Says Who?

We are responsible for our words. We are also responsible for giving credit to the words of others. With the vast expanse of the internet at our fingertips, citing sources is more important than ever.

During their school years, my children suffered at home with a librarian mom always asking ‘did you quote your source?’ At work, I’m a librarian who gives presentations to people of all ages, and I continue to stress (and not lightly) the necessary step of identifying and citing information that is being passed on.

Sno-Isle’s page called Citing & Evaluating Resources is a must to share anytime there is a chance to work with students or adults. Not only does it offer links to helpful resources, it is a perfect step into the conversation of fairness and respect for original thought and research. I emphasize to my customers that both the author of the words being used – and the reader of those words – deserve that kind of clarity.

Here is the coffee cup gifted to me by my supervisor for a work anniversary. Apparently, I’ve mentioned this ‘quoting your source’ thing before…

Coming Soon – Information Services Staff Survey!

It’s that time again!

The Information Services Staff Survey will take place from October 26th to November 4th.

Please, contain your excitement.

Each year the Washington State Library asks us to share statistics about library usage, including the number of customer transactions that take place.  Since it’s totally unreasonable to ask you to track every transaction year-round, we run the staff survey twice a year to collect the numbers that we then extrapolate for a full year estimate.

There will be plenty of time ahead of the survey dates to practice getting into the habit of recording your interactions, and to clarify any confusion about the different types of transactions.  To get ready you can review the Information Services Staff Survey page on the intranet.  The ARL survey is live if you’d like to take a look at the form (please don’t click the submit button).

Questions? Please don’t hesitate to give me a call at 7064.

~Anne

Give Me Back My Mules, John Jones!

Like all states, Washington is mandated to keep and preserve those records with permanent legal, fiscal or historical value. The Washington State Digital Archives is the first of its kind specifically dedicated to the preservation of electronic records. Prior to the internet and other forms of digital communication, records were on paper only.  Suddenly, documents were being ‘born digital’ and the need for the digital archives arrived.

If you have a customer looking for an official Washington State document, be sure and search the Washington Digital Archives website. You will find collections of marriage records, land records, corporation records, city records and much, much more.  These types of official documents can be very useful to local historians, genealogists and city officials, and the images of the original documents can greatly enhance a student report for school.

One of my favorites? The Frontier Justice Collection. Here’s an example, and John Jones should have thought twice.

 

 

 

Census 2020 – racing closer!

Can you hear the clock ticking?  There are just 209 days left until April 1, 2020…

CENSUS DAY

Sno-Isle is in the midst of planning programs and preparing for the many ways we will inform people about the census and help them fill out the survey when the time comes.

In the meantime take a gander at the 2020 Census Staff FAQs to learn more about Sno-Isle’s activities around the census.  Stay tuned here for more exciting information in the coming months, such as:

Will there be a 2020 Census-sponsored Nascar?

Who knows, but we’ll tell you if there is.

2010 Census NASCAR
On March 4, 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau announced an agreement with Roush Fenway Racing to serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 16 Ford Fusion driven by Greg Biffle for three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. The Ford Fusion will carry the 2010 Census paint job in Sprint Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 7; Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 21; and Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, March 28.