[Web4lib] LibraryULive! Presents the Day of the Digital Audio Book

[Lori Bell]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
December 6, 2005
CONTACT:  Lisa Barnhart, LibraryU Coordinator,
309-747-2682
	       Tom Peters, OPAL Coordinator, 816-228-6406



Library U + OPAL = LibraryU Live!

LibraryU (http://www.libraryu.org) and OPAL - Online
Programming for All Libraries
(http://www.opal-online.org) are pleased to announce
expanded online learning opportunities for librarians
and the general public featuring web-based instruction
combined with live online presentations.

These live events will be held in online rooms where
participants can interact via voice-over-IP, text
chatting, and synchronized browsing featuring
instructional material from LibraryU.

The first combined initiative – “The Day of the
Digital Audio Book” – is scheduled for February 16,
2006 and will include an online self-paced LibraryU
module and a live event in the OPAL online auditorium.
“The Day of the Digital Audio Book” will feature three
separate sessions on the exciting and innovative
activities going on in libraries in the area of
digital audio books, and an additional “brown bag
lunch” with a panel of experts discussing their
practical experience in digital audio programming.

Session I will contain an introduction to and overview
of digital audio books; Session II will provide
libraries interested in offering digital audio books
with important considerations and questions to ask
vendors; and Session III will discuss the vendors and
products available to libraries interested in offering
these services. As an added bonus, a panel of experts
will present an overview of current digital audio
programs during a brown bag lunch session.  

Participants may attend any or all of the sessions. 
After the session is completed, learners may
supplement their knowledge or review what they have
learned in the live sessions through the corresponding
LibraryU tutorials on digital audio books.
Registration for “The Day of the Digital Audio Book”
is free.  Please go to  http://www.libraryu.org and
register to take advantage of this exciting and timely
opportunity.

LibraryU provides free web based training to Illinois
librarians and their patrons 24/7, and was initially
developed by the Illinois State Library and a number
of Illinois regional library systems through a Library
Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant.  In recent
years, an initiative to enhance and widen the impact
of the original LibraryU web site and make it a
statewide training model was funded by a grant awarded
to Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White
and the Illinois State Library from the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation.  There are currently 45
modules available on the LibraryU site, and more than
2500 registered users.  Under the leadership of the
Illinois State Library, Lisa Barnhart and Dawne
Tortorella coordinate LibraryU.

OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries) is an
international collaborative effort by libraries of all
types to provide web-based programs and training for
library users and library staff members. These live
events are held in online rooms where participants can
interact via voice-over-IP, text chatting, and
synchronized browsing.  There are approximately 25
library members of OPAL from all over the world.
Events are free to librarians and the public from
anywhere in the world.  Programs are also archived and
podcast for those who cannot attend live events.  Tom
Peters of TAP Information Services coordinates OPAL. 
The Alliance Library System/Mid-Illinois Talking Book
Center and the Illinois State Library Talking Book and
Braille Service administer OPAL.

For more information on these programs or to join,
please contact Lisa Barnhart at barnhart at gridcom.net
or Tom Peters at tapinformation at yahoo.com



		
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