Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian

So, lots of fun things have been taking place in the library world as of recent!  I thought a blog post highlighting some of the cool things was most appropriate.

For starters, have you seen the new WebJunction Minnesota page?  If not, check it out!  The new page has a fresh look and many new features.  To use WebJunction Minnesota, you log in (or create a free account if it's your first time) and are able to connect with other library staff in Minnesota and throughout the U.S.  Users are also able to sign up for classes and post content useful to staff in all types of libraries.  It's really easy to use.  In fact, just today, I posted information to the site and signed up for a class on the basics of Adobe.  Can't wait to start my class!

During my lunch break, I was paging through the May/June 2008 issue of Public Libraries and found a really cool article called The Busy Fun Time Library Staffer in Priorityland, featured in the Internet Spotlight section of the magazine.  Now I admit I'm a real Facebook addict, so when I read about the new Facebook application, Parking Wars, I was super excited!!  Basically, you add the application to your Facebook profile and you then challenge your friends to see who doesn't get ticketed.  Parking Wars works like this -- you park illegally on your friend's streets and then wait.  If you get a ticket, the person ticketing you gets the money.  The longer you stay parked without getting a ticket the more money and rank you get.  The author of the article claims it only takes minutes to play and it runs on twelve-hour cycles.  I'm definitely going to check it out, and if you are a Facebook fan like I am, make the Parking Wars suggestion to your friends and start playing.

I can't believe it's the middle of August, and the first day of school is coming nearer and nearer.  A cool thing one of our online schools is doing is offering International Trunks for Education for checkout.  The Plainview-Elgin-Millville School's student organization, "Readers of the Lost Art," put together some International Traveling Trunks that are free to borrow beginning this Fall 2008 school year.  The trunks are full of great authentic treasures from around the World, broken down by continent, that educators can use to supplement their curriculum, and borrow free of charge for two weeks.  These trunks were featured in the Rochester Post-Bulletin on Monday, August 11, 2008.  If you'd like to read the article, please click here.  Way to go, P-E-M!! 

Now that the Olympics are on, I haven't been doing a lot of "free reading" so I'm glad Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer debuted on Saturday, August 2.  What a great read!  If you haven't read the Twilight saga, I highly recommend it.  Others, like me, were celebrating on the 2nd.  The Owatonna Public Library held a Breaking Dawn Party, where Edward, Bella, and Jacob fans came to the library at 10 p.m. on Friday, August 1.  Once the crowd gathered, there was lots of lit talk, and when it was almost midnight, the group walked to the Little Professor bookstore to purchase a copy of the new book.   Owatonna Public Library staff said it was a great party and the kids really enjoyed it.  Over 50 kids, teens, college students, and adults showed up to celebrate.

Owatonna patrons with their copies of Breaking Dawn                                   Owatonna Public Library staff with their "Vampire" and "Werewolf" tees

Lastly, the College Libraries Section of ACRL invites others to submit a presentation proposal for a program tentatively scheduled for Sunday, July 12, 2009, at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.  The title of the program is Our Town, Common Ground:  Academic Libraries' Collaboration with Public Libraries.  Four presentations of 15 minutes each will be selected through a blind review process.  The programs should provide real-world examples of academic and public libraries cooperating with one another.  Experiences and reflections may be presented by individual librarians or co-presenters who represent academic and/or public libraries.  Examples of cooperation endeavors include but are not limited to shared systems, buildings, or programming; cooperative digitization projects; services for distance learners; and consortial relationships.  The collaborations may be short-term endeavors or permanent partnerships.  If you are interested in presenting, please send a proposal of 500 words or less to Ruth Connell at ruth.connell@valpo.edu by October 1, 2008.  Notification of acceptance will be made by November 1, 2008.