SJRLC Connections

Webinar: Exploring the Current Web Toolbox

 SJRLC, CJRLC, HRLC and Infolink present

A WEBINAR...

Led by Robert Lackie, Rider University

May 14, 3:00-4:30 | Cost: $10

 Complete Details and Registration 

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Exploring the Current Web Toolbox:
Super Searcher Research Tips & Techniques
2010 Update

This session gathers a wide variety of tips and techniques from today's super searcher presenters/authors for teaching users about performing more practical and sophisticated Web searches. The most popular and the best recommended search services will be demonstrated and discussed, along with pointers for keeping up with many high-quality Web resources.

By the end of this Web Toolbox session, participants will have gained knowledge of and be able to:

• Match up and discuss most popular search services' strengths and weaknesses

• Use advanced search features of a variety of search services to devise complex search strategies

• Utilize tools needed to keep abreast of practical Web research methods.

NOTE: This Webinar is being hosted on CJRLC's iLinc Webinar Platform (not on Wimba). Please follow this link for instructions on setting up your PC prior to the webinar.)

Complete Details and Registration 

Webinar: LIBX Browser Tool Bar The Search and Discovery Power Tool

SJRLC, CJRLC, HRLC and Infolink present

Webinar: LIBX Browser Tool Bar
The Search and Discovery Power Tool
April 20, 10-Noon | Cost: $10

| Details and Registration |

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PUT YOUR LIBRARY RESOURCES
ON THE TOOLBAR!

LibX is a free search and discovery add-on for Firefox and Internet Explorer. It's a powerful search bar, but more: it also integrates library resources into your users' web experience by adding intuitive discovery options to sites like Amazon and Wikipedia, and provides an easy way for users to access sites via your proxy server (without having to know what that means). Learn how to set up a custom version of LibX for your library (without having to learn to program).
 

By using free, open source tools, libraries can offer assistance and resources with little cost and foster skills that patrons can use throughout life. Open source plug-ins like LibX offer a way for libraries to extend their services into everyone's favorite research tool: the web browser.

Learn more about LibX in Jason's C&RL News article "Superpower your browser with LibX and Zotero" [http://crln.acrl.org/content/71/2/70.short].

Participants will explore how to:

• identify some of the advantages of using open-source software tools in library research

• install the LibX plugin for Firefox or Internet Explorer

• use the LibX search bar, embedded discovery tools and proxy reload feature

• create a custom version of LibX for their library
   

Intended Audience: Librarians who assist students and other researchers. Librarians interested in providing
new browser-based discovery tools.

About the Presenter:

Jason Puckett is Librarian for Communication and Educational Technologies at Georgia State University Library. He blogs at http://jasonpuckett.net  and is co-producer of the Adventures in Library Instruction podcast (http://adlibinstruction.blogspot.com).

NOTE: This Webinar is being hosted on CJRLC's iLinc Webinar Platform (not on Wimba). Please follow this link for instructions on setting up your PC prior to the webinar.)

Details and Registration

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Free Homework Help Program Grows to 109 Communities

News from the State Library.  A wonderful

supplement to QandANJ.org's 24/7 service!

 

March 12, 2010, Trenton, NJ - The New Jersey State Library, in partnership with PSEG Foundation and Praxair Foundation, announced that free homework help would now be available to the students, residents and users of 109 public libraries through the popular Live Homework Help NJ program. Students in grades kindergarten to 12, and in introductory college courses, will be able to get free help with their math, science, social studies and English assignments via the Internet. This online tutoring program, delivered by Tutor.com, allows students with library cards to chat online with tutors who can help them tackle their homework problems. Spanish-speaking tutors are available for help with math and science assignments.

           

Live Homework Help NJ had been available through 24 NJ libraries in Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, Willingboro, Elmer, Penns Grove, Pennsville, Salem, Woodstown, the Gloucester County library, Deptford, Franklin Township, Monroe Township, Paulsboro, Pitman, Washington Township, Wenonah, West Deptford, Westville, Woodbury, Gloucester City. The 2010 expansion to include all the public libraries in Burlington, Essex, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties was made possible by a $250,000 grant from PSEG Foundation. Additional grant funding from Praxair Foundation brings the program to the communities of Belvidere, Bridgeton, Princeton and Woodbridge.

           

Live Homework Help NJ is designed to provide the highest quality of one-on-one instruction. Tutors are available online and on demand, 7 days a week from 2 to 10 p.m. Whether students need just a few minutes of help or a significant amount of time to better understand a complex concept, certified Tutor.com tutors work with students to help them build their confidence and do well in school.

           

A new service called Adult Career Center will also be available, which will provide adult customers with tutors to help them study for standardized tests, such as the GED; review and proof-read resumes and cover letters; and have access to a resource center containing test preparation materials, job search tips and ways to help their children with homework. The Resource Center materials are available 24/7.

           

The State Library established Live Homework Help NJ in select libraries under a Cornerstone Grant of $265,000 from PSEG Foundation in 2007. It was also made available to all students enrolled in NJ After 3 after school programs. Over 90 percent of those who used the service said that it had helped them complete homework assignments, improved their grades and made them more confident about their school work.

           

“The New Jersey State Library, through the NJ Library Network, has long been committed to the education of young people and adults through a variety of programs we have funded and encouraged local public libraries to offer,” said Norma Blake, New Jersey State Librarian. “The extra assistance available to students from live Homework Help tutors has the potential to instill a sense of success and accomplishment that will carry forward into the school day.”

           

Students who live in one of the 109 designated municipalities can connect to a Live Homework Help NJ tutor through their local libraries, or from their home PC or Mac with their library card number.  The program Web site is www.homeworkhelpnj.org.    In addition, students enrolled in NJ After 3 can access Live Homework Help NJ at local program sites.  NJ After 3 nonprofit partner sites include Boys & Girls Clubs, faith-based groups, museums, universities, community development corporations, YW/YMCAs, and others.

           

Tutor.com has been delivering its Live Homework Help® service to students in the U.S. through libraries since 2001. More than 5 million homework help sessions have been delivered to date--with an average of 5,000 sessions each evening.

 

A Webinar on Zotero

SJRLC, CJRLC, HRLC and Infolink present

A Webinar on Zotero
Jan 13, 10-Noon  Cost: $10

| Click to Register | Complete Details |

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Library research tools have moved not only onto the web,
but into the browser software itself.

Zotero (http://www.zotero.org) is a free Firefox add-on that allows students and researchers to save citations and create bibliographies.

It is as easy to learn and use as iTunes and more powerful than commercial competitors like EndNote and RefWorks. New features such as online storage and shared libraries help researchers collaborate online.

Open source browser plug-ins like Zotero can help library users at every stage of the research cycle, from search and discovery to writing and citation. By using free, open source tools, libraries can offer assistance and resources with little cost and foster skills that patrons can use throughout life.

Participants will learn to:

• identify some of the advantages of using open-source software tools in library research

• install the Zotero plugin for Firefox

• save citations and build a personal citation library

• synchronize your Zotero library and access it from any computer running Firefox

• automatically generate bibliographies

• share references and collaborate using Zotero's new groups feature

Intended Audience

Library staff who assist researchers, students and anyone else needing to save citations and create bibliographies.

About the Presenter:

Jason Puckett is Librarian for Communication and Educational Technologies at Georgia State University Library. He blogs at http://jasonpuckett.net  and is co-producer of the Adventures in Library Instruction podcast (http://adlibinstruction.blogspot.com).

NOTE: This Webinar is being hosted on CJRLC's iLinc Webinar Platform (not on Wimba). Please follow this link for instructions on setting up your PC prior to the webinar.)

| Click to Register | Complete Details |

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Ebscohost Webinar: Business Searching Resources

Ebscohost Webinar:
 
Business Searching Resources
 
Date/Time: 10/6/2009,  1:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Cost: Free (but registration is requested)

REGISTRATION: http://tinyurl.com/ebscobus09

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HELP YOUR BUSINESS CUSTOMERS
TAKE RESEARCH TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

Learning about the content in EBSCO Business Searching Resources makes answering business-related reference questions all the easier.

Join the session to learn about these powerful resources in EBSCOhost and in the Business Searching interface.

Each session includes free resources from the EBSCO Customer Support Site and questions are welcomed throughout the session!

Other Information:

Note: This is an Ebsco hosted webinar on the Webex platform, not an SJRLC-hosted webinar. To setup your computer for Webex, and login the day of the webinar please follow instructions at: http://www.sjrlc.org/CE/webinars/oct6_2009.htm

REGISTRATION: http://tinyurl.com/ebscobus09

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QandANJ launches a text reference pilot!

QandANJ.org launched its text reference pilot project this week! Five QandANJ libraries are participating in the year long project that will test their customers’ interest in using text messaging to ask reference questions.

Participating libraries include Atlantic Cape Community College Library, Newark Public Library, Princeton Public Library, Vineland Public Library and William Paterson University Library. QandANJ is covering the cost of Mosio’s Text a Librarian software – the best we’ve found for this application. Each subscription includes one microboard (online location to view incoming texts) and each library’s own text keyword. All texts go to the same phone number (66746, which spells Mosio) and patrons start the body of their text with the library’s keyword to route it to the correct library microboard. Patron info is private and anonymous.

The Mosio Software has many useful elements, including a feature that translates a message out of shortened “text speak” to full words! A reports function in the software will allow statistical analysis of the library’s text message reference services. Above all, the software is very easy to use.

The patrons text their questions, but the librarians type their answers via a web interface (kind of like the QandANJ chat monitor). Libraries can set the system so that incoming text messages generate emails to certain librarians’ email addresses. Alternately, the library can route their text questions through their existing IM systems (Meebo, Pidgin, etc.).

Unlike the cooperative model of QandANJ, only librarians at each participating library will see their own patrons. There will be no back up in this pilot project as each library answers only their own texts. What type of questions will be coming through the text platform is part of the experiment.

Participating libraries and QandANJ staff are very excited to see what happens in the coming year! For more information, please visit the participating libraries’ web pages.

• Atlantic  Cape Community College Library http://www.atlantic.edu/library/askLibrarian.htm

• Newark Public Library http://www.npl.org/Pages/Collections/textus.html

• Princeton Public Library http://www.princeton.lib.nj.us/

• Vineland Public Library http://www.vinelandlibrary.org

• William  Paterson University Library http://www.wpunj.edu/library/

Mystery Book Buzz: A Free Webinar from Library Journal

Mystery Book Buzz: A Free Webinar from Library Journal

 Wednesday, August 26, 2009, from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Eastern

Register here 
 (Note: If this time doesn’t fit your schedule, you can find this and other programs in the Library Journal archive at http://www.libraryjournal.com/webcasts.)  

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Mystery fiction is high on the list of public library patrons—and the genre is as broad as it is deep. While detective fiction may be the most popular form of mystery fiction, there are dozens of other variations that keep these avid readers returning to the library again and again, including thrillers, cozies, romantic suspense, and good old police procedurals.

A well-known readers’ advisory consultant, Joyce Saricks, has written that “mysteries tend to be in-depth examinations of human nature, probing the why almost as frequently as the who and how. They are also morality plays, and justice, or the restoration of order, is at the heart of the solution in Mysteries. When ‘legal justice’ is not an option, investigators take the law into their own hands. As they do in most genre fiction, readers expect the good guys to win and the bad guys to be punished.”

Library foot traffic is up all around the country and so is circulation. Help your library patro ns escape momentarily from the stress and anxiety of the current economic situation by filling the library shelves with the latest titles from their favorite mystery writers!

Join the 60-minute Mystery Book Buzz webcast sponsored by four leading publishers who will introduce the best of their Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 titles, as well as important midlist and back-in-print titles.

Featured Panelists 

•  HarperCollins Publishers, Virginia Stanley, Director of Library Marketing 
•  Houghton Mifflin, Katrina Kruse, Marketing Manager 
•  Poisoned Pen Press, Barbara G. Peters, Senior Editor 
•  Severn House, Edwin Burkhalter, Chairman 
•  Moderator: Wilda Williams, Fiction Editor, Library Journal 

Register here 
 (Note: If this time doesn’t fit your schedule, you can find this and other programs in the Library Journal archive at http://www.libraryjournal.com/webcasts.)   

Ref, Tech & Tango: Adult Services in Action (Adult Services Forum)

 

 

Save this date!

October 28, 2009

9 AM – 3 PM

NJLA Reference, IT, and
Administration & Management Sections and the
Readers Advisory Roundtable

present

Adult Services Forum:

An opportunity for adult services librarians to gather together for the purpose of networking and exchanging ideas and views on important issues of the day.

Monmouth County Library Headquarters
125 Symmes Drive
Manalapan, NJ 07726

For a copy of the flyer:
http://njla.pbworks.com/f/Adult+Services+Forum-save+date.pdf  

Watch for more information coming soon!

 

Current Sponsors include the NJLA Reference, IT, and Administration & Management Sections and the Readers Advisory Roundtable.

Other sponsors are in the works and will be announced soon

Webinar: Ebscohost Masterfile

WEBINAR:

GET THE MOST OUT OF EBSCOHOST MASTERFILE
BECOME A POWER USER!

Date/Time: 8/18/2009, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Register at: http://tinyurl.com/sjrlcmasterfile

In this online training session, you will learn basic and advanced search techniques within EbscoHost MasterFILE -- the most commonly used general periodicals database.

You will also learn to do Image searching and how to manage custom folders, including the ability to add notes.

Other features you will learn include alerts, and techniques for advanced searching using limiters, search history, and field codes.

A Question and Answer session and a review of the rich resources within the Customer Support site will follow. Join us!

COMPUTER SETUP AND LOGIN INSTRUCTIONS are posted at
http://www.sjrlc.org/spice/elearning/ebscowebinarinstructions.htm

COMPLETE DETAILS AND REGISTRATION AT: http://tinyurl.com/sjrlcmasterfile

Guide to Gathering Database Statistics

Guide to Gathering Database Statistics
http://www.infolink.org/pdf_files/GuideToDatabaseStats.pdf

Get on top of your library’s database usage figures!! If you need some help, take advantage of this Guide to Gathering Database Statistics.

Warm thanks to Karen Parry, savvy and skillful Information Services Manager, East Brunswick Public Library, who developed this guide for INFOLINK and to former library director, Carol Nersinger, who supported this project.