Through a Gates Foundation Grant the New Hampshire State Library will be offering technology training for public libraries. Full and half day workshops will be held across the state in April, May and June. For further information go to http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/training/gates/.

Library Development Services - 1-800-462-1726 (Lancaster)

Bibliostat Collect is being tested by the Library Development Services staff and Darlene Reinhard to see that instructions match questions, NH's questions match FSCS's, and edit checks for errors, omissions, and anomalies actually work.  On April Fool's Day we were trained in the fine points of Collect use by Michael Ervin, an Informata instructor from North Carolina.  More testing will take place over the next ten days; once we're satisfied with the performance of the program, it will be available for use by public libraries.  At that point, every library will receive a username and password. Right now, NH public libraries are locked out of the system; testing involves entering sample data, which will be erased before the program is ready to use.  Therefore, if a library were to enter any data now, it would all be gone after May 1.  For more information, Sue Palmatier can be reached at spalmatier@library.state.nh.us or 1-800-4632-1726.

The Easton Public Library has been revived and is now re-open.

The Kids, Books and the Arts grant program offers small grants to public libraries participating in the NH Summer Reading Program that wish to bring a presenter to their community this summer. This year, libraries can select from 12 artists on the grant roster, including musicians, puppeteers, and storytellers. Libraries received print copies of the applications via van/mail. The applications are also available online at http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/bookcenter/programs/kids.html. For more information about the Kids, Books and the Arts program, please contact Ann Hoey at 271-2865 or at ahoey@library.state.nh.us.

The NHSL is pleased to announce the Spring 2004 offerings in the Modular Library Education Program. Full information is available online at: http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/libed/modules.html. Registration forms are linked from that page, or directly at: http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/libed/modreg.html. Please note the new address for registrations! Questions? Please contact Tom Ladd, NHSL Education Coordinator, at 800-462-1726 (NH only), (603)788-0914, or by e-mail at tladd@library.state.nh.us.

For information about movies/videos and public performances in libraries, please refer to the Resource Guide at the following link: http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/ldss/RGvideosppr.html.

Library Services to Persons with Disabilities - 603-271-1498

Please remember that we are here to help disabled people read books and participate in reading groups. We own unabridged recordings (on cassette) of thousands of titles. We will loan them directly to NH citizens with a variety of disabilities that prevent them from reading or holding books. With a little planning, print-disabled library patrons can participate in your reading groups. 

Network Services - 603-271-2141  

NHU-PAC training classes will be offered in Berlin on March 17, Hooksett on April 14, and Concord on May 18. Details on classes, times, and locations are now available at http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/training/nhupac.html. You can signup online by clicking on Workshop Registration Form near the top of the page. Please note the very brief window to sign up for the Berlin classes--don't delay if you're hoping to attend training at the Tech there. Classes will not be held if minimum registration levels are not met.