Posts Tagged ‘ public libraries ’

FCC’s Broadband Action Agenda Fails to Address Training and Education

April 23, 2010
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FCC’s  Broadband Action Agenda Fails to Address Training and Education

I’ve been following the FCC’s National Broadband Plans since they were sent to Congress.  I’ve been excited about the possibility of the Digital Literacy Corps.  However when reviewing the Broadband Action Agenda I feel a little uneasy.  I see no reference to training or instruction.  While I agree on the importance of access to broadband I’m concerned about lack of attention to instruction. This sort of training and funding are desperately needed.  Dumping broadband access on communities that can’t afford a computer or the monthly fee for high speed access and without any instruction is like giving  a 13 year a Ferrari, its a great car but he can’t afford the gas and he don’t know how to drive it.  Its basically worthless. At the VERY least there should be mention of public libraries.  They are the ones who will be providing access to this wonderful broadband to people who can’t afford the device or the connection fee. It also falls upon them to provide the training and instruction.  Broadband is wonderful but we are not born knowing how to use the internet, not even so called digital natives. I hope I’m wrong, I hope I’m missing something and someone will

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New Project – Libraries and Transliteracy Blog

February 22, 2010
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New Project – Libraries and Transliteracy Blog

I am excited to announce the kick-off of a new project, the Libraries and Transliteracies blog!  The blog is a group effort from me, Buffy Hamilton and Tom Ipri.  Due to the amount of interest in transliteracy and the role libraries play, we have created one place to share information and resources.  The blog will contain information, resources and  links to other new literacies related content from all three authors. I will still be posting about transliteracy here, but you will find more transltiteracy related content more often on the Libraries and Transliteracies blog. So add the feed to your feedreader. How this came about (if you’re interested in that sort of thing). Due to the amount of interest in transliteracy and the role libraries play in 21st century literacies, I wanted one place to share information and resources.  I decided this blog was not the best venue as I wanted everything pertaining to transliteracy to be easy to find and adding to the current page doesn’t help others keep track of new information.  I also I did not want all of the information to come from me, this is an important issue to ALL libraries.  This led to the idea of a new blog, with additional authors, but even more importantly,

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Stress Management in the Library Workplace

February 13, 2009
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Stress Management in the Library Workplace

Yesterday I attended a MaintainIT webinar – Using MaintainIT Resources for Technology Training, where they shared some useful information and links.  One of the sites was Infopeople, a nonprofit that archives their presentations and handouts and makes them available under a Creative Commons license! As I was exploring I came across materials for a previous workshop - Stress Management in the Library Workplace.  There are a lot of workshops listed but since my post – Library usage will go up during a recession – management are you really prepared? is still getting a lot of hits, I thought I’d share this one specifically. You can download the PowerPoint presentation, some exercise and these handouts: The “Bakers Dozen” – How to Reduce Stress Relieving Stress through Exercise Stress Relief through Nutrition Stress Relief and Sleeping Habits – 10 Tips for Better Sleep Symptoms of Stress and Causes of Stress Seven Quick Tips for Time Management Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Share on FriendFeed Buzz it up Share on netvibes share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Buzz it up Subscribe to the comments on this post Print for later Tell a friend

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Library Usage Will Go Up During a Recession – Management Are You Really Prepared?

January 9, 2009
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Library Usage Will Go Up During a Recession – Management Are You Really Prepared?

I’ve seen many news articles and video lately about usage of libraries increasing during a recession. I’ve personally noticed my library seems busier.  While many have celebrated the increase of use and the public attention we so rightly deserve, we also need to consider the down side.  Our funding might be cut, the public is less likely to approve bonds or tax levies to increase services, in some cases staff may be laid off.  Libraries are masters of doing more with less and we are really going to need that skill now. The other side of recession is that is causes stress.  Patrons are likely to be less happy about paying their fines and, in general, be a little more on edge.  Staff are aware of the news and what is happening, even those who feel secure in their jobs, have family and friends who have been affected. So why am I asking management if they are ready?  All of this stress means an increase in irritable, angry, demanding, stressed out patrons who are rubbing up against your irritable, angry, tired, stressed out staff.  See where I’m going with this? The one thing you can do is try to decrease the

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Find Your Friends on Facebook

May 29, 2008
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I taught this class last night as part of the series of Internet classes I’m teaching to patrons at MRRL. I was a bit worried going into it, as almost all of the people at previous classes were seniors so I on the handout I added the websites I learned about at Internet Librarian last year.  It ended up being a very interesting mix.  I had some moms with their teenagers who wanted learn about Facebook to monitor their kids profiles, a lady interested in setting up a page for a Non-Profit, and some seniors.  I’m not sure I’ll teach this one again, probably I’ll cover it in Internet Safety that I’m doing later this year or I’ll redirect specifically to parents who want to know what their children are up to.  It’s hard to teach people about Facebook, I think it’s just one of those things that is really hard to explain.  This is probably the least well done of any presentation I’ve put together.  Find Your Friends On Facebook View more presentations from Bobbi Newman. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Share on FriendFeed Buzz it up Share on netvibes share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Buzz it

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photo by Beth Tribe

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