PALS Reference Blog

Book Group Books on Refwiki

As of today, PALS libraries have entered about 200 different book titles in the directory of discussion book sets on the PALS Refwiki. The titles include contemporary fiction, classic fiction, mysteries, chick lit, children's/YA books, and more. To add your library's book group books to Refwiki, follow these instructions. For general Refwiki instructions, see the Help pages.

RUSA reference and marketing classes offered online.

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is offering five Internet-based courses that offer training in specialized areas of reference and user services:

Business Reference 101, Jan. 28 - Feb. 22, is a business reference course for library staff and researches that teaches the process of business research, as well as free and fee-based resources.
Genealogy for Librarians: A Course for Beginners, Feb. 4 - March 14, is a new five-week course covering the basic sources and strategies for genealogy reference in the United States. Topics discussed will include census records, vital records, immigration records and other basic sources. The class will discuss reference strategies, with a focus on helping genealogy novices begin their research. Case studies will help illustrate the concepts discussed, and students will have an opportunity to practice research methods using online databases.
Marketing Basics for Libraries, Feb. 25 � March 28, is a course designed as an introduction to marketing, focusing on the uses of marketing and explaining basic marketing tenets using the framework of libraries. Students learn about the nature and role of marketing, how to create a marketing plan, marketing research and evaluating the success of marketing efforts.
Readers' Advisory 101, March 24 - April 23, trains library staff on how to use readers' advisory tools, craft annotations, read genres, articulate appeal and experiment with methods to offer readers' advisory tools, craft annotations, read genres, articulate appeal and experiment with methods to offer readers' advisory services.
Reference Interview, Feb. 18 - March 21, is a course focusing on the methods of evaluating reference service, behavioral aspects of reference service and the different types of questions that can be used to help patrons identify what they need. The easy access of the online courses attracts students that live and work in the US and overseas. The students build their social network during scheduled chat sessions with the instructor and other students, sharing information and ideas on practices used in their organization, state or country.

The registration price for a course is $130 for RUSA members, $160 for ALA members, $190 for non-ALA members or $100 for ALA student and retired members. For more information, or to register for a course, visit ALA's website.

September 10: Slam the Web Answer Boards!

Bill Pardue, the Arlington Heights librarian who taught an excellent PALS workshop on AskAwayIllinois earlier this year, is encouraging reference personnel to "invade" online Q&A sites - Yahoo Answers, Wikipedia Reference Desk, Answerbag, etc. - with answers from authoritative resources on Monday, September 10. The idea is to boldly demonstrate your expertise and to market your library. For more information, and to list yourself as a participant, see the Slam the Boards! wiki.

Ask?Away Awareness Week May 7-11

Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White is urging Internet users who have not tried the free, innovative Ask?Away Illinois 24/7 virtual reference program to log on to the site during Ask?Away Illinois Awareness Week, May 7-11. Libraries (whether they're Ask?Away participants or not) can find the Illinois State Library's press release, printable posters, and other information on the Ask?AwayIllinois website.

March 28 - What's New in Search + Marketing Your Databases

Wednesday, March 28
11:00am - 3:00pm
Starved Rock Lodge, Utica
Fee: $15.00 includes lunch
Register on CLeO.

Join us at beautiful Starved Rock Lodge in the Utica Room for a day of practical workshops for reference librarians and other public services personnel. Lunch is included.

Program:

What's New in Search - PALS reference consultant Brian Smith reviews some of the latest free and useful tools for finding information on the Web.
Lunch - Southwestern buffet includes: Chicken Enchiladas, Taco Meat, Spanish Rice, Four and Corn Tortiallas, Ranch Style Beans, Shredded Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, Sour Cream, Salsa and Tortilla Chips, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, and Churros with Cinnamon Sugar Toppings and Iced Tea.
Marketing Your Online Databases - Lesley Williams from Evanston Public Library shares her successful strategies for increasing public awareness of subcription databases.

If you have any questions, please contact Brian Smith at brians@palsnet.info or at (815) 729-3345 ext. 2704.

Online Database Group Discounts?

If you�re interested in joining a group deal on any of the online products PALS has had on trial for the last month or so, please let us know which one(s) by completing this insanely brief questionnaire before March 9. The products are: � EBSCO School Databases � Facts on File News Services � LearningExpressLibrary � Marshall Cavendish Digital � Morningstar Library Edition � NewsBank � TeachingBooks.net � Teen Health & Wellness � Unitedstreaming.com Please do the survey (one per library) even if you�ve already sent an email to indicate your interest. We�ll work on negotiating a group discount for the databases which have the greatest demand. We can�t get price information until we have an idea about how many libraries are participating in a purchase. More information about the databases may be found by visiting http://www.palsnet.info/members/vdiscount.asp (log in with your CLeO email and password) and clicking on the �Current Database Trials� link. Some of the trial periods may have expired. For more information, contact Brian Smith at PALS.

Test drive some databases!

PALS has arranged trials for a number of online products, with the goal of identifying candidates for group purchases. Based on the response from members, we will try to negotiate a discounted group subscription to one or more of these products for PALS members. Trial logins are available for:

EBSCO School Databases
Facts on File News Services
LearningExpressLibrary
Marshall Cavendish Digital
Morningstar Library Edition
NewsBank
Teachingbooks.net
Teen Health & Wellness
unitedstreaming.com
Value Line Investment Survey (direct discount offer)

For links and logins, visit our Vendor Discounts page (CLeO login required for access) and click the link for Current Database Trials.

Refwiki training in Kankakee, LaSalle, and Freeport

Just added to the PALS calendar:

Refwiki Introduction & Training

Dec. 13, 10:00am-Noon, Kankakee Public Library
Dec. 18, 10:00am-Noon, LaSalle Public Library
Dec. 19, 10:00am-Noon, Freeport Public Library

(Same class, three locations.)

Refwiki is a new web resource for all PALS libraries to use and contribute to. It will include information about each library's collection strengths, online databases, and other resources. And the goal is for it to include a lot more! Refwiki is a collaborative effort built on the same platform as Wikipedia, which means that anyone in a PALS library can add or change pages using simple formatting marks, without needing special software.

This hands-on class will cover:

Overview of Refwiki
Editing a library's resource-survey form
Editing and adding pages in Refwiki
Page reversion, "special" pages, and other wiki features

See Refwiki at http://www.palsnet.info/refwiki.

For more information, contact Brian Smith at PALS.

Refwiki Project

Through an LSTA grant awarded to the Homer Twp. PLD, PALS is surveying ALL member libraries about their collection strengths and other resources they have available. This is a replacement for and enhancement of the old HTLS collection strengths survey and this new information will be incorporated into a PALS-wide reference tool called Refwiki.
The first step in the data entry process is for the person or persons who will complete the online survey for your library to log into Refwiki. Click here to begin the survey. Enter your CLeO username and password. Once you log in and see the greeting on the screen, you can log out again.
Shortly thereafter, Georgiana Carollus will authorize you to add and edit data to the online survey form. She will then send a confirmation email and further instructions after she sets your survey authorization.
For the most part, the survey involves marking a series of checkboxes to indicate resources available at your library. It does not need to be completed all at one time nor by the same person. Thank you for your participation!
For further information on this project, feel free to contact Brian Smith at bsmith@homerlibrary.org

AskAway Illinois (Illinois Virtual Reference)

The Illinois State Library is pleased to announce the formation of a statewide virtual reference service. Librarians interested in participating will be able to provide reference services on a 24/7 basis utilizing OCLC's QuestionPoint software. This service is designed to reach all library types and sizes. Excellent pricing is available with the cost for public libraries under 5,000 at $25.00 for the first year (with 1 hour staffing per week required). To encourage a wide range of participation options are available in lieu of staffing. This includes e-mail responses, quality control, serving on VR subcommittees and other VR needs. More information is available at AskAway Illinois br An orientation/training session has been scheduled for March 3, 2006 at the Shorewood Service Center. Debbie Aggertt, Illinois State Library Virtual Reference Coordinator will talk about the service and provide hands on training.

One Last Chance to Join the PALS Audio Ebook Consortium!

If your library would like to offer your patrons downloadable audio ebooks offered by Recorded Books/netLibrary for this calendar year, it is not too late to join the PALS Audio Ebook consortium. PALS is able to offer one more opportunity for members to enroll, and after that the next enrollment opportunity will be late in the year for participation for calendar year 2007. Libraries that participate in this program currently have access to 1,161 audio ebooks, with approximately 30 titles added per month for the rest of 2006. These downloadable ebooks are not compatible with IPods due to digital rights management issues, but here is a list of MP3 players that are compatible. Members enrolling with this final offer will begin their access in March and your subscription will end on December 31, 2006, at which time you will be asked if you would like to renew. Deadline to enroll for this last opportunity for this year is March 1, 2006. Submit the enrollment form to Judy at PALS-CVSC via delivery (RBLG) or via fax at 309-799-7916. Contact Judy with questions at x3150 or judyh@palsnet.info.

Illinois Library System Eresources Survey

Illinois Library Systems and System staff are currently gauging the interest of Library System members in a group purchase of e-resources, and we would like to know your thoughts. Please go to the following survey to submit your response: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=361081340331. Please only submit one response per agency. If you are unable to answer the questions, please pass this message on to a staff member who works with e-resources. The survey will be open from February 1 to March 1.

Reference Service Forum

The Reference Services Forum is a group of refence librarians dedicated to enhancing reference services statewide. In the past the forum has been responsible for planning programming for the ILA conference, including the Reference Services Forum luncheon. This past year's luncheon included Sally Decker Smith (Indian Trails Public Library) as speaker and was a huge success. Future activities include development of a website, and a mid-year event. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 4th from 10-12. It is a videoconference meeting that is available at each service center. Please contact Karen Becker for additional information.

Try It Illinois

Secretary of State/State Librarian Jesse White and the Illinois State Library are pleased to announce Try-It Illinois 2005. This popular database trial offers staff and patrons of the more than 4000 ILLINET member libraries the chance to try out new databases. Try It Illinois runs through November 30th and can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.eliillinois.org/tryit login is nofee and password is tryitil Libraries are encouraged to use the databases, as well as make them available to patrons. PALS is currently working with several vendors to secure discounted pricing on a variety of databases. Please take some time and look at the following vendor/products. Learning Express Advantage Thomson-Gale Facts on File News Services Facts on File Online Proquest American Periodicals Series Online Ancestry Library Edition Chicago Tribune CultureGrams Factiva Illinois Digital Sandborn Maps Periodicals Contents Index Full Text Contact Karen Becker karenb@palsnet.info with additional questions and comments.

Google Librarian Center

Google has created a Librarian Center that is meant to be the first step in an outreach effort to librarians.

Current Database Trials Website Now Available

PALS is making a concentrated effort to negotiate reduced pricing and extend current group purchases of electronic databases. To help facilitate this process a webpage of current trial offering has been set up. Take a moment to try out what's available. An evaluation form will be up shortly to send feedback. Pleae contact Karen Becker karenb@palsnet.info ext 2704 or Judy Hutchinson judyh@palsnet.info for login and password information.