Administration - 603-271-2392

State Librarian Michael York traveled to the North Country on September 27 on behalf of the US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science to present the 2004 NCLIS Blue Ribbon Consumer Health Information Recognition Award to Linda Ford, director of Littleton Regional Hospital's Gale Medical Library. The award honors libraries that do the most to promote a healthy lifestyle. According to the NCLIS web site, "Award winners were chosen based on the overall success of the library's consumer health information services program, with particular emphasis on the program's potential impact, innovativeness, and replicability. Winning entries will be compiled into a report of best practices in consumer health information distribution done through libraries. The report will be published by NCLIS, available in the fall." For more information, go to http://www.nclis.gov/news/pressrelease/pr2004/2004-04HealthAwardWinners.pdf.

Electronic and Government Information Services - 603-271-2143

Please let Diana Degen know if you have a change in IP or e-mail so that she can keep you current with NHewLINK databases. If you have changed, please send the updated information to her at ddegen@library.state.nh.us.

Don't miss the Gates Training Workshops at several locations around the state. These free workshops address issues of interest to public libraries such as targeting technology for specific populations and establishing community coalitions. You can get more information about these workshops at http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/training/gates/descriptions.html. Don't wait to register; several of the training sessions are happening soon.

Libraries wishing to get statistics for NewsBank usage can access them by going to http://stats.newsbank.com.

Library Development Services - 603-271-2865 (Concord) - 1-800-462-1726 (Lancaster)

A Children's Book Review is scheduled for Monday, October 25 through Friday, October 29 at the North Country Office in Lancaster and then from Tuesday, November 2 through Monday, November 8 at the state library in Concord. The Review is a chance for youth librarians to preview new titles in picture books and juvenile and young adult fiction and nonfiction. For more information, contact Ann Hoey at 271-2865 or ahoey@library.state.nh.us.

The NH Friends Statewide organization is meeting on Saturday, November 6 from 10-noon in Concord at the NH Municipal Association building. Before then, regional meetings are planned via coops to choose representatives to attend.

The Training Calendar for October and November is filled with workshops and modular classes available at locations around the state. See the following page for information about the courses and how to register: www.state.nh.us/nhsl/calendar/calendar.htm.

Other Courses:

Health Science Education (sponsored by AHEC) will be offered to public librarians and will teach them about health resources. There will be 10 classes this fall--one in each county. Tom will send information via listserv when he has more information.

A New Librarians' Orientation is planned at the state library for Monday, November 15. More details are available at www.nh.gov/nhsl/libed/modules.html.

A State Library staff committee has been working diligently on redesigning the Library's web site to make it more informative, intuitive, and easy to use. The new format is almost at the beta testing stage; please look for progress reports to come.

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

The State Library received a waiver to hire a new supervisor for this section, and has received applications from several candidates inside and outside NH. A selection committee is being selected from among NHSL staff.

New Hampshire is partnering with Oregon, Colorado, and the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center in a project called "Unabridged", which will provide Talking Books in digital format for those able to use them. The MITBC web site says the goal of the project is "to create a rich collection of multi-format e-books that have been optimized for use by print-impaired library patrons, including the blind, visually impaired, physically challenged, and dyslexic." At this time, about 15 of NH's approximately 2000 Talking Book patrons can handle the new format. OverDrive is the company which is digitizing the material; each state will contribute $5000 for the content, plus $3800 a year for service. For more information, contact Mike York or go to http://www.mitbc.org/dtbs.shtml.

NHAIS Services - 603-271-2141  

Why do I keep losing things from My List? How come I can't receive (or return or complete) an ILL request? These are among the questions most frequently asked of the NHAIS Help Desk. Now they're among many issues addressed on the NHU-PAC's new frequently asked questions page. Go to the HELP! tab and click on the FAQ subtab to check it out. The tab also includes an e-mail link you can use to suggest questions you would like us to address.

Back-to-school time includes another round of NHU-PAC training. The fall schedule includes classes at Hooksett Public Library (October 12), Conway Public Library (November 9), and the State Library in Concord (December 2). NHU-PAC searching, cataloging, and interlibrary loan classes will be offered at all locations. Details are available at http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/training/nhupac.html, where you can sign up online using the Workshop Registration Form link.