Twitter Hunters - Start Your Engines!

Or put on your comfortable shoes - because it's almost time for the Evanced Twitter Hunt!

July 11-14 we're giving away great stuff at conference - but we're doing it in a whole new way. Follow us on Twitter @Evanced and once a day we'll send out a clue (or clues) telling you where you can find a hidden prize or where you can meet up with Christine (our Coordinator of Customer Experience) to win things like:

- Canvas tote bags loaded with books, swag, chocolate and more (you'll actually want to use the tote bag again - yes, really, you will!
- One year free subscriptions to your choice of Events, Room Reserve, or Summer Reader
- Brownies - not just any brownies, but Fairytale Brownies
- A $100 gift certificate for Amazon.com

When we tweet, we'll send a clue to a location. It might be in the conference center, it might be somewhere in Chicago. In the clue, we'll let you know whether you should be looking for Christine. No trampling Christine in fits of Twitter hunting frenzy, folks.

Keep an eye on your cell phone - first person to the prize is a winner. Second person and third person to get to Christine, well, you probably won't get anything. So it's good to be first!

We'll be posting mugshots of Christine in the coming days so you know who to look for.

For additional info, read this past post:
http://evanced.blogspot.com/2009/06/announcing-ala-conference-twitter-hunt.html

Announcing the ALA Conference Twitter Hunt Giveaway

Here at Evanced, we are big followers of @tonyhawk on Twitter. In addition to being an amazing skateboarder and an excellent Twitter user, he also does some really fun giveaways using Twitter.

We were so inspired by his giveaways, that we will be hosting some giveaways of our own at Annual Conference in Chicago.

To participate, you will need to follow us on Twitter - we're @Evanced. Don't have a Twitter account? Then follow us at http://www.twitter.com/evanced

Everyday we'll be tweeting a clue or picture of a clue to the location of a great prize or prizes! First person there is the winner! Locations may be in the conference center or in Chicago - but we promise the travel time will be worth it! Think free software, delicious treats, and gift certificates to Amazon plus Evanced swag that is usable and fun! (No stress balls, we promise. If you have found a realistic use for stress balls, please let us know...)

Contest runs July 11- 14! See you in Chicago!

For more information on Tony Hawk's use of Twitter, check out this video on CNN's iReports: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-249560

Evanced Announces Fall Reading for Library Staff Members

After managing another summer of summer reading and making it through the annual Summer Reading Party and Shin Dig, you need a break.

Wouldn't it be nice if someone had a fun, easy fall reading program for YOU??? Well, look no further - Evanced Solutions would like to announce its Fall Reading Program. Prizes, book discussions, and fun giveaways await you this fall as you relax after a summer of hard work!

Details will be posted prior to ALA Annual Conference, but until then, there is one big issue that must be addressed.

"Fall Reading Program" is dreadfully boring sounding. Do you have ideas for fun fall reading theme? List your ideas as a comment to this post by June 16 and the Evanced team will vote on the theme they like the most!

Here are some ideas I've had:
"Coffee Cafe" - coffee and tea themed prizes
"Travel the World by Book" - travel inspired prizes

You can see why I need a little help! So leave your comments and lend a hand!

Summer of Service Graphics Now Available (Plus Great Links)

Here are two variations on the Summer of Service .sponsor image for placement in your Summer Reader software:

To obtain the above graphics, contact Support at support@evancedsolutions.com

In addition to the Summer of Service links that we gave in our last post, here are helpful links to place on your Summer Reader Summer of Service Page:

Kids Health Volunteer Page: http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/volunteer.html

Get Involved Volunteer Opportunity Search Engine: http://www.getinvolved.gov/

The Do Something Volunteer Search Engine: http://www.dosomething.org/volunteer

Habitat for Humanity: http://www.habitat.org/cd/local/

Volunteer Match: http://www.volunteermatch.org/

Network for Good: http://www.networkforgood.org/volunteer/

Don't forget to list local contacts and web addresses as resources. Local community clean up days, food drives, and other events are also great to list on your Summer Reader or Events page.

Are you ready for Summer of Service?

Many of you probably received the email from ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels about the White House initiative "Summer of Service". In his email, Keith asks libraries and librarians to brainstorm how they can use teen volunteers at the library and also encourage service participation in the community.

If you didn't get the email, contact me at cayar@evancedsolutions.com and I will forward it to you.

Here at Evanced we've been trying to determine how we can help libraries during the Summer of Service. Here are a few ideas:

• Create a Summer Reader page dedicated to helping teens log service hours. Instead of book reviews, encourage them to do service reviews where they talk about their experiences and what they did. At the end of the summer, they can print out their reviews to add to their high school or college portfolios.
• Use the links portion of Summer Reader to link to area volunteer groups or to your library volunteer page.
• Use the color coding feature of Events to highlight community volunteer events. For instance, highlight all Habitat for Humanity Events in the community in yellow. You don't need to turn on sign up or any of that, but it's a nice way of letting library users know when volunteer chances are coming up!

I'm working on a Summer of Service graphic for your Summer Reader pages today and will post that soon!

In the meantime, check out these links detailing the ALA Summer of Service initiative and review more info from the White House!

Summer of Service Page: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/initiatives/summer.asp#Marketing

ALA Summer of Service Page:
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/summerofservice/summerofservice.cfm

Have a great weekend!

Christine Ayar
Coordinator of Customer Experience
Evanced Solutions