can you help the LA State Library with technology equipment?

The State Library of Lousiana has increased its hours so that people can use its computers. They could use even more computers and printers. If you can donate, please help. You may remember that Rebecca Hamilton the Louisiana State Librarian has been at her job only a month or two, though she was Associate State Librarian for a few years previously.

“To all-we are in desperate need of computers/printers. We are being inundated with evacuees needing to file FEMA applications, unemployment, search for loved ones, etc. and are coming into our public libraries to use the computers. Our libraries have greatly extended their hours to accommodate the people but they need additional computers and printers. If you can please put the word out that if anyone wants to help immediately, this is our greatest need.”

Indiana bound

For any librarians in the Indiana area — Bloomington and Indianapolis specifically — I’ll be giving two talks next week. On Thursday the 15th I’ll be talking about libraries and technology with students of the library school at Indiana University [flyer1, flyer 2] at 6 pm. Then I scoot off to the Indiana Library Federation Reference Division conference where I’ll be talking about… libraries and technology on Friday at 10 am [flyer]. Right now I am newly back from a six day trip to New York City where I went to a wedding, visited a new library and celebrated my birthday. I just discovered Eric Lease Morgan’s Keynote from ILF annual So you want a new website. He quotes Ranganathan and says really sane things about usability testing, specifically about the idea of ascertaining success.

resources in a post-Katrina world

The LibraryLaw blog has some summaries of libraries’ efforts to get organized, find colleagues and get connected in the aftermath of Katrina. She points to the NOPL list [mentioned here already] as well as AALL’s LawLibAssist blog set up for law librarians to help friends and colleagues. The LA State Library now has a big list of links to help evacuees and refugees and librarians with all the aspects of their post-Katrina lives.