State Library of North Carolina
UPDATE
http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us
December 2001
First Lady Launches Start Squad
First Lady Mary Easley unveiled the state’s new Web
portal for kid’s resources, StartSquad.org, at a news
conference held November 1 at the Cameron Village
Regional Library in Raleigh. The portal features over
200 sites and comes complete with a “Start Squad,” a
cast of Web characters to guide kids through the portal.
As campaign spokesperson, the First Lady will make
appearances at libraries throughout the year, starting with
the Northeast Regional Library in New Hanover County
and the Southport Library in Brunswick County.
StartSquad.org is the next step in the campaign to raise
awareness that libraries are the very best place to start to
connect children and teens with learning and discovery.
Site Receives National Recognition
StartSquad.org was chosen by bigchalk.com to be
featured in their HomeworkCentral directory of excep¬
tional educational sites on the Web. Out of more than
1 1 0,000 sites reviewed, it was found to be in the top 2%
based on "rich content and its academic relevance." The
kids' portal was listed as one of USA Today's "Hot Sites"
in the publication's daily web guide.
Statewide and across the nation, the portal has been
highlighted in 1 1 television newscasts, 7 newspaper
articles, and 7 websites. And Rockingham County
Schools reported 20,000 hits on
the site in one day!
StartSquad.org is a great
opportunity to create excite¬
ment about your library among
kids. Free promotional materi¬
als for the site, like the Lee the
Librarian sticker shown here,
may be ordered through the
online form available at <http://
statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/
forms/vbpts/orderfonn.htm>.
This project is supported with federal Library Services
and Technology Act funds. For more information on the
very best place to start , contact Timothy Owens
<towens@library.dcr.state.nc.us>.
Virtual Reference
The Virtual Reference Working Group ( VRWG) has
begun its work exploring strategies for virtual reference
services in North Carolina. In current practice, "virtual
reference" may include use of email to answer reference
questions or live chat sessions between librarians and
users (perhaps enhanced with real time video and audio).
Hours of service could be as much as 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, depending on availability of staff.
The first step in the VRWG’s exploration will be a
Virtual Reference Conference on December 12 from
12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This Infonnation Highway
videoconference will be broadcast to the following
locations: Asheville-Buncombe Tech, Fayetteville Tech,
East Carolina University, Forsyth Tech, Public Library
of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County , and UNC-Chapel
Hill. Virtual Reference Work Group members will
facilitate in each location, and a live demonstration will
originate from the UNC-Chapel Hill site. At this confer¬
ence, there will be a demonstration of "live chat" virtual
reference exchanges. The working group will be seeking
feedback from conference participants about this type of
service. By next spring, VRWG will make recommenda¬
tions for developing virtual reference services in the state.
Members of the Virtual Reference Working Group
include:
Dr. Russell Bailey, UNC-Charlotte; Robert Burgin,
North Carolina Central University; Carol Cramer, Wake
Forest University; David Durant, East Carolina Univer¬
sity; Dave Ferguson, Forsyth County Public Library;
Laura Gorham, Alamance Community College; Michele
Hayslett, State Library of North Carolina; Susan Herzog,
Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County;
Vicki Montle, North Carolina School of the Arts; Jeri
Oltman, Pettigrew Regional Library; Mark Pumphrey,
Polk County Public Library; Lisa C. Roberts, UNC-
Greensboro; Carol Tobin, UNC-Chapel Hill; Linda
Stone, Central Carolina Community College; Jeanne
Crisp is State Library staff liaison to the VRWG.
This project is supported by an LSTA Statewide Leader¬
ship Grant. For more infonnation, contact Jeanne Crisp
<jcrisp@library.dcr.state.nc.us>.
A publication of the State Library of North Carolina, Department of Cultural Resources
Mail: 4640 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4640 * Phone: 91
9/733-2570
* Location: 1 09 East Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
