Volume 7, March 24, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) WASHINGTON’S LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE WINNERS 2) RESOURCE SHARING GRANT Q&A SESSION 3) BASIC WEB-BASED REFERENCE (LIBRARYU) 4) YES TO LIBRARIES! 5) COPIES OF TOBIAS WOLF’S OLD SCHOOL AVAILABLE 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) WASHINGTON’S LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE WINNERS The judging for the 2010-2011 Letters About Literature contest was completed last week. The three Washington state winners are: McKenna Conlin, a sixth-grader at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Kirkland (Level 1 champion); Abby Bateman, a seventh-grader at Snoqualmie Middle School in Snoqualmie (Level 2 champion); and John Kang, an eleventh-grader at Lakeside School in Seattle (Level 3 champion). The three champions’ letters have been sent to the Library of Congress for the national competition, results of which will be released in mid-April. To find out more about this year’s Letters About Literature, visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/LAL2011. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) RESOURCE SHARING GRANT Q&A SESSION WSL Library Development staff will answer questions about the Connecting Libraries through Resource Sharing (CLRS) grant cycle at an Elluminate session on Thursday, March 31, 2011, at 1:30 p.m. To join the session, visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/ResourceQA. The session will be archived on the grants website at www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/grants. For more information, contact Carolyn Petersen at [email protected] or toll-free at 866.538.4996. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) BASIC WEB-BASED REFERENCE (LIBRARYU) WebJunction Washington (WJ WA) offers free courses for affiliated members. This week’s featured course is “Basic Web-Based Reference.” Designed to help you provide the best basic web-based reference involving e-mail and chat, “Basic Web-Based Reference” gives you step-by-step guidance, plenty of tips and resources, and also covers some of the advantages and disadvantages of online reference. To register, use this shortcut: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/WebJ01. To take advantage of these free courses, first register for an account by visiting wa.webjunction.org; look for “Create Account.” Be sure to affiliate with Washington. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) YES TO LIBRARIES! “Yes to Libraries! Energizing Friends, Foundations, and Trustees” is a Washington Library Association preconference offered on Wednesday, April 6, at the WLA Conference in Yakima. This program is especially designed for library trustees and board members, library Friends, members of library foundations, and library staff who work with these groups. This all-day pre-conference will offer a wide array of programs, including how to create a library foundation, developing advocacy programs that inform the community about the resources the library offers, and library law. This vital program is organized and sponsored by WLFFTA: The Washington Friends, Foundations, Trustees, and Advocates interest group of WLA. To register, visit 2011wlaconference.wla.org. Lunch is included. For more information, contact Carolyn Petersen at [email protected] or toll-free at 866.538.4996. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) COPIES OF TOBIAS WOLF’S OLD SCHOOL AVAILABLE If your library could use gently used copies of Tobias Wolf’s Old School for community reads or book discussion kits, the Washington State Library will be happy to send them your way. The novels are trade paperbacks left over from a community read program held by the Bellingham and Whatcom County libraries. 89 books and five CD audio books are available. A minimum request of at least ten books is required, but only one audio book per location will be sent. If you are interested, please contact Carolyn Petersen at [email protected] or toll-free at 866.538.4996. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK Tuesday, March 29:

• Developing Online Patron Tutorials (WebJunction WA); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT;
• Drive Success For Your Library Users With WorldCat Local (OCLC); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/Drive;

• Nonprofit Social Networking Benchmark Report (Common Knowledge); 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. PDT.