James F. Brown, who puts together Health Services for the Actors Fund of America, flew in from New York to share all of the goodies he's managed to put together in one, multi-purpose website. Funded by grants supporting artists health service needs, the website also serves any self-employed person seeking health insurance benefits. There is even good info for people who have health insurance, but don't seem to be covered for what they need.
The Health Insurance/Resources for Health Care (AHIRC) database, can be accessed at: http://ahirc.org/. It focuses on resources for the self-employed, lower income workers, and the under- and un-insured. For Washingtonians there are two main points of access located on the homepage. Click on the Map, on Washington State, for the usual links and resources. And, click on Washington State in the lower right hand corner of the homepage under Regional Healthcare Guides, to link to a special information project for 2008-2009.
Regional Guide for Washington
This special aggregation of healthcare resources for Washington State, includes links to: kinds of health insurance, COBRA, employment related options, private insurance, government-subsized programs, programs for special health conditions, obtaining medications, dental coverage, mental health options, Community Health Centers, and 24-hour pharmacies, and much more.
Choose Washington on the Map
Includes full menu of options for:
* Getting Health Insurance (including info for Children, Veterans, Uninsurables, Long-Term Care, Legal Assistance, etc.),
* Affording Health Care (costs, programs, assistance opportunities, etc.),
* Finding Health Care (organizations, programs, etc.),
* Changing Health Care
I invite you to spend some time working around the website, to know what's there -- lots of good resources.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
WLA Redux - Advocacy By All session
I'm pretty sure I was the lone SCLD staff member at this WLA session so I thought I'd give you the skinny.
After a failed passing of a levy, Kitsap Regional Library had to figure out what to do next. They decided that the levy failed because they had not effectively communicated to the community the value of the library. In response, they created a staff-led committee with diverse members from many branches and departments in the system called C.A.F.E. (Collaborative Affiliates Fostering Education). The purpose of C.A.F.E. was to "celebrate the library system" through outreach to the community, informing them what the library has to offer.
The presenters discussed how C.A.F.E. was formed, the challenges they had to face, and their current and future projects. Probably the most crucial aspect in the formation of this group was the openness of the administration in tasking this project and allowing the committee to run with it. Staff had strong buy-in and dedication. Throughout their brainstorming sessions, they kept track of all the ideas presented and made them available. They created a Did You Know? campaign highlighting the library's services, began selling bags based on customer comments, and provided a space on their website for patrons to tell their own library stories.
It remains to be seen if their next levy will pass, but they are hopeful and much better positioned now than they were. Reaching out to community partners, creating a dialogue with their customers, and arousing a sense of pride and accomplishment in staff should go a long way in positioning themselves as a vital resource.
After a failed passing of a levy, Kitsap Regional Library had to figure out what to do next. They decided that the levy failed because they had not effectively communicated to the community the value of the library. In response, they created a staff-led committee with diverse members from many branches and departments in the system called C.A.F.E. (Collaborative Affiliates Fostering Education). The purpose of C.A.F.E. was to "celebrate the library system" through outreach to the community, informing them what the library has to offer.
The presenters discussed how C.A.F.E. was formed, the challenges they had to face, and their current and future projects. Probably the most crucial aspect in the formation of this group was the openness of the administration in tasking this project and allowing the committee to run with it. Staff had strong buy-in and dedication. Throughout their brainstorming sessions, they kept track of all the ideas presented and made them available. They created a Did You Know? campaign highlighting the library's services, began selling bags based on customer comments, and provided a space on their website for patrons to tell their own library stories.
It remains to be seen if their next levy will pass, but they are hopeful and much better positioned now than they were. Reaching out to community partners, creating a dialogue with their customers, and arousing a sense of pride and accomplishment in staff should go a long way in positioning themselves as a vital resource.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Banned Books Week Workshop at WLA
Though Banned Books Week is a few months off, the WLA workshop offered some insight on how our library could embrace Banned Books Week. The panel, which consisted of bookstore owners and librarians, shared interesting ideas for promoting intellectual freedom:
~ Have a Freedom of the Press discussion led by an author of challenged books or by librarians to discuss the topic of the freedom to read with the community.
~ Have movie night - show a movie based on a challenged book.
~ Some librarians have had storytime that highlighted banned books, such as King Kong.
~ Put several challenged books in brown paper bags with the reasons why they were banned listed on the outside. Patrons are curious and take the time to read the "charges" and try to figure out the title.
~ Put banned books in a case covered in black, with just a "peek-a-boo" hole for the patrons to look in at the titles.
~ Have a community place, such as a wall covered in blank paper, where people can list which banned books are their favorites and why.
~ Have a mix and match handout with "why this book was banned" in one column and the banned books in another, and the patrons have to match up the reason with the book.
~ Of course, have the usual bookmarks and posters promoting banned books week
The workshop made me excited to contribute to our library's Banned Book Week program.
~ Have a Freedom of the Press discussion led by an author of challenged books or by librarians to discuss the topic of the freedom to read with the community.
~ Have movie night - show a movie based on a challenged book.
~ Some librarians have had storytime that highlighted banned books, such as King Kong.
~ Put several challenged books in brown paper bags with the reasons why they were banned listed on the outside. Patrons are curious and take the time to read the "charges" and try to figure out the title.
~ Put banned books in a case covered in black, with just a "peek-a-boo" hole for the patrons to look in at the titles.
~ Have a community place, such as a wall covered in blank paper, where people can list which banned books are their favorites and why.
~ Have a mix and match handout with "why this book was banned" in one column and the banned books in another, and the patrons have to match up the reason with the book.
~ Of course, have the usual bookmarks and posters promoting banned books week
The workshop made me excited to contribute to our library's Banned Book Week program.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Privacy/Confidentiality Workshop
This workshop helped clarify what type of information is confidential and what is not from a legal perspective. I hadn't realized that if asked by anyone, we can tell them if a certain person is in the library and if they are using the Internet. Because the library is a public place, we can give out that information. We cannot, however, tell them what the person is viewing. The presentation was well organized and there was plenty of time to ask questions.
INCOL
I attended the INCOL workshop on Wednesday, May 06, 2009 at the MAC Museum. Presenters included Janet Hauck from Whitworth University and Trevor James Bond from WSU. The topic was the Northwest Digital Archives (NWDA); its purpose, origin, development and future.
The Northwest Digital Archives, http://nwda.wsulibs.wsu.edu/, provides access to descriptions of primary historical resources in the Northwestern United States, including correspondence, diaries, maps, pamphlets, photographs, and other ephemera. These primary sources reside in any of 21 different college or university libraries, historical societies and archives in Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana.
The “descriptions” provided by NWDA lead a reseacher to primary material in the subject s/he is seeking. As most of this material is stored in boxes and files, the need for accurate and descriptive indexing is critical. If, when searching, there is a document you wish to see, you may then contact the institution that holds it and an image scan can be sent to you via email. In some instances, a link to the image will be on the record itself. There are very few images already linked and the purpose of the site is primarily for finding documents, but as scans are done, links are retained.
So, how does this work? Janet Hauck from Whitworth related a recent request that was filled by this service. Someone, who knew that Father’s Day was founded in Spokane in the early part of the 20th century had some related questions. Who was the founder, what local church was involved in its founding and why was the third Sunday of June selected? Consulting the database, she discovered the founder of the holiday was a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd who was associated with Knox Presbyterian Church (then named Centenary Church) in 1910. As for the reason for the date, Janet found the answer in a letter from Sonora Dodd in the Whitworth Archives relating that she wanted it to be June 4 in honor of her father’s birthday anniversary, but the Church Board was late in approving her request, so she picked the nearest Sunday, which happened to be the third of the month! So it was because of a slow moving Church Board that Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June. Very fun.
The Papal Bull that Trevor brought from WSU was a big hit as well!
This was a great workshop and showcased a resource we all should be aware of.
The Northwest Digital Archives, http://nwda.wsulibs.wsu.edu/, provides access to descriptions of primary historical resources in the Northwestern United States, including correspondence, diaries, maps, pamphlets, photographs, and other ephemera. These primary sources reside in any of 21 different college or university libraries, historical societies and archives in Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana.
The “descriptions” provided by NWDA lead a reseacher to primary material in the subject s/he is seeking. As most of this material is stored in boxes and files, the need for accurate and descriptive indexing is critical. If, when searching, there is a document you wish to see, you may then contact the institution that holds it and an image scan can be sent to you via email. In some instances, a link to the image will be on the record itself. There are very few images already linked and the purpose of the site is primarily for finding documents, but as scans are done, links are retained.
So, how does this work? Janet Hauck from Whitworth related a recent request that was filled by this service. Someone, who knew that Father’s Day was founded in Spokane in the early part of the 20th century had some related questions. Who was the founder, what local church was involved in its founding and why was the third Sunday of June selected? Consulting the database, she discovered the founder of the holiday was a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd who was associated with Knox Presbyterian Church (then named Centenary Church) in 1910. As for the reason for the date, Janet found the answer in a letter from Sonora Dodd in the Whitworth Archives relating that she wanted it to be June 4 in honor of her father’s birthday anniversary, but the Church Board was late in approving her request, so she picked the nearest Sunday, which happened to be the third of the month! So it was because of a slow moving Church Board that Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June. Very fun.
The Papal Bull that Trevor brought from WSU was a big hit as well!
This was a great workshop and showcased a resource we all should be aware of.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
INCOL training
Just came back from an INCOL session at the MAC : Northwest Digital Archives. I find it astounding how much material is becoming available for public viewing via the Internet and pleased that search tools are included. Check out this: http://nwda.wsulibs.wsu.edu/. And did you kn0w that WSU has a papal bull? And if you aren't a coug, would you care? I do now & can actually "see" it online. Neat.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Thoughts on WLA 2009
1. Captivating and Communicating with one year olds: Tried and True by Dr. James Thomas (aka Mr. Jim)
I was hoping this presentation would be useful for my baby lapsit storytime, and while there were lots of great ideas, I found them to be more suited to toddlers. He was very specific about finding "baby" storytimes that combined six month olds with 18 month olds to be a waste of time. I'd be curious to know if there is a storytime at his library for kids under 12 months. His focus is 12 to 24 months only. He uses a lot of sign language (in songs, and when talking about colors etc, he teaches the kids the sign too). Mr. Jim's wiki (http://toddlericon.pbworks.com) is chock full of great resources. One aspect of his presentation that I liked was his homemade book. He makes large, simple accordian style books. The one he showed was for five little ducks- and with each page there was another duck that they could see. Loved it. Will be making those soon. There are several ideas that we can incorperate into the play and learn storytimes too. He's worked a lot with Nancy Stewart and he uses her "let's go to the market" song. Listen to it here: http://www.nancymusic.com/Market.htm. There's a link at the bottom for activites which is cool- I had forgotten about her website- lots there to use.
2. Storytime showcase by various youth librarians
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. There were a TON of good ideas at the showcase. My second favorite part was how well it was organized. They had an official timer who gave each presenter a two minute warning and then cut them off when their time was up. I really appreciated this because they all had good ideas to share. Cindy's done such a fantastic job of reflecting on this panel, so I won't rehash. Lots of great stuff for both my normal storytime, and my new play and learns.
3. Looking at picture books by Thom Barthelmess
Good stuff. You could really tell that Thom's in academia now because his presentation felt just like I was in a classroom, taking notes that might be on next week's quiz. There wasn't a ton of relevent material for me, but it was very interesting. I also had a horrible headache, and probably wasn't all there. His presentation is here: http://www.nwcentral.org/files/Looking%20at%20Picture%20Books.pdf
CAYAS breakfast with Ellen Wittlinger
Definitely the highlight for me. I got to be an honorary CAYAS member for the morning and be her driver (because they all live on the west side and flew). She was *wonderful*. Her presentation about writing for teens was spectacular, I cried several times. She was so spot on. I loved her description of books giving teens the opportunity to "meet" and "know" people they might not otherwise meet in their real life. Writing books with gay characters isn't just for gay teens, it's for straight teens too- one had written Ellen and said that after reading Hard Love, she now "knows" a gay teen (Marisol- one of the main characters). How powerful. I bought several of her books and her inscription in "Hard Love" was perfect: "May all your loves be easy ones."
4. Public Libraries: Strategic Community Partners for Family Health
Wonderful presentation- The presenter was Sue Waldin from Within Reach. Information I gathered from the presentation:
a. There are more people now than ever before who (for the first time) are struggling with food needs
b. There strongest focus is on health insurance and food assistance
c. They run five toll-free call centers with staff who are cross-trained so you can the same help no matter what number you call. They have a much lower call volume that DHSH so the wait time is short
d. They have access to the AT&T language line so they have free interpreters in almost any language
e. They have had 11,000 online applications submitted- 4,000 of those after 09/08 so it's growing.
The website (www.parenthelp123.com) is amazing!! I really encourage everyone to check it out- extremely easy to use and very, very helpful. My favorite is the resource finder which helps you find services in your area such as breastfeeding support, child care, food banks, and family planning. Check it out here: http://resources.parenthelp123.org/. If anyone has any questions, I had an extensive tutorial in the website during Sue's presentation and I'm happy to share more. I love this resource. They will be putting up a library link somewhere on the site soon(that was part of our discussion).
5. Teen program showcase by various (many no-show) librarians
Again, I'll echo Cindy and say that this presentation (if we can even call it that) was extremely disappointing. I didn't get any good ideas- they were all for high budget libraries and they seemed to snuff at anything that wasn't super techy. I'm sorry, but lots of teens like to craft and play games. In addition to not thinking about the rest of the state, I didn't get the feeling that any of the presenters wanted to be there. I'm serious about proposing a "teen programs for the rest of us" showcase for next year.
6. Booktalking the Best by various iSchool students
I went to this program with some trepedation, considering the last two WLA booktalking sessions were really bad. This year, thankfully, the students actually knew how to booktalk. They had a nice variety of books and had clearly prepared.
Overall, I'm very glad I could attend this year's conference (and it was pretty cool to be a local!) I discovered many great ideas for my children's programming and was inspired to do something about the teen showcase for next year.
I was hoping this presentation would be useful for my baby lapsit storytime, and while there were lots of great ideas, I found them to be more suited to toddlers. He was very specific about finding "baby" storytimes that combined six month olds with 18 month olds to be a waste of time. I'd be curious to know if there is a storytime at his library for kids under 12 months. His focus is 12 to 24 months only. He uses a lot of sign language (in songs, and when talking about colors etc, he teaches the kids the sign too). Mr. Jim's wiki (http://toddlericon.pbworks.com) is chock full of great resources. One aspect of his presentation that I liked was his homemade book. He makes large, simple accordian style books. The one he showed was for five little ducks- and with each page there was another duck that they could see. Loved it. Will be making those soon. There are several ideas that we can incorperate into the play and learn storytimes too. He's worked a lot with Nancy Stewart and he uses her "let's go to the market" song. Listen to it here: http://www.nancymusic.com/Market.htm. There's a link at the bottom for activites which is cool- I had forgotten about her website- lots there to use.
2. Storytime showcase by various youth librarians
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. There were a TON of good ideas at the showcase. My second favorite part was how well it was organized. They had an official timer who gave each presenter a two minute warning and then cut them off when their time was up. I really appreciated this because they all had good ideas to share. Cindy's done such a fantastic job of reflecting on this panel, so I won't rehash. Lots of great stuff for both my normal storytime, and my new play and learns.
3. Looking at picture books by Thom Barthelmess
Good stuff. You could really tell that Thom's in academia now because his presentation felt just like I was in a classroom, taking notes that might be on next week's quiz. There wasn't a ton of relevent material for me, but it was very interesting. I also had a horrible headache, and probably wasn't all there. His presentation is here: http://www.nwcentral.org/files/Looking%20at%20Picture%20Books.pdf
CAYAS breakfast with Ellen Wittlinger
Definitely the highlight for me. I got to be an honorary CAYAS member for the morning and be her driver (because they all live on the west side and flew). She was *wonderful*. Her presentation about writing for teens was spectacular, I cried several times. She was so spot on. I loved her description of books giving teens the opportunity to "meet" and "know" people they might not otherwise meet in their real life. Writing books with gay characters isn't just for gay teens, it's for straight teens too- one had written Ellen and said that after reading Hard Love, she now "knows" a gay teen (Marisol- one of the main characters). How powerful. I bought several of her books and her inscription in "Hard Love" was perfect: "May all your loves be easy ones."
4. Public Libraries: Strategic Community Partners for Family Health
Wonderful presentation- The presenter was Sue Waldin from Within Reach. Information I gathered from the presentation:
a. There are more people now than ever before who (for the first time) are struggling with food needs
b. There strongest focus is on health insurance and food assistance
c. They run five toll-free call centers with staff who are cross-trained so you can the same help no matter what number you call. They have a much lower call volume that DHSH so the wait time is short
d. They have access to the AT&T language line so they have free interpreters in almost any language
e. They have had 11,000 online applications submitted- 4,000 of those after 09/08 so it's growing.
The website (www.parenthelp123.com) is amazing!! I really encourage everyone to check it out- extremely easy to use and very, very helpful. My favorite is the resource finder which helps you find services in your area such as breastfeeding support, child care, food banks, and family planning. Check it out here: http://resources.parenthelp123.org/. If anyone has any questions, I had an extensive tutorial in the website during Sue's presentation and I'm happy to share more. I love this resource. They will be putting up a library link somewhere on the site soon(that was part of our discussion).
5. Teen program showcase by various (many no-show) librarians
Again, I'll echo Cindy and say that this presentation (if we can even call it that) was extremely disappointing. I didn't get any good ideas- they were all for high budget libraries and they seemed to snuff at anything that wasn't super techy. I'm sorry, but lots of teens like to craft and play games. In addition to not thinking about the rest of the state, I didn't get the feeling that any of the presenters wanted to be there. I'm serious about proposing a "teen programs for the rest of us" showcase for next year.
6. Booktalking the Best by various iSchool students
I went to this program with some trepedation, considering the last two WLA booktalking sessions were really bad. This year, thankfully, the students actually knew how to booktalk. They had a nice variety of books and had clearly prepared.
Overall, I'm very glad I could attend this year's conference (and it was pretty cool to be a local!) I discovered many great ideas for my children's programming and was inspired to do something about the teen showcase for next year.
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