Fall 2008 Workshop

I'm currently working on the annual Fall Support Staff workshop agenda.
The date is set for Friday, October 24th from 9am - Noon.

Here are my current thoughts -
I would like any and all input - Please and thank you.
Remember....this annual workshop is FOR SUPPORT STAFF / LIBRARY ASSISTANTS

Workshop ideas are:
* Blogging - Why should you or shouldn't you blog, Who is your target audience - followed up with an overview - showing how easy it is to blog.
* Ergonomics - How should you stand and/or sit properly - Preventative exercises to help reduce work related injuries.
* Deaf & Heard-of-hearing patrons - How to help them in the library.
* MARC - How important is it?

We will only be presenting two of these workshop. Please post comments so I know what you might be interested in. If you have other suggestions that are not listed above, Please also post them in the comments field of this post. THANK YOU!
Thanks!

Are you walking?

Are you walking with me?
Who is walking with me in the Glen Iris 5k?????
You can help out the Castile Library and help your own health by getting alittle exercise in!
I'm looking for people to walk (ok ok... you can run also) in the Glen Iris 5k.
I've never done this walk before but it sounds like a blast!
Post a comment if you are planning on walking!

NYSLAA Certificate of Achievement

Do you know that NYSLAA has a Certificate of Achievement program?
Have you ever wondered what that is?
I (Heidi Jensen) have received my Level 4 in Administration/Management. I would LOVE to help someone in the PLS area receive their Certificate of Achievement at next year's conference.
I would also like to say that in some libraries.......Library Assistants who earn a Certificate receive a monetary gift from their libraries. Some libraries even increase that staff members base pay.
The reason is because you can prove that you are dedicated to your library and the library community as a whole.
If you have any questions about this great program, please feel free to ask.

Here is some information for you ~

History

The NYSLAA Library Assistant Certificate Program recognizes library assistants' contributions to libraries and the library profession. A Certificate of Achievement is issued to acknowledge the education and skills the library assistant has aquired. The overall purpose of the program is to acknowledge the achievements of the library assistant and provide recognition by NYSLAA for quality work performance.

How the Program Works

Library Assistants (library workers who do not hold postions as librarians) are the focus of this program. You choose one of three levels as well as one of the following areas of specialization:

• Public Service
• Technical Service
• Automation
• Administration/Management
• General Library Service

Requirements

Each Certificate requires a minimum number of points. Points are earned from various Sources of Expertise. A registration fee of $20.00 Dollars for NYSLAA Members ($40.00 for non-members) must accompany your registration form. A non-member may register at the member rate if they join NYSLAA at the time of registering for the program.

Sources of Expertise

There are three Sources of Expertise: Experience, Education, and Other. Experience is your full-time equivalent employment or volunteer work. Education is higher education credit hours. Other includes workshops and programs, presentations and teaching, publications, participation in library association activities, and more.

Competency Statements

Points may be granted for other library related experience or activities by writing a letter of explanation referred to as a Competency Statement. Competency Statements require all information necessary to allow the Review Board to decide how many points should be granted for the activity you describe.

email notification

Email Notification~

Were you one of the 19 people who wanted to be notified when this blog has new information added??? Or would you LIKE to be one of the people who are notified when this blog has been updated?? It does NOT have to be a pls e-mail account. You can request that you be notified to your personal e-mail account. Use whatever is easier for you!

Please email me directly at -
hjensen@pls-net.org

Thursday conference attendees

We had 11 people from the PLS member library area attend the 2008 NYSLAA conference.
If you see any of these people, be sure and ask them if they had a good time and what they liked about this conference.

From Nicki Haupt

~2008 NYSLAA Conference Report~

By - Nicki Haupt, Williamson Free Public Library

This is Nicki's report about the conference.

For some time, I have been unable to answer many patron questions regarding the 2007 Microsoft Office Suite applications. Steve Dresbach (SUNY Geneseo) cleared up much of the confusion many of us have by clarifying applications and demonstrating the many layers of both Word and Excel. Among many other things, I finally learned where the template for resumes is! We played with some Excel documents as well as some Word documents. Steve has given us links of these documents to download to our own computers and play around with. It was worth attending the conference just to attend these two terrific workshops. Our workshops filled up quickly, so hopefully NYSLAA can bring him back again next year.


Evelyn Butrico (NYLink) presented Working Internally and Externally with Diverse Groups. As we are all well aware, the role of the public library has changed and our mission as library professionals is to understand the needs of our diverse patron base (generational diversity, and different cultures, languages, sexual orientation) in order to serve these “customers” and be aware of their issues. Evelyn gave us the general description of the generation types and how best to approach "customers" by these types. But, the bottom line is that we ALL, as part of our jobs, play the role of CT Specialists, baby sitters, parents, shrinks, plumbers, educators, detectives, housekeeping specialists (what is that on the floor??), Ms. Fix-it and the always present, ever smiling complaint department.


Steve Chandler (CU Cooperative Extension) presented Save Energy/Save Dollars. Steve demonstrated applications to be used in our libraries, homes, and as fuel consumers to go green with much information and energy saving websites. Researching vampire surge protectors is on my list as well as replacing my desk lamp incandescent bulb with a CF. And, as soon as I can locate the key to my bike lock, I will be peddling to work ($4.25 a gallon is NUTS).

If you know who coined the phrase “surfing the internet”, you will understand why this “Net ~mom” and Liverpool librarian reminded us never to be afraid to try something new in her keynote address. Jean Armour Polly reiterated that, like the soldiers of ancient Rome, we are all worth our salt and should shake it up (we received salt shakers in our welcome bags this year). And you know we will indeed shake it up!
Jean reminded us of the quote " Never be afraid to try something new. Amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic". -- Unknown

She ended her inspiring presentation with a quote:

Do. Do Not. There is no try. (YODA)

This was, thus far, the best NYSLAA conference I have attended. They just keep getting better. Fantastic workshops! Unfortunately it is only once a year that we have the opportunity to network with our peers from academic, business, hospital and public libraries as well as representatives from New Jersey and Virginia. We always return home with a different perspective as to what being a library assistant actually is!


And may the Force be with us all!

Nicki Haupt

Conference report 2008

~2008 NYSLAA Conference Report~

By Susie Flick, Geneva Public Library.

This is a full report of what Susie experienced at the 2008 NYSLAA conference.

This was my first NYSLAA conference, and I was pleased with all of the information that I went home with. I met so many great people, and was happy to have been able to talk with library support staff from all across the state.

The first workshop I attended was Social networking 101. This workshop dealt with some of the ins and out of MySpace and Facebook. It was a general “getting to know you” type of workshop for people that are not too familiar with these social networking sites. Most of the focus was directed to keeping teens aware of what is and is not a good idea to put on their profiles. Most of our young adult patrons use these types of sites for talking to their friends, but also talking to people they do not know. This workshop talked of the opportunity to use these types of sites to share ideas about internet safety and to keep an eye on what the kids in your library are up to.

Another feature of this workshop was to use social networking as a tool to get people into your library. Thinking of a MySpace page as a billboard for your library is way to “get the word out” on programs, materials, services and anything else your library has to offer.

My second workshop was Save Energy, Save Dollars. This workshop was put on by Onondaga County Cooperative Extension, and was a real eye opener for me. It focused on the four main energy users; heating & cooling, appliances, lighting and hot water. The amount of savings in just a few areas of your home or workplace are staggering. Just by replacing one 75 watt bulb with a new 20 watt high efficiency bulb will save you $74 dollars over the life of the bulb in energy costs. The presenter of this workshop suggested that everyone should request an energy audit (by someone certified to do so) to see where most of your energy dollars are going. A few of the websites for energy saving were:

http://www.getenergysmart.org (NYSERDA Web Site)

http://www.energystar.gov (Energy Star Appliances)

http://www.homeenergysaver.lbl.gov (web-based do-it-yourself energy audit tool)

With the completion of this workshop, we all received energy tool kits. These kits included; an energy efficient light bulb, a window insulation kit, rope caulk, draft strips and a mini thermometer to test the temperature of your refrigerator/freezer. All in all, this workshop taught me a lot about easy steps to save energy and save money.

The third workshop I attended, was Fishing for Fiction. There was so much information in this workshop, that we were unable to get through all of it before our time ran out. The presenter provided us with an enormous list of websites for different genres that have information about different books, series and authors. Some of these sites have ratings systems and reviews, which is helpful if you cannot make up your mind, and want to try a recommended read. Others have character directories, and AKA searches for when you are looking for a series with a specific character in it or looking for books written under an alias.

Along with the lists of websites the presenter provided, he also gave us over 10 different bookmarks listing different genres, with a list of books that fit into each category. The presenter, an employee of the Liverpool Public Library, also told us about a new program they have started to promote reading. The library gives the patron a log to keep track of the items they have read, and when they reach 23, 56, or 99 books, they receive a different t-shirt with the number of books they have read on it. For example; after reading 23 books, the patron receives a t-shirt that reads, “I read 23 books at the Liverpool Public Library.” The library provides the first shirt, and each shirt after that the patron will have to purchase. A great idea to get patrons reading!

The last workshop I attended was Working Internally and Externally With Diverse Groups. This workshop was a quick overview of working well with the public, as well as internally with your co-workers. We discussed the shift from thinking of people as patrons, to thinking of them as customers. Our role as library employees is to supply the customers with what they want and need, and to always exceed the customers expectations. Our main goal is to get our customers to return to the library and do repeat business with us.

We also discussed ways to deal effectively with co-workers. One way is to be mindful of multigenerational gaps. Different generations have different work ethics and different ways of doing things. The key is to be aware of these differences, but appreciate a person’s strengths, and to manage differences quickly without conflict.

I learned so much from my time at the NYSLAA conference, and truly look forward to attending next year. What I have learned and brought with me back to my workplace will allow me to be a better employee. The presenters, volunteers, and fellow attendees were amazing, and I can’t compliment them enough. I am proud to be a member of such a great organization.

Allen & Susie won!!

Each year at the NYSLAA conference there is something called 'The Lottery Tree'.
The Lottery tree is an artificial tree that has many many NYS scratch off lottery tickets on it. The tree is one of many items that are raffled off each year. Local businesses and friends of NYSLAA create baskets of goodies to be raffled off. The processed go back to NYSLAA for next years conference.
Each attendee of the NYSLAA conference can bring in a new NYS lottery ticket for exchange for a raffle ticket. Raffle tickets are normally $1 for 1 or 6 for $5. This year PLS had two winners.
Susie Flick from Geneva Public Library one a LARGE kitchen basket and Allen Tompkins from Newark, Sodus and Red Creek Libraries won the 'Lottery Tree'.
Allen had 237 tickets to scratch off from all of these tickets he won $266 dollars and 11 chances for Take 5. Congratulations to both Susie & Allen!!

All About Blogs

~2008 NYSLAA Conference Report~

All About Blogs
Presented by - Dave Fulton, Librarian at Liverpool Public Library

Workshop attended and reported by:
Allen Tompkins, Newark, Sodus and Red Creek Public Libraries

All about Blogs presented by David Fulton, Computer Literacy Librarian at Liverpool Public Library

This was another good workshop and the topic of discussion was Blogs. A blog is a weblog in which entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. There are currently more than 74 million blogs and of these about 55% are active(updated regularly) A blog can be created free by going to Blogger.com or Wordpress.com just to mention a few and the process is very simple and easy to use to create your own blog. Dave Fulton explained to us the process of using Blogger.com and how to search for blogs. What blog reader does (also known as a RSS reader or aggregator) RSS means Really Simple Syndication. Dave also showed us websites to use to publicize our blogs and provide links to more blogging resources through Daveman.info This was a very good workshop and very well presented.

Lists of some of the resources that are available through Daveman.info are listed below.

Resources found on Daveman.info

Where to Find Blogs

Yahoo! Blog Directory

Google Blog Search

Ask.com

Blog Readers

RSS Readers and Aggregators

Google Reader

Create Your Own Blog

Blogger

How to Create a Blog with Blogger (from Al Fasoldt's Techno file column)
A blog? It's easy. Here's how, Part 1 and Part 2.

Word Press

Legal Guide for Bloggers

Bloggers Beware: Debunking Nine Copyright Myths of the Online World

Publicize Your Blog

Blog Catalog

Pingomatic

MillionRSS

Save Energy Save Dollars

~2008 NYSLAA Conference Report~

Save Energy/Save Dollars
Presented by - Steve Chandler, Cornell Cooperative Extension

Workshop attended and reported by:
Gail Howard, Williamson Public Library

One of the classes I attended was Save Energy/Save Dollars. Our instructor, Steve, is an educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension. I was pleased to hear all the changes I had already made but quickly discovered there were many more money saving things I could do that are easy to do such as keeping your hot water tank set at 120 degrees and unplugging the cell phone recharger when not in use.
We all know to turn the thermostat lower in the winter but did you know that for every degree you turn it down, for every eight hours you do this you save about 1% on your annual heating costs? I know it doesn’t seem like much saved but with all the other changes you can make it really adds up.
We were all given an energy savings action plan to put into place in our own homes so I’ve been busy holding up my end of the bargain!

Welcoming deaf and hard of hearing patrons

~2008 NYSLAA Conference Report~

Welcoming Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Patrons
Presented by Christine Kovar, Whole Me, Inc.

Workshop attended and reported by:
Heidi Jensen, PLShq

This workshop was excellent! It was presented by Christine Kovar from Whole Me Inc.

I was surprised to hear the history of the Deaf community. Alexander Graham Bell was not a friend to the deaf community. His wife and mother were both deaf, however, he was against the deaf using their hands to sign. He advocated the ‘Oral Method’. His thought was that the deaf only had problems with their hearing – not their vocal chords. He wanted the deaf community to learn to talk and read lips. Deaf schools stopped teaching sign language and only tried to teach people to speak. This is a quick outline of the history of sign language. In 1880, there was a conference in Milan that outlawed Sign Language, In the 1900’s, all schools in the US taught only Oral language no signing. It took until 1960’s for someone to realize that this was not going to help the deaf community and by the 1970’s Sign language was allowed back in schools. Today, American Sign Language is considered a language. In some high schools, you can take ASL as a foreign language. Our presenter explained to us, as library staff, how to talk with the deaf properly so we don’t offend them in any way. She also gave us information about Caption phones. Caption phones cost $90 and the system service is free. She did recommend that libraries invest in a caption phone to help with the hard of hearing and deaf patrons. Another service offered is New York State Relay Service, again, she gave us information about this service as well. For copies of the handouts, please let me know and I’ll be happy to share them with you.

Some books and a video that were recommended by the speaker are:

• Everyone here spoke sign language: Hereditary deafness on Martha’s Vineyard. Written by –Nora Ellen Groce
• Growing up deaf: Issues of Communication in a hearing world. Written by: Rose Pizzo
• Through Deaf Eyes (Videorecording) by PBS.

MS Excel 2007

~2008 NYSLAA Conference Report~

MS Excel 2007: New Features
Presented by- Steve Dresbach, SUNY Geneseo

Workshop attended and reported by:
Heidi Jensen, PLShq

MS Excel 2007: New Features, this workshop was presented by Steve Dresbach from SUNY Geneseo. I have attended other workshop that Steve has presented that were awesome – this workshop was no different.

We learned how different MS Excel 2007 is from any other Excel version. The new version a many new color graphic options, more space, and easier to use and make adjustments with. Steve provided us with many handouts. I have them all available for anyone who would like to review them or make copies.

Ga-Ga over Google

~2008 NYSLAA Conference Report~

Ga-Ga Over Google
Presented by - Inga Barnello and Kari Zhe-Heimerman, LeMoyne College

Workshop attended and reported by:
Heidi Jensen, PLShq

It was presented by Inga Barnello and Kari Zhe-Heimerman, both ladies are Reference Librarians at LeMoyne College. I learned a lot of information about Google. Our workshop agenda was to hear about the Google story, learn cool tools for work & play, and to learn what’s ahead for Google. Google is a name that was created by doing a play on words. The word Googol is 1 followed by 100 zero’s. Google is a name that was created from this word.

Google’s mission is simple - To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. In 1995, Larry Page & Sergey Brin meet at Stanford University and by 1998 Google was launched in Beta form. In September of 1999, the beta label was removed. Google went public on August 19^th, 2004 for $85 per share. People didn’t think Google was going to really take off. On the day of our workshop, Google price was $581.91 per share. We learned this information from Finance.google.com. Google became an official Verb in the Webster dictionary in 2006.

In the early days, AOL and Yahoo made Google their default search engine. One of the early problems with Google was that it was easy to manipulate. This has since been changed. We also learned about different things that Google owns that helps to make Google the business they are today. Some of the things Google owns are, YouTube, Blooger.com, Picasa, DoubleClick, Sketchup, Keyhole and dMarc Broadcasting.

Google is currently working on a book project. This is still in Beta form. You can find this at Books.google.com. The idea behind the Google book project is to help people find books that they wouldn’t find any place else – such as those out of print. For this project, Google has partnered with Ebay, Echostore, Mozilla, many libraries and OCLC. OCLC is giving MARC records to Google for FREE. Something to remember about Google ~ Google tracks all your information when you are any of their sites. Google saves every search from every person – forever. The idea for this is that you can learn more about what consumers want and need and they can adjust their marketing accordingly. The FBI has asked Google to give information about what people are search and Google refuses to do such things. Some Google tools for reference – for when helping a patron, you can go to the Google home page and click on ‘More’. You can find Google scholar, Google books, Google finance, Google news – which you can limit to a local area, and many other things. In our workshop we went over many different areas of Google. I’m not going to go into all of them in this report but I’m more than happy to answer questions that anyone might have.

Prepared for Preschoolers

~2008 NYSLAA conference report~

Prepared for Preschoolers
Presented by - Amber Basham Robson, Youth Services Librarian, Liverpool Public Library

Workshop attended and reported by:
Peg Pelletier, Newark Public Library

The last session was Prepared for Preschoolers by Amber Basham Robson (any relation Cheryl?) This young woman had a great session full of lively interaction and the typical story-time setup. It was really fun and she handed out folders full of ideas and info and tips. I got additional folders for Dorothy and Mike. My folder will be in the Children’s room for everyone who is interested to take a look at it. There are lists of songs, videos, books, and websites that can help with story times or just for craft ideas.

Amber hands out - to those attendees who want one - a sheet at each story hour of what they did that day. Then if the caregiver gets home and the child wants to repeat something she learned, they have the words/song/game right there. Neat idea.

Fishing for Fiction: Hooking Your Next Good Book

~2008 NYSLAA conference report~

Fishing for Fiction: Hooking Your Next Good Book
Presented by: Alan NaPier, Librarian Assistant at Liverpool Public Library

Workshop attended and reported by:
Peg Pelletier, Newark Public Library

The third session was Fishing for Fiction: Websites for Good Books. There is a whole slew of websites, and many of them were new to me. I have listed them below so you can browse for yourself:

Mystery fiction:

http://www.cluelass.com/

http://www.themysteryreader.com/ (Contains reader reviews – not peer, but good)

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/ (Can look up character series, also list of sleuths jobs, and genre mysteries)

Romance fiction:

http://likesbooks.com/

http://romancereader.com/

http://romantictimes.com/

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered fiction:

http://www.ala.org/ala/glbtrt/stonewall/stonewallbook.cfm

http://www.tcpl.org/reading/gaylesbianII.html

http://www.lambdaliterary.org/index.html

http://publishingtriangle.org/

Series fiction:

http://ww2.kdl.org/libcat/WhatsNextNEW.asp

Fiction with a Medical Theme:

http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Main?action=new (Developed by the NYU School of medicine to “make their doctors more human”)

General, Literary and Miscellaneous fiction:

http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/protools/readinglist/reading.cfm

http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook.cfm (Young Adult)

http://allreaders.com/

http://bookbitch.com/

http://bookpage.com/ (We get the printed version of this every month)

http://booksense.com/bspicks/index.jsp

http://bookspot.com/

http://ra.hhpl.on.ca/hhpl/index.php

http://www.webrary.org/RS/FLmenu.html

http://nancypearl.com/

http://overbooked.org/

Social Networks for readers:

http://www.librarything.com/

Sites for Book Discussion Groups and Leaders:

http://book-clubs-resource.com/

http://bookmovement.com/

http://bookspot.com/ask/bookforum.htm

http://readinggroupchoices.com/

Islam

~2008 NYSLAA conference report~

Islam
Presented by - Alex Snow, LeMoyne College, Cayuga Community College and SUNY Cortland

Workshop attended & reported by:
Peg Pelletier, Newark Public Library

The second session, Islam, was presented by Alex Snow. This was one of the most powerful presentations I have ever been to. I learned a mass of things, and I felt really drawn in at the end to make the effort to educate myself and not to rely on the often slanted news coverage that we are constantly assaulted by.

The easiest way for me to share some of what he taught us is to list the movies and books that he recommended:

The Message (DVD) Moustapha Akkad; Anthony Quinn; Irene Pappas (I am requesting this for purchase)

Read: The Gospel of Thomas

Watch or read: The Last Temptation of Christ

Watch: Hidalgo

Watch: The Messenger

Read: Books by Karen Armstrong (There are a lot of them listed in Owwl.org)

Read: Ernst, Carl - Following Muhammad : rethinking Islam in the contemporary world

Read: John L. Esposito, John L. (There are a lot of them listed in Owwl.org)

I hope we can all expand our knowledge about this important topic.

A Love letter to your family

~2008 NYSLAA conference report~

A Love Letter to Your Family
Presented by - Dennis Hebert, Certified Financial Planner

Workshop attended & reported by:
Peg Pelletier, Newark Public Library

The first session “A love letter to your family” was about the four key documents that everyone should have:

• A Will
• A Health Care Proxy
• A Living Will
• A Durable Power of Attorney

The speaker, Dennis Hebert, is a Certified Financial Planner, and he has a string of initials after his name for all of the other certifications he holds as well. He was a great speaker and really shed some light on these common forms that we have all heard of but that we haven’t all gotten around to doing.

He urged us to get them done, and told enough horror stories of people who had not or who had failed to update theirs: the ex-husband got everything even thought the wife had remarried and had kids, the twin boys - whose parents died in an car accident - got put in foster care for two years while the two sets of grandparents fought in court for custody, then the judge decided to award one child to each set of grandparents – a really tragic story. He urged everyone to use a lawyer when you have these forms made out, just to make sure you have dotted your I’s and crossed your t’s. We have a number of these forms available here in the library or online for people to do themselves, but perhaps if the patron(s) asks us, we should mention that they might do well to consult a lawyer.

The Will is self explanatory, though Dennis had some great points on what to include and what to leave out. The main thing is that loving families can find themselves fractured by the death of a family member and the potential “inheritance” that may or may not exist.

The Health Care Proxy is to authorize someone to made medical decisions on your behalf for non-lifesaving procedures. For example if you develop Alzheimer’s and can no longer make decisions for yourself.

The Living Will is the decision to prolong or end your life (according to your pre-set wishes) that someone can control if you are unable to do so. This is incredibly important as was illustrated in the seven long years of the Terri Schiavo case in Florida: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Schiavo , or the (for those of you old enough to remember it) Karen Ann Quinlan case in the mid-1970’s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Ann_Quinlan

The last, the Durable Power of Attorney, differs from a Power of Attorney in that the POA ends with your ability to revoke it. ie; if you develop Alzheimer’s and are unable to revoke it, it is no longer a legal document. A DPOA lasts forever. Have one drawn up (with a lawyer), appointing your choice of person to manage you financial affairs should you become incapacitated. Tell that person you have this document and where it can be found if you should become incapacitated (not in a safe deposit box – they will need to access it sooner than that can be made to happen).

Dennis told the funny (sad) story of his family who had everything in the “blue box” and that the kids should “find the blue box” if anything should happen to the parents. Yet when something did happen, and the kids found the blue box, it contained an bunch of outdated stuff and nothing that they needed. It took him almost three years to sort out his parent’s estate.

Managing Workplace Conflict

~2008 NYSLAA conference report ~

Managing Workplace Conflict
Presented by - Leslie Rose McDonald from founder and President of Pathfinders CTS, Inc.

Workshop attended and reported by:
Betsy Poray, Williamson Free Public Library

I felt my time was well spent in The Managing Workplace Conflict Workshop. We explored the dynamics of how unresolved frustrations and behaviors significantly impact workplace productivity on many levels.
Time seemed to fly as the instructor delivered her subject expertise through slide show, handouts, discussion, and worksheet. The class was provided with proactive techniques utilizing dialogue, visualization, and affirmations in attempt to more effectively address these interpersonal clashes. A final step in this process equally important as taking action toward conflict resolution is assuming a role of self-approval or situation acceptance regardless of the outcome. Inevitably these new skills will be implemented. Although, perhaps initially uncomfortable, this workshop approach with patience and time will prove to be a positive acquisition individually in personal as well as professional relationships.

We're back from NYSLAA

We are back from the 2008 NYSLAA conference.
It was one of the best conferences I have been to. This first post is just a general overview. I will post more information about different workshop that were attended by PLS Assistants in our area.

Some of us arrived in Liverpool on Wednesday afternoon. We had lunch at Heid's in Liverpool and then headed off to our first event. After a quick visit to the Liverpool Public Library, which had self check outs! It was fun to watch patrons pull 'holds' off the shelve and check themselves out, we headed to Onondaga Lake for a Tram ride tour and a stop at the Salt Museum.
Wednesday evening, we had a BBQ 'Mixer' on the hotel patio with live music and wonderful food. Yummy.
Thursday started the official workshops. After a full day of workshops, we had a fun dinner at Borio's Restaurant. Our entertainment for the evening was an impersonator. He sang and dressed many different artist, ranging from Neil Diamond, Willie Nelson and Elvis.
Friday was another morning filled with workshops. Our luncheon was held at 1pm followed by a keynote speaker and awards ceremony.

Most information to be posted each day this week!
Please check back often!!

Off we go

Off we go to the 2008 NYSLAA conference in Liverpool, NY
11 people from the PLS and PLS member libraries will be attending this years conference.
They are:
Heidi Jensen - PLS
Peg Pelletier - Newark Public Library
Gail Howard - Williamson Public Library
Nicki Haupt - Williamson Public Library
Betsy Poray - Williamson Public Library
Susie Flick - Geneva Public Library
Allen Tompkins - Newark, Sodus and Red Creek Public Library
Elizabeth Bowlby - Newark Public Library
Pam Dibble - Macedon Public Library
Linda Chapman - Dansville Public Library
Karen Cowley - Dansville Public Library
We will be sure and report back about our workshops and all that took place.
Please mark your calendars and join us next year!

Training meetings scheduled

PLS has added more training!

Friday, June 6th from 10 - Noon at the PLSHQ new meeting room -
Lindsay will be holding a training class titled 'Item Search Intensive'.
This session will focus on Item Search techniques, with an emphasis on searching items to be added to the OWWL database, but also for general reference and readers' advisory purposes. This is a lecture/demo, with group discussions and problem solving.

and

On Friday, June 13th from 10 - Noon -
Holdings Maintenance, Part 2.

This lecture/demo/group discussion class will continue exploring the critical skills of Holdings Maintenance activities, with an emphasis on:

1. Identifying key descriptive elements for books, audiobooks, videorecordings, sound recordings

2. Identifying matching elements in an item's catalog record

3. "Acceptable" catalog record differences

4. The Workflows procedures used for holdings

5. Common sense ways we can all improve the OWWL catalog

To sign up for either of these training sessions, please log onto www.pls-net.org and register on the 'Calendar of Events'.

Thanks!