WebJunction

Announcing New Relationship with Association for Rural & Small Libraries

The Association for Rural & Small Libraries is now partnering with WebJunction and is moving resources to its new home here at webjunction.org/ARSL. This means you can now find articles from the Rural Libraries Journal, back issues of the Rural Library Services Newsletter, ARSL Organization and Conference Information right here on WebJunction. ARSL members can now join the vibrant discussions surrounding rural issues and can provide suggestions and comments on the future of their organization. For more information s ee the news release.

ARSL Conference Highlights

A total of 177 participants from 28 states, Canada and the Philippines attended the recent Association for Rural and Small Library Conference in Columbus, Ohio. In the shadow of The Ohio State University, attendees were greeted with temperatures in the 80's and a few fall showers thrown in for good measure.

The conference kicked off with Librarian of the Year, Mary Baykan, describing Maryland's process of using data and statistics to win votes for library initiatives and funding. For a detailed report on this initiative, as well as many other presentations and handouts related to telling your story through statistics, see the rich FSCS Conference Presentations site. Stephen Abram also took us on a whirlwind exploration of the future of rural libraries in light of the changing landscape being presented by technology and a new generation of library users. His presentation centered on the theme that libraries are about learning and building communities, and not just delivering information. We can never compete with the information behemoths like Google. Libraries exist to improve the quality of the question and the user experience and this should be our focus. Rebecca Miller from Library Journal, along with Herb Landau, director of Milanof-Schock Public Library had a session on the Best Small Library in America program (see application info below); and Barbara Gersh updated us on MaintainIT and the project's Cookbooks.

The breakout sessions featured everything from meeting the multicultural needs of your community to certification programs for library practitioners. You can view many of the handouts and presentations at 2007 ARSL Conference Highlights. Be sure to check back in a few weeks for additional materi al.

And what happens in Columbus doesn't necessarily stay in Columbus. Take a look at some of our pictures, share a link to yours, and start getting excited for next fall??s conference in Sacramento, CA!

In Focus Webinar: Rural Libraries as Place

Each month the Rural Library Sustainability Project presents an hour-long webinar related to the work of sustaining rural and small libraries. This month join us on October 25, 11:00 am PT/ 2:00 pm ET for Bringing People Together at the Library: Rural Libraries as Place. More and more people are accessing information and resources from home and work computers. Does that mean the physical library will go away? NO WAY! In this session we will talk about the evolving role of the physical library space. We will highlight innovative and interesting rural library examples. Join the Rural In Focus webinar facilitator, Brenda Hough, and guest presenter Cindi Hickey, Continuing Education Librarian and WebJunction Coordinator for the State Library of Kansas. Find information on joining the webinar in addition to archives of past webinars at Rural In Focus.

Course Highlights

Take a look at the many online learning opportunities in our Courses area including WebJunction's Course Catalog and the E-Learning Clearinghouse. WebJunction's Course of the Month is made available for the low price of $10! (WebJunction Community Partners may enroll in this course and all others in the course catalog at no cost, thanks to their state libraries). October's Course of the Month is all about HTML. It's a steal for the price with a whoppin' 30 hours of self-paced course work on everything from web page basics to using JavaScript. See some of the comments on this course, and share your own, in our discussion boards. In November, we'll feature PowerPoint. And remember, any course you purchase through WebJunction is available to you for one full year. For additional learning opportunities, check out WebJunction's E-Learning Institute webinar series. On October 17, author of The Accidental Technology Trainer: A Guide for Libraries, Stephanie Gerding, will address the most common concerns of newly minted technology trainers, recommend great tools and techniques, and share helpful advice from her many years coordinating and providing training for libraries of all types around the country.

Rural Message Board Highlights 

If you're new to WebJunction, be sure to visit Getting Around WebJunction Rural, which includes instructions on posting to the discussion boards.

ARSL Discussion

Be sure to visit the new discussion area for the Association for Rural & Small Libraries. There's a spot for your conference highlights and the ARSL Board wants to you share your hopes and dreams for the organization!

Best Small Library in America
Don't forget to nominate your library for the Best Small Library in America before November 5th! This is an amazing opportunity to show off your great rural and small library. The winning library will receive a $15,000 cash award from the Gates Foundation, conference costs for two library representatives to attend the 2008 Public Library Association AND a feature article in Library Journal. WebJunction member Eve Tallman is the director of the Grand County Public Library in Moab, Utah, the Best Small Library for 2007! And if you're going to be attending ARSL in a few weeks, be sure to introduce yourself to Rebecca Miller, Executive Editor, Library Journal and Herb Landau, Director, Milanof-Schock Public Library, Mt. Joy, PA, winner of the 2006 award. They're doing a session on Wednesday afternoon...What it takes to be the 'Best Small Library in America'.