West Virginia Library Association

2008 Annual Conference Presentations

Photos from the conference

Federal Register: Search for Rules That Effect Your Daily Life (PDF 536KB)
Marian Armour-Gemmen, WVU Libraries

Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. These regulations that affect the “daily lives of all American citizens, including the food they eat, the water they drink, the air they breathe, the cars they drive, and the airplanes they fly as well as consumer protection, terrorism protection, and much more.” Learn how to effectively search the Federal Register. Learn how to download *.pdf rules and notices for your patrons.

Happy, Healthy, Productive: Starting a Wellness Program at Your Library (PDF 3.80 MB)
Linda Blake, WVU Libraries

Handouts:

Employee wellness programs provide information and activities to encourage weight loss, increase fitness, improve nutrition, enhance emotional well being, treat existing medical issues, and generally increase the wellness of library workers. The West Virginia University Libraries have provided a successful wellness program by partnering with the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) since 2004. In this session, you will learn how to plan and implement no-cost or a low-cost wellness program at your library. It will include an overview of WVU’s program, instruments to assess your needs, samples of fun programming, and assessments of success.

Conducting a Big Digital Project on a Shoestring (PDF 2.81 MB)
John Cuthbert, Gordon Ernst, Dennis Newborn, WVU Libraries

In 2005, the WVU Libraries' WV and Regional History Collection, with the assistance of Library Systems and Cataloging staff, embarked on a project to digitize a collection of more than 25,000 historical photographs for both access and preservation purposes. With no dedicated funding, the project is being conducted mostly by student workers who create both scans and simple Dublin Core based catalog records for each photograph. The project results have exceeded all goals both in terms of progress (over 30,000 photos completed to date) and users popularity. The project website now receives more than a half million visits per year. This session will demonstrate how a major digital collections initiative can be conducted in an academic library on a shoestring budget.

What’s Red on the Outside and Green on the Inside? (PDF 3.08 MB)
Steve Christo, Cabell County Public Library

County Public Library has just finished building a new branch at Salt Rock that incorporates many energy-saving and ecology-friendly features from the HVAC system and lighting down to the carpeting and furnishings. Even rain
water is collected for reuse. Some "green" features were incorporated for very little additional expense and several of the energy-savings modifications will pay for themselves in a few years. Come see how this innovative building was planned and constructed and discover what you can incorporate in a new building, an addition, or even in your existing building.

West Virginia Libraries and Schools: Starting to Turn Greenish
SRRT presents two sessions back-to-back on actual greening projects in WV schools / libraries. Three presenters / 15 minutes each will speak during this first session, then each at a table display with literature and Q & A time at the 10:00 – 10:50 session.

Handouts:

Genealogy Research at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection (PDF 2.60 MB)
Kevin Fredette, WVU Libraries

This session will introduce librarians to the genealogical resources available to the general public at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. These resources include census records, compilations of genealogical data, family histories, city and county histories,biographical resources, newspapers, county court records and other public records, unpublished manuscript genealogies, military records, maps, atlases and gazetteers, databases and more. While the
emphasis of the session will be on West Virginia genealogical research, sources from other states available at the WVU Libraries will also be discussed.

Experts on Duty: No Fees
Ted Nesbitt, West Liberty State College

Handout: Internet Help Sites (Word)

Since 1992, librarians have been helping other librarians with patrons’ reference questions. Originally called “Stumpers,” this volunteer service is now “Project Wombat,” part of “Project Gutenberg.” In 1998, Allexperts.com, a free service for fast and reliable answers from knowledgeable volunteers began serving people with questions. The remaining members of the“All Family” were soon added for general readers, sci-fi fans, and movie/TV watchers. This
presentation will explore these free resources, with “samples” [both serious and hilarious]. New pay services being offered by some academic and public libraries [e.g., Tutor.com] will also be profiled.

Multi-Media and Other Student-Centered Technology at WVU Libraries (PDF1.71 MB)
The WVU Downtown Campus Library, in the first phase of a project to provide more technology-rich assistance for todays’ student, opened a new multimedia center at the end of August. At the Evansdale Library, a new study room reservation system allows students to reserve rooms online. Come hear about the changes taking place in both these libraries and see an example of a multimedia presentation created by students.
Martha Yancey and Hilary Fredette – WVU Libraries

Evidence-Based Practice for School Library Media Specialists (PDF 30 KB)
Suzie Martin, Brookhaven Elementary School

West Virginia School Libraries are an endangered species. Evidence-based practice, combined with action research, may provide the results-focused arguments we need for maintaining our school libraries and our positions.

Building a Regional Collaborative Digitization Program (PDF 1.17 MB)
Laurie Gemmil, PALINET

Book Digitization: What we learned from PALINET’s Mass Digitization Collaborative Pilot Project (PDF 177 KB)
Frances O'Brien, Dean, WVU Libraries

PALINET has established the PALINET Mass Digitization Collaborative to assist members with their digitization needs. The initial focus is on mass digitization of text; the first goal is the digitization of approximately 60,000 books. The new digital assets created through the service will be available through the Internet Archive as well as through participating institutions’ own digital collections. Session attendees will learn more about the project and how they can participate including selection guidelines, costs and digitization details. Representatives from West Virginia University will discuss their experience with the collaborative.

Cover Art in Adolescent Literature: Catching the Reader’s Eye (PDF 601 KB)
Celene Seymour, Marshall University Libraries

This program will look at the history of cover art in adolescent literature and how cover art plays a substantial role in what books readers select. Ways to use cover art to “sell” books to young readers will be discussed. Cover art will also be explored as a way to teach visual literacy.

Comics Come of Age: Graphic Novels Educate and Delight in Public and Academic Libraries (PDF 3.05 MB)
Beth Toren, WVU Libraries

Graphic novels support academic curriculums and public library missions, and they are more inclusive of race and gender than you might expect. This session will cover major achievements and categories, recommend how to get started and promote your collection, and warn and inform you about complications of collecting and cataloging. A selection of graphic novels will be on display.

Research and Project Based Learning Using Think.Com (425 KB)
Ginny Frank and Jan Frenzal, Bridgeport Middle School

This presentation will demonstrate how to use Think.com to display student projects. It will show the steps used in creating student web pages for a unit on Colonial careers. It will display how students can use the Internet to share research and projects in a safe and secure learning environment.

Ask-A-Librarian in the Virtual World (PDF 1.55MB)
Penny Pugh, Beth Royall and Susan Arnold, WVU Libraries

Are you interested in expanding your reference service through free Internet chat software? Would you like to reach your young (or not-so-young), computer-savvy patrons? Explore the world of virtual reference through instant messaging accounts and Meebo.com. Technical set up, scheduling, and training based on WVU’s recent experience will be covered.

The Future of Government Documents in Libraries (PDF 1005 KB)
Ted Priebe
Director, Library Planning and Development
United States Government Printing Office

Beginning a Healthy Life
Terri McDougal, Kanawha County Library

Handouts:

KCPL and two other community agencies received a $250,00 IMLS grant for a program called “Beginning a Healthy Life” which was targeted to children ages 2-8 and their caregivers. I’ll share inexpensive and free ideas of how you can recreate some of the programming and collection development activities to help combat childhood obesity.

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