Webinar Schedule for Winter/Spring 2014

We are pleased to present our schedule of webinars for the coming months!  
 
For all of our webinars, we will be using the Adobe Connect platform licensed by the University of Maryland. 

Webinar 1: E-government @ Your Library 

Wednesday, February 26  at 2 p.m. (EST)
 
The archive of this webinar is available here, and copies of the slides are available here.
 
As governments increasingly serve the public through digital technologies and resources, libraries are on the front lines of helping their communities access, use, and interactive with government. From helping the public learn to use technologies to finding government information to assisting the public understand government services and complete online forms, libraries provide critical e-government services and resources. This webinar offered general insights into how libraries can help meet the e-government needs of their communities in general and through the lib2gov.org web resource in particular. Lib2gov.org is a web resource developed in partnership with the American Library Association and the Information Policy & Access Center at the University of Maryland, and is designed to facilitate collaborations between government agencies and libraries to help the public interact with government online. Intended as an engagement web resource, the site offers digital government online reference services, library-developed guides and handouts, reviews of government apps and resources, community assessment approaches, and points librarians to selected primary source government agency materials. The site will continue to expand over time, and we welcome your content. 
 
Speakers:
 
John Bertot, Ph.D., is Co-Director of the Information Policy & Access Center (iPAC) and Professor in University of Maryland College Park's iSchool. Bertot has lead the development and management of the Public Libraries and the Internet series of studies for 20 years, which have demonstrated the significant roles of public libraries as providers of e-government services. In his role as MLS program director at the iSchool, Bertot also directs the program's e-government specialization. Bertot also serves as editor of editor for Government Information Quarterly, an international journal that examines the intersection of policy, information technology, government, and the public.
 
Ursula Gorham is a Graduate Research Associate at iPAC and a doctoral candidate in the University of Maryland College Park's iSchool. She holds a law degree, as wel as graduate degrees in library science and public policy. She is admitted to practice law in Maryland, and her research is focused on the accessibility of legal information and court documents. 
 
Jessica McGilvray is the Assistant Director for the Office of Government Relations at the American Library Association's Washington, DC office. She focuses on issues related to libraries and e-government and access to government information.
 

Webinar 2: Government Information Expertise Online: Beyond the First Century of Federal Depository Library Program Practice

Thursday, March 27  at 3 p.m. (EST)
 
The archive of this webinar is available here, and copies of the slides are available here.

This webinar offered insights and techniques in how practicing Government Information professionals can take the strengths and opportunities of the depository library experience into several promising areas of digital reference, discovery tools for government information, and deliberative outreach to your community. The session  featured tools, services, and resources offered by the Government Printing Office (gpo.gov) and the Government Information Online (http://govtinfo.org/) digital reference consortium.

Speakers:
 
John A. Shuler is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago University Library, where he is the Bibliographer for Urban Planning and Government Information/Documents Librarian. For the last 30 years, Prof. Shuler’s teaching includes graduate information science and librarianship courses at Syracuse University, Dominican University, University of Oregon, as well as the University of Maryland. He is committed to researching issues that involve how libraries can incorporate government information and services into their organizational missions, government information policies, and specific ways governments can use information technology to foster civic engagement. He has written articles, book chapters, and co-authored books. Prof. Shuler serves as an editor for Government Information Quarterly, and served on the editorial board for Journal of Academic Librarianship. In addition, he served as Chair of the Depository Library Council from 2009-2010.

Cynthia Etkin is the Senior Program Planning Specialist with the Office of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) – a position she has held since 2006. She brings to this position 12 years of experience at GPO and almost 20 years experience managing Federal depository library operations in Kentucky universities.  She is heavily involved in the FDLP Forecast Study and developing the National Plan for the Future of the Federal Depository Library Program. She is also administrator of GPO’s collaboration and eLearning platform and part of the Training Team, with a major goal to expand GPO’s virtual education and training program for the depository library community.
 
Prior to her move to Washington, D.C., Etkin was an associate professor and depository librarian at Western Kentucky University.  She served on the Public Printer’s Depository Library Council from 1993-1996 and was active in state and National professional associations. In 1995 Etkin was honored with the Kentucky Academic Librarian of the Year Award.  In 1997 Cindy teamed up with her former boss at WKU to produce the first annual column of Best Free Reference Web Sites for Library Journal; this year’s column will be their seventeenth such collaboration. 

In addition to her MSLS from the University of Kentucky, she holds a MA in History from Eastern Kentucky University. 

Webinar 3: An Introduction to Mobile Government Apps (mgov) for Librarians

Wednesday, April 30th at 2:00 p.m. (EST)
 
The archive of this webinar is available here, and copies of the slides are available here. A handout with links to the various resources discussed during the webinar is available here, as well as in our Share area.
 
Increasingly, governments are developing and using mobile technologies (apps) to provide e-government services. Often referred to as mgov, this webinar will give an introduction to mgov, showcase useful federal, state, and local government apps, and discuss how libraries can help patrons to navigate mgov. The webinar will cover how librarians can teach patrons to use mobile devices, provide links on our webpages to government apps, and create apps for their own e-government websites.
 
Speakers:
 
Isabelle Fetherston is a teen librarian in the Pasco County Library System. She writes the Pasco County Library Services Senior Services blog, which was recommended by the ALA publication “Keys to Engaging Older Adults @ Your Library”. Dr. Fetherston has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from New College of Florida, an M.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois, a PhD in Biology from Boston University, and a M.S. in Library and Information Studies from Florida State University. She is a member of the Phi Beta Mu International Library and Information Studies Society, the American Library Association, the Florida Library Association, and YALSA. Dr. Fetherston has a successful program in which teens tutor older adults in basic computer skills. She has given presentations at Florida Library Association conferences and at a Panhandle Library Access Network (PLAN) mini-conference.
 
Nancy Fredericks is one of three members of the Pasco County Library System's Library Leadership Team.  She has held a variety of positions in the public library including circulation supervisor, youth services librarian, reference librarian, branch manager, and e-government services manager before joining the Library Leadership Team.  Ms. Fredericks graduated from Saint Leo University where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and the University of South Florida where she earned a Master of Library and Information Science degree.  Ms. Fredericks is an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida - School of Information and a member of both the Florida Library Association and the American Library Association.  Articles by Ms. Fredericks have been published in American Libraries, Young Adult Services Journal, Florida Libraries, and Library Journal's Technology Reports. Ms. Fredericks was named Library Journal 2011 Mover and Shaker. 
 

Webinar #4: Roles for Libraries and Librarians in Disasters

Thursday, May 15 at 2 p.m. (EST)
 
The archive of this webinar is available here, and copies of the slides are available here. Many of the resources discussed during the webinar can be found in our Ready Reference area.
 
This webinar presents information on libraries' and librarians' roles supporting their communities and the disaster workforce before, during, and after hazardous events and disasters.  It discusses the information needs of first responders, emergency managers, and other professionals working in the areas of disaster planning, response and recovery.  Participants will also gain a knowledge of a range of potential information services they could offer members of the disaster workforce as well as how their libraries can participate in the community response and recovery with funding as "essential community services" through the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 93-288, as amended). This webinar will include examples of libraries and librarians who have supported disaster efforts.
 
Speakers:
 
Elizabeth Norton is a librarian with the U.S. National Library of Medicine Disaster Information Management Research Center where she has been working to improve online access to disaster health information for the disaster medicine and public health workforce. She has presented on this topic at national and international association meetings and has provided training on disaster health information resources to first responders, educators, and librarians working with the disaster response and public health preparedness communities. 

Siobhan Champ-Blackwell is a librarian with the U.S. National Library of Medicine Disaster Information Management Research Center. She selects material to be added to the NLM disaster medicine grey literature data base and is responsible for the Center’s social media efforts. She has over 10 years of experience in providing training on NLM products and resources. 

Webinar #5: An Orientation to Congress.gov

Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 2 p.m. EST

The archive of this webinar is available here. Please note that this webinar used the Library of Congress' iCohere Platform.

Presented by members of the development team of Congress.gov, this webinar presents information on the new Congressional legislative portal. Congress.gov is the official source for federal legislative information. It replaces the nearly 20-year-old THOMAS.gov site with a system that includes platform mobility, comprehensive information retrieval and user-friendly presentation. It currently includes all data sets available on THOMAS.gov except nominations, treaties and communications. These data sets will be added throughout 2014. THOMAS.gov will be permanently retired by the end of 2014.

 
Speakers:
 
Robert Brammer started work at the Law Library of Congress in September of 2012 as a Legal Reference Librarian. Robert was a reference librarian at the Rupert Smith County Law Library from 2008-2010, and a reference, electronic services, and circulation librarian at the Stetson University College of Law from 2010-2012. Robert Brammer earned his J.D. from Wayne State, his M.L.S. from Florida State, and his B.A. from the University of Kentucky. Robert is a licensed attorney in Florida and Kentucky.
 
Barbara Bavis joined the staff of the Law Library of Congress in 2012 as a legal reference librarian. She provides legal research services to patrons, both at the reference desk in the Law Library Reading Room and via the Law Library’s Ask a Librarian service. Barbara holds a B.A. in history from Duke University, a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and an M.S.L.S. with a specialization in law librarianship from the Catholic University School of Library and Information Science. Barbara is a licensed attorney in Virginia.