Monday, January 28, 2008

JANUARY IMPULSE





CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS






This is the year to celebrate two of the Valley’s most beloved authors; William Saroyan and Leo Politi. Fresno County is leading an international celebration of Saroyan and is also participating in a statewide celebration of Politi.
Valley organizations will join the library in hosting a diverse array of local special events honoring the 100th anniversary year of their births.
Among the Saroyan events were a 24-hour readathon at George’s Restaurant this month,and a screening of The Human Comedy is planned for April 25 with a special guest appearance by the film’s star (and movie legend), Mickey Rooney.
Politi events will include an open house, art exhibit, children’s art contest and Chinese New Year’s party. For more information, visit Saroyan Centennial and Leo Politi 2008 Centennial






LIBRARIANS RECOGNIZED FOR SERVICE TO IRANIAN COMMUNITY


On December 8, 2007, Mina Abdollahian and Martha Connor each received a community service award from the Iranian Culture and Art Club of Fresno.
The beautiful plaques read: “As a token of our admiration and appreciation for your dedication in promoting Iranian culture.” The club has been meeting at the Woodward Park Library for about three years. Martha has worked closely with the group to provide much-needed meeting space, including space for ESL classes, plus she has set aside an area for a nice sized Farsi collection. Mina is a loyal attendee of the group, and she is often a speaker at meetings, plus she provides introductory speeches for guest speakers.
Mina translates at the meetings for non-English speakers, and she has worked with the group in selecting Farsi materials.



BOOKMOBILE ON PARADE


Karen Maj and Ron Martin participated in the Fresno Christmas Parade in December. When the bookmobile passed the review stand, there were lots of positive comments and cheers. After the parade, the bookmobile made its way to Eaton Plaza to be part of the first annual Christmas in the Park too. Thanks Karen and Ron for decorating the unit to make it more festive and for driving in the parade and spending time at Christmas in the Park.

ART WORKS


Artwork featuring the whimsical creations of Librarian Terrance McArthur will be on exhibit at Ashtree Studios from now through January 31. Terrance’s unique sculptures are made from recycled materials such as telephone wire, newspaper, pine needles and other materials. You will be amazed by the patience and talent of this librarian!

IT’S A WRAP


The Clovis Library Teen Council organized a gift wrap drive in December to benefit the Marjaree Mason Center, which offers shelter and support services to women and children victimized by abuse and homelessness in Fresno County.
Each year, the Center receives generous gift donations from the community for the women to “shop” through and wrap for their children. This holiday season, what the center desperately needed was gift wrapping materials so that the children could share in the joy of opening such anticipated and appreciated gifts.
We are pleased to report that the teen council was able to contribute 70 rolls of wrapping paper, 23 bags of bows, and an abundant assortment of tape, ribbons, tissue paper, bags, boxes, and tags.
Thanks to everyone who donated these supplies and helped the effort by spreading the word to patrons, family and friends. Your generosity is very much appreciated.

MARKETING FRIENDLY


Electronic publication Morningstar Library Notes recently featured Business Services Librarian Louise Richardson. Louise was recognized for her insightful promotion of the Morningstar class she teaches as “Investments: What Mutual Fund or Company Stock Shares Should I Buy?” Instead of simply describing the course as learning how to use Morningstar, Louise developed a title which focuses on the benefit to the patron and appeals to a much broader audience. As further pointed out, when promoting a program, service or other resource, think like your patrons. Then craft your marketing message using words that patrons will understand and that will move them to action. Understanding the needs and desires of patrons and capturing them with the right words is the best way to drive use of any service.

CAREER SPOTLIGHTS



Check out these recommended Job Sites from the Job Searching Newsletter of Alison Doyle, a popular Career Specialist. She considers the following her favorite new sites during 2008 and encourages job seekers to try them in addition to using the old ones for 2007.
Green Jobs
This is a collection of sites, not just one. There has been a focus on green jobs this year. Even Wal-Mart has jumped on the bandwagon, hiring environmental activist Adam Werbach, who was the youngest elected president of the Sierra Club, to help with environmental initiatives.
HireVue
Video interviewing can save a ton of travel time and help candidates be competitive, even if the job is in another state - or country.
JibberJobber
How do you keep track of all this job search stuff? It’s certainly not easy, but JibberJobber can help you get (and stay) organized, not only while you’re looking for
a job, but while you’re building your career and planning for the future.
Job Search Engines
When job search engines came along, they changed the nature of how we job search. Indeed, SimplyHired and other job search engines help you fi nd jobs fast. They also take it one step further and help you find out about the job, the organization, the salary, and the location.
Jobfox
Jobfox works differently than a traditional job bank. Instead of going to a job bank or a job search engine to search for jobs to apply to, Jobfox matches you up with potential employers - think dating service for job seekers. It’s the best new job search site in quite a while.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn has helped me connect with contacts I’d lost track of, gotten me lots of information for my new book, and helped more than a few people I know get a new job this year. If you’re not on LinkedIn, you should be.
Jobfox.com, Linkedin.com , ResumeEdge.com and Careerjet.com have been added to our library’s Job & Career Services web page. Staff should try these sites first to test their effectiveness before introducing them to job seekers in the library. Occupations with the Most Growth The fastest growing occupation for projected growth between now and 2014 are concentrated in the health and technology sector. The top three are: 1. Home health aides +56%
2. Network system and data communications analysts +55%
3. Medical assistants +50% Occupations That Need the Most Workers What occupations need the most workers between 2004 and 2014?
1. 736,000 retail salespersons
2. 703,000 registered nurses
3. 524,000 post secondary teachers
For a complete list of the top 10, check them out on Alison Doyle’s Job Search Newsletter. You can subscribe to it free at http://jobsearch.about.com.

TRAIN DISPLAY


During the month of December, Auberry Library’s display case featured a collection of patron Peggy Pruneau’s antique electric train engines. Some of the trains date from the 1930s. A story in The Mountain Press brought people from far and near to view the display. Obviously, trains are a big draw!




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i go to fresno libraries. who won the writing contest?????