Recently in services Category
The American Library Association (ALA) has updated its “Guidelines on Library and Information Services to Older Adults.” These guidelines, first developed in the 1970s, have been updated to respond to the changing demographics of an aging U.S. population. The current population of older adults is the most heterogeneous in U.S. history. These updated guidelines reflect a basic principle in library services to older adults that recognizes this diversity and discourages stereotyping in planning collections, programs and services for this growing population. For purposes of these guidelines, an “older adult” is defined as a person at least 55 years old.The updating of these guidelines began in 2005. Current and past members of the Committee on Library Service to an Aging Population and the Office of Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) Library Service to the Aging Subcommittee contributed to this revision.
The Guidelines can be downloaded from this site:
http://ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/resources/guidelines/libraryservices.cfm
(from Channel Weekly, Vol. 11, No. 37, June 25, 2009 - posted with permission)
The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Literacy and Outreach Services has created a number of useful tool kits, which are accessible from their web page at http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/olos/toolkits.cfm.
These tool kits address a wide range of topics, from how to assist non-English speakers and older adults, to how to support and advocate for rural and small libraries and tribal libraries, to gaming in libraries. The tools include:
These tool kits address a wide range of topics, from how to assist non-English speakers and older adults, to how to support and advocate for rural and small libraries and tribal libraries, to gaming in libraries. The tools include:
- The American Dream Starts @ your library
- Guide for Building Support for Your Tribal Library
- Handbook for Mobile Services Staff
- How to Serve the World: Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries
- Keys to Engaging Older Adults @ Your Library
- The Librarian’s Guide to Gaming: An Online Toolkit for Building Gaming @your library logo
- The Small but Powerful Guide to Winning Big Support for Your Rural Library
- TRAILS: Tribal Library Procedures Manual
(from Channel Weekly, Vol. 11, No. 27, April 9, 2009 - posted with permission)
The
Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice prepared and
issued in installments a technical assistance document designed to
assist state and local officials to improve compliance with Title II of
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in their programs, services,
activities, and facilities. The technical assistance document series
is entitled “The ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local
Governments.”
The Tool Kit is designed
to teach state and local government officials how to identify and fix
problems that prevent people with disabilities from gaining equal
access to state and local government programs, services,
and activities. It will also teach state and local officials how to
conduct accessibility surveys of their buildings and facilities to
identify and remove architectural barriers to access. While state and
local governments are not required to use the ADA Best
Practices Tool Kit, the U.S. Department of Justice encourages its use
as one effective means of complying with the requirements of Title II
of the ADA. The Toolkit can be found here: http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/toolkitmain.htm.
Other useful ADA
information and guidelines for local governments, as well as links to
publications on topics such as “Accessibility of State and Local
Websites,” and “ADA Guide for Small Towns” are listed on the
ADA Home Page: http://www.ada.gov/.
Helene Blowers recently blogged about the Columbus Metropolitan Library's Homework Help Centers. They're doing more than just providing space and assistance, they let kids print their papers for free, live chat help, and they provide free school supplies when needed. Check out this brief video to learn more:
There has been a lot of focus on helping job seekers lately, which is obviously very important. But what about the children of struggling households? Adopting some of CML's ideas could be really helpful to them.
By the way, Helene Blowers will be our presenter for the May Project Play Date. Sign up now to join us on the 22nd for "Innovation Starts with I."
> contributed by Beth
There has been a lot of focus on helping job seekers lately, which is obviously very important. But what about the children of struggling households? Adopting some of CML's ideas could be really helpful to them.
By the way, Helene Blowers will be our presenter for the May Project Play Date. Sign up now to join us on the 22nd for "Innovation Starts with I."
> contributed by Beth
Celebrate YALSA's third annual Teen Tech Week, March 8-14! This year's theme is "Press Play @ Your Library."Why celebrate?
Teens, in order to gain the skills necessary to compete in today's job market, need access to digital and online information and trained professionals who can help them use these resources effectively, efficiently and ethically. Librarians and educators know this and work with teens on a regular basis to ensure they develop these skills. Teen Tech Week is a chance for libraries to throw open their physical & virtual doors and show their communities all the great things they're doing for teens with technology.
Here's more about the idea behind this year's theme:
Teen Tech Week 2009, which will be celebrated March 8-14, is about connecting teens with different technologies, especially those available through the library. Teens can literally press play on digital devices such as mp3 players, DVD players, gaming controllers and more. Press Play @ the library can be interpreted broadly to make it work for you in your own library. One way to interpret the theme is to emphasize the word "play." Play can be about teens creating and sharing their own content for the fun of it, like videos, music, and digital artwork. Play through games can be encouraged with tournaments, tech trivia contests, and video games. The theme can also take a more educational direction. Teens can "press play" on various digital devices to learn more about the world around them. They can press play to watch film documentaries, listen to an audiobook, get online homework help, learn a new language and more. YALSA encourages librarians and educators to be creative and take the theme in a direction that works for them and their teens!
For more information, visit the Teen Tech Week page on YALSA's web site. And remember that OWLS has lots of tech tools for you to borrow to use with your teens! Check out 'Casting @ OWLS for more info. Plenty of help using the 'casting kit is available if you need it, so please don't hesitate to ask.
> contributed by Beth
We have some mostly good news about OverDrive. As OverDrive users know, this service has not been iPod friendly. OverDrive has been working with publishers to remedy this. Some publishers have recently agreed to make MP3 audiobooks available through OverDrive and OverDrive now has a Mac compatible media console. The good news is that we now have audiobooks available for iPods! The mostly part of the good news, however, is that only titles from a small number of publishers are currently available in this format. The bottom line right now is that our MP3 collection is small and limited. We are hopeful that OverDrive will continue to make progress with additional publishers and that we will be able to expand the collection of iPod compatible titles. When searching in OverDrive MP3 titles will be clearly distinguished and the Mac, iPod, and MP3 icons will be active. When the title is Windows only, those icons will be grayed out.
MP3 Example
WMA (Windows Media Audio) Example
A Mac/iPod FAQ is also available on the OverDrive site. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
> contributed by Evan
Sue McCleaf Nespeca presented two workshops for OWLS and Winnefox this past Tuesday and were very well received. The morning session discussed books and literacy experiences for babies and toddlers, and the afternoon session covered ALA's Every Child Ready to Read program.
I have 5 extra copies of the handouts from the workshops. If you'd like one, let me know (1 per library, please) - first come, first served! In addition, OWLS has ordered a copy of the Every Child Ready to Read kit, which will be shared with all of the OWLS members libraries on request. I'll let you know when it arrives and is ready to circulate to you.
You can read more about Every Child Ready to Read on the ALA website, and if you have questions about the workshop please feel free to give me a call. I hope the people who attended the workshops will add their thoughts in the comments.
> contributed by Beth
I have 5 extra copies of the handouts from the workshops. If you'd like one, let me know (1 per library, please) - first come, first served! In addition, OWLS has ordered a copy of the Every Child Ready to Read kit, which will be shared with all of the OWLS members libraries on request. I'll let you know when it arrives and is ready to circulate to you.
You can read more about Every Child Ready to Read on the ALA website, and if you have questions about the workshop please feel free to give me a call. I hope the people who attended the workshops will add their thoughts in the comments.
> contributed by Beth
I've been reporting on the status of the 'Casting @ OWLS grant, "Enhancing Library Services via Podcasts, Screencasts, and Vodcasts," for some time now. But I'm really excited about this post, because I can now tell you that the 'Casting Kit is ready to circulate to your library!
You can see what equipment is available, check our online calendar to see what's available when, then reserve the equipment you'd like to try out via our online form. All of this information is available on the new 'Casting Kit page on OWLSweb. (Thanks much to Evan for designing the calendar and reservation forms!!!)
I also have a few Come & Play dates set up for you to come and try out the equipment at OWLS. Check the Computer Lab Classes page for dates and times. These sessions will take place in The Nest at OWLS rather than in the APL computer lab. I hope you'll sign up, as these sessions will not only let you play with help on hand - we'll also take a look at some great examples of what libraries have done with 'casting out there in Libraryland. If you can't come to a session, I'm happy to do one-on-one training with you for specific projects, as needed.
If you have any questions about the 'Casting Kit, classes, or anything else related to this grant, please don't hesitate to contact me!
> contributed by Beth
You can see what equipment is available, check our online calendar to see what's available when, then reserve the equipment you'd like to try out via our online form. All of this information is available on the new 'Casting Kit page on OWLSweb. (Thanks much to Evan for designing the calendar and reservation forms!!!)
I also have a few Come & Play dates set up for you to come and try out the equipment at OWLS. Check the Computer Lab Classes page for dates and times. These sessions will take place in The Nest at OWLS rather than in the APL computer lab. I hope you'll sign up, as these sessions will not only let you play with help on hand - we'll also take a look at some great examples of what libraries have done with 'casting out there in Libraryland. If you can't come to a session, I'm happy to do one-on-one training with you for specific projects, as needed.
If you have any questions about the 'Casting Kit, classes, or anything else related to this grant, please don't hesitate to contact me!
> contributed by Beth
I recently came across a fantastic service on the Waupaca Area Public Library homepage called Book a Librarian:
Great marketing of your services and professional staff, WAU! Are any of the other OWLS member libraries doing this? Add yourself in the comments if you are or if you're interested in trying it out.
> contributed by Beth
"Do you have questions on using computer applications, Internet, or setting up an email account or want assistance with the new microfilm machine? Call 715-258-4416 to reserve time with one of our knowledgeable professionals."
Great marketing of your services and professional staff, WAU! Are any of the other OWLS member libraries doing this? Add yourself in the comments if you are or if you're interested in trying it out.
> contributed by Beth
Don’t miss the new ALA study on serving
non-English speakers in the library. Here are some surprising facts:
- The majority of libraries serving non-English speakers are in communities with fewer than 100,000 residents.
- Spanish is, by far, the most supported non-English language in public libraries. Seventy-eight percent of libraries reported Spanish as the priority #1 language to which they develop services and programs.
- Libraries reported the most successful library programs and services developed for non-English speakers were: English as a Second Language (ESL), language-specific materials and collections, computer use and computer classes, story time and special programs.
The full report includes library use statistics, building detail and findings by language.
> contributed by Holly
