• CAROL HENDRIX, Administration

1.      Library Legislative Day is March 11, 2008.  There are a couple of seats left in the system mini-van for those interested in sharing a ride. Please contact me ASAP at chendrix@flls.org  if you would like a ride. Deadline is 10:00 am on March 10^th. 

2.      If you plan to apply for a New York State Construction Grant this year, I highly recommend someone from your library attend the May 2^nd Workshop at the Seneca Falls Library.  Grace Kelly, Coordinator from Division of Library Development-Albany, will be the presenter for this workshop.  Grace will go over the process line-by-line and will answer your questions.  Contact me ASAP to register due to limited space. 

3.      The deadline for the spring issue of the FLLS News is March 31^st. Please email me your articles, pictures, etc. 

Thank you.

 

• JAN AGUIRRE, Specialist & Training Coordinator

Please note: the dates in red have changed. 

  

• REX HELWIG, Computer Network Manager

The Polaris Users Group Enhancement Process is about to start and I would like our member libraries to have a role.    To be a part of the process all you have to do is submit any enhancements you would like to see in Polaris to me.  You can do this by either going to our department Website http://www.flls.org/cns and clicking on the Online submission form on the right hand side toward the bottom of the Polaris section, or you can click on the following link http://www.flls.org/cns/polaris_submit.htm.  The enhancement submission form will always be available so you can submit requests whenever you want.  Please fill out all of the requested information and a detailed explanation of the requested enhancement.  If I need additional information I will contact you.  I will collate the requests and if we have more than 24 enhancement requests (the maximum number we can submit), I will put them back up for an online vote.  

The current year enhancement process requires us to have our requests submitted by April 16^th so you need to have your submissions into me by April 1^st  to allow time for a vote if we need one.  The enhancements we are submitting now will be for the 4.1 release cycle which should be available in 2010.  That seems a long way out but I have seen Polaris add some of the enhancements quicker than that.  It depends on how much programming is required and how many votes it receives.  Once the Polaris Users Group collates all of the submissions of its members they will put the enhancements up for a vote of the PUG members.  I will put those enhancements to a vote of the FALCONS members so I know how to apply my PUG votes.  This may seem confusing but we will work through the process to ensure you have a say. 

  

• LINDA BEINS, ILL/Reference Coordinator

RECYCLED REFERENCE Let me know by March 21 if you are interested in any of the following titles:

• Artist’s & graphic Designer’s Market (2005)

• College Blue Book (2006) 6 vols.

• Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles - Price List 2006

• Woodall’s 2006 North American Campground Directory

DATABASE NoveList  Enhancements

An updated version of NoveList with a new interface is schedule in March. Go to: http://support.epnet.com/support_news/detail.php?id=434&t=r&page=&private=true for a preview of the new interface and

http://support.epnet.com/training/flash_videos/NoveListTourFiles/NoveListTour.htm for a guided tour.

DATABASES  Bowker’s Patron Books in Print and FictionConnection are now available to all FLLS member library patrons from their library and home. Go to www.flls.org → Electronic Databases → Literature & Books →

 

Patron Books in Print  has more than 5 million fiction and nonfiction titles for adults and children in book, audio, and video formats. Use quick search or browse by subject, author, or award. Results include editorial reviews, cover images, publisher and bestseller information, awards won, and media mentions. Use the Search my Library’s Catalog link to search FLLS holdings. Visit the Fiction Room or the Children’s Room to find favorite series, recurring characters, award winners, and listings of bestsellers by year.

FictionConnection  finds titles similar to books you already enjoy or searches for books by topic, genre, setting, character, location, and timeframe.

 

DATABASE TRAINING Spaces are filling up for the Literature & Books databases training which will cover the updated Literature Resource Center, Twayne’s Author Series, NoveList, and new databases from Bowker - Patron Books in Print and Fiction Connection. We will review features and searching techniques for each database with lots of hands-on practice. This training will be offered regionally on:

      Mon., May 5               Candor
      Thurs., May 8             McGraw
      Wed., May 14            Trumansburg
      Fri., May 16                FLLS
      Wed., May 21            Weedsport
Contact Jan to register. Space is limited to ten at each location.

 

FYI – Wikipedia  

Read and share this article about the Wikipedia phenomenon and one Trinity University librarian’s thoughts on its place in schools and academia.

• Badke, William “What to Do with Wikipedia” Information Today, Inc, March/April 2008 at http://www.infotoday.com/online/mar08/Badke.shtml

 

LAST WEEK’S QUESTION OF THE WEEK: In honor of Women’s History Month:

In what year was the Girl Scouts of America formed? 1912 (March 12)

When was Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg born? March 15, 1933

What team won the first NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship tournament game? Louisiana Tech defeated Cheney on March 28, 1982

All answers appeared on the March 2008 Women's History Month Calendar]

 

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

According to http://www.fedstats.gov/, the estimated 2006 population of the Finger Lakes Library System area is 316,142. What was its population in 1900?

Submit your own Question of the Week for inclusion in future FLLS Bulletins by emailing me at lbeins@flls.org !