News Archive 

November - December 2011

Delivery of Catalogued Items to Slave Lake (posted December 3)
On November 16, approximately 14,000 catalogued items were delivered to the Slave Lake library. Since the summer, a team of Peace Library System cataloguers, with assistance from Yellowhead Regional Library and Marigold Library System, have been working hard to catalogue nearly 30,000 donated items. The library is hoping to re-open before Christmas or in early January.
 
APLEN's Make it Yours Campaign (posted December 3)
This fall, APLEN launched the Make it Yours multi-year marketing campaign. To learn more about the campaign, and access their customizable material please visit their wiki.
 
Winter Issue of News 'N' Notes (posted November 29)
The winter issue of News 'N' Notes is now available.

September - October 2011

The Top 25 Books Revealed! (posted October 31)
Peace Library System is pleased to present the winners of the 25 for 25: Best Books of Our Time contest. Which book took first spot? Find out here! Also, you can read the media release to find out more about the contest.

Also, congratulations to Kimberlee Laliberte, winner of the Kobo Touch, and Karen Landers, Wade Reinders and Diane Haskell, recepients of the $50.00 gift certificates for Coles/Chapters/Indigo.

R. David Lankes Conference Session Video (posted September 27)
Due to the audio glitch at the beginning of his session, Mr. Lankes has taken the time out of his busy schedule to condense his presentation and create a video for the delegates of the Rural Libraries Conference. The video is available from his blog at http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/blog/?p=1251. Watch and be inspired!

Rural Libraries Conference Online Feedback (posted September 27)
Please complete the online conference evaluation survey and/or the session evaluation survey if you were unable to do so at the conference, or if you have any feedback you'd like to add! The surveys will be available until October 15. Thank you!

Excellence in Library Service Recognized in Peace Region Libraries (posted September 27)
Congratulations to Jocelyne Gervais & Joyce Doran of Bibliothèque Dentinger/Falher Library for being the 2011 recipients of the Excellence in Library Service Award for public libraries and to Kristina Pahl of Glenmary School in Peace River and Judy Sahaydak of Peace River School Division's Instructional Materials Centre for receiving the Excellence in Library Service Award for school libraries. Read the media release to learn more about these outstanding examples of excellence in library service.

25 for 25: The Best Books of Our Time (posted September 21)
In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Peace Library System is seeking the 25 best books published over the last 25 years as determined by residents of northwestern Alberta. To do this, Peace Library System is asking the public to vote for their favourite books. The contest runs from September 21 to October 21, 2011, to coincide with Canadian Library Month. Winners will be announced October 31. Read the media release and learn more about the contest.

Peace Library System Celebrates Silver Anniversary (posted September 15)
Read the media release.

Fall News 'N' Notes (posted September 8)
The fall edition of News 'N' Notes is now available for you to download and read.
 

August 2011
  • Career Opportunity: Network Analyst (posted August 25)
    Peace Library System is looking for a network analyst. Please visit our Careers section for more information. This position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found, but a review of applications will begin August 29, 2011.
     
  • UPDATE: Slave Lake Library (posted August 17)
    Canadians have proven themselves to be overwhelmingly generous in their efforts to help rebuild the Slave Lake library. To learn more and find out the current situation regarding donations, please download the media release sent out on August 16.
May, June & July 2011
  • Alberta Public Libraries Technology Report and Recommendations Released (posted July 27)
    Six general areas of recommendations and potential projects are outlined in this report, with the two main objectives of providing "seamless access" and adopting innovative technologies. To read the document, which will influence the future of Alberta public libraries, please click here.
     
  • UPDATE: Slave Lake Library Donations (posted July 22)
    Peace Library System (PLS) has been coordinating donations for the Rotary Club of Slave Lake Public Library. We have fielded dozens of phone calls and e-mails from individuals, libraries, publishers and other organizations in Alberta and across the country and have accepted donations of money, library books and other materials.

    The response has been astounding, with almost 27,000 items received to date! It will be a lengthy project to sort, catalogue and process this daunting number of items. A book sale is being planned for tattered books and the duplicate copies received. We are now asking people to hold book sales in their own communities and to donate the proceeds to Slave Lake Library. This will help with acquiring furniture, shelving, supplies and other needed items for their temporary and future locations.To donate funds, follow the link to CanadaHelps.org on theSlave Lake library website. Alternatively, cheques or money-orders can be made payable to the “Slave Lake Regional Library Board” and sent to:

Peace Library System
8301 – 110 Street
Grande Prairie, AB T8W 6T2

The Slave Lake Library and Peace Library System thank all who made and will make a contribution to rebuilding the library.

  • Mango Language Learning Software (posted May 2)
    Minister Goudreau of Alberta Municipal Affairs, announced at ALC in Jasper that all public libraries will be licensed for Mango; a language learning software. Mango will be replacing TellMeMore effective immediately! From the Mango website:

“Mango is free for all library patrons, and offers a fast and convenient solution for our region’s increasing language-learning needs. Each lesson combines real life situations and audio from native speakers with simple, clear instructions. The courses are presented with an appreciation for cultural nuance and real-world application that integrates components of vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and culture. Users learn actual conversation, breaking down complex conversational elements within an audio-visual framework that allows the user to draw important connections between pieces of information they have already learned.Mango is available in two versions. One is Mango Complete, a 100-lesson course that is designed to provide a deep understanding of a language and its culture. It is available in 31 foreign language and 14 ESL courses. The second is Mango Basic, which teaches everyday greetings, gratitudes, goodbyes and helpful phrases in a short period of time and is designed to appeal to a beginner in a new language. The courses, which require only two to five hours of time to complete, are currently available in 34 foreign languages and 15 English as a Second Language (ESL) courses."
 

March & April 2011
  • TRAC will be upgrading Polaris on Monday, May 9th, 2011!
    This new build corrects problems discovered in Polaris 4.0. It will not provide any new functionality. 
    What do you need to do?
    1. Please keep your staff computers turned on over the weekend so that we can begin updating them remotely on Monday morning. We will send you a reminder the Friday before.
    2. Do NOT login to Polaris on Monday, May 9th until you have received notification from PLS that the upgrade is complete.
    3. Be aware that you may experience some slowness with your internet connection or access to shared drives while the upgrade is occurring.

    Please note: For those member libraries that are housed in a school environment and running on a school network no action is required, however please do NOT login to Polaris until you have received notification from PLS that the upgrade is complete.
     
  • New Network Analyst (posted Apr. 8)
    Peace Library System is pleased to announce that John Evans has been hired as the new Network Analyst. Welcome, John!
     
  • Now Accepting Nominations for the Excellence in Library Service Awards (posted Mar. 30)
    Peace Library System is calling for submissions for its 17th annual Excellence in Library Service Awards (formerly known as the Excellence in Librarianship Awards). The awards are designed to recognize Peace area library staff for outstanding service in school and public libraries. The Excellence in Library Service Awards are available only to library staff working for libraries that are members of the Peace Library System. The nominee must be an employee of the library at the time of nomination. To learn more about the awards or download the nomination packages, please click here.
     
  • Manning Municipal Library is looking for a new Library Manager (posted Mar. 16)
    To learn more about this opportunity, please visit http://www.manninglibrary.ab.ca.
     
  • Spring News 'N' Notes Available (posted Mar. 7)
    The spring edition of News 'N' Notes is now available for you to download here. Previous issues are kept in our document library under the Newsletters category.
     
  • Standards and Best Practices for Public Libraries in Alberta (posted Mar. 2)
    The new Standards and Best Practices for Public Libraries in Alberta has been approved and is now available for you to download at http://www.albertalibraries.ca/standards.
     
  • Multi-part Volumes in Polaris (posted Mar. 2)
    Instructional documents on multi-part volume data and how to fill in call number information are now available here. Thank you to YRL for providing the instructions on multi-part volume data.
     
January & February 2011
  • Photocopier and Printer Paper For Sale (posted Feb. 23)
    PLS Headquarters is selling their Xerox Work Centre C3545 Photocopier. It is in excellent condition, is only five years old, and has a service contract available through Xerox. The asking price is $5,500.00 or best offer. Also for sale: 10 boxes of tractor feed printer paper - size 9/12 x 11, 20lb, 2700/box. Asking price is $10.00 per box. Please call Alrene at (780) 538-4656 for more information.
     
  • iPads are now compatible with OverDrive EPUB audiobooks (posted Feb. 17)
    OverDrive has announced that you are now able to download EPUB audiobooks to your iPad. PLS has created some instructions to help you and your patrons learn how to use iPads with OverDrive.
     
  • Career Opportunity (posted Feb. 2)
    Peace Library System is looking for a network analyst. Please visit our Careers section for more information. Resumes with a cover letter will be accepted until the position is filled.
     
  • TRAC Upgrade to Polaris 4.0 Complete!
    TRAC has successfully upgraded our version of Polaris from 3.6 to 4.0! This was the first upgrade with our new network configuration, and PLS successfully upgraded 100+ workstations remotely. The workstation upgrades were applied to those libraries that are not using terminal services and involved Windows updates, and an install of the new Polaris client software. Your Polaris shortcut should now say Polaris 4.0.

    Download Polaris 4.0: What You Need To Know to find out more about changes in this version (updated January 20, 2011)!
     

 

 

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