Steven was kind of enough to share his presentation slides with us to post on this site!

Attorney Teri Ross will demonstrate the features of the Illinois Legal Aid website and show librarians how to assist their patrons in accessing legal information. She will also provide a brief explanation of the legal services delivery system in Illinois and discuss ethical considerations when providing legal information to the public. In the second part of the program Steven Jablonski of  Skokie Public Library will speak about other online resources that every librarian should know about for locating legal cases and codes, looking up attorneys, and finding user-friendly explanations of the law.

More information about this program can be found on the upcoming programs page.

Make sure you register online now!

When: Thursday,  March 4, 2010  from 9:30am-12:00pm

Where: NSLS Learning Center, 200 W. Dundee Rd. Wheeling, IL 60090 [map and directions]

Cost: Free – sponsored by HW Wilson

Download the handout (Word .docx file)

First, in February, Karen McBride of Des Plaines Library will present “Putting the You in YouTube: Part II.” This will be a hands-on class for people interested in unleashing the power of video and YouTube in their libraries. Space is limited so please register early. In March, attorney Teri Ross and librarian Steven Jablonski of Skokie Public Library will be presenting information about free legal resources online. The focus will be on the Illinois Legal Aid website. Finally, in April, Shannon Scanlan of Prospect Heights Public Library and Mick Jacobsen of Skokie Public Library, both experienced screencasters, will provide an overview of the many ways you can start creating fantastic screencasts right away!

More information about all three of these programs can be found on the upcoming programs page. Look for the registration links and sign-up today!

OK, it’s a bit more complicated than that, of course.  Today’s program on the changes occurring in newspapers and their impact on libraries shed some much-needed light on how newspapers got themselves into their current situation, what that situation is, and where they will be headed years down the road.  And of course, how libraries are affected by and adapting to these developments.

We had three outstanding speakers, each with a unique perspective.  Amanda Maurer is the Online and Social Media Producer for the Chicago Tribune.  Dan Sinker is a professor of journalism at Columbia College.  Bruce Brigell is the Coordinator of Information Services at the Skokie Public Library.

Here’s a video they showed to kick off the program. Good for some laughs (“owns home computer”), but relevant to the topic as well!

Let us know how you liked the program.  We had a great discussion going on before we had to break up, let’s keep it rolling here!

Edit: Bruce Brigell has shared his two handouts: “The Public Library and the Public Record” and “Program Links” (both in pdf).

Photo from Manchester Library's Flickr Photostream

Newspapers across the country have been going through major changes.  Most have gotten smaller to some degree.  Many have cut staffs.  Some have even given up paper for an all-web presence.

Librarians are paying close attention to these changes because newspapers are so integrated into the services we provide.  We all have “The News Crew” – that group of patrons who come in every day to read the papers.  We have patrons who look specifically for the newspapers’ TV listings, book reviews, and classifieds.  We send press releases to the newspapers touting our accomplishments and invite reporters and photographers to cover our programs.  Perhaps most importantly, newspapers are an invaluable reference resource.  Students look to libraries when they need articles for their paper and genealogists rely on newspapers to research their family trees through birth and death notices.

As a source of focused, local information, newspapers are hard to beat.  But what happens if – as some are predicting – newspapers go away?  How will libraries replace those services?

Join us on Tuesday, December 15th from 9:30-noon and listen to three speakers discuss the future of newspapers, how people will replace newspapers as a new source, and what it all means for libraries and librarians.

Our panel of experts include:

• Bruce Brigell is the Coordinator of Information Services at Skokie Public Library.
• Amanda Maurer is the social media and online producer for the Chicago Tribune.
• Dan Sinker teaches in the journalism department at Columbia College Chicago where he focuses on entrepreneurial journalism and the mobile web.

When: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 from 9:30am-12:00pm

Where: NSLS Auditorium, 200 W. Dundee Rd. Wheeling, IL 60090 [map and directions]

Cost: Free – sponsored by HW Wilson

Register online now!

The group started with a tour of the Karkomi Permanent Exhibition led by some very well-informed docents. According to the museum’s website:

The Zev and Shifra Karkomi Permanent Exhibition tells the story of the Holocaust, from pre-war German life through ghetto life and concentration camps to eventual liberation and resettlement throughout the world, with a special focus on post-war life in Israel and Skokie. More than 500 artifacts, documents and photographs help illustrate the narrative of the Holocaust while testimonies from local survivors add personal detail.

After touring the exhibition, the group visited the Brill Resource Center and met with head librarian Matthew Sackel, who knows 5 different languages! Sackel gave us a glimpse of what life is like for a solo special librarian. He spoke about the process of getting the library up and running, starting with large piles of books stacked up on the floor to cataloging the mostly donated collection and choosing an ILS. With the help of a large group of volunteers, the library’s collection now includes up to 13,000 items, all of which are searchable through the library’s online catalog. Sackel also mentioned that he will soon add the library’s records to OCLC. Although the library does not allow materials to be circulated, there is a beautiful reading room and 16 computers to allow people to take full advantage of the library’s resources during open hours. Access to the library is free and open to the public (12 years or older unless supervised by an adult). To learn more about the Brill Resource Center, check out this Pioneer Press article.

Did you join us for this field trip? Please share your thoughts and impressions by leaving a comment below.

Eli made a very convincing argument that public libraries need to start thinking about and investing in their products rather than just their traditional services. He showed us some impressive examples of products created by his staff at AADL, including various websites, software, platforms, and events. He also talked about the organizational structure adopted at AADL that enables both products and services to flourish.

To learn more, take a look at Eli’s presentation slides (pdf) and the Ann Arbor District Library website.

Description:

Public Service is the cornerstone of the Library; yet increasingly, it is our Products that define us as institutions.  It can be challenging for a service organization to transition to product development; new skills, processes, quality standards, and political approaches are required. At Ann Arbor District Library, production has become a big part of what Librarians and IT staff are responsible for, from taking a
product-oriented approach to software development, digitization, and content projects, to the changing role of librarians and catalogers as more and more library business is transacted solely online.  How can libraries build these capacities, and what are some of the possibilities, and how can you make it happen at your library with or without help from IT!

If you’ve never heard Eli speak before, you are in for a treat! Plus, this program is free to all registrants so there’s really no excuse not to be there!

When: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 from 9:30am-12:00pm

Where: NSLS Auditorium [map and directions]

Cost: Free (Funding generously provided by Gale Cengage Learning)

Register at http://librarylearning.info now!