WebJunction

Rural Library Sustainability Update -
November 2006

The Rural Library Sustainability Project (http://webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=498) has now delivered over 100 workshops to nearly 2000 participants in 23 states around the country. Twenty additional states just completed the Curriculum Development Institute in Seattle and are in the process of scheduling and preparing for workshops to be delivered over the next 7 months. Visit us often at Webjunction.org/Rural to tap into best practices, strategies, and stories. Thank you for your participation!

In Focus Webinar Series

We're moving into month seven of our In Focus webinars (http://webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=13496) for rural and small library staff. Each month the Rural Library Sustainability Project is presenting a webinar focused on a particular topic of importance to the work of sustaining Rural and Small libraries. Join us next on November 28th, 9:00-10:00 AM PST/12:00-1:00 PM EST, for Tech Support and the Rural Library: Finding the Technology Assistance You Need. Hard drive failure - argh! Error messages - eek! Where do you turn when you have technology problems that are beyond your knowledge and abilities? Everyone needs a technology support network -- whether it's library staff, volunteers, or paid consultants. Join this session to hear about some innovative approaches libraries have taken. Brainstorm ways to recruit and use tech savvy volunteers. Learn how-to determine whether or not a paid consultant has the necessary knowledge and skills for your library's needs. This webinar will be presented by Brenda Hough, Technology Coordinator, Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS). Information on joining the webinars, upcoming topics, and all archived sessions are available at Rural In Focus (http://webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=13496).

Course Highlights

We'd like to highlight some of the great courses available through WebJunction's Learning Center (http://webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=372). There are courses available within WebJunction's Course Catalog (http://webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=442) and via the ever-growing E-Learning Clearinghouse (http://webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=11446). Each month we'll highlight a few of these great learning opportunities relevant to your work in rural and small libraries. Library U (http://learning.libraryu.org/home/) lists their FREE courses in the Clearinghouse and we recommend Directors ASK! (Administrator-Secret-Knowledge!) (http://webjunction.org/do/SearchDetails?id=1784&programType=ContinuingEducation). This one hour course helps uncover some of the hidden gems crucial for managing a library. Details covered include budgets, boards, and annual reports; information sometimes safe in the head of a director, but sure to come in handy especially when they're not around! Another course rich with resources is WebJunction's Fundraising for Libraries (http://webjunction.org/do/LearningCenter?method=getCourseDetails&courseId=546). Whether you're looking for new information or for reminders of the tried and true, this 1.5 hour course presents strategies and tools to help you plan and manage a library fundraising campaign. In addition to these, WebJunction features a "Course of the Month" for the low price of $10 and November's feature is the 8 hour course, Dealing with Difficult People (http://www.webjunction.org/do/LearningCenter?method=getCourseDetails&courseId=4655). WebJunction Community Partners may enroll in this course and all others in the course catalog at no cost, thanks to their state libraries! We will continue to run this feature in future Rural Updates, so please share your Recommendations for Online Learning (http://webjunction.org/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=5086) and we'll highlight them here!

Message Board Highlights (http://webjunction.org/forums/category.jspa?categoryID=98)

States in Action!

The Rural Discussion space is alive with great questions, ideas, and stories. Many of our state workshop participants are posting their action plans, as well as their successes and struggles. This can be a great place to begin your tour of the discussion space. For starters, take a look at what state participants in New York (http://www.webjunction.org/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=4196&tstart=0) and Iowa (http://www.webjunction.org/forums/forum.jspa?forumID=267) are reporting. Everyone is free to peruse the state specific discussion areas and glean the great ideas that are being generated in this space.

Visit WebJunction for archived editions of Rural Library Sustainability Updates (http://webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=13920).

To unsubscribe to the Rural Library Sustainability updates, please send an email to rural@webjunction.org and include "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Thank you.