New WebJunction Content and Upcoming Webinars

 Check out these upcoming webinars and new content from WebJunction. Free access to WebJunction is brought to you, in part, by the Library of Michigan.

Highlighted content:

These resources can help you strengthen your library and services to the community, explore them today!

  • Free Activity Calendars Put Programming at Your Fingertips: Library users young and old benefit from the fun, exciting, and educational programming you offer in your schools and libraries. But little do they know how much hard work and planning goes into putting those activities together! Check out these free, downloadable resources.
  • Librarians who Wikipedia: This series highlights public library staff who are using Wikipedia. Wikipedia + Libraries: Better Together is a WebJunction project that bridges public library staff and Wikipedia. A popular and convenient reference source, Wikipedia is the sixth-most visited website online. What can Wikipedia do for public libraries? We’ve recently launched a new series of articles called Librarians Who Wikipedia. We speak with public library staff who have meaningfully engaged with Wikipedia to hear what it has brought to them and their message for other public library staff.

Free WebJunction webinars for you!

These upcoming webinars are open for registration. If you can’t attend a live session, all WebJunction webinars are recorded and available for free in the Course Catalog.

Measures that Matter Part Two: Detailing the Data-based Story of Public Libraries

Tuesday, June 13, 2017 ♦ 3:00 pm Eastern / 12:00 pm Pacific ♦ 1 hour

Registration: http://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/measures-that-matter-2.html

In the United States, there are a number of national surveys of public libraries and their patrons. While all of these efforts help us tell a data-based story of public libraries, they differ in terms of their samples, what types of data they collect, and how their data are collected, stored, and accessed. During the first webinar in this three-part series, we scanned the landscape of major public library surveys and considered how library data could be used more productively in the future. In this second webinar, we will drill deeper into the concepts of sampling, data types, and data management, and how they impact what we know about public libraries and their patrons. At the end of this webinar, participants will have a greater understanding of various sampling methods, recognize the differences between inputs, outputs, and outcomes, and be aware of the data management practices for various national public library surveys.

This webinar is the second in a three-part series about the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies’ Measures that Matter initiative, a field-wide discussion of the current state of public library data. All sessions are recorded for you to watch if you aren’t able to participate live.

Presented by: Rebecca Teasdale, Senior Evaluation and Research Associate, Garibay Group; John Bertot, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor, College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland; Linda Hofschire, Director, Library Research Service, Colorado State Library


Effective Online Outreach: Tools and Tactics for Connecting Communities and Collections

Thursday, June 29, 2017 ♦ 3:00 pm Eastern / 12:00 pm Pacific ♦ 1 hour

Registration: http://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/effective-online-outreach.html

 How did a small two-person library capture national media attention, become a focus of high-profile museum exhibits, and generate 13 million views of its online photos in just a few years? They built on a framework of eight values to drive innovative services and greatly enhance the information-seeking experience of their users. With a combination of free and low-cost web tools, savvy marketing, and innovations borrowed from archives and museums, Kenn Bicknell embarked on an aggressive digitization and outreach program to push information out to his constituents in creative, engaging ways. Find inspiration and practical ideas that can breathe new life into your collections and keep libraries front and center in users' lives.

Presented by: Kenn Bicknell, Digital Resources Librarian, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Library and Archive