Please excuse the cross posting.

The following library webinars are scheduled for March 2012. Descriptions and registration information are listed below.

InfoPeople: Engaging Volunteers During Difficult Economic Times – Mar. 1^st (Online)
•Has the economy impacted your library’s bottom-line more than you anticipated?
•Is finding ways to do things differently the new normal your library?
With service levels at all time highs and funding elusive to meet the demand for service, many libraries are engaging volunteers more proactively or even for the first time. Involving volunteers in delivering library services can be rewarding, challenging, yet also time intensive. And, while volunteers may offer their services for free, there are still costs that need to be considered when planning a volunteer program.

If you have been given the assignment of coordinating volunteers at your library, this webinar will give you insights into how to work effectively with volunteers and facilitate their interaction with paid staff.

At the end of this one-hour webinar, participants will:
•Understand what motivates people to volunteer and why that is important
•Learn how to address a variety of challenges that arise with volunteer programs when economic times are tough
•Learn how to implement a variety of time saving tools related to recruitment, screening, training and supervising volunteers.

OCLC: It Takes a Community to Bridge the Digital Divide – Mar. 6^th (Online)
In FCC Chairman Genachowski’s announcement of the sweeping Connect2Compete initiative to increase broadband connectivity and Internet access across the nation, he listed an impressive array of partners who are joining in the effort. Although he singled out libraries as "vital centers for digital literacy," any effective actions must involve the whole community of players. Join us to hear about the key role that the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is playing in the broadband adoption challenge and the actions already underway for building digital communities. And also hear insights on the collaborative roles and efforts of city/county governments and public and private organizations. Learn how to get started with inclusion efforts from organizations who have taken the steps to implement practical programs which meet local needs and share your ideas about collaborative efforts which lead digital inclusion. Registration at: http://bit.ly/zwbR2t

InfoPeople: Corporate Fundraising for Children’s Programming in Public Libraries – Mar. 8^th (Online)
Wanted: Children’s Librarians Who Do Library Programs! Are you:

•Idea rich and cash poor?
•Don’t know where to turn?
•Looking for examples of successful programs and activities?
Corporate sponsorships are a perfect solution to gain funding for children’s programs in public libraries. In this webinar we’ll show you how to target the right companies, approach them with confidence, and get them to donate with ease.

With a little bit of planning and effort, your library can raise money, obtain food donations or gift cards, and other resources to help you run a successful children’s program.

At the end of this one-hour webinar, participants will:
•Be able to identify possible corporate sponsorships.
•Know how to approach local companies with confidence.
•Understand how to follow up with corporate sponsors.
•Have examples of successful children’s programs funded by corporate sponsors.

OCLC: Social Metadata for Libraries, Archives and Museums – Mar. 9^th (Online)
Metadata helps users locate resources that meet their specific needs. But metadata also helps us to understand the data we find and helps us to evaluate what we should spend our time on. Traditionally, staff at libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) create metadata for the content they manage. However, social metadata—content contributed by users—is evolving as a way to both augment and recontexutalize the content and metadata created by LAMs.

Cultural heritage organizations have been eager to expand their reach into user communities and to take advantage of users' expertise to enrich their descriptive metadata. In 2009-2010, a 21-member Social Metadata Working Group from five countries reviewed 76 sites relevant to libraries, archives, and museums that supported such social media features as tagging, comments, reviews, images, videos, ratings, recommendations, lists, links to related articles, etc. The working group analyzed the results of a survey sent to site managers and discussed the factors that contribute to successful—and not so successful—use of social metadata. We conducted interviews and compiled an extensive resource list. All informed our recommendations and are documented in three reports under the common title, Social Metadata for Libraries, Archives, and Museums.

Join this 90-minute interactive WebEx session, when five members of the Social Metadata Working Group will present highlights of our research and personal observations:

*Observations on our research into social metadata—Marja Musson, International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam
*Tagging, crowd-sourcing, and other uses of social metadata—Ken Varnum, University of Michigan
*LAMs' use of third-party sites—Cyndi Shein, Getty Research Institute
*Key points from our survey—Cheryl Gowing, University of Miami
*Measuring successful use of social metadata—Elizabeth Yakel, University of Michigan School of Information

ADA Update: No pets allowed: Service Animals & Post Secondary Institutions – Mar. 20^th (Online)
Recent revisions to the regulations implementing Title II and III of the ADA have raised increased focus on the issue of service animals in a variety of settings. Post secondary institutions face unique challenges around these issues when it comes to their policies and procedures regarding service animals in student housing, classroom and public spaces. This session will explore the different scenarios that often play out in post secondary education and discuss the interplay between laws governing non-discrimination in housing versus equal access to programs and services. Join this panel of presenters for a discussion of the issues and engage with them in an interactive question and answer period.

InfoPeople: Digital Preservation: Audio & Video Formats – Mar. 20^th (Online)
In the last of our four-part series on Digital Preservation, this webinar present and explain:

•basic formats and standards used in digital audio and video collections for libraries, archives, and museums
•the development of audio and video formats and introduce participants to the significant technical features that pertain to digital libraries.
•Audio formats and encodings introduced include Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM), WAV and BWAV, and the issues related to compression for online delivery.
•Video topics include formats and standards, particularly the role of compression and data storage.
•the meaning of “HD” and options for video transfer and capture, as well as format and encodings for uncompressed video and the Motion JPEG standards.

Participants in this webinar will be able to make informed decisions about digital audio and video projects and revisit their planned or existing projects with an eye to making sure they will be useful sustainable into the future.

InfoPeople: Being Customer Focused: New and Emerging Trends in Customer Service – Mar. 21^st (Online)
What is the use of a library if nobody comes? Or worse, what if they come but don’t come back?

Libraries offer a compelling set of resources and services to meet the needs of their communities. But old service models often focus on the needs of the library first, and the user second.

Retail establishments such as bookstores, coffee shops, information services, computing services, and purveyors of e-readers are all encroaching on the library’s core user base by replicating services traditionally associated with libraries. They really know what they’re doing, and we can, too!

Consumer research has shown repeatedly that understanding user needs and cultivating good customer relationships is key to the success of the modern organization. Creating a customer-focused library enables staff to know their users and meet their needs. A customer-focused library means more users, engaged staff, and a satisfying relationship with your community.

This one-hour webinar will present exciting success stories of customer-focused libraries, and will give participants strategies to shift their own libraries to a customer focus.

At the end of the presentation, participants will:
•Understand the changing customer service milieu in which libraries operate.
•Be aware of tools and techniques to understand customer needs.
•Learn scalable strategies for empowering customers to serve themselves and staff to give strong service.
•Have a checklist to analyze their own organizations as well as best practices to get the process started.

OCLC: Adult Programs on a $0 Budget – Mar. 27^th (Online)
In just a few short years, the Laurens County Library, in rural South Carolina, has created an impressive and well attended series of adult programs on a shoestring budget. Join us for a webinar, hosted in collaboration with WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries, to learn how the library selects topics, recruits presenters, raises funds, and promotes through effective public relations practices. Find out what Laurens has done that works, what doesn't work, and learn how your adult programming can make your library a valued community hub, building awareness and increasing usage of all your services.

Kris Abery

Continuing Education Coordinator

Connecticut State Library

Email: Kris.Abery@ct.gov

Tele: 860 704 2206
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CTStateLibrary

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/LibraryofCT