NHLA Blog

What follows was my attempt to capture the content of the southern NH roundtable discussion on open source software, held at the Manchester City Library. I may add more to these notes in the future, but at least you'll have a little idea of what was discussed. Thanks to Lichen for facilitating this roundtable in Manchester and to Bobbi who facilitated the north country discussion.

Scriblio:

• WordPress plugin, download it into plugins directory and enable.
• Acts as a blog-like interface for content from the ILS.
  
• Availability info for library materials is available for a library using III (Innovative Interfaces ILS), see Plymouth State implementation.
• Using WordPress dashboard to access the needed plugin
  
• http://about.scriblio.net/download
• Example implementation at Tamworth Library, http://tamworthlibrary.org/
• Book discussion via comments on the blog
  

Skype

• Videoconferenced with Bobbi Slossar at the "North Country" open source roundtable discussion using Skype. Skype is free.
  

Ubuntu

• Open source operating system, GUI implementation for Linux

Meebo

• Free accounts
• From one interface, you can instant message with colleagues who may have different IM clients, for example Yahoo IM, Google Chat, AOL Instant Messaging, and more.
  
• Meebo rooms: create a private or public IM room for committee work or chatting with librarians elsewhere in the building
  
• IM widgets on library web pages, allows instant messaging directly from a webpage.

 Flickr

• Online photo sharing
• Flickr badge to put on one's website, example, Manchester City Library home page 

Twitter

• Microblogging tool, limited number of characters in a post
• Create a Twitter account for your library, include stuff that doesn't really merit a blog post, but might be fun to make available nevertheless. Little tips, etc.
• Install a Twitter badge on the library website.

Del.icio.us

• Collect bookmarks online and have access to them from anywhere
• New Firefox extension provides your deliciious bookmarks in a convenient sidebar along with numerous sorting options
  

Joomla & Drupal

• Both are open source content management systems that enable you and multiple staff to update content without needing to go through a webmaster.
  
• NHLA-ITS is in the process of building a website for the Richards Free Library using Joomla.
  

Open Office

Google Docs

Google Apps

Survey Monkey

Posted by Steve B. at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On a similar note, the Intellectual Freedom Manual has been revived and made available online at the NHLA website. At the moment, the manual is not seamlessly integrated into the newest version of the NHLA website, but for now, those needing access to it digitally can start by going to http://www.nhlibrarians.org/if1.htm. The rest of the manual links off of that page.

By the way, the legendary Mary Ahlgren is looking to pass on the chairpersonship of NHLA's Intellectual Freedom Committee, so if any of you are interested, please contact Mary or Amy Thurber.

Posted by Steve B. at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Pay Equity Comparative Study and the Pay Equity Toolkit are now both back online. You can download them as PDF files at http://www.nhlibrarians.org/payequity.html. The links from the NHLA website to these documents had been broken up until now. My apologies.

Posted by Steve B. at 05:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Claudia M. at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At last week's ITS quarterly drop-in meeting, we discussed the topic of providing printing services to library customers who are using their own laptop computers. Amongst the libraries represented at the meeting, two libraries were providing such a service, Langdon Public Library (in Newington) and Rochester Public Library. Does your library offer this service, and/or do you know of other NH libraries that provide such a service? If so, please leave a comment including the name and location of these libraries and how the service is implemented at them. As we gather the informtion, we will post the content on the following page at the unofficial NHLA wiki, http://nhla.pbwiki.com/Libraries-Offering-Wireless-Printing-Services. Thanks!

p.s. If you would like to add content to the unofficial NHLA wiki, send me an email, and I will give you the password. Admittedly, there still needs to be a lot of planning done before the wiki becomes an official NHLA resource. If interested in joining a committee to help design and plan the NHLA wiki, send me an email as well.

Posted by Steve B. at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Steve B. at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In my previous blog, I reported that several resolutions were passed by Council without much discussion.  There were, however, a few resolutions that were debated.

The Resolution Supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was debated because not all Councilors understood the definitions of "gender identity" and "gender expression" or the difference between them.

 The Resolution Concerning ALA Policy Opposing Sweatshop Labor was debated because not all Councilors understood who would decide what qualified as a sweatshop, where that information would be obtained, whether or not subcontractors would need clearance, and whether or not vendors would be held accountable.

 The Endorsement of a Living Wage for all Library Employees and a Minimum Salary for Professional Librarians was debated because of its specified universal figures ($13 an hour for allied professionals and $41, 680 for professionals). 

Rob Sargent, ALA Councilor

Posted by Rob S. at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new feature has been added to the NHLA website. It is a widget that displays links to one randomly selected "always available" downloadable audiobook at New Hampshire's OverDrive site. The widget is displayed on the left-hand side of the NHLA home page, so be sure to take a look.

The widget is the product of NHLA's new Information Technology Section. Section members already have ideas for how to expand upon this idea and may have updates sometime down the road. In the meantime, NH librarians are encouraged to add this widget to their own websites. For information on how to do this, visit this NHLA-ITS page, and/or direct questions to Steve Butzel.

Posted by Steve B. at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 2008 ALA Conference was held the last week of June in Anaheim.  Over the course of five days, I attended three Council sessions, two ALA-APA sessions, two author talks, one membership meeting, and a program on reluctant YA readers.  There was a lot of business conducted and a lot of resolutions passed at the various sessions, yet we concluded our meetings in record time.  Oh, and the weather was great!

 Several resolutions passed with little discussion including the Resolution on Improving the Federal Depository Library Program and Public Access to Government Information, the Resolution on Support for Funding for Cataloging and Bibliographic Control at the Library of Congress, and the Resolution Adopting the Definitions of Digital Preservation and the Revised Preservation Policy for the American Library Association.

 Perhaps the nicest, most significant, uncontroversial resolution was the one to Recognize Lois Ann Gregory-Wood for Forty Years of Service as an ALA Staff Member.  Lois Ann is the Gal Friday of the Council.  She organizes the sessions, distributes the documents, and collects the tally cards.  I've heard she works around the clock at conferences to keep Councilors up to date.  It's amazing to think of her longevity because she doesn't even look 40 years old!

 Rob Sargent, ALA Councilor

Posted by Rob S. at 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Steve B. at 07:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

NELA just announced the winners of their 2008 awards scholarships for full and part-time students. In case you aren't familiar with these awards, the awards for full time students are $2,000, and those for part-time students are $1,000. According to the NELA website, "These awards provide financial assistance for qualifying students pursuing Master's degrees in Library and Information Science. They are open to New England residents who plan to continue their careers in the region. Students attending an ALA-accredited library school or program offered in New England or New York, or an accredited on-line program offered elsewhere, who have a demonstrated need for financial assistance, may apply."

To learn about applying for NELA's 2009 scholarships, head to http://nelib.org/resources/scholarships.htm. And don't forget to read about NHLA's scholarship and grant opportunites here, http://www.nhlibrarians.org/scholarshipsgrants.html.

Posted by Steve B. at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

REGISTER NOW!

The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) is pleased to present its FALL 2008 PRESERVATION WORKSHOP SERIES:

* Intermediate Book Repair — Tuesday, September 23
* Writing Successful Grant Proposals — Wednesday, September 24
* Preserving Oversize Paper Artifacts — Thursday, September 25
* Caring for Textiles — Wednesday, October 1
* Disaster Planning with dPlan Lite — Thursday, October 2, (at Merrimack College)

LOCATION:
NEDCC
100 Brickstone Square, 4th floor
Andover, MA
(except for Disaster Planning with dPlan Lite - see workshop description on our Web site.)
TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
COST: $150.00 per workshop

For complete workshop details and registration form, visit www.nedcc.org

The workshops are co-sponsored by the Essex National Heritage Commission, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System, and Historic New England.

The Fall Preservation Workshops are supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Posted by Steve B. at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)