articles of interest: February 2008 Archives
NorthStar Economics has been retained by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to study the economic impact of public libraries in Wisconsin. To gather information for the study, they are surveying library users and non-users throughout the state. They would like to receive responses from a broad range of Wisconsin residents and are requesting that the survey be widely available. Libraries, systems, and communities throughout Wisconsin are encouraged to make the link to the online survey broadly available and to distribute information about the survey link to local media.
The survey can be found on their home page: http://www.northstareconomics.com or the direct link is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=qyjYazUcsULPwoJ4nWVoHw_3d_3d. The direct link can also be reached from: http://wislibsurvey.notlong.com.
Questions about the survey or the study can be directed to either Alan J. Hart, Vice President & Director of Operations or David J. Ward, President at nstar@northstareconomics.com.
Regional focus groups and data collection will be conducted throughout Wisconsin during February and early March, 2008. The results of the study will be announced at the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries Conference on May 1, 2008 in Stevens Point. Information on other state and regional studies of the economic impact and taxpayer return on investment of public libraries can be found here: http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/econimpact.html.
From Channel Weekly, Vol. 10, No. 9, posted with permission.
Do you leave work feeling exhausted and overwhelmed? Then you might want to take a look at Top 10 Smart and Lazy Ways to Save Your Workday from Lifehacker. My favorite tip from the article is "decide NOT to do one task on your to-do list and cross it off."
It's not always the boss who's putting pressure on us to get things done and assigning us tasks: sometimes we take on little projects and to-do's because they seem like a good idea for one reason or another. If you've got a to-do list a mile long with items that have been sitting there for weeks? Chances are there are a few you can cross off right this moment because they're not worth doing after all. A "good idea at the time" isn't always a good idea. If you've assigned yourself busywork that isn't that important, simply opt not to do it—that's the fastest and lowest-effort way to get it off your plate.
What do you do to make your workday manageable? Share your tips in the comments.
>> contributed by Beth
Check out InfoSpeaks from WebJunction. “InfoSpeak highlights the voices of leaders in the information field, sharing their unique visions and perspectives on emerging issues in information access.” Check out what library leaders such as Michael Gorman and Joe Janes have to say about their vision of the future and emerging library issues.
>> contributed by Holly
