And while you’re at it, mark your calendars for our webinar next Wednesday (5/14, 11 am PST) - Professional Development: ARSL, ALA and Virtual Conferences. Join a star-studded cast of characters including George Needham, Bonnie McKewon, Patty Hector, and more, as we look at making the most of upcoming professional development opportunities. Whether it’s ALA in June, ARSL in September, or taking in a virtual conference from the comfort of your office, this session is all about development and connecting with others in your profession.

Gerding is a independent consultant with deep experience in the library world, seemingly having worked everywhere—the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, two state libraries, SIRSI, as well in academic and corporate libraries.

Of course we’re a little biased here, but we think some of her best work has been done as a WebJunction supporter. In addition to all the great content she has contributed to the community, Stephanie has been a trainer and coordinator for WebJunction’s Rural Libraries Sustainability and Spanish Language Outreach programs.

She even included WebJunction in the acknowledgments in her latest book, the Accidental Technology Trainer: A Library Guide:

“WebJunction—the organization, the website, the members, and everyone working there—has been very valuable to me, not only in writing this book, but as a trainer and librarian as well.”

Stephanie subscribes to the motto: “Live the Dream.” In the member spotlight, she passionately explains her method of directing her time and energies directly toward her goals. Once you accomplish that, she says, you’ll find opportunities for achieving your personal and professional goals begin appearing.

The process is certainly working for Stephanie! There’s more good stuff in the profile, so be sure to check it out.

PLA kicked off with keynote speaker John Wood, founder of Room to Read and author of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. On top of being engaging, energetic, and funny, he really is changing at least a portion of the world. In the eight years since Wood delivered the first load of books on the back of a yak (named Zach) to a remote Nepali village, his organization has established over 5,100 libraries in South/Southeast Asia and South Africa.

For a striking comparison, Wood displayed a bar chart comparing the number of stores opened by Starbucks around the world since 2000 with the number of libraries opened by Room to Read. At first, Starbucks held a strong lead over the fledgling non-profit, but in the last three years, the library effort has surged ahead. More than a frivolous comparison, it’s a challenge that Wood took on, one he dubbed the “Starbucks test.”

“If they can open Starbucks at a rapid rate, why can’t we open schools and libraries at the same rate?”

Photos of kids beaming with excitement shone from the screen; heart-warming stories were told of the priceless rewards that come from empowering kids and communities. It’s inspiring to see what can be done in so short a time. Of course, we gave him a standing ovation.

Working with library boards can be a roller coaster! Will they come prepared or tune out? Will they stick to business or swap recipes? Will they vote or once again table the budget?

On March 6, the ARSL Rural In Focus webinar “Board Successes and Challenges” will tell you how to help your board get results and to feel successful.

• This webinar starts with YOUR vote – what’s the single most important improvement your board should make?
• Find out causes, a.k.a problems, behind those needed improvements from veteran trustee Ellen Miller.
• Review a director-board division of labor that really works!
• Check out practical antidotes that can turn your board from observers to team players.
• Learn how the comeback kids at the Basehor, Kansas Community Library turned a 58% “No” vote into a 66% “Yes” vote in just two years. Get practical advice from director Carla Kaiser.
• Find URLs for board resources you can use at home.
• Ask questions, then rate this webinar’s usefulness.

Alert: These speakers may not be politically correct. And the pace moves fast, so bring some energy bars!

edit: View the archive of the Board Successes and Challenges webinar!

Join us for the free, hour-long webinar: Thursday, March 6, 2008, 11:00 am PT/2:00 pm ET

• Information on this Webinar and archives of all Rural In-Focus Webinars
• Instructions for Joining the Webinar

Bonnie McKewon, administrator of Northwest Iowa Library Services (NWILS) tells WebJunction how an ongoing slide in funding helped the organization to change how they delivered consultancy services. As budget and staffing shortfalls made clear the impossibility of their current model, they embraced an opportunity to develop an innovative, sustainable virtual-team/consulting model!

The spotlight provides insight into their successful program.

Bonnie is also presenting the WebJunction webinar this week on Thursday January 24, 2008 on the topic of Let’s Collaborate in 2008. She’ll provide suggestions on how to reinvigorate cooperation amongst libraries. Please join us for the webinar or stay tuned for the archive and associated resources.

edit: An archive of Bonnie’s webinar is now available for viewing at your convenience.

Please join Rural Webinar moderator, Brenda Hough and me, Cindi Hickey on Thursday in Live Space at WebJunction. Here are the meeting details:

Thursday, October 25, 2007
11:00 am PT/ 2:00 pm ET
For connection instructions, please visit:
http://webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=13377

Bring your ideas and success stories! We’ll see you there.

P.S. Want a preview? Check out Library As Place, posted by Peter Bromberg at the Library Garden blog.

Posted by Cindi Hickey

- Getting to interact with every participant. With a conference this size, nobody is off-limits. Everyone is accessible.

- Keynote by Librarian of the Year, Mary Bykan, and additional addresses by MaintainIT, Stephen Abram, and Rebecca Miller.

- Great Breakouts Sessions. Handouts and such coming soon. Note to presenters — get us those files.

- The energy that is building around the Association for Rural and Small Libraries. Last week marked the first meeting of the expanded Board of Directors under the newly approved Bylaws.

- The most exciting piece is that ARSL entered into a partnership (see press release) with WebJunction to host ARSL’s offerings and information on WJ. ARSL will continue building on the momentum that we’ve generated via the Rural Library Sustainability Project and continue to support and build the community of practice around rural and small libraries.

- A sampling of pictures from the event can be found here.

- Next conference is in California, Fall 2008. Dates will be finalized and posted soon.

To see more about the conference, ARSL, and all of the resources available to rural and small library staff, please visit webjunction.org/arsl.