2016 Paraprofessional Grants - Applications Due June 17, 2016

The Paraprofessional Division of the Georgia Library Association announces its 2016 Paraprofessional Grants.  

Five (5) $250 Award Grants will be given to the winners to facilitate their attendance at GaCOMO 2016 – GLA’s Annual Convention to be held in Athens, Georgia October 5-7, 2016.

 In addition, each winner will receive an awards plaque, which will be presented at a GLA Association function and a one-year free paraprofessional membership in the Georgia Library Association.

To apply download and complete Paraprofessional Award Application Form

Please note that while applicants do not have to be member of the association in order to compete, they must be full-time employees in a library falling under GLA’s auspices (normally a college-level academic, public, school, or special library).

The deadline for submission of application forms is Friday, June 17, 2016.

COMO 2016 Call for Proposals - Submit by May 30, 2016

The Georgia Library Association, Georgia Association for Instructional Technology, and Southeastern Library Association invite proposals for panels, workshops, and meetings for the 2016 Georgia COMO/SELA Joint conference.


Please submit your proposals on GA COMO website.


This year, the conference will be held at the Classic Center in Athens, GA on October 5-7, 2016.


Our theme is Reinvent, Re-imagine, Rediscover Libraries!

The proposal deadline is May 30, 2016.

If you have any questions, please contact Jean Cook at jcook@westga.edu.

Cobb County Public Library System's Falls Prevention Awareness Initiative in the Spotlight!

Cobb County librarians Susan Irvin, left, and Sherry Blomeley

 By Tom Brooks

Cobb County Public Library System's Sherry Blomeley and Susan Irvin are engaged in a unique public health initiative.

Blomeley, a Cobb library Region Manager, and Irvin, an Adult Services librarian, are "Coaches" leading an evidence-based class designed to assist seniors in reducing the risks of serious falls. The 8-week class, "A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns about Falls," or AMOB, guides participants through strategies for managing falls, avoiding falls and increasing physical activities. Cobb Senior Services provided their Coach training and administers the class.

They first led the class last summer at a Cobb Senior Center. Their second class runs through May at the East Cobb Library. Each class is limited to 15 people – and both reached capacity before opening. The class is for seniors age 55 and up. The class fee is $30, which is used largely for class materials.

Blomeley said AMOB shows how libraries are effective in intervening to address significant community issues. A theme of the class is the ironic reality that seniors who limit activities to avoid falls are more likely to suffer a serious injury and become socially isolated due to fear of falling.
"It's a different format," she said of the librarians-as-coaches approach. "It's about increasing knowledge, increasing confidence, about improving the quality of life overall."

The class is part of the Library System's Falls Prevention Awareness Initiative. Launched in 2015, the initiative is centered around the annual Falls Prevention Awareness Day observed nationally in September on the first day of the fall season. Cobb libraries presented nine events, including health screenings, safety checks and the capstone Falls Prevention Awareness Open House at East Cobb. Participating organizations included Cobb Senior Services, UGA Cobb Extension, WellStar Health System, Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre, Georgia Department of Public Health, Shepherd Center and Emory University Center for Health in Aging.

Injuries due to falls are costly. According to the CDC, national direct medical costs due to falls are $34 billion annually. In Cobb, public health data shows about one emergency department visit per hour due to falls. Developed in the 1990s at the Roybal Center at Boston University, AMOB has evolved to include a volunteer lay leader (VLL) model in place of health professionals as class facilitators. MaineHealth's Partnership for Healthy Aging adapted AMOB for lay leaders.

Cobb Library Director Helen Poyer said the partnership with Cobb Senior Services is about enhancing quality of life. "This alignment demonstrates how public libraries can effectively keep pace with the needs of our older adults by providing meaningful programs and services," she said.
Irvin said her experience with the seniors reaffirms the value of libraries to support community goals like improving public health.

"We are very open to community needs," Irvin said. "The library is a gateway place."
To learn more about the Falls Prevention Awareness Initiative, please visit www.cobbcat.org/falls-prevention.

Tom Brooks is Communications Coordinator for the Cobb County Public Library System and Chair of the Falls Prevention Awareness Initiative.

Professional Development Events in May

This list is provided by Georgia Public Library Service.  Visit the GPLS CE Calendar for the program descriptions and to register.

ADVOCACY
May 4: Listen Up! Turning Library Agnostics into True Believers (Texas State Library & Archives Commission)
May 12: Early Literacy Outreach for Teen Parents: Engage and Inspire with ECRR 2.0 (Texas State Library & Archives Commission)
May 18: Visualizing Library Services – Case Studies from Ohio State and Yale (OCLC Research)
May 19: Research impact metrics for librarians: calculation & context (Library Connect)

ASSESSMENT & PLANNING
May 4: Measuring Program Outcomes: A Toolkit for Small Libraries (TechSoup)
May 12: 3D Printing @ Your Library: Getting Started (Library Journal)
May 25: Planning for Growth With Inclusive Engagement (Demco)

CHILDREN & TEENS
May 13: Kate DiCamillo May 13th Virtual Author Event and LIVE Webcast (Candlewick Press)
May 31: School Librarian’s Workshop: Federal Government Resources for K-12 (Federal Depository Library Program)

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT
May 3: What We're Reading for Fall 2016 (Booklist)
May 10: How to Market Your Large Print Collection: Successful Librarians Speak (Booklist)
May 17: YA Announcements: Summer 2016 (Booklist)
May 18: What's New in Young Adult Literature - 2016 (Infopeople)

COMMUNICATION
May 4: Towards a More Accessible and Inclusive Presentation (American Alliance of Museums)
May 5: Storymakers 4: Using Photos to Tell Your Organization's Story (TechSoup)
May 17: Health Literacy Online (DigitalGov)
May 18: Visualizing Library Services – Case Studies from Ohio State and Yale (OCLC Research)
May 19: Research impact metrics for librarians: calculation & context (Library Connect)

DATABASES & eRESOURCES
May 4: Top Secret: Declassified Documents and Freedom of Information Act (Federal Depository Library Program)
May 10: Shepard’s Legal Reseach (GALILEO)
May 19: Genealogy Essentials: Helping Patrons Search for Family Roots (WebJunction)

DEVELOPMENT & MANAGING CHANGE
May 5: Storymakers 4: Using Photos to Tell Your Organization's Story (TechSoup)
May 12: May 12: CSL in Session: Get ‘er Done! Using 4DX® to Achieve Your Most Important Goals (Colorado Virtual Library)
May 16: Intellectual Freedom – Core Values for All Librarians (Idaho Commission for Libraries)
May 19: Essential Webinar Series: Intro to What Makes a Great Library (Siera Learn)

LIBRARY SPACES
May 10: Grow and Learn: Library Outdoor Spaces! (Texas State Library & Archives Commission)
May 11: Future Proofing Library Spaces (Infopeople)
May 11: Linux Laptops for Libraries (Nebraska Library Commission)
May 12: Makerspaces in the Library (American Libraries Live)
May 25: Creating a Blended Learning Space in Your Library (Nebraska Library Commission)
May 26: Designing and Creating Maker Spaces (EdWeb)

MANAGEMENT
May 12: CSL in Session: Get ‘er Done! Using 4DX® to Achieve Your Most Important Goals (Colorado Virtual Library)
May 16: Intellectual Freedom – Core Values for All Librarians (Idaho Commission for Libraries)
May 19: Essential Webinar Series: Intro to What Makes a Great Library (Siera Learn)

OUTREACH & PARTNERSHIPS
May 3: Introducing Learning Circles: Online Learning, Offline (WebJunction)
May 4: Welcome the World to Your Library: Creating a Multilingual Library Introduction Video (Nebraska Library Commission)
May 12: Early Literacy Outreach for Teen Parents: Engage and Inspire with ECRR 2.0 (Texas State Library & Archives Commission)
May 17: Health Literacy Online (DigitalGov)

PROGRAMMING
May 3: Memoir Writing for Older Adults (Washington State Library)
May 13: Kate DiCamillo May 13th Virtual Author Event and LIVE Webcast (Candlewick Press)
May 19: The White House Vice Presidency: The Path to Significance, Mondale to Biden (National Archives)
May 25: Civil War Voices: Records from the National Archives and a Personal Collection (National Archives)

READERS’ ADVISORY
May 3: What We're Reading for Fall 2016 (Booklist)
May 17: YA Announcements: Summer 2016 (Booklist)
May 18: What's New in Young Adult Literature - 2016 (Infopeople)

REFERENCE
May 3: Bullying at School and at Work: Government Resources Can Help (Federal Depository Library Program)
May 4: Top Secret: Declassified Documents and Freedom of Information Act (Federal Depository Library Program)
May 5: Copyright services at universities (ALA Washington)
May 10: Shepard’s Legal Reseach (GALILEO)
May 19: Genealogy Essentials: Helping Patrons Search for Family Roots (WebJunction)
May 25: Civil War Voices: Records from the National Archives and a Personal Collection (National Archives)
May 25: ATL Maps: Using Archival Resources to Visualize History (Georgia Library Association)
May 31: School Librarian’s Workshop: Federal Government Resources for K-12 (Federal Depository Library Program)

SCHOOL LIBRARIES
May 16: TL News Night (TL Virtual Cafe)
May 17: Strategies for School Makerspace Success with Maker Guru Colleen Graves (Colorado Virtual Library)
May 18: Super Happy Maker Fun Hour: Bonus School Edition (Colorado Virtual Library)
May 26: Designing and Creating Maker Spaces (EdWeb)

TECHNOLOGY
May 2: Tweet Like a Ninja (TL Virtual Cafe)
May 6: Tech Trends with Tine: Control Your Future - New User Interfaces (Texas State Library & Archives Commission)
May 11: Linux Laptops for Libraries (Nebraska Library Commission)
May 12: 3D Printing @ Your Library: Getting Started (Library Journal)
May 12: Makerspaces in the Library (American Libraries Live)
May 17: Strategies for School Makerspace Success with Maker Guru Colleen Graves (Colorado Virtual Library)
May 18: Super Happy Maker Fun Hour: Bonus School Edition (Colorado Virtual Library)
May 20: Tech Trends with Tine: Starting from Scratch - Grassroots/DIY/Maker Tech (Texas State Library & Archives Commission)