Michael Scott, Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage Coordinator, will discuss how she uses everything from social media to WorldCat.org to increase the visibility of their online collections.

Also hear from Suzanne Butte, OCLC Digital Services Consultant, about how other libraries, museums and archives use a wide variety of ways to increase awareness and promote their digital collections.

Register Now for September 22 Webinar»
View Archive for Digitization & Preservation Symposium »

Communities across the country are pursuing a burgeoning strategy known as economic gardening, which works to stimulate the development of small business with the goal of growing a healthy, community-scale economy. Libraries can be key players in supporting and facilitating their success. This Libraries and Economic Development webinar series will expand your thinking about the powerful connection. Your host for the series is Shelley Walchak, a mover-and-shaker with the official title of Library Community Programs Senior Consultant at the Colorado State Library.

Webinar 1: How to Make Your Library Entrepreneur-Friendly
Tuesday, Aug 17, 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific

Christine Hamilton-Pennell literally wrote the book. She is an articulate proponent of libraries’ support for local entrepreneurs. Learn specific steps your library can take to connect with and support its local business community. If you’re at all intrigued by the concept of economic gardening, this webinar is a must-see. Hamilton-Pennell introduces the strategies and lays the groundwork for their practical application, which will be covered in the following two webinars.

Webinar 2: Turning Your Databases into Business for Your Customers
Tuesday, Aug 24, 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific

Your library may already have the tools at hand (or close by) to help stimulate economic development in your community and you don’t have to be a trained business reference librarian to use them. Presenters Terry Zarsky and Kathleen Rainwater will give a guided tour through the best databases for small business information.

Webinar 3: Going to Your Customer – Outreach and Strategic Partnerships
Tuesday, Aug 31, 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific

How do you let the business community know that your library is primed and ready to help? Presenters Suzanne Kaller and Colbe Galston will talk about how to get the word out to Chambers of Commerce, small business development centers, community groups and government entities.

For more information and to access archives and registration:
http://www.webjunction.org/workforce-resources/articles/content/103122377

Library Images and Video: Engage, Inspire and Tell your Story

In this entertaining and heartwarming presentation you will learn how two librarians teamed up to advocate more effectively (and boldly) while staying true to the personality of the communities, the libraries and the staff they serve. You and your library really can market your services and engage more effectively, and images, video and authenticity can be a key! Learn how you too can use images and video creatively and effectively to inspire Libraryland, engage the communities you serve boost staff morale and get more enjoyment from your job. The stories and lessons in this session will be presented by Jeff Dawson from the Lester Public Library in Two Rivers Wisconsin and by Michael Porter from WebJunction.

Register for the event »

In our industrialized world, people are now afraid of apples. Afraid of buying the wrong kind. Afraid of making a purchasing mistake or some sort of pie mistake.

And they’re afraid of your product and your service. Whatever you sell, there are two big reasons people aren’t buying it:

1. They don’t know about it.

2. They’re afraid of it.

If you can get over those two, then you get the chance to prove that they need it and it’s a good value. But as long as people are afraid of what you sell, you’re stuck.

If you like what you read, post a comment to his blog to encourage him to write that Part II he mentioned!

Need a primer on twitter? Read this article: “Twitter: A Beginner’s Guide.”.

My colleague Zola Maddison mentioned to me today that she thought we ought to publish the patron stories behind or alongside the library staff stories we tell at WebJunction.

So, what if when we talked about what Rachel does for her library in the Mission Branch of San Francisco Public, we could also hear the voices of some of her patrons talking about how her library services have changed and enriched their lives?

That is why we do this stuff, afterall.

Zola’s comments came after a whirl-wind hour of Knowledge Cafe-ing, hosted by Betha and Emily, based on their time at SLA this year. At the end of that session we were talking about actions and outcomes from the Cafe. ‘Just let it change you,’ I said, ‘let it influence our work’. But what I think I may have meant was more simple than that, even: ‘just let it remind you’.

My coworkers here at WebJunction are a patient lot. They work hard every day knowing that at some point there is a very real possibility that I will march right up to them and start talking about, of all things, PEZ dispensers.

I know that sounds strange, but don’t be fooled! These PEZ discussion really are about work (most of the time anyway), work that is about to happily culminate in the dissemination of our very own WebJunction PEZ dispensers! That’s right; you may soon be one of the roughly 120 WebJunction members that will soon be the proud owners of some very spiffy, very limited edition (only 150 were made), highly collectible WebJunction PEZ dispenser. This could mean you! So how do you get one?

First, everyone should know that this special little PEZ was designed primarily as a giveaway for this year’s ALA Annual Conference. So, if you attend our big WebJunction event next Friday, June 22nd and are one of the first 100 WebJunction members to bop around the room partying, visiting, learning and answering a very short question sheet, you will get one of these super spiffy PEZ dispensers. So if you are especially keen on acquiring a WJ PEZ, arrive early and join the party! *Just a note, we do have lots of other activities, games and giveaways planned for this giganto event. It will be so much fun that, believe it or not, even without PEZ it would be a pretty fab party.*

Sadly, large numbers of limited edition custom PEZ dispensers are cost prohibitive so we only have so many to go around. We also know that a very large number of our members cannot make it to our party at ALA. Sooooo…. If you are a registered WebJunction member currently working in, for or with libraries and you really, really want one, you have a chance. We have set 20 dispensers aside and will hold a drawing for them shortly after our return from the conference in DC. There are some requirements that you’ll see on the drawing sign-up page but as long as you meet them (and you really, really want a WebJunction PEZ dispenser) feel free to register. The link to sign up for the giveaway is here  **UPDATE**  We’ve given away all of our PEZ dispensers for this event and want to thank everyone for participating.  We hope you are enjoying your WebJunction PEZ!

Here are the WebJunction Reception/Party details:
Venue: Renaissance, Washington, Grand Ballroom Central
Location:999 Ninth Street NW, Washington, District Of Columbia
Date: Friday, June 22
Time: 5:00 – 7:30 PM ET
Required Dress: Your sassiest librarian outfit. (Or business casual)

And just in case you wondered, my own personal obsession with PEZ is nicely documented by following this link. Additionally, Chrystie and Rachel can attest to the majesty of the Burlingame Museum of PEZ Memorabilia, which printed these custom “fantasy” PEZ for us and which we also recently visited while in the Bay Area for a Community Unconference and a meeting at the RLG offices. A grand time was had by all!

At the PIÑATA DE RECURSOS/RESOURCE PIÑATA Exhibit, guests will view the materials and take ideas back to their libraries.  We will also post all of the materials on WebJunction after the event (stay tuned!). Submissions can be from all types of libraries and we welcome all Spanish language library materials.  Contact Elena Tscherny for more information about submission guidelines and deadlines.  

We hope to see there!