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

This partnership takes advantage of WebJunction’s Custom Catalog service, designed to maximize the customization and reach of training through a centralized training catalog with streamlined registration for all users. All WebJunction-Florida participants will be able to access courses, regardless of geographic location or library size. Additionally, as a part of the Custom Catalog, WebJunction-Florida will be able to add unique, Florida-specific courses to the extensive course offerings from WebJunction that form the foundation of the catalog.

“The State Library and Archives of Florida is thrilled to offer the online learning resources of WebJunction to libraries throughout Florida,” said Judith Ring, State Librarian of Florida. “WebJunction-Florida will provide convenient, valuable professional training for library staff to better serve the citizens of this state.”

The WebJunction-Florida site is available now at http://fl.webjunction.org. So, if you work in a library in Florida, don’t delay! Update your WebJunction account today and request to be affiliated with the Florida community. You’ll find this option on the “My Affiliations” tab when you edit your account.

If you work in a library, you’ve experienced it first-hand: people need libraries for Internet access. And now there’s data to prove it! Last year we blogged about the WebJunction group: Does your PAC have IMPACT? and we’re thrilled to share news of their completed research.

The new report, Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries, is based on the first, large-scale study of who uses public computers and Internet access in public libraries, the ways library patrons use this free technology service, why they use it, and how it affects their lives. This powerful research was conducted by the University of Washington Information School and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Nearly one-third of Americans age 14 or older – roughly 77 million people – used a public library computer or wireless network to access the Internet in the past year.

Low-income adults are more likely to rely on the public library as their sole access to computers and the Internet than any other income group. Overall, 44 percent of people living below the federal poverty line used computers and the Internet at their public libraries.

Americans across all age groups reported they used library computers and Internet access. Teenagers are the most active users. Half of the nation’s 14- to 18-year-olds reported that they used a library computer during the past year, typically to do school homework.

The use of library technology had significant impact in four critical areas: employment, education, health, and making community connections. In the last 12 months:

• 40 percent of library computer users (an estimated 30 million people) received help with career needs. Among these users, 75 percent reported they searched for a job online. Half of these users filled out an online application or submitted a resume.
• 37 percent focused on health issues. The vast majority of these users (82 percent) logged on to learn about a disease, illness, or medical condition. One-third of these users sought out doctors or health care providers. Of these, about half followed up by making appointments for care.
• 42 percent received help with educational needs. Among these users, 37 percent (an estimated 12 million students) used their local library computer to do homework for a class.
• Library computers linked patrons to their government, communities, and civic organizations. Sixty-percent of users – 43.3 million people – used a library’s computer resources to connect with others.

The report’s findings (over 200 pages worth!) are based on nearly 50,000 surveys – including 3,176 from a national telephone survey and 44,881 web survey responses – from patrons of more than 400 public libraries across the country.

You can access the report, an executive summary, and read more of the press release on WebJunction and on the US IMPACT study website.

And for those of you on the front line, you can stand behind those number to show that YES, your hard work supporting public access computing in libraries does have a *huge* impact!

If you’re part of the library community in one of these states, update your WebJunction account today and request to be affiliated with your state’s WebJunction site on the “My Affiliations” tab as you edit your account.

For more information on the program and how to apply, see the USDA Rural Development fact sheet.

Applications are handled by USDA Rural Development field offices. To reach the USDA Rural Development contact for a specific state, visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/ – adding the two-letter initial of the state to the end of the URL.

The Gail Borden Public Library is the heart and hub of exciting activities in Elgin, Illinois. Its motto, “Learning is a Journey…Start It Here,” has been the inspiration behind many activities, including the Dr. Torres Library Card Challenge, a month-long program that resulted in 8,000 new library cards for local kids; the A Tapestry of Freedom project, which encouraged residents – especially foreign-born patrons – to share their stories of struggle and triumph with fellow Elgin citizens; and the GIANTS: African Dinosaurs and SPACE: Dare to Dream programs that brought to the library prehistoric visitors and objects from far flung galaxies. With all of the fantastic programs and events at the Gail Borden Public Library, community members ask just one question: “What next!”

The full cast of winners are as diverse as the nation’s cultural landscape: small and large, urban and rural. They have one thing in common: they have developed innovative ways to serve their communities.

Winners of the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service are:

1. Braille Institute Library Services, Los Angeles, CA
2. Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
3. Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, Cincinnati, OH
4. Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL
5. Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
6. Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
7. Museum of Science & Industry, Tampa, FL
8. Pritzker Military Library, Chicago, IL
9. Stark County District Library, Canton, OH
10. Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN

Nominations for the 2010 award are due on February 16. Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your library’s award winning community service!

Are you or your WebJunction friends making the news? Please, do tell!

Submit your library’s digital story during TechSoup Global’s Digital Storytelling Challenge open now through October 16th. What a great opportunity to showcase all the great work your library is doing, win prizes and end up with a great PR piece to use in ongoing advocacy efforts!

Tell your library’s story in a 5-panel image story on Flickr or a 60 second YouTube video or GoldMail audio-visual message. You’ll be in the running to win one of the many fabulous prizes including a FlipVideo camera, Adobe software, mp3 players and more!

“But wait, I’ve never made a video before. And I have no photo skills.”

No experience is required! Whether you’re a first-time storyteller or video veteran, they’ve got resources and tools from the webinar sessions here, here, and here, to help guide you along the way.

“I don’t know if we have the time–or the budget–to do it.”

The good news is that digital storytelling doesn’t have to be expensive. They’ve listed a number of free and low cost tools you can use to create your story.

“Help! I’m trying to work on my digital story and I’m running into difficulty.”

Never fear–the expert hosts from the Digital Storytelling webinars will be available in the TechSoup forums during the Challenge, so don’t be shy about posting any questions you have.

I’m bringing story back! How do I submit it?

Visit the Challenge page for instructions on how to submit your story! While you’re there, you can see additional details about the Challenge guidelines, judging, and prizes.

How to Stay Informed and Contact :

Stay tuned on the event website, register to receive email announcements, and follow the action on Twitter #tsdigs. If you would like to get in touch directly feel free to contact the TechSoup Team: tsdigs@techsoupglobal.org. They’re eager to help!

This week, we are re-releasing a really useful one for those of you out there who have been thrust into a technology support and planning role for your library. The course: Updating and Upgrading Library Computer Software, walks you through the process of evaluating patron or staff needs with costs, time and hidden drawbacks involved in updating a given piece of software on a public or staff computer. It provides a framework for coming to the right decision for your specific situation, whether you are working with free plugins, paid-for applications, or even operating systems.

You’ll take away some valuable tools that should immediately help with your library’s technology planning and PAC software maintenance efforts, including some handy checklists of questions to ask for different software situations.

IMPORTANT NOTE: As always, if you are a member of one of our WebJunction Partners, chances are you have free or discounted access to this course through their catalog. In that case, instead of using the links above, go first to the Partner site, then to the Courses tab and will find this course listed under Technology (general) > Public Access Computing.

• ALA’s Banned Books Week site including free downloads and display ideas.
• BannedBooksWeek.org has an excellent list of what you can do.
• Read these School Library Journal articles on books about book banning and how some libraries and bookstores are celebrating this year.
• I loved this banned books week challenge from a new blogger: read an old favorite and something newly banned.
• And of course there’s a group for Banned Books Week on Facebook…become a fan!

Share about your Banned Books Week celebrations below in comments or in this discussion on WebJunction or consider posting your materials related to banned books or resources for responding to challenges to library materials in the Intellectual Freedom topic area.