Idaho Commission for Libraries

Now that the dust has settled from the District Library trustee elections on May 27th, does your library have any changes to report?

It would help ICFL to ensure that trustees get information or any mailings that are sent out if you would let us know:

Name
Start and end date of term (month, year)
Address (at which they want their mail delivered)
Who are they replacing?

Inspired by a challenge issued by the Librarian by Day, I’m going to attempt to track a day in the life of the Networking Consultant at ICFL. Like many, I have no “typical” day so I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

From American Libraries Direct (7/9/08):

The National Association of Broadcasters, with whom the American Library Association has joined as a part of the DTV Transition Coalition, has put together an excellent educational toolkit for librarians. The toolkit includes several useful links and is well worth bookmarking.

Twin Falls Public Library has an excellent selection of reader's advisory brochures. The fabulous librarians have created fun ways to find out about books that are similar to your favorite. Loved The DaVinci Code or that latest mystery - check out a brochure with ideas for other books to try. They have created an eclectic and diverse selection.

Yesterday’s Conversation Café got me to thinking about balancing work and non-work activities in my life. What are the things I want to do with my life, as Anne put it, ‘not many people lie on their death bed wishing they had done more housework’.

David Lee King contends that if you can drive a "smart car" or any car for that matter -- you can social network. Like King, when I drive I think little about what makes it work and if it breaks down I rely on a mechanic to fix it!

I'm excited! Our new Saturday programs begin tomorrow! This week is family storytime (Theme for this week is Pizza stories and craft) and a computer coaching session on our geneology databases: Ancestry.com and HeritageQuest. This programming is made possible by an LSTA grant and is a giant shift for Nampa.

Well, hello, to all you fellow librarians out there. This is Beth Twitchell, Reference Librarian Rockstar and Literary Empowerment Coach, hailing to you from Twin Falls, Idaho. I'm really excited for this new site. I mean, where else do I get a chance to blog and talk with other librarians, and still be able to claim that I'm working? :)

And oh, just so you know, I'm not doing this solely for the prize, although it's a nice bonus. :)

Hello there,

Pretty spiffy, this new website eh? I'm glad you stopped by and signed up for all sorts of goodies available to you via the good folks at ICFL and WebJunction. I'm also glad that you and I will be sharing our collective wisdom, stories, and experiences with everyone in Idaho libraryland.

So, tell me your story...

So I just finished this book last night- Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-- Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by the Waiter. It was actually pretty good. I was expecting more horror stories and rantings like in his blog, but it was more of his musings on life as a waiter.

I work at the Historical Society Public Archives and Research Library. We're looking for new ways to get motivated, get exercise and de-stress. We're trolling the free ads on Craig's List for a basketball net for our back parking lot and crossing our fingers for a yoga class to be organized sometime soon.

Anyone else have things like this? How do you get motivated?

Hi everyone!

On Wednesday, October 1st, I'm headed to Idaho Falls to attend the Idaho Library Association conference. It looks like there will be a lot of interesting programs and I know I won't be able to attend them all since I haven't mastered cloning myself just yet. So, I have a request for all the readers and users of this site...

Please, Blog the Conference!

So, last week I come back from lunch, and my coworker Amy tells me that I've got to listen to this voice mail. At Twin Falls Public Library, we occasionally get busy and when that happens, we are instructed to ignore the phone and focus on the patron that comes in. The result is that the person calling is sent to voice mail, which informs them that we are busy but please leave a message.

In the past decade there has been a steady decline in the number of library levy issues passing in elections. George Needham of OCLC in his Keynote presentation to the Idaho Library Association covered 5 ideas to help libraries change their standing in their communities; to encourage more support of those initiatives.

I wanted an OPAC so I used LibraryThing to help actualize that desire:
Stevens-Henager College, Boise Campus Library Catalog

Next I will get a system as sophisticated as the one at the Idaho Correctional Center Library....

The VeePee debates are happening tonight at 9PM EST

You can watch is live on C-SPAM: http://www.c-span.org/

I was asked a lot of questions about digitization at ILA this year. Then I attended Karen Kearns' great presentation about the digitization process. She explained from the history to the future what digitization means, and what it will mean, and she did a great job!

Well I just finished the first section of SPLAT's online course and I am looking forward to learning more and more! I am especially eager to do the RSS section since this is something I'm very interested in but have not yet investigated on my own. We'll see how it goes ;-)