Friday, September 28, 2007

Showing of the Hollywood Librarian Movie

Get out your pearls and fancy dress --- let's make it an event. On Monday, October 1, 2007 from 7-9 PM, the Library Information Science Department and the College of St. Catherine Library are jointly sponsoring a showing of The Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians through Film (Jeanne d'Arc Auditorium, College of St. Catherine from 7-9 PM). This is the only showing of the film scheduled in Minnesota to date. Directions .

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Each of Us Is a Trainer: Basic Book Repair

Description: Learn basic book repair and become familiar with techniques and materials used for economical in-house repairs for materials that are frequently used. (Note: This is a repeat of the program offered at the Branch Out Conference, August 2007.)
Presenter: Brian Shea, DEMCO
Audience: Open to the Minnesota library community.
Sponsored by the Minnesota Certification Program (for library employees).
Dates, Cities, and Times:
T 10/9 Wyoming, MN 1:30-3
W 10/10 Mountain Iron 1:30-3
Th 10/11 Fergus Falls 10-11:30
F 10/12 St. Cloud 1:30-3
M 10/15 Redwood Falls 1:30-3
T 10/16 Mankato 1:30-3
W 10/17 Rochester 1:30-3
Location Details: For the specific location of each workshop, click the link to the online registration form at the end of this description.
Cost: Free-of Charge. Funding is provided under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), administered by State Library Services. LSTA is a program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of learning.
Substitute Reimbursement: LSTA funds may be available to reimburse substitutes for participants in the Certfication Program. Contact Rebecca Patton for details.
Additional Training Option: Make it a full day of training by attending the morning session, Training the Public & Staff on Computer Technologies. (Not available in Fergus Falls. Available in the afternoon in Detroit Lakes.)
Registration:
Contact: Rebecca Patton rpatton@arrowhead.lib.mn.us

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Travel Grants for ALA

For those of you who have library technical services experience...

***

Sage Library Support Staff Travel Grants

The Travel Grants (six to be awarded) make it possible for library support staff to attend the ALA Annual Conference to be held in the summer of 2008 in Anaheim, Calif. Sage Publications donates six grants of up to $1,000 to cover the expense of attending the conference which includes airfare, three nights lodging and conference registration for each recipient. Library Support Staff who currently are employed in a full time support staff position, have a minimum of three years of experience in an area of technical services (acquisitions, cataloging, collection development/management, preservation of library materials, serials) and have not previously attended an ALA annual conference are eligible for the grants. Successful candidates will be required to submit a brief report describing their experiences at the annual conference. This report will be published in the post-conference issue of the "ALCTS Newsletter Online" and also will be shared with the sponsor.

To apply, send a letter addressing the application criteria, brief resume and a short statement (ca. 250 words) outlining why attending the 2008 ALA Annual Conference would be beneficial. A letter of support from the applicant's supervisor, indicating the employer's support for the application also is required. Applications and the supervisor's letter must be submitted in electronic format, with all parts emailed as Word attachments. The deadline for Sage materials is November 30. Send all documents to: Donna Cranmer, Sage Jury, dcranmer@siouxfalls.org. For more information: contact Manuel Urrizola, chair, Sage Jury, manuelu@ucr.edu. To access a list of Frequently Asked Questions and more details about the grants, please go to the Website: http://www.ala.org/ala/alcts/alctsawards/sagesupportstafftravelgrant/sagetravelgrant.htm.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Upcoming MCTC Transfer Fairs

10/2/2007 ~ Metropolitan State University Transfer Fair from 10a-1p in the T Skyway

10/22/2007 ~ MnSCU Transfer Fair from 1-3p in the T Skyway; the meeting with Counselors & Advisors will be at 3p in L.3100

10/23/2007 ~ Minnesota Private Colleges Transfer Fair will be from 9:30a-12:30p in the T Skyway; the mtg with Counselors & Advisors will be at 10a in L.3400

10/24/2007 ~ “Transferring from MCTC - Connecting with Career Offices” Workshop from 12-1p in T.2305, sponsored by Heather Isaacs

10/31/2007 ~ University of Minnesota Transfer Fair from 10a-1p in the T Skyway; mtg with counselors and advisors from 9-10a in L.3100

Saturday, September 8, 2007

In Google We Trust: Users' Decisions on Rank, Position, and Relevance

A new report on the use of Google by college students with interesting implications.

http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue3/pan.html

Abstract:
An eye tracking experiment revealed that college student users have substantial trust in Google's ability to rank results by their true relevance to the query. When the participants selected a link to follow from Google's result pages, their decisions were strongly biased towards links higher in position even if the abstracts themselves were less relevant. While the participants reacted to artificially reduced retrieval quality by greater scrutiny, they failed to achieve the same success rate. This demonstrated trust in Google has implications for the search engine's tremendous potential influence on culture, society, and user traffic on the Web.

Pan, B., Hembrooke, H., Joachims, T., Lorigo, L., Gay, G., and Granka, L. (2007). In Google we trust: Users' decisions on rank, position, and relevance. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(3), article 3. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue3/pan.html

Friday, September 7, 2007

PLA Conference registration is open!

The Public Library Association's biennial conference will be held in Minneapolis on March 25-29, 2008. Registration is now open! This is a GREAT opportunity to attend a national conference without having to travel (too far); I strongly encourage you to attend.

http://www.placonference.org/

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Job posting - Allina Hospitals and Clinics

We were tipped off to this job posting by a program alumna who works for Allina. It's for a Library Technician--Intermediate.

According to our contact, "the posting just went up on our company HR website. Interested people can go to:

www.allina.com

"If they click on Careers, they can search the job (the ID number is 407658), view the job description and even apply online. Although previous library experience is preferred, we are really emphasizing the Customer Service and Technical Support aspects of the job."

Here's the job description:

Introduction
Allina Hospitals & Clinics is a not-for-profit system of
hospitals, clinics and other health care services with nearly 23,000
employees, 5,000 physicians and 2,500 volunteers dedicated to meeting
the lifelong health care needs of patients and communities throughout
Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Allina is a vibrant, growing
organization with opportunities to suit your professional skills and a
diverse work environment to match your specific interests. We believe
employees are our greatest asset and are dedicated to helping you
develop and maximize your professional skills

Allina Library Services provides resources, services, and training to
support the knowledge-based information needs of Allina Hospitals &
Clinics in the provision of exceptional patient care. The central
library is located on the campus of Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, and
serves the entire Allina organization.

Responsibilities
Library User Support. Includes patron assistance, processing
interlibrary loan requests, providing document delivery, some research
and information retrieval, shelving, and other customer service
functions.

Library Technology Support. Includes maintenance of online catalog and
patron database, development of Web 2.0 applications, some web page
design and support (for both intranet and extranet pages), collection of
library statistics, expertise in Microsoft Excel, Word, Access and
Outlook, and other technology-related skills.

The ideal candidate has strong organizational and problem-solving
skills, is a team player, is customer-service oriented and
technology-savvy. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are
a must, as is the ability to work independently

Qualifications

Education/Experience: BA or equivalent experience. 3 years
experience with both information technology and customer service.
Previous library experience desired.

Skills: Basic understanding of online library catalogs; library
research experience; basic Web design; advanced Microsoft Office skills
(Word, Excel, Access & Outlook); Strong customer service skills.
RSS, XML, CSS skills preferred and basic understanding of file types
(e.g., pdf, tiff, jpeg, gif). Experience with EOS is a plus.

Physical Demands: requires light physical work, including shelving and
handling of books.

Pay, Benefits, & Work Schedule
1.0 FTE - Day position.

Closing Statement
We have a place for you at Allina Hospitals & Clinics. If you
are interested in becoming part of our award winning team of
professionals, please apply online today and reference Job ID 407658.
Allina Hospitals & Clinics is committed to providing Equal Employment
Opportunities to all employees and applicants.

EEO / AA

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Libraries and Civic Engagement Event

You are invited to a panel discussion on "Libraries and Civic
Engagement," this event is free and open to the public. Please
forward this announcement to interested individuals and groups:

WHAT: Libraries & Civic Engagement: A panel discussion

WHEN: Sept 10th, 3:00-4:30 PM

WHERE: Ramsey County Library, Roseville Branch
2180 Hamline Avenue North, Roseville
http://www.ramsey.lib.mn.us/

WHO: SPECIAL GUEST: Taylor Willingham, Texas Forums
http://legislation.wikia.com/wiki/Taylor_Willingham
PANELIST: Melinda Ludwiczak, Minneapolis Public Library
Coordinator for Civic Literacy Projects (See Below)
PANELIST: Others.... (To be Announced)

WHY: A discussion about the role of libraries as centers
of civic activity and education. Our special guest,
Taylor Willingham will share some stories and
examples of how libraries are engaging the community
in discussions about important issues. Panelists
and members of the audience will be invited to share
their own thoughts and stories about how libraries
can partner with community organizations to stimulate
civic education and participation.

For more info: tim ( at ) e-democracy.org

Sponsored by:

E-Democracy.Org, http://www.e-democracy.org
The Metropolitan Library Association (MELSA), http://www.melsa.org/

September Info Career Trends Newsletter Available

The September 2007 issue of Info Career Trends newsletter is now online at:

http://www.lisjobs.com/newsletter/archives.htm

While this publication is oriented more for the MLS librarian, there are often useful articles and information for anyone in the library and information science field, including paraprofessionals and those working at the librarian level without the MLS degree. You might especially take a look at:

McPherson, Katrina. "Don't Forget Your Para(professional)chute." Info Career Trends. Sept. 2007 (4 Sept. 2007) http://www.lisjobs.com/newsletter/archives/sept07kmcpherson.htm