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System Admin Challenge

Here is a challenge for all of you system administrators out there with a little bit of "free" time. Develop a scheme to support a branch library located 250 miles from your main library. Doesn't sound too tough does it... use TCP/IP, some Cat5 run to a router connected to an Internet circuit (probably your T1 line), and let the Internet deliver your data.

Well, what if the branch library happened to be the International Space Station currently under construction.  In this case the 250 miles of distance is straight up and, just for fun, your remote site is traveling at a speed of 17,000 miles per hours?  This is the challenge facing some of NASA's top networking minds, gives me a headache just thinking about it.

Want to know more?


What is everybody looking at?

100hot sites regularly compiles listings of the most popular destinations on the web in a number of different categories. Makes for some interesting browsing.

Want to know more?

Items submitted by:
Brad Stephens - Email
NOLA Regional Library System

1999 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award Winners

ALA, Philadelphia, January 30, 1999. Ten libraries were named winners of the 1999 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award, which recognizes and honors outstanding achievement in library public relations. One of the awards will be presented to Geauga County Public Library in Chardon, Ohio for imaginatively using its county's sesquicentennial celebration as an opportunity to conceive and implement a multifaceted public relations campaign that heightened its visibility among community groups, senior citizens, and new residents. Congratulations to Deborah O'Connor and the Staff of Geauga County Public Library.

Thomas C. Atwood Named Trustee

The Youngstown Vindicator reports that Tom Atwood is a new Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County trustee. Atwood, named Thursday, is serving as interim director of the William F. Maag Library of Youngstown State University. He was nominated by the YSU trustees to the seat left vacant by David Genaway. Tom holds a Master of Science and Information Studies from Florida State University, and bachelor and master of arts degrees from YSU. Congratulations Tom.

1999 Caldecott Medal Winner and Honor Books

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. There is an Ohio connection - this year's Caldecott Committee is chaired by Barbara Barstow, Children's Service Manager for the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

The 1999 Caldecott medal winner is Snowflake Bentley, illustrated by Mary Azarian; text by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (Houghton Mifflin).

1999 Caldecott Honor Books: Duke Ellington, illustrated by Brian Pinkney, text by Andrea Davis Pinkney (Hyperion).
No, David! by David Shannon (Blue Sky/Scholastic)
Snow by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar Straus Giroux)
Tibet: Through the Red Box by Peter Sis (Farrar Straus Giroux)

1999 Newbery Medal and Honor Book

The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

The 1999 Newbery Medal winner is Holes by Louis Sachar (Farrar Straus Giroux)

1999 Newbery Honor Book:
A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck (Dial Books for Young Readers)

OLC Legislative Day - March 10th

NOLA is canceling our Legislative Breakfast this year and encouraging everyone to register for the OLC Legislative Day Luncheon on March 10th. OLC has invited Governor Bob Taft to speak at that luncheon and is awaiting word concerning the his March schedule. They are hopeful that he or Hope Taft will speak. Information about Legislative Day activities and the luncheon arrived in your library last week. Just a reminder - YOU must contact your legislator, make the luncheon reservation for him/her, and then send payment to OLC for your legislator's luncheon.

NOLA is working with the Weston Columbus Hotel (310 South High Street, Columbus) and they are holding a block of 10 rooms for NOLA members if you would like to stay overnight on March 9th. A single room is $72.00, a double is $82.00, and an extra person is $10.00. Parking ($11.00) is available for overnight guests in the hotel's secured lot.   RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BEFORE FEBRUARY 25, 1999. Contact the Weston by calling 614.228.3800 and tell them you want one of the NOLA rooms.

AccessOhio Agreement to be Signed

NOLA, NORWELD and OVAL will sign an agreement with AutoGraphics this month for the continuation of AccessOhio through February 29, 2000. The AccessOhio project evolved from the successful TOMCAT and Ohio Shared Catalog initiatives. It is a web-based union catalog that includes the collections of over 100 public library systems in Ohio as well as the collections of several schools. The combination of these catalogs creates an enormous database of items held by these Ohio's libraries - the catalog contains 1.5 million unique bibliographic records and nearly 8 million individual items. Library staff and patrons at participating libraries are able to use AccessOhio to locate and request any item listed in the catalog from the other participating libraries. Items requested from the AccessOhio catalog are usually delivered to the requesting library within 3-5 business days using the Daily Delivery Service. The result: Libraries and their patron have access to a much larger collection of materials - in some cases the AccessOhio collection is over 100 times larger than the collection of an individual library. Today AccessOhio provides a solution for the participating libraries that reduces collection costs though resource sharing and increases access to information for Ohio's citizens.

Items submitted by:
Millie Fry - Email
NOLA Regional Library System

NOLA New Book Look

I hope many of you will be joining us for Book Look on February 5 or February 8. Just a reminder - I will be booktalking some good picks ( and some not so good.....) There is one change in schedule however - I hope it does not cause problems for anyone. On Friday, the book talks will be at 1:00 p.m. and on Monday, at 10:00a.m.

See you then!


NOLA holds Mock Caldecott election

NOLA held a Mock Caldecott election on January 21 and the following are the results:

Winner: Home Run. Author: Robert Burleigh. Illustrator: Mark Wimmer.
Honors: This Land is Your Land. Author: Woody Guthrie. Illustrator: Kathy Jakobsen.
Look Alikes. Author/Illustrator: Joan Steiner.

I also held a mock Caldecott at Lima Public Library as an inservice for staff and teachers and our winner was Home Run. This is the first time that I have had the same winner in mock Caldecott elections and I never tell results of other elections ahead of time. And by the way, I doubt that it will be the "real" winner - though I do personally love it.

Items submitted by:
Sue McCleaf Nespeca - Email
NOLA Regional Library System

What is Marketing, Anyway??

On airplanes, at parties, and with my relatives, I am always asked "what I do" for a living. When I say that I am a marketing consultant, people say "Oh, how nice". I know they have no clue what I am talking about...and I've even had one lady who overheard me talking about being a "marketing consultant" that came to me and said she was so happy to meet me...for years she had been wondering..."why does every shopping cart in the supermarket have one bad wheel?"

What is this term "marketing", anyway? My basic definition is that it is getting the right message to the right people via the right media and methods. Easier said than done, in most cases.
The place to start is with research into who your potential customers are. Here's a quick thought to ponder: "If you were going to open a new hamburger stand in town, what is the one thing you would want most?"  Many people would answer: the best hamburgers in town, or a secret sauce, or a great cook, or a commanding name, logo or character, like Ronald McDonald. But the real answer is very simple: a starving crowd!

Finding out who your target market is...the people who truly need your services is the place to start. This is often the most difficult part of the marketing process. Once this is established, though, the rest comes relatively easy! Often, libraries feel the need to provide services to the entire community in which they are located...in some cases, this may be true, but for marketing purposes, you need to choose exactly who to target and then go forward with the process.  It all begins with a plan...and NOLA is offering to you an opportunity to learn the process in developing a marketing plan on Tuesday, March 2nd, with yours truly as the instructor.

We'll talk about how to do library marketing research, including community surveys, doing an internal marketing audit (yes, this is marketing jargon...but you'll learn it anyway!) and also one of the most important and number one forgotten marketing process...the marketing evaluation.

Now, I am not going to make you into marketing consultants in one day flat...but, rather, I will introduce you to the concepts and strategies that you and your staff can begin to work on to see ongoing success in your library's growth. You'll also have an opportunity to share some of your successes and "blips" (there are no failures here...just "blips" on the screen) and get some input on ideas that you may have for your library's marketing strategies.

Click here to Register: Marketing...It Begins with a Plan

Items submitted by:
Lori Putt - Email
NOLA Regional Library System

We're going to Miami....or Aruba....or the Bahamas. Tired of this winter weather? Then let RefLinks be your travel guide to the Caribbean and other warm vacation spots. Under 917 you will find the official travel and tourism sites for those places that have lots of SUN. (Ok, so we also had to include other places... like Greenland... since 917 is Geography and Travel in North America).

Now, if you skip over to 910 Geography and Travel, you will find a slew of travel guides such as CondeNast Traveler, CNN Travel guide, Fodor's Travel Online, Frommer's, National Geographic Traveler, Rand McNally Travel Guide, Pathfinder, Travel and Leisure Magazine, and Travel Corner on the Web.

Maps? They are under 912. For those of us having to wait out the winter, the Ohio Transportation Information System is also listed here. This is where you can check to see if your area is under Level 1, 2 or 3 for driving conditions during snowy and icy weather.  As for Miami...well, maybe next year.

Items submitted by:
Reflinks Members [email protected]

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Revised: 02/02/99 09:53:47 AM
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