WSL Updates for February 8, 2018

Volume 14, February 8, 2018 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) SCREEN SCENE FOR CHILDREN 2) WSL & WEBJUNCTION OFFER SKILLSOFT 3) TAKE OUR SURVEY—PLEASE! 4) AMERICA SAVES WEEK 5) BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL – PNLA 2018 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) SCREEN SCENE FOR CHILDREN

Screens are everywhere! Young children are spending more and more time engaged with screen media. Learn what and when children might be learning from screens as well as how we can best support children’s media activities. The State Library presents Screen Scene: Best Practices for Using Screen Media with Young Children, a workshop that will explore important cognitive advances children make during the first years of life that impact their ability to learn from screens. The workshop will also discuss the many practical applications and resources for parents and educators, and ways to make the most of ever-present media technology. Learning Objectives: Upon completion of the training, participants will be able to:
  • Summarize research-based understandings of the impact of digital engagement on early learning;
  • Apply an understanding of joint media engagement to their regular interactions with children in a library setting;
  • Develop appropriate models of digital engagement for very young children.
Who should attend? Anyone who works with pre-school children and/or their parents. Register at sos.wa.gov/q/screen. The following sessions are still available:
  • Monday, February 12, Burlington Public Library
  • Thursday, February 15, Bainbridge branch, Kitsap Regional Library
  • Tuesday, February 27, North Spokane branch, Spokane County Library
  • Wednesday, February 28, Sunnyside branch, Yakima Valley Library
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2) WSL & WEBJUNCTION OFFER SKILLSOFT

Looking to strengthen your technology skills or improve your interpersonal skills? All library staff in the state have access to free learning through the State Library’s WebJunction subscription to Skillsoft. With over 700 online courses, 30,000 short instructional videos (2 – 8 minutes) and job aids on a wide range of technology and business topics, you’ll find great learning opportunities. Library staff can pick up great skills as well as tips and techniques through this free resource. Here are just a few of the courses that you have access to:
  • Time Management: Planning and Prioritizing Your Time
  • Creating a Positive Attitude
  • Privacy and Information Security
  • Essentials of Interviewing and Hiring Conducting an Effective Interview
There are also a variety of technology courses including:
  • New and Improved Features in Office 2016, Word, and Outlook
  • Microsoft Excel 2016 Essentials: Creating, Editing, and Saving Workbooks
  • Google Apps: Gmail and Calendar
  • Adobe Photoshop CC
Skillsoft is all self-paced, online learning so you can take a course when it fits your schedule. Register for your free account now! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) TAKE OUR SURVEY—PLEASE!

Thanks to all who have completed the 2018 Washington Library Association / Washington State Library Continuing Education Needs Assessment. We still need many more library staff from all types of libraries to complete the survey. The deadline for adding your voice to the survey is February 16, 2018. We need to hear from all parts of the Washington library community: academic libraries, public libraries, school libraries, special libraries, and tribal libraries. We rely on your input to help us understand which training topics are most important to you. Please also share this survey with your colleagues. Many are not members of the lists to which we have access. Based on reporting statistics, the average time to complete the survey is less than 10 minutes. Your voice matters. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4) AMERICA SAVES WEEK

America Saves Week (ASW) is February 26 through March 3, 2018. This annual event encourages consumers to save responsibly and automatically. Check out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) blog posting which encourages consumers to save all or part of their tax refunds to help achieve their financial goals. To get your patrons involved, get a free America Saves Week Digital Toolkit featuring a sample of social media posts, digital content, and other helpful resources direct from the America Saves organization. Get your library prepared to participate in Money Smart Week (MSW) programs, presentations, and educational classes that promote personal financial literacy. These events run from April 21 to April 28, 2018. To get more information about MSW and events in your area, go to www.moneysmartweek.org. CFPB provides free materials—like bookmarks, flyers, postcards, posters, standing displays, and more—to support your library’s participation in MSW. You can order free MSW materials for your library now. Do you have Spanish-language patrons with financial education questions and needs? The CFPB has a Spanish-language website with similar information, tools and resources to their English-language website. To help these patrons get the impartial financial information they need, direct them to www.consumerfinance.gov/es. You can order CFPB’s free Spanish-language financial education publications in bulk as well as display materials for your library. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5) BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL – PNLA 2018

In the theater, “breaking the fourth wall” refers to the practice of ignoring the invisible wall between actors and their audience. The 2018 Pacific Northwest Library Association Conference will explore what it looks like when libraries and librarians break the fourth wall to go beyond traditional roles to meet the needs of their patrons. This is a call for conference proposals.
  • PNLA 2018: Breaking the Fourth Wall – August 1 - 3, Kalispell, MT;
  • Conference proposals will be accepted through February 17, 2018;
  • Registration will open soon for the conference;
  • Details: www.pnla.org/conference_2018.
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6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Monday, February 12 Tuesday, February 13 Wednesday, February 14 Thursday, February 15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: The State Library regularly highlights third-party events and online resources as a way to alert the library community to training and resource opportunities. By doing so, we are not endorsing the content of the event, nor promoting any specific product, but merely providing this information as an FYI to librarians who must then decide what is right for them. Subscribe to WSL presents: News from Washington Libraries! The Washington State Library has gone social! Friend/follow us at:
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