Animal Clinic – June 23, 2021
Annemarie Shapiola of the Totowa Public Library hosts a workshop on offering a Stuffed Animal Clinic program at the library where children learn about the basic medical equipment used in a check-up and perform check-ups on stuffed animals. Tips are presented on the changes made to hold this program during the pandemic. This workshop took place on June 23, 2021 as part of the PALS Plus Pop-Up Workshop series. [Tags: Children’s programming]
Artificial Intelligence for Library Staff – May 6, 13, & 20, 2024
LLNJ’s Passaic County AI Ambassadors – Heather Manley-Caldwell of the Ringwood Public Library, ShaBree Henry of the Paterson Public Library, and Mary Martin of the Wanaque Public Library -present three 45-minute Zoom workshops. In these workshops you’ll learn how AI works, how to get the results you want, and how AI tools can boost your productivity and make your job easier.
Announcement & Registration Flyer
Watch Artificial Intelligence is Dumber Than You – Mary Martin – May 6, 2024 – View Slides
https://pprc.palsplus.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/MM-AI-is-dumber-than-you-5-6-24.pptx
Watch Mastering AI Conversations – ShaBree Henry – May 13, 2024 – View Slides
Watch AI Tools for Library Workplace – Heather Caldwell – May 20, 2024 – View Slides
Cybersecurity Training – September 23, 2024
Thereasa Barker-Figueroa of NJCCIC, presented on the topic of cybersecurity and the best practices to protest yourself from the various threats.
The presentation was recorded and is available for staff and trustees of PALS Plus libraries. To request access, please submit a TrackIt!.
Device Troubleshooting 101 – May 23, 2022
Heather Manley-Caldwell of the Ringwood Public Library and Mary Martin of the Wanaque Public Library taught some basic troubleshooting techniques and tips for assisting patrons with Libby or hoopla on their smartphones or tablets. [Tags: Digital Collection; hoopla; Libby]
Additional Materials
Devide Troubleshooting 101 – Slides
Can I Access Digital Resources On My Kindle?
Mary’s Device to Human Translation Guide
PALS Plus Borrow Digitally from Libby and hoopla
Borrow Free Digital Resources at your Library – Wanaque. Request an editable file via TrackIt!
hoopla – Reference Desk – May 9, 2023
Emma Keeling of Midwest Tape/hoopla walks staff through the new Reference Desk support features. [Tags: Digital Collection; hoopla]
How to Create a Brief Record (juliusf) – August 9, 2022
Kristin Blumberg of PALS Plus and Cindy Corbett of the Verona Public Library discuss how to create a brief item record in WorkFlows when the item you are linking does not have a record in our system. [Tags: Technical Services; juliusf; cataloging; linking]
How to Manage Baker & Taylor MARC Records – June 6, 2023
Heather Caldwell of the Ringwood Public Library and Pat Joyce of the Woodland Park Public Library show how to download your MARC records from Baker & Taylor then upload them into WorkFlows.[Tags: Technical services, cataloging, linking, Baker & Taylor, MARC records]
Linking Map – March 29, 2022
Kristin Blumberg of PALS Plus and Pat Joyce of the Woodland Park Library present a workshop on a Linking Map. A linking map is a map or chart that each library should have for their Technical Services staff. It is basically a chart that shows that various Item Types that your library may use, what Home Locations they belong in, and which Item Cat should be used with that item. It is specific to each library. It is also helpful when a new person is hired or moves into the linking role. [Tags: Technical Services ; Linking]
Woodland Park Linking Map
Ringwood Linking Map
New Enterprise online catalog – January 30, 2024
Mary Martin of the Wanaque Library and Melissa Dunn of the Wayne Library present a workshop on the newly revamped Enterprise online catalog. They are showing the new changes and additions that were made as well as some searching strategies.
Additional materials
New Enterprise online search questions
Searching hints and tips
NJ211.org – March 10, 2022
Dana Catapano of NJ211 presented on how to navigate the NJ211.org website and access the most up-to-date information on the resources and services available to New Jersey residents. NJ211 is a great first step if you’re trying to refer your library patrons to an agency or organization that can help them with their issues. [Tags: NJ211]
Passaic County One Stop Career Center – April 26, 2022
Sofia Comas-Phillips, Deputy Director of the Passaic County One Stop Career Center, introduced attendess on some of the programs and resources the Passaic County One Stop Career Center provides for job seekers, including Metrix Learning, an online tool that all job seekers can use to gain and improve necessary job skills. Sofia also demonstratned on how library staff can help a patron register to take advantage of the services they offer.
[Tags: One Stop Career Center ; Reference]
Peterson’s Test and Career Prep Resources
Peterson’s Test and Career Prep Resources for Junior and High Schoolers – November 9, 2022
Peterson’s Test and Career Prep Online contains great resources for junior and high school students (and
their parents). GALE trainer Stacey Knibloe provides a brief overview of the Peterson’s Test and Career
Prep resources aimed specifically at junior and high schoolers. Resources include:
- Question Banks for Junior High students needing extra practice/assistance (basic math, writing and
reading skills) - Question Banks for High Schoolers needing assistance (basic math, reading, writing, science, as
well as practice tests in physics, chemistry, Spanish, and History) - AP Practice Tests (multiple subjects)
- College Exams: PSAT, SAT and ACT
- College search and scholarship search
[Tags: Peterson’s Test and Career Prep; AP Practice Tests; PSAT; SAT; ACT]
Peterson’s Test and Career Prep Resources for Career and Job Hunters – November 15, 2022
Gale Peterson’s Test & Career Prep online has some great tools for job and career seekers. Stacey Knibloe,
Senior Training Consultant at Gale, provides a brief overview of Peterson’s Test and Career Prep resources
aimed specifically at job hunters or people interested in career changes. Resources include:
- GED high school equivalency exam
- ASVAB (Military) practice tests
- Civil Service practice tests
- Cosmetology & Barbering
- Nursing, pharmacology, dental and medical assistance practice tests
- Real Estate license exam
- Microsoft Office tutorial videos
- Create a Resume with a powerful, easy tool
- Career Advice and interest/aptitude quizzes
[Tags: Peterson’s Test and Career Prep]
Peterson’s Test and Career Prep Resources for Basic Skills and ESL Resources – November 30, 2022
Peterson’s provides a lot of help for people who need to brush up on foundational skills or for people who
need help with ESL.
- GED High School Equivalency exam (practice tests available in English or in Spanish)
- Basic skills – English and writing
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) practice tests
- Practice sets for TOEFL (reading comprehension, writing, and vocabulary)
- TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) practice tests
- Citizenship study guides and practice tests
[Tags: Peterson’s Test and Career Prep; GED; TOEFL; TOEIC; ESL; Citizenship]
Pronunciator and Procitizen – Skill Sharing Workshop – January 21, 2023
The PALS Plus Digital Services Committee hosted a skill sharing workshop on Pronunciator, the new language learning platform. Additionally, Pronunciator’s sister product, Procitizen, was shown.
Searching for records and linking items in WorkFlows – September 26, 2023
Cindy Corbett of the Verona Public Library and Kristin Blumberg of PALS Plus presented a workshop that demonstrated the various ways to search for records in WorkFlows then linking that item to the record. [Tags: Technical services, cataloging, MARC records, linking, searching]
SirsiDynix Mentor Training Videos Tutorial – May 15, 2024
Eli Cardona and Kristin Blumberg of PALS Plus hosted a pop-up workshop on the self-paced training videos for circulation and cataloging through the Mentor website. Attendees were shown how to log in and access the videos. They were also shown how to retrieve course documents, print out a completion certificate, and view training hours. [Tags: Technical services, cataloging, linking, circulation, training, videos, searching]
SirsiDynix Training Videos Instructions
Subfield z (Pipeline Z) – March 13, 2023
Kristin Blumberg of PALS Plus and Pat Joyce of the Woodland Park Library present a workshop explaining the use of |z when linking items to serial records.[Tags: Technical Services ; Linking]
Subfield Z Standard Abbreviations
Taming TitleSource 360 – Tips for More Effective Collection Development – September 15, 2021
Mary Martin of the Wanaque Public Library shares some of the tools used to maximize the collection development process in Baker & Taylor’s TitleSource 360. Ways to identify what’s new and popular, keeping track of when authors will publish books, and how to create and use watch carts and the Notes fields to ease the burden on overtaxed brains are discussed. [Tags: Collection development ; TitleSource 360]