Small dog with glasses at a computer
December 2018 Newsletter
Libraries and Disaster Response
While fires are top of mind here in California, much of the country has been faced with one kind of disaster or another in recent years. Libraries continue to fill essential roles in the community during emergencies and to support ongoing needs during recovery.

The need for access to communications networks through public computers and the internet underscores public libraries' role as second responders during crises. Libraries can strengthen their second responder roles by establishing robust and flexible backup communication networks through a TV Whitespace (TVWS)/WiFi network that directly links second responder facilities like libraries, schools, shelters, and clinics. These backup networks referred to as "second nets." Califa is currently engaged in an IMLS grant called SecondNets with Gigabit Libraries Network.

By streamlining and simplifying the implementation of TVWS/WiFi systems for disaster response, the project seeks to encourage installation and wide adoption at a national level.

To learn more about the project, visit http://giglibraries.net/page-1712342.
New Califa Vendors
We are excited to welcome a few new vendors to Califa!

ByWater Solutions, whose mission is to empower libraries by giving them the technological flexibility and freedom they deserve through the use of open source software with comprehensive and honest support. ByWater Solutions is made up of a diverse group of librarians, book lovers, technology and data geeks, photographers, Tolkien fans, space nerds, genealogists, knitters, gamers, animal lovers, and most importantly, open source fanatics who share their culture to positively impact their clients and community.

India for Everyone, a nonprofit organization with a mission to make it exceptionally simple for libraries to build their Indian language collections. Founded in 2005, India For Everyone serves libraries across USA and Canada, and offers experienced in-house selectors who know Indian materials and create lists of quality titles that circulate well. India for Everyone makes it simple to select materials that meet your community's needs and your library's budget. An OCLC cataloging partner, every item includes MARC records, and shelf-ready processing is optional.

Infogroup is the premier source of business and residential information for reference and research.  ReferenceUSA  is used by top libraries throughout the US for research, small business marketing, job searching, and much more. Patronlink is perfect for all your community and patron outreach needs. Patronlink helps libraries learn about their communities and patrons, interact with new patrons, target collections and programs to community needs, and boost library engagement

Newspaper Archive,   the largest historical newspaper database online, contains tens of millions of newspaper pages from 1607 to present. Every newspaper in the archive is fully searchable by keyword and date, making it easy for you to quickly explore historical content. Newspaper Archive is adding newspaper pages faster than you can search them - with one newspaper page added every second - that's over 80,000 images a day, or about 2.5 million pages per month! Designed for any individual of any age or profession, Newspaper Archive provides a comfortable and safe environment with easy-to-use tools for fast searching and browsing.

We're also happy to announce that SAGE has agreed to a Califa member discount for their new product, Data Planet, which contains over 6.2 billion data sets from 465+ databases, is largest repository of standardized and structured statistical data.

Happy (Almost) New Year
We're getting excited for 2019. Lots of great things to come for Califa members and the library world, and we want you to be part of the conversation!
Join us on Twitter and share your #librarylove and #libraryresolutions.


See You in Seattle!

We're counting down the days until the ALA Midwinter Meeting in one of our favorite cities: Seattle, WA.

Of course, you already know this, but Infopeople rocks. We're biased, but we hear the same thing from everyone.

More courses are listed at the end of the newsletter, but this free webinar was too good not to highlight.

With so much new technology coming at us so fast, how do you keep up? Join us on January 23 at noon PST for part 9 in the popular  Emerging Tech Trends in the Library webinar series  presented by Laura Solomon. 
Topics for this webinar include:
  • Facial recognition (Current uses and issues, how it might affect libraries)
  • Mixed reality (Real-life applications and potential issues)
  • Smart spaces (What are they, actual examples)
  • Implanted wearables (Current applications and likely issues)
Califa Meetup at CLA

Thanks to everyone who attended our reception at the California Library Association Conference. We enjoyed apps and drinks at La Fontana restaurant and bar at the Santa Clara Hilton, as well as some really wonderful conversation with member libraries and vendors. Check our Facebook page for future events!


Love your library board? United for Libraries is accepting nominations for the ALA Trustee Citation , honoring the best contributions to library development. Submit your recommendation by January 7, 2019.
Member News
Send us your news! Got a grant? A new event? A job opening? 
Member Spotlight
Featured Member: Marin County Free Library

Library Director: Sara Jones
How many people work at MCFL, where is it located, and how many branches are there? MCFL has 10 branches and two vehicles, Our administrative headquarters are in San Rafael in the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Civic Center.

What are you most excited about at the libraries right now? Partnering with great new tech tools like Virtual, Augmented and Expanded Reality and how these tools and content extends learning from the library to the school and back and helps students and patrons of all ages create content for this new technology.

If MCFL was a person, what would its favorite vacation spot (or movie) be, and why? Gattaca because the Marin Civic Center was in the film!
Featured Vendor
Baker & Taylor

Vendor Rep: Patrick Moore

How did B&T get its start?
Baker & Taylor began as a book publisher and bindery in 1828. In 1912 the company divested its publishing and bindery operations to solely focus on its role in the supply chain bringing books to libraries and retailers. Throughout the last 100 years, Baker & Taylor expanded services and unique offerings to become the leading partner for libraries across the United States for both print and digital book services.

How many people work at B&T, and where is it located?
Baker & Taylor is headquartered in Charlotte, NC and has service centers in Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, and Nevada. With a team of approximately 2,000 team members, we are able to serve libraries large and small quickly and efficiently no matter their location. 
Your sales team includes:
Patrick Moore, Digital Sales Manager, resides in Denver.
Peter DeVries, your new California Field Sales Consultant lives in San Pedro, California. David Hargrave, Vice President of Sales for the Western Region lives in Paso Robles. Both Dave and Pat have children who are sophomores at Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo.

How is B&T making the world a better place?
We are focused on improving community outcomes. We’ve been dedicated to librarians since 1828 and know the impact literacy and learning makes in reducing poverty and crime and improving quality of life. We are focused on creating programs and services that empower librarians to best serve their communities. Libraries are a safe space for all community members to learn and gain access to valuable resources and partnering with libraries in their mission is core to who we are at Baker & Taylor.

How many people are using B&T?  We distribute books, digital content and entertainment products from approximately 25,000 suppliers to over 20,000 customers in 120 countries.

If B&T was a person, what would its favorite vacation spot be, and why?
A getaway to a warm, sunny, quiet tropical island where B&T could read a lot. We love books, after all! And the cats could roam freely….


Vendor Offers and News

BeeLine Reader is proud to announce that its technology has been adopted by Reading Is Fundamental and that it is an honoree at the UN Foundation Solutions Summit, which recognizes organizations whose work is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Congrats, Beeline!

BookBrowse always offers Califa members 10% off. BookBrowse has a special offer for member libraries through the end of December 2018: all set-up fees are waived!

BookFlix is rolling out new features, including improved search interface, highlighted Spanish content, variable speed Read-Alongs, new fox and owl characters, additional titles, and a new, user-friendly redesign.

Digitalia is excited to introduce its new Comics Plus catalog of thousands of digital comic books for every age range. Califa members will receive 10% off the list price, plus an additional 10% off through December 31, 2018.

Ideas Roadshow is excited to introduce its new High School Portal. The rates are the same as for the Public Library Portal, and if libraries are interested in subscribing to both portals, Ideas Roadshow offers a discount of 25% on the total fee. For single-portal subscription, Califa Members receive 10% off the list price, plus an additional 10%, through December 31, 2019. Contact irena@ideasroadshow.com for further information and webinars on request. 

Infobase is offering Califa members an open trial for all of its resources through December 15.

Koios specializes in affordable search engine marketing for libraries. Through December 31, Koios is offering Califa members an early adopter discount. Contact Bill Mott for details.

McGraw Hill is extending the following offers to Califa member libraries for new subscriptions signed prior to December 31, 2018: 15% off a one-year subscription to AccessScience, 30% off any subscription to the McGraw-Hill e-book library, and 50% off any perpetual access purchase for the McGraw Hill e-book library.

Muzzy is now available through OverDrive, Odilo, Hoopla, and Kanopy. Contact your rep at these streaming programs or search fto add an another way for your youngest patrons to begin learning another language.

Oxford University Press has added a new product to its portfolio: Oxford Research Encyclopedias. With today’s overabundance of information, and misinformation, students and researchers alike can be overwhelmed by identifying what’s trustworthy, what’s up-to-date, and what’s accurate.
  • Authoritative Resources: Written by experts of the topic
  • Oxford-validated: Articles are vetted and approved by editors at Oxford University Press
  • Peer-reviewed: Comprehensive collections of in-depth, peer-reviewed summaries
  • Multidisciplinary: From Climate Science to Psychology, History to Linguistics, and Planetary Science to International Studies, the OREs offer content in 25 various subject areas

Pronunciator is unveiling an impressive list of new content, including the most comprehensive American Sign Language course in the world, a Mexican Spanish Sign Language course, and a citizenship preparation course in both English and Spanish.

Proquest continues to help libraries compete with the likes of Spotify and Netflix with Music and Dance Online In addition to the distinction of being the largest, most diverse catalog of video, audio and full-text music content in the world, Music and Dance Online for Public Libraries also has powerful workflow tools – some of which you won’t find on the consumer sites, like: smart searching: controlled vocabularies and semantic facet browsing; playlists and clip-making tools, including playlists and clips already created by subject matter experts; searchable transcripts, annotation tools and an instant citation exporter, empowering users to share content with others. Contact Dawn Driscoll for more information.


P.V. Supa is offering a 3-month try-and-buy opportunity of their RFID Intelligent Shelves for libraries. For the cost of shipping and set up, California libraries can try one of Europe's hottest, most in-demand products: RFID Intelligent Shelves. Every time a patron returns an item to the shelf, it sends the information directly to the library system and registers the material as returned. No more queues, no more waiting in line. For all materials that are returned to the Intelligent S helf, security is automatically switched on, and the materials are instantly available to the next customer. The Intelligent Shelves dramatically decrease the workload of library personnel and increase turnaround times on returned materials.For more information or to request a Try and Buy Opportunity, please contact Katie DuPraw .

Skillsoft (formerly Books 24x7) is offering participating members 50% off to add one Pro Collection, if the agreement is made by December 21. Contact Rebecca Holloway or lou.mutty@skillsoft.com for a free trial and more details. Skillsoft is also pleased to announce its new platform, Skillport 8i, which includes a learning app.

Springshare is happy to share their work with the Boston Public Library, including LibStaffer and LibCal. LibStaffer is a super-efficient tool for handling your staffing needs from the search/hiring process to the day-to-day scheduling of shifts, and more. LibCal, which we presented at the recent Califa Vendor Fair, is popular among public libraries for its event management, appointments, centralized hours management and spaces/equipment booking components. Congratulations to Springshare on the Library of Congress blog post announcing the launch of their first batch of LibGuides! Contact Charlie Carroll for questions about any Springshare solutions.

Zoobean has a new mobile app, and is offering Califa members a 20% discount through December 31, 2018, and 15% beginning January 1.
Webinars and Courses (by date)

Skillsoft offers two opportunities to attend the webinar Sharing Best Practices with New Career Readiness/Workforce Development Solutions on 12/11 at 10 am PST or 12/13 at 1 pm PST .

ByWater Solutions gives an overview of open source tools for libraries, as well as case studies of libraries successfully using them on 12/14 at 10 am PST.

Infopeople offers a broad range of free one-time webinars, as well as multi-meeting courses. Some upcoming highlights include Core Reference Fundamentals, 1/8-2/18, Basic Cataloging and Classification, 1/8-2/4, Telling the Library Story with Data, 1/29-2/25, Teen Services Fundamentals, 2/5-3/4, and Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace, 2/12-3/11. For the full webinar and course listing, see Infopeople.org.

Xello highlights its Career Cruising for Libraries resources with three on-demand webinars.

Proquest has an ongoing series of webinars, focusing on each of its offerings.

AtoZ Databases hosts an ongoing webinar series that includes:
Principles Of Basic Searches in AtoZdatabases
Every Monday at 8:30 AM & 12:30 PM PST
How to Find a Job, Résumé Writing & Ace an Interview
Every Wednesday at 8:30 AM & 12:30 PM PST
How to Find New Customers & Grow Your Business
Every Friday at 8:30 AM & 12:30 PM PST
Conferences and Events
ALA Midwinter: January 25-29, 2019 in Seattle, WA. Register here .

Ontario Library Association Annual Conference: January 30-February 2, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Register here.

Alaska Library Association Annual Conference: February 28 – March 3, 2019 in Juneau, AK. Book your accommodations here .

LibTech Conference: March 21-21 in St. Paul, MN. Register here.

Know of other conferences, trainings, meetups not listed here? Please share them with us!











Thank you for all you do!
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