CR2 Blog the knowledge blog
  • scissors
    November 23rd, 2009LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    Get kids excited about reading with the national Great Scavenger Hunt ContestTM reading program (http://www.kaycassidy.com/hunt/). Adopted by more than 250 school and public libraries, The Hunt provides a monthly trivia contest for readers ages 8 – 19, based on over 300 young adult and middle grade novels. Readers select a book and answer ten trivia questions accompanied by a special note from the author. For school and public librarians in the U.S. and Canada, The Hunt provides free, year-round programming to engage kids and teens in reading week after week.

    Founded by young adult author Kay Cassidy, The Hunt was created to assist librarians as they face severe budget cuts. “As an author and proud owner of a well-worn library card,” says Cassidy, “I wanted to give back to all the librarians whose book recommendations have fed my imagination over the years and helped me grow as a writer.”

    As a founding member of Living Your Five, an online community dedicated to changing the world one person and one passion at a time, Cassidy is active in promoting the concept of “paying it forward” and invented The Great Scavenger Hunt ContestTM as a part of that effort. Debbie Henricks, from the Evergreen Community Library in Metamora, OH, expresses thanks that “in these tough economic times when we are all trying to cut back, it is great to know that there is someone out there that encourages teens to use their public libraries.”

    “I LOVE the Great Scavenger Hunt ContestTM! It is a great way to introduce books to teens and it is free. Who doesn’t love trivia?” adds Jennifer Nash of the Wallingford Public Library in Wallingford, CT.

    THE GREAT SCAVENGER HUNT CONTEST TM OFFERS SOMETHING FOR EVERY READER
    With more than 300 tween and teen titles—including fantasies, mysteries, romantic comedies, and historical and literary novels—The Hunt satisfies every reader’s interests. Titles include New York Times bestsellers, finalists of the Newbery Medal, Printz Award, National Book Award and Edgar Award, and offer readers a selection of great writing in print for their age group.

    READERS AND LIBRARIANS WIN!
    To participate, readers (a.k.a. hunters ) select and read a book, print out and complete the author-created book trivia challenge, and return it to their participating librarian. Eight out of 10 correct answers enters them in the monthly drawing to win a $50 gift card to the bookstore of their choice.

    When a reader wins, their library wins too: a tote bag filled with a choice of Hunt books for its collection.

    Librarians love The Hunt and make it a part of:
    • summer reading programs
    • Teen Read Week promotions and festivities
    • school book talks
    • book clubs
    • advance reader programs
    • showing how books inspire creativity in readers
    • suggested reading lists and bookmarks
    • daily school announcements

    “These books are flying off the display I created,” adds Sarah DiLorenzo of the McAlester Public Library in McAlester, OK.

    HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS EASY-TO-ADMINISTER PROGRAM
    Interested librarians may register online at The Great Scavenger Hunt ContestTM website (http://www.kaycassidy.com/hunt/library-reg/). Participating librarians receive access to online answer keys and the online contest entry form to make managing the program a snap. “One thing I love is that it's so easy to administer and promote,” says Sondra Eklund from the Herndon Fortnightly Library in Herndon, VA. “I've made a display of the books on the list, with a sign about the winner we had from our library. Kay has done all the work of making the trivia quizzes and doing the monthly drawing. Submitting the names of kids who do the quizzes only takes a few minutes. I love that it rewards kids who are readers and even gives them ideas of the next book to read."

    Bonnie Mickler, of the Dubois Middle School in Dubois, IN, likes the immediate gratification that the program provides readers and says “the students just print off the trivia challenges to answer and return to me. Using the 'answer key' link I am able to give them immediate feedback as to whether their hunt was successful or not. Great program!"

    The web site also offers easy downloadable promotional materials and tips from other librarians for making The Hunt a success. Additional details may be found at www.kaycassidy.com/hunt.

    ABOUT THE FOUNDER
    “If it weren’t for great librarians, I wouldn’t be a YA author. A lovely teen librarian introduced me to my first YA books and magically picked titles that made me fall in love with the genre. The best librarians are the ones who bring not only a love of books to their work, but a sense of humor and enthusiasm for what they do. They are the unsung heroes of the book world.”
    -- Kay Cassidy, YA author and creator of The Great Scavenger Hunt ContestTM

    Kay Cassidy is the author of teen fiction she wishes was based on her real life. The Cinderella Society (April 13, 2010 due from Egmont; winner of the national Golden Heart Award for Best Young Adult Romance from Romance Writers of America) takes readers behind the veil of a secret girl power society dedicated to defeating the mean girls of the world. In her life B.W. (Before Writing), Kay was an award-winning professional trainer and now enjoys giving energizing motivational talks to young people around the country. More information about her signature workshops and Skype visits can be found on her website, www.kaycassidy.com.

    Kay is a former college cheerleader and sorority alum, an M.B.A. and a member of Mensa. She thinks it’s comical when people are surprised to discover those things aren’t mutually exclusive. When not writing, Kay enjoys movies, watching Glee, and reading. Lots and lots of reading.

    For additional information and/or to interview founder Kay Cassidy, please contact:
    Deborah Sloan
    sloan@deborahsloanandcompany.com
    978.684.5005
    www.twitter.com/dsloanandco
    www.deborahsloanandcompany.com

    # # #

  • scissors
    November 23rd, 2009LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Norcross, GA — November 23, 2009
    Kirtland Community College has selected Evergreen for their next-generation integrated library system (ILS). Equinox Software, the Evergreen Experts, will provide data migration, software configuration, and post-migration technical support.
    The server for the new installation will be hosted at the college and members of the Michigan Library Consortium, also powered by Evergreen, will provide training services.
    According to Deb Shumaker, Director of Library Services, “Implementing the Evergreen ILS supports the Library's mission of providing quality materials and great customer service to the students, employees, and public at Kirtland Community College.”
    Equinox Software President, Brad LaJeunesse says “2009 was a benchmark year for Evergreen moving into Academic Library arena. We are very excited that Kirtland Community College will carry that trend into 2010.”
    About Kirtland Community College
    Known as the “college in the woods,” Kirtland Community College is located in Roscommon, Michigan about 170 miles north of Detroit. They also have two satellite locations in Gaylord and West Branch. Kirkland is the largest community college district in Michigan.

    About Evergreen
    Evergreen is robust, highly scalable, open-source library software. While Evergreen is best known for its unique ability to meet the needs of very large, high-transaction, multi-site consortia, Evergreen also elegantly scales down to the smallest library sites.
    Since its debut in September 2006 as the software sustained the 270-plus libraries of the Georgia PINES consortium, Evergreen has earned acclaim and praise from users worldwide, including a Technology Collaboration Award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Evergreen now supports hundreds of libraries of every type—public, academic, special, and school media centers. Evergreen’s rapidly expanding community is now known to power live installations in 4 countries including 10 U.S. states and 4 Canadian provinces.
    For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.

    About Equinox Software, Inc.
    Founded by the original Evergreen designers and developers, Equinox Software is a growing team of skilled professionals who provide comprehensive support for Evergreen, the consortial, open source Integrated Library System (ILS). Equinox develops, supports, trains, migrates, integrates, and consults on Evergreen, and engages with the rapidly expanding Evergreen community. Equinox also offers hosting packages for libraries that prefer not to maintain local servers.
    For more information on Equinox Software, please visit http://www.esilibrary.com.
    Press contact: Corinne Hall, corinne@esilibrary.com, 678-269-6113
    Evergreen is open source software, freely licensed under the GNU GPL. Evergreen and the Evergreen logo are trademarks of the Georgia Public Library Service.

  • scissors
    November 20th, 2009LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    COLUMBUS, OH - November 20, 2009 - LibLime, the leader in open-source solutions for libraries, has announced that Facing History and Ourselves in Brookline, Massachusetts has selected LibLime Enterprise Koha for their next integrated library system.

    The Library's system will be installed, operated and maintained at one of LibLime's carrier-class data centers and distribution is via Software as a Service on LibLime's cloud computing platform.

    LibLime Enterprise Koha is built on over two years of completed customer-sponsored development, including several highly-anticipated academic and consortia features. This Software as a Service offering on LibLime's new cloud computing platform will also feature regular monthly releases as additional customer-sponsored development is completed.

    "We believe that open-source software options provide flexibility and cost savings and are the direction of the future," said Tracy O'Brien, Director, Library Services.

    "Koha gives us the opportunity to have a web-based, user-friendly Integrated Library System (ILS). Our organization’s library and non-library staff will find it much easier to use than our current system," Tracy explained.

    "Our selection of Koha also represents our desire to be a part of the open- source community and to reduce software licensing and hosting costs." O'Brien added: "Koha will work well with our open-source contact management and web content management systems."

    "LibLime is very happy to be working together with Facing History and Ourselves as they install Koha to extend the reach of their library to their broad network of students and teachers," said Susan Buchanan, VP Library Partners at LibLime. "The open-source concepts of Koha is a natural fit for the mission and vision of this remarkable organization and LibLime is proud to welcome them to the growing family of diverse libraries we support."

    About Facing History and Ourselves

    Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational organization that engages students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. By studying the historical development and lessons of the Holocaust and other examples of genocide, students make the essential connection between history and the moral choices they confront in their own lives. Facing History reaches 1.9 million students each year through a network of 28,000 educators.

    The Facing History and Ourselves library serves eligible educators through our headquarters in Brookline, Massachusetts, as well as a system of nine regional libraries in the United States, Canada and England. The collection includes books, DVDs/videos and multimedia materials to support teaching and research that support the key themes of the Facing History and Ourselves program, including the Holocaust and civil rights.

    Facing History's website receives more than 700,000 visits from people in 215 countries, with 2.6 million page views. Learn more at facinghistory.org.

    About LibLime Enterprise Koha

    LibLime Enterprise Koha couples the award-winning Koha Community baseline with the latest enterprise enhancements sponsored by LibLime customers. Backed by LibLime support and documentation, LibLime Enterprise Koha represents the most advanced and comprehensive open-source ILS solution available to libraries.

    For more information, visit http://liblime.com.

    To try out LibLime Enterprise Koha for yourself, visit LibLime's demos:

    http://liblime.com/demos

    About LibLime

    LibLime is the global leader in open-source solutions for libraries, with a mission to make open source accessible to libraries. Rather than sell software licenses for static, hard-to-customize software products, LibLime educates libraries about the benefits of open source, enabling them to make choices about how best to provide their communities and staff with better technology services. LibLime then facilitates implementation of open-source in libraries by providing outstanding development, customization, support and training solutions--solutions tailored to each library's needs. For more information, see http://liblime.com.

    Press Contact:

    Tina Burger
    Vice President Marketing, LibLime
    (888) Koha ILS (564-2457) ext. 705
    tnb@liblime.com

    LibLime and the LibLime logo, Koha and LibLime Enterprise Koha are either registered trademarks or trademarks of LibLime. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

  • scissors
    November 17th, 2009LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It by
    J. Steve Miller wins National Best Book Award in the category of Personal Finance.

    Atlanta: USA Book News announced that Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It received the National Best Book Award in the category of Personal Finance.

    Enjoy Your Money! follows the adventures of four diverse students who form “The Counterculture Club,” led by an eccentric, financially savvy high school teacher who agrees to mentor the students on how to earn money, control expenses, and find more happiness in the process. Designed to teach young people, ages 16 to 32, how to thrive in any economic climate, Enjoy Your Money! has been called “the money book for people who hate money books.”

    USA Book News bills itself as "the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses." Submitted books this year represented such publishers as Simon & Schuster, Penguin, Revell, McGraw-Hill, and Thomas Nelson. Books are judged by a "distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise."

    “Although the book is well researched and documented, Enjoy Your Money! is more about people than numbers,” said Miller. “One way to help Generation Y learn critical financial principles is to package the information in an engaging story about young people they can identify with. Also, rather than telling young people what to do with their money, the book shares stories of how successful people like Warren Buffett and Sam Walton succeeded. Then, readers can adopt whatever financial management plan works for them.” Miller, founder and president of Legacy Educational Resources, writes life skills curriculum for public schools.

    The characters in Enjoy Your Money! represent four different cultures and each character challenges traditional stereotypes. While the book targets young people, people of any age can benefit from the financial principles provided in the book, including how to:

    • Get out of debt and accumulate wealth
    • Get ahead, even when the work you love doesn’t produce big bucks
    • Find your strengths and passions and make a living with them
    • Live a more fulfilled life

    "I've read scores of books and periodicals on personal finance. It's rare and refreshing to find a book so enjoyable, so accurate and so life-changing. I'm purchasing hundreds of copies to give away to graduating seniors,” said Larry Winter of Winter & Scoggins CPA's, certified valuation analyst, certified fraud examiner, personal financial planning specialist.

    According to Miller, “My original motivation for researching and writing this book was personal. My wife, Cherie, and I have seven boys, from 15-year-old twins to a 28-year-old. I don't want my children to live their lives experiencing the misery of financial bondage. This book sums up what we're trying to teach them about finding financial freedom, and my hope is that it will benefit others across the country as well.”

    For more information, visit http://wisdomcreekpress.com/press_kits.html.

    About the Author
    J. Steve Miller is the founder and president of Legacy Educational Resources, a nonprofit organization that provides web-based character and life skills teaching tools for educators in every state and over 30 countries (www.character-education.info). Miller has published books, developed extensive curriculum, and written numerous articles. He can be found at www.jstevemiller.com , or smillero@mindspring.com .

  • scissors
    November 17th, 2009LISWire aggregatorLISWire

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Norcross, GA — November 17, 2009
    Evergreen Indiana continues to grow with 6 new library systems live on Evergreen, the consortial, open-source library automation software. In total, 48 Indiana library systems are now part of Evergreen Indiana, a shared-catalog project of the Indiana State Library. The newest additions are Culver-Union Township, LaGrange, Monticello-Union Township, Paoli, Princeton-Patoka, and Westfield Washington Public Libraries.

    Equinox Software, Inc., the support and development company established by the original Evergreen developers, provided bumper-to-bumper support for the migrations and is providing 24/7 ongoing technical support.
    According to Sheryl Sollars, Director of Westfield Washington Public Library “Migrating to Evergreen Indiana will provide our patrons access to over 3 times as many resources than were available to them before we had joined this consortium. I think it's a win win situation for our community.”

    Brad LaJeunesse, President of Equinox Software commented “We are extremely proud of Evergreen’s continued growth in Indiana. Their libraries are very diverse from community public libraries, to school libraries, and even several libraries that were previously not automated. The fact that Evergreen has been able to meet the needs of all these different libraries shows just how flexible and user friendly the software really is.”

    About Evergreen
    Evergreen is robust, highly scalable, open-source library software. While Evergreen is best known for its unique ability to meet the needs of very large, high-transaction, multi-site consortia, Evergreen also elegantly scales down to the smallest library sites.
    Since its debut in September 2006 as the software sustained the 270-plus libraries of the Georgia PINES consortium, Evergreen has earned acclaim and praise from users worldwide, including a Technology Collaboration Award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Evergreen now supports hundreds of libraries of every type—public, academic, special, and school media centers. Evergreen’s rapidly expanding community is now known to power live installations in 4 countries including 10 U.S. states and 4 Canadian provinces.
    For more information about Evergreen, including a list of all known Evergreen installations, see http://evergreen-ils.org.

    About Equinox Software, Inc.

    Founded by the original Evergreen designers and developers, Equinox Software is a growing team of skilled professionals who provide comprehensive support for Evergreen, the consortial, open source Integrated Library System (ILS). Equinox develops, supports, trains, migrates, integrates, and consults on Evergreen, and engages with the rapidly expanding Evergreen community. Equinox also offers hosting packages for libraries that prefer not to maintain local servers.
    For more information on Equinox Software, please visit http://www.esilibrary.com.
    Press contact: Corinne Hall, corinne@esilibrary.com, 678-269-6113
    Evergreen is open source software, freely licensed under the GNU GPL. Evergreen and the Evergreen logo are trademarks of the Georgia Public Library Service.

  • « Older Entries

    Newer Entries »