CE Updates:

• Webinars
• How to Find the Law
• Facebook Forums
• Lynda.com

Staying In Touch with Social Media: Facebook

Delivery Resumes for Schools
Delivery for eligible school libraries resumes on September 9, 2013. If you have any questions, please call the office at (732) 752-7720.

Save the Dates for our Membership Meetings
LibraryLinkNJ will hold Membership Meetings on the following dates:

• Thursday, December 5, 2013
• Thursday, May 22, 2014

Please save the dates! We are scheduling multiple locations statewide as we speak.

Don’t Miss Out On the 2013-2014 Mobile Project, New Jersey Libraries On-The-Go!
The second round of this popular and successful project launched in June, with Board-approved funding of $100,000. Eligible members are Public, Academic, School, Hospital/Medical Libraries and Library-Related Agencies. For full details, please consult the New Jersey Libraries On-The-Go page. The deadline for applications is 4PM on Monday, October 7, 2013.

Have you taken a look at TechEx, LibraryLinkNJ’s Technology Exchange? TechEx is a place for the NJ library community to share resources about technology. It also provides a forum for NJ library staff to showcase their own technology projects. If you haven’t yet had a chance to visit TechEx, here’s some helpful information.

Monthly Guest Contributors

Beginning this September, we are going to have a monthly Guest Contributor. The Guest Contributor will be a library technology innovator and will post four weekly items to TechEx on a particular topic during a given month. Those items will then be featured here in the monthly E-Update. We can look forward to delving into some really useful resources from colleagues such as Kate Vasilik, Barbara DeSantis and Cynthia Lambert!

Bi-Weekly Digest

LibraryLinkNJ will begin compiling a bi-weekly digest of noteworthy TechEx posts in October. The digest will be posted to the LibraryLinkNJ Announcements Forum, so anyone subscribed to that forum will receive the digest via email.

The digest will contain a handful of our favorite posts for the two-week time period, including selected posts from our Guest Contributors.

Discount Renewals

• Britannica - through 7/31/14
  Multiple online products available, in addition to the Encyclopedia.

Discount Updates

• EBSCO Restoration Packages: Short Webinars
  LibraryLinkNJ has coordinated with EBSCO to provide web overviews of the database restoration discount offers. These online sessions (30-min) will provide information about content loss within each resource. EBSCO will also review pricing options and deadlines for restoration programs posted to our discount page. Each session will be conducted via WebEx. For details, choose one of the EBSCO packages from our Discounts page.
  Note: Previous announcements listed specific dates for public or school libraries. The remaining webinars are for either library type.
  
  
• Rosen Digital: SLJ Review of Digital Literacy Product
  School Library Journal has just reviewed Rosen's Digital Literacy database, saying, “If ever there was an ideal product for the 21st-century student, this is it.” If you decide to purchase this product, remember that all LibraryLinkNJ school and public library members receive a 15% discount.

Webinars

We've recently learned that our webinar and online meeting software, Adobe Connect, will be upgraded in mid-September. In anticipation of this change, we encourage you to do the following:

• Download Flash Player 11.2. You can download the latest Flash Player here.
• Download the new add-in, required for Adobe Connect 9.1. You can download it today on Adobe Connect's Downloads and Updates page.

Fostering a Culture of Innovation on a Shoestring
with Toby Greenwalt, Manager of Virtual Services at Skokie (IL) Public Library
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 | 3:00-4:30 PM
Registration is open!

Libraries are quickly moving from being repositories for content to full-fledged incubators for new ideas. Using technological tools, innovative spaces, and creative programming, libraries are well-positioned to become an even bigger part of the community’s creative process. And it’s possible to do this without spending huge sums of money.

In this interactive program, we’ll talk about how to kickstart a culture of innovation in your library - for your staff and patrons alike. We’ll look at examples both in and out of libraries, and discuss what it takes to bring creativity out in the open.

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

• Identify opportunities for building a learning culture
• Implement tools, services, and resources for encouraging creativity
• Initiate ongoing conversations with library patrons and staff about innovation

Bring your questions, and be ready to share your own examples throughout the program. We’re big into practicing what we preach and look forward to an illuminating 90 minutes of insightful, freewheeling dialogue!
Registration is open!

Diversity in Children’s & YA Literature
with Shelley Diaz, Associate Editor at School Library Journal
Tuesday, October 29, 2013 | 3:00-4:30 PM
Save the Date! Registration opens on Wednesday, 9/25.

It’s about time we talked about diversity in books for children and teens. A 2012 study by the CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center) revealed some startling facts: Of the 3,600 books the Cooperative Children’s Book Center reviewed in 2012:

• 3% were about Africans/African Americans; 1.8% were written by Africans/African Americans
• 1.5% were about Latinos; 1.6% were written by Latinos
• Less than 1% were about American Indians; less than 1% were written by American Indians
• 2% were about Asian Pacifics/Asian Pacific Americans; 2.3% were written by Asian Pacifics/Asian Pacific Americans

Diversity in children’s and YA literature isn’t limited to race or ethnicity; it encompasses the inclusion of all perspectives, regardless of religious background, sexual orientation, gender, class, or disability.

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

• Explain why all librarians who work with children and teens should be aware of the lack diversity in children’s literature, and how this lack could be detrimental to a child’s development as a lifelong reader and learner.
• Adapt and modify existing programs and collection development policies to better serve children of diverse backgrounds.
• Identify groundbreaking works of children’s and YA literature that feature or are written by people of diverse backgrounds.
• Identify print and online resources for staying up-to-date on new and upcoming diverse children’s and YA titles.

Save the Date! Registration opens on Wednesday, 9/25.

How to Find the Law: Introduction to Basic Legal Reference

Presented by The New Jersey Law Librarians’ Association
Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at the Mount Laurel Library
10:00 AM—4:00 PM (9:30 coffee & registration)

Please join us for this all day program -- lunch will be provided!

Registration is open and free!
Registration deadline: Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Brush up on your legal reference skills to help your patrons find the legal information they need! A panel of law librarians will lead you through the maze of law research with this “by librarians, for librarians” workshop. If you never studied legal reference in library school, would like a refresher, or simply want to respond more effectively to your patrons’ questions, this workshop is for you!

You will learn to identify and apply resources in these areas:

• Basic legal materials
• State and federal case law
• State and federal legislation
• State and federal administrative law
• Internet resources

Bring along sample legal research queries and we’ll help you formulate successful search strategies!

Many thanks to the NJ Law Librarians Association for presenting this very successful annual workshop.

Save the Dates for our Facebook Forums!

We’re trying a little something new this Fall, scheduling low-key (yet lively!) professional discussions on our Facebook Page.

No registration necessary -- we’ll share information and reminders about it on Facebook, Twitter & Tumblr, as well as on the Forums on our website.

Dates, Times & Topics:

• October 10 | 3 pm - 4 pm: Stress & Time Management -- co-hosted by Sophie Brookover & Joanne Roukens
• November 6 | 11 am - 12 pm: Social Media 201: We’re on Facebook & Twitter, NOW what? -- co-hosted by Sophie Brookover & John LeMasney
• December 10 | Time & Topic TBD -- if you’d like to share an idea for a discussion topic, please drop Sophie a line. sbrookover@librarylinknj.org

Lynda.com - Designing and Publishing Ebooks

Fifty Shades of Grey, the international publishing sensation by E.L. James, started as web-based Twilight fanfiction and then was released as a revised ebook and a print-on-demand paperback. Are your library patrons interested in publishing their own ebooks? Perhaps you have a potential sensational bestseller of your own tucked away on a flash drive somewhere! Interested in how to go about designing and publishing ebooks?

Lynda.com video tutorials cover a wide range of digital publishing concepts, ebook software, and design applications. Learn about ebook trends and tools; book distribution and marketing resources; and publishing fundamentals that will help your ebook compete with the professionals in Distributing and Marketing E-books. Ebooks are especially of interest to photographers. Easy to create and publish, they provide a simple and inexpensive way to share images with the public and generate some revenue at the same time. Check out Creating Photography Ebooks.

These are just two examples of what’s available -- explore more and help your library users get published or be published yourself!

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

Sophie Brookover, Program Coordinator & Social Media Manager

And now, the 800-pound gorilla of social networking sites, the one we just can’t quit, the one we hate to love and love to hate: Facebook. This month, we’ll talk about the different ways you can connect with your audience on Facebook. Next month, we’ll talk about how to make, maintain and improve those connections.

Facebook is where most libraries and other organizations and brands make their first foray into social media marketing.

Due to their huge user base and regular integration of features from other social media tools -- borrowing from Twitter and Tumblr, they recently added hashtags and have been improving their sharing functionality throughout 2013 -- it’s easy to see why Facebook is able to maintain its popularity.

Facebook offers several options for building an organizational presence: Pages, Groups and Profiles.

Pages

Pages are ideal for organizations to use to share updates, photos, video & links or to start and moderate discussions. You need to have a personal account or Profile in order to manage a Page, and it’s wise to set up your Page with at least two managers, so that if the primary manager is sick, on vacation or otherwise unavailable, you don’t go for days or weeks without posting (a big no-no in social media).

Some examples of great library Facebook Pages:

• LibraryLinkNJ -- we might as well get the bragging out of the way immediately, right? We try to post a mix of content that you’ll find appealing, useful & shareable.
• Paterson Free Public Library and Vineland Public Library -- using great photos of library programs, humorous library-themed images and quirky historical references, the managers of these Pages are particularly skilled at making readers feel they’re in the library.
• Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) -- this Page features a lively mix of appealing content, and very smart use of Facebook’s tagging features.
• Hillsdale Public Library -- one highlight of this Page is their weekly photo of the library’s witty marquee sign, which is often shared widely, well beyond libraryland Pages.

Groups

Groups are best for, well, group discussion. A Group is basically a discussion board dedicated to a particular topic or event. Groups have the added flexibility of allowing members to add files -- images as well as documents -- for everyone to access. Groups can be especially useful for generating discussion and excitement in advance of a library event, or, as in one case listed below, for hosting virtual book discussions.

These library Facebook Groups showcase the connections, networking and fun of lively online discussions. Janie Hermann reports having over 200 people participate in Princeton Public Library's Adult Summer Reading Program -- an all-time high! --- and credits the power & convenience of using a Facebook Group with this high levels of participation.

• Storytime Underground
• Groundbreaking Reads -- Princeton Public Library Adult Summer Reading Club 2013
• Libraries & Social Media
• Makerspaces and the Participatory Library

Profiles

A basic rule of thumb: Profiles are for people, Pages & Groups are for organizations. You may see some libraries using Facebook with Profiles; these are most likely early adopters who started a library Facebook presence before Pages were a key feature of the service. If you’re launching your library’s Facebook presence now, use a Page or a Group (or both), not a Profile.

If your library’s Facebook presence is already a Profile, I recommend that you consider making the transition to a Page. Real Talk: This process will be kind of a pain -- a little time-consuming and perhaps confusing for your friends -- but it is well worth considering, as it will both bring your library into compliance with Facebook’s Terms of Service and will prevent your employees from being in the awkward position of seeing every photo, link and status update that your library’s friends’ privacy settings permit them to see.

Thanks for reading! Next month: How to use Facebook to engage meaningfully with your community.