South Dakota State Library: Library Development e-Newsletter

Trends and More

 

Helping genealogy researchers at your library

While Chase’s Calendar of Events denotes March 12 as Genealogy Day, family history seekers drop into your libraries any day of the year. What’s the best way to help them efficiently?

Willie Braudaway, Librarian and Director of the LDS Family History Center in Del Rio, TX, offers these tips:

• Be confident. Genealogy questions are merely specialized reference questions.
• Be gentle. Family history searching can be emotional.
• Interrupt politely. Keep searchers on track and help them focus on the search.
• Remember that these are not “instant answer” questions.
• Share the tools of the trade.
• Teach how to search for good quality materials.
• Leave them with a lead to a person, place or resource.
• Share good genealogy links or place links on your website.
• Collaborate with your local genealogical and historical societies.

For more details, view an archive of Braudaway’s webinar “10 Tips for Effectively Serving the Genealogy Searcher.”

The State Library’s online genealogy resources, AncestryLibrary (in library or school use only), HeritageQuest and Sanborn Maps (both available in library, school or home) can take patrons a long way in their searching. Learn more about the Genealogy resources provided through the State Library. Click the small blue “i” for more information about each resource.

The South Dakota State Historical Society offers material for genealogy research via its archives. The society offers genealogy programs in your community, too. Click “Outreach” on the right sidebar for more information.

In addition to the resources mentioned above, Willie Braudaway recommends these sites:

• ProGenealogists U.S. Genealogy Sleuth
• ProGenealogists International Genealogy Sleuth
• Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet

 

More resources in the news

SD Attorney General's Games - Quizzes - Tutorials page offers Internet Safety for Kids, Saving Money at the Pump and more!

Great places to find free images for library marketing and more from the Travelin' Librarian. Plus, a related post about images and copyright by the Social Networking Librarian, Michael Sauers.

Celebrate global literacy with World Read Aloud Day on March 9

Win a Copy of Every For Dummies Book in Print! For Dummies Annual Library Contest

 

What is Library Development reading?

 

Inside, Outside, and Online: Building Your Library Community

Reviewed by Jane Healy

Author Chrystie Hill, director of community services for WebJunction, shares her expertise and experience as a community builder to guide public librarians in building communities in their own towns. “My ambitions with this work are to continue the professional discourse on libraries and community building and to provoke further discussion about the librarian’s essential role as purveyor of both content and connection for the communities we serve” (p. xiii).

The first two chapters set the context for the rest of the book, with chapter two describing Hill’s “Libraries Build Communities” project. The following chapters walk librarians through the steps necessary to be a true community partner—assessment, delivery, engagement, iteration, and sustainability. Each chapter contains real-life examples and many references. The book concludes with an appendix containing survey results and many pages of references. The references section alone gives this book value.

Throughout the book, the emphasis is on filling actual community needs (assessment), not needs librarians assume the community has, by developing a plan that fits the library’s vision and mission statement. In any endeavor, patron needs come first (delivery). Libraries market their services and programs in a deliberate, targeted way (engagement), creating and building the story of the library’s relationship with the community. Programs and services should be constantly evaluated for success and impact (iteration). Evaluation results can lead to improving services or programs and increasing library support and funding. To keep the library going, libraries must move forward with purpose, leadership, accountability and participation (sustainability). These qualities should be infused into all the previous steps to ensure success. Texas librarian Christopher Jowaisas says in an interview on sustainability, “The libraries that are willing to give up what they want to do in order to do what needs to be done…will thrive, will be sustainable” (p. 111). Advice and examples from librarians offer encouragement and keep the discussion grounded in reality.

Hill’s Afterword concludes, “Inside, Outside, and Online—We Are Everywhere, and Should Be” (p. 135). If your library is not yet “everywhere,” this book offers a map for how to get there.

This book is available at the State Library. For more on this topic, see WebJunction’s Community Relations section and Rural and Small Libraries section.

 

No Shelf Required: E-Books in Libraries

Reviewed by Joan Upell

With just nine short chapters editor Sue Polanka covers the basics of the current e-book world in this title. Contributors zero in on the past, the present, and the future of e-books and e-readers. Librarians and other educators will find information specific to all types of libraries – school, public and academic. One of the two chapters about school libraries goes into detail about using e-books to improve reading and learning. Reference books and textbooks in the e-book format are discussed at length in the context of all types of libraries. Several case studies add to the practicality of the information shared as well as extensive lists of related websites and other resources on the topic.

This is a quick, easy read to skip around in or go straight through from front to back. It’s available in print from the State Library’s collection. Readers may also want to dig deeper into the subject and keep up-to-date at Sue Polanka’s blog of the same name, No Shelf Required.

For a more detailed review take a look at this article through ProQuest: Gregory, G. "Building an E-Collection for Tomorrow.” Rev. of: No Shelf Required: E-Books in Libraries. Information Today 1 Jan. 2011: Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 1 Feb. 2011.

 

 

 

 

community, ebooks, genealogy, history, reviews, trends, websites

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