ILEAD U Update: Team Deadline Extended, DLS Team Seeks Fifth Member

The deadline for ILEAD U team applications has been extended to Nov. 23, 2009. Teams that are accepted will be notified by Jan. 8, 2010.

The DLS team forming to serve the English language learner population is still seeking a fifth member. This is a great opportunity to serve this community while learning leadership skills and participatory technology. If you're interested in joining the team, please review the application and then contact Jane Plass at DLS.

Applications for ILEAD U mentors and instructors are still due on Oct. 30, 2009. Mentors and instructors will be notified of acceptance by Nov. 16, 2009.

ILEAD U Web Conference on Oct. 20, 2009

Do you want to make a difference in your community? Are you interested in leadership development, project management, community needs assessment, and the use of participatory web tools? Then join Gwen Harrison, Connie Frankenfeld, and Lynda Maddux in a web conference on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. for an exciting discussion on ILEAD U. Illinois Libraries, Explore, Apply and Discover is a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program and is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Learn the answers to these frequently asked questions:

1. What is ILEAD U?
2. How will it enrich my library, my community, and me personally?
3. What is the process?
4. What is the big deal? Why is this such an important opportunity for me, my library, and community?

This web conference will be held in the Illinois State Library's OPAL room . If you've never participated in an OPAL session before, you'll need to install a Windows software plug-in available on the login page. A web interface that doesn't require a plug-in is also available, though it does not provide all OPAL features.

Log in with your first name and last initial. Leave the password field blank. If you have any problems with the conference software, please contact Jill Heffernan or call 217/785-7336.

For information about ILEAD U, contact Gwen Harrison or Connie Frankenfeld at the Illinois State Library or Jane Plass at DuPage Library System.

Illinois Libraries Explore, Apply, and Discover: ILEAD U Update

Are you interested in meeting a community need through participatory technology? Would you like to develop your leadership, project management, and technology skills? Then consider applying for the new ILEAD U project.

On Oct. 2, 2009, Illinois State Library staff held a videoconference to provide updated information and answer questions. Here are a few highlights:

• There will be eight teams with five members each during 2010. Plans call for another group of eight teams in 2011. Applications are now being accepted for 2010.
• Library employees and MLS students in Illinois are eligible to participate. You don't need to have a master's degree in library science.
• Teams must represent at least three different ILLINET member institutions. All libraries that are members of an Illinois regional library system are ILLINET members.
• Applications that include multiple types of libraries are encouraged, but not required.
• The deadline for mentor and instructor applications has been extended to Oct. 30, 2009. The deadline for team applications remains Oct. 30, 2009.

For more information on ILEAD U:

• Go to the ILEAD U page on WebJunction Illinois. Application forms are posted there.
• Download the ILEAD U presentation (in PDF format) shown at the Oct. 2 videoconference.
• Attend the Illinois State Library program at the ILA conference on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.

DuPage Library System is facilitating communication among potential team participants. If you're interested but didn't receive the Oct. 2 email listing DLS libraries that might be participating, please contact Jane Plass at DLS.

2009 Fox Valley Read Program Kick-Off Event

Date: Saturday, October 10, 2009
Time: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Location: Oswego Public Library District, Montgomery Library Campus, 1111 Reading, Montgomery, IL.

Refreshments will be served during the kick-off event. Entertainment will be provided by the Windy City Performing Arts.

The theme for this year’s program is: Celebrate Chicago 100 Years of Bold Plans and Big Dreams 1833-1933.

The three book titles selected for this year’s program include:

• The Devil in the White City, by Eric Larsen.
• Haymarket, by Martin Duberman.
• The Sinking of the Eastland: America’s Forgotten Tragedy, by Jay Bonansinga.

Special programs will feature and highlight the “Centennial 1909-2009 of Daniel Burnham’s Plan of Chicago.”

The Messenger Public Library of North Aurora is partnering with the Aurora Public Library, the Oswego/Montgomery Public Library District, Waubonsee Community College, and the Illinois Math and Science Academy for this annual fall reading and public program event.

Visit the Fox Valley Reads web site for additional information.

ILEAD U Q&A/Discussion Session Scheduled for Oct. 2, 2009

ILEAD U (Illinois Libraries Explore, Apply, and Discover) is a new grant-funded opportunity to help library staff understand and use technology to engage users. ILEAD U is currently seeking five-person project teams, mentors, and instructors. The application deadlines are short, so we've scheduled a meeting for Friday, Oct. 2, 2009, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the DLS Tech Lab. This session is for you if you're interested in participating in ILEAD U but need more information or are looking for team partners.

During the first part of this session, Gwen Harrison from the Illinois State Library will be available by videoconferencing to answer questions about ILEAD U. After the videoconference, attendees will have time to talk about potential projects and team partners.

If you're looking for partners for a project team but can't make this meeting, please contact Jane Plass by Oct. 1. Email your name, institution, and phone number. If you have a community need or project in mind, include a brief description as well.

More information about ILEAD U is available on WebJunction Illinois and in a previous post on the Here & Now blog.

ILEAD U Seeks Project Teams, Mentors, and Instructors

ILEAD U (Illinois Libraries Explore, Apply, and Discover) is a new project designed to help library staff understand and respond to user needs through applying participatory technology tools and creating an easy-to-replicate model program. These tools include but aren't limited to:

• Blogging
• Digital audio, photos, and video
• Gaming
• Instant messaging
• Social networking
• Virtual reference
• Web conferencing

The project will be funded by a three-year grant awarded to the Illinois State Library from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Many DLS libraries are already offering virtual services or planning to do so soon. ILEAD U is a great opportunity to extend those services while increasing your own skills and working collaboratively. Consider applying for participation as a project team, mentor, or instructor.

Here's some key information:

• Three in-person sessions will be held at the University of Illinois/Springfield on February 23-25, 2010; June 15-17, 2010; and October 26-28, 2010. You must be able to attend all three sessions to be eligible for the project.
• The application period is short, so don't delay. Applications for mentors and instructors are due by Oct. 16, 2009. Applications for project teams are due by Oct. 30, 2009.
• Project teams will consist of five staff members from at least three different ILLINET libraries. Each team will schedule approximately fifteen virtual meetings with two mentors. You don't need a master's degree in library science or any special expertise in technology to participate. However, you should be innovative and interested in using technology to join your library users in virtual spaces.
• Mentors should be able to organize and lead others. Each mentor will work with two project teams, and each team will have two mentors.
• Instructors should be skilled in teaching technology, managing change, project management and/or leadership.

For details and application forms, see the ILEAD U WebJunction page.

DuPage Library System will facilitate formation of project teams. If you're interested in participating and looking for partners, please contact Jane Plass at j-plass@dupagels.lib.il.us. Email your name, institution, and phone number. If you have a community need or project in mind, include a brief description as well. We look forward to hearing from you.

Wakanheza: Parents and Children in Public Places

DLS is offering a special CE event, Wakaneza: Parents and Children in Public Places. Pam Kramer participated in the training  at the Bensenville Public Library's August staff day. Because it was so impressive, DLS is now offering it to all DLS librarians who work with parents and children. Wakanheza (Sacred Being), (pronounced wakanja), is the Dakota word for child. This program, originally developed in Minnesota, teaches how to lend a hand to help parents especially when children show challenging behaviors in public places. There are many factors parents can not control. Wakaneza will give you strategies to help both parents and children. The presenter is Jayne Carpenter, M. S., Early Childhood Specialist, at the DuPage Children's Museum. She will give tips on creating a positive and welcoming environment by serving the community and each other using respect and kindness. The program will run from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Lunch is included in the registration fee.

Glassdoor for Job Seekers

Glassdoor is a free career resource that helps job seekers get an inside look at over 26,000 companies by including company salaries, reviews, and interview questions posted anonymously by employees and job seekers. It usually requires users to post their own anonymous information to gain free access, but its Library Partnership Program allows library patrons and students free access without having to post anything.

Free bookmarks that include tips for job seekers on using Glassdoor are available to the first 500 libraries that add http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm to the database or Internet resources sections of their websites.

For more information, email Jim Buttimer (Vice President, Partnerships).

NoveList Select Offer

Because of the high level of interest among Illinois libraries for the NoveList/NoveList Plus online readers' advisory service, EBSCO is offering direct discounted pricing for the new NoveList Select product. [NoveList and NoveList Plus are available to Illinois libraries at a subsidized discount through the Illinois State Library E-RICH program, through October 30, 2009.]

NoveList Select delivers the high quality content from NoveList/NoveList Plus directly to library catalogs and helps users discover new books that meet their needs and are already on library shelves by showing them similar titles right in the catalog. NoveList Select helps avoid the dead end searches that occur when all copies of a book are checked out and provides readers with additional options for what to read next.

For more product information, you can visit the NoveList Select website, and view an animated demo of the product.

For pricing and additional information contact: Heidi van Gennep, Account Executive, EBSCO Publishing, HvanGennep@ebscohost.com, 800/653-2726 x2244, or Donald J. Myers, Resource Sharing Specialist, DuPage Library System, dmyers@dupagels.lib.il.us, 630/232-8457 x220.

Discussion of products and/or services is for informational purposes only and does not imply suitability for your library.

Tech Tidbit: Google and PDF Indexing

At the DLS Technology Roundtable on June 9, 2009, we discussed to what extent Google indexes PDF files.

Google has fully indexed documents directly saved as PDFs since 2001. In October 2008, it expanded its scope by also indexing documents scanned into PDF format. These documents are more difficult to index, because scanning creates a digital picture of a page. Google uses optical character recognition to index these scanned files. For more information, see the announcement at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/picture-of-thousand-words.html.

Do you have a technology tip or information you’d like to share with other DLS libraries? Send it to Jane Plass for possible publication as a future Tech Tidbit on our Here & Now blog.

Discussion of products and/or services is for information only and does not imply suitability for your library.