Here’s something that might be of interest to CSSISies CSSISizens (thanks, Ken): the first ever “Handheld Librarian Online Conference: An online conference about Mobile Library Services” will be held on Thursday, July 30 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern time.  Discussion will center around how libraries can provide services on  mobile devices that are increasingly used for a wide variety of purposes including communication, internet access, text messaging, and entertainment.  The program, sponsored by Alliance Library System, LearningTimes and Infoquest, will include a variety of ways to collaborate, network and learn from a  group of experts in the field. The schedule is here and includes a panel session called Everything We Know About Implementing a Kindle Loan Program, moderated by Rene Erlandson, Director of Virtual Services @ the University of Nebraska Omaha.  The cost is $49 for one person, $89 for a group of 2 or more people logged in from one computer.

As we announced earlier this month, CS-SIS is sponsoring the Web 2.0 Challenge again this summer.  The Challenge is a five-week online course that will introduce law librarians to social software and how to use it in their libraries. It will begin in early August just after the AALL annual meeting and run through early September.

The five-week course will cover these areas:

• Blogs & RSS
• Flickr & Social Bookmarking
• Social Networking and Twitter
• Wikis and LibGuides
• Web 2.0 @ Your Library

The course is intended for law librarians who have little experience with these technologies but are interested in learning more. We estimate each week’s materials will take 1-3 hours to complete. You need not be a member of AALL or CS-SIS to participate.

Registration is now open! If you are interested in participating, please fill out this form.  Because there are a limited number of spaces available, course participants may be selected on a first-come, first-served basis.  The registration form will be available through June 29, and we will assign accepted participants to their small groups by July 10. However, course content will be freely viewable to anyone who wishes to follow along.

Questions? Contact Meg Kribble (mkribble AT law.harvard.edu) or Sally Irvin (irvinsa AT wfu.edu).  Those of you who attended his session at CALI last week got a preview of the great work being done by our third organizer, Tom Boone, on this year’s course website.

AALL is hosting a Continuing Professional Education webinar on Libraries and Social Software on Wednesday May 20, 2009 from noon -one Eastern time. The webinar is being given by fellow CSSIS-ie Sarah Glassmeyer, Reference Librarian from the University of Kentucky law school. According to her Twitter profile, Sarah is an “Accidental Web 2.0 enthusiast, Raconteur and bon vivant” (you really should visit her profile page if only to admire her hat).  I hope you will join Sarah as she helps us explore social software: what it is, how and why librarians use it, and how libraries use social software as a way to engage staff and patrons in a fast changing internet environment. The cost is $45 for AALL members and $60 for non-members; you can register here.

Social Media: Reaching People through the Web