WPL@Conference

History of Dallas and JR!

2012-01-25T08:19:00.001-08:00

While in Dallas, I did get to visit a few museums during some down time. Of course, there was the aforementioned Sixth Floor Museum. I also visited the Old Red Museum and Southfork Ranch.
The Old Red Museum is featured in an old court house and tells the history of the city of Dallas. The building is beautiful. (In fact, the architecture of the entire city was very interesting. Aside from New York City, I dare say Dallas had one of the nicest skylines I've ever seen). The museum featured very serious aspects of the city's history, such as its role in the Civil War, the racial history (both the negatives and positives of it), and Texas's role in the oil industry. There were also lighter sides to the history, such as the history of the 7-11 Slushee, Frito Lay, and the history of the Mary Kay company. You could even watch clips from the show, Dallas, and Jim Lehrer's Dallas based news show. I found this museum by accident and I'm very glad I did.
For those of you who were not paying attention in the spring of 1980 when JR was shot, Southfork is the home of the Ewing family from tv's Dallas. It is an actual ranch right outside of Dallas, and was featured in the majority of the exterior shots on the tv show. That pool that Cliff Barnes was pushed in at JR and Sue Ellen's second wedding? That's there. The balcony in which Kristin made a swan dive to her death. That's there. The patio featuring those wonderful breakfasts that no-one ever finished? That's there, too. My librarian friend, Molly, was a very good sport and accompanied me. I have to admit it was a lot of fun, and disappointingly not as cheesy as I thought it would be. I, for one, was disappointed that the gift shop did not sell "I Shot JR" t-shirts.

Committee on Literacy -- Subcommittee

2012-01-25T08:09:00.000-08:00

I went to this meeting mainly to hear about the plans that the Committee on Literacy has regarding its summer session at ALA Annual about Digital Literacy. The discussion on digital literacy was very interesting. The point was made that in order to achieve digital literacy, adults must be functionally literate. The discussion also continued, with the chair of the group stressing that libraries have to be part of the conversation when it comes to literacy. We also had visits from the President Elect of ALA, Maureen Sullivan, as well as a member of the ALA executive board. Maureen is a large proponent of the work the Committee on Literacy is doing. We were also again encouraged to sign the White House petition to include school libraries in the re-authorization of The Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Have you signed it yet?

Great author panel

2012-01-21T11:08:00.001-08:00

So, with the exception of today which is only in the 50's, the weather has been beautiful here. Yesterday was in the high 70s and tomorrow promises to be another gorgeous day. In other news, I hear that you're all getting snow. That's a shame.
I just came from a great author panel: "Well, Slap my Knee: What's so Funny about Murder?", featuring authors of humorous mystery novels. The authors were Joanna Slan, Rachel Brady, Maria Hudgins, Rosemary Harris. They were hysterical and all had a great rapport with one another. For some reason, there was a large discussion about keeping dead frozen animals in the freezer, which may sound odd, but I thought was very enlightening. One of the authors mentioned that others will give mystery authors odd looks when they all discuss the various ways in which to murder people. Another author mentioned that her husband is extremely well behaved, knowing that she knows how to off people! (Obviously, this was all done in gest). I ended up finding myself sitting near former Channel 7 reporter, Hank Phillippi Ryan, herself a mystery writer. She actually is appearing on other mystery author panel. It was exciting to recognize a Boston celebrity in Dallas!

Attending YALSA Committee Meeting and OLOS

2012-01-21T09:14:00.000-08:00

Last night from 8:00 - 10:00, I had the pleasure of sitting in on the committee meeting for Fabulous Films for Young Adults. The group presents an annual list of films based on a theme in helping with collection development, "readers" advisory (would that be viewers advisory) and presenting programs for young adults. Friend to Waltham Public Library, Sarah Sogigian, is chair of this committee was very nice to let me sit in. While I can't reveal what was discussed at this meeting, since the list has not been completed, I can say that I really enjoyed hearing what everyone had to say. It was fun to be at a meeting with YA (or YA friendly) librarians, again. It had been awhile since I had. It was also fun to chat with other YA librarians around the country.
This morning, I sat in on the meeting for the advisory committee to the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services. There was more discussion about the Adult literacy toolkit. I also learned about other toolkits available through the office, such as "Keys to Engaging Older Adults @ your Library". Some of the libraries cited for having great programs for seniors include Alameda County Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and Old Bridge Public Library.
A member of the ALA executive board, Michael Porter discussed some talking points, including e-content and libraries and ever changing landscape involving that.
Okay, I'm getting a little tired so I'm going to head over to the exhibit hall so more to come, later.
See y'all.

ALA Washington Office

2012-01-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

The ALA Washington Office consists of two branches, and is mainly there to represent libraries to Congress. Among some of the happenings an Capitol Hill:

Senate Bill (S.1328) aka the SKILL act is an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education, in which libraries are included as an important part of the education experience. Its sponsor is Senator John Reed, from Rhode Island. (our neighbor to the south)
House Bill (HR 1891) aka the Setting New Priorities in Education Spending Act repeals 42 education programs that the sponsors of the bill deem unnecessary.
House Bill (HR 1616) aka the WILL act is an amendment to the Workforce Investment Act to include public libraries.
ALA is stressing the importance of including school libraries in the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary School Act. (aka the No Child Left Behind act) The senate committee voted on changes without ensuring that school libraries are included. Read more about it or sign the petition, if you would like. Having access to school libraries can strengthen children's information literacy skills, which includes the ability to do research, evaluate information, and to use any type of library. Learning these skills makes them better information consumers as well as better library users.

Big D, little a, little l, little l, little a , little s

2012-01-21T05:43:00.000-08:00

Ten bucks if you can tell me the name of the Broadway musical featuring the song with the same name as the title of this post. (Hint, think Guys and Dolls or How to Success in Business without Really Trying and you're on the right track).
Yesterday, I went to meetings for the ALA Literacy Assembly and the Committee on Literacy. There are so many initiatives regarding literacy, thanks to this group and others. For instance, an Adult Literacy toolkit is in the works, which gives libraries tips on working with adults who are not functionally literate. (This refers to native English speakers). After this toolkit is completed, there will be steps to create an English Language Learners literacy toolkit. There was also a discussion on digital literacy. The Digital Literacy Task Force (under the branch of the Office for Information Technology) is working to create a Digital Literacy toolkit as well as working with the government on digitalliteracy.gov. Digital Literacy is something that we can all relate to at our library. The digital divide is very obvious with more and more patrons forced to fill out applications online, despite having trouble grasping the skills needed. The conversation on digital literacy also included a discussion on how it pertains to helping patrons using new devices, such as e-readers. We have certainly seen an influx in patrons asking questions about these devices. (Since Christmas, especially).
Thanks to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, ALA was able to launch the American Dream Starts @ your Library in which literacy programs for those learning English are launched at libraries. The participating libraries have done so many wonderful programs, including hosting naturalization ceremonies for new citizens. (The Nevins Memorial Library in Methuen did this, several years ago.)
We also had visits from both candidates for ALA President, as well as a representative from the ALA Washington Office. I'm going to put his presentation in a separate post.
As JR would say, "So Long, darlin'!"

Greetings from the Big D

2012-01-19T15:19:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome from Dallas, Texas, home of the 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting. ALA Midwinter is a little different than the annual conference in June in that it is mainly committee meetings. I'm not technically on a committee but I was very impressed with the work of the Committee on Literacy last summer and wanted to see what they would be discussing at midwinter. Among other things, one of their iniatives is digitial literacy and decreasing the digital divide, which is a problem that we certainly are aware of. Another exciting part about ALA Midwinter is that there is a live press conference in which the winners of the Newbery, Caledecott, and Print are announced. This will be the first time I will see the announcement live. My nine year old self would be very jealous, right now. (Well, about the Newbery. The Printz didn't exist, yet.)
If you want, you can follow the conference on twitter (which you can from either our account or your own. I created a twitter account in which I don't post but just so to follow events such as this) To follow midwinter, go to @almamw and to follow the discussion others are having about them type in #alamw12 in the search box when logging into twitter. It's only 140 characters, so some discussions are better than others. (Speaking of Twitter, Facebook, and other forms of social media, did anyone check out this great photo from the Milwaukee Public Library?)
As for Dallas, I just arrived this afternoon and will go to the literacy committee tomorrow. I just missed gettting my ALA name tag for the next several hours, I am walking around Dallas without a name. I did visit the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which is basically the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald fired his shots on November 22, 1963. My parents who vividly remember JFK's assasination were horrified at the idea of going there, but for me, it's always been a part of history, and an important one for not just our country but for Dallas. I was reading a book about the tv show, Dallas, and there was a mention made that the city had been solely identified with the assasination until the show became a hit. The museum was very interesting and not only discussed the shooting but also JFK's legacy and presidency. Some of the more negative parts were left out, but they weren't relevant to the message of the museum. Those of you who did live through the assasination (like my parents) may very well find it hard to visit a museum like that, but I thought it was fascinating to see places that I had only seen in news footage, including the grassy knoll and Dealey Plaza. It was very surrel, actually.
On a lighter note, I did take a walk around the downtown area and was pleased to discover the building used for Ewing Oil in the later years of Dallas, and the building that JR used when he tried to strike it on his own. Haven't made it to Southfork. Not sure that's going to happen on this trip.

Laura @ NELA part one

2011-10-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Burlington, VT where I am sad (or happy as the case may be) to say that the trees are all green. A little early for fall foliage, I suppose. I came a few days early to take in the sights of Burlington, Vermont, including the lovely University of Vermont campus and the nearby Shelburne Museum. A good way to drown my sorrows in the wake of Terry Francona leaving the Red Sox. (Apparently winning two World Series in four years doesn't do much these days for your employment!) The conference started yesterday and here are some highlights from some of the sessions I have attended:

Killing Librarianship
This was the keynote address by R. David Lankes from Syracuse University's Graduate School of Library and Information Science. The main focus of this talk is that in order to save libraries, librarians need to be innovative. In fact, the three big keywords to saving libraries are innovation, participation, and democracy. While this is something we may have all heard in one form or another, Mr. Lankes made very good points about the importance of libraries as well as discouraging people from believing articles such as this one. He talked about what to call people who use the library: are they patrons, users, readers? He suggested members as a term that encourages more participation. A very good presentation that I enjoyed despite the dig he made at my beloved Red Sox.
Social Media @ New York Public Library
Before I talk about this particular program, I have to admit to getting a chuckle when the speaker from the New York Public Library said that a lot of the NYPL's Facebook fans were actually people from out of state who are fans of Ghostbusters. This fan is guilty as charged! This was a great presentation in which NYPL employee, Lauren Lampasone, shared the way social networking has worked at the famous library. There are several blogs for a variety of interests. One fun blog was the Mad Men reading list. Definitely something up my alley as well as a certain member of our reference department. Another blog post about an unusual edition of Don Quixote led to the discovery of a special related piece. Ms. Lampasone also discussed how the library is using Twitter, Four Square, and Facebook. My favorite social media functions of the NYPL website are http://menus.nypl.org/ and http://maps.nypl.org/warper/. The menu site is especially cool. It is a collection of vintage menus and users are invited to transcribe the menus.

Random Notes

2011-06-29T06:51:00.000-07:00

As I sit at home, I want to share some of my more experiences at ALA/New Orleans so I hope I can do justice in this blog post:

Met a lot of great people, including some ladies from the Boston Public Library, a librarian from Pembroke, a librarian from Cambridge, a librarian from Albuquerque, NM, a librarian from Oregon, librarian from New Orleans, several librarians from Harvard, a librarian from New Orleans, a reading teacher from New Jersey, a teacher from PA, a school librarian from Florida, a teacher from Connecticut, and many others who I am probably leaving out. I also reconnected with friends and colleagues I have not seen in a long time.
Had an interesting conversation with a conference goer who had last been to New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina. He said that even though the French Quarter was always touristy (and the least "hit" by the hurricane and aftermath), that there used to be a feel that it was part of a city in which people lived and worked. He said that didn't seem to be the case anymore that it felt as if the whole area existed only for the tourists. I'm sure this isn't true in the areas not abutting the French Quarter but it is sad that, according to one visitor, the idea of a real city doesn't seem to be there anymore. I'm curious for those of you who have visited the city before and after feel this same way.
I visited the Garden District and saw some houses that were amazing (including Anne Rice's old house). The architecture is really incredible in New Orleans. Also visited Lafayette Cemetery in which the tombstones (as all tombstones in that area) are above the ground. Several of the grave markers were knocked off the tombs. Is that an effect of Katrina or is it wear and tear?
Speaking of Katrina, I met with a librarian from New York who helped build a house that was destroyed as a result of Katrina.
Been reading the Newbery award winner, Moon over Manifest. Anyone else read it?
Possibly made a fool out of myself in front of a favorite graphic novel artist/writer in the elevator when I just gushed over her books. She was very gracious and didn't seem at all frightened to have fan girl going on and on.
I did get to live my New Orleans dream of yelling "Stella" under a balcony and have my picture taken (well, okay, I whispered it for the sake of the picture since I didn't want to actually scream, "Stella" at the top of my lungs). Along those lines, one of my roommates and I watched Streetcar Named Desire and let me say that movie doesn't age well. However, I still do believe in the kindness of the strangers.
The food in New Orleans is amazing. I liked cajun food a lot, including seafood gumbo (yum!). I ate a crawfish omelet that was out of this world, and a little spicy. Some friends had a Peanut Butter bacon burger (that I tried) at YO Mama's that tasted much better than I thought it would. And the beignets, the lovely lovely Beignets. I, unfortunately, never had them at Cafe du Monde, as the line was too long and I needed to head to the airport, however I had them several times from Cafe Beignet (also home to the crawfish omelet) and they were wonderful. It's basically a really good version of fried dough. In fact, I love that you can eat fried dough for breakfast as long as it has a French name. The omelets at Cafe Beignet were perfect French style omelets, not too thick and fluffy and a good ratio of ingredients to egg. I am getting really hungry, right now. (Even the food court at the mall near the convention center had good food, by the way). I also tried alligator sausage, twice. The first time tasted like steak. The second time like chicken. I had fried pickles and hog's head cheese and stuffed crab. The food is rich and wonderful, and probably not terribly healthy for you. However, the restaurants don't serve overly large portions so it was just right. By the way, if you ever are in New Orleans, check out The Praline Connection on Frechmen Street, across from a really neat used bookstore.
Listed to a group playing what sounded like Klezmer music at a music club called the Spotty Cat Club. There was a piano in the ladies' room.
I did walk down Bourbon Street and realized that I am too old for that and spent a mere few minutes there! However, one evening, there was a live jazz band playing at the corner of Bourbon and Canal Streets and they were extremely talented. If that was the dominating factor, I would have spent more time on Bourbon Street.
Went to an event sponsored by Recorded Books held at Mardis Gras World. Got to see several incredible Mardis Gras floats as well as people working on them for next Mardis Gras.
Have some new books, including The Borrower, about a children's librarian.

Gala Author Tea

2011-06-29T06:40:00.000-07:00

I love to go to anything featuring authors and the Gala Author Tea did not disappoint. All of the authors were entertaining and gave great talks (authors give the best speeches since they write for a living). Here is who I saw:

Karin Slaughter, author of Fallen
Ellen Brown, author of Weird Sisters
Dorothea Benton Frank, author of Folly Beach (hilarious speaker!)
Amanda Kyle Williams, author of The Stranger You Seek. This was one of the most moving speeches. Ms. Williams did not know how to read until she was in her early 20's and she mentioned how libraries were so helpful to her when she was going on this journey. She also said that she fell in love with Jane Austen when she asked the librarian what book would you read if you had just started reading and was handed Pride and Prejudice.
Susan Wiggs and Elizabeth Wiggs Maas, authors of How I Planned Your Wedding: The All-True Story of a Mother and Daughter Surviving the Happiest Day of their Lives. Ms. Wiggs Maas gave the funniest library anecdote story when she mentioned how she and her boyfriend (later husband) fooled around in the stacks of the college library to get away from her roommate!
Nevada Barr, author of Burn

The Wikipedia Effect

2011-06-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

There was a lot of discussion about Wikipedia at this conference. The President's program featured a talk by Sue Gardner, who is the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation. On Monday, I attended a very interesting panel discussion entitled "The Wikipedia Effect: How the World Finds and Evaluates Information". The panel consisted of moderator, David Tyckoson, editor of Booklist's Reference Books Bulletin, Paul Kobasa editor-in-chief of World Book, Phoebe Ayers, librarian from UC Davis and Wikipedia contributor, and Debra Hoffman, Information Literacy Coordinator, California State University, Channel Islands.
Paula Kobasa gave a history of the encyclopedia (and was gracious about Wikipedia). He also talked about teachable moments about discerning information. Phoebe Ayers talked about her students using it and also a brief history of Wikipedia and her role as an editor and contributor. She said that librarians have a call to work on it.
I really enjoyed Debra Hoffman's presentation in which she talked about the use of Wikipedia with class assignments. In one English class, students do a lot of research on a certain author, and determine what it means to be an expert. A student will then evaluate the Wikipedia page for his/her particular author. They check for accuracy, authority of of source material, authority of page contributors, scope, intent (why was certain information included and why was others not?). For another class, students are given a topic (such as member of the family for whom the library is named). Students use a variety of sources, such as scholarly journal articles, web resources, statistical data, interviews, and archival material and create a Wikipedia page. In some cases, the page was edited after the page was created, but that was also used as a teaching moment about Wikipedia.
Debra also started her presentation with this funny clip explaining what Wikipedia is:

Virtual Reference

2011-06-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

I attended this very interesting program on Virtual Reference, in which a panel discussed conducting virtual reference as a consortium (AskColorado.org), at a college setting (while using it as a teaching tool), and using it with teenagers.
The state library of Colorado runs a service called Ask Colorado. This is run 24/7 by over 200 librarians by public and academic librarians all over the state (including some academic librarians out of the state). The presenter, Kris Johnson, debunked some misconceptions regarding this service. Misconception is "Answering questions for other libraries is not done". (In other words, 'Other librarians can't answer questions for my patrons" and "I can't answer questions for other patrons.") Kris said that if you think that you can't do this, then you won't. The solution to this is to highlight transcripts that show librarians can be successful at this, and to remember that there is nothing wrong with making a referral, if need be. Another misconception is that training only takes 5 minutes. While this may be true prior to the implementation, there could be several questions regarding policy (make sure have one in place). Be sure to create a training manual that includes technology, policies, procedures, etc.

Lisa Ellis from Baruch College presented next and spoke about how to use Virtual Reference as a teaching tool. Her college also offers a 24/7 reference service using software called QuestionPoint. Colleges can use Virtual Reference as a way to teach information literacy. We should conduct virtual reference the way we would conduct a reference interview. Lisa also talked about polysynchronous Virtual Reference, in which librarians interact with multiple patrons at the same time. She emphasized weighing the pros and cons, and that it requires time, skill, potential error, and the concept that we are all human!

Jennifer Robinson from the Seattle Public Library talked about using Virtual Reference/Chat with Teen and Tween patrons. She also debunked several misconceptions/myths, including , "You can't build relationships online", "VR is a local service only", "Teens will abuse", "People only ask informational questions online." Jennifer maintained importance of consistency, and that it is okay to use the same language that you would with a patron on the phone. ("I have to go grab something for you, can you wait until I do that" and perhaps give them a few online sources or keyword tricks while they're waiting). Always get contact information from patron and to think of yourself as ambassador to the library. When dealing with the young patrons such as children and teenagers, always remember that these are our future lawmakers, taxpayers, parents, etc. One positive relationship or interaction as a kid can have a long way. Stay patient with them, and don't say, "this service is for questions, only."

Top Technology Trends

2011-06-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay between posts. I seem to be having problems connecting to the Internet access.
The Top Technology Trends panel consisted of experts in the library field discussing what they perceived as upcoming trends which will affect the library. This panel was one of my most favorite of the conference. Here are some of the highlights"

Drupal is an open source content management system. (The online catalog would be an example of a content management system) Custom modules for libraries include the SOPAC (Social Opac) (If you google this keep in mind that the first hit is for the South Orange Performing Arts Center in New Jersey, formerly the home of Grunnings Ice Cream). While it is inexpensive to implement, it can be expensive on upkeep, including the training.
Rise of the mobile apps -- Apps are becoming more popular than mere mobile based web sites. The expert mentioned that in some ways, this is returning back to a world that we had wanted to leave. When the Internet first started to become more mainstream, it was platform based and web sites were built for the specific platform. Once the browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, and later Firefox, and of course Safari for all of you Apple people) became more popular, the specific platform was no longer a concern. It also may make the content more vulnerable.
Mobile marketing -- Should be part of central marketing strategy. Many retail establishments are using it. We can use free WIFI to get to our users, and it can be brand friendly or cost effective. For instance, we can market e-books to patrons using free WIFI. http://themwordblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/is-mobile-marketing-right-for-libraries.html
Social reading trends using e-readers -- There are several social reading sites on the web such as Good Reads and Library Thing. (I love Library Thing. Here is my very incomplete list.) However, e-readers are now using some of the same aspects. The Kindle now has public notes that you can share with other Kindle readers, as well as discussions. The Borders Kobo also uses many of the same aspects as Good Reads. Readers can link directly to Twitter and Facebook if they like certain books. The expert mentioned that Overdrive and Gale (and other database vendors) should try to incorporate this technology into their products.
Managing down print collections: http://orweblog.oclc.org/archives/002151.html
Better web accessibility -- Sites and databases are making improvements over offering better accessibility for all users, but they still can improve. U.S. Government Section 508 and The World Wide Web Consortium have standards for improving technology accessibility for everyone. According to a University of Michigan study, 72% of evaluated databases rated low for accessibility. Hope that the e-book format will remain accessible. The EPub 3 standard will hopefully ensure that continues to happen.
Changes in imaging because of computational photography.
Death of the mouse -- The speaker asked the audience how many brought lap tops. Yours truly, feeling like a relative of the Flinstones, raised her hand. She asked how many brought tablets and anyone hanging out with the Jetsons raised their hands! In other words, tablets are becoming the preferred device. She said that latops started the slow death march of the mouse, but that tablets will be the ultimate killer. She also reminded the audience how difficult it was to teach the mouse and how tempting it was for new users to touch the screen, which will make teaching touch screen a bit easier. I hope this doesn't mean the end of the keyword as anyone who knows me knows how much I love typing.
More libraries are using Libguides and Library a la Carte. This represents the move to create a more unified experience, not to mention that the specific guides have characteristics of Itunes playlists!
There is a new type of e-book on the web, in which the book is becoming, in the words of the speaker, "A citizen of the web". This type of book is hard to distinguish from a website.

Brooke Gladstone

2011-06-26T10:48:00.002-07:00

I saw a presentation this morning from Brooke Gladstone, author of The Influencing Machine, and host of NPR's On the Media, my second favorite NPR show. (my first being Wait Wait Don't Tell Me). The Influencing Machine is a graphic novel depicting both the history of the media and Gladstone's assertion that the media is not outside our control.
Brooke Gladstone started off her talk by affirming her love for librarians saying that we are the "general practitioners of our culture" and that we are the main defenders of free speech. After mentioning that her book came as a result of 20 years of covering the media, that it also fulfilled her dream of becoming a comic book character.
A couple of points that she mentioned are that objectivity is impossible that one can not completely clear her mind when covering a story but rather can not let the bias get in the way. She talked about whether technology is contributing to the downfall of society and media and said that just because some technology is different doesn't mean that it's bad. She joked people think that any technology that comes out after they turn 45 is the sign of the apocalypse. She concluded with "don't fear the future" but rather "embrace the ride".
Gladstone then answered several questions including one of mine! (I was a little nervous and made up a new word in my question. I meant to say, "ad nauseam" and said "ignauseam") I mentioned that the mainstream media gets criticized for over covering news stories that may not be so important (such as the royal wedding or the Casey Anthony trial), and I wondered if they were covered because that's what people wanted, or if people were interested in them because of the amount of coverage. (The main one which comes to my mind is the media's handling of the death of Anna Nicole Smith). She said that those stories are "cheap" and that it does fit in with giving what they want or giving them what they need.
It was a fun talk and I got a book signed too!

Safety, Digital Literacy, and Harry Potter

2011-06-26T10:48:00.001-07:00

“Person of Interest – Safety and Security in the Library”

This was a very informative panel on the importance of safety in the library and what we can do to stay safe. The panel consisted of three speakers, Nancy Relaford Director of Safety and Security for libraries at UC San Diego, Michael Daly, director of logistics and security management from the Queens Borough Public Library, and Stevan Layne from Layne Consultants International.

Nancy’s presentation wins for best title, “A Naked Guy Walks into your Library”. She pointed out that if you google “naked man library” the search will net over 2 million results, including the headline, “Naked man arrested at library with stolen cheese.” While that sounds funny (and it did to the audience), the reality is is that it’s not so funny while it’s happening. It can be unpredictable and scary and staff will probably be caught off guard as to what to do. Nancy emphasized (as did others in this presentation) that the first step is to call the police! She acknowledged that this is a learned step for most people. At UC San Diego, she specializes in awkward patron training in which staff can talk through stressful scenarios, and where the staff receives training in dealing with various patron type situations. Some of the topics covered include unreasonable patron requests (“could you read the entire book to me over the phone?”), lonely/chatty patrons, challenging patrons, delusional, vaguely/threatening, medical emergencies, and serious disruptions. The training also includes what to do during that brief period of time in which the police are called and the time that they arrive. Nancy stressed the importance of getting to know emergency personnel before an incident happens. A lot of police forces have someone who can do training.

Michael Daly also started his presentation on a humorous note with a slide show of patrons having to be removed from the library with the theme song from Cops playing in the background. His presentation was wonderful, however, with a stress on how to react to patrons who may cause problems, as well as an insight as to why they behave a certain way. Like Nancy, he emphasized the importance of calling the police while stressing that staff are not trained police officers and shouldn’t attempt to act like them. The police are there for a reason. Michael mentioned four specific groups: Homeless Patrons, Emotionally Disturbed Persons, Disorderly Customers, and Teen and Tween Patrons. Staff should be aware of where homeless can get help and where there are shelters. Staff should never try to argue with patrons who are emotionally disturbed patrons, and treat them with respect, to have a backup plan and to immediately call 911 if patron is violent. Michael gave special emphasis to teens and tweens, saying that kids can detect biases, and that staff should be respectful but firm. He mentioned that kids will act up because they want attention. He encouraged having programs that will engage teens, and to encourage seeking grant funding for such programs. The Queens Library for Teens sounds like an amazing place with its emphasis on the Teen Enrichment Program. Michael also discussed their incident reports, the process for banning patrons (have an appeal process in addition to sending both a banning notice and a letter), and the importance of enforcing rules with consistency. The Queens Library also has very visible signs reminding patrons to watch their children and to watch their belongings. Like Nancy, he emphasized the importance of maintaining relationships with the local police, and lastly, it’s always good to remind staff that they are part of “one team”.

Stevan Layne discussed the various consulting methods in training various staffs about dealing with emergency situations. He discussed the importance of a laminated sheet under the phones on what to do in the event of an emergency, with details outlined for each type of emergency including severe weather and active shootings. He mentioned the importance of employee awareness, echoing Nancy about what should staff do between the time the police are called and they arrive on the scene. Staff should be aware that they have their own safety to protect, as well. He talked about how do you save yourself in addition to others who may not be able to help themselves. (unattended children, someone in a wheelchair). He said that yelling, “Stop” can be effective at temporarily stopping someone. He also talked about uniformed security and how to make sure it is up to par, security cameras, the importance of monitoring all openings to the building, and installing panic transmitters.

This was all very good and food for thought.

Reclaiming Literacy in the Digital Age.

This was a panel discussion about libraries handing the “new” literacy, ie, digital literacy. Digital literacy can be defined by ten different people in ten different ways. For instance, I feel comfortable using basic programs on the computer, so I would consider myself digital literate, yet I don’t know any programming so a computer programmer may consider me digital illiterate. There was some discussion about this, as well as discussion on iniatives to improve digital literacy. One such program is Globaloria in West Virginia a school program in which school age children design computer games. The games must be on a school topic, and it encourages students to engage in critical thinking skills, self-led learning, peer to peer learning, and expert guided learning.

Before and After Harry Potter: Fantasy for grades 3-5 and 5-8

I attended this session because I always need to beef up on my fantasy reading and I am always trying to retain my young adult skills. It’s still my favorite literature but I feel like I’m less in the loop since I no longer do it full time. Plus, my strength lies in realistic fiction. I also was interested because there was some emphasis on what I call the pre-YA crowd (or “tween” if you prefer). The two speakers gave us some very helpful booklists and discussed a little about each book.

Keynote Speaker -- Dan Savage

2011-06-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

The keynote speaker last night was none other than Dan Savage. Dan Savage, for those of you who don't know, is a writer who appears frequently on a variety of television shows, and NPR's This American Life. Savage, who is gay, also started the It Gets Better Project, which encourages GLBTQ adults to make videos encouraging teenagers who are GLBTQ, and are bullied by peers, adults, and family members that life does get better. The project has received a lot of attention and Savage and his husband have compiled many of the anecdotes in a book entitled, It Gets Better.
Savage gave a very inspiring speech, highlighting the power of the project. Savage mentioned that he speaks at a lot of universities about bullying against those who are GLBTQ but does not get invited to middle schools and high schools. Promoting videos on youtube was a way to reach out to this audience in order to inspire those who are being bullied for these reasons and as a way to educate those who are doing the bullying. He and his husband, Terry Miller, posted the first video and hundreds more followed. Engineers at google even adjusted his youtube account so that he was able to post more videos than first time accounts allowed. Videos have been submitted by famous and not so famous adults, including Ellen Degeneres, Tim Gunn, and even Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He and Miller produced the book for a variety of reasons, but mainly because not everyone who should receive the message has access to a computer, because access to youtube may be blocked (at school, for instance), or because the teen in question wouldn't want his/her parents viewing the videos on his/her internet browser history. I, for one, appreciate that Savage recognizes not everyone has easy access to technology. We see that a lot at our library.
Mr. Savage concluded his talk with a very inspirational story about a young woman who was forced back into the closet, after her parents severely denounced her for saying that she was a lesbian. She watched the videos in secret and wrote to Mr. Savage that the videos gave her hope not only for her but for her parents. It was a very moving and powerful statement from such a young person.

Literacy Committee and Literacy Assembly

2011-06-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

I spent Friday afternoon attending the meeting of the ALA Committee on Literacy and Literacy Assembly. I had never attended a committee meeting at ALA before and Literacy is an issue that is an important one, not only in the library world but in life, so this seemed like a natural fit. This meeting, while a few hours, was probably one of the most informative and enjoyable sessions I have ever attended at an ALA conference. Not only was the committee very inviting to non-members sitting in with them, the members also engaged in terrific discussions, and also illuminated what the committee is doing to promote literacy. I have so many notes from the meeting that it is hard to do justice in this blog post, but I'll post the highlights:

There should be more integration of the different types of literacy, including family literacy, adult literacy, digital literacy, and ESL literacy.
The chair of the committee and others addressed the topic that literacy should be addressed at the library, that, in a sense, it is going back to our roots.
The committee is presenting a program at this year’s conference, called Lifetime of Literacy, which addresses the importance of literacy skills from infancy to maturity
There is a new task force on digital literacy. It was noted several times that digital literacy can only be obtained if someone obtains basic literacy skills.
There is a new government site through an initiative from ALA, digitalliteracy.gov which highlights many resources for digital literacy training for trainers, librarians, and those trying to enhance their digital literacy skills.
Petrice Sams-Abioudun, from the Lindy Boggs National Center for Community Literacy Loyola University gave an update regarding New Orleans and the role of literacy, especially post-Katrina. Some of her key points is that adult education has now moved to post-secondary, emphasis on the connection between literacy and the aftermath of disaster (in the wake of Hurrican Katrina and the BP Oil Spill), recovery of the library system. I’m also not doing Ms. Sams-Abioudun’s presentation justice. It was wonderful to listen to her.
There are several toolkits for libraries on helping with literacy skills. A current one is entitled, “Keys to Engaging Older Adults @ your Library”. They are currently working on a toolkit about adult literacy. These are only some of the programs that this committee and the Office Literacy and Outreach Services (different from the Committee on Literacy) do.
For more information: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/committees/ala/ala-literacy.cfm

Digitalliteracy.gov

Notes on early Friday morning

2011-06-24T04:46:00.000-07:00

New Orleans is a city rich on history and the inspiration for several films, including The Big Easy, The Princess and the Frog, and the aforementioned A Streetcar named Desire. I haven't had a chance to fully tour the city yet to get a glimpse of its present, past, or future, but sadly the one part of recent history that we all know regards Hurricane Katrina from late August 2005 and its aftermath. The American Library Association (ALA) held their annual conference here back in 2006 and was one of the first major conferences held in the wake of Katrina. While there had been discussion about holding the conference elsewhere, board members of ALA decided to keep it in New Orleans. There is also a good opinion piece from Publishers Weekly regarding ALA's decision. (It's obtained through our online database Academic Onefile so you need to be on a Minuteman computer to access the link. You can also find it yourself by going to Academic Onefile, type in the keywords "american library association new orleans" and selecting the article entitled "Sara Nelson: booking New Orleans: the ALA did it. Others should follow" from the Magazine listing. Among other things, Nelson (a then editor at Publishers Weekly), mentioned the significance of using the Morial Convention Center, within distance of the Superdome. Both, if you remember, were insufficient in housing all of the people who were waylaid because of Katrina. Yesterday was rather quiet at the convention center as I signed in that it's hard to even imagine what it must have been like for all of those people back in the late summer of 2005.
While the 2006 ALA Conference placed some emphasis on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, there are still quite a few programs dedicated to the topic. For instance, there is a bus tour of public library branches built in the aftermath of Katrina, and a program entitled, "The Aftermath of Katrina and Rita: The Effects on Libraries, People, and Neighborhoods" (Here is a complete listing of Katrina related programs). I'm hoping to attend at least one of these sessions. While I agree that the city does want to move on from it, I think it's important that the rest of us don't forget.
By the way, I checked out an excellent documentary from our collection that I watched on the plane ride, Hurricane Katrina: The Storm that Drowned a City. I recommend watching it after I return it.

Stella!

2011-06-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

Greetings from New Orleans, the setting of this year's American Library Association Conference. I have arrived a few hours ago after a fairly bumpy ride with several librarians. (One of whom said to me while waiting in the line for the restroom on the plane, "if this plane goes down, there won't be many librarians left in the Boston area.") Have met a few people so far including a few ladies who work at the Boston Public Library, as well as flying in with my friend. Re-met another librarian who I met a few years ago who is now working on the south shore (also on our flight, of course). Needless to say, this was probably one of the most literate flights I ever took, and yet I think most of us were taking advantage of the free tvs on the plane. (yours truly watched I Dream of Jeannie on TV Land while sneaking in peeks of the current Newberry Medal winner). After a quick lunch (where we were recognized as librarians!), we headed over to the conference center where I now am, and need to figure out my conference. I have a spreadsheet of all of my events that I would like to attend, including several at once so I need to get that straightened out. There are some on conducting business reference, several on readers' advisory, information literacy, working with patrons, and some young adult interest, as well. What to do! What to see!
As for New Orleans, I haven't been here long enough to appreciate it, but it is very different. I tried to gauge from the air how Katrina had changed the city and I couldn't. Bourbon Street has a lot of great architecture and reminds me of Main Street USA from Disney World, if Disney World sold alcohol. I have a lot of great leads about restaurants, etc. so I hope to check them out. My main goal is to find a terrace so I can yell, "Stella" in honor of Tenessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire.

NELA

2010-10-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

I attended the New England Library Association Annual Conference in Boxborough on Tuesday.
It was a very long drive to Boxborough, twice the distance of my usual very long drive--but what a difference. No traffic, beautiful foliage, huge cranberry bogs. Eminem on the CD player.
Coffee in the cup. Practically perfection.
I really enjoyed my first session of the day-Trends in Reference. I particularly enjoyed
Pingshen Chen from Worcester. Worcester has 150 computers and small staff . Just a little about Worcester Public Library:
Staff of 80
2 Branches
In one day at the Main Library:
3129 people walk through the doors
101,611 hits on the Website
127 new cards
1,102 reference questions
4,046 circulation
Yikes
The librarian spoke of three trends
I. People need Librarians help more than ever
II. Reference Librarian reinventing themselves to make a wide range of new reference services available to meet users' current expectations.
III. Reference services have a bright but challenging future
Reference questions have changed and cannot be handled in the traditional ways.
Knowing the collection is not sufficient to meet users' needs.
The librarian spoke about the divide that occurs between the technology rich and technology poor. She spoke about the responsibility of the library to bridge that gap.
Libraries need to have many computers and the staff needs to be able to perform all the tasks
that the public may need assistance with. Her staff evens helps with filling out application forms
for patrons who may not have the skills themselves.
She feels that libraries must step up to help with all the emerging technologies--that is the direction that libraries must go in to secure their place in the future.
Librarians must use Web 2.0 technology and social network tools to connect with users and inform them of new services.
If she's right--I sure need a lot of training!

Bite-Sized Marketing

2010-10-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Bite Sized Marketing:
Realistic Solutions for the Overworked Librarian

Nancy Dowd, Director of Marketing for the New Jersey State Library was the speaker for this informative session. She asked the audience of librarians what "the biggest marketing problems were". Some answers were: Time, money/budget, resources, lack of time to plan, reaching non-users, cut backs, identifying marketing and target market needs.

Here are Nancy's key points in marketing for the library:

Find out what the patron's want!
Have to have "big picture marketing". Need to have conversations with the patrons. How can you attain this? Look for feedback. Reach people via twitter, or other social media channels.

On Cut Backs/Importance of the Library:
Have to "knock your mayors ideas about the library off the table". Libraries have to make sure the mayor and local officials know how important libraries are. Libraries have to convince the city they are "transforming lives". One way of doing this is to have patrons fill out cards as they leave a library program stating something like: "If you enjoyed the program please thank the people who funded us". It's also a good way for patrons to support the library. This information can be passed on to the mayor. Often "patrons don't know how to support the library". This is one good way they can help.

Branding
Branding basics: Logs, colors, fonts -- important to keep it cohesive.Important for all staff to follow the style guidelines when creating flyers, posters, etc. FYI: WPL logo color - Maroon, Logo- "window to the world logo in Black and Maroon, also a version in Black. Font family used in the copy of the WPL and Friends brochures is Gill Sans. WPL and Friends LogoType is Friz Quadrata.

Also the BRAND is how people see you. Every libray "has a different soul" according to Nancy Dowd. Does the staff know what that is? Needs to have a conversation about this among staff members so it's clear what staff is thinking and what the message is. One exercise we had was to pick three things your library is about. For example: preservation, life long learning, advancing knowledge.The web site should reflect the new direction the library is taking. Lets patrons become "insiders".

Library Image
The image people who do not frequent a library have of the library is often based on the last time they were in a library, this may have been decades ago. We have to help update and change their image of the library. How to do this? Every week there needs to be articles in the paper about events and what we do/offer. Promote "what we can do for you" the patron. Libraries: "we have more than books".

Other image/idea suggestions:
We offer solutions: Presentations, Workshops, on-line Templates, Data Resources, Expertise for college students - we make sense of info. Skills/self learners can learn at the library. How do we reach patrons and keep them informed? Take away bookmark/email info with programing info. What's going on in your community? Tie in with the library. Go to all businesses in town leave behind library coupons.How else do you reach the community? Examples: give library cards out at diff. locations. ?the train station. Vending machine for books and DVDs (they were advertising these at the exhibits. They are 18K. The vendor said libraries are buying them and are placing them at the community senior centers (!). Reaching teens - do this with social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, You Tube etc...) Also can reach teens through their parents. Offer a teen film festival, create a blog for teens with the condition that is is seen and approved by administration. Partnership with small businesses and the community. Find out what's missing in the community. Have a tourist info center at the library or at the chamber of commerce that includes the library.

Define what's missing in the community and deliver. Use effective communication outlets to reach the people and offer what they want. We are transforming lives! It's a whole new mind set.

Posted By Doreen B.

Readers Advisory update

2010-10-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.stockton.lib.ca.us/readadvi.htm

http://www.wakegov.com/libraries/reading/default.htm

Sorry about the missing links in the earlier posts.

Louise

Bite sized marketing

2010-10-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

Nancy Dowd spoke about "bite sized marketing" for libraries

See her marketing blog here.

http://themwordblog.blogspot.com/
L.G.

Reader's Advisory 101

2010-10-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

Check out this cool site

Useful reader's advisory websites

www.colapublib.org/services/advisory/index.ph4

Readers Robot

Try this

Have fun with these!

Louise

Building and Leading High Performance Teams

2010-10-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

Kenya Rutland

www.kjrconsulting.com

GRPI Model

Okay guys,

If you were to figure what is the most important factor for teams:

Process

Interpersonal

Goals

Roles

And, if you knew that one was 80%
one was 16%
one was 3%
one was 1%

which would you think was one, two, three and four?

Think of a high performing team that you were a member of

Why do you think it performed well?

(Could be a sports team, a job, a club, anything)

Create a list of characteristics that you observed/remember about the team

Kenya is a great, dynamic speaker.

He recommends reading: The Five Dysfunctions of a team

Look at this you tube

Ta ta for now!

Louise

State of the States

2010-10-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

Okay everybody,

Here is the highlight from this presentation. Vote No on Question Three! It will have a very negative impact on us. We in the public libraries will suffer if Question Three is passed and the sales tax is reduced from 6 1/2 % to 3%. There would be an across the board 28% reduction (discretionary) READ painful as in bleeding as in we don't want it.

Rob Meier from the Mass Board of Library Commissioners was the person speaking about the state of the State of Massachusetts.

He reminded us that we have lost about 38% of our funding which meant, as we all know, that we went from six regional library systems to one.

The number of staff in the regional system has been reduced by about one half. The two regional locations are Waltham and Waitely.

I won't go into Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont except to say that many of the states are working on mapping and Broadband projects and that they have suffered severe cuts as well.

We need to remind everybody and anybody of the importance of libraries!

Louise

Louise Goes To NELA

2010-10-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hi there Fellow Waltham Staffers,

On Sunday, October 17th, Dave and I headed to the Beautiful Holiday Inn in Breathtaking Boxborough for the New England Library Association Conference. Well, we were in good shape because Dave found us a lovely coffee place in Acton called Sweet Bites. I recommend this place with four stars. Excellent coffee, bagels and lovely cupcakes!

The first program that we attended was Job Interview Strategies with Bertha Chandler from the Cambridge Public Library, Karen Valley from Walker Memorial Library in Westbrook, Maine and Michael Somers from Bridgewater MA State College offering perspectives on what they look for in an interview.

Although neither Dave nor I are interviewing for positions at this time, we have both worked with Bertha and wanted to see her in action. Also, it is interesting to see the contrast between public and academic libraries.
Not to mention that we at the Waltham Public Library see so many people who are looking for jobs.

Interviewing Tips from Bertha:

Practice! Practice! Practice! Role Play! Practice!

Get a book, go to a web page, go over the questions and talk out loud to a mirror, to a friend.

Dress professionally-you want to show how you will represent this library. First impressions do matter.

Be prepared for more than one interviewer

Leave your cell phone in your car

Practice professional courtesy at all times--everyone will have something to say about you after you leave

Sell yourself

Focus on the 'value added' you can bring to the library where you are interviewing

Be prepared for behavioral questions

Tell us about a time when...Describe a situation when

If asked, focus on a shortcoming/weakness where you have shown improvement

If you have visited prior to the interview, looked at the web page, done some other homework, include this in your responses--and do this homework, it demonstrates your interest in the position

Don't be negative about an employer, colleague or situation

Waiting to hear? Send an email query--keep it positive!

Say: I remain very interested in this position, not, I have not yet heard from you.

Go to the library or the bookstore and read interview books; go to the web and search 'interviews' or 'library interviews' You will find a wealth of material to help you prepare for your next interview.

Interestingly, Karen Valley says that some candidates bring portfolios.

Michael Somers says that in academic libraries it can be acceptable to have a fourteen page resume!

Bertha and Karen said that one to two pages is the most that you want your resume to be.

Cover letters should not merely echo a job description. They should really explain your interest in the job.

This was interesting stuff and can be useful for us to be aware of simply because the job market is apparently flooded right now. Bertha often receives literally hundreds of applications for a library assistant job. Karen and Michael agreed that they get lots of applications for positions. Therefore, the successful candidate really needs to stand out.

Over and out on this one!

Laura's NELA Part 2

2010-10-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the reference desk at the library. I have returned from Boxboro and the New England Library Association Conference and am hoping that tonight will be the Yankees' last stand in the 2010 post season. As I write this, they are currently beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in the My Tuesday at the NELA conference was different, yet productive. I was joined by Louise (who attended all three days, including Sunday), Marialice, Pat O., and Doreen. I also met up with two of my former co-workers, India and Kristina. Kristina is another head of reference so I always like to ask her advice. India is an assistant director and a former children's librarian so I always like discussing children's literature with her.
In the exhibit hall, Doreen, Kristina and I witnessed a demonstration of the Barnes and Noble e-reader (The Nook). The Nook is one of the popular e-readers currently on the market and is compatible with the e-books available on Overdrive. It does have wifi access (or 3G depending on which version one purchases). Users can borrow and lend e-books as well as subscribe to certain magazines and newspapers. There is no touch screen on the actual reading screen, as users control everything from a control panel on the bottom. There is also no back light. Users can buy books from Barnes and Noble.com as well as other online e-book sellers. E-readers are very popular but I think they still have a ways to go. It will be interesting to see which will become the preferred choice out of all of the options, right now. Pricing, format, adaptability, and usability will certainly play roles in these decisions. I've often said that this reminds me a lot of the Beta vs. VHS competition from my childhood. How many of you still had Beta VCRs twenty years ago?
Marilyn Johnson, author of This Book is Overdue: How Librarian and Cybrarians Can Save Us All, was the lunchtime speaker. Johnson, a former Life magazine writer, became intrigued with librarians after reading some juicy librarian obituaries as research for her other book, The Dead Beat: lost souls, lucky stiffs, and the perverse pleasures of obituaries. It was wonderful to hear someone speak out so glowingly about librarians and libraries.
As for the workshops, I attended: Bite Sized Marketing; Padding Her Own Canoe (Louisa May Alcott); and Collaborative Outreach (Information Literacy).

Bite Sized Marketing

speaker: Nancy Dowd, New Jersey State Marketing
I have to admit that this started out rather auspiciously for me in that I knocked over a woman's water. (Luckily she is not a coffee drinker as it was shortly after 8 in the morning). Luckily for me, she was a very good sport about it. The attendees were split into various groups depending on how marketing they did (or did not) for their respective libraries. Members of our little group (which included Louise and Doreen) agreed that some of the hindrances to good marketing were time and money. Other groups agreed with these assertions, and also added dealing with the media, competing for patrons' time with other departments, lacking staff trained in PR, and reaching interested groups. Nancy discussed different ways to look at marketing. Think of marketing as a (two way) conversation, for example. Or think about marketing as establishing partnerships or knowing your customers (patrons). She also mentioned branding, and whether or not certain public libraries have brands. Would our slogan, "Window to the World" along with the image of the front window be considered our brand? She mentioned the successful marketing campaign of UPS as a model. She talked about libraries creating areas such as small business centers which really only use services already provided by the library. (Using the database Reference USA as part of the small business center, for example). She also talked about marketing ideas that other libraries were doing, notably book vending machines in subway stations, or the Pi Day celebration in honor of Albert Einstein at the Princeton (New Jersey) Public Library.

Padding Her Own Canoe (Louisa May Alcott)

speaker: Lis Adams, Director of Education at Orchard House in Concord
As an English major and a librarian who has worked with children, teens, and adults, I have always been fascinated with Louisa May Alcott. In addition to Little Women, I have read many of her other novels, including, An Old Fashioned Girl and Eight Cousins. I also read her account of being a nurse in the Civil War, Hospital Sketches.
Ms. Adams discussed the history of the Alcott family and how Louisa May Alcott came to be a writer more financially successful than several of her male counterparts. The Alcott family was actually quite ahead of their time. They supported women's rights, end of slavery, and lived as vegans, for a time. The family was friendly with notable transcendentalists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson. (Young Louisa actually had a crush on him and serenaded him from a tree, an act for which she was later embarrassed). Unlike Jo March, Louisa May never married, and there was no indication in the talk on whether not Fritz Bhaer was based on anyone. Laurie was based on two young men, including a childhood friend, but he apparently did not marry into the March family. Louisa's sisters, Anna, Elizabeth (aka "Lizzy" and "Beth") and Abba May were the models for the remaining March sisters, Meg, Beth, and Amy, respectively. I have always wondered why Elizabeth's name was not changed and asked about that. Ms. Adams said that Little Women had been written shortly after Elizabeth Alcott's death and that Louisa wanted Beth March to be a true tribute to her sister. She mentioned that Beth was the most like her real life counterpart. I found this interesting since I always thought that Amy March was an unappealing character, yet from the talk, it sounded as if Louisa actually had a very close relationship with May, Amy's real life counterpart. (Louisa even raised May's child after May died). This very interesting talk makes me want to re-read some of her stories, as well as read a biography and re-visit Orchard House. (and our children's room has passes!)

Collaboration and Outreach: Information Literacy Partnerships

speaker: Brenda Collins from Cape Cod Community College
I am always interested on hearing how librarians can do more to promote information literacy. For some reason, this is a topic that seems to be covered very heavily in academic libraries, but not as much in public libraries. This workshop did focus on an academic library and how information literacy was taught to nursing students and dental hygienists, as well as to those who suffered from Type II Diabetes. However, there was enough information to make it relevant to public libraries. A couple of lines that Brenda said which I really liked were, (paraphrasing) Librarians should be educators and not just keeper of books, and that there is a lot of information out there and that it's librarians' jobs to help users figure it all out. She also mentioned how many college students think that library tours and library instruction is reserved for English majors. Her goal is to promote the library as a place for everyone, including science related majors. After working with her patrons in the three areas, they assessed using a variety of tools, including tests (before and after library instruction) and surveys.

NELA has been uploading some of the handouts and Power Point Presentation from the workshops. They haven't finished yet, but you can continue to check http://nela2.org/conference/2010/program/

And that was my time at NELA 2010. Unfortunately, it looks as if New York has held on for the win so the ALCS moves to Arlington, Texas.

Laura's NELA part 1

2010-10-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Holiday Inn at Boxboro. I am here, enjoying the second and third days of the New England Library Association (NELA) Conference. I came in last night (Sunday) after working a shift at the Robbins Library in Arlington and am very much enjoying myself here. (And am happy to report that the Yankees are losing game 3 of the ALCS. However, it is only the top of the seventh inning, and as we baseball fans know, anything can happen, but as this blog is not about baseball or the American League Champion Series, I will digress from discussing my feelings on the hated Yankees. I do have to warn you that there will be a score update at the end of this post)
So, anyway, the NELA conference. As I said here, I arrived last night and am rooming with my former co-worker, Linda. I also was lucky to run into some other former co-workers, today, Holly and Dina. Holly, who is attending her first library conference, is the winner of the line of the day for saying, "I feel like I'm home. I am with people who are just like me." This reflects, perfectly, my feelings when I am with my fellow librarians. I also had the pleasure of running into our Kate and Louise. (The three of us converged at a reader's advisory workshop). Louise, in fact, is a member of the conference committee and has worked tirelessly to make this a great conference. I also ran into Steve, our former sub who designed our current web site, as well some fellow Minuteman folk and some of my former cohorts from my days as an active Massachusetts Library Association (MLA) member. After dinner, I had the pleasure of not only socializing with Linda, but also my friend, April, and two woman from a public library in Maine. We discussed ways in which to advocate for our profession.
Today, I attended several workshops, including: Trends, Trends, Trends (Innovations in Technical Services), Reaching out to Foster Teens, Luncheon with YA author Janet Taylor Lisle, Reader's Advisory 101, and Serving Transgender Patrons. I also went to dinner and was serenaded by the sounds of Dewey and the Decibels.

Trends, Trends, Trends: Innovations in Technical Services, Collections and More

presenters: Consultants Margaret Lourie and Stephen Spohn.
This was very interesting and was one of the few workshops that I have ever attended that was geared toward both academic and public librarians. There was a lot covered in this workshop, but in a nutshell, everything is changing in libraries and therefore everything is changing in cataloging. The content, for instance, is changing. There is still physical content, but yet there is also a lot of electronic content. At one point, librarians tried to keep up with that and catalog the Internet. Realistically, librarians realized over time, that this could not happen. Libraries are using more electronic content. Interestingly, the libraries don't necessarily own this content, but rather distribute it. (with the help of vendors, of course). As libraries move in this direction, it is important that they re-forge their missions and also realize that the traditional catalog rules may be in conflict with what the users need and/or want. The speakers also stressed that librarians need to do less, that it is not necessary to do the work of 20 librarians. They also said that it's important to stress to patrons when budget cuts occur. The speakers said that public libraries, especially, tend to shield patrons from user cuts by using other measures. Sometimes it's okay for users (or members as many prefer to be called) to stand in line, in order to understand the amount of work that librarians are forced to do. They also said that self check out can help in this. The speakers stressed that cataloging rules should not come before user (patron, member) needs. The Darien Library in Darien,CT is a good example of a library whose catalog is taking user wants and needs into account (http://www.darienlibrary.org/catalog). They also discussed Penn Tags (http://tags.library.upenn.edu/).

Reaching out to Foster Teens

speaker: Jessica Snow, teen librarian at the Boston Public Library
I really enjoyed this workshop as I know that we have foster teens who do use our library and I would like to serve them better. Jessica spoke about her experiences working at the public libraries in Oakland, California and Boston , MA. She stressed outreach and mentioned several organizations, such as the Home for Little Wanderers. (Waltham House is affiliated with them). Some of the outreach activities included sending fliers to foster group homes, waiving fines for patrons in the situation, and offering relevant programs such as job readiness. (Those living in the foster care system, for instance, usually age out at 18 and are forced to become independent. In many cases, they may not have the appropriate skills to do so, and so a job readiness program would be very beneficial). Jessica also suggested cooperating with local school systems and doing displays for National Foster Care Month in May. She also suggested subscribing to Represent magazine which is written especially for youth in the foster care system. Other organizations that she mentioned include: The Casey Family Programs and The National Foster Parents Associations

NERTCL Luncheon with Janet Taylor Lisle

Janet Taylor Lisle is a YA author who has written several novels that I have read, including The Art of Being Cool and The Crying Rocks. Our co-workers in the reference and children's rooms will recognize her as the author of How I Became a Writer and Oggie Learned to Drive, a frequent addition to the schools' 6th grade summer reading list. Ms. Lisle talked about experiences in her childhood influenced her writing, including her father's stint as a fighter pilot in World War II. She also read from several of her novels, including her latest, Highway Cats.

Reader's Advisory 101

Speaker: Clare Bass, Reader's Services Librarian from Raleigh, North Carolina.
I'm afraid that I was a little late for this, as it conflicted with Janet Taylor Lisle's talk, but luckily I was able to catch the majority of this. One of the hardest, yet most fun part of the job is helping patrons with reader's advisory questions. The reason most of us became librarians is because of our love of reading and the need to share that with others. However, it is sometimes very hard to answer, "Can you recommend a good book to read?" The Raleigh Branch of the Wake County Public Library in North Carolina is very dedicated to books and reading. They run several book genre book clubs, including Classics, African-American, Non-Fiction, 2nd and 3rd Grade, 4th and 5th Grade, Teens, and Science Fiction. All of these are staff run, with the exception of Science Fiction. (Even that has a staff liaison). There is also a book blog which is updated five times a week. Clare emphasized the importance of conducting programs that are book and reader's advisory related. She also suggested being lenient in regards to fines, and to think of library rules as guidelines in order to create a more user friendly environment. She also cited Nancy Pearl (aka, the model for the Librarian Action Figure) who goes to the stacks every day and writes down titles that look interesting. A lively discussion followed in which Clare and the audience members suggested genres for those who read non-fiction such as the travel memoirs, troubled life (what I like to call the Dysfunctional Family Memoir), Politicians, economics, disasters, and true crime. She stressed that those who identify themselves as fiction readers can read non-fiction and vice versa.

Serving Transgender Patrons

speaker: Gunner Scott of the MA Transgender Political Coalition
This was on par with the workshop about working with foster teens, in that it was not only very interesting but also very relevant and important. Gunner started the presentation by asking, "What are transgender" and "Why are you seeing many in public libraries?" Gunner gave many statistics about transgender, including that 47% have been fired due to to being transgendered and that others have reported harassment at work. A large percentage are homeless and another percentage live on less than $10,000 a year. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, many criminals view transgendered people (especially women of color) as "disposable". He then discussed the difference between one's sex and gender, and how one know's one's gender identity. He then asked, "Do transgender patrons experience service access differently from non-transgender clients?" For instance, are they judged? Are they disrespected in the incorrect use of pronouns or names? Do staff use homo/transphobic language? It is important to use a patron's preferred name or pronoun, and to provide relevant and inclusive materials/resources. What is library card policy regarding legal names?

One theme that I experienced throughout this day is that public libraries are community centers, whether it's for specific communities, or for providing specific needs or services. Just something to keep in mind!

Thanks for reading about my day at NELA. I'm not sure how coherent this entry was, as it's pretty late at night. I'll be back tomorrow with more updates.

On a very happy note, I see that Texas has beat New York 8-0 in game 3 of the ALCS. This means that the Yankees are losing 2 games to 1 in the series and only need to lose 2 more times in order to avoid the World Series. Lovely!

Mass. Library Association Conference 2010

2010-04-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

Mass Library Association Conference 2010

I spent a day and a half at the conference in Hyannis, soaking up information and ideas from speakers and colleagues. Also came away with a free signed copy of Harriet Reisen's Louisa May Alcott book, and some free pens! There were several times when I wished I could be two places at once, there were so many juicy topics being addressed at the same time. Here are some highlights of my conference.

Massachusetts goes Evergreen:http://www.evergreen-ils.org/
I got to this one a little late, after driving down from Waltham. Three Mass. library networks are taking the leap from separate contracts with integrated library system vendors like Minuteman's with III, and forming the Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative. They will use an open-source system called Evergreen to run their catalog, checkout, and inventory control functions.

Open source means it's not owned by anyone, and the software code is available for free - it's available for anyone to improve and change to create a version that suits them better. This saves a lot in the cost of software! Instead, open source requires a good deal of time and expertise to be a part of such a labor-intensive and collaborative enterprise.

The biggest advantage is that libraries are able to create the system according to user wishes and needs -- no more begging a big impersonal company to listen to your requests. If you want to marking a fine paid to be a reversible command (for those times when the patron realizes they don't have any cash after all), you can do the programming (or pay someone to do it for you). If you want to have the registration form fill in the city and state for you automatically when you fill in the zip code, it's in your hands. Merrimack Valley Library Consortium plans to go live with their new system in the spring of 2011.

Free and Easy-to-Use Tech Ideas for your Library
Alison K. Cody, The Loyola/Notre Dame Library, Baltimore, MD; Cindy Fisher, University of Texas - Austin, Perry Castaneda Library; Michael Spelman, Boston Public Library, Honan-Allston Branch.

There was so much to show and so little time that I can't say I fully understand how each of these tools works, but they all looked worth investigating further.

Productivity tools:

LibX - an add-on to your Internet Browser that allows users to search the library catalog from anyplace on the Web. Links to the library from anywhere: Amazon, wikipedia, etc.

GoogleDocs docs.google.com - this is one I've used, so I know it's handy for accessing and sharing documents from any computer anywhere. It doesn't matter if I'm at home, on a City computer, or an MLN PC, I can get to the same GoogleDocs. I can share them with others if I choose, and we can all view and edit. I can download them into Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
similar tools: Zoho, Open Office

GoogleCalendar calendar.google.com - color coordinate different events to organize, share and invite others.
similar tools; 30 boxes, Yahoo calendar

Tools for Creativity:

Gimp, www.gimp.org - edit and manipulate images, photographs, and text; has many features of the very expensive Photoshop!
similar tools: Picnik, Paint

Jing, www.jingproject.com - create visual how-tos by quickly and easily recording your on-screen movements. Use visuals to express complex ideas or processes. Louise took a class on this, so she can explain!
Similar tools: Wink, Camtasia, Captivate

Tools for Reference

Zoho Creator, www.zoho.com - not sure -- they didn't get to this one...something to do with collecting data and creating online forms...
similar tools: Google Forms

Libraryh3lp, libraryh3lp.blogspot.com - instant messaging designed for libraries to communicate with patrons. Multiple librarians can be signed on at once to handle questions as they come in; can embed widgets throughout library web page and some subscription sites.
similar tools: Meebo

Zotero, www.zotero.org - a Firefox add-on that captures citations from catalogs, databases, and web pages without taking you away from your research. Makes creating a bibliography easy peasy!
similar tools: Endnote Web.

Top Technology Trends in Massachusetts

This was a panel featuring an amazing array of experts who rapidly skimmed through tech trends to watch.

Megan Fox, Jobs for the Future: in 2009, people used their mobile phones more for data access than for phone calls. This trend will only grow.

Elizabeth Thomsen, NOBLE: Wakefield PL's "Then and Now" photo contest; Picasa's facial recognition software for identifying people in old photos; Historical Markers database

Scot Colford, BPL: cool OPACs, like Oakville PL in Ontario, which has all kinds of interactive features, great search results like Google and Amazon, and allows user to "browse" the shelves virtually.

Rosalyn Metz, Wheaton College: encouraged us to learn about project management, to plan for technology, using tools such as basecamp, manymoon and redmine. Also encouraged exploration of data.gov, linkdata.org, data.gov.uk, and socrata (check these out, reference librarians!)

Scott Kehoe, Northeast Mass. Regional Lib. System: very pessimistic about the fact that ebook publishers' current business models do not take libraries into account; also concerned about losing content when our subscription database vendor loses the bids for exclusive contracts for magazines & journals we want to offer.

Rick Levine, Central Mass. Regional Lib. System: excited about wireless USBs, which will mean cable-free monitors, projectors, etc.

Tom Corbett, Cushing Academy: Cushing is the school that made it into the news a few months ago when it unveiled its new library featuring an espresso machine but no printed books. Tom Corbett is the director; he defends the new strategy, and explains that they support research via laptops and reading via handheld devices, such as Kindles and Nooks. He argues that ebooks are superior in many ways to printed books - yes, he has used them on the beach - and the user can adjust print size, get a consistently high quality copy every time. He argues that we need to focus on supporting reading, without being too attached to the delivery vehicle.

Massachusetts Book Awards: http://www.massbook.org/massbooks2010.html

Innovative Patron Services
Margaret Lourie of Lyrasis reviewed a number of current trends in patron services. She proposed looking at the library from a patron's point of view: patrons want easy self-service options, exceptional service, and the ability to connect with the library anywhere. They want very simple online searching, like Google.

Lourie encouraged us to think about our own experiences in stores and other places we go for service - negative and positive experiences, and what we can learn from them as service providers.

Trends:

Eliminating the reference desk, getting out from behind desks, roaming, looking for perplexed people, offering help. One library has a timer that flashes at the reference librarian every so often to remind them to get up and walk around.

Patron-driven acquisitions, in which a large number of records are loaded into the catalog without having copies purchased by the library -- patrons see records in catalog, along with button to request purchase. Purchases are made in response to patron demand, not just in anticipation of it.

Home delivery - some libraries are doing home delivery to anyone who wants it, like Netflix. Catalog has a button, Deliver to me at Home; item is mailed or otherwise delivered. Flat fee, no overdue fine.

Library presence on mobile devices - see MIT and BC apps; Seattle Public Library mobile site, OCLN links to mobile database interfaces. See also Waltham Public Library's mobile site: waltham.lib.ma.us/m

Facebook, Twitter, etc - have Tweets go automatically to FB; see DavidLeeKing.com on humanizing your web page

Better catalogs that include ALL library's offerings, not just print and non-print - see Bibliocommons, HELIN - Encore, SOPAC; Methuen is getting Novelist Select, which builds readers advisory terms into the catalog.

Messing with Dewey - see Darien CT, Anythink - Rangeview, Cambridge MA for experiments in grouping items by larger topics, then Dewey within that. So items on parenting from 300s, 600's, all come together. More like a bookstore organization (but better)

Fantastic Talk - Physical Meets Digital: User Centered Design at the New York Public Library by Michael Lascarides. Will have to write about this one tomorrow.

Notes from the Printz Awards and Final Thoughts

2009-07-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

Hi there, the Printz awards were fantastic. I always enjoy hearing speeches by some great YA authors. Writers, well, know how to write, and rarely give a bad talk. The Printz honor books are Nation by Terry Pratchett, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor the Nation volume 2 The Kingdom of the Waves by M.T. Anderson, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, and Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. The Printz award went to Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. My favorite speech was that by M.T. Anderson in which he stressed the importance of writing intelligently for young people. He said that the one "taboo" that was not completely accepted by parents was that of intelligence which earned both laughs and murmurs of agreement. Unfortunately, I was sitting pretty far in the back so while I took pictures none of them came out very well. Oh well. It was great to just sit there and absorb what they had to say. I also had Jellicoe Road to read on the plane. (and saw one of my fellow passengers reading it in the waiting area. I asked her, "You weren't just at ALA by any chance?") Right now the speeches are only available on the members only site of ALA/YALSA but I'm sure they'll be available soon.
Other Final Thoughts

Got to talk with Linda Braun, the incoming president of YALSA and a former professor of mine from Simmons. She's a great library advocate and I was so pleased that she remembered me. (she came up to me). I think she'll make a wonderful president for YALSA. If you ever have a chance to take a workshop with her, I highly recommend it.
I missed the Bookcart Drill Team competition this year, but apparently NPR did a story on it. There is also a video of the winning team on the NPR site. It's pretty funny. I don't know where the librarians come up with this stuff.
I found out yesterday that Hugh Hefner's daughter and former CEO of Playboy, Christie, spoke at the opening session of the conference. Again, thanks to Library Journal for that. They've been very informative about the goings on at the conference.
Talked with a library science professor from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro at the Printz awards last night.
I decided not to attend the Cokie Roberts talk as I figured it would be too crowded. I found out later that there were plenty of seats. Next time, I won't make that mistake.
Two thoughts about the plane: I had a tag inside my checked luggage that security had selected my bag to open and search. Why does that always happen you come home from a trip and therefore have dirty laundry in your suitcase? Also, have you ever noticed that when flight attendants get on the loudspeaker, they address the passengers as "ladies and gentlemen" but the pilot addresses everyone as "folks" Notice that next time you fly.

The conference was a great experience. I highly encourage you all to go to a national conference if you have the chance. It can get pricey but it's worth it. Next year ALA is in Washington DC so it's not too far. Also, ALA Midwinter is coming to Boston in January. While the meetings are designed for ALA Committee members, look into getting a pass for the exhibit hall. If you work with a vendor you may even be able to get one from them.

Someday my Printz Will Come

2009-07-13T16:41:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts while waiting to go out to attend the Printz awards. (The Printz award is the medal given annually to the most outstanding Young Adult book the previous year. The winner is announced at the ALA Midwinter Meeting)

Saw a college friend of mine who's a college librarian receive an award yesterday. It's for a project involved digitizing posters from World War II.
Went to the ALA store, today. Bought some READ baseball hats for some friends' kids, as well as a coffee mug that had the Dewey Decimal numbers for Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows. I also bought a pack of READ Wonder Woman bookmarks for a friend of mine.
Ran into Sunny from Metrowest, as well as Maureen, the YS Consultant from CMRLS.
Did a few touristy things. Last night I had dinner near Wrigleyville and walked by Wrigley Field. A game was going on so there was quite a crowd. We took our picture near the Harry Cary statue. I also went to the Sears Tower with a fellow librarian from Woburn. (It's now called the Willis Tower, but no-one calls it that). We were in line for a long time but it was worth it. I also stood on the glass botton ledge which was cool but not as frightening as I was afraid it was going to be.
My dinner last night was with a librarian friend from Malden as well as some of her friends, including a music librarian from NYU and a librarian from the Brooklyn Public Library. They're all very involved in ALA, so it was interesting to hear about the history of the organization from those who've been there. I also always enjoy hearing about other librarians' jobs.

It's Not the Internet: It's a Window on the World (Digital Divide for Seniors)

2009-07-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

This is a topic that was true to my heart as I feel very strongly that the digital divide is expanding. I remember a few years ago when Medicare Plan D came into being and seniors were told that all of the information was online. It was hard to help these patrons effectively.
This talk consisted of a librarian from the Evanston, Illinois, Lesley Williams as well as two employees from a product called Generations Online, an online training program for seniors. The price for libraries to partake in this program is $350 lifetime and includes opportunities for seniors to get e-mail addresses. The product is non-profit, although those who use it can only check their e-mail accounts at locations that subscribe to the service.
Evanston, Illinois has mixed income and education levels and there was definitely a digital divide. Classes for seniors at the library include mouse training, e-mail, introduction to the Internet, and practice drop ins on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. The drop ins are designed for former class members to get one on one help on the computers, so that they don't take up spots in the class from new members. Lesley was able to recruit volunteers to help with these sessions by placing ads on free volunteer matching services. She also touted an online mouse tutorial for the mouse class from the Palm Beach County Library which she said was excellent.

Illuminating New Instruction Research

2009-07-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

This workshop consisted of a librarian from a community college librarian, a four year college library, and a library science professor debating the merits of various studies regarding libraries. They were framed in a hypothetical situation in which a student from the community college was transferring to the four year college.
I was especially interested in the discussion regarding the article "Latino Students and the Library: A case study" (Haras, Lopez, and Ferry). The practical implications of the article, according to the workshop, were as follows, "Findings provide documentation to support the importance of teaching information literacy and the research process throughout K-12, the value of middle school and high school teachers and librarians collaborating to prepare students for research expected in college, and the need for both high school and college libraries to better articulate information literacy curricula, especially with language-minority of Latino students."
While the point of this workshop was to debate the merits of the research (The library science professor, for example, wondered if the survey was included with the article and also mentioned that information literacy and using the library are not necessarily the same), I really did like the discussion regarding the body of the article. I would like to know more about this as I believe the public library can also play a role in this, especially in Waltham.

Reference Research Forum

2009-07-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

This was a panel of three different groups who conducted research regarding work at reference desks. I really enjoyed this panel a lot and made me wish that research was more of a commonality at public libraries.

What WOREP Results Say about Reference Service, Patron Satisfaction, and Success, Julie Gedeon and Carolyn Radcliff from Kent State University

(WOREP, by the way, stands for Wisconsin Ohio Reference Evaluation Program. According to the WOREP website :

"WOREP is designed to assess the outcome of the reference transaction and to identify factors related to success or lack of success. Its key features are:

demonstrates validity--items actually measure what is indicated;
demonstrates reliability--it is possible to replicate results;
uses the natural reference center setting;
includes sufficient factors to suggest cause and effect relationships;
provides for comparability of data." (c. 2009, retrieved July 12, 2009)
What the study at Kent State showed was the level of success based on reference transactions at its library from 1984-1996 and then from 2000-2008, in other words pre-Internet reserach versus the age of high Internet use. Their results did, in fact, demonstrate a change over time. For instance, staff and patrons work together more often, now when conducting a reference transaction. The staff appears to be less busy to the patrons (interesting!), however the time spent with each patron has increased. (interesting!) The staff rated the questions the same during the two time periods, though, in other words from easy to medium. worep.library.kent.edu

Measuring the Effectiveness of Online Tutorials (Cindy Craig from Wichita State and Curt G. Friehs from the Kansas City Public Library). This study researched whether or not library patrons (or students in the case of the study) learned better from written online tutorials or from streaming video tutorials about online datbases. The tutorials were created by librarians and were more effective than tutorials created by the database companies. The first study reviewed results after teaching 140 finance students how to use the ValueLine database. The second study surveyed biology students upon using a biology database. The students in the biology study were given a feedback form and a quiz upon completing the online tutorial. The students who used the video tutorial scored higher on the quiz questions.

Teachable Instants in Instant Message Reference: Taking the Opportunity or Taking a Pass. (Megan Oakleaf from Syracuse University and Amy VanScoy from North Carolina State University) This study measured whether or not librarians who used instant messaging reference used the tool as an opportunity to teach patrons about library tools. Those that did were "taking the opportunity" those that didn't were "taking a pass". They surveyed 1500 IM transcripts from one academic year and used eight major coding categories. They determined tha 40% of librarians "took a pass" and found information without using the opportunity as a teachable moment. Some of the suggestions the two had for teaching during IM reference was to think aloud (important to know to share failures), show don't tell (show images for conducting the search), chunk it up (divide transaction into chunks of time), letting patrons make the decisions. The two speakers concluded with the phrase, "If the reference service mission is aligned with institutional mission (in the case of an academic library) of teaching and learning then reference transactions are instructional." And this applies to Instant Messaging.

I found these studies very interesting and how they could be relevant to us, especially the last study, since we would like to use IM reference at some point. I wish more research would be done regarding public libraries and was encouraged at that level. I was glad to see that a public librarian had participated in one of the studies. I will definitely attend the research forum the next time I attend ALA.

Inspring Young Citizens: The Library as a Forum for Engagement

2009-07-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

I was interested in this topic because I believe, strongly that the library's function as a community center requires it to be a place of civic engagement. I liked the idea of using the library to encourage young people to become more actively minded.
The panel consisted of three authors, Anne Sibley O'Brien, Phillip Hoose, and Lita Judge, as well Kelley McDaniel, a school librarian from Maine, and Kirsten Cappy, a children's literature advocate also from Maine. Each author wrote about activism in some sort of form, and all were engaged in citizenship projects related to the books. In the case of O'Brien and Hoose, McDaniel and Cappy were involved.
Lita Judge wrote Pennies for Elephants (true story of children who raised money to get elephants for the Franklin Park Zoo in 1914) and One Thousand Tracings (the true story of her grandmother who sent food, clothing, etc. to European families after World War II). Projects included getting children to have penny drives to support a cause in which they support, writing letters to local newspaper to explain the cause, and to become interested in the news.
Phillip Hoose wrote two books about young activism, including It's Our World, Too: Young People Who are Making a Difference and Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice (the true story of a 15 year old African American girl in Montgomery, Alabama who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger almost a year before Rosa Parks did the same. She later helped take the case to the Supreme Court as a plaintiff in Browder vs. Gayle). The citizenship project for the book on Claudette Colvin included students at Kelley McDaniel's school creating "ads" for a city bus in Portland, Maine telling Colvin's story. This took much effort by Kirsten Cappy who enlisted the help of the NAACP, the Maine College of Art, as well as the local bus service. The students created ad size posters for the entire bus which came to the school and which was viewed by Claudette Colvin herself. The pictures were amazing!
Anne Sibley O'Brien wrote, along with her son, After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance. Her son, Perry, had no experience writing for young people and so wanted to know the audience. Anne and Perry met with some students from Kelley's library who called themselves Gandhi Publishing and gave input on the book, including helping to come up with another individual to be named based on their own research.
In addition, Kelley also has started an intergenerational study group based on concepts in Rushworth Kidder's Moral Courage in which students and adults mentor one another and read, among other titles, After Gandhi.
In order to create engagement in the library, Kelley recommended the following guidelines:

Be informed.
Be inspired
Seek out new ideas
"Develop a bias for 'yes"'

Recommende website: civilrightsteaching.org

Library Journal article

2009-07-11T23:55:00.000-07:00

I've been reading about the ALA conference on the Library Journal website. It's interesting to read about the conference live from another perspective. Apparently, there have been a couple of controversies, as well.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6670396.html?industryid=49047
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6670397.html?nid=3604

Odds and Ends on Saturday

2009-07-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

Just spent a wonderful evening with two friends of mine who live about an hour away. We hung out in Millenium Park and watched the fountains. They also pointed out to me the many aspects of the Chicago Tribune building. There are several pieces of artifacts from all over the world on the facade of the building, including a brick from Yale University, a rock from Yellowstone, a piece from the House of Commons, a piece of the Taj Mahal (hidden by tents for an art festival), a piece from the Petrified Forest, and the Great Pyramid.
I had lunch today with our Ingram rep., Cathy along with some other librarians from Massachusetts, including a Somerville librarian, the director of the Ipswich Library, and the directors of CLAMS and CWMars (two library networks). We all had talks about the differences between our places of work.
I met a librarian from the Cleveland Public Library, today. She's a branch manager (and from my mother's hometown I later found out!). She and her staff don't have any off desk time. We talked a lot about what we do, and she really seemed to enjoy her library. I liked talking with her very much.
My hotel room was still not made up when I returned at 5:15 which I thought was odd (and not relevant to anything). In better news, the Red Sox are now two games ahead of the Yankees.

Exhibit Hall

2009-07-11T22:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the highlights from today's trip to the exhibit hall. I went with a friend of mine who is an academic librarian.

Met Lauren Myracle, the author of the very popular TTYL series. She signed her latest book, Love Ya Bunches. She was perfectly charming and seemed very nice. She was excited to hear that her series was so popular at our library. She also gave out a a silk rose to everyone.
Stopped at the Morningstar booth. We just finished a trial for their online product which I liked.
Picked up a few catalogs from the Baker and Taylor booth.
I had a long talk with the representative from LibGuides. It provides a great way of providing resource guides for patrons. I've seen it on several academic libraries' websites and also heard about it in action at MLA. Public libraries do use it and I was shown an example from New Jersey. I really like the idea of them but would take a bit of work to implement. Something to think very strongly about, though.
Talked with a woman from a company that digitizes collections.
Picked up a brochure from Tutor.com. I'll stop by there tomorrow for more information. Kate and I had a demonstration from them a small while ago.
Picked up a brochure from the ALA Office for Research and Statistics, regarding "Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries". Most of the details can be found in the office's 2007 report regarding library demographics.
Stopped by the Diversity and Outreach Fair which highlighed libraries' programs for underserved populations. Tables I stopped at included the Birmingham Public Library highlighting its adult literacy program; Multnomah County Library in Portland Oregon highlighting its adult reading programs for speakers of other languages, and the Greensboro Public Library for its poetry program for seniors.

Effective Safety and Security Practices in Today's Public Library

2009-07-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

Despite my joking about missing the program on baseball, I found this program to be excellent and am very glad I didn't miss it. Safety is a concern in all public places, including the library and the panelists offered great tips and anecdotes regarding safety in the library. This is obviously a topic that hit close to home as it was extremely packed. (Audience members were sitting on the floor) Panelists included Bryan Oliver, a former police officer and FBI Agent who now works as the manager of safety and security at a public library; Karen Danczak-Lyons, deputy commissioner at the Chicago Public Library; and Andrew Sanderbeck who runs the People Connect Institute and consults public libraries. Another panelist was unable to come, but she was going to speak about her experience in which she was held at gunpoint while leaving her job at the library and forced to drive two patrons around before the police caught up to them. This was a sobering way to start this session, I agree, however it also got the point across that we need to be more aware of the need for security practices at the library.
Here are the highlights from the session (I also have some handouts)

Bryan Oliver

He highlighted the types of problem behavior, such as loitering, sleeping in the library, talking/socializing, verbal altercations, and physical altercations

Staff often has to work alone, which heightens the risk. This is a risk even in small libraries where the public service desks are close to one another.
Public service obligations versus dealing with some of the problem behavior. However, it's also good public service for the patrons who are not causing a disturbance to deal with the problem at hand.
Don't judge patrons based on appearance.
Libraries should have a code of conduct. If a library already has one, be sure to review it. Make sure it's not too specific.
General guidelines when dealing with this situation include remaining calm, don't lower yourself to their level, don't debate with the patron, don't fight with the patron (in fact, let those who are trained to fight do that, such as the police or your library security guard, don't let patron follow you into a dead end stack.
Remember the acronym R.A.C.E. R (recognize as in recognize the signs of danger); A (Alert the staff, security, and/or law enforcement. Ways to do this can be by using voice, pulling the closest fire alarm, calling 911 (don't wait for a higher up if you feel the situation calls for it), public address system; C (cover and conceal yourself from danger); E (escape).
Solutions include hiring library security, prominently display staff IDs; staff training; and creating phrases.

Karen Danczak-Lyons

The Chicago Public Library has 79 branches and they strive to train the staff as much as possible. The staff practices fire drills and evacuations on a routine basis. The staff's goals include providing a safer environment as well as better lighting. Security cameras have also been installed, recently.
The library hires security guards from a private firm who are unarmed.
Supervision is key and security is a team effort. If a staff member notices something bad is happening, he/she is encouraged to call the police.
The Chicago Police teach an Internet safety class to the staff and public.
Staff should be aware and make eye contact with patrons. Have visible control of surroundings.
Encourage staff to use a code phrase which translates into, "Call the police!"
Trust gut instinct.
When the library has problems with younger patrons such as children and young adults, the library will occasionally involve the schools and the parents.
Ms. Lyons shared some incident reports from her library and asked the audience for suggestions on how to deal with them.
Incident #1: Man had his shirt off and was holding onto his pants yelling, "There's a snake in my pants" and proceeded to remove his pants.
Incident #2: A reference librarian had her hand licked by a patron who said he wanted to be her dog and bite her.
Incident #3: Patron had issue when librarians said a certain phrase because it triggered a bacteria in his brain.

Andrew Sanderbeck

Violence in the workplace is increasing. We don't know who we get on an everyday basis.
The Virginia Beach Library created a code of conduct policy and guidelines for the staff on behavior policy.
Stay in control. Remember E + R = O (E events, look at it intellectually, R response, we are creatures of reaction, O outcome.) Anger causes physical change, nobody wins a power struggle.

A lot to think about.
Read here for the PLA blogger's take on this program.

Waiting for Program

2009-07-11T08:02:00.001-07:00

Hello there, I'm at the McCormick Place West Conference Center in Chicago waiting for the start of "Effective Safety and Security Practices in Today's Public Library". To illustrate that I have professional priorities, I am attending this instead of "Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience". That's a program on baseball. I want you all to remember that. In all seriousness, that program does sound very interesting. It highlights several authors on the African-American baseball experience, including Jackie Robinson's daughter, Sharon. It also highlights a traveling exhibit on the history of African-Americans in baseball, including the Negro Leagues, the integration of major league baseball and their roles today. (Does our library want to be a stop on the tour?) There is a large display in the lobby which I took pictures of and did not do justice. And standing near me while I was taking pictures was none other than Sharon Robinson herself. I admit I got a tear in my eye. This woman's father was a hero to so many and here she was standing so close to me and the shy part of me came out and said nothing.
I just helped a very nice librarian with an issue on her laptop. It took a bit and we were both stumped but doing some searches on google helped to solve her problem. And we didn't even have to call our computer librarian!
In other news, I saw two men dressed up as the Blues Brothers walk by me in the hallway. (This is in Chicago). I'm curious what that was about, but a security guard gave them a funny look and started following them so apparently they're not part of the decor, here. I wonder if they're ALA attendees. If so, those seem like fun librarians.

Greetings from Chicago

2009-07-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jonathan Sanchez of the San Francisco Giants for just throwing a no-hitter!
Greetings from the Windy City, where it rained a good part of the day. I understand that it's lovely in Boston which goes to show that apparently I or anyone who flew into Chicago from Boston today has taken the bad weather with us. I flew in this morning on a very early morning flight in order to make the most out of the day. There were a few librarians I recognized on my flight (including a fellow Minuteman librarian), and a friend of mine originally on my flight got bumped to a later flight. Ah, the joys of flying. My shuttle from the airport was full of librarians, which was exciting. One of the librarians is an adult services librarian from North Carolina. Her library has summer reading programs for adults, teens, and children, and their kickoff party was attended by 4500 people! They also have several computers throughout the building, including fifteen that are exclusively for young adults. (10 desktops and 5 laptops). Another librarian on the shuttle bus works at the Department of Defense, which was interesting contrast to all of the public librarians riding. I enjoyed talking with her and hearing about her job, as well as the different professional associations of which she's a member.
Like any good former YA and children's librarian, I visited the Harry Potter exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry. I really enjoyed it, although the souvenirs were a little pricey for my liking. I also saw a little of Millennium Park and drove by Soldier Field (home of the Chicago Bears).
I spent the day with my conference roommate, a friend of mine who is a PhD Student in Illinois, and a former co-worker of mine from a different library. We also hung out a bit with one of my baseball fan librarian friends, who used to work for Morningstar but now runs her own Research Business and works as a reference librarian at a public library. I enjoyed listening to some of the work her clients ask of her, as well as exchanging stories and annecdotes from the public library. Her library also runs an adult summer reading program and this year's theme is books made into movies.
I'm getting tired. The early flight and the one hour time difference is finally getting to me. Tomorrow the fun begins.

Library of Congress

2009-07-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

Before I start posting from my adventures at ALA, I just wanted to write quickly about my first trip to the Library of Congress when visiting Washington DC with my community band a few weeks ago. Did you know that anyone can get a reader card to the Library of Congress, that there is a copy of the Gutenberg bible, and some Stradivarious violins, as well as Thomas Jefferson's original library? Enjoy some of the pictures from the visit. (P.S. As you can see, I'm not the only librarian in the group! The picture in the cemetery is the grave of a historical researcher who simply wrote "Look it Up" on her tombstone)

State Library and Kirstein Branch of the BPL

2009-05-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

On Friday, the reference staff took tours of the State House Library and the Business Branch of the Boston Public Library. It was an extremely informative day, and made us all familiar with more resources that we can offer patrons.

The State House Library is a resource library available to state employees, as well as a law and research library for the public. Bills that are introduced in the state legislature are available in hard bound editions, and there is information on most of the Massachusetts communities. Although most of the Waltham resources are the same that we have here, this library is wonderful if one needs resources for multiple communities. This is also a great place to go for genealogists. The library is home to the Zimmer index which compiled a catalog of where to find information on a variety of names. The library also has three print versions of Massachusetts laws (we have one version), as well as a variety of other writings regarding Massachusetts law and politics. There is also a special section for the Massachusetts Book Awards, as well as any books related to politics. (I believe I spied a copy of Elizabeth Edwards's new book). While many of the reference books are open stacks, there are several books in the closed stack area. This area reminded me so much of my hometown library when I was a page. I always felt as if I were in a real library when I shelved many moons ago. There is also a large television which broadcasts live sessions of the Massachusetts House and Senate. When the courts are not in session, the television broadcasts images of artifacts from the special collections. And speaking of special collections, that was the last stop of our tour. (well, the last stop was actually when we broke the staff bathroom in the state house, but that's another story) The special collections houses a variety of archival material, including Sanborn Fire maps, and other historic maps. City directories are also included in this collection. There is also a preservation area, in which staff do their own preserving of materials which are damaged due to water, etc. The woman who showed us the special collections actually teaches library preservation classes, which would be really interesting. Some of the materials which are considered extremely valuable are kept in other places, out of reach of the elements destroying them.
The Kirstein Branch of the Boston Public Library is located on City Hall Avenue, very close to the Financial District. Walking into that library was like taking a step back in time, in a good way. It looked just like a research library out of a movie, complete with tables with patrons looking at strewn out papers, etc. The downstairs area is full of nothing but directories, as well as some financial newsletters, and stock information. They have historical stock information dating back many years which is especially important for our patrons. There are historical stock quotes online, however, if a company has changed names, it is almost impossible to find information. It's good to know that we can at least refer them to the Kirstein Branch to get this information. The library houses directories of pretty much any subject. Want to see a listing of all of the foreign companies that have branches in the United States? That's there. (and quite large, I might add). Want to see a directory regarding baking or snack production? Look at The Baking Snack/Directory and Buyers' Guide. My personal favorite was Who's Who in the Egg and Poultry Industries in the United States and Canada. Upstairs was where patrons could use the Internet, as well as view copies of books on a variety of statistics and studies. There is also a career reference section, and periodicals for pretty much every industry. There were also a variety of books helpful to small business owners, which Jan pointed out would be good for our collection. One of the more interesting studies at the library was a book entitled, American Time Use: Who Spends How Long at What. There is also an extensive list of business databases. You can access many of these at home, by applying for an online BPL card. Or if you're there in person, get an actual BPL card, like Todd and I did. The Kirstein Branch also offers a variety of programs. One that really piqued my interest was "Career Wednesdays" in which counselors from Jewish Vocational Services offer free career counselling, by appointment for a half hour.

Thanks again for all of the librarians who took the time out of their busy schedules to make us aware of just two more examples of public libraries.

Cat in the Hat

2009-05-11T12:02:00.001-07:00

Here is the picture of my colleague, Mary, from the Everett Public Libraries, and me posing with the Cat in the Hat, at the MLA Conference in Springfield (hometown of Dr. Seuss)

Demystifying Manga

2009-05-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to solve the dilemma of what will I choose between Social Networking, 24/7 Reference, and Public Speaking, by not attending any of them but rather to attend a session on the mysteries of manga. (Manga are the Japanese comic books, for those of you who don't know). I buy the collection for the YA room (and adult manga as well for the adult graphic novel collection). I know that the teens love it and I love buying it for them. As a reader, however, I just can't get into it and so I wanted to know more about it. Plus, I was especially intrigued by this panel because a 13 year old was part of it and was going to explain what she liked about manga.
Robin Brenner, the YA librarian from Brookline who is a graphic novel guru, first gave the history of manga, including a brief history of Chinese and Korean comics. There are also different genres of manga for males and females (specifically shonen are for boys and seinen are for men, while shojo are for girls and josei are for women). Next her teen colleague, Leah, shared some insights and gave some suggestions. (For instance, James Patterson's YA series, Maximum Ride, is now a manga series). We also asked Leah what she looked for and for some title suggestions. I wanted to know if she read other types of comics or graphic novels, and she said no, that she generally preferred manga.

Getting Rid of the Reference Desk

2009-05-08T09:58:00.001-07:00

Wow, scoring 12 runs in one inning without recording an out. Sorry I missed that.
Anyway, I went to an interesting program entitled Getting Rid of the Reference Desk which was interesting and not as radical as it may sound by the title. There were no suggestions about getting rid of reference librarians (thank goodness) or even reducing reference service. Rather it's a way to enhance reference service, by pretty much establishing one stop shopping and going to where the patrons are.
(I just saw our Ingram rep., Cathy, walking down the hall. I always enjoy talking with her. )
The first two speakers were from an academic libary, Northwest Missouri State University, and they noticed that lot of their patrons were not using reference in the traditional ways. While the foot traffic decreased, the web traffic increased. After conducting several surveys and focus groups with the students, the reference department decided to completely revamp how they do reference service. The library now, has, a one stop desk. A patron goes up to the desk and states their need, and if it requires another librarian, the appropriate person is summoned on a walkie talkie. (Librarians are on call and carry the walkie talkies, rather than being on desk. Students staff the desk). The walkie talkies work very well and are also good when a librarian is working somewhere that may not be near a phone. This also works well because the librarian on call is never seen doing work at the desk so the patron (or student in this case) does not feel as if he or she is interupting. The library also employs something called an open door system. There are buzzers by each of the office doors. If the door is open, that means the librarian is available for work with the public. If the librarian needs to have a meeting or take a conference call, he or she simply closes the door. There are forms at the desk so that students can request time with individual librarians or if they have specific needs. Students can also talk with librarians virtually and request one on one appointments with a librarian. The library does not use Instant Messaging, mainly because the hours that it would be used are in the middle of the night, not the most convenient times for librarians!
The Darien Library in Connecticut also uses a roaming reference approach. They used a renovation to try a new form of reference. Instead of a large desk, they only use a very small table, and the librarians use wireless phones and small laptops to do work. They do use Instant Messaging (more diverse clientale than an undergraduate student body), and they also organized the Non-Fiction collection so that it more resembles a bookstore. (Books are put into a Self Help section, for example).
The libraries have the following blogs and websites:
www.nwmissouri.edu/library
owenslib.blogspot.com
darienlibrary.org

Audio Books -- Beyond the Book

2009-05-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Although I select the audiobooks for the YA's at our library, I'm afraid I don't know too much about them beyond what I read in professional reviews. I was never much of a listener. I did always appreciate the importance of them, though, and don't understand why some consider listening to audio books cheating. Why is listening to someone read the entire book for several hours different than reading it for several hours? It's not as if someone is watching the movie instead or reading the Cliffs Notes. If someone read a chapter from a book aloud to her child every night, no one would consider that cheating.
Anyway, enough of my rant. This presentation featured Mary Burkey, a school librarian from Columbus, Ohio, who was the chair of Notable Audios for the Association of Library Services for Children (ALA division), as well as Johnny Heller, a narrator from Recorded Books. Mary called herself an evangelist for audiobooks. I had always heard the merits of audiobooks when asking a child who was learning English or having trouble reading to read along with an audio. However, there are many other ways in which audiobooks can improve literacy. For example, listening to an audiobook can improve listening skills. It also can improve vocabulary skills. When reading a word that we may not remember, we may read over it quickly, not to mention not knowing the actual pronunciation. She also made an interesting point later in the discussion regarding boys and audiobooks. There has been a lot of talk lately regarding boys as reluctant readers, and Mary theorized that perhaps this is because the voices who read aloud to them were mostly women (mothers, teachers, librarians). A male audio book narrator can make a difference.
Mary also pointed out ways to market audio books. For example, have a display at any crafts program you may do (such as the children's room Tuesday night crafts, or our recent knitting and watercolor class). Often times, patrons like to listen while doing something else. She also suggested putting displays in large print areas for those who are more visually impaired, or doing displays at the senior center. She even suggested a local health club which I thought was interesting.
Johnny Heller was a lot of fun. He read aloud from several of his audio books, including children's, YA, and adult books. He also explained the process, saying that he records about 2 hours at a time, and that he always reads the book the whole way through before recording. I loved listening to him narrate. I'll have to check out some of his performances.

Odds and Ends on the Second Day

2009-05-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

Just had dinner with a friend of mine and a school librarian from Ohio who is doing a presentation on audio books tomorrow morning. We had an interesting discussion on requirements for media specialists in our two states, as well as the state of libraries. I always enjoy talking with librarians in different states, for that reason. She is also a reviewer for Booklist and The Horn Book, which was also interesting to hear about.
As of now, tomorrow I am planning on attending a session on audio books and a session called "Getting Rid of the Reference Desk" (it's not what you think). I'm debating between attending a session called "Social Software and Intellectual Freedom", Public Speaking on behalf of libraries, or 24/7 Reference because they are all at the same time.
It's been nice running into some former colleagues, Simmons classmates, and co-workers.
If you ever get lost in downtown Springfield, the workers at the autobody shop on Main Street with the big Cadillac sign are very nice about giving directions, especially if you're looking for the train station. (long story)
I've really enjoyed all of the sessions I have attended so far.
My colleague attended a session entitled "Help! I'm so STRESSED" regarding stress at work (not that any of us are) and was kind enough to bring me the handout. The speaker emphasized the effects of stress, including physical tension and anger. She emphasized the importance of identifying what causes our stress (finances, changing schedules, etc.) as well as "barriers to managing stress" (poor diet, too little sleep, etc.). She advised to set up a support system, whether it be friends, family, or co-workers as well as coping skills, and some relaxation techniques (e.g. breathing, stretching, progressive relaxation, visualization, and meditation)
I think Tim Wakefield should win the Cy Young Award and that Alex Rodriguez needs to send Manny Ramirez a bouquet or candy gram for taking some of the attention away.

Have a good night!

Thursday Afternoon

2009-05-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I attended a lecture from children's picture book author, Mo Willems. I was debating between this and attending a program on dealing with difficult patron situations, but since we saw that excellent presentation by Sarah, last week, I figured I would channel the former children's librarian in me and see the author of the very adorable Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. He was a lot of fun and I'm glad that I decided to attend this. I also got some books autographed for some friends' children.
I also attended the Book Cart Drill Team Competition. (The Conference Committee wisely did not schedule this against anything else). This is pretty amusing, for those of you who've never seen this. Basically employees of a library dress up, and choreograph a routine incorporating book carts. Demco, which sponsors the event, awards money to the top three winners. (Since only three libraries participated this year, well, then all three were lucky). Entries were from Memorial Hall Library in Andover, the Nevins Memorial Library in Methuen, and the Plymouth Public Library. Andover's routine featured characters from Batman, Methuen's a dance routine from A Chorus Line, and Plymouth's a cowgirl routine done to a Shania Twain song. (They were the big winners, by the way.) I really don't know how to describe this, for those of you who have never seen it, so check it this video of this year's winner (Plymouth) at last year's MLA Conference

The World is Not Flat -- Information Literacy in 3D

2009-05-07T19:53:00.001-07:00

This workshop was taught by Elizabeth Thomsen from NOBLE (consortium from North of Boston). I was also glad to be able to run into Dina, a former co-worker of mine from Westford. It's always nice to meet up with former colleagues.
Elizabeth basically went over some online 3D programs that are used to teach young people Information Literacy. I was already familiar with one of the products, Google Earth, but it was good to see it used in different ways. It's a great tool for teaching where we are in relation to other parts of the world. Unfortunately, Google Earth requires a fairly robust Internet speed , so I'm not sure it would work well on all of our patron computers.
She also pointed out a product called Google SketchUp, in which one can design 3D drawings. (It's really quite amazing). If a librarian wants to do a model of the library, for instance, or a model of a proposed library renovation, this is a very handy tool. Elizabeth also suggested using it to do a YA program. (I actually asked Elizabeth after the workshop how software like that could be used in relation with libraries). Even if it's not something I would use, immediatly for the library, I do feel it's important to be familiar with what software is out there, so that I can be in the know when patrons ask about it.
Elizabeth also mentioned 3D Replicators which are basically printers for 3D objects. They're very amazing, but the fact the technology exists is amazing to me. For now, one can send in a Sketchup to a company called Shapeways and receive his or her object in the mail.
You can read more about Elizabeth's thoughts on this subject from a post on her blog.

Information Literacy Showcase

2009-05-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

This was my favorite workshop so far, this conference. Information Literacy according to the Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science, means, "Skill in finding the information one needs, including an understanding of how libraries are organized, familiarity with the resources they provide (including information formats and automated search tools), and knowledge of commonly used research techniques. The concept also includes the skills required to critically evaluate information content and employ it effectively, as well as an understanding of the technological infrastructure on which information transmission is based, including its social, political, and cultural context and impact."
For years, information literacy has been associated with academic libraries, only, but in reality it's something that all librarians should be prepared to teach. This panel consisted of a public reference librarian, a YA librarian, an elementary school librarian, and an academic librarian.
Matthew, the reference librarian from the Springfield Public Library, mentioned that there is a larger need to be proactive in teaching information literacy. While librarians used to teach information literacy 1:1 on an informal level. The librarians at his library now teach several computer type courses from basic computer classes to classes for high end databases. The name of the program is Hi!Tech @ the Library. Classes that the librarians teach include Computer Basics, Learn to Type, Internet 101, Introduction to Word Processing and Microsoft Word, Manage your Files, Great Websites You Haven't Seen Yet, Local News (using the Internet), Vote Savvy with the Internet, Excel with Spreadsheets, Database Design with Microsoft Access, and Next Reads (which teaches Readers' Advisory tools online including some subscription databases). I was especially intrigued by classes such as Local News and Vote Savvy with the Internet, which not only teaches patrons how to better search online but to be better information consumers. It also gives me something to think about if an when our lovely volunteers can't teach here anymore. Not only does this help patrons improve their information literacy skills, it also helps the librarians. Furthermore, as Matthew pointed out, it's great PR for the library.
The next speaker was Dan, a YA Librarian from Shrewsbury. He mentioned how certain YA programs can be entertaining as well as teach information literacy skills in a subtle manner. (They're also great tools for brining YA's into the library). For example, the library runs a scavenger hunt which requires the YA's to use online databases to find some of the answers. There is also a cooking contest which requires the YA's to find cookbooks in the library which, in turn, teaches OPAC skills. The library also holds a YA writing competion which is held in the same manner as American Idol. In order to vote, the YA's are required to use the library blog and website. The teen advisory board also has a branch who orders Manga and are required to use the OPAC in order to do it.
Julie, the elementary school librarian, emphasized that information literacy begins in kindergarten. She discussed great ways in order to emphasize the difference between fiction and non-fiction. (using songs, word plays, etc.). She also said that pictures are ways for early readers to learn information literacy. Older children are taught to use the catalog when doing projects for school.
Sarah Marks from Fitchburg State discussed Information Literacy at her library. She learned where her students were (on Facebook, youtube, Google, and Wikipedia. They are not on Twitter or Blogs). She emphasized the benefits of wikis, saying that it's the way of the future, and also talked about the virtues of Wikipedia. (personally I feel when used correctly, that it represents everything that is right about the Internet). She mentioned something called libguides which according to their website, offer, "General subject guides, Course guides to support faculty instruction, 'How to' guides related to various library services, Teaching library instruction and information literacy, Collaboration with faculty on research and teaching. Library Website, Staff collaboration/communication" Here is an example of Fitchburg State's History Libguide.

Author Visits part Two

2009-05-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Writing this while still getting over the news regarding Manny and waiting for the one children's program I decided to attend. (channeling my old days as a children's librarian to see a picture book author).
I saw two more authors at separate programs, yesterday.

Sarah Beth Durst is YA fantasy writer, and a native of Massachusetts. Her books Into the Wild and Out of the Wild imagine what it would be like if Northborough had characters from fairy tales living in it. She discussed different elements of fantasy, including other worlds, magical beings in this world (what she called Fairies in the Coffee Pot), and people from this world going to other world (through the Wardrobe, she called it). She also mentioned why one would want to read fantasy, including escapism, empowerment, understanding, and experimentation. Sarah mentioned a lot of authors who were examples of all genres, which I appreciated. She also talked about how to start writing prompts when conducting writing groups in the library. One prompt could be to change one aspect of the real world, another would be to choose a well known story and decide what happens next. As a librarian who doesn't read a lot of fantasy, I really appreciated hearing about examples of authors to recommend to fantasy crazy readers. Sarah also made me realize that I read some more fantasy than I thought when she mentioned some authors whose works I've read and enjoyed.
Michael Cunningham was the speaker, last night. Cunningham is the author of The Hours (think Nicole Kidman with the big nose), as well as The Home at the End of the World. He had a discussion with Barbara Hoffert of Library Journal which, admitedly would have been a little hard to follow if you hadn't read any of his books. However, he was very engaging and had a great personality. It was also interesting hearing him talk about the making of the movie for The Hours. Barbara also asked very detailed questions and seemed to know the books very well. She definitely did her homework. I was very excited to have Mr. Cunningham autograph a copy of one of his books for my mother.

Author Visits part One

2009-05-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the day of writers and I loved it. I always enjoy listening to writers, regardless if I've read their works. They all have different methods of writing and it's interesting to hear what works for each individual. I also enjoy when authors talk on panels, especially if they have good chemistry with one another.

The first two authors I saw were Lynda Barry and Thirty Umrigar. Lynda is a cartoonist who has written graphic novels, such as One! Hundred! Demons! and her latest book, What it Is. Thirty, on the other hand, is a former journalist, turned novelist and professor of creative writing. Her newest novel, is The Weight of Heaven, which tells the story of an American couple of moves to India after their seven year old child dies. The conversation was moderated by Barbara Hoffert, editor of Library Journal. (what a cool job she has!) Lynda was, in short, a nut. I mean that in a good way. She was very funny and clearly seems to love what she does. She made some interesting points about the term "graphic novel", stating that most cartoonists don't like the name. However, she said whatever gets a librarian or educator to justify purchasing them, then it works for her. She did make a funny comment regarding a colleague who said that he thought "graphic novels" referred to books such as Lady Chatterly's Lover. She mentioned that her comic influences were Dr. Seuss and Robert Crumb, although she joked that sometimes Crumb could get a little disturbing. She was very pleased to hear at the book signing, that Dr. Seuss was from Springfield. "Oh that explains the Cat in the Hat picture in my hotel room. I just thought the hotel was really funky." She was also asked about the rise of females in graphic novels. (oh my god, I just took a break and went on Boston.com to catch up on news from the last two days and saw that Manny Ramirez was suspended for performance enhancing drugs. Sorry, back to our regularly scheduled programming). Thirty discussed her life as a journalist and making the transition from journalism to novel writing. She mentioned how journalism is sometimes treated as "the poor cousin of literature" (I loved that line). She also discussed writing her memoir, saying that memoir writing is a subjective retelling of the truth. I asked Thirty what she thought about the future of newspapers, which started a lively discussion. (Lynda also used to write a comic strip which was published in several papers, and which has been dropped). As a wannabe journalist, I'm always interested to hear opinions from those in the field.
The two women had such great chemistry with one another, and seemed to really enjoy what the other was saying, despite (or I think because) of their different styles. They played off each other well. One of my colleagues told them that they should teach a writing class together. I would enjoy something like that.
I'll be back with part two in a few minutes. I've just been asked to take another trip to the exhibit hall to thank the various sponsors.

Greetings from Springfield

2009-05-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hello there and greetings from the MLA Conference in Springfield. I arrived here yesterday with some colleagues from the Everett and Malden libraries, and after some difficulties involving finding parking (hotel parking lot was full), and getting to the highway, we made it in one piece. Yesterday, was the day of authors and I enjoyed seeing them so much (more in the next post on the specifics). Seeing author programs always reminds me why it was I started working in libraries when I was 14 years old. Speaking of that, I ran into a woman who was a reference librarian at my hometown library back when I was a page, and whose kids went to high school with me. I think she was a little weirded out by the fact that I am pushing 34 and worked with her 20 years ago. No worries. She looks exactly the same as she did 20 years ago.
Springfield, incidently is the hometown of Dr. Seuss. There is a beautiful sculpture garden in the quadrangle which includes the Springfield Library and The Springfield Museum of Fine Arts. There is also a picture of the Cat in the Hat in my hotel room. And yours truly posed with a little Cat in the Hat for the Springfield library who will be using it on their Facebook page. They agreed that we can use it for our Facebook page and Flickr accounts.
In other news, I ran into some of our sales reps, including Nancy from Recorded Books, Lou who represents several of our reference publishers, and Paul who does the same. I was very excited because Lou gave me a reference set for free that I was planning on purchasing, anyway. (The bad news is that I had to schlep a four volume reference set throughout the conference hall. The good news, I now am much stronger than I originally thought.

Massachusetts Teen Librarian Summit at the Leominster Public Library

2009-04-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, April 28, I was lucky to attend the inaugural Massachusetts Teen Librarian Summit at the Leominster Public Library. I had spent a lot of time at this public library a few years ago when I attended meetings for an MLA committee, but this was my first time since their renovation. It was absolutely beautiful. The children's room was so bright and airy, and the YA room had shelves upon shelves only for the graphic novels. And don't even get me started on the lovely reference area. Me, jealous? Okay, maybe a little.
Anyway, the purpose of the day was to gather YA Librarians and to brief them on a series of topics. Workshops that were provided included Teen Behavior in the Library, Bullying, Teen Summer Reading Programs, School/Public Collaboration, and Funding for Teen Programs/Programs on a Shoestring. The last three workshops each met twice and we could only attend two out of the three, so I chose School/Public Collaboration and the Funding for Teen Programs. I really enjoyed every workshop I attended.

Teen Behavior at the Library. The panelists were Alissa Lauzon, Teen Services Librarian at the Haverhill Public Library; Bernie McCann, Behavioral Specialist/Adolescent Mentor at the Haverhill Public Library; and Donna Johns, Librarian at Newton North High School. The three discussed different behaviors at the public and school libraries. Haverhill hired Bernie, who works at the public schools, as a behavior enforcer at the library. He and Alissa described themselves as a yin/yang with some of their beliefs in regards to teen behavior but that they work well together because of that. Interestingly, the teens call Alissa by her first name, while Bernie is called Mr. McCann (although he joked that the teens sometimes call him the "Terminator") They both stressed that it's very important to have the teens involved in any discussion regarding library behavior. Haverhill also has a policy that if you don't have a purpose in the building, then you can't be there. I think this was seen as harsh by some, but I also don't like to critisize policies of libraries where I don't work, since I don't know firsthand what the situation is. At any rate, it seems to work for them, and I liked how Bernie and Alissa balanced each other. They seem to make a good team. Donna discussed behavior at her library, and of course had some different insight. She said that she sees the school library as a bridge between the classroom world and the outside world, an image that I really liked. (side note -- some members of the reference department and I had a chance to see Donna give a Readers' Advisory workshop at Metrowest and it was very good. I highly recommend attending that program should it be offered, again).
School/Public Collaboration: The panelists were Liz Manning (Beverly Public Library), Kira McGann (J.V. Fletcher Library in Westford, my old place of work!), Susan Beauregard and Amy Lannon (Reading Public Library), and Tricia Horan (Chelmsford Public Library). I naively did not think I needed this workshop because I do some collaboration with some of the school librarians, here. I was very wrong to think that. There is so much more that can be done. Reading has a very strong relationship with the schools. For 17 years, the library Friends group and schools' PTO groups have cosponsored author visits. Some of these authors have included Caroline Cooney, Paul Zindel, and Mitali Perkins (who gave such an excellent talk at our staff meeting, last year). Their reference librarians also were guests at a teacher in service day to show the library databases to teachers. They also consult with the school library teachers when purchasing databases which I found fascniating and such a no brainer. They've also been conducting 6th grade tours for the last 23 years, which inspired me to consider thinking about those again. (Incidentally, they give cookies at those, too, and recently changed to hyop-allergenic cookies from a bakery called, "Home Free". Unlike some staff I know, they apparently were not given a hard time by their co-workers for changing the cookies. ahem) The library also sells some of the summer reading books for a discounted price as a fundraiser for the library. Interesting concept.
The Chelmsford Library also does some great programs with the schools including reserach nights in which the middle school libarians and some teachers come to the library in order to help students who are doing research for a large project. They also coordinate something called a Read-In, in which high school students read out loud to younger children and are shown how by the YA librarian.
The Beverly Library also works very well with her school librarians, and she includes them on all her e-mail lists. She also makes regular school visits and collaborates on the school summer reading lists.
The public library in Westford has a program that has only grown since I've been there. Back in my day, the children's librarian, library director, and I met periodically with all of the media specialists, as well as a reading specialist. In addition to productive meetings, this was also a way to get to know the other librarians on a personal level. (We usually met for tea. I loved it). Because of this, I was able to visit the schools and talk about the YA summer reading program. The group has now grown to 13 members, and the members have written a joint statement which appears online.
Funding for Teen Programs/Programs on a Shoestring This session consisted of four librarians who broke off into small groups. Unfortunately, (late) lunch was announced in the middle of this session so I was only able to visit with two of the small groups. I met with Brandy Danner from the Wilmington Public Library and Eliza Langhans from the Marlborough Public Library. Brandy discussed what to do when you have low attendance at your program. (Don't give up. Why was there low attendance? etc) Eliza discussed what she referred to as guerrilla programming. Because she was having trouble with teens attending advanced planned workshops, she does a lot of last minute programming with teens who are there such as trivia contests, etc. I would have liked to have been able to talk with these two more as I feel both of these are relevant to our YA programming.
Bullying/Cyberbullying: The panelists were Ellen Miller from the Worcester County D.A.'s Office and Shawn Weld, School Adjustment Counselor at Sky View Middle School in Leominster. This was my favorite panel of the day. (albeit one that made me extremely glad that I am not a teenager.) It will be really hard for me to do this panel justice and I'm sure you're all sick of my writing at this point. Ellen shared some good websites as well as some disturbing statistics regarding cyberbullying, including via text messaging. Shawn's presentation was how his school reacts to bullying and troubling situations between two students. In some cases, they conduct peer mediation (although usually when two friends have a falling out) which are positive ways of dealing with the problem. In many cases, it's hard to know who is the bully. At any rate, I think we all learned that regardless of how we work with kids this age, we all share a common goal of wanting them to be safe and respect one another.

Okay, that's it. Stay tuned for updates from MLA. Any of you going?

Pain in the Brain: Teen (Lib) Behavior 101

2008-11-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

http://informationgoddess.info/UnderstandingTheBrain.pdf

Do you think that you know what makes teens tick? Do you look at them and imagine their brains to look pretty much like the picture to the left? Well, Beth Gallway (pictured above to right), an experienced Teen Librarian who has done her homework, revealed the truth in her workshop, Pain in the Brain: Teen (Library) Behavior 101. Click on the link above to see more about the real workings of a teen brain! Here are some reasons why teens act the way they do:

Physiology
Hormones
Personal Problems
Society

Teens need 9.25 hours of sleep. Brain development is happening while they sleep. Unfortunately, teens tend to stay up late. Back in the hunter gatherer days, teens would keep watch at night while everyone else slept. Nowadays, they have to get up super early for school while they are biologically programmed to stay up late. This means that they are often sleep deprived. Also, they can have lunch as early as 10:30 in some schools. By the time they get to the library, they may be starving. This can make them very cranky.

Teens have dopamine spikes that make them excitable. This creates some of the excess energy that we witness here at the library. Think of how tolerant we are of toddlers (they look adorable when they run around), older adults (the poor things, they are old). There are biological reasons for teen behavior, too. We may not realize this and be as forgiving. Next time you see a teen, think of this: 'myelin sheath'. The myelin sheath growth in a teen jumps 100 percent.

Myelin sheath in the brain has to do with: emotional growth, long term memory, developing social skills, organizational skills, attention span, and impulse control. Also, consider that the increasing hormone levels can lead to moodiness and agression. Changing dopamine levels can lead to volume control issues. We want to try to keep these things in mind when teens come into the library. They may be sleep deprived, hormonally challenged, starving all at one time.

The question becomes this: how can we be most effective when dealing with teens? First of all, keep your sense of humor. Be forgiving of fluctuating noise levels (within reason, of course). Reinforce good behavior when you see it. When speaking with the teen, watch out for the word you. Rather than saying, 'You're too loud' try 'We need it quiet' or 'I feel frustrated when there is noise'. You sounds very accusatory.

Here are three keys for Dealing With Problem Behavior: ---Get their attention
---address the behavior
---present choices in terms of consequences of actions
Beth says don't keep a 'stamp collection'. This means, each day, we start fresh. If something is concerning us, rather than saying,"You can't do that here!" try,"Hey guys, what's going on?"
Beth told a great story of a librarian who sat down at a table with some teens. with They looked very uncomfortable. She said,"am I annoying you?" They all agreed that, yes, she was annoying them. She said,"Well, you were annoying me."

Try to get to know your teens by name. If they are people who tend to request things, let them know that you can help them to get what they need in a more timely manner. For example, if someone comes to you and their report is due in ten minutes, let them know that next time, you can help them to get their report done in a timely and high quality manner. "I can help you next time. Even if you give me a couple of hours notice. I'm here to help you."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published a brochure called: "Toward a Blueprint for Youth: Making Positive Youth Development a National Priority". They point out that: "Positive youth development helps young people become independent and engaged citizens" link here

"Research is showing that the brain undergoes change during adolescence and may be affected, both positively and negatively, by experiences."
"Positive youth development helps young people resist negative influences" We librarians can "Encourage and assist all children and youth to focus on educational and developmental opportunities leading to lifelong learning"
read this!

We want to be adult role models for the teens. We want to model positive, responsible behavior. Who knows? We could have such a good influence on them, that it could positively affect their whole life. "The librarian really showed me that I can choose to act in positive ways and still get my needs met." OR "Now that I'm a famous RAP star with my own record label, I want to donate 5,000,000 dollars to the Waltham Public Library for their new wing.

posted for your reading pleasure by Louise 11-19-2008

NELA Conference

2008-10-24T13:15:00.001-07:00

Hi All:
Tuesday Laura and I attended NELA. it had been a long time since I had attended NELA. Back in the day I went every year when I was a Children"s Librarian. The first program we both attended was called Help! The teen Librarian Has Left the Building!. The two speakers gave useful tips on how to service YA's when the YA Librarian is not in the building emphasizing that all librarians need to help out ( which I think we all do). We left with many great lists of books and ideas to share....I have a copy of the info if anyone is interested.
The luncheon speaker was Michael Palmer. He is a local author who writes medical mysteries. He began his career as a surgeon at MGH and currently works part time for the Mass Medical Society. His most recent work is entitled First Patient. I am not a fan of medical mysteries and the last and only one I read was Coma by Robin Cook! I plan to read one of Palmer's books soon. I will let you know how I am doing!!!!!
the afternoon session included an excellent presentation by Amy Pattee from Simmons College GSLIS entitled Hot Teen Titles: Sexuality and Teen Fiction. She suggested ways to help librarians decide whether or not to include some of these titles. As many of you know there was an ongoing "gaming" demo and from what I could see many librarians enjoyed trying out the various games. I can't say I am a fan of DDR but I think I could really get into the ski jump and of
course bowling is right up my alley!
All in all it was a fun day leaving one with lots to think about....PC

N

2008-10-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

Wiki and Zoho Creator

2008-10-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

This was a really informative workshop I went to led by Sarah Feldman from the Newton Free Library and Emily Belanger from the New England Institute of Art. I was a little late for this workshop, because the author signing went a little long, but luckily, I was late for the wiki portion, which I knew more about. Wikis, for those who don't know are defined in (the most famous wiki) Wikipedia as "is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language.^[1]^[2] Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites." Basically, they're simple looking websites that can be used and edited by multiple people and changed regularly. The Newton Free Library uses a wiki to communicate with the staff a variety of things. And, most of the software is free, such as PBWiki, (it's as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich, get it?). (In fact, the VP from PBwiki text messaged someone in the workshop to say that everyone at the workshop could get a free trial of the business version.). There are several types of wiki software to use, though, and in order to find out which one is the best for you, go to www.wikimatrix.org. Sarah pointed out the pros and cons in using wikis for staff communication. Some of the key pros were "anyone can edit" and "simple". As for cons, "anyone can edit" was also listed, as well as wrong information can be posted. For the most part, it sounds like it went very well in Newton.
My favorite part of this presentation was hearing about the software, Zoho (specifically Zoho creator) from Emily Belanger. Zoho creator according to Wikipedia (ah, now you have to look at a wiki, again. See how I did that? Clever), is "an online database / custom application development tool which allows users to create fairly sophisticated process logic without knowing how to code, simply by dragging & dropping script elements on screen." Get it? In other words, you can create your own database very easily on pretty much anything, have up to five people use it for free, and then download your findings into a spreadsheet of some kind. For example, the New England Institute of Art uses it for reference statistics, and then can sort the data by type of reference interaction, etc. Want to know how many times someone called on Friday asking for help with a crossword puzzle clue? How about the number of times someone asks you why the wireless is down? How about the number of people who asked you if you had any copies of American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld? (loved that book, by the way. Go read it.). Heck, maybe you even want to know how many times people asked where the bathroom was? Emily admitted that she is at a rather small library, but that it has worked very well. She also said that for her purposes, the free version was more than sufficient. She said that she will never go back to hash marks for reference statistics again. I started salivating, then thinking about the other ways I could use this software. (stats for Louise's and my program, for example?) I did ask Todd about it, after the fact, and he knows about it and vouched for the company. I want to try it out and use it before subjecting my staff to it, but it seems like it will be easy. I love it, can you tell? (I don't know if I want to marry it like I wanted to with Pharos. I tend to fall in love too quickly with cool software, and sometimes realize that we're better off being good friends. However, this one does look very promising).
Anyone who wants to read more about either Wikis or Zoho creator can read Emily and Sarah's powerpoint presentation. There are also some helpful hints in there regarding how to choose free software.

What Makes A Space Attractive to Users?

2008-10-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

I attended the "Library Commons" NELA lecture given by Cheryl Bryan from Southeastern Massachusetts Library System on Monday, Oct. 21st.

Here's how we can improve our library spaces to attract and retains users!!!

LIBRARY AS COMMONS:
Get information out to the community on how change will improve or impact the library
Consider the communities values
people seek contact -- provide a place for people to connect
people want to know how to earn a living in today's economy -- provide info

PROGRAMS:
The library is an ideal place for:
Learning Programs
Story Times
Collaboration with other community agencies
Cafe Area

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING:
Articulate collaborative learning by:
Having school books available for homework
Homework center
Tutoring
Nationally renowned lecture series
1:1 computer tutorials

SUCCESSFUL USER EXPERIENCES:
Help people find their way. WATCH the users.
Are signs in the right places * It takes 6 - 8 feet after a patron walks into a space before they take it their surroundings.
Path. Carpeting. Lighting. All important to consider in re-evaluating space
Drop lighting is ideal
Signs with graphic elements more eye catching than just type
Make collection accesable. Pull out certain t hings to highlight
Change exhibits OFTEN - weekly if possible for weekly users
Create "neighborhoods" of fiction and non-fiction topics/authors/genres
Name the "neighborhood" and use acrylic cases to showcase the display
Zone Staffing - whatever a patron might need, help that person on the spot. don't send the user around the building.
One stop shopping - veteran's affairs, tutoring/health advisers - have them available at the library.
Street Scape - what do people see when they see the building?
Can hours be seen from the street?
Are plantings kept up (yes we have that!)
What do people see when they walk in the door?
Here are some eye catching ideas:
Display cases
Flat screen monitor
Screen behind the circ desk with slide show of the library/programs/patrons
A kind face (yes we have that too!)

CREATE ZONES to support popular use:
Cafe Area
Family Zones - also accommodate adults in the children's room
Comfortable seating for varied activities - make more spacious
Teen Zones. Students want I.M. reference
Large screen TV for gaming zone
Computers/table seating/semi-circle seating
When people move furniture around - take a cue on where they prefer to sit
Create "community living rooms" with couch, comfortable chairs, fire place
Give it that living room feel

FAMILY BASED ACTIVITIES:
Multiple age groups. Personalize. Often the only place in town that supports family activities is the library.

PERSONALIZE USER EXPERIENCE:
Guard users privacy
Self check-out
Commuter train station book deposit
Preferences list on the web site to create your personal search
Let people decide their own due dates (?)
email lists that tell patron when their favorite author's new book arrives
Self Scanning machine (like copier access). Let teens/patrons scan materials then they can email the scan to themselves.
Coffee!

HOW DO WE USE THE SPACE?
More of a gathering space - lounge seating
We may need to get rid of some furniture to create more space
Get away for the desk. Think about how we deliver.
Are we an old model or futuristic? How can we implement change. Look at patters and needs of the community.

Overall the seminar was very interesting. I think there are some exciting, new innovative, outside of the box ideas to consider.

Phew! The End!

From Doreen Buchinski :)

Marialice's Long Day

2008-10-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hi there, Marialice posted about her day at NELA. Read her entertaining post!
http://walthaamconference.blogspot.com/

Help! The Teen Librarian Has Left the Building

2008-10-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

I attended this workshop featuring Woburn's YA Librarian Christi Showmann-Farrar and Natick's former YA Librarian, Abby Reidy. I've known Christi and Abby for awhile and I was really looking forward to hearing them speak. The title intrigued me because I thought it was about what to do when the YA librarian no longer works at the library (or in some cases works at the library in a different capacity). However, it addressed the need for how to perform YA services, such as readers' advisory, when the YA librarian goes home for the evening. While the readers' advisory section of this workshop was a little familiar to me, it was good to hear some of it, again, plus I did learn some new sources for finding book lists. She offered a lot of websites, which can help anyone doing readers' advisory for young adults, such as: YALSA's booklists and Austin Public Library's booklists. Christi also gave some tips on how to talk to teens when doing readers' advisory, such as never talking down to them, but also never pretending you are one of them. She also stressed that it's important to talk to the teens and not the parents, even though the parents are often the ones asking all of the questions.
Abby discussed her rewards program for good behavior by teens. For answering trivia questions, making a purchase request, writing book reviews, or for overall good behavior, teens can earn what's called Moo-La and reimburse it for a variety of prizes, including paying off fines. She said that full size candy bars were once an option but the sugar highs were a little much at times! I think we would have to modify this for our library, but I do like the idea of encouraging purchase requests, and good behavior, as well as using that good behavior towards fines. An interesting idea.

NELA was fun

2008-10-22T12:16:00.001-07:00

Greetings from Manchester, well, okay, greetings from Waltham. I wanted to post something from the NELA Conference in Manchester but there were some Internet issues at the conference site. I enjoyed the conference very much, and will make individual posts about the workshops I did attend. I drove up with Paula and was able to see some library acquaintances, including a couple of former co-workers, Simmons' classmates, and Rick and Paige from the Minuteman staff. In addition to the workshops, I wandered around the conference hall, went to a video gaming demonstration, attended lunch and listened to local author, Michael Palmer, a doctor who writes medical thrillers. Mr. Palmer was a wonderful lunch speaker. I was unfamiliar with him prior to yesterday, but he discussed how he became a writer after a dying patient made a death bed wish. (Despite this sad annecdote, Mr. Palmer was actually very funny). He mentioned that publishers are demanding rapid production from their writers, and his latest contract obliges him to write four books in four years. He also talked about what led him to write some of his titles such as The Sisterhood or First Patient (about the President's doctor). Sadly, First Patient was sold out, so I bought a book called Natural Causes and had it autographed.
The gaming demonstration was also fun. A lot of libraries are using video games and gaming systems, such as Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, and Nintendo Wii with patrons of all ages. (Check out this article about seniors in Newton using the Nintendo Wii). So librarians had a chance to utilize the equipment. After making a fool out of myself playing Rock Band at the MLA conference, last spring, I forced poor Paula to try out Dance Dance Revolution, who held her own. My former MLA colleague, Cathy from the Central Region, tried the expert version of Dance Dance Revolution which looked pretty impossible.

Other Programs

2008-05-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

I also blogged from the conference for the MLA Youth Services blog, which contains some content about programs I didn't write here (such as the Financial Literacy for Teens program and our gaming program).

Intellectual Freedom Program

2008-05-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

I went to a great program today regarding the reading rights of children in the library. The panelists were Roger Sutton, editor in chief of Horn Book Magazine and Maggie Bush, professor from Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science. (Anyone who has ever taken any children's or young adult course at the school has encountered Maggie at least once). The two had wonderful chemistry and sparked a lively conversation regarding reading rights of children in the library. Do we respect the rights of children to read when their parents don't want them to read certain books? How do we approach this issue as both parents and librarians? Is it enough to discuss books that children may not be ready for? Should we encourage parents to read the same books as their children? Just because children may not be ready for certain books, does that mean that they shouldn't read them? This program was an hour and fifteen minutes but it easily could have been three hours. This was a debate when I was in library school and it was several years before, and it will continue to be a debate especially as we continue to explore other media.

Publishers Weekly and Library Journal

2008-05-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Day 2 at the Massachusetts Library Association Conference. I'm currently at a workshop featuring review editors from Publishers' Weekly (PW) and Library Journal (LJ), two of the journals that we use at the WPL to select our materials. I was a little late for this workshop because I had to help set up a Youth Services workshop, but I think I came in at a good time. Instead of a traditional panel discussion, the librarians on the panel asked questions, instead, and then opened up the discussion to the audience. The panelists were Jonathan Segura from PW, Barbara Hoffert from LJ, Nancy Aberman from the Reading Public Library, and Kathy Miksis from the Reading Public Library.
Some of the important aspects of reviewing:
1) If reviewing fiction, don't give away the whole plot. I find this interesting because adult book reviews do tend to hold in the plot, while young adult book reviews don't always seem to hold true to this rule. I wonder why. Perhaps because those who read young adult reviews tend to be adults, and not the actual audience for the book. (Though I read the YA stuff!)
2) Because of the advent of databases such as Book Index with Reviews (to which we subscribe) and Amazon.Com which feature capsule reviews from these sources, the actual reviews from the sources need to be formatted differently. Electronic records are going to be the permanent record.
3) Question: How you do select your reviewers?
PW : Put up a call on their website for reviewers. They also look in house for reviewers. Occasionally, people do e-mail PW who want to review, but it depends whether or not the magazine is looking for reviewers. The reviewers are paid a small stipend. They try to figure out what the experience and expertise of the reviewer are. This is easier with non-fiction. Jonathan is a big fan of the paranormal genre, featuring vampires, etc.
LJ: Also agreed that it is easier to pin down non-fiction reviewers. (LJ is always looking for reviewers. Go to their website). In the case of a new reviewer, LJ needs to become familiar with the book that is assigned, as well as read between the lines. New reviewers are always asked to submit two reviewers before being considered. This is because Barbara wants the candidate to become familiar with the task of writing a 200 word review. Barbara has never had to fire anyone, but there are people who leave, and reviews are also scratched. "Our reviewers are fabulous!"
4) What should reviews contain?
PW: A good review needs a summary, discuss whether the book is supposed to do. Negative reviews are harder to write, for this reason.
LJ: Fiction tends to be easier to write with a shorter word count, while social science usually isn't. There is a flow that goes with a 200 word review.
5) What is the mission of your magazine?
PW:They don't review reference, self published books, travel guides, etc. (The book room for Publishers' Weekly is very small. ) Try to get all of the big titles from the big publishers. They also try to cover the small independent publishers. What is the best for the readership? (which is changing) PW also receives two copies of each book, which also causes some storage problems.
LJ: They don't require two copies of books, mainly because of storage issues. LJ does not review children's books (see School Library Journal), and books in other languages, with the exception of Spanish books for their Criticas journal. LJ did not review self published books, but Barbara mentioned that the world is changing in regards to independent and small publishing.
6) What about books with large advertising budgets and book tours?
PW: In order to keep up, need to review this book, because the mainstream will be aware of the book and wonder about it.
LJ: Agreed, but publishers need to recognize that LJ does publish negative reviews, so if it's not recommended, the reviewer will not be afraid to say it.
7) Covering debuts
PW: The expectations are different for those who are established authors as opposed to those who aren't.
LJ: Barbara likes to do debuts, and the magazine features a New Fiction roundup. It's hard to get attention for second books because publishers find it easier to track sales information for a first novel. Because of this, Barbara likes to track second time authors, as well.
8) Question: Would it save space to not review books that libraries are going to purchase, anyway, such as best selling authors, etc.
LJ: Need to acknowledge these books, but perhaps it would be better to have them be capsule reviews.
9) Question: Why don't librarians use more online reviews, instead of passing around copies of the magazine?
(note: We've started doing that, here. Marialice reads the print magazine of PW, and I read online and this way Tom gets our suggestions earlier).
10) Question: Do your galleys come with cover art?
PW: Sometimes.
11) Question: Who decides what receives starred reviews? What is the criteria?
LJ: Now, the individual editor decides with the individual review who receives the starred review.

Greetings from MLA

2008-05-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

Hello there,
Some more formal greetings from MLA while waiting for tonight's dinner. I arrived last night after attending a workshop with Louise all day yesterday. The traffic was not too bad, amazingly and I was able to catch up with a former co-worker who is now working in Methuen. She told me about some amazing programs that they were doing in Methuen, including arranging a citizenship swearing in ceremony in the library's auditorium.
I went to three programs today: Not your Grandmother's Library (that I blogged about earlier), IMing for reference, and the Youth Services Annual Program. Marialice was with me at the IM workshop and it was fascinating. Todd had wanted to set up an IM service in reference a few months back, and after hearing the speakers today, I am certainly hooked. Not only is it a great way to keep up with some of the younger patrons, but it is a wonderful way to answer reference questions, and really have a full reference interview that one can't do over e-mail. In addition to the library director from Oregon, we also heard from the young adult librarian in Framingham, reference librarian from Fitchburg State, and a law librarian from one of the trial court libraries. A lot of our patrons are using IM as a way of communication, now, and we need to start doing stuff like this to reach our patrons. Plus, it's free. As long as I don't have to always be asked to write "LOL" on a very regular basis, then I'm all for it!
Our Youth Services Section meeting featured representatives from the Reach Out and Read program as well as Gareth Hinds, a local graphic novel artist and writer. The Reach Out and Read program sets up low income children with books during their doctor's visits. They're a great organization. Gareth Hinds has written and illustrated several graphic novels, including Beowulf and King Lear. He also designed some video games, including the Nintendo DS version of the Incredibles. Apparently, when he makes school visits, the kids find this very cool. He also does library visits, and perhaps it's something we should consider for both our young adult patrons as well as some of our adult patrons. (Plenty of them are interested in graphic novels, and comics, as well!)
I'm sure by now, you have all heard about my computer woes. In order to obtain wireless, one has to pay $7 a day, which is unusual for a hotel or a conference center, these days. Furthermore, World Client is blocked, so I am unable to check my Minuteman e-mail. Last, the power adapter for the laptop broke, but I managed to get a new one. Staples and Wal-Mart were sold out, but Radio Shack saved the day so a big thanks to the very nice guys at the Radio Shack on Route 28 in Falmouth.
That's all for now. TTYL (as the IMers say)

Not your Grandmother's Library

2008-05-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the MLA Conference. I've had a couple of glitches, namely the minuteman e-mail doesn't seem to work, here, and I had t buy a new power adapter for the laptop.
Currently, I am at Not your Grandmother's Library (with Kate, Tom, and Marialice) detailing how the libraries can survive in the world of Google, etc, with Marshall Keyes formerly of NELINET and now a consulting.
Some of the details:
1) New populations that we serve, including those who don't know what we do, don't care what we do, and can't get to where we are.
2) It's hard for libraries to get money.
3) Libraries are into the status quo
4) Can you be a librarian without the book? What would happen to the library if books were no longer a resource.
5) Libraries are running into counter trends.
6) Public education is more valued in other parts of the country than Massachusetts. Is it the same for public institutions. as well? Yes. Do people feel the same way about public libraries?
7) Libraries need to figure out what business they're in.
8) Who is our competition:
a) Google and the belief that the world's information is at everyone's fingertips.
b) Portable devices -- Ask how databases, etc. can be imported to portable phones, etc.
c) Amazon
d) Netflix
e) Bookswim -- Netflix for libraries. Users spend $20 a month to have books delivered!
9) Mr. Keyes then pointed out several quotations regarding libraries. One quote was from Jerry Seinfeld who mentioned the last time he read a library book. Another mentioned a 12 year old who was uncomfortable going into the library.
10) How do we refurbish the library brand and win people back to the library:
a) Meet the needs of emerging users.
b) There is a large immigrant population, which is certainly true for Waltham.
c) Increasing presence of African-American middle and upper class. Watch African-American lives on PBS.
d) The Google Nation
e) Demographic Changes
11) What do users want?
a) Interested in community, including community as whole, ethnic, and online
b) Portability -- everyone wants to be connected.
c) Personalization -- e.g. Pimp my Ride, ringtones
d) The PC is on the way out. Portable devices are where it's at. Students don't see the difference between television and the computer. In other words, they need to be able to access the library from anywhere. Mr. Keyes mentioned an ad for a phone that advertised everything except actually talking on the phone.
e) The cell phone is changing. Signs should say, "Please turn on cell phone when in library."
f) Social Networking Search Engines so friends can see searches which is not private, of course, but if it's only your friends, kids like that.
g) Users want something along the lines of Amazon.com
12) Privacy
a) Intelligent users need to know not to always expect privacy in an electronic world. Some users don't expect libraries to preserve their privacy.
13) Beyond browsers: Gaming and virtual worlds are very popular. At Appalachian State, there is a virtual world with librarian avatars (online persona) meeting with patron avatars. That would be an interesting way for us to have patron interactions! Obviously, entire libraries do not need to be built this way, but libraries should employ some of the features.
14) Companies and people that understand all of this:
a) Mac
b) BBC
c) Paul Hagner, from Educause
d) Susan Kent, from New York Public Library

I Pay Your Salary

2008-02-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

Pat O'leary recently attended
"I Pay Your Salary!"--Working With the Public, Not For the Public.
This workshop was given by Sarah Sogroian from Metro West

http://www.metrowestce.org/#issues Go to this link and you can click into the handouts for the class. (Click on Library Issues and then on "I Pay Your Salary!"

Some key points

the importance of greetings in person and on the phone to acknowledge patrons and to identify the department/staff.
Signage should be clear and concise.
Always be aware of body language.
Jargon--Eliminate words and phrases that only mean something to us
Policies--Important, but so is sympathy and understanding. We discussed how helpful it could be to share customer service stories among staff members.
Good customer service should be rewarded within the library
Sarah shared some secrets from her time at Disney--the number one Customer Service Company. You can sign up for customer service etips by going to the Disney Institute website.http://www.disneyinstitute.com/

Digital Commonwealth 2nd Annual Digital Library Conference

2007-10-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Kate here. I spent the day today (10/25/07) at Holy Cross in Worcester learning about digitizing library resources (like the photographs, letters and maps in our local history collection) to make them available on the web.

The Digital Commonwealth promotes the creation of digital resources by libraries and other cultural organizations in Massachusetts. They just unveiled an online portal that provides public access to digital resources all over the state. Instead of having to contact dozens of different libraries, historical societies and museums in order to find all the images and other records about a Bay State place, person, or thing, we'll be able to look it up in one place.

The big message I got is that it may be easy to scan photos and documents, but there's a lot more to creating useful and lasting digital resources than just posting pictures online. Considerations include copyright, image quality, organization, risk of damaging originals during reproduction, longterm funding and staffing commitments, publicity and metadata quality (information about item - describing content, relating it to other items, describing the who, what, when, where and why of its creation).

At a program we had at the library in September, we had patrons begging us to put our local history collection online. I would like to work toward the creation of a Waltham digital collection, offering access to documents, images, recordings and information from as many Waltham organizations as possible. MBLC grants funds for such projects. Possible collaborators include the City Clerk's office, the Historical Society, Stonehurst, and the Cemetery Department, among others.

I went to 6 presentations - handouts etc online:

-May I Digitize This Photo?
Copyright considerations presented by Mary Minow, Library Law Consultant
Presented as clearly as possible, considering how complicated this can be. Handouts are very useful.

-Case Studies in Digital Collaboration: Sudbury's Goodnow Library and Town Organizations and the Topsfield Historical Society and Town Library
Bill Talentino, Laura Scott Lowell, Bill Whiting, Jackie White
Thought-provoking and inspiring examples of libraries working closely WITH other city departments and community organizations to provide access to important records that are otherwise hard to find.

-The Digital Commonwealth: the Bridge to Library 2.0
Marshall Keys is a wonderful, articulate, provocative speaker and writer - see/read him if you can.
Keys admonished us to go beyond doing what we've always done with different technology, and Do Different Things. Like organizing others to capture images, stories and information about our communities right now, and sharing/storing/improving these online. Keys advocates paying attention to and incorporating the current trend toward a preference for interactive media.

-Virtual Archives: Preparing to Create a Digital Collection
Gregor Trinkaus-Randall, Preservation Specialist at the Mass Board of Library Commissioners
Gregor gives a very sobering talk about the risks and benefits to consider before embarking on a digitization project. What are the goals? Who will do the work? Is there a commitment to maintaining the digital collection so it'll still be accessible when our cutting edge technology becomes the equivalent of a 3 1/2 inch floppy disk? Digitizing doesn't save space and may not minimize handling of originals, since it usually increases traffic at the owning site.

-Scanning 101
Scott Kehoe, Technology Consultant with NMRLS
As advertised, lots of practical information on the process of scanning. Oodles of helpful links on del.icio.us/massdc2!

-Backstage Library Works
A representative of this company talked about the advantages of outsourcing the scanning and processing of images, to take advantage of the great equipment and experience such a company can provide.

Librarian's Guide To Partnerships

2007-10-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

There are some shining examples out there of town and gown partnerships which benefit the communities that they serve. The Keene Public Library has partnered successfully with Keene State College and reaped the rewards. They purchased the III System together and their users can benefit from both collections.

My interest in town and gown partnerships is more Waltham oriented, of course. The Minuteman Network has already got great collaboration between Academic and Public Libraries. My thought would be to partner more with Brandeis and Bentley our Academic neighbors.

Some collaborations which are working collectively now include: Middlebury College and the Middlebury Public Library. The Mountain Area Information Network in North Carolina provides free or low cost email and public chat rooms for their community. Virgo Public Library creates and maintains web sites for local non profits. They are an information portal for non profits.

Stay tuned for Waltham's increasing partnerships with the Academic community.

Louise

New England Library Association

2007-10-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

The weather was fine as I drove to the Sturbridge Host Hotel. My first program was the New England Library Leadership Symposium: NELLS. I was a graduate of the 2003 NELLS program. This involved five days at Canonicus, a rural setting in Rhode Island. Maureen Sullivan was our teacher, and we had librarian mentors. During this time, Librarians from Academic, Public and Special Libraries gathered together to learn and share. (We also went swimming in the lake and watched adorable rabbits hop by).

With me on the panel were graduates of other NELLS sessions which were held after mine. We all agreed that it was an enriching experience. I was happy to encourage other library leaders to apply for this rewarding program. If anyone on our staff wants to know more about this terrific opportunity, please contact me.

An interesting point was made during this session. Leadership can occur at all levels of librarianship. For example, a Reference Librarian can add interesting and exciting new additions to a web site. A library staff member may take the lead and make sure that his or her shelfreading is done to perfection. There are so many ways to enrich one's library and to take pride in one's work accomplishments. This, too, is an example of leadership!

Marketing to Seniors Lecture Info!

2007-10-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Co-Workers,

In addition to the exhibits (which Pat and I have already reporting on), I attended a two-part lecture called "Aged to Perfection: Marketing to Seniors". As the title states, they were sessions on seniors and how to Market to them. So here goes...

Both lectures were conducted by Nancy Davis of the Ivy Group, www.ivygroup.com

The Ivy Group is an independent market consulting firm. Nancy began session one by discussing who seniors are and how important this demographic is. Seniors are the fastest growing age group. The 65+ population in Massachusetts is 13%. They are healthier, living longer and are financially in control. There is no single "mature market". They experience live-changing events such as retirement, loss of spouse, relocation and dependent parents. Senior market is female-dominated as they tend to outlive spouses. Nancy discussed the "mindset" of older adults. As well as what they are interested in. She also remarked that research states that we need to be careful what we call them. They do not like being referred to as "elderly, older person or retired person". But much prefer to be called "experienced, wise, teacher, master or seasoned citizen".

Session Two focused on how we market to them. She talked in great legnth about communicating with seniors. How our own marketing materials need to be clear and easy to read. They are brand loyal -- and will stick with their library. She mentioned that many seniors are care-givers themselves and we need to cater to their needs as caregivers. They like the telephone, and that patience and good phone manners are key when speaking to them on the phone.

So, what can we do? Nancy said the first order of business is to start with data -- specifically the census for Waltham, find out about the seniors in our own community. Next find out what others are doing in the community for seniors. What are other organizations in the area providing? What is the library best positioned to do? Can the library do any events jointly with the other organizations in the city?

Here are some of Nancy's idea's that she says work:
Summer Reading Program for Adults - don't call it "for seniors" have programs during the week-day, seniors will come!
Form a senior advisory committee. Have them walk thru the library to determine what is lacking.
Shopping Baskets
1/2 off fines/fees on Senior Days
Day-time program suggesions:
Oral History Program, program for Grandparent's Week, creative writing classses, lunch with a book for seniors.
Have programs during the day since many seniors do not like to drive at night.

Here are some programs that work that those in attendence shared:
Use library to host a learning exchange. One library does this charging $5.00. Provide cookies and coffee -- they will come!
One library offers Travel Talks once/month. They said it was a "huge draw" People who have travelled in the community come to one library where they share travel stores, pictures.

I gathered a lot more information, so if you are interested in finding out more, just let me know.

Regards,
Doreen B.

Expo Info from Pat and Doreen!

2007-10-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hello Co-Workers,

We would like to share with you our experience at the NELA Conference expo. In addition to the beautiful foliage, we enjoyed seeing all the vendors and would like to share with you our WISH LIST based on what we saw:

Eventkeeper Online Event Registration
For an additional $125/year, we could create a form for every event, instead of writing it down, patrons can then sign up for programs themselves from their home computers, or on a library computer. You can set a max for an event, send emails to registrants, and integrate an optional waiting list! For those who are not computer savy, we can still - dare we say, write in for someone requesting to sign up.

Self Check System
We were impressed with the self-checkout stations. At the check out station, a patron can check out, check in, (one in particular can check in several at a time!), access their record and pay fines with a credit card. BUT, no paper or plastic requests please!

We also entered several raffles, collected an array of pens, rulers and the ever-popular Troll pens! We also got to Trick Or Trick at many booths! After the Expo we attended the luncheon/talk with Gregory McGuire, author of Wicked. His quirky imaginative personality was entertaining.

Regards,
Pat O. and Doreen B.

Pat O'Leary and Doreen Buchinski

Links

2007-10-14T20:01:00.001-07:00

I put a page of some of the relevant websites from what I went to at NELA, today

http://del.icio.us/laurabnela

Leading in a Multigenerational Organization -- Laura

2007-10-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

This was yet another very interesting workshop. Maureen Sullivan, an organizational consultant, led a discussion about the presence of four different generations in the workplaces (more specifically, the library). The generations discussed were traditionals (born pre-1946), Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980. I guess, being born in 1975, that's me. I always thought I was younger than Generation X), and Millenials (1981-2000). Maureen asked the group to ponder the following: What are some of the challenges of the many generations working together?; What are the perceptions of each generation; What are the assets and liabilities of each generation? We talked in small groups for a few minutes, which was interesting. My group consisted of myself, a reference librarian who is a Millenial (I'm getting old!) and a baby boomer. I had the most trouble identifying the assets and liabilities of my own generation, since I live in it. It was interesting to hear other perspectives on my generation. As a large group, we then talked about what each thought of each generation. We then talked about being careful not to stereotype based on generation, however, it is helpful to view what we see as characteristics of the generation. Maureen then asked us to read what experts say about each generation and whether or not we fit the characteristics. I didn't relate to many of the characteristics for my generation, for instance. There was some talk of technology and how we can learn from the generation coming into the workforce, such as not watching the clock, recognizing that respect is earned, and that work constantly changing is not necessarily a bad thing. Some also mentioned that no one should view age as a disability. Maureen also talked about the sandwich generation, which is the generation who is in the position of caring for their children and their parents.
This was a very interesting topic that could have easily been an all day seminar instead of an hour and fifteen minute program.

New England Centers for the Book: Enquiring Minds Want to Know -- Laura

2007-10-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

This was the first real workshop I have been, today, and it is one of the best I have been to in a long time. It was the first program I have been to from the last three conferences I have attended which focused predominantly on books and it was wonderful. One of my goals, for this coming year, was working more on readers' advisory, and this workshop has given me much food for thought. The panel consisted of representatives from five New England states. (Vermont had a last minute commitment). Each of these women represented her respective state's Center for the Book. The Center for the Book (http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/) was started in 1977 and, according to its website, was established "to use the resources and prestige of the Library of Congress to promote books, reading, libraries, and literacy." In 1984, states began to create their own Centers for the Book, with the 50th state joining in 2003. Each state's Center for the Book is unique in many respects, including their affiliation level. In some cases, the Center for the Book is directly affiliated with the state library, or a large public library. In other cases, the Center for the Book is affiliated with the Maine Humanities Council. Also, each Center runs a variety of programs, some of which are distinctive to its own center.

Kat Lyons from the Connecticut Center for the Book

The CT Center for the Book does a variety of programs, including the Connecticut Book Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award. One of its most notable programs is "World of Words" (WOW) in which public libraries choose a country to focus on for a month, and do cultural programming and read books related to that particular country. There are usually 14 public libraries across the state who do this program. There is an opening program at the state capital, in which consulates from the chosen countries participate. They also are involved in a book exchange with the libraries, giving books about their respective countries to the libraries.

Lizz Sinclair from the Maine Humanities Council

The Maine Center for the Book is actually part of the Maine Humanities Council. Elizabeth Sinclair who works for the Maine Humanities Council, talked about a variety of the programs that the Center for the Book has to offer, including "Let's Talk About It", which are book discussion groups focused on one specific topic. The groups meet about five times. Some of the themes and their accompanying books have included American Poetry of the Second Half of the 20th Century; Across Cultures, South Asia (Passage to India, Midnight's Children); Japanese Fiction (The Waiting Years, The Setting Sun); The Gilded Age (The Devil and the White City, The Age of Innocence); Refreshing the Whodunit, Beyond Christie and Doyle (Dance Hall of the Dead); Making a Difference, How Love and Duty Change Lives (Plainsong, Mountains Beyond Mountains). The Center for the Book has also introduced a Middle East discussion group.
The Maine Center for the Book has also created a web resource for towns wanting to participate in One Book: One Community. (http://mainehumanities.org/onebook/index.html)

Sharon Shaloo, Massachusetts Center for the Book

The MA Center for the Book is supported by a variety of private and public organizations, including the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and Simmons College. The MA Center for the Book just published a Literary Map of Massachusetts which is a road map that details literary landmarks across Massachusetts. I am sorry to say that Waltham is not on there, but my hometown of North Andover had two points of interest. The MA Center for the Book also gives out the Massachusetts Book Awards, which give awards in multiple categories (fiction, nonfiction, children/YA, and poetry) to recent books that feature Massachusetts.
Sharon Shaloo also talked about a lot of the programs that the multiple Centers for the Book do for youth programming. One is the Letters about Literature Program, in which kids in grades 4-12 write letters to authors. Massachusetts is one of the top three states that participates in this program, and every year, there is a ceremony with about 50 kids at the state house. When she found out I was from Waltham, Sharon gave me several fliers about the Letters about Literature Program. Sharon also talked about the Mother Goose Asks Why program, which is also done by the Vermont Center for the Book, and mixes math and science with reading.

Mary Russell, New Hampshire Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library

The New Hampshire Center for the Book serves as an umbrella organization to a variety of state organizations, such as the Poetry Society of New Hampshire. Some of the center's notable programs include the Ladybug Awards, in which children can vote on best picture from a list nominated by librarians, and as a site for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, which is the largest literary cash prize and nominated by librarians all over the world. One program that the New Hampshire Center for the Book does that I really like is the Granite State Readers' Recommend. Residents of each town in New Hampshire go to the website and click on his or her town to see what visitors to the site recommend to read. New Hampshire residents can also post their own recommendations. What I really liked about the site is that it shows that enthusiasm about books and enthusiasm about technology do not have to be mutually exclusive.

Debbie Barchi, Rhode Island Center for the Book

The Rhode Island Center for the Book is very much affiliated with libraries. The Center is hosted by the Providence Public Library, and the director is actually a director of a public library. The Center for the Book participates in the Read Across the Rhode Island program, which is very similar to One Book: One Community, except the entire state reads one book. (Debbie joked that if this could work in one state, it would be Rhode Island, since it's so small). There are meetings about the book, as well as appearances by the author. In addition to The Secret Life of Bees and The Kite Runner, Rhode Island also read The Memory of Running, by Ron McLarty. McLarty is a Rhode Island native who was very excited to be involved in this program. In order to involve young adults in the program, the Center for the Book conducts video conferencing in several high schools across the state.

Introduction -- Laura

2007-10-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hello to WPL staff from Sturbridge. I was able to make it out of bed in time, despite staying up much too late, watching Trot Nixon hit a go ahead RBI against his former team, my beloved Red Sox. (Trot, thou have forsaken me). Deb and I, getting to Sturbridge before the start of the actual NELA conference, met up at Friendly's for some energy boosting Fribbles.
First order of business after registering was attending the NELA orientation. Attendees were encouraged to participate in Limber Librarians and take a long refreshing walk at 7 AM, every morning of the conference. They were also encouraged to join in on Monday night games, an annual tradition at the NELA Conference. One year, in Vermont, there was apparently a cheese block carving contest, and a cow milking contest. This year, there will be a mini-golf tournament. Carlo Cantamessa, representing the vendors, discussed the exhibit hall, encouraged the librarians to visit the vendors, assuring them that most of them are not there to sell anything during this three day period, instead just to establish contacts. Last, attendees were encouraged to visit the NELA conference blog (modeled after the blog used at this year's MLA conference). The blog will alow anyone who misses any workshop or wants to follow up to read about the program. The URL is nelib.wordpress.com
NELA will also be posting all handouts from the workshops on their website at www.nelib.org
Now, I'm off to a presentation on the Massachusetts Centers for the Book.

Welcome to the Waltham Public Library Conference Blog

2007-09-28T10:48:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the Waltham Public Library Conference Blog. This is a way for WPL staff to keep co-workers up to speed on the goings on at various library conferences, for organizations such as NELA (New England Library Association), MLA (Massachusetts Library Association), ALA (American Library Association), etc.