Best Buy @15 Community Grants Program

Best Buy Offers Community Grants

Through decades of charitable giving totaling more than $175 million, Best Buy has supported non-profit organizations in the communities where our employees live and work. Best Buy believes in the power of teens, and @15 is a platform to connect with them, give voice to their perspectives, and invest our resources – including the energy and talents of our employees – to turn their ideas into action and support their efforts to lead social change. To learn more, visit http://www.at15.com/.

@15 is about giving teens opportunities to Live, Learn, Love, and Lead. These are the four dimensions of our @15 mission, and they are specifically designed to create a picture of a whole person, rather than defining a particular issue.

1. Learn — opportunities to have a high quality education and learn
2. Live — opportunities to build life skills and thrive
3. Lead — opportunities to develop leadership skills and contribute
4. Love — opportunities to build healthy relationships and relate

@15 COMMUNITY GRANTSThrough the @15 Community Grants Program, Best Buy teams across the United States select non-profit organizations that provide positive experiences to help teens to excel in school, engage in their communities, and develop leadership skills. This year, Best Buy Children's Foundation will give $2 million through the Community Grants Program.

Best Buy seeks applications from organizations that have current 501(c)(3) tax status and are serving a diverse population of young teens in the areas of learning, life skills, leadership or relationship development. Special consideration will be given to programs that:

• Serve a diverse population in local or regional communities
• Build social, academic, leadership and/or life skills in early adolescents (primarily ages 13-18)
• Show positive results against a demonstrated community need
• Reach at-risk children in working families

Funding GuidelinesGrants will average $3000-$5000 and will not exceed $10,000.   Non-profits located within 50 miles of a Best Buy store or Regional Distribution Center may apply. See the Best Buy store locator at http://www.bestbuy.com./

Organizations must successfully complete the grant eligibility quiz online at: www.easymatch.com/bestbuygrant to apply.

Grants are awarded for one year and are not intended to be recurring funding. We invite grantees to re-apply in subsequent years based on program results, although there are no guarantees of multi-year grants. Previous grantees must submit a report online before applying for subsequent funding.

Organizations within the Twin Cities 7-county metro area are eligible and can apply for the Community Grants Program or the Twin Cities Fund, but not both.

Process:

• June 1, 2010 Grant application opens. Review guidelines and apply online at http://www.easymaatch.com/bestbuygrant 
• July 1, 2010 Deadline to submit application online - hard copy applications will not be considered.
• September 2010 Grant announcement and awards.

QuestionsGo to www.easymatch.com/bestbuygrant or contact bestbuygrant@easymatch.com or 866-625-4350.

WVLS Public Library Directors Retreat

WVLS Public Library Directors Retreat

The Wisconsin Valley Library Service held a successful Public Library Director's Retreat on Thursday, May13th at the Rothschild Village Hall - Community Room. It was a fun day for all and the experience included the sharing of information about many concerns and ways to resolve these issues.

Here is a list of some of the topics that were discussed by the group of public library directors:

• Communications
• Advocacy
• Fundraising
• Resource Sharing
• Budget
• Social media
• Website design
• Working with your community, municipal officials, and state officials
• Technology Trends
• WVLS System plan and services

Congratulations to the following lucky door prize winners:

1) Netbook - Colby Public Library

2) WLA Scholorship - T.B. Scott Free Library – Merrill
3) Sony eReader Touch - Rib Lake Public Library
4) Sony eReader Touch - Medford Public Library
5) $100 Collection Grant - Crandon Public Library
6) $100 Collection Grant - Neillsville Public Library

Thank you for attending and see you at the Fall 2010 Retreat!

Microsoft Office Help and Training Sites

Need Help Working with Microsoft Office?

Where can you (and your library's patrons) learn more about Microsoft Office products?
Microsoft's training site. Microsoft offers a variety of online training options including:

• Office Training courses -  Free self-paced training courses for Office programs.
• The "Getting Started with Office 2007" page which includes training, videos, and an "Office 2007 Ribbon and Toolbar Overview"
• Office Interactive Guides Visual, interactive reference guides to help you quickly learn where things are.
• CustomGuide's quick references. 2-page reference cards with screenshots, shortcuts, and how-tos for common tasks. Free and available in .pdf format for many versions of Office programs. (Can you picture these printed double-sided, laminated, and available for patrons that need them? I can!)
• Microsoft Office Help. In versions 2003 and earlier, Help is available from the "Help" menu. In 2007, Help is available by clicking on the question mark in the upper right corner of the screen.

(South Central Library Service Tech Bits, May 6, 2010)

WVLS Public Library Directors Retreat

WVLS PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTORS RETREAT

Where:Village of Rothschild Community Room (211 Grand Avenue, Rothschild, WI)

Date: Thursday, May 13, 2010

Time: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. (refreshments and conversation begin at 9:00 a.m.)

SHARE…LISTEN…LEARN
During this informal and interactive session, be prepared to SHARE your library’s stories, LISTEN to the testimonials of others, and LEARN from the experiences of your colleagues.

UP FOR DISCUSSION
This retreat is the perfect opportunity to talk about issues that matter most to you! However, topics that may be discussed include: what’s new; 2011 budget outlook; advocacy; resources that help you stay current; collection development; technology; collaborative partnerships and projects; strategic planning; relationship building – trustees/municipality/county; local management issues; doing more with less; and so much more!!

Also, WVLS folks will highlight the latest and greatest information from recent conferences and get you up to speed on what’s happening at WVLS!

PLEASE PLAN TO PARTICIPATE!

R.S.V.P.: Monday, May 10th - please contact Susie at the WVLS office (email: shafemeister@wvls.lib.wi.us; telephone: 715/261-7250).

Choose Privacy Week

Choose Privacy Week

This week marks the inaugural Choose Privacy Week, a celebration of our right to privacy and an opportunity to engage libraries, librarians, and the general public about the importance of this issue in our increasingly public world. Sponsored by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Choose Privacy Week is made possible in part by a grant from the Open Society Institute.

To help us kick off this week, we are thrilled to present a 20-minute video featuring Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, ALA President Camila Alire, University of Chicago professor Geoffrey Stone, and others. We hope you'll take a chance to watch and share it with your friends and colleagues, library users and students. It's a wonderful introduction to the issues we're focused on, and a great way to kick off Choose Privacy Week. It's available at http://vimeo.com/11399383. Please consider embedding it on your blog/website/Facebook wall, emailing it to your e-lists, etc.

Our website, http://www.privacyrevolution.org/, is a great resource to learn more about Choose Privacy Week, find events in your area, and get resources for programs and educational opportunities. You can also show your support by becoming a fan at www.facebook.com/chooseprivacyweek and by following us at www.twitter.com/privacyala. (If you're tweeting about the week, please use the #chooseprivacy hashtag!)