We're working hard to develop a set of resources to share with Washington libraries that will help ease the burden during these hard times. As we continue to sift through sites to help your patrons build resumes, search for jobs, apply for unemployment, and learn new skills, here are a few that we've discovered so far.
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One favorite patron was a person you might describe as a "naive offender". He was a regular library visitor, and he shared an interest in the natural world with us.
The American Library Association Washington Office (ALA WO) recently announced a web site, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 101, www.ala.org/knowyourstimulus, to help librarians understand the application of the "stimulus package" to libraries.
Some tips of the week for staffing Ask-WA: Washington's Statewide Virtual Reference Cooperative.
By the late 1990’s Western State Hospital began to admit a number of Russian patients with limited English language skills. At the time the Library, a branch of the Washington State Library, had no Russian print material. When discussing this problem with one of the recreation therapists, the 2 of us suddenly realized that the Internet was an entirely new universe for Russian web sites as well as for other countries and in many languages. One day, probably around 2000 or 2001, a Russian patient with some English language ability and I sat in front of one of our computers.
There is a great article in the January 2009 issue of Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals, titled “The Art of the Deal: Negotiation Advice from Library Leaders and Vendors.” I would go so far as to call it essential reading for anyone who negotiates library licenses and database subscriptions.
Information about CE Grants from the Washington State Library has been updated to reflect changes to the CE Grant process and criteria. The primary changes for 2009 include the use of substitute time and out of country travel.
I have two great joys when it comes to working at the library. Well maybe one, since they are tied together. I love to go shopping for new books, whether it is online or in the store, looking over all the books, deciding what to buy can be the most fun. It isn't even necessarily the actual shopping, but hoping that I am choosing books that the inmates will want to read, which ties into my second joy....unpacking the boxes. When the boxes arrive in the library, I usually have my library clerks breathing down my neck to open them so they can see what is there.