Two Free Webinars: “WordPress for Library Websites” AND “Ebooks, Discovery, and the Library”

Carterette Series Webinars – GLA MediaWiki via kwout

Free Webinars 1/18: WordPress for Library Websites & Ebooks, Discovery, and the Library

The Georgia Library Association is pleased to announce the January 2012 sessions of the Carterette Series Webinars  (http://gla.georgialibraries.org/mediawiki/index.php/Carterette_Series_Webinars).

The Carterette Series Webinars have expanded in scope to include notable national speakers in addition to homegrownGeorgiatalent. As always, the series will continue to highlight trends, innovation, and best practices in libraries. Registration remains free and open to anyone, anywhere. Topics are chosen to be of interest to employees of all library types and each session is approved for one Georgia Continuing Education (CE) contact hour.

Can’t make it to the live show? That’s okay! The sessions will be recorded and available on the CSW site for later viewing. (http://gla.georgialibraries.org/mediawiki/index.php/Carterette_Series_Webinars)

WordPress for Library Websites (and more!)
Presented by Polly-Alida Farrington
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EASTERN STANDARD TIME

 

REGISTER:
http://bit.ly/v1h5aI

 

Does your organization need a new web site? One that is more dynamic, easy to update and can easily incorporate social media and other ways to communicate with your library’s patrons/customers? WordPress (free, opensource) may be the answer. WordPress is a powerful web Content Management System (CMS) that has grown far beyond its origins as a blogging tool.

WordPress can be used to power your library website and help you build a dynamic web presence for your library, school, personal web site, business or other project. Its ease of use and flexibility make it a perfect choice for libraries that are struggling to keep their websites up to date and/or looking for a more up-to-date look for their website. Its extensibility via plugins and other customizations make it a great choice for more complex sites as well.

This webinar will cover:

• Examples of sites built with WordPress
• Why WordPress is a great choice for schools & libraries
• Hosting options and requirements
• WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
• Making it look great: Themes
• Building blocks of WordPress: Posts & Pages
• and more!

You’ll leave the webinar with an understanding of how to get started building your own WordPress site and be able to evaluate whether WordPress is the right solution for your library’s needs. (If you’re interested in learning more about WordPress, ALAis offering a 6 week WordPress eCourse starting in January.)

Ebooks, Discovery, and the Library
Presented by Kate Sheehan
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. EASTERN STANDARD TIME

REGISTER:

http://bit.ly/tcUXP6

 

Publishers, authors, booksellers, and librarians have traditionally thought of discovery as something that happens in a physical place. A patron browses the shelf, a librarian offers some reader’s advisory, a new author is picked up from an artfully created display. Online discovery lags behind, despite Amazon’s best efforts. People still pick books up based on word of mouth. Libraries, with entire sections of staff devoted to helping people pick out books, are word of mouth engines, but struggle to prove our worth to the rest of the book ecosystem. Ebooks make that even more difficult when the library as place is taken out of the equation. This session will explore some possibilities for libraries as channels of discovery in an ebook-dominated market.

~~~

Please contact a member of the Carterette Series Planning Team with questions or suggestions.

Tessa Minchew: tessa.minchew@gpc.edu

Sarah Steiner: ssteiner@gsu.edu

Karen Viars: karen.viars@gpc.edu

FREE eBOOK: SCHOOL LIBRARIES: WHAT’S NOW, WHAT’S NEXT, WHAT’S YET TO COME

Smashwords – School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What’s Yet to Come – A book by Kristin Fontichiaro via kwout

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the over 50 authors who contributed to School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What’s Yet to Come, we are delighted to announce that our crowdsourced eBook is now available for free download!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96705

We hope you will enjoy downloading and reading these diverse perspectives on where school libraries are and what school librarians are doing to redefine, stretch, and expand traditional services.

Please feel free to share this link with your colleagues, administrators, professional and union organizations, Board of Education members, and more. Help us spread the word and build the conversation about the possibilities of school libraries!

We have it available for free download in three formats:

• PDF for those who want to read it on a desktop/laptop
• .mobi for those who want to read it on Kindle software or a Kindle device
• .epub for those who would like to read it on Adobe Digital Editions software, iBooks, Sony Reader, the Bluefire Reader app, Nook, and most other eReaders

While you can find the eBook on Smashwords now; in about 2-6 weeks, Smashwords will send it out to the major eBookstores (including Apple’s iBookstore, Barnes and Noble, Sony Bookstore, and others, although Amazon is in negotations) for free distribution.

With deep thanks,

The Authors of School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What Comes After

Editors:
Kristin Fontichiaro, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Buffy Hamilton, Creekview High School, Canton, GA

Foreword:
R. David Lankes, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

Photographs:
Diane Cordell, Retired Teacher Librarian, Queensbury, NY

Contributors:
Kelly Ahlfeld, Mettawee Community School, West Pawlet, VT
Diane Erica Aretz-Kernahan, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Emilia Askari, Living Textbook Project, McCollough Unis School, Dearborn, MI
Kathleen Atkin, Louis Riel School Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Robert Baigent, National Library of New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand
Susan D. Ballard, Consultant and Simmons College, Boston, MA
Angela Washington-Blair, Emmett J. Conrad High School, Dallas, TX
Dan Bowen, ICT Learning and Teaching Consultant, Surrey, England, UK
Holli Buchter, St. Vrain Valley School District, Longmont, CO
Jennifer Branch, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Len Bryan, Cedar Ridge High School, Round Rock, TX
Jennifer Colby, School of Information, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Diane Cordell, Retired Teacher Librarian, Queensbury, NY
William Cross, Copyright and Digital Scholarship Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Meg Donhauser, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
Joanne de Groot, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Stacy Dillon, LREI – Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York, NY
Andrea Dolloff, Ethical Cultural Fieldston School, New York, NY
Meg Donhauser, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
Laura Fleming, Cherry Hill School, River Edge, NJ
Lorna Flynn, American International School in Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
Elizabeth Friese, University of Georgia,Athens, GA
Rachel Goldberg, East Middle School, Plymouth, MI
Beth Gourley, Western Academy of Beijing, Beijing, China
Dorcas Hand, Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston, TX
Alida Hanson, School Library Teacher Program, Simmons College GSLIS, Boston, MA
Violet H. Harada, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Heather Hersey, Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Valerie Hill, Ethridge Elementary School, The Colony, TX, and Texas Woman’s University School of Library and Information Studies, Denton, TX
Kimberly Hirsh, Butner-Stem Middle School, Butner, NC, and G. C. Hawley Middle School, Creedmoor, NC
Shannon Hyman, Byrd Middle School, Henrico, VA
Pamela Jackson, East Wake High School, Wendell, NC
Melissa P. Johnston, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Jesse Karp, LREI – Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York, NY
Sara Kelley-Mudie, The Forman School, Litchfield, CT
Tricia Kuon, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Neil Krasnoff, New Tech High School at A. Maceo Smith, Dallas, TX
Jennifer LaGarde, New Hanover County Schools, Wilmington, NC
Teri S. Lesesne, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Margaret Lincoln, Lakeview School District, Battle Creek, MI
Kate MacMillan, Napa Valley USD, Napa Valley, CA (see also Chap. 9)
Adrienne Matteson, White River Elementary, Noblesville, IN
Kathleen McBroom, Dearborn Public Schools, Dearborn, MI
Walter McKenzie, ASCD, Alexandria, VA
David Meyer, TMC Furniture, Ann Arbor, MI
Ben Mondloch, Cherry Lake Publishing, Ann Arbor, MI
Leslie L. Morgan, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Cathy Jo Nelson, Dorman High School, Spartanburg District 6 Schools, Roebuck, SC
Beverley Rannow, Otsego Public Schools, Otsego, MI
Howard Rheingold, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Nikki D. Robertson, Auburn High School, Auburn, AL
Daniella Smith, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
Evan St. Lifer, Scholastic Library Publishing, Danbury, CT
Jennifer Stanbro, South Portland School Department, South Portland, ME
Caitlin Stansell, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Jeff Stanzler, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Carolyn Jo Starkey, Buckhorn High School, New Market, AL
Wendy Steadman Stephens, Buckhorn High School, New Market, AL
Michael Stephens, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
Linda Straube, New Trier High School, Winnetka, IL
Cathy Stutzman, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
Mega Subramaniam, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Margaret Sullivan, Smith Systems, Plano, TX (see also Chap. 6)
Joyce Kasman Valenza, Springfield Township High School, Erdenheim, PA
Karen Villegas, Grosse Pointe North High School, Grosse Pointe, MI
Jeanna Walker, Portage Public Schools, Portage, MI
Donna Watt, Invercargill City Libraries, Invercargill, New Zealand
Holly Weimar, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Senga White, James Hargest College, Invercargill, New Zealand
Erin Drankwalter Wyatt, Highland Middle School, Libertyville, IL
Amanda Yaklin, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Alice Yucht, Retired/rewired Teacher-Librarian, NJ
Marci Zane, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ

PS – Want to create a Smashwords book of your own? We recommend the Smashwords Style Guide (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52).

Upcoming Webinar—Diving into Digital Books: Adding eReaders to Your School Library

TL Virtual Cafe – Digital_Books via kwout

Please join us Monday evening, May 2 at 8PM EST,  for the Teacher Librarian Cafe, “Diving into Digital Books:  Adding eReaders to Your School Library.”

Guests: Buffy J. Hamilton & Jennifer LaGarde
Host: Gwyneth Jones
May 2 – 8pm EST
Learn Central Page
Participant Link
Kindles, Nooks and iPads, Oh My! Implementing eReaders into your library program is about more than just jumping on the latest technological bandwagon or attempting to reinvent your library in order to stay relevant. It’s about good practice. Join Buffy Hamilton and Jennifer LaGarde as they discuss how eReaders have helped them provide students with a) access to the most up to date titles, b) the unique ability to efficiently link works of fiction with nonfiction resources and, c) the opportunity to interact with texts in ways that are simply not possible with traditional, library owned, books – all in an environment that both appeals to and enhances their skills as 21st century learners.

My slidedeck for the webinar will be posted to the webinar wiki Monday evening after the webinar; you will also be able to access the webinar archives from the session page if you cannot attend the live session.

December 7: Webinar on Ebook File Formats and How They Affect You

via email from the Kindle, Nook (and more!) Educators Group

Hi everybody,

Our next webinar will be held next Tuesday, Dec. 7, and we are trying it a little bit earlier, at 7:00 pm EST. You can register (as usual) righthere.

The topic this time will be Ebook File Formats and How They Affect You. Surprisingly, the choice of an ereader for your school may have more to do with the file formats that the device supports than about other bells and whistles the device offers. In addition, the underlying software that runs your ereader determines functionality in many cases as well.

We will cover all the major file formats and the devices that support them, looking at their limitations and advantages. We will link the format discussion to ereader software and to the devices themselves. Consider it a primer on the “software” side of the ereading experience.

I will try to keep it as un-geeky as possible…;-) The presentation will run for about 20 minutes and I will answer questions for 15 minutes or so. Maximum time commitment: 45 minutes.

There will be a drawing for door prizes for anyone in attendance from the Ning. The only stipulation is that you must have uploaded a profile photo at the Ning and be present at the webinar in order to win!

Hope to see you at the webinar next Tuesday, December 7 at 7:00 pm EST!

Will