South Dakota State Library: Library Development e-Newsletter

Trends and More

How do I…deal with those techie questions?

“How do I make my computer run faster?”

“How do I set up a formula in Excel?”

“Will the games the after school crowd plays crash the library computers?”

“Is there a free virus scan anywhere that I can use on my computers?”

If you or your patrons have ever had questions like these and you don’t have a ‘techie’ on staff, there is help online for you. We have searched the Web and put together a short list of sites that may help answer some of those questions.

• PC World Magazine: How-To
• PC 911 - Friendly Expert Computer Help
• The Tech Guy Netcast Leo Laporte is an excellent resource for both the newbie and the extreme geek.
• Answers.com: Computers The world's leading Q&A site.
• Yahoo Answers: Computers & Internet Search for previously asked questions and look for the best "resolved" answers.
• Google Categories: Computers
• Microsoft Office Suite:
  • MS Excel: Microsoft Office Online or Excel Forum
  • MS Word: Microsoft Office Online or Tips for Word Processing
  • MS Outlook: Microsoft Office Online
  or HowTo-Outlook

GCF LearnFree.org: Computer Training Free tutorials; check out Facebook 101.

Internet Public Library

Do you have a favorite or two you’d like to share with librarians across South Dakota? Send the link to Brenda Hemmelman via e-mail.

 

More resources in the news

The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Education and Federal Communications Commission have just released a new booklet about online safety. A PDF of the 54-page publication, Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids about Being Online, is available in a at http://www.onguardonline.gov/. Free copies of the brochure can be ordered from the Federal Trade Commission.

According to the 2010-2011 edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook http://www.bls.gov/OCO/, the job opportunities for librarians are favorable. Looking for a library job? Check out these sites:

• Library Spot: Jobs
• ALA: JobLIST
• Library Job Posting on the Internet
• LISjobs.com
• LibGig

Storynory offers free audio books and stories for kids. Storynory audio can be downloaded to your computer or listened to directly from the Web site. For more information, or to listen to stories go to Storynory.com.

 

What is Library Development reading?

Strategic Planning for Results

Reviewed by Daria Bossman

The State Library has a wonderfully up-to-date and very complete professional library. One popular series in the collection is known as the PLA Results Series. The back cover blurb states, “The PLA Results Series has long served to help public librarians envision, evaluate and respond to community news with distinctive programs and services. Building from this proven model, Strategic Planning for Results is the fully revised version of Planning for Results, the foundational book in this groundbreaking series.”

The author, Sandra Nelson, focuses on the essential steps for drafting what she terms a “results-driven strategic planning process that libraries can complete” within a four-month period. She has crafted this book with small as well as larger libraries in mind. She makes a case that specific, results-oriented outcomes rather than detailed, long-term planning will energize your community, your board and your staff, and this process allows libraries to actually accomplish a well-defined set of goals in a short period of time.

This book is choked full of graphs, forms, outlines, simple to understand bullet points, lists of questions, etc. Want to take a survey to measure symptoms of staff morale? —see the points listed on page 69. You might want to check out the 2007 updated revision of Ranganathan’s Laws: “Resources are for use, Every Resource its user, Every user His Resource, Save time and energy of the user, and the one which stayed exactly the same over 80 years, The Library is a growing organism!”

Here is just a sample of the opening paragraph in the introduction:

“Excellence must be defined locally. It results when library services match community needs, interests, and priorities; Excellence is possible for both small and large libraries. It rests more on commitment than on unlimited resources; and Excellence is a moving target. Even when achieved, excellence must be continually maintained.”

This book is easy to digest and useful in so many ways. The “Key Points to Remember” at the conclusion of each chapter could be used as summaries for an entire board to read together. And if you are into deep research on a particular subject, the references and bibliographies at the end of each chapter are excellent. Request it through interlibrary loan today!

Afoot: a Tale of the Great Dakota Turkey Drive

Reviewed by Joan Upell

It’s all about South Dakota and turkeys in Afoot: a Tale of the Great Dakota Turkey Drive by George Brandsberg. Although published in 2006, this is one of those undiscovered regional treasures. Joshua Greene needs to find his sister. He makes it from Illinois to Pierre in Dakota Territory before he runs out of money. Once he learns that she has moved on to Deadwood, he is determined to follow her. Desperate to find a way, he signs on as a cowhand, but the herd he expects to trail turns out to be turkeys. Based on a true event, this slim volume is full of colorful characters, adventure and compassion for readers from upper elementary through adult.

Other titles now being read by Library Development staff include:

• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
• Collaboration and Comprehension: Inquiry Circles in Action by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels
• Down and Dirty Birding: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous, Here's All the Outrageous but True Stuff You've Ever Wanted to Know About North American Birds by Joey Slinger
• The Known World by Edward P. Jones
• The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
• Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krause
• Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin
• Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

 

books, internet, job opportunities, reading list, reviews, technology, websites

 

 

 

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