ProQuest and LA Times renewal

For those libraries who subscribe to the Los Angeles Times through ProQuest, we will be sending out renewal notices over the next two weeks. If you are not planning to renew, please let us know.

Many of you are also up for renewal for other ProQuest databases like Ancestry, HeritageQuest and the Historical LA Times and New York Times.

Full pricing can be found at the Califa website under the Products and Vendors area. Email califa@califa.org with any questions you might have on these products.

Califa Postpones its “Best Practices Fair”

At the request of members and because of the busy spring conference schedule, Califa has decided to postpone its prototype, “Best Practices Fair,” originally scheduled for March 4 until the fall of 2008.

Instead, Califa urges its members to participate in some of the other professional opportunities that are coming this spring including the Public Library Association’s Conference, March 25-29 in Minneapolis; the BookExpo America Conference, May 29-June 1 in the Los Angeles Convention Center; and the American Library Association annual conference, June 26-July 2, in Anaheim. Califa will be contacting those libraries that have requested presentations to accommodate them in the new schedule.

New Review Team Forming for Tumble Readables

We are forming a review committee to evaluate TumbleReadables, an online collection of read-along titles for elementary, middle school, and high school students which features adjustable online text and complete audio narration. We are looking for YA librarians, as well as those involved in adult literacy to review the material and platform using guidelines which Califa will provide.

For more information on TumbleReadables, please see their website at http://www.tumblebooks.com/tumblereadable/about.asp

We are hoping to complete this review by December 20, and expect that each participant will spend about 2 hours reviewing the materials.

If you are interested in being part of this team, please send an email to me at hteysko@califa.org and I will respond with trial information and the review guidelines.

AWE Early Literacy Stations - 50 units reached!

Califa aggregates orders on these ELS stations twice a year. The normal pricing is by number of units purchased, but during these special offers, all the orders will be aggregated. We have reached the highest discount threshold, so every library will now receive the price for 50+ units, even if they just buy one.

For more information, email us, or check out the AWE website.

LII RSS feed In Bloglines top 1000!

Congratulations to the Librarians’ Internet Index for nabbing the rank of 24 out of 1,000 in the recent Bloglines list of top RSS feeds. In case you are wondering why we would be so happy for the folks at LII, well, it’s because Califa manages LII. We would like to see LII continue to succeed, and that’s why it’s so thrilling that so many people still see it as a relevant tool for information.

Monomouse Product Review

Monomouse is a hand-held device that allows visually impaired individuals to turn their television into a large screen magnifier/reading machine. We asked librarians from the Bay Area Disability Librarians group to give Califa comments about this device. The review is now live on the Califa site - log in (if you forgot your password, email us) and go to Clearinghouse, then Product Reviews.

Let us know if you have any comments or questions.

Trial Information for MyiLibrary

Several Califa libraries checked out the MyiLibrary platform about a year ago, but it's worth giving this vendor, Ingram, another look. According to the product reps, this digital collection offers new titles and a well-rounded reference collection.

Califa eBook Steering Committee members would value any input you can contribute to help us decide whether Califa should offer the MyiLibrary platform and content.

Log in at http://www.myilibrary.com
email califa@califa.org for user name and password.
Trial ends December 21, 2007.