CE Updates:

• Online Learning
• Face-to-Face Learning
• Lynda.com

What program or service made you beam with pride in your library in the last nine months? Since last summer’s launch of the Statewide Strategic Plan for the Future of Libraries in New Jersey, have you created a program or model another library can adapt? LibraryLinkNJ and the New Jersey State Library encourage colleagues from ALL library types to spotlight what YOU have implemented locally in relation to the goals in the Statewide Strategic Plan.

Go to our new Showcase and Share clearinghouse. Select the strategic goal you feel best exemplifies your project and follow the instructions (login required) to add it.

Some statewide projects are already included, but it’s so important for the entire NJ library community to see what you are doing in your community!

Speaking of the Statewide Strategic Plan, one example of a project aimed at meeting Goal 4, Library As Community Anchor, is the Next Chapter Book Club for New Jersey Libraries (NCBC4NJL).

Starting this fall, six LibraryLinkNJ member libraries will offer an innovative new service to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Library staff members, working with local volunteers, will operate weekly Next Chapter book clubs in cafes and bookstores in their communities. LibraryLinkNJ has awarded Scotch Plains Public Library a contract to steer the initiative, with training and support based on their six years of experience running two successful Next Chapter groups.

We’re delighted to announce that the following six libraries have committed to participate in this endeavor:

• Camden County Library, Voorhees
• Cherry Hill Public Library
• Eastern Branch, Monmouth County Library, Shrewsbury
• Middletown Public Library
• Wayne Public Library
• Woodbridge Public Library

The premise is simple: A group of five to eight people with intellectual or developmental disabilities gather with facilitators in a local café to read aloud and discuss a book for one hour a week. The Next Chapter Book Club (NCBC) offers weekly opportunities for adults and teens with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to read and learn together, talk about books, and make friends in a relaxed, community setting.

A program of The Ohio State University Nisonger Center, NCBC was established in June 2002 to provide adolescents and adults with IDD – regardless of reading ability – the chance to be members of a book club. NCBC has become the preeminent program of its kind. Although there are NCBC programs in over 100 cities across North America and Europe, only a handful of libraries nationwide participate. NCBC4NJL is the first library-led effort in the country to establish statewide Next Chapter Book Clubs.

More information about NCBC4NJL can be obtained by contacting Pamela Brooks and at the Scotch Plains Public Library’s website, and at the NCBC4NJL page at LibraryLinkNJ’s website.

Once again, we’ll hold our membership meetings in three locations, connected by videoconferencing software. Please hold the afternoon of May 22 for our membership meeting -- the program will include a featured speaker. Heads-up to Voting Reps: we’ll need you to review and vote on a new two-year strategic plan, the budget for FY15 and a board slate.

May 22, 2014:

• Rutgers University (New Brunswick)
• Rowan University (Glassboro)
• William Paterson University (Wayne)

New Discount: ReferenceUSA Historical Business Database
This new product from ReferenceUSA provides a unique look back on businesses for the past 10 years. Study industry and geographic trends dating back to 2003 for businesses of any size and locale. Great for business plans or presentations. 40% off for public and academic libraries through June 30, 2014.

Live web demonstrations highlight the benefits of Historical Business Database. Several dates and times are available. They are free and quick! Visit the discount page and scroll down to “Webcasts.”

Explore Visual Social Media in March with Emily Weisenstein of Madison Public Library, who has been our TechEx Guest Contributor for the month.

Social media services are becoming more visual in nature - find out how to leverage this trend for your library.

Here are just a couple of things you can learn through Emily’s posts:

• How to make your own meme with Imgur.
• Find out which visual social media site surpasses Facebook in email sharing.

Visit TechEx in April when Pham Condello of Ocean County Library posts on Maker Programming.

Do you have a few resources you could share on a favorite technology topic? Be a Guest Contributor! Contact Jessica Adler at jadler@librarylinknj.org.

Online Learning

Webinar: Get With The Program: Revamp & Refresh Your Adult Programming Lineup
Presented by Erin Shea, Darien Library (CT)
Date & Time: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 | 10-11:30 AM

Audience: Adult Services, Reference and Programming Librarians and Library Associates.

If marketing, customer service, and programming are in your wheelhouse (or if you hope they will be one day), join us! Registration is FREE and is open through noon on April 11.

Description:
A robust line-up of programs for adults will not only support your collections and services but can also help strengthen your community from its epicenter - the library.

Learning Objectives:
After participating in this webinar, you will be able to:

• Launch creative program series that will get the attention of your community.
• Plan and publicize programs in new and clever ways in order to reach young adults, baby boomers, seniors, and other groups.
• Use social media to promote your programs in new and clever ways to not only your community but the library world at large.

Throwback Thursday: Vintage Webinars That Hold Up

For example:

• Roz Reisner’s excellent & prescient Fresh Lit webinars from 2013 and 2012. Roz has an almost-spooky ability to identify buzzy and award-bait books. Now that many of the books she highlighted earlier are available in paperback, they’re even more perfect for the mass purchases you’d need for book discussion groups!
• If you don’t read much Street Lit, Megan Honig can bring you up to speed with some historical context and core titles.
• Tamara Richman’s focus on appeal factors, hand-selling and handy booklists will help you match even the most demanding kid and teen readers with their next favorite read.
• Learn more about the different types of diversity -- socioeconomic, ethnic, geographic, ability, sexuality and more -- that can be represented in literature for children & teens with School Library Journal’s Shelley Diaz.

Face-to-Face Learning

Tech Speed Dating: Just One More Date Left!
Wednesday, April 23, 2014, Gloucester County Library, Mullica Hill l

This program will feature:

• Table talks staffed by expert colleagues - talk, listen, discuss, and learn one-on-one.
• Hot topics: ebooks, how to make the most of your social media presence, makerspaces, Google Apps, coding, scanning solutions, Raspberry Pi, media apps (Zinio, Hoopla), tech programming and much, much more.
• Gadgets and devices - get acquainted with your community’s favorite devices.
• NEW: Guerrilla Tech Hacks: an unconference-style, crowdsourced 30-minute all-group conversation about the technology challenges we face and how to solve them, inspired by Guerrilla Storytime!

Join us to learn how to ensure that your library and you are the go-to resource for your community on 21st century information, learning, and consumer technologies.

Audience: Everyone working in libraries, no matter what type of library, level of knowledge, familiarity or comfort with tech. Mix and mingle with newbies and techies alike. Registration closes on Thursday, April 10. Don’t miss out -- Register today!

Lynda.com | Storytelling: An Essential Skill for Advocacy and Communication

Business Storytelling with C.C. Chapman: Storytelling can help you communicate with customers, market your ideas, and solve problems. It's also a great way to take projects from concept to launch. In this course, author and story consultant C.C. Chapman walks you through his storytelling strategies, including identifying your audience, brainstorming, nailing down details, and turning your story into a reality.

Leading with Stories: Stories can make the messages of any leader more memorable, contagious, and enduring. In this short course, author and corporate storytelling coach Paul Smith walks you through the elements of a compelling story. Learn about the common story structures, power of emotion, importance of surprise, appeal of analogies and metaphors, and value of keeping it real.

This massive lynda.com online training library is available free to all members of LibraryLinkNJ. Details on the program and our monthly registration procedure can be found on our website.