICMA and the Gates Foundation that began more than a year ago, when ICMA and the Gates Foundation partnered on the Local Government and Public Libraries Initiative to engage local government managers as leaders in support of public libraries. A study conducted as part of the initiative revealed that the chief librarian/library director was a member of the local government management team in less than half of responding local governments, and that the chief librarian/library director participated in weekly meetings with the manager in only 41 percent of communities.

“These statistics suggest that for many local governments, libraries are not being used to strategically address community needs,” says Susan Benton, director of domestic programs at ICMA. “If local government managers remain unaware of, and uninvolved in, the changing role of libraries, these valuable community assets will be forced to tackle obstacles alone and will struggle to meet broader community needs.”

For more information about the ICMA Public Library Innovation Grants, contact Molly Donelan at mdonelan@icma.org. Applications, guidelines, and a budget template are available at http://icma.org/publiclibrarygrants.

Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium 2008

Watch this video! I love the part about the the little boy whose life was changed because of playing games at the library :-)

South Carolina Digital Library

SC Center for the Book - Speaker @ the Center

Social Media and Older Users

Don't fall for the myth that only younger generations use social networking tools such as Facebook and Flickr.  Seniors are using these tools in growing numbers. Why isn't your library reaching out to current and potential users via social networks?  And now you're saying, "we don't have enough staff and don't have the time" - to that I say, "Reorganize your staff, stop doing the same old things that aren't working any more, look at your stats to see what has been on the decline the last five years and if it doesn't work, do something different!"

Libraries are all about information management.  Why are so many libraries having a difficult time embracing social networking?  It has to do with change.  If you don't handle change well, leave the profession and let someone who does, help move the profession forward.


AARP embraces social media
By Jane Irene Kelly

The nonprofit for 50-plus demographic redesigns site based on user feedback

Don’t expect the popularity of social networks and other Web 2.0 tools to decline as users age. Just ask AARP.

The nonprofit launched daily news site AARP Bulletin Today
and redesigned its Web site last spring (the site came out of beta
testing in September) to include Web 2.0 features to prepare for what
it expects will be an exponentially growing user base, Clark says
Nataki Clarke, director of online marketing.

YouTube Captions and Subtitles

I'm glad to see this option in YouTube! This is especially useful for libraries with YouTube videos to be able to reach more patrons! Check it out!

Dr. Samantha Hastings Receives American Society for Information Science and Technology Award

Dr. Samantha Hastings, Director of the USC School of Library and
Information Science, received the Watson Davis Award from the American
Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T). The
award was presented at the Awards Luncheon on October 28, 2008 at the
ASIS&T annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio.

The Watson Davis
Award, commemorating the founder of the Society, was established in
1975 and is administered by the Membership Committee. The purpose of
this award is to recognize a member of the Society who has shown
continuous dedicated service through active participation in and
support of ASIS&T programs, chapters, special interest groups,
committees, and publications.

Two of Dr. Hastings’ former
students stated in her nomination letter that, “only a handful of
people could contribute in a lifetime what she has contributed to the
ASIS&T membership during the last 19 years.”

For more information about the USC School of Library and Information Science, visit www.libsci.sc.edu.  For more information about eh Watson David Award, visit http://www.asis.org/awards/watsondavisaward.html.

election day - i voted

election day - i voted
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

Great slide presentation - "Giving your marketing a second life"

Giving your marketing a second life

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: non-profit library)

State Budget Cuts Read as Bad News for Libraries

Columbia (WLTX) - With Governor Sanford expected to make a decision on state budget cuts Thursday, State Library officials are preparing for what could be an 11% decrease in overall funding.  Some are reading this as a huge hit to those who would rebuild our state's economy. Full story.

Highlights from the 2008 SCLA Annual Conference

Licenses for Libraries - Google Book Search

The End of Snippet View: Google Settles Lawsuit with Book Publishers - ReadWriteWeb

Licenses for Libraries

Libraries, universities, and other organizations will also be able to purchase an institutional subscription, which will give users the ability to access the full text of all the titles in the Google Books index. This, depending on the pricing, could turn out to be a revolutionary development for libraries.

Google Books is already changing the way many of us are doing our research, and having access to even more books is only going to move this trend forward even faster.

It is important to note that this settlement only applies to U.S. copyright holders. Users outside of the U.S. will not see any changes to Google Books yet.

Article in the Greenville News

October 28, 2008

online at the Greenville News.

Librarians have redefined jobs (by Jeanne Brooks)

Almost certainly you already noticed this. They don't whisper or shush in libraries anymore.

"It's totally different now," Becky Hughes said. And "I'm glad it's different."

So
there you have it. The words direct from a librarian's mouth. Hughes is
a branch librarian for the Anderson County Library. She's got 15 years
experience and so knows how things used to be.

Hughes
was one of 310 librarians attending the South Carolina Library
Association's annual conference last week, this year at the Hyatt
Regency hotel in Greenville. The association has about 400 members.

The
conference's theme was "Going Green in Greenville." Presentations
ranged from Ben Geer Keys, author of "Natural Images of the Southern
Appalachians," who spoke about his nature photography; to David Moore,
architect and partner at Graig Gaulden Davis, whose topic was "Planning
for Green Libraries."

There
was also "Your Cheatin' Heart: Academic Integrity as a Component of
Information Literacy," as well as "Libraries in the Digital Age: Some
Implications for the Practice of Librarianship" and a variety of other
topics, some green, some not.

Keynote
speaker was, as described by the conference brochure, "nationally
recognized eco chef, author and food justice activist" Bryant Terry.

Curtis
Rogers, the library association's president, said he thought "the whole
rule about talking in the library went away when libraries became more
or less community centers."

Right there is the Catch 22 for public libraries in the current economy.

The
Anderson County Library offers among other things, for instance, story
hours, crafts demonstrations, a teen guitar hero contest, poetry open
mike events, a library scavenger hunt, classes in genealogy research,
medical research, family law and computers.

They'll be organizing a communitywide Big Read of "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers.

Faith
Line, Anderson County Library director, said circulation at her
branches and main library has gone up by double digits within the last
six months.

"During
an economic downtown people tend to use libraries more," library
association president Rogers explained. They use library computers to
look for jobs. They check out movies for free instead of renting them.
Instead of digging into their pockets to buy books in stores, they
borrow them from libraries.

Facing
state cuts, librarians worry about funding. They worry about buying new
books, CDs, DVDs and electronic databases. They worry about affording
gas for bookmobiles.

What
big issues do they quarrel over? "Librarians tend not to be
quarrelers," Rogers demurred. "They tend to just voice concerns."
Although "librarians can sternly make a point."

Rogers said he thought the profession "tends to draw individuals who just want to know about everything."

A
2005 study by the University of South Carolina's School of Library and
Information Science found "the existence of SC public libraries brings
to the state (from federal and private sources) almost $5 million each
year that it would not otherwise have" and that "the value of loans and
use of books, videos, cassettes, CDs, newspapers, magazines, etc. to
users each year is approximately $102 million."

Value
-- besides keeping money they didn't have to spend -- to the users of
those books, videos, newspapers, magazines and the like was beyond
measuring.

Do you think gamers are out of touch couch potatoes? Think again.

If your library is not offering gaming options, check this out and think again about offering some type of gaming opportunities for teens and adults.

Videogamers Not Lonely Introverts; More Valuable Consumers than Non-Gamers

Americans
who play video games are more likely than non-gamers to influence their
friends’ attitudes about pop culture and new technology purchases and
are more social than commonly thought, according to a study from IGN Entertainment and Ipsos Media CT.

Findings from the “Are You Game?” research study break long-standing
stereotypes of gamers as solitary introverts and shows gamers are more
outgoing, more active and more valuable as consumers than those who do
not play video games, IGN said.

Newspaper Websites

I hear many people mention they no longer subscribe to newspapers and that they just visit the web sites and get their news that way...  I haven't received the paper at home in years, but instead look to the web to get my local news information.  Should libraries be paying attention to this?  How can libraries help disseminate news information online?

Maybe libraries should set up local newspaper webpages that organize the local news now that there are so many choices out there.  Are any libraries doing this already?

Newspaper Website Audience Up 16% in Q3, Engagement at Record Levels

Newspaper
websites each month attracted, on average, more than 68.3 million
unique visitors (41.4% of all internet users), during the third quarter
of 2008 - a record number, and a 15.8% increase over the year-earlier
quarter, according to the Newspaper Association of America. 

SCLA 2008 Conference 261

SCLA 2008 Conference 261
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

The all conference reception at the Upcountry History Museum was a great event! The museum was beautiful!

SCLA 2008 Conference 241

SCLA 2008 Conference 241
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

Today's poster sessions were well attended! There were about 18 poster sessions taking place and lots of people talking and learning about what's going on in SC libraries!

SCLA 2008 Conference 157

SCLA 2008 Conference 157
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

Mary Alice Monroe was our luncheon speaker today and did a wonderful job explaining the fine points of southern literature! She is always such a pleasure to hear speak and any kind of function. for more info, visit www.maryalicemonroe.com.

SCLA 2008 Conference 022

SCLA 2008 Conference 022
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

Our first general session speaker and author Bryant Terry did a wonderful job. I really liked his idea of library yard space being used as community gardens. What a wonderful thing to suggest. You can learn more about Bryant at bryant-terry.com

SCLA 2008 Conference 105

SCLA 2008 Conference 105
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

Yes, I actually did Karaoke at the SCLA conference! I was told I was very white :-) LOL

Is your library using email marketing to reach your patrons and future users?

18-34 Year Old Responds to Email Marketing Over Social Network Marketing

Social networking is popular, but how to target consumers through
them is a mystery that has plagued marketers since social media's
inception. Now, a new study from ExactTarget is showing how tough it
can be.

The report showed that 18-34 year olds say they're more likely to
respond to marketing efforts via email or direct mail than they are
social networking campaigns.

Here are more key findings from the study:

• 20 percent of Wired consumers have subscribed for marketing
  communications via SMS, more so than any other group, but they want to
  receive texts only for urgent customer service issues such as financial
  alerts or travel updates.
• More than 50 percent of Young
  Homemakers use social networks and SMS during the day, but direct mail
  and e-mail are their two preferred marketing channels.
• 81
  percent of Retired consumers have purchased online and 94 percent have
  been influenced by some form of direct marketing to make a purchase.
• College
  Students are very spam-savvy and believe private communication channels
  such as SMS and social networks are off limits for marketers.
• Teens
  use social networking more than any other group but are more likely to
  make a purchase from direct mail, followed by e-mail, SMS and social
  network sites.
• Women are more likely than the men in the
  Established Professionals group to use new digital media channels such
  as IM, SMS and social networking to communicate with friends and
  family, but men and women alike shop online with 92 percent of the
  consumers in this group having made an online purchase.

Audio meets Visual

Audio meets Visual
Originally uploaded by Jack Brodus

look at these wonderful Mac pods at the Delft Public Library in the Netherlands! I really like how simple the design is. I would love to have one at my local library!

Bibliotheekweek 2008: 18 oktober - Videogametoernooi

Bibliotheekweek 2008: 18 oktober - Videogametoernooi
Originally uploaded by Bibliotheek Kortrijk

Gaming in Libraries in Belgium! Very cool!

Fly High with a Book

Fly High with a Book
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

Yesterday when I got to the Dubuque Iowa airport I was happy to see the public library's "Fly High with a Book" program. the Friends of the Carnegie-Stout Public Library donates old books to the airport "fly high" shelf for visitors to take with them and read. What a great project!

Are you a good Multitasker in the Library?

I've heard from many librarians that they are either really good at multitasking or really bad at multitasking... I use to think I was really good at it but evidently I was deluding myself!  Read this recent online article:  Think You're Multitasking? Think Again. by Jon Hamilton.

Scenes from the Iowa Library Association 2008 Conference

my Flickr/Social Networking session

my Flickr/Social Networking session
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

i had a lot of wonderful interaction among my session participants! visit http://www.slideshare.net/crr29061 for my conference slides!

me and barbara

Iowa Library Assn 2008 Conference
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

two library association presidents together :-) me and Barbara Peterson, president of the Iowa Library Assn.

Iowa Library Assn 2008 Conference

Iowa Library Assn 2008 Conference
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

I had a great time at my presentation today! must have had about 70 or so attendees! My session was blogged at the Librarian's Rant!

http://lblog.jalcorn.net/archives/1196-ILA-Session-IM-Anyone-Lately-How-to-Get-Your-Library-Chatting.html

Thanks Louise!

me at charlotte airport

me at charlotte airport
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

waiting at the CLT airport headed to Dubuque for the Iowa Library Association annual conference. it's nice to have free wifi here!!!

North Americans demand social media

Librarians need to pay attention to these kinds of stats! People expect libraries, information specialists, and knowledge managers to be up on this and offer social media options for users.

Americans really dig social media… but Canadians love it.

Almost 60% of Americans interact with companies on a social media
Web site, and one in four interact more than once per week. These are
among the findings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study (Cone LLC).


When asked about specific types of interactions, Americans believe:

• A company should have a presence in social media (93%)

• A company should not only be present but also interact with its consumers via social media (85%)

• American consumers feel both a stronger connection with and better
served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media
environment (56%)

• Companies should use social networks to solve my problems (43%)

http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/2008/09/north_americans_demand_social.html

Iowa Library Association sessions

Tomorrow I head out to Dubuque for the Iowa Library Association Annual Conference! Should be lots of fun! It looks like they have a great program planned. Here is a link to my session presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/crr29061.

My sessions are:

im ANYONE LATELY? HOW TO GET YOUR LIBRARY CHATTING
Curtis Rogers, President, South Carolina Library Association, Columbia, South Carolina
Sponsored by Iowa Small Library Association

FROM JOOMLA TO BLOGS: GIVING YOUR WEBSITE A REFRESHING NEW LOOK
Curtis Rogers, President, South Carolina Library Association, Columbia, South Carolina
Sponsored by Editorial Committee

FLICKR AND OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING TOOLS TO CONNECT WITH PATRONS
Curtis Rogers, President, South Carolina Library Association, Columbia, South Carolina
Sponsored by Editorial Committee and Iowa Small Library Association

I'll be seeing you in Iowa real soon!

How to Use the SC State Library's Newsroom

My presentation at the SC Public Sector Communications Conference

Even A State Agency Can Do Social Media9703

From: scstatelibrary, 2 minutes ago

Even A State Agency Can Do Social Media9703

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: library state)

SlideShare Link

Online Offerings Rise at US Libraries, 68% of Americans Have Library Cards

The US’s public libraries are dramatically increasing new-media
offerings and have signed up an all-time high number of cardholders,
but online services are - in many cases - still not enough to meet
demand, according to studies from the American Library Associaton (ALA).

http://www.marketingcharts.com/topics/demographics/online-offerings-rise-at-us-libraries-68-of-americans-have-library-cards-6345/ala-public-library-sources-available-2007-2008jpg/

Prague Library

Prague_Library1_nw_lead
Originally uploaded by musgo_flickr

ultra mod!

Google Opens South Carolina Data Center

I wonder if the library was invited?


Google has begun operating its new $600 million data center in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The company marked the occasion yesterday with a grand opening event for local residents and officials.

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2008/10/08/google-opens-south-carolina-data-center/

Reading Rooster Recommends October 7 2008

Storytelling with Helen Fellers

SONY’S THIRD GENERATION READER DIGITAL BOOK GIVES READERS A “FEEL” FOR LITERATURE

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 2, 2008- With the latest edition of Sony’s Reader Digital Book, announced today, readers can truly let their fingers do the walking.

An
interactive touch screen display allows for the most intuitive digital
reading experience to date. The new model, PRS-700, will join the
PRS-505 model in the Reader family to give consumers a choice of how
they would like to read electronically.

http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/consumer/computer_peripheral/e_book/release/37586.html

SC Governor Proclamation

SC Governor Proclamation
Originally uploaded by South Carolina State Library

How great that the Governor has proclaimed October 19-25 as Friends of the Library Week in South Carolina!

QandANJ.org Commercial: Knowledge is Sexy: Go Get Some

here is a great example of a library commercial!

SC State Library Ask Leo IM Service - video/article WLTX.Com

SLIS Panning for Gold Class

our class signing up for YouTube!

Panning for Gold Class

Panning for Gold Class
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

photo of today's class!

interesting little 8 minute storytelling video

Fifty People, One Question: Restored from Benjamin Reece on Vimeo.

Check out those arrows! Here's what South Carolina librarians do--among other things--with public computers in their libraries.

Check out those arrows! Here's what South Carolina librarians do--among other things--with public computers in their libraries.
Originally uploaded by The MaintainIT Project

HTC T-Mobile G1 Android Released : Full Details of the Google Android HTC Dream Phone

check out how they use the NY Public Library as an example of how to call - it's nice seeing the library in the phone's address book!

Dance Dance Revolution @ Yorba Linda Library Game Night

Dance Dance Revolution @ Yorba Linda Library Game Night
Originally uploaded by Yorba Linda Public Library

State Library’s South Carolina Center for the Book Announces 2008-2009 Letters About Literature Competition

The Letters About Literature program, sponsored by the South Carolina
Center for the Book and the Library of Congress, in partnership with
Target Stores, is a national reading and writing promotion contest. 



More info from the South Carolina State Library

Carnegie-Whitney Grant Info

ALA | Carnegie-Whitney Grant

THE CARNEGIE-WHITNEY GRANT GUIDELINES



Purpose

The Carnegie-Whitney Grant provides an award that is based on a special fund first established by Andrew Carnegie in 1902, “the income of which is to be applied to the preparation and publication of such reading lists, indexes and other bibliographical and library aids as will be especially useful in the circulating libraries of this country.” The Carnegie Fund was subsequently enhanced by a merger with a fund established by James Lyman Whitney in 1910. The Publishing Committee, a standing committee of the American Library Association, administers the grant.



The Carnegie-Whitney Grant provides grants for the preparation and publication, either in print and/or electronically, of popular or scholarly reading lists, webliographies, indexes and other guides to library resources that will be useful to users of all types of libraries in the United States.

iRex Digital Reader series

iRex Technologies



Amazingly paper like?  I'd have to see it up close :-)

Reading Rooster Recommends September 18 2008

University of Michigan library book printing machine

Check out this video about how the UM library is using a book printing machine to serve up inexpensive books from their digitized collection.

http://www.ns.umich.edu/podcast/video.php?id=405






Technorati Tags: university michigan book printing machine library

New Online Meeting Space Now Available

Why am I just now finding out about ALA Marginalia? Oh well, I'm glad I came across it. I think it is wonderful that ALA is now using OPAL for online meeting space. The is a step in the green direction! WTG ALA!

http://discuss.ala.org/marginalia/2008/09/11/new-online-meeting-space-now-available/


Technorati Tags: ala opal online green meeting library association american

Library Parking Garage

Library Parking Garage
Originally uploaded by jonathan_moreau

National Gaming Day @ your library - November 15, 2008

National Gaming Day @ your library logo
Originally uploaded by ALA staff

http://ilovelibraries.org/gaming/

2008 SC Center for the Book Awards - Award for Teaching

2008 SC Center for the Book Awards - Literary Arts Advocacy

2008 SC Center for the Book Awards INTRODUCTIONS

Mary Alice Monroe

SC Center for the Book Award for Writing

why marketing is important

just saw this on the marketing blog - check it out. remember, it's not what you say, it's how you say it that can mean all the difference.

Loitering @ The Library

Loitering @ The Library
Originally uploaded by Birmingham Public Library (AL)

Web 2.0 Collaboration

Web 2.0 Collaboration
Originally uploaded by curtis rogers

This is a wonderful example of international social networking using Flickr. This person from Korea found an image of a library in Germany that I took while on a library study tour and asked to use it for a project. It demonstrates how truly global Flickr is and affords such a wonderful level of social networking, especially in the Library world!

Reading Rooster Recommends September 3 2008

get free ebooks

does anyone have experience using this site? what is the quality of ebooks offered? looks interesting!




Technorati Tags: ebooks online libraries books