Are you a WebJunction Advocate?

As we celebrate our 5th anniversary, we’d like to especially thank the highly engaged members of WebJunction. In the spirit of sustaining and enhancing community engagement on WebJunction and to help guide the work ahead, we’re reaching out to our "Advocates" who will play a critical role in continuing to make WebJunction a successful online community for library staff. There are some exciting opportunities on the horizon for your continued involvement. Find out more about what it means to be a WebJunction Advocate by visiting the WJ Advocates Call to Action in the discussion boards.

Cunningham and Vicente Attending ALA Diversity Fair

WebJunction is pleased to announce the winners of our Diversity Fair scholarship! Katie Cunningham from the Columbus Metropolitan Library and Miguel Vicente from the Pinewoods Library and Learning Center will attend the Diversity Fair at the American Library Association Annual Conference in June. Cunningham will highlight several successful outreach initiatives to increase programming to Spanish speakers in Columbus, Ohio and Vicente will describe an ambitious project to open a branch in Athens, Georgia designed to meet the needs of the area’s growing Spanish-speaking population. Congratulations, Katie and Miguel!

WJ Community of the Month: Indiana

WebJunction Indiana uses a variety of tools to connect library staff to personalized, state-specific resources. From their homepage you’ll find IN-ITIATIVES, which links to their Open Source Interlibrary Loan System, the Indiana Digital Library, Statewide Taskforces, and job opportunities in Indiana libraries. Indiana also features new resources, like their new Indiana Children's Services page. You'll also find Spotlight to Indiana, which links you to key resources, learning opportunities, programs, and events throughout the state. And on BlogJunction Indiana, you can read the latest activities happening in Indiana’s library community and subscribe to 10 different feeds.

Course of the Month: SharePoint 2007

Share and share alike! This series provides learners with the information they need to use SharePoint 2007 to help their organization manage their documents and files, as well as to enable their users to share documents and collaborate with one another. Also available at a discount this month is our course on SharePoint 2003. This will be our last Course of the Month until our new site is launched this summer. SharePoint 2007 and SharePoint 2003 will be discounted at $10- less than half price- through June. If you're in a WebJunction community partner state, these courses are free, thanks to your state's subscription.

Upcoming Course Enrollment Freeze

WebJunction is excited to be making some improvements and additions to our course catalog and content this summer. As we switch over to our new content platform there will be a one-month period of transition during which new course enrollments will not be permitted. We are encouraging any members with MindLeaders courses that are in progress or incomplete to finish up the courses and print your certificate one week before we launch our new platform in July. We thank you for your continued support and will update you with specific dates of the course enrollment "freeze" on the site once they are determined. The University of North Texas LE@D courses will not be affected by this transition.

TechAtlas Webinar: Providing Help Desk Support Using Event Tracker

Join us for a free 30-minute TechAtlas webinar on May 7th at 10:30 AM Pacific/1:30 PM Eastern. Learn how to your library can benefit from using Event Tracker, a free tool within TechAtlas which allows users to create an online "help desk" so they can track all of the requests and solutions to computer troubles in the library. Discover how Event Tracker creates a knowledge base and helps you to stay on top of all your library's technology tasks. Register for the webinar and receive an email reminder. Review these instructions for Joining the Webinar.

Government Information in the 21st Century

Government Information in the 21st Century (Gi21) is a continuing education project to train public services library staff in the use of electronic government information. Over the past year, 49 government information librarians have created 21 subject modules focusing on federal electronic information sources. Modules are designed to be used as training materials and for self-guided learning. Kids Stuff, the newest module, has a large number of resources ranging from interactive web sites, online games, curriculum guides and fact sheets - all arranged by subject and marked for age category. You can learn more about the program by checking out these resources on their section of WebJunction.

Rural Webinars

The Association for Rural and Small Libraries and WebJunction offer free, monthly webinars on topics of interest for Rural and Small Libraries. Feel free to view information on our upcoming May webinar and archives of all previous webinars on the Rural In Focus Webinar page. Recent topics include The Chelsea District Library and what it takes to be the Best Small Library in America, Board Challenges and Successes; Collaboration for Results. On May 14th, join a webinar that presents tips on making the most out of upcoming conferences.

In Depth Webinar: Innovative Health Information Programs for Spanish Speakers

Mark your calendar for May 13th at 10:00 AM Pacific/1:00 PM Eastern for a free webinar. The webinar will feature several innovative programs designed to increase access to health information for Spanish speakers and increase community health. Guest speakers include: Susan Dalmas, manager of Queens Library/ Adult Learner Program; Kathel Dunn, Associate Director of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region; and Loida Garcia-Febo, Assistant Coordinator, Special Services, Queens Library. For webinar details, visit Spanish Language Outreach In Depth Webinars.

Maintain IT Webinar: Wireless Acceptable Use Policies

On May 21st at 11:00 AM Pacific/2:00 PM Eastern, join Louise Alcorn, Reference Technology Librarian at the West Des Moines Public Library and contributor to Recipes for a 5-Star Library Cookbook, and author of Wireless Networking: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians, as she chats about her experiences with wireless, including considerations around the ever-important wireless acceptable use policy. Take 30 minutes out of your day and learn from the experiences of others. Get started with wireless at your library!

Learning Webinar: Cultivating a Culture of Learning at the Library

Mark your calendar on June 10th at 11:00 AM Pacific/1:00 PM Eastern for this learning webinar. How much time does your library spend on "training?" Statistics show that most learning takes place on the job or with a coworker, yet as trainers we spend an inordinate amount of time preparing for and delivering classroom training. In this webinar you will learn why you need to get your staff out of the classroom and instead focus on creating a culture of learning in your library. Presented by guest speaker Lori Reed, Training Specialist for the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. Registration for this webinar is optional. To register and receive an email reminder, visit the WebJunction Calendar of Events. For webinar details, visit Learning Webinars.

WebJunction Webinar: Introduction to "Shaping Outcomes"

Join presenter Rachel Applegate on May 29th at 11:00 AM Pacific/2:00 PM Eastern as she introduces the online course, 'Shaping Outcomes,' which teaches the principles of an 'outcomes-based planning and evaluation' (OBPE). The course was originally developed to help LSTA and IMLS grant applicants create stronger grant proposals and stronger programs. Trainers can use the website and extensive instructor's materials to deliver the course on their own, or enroll at www.shapingoutcomes.org. This webinar will provide an introduction to outcomes-based planning and evaluation. Registration for this webinar is optional. To register and receive an email reminder, visit the WebJunction Calendar of Events. For webinar details, visit Learning Webinars.