Desktop News - Issue 158

NOLA Desktop News
Issue 158	Friday, April 23, 1999	03:50:30 PM
For a bi-monthly wrap up of NOLA news and information, be sure to check out NOLA Notes! To receive The Desktop News in your email, go here. (You must be using Netscape, Internet Explorer or an HTML-based email program to use this service)

An Update on Regional Library Systems Funding

On March 23, 1999 Mike Lucas presented testimony before the House Finance Committee's Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee concerning the State Library of Ohio's budget. Susan Hagloch, the Director of the Tuscarawas County Public Library, spoke about the need for increased state funding for Regional Library Systems. The Finance Committee has received the Subcommittee's recommendations. According to Mike, there is a possibility that the budget from the Finance Committee could be made public as early as April 28th and the House could vote on it as soon as April 29th. Following that vote, the budget goes to the Senate. The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Roy Ray, will hold a hearing on the State Library's budget on May 18th. I will share information with you as soon as I learn any news.

NOLA's Book Discussion Meeting

Representatives from the NOLA libraries that use our Book Discussion service will meet at the Burton Public Library on May 14th at 10:00 a.m. A packet of information will be sent to the Book Discussion contacts today. Come prepared for a lively discussion about which books to add to our service.

Web of Inclusion

Last week I returned from the American Society of Association Executives' Strategic Leadership Conference where I heard Sally Helgesen, a nationally recognized speaker and author on issues of social and economic change. In her first book, The Female Advantage, she examined how women's leadership styles transform organizations. In The Web of Inclusion, Helgesen states that our economy is fluid, technology-driven, and based on creativity and relationships. And building a web of inclusion means that ideas come from all employees, that what individuals do in the workplace depends on their talents not their titles, that a premium is placed on flexibility, and that the edges of the web connect with people outside the organization such as customers, suppliers and joint-venture partners. Her newest book is Everyday Revolutionaries: Working Women and the Transformation of American Life. All three are included in NOLA's Professional Collection. If you would like to borrow them, e-mail Rose Marie Pecchio and give her your name, library and the titles.

All about Cyber Critters

Two very different "cyber critters" (the Intellimouse and the Cyberpet) have been in the technology news this week.

The Intellimouse Explorer is an optical mouse with no moving or removable parts. This mouseball has been removed and replaced with a red LED light that tracks mouse movements much more accurately than was possible with previous mice. This new critter needs almost no cleaning or maintenance, will work on any surface (with or without a mouse pad), and adds two new mouse buttons (on the left side of the mouse) that can be programmed to perform almost any function in your applications (They are pre-programmed to act as Back and Forward buttons in your web browser).

Want to know more?

The second cyber critter making news this week is the cyberpet. Dogz, Catz, and PetFish are computer-based animals that "live" in your PC. One of the most significant properties of these pets is that they interact with the user (yes you can play fetch with Rover and feed your fish). This interactivity makes these cyberpets more entertaining than screensavers or previous efforts to create "virtual pets". The concept of placing intelligent and interactive agents (in this case cleverly disguised as pets) on your desktop may only be the beginning of larger movement. Maybe within a year your cyber dog will be able to fetch your "custom" newspaper from the web - now that's a talented pet!

Want to know more?

NOLA's Touch of Class, Customers Leaveing Appreciated, Satisfied and Sold was a great success. Seventy-Six members attended this workshop. Members gained valuable Customer Service skills and had fun in the process. Thank you to all who attended. Watch the website for photos of this event.

Don't forget to sign up for the Word Basic class scheduled for Wednesday, May 12, 1999. This is a new class that was added due to popular demand.

Please review the website or continuing education catalog for more offerings at the end of the year.

NOLA Regional Library System 4445 Mahoning Ave Warren, OH 44483	Phone: (330) 847- 7744 Fax: (330) 847- 7704 Email: [email protected]
Copyright � 1999 by NOLA Regional Library System. Send comments to Webmaster. Revised: 04/23/99 03:50:30 PM URL: http://www.nolanet.org/tdn/issue158.htm