MLA Report # 17

From Nancy Maxwell of the Virginia Public Library:

Thank you to the NCLC Board for funding to help make going to MLA this year possible for me.

Sharon Lerner Lecture: Everything I need to know I learned from a children's book

Author Anita Silvey contacted many noted celebrities to talk about what children's book influence their lives and compiled a book of their essays. In this workshop, Ms. Silvey explained how she did it and how public libraries could do the same with local community "celebrities" for a One Book, One Community event that models reading at all ages. This is a program we could very easily do at Virginia Public Library.

Trustee Subunit Meeting

It was nice to see the number of interested community members that participated in this business meeting. Also interesting were the success stories shared by various Friends groups when the Friends subunit joined the Trustees group.

E-books: What's all the EXCITEMENT About?

It was interesting to learn how other libraries around the state are handling e-books, what types of readers the libraries are providing (or not providing) to patrons and what types of formats they offer and their take on e-book collection development.

Things in a Flash: The Latest Web 2.0 Tools

This was a fun, fast paced overview of marketing tools for libraries and personal use. I was most impressed with the ease of making and using QR codes using Bitly. Get Glue, a social network for entertainment and Wunderlist, a tool for note-taking were of less interest to me. A number of other tools presented were just not anything that I would probably use.

50 in 60 Book Blast

Always my favorite workshop at any MLA conference. It's fun to hear what other people like to read and to get new leads on books in genres I don't usually consider such as Nordic mysteries, contemporary women's fiction, fantasy and science fiction and horror.

Overall, I thought it was a nice conference. the sessions and speakers were of quality. There were not as many exhibitors as there are when the conference in in the Cities. There were a lot of sessions that I would have like to attend but it seemed they were all scheduled in big blocks of time. I thought there was too much time in between sessions. I guess you just can't get to everything. I enjoyed networking with colleagues.

Using the Nook with Overdrive

If you need some step by step instruction for using the Nook with Overdrive, there is information posted at the Duluth Public Library developed by Laurie Slattengren, a library technician there, as well as technology trainer extraordinaire. It's available as a printable pdf.

I also found an enjoyable blog, Being Ruth, that has posted very readable and easy to follow tutorial on how to put library books from Overdrive on your Nook - A Visual Tutorial.

If you have some other reading device, you can find out more about its compatibility with Overdrive ebooks from Overdrive.

While Amazon has indicated that support for Overdrive ebooks will be coming to the Kindle, it is not yet there. At this time Kindle is incompatible with Overdrive ebooks. In order to use Overdrive ebooks with the Kindle, you would need to remove the DRM from the ebooks and then convert the file format to one readable by the Kindle. If you want to read more about what would be involved, there is a tutorial. However, you should know that removing DRM is against the law.

E-Readers & Ebooks: Two sessions

North Country Library Cooperative will host an ereader/ebook presentation on Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 10:00 AM at the Arrowhead Library System building in Mountain Iron. This presentation will be on the basic functions of two different kinds of ereaders (Sony & Nook) as well as using Overdrive software to load free content. There will be an overview of how the Nook works and then go through the process of installing Overdrive software, downloading ebooks and loading them onto the Nook from Overdrive. Also covered will be functions of the Ipad. We'll also cover other sources for free ebooks. And we'll allow some time for discussion and questions you might have. Approximate length of the session is planned for 2 hours.

You may register for this presentation by emailing NCLC Director Linda Wadman (lwadman@arrowhead.lib.mn.us) or calling North Country Library Cooperative at 218-741-1907 or 1-800-950-4401.

This same presentation will also be given on Wednesday, August 24, at approximately 1:30 p.m. at the Arrowhead Library System building following the regular COMPASS users group meeting. Registration information for the August session is the same as above.

POSTPONED --Free Content for Library Collections

A web presentation by the College of DuPage Press Library Futures: Staying Ahead of the Curve: Free Content for Library Collections will be hosted by the Arrowhead Library System and North Country Library Cooperative at the Arrowhead Library System building in Mountain Iron, MN:

Broadcast date: Friday, February 4, 2011

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Central Time

Presenters: Michael Galloway and John Mark Ockerbloom

The Internet offers a treasure trove of free resources that can greatly expand the range of information and services that libraries can offer their patrons. But it's not always easy to find the best information to meet users' needs. In this program, Michael Galloway, Manager, Digital Collections for ipl2: Information You Can Trust, and John Mark Ockerbloom, editor of The Online Books Page, will give a tour of some of the millions of books, magazines, journals, and informative web sites that can be accessed online for free. They will discuss how they evaluate and describe online resources to include in their directories, how readers can find what they need in these directories and elsewhere online, and how they can distinguish useful information from unreliable or irrelevant sites. You'll find out how you can integrate free online resources with your local library offerings in ways that give patrons better service than either online or print alone can provide. And you'll also learn how your library and your patrons can contribute to this growing corpus of knowledge.

If you are able, bring your lunch and participate in group discussion following the broadcast. If you cannot get away, register online here and a link to watch at your desktop will be sent to you. Be sure that you chose the Series (4 programs) Paid for by State Library or Agency option which is free, so that you are not billed.

For other locations to view with collegeagues around the state, go the the Minitex site.

The February 4th teleconference, “Free Content for Library Collections” has been postponed due to bad weather. Apparently, a snowstorm to rival the Blizzard of 1967 is headed for Chicago and we were not certain our presenters and program host could get here from Philadelphia and Florida (there were scheduling conflicts as well).

An ENCORE PRESENTATION of the February 9, 2008, teleconference, "Tools of Engagement: Attracting and Engaging Library Users," will air from Noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time this Friday, February 4th, in place of the postponed "Free Content" program.

For information on this program, go to:
http://www.dupagepress.com/library-learning-network/library-challenges-2008/teleconference-2/