View and subscribe to the Wyoming State Library Training Calendar at http://www.wyominglibraries.org/calendar.html. (All events are listed in MT time).
In our Tech Tools with Tine series, trainer Tine Walczyk typically tackles a single online tool for one hour. For this spring 2015 series, we're doing something a little different. For the first three webinars, Tine will put her focus on a different aspect of social media use by libraries. In this week's webinar, she'll be presenting part 2: Marketing Strategy. Topics discussed include outreach best practices, scheduling of information releases, and marketing coordination – both for creating the message and distributing it.
Understanding the components of disaster response is key in successful recovery of collections of any type, size, and budget. This webinar will show professionals and volunteers the steps needed to save effectively collections.
Once a disaster strikes, the knee-jerk reaction is to rush in and save everything, but racing in without advance planning puts collections at risk of more damage and staff at risk of injury. This session, presented in celebration of Preservation Week 2015, will feature a live question-and-answer session. Participants will have an opportunity to comment on the recording of the 2010 webinar, "Disaster Response" and to ask questions of Nancy Kraft.
Join us on Monday, May 4th when Elissa Malespina and Nikki D Robertson talk about the importance of telling your story.
Do you find yourself at a loss for suggestions when a patron asks for some C&W music recommendations? Can't tell Be-Bop from Big Band or Rap from Hip Hop? Whether you're trying to improve you music advisory skills or simply want to expand your own listening experience, we have a class for you. We'll discuss the major genres in popular music, sharing a few titles and artists from each and you will leave with a "tool kit" sure to inform and delight.
In this free, hour-long webinar, librarians and educators will find the latest titles and resources designed to help implement the common core state standards across subject and grade levels. Moderated by Booklist's Books for Youth Associate Editor, Julia Smith, and sponsored by DK Publishing, Holiday House, Listening Library, and Lee & Low Books.
So many programs and organizations depend on volunteers that have been with them for years. What happens when those volunteers start to get older? If your volunteers are aging, this session can help. Learn strategies for identifying the signs of aging in place – volunteers who continue to do the same work even though their capabilities have changes – and how to start a conversation about that change. Managing the transition as well as creating new options for aging volunteers will be covered, and we'll discuss what to do when the situation can't be solved amicably. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss challenges.
According to LJ's Materials Survey 2015, romance ranks consistently among the top three genre circulators in public libraries, in both print and ebook formats (it's actually tied with general fiction at No. 2 in ebooks). And by locale, after mystery, romance is tops in suburban and urban libraries. Join the conversation on this most lustily favored genre and get ready to add some love to your collections.
The future is a visual place. The media is dominated by image-based sharing. Carefully designed ads and brands are constantly bombarding us. Such a visually stimulated world raises important questions about visual literacy but it also asks questions about how libraries are communicating without words. What do our materials and use of images say about us? How are we engaging our communities with intentional graphic design? This session will begin with basic graphic design principles and apply them to various print and electronic materials with the purpose of effectively communicating messages and engaging with communities. Emphasis will be placed on the practical considerations of the design process, software choices, where to find useful materials for including in designs, and places to be inspired. Attendees will leave with many free resource suggestions and an understanding of how to use design principles to create all kinds of materials from handouts and event posters to infographics and syllabi.
World-renowned Fortune 500 business consultant Bonnie St. John has noticed an alarming degree of ambivalence among women about seeing themselves as leaders and being fully committed to achieving leadership roles. Even her teenage daughter, Darcy, has harbored reservations and voiced surprisingly stereotypical criticisms of women as leaders. In this powerful program, Bonnie will share the rich wisdom and insights she and her daughter Darcy gleaned from their conversations with such fascinating role models as Hillary Clinton, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Facebook CnO Sheryl Sandberg, Geena Davis, Condoleezza Rice, and many more.
Has your budget been cut? How can you find more money while maintaining your reputation? If your library's budget is cut, you may face shortened hours, fewer children's programs, outdated equipment, or long holds lists. But there may be another option. Join adult services librarian Ed Rossman to learn alternative ways to generate revenue without sacrificing your library's reputation. Using public broadcasting as a model, Rossman will talk about how to develop a prospect list, take advantage of new technology, and put underused library assets to work.
Author and consultant Michele Levy brings a practical approach to the topic of nonprofit branding. Learn from her real world examples, and walk away with tactics you can implement in your own organization.
The co-chairs of the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education Task Force will identify the ideas underpinning the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy, which creates new opportunities for collaboration on campuses around student engagement with the information ecosystem. The Framework draws on metaliteracy, theories about threshold concepts, and the "backward design" model of Wiggins and McTighe. It promotes knowledge practices and habits of mind as learning goals, and emphasizes the evolving role of the student as creator as well as consumer of knowledge. The presenters will identify principles for instructional design supporting the Framework, as well as assessment methods that address developmental aspects of learning the information literacy concepts and practices comprising the Framework.
Sometimes it can be difficult to identify when you're facing an ethical dilemma in your work with volunteers. Using volunteer management scenarios and a conversational format, this webinar will cover some of the dilemmas you face when you engage and manage volunteers and provide ideas on how to resolve these situations effectively and ethically.
As job seekers of all kinds continue to come to the library for resources and support, libraries continue to find new ways to respond to this essential community need. Workforce literacy impacts a variety of patrons, including ex-offenders reentering the workforce, small businesses looking to grow, young first time job seekers, military personnel and veterans, and older adults seeking new skills to stay in the workforce. Work SC brings a comprehensive, yet accessible, set of tools to South Carolina residents through the State Library, and Jason played no small part in making it happen. Find out how your library, large or small, can adapt these service models and partnerships to provide the resources and support your local community needs to thrive in today's workforce.
Discovery services sit at the forefront of libraries' current efforts to expose and enhance access to their information resources. Join this webinar to learn about recent advances in implementing discovery services and the results that these libraries have seen regarding their collections. In addition, a leading technology consultant will present on the future of Discovery services and libraries.
Nonprofits need a solid strategy for data collection and analysis to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their programs. Funders often request this data to determine program effectiveness, and measuring programs is clearly an essential element of taking your mission further. However, with all the confusing terminology, varying approaches to collection, and difficulty of clear presentation, many nonprofits are without a foundation to start from.
Join the Wyoming State Library for an overview of current and future trustee training and outreach programs and opportunities. Come prepared to share what you are doing to reach trustees in your state and region.
Of course, your organization absolutely must have a nice-looking website. But it also must contain content that your users really want to engage with AND can easily find! Your website is a key part of your organization's outreach/marketing effort and needs to speak to your readers their way. This free webinar will offer you plenty of tips and techniques to make sure your content is web reader-friendly, while it stresses your community impact.
Explore the use of free technologies like blogs, wikis, Facebook, Twitter, and online groups to help build communication, increase participation, and enhance transfer of training to the job. We'll both define and demystify each tool. You will get ideas for applying low-cost collaboration strategies to your own training programs—both classroom and online!
In nearly every organization, leaders are being held accountable to do something they cannot do-motivate others. Leaders can't motivate people, because people are already motivated. The question is not if a person is motivated but why. This realization always leads to an epiphany for training and human resource practitioners. HR's dependence on carrots and sticks to motivate people had become common practice because we didn't understand the true nature of human motivation. Now we do, thanks to thought leaders like Dan Pink and his blockbuster book DRIVE. But letting go of carrots and sticks has been a challenge. HR leaders know Dan Pink, they know what they've been doing doesn't work, and they know managers aren't successful at motivating people. But they haven't understood what their alternatives are. In this webinar, Susan Fowler will help HR leaders understand the viable alternatives to the carrots and sticks on three levels: Individual, Leaders and Organization.
Apple's ecosystem of media-rich educational content is rapidly growing. Thousands of open educational resources in the form of multi-touch iBooks are available to libraries, teachers, and students for download from the iBookstore. This webinar will highlight some of the best interactive iBooks for education. We will explore iBooks connected to your curriculum and those that are just plain fun to download, read and interact with. Furthermore, we will demonstrate how you can easily create these dynamic iBooks for your own students with free software from Apple called iBooks Author. Please join us to learn about these amazing resources.
In our Tech Tools with Tine series, trainer Tine Walczyk typically tackles a single online tool for one hour. For this spring 2015 series, we're doing something a little different. For the first three webinars, Tine will put her focus on a different aspect of social media use by libraries. In this week's webinar, she'll be presenting part 3: Engaging Patrons. Topics discussed include examples of what libraries are doing with social media, developing support parameters, and recommendations on how to get patrons involved and engaged.
Feedback is a powerful intervention for improving human performance. Everyone gives and receives feedback every day in the workplace. Given appropriately, feedback can enhance a person's motivation, competency, and self-image. Given inappropriately, feedback can leave a person feeling resentful, patronized, confused, stupid, and ashamed. In this interactive webinar, Thiagi and Matt will use LOLAs (Live Online Learning Activities) to help you become more proficient in both sides of using effective feedback: giving and receiving.
Join Booklist for a free, hour-long webinar with the Penguin Random House Library Marketing staff as they share their top picks for Fall 2015. Find out what new books made their TBR piles and get the inside scoop on their predictions for the fall's sleeper hits and blockbuster bestsellers. Booklist Adult Books senior editor Donna Seaman will also offer her selections of not-to-be-missed Penguin Random House titles from the forthcoming season. Due to the overwhelming response from the first "What We're Reading" webinar, Penguin Random House is giving away twice as many tote bags! Attendees to the live webinar will be entered to win one of 50 ARC-filled "Keep Calm and Read On" tote bags.
Join authors Sharon Draper, Jason Reynolds, Christy Hale, and Sandra Moore, along with librarian Thom Barthelmess, and SLJ editor Kiera Parrott for a conversation about diversity in kid and YA lit.
Join ALA President Courtney Young for a conversation about ALA's strategic planning process and the strategic directions. With the current plan running through 2015, ALA is currently in the process of articulating the Association's strategic direction for the next three to five years. Building on the Council-adopted Key Action Areas, three strategic initiatives have been identified as priority areas of focus for the Association after a series of conversations with members during 2013 and 2014. These three strategic initiatives are: Advocacy, Information Policy, and Professional & Leadership Development.
The world is more interconnected than ever before; with more connectivity comes more responsibility. The Federal Government is committed to raising cybersecurity awareness across the Nation; this involves working across all levels of government, with the private sector, and internationally to defend against and respond to cyber incidents, while protecting individual privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. As a librarian, you are a trusted resource for many Americans and have a unique opportunity to help spread awareness for cybersecurity and make the Internet a more secure experience for everyone. During this presentation, you will learn about the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's free cybersecurity resources including the Stop.Think.Connect. campaign.
In this webinar, we'll discuss ways to develop a framework to support high performance by: Applying clear criteria to identify top priorities, Better leveraging physical and mental stamina, Negotiating the terms of requests, so you can say "yes" more often, and Delivering the results that your organization and customers expect.
Join the Library Leadership & Management Association for a conversation with Barbara Stripling, ALA immediate past President, as part of LLAMA Thought Leaders: A Free Series of Conversational Webinars Highlighting Innovative ideas and practices.
How do Millennials relate to the organizations they support? What do they want as a donor and how does that translate into future support? Join experts from The Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Millennial Impact Project to hear the key takeaways from the recent Millennial Alumni Study.
Learn about Project Outcome, PLAs latest field-driven initiative. Project Outcome will help libraries better measure the outcomes of the services they offer to patrons and provide the resources and support to effectively communicate and implement their findings for advocacy, partnership, and planning activities. This interactive webinar will provide insights from the field about measuring outcomes. Presenters will share their experiences piloting Project Outcome's easy-to-use surveys and discuss future opportunities to enroll.
In this Demco-sponsored webcast Catherine Hakala-Ausperk, from Libraries Thrive Consulting, joins Demco's Director of Library Engagement, Janet Nelson, to discuss time-proven professional development ideas for leadership success. Whether you have just been promoted to a leadership position or would like to be in one in the future, there are always tips and tricks that can help you to further develop your skills. We have all met great leaders, worked for great leaders or sometimes known their evil twins. For anyone — and everyone — who wants to be a great leader, a very simple recipe of awareness, key qualities and ongoing development can be your pathway to success.
Libraries have invested a great deal of time and effort into choosing and implementing discovery systems, often to mixed responses from students and faculty. Learn how libraries have marketed these services to their users and assessed users' experience with discovery tools.
The Hidden Web, also commonly known as the invisible or deep web, consists of pages that have not been indexed by search engines. They might be websites that have requested not to be indexed or databases that are difficult for search engines to crawl. It is estimated that the content in the deep web is over 500 times greater than what is visible to conventional search engines. In this webinar, we will explore the depths of the Internet, discussing how to search the Hidden Web and databases, as well as when to choose one over the other.
The chief executive-board chair leadership pair drives a nonprofit's success—or not. When their working relationship is good, both parties are free to lead their colleagues toward mission impact and enjoy their work. When it is poor, progress stagnates as the chief executive waits for relief and the board chair casts about ineffectively.
Do you wonder why your nonprofit's or library's rankings on search engines are always low? Wish you had a better understanding of how to improve search results that bring your organization to the top of the page? Join TechSoup's Online Marketing and Analytics Manager James Metzger for a crash-course on how to think like a search engine so you can get your organization's message heard and found across the web!
Get the inside scoop on pressing library topics from leaders in the field—free–with American Libraries Live. It's a streaming video program that you can view in your library, at home, or while sipping coffee at your favorite wi-fi enabled coffee shop. This is not just a webinar with voice-overs drilling through PowerPoint slides. You'll watch presenters live onscreen, and you can ask questions in real time via chat.
The call for diverse children's literature has never been louder, but multicultural books are still often hard to find. This hour-long, free webinar will feature representatives from Annick Press, Lee & Low Books, Lorimer, and Second Story Press, who will present new multicultural titles perfect for enriching the diversity of your library's youth collection. Moderated by Booklist's Books for Youth associate editor Sarah Hunter.
It is time for all women to realize they have the right to say what they truly mean. All of us are responsible for helping women everywhere to find their voices and to listen when they speak. Direct communication transcends boundaries and overcomes obstacles. It builds relationships and clarifies positions. As more women embrace freedom of expression, they will begin to enjoy a quality of life heretofore not achieved.
Why are some clients or co-workers so frustrating to work with? Or more importantly, why would anyone think of YOU as a difficult person? For example, isn't it irritating when the person across the desk or on the phone can't seem to ever make a decision… or makes a snap decision only to change it a day later? In this interactive and engaging Webinar, you will discover why "different" does not have to mean "difficult." Then you will learn the magic of making slight adjustments in your awareness and behavior that will have a significant impact on your ability to "click" with customers and co-workers. You will laugh as you identify your behavior style, as well as those with whom you work. While you laugh, you will also learn that people are different and that "intent" doesn't always equal "impact." In short, you will realize how to make work… less work!
This is a LIVE show presented in news show format featuring a Wrap up of "This Month in School Libraries" and deeper discussion of topical school library issues with special guest experts. Did we mention it was LIVE?
Booklist and ALA Editions have teamed up for a series of free, hour-long readers' advisory webinars, featuring content experts in various genres. Up first, ALA Editions author (The Readers' Advisory Guide to Mystery) and veteran Booklist reviewer, John Charles, will reveal the secrets of working with readers to help them find the right books. Then representatives from Books on Tape, Penguin Random House, Poisoned Pen Press, and Seventh Street Books will share their best new and forthcoming crime fiction titles for your patrons. Moderated by Booklist Online editor Keir Graff.
Join us for an hour long webinar where we will look at FREE resources for teaching K-12 computer programming via your library. The best part? You need zero coding experience to participate! All you need is a willingness to have fun, to let your patrons be the experts, and to provide time for kids to get excited about designing their own programs. Perhaps you have heard about Hour of Code? Well the hour for coding in your library is now! Don't miss out!
How do you build successful STEM programs? Technology can be a big draw for teens, but it isn't the only component needed to create engaging experiences. It also takes a dedicated staff, creative ideas, and a willingness to try new things (and sometimes fail). Come to this free webinar to learn from experienced youth librarians who will share what they do to develop awesome teen tech programs. They will share practical planning tips and programming ideas. They will also help you think outside the box of traditional teen library programming to come up with new, creative ideas to engage youth in your community.
Are you new to proposal writing or want a quick refresher? If so, you don't want to miss one of our most popular classes! This newly revised class will provide you with an overview of how to write a standard project proposal to a foundation. It will include: The basic elements of a proposal, The "do's" and "don'ts" of writing and submitting a proposal, and How to follow up whether the answer is yes or no.
They say that there are two types of people – the "big picture people" and the "details people." But what if your role requires you to be both? Whatever your natural comfort zone, big picture thinking can also be a learned skill, if you wish to develop it. In this lively webinar, we will explore ways to see and apply the big picture in your daily work. Our focus will be on practical skills for extending and enhancing your perspective to achieve better results.
It's time for our annual app review! In this session, participants will discover apps that change the way students and teachers think about learning. The presenter will feature apps that promote essential 21st century learning skills – creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and apps that fuel creativity. Do you have apps you'd like to share? Please do so here! This webinar will benefit K-12 school librarians, classroom teachers, curriculum leaders, and administrators using iOS, Droid, or Chrome.
Research studies indicate that qualified school librarians who actively engage in effective collaborations in their teaching and curricular roles are major contributors to increased student achievement. This webinar will address the concept of collaboration and the actual functions, or operations, of collaboration that make up effective collaborative efforts. We will discuss the models and strategies of school library collaborations that must be reinforced by effective professional development. Most teachers view the role of the school librarian to be that of resource manager and not of instructional collaborator who is an expert in information literacy and 21st century instructional technology. We will also discuss how teacher education programs might introduce the information literacy role of the 21st century school librarian to pre-service teachers and administrators.
Don't know a filter from a formula? This free 60-minute webinar will walk you through a few of our favorite basic Microsoft Excel formulas and shortcuts, as well as introduce the near-magical power of pivot tables. Sample data and step-by-step instructions for practice will also be included.
Everyone talks about sponsorship, but how many organizations profit from win-win partnerships for their events and programs? The answer is too few! You're probably struggling with sponsorship because the standard rules don't apply. If you want sponsors to say yes, you need to know how and what to sell. And spoiler alert, they're not just interested in what's good for YOU. They too want to profit from the partnership. Fortunately, Joe Waters (Selfish Giving) knows what both partners want and need.
Are you looking for: Quick and easy outreach opportunities? Ways to expand your storytime portfolio? Ideas to increase strategic partnerships with businesses, corporations, and non-profits? Then look no further than Pop-Up Storytimes. The most popular program in the library is still storytime. What about taking a time-honored program on the road. Instead of having storytime in the library, you could have it at a bank, a toy store, or a car dealership.
In the Tech Tools with Tine series, Christine Walczyk puts her focus on different technology tools. In this webinar, she discusses Arduino – mail-order kits for building digital and interactive devices. Find out what it is, what it can be used for, how to get it, and receive some basic instruction on how to program with it! Come away with the tools to complete your 1st project and learn about the community to keep your knowledge building.
Have you heard these urgent requests before? "Can you make it quick, please?" "Can you tell me how I can improve immediately?" "Will you let me know instantly if I am doing a good job or if I am failing?" The mode and tone of today's workers and team members sound urgent, almost always needing immediate attention. What happens when we miss the opportunity to provide coaching and feedback because of long awaited and scheduled performance evaluation or weekly meetings? The urgency of the need may have passed, that the value of the coaching and feedback may be diminished. How do you avoid this from happening?
The focus of this webinar will be on cataloging U.S. Government serial publications using RDA. LSCM staff will discuss GPO practices in determining if a publication is a serial through processing and cataloging of serial publications following CONSER and RDA standards. Practical tips and examples will be provided.
Most any library can be a target, so join Blake Carver, the Owner of LISHost.org, and get some ideas on how to make your library and your home more secure. Carver covers privacy, as it is closely related to security, and should be taken seriously. He shares many ways to stay safe online, how to secure your browser, PC, and other devices you and your patrons use every day. He also tackles some common security myths, talks about secure passwords and network security, as well as hardware and PC security. Carver discusses security issues that you'll find in your library as well as tricks sysadmins can do with servers to make things safer for you, and that you'll never see as an end user.
Traditional managers expect compliance. Coaching-managers expect engagement, creativity, responsibility, and ownership. Coaching is not an isolated practice―it's a management discipline that can boost both employee development and performance. But many managers are of the opinion that they simply do not have the time to coach each and every one of their employees on a regular basis. However, ask yourself, "What will it cost in time or money if my employees don't have a clear view of goals, lack critical skills, or are encountering problems that impede progress?" Join Dan Rockwell as he explains the differences between coaching-managers and traditional managers and offers advice on how to use a coaching approach to energize and engage your staff.
Can a virtual team be as effective as a co-located team? This is a question that organizations are debating, and the arguments on both sides are very compelling. Factors like work-life balance and organizational savings need to be balanced with the value of face-to-face collaboration and managerial oversight. Whether you personally embrace the concept or not, chances are you will participate as a virtual team member during your career. The reality is, a virtual team can be very effective if the correct conditions are met and maintained. It's about putting together the right personalities, ensuring they have the right tools, and leading the team successfully. After discussing the arguments for and against establishing a virtual team, this workshop will use real life examples to address six key enablers for success.
There's no question; creating and managing a blog for your nonprofit organization requires a significant commitment and investment of time. Our upcoming free webinar will show you a number of steps you can take to make blogging manageable.
Think outside the book group! Libraries are re-engaging with adult readers and sharing books with them in innovative new ways and in unconventional places. From pop-up programming on planes, trains and ferries, to Books on Tap, a literary sport over local brews, jump into the programming sandbox to explore creative ideas for reaching new adult audiences and delighting the bibliophiles in your own community.
The June 30 fiscal-year-end for many nonprofits and churches is right around the corners, so now is the time to exhaust all of the donations your organization is eligible to receive between now and then! Join our free webinar at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, May 28 to walk through different donation programs through TechSoup, learn which ones reset on July 1, and get the most out of tech donations right now.
Tired of seeing PowerPoint shows that have neither power nor a point? This session provides strategies for developing memorable slides with punch, not just pretty slides peppered with bullets. Join us as we look at ways to hook our learners, highlight critical information, and create learning points that will stick.
Join us for this interactive session where we will explore ways to move parent involvement to parent engagement, hear examples from public libraries and other organizations successful in engaging and empowering parents, and share your own experiences and ideas on the topic. We'll also discuss the possibilities of parent ambassador programs and parent advisory boards in public libraries. This is not a traditional lecture-type webinar; come prepared to actively participate in the conversation!
Your input in planning Fall Workshops 2015 is kindly requested. Your Montana State Library staff has met to create a list of topics gleaned from what we hear and observe and from the suggestions we've received on evaluation forms. Keeping in mind that we make a special effort to serve the needs of our smallest public libraries at this event, and to promote the goals of the Montana State Library Commission.
Before May 1st, go to this online whiteboard to see our list of topic ideas.
You can add something by double clicking in an open space, or you can click on any entry to edit it or to add a comment. If you think something is really, really important – click and drag it to the upper left corner.
You can also leave a comment to this this post with a list of the topics you like the most, or any other suggestions or feedback you have for us. If there is a speaker or presenter you want to recommend, we would be glad to hear about it. And, you can always contact me directly – jflick@mt.gov.
We expect to have dates set for Fall Workshops in May and will finalize our program by the end of June. The event will be held in Helena – it's a lot cheaper to hold it there because we don't have travel costs for much of our staff, and we have to keep our costs down. Speaking of costs, in order to provide a good quality training event with a shrinking budget, lunch will be on your own this year.
April Showers bring more time to stay in and learn!
Responsive web design (RWD) "is a web development approach that creates dynamic changes to the appearance of a website, depending on the screen size and orientation of the device being used to view it. RWD is one approach to the problem of designing for the multitude of devices available to customers, ranging from tiny phones to huge desktop monitors." NNg/Nielsen-Norman Group. Made possible by the latest versions of HTML and cascading stylesheets, HTML5 and CSS3, responsive web design has been around for almost 5 years. RWD provides a solution to the conundrum of a library or organization having to maintain multiple versions of their website, each optimized for a different device. In addition, responsiveness is being built into more content management systems, for example Word Press themes, so RWD is within the reach of organizations without large IT departments. This webinar will present an overview of the benefits RWD, and provide criteria to help anyone charged with managing a website choose between a mobile site, RWD, or mobile app development.
Join teacher librarians to learn about Makerspaces. The TL Virtual Cafe is committed to creating conversations about teacher-librarians, educational technology, and collaborative connections to facilitate meaningful and lifelong learning skills.
Why infographics? If you've never created one, they can seem daunting and expensive. However, when you find the right data and have the right story to tell, your Infographic can reach a wide audience and make a big difference in your community and beyond.
Join Booklist for this free, hour-long webinar where representatives from Albert Whitman & Company, Tommy Nelson, and Zonderkids will share titles perfect for your younger patrons and the long, warm days of summer. Moderated by Booklist's Books for Youth Acting editor Keir Graff.
Every aspect of the higher education ecosystem is changing—from libraries, to faculty, to administration, to publishers. Understanding these developments will allow librarians and faculty to communicate more effectively with each other and collectively achieve their institution's mission. Join us for a stimulating and perhaps challenging, but necessary discussion.
Sally Snyder, Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services at the Nebraska Library Commission, will give brief book talks of new titles pertaining to the 2015 Summer Reading Program themes: Every Hero Has A Story (children's theme) and Unmask! (teen theme).
Summary: Obtaining grant funding from foundations, corporations, and public agencies is a competitive process. Before beginning a lengthy proposal, applicants must carefully assess their alignment with grantor guidelines, interests, and funding priorities. Otherwise, the endeavor will force an organization to contort itself to meet grant requirements, squandering time and resources while distracting from its true mission. This webinar, led by a grant proposal writer who has successfully obtained millions for nonprofits based on careful evaluation of grantors, will share tips about best practices for reviewing grant guidelines, eligibility requirements, and funding priorities.
Marketing in libraries is often an afterthought rather than a priority embedded in planning. But times are changing! Community members now have more choices for books, information, entertainment and assistance. Don't let your library become invisible due to perceived lack of time, money or marketing savvy. Jamie will help you think differently to achieve the basics of effective marketing without a ton of money or staff. From promotional videos to eye-catching emails, you'll learn about marketing techniques and tools available to even the smallest of libraries. Discover simple ways to gain attention and increase attendance.
A Makerspace is a place for curation, design, collaboration, creation, and evaluation. In education, Makerspaces need to have clear goals, ties to the curriculum, student led events, and a place for students to take initiative. This webinar will be presented by elementary librarians Nancy Jo Lambert of Frisco ISD, Chair-Elect of the Texas Library Association's Children's Round Table, and Shawna Ford of Weatherford ISD, both popular presenters at TCEA and TLA. In this webinar, Nancy Jo and Shawna will walk participants through the process of initiating a Makerspace with both no-tech and high-tech resources. They will also discuss the ways in which each of them have created times and places for students to participate in Makerspace activities.
Come and check out a session on the AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning with Heather Moorefield-Lang. She has handpicked a selection of great sites just for librarians. In this presentation she will discuss sites, how they can be used, examples from the field as well as look for new ideas and suggestions. Come and learn about some new technology and have fun chatting about sites.
Join Booklist and New Leaf Literary & Media agents for an hour-long, free webinar that will discuss the role of a literary agent, as well as describing how librarians, teachers, and booksellers can work directly with agents to forge relationships between authors and readers. Panelists will share examples of working with their YA authors, including Veronica Roth, Victoria Aveyard, Kody Keplinger, and Leigh Bardugo, and explain how they've connected with schools, libraries, and bookstores to coordinate events, panels, special mailings, social media interaction, and more. Moderated by Ilene Cooper, Booklist Books for Youth Senior Editor.
Authors of The Brand Idea will discuss the strategic role a brand can play in achieving mission impact, supporting collaboration, and strengthening organizational cohesion.
Featured at ACRL, and now available via webinar for librarians across the country, you won't want to miss this session from Courtney Greene McDonald, Head of Discovery & Research Services at Indiana University Libraries, and Heidi Steiner Burkhardt, Head of Digital Services at Norwich University! Other people live in the world and come to the library, but until recently, librarians have often lived in the library and only occasionally escaped to the world. Patron expectations today are shaped by myriad external factors, and libraries are responding through developing a user experience (UX) culture. Come and be inspired to intentionally integrate sustainable UX practices into your day-to-day, and discover tangible actions to implement in your library's virtual and physical environments.
Are you new to the field of grantseeking? Discover what funders are looking for in nonprofits seeking grants and how to find potential funders in this newly revised class. You will learn the 10 most important things you need to know about finding grants including: Who funds nonprofits and what are their motivations. What do funders really want to know about the organizations they are interested in funding. How do you identify potential funders and make the first approach.
Did you know that Halloween is only 6 months away? Now's the perfect time to assess your horror collections and reacquaint yourself with this popular genre so that you are ready to handle the increase in demand come October. Join experienced Readers' Advisor and international horror expert Becky Spratford for 90 minutes of vampires, ghosts, zombies and more. She will show you how to work with horror readers by explaining the appeal the appeal of horror, book talking some of the genre's most popular authors, presenting the current trends, and going over the most useful resources. Remember, you don't need to be scared of your horror readers. They are not monsters, they just like to read about them.
Come join us for a discussion of the American Library Association's Reference Interview Guidelines and an examination of the most common types of difficult patron interactions and reference desk situations. Presenters will include: Michael Noe and April Love from the University of Utah Marriot Library, and Meghan Hunt and Holly Whistler from Salt Lake Country Library Services.
Join us for this free, hour-long webinar where representatives from ChiZine, Samhain Publishing, and Tor Teen will share excellent science fiction and fantasy titles for that sought-after section of the public library collection. With these new books, even the most all-consuming sf reader will find at least temporary satiation. Moderated by Booklist's Adult Books editor Brad Hooper.
You want to share the impact volunteers have in your organization and in the community, but often the information you track doesn't help you tell that story. This webinar will help you move past number of volunteers and number of hours and start telling the real story. You'll learn about information gathering and the key components to good storytelling, how to evaluate your current measurements and how to build support for a more thorough measurement and evaluation program, and how to engage other staff – paid and volunteer – in this work. You'll also receive a worksheet to help you begin to tell the story of volunteer impact in your organization.
This webinar will review numerous tips for navigating FDsys, such as viewing historical editions of publications, downloading part or all of a publication, working with the U.S. Congressional Serial Set on FDsys, making use of the "Document in Context" feature, locating related resources, and much more.
Managing stress effectively has less to do with managing external events – things you can't control – and more to do with better managing yourself. This session focuses on strategies for taking charge of your own responses to stress and turning them to more productive reactions and behaviors.
Discover the new books that you can offer to children who use your library! Hear about books published in late 2014 and Spring 2015 that will be popular with children ages 0-12. These include board books, picture books, easy readers, transitional fiction, genre fiction for middle grades, graphic novels, poetry, nonfiction, and more. Hear about books that will appeal to the "reluctant reader," and books that will have popularity with a wide audience of children.
During this presentation Dr. Chris Marker will discuss hot topics in science, engineering and technology. Dr. Marker will also demonstrate how the Inspec database drives research and innovation through its depth and breadth of content and ease of access. He will show how, through careful selection and categorization of relevant information, Inspec allows researchers to drill down and retrieve specific information quickly and efficiently; plus showcase why the Inspec database has been the research tool of choice of the world's leading universities, companies and government agencies.
Staff of the Nebraska Library Commission have either attended, produced, or delivered more than 500 webinars in the past decade and they'd like to encourage others to try out this communications platform. In this episode, NLC staff Christa Burns, Laura Johnson, and Michael Sauers will share many of the lessons they've learned over the years about how to produce, host, and deliver successful webinars.
Join the Regional Medical Library to learn about their App Share Project.
This webcast explains and helps you understand financial statements, digging into the nitty-gritty of the Balance Sheet, P&L, and Cash Flow. For an hour, you'll get practical examples and learn tips you can easily use to read financial statements in your organization, whether a large publicly-held company or a start-up. You will identify the main parts of financial statements, distinguish the main functions of each statement, and interpret the numbers to make sound financial decisions.
Join us for our free webinar featuring Polsinelli PC shareholder Virginia C. Gross, and Capin Crouse National Director for Not-for-Profit Tax Services Dave Moja. These leaders will present new insights from the 2015 ACT report, go over common trip up points in the Form 990, and reveal what's new in the 2014 Form 990.
Ensuring resources – human and financial – are an essential board responsibility, but many of us cringe at the mention of fundraising. Join this webinar to learn more about what fundraising really means for board members and the specific, fun ways to get involved in ensuring financial sustainability for your organization. This is a great opportunity for board, staff, and volunteers to learn about the essentials of fundraising and different ways to fund raise for your organization.
Conducting research can be richly rewarding in terms of career development, institutional enrichment, and understanding the needs and pressures of library users. Many librarians and information professionals have a dual role with respect to research: leading their own research/participating as part of a research team, and advising other researchers on achieving research impact. Join our webinar presenters as they explore three critical facets of managing a research career and reputation. Eminent LIS scholar Carol Tenopir will begin with a presentation based on the new Library Connect ebooklet Librarians Do Research Too! She will outline an easy-to-follow blueprint for LIS professionals to begin their own research projects. Manon Burger will then describe how to prepare and promote articles to increase their visibility and attract readers. Wouter Haak concludes with information on measuring research impact via My Research Dashboard, a new service being rolled out to Elsevier authors that includes metrics, such as citations, usage, views, scholarly mentions and more.
Join TechSoup's Jim Lynch and mobile solutions VP at CDI Glenn Collins to learn how tablets and mobile devices can be leveraged to help you work smarter – and greener – this Earth Day month and year-round.
In our upcoming Wild Apricot Expert Webinar, Tobi Johnson will help you understand what drives volunteer satisfaction and show you how to design an onboarding process that speeds up engagement. Plus, we'll share a list of volunteer orientation "must haves". You won't want to miss out!
Are you looking for ways to engage school-age children in hands-on learning experiences at your library? Curious about injecting the maker mentality into your current programs and services? In this webinar, we'll explore the philosophy behind STEAM and maker activities for youth before delving into a range of program ideas that can be applied at any library, regardless of space or budget. We'll also identify some go-to resources to allow any library to start offering dynamic STEAM and maker activities with minimal fuss.
Join Bold Strokes Books and Riptide Publishing to hear about trends and the latest titles for patrons interested in LGBTQ materials. Romance, erotica, mystery, and fantasy: these publishers will cover the spectrum of hot upcoming titles for LGBTQ readers from YA to adult, allowing you to stock your shelves with don't-miss titles that patrons will clamor for. You'll also hear more about Library Journal's recent coverage for the community as well.
Looking for new, creative ways to encourage classroom use of library resources? Look no further! In this session, you will hear from Sara Swenson, Media Specialist at Edina High School (MN), on her latest practices for integrating the library into the classroom: using databases and Google Apps to build curricular packets for teachers to use in instruction.
Join Julie Armstrong, Project Coordinator with Idaho Commission for Libraries, as she shares information about how poverty impacts learning and library services. A great informational session focusing on connecting with the needs of underserved and unserved populations.
Every day, patrons enter libraries around the country with questions about health, housing, employment, counseling and other essential human services. And libraries are there to make these crucial connections for them. Many libraries are now exploring ways to expand their role as connector to community social services through resources such as webpages, mobile apps, and databases. These services might refer somebody to a free meal, legal assistance, support groups, and much more. Join us to hear examples of how referral services and resources have augmented the social services connections that contribute to community vitality.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is working to provide libraries with financial education resources, program ideas, marketing materials, training, and more. The goal of the effort is to make libraries the go-to source for financial information and education in every community. The CFPB worked closely with nine public libraries to build strategies that could be implemented in any library. Learn more about this innovative national initiative and how you can participate.
Tune in for the latest in middle-grade reading from Annick Press, Bloomsbury, Disney Book Group, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. In this free, hour-long program moderated by Booklist Associate Editor Sarah Hunter, representatives from each publisher will share their up-and-coming titles exclusively for the middle-grade set.
Libraries across the state are developing services, policies, and procedures to ensure individuals, families and unaccompanied youth who are experiencing homelessness in their communities have access the information and services they need to stay connected. Please join us for this interactive session on library partnerships and services for the patrons experiencing homelessness. Come prepared to engage in a lively discussion, ask your burning questions, and share your experiences!
The world of young adult literature is a dynamic one that has become one of the most vibrant areas of publishing. Each publishing season brings a plethora of new titles, new forms, and new formats, many of which require new methods of evaluation. Keeping up with these changes and the 5,000 + new titles flooding the market annually can be a full-time job. This webinar will help you identify new trends and the best new titles for your collections.
In 2015 the hottest accessory for young and old is wearable technology. You may be asking what wearable technology is. Wearable technology refers to devices that can be worn by users, taking the form of an accessory such as jewelry, sunglasses, a backpack, or even actual items of clothing like shoes or a jacket. A benefit of wearable technology is that it can conveniently integrate tools, devices, power needs, and connectivity within a user's everyday life and movements. This NCompass Live focuses on "wearable tech" projects for youth in your library. Ann O'Connor, J.D., Instructional Designer from Nebraska 4-H will be presenting wearable tech youth project ideas for libraries. She's selected a fiction and a non-fiction book for each of these age-groups, grades K-5, middle school and high school. She'll suggest wearable tech projects that can be done with each book. Ann will share information on where to purchase the hardware for the wearable tech projects she highlights in today's webinar.
Direct mail can serve as an important opportunity to connect with donors and prospects, and a strategically executed piece can lead to increased revenue over previous campaigns, but does it still play a critical role in today's technological age? How are nonprofits adapting to changes in the way that their donors and prospects receive and respond to fundraising appeals? Join Giving Tree's Amy Schiffman, Lizzy Sternberg and Lisa Sheridan to learn about best practices in preparing for and maximizing the return on your direct mail investment.
Organizations are recognizing that the old ways of doing business don't work in this changing world. The good news is that today's volunteers are interested in opportunities to help organizations innovate and pilot new ways of doing business. This webinar will explore how to engage volunteers as leaders of change. Learn where your organization is in its lifecycle and gain an appreciation for the importance of innovation in organizational sustainability. The webinar will also feature strategies for supporting volunteers and holding them accountable for change.
This month, a NN/LM Coordinator will review some cool social media tools available from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, and related government organizations.
In this annual review of new developments in eContent delivery, participants will learn about platforms, services, licensing options, new product "packaging," spending models, and content availability. Michelle Luhtala, Head Librarian at New Canaan High School in Connecticut, will also review recent research on student usage of eContent, and participants will discuss anticipated changes in evolving patron needs. This webinar will benefit K-12 school librarians, classroom teachers, curriculum leaders, and administrators using iOS, Droid, and Chrome.
In an age of dwindling budgets and rising expectations, librarians must constantly be on the lookout for inexpensive ways to improve their libraries. This three-part interactive workshop will equip librarians with inventive strategies for enhancing their library's atmosphere at minimal to no cost. Firstly, the presentation will recount how—with the help of eager student volunteers—I was able to re-design, re-shelve, and reinvigorate Willoughby South High's library to create an organized and aesthetically pleasing information commons. Secondly, a Google slideshow will showcase economically savvy strategies for enhancing a library's physical space as well as its online presence while encouraging students to take an active role in their library's transformation. The presentation promises to be an interactive, fun learning experience, in that, attendees will vote in real time about the direction they wish the discussion to proceed and what examples they are most interested in exploring. Following the presentation, participants will demonstrate learning objectives by brainstorming ideas for transforming their own libraries into attractive spaces with appealing websites. Responses will be displayed on a Google form and spreadsheet. Participants will leave the session with extension resources including a sample grant proposal, a list of grant-writing tips, a list of student program suggestions, a study hall expectations handout, an aiding application with skills inventory, and most importantly an inspired outlook for turning their libraries into places where students feel welcome and excited to learn.
In this free, hour-long webinar hear TechSoup's Jim Lynch and Creative Commons' project manager Jane Park tell where to source free images and music for your nonprofit or public library.
Siobhan Reardon, director of the Free Library of Philadelphia, was recently honored as Librarian of the Year 2015 by Library Journal for awe-inspiring success in the face of difficult budgetary circumstances. After less than a month on the job, Reardon and FLP were faced with a 20% budget cut and reduced branch hours. Out of this, Reardon launched a new, innovative model for library service based on a clustering model. Don't miss this interview with Reardon to hear more about the struggles, the successes, and what this award-winning library is up to next.
In our Tech Tools with Tine series, trainer Tine Walczyk typically tackles a single online tool for one hour. For this spring 2015 series, we're doing something a little different. For the first three webinars, Tine will put her focus on a different aspect of social media use by libraries. In this week's webinar, she'll be presenting part 1: Needs Analysis. Topics discussed include when to use which tools, conducting user surveys, meeting your patrons where they live online, and thinking through your purpose for using social media.
Learn what it takes to build your high performance team. The strongest and most effective teams tap into and activate the strengths of every team member and build an environment rich with trust and respect. This allows for open communication and cohesiveness, which enables a team to rise to its full potential and overcome any obstacle to achieve desired results. Learn how you can build a breakthrough team by participating in our one-hour webinar. As a result of participating in this session you will: Discover the 6 characteristics of high performance teams, Determine where to focus to build a stronger team, and Start development of an action plan to increase team performance.
Flipped classroom learning — courseware and recorded content serving as the initial element of a learning experience, supplemented with live virtual sessions and social and collaborative tools to enhance and reinforce the learning experience — has the potential to increase learning effectiveness, lower operational costs, and improve retention and application of the learning. Flipped classrooms have created tremendous buzz in the education community but is this model viable in business learning? Join Bob Lee and Jim Recker to explore the implementation and application of the flipped classroom model and discuss its benefits to business learning organizations.
Murder and mayhem are coming soon—are you ready? Booklist's sixth annual Mystery Month is coming this May! Join us as we kick things off with our ever-popular mystery webinar, hosted by Booklist Online Editor Keir Graff. Representatives from HarperCollins, Pegasus Books, Penguin Random House, Severn House, and Soho Crime will help you prepare as they share the most exciting titles from their new and forthcoming lists. Visit The Booklist Reader to find out how you and your library can join the fun.
This presentation covers the basic composition and history of film and video technology, particularly as it relates to formats found within personal and family collections. Tips and tricks for preserving your personal moving image materials will be addressed so that future generations can continue to enjoy your family movies and videos.
Interest in sustainability has grown exponentially at colleges and universities, such that a 2009 New York Times articles announced, "Sustainability Field Booms on Campus," noting growth at both liberal arts institutions and at community colleges. This session focuses on finding governmental data relevant to research on sustainability, and will examine tools provided by agencies such as the EPA, Department of Energy, and some selected international sources. In addition, the session will suggest strategies for answering a data question, especially when its unclear where to begin or when other sources have been exhausted. The session is offered by Ann Marshall, a former political science librarian at the University of Rochester.
Effective presentation skills are a critical element of success in the workplace and beyond. The ability to state your ideas effectively and deliver with confidence enhances your standing with audiences large and small. This interactive webcast will focus on best practices from a speech coach who has worked with First Lady Michelle Obama, female political candidates, and CEOs.
Coaching is a powerful and underutilized technique for improving human performance. Every manager can coach others to achieve mutual goals. Coaching serves different purposes including building competence, encouraging teamwork, securing trust, setting expectations, and measuring success. Different contexts can benefit from different approaches to coaching. In this interactive workshop, Thiagi and Tracy will use LOLAs (Live Online Learning Activities) to coach you through proven guidelines for improving your coaching performance. Among other things, they will explore some little-known (but extremely effective) approaches to coaching from the fields of positive psychology and creativity.
As technology changes, the greatest threat to preserving digital files is obsolescence. Files may get stuck on obsolete media or in some form that may become unusable in time. If you don't actively care for your digital possessions you may lose access to them. This webinar can help increase your understanding of what it takes to preserve commonly used digital files such photos, recordings, videos and documents. Learn about the nature of the digital-preservation challenge and hear about some simple, practical tips and tools to help you preserve your digital stuff.
Please let me know if you uncover any errors in this information or if you have suggestions for training. At your State Library we are committed to helping every library find professional development resources that help them improve their skills so that every Montanan has access to world-class library services.


Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. This principle guides the care we offer at our Federally Qualified Health Centers in San Francisco. Our primary care health centers include: Haight Ashbury Free Clinics: Mission Street and our historic Haight Street location, Lyon Martin Health Services, Tenderloin Health Services and Women's Community Clinic.
Patients can meet with an eligibility worker to be screened for Healthy San Francisco, Medi-Cal, Medicare, FamilyPACT, or Covered California eligibility. All patients are given the opportunity to pay for their visit on a sliding scale. Our billing department can work with you to establish an affordable price for your doctor visits, based on your income and family size. Please bring supporting documents with you to your first visit, such as proof of income, proof of unemployment, or any other document you would like us to consider in determining your visit's cost.
DO NOT COME TO THE HEALTH CENTER.
Haight Ashbury Free Clinics offers primary medical care at two locations, and is guided by the principle that "Healthcare is a Right, Not a Privilege."
Tenderloin Health Services provides quality, compassionate integrated healthcare onsite in San Francisco, placing our patients at the center of care to address total health and wellness using an integrated service model.
Setting the standard in non-judgmental event medicine.
Join us in creating a better future for our community, our clients and their families.


text:
Scrolling Headlines
Poor students left behind
By Timothy Scalona
(Collegian File Photo)
Low-income and poor students alike fight day to day in a system that marginalizes them,
a system that forces its victims into a never-ending circle of survival, in a process of
dehumanization that only few overcome.
For many young adults like myself, trapped in the grasp of poverty and homelessness,
education is the only way the break the cycle. However, as we have seen over the past few decades, the costs of attending a university have skyrocketed, becoming an area for the upper-
middle-class and the rich to maintain their status, while lesser privileged students are left to fight for the scraps.
As described in a previous article, I came to the University of Massachusetts on the heels
of a six-year-period of homelessness and instability.
In poverty, there are but two principal goals: make it to the next day and find a way out.
Everything else falls secondary. Microwavable meals and fast food are often the only food
options. There is no other stress like one's fate being subjected to the rules of the shelter system.
There is a consistent back and forth, and to be comfortable is to be vulnerable. The only constant is change.
For those enduring a similar experience in their formative years, the pursuit of education
often takes secondhand importance. The college admissions process is the first point that divides
students on the basis of financial security. This can create lasting consequences for poorer
students, as applications have a focus on perfect grades, standardized testing, extracurricular
involvement, leadership roles and volunteer experience. College admissions expect young adults
to maintain a semblance of perfection. For those with no financial support, this facade is almost
unattainable. Having to work to survive or to take on other roles outside of the high school
environment is a hinderance. They are disadvantaged from the very beginning.
The University should be a conduit for social mobility and provide balance to a system
that recently has shifted in favor of the wealthy. Elite universities have long been strongholds
that cater to this privilege as they are, as one New York Times article states, "too worried about
harming their finances and rankings to match their rhetoric about wanting economic diversity
with action." Consequently, public universities have drawn low-income and middle-class
students under the notion of accessibility and affordability—a lower price tag for the same
quality education.
However, like elite universities, public univeristies have also increasingly prioritized
selectivity and reputation over economic diversity. For this reason, as the director of Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce describes, "higher education has become a powerful force for reinforcing advantage and passing it on through generations."
UMass is not exempt from this accusation. While the cost may be comparably lower,
tuition is still rising and is approximately $30,000 per year, one of the most expensive to date.
Rooted in the government's decreased investment in education, the increasing price impedes
access for low-income students. As the flagship campus, UMass should foster this avenue of
financial change through supporting disadvantaged students. However, a recent study shows that there is more "economic segregation" on our campus than one is led to believe. Almost half of all students are from the top 20 percent income wise; only 5.8 percent from the bottom 20 percent. To reaffirm this point, the median family income is $102,900 – no small sum.
This prevalence of privilege and extreme income disparity is largely a symptom of the
marginalization of poor students within the education system. In the same study, it was found
that six in 10 students from families in the bottom 20 percent income didn't attend college, while one in 10 attend selective universities–UMass included–and even less attend elite colleges. As public universities become more selective, their prices increase and they limit the opportunities for less fortunate students to attend in a problem that is reinforced by the dominance of the wealthy and a privileged culture bent on maintaining their status.
While much of the action needs to take place at state and federal levels, UMass can step
in to bring positive change. The creation of more on-campus financial literacy programs would
provide resources for students who might not be as aware of the implications of their bill. An
increased availability of scholarships and emergency funding for those in need would provide a
financial safety net, thereby increasing retention and graduation rates. However, there needs to
be a greater push to appeal to and recruit low-income students; such a disparity in economic
diversity on campus proves that something is wrong.
Having lived far below the poverty line for years, I am much too familiar with the often
irreparable damage it can cause. After living through this experience, I can attest to the power of education to allow one to transcend their history, and to rewrite the narrative of their story. For people like me, education now more than ever needs to be an equalizer in the face of wealth
disparity; affordability must become more than just white noise. Low-income students aren't too far gone, deserving the same new beginning that education offers.
Timothy Scalona is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at [email protected]
University's Center on Education and the Workforce
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Animated film, 'Ron's Gone Wrong' looks at the effects of technology and social media
Swim and Dive: UMass defeats Bryant on senior day
UMass women's basketball escapes Richmond with a thrilling overtime victory
Kesin: Stop acting like the Minutewomen's success is new
UMass men's basketball headed into matchup with Rhode Island winless in conference play
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UMass takes down A-10 foe VCU in 72-60 win on the road
Sydney Taylor scores career-high 32 points in win over VCU
All Massachusetts Daily Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest
Ana Hunter	• Oct 11, 2017 at 4:35 pm
While I sympathize with the author, saying that colleges segregate against low income students is absurd. If you can't afford to go to a private university go to a state university. If not that then how about community college? The reason students have so many loans is because they go to universities they can't afford. Make smart choices!
https://dailycollegian.com/2017/10/poor-students-left-behind/#comment-1842673
Rob	• Oct 11, 2017 at 2:39 pm
Spending a lot of money for college is a choice. One could easily commute to a community college ($5k/year), transfer to UMass for two years, and nearly cut you education costs in half. $70k is not an unreasonable amount for anyone to pay back.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: How do I create a new balanced data frame from an imbalanced data one ensuring a random selection of records? I have a data frame called df1 and it will be used for a machine learning analysis.
Based on the target variable (Attrition), the data frame df1 has a ratio of YES:NO equal to 60:40
I need to re-create a new data frame from df1 so that the target variable of Yes/No turns out to be 50:50
My challenge is that I want keep the full number of records where Attrition= NO (that is, the 40% of df1) in my new data frame and I want R to randomly extract the remaining 50% from the records where Attrition=YES in df1.
Assuming my new data frame will be called df2, how can I do this?

A: Added an example.
set.seed(1); df1 <- data.frame(Attrition=c(rep('No', 40), rep('Yes', 60)), val=rnorm(100))
dfNo <- df1[df1$Attrition=='No',]
dfYes <-  df1[df1$Attrition=='Yes',]
dfYes <- dfYes[sample(nrow(dfYes), 40),]
cbind(dfNo, dfYes)

A: First 60:40 is NOT imbalanced.
But you can use functions from the caret package:
library(caret)
set.seed(123)
# this downsamples the majority class
df2 <- downSample(x = df1[, -which(colnames(df1)=="Attrition")],
                         y = df1$Attrition)

#this upsamples the minority class
df2 <- upSample(x = df1[, -which(colnames(df1)=="Attrition")], # supposing that Attrition is the last column in df1
                         y = df1$Attrition)

See here for more.

A: I hope, you consider this one as well
Data generation:
att<-as.character( c(unlist(rep("NO",60)),unlist(rep("YES",40))))
dt<-data.frame(ID=c(1:100),Attrition=att)
dim(dt)

Get the "YES" observations
YESdt<-subset(dt,Attrition=="YES",  )  # Get Yes observations
sample(1:nrow(YESdt),nrow(dt)/10)   # Randomly select 10%

Update the YESs to NOs
YESdt[sample(1:nrow(YESdt),nrow(YESdt)/10),2]<-"NO"

Build the new dataset:
NOdt<-subset(dt,Attrition=="NO",  )  # Get Yes observations
newDT<-rbind(YESdt,NOdt)

size remained the same:
nrow(newDT)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
F1 Forum
Grosjean can lead Lotus
Date: 26th September 2013 at 6:58am
Written by: Red5
Romain Grosjean has been backed to lead the Lotus team next season following the departure of Kimi Raikkonen.
The Frenchman might be seen by many as a relative newbie to Formula One, but at the age of 27, he's actually older than soon to be crowned quadruple F1 champ, Sebastian Vettel.
The Lotus driver merely dipped into Formula One earlier on his career, dropped back out to GP2 before eventually returning to full time Grand Prix racing last year.
After being heavily criticised for his driving last season, to the extent that he sat out the Italian Grand Prix through suspension, the Lotus driver has evolved this season and until his mechanical failure in Singapore, had been enjoying a great run of form.
A podium finish in Germany was back up by four more points scoring finishes and he had been in course for another podium position under the lights in Sepang until an engine valve leak forced his retirement.
But what does his future hold? He's currently not under contract with Lotus, whilst team-mate Raikkonen has already confirmed his exit to Ferrari at the end of the season.
Lotus meanwhile have been reportedly in talks with both outgoing Ferrari driver Felipe Massa and Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg regarding the empty seat at Lotus. With some interested parties in the paddock querying if they are interviewing for one or two drivers next season.
But if Grosjean had feared for his future he will hopefully feel better after hearing the words of Lotus's Trackside Operations Director Alan Permane, who not only hinted that Grosjean could remain with the Enstone team, he could even lead it.
'I don't see why not, quite honestly, Obviously it depends who he has as his team-mate, a strong character or who it is. But I don't see why not.
'Now's his chance – and he looks to be taking it, which is really good to see.' Permanent told Sky Sports.
'I wouldn't call it a breakthrough but since Nurburgring and Hungary, He's just been getting better and better and better.


Participate in Herrick District Library's community awareness campaign, called Show Your Library Love! Stop in for a quick snapshot in our photobooth with any book you love. You get to keep the photo booth print-outs, and we'll email you a digital copy. Your photo could be used on "Show Your Library Love" publicity throughout the community.
Participants will be entered to win a $25 gift card!


Hey, have you finished up with the Ladybug project?
Cool. I'll see you guys then.
Kevin, tomorrow is GoT night at my house. Bring your HDMI extension. Thanks.
Sales want to see you. Something about the new product.
Meeting next week Tuesday. Nothing serious, just bring teams work progress with you.
hey, what does this error mean?
Hey, are you busy at the moment?
Um, no actually. I've just wrapped up my last project for the day.
Well, I wanted to find out if you have any plans for tonight.
Ok! We'll swing by your office at 5.
Cool. I'l see you guys then.


text:
La neuropatia delle piccole fibre (NPF, in inglese small fiber neuropathy, SFN) è una neuropatia periferica che comporta dei danni alle fibre nervose di piccolo calibro.
Queste fibre, classificate come fibre C e fibre A-Delta sottilmente mielinizzate o non mielinizzate, sono presenti nella pelle e nei nervi di grosso calibro (per quanto riguarda il sistema nervoso periferico), nei muscoli, oltre che nel tessuto fibromuscolare degli organi interni, nel sistema nervoso autonomo e nella spina dorsale. Il ruolo di questo tipo di fibre nervose è quello di innervare la pelle (fibre somatiche) e di regolare la funzione vegetativa/autonomica degli organi interni. Può essere secondaria ad altre patologie o idiopatica; alcuni studi ipotizzano trattarsi di una canalopatia del sodio.

Inquadramento clinico
La neuropatia periferica a piccole fibre o polineuropatia delle piccole fibre (da alcuni sospettata anche di essere la causa di alcuni tipi di fibromialgia, della spasmofilia, dell'ipereccitabilità dei nervi periferici, della pseudo-miotonia non-Isaacs, o della sindrome da crampi e fascicolazioni) è una polineuropatia di difficilissima diagnosi, poiché l'82% dei casi hanno un normale risultato di EMG e dell'analisi della conduzione nervosa (talvolta è visibile tramite biopsia) cutanea. Come la CIDP o quelle non specifiche, in caso di remissione o difficile diagnosi, in muscoli indeboliti, la VCN è normale ma si nota una sofferenza muscolare neurogena cronica nevritica, con perdite di unità motorie.

La neuropatia a piccole fibre ha cause sconosciute (malattia idiopatica); quando non è correlata a malattie manifeste (lupus eritematoso, sarcoidosi, HIV o malattia di Lyme) può essere collegata alla già ipotizzata celiachia, alla sensibilità al glutine, all'ipotiroidismo o malattie autoimmuni, ma nel 40% dei pazienti è idiopatica (senza causa primaria); in questo caso sono state ipotizzate disfunzioni congenite o indotte dei canali del sodio (malattia neuromuscolare detta canalopatia), specie quello denominato Nav1.7 alla giunzione neuromuscolare o in zona autonomica. Essa provoca sintomi differenti, tra i più comuni dolore, formicolio, crampi, contratture, fascicolazioni, mioclono, ipostenia, tremore, parestesie, disestesia, perdita o aumento di sensibilità, disturbi urinari e gastrointestinali, arti freddi, disturbi nervosi.

Sintomi specifici
I sintomi possono essere sia sensoriali, come il dolore cronico, sia autonomici/vegetativi (problemi a carico di tutti gli organi, come disturbi che coinvolgono tutto l'apparato digerente, sindromi da tachicardia, ecc.), tuttavia, tra i più comuni, si annoverano anche disturbi motori e muscolari (ipereccitabilità neuromuscolare, es. crampi, fascicolazioni, tremore, affaticabilità), dovuti alla presenza delle piccole fibre nei fasci nervosi grandi, specie se si sommano a esse altre problematiche come la sindrome da compressione nervosa, in questo caso è visibile anche un danno muscolare all'elettromiografia mentre l'elettroneurografia non mostra significative alterazioni.

I sintomi sensoriali possono variare da caso a caso, tuttavia i più comuni comprendono parestesie, aumentata sensibilità al dolore e alterata percezione termica. Le parestesie sono sensazioni anomale spesso descritte come sensazioni di intorpidimento, bruciore, freddo, punture di spilli e/o dolore intenso o urente. Molti pazienti, inizialmente o comunque prima della diagnosi, non sanno come descrivere i propri sintomi, che vengono anche definiti sensazioni di bruciore e/o dolore a calza o a guanto.

Generalmente i primi sintomi dolorosi vengono percepiti a carico delle estremità e, più di preciso, a carico degli arti inferiori, per poi diffondersi a quelli superiori nei casi di NPF definibili come casi "lunghezza dipendenti" ma i casi che non fanno parte della categoria citata poc'anzi, cioè quelli di NPF "non lunghezza dipendente", possono causare sintomi identici ma in altre zone del corpo anche durante il primo esordio della malattia (alcuni pazienti riferiscono sintomi disestesici a carico della zona lombare e pettorale dopo interventi chirurgici).

Complicanze: debolezza generale, debolezza muscolo-scheletrica, ernia discale, spondilosi, radicolopatia, ulteriore debolezza muscolare fluttuante o fissa, pseudomiotonia.

A volte la NPF, come detto, può coinvolgere anche i nervi di grosso calibro tra cui specialmente il nervo trigemino (nevralgia del trigemino) o il .

Quando invece vengono coinvolte le fibre di piccolo calibro degli organi interni si può sviluppare una condizione detta disautonomia, con sintomi che possono variare a seconda dell'organo colpito.
Talvolta i sintomi sono accompagnati dalla sindrome delle gambe senza riposo, che causa acatisia e spesso insonnia o disturbi del sonno.
Moltissimi pazienti con diagnosi di NPF autonomica/vegetativa riferiscono problemi gastrointestinali che, in alcuni casi, aggravano malattie intestinali già esistenti come IBD, diverticolosi, ecc., rendendole ingestibili. Altra condizione associata alla NPF è come detto la POTS (sindrome da tachicardia posturale ortostatica).

Diagnosi
In Italia la diagnosi di neuropatia delle piccole fibre può essere complessa e difficile, soprattutto a causa del fatto che la NPF viene spesso sottovalutata e scambiata per una patologia psichiatrica, dato che accertamenti di prima linea come l'elettromiografia (test diagnostico utilizzato per valutare la funzione dei nervi periferici), risultano del tutto inefficaci nel rilevare l'alterata funzione delle fibre di piccolo calibro.
Sul territorio Italiano il test più diffuso è la biopsia cutanea neurologica, che valuta la densità delle fibre di piccolo calibro, sia somatiche sia vegetative, tramite una procedura semplice e precisa.
Lo stato delle piccole fibre, sia somatiche sia autonomiche/vegetative, può essere rilevato anche mediante l'esecuzione dei potenziali evocati laser, tuttavia il gold standard è rappresentato dalla biopsia neurologica di cute.

Uno dei primi a importare in Italia il metodo diagnostico della biopsia cutanea è stato il professor Giuseppe Lauria, ricercatore dell'Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta di Milano che lo apprese nel 1998 durante uno studio effetruato alla Johns Hopkins University.
La biopsia viene eseguita prelevando un campione di epidermide, solitamente dalla caviglia e/o dalla coscia. Questo campione, del diametro medio di 3–4 mm viene prelevato tramite un pennino con punta cilindrica in metallo dopo un'anestesia locale. Il campione viene poi analizzato e le piccole fibre contate e quantificate, il tutto un processo che vede protagonisti vari reagenti chimici che consentono il corretto svolgimento dell'analisi.

Oltre alle difficoltà diagnostiche già menzionate, un'altra problematica inerente all'ottenimento della diagnosi è rappresentata dal fatto che, attualmente, in Italia esistono solo pochi centri ospedalieri ad alta specializzazione in grado di inquadrare un paziente affetto da questa patologia (poco più di una dozzina sul territorio).

I pazienti, spesso, vengono indirizzati in questi centri soprattutto grazie all'aiuto dell'unico gruppo/associazione di supporto gratuito ai pazienti attualmente operativo in Italia, che fa capo alla pagina "Neuropatia delle piccole fibre e POTS", che si occupa anche di divulgazione e sensibilizzazione riguardo alla neuropatia delle piccole fibre.
Il gruppo e stato fondato nel 2017 da Nicole Martinelli e Davide Brizzi , anch'essi affetti da tale patologia.

Cause scatenanti
Ci sono molte possibili cause scatenanti che possono innescare una neuropatia delle piccole fibre.

La causa più comune è il diabete mellito o l'intolleranza al glucosio (neuropatia diabetica).

Altre possibili cause includono ipotiroidismo, sindrome di Sjögren, lupus eritematoso sistemico, vasculite, sarcoidosi, carenza nutrizionale, malassorbimento (es. da malattia celiaca, gastrite cronica atrofica autoimmune), malattia di Lyme, HIV/AIDS, malattia di Fabry, amiloidosi, allergia (sensibilità al glutine), sindrome di Ehlers Danlos, connettivopatie, malattie genetiche, intossicazione da farmaci o metalli pesanti e alcolismo. Secondo diverse statistiche, circa il 50% dei casi di fibromialgia si dimostrano essere in realtà casi di NPF non ancora accertata da biopsia cutanea.
 La neuropatia delle piccole fibre è comune negli adulti con sindrome di Ehlers-Danlos (EDS).
Inoltre nuovi studi condotti negli USA dalla dottoressa Anne Louise Oaklander (tra i maggiori esperti di NPF al mondo) ha dimostrato una verosimile causa autoimmune dietro i casi idiopatici e no di NPF.

Sul territorio italiano ed europeo una percentuale altissima di casi rimane di natura idiopatica, mentre negli Stati Uniti ci si sta muovendo al fine di ridurre la percentuale di casi idiopatici (40% al 2008) costruendo delle linee guida da seguire per individuare le cause scatenanti.

Canalopatia sodica
Un recente studio ha mostrato che nella NPF vi è la disfunzione di alcuni canali del sodio (canalopatia neuromuscolare), specie in alcuni tipi.

Diverse ricerche hanno mostrato un legame con un'altra canalopatia, l'eritromelalgia (una sindrome da vasodilatazione parossistica da aumento della temperatura cutanea con arrossamento dei piedi e, meno di frequente, delle mani, con associata una sicura mutazione a carico dei canali ionici e con dolore neuropatico cronico), oltre che con la sindrome da crampi e fascicolazioni.

Altre possibili cause

 Tiroidite di Hashimoto
 Sclerodermia
 Malattie del tessuto connettivo
 Vasculiti
 Sindrome del colon irritabile e malattie infiammatorie intestinali croniche (quali malattia di Crohn, colite ulcerosa e altri tipi di colite, ecc.)
 Vaccinazioni
 Psoriasi
 Farmaci (neuropatia iatrogena) come antibiotici della categoria dei chinoloni, statine, chemioterapici, alcuni antidepressivi e altri farmaci neurotossici come i neurolettici
 Carenze nutrizionali
 Celiachia
 Epatite C
 Disturbi del metabolismo come la sindrome metabolica

Trattamento
Il trattamento si basa sulla cura della causa scatenante della neuropatia stessa.

Nei casi idiopatici la cura è sintomatica.

Per la cura dei sintomi dolorosi vengono usati farmaci anticonvulsivianti/antiepilettici come il gabapentin, la carbamazepina e il pregabalin e antidepressivi SSRI e SNRI come la duloxetina o antidepressivi triciclici come l'amitriptilina.
I trattamenti appena menzionati vengono però spesso abbandonati dai pazienti per via della loro inefficacia e/o a causa dei pesanti effetti collaterali, talvolta più invalidanti della patologia stessa.
Alcuni pazienti, in trattamento con antiepilettici e/o antidepressivi, riferiscono il peggioramento del quadro sintomatologico generale o, in alcuni casi, l'esordio di nuovo sintomi neurologici.

Vengono anche utilizzati anestetici locali come la lidocaina e farmaci oppioidi come il tramadolo, la codeina e il tapentadolo;

In Italia i trattamenti più utilizzati, ma che comunque riscuotono una scarsissima percentuale di successi, sono quelli basati sulla somministrazione di antiepilettici e antidepressivi.

Attualmente non esiste un trattamento risolutivo per curare la neuropatia delle piccole fibre, ma a volte vengono utilizzate le immunoglobuline per via endovenosa, che possono essere parzialmente risolutive.
Oltre alle immunoglobuline, un altro approccio terapeutico efficace risiede nella somministrazione di glucocorticoidi (cortisonici).
Entrambi gli approcci prima indicati sono però scarsamente utilizzati in Italia a causa della totale assenza di linee guida.

Un recente studio condotto negli USA dalla dottoressa Anne Louise Oaklander (la maggiore esperta di NPF al mondo) ha dimostrato una verosimile natura autoimmune, contestabile mediante l'uso delle immunoglobuline e cortisteroidi.
Questo studio e stato poi rivisitato, ampliato e migliorato da un nuovo esame, condotto in Italia, sempre dalla dottoressa Oaklander, il tutto con la collaborazione della dottoressa Maria Nolano.

Si utilizzano anche i farmaci che tentano di curare le nevriti da lesione del nervo periferico, come alcuni integratori (es. acetil-L-carnitina, vitamine, minerali, ecc.).

Note

Voci correlate
Neuropatia periferica
Sindrome dei piedi brucianti
Sensibilità al glutine
Celiachia
Diabete mellito
Fibromialgia
Sindrome delle fascicolazioni benigne
Sindrome da fatica cronica
Sensibilità chimica multipla

Collegamenti esterni
Therepath

NPF e POTS - Italia
 http://www.ainpf.com  Associazione italiana neuropatia delle piccole fibre. Prima e unica associazione al mondo di pazienti,dedicata alla NPF

Immagini
Foto di piccole fibre in biopsia cutanea eseguita su bambini e adolescenti

Malattie del sistema nervoso periferico
Malattie idiopatiche
Malattie da carenza alimentare
Canalopatie

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