Selection of a winner for the 2009 READS Award of Excellence took a great deal of reflection. Nominees represented the best in library service all around New Hampshire. Pamela Smith, Head of Technical Services and Systems Librarian at Howe Library in Hanover emerged as this year's award recipient. She represents the highest ideals of READS, NHLA and the library profession.

According to her nominator, Mary White, Howe Library Director, Pamela makes public service her highest priority, leading the library staff with her technical expertise and commitment to services Hanover's tech-savvy patrons enjoy.

Pam served in the Vermont House of Representatives, and worked in the Acquisitions and Serials Department at the University of Vermont before joining the Howe Library staff. In her present role she has presented workshops at NELA and NH Library Association conferences as well as in her library. She is behind a long list of upgrades in technical services at the Howe Library, and makes full use of emergent technology whenever it is useful to the library community. Congratulations, Pam!

Posted by Christine H. at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

    Outstanding librarianship is alive and well in New Hampshire. The READS Award of Excellence Committee thanks those who nominated candidates for the annual Award of Excellence. The 2009 nominees are:

         Sharon Duffy, Grafton Public Library Trustee; Lois Freeson, Head of Reference and ILL, Assistant Director Nesmith Library in Windham; Pamela Smith, Head of Technical Services and Systems Librarian, Howe Library in Hanover, and Meryl Zusman, Acquisitions Librarian and Webmaster, Derry Public Library.

Congratulations, nominees. You are all outstanding, as are many others we hope will be nominated next year. Selection of one winner was difficult this year -- you are  so professional!

Check the READS website for selection criteria. The Award of Excellence Committee is taking suggestions for revisions to make our guidelines as clear as possible. We want to help you participate so please help us do our job. See you at the READS Fall Conference October 23 at the Local Government Center in Concord!

Posted by Christine H. at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do you want to help READS to provide continuing education and communication opportunities for library staff who serve adult library users? Now is your chance! We are looking for three executive board members. There is a relatively low time commitment. The board meets six times times per year and there is some light work to do between meetings. We need to fill the following positions:

• Vice President (elected)
• Secretary (elected)
• Public Relations Chair (appointed)

For more information, please visit our website, http://www.nhlibrarians.org/reads/, or contact the current board members. They are:

• Vice President--Linda Taggart, Linda.taggart@nashualibrary.org
• Secretary--Marija Sanderling, msanderling@hampton.lib.nh.us
• Public Relations Chair--Diane Arrato Gavrish, dianeag@derrypl.org

If you would like to place your name in nomination or nominate another READS member, please email past president Chris Hague, at Wearepl@comcast.net. The READS membership will vote for the VP and Secretary at the annual business meeting on Friday, October 23.

Posted by Linda T. at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Summer is upon us, and librarians have until August 1 to submit their nominations for the annual READS Award of Excellence. This award is given to the New Hampshire librarian who is chosen for outstanding service in the fields of reference and adult services.

There's a good feeling in filling out a nomination form. It brings to mind positive qualities, and we all need positive thoughts in tough times. The library from which the winner is selected gets a big morale boost, and the attention from the community underscores the value of libraries at a time when making our case is very important.

Outstanding service happens in libraries of all sizes. Our 2008 winner, Michelle DuBreuil, Library Assistant at the Gordon-Nash Library in New Hampton, represents a smaller library than past winners, so we know that excellence can happen anywhere. You can learn more by exploring

http://www.nhlibrarians.org/reads/award.html

Posted by Christine H. at 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So you think reference service is on the way out. Well think again. Take a look at what they are doing at Yale, or more specifically, read this abstract of a conference program Yale librarians are giving at the upcoming ACRL New England conference...

"The Yale University Library has well-established research education programs for undergraduate students at the junior and senior level, but programs for first- and second-year students have been hit-or-miss at best. To reach out to lower-level undergraduates in a systematic way, we developed the Personal Librarian (PL) Program. At the beginning of the fall 2008 semester, all 1,320 incoming students in the Class of 2012 were assigned their own Personal Librarian or “PL” – one of 32 Yale librarians who serves as the students’ primary point of contact in the library. This presentation will describe the Library’s experiences in the first full academic year of the PL program, some of the challenges we face in trying to make sure all Yale undergraduates are served equally, and how we are working to develop assessment tools and generate policy recommendations for this effort."

What do you think about Yale's approach? Have reference librarians at your library provided anything similar to this? Tell us in a comment. The first five commentors will win a prize!

Posted by Steve B. at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In a time when many libraries must find ways to trim their budget, what strategies are you using to continue providing the same quality of service to your patrons as before? Do you look to your Friends group? Ask for grants? Fundraise within the community? Have you found locals willing to provide programming? Are there businesses providing you discounts? Or are there smaller things we can do that will make a difference? Please join as at one of the scheduled round tables to discuss this topic.

• Howe Library-Hanover-Monday March 23, 10:00-12:00
• Hooksett Library-Wednesday-March 25, 10:00-12:00
• Pease Library, Plymouth-Friday March 27, 10:00-12:00

$5 for READS members; $10 for non-members.

Registration deadline is March 16.

Brochure and registration form (PDF)

Posted by Linda T. at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Linda T. at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We at READS want to remind you of the program we are presenting on the 24th of October. It will offer suggestions from a variety of people involved in human services to help us best serve our disabled customers. Speakers will include librarians, representatives from social services, and specialists in serving people with a variety of disabilities. We hope you come with questions, suggestions, and examples of your own experiences.

The deadline for registering is October 10th. Forms are available at the READS Fall Conference page.

Hope to see you!

Posted by Linda T. at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

READS members will meet at the Local Government Center in Concord for the annual Fall Conference. This year’s topic is "How to Best Serve Your Disabled Population."   The annual business meeting and announcement of the READS Award for Excellence will also take place.  8:30am- 3pm, Friday October 24th.

Print or download a brochure here: http://www.nhlibrarians.org/reads/programs/READS.fall08.flyer.pdf

Posted by Jon K. at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I recently updated the NHLA's "Upcoming Events" webpage, and in doing so, was impressed by all the terrific programs our members have organized for us in the next 30 days. First, there is the CHILIS conference which takes place at the Portsmouth Public Library on Thursday, October 18th from 9am-3pm. Amongst the many topics discussed, one in particular is "Marketing Library Services to Teens with Technology." Should be interesting.

Then, on October 26th, the READS conference takes place at the Local Government Center in Concord, NH. The theme of the event is "People, Places and Things: Security in Today's Library" and registration is going through the roof!

But wait, there's more! On November 1st, NHLA's Fall Conference takes place at the Common Man Inn in Plymouth, NH. The theme of the conference is "The Modern Library: Service in the 21st Century: Graphic Novels, Programming and Social Software." The opening session "Entice, Educate and Excel with Comics!" sounds intriguing. And the closing session titled "Scriblio and Open Source Software for Libraries" features Casey Bisson, information architect at Plymouth State University. Very cool!

So get out there, network and enjoy learning from each other. The next 30 days should be a lot of fun!

Posted by Steve B. at 06:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As you all hopefully know, the READS Annual Fall Program and Business Meeting is taking place on October 26, 2007 at the New Hampshire Local Government Center, and the theme is "People, Places and Things: Security in Today's Library". And now, you can download the schedule of events and the registration form here. How convenient! So why not download the form, print it out, fill it in, and send it back to the Local Government Center right away! You are sure to get your money's worth.

Want another reason to attend? You will get to see the presentation of the 3rd annual READS Award of Excellence.

Posted by nhlablog at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The deadline to submit nominations for the READS Award of Excellence has been extended to Friday, August 31st.

Several busy librarians have requested extensions, so we're pushing the deadline back to the end of the month.

The READS Award of Excellence is given once a year and recognizes outstanding service to library users. The award recipient will be recognized at the READS Annual Fall Program. For more information and to download the nomination form, please visit http://www.nhlibrarians.org/reads/award.html

Posted by Sarah L. at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s not too late to nominate a library colleague for the READS Award of Excellence. Someone you know deserves recognition!

This award is presented to a library staff member who provides outstanding direct or indirect service to library users in the reference or adult services area.

The award recipient will be recognized at the READS Annual Fall Program. For more information and to download the nomination form, please visit http://www.nhlibrarians.org/reads/award.html

Deadline: August 1, 2007

Posted by Sarah L. at 06:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Steve B. at 07:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you missed the READS-To-Go sessions at NHLA's conference, then all I can say is you missed out on a lot of fun. Even though this new READS program alone would get any librarian excited, RTG's creators outdid themselves donning costumes and performing numerous outlandish skits based on such famous gameshows as Family Feud and Lets Make a Deal to outline the rational behind READS-To-Go and its many well thought out features and processes.

But perhaps you still aren't familiar with RTG. Never fear, READS-To-Go has its own new website that is rapidly adding more information. Right now, you can browse a list of the more than twenty popular book titles that will be available in book bags along with kits including discussion questions and much, much more. So please visit the new website regularly and get your book groups ready to participate in this enthusiastic, innovative program.

READS-To-GO website address: http://www.nhlibrarians.org/reads/rtg. 

Posted by Steve B. at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As a reference librarian, I am often asked by students where they can find good primary resources. One resource I've increasingly pointed our customers to is Access.NewspaperArchive.com. Access NewspaperARCHIVE is a program that gives public libraries and K-12 schools around the world FREE access to NewspaperARCHIVE.com's historical newspaper database. This free version of Access NewspaperARCHIVE allows users to view, save and print full-page newspapers dating from 1759 to 1977. The content is also keyword searchable! Unfortunately, access to historic New Hampshire newspapers is excluded. To gain access to that content, you've got to pony up some cash!

To find out more about this program, contact my good friend Scott Fisher at 888.870.0484 ext. 24 or by email at sfisher@heritagemicrofilm.com. Tell him Steve Butzel from the Nashua Public Library referred you!

p.s. If enough of us like the service, maybe we should consider asking the State Library to provide access to the for-fee New Hampshire content. Just a thought.

Posted by Steve B. at 07:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

• Budget cut - slide back! 
• Patron thanks you for your help - skip ahead!
• Can't answer the library literature trivia? Stuck!
• And avoid the black hole of burnout at all costs!

Also, the CHILIS Spring Conference takes place next Thursday, April 5th at Sawyer’s Banquet Facility in Plaistow, NH. For more info, visit the CHILIS Spring Conference webpage, http://www.chilisnh.org/springcon.html.

Posted by Steve B. at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi Folks,

Steve Butzel gave us a wonderful clear and concise tutorial on posting an entry to the NHLA blog yesterday at the Executive Board meeting in Concord. Here’s my contribution:

As By-Laws Chair, one of my responsibilities is to ensure that each section has submitted a copy of its By-laws to the Executive Board each year – NHLA BY-LAWS, Article 6 -  Sections, Paragraph C -  Duties of the Sections. #2  “Present a current copy of the Section By-laws to the Executive Board each year.”

I’m attempting to earn my keep. Please send a current copy of your By-laws to me at credden@hampton.lib.nh.us. And Thank You,  Ann Hoey, for sending CHILIS By-laws first thing this morning!

Posted by Catherine R. at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three READS roundtables will be  taking place in March

• Monday, March 26: Portsmouth Public Library, 10-12
• Wednesday, March 28: Peterborough Public Library, 11-1
• Friday, March 30: Pease Public Library Plymouth, 10-2.
  

Come play a game - Ups and Downs in LibraryLand, a board game ripped off/based on Chutes & Ladders.

• Budget cut - slide back! 
  
• Patron thanks you for your help - skip ahead!
  
• Can't answer the library literature trivia? Stuck!
  
• And avoid the black hole of burnout at all costs!
  

PRIZES PRIZES PRIZES  (and lots of fun)

Posted by nhlablog at 05:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The draft edition of the meeting minutes from the December 12, 2006 READS Executive Board meeting are now available for download here. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file.) They will also soon be posted on the READS website, but why not just grab them here!

Posted by nhlablog at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)