Media and Technology Section
Updated: June 28, 2005
Summer 2004 Newsletter
- Help Us Celebrate at WLA (nominate a site for the Webbies!)
- Blogging, Digital Photography, Wireless and More: MATS Programs Planned for the WLA Fall Conference
- State Moving Forward with New BadgerNet Network
- WLAF Silent Auction Needs Your Donations and Your Time
- Learn Online with Nylink's Institute of Information Technology Fluency
- Quick Tip: Add Google to Your Web Browser Toolbar
Help
Us Celebrate at WLA
At the Fall WLA conference in Lake Geneva, we will be celebrating excellence in Wisconsin web site design with our 1st Annual MATS Webbies Awards!
We are looking for some great sites in the following categories: best reference site, best site for kids, coolest design, best site created by a Wisconsin library employee (not necessarily library-related).
The MATS Board will select the winners for each category, as well as a "Top Dog" prize for the best out of all the submitted sites regardless of category. Winners will be announced in the exhibit hall at the conference (time and date TBA).
For more information about the
Webbies and rules for nominations, go to http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/mats/webbies/.
Help us make this a great event and submit a site (or two or three)
today!
Blogging, Digital Photography, Wireless and More
Thanks to all of your great suggestions, the WLA Fall Conference (November 2-5, in Lake Geneva) will include something for everyone interested in Media and Technology:
- Want to know how blogs can be useful to you and your patrons? Come
to Using blogs in the library world where 2 experts will share how
they’ve
used blogs in their libraries.
- Thinking about setting up a wireless
network in your library, and want to know how others have done it?
Be sure to catch the Wireless Internet
Access in Libraries panel discussion to learn about the pitfalls and
triumphs of offering this service to patrons.
- Wish you knew more about digital photography? Attend Capture This! Creating, Changing & Using Digital Images in your Library to learn the basics, from compression to resolution, from capturing to manipulating.
MATS is also co-sponsoring programs on web standards, the revolutionary RedLightGreen catalog, information and technology literacy, accessibility and web sites, and RFID.
And, of course, you won’t want to miss the Webbie Awards! (see the above article)
We look forward to seeing all of you there!
State Moving Forward with New BadgerNet Network
By Bob Bocher, DLTCL
The State of Wisconsin, in cooperation with the education and library communities, is moving forward with procuring the next generation BadgerNet statewide telecommunications network. A key goal is to build a network that will converge data and video.
The Wisconsin Collaborative Network Initiative (WCNI), which including representatives from key stakeholders, including the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), higher education, and the school and library communities, has been helping with the procurement process. This group has been providing input on network design and specifications to the state’s Department of Administration (DOA), the lead agency coordinating the procurement and design process.
A WCNI technical working group met with vendors to review their proposals submitted in response to an RFI. DOA has since sent out a bid solicitation which requested vendors to provide specific cost information by August 9th. After reviewing these responses, DOA will negotiate a contract with a specific vendor. It is hoped that the contract will be signed by late October, and transition to the new network will begin shortly after. The governor has assured that there will be no break in service to schools and libraries as the state makes the transition to the new network. The transition is expected to be completed in mid-2006.
For more information, visit the WCNI website at http://www.doa.state.wi.us/wcni or contact Bob Bocher (608-266-2127, robert.bocher@dpi.state.wi.us) from the DPI’s Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning.
WLAF Silent Auction Needs Your Donations and Your Time
Don’t miss the fun at the fifth annual WLAF Silent Auction, to take place at the WLA Conference in Lake Geneva! Bid on items such as art works (jewelry, pottery, paintings), tickets (concerts, theater, sports events), personal services (a dinner for six), collectibles/antiques or professional services (consulting).WLAF is looking for donations to help them reach their goal of raising $5000. Your talents, your collectables, and your own artwork are all welcome donations. The fair market value (determined by the auction committee) is tax-deductible and must be worth $50 or more to be placed in the auction.
If you don’t have anything to donate, you can still help by donating your time to setup or staff the WLAF booth during the WLA Conference.
If you would like more information, please contact the WLA office (wla@scls.lib.wi.us) or the auction co-chairs (ssedgwic@execpc.com/pbakula@webtv.net).
Learn Online with Nylink's Institute of Information Technology Fluency
Want to learn more about networking, web design, databases, or operating systems, and do it from the comfort of your home or office? Then plan on attending an online workshop from the Nylink Institute of Information Technology Fluency.
These online workshops are geared toward providing introductory skills and knowledge on the given topic. They last 4-5 weeks and include weekly readings, exercises, and opportunities for discussion with the instructor and participants.
For more information and a schedule of courses, see http://nylink.suny.edu/training/trncal.htm#it.
Quick Tip: Add Google to Your Web Browser Toolbar
By Marlys Brunsting, Cofrin Library, UW-Green Bay
Adding the Google toolbar allows you to enter a search, from any web page, without having to navigate to the Google home page first…and it only takes up a small amount of real estate in your browser’s screen!
After you download the Google toolbar, you enter your search terms in the box, hit Enter, and see your Google search results. The Google toolbar is also customizable. You can:
- block pop-up windows
- add Next and Previous buttons to the toolbar so you can go to the next or the previous result for the current search without returning to the Google search results page (only works with the first 10 results, though)
- save your search history even after closing the browser
- search within a Site
- search just for images
- shop for relevant products and the stores that sell them with the Froogle search
- with the click of a button, create a Blog post that points to the current site
Try it out! To download the toolbar, go to http://toolbar.google.com/. Google will always be at your fingertips! Info about more toolbar features is at http://toolbar.google.com/help.html.
