MD Public Librarian

Great book

2010-03-25T14:51:00.003-04:00

I just finished Monday Morning Mentoring by David Cottrell. It was a great book to read while writing performance reviews - really got me thinking about how we lead people and are led by people. We all want the best to come out at work but we loose focus. My two thoughts from this book for the day are:

1) What is your Main Thing?
Make sure you know it and work for it. If something doesn't fall within the main thing, you should find a way to say no. If everyone on your team knows what the Main Thing is, your work will be more targeted and productive. Like the old saying - if you don't know where you're going, how will you ever get there.

2) Are you a bucket filler or a bucket drainer?
We all have buckets of motivation that we have to try to keep full and leak free. However, when others are bringing you down, they've got their dipper in your bucket and don't make it worse by siphoning from someone else's because by filling their bucket, you fill yours too.

Pachelbel Rant

2009-12-26T22:41:00.001-05:00

Two teens shared this with me and then I kept hearing the cannon everywhere. I love the song but can enjoy the rant.

Gamer Girl by Marianne Mancusi

2009-11-16T14:57:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed this Young Adult book - check it out at your local library

Maddy has left her private school in Boston for her grandmother’s unicorn statue infested house after her parents divorce. Her mom and her former friends are too busy, her sister can’t understand and grandma helped to get her labeled “freak girl” on her first day of public school. Her only escape from this reality is an online fantasy game where she falls for the dashing and gallant, Sir Leo. Through a few like minded souls and a new manga club, she begins to find a way to enjoy reality again and find her real life knight.

Another library blog

2009-07-24T11:47:00.002-04:00

This blog was forwarded to me recently and I have to share how true these laws are:

http://juralib.blogspot.com/2009/06/sixteen-laws-of-public-librarianship.html

MLA 2009 Day 1 DLDS Update

2009-06-01T12:39:00.004-04:00

After lunch and a lovely stroll on the beach, I went to the DLDS update. This was a whirlwind overview of all the Division of Library Development & Services did for Maryland libraries during 2008. I wrote copious little notes to myself but then was able to pick up the MAPLA Year End Update May 2009 which covered everything that my chicken scratch missed.

The website is http://www.maplaonline.org/DLDS/ and the file is found here http://www.maplaonline.org/DLDS/adobe/Update09.pdf

This was useful and informative and kept me thinking beyond my own library.

MLA 2009 Day 1 Legislative Challenge

2009-06-01T12:18:00.004-04:00

After the opening session, I tried to go to Moving Reference Beyond the Desk but it was SRO out the door. Reexamining my conference program and seeing what was around, I walked into The Legislative Challenge: Library Advocacy in 2009 and Beyond. I had looked at this session originally and also recognized Natalie Edington inside so this session was it.

Most of the session was spent in discussing the MLA Legislative Panel and I learned a lot more about what our organization is doing to represent library interests. The panel includes representatives from MLA and various libraries throughout the state. They monitor legislation, give testimony, build relationships with elected officials, let the membership know what's going on and help coordinate advocacy efforts.

Denise Davis (Legislative Officer, MLA Legislative Panel) and Natalie (Assistant Legislative, Office MLA Legislative Panel) highlighted some of the items they addressed during the past legislative session most of which focused on budget cuts.

Next, Kristin Murphy and Lynne Bradley of the ALA Washington Office gave a brief overview of advocacy efforts on the national level. There wasn't a lot of time left in the session but they gave us a Checklist for Library Advocates:

Talk, talk, talk - keep saying it, don't hound/annoy but it takes time for messages sink in and mean something
Keep informed
Get to know your legislators & staff
Work on handouts, newsletters, etc.
Attend or host town hall meetings
Use in-library events - real & virtual tours
Lobby
Press events
Work with all types of libraries & supporters
Build your network - before you need it

Not always a choice of funding this or that but how to fund both

Libraries are the most efficient use of taxpayer funds $1=$3.8return (didn't write down where this study was conducted but think is was in the Midwest).

MLA 2009 - Opening

2009-06-01T10:15:00.005-04:00

The weather was much better this year and my conference began with a breakfast for the Maryland Library Leadership Institute. It was a wonderful way to start the day, Mimosa's, conversation and watching the dolphins swim! I wished more of my MLLI class was there but I did run into several more throughout the two days.

The opening session was captivating, with Paul Holdengraber from NYPL in a discussion with Elizabeth Cromwell and Darell Batson about the successes of the "Live from the NYPL" program. Although, everyone was quite intimidated by the sheer volume of NYPL's program and that we might not be able to even come close, there were lessons that we took away.

Here's my list:

Always look for ways to innovate and attract customers
Don't be afraid to try
Shoot for the moon and you'll at least fall in the stars (a wording from a previous experience but one that I needed to be reminded of)
Do the unexpected
A successful program is a bit of a chemistry experiment

TheirSpace - November 13, 2008

2009-04-18T14:24:00.002-04:00

Ok - last one to catch up with. This all day teen training had a variety of panelists.

First, Jamie Watson from Harford County showcased some books to help us connect with reluctant readers. Teens are like adults - special readers are a small number with popular readers the largest.

Reluctant Readers
Dormant - likes to read but too busy
Uncommitted - don't feel a need to read but will with a recommendation
Unmotivated - (largest number) reading is dorky - there are no good books - only read "boring" books required for school
Unskilled - truly has a tough time reading

Unmotivated and unskilled want to choose their own books but need a smaller/narrower choice set

Once a book becomes assigned in curriculum it becomes dorky & awful

Katie George at Howard County talked next about Teen Advisory Boards. She addressed the 40 developmental assets that apply to teen participation in libraries and went over the ladder of participation.

Non-participation
1. Volunteers are manipulated
2. Volunteers are decoration
3. Volunteers are tokenized

Participation
4. Volunteers are assigned & informed
5. Volunteers consult & inform
6. Staff initiate, share decisions with Volunteers
7. Volunteers lead & initiate action
8. Volunteers initiate, share decisions with staff

TAB's consist of 2 parts: communication and results

Communication - connectedness, meaning and control - take any one piece away leads to problems

connectedness + meaning = manipulation & abuse
connectedness + control = delinquency
meaning + control = fundamentalism

Effective communication leads to connections, discoveries, understanding and innovation

Results come from teens engaging in the process and having their accomplishments highlighted.

Next several counties presented ideas for teen book clubs.
Lee Farrell of Howard shared her Mother Daughter book club. She prepares ballots and a showcase of possible titles and one of their meetings is to choose the year's titles. They also assign a snack person.

Stefan Freed of Baltimore County shared his experience with a Parent Child book club to be more inclusive. He collected pages of title ideas with notes throughout his time running this club and had several newspaper articles written about his program.

Rachel Hannum of Cecil County shared her teen book club. She has had success with Book Hook
exclusively for 6-8th graders and conducted 3 times a year. They discuss one book every other week for two months. All books are paperbacks and the teens get to keep the books which are purchased by the Friends.

Rachel stresses:
it's not school - keep it relaxed
cater to your readers
offer confidentiality
begin with a silly ice-breaker
always read a short plot summary first
- jog memories and encourage those who didn't finish to talk anyway
ask questions that allow teens to talk about their lives
use multimedia
snacks
get feedback - listen to suggestions

Last came Elizabeth Rafferty and Bryon McDonald from Baltimore County who discussed how BCPL developed their gaming program. Elizabeth gave an overview of why gaming is important. She gave us a handout with lots of good stats and links. I'm working on getting this electronically so I don't have to type it as my fingers hurt from all these posts today. Hopefully, I'll actually get this up soon! :)

Service that Works - November 20, 2008

2009-04-18T12:31:00.002-04:00

Another training that I attended was this MLA sponsored one. Most of this training was a refresher of concepts and personality types that were explained in more detail in other trainings that I have taken. A few things that stood out:

Avoid no - tell the customer what you can do
Apologize for the situation that the customer finds themselves in not for policies
Think about what expectations are we promoting - unreasonable customer expectations?
Perception - customer's perception can change what the situation truly is

LEAP
Listen - ask questions to make sure you understand the problem -use eye contact, rephrasing, nodding, etc
Empathize - put yourself in the customer's shoes
Acknowledge - recognize the customer's feelings and that there is a problem; apologize for frustration, the situation, etc
Resolve - work with the customer to find a resolution - offer solutions and choices (here's what we can do, let's try...); engage them in solving the problem

When to walk away or get a supervisor - abusive language
Raised voice = you talk softer

Avoid - "Our policy..." or "You have to..."

YRead - October 25, 2008

2009-04-18T12:02:00.003-04:00

I have been very remiss in posting as I realize that my last post was about the time I went to the YRead conference and never wrote anything up. This is a new bi-annual conference (Opposite to Books for the Beast) held at the Carroll Community College. I chose the multi-cultural track and read four interesting books. This conference is only a half day one and was too short in my opinion. We barely scrapped the surface of discussions and most of mine centered on how to incorporate the books into curriculum which didn't interest me.

Red Glass by Laura Resau
This story begins in Arizona when Sophie's family takes in a young boy who is the only survivor from a group trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico. The boy doesn't speak so Sophie nicknames him Principito, or Little Prince, after the story he loves to listen to her read. The boy's remaining family in Mexico learn that the little boy is the sole survivor. Sophie, her Aunt Dika, a refugee of the war in Bosnia, Dika's boyfriend and his son and Principito go on a road trip to his village where he has to choose between Sophie and his family.

Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin
Karina is the daughter of a Haitian immigrant in New York. Her mother married "the Daddy" for stability but this all seems about to topple when he almost kills her older sister. Beatings are normal and deserved, abuse is covered up while fear and guilt are rampant. Will lies cover everything up or will Karina make her own normal life?

The Absolutely Ture Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
A very funny tale of heartache and isolation. Junior is an Indian living on a reservation until he is forced to see that hope doesn't just happen but you have to make it happen. He transfers to the miles away white school and fights to belong somewhere. Interspersed with Junior's brutally honest cartoons, this is a quick read covering issues from Indian rights, alcoholism, violence and despair.

In the Name of God by Paula Jolin
Nadia lives in modern day Damascus right in the middle of the struggle between Muslim and Western beliefs. She is a good religious girl but she struggles to figure out her path. Her brother can't get a job, her cousin is arrested and no one knows his fate, good Muslims are dying so Nadia begins to think of acting radically herself. How far will she go? What is right or wrong or justified?

Colbert Report - Communist Library Threat

2008-10-17T09:25:00.001-04:00

I found this on another blog but I laughed so much it gave me an excuse for a post. Enjoy!

MLA notes Day 2

2008-07-01T17:27:00.010-04:00

Ok, ok, I know. I said I'd post these notes a long time ago and I'm horrified at how long I've actually put it off. I guess my only excuse is that we've been real busy with a lot of year end deadlines and the beginning of Summer Reading but only you can forgive me.

A Prescription for Teen Services - Erin Lockledge, Editorial Director, Rosen Publishing

This was my first session after the business meeting breakfast and it was about health information geared for teens. It was nice to see how much work Rosen Publishing was doing in this arena but it doesn't help much if your system doesn't pay for this service. I did learn some new things anyone can use:

We discussed Evidence Based Practice, using quantitative data to support your results - what is your program and it's benchmarks (# of attendees/feedback/change in circ patterns or usage reports). Erin stressed that community health impacted leadership, voting rights and overall citizenship.

Places to go for ideas: YALSA listserv, Chase's, community groups (Health Depts), Howard County has some good toolkits with A+ Partners in education and also Multnomah County's teen health site.

And the Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Melissa Rabey, Teen Librarian, Frederick County Public Library

This session was an excellent end to my conference and Melissa was a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic presenter. She began with a discussion of participatory culture which is not a new things but it is new in it's methods. The culture is ending up with more Prosumers (produce + consume) who aren't just consuming what they find but producing and morphing content. This can be found in thousands of years of literature with authors taking and building on each other (Shakespeare and Homer are two great examples)

This will affect libraries as customers expect more and up to date technology, services, programs and methods of providing service. Our customers have high expectations, although, we will still find those to whom we need to teach technology. However, she pointed out that we have a wide variety of entertainment products Blockbuster or bookstores will never have: Internet, Books, CD's and the most importantly social interaction and community.

The title of the session was did appear as she talked about programs and outlets libraries can provide. Some ideas: RPG (role playing games) including book based - be characters from Harry Potter and make your own story lines; fan fiction writing workshops which are story driven since characters are already fleshed out in original and develop writing style; and digital video editing and image manipulation workshops.

There are many challenges to this participatory culture. The first and most dicey is copyright since there are laws but much is still in flux with the new media and mashups. Not always clear what is protected or prohibited. For library programming, it is best to avoid any audio and video that is not self produced as these industries are cracking down. The next challenge is to keep our technology up to date which is always tricky but even worse with bad budget years. The last issue to consider is staff doubt. Many of us encounter staff who don't think that a program or service has any value or place in a library.

On the other side, there are great rewards such as serving new demographics, increased visibility, redefinition of the library's role, creation of community connections, and being an active participant in creating culture not just being the archive for it.

Overall this was a great conference and I look forward to going again. Not only were the sessions excellent, but the site and set up were conducive to making it enjoyable. After ALA where you had to run all over and choose one session over another since you just couldn't get there in time, it was great to have everything in the same hotel. In addition, there was enough down time and social activities to meet local colleagues and get to know those in your own system.

MLA notes Day 1

2008-05-27T13:41:00.004-04:00

The 2008 MLA conference began with Peter Forni addressing the general session on civility. He stressed that life is a relational experience that is defined by our connections. The quality of our life depends on the quality of these relationships and thus the relational skills that we possess. He was an excellent and engaging speaker and now I want to delve into his books. This topic translated well to the library world since by performing reference services, we are aiding in creating connections whether it's through computer access or programs or community information.

He shared some useful information for us on how to deal with incivility. First of all he stressed that you must be prepared - don't be surprised when confronted with rudeness. You aren't supposed to expect it and therefore send out the wrong vibes but that in order to counteract rudeness you can't be taken off guard. Second, don't take it personally and third decide how you will react. As public librarians, knowing how to act is such a necessary skill that it's good to be reminded of this.

Some other tips:
Be secure - think of yourself as an accomplished person who doesn't need to prove anything
Practice empathy
See others as ends in themselves
Financial gain is a means not the end
Diffuse stress
Get to know people - end anonymity which encourages inattention and careless attitudes
Don't be hostile and shift hostility to others

IDK! Teen Service Made Simple - Stephanie Ewell & Jessica Smith-Harper from Wicomico Co.
This session discussed how the county obtained a grant to improve their teen services. It was good to hear the experiences of another system but much that they did would just be to difficult to staff or find a location in the library for. I did really like the "rave card" model they used to promote their programs which they said was their best response method. In addition, they put on a program even with one teen or else that kid may never want to come back., however, this seems to be a rare occasion for them. They explained out they set out high interest materials to draw the teens during the programs and didn't prep ahead of time but let the kids set up and be part of the process.

Using Ipods to get students and staff to tune in to reading - Lisa McKenney & John Taube from Allegany Co. and Mike Fiscus from NE Elementary
The last session of my day made us all very envious. The library and the school partnered to create book backpacks with an Ipod preloaded with the audiobook and added literary content. This was a really cool project but a bit pricey for many of us to dream about without a grant. They showed how the audio aided the students in fluency and expression and the content hat they created increased the understanding of the stories.

The coolest thing was PhotoStory 3. This is a software package that allows you to take still digital images and create a slide show with text and audio. This impressed many of us and the presenter of a Day 2 session mentioned that she was more excited about what they could do with that. Allegany County used similar technology to create online computer classes and info about their wifi. I wondered about introductions to the library and it's services presented in other languages (a colleague had recently mentioned that we should have a video for our new Spanish speaking customers so that they fully understand what we can do). So many cool possibilities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnxsCKC6Lsg Photostory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUtk8alria4 Audacity clip

MLA - Maryland Library Association Annual Conference

2008-05-19T14:42:00.004-04:00

I went to Ocean City for the first time to attend this year's MLA conference. This was a wonderful two days of ocean and bay views coupled with library learning, networking and fun! I promise to post session notes in the coming week but click HERE for a taste from another colleague.

The new Ocean City library was lovely and the staff were great hosts for a conference reception. Great atmosphere and music! Check out the brand new building:
http://www.worc.lib.md.us/library/newoclib.htm

The Complete Jane Austen pt. 2

2008-05-19T14:33:00.003-04:00

Yes, yes, I am very behind in posting this but just watched the new Sense & Sensibility again last night (a wonderful Mother's Day present) and am looking forward to the bonus disc of Miss Austen Regrets. I thoroughly enjoyed my Austen evenings on PBS (followed with the bonus David Starkey's Monarchy) and missed them as soon as they were done. The short new ones had their drawbacks in time constraints or casting but nonetheless were fun in their own way. The new S&S was really good but Andrew Davies knows how to interpret these to film. Since it was a two parter, much of the rushed feeling of the other adaptations is lost and we get much more nuanced characters. Despite any liberties, I think this was excellently cast and very well directed and produced. I still love Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman but this version is a great update and good for a grey Sunday afternoon.

The Complete Jane Austin on PBS pt.1

2008-02-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

I have to confess that I've caught the first three weeks of these but did miss the last one. I've instructed the family that at 9 each Sunday I will be watching PBS and to not disturb. It's been a nice little break but Sunday night I was too much of a football fan to remember poor Jane.

Even though I missed one I did want to add a few particular comments on the ones I had seen. I will begin by saying that I enjoy any Jane adaptations but there are two things that have bugged me about these.

Since these are SO short they do feel rushed. I know a colleague who hadn't read one of the books was a bit lost as much isn't explained and charachters or plot lines are completely elimated. She's also reading P&P now and commented that the themes are so similar she keeps getting the characters confused.

I recently finished rereading Mansfield Park prior to the airing and I was more disappointed with this one. I really love this book but their Fannie was all wrong! She needs to be soft spoken; I think this actress would have been better as Maria.

I am looking forward to catching the rest of these and seeing how the S&S and Emma are done. I own the Firth/Ehle P&P and can watch it anytime but it's always fun to see on TV so can't wait for that to begin. Happy Viewing!

Books for the Beast

2007-10-31T09:26:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't posted in a while and then two in one day - well I actually have something to say. On Saturday, I went to the biannual Books for the Beast conference near Baltimore. It is a Young Adult Literature conference where participants read a group of books from two genres and then get together to discuss them. They even recruit teenagers to come free to event. I picked Real Life and Science Fiction/Fantasy. I found that it was very interesting to discuss these with professionals from Virginia, Maryland, D.C. and beyond. There was only one teen in my Real Life discussion but I enjoyed getting a better handle on some books for reader's advisory.

I wasn't able to get or read all 10 books, and found that like the teen lit I remember, they are pretty predictable but enjoyable.

Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci
Victoria, a.k.a. Egg, is living in a fantasy world of her own creation. Living in Hollywood with an actress mother and creature creator father, she idolizes her movie heroine and is a loner until she meets the new boy Max and realizes that there's more to life than being "boy proof."

Jason & Kyra by Dana Davidson
This was the steamiest of the books on the list and I think my teen audience may really like it despite the happy ending. Good looking, popular and sporty Jason happens to actually be smart and falls for Kyra. Kyra smart, happy and actually pretty (once you get past other characters prejudices) falls for Jason. Once the girlfriend is out of the picture, the relationship story centers on sex, trust and forgiveness.

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar
This book had me laughing out loud. It's always hard to pick books for guys unless they are SF/Fantasy but I think this one may work. Scott Hudson and his friends are beginning high school and trying to stay friends, get a girlfriend and survive the year. This story hinges on the fact that life changes and that you can't control where it goes just find out how to enjoy the ride.

So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez
Xio (C.O.) and Frederick are locked in that first relationship figuring things out struggle. Set in a Latino community, Frederick arrives from Minnesota and begins to worry if he is really gay. Not an easy book to recommend to someone who's in the same situation but a good read for anyone as it deals with stereotypes and uncertainties. The story gains by alternating chapters told by the two main characters. Much is unresolved but so much always is.

Tithe by Holly Black
An interesting modern faerie tale as the subtitle announces. Kay is going along semi-happily with her wannabe rock star mother until an odd attack leads them back to her grandmother's in a dying New Jersey town. She has always known faeries but gets drawn into their world and finds everything is not as it seemed as a battle ranges between faerie courts and subjects. The writing style is overdone at times and some scenes feel forced but some in our group said Black's other books in the series get much better.

The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber
This was a major fractured fairy tale. The beginning had me stumped as to where we were going but I enjoyed the ride. Lump, a very ugly baby, is found and raised by a witch. He is spoiled and ungrateful and spends the rest of the novel on his journey to redemption. The cast include Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, a little Midas and more.

Black Juice by Margo Lanagan
I read this book first as it was short stories and I thought it would be a nice starting place for my Books for the Beast journey. The stories were very odd though. Some I really liked (My Lord's Man and Wooden Bride) and wanted so much more and others (Red Nose Day) were just too strange. I also felt that the story unfolded too quickly while still leaving details out; it felt like when you catch a movie in the middle and not knowing how the story got there. Many in our group reread them several times to find the details. As a group we thought that it should be recommended for teens to read the ones that they liked but not necessarily the whole. The stories are so different that there is a little for everyone touching on prejudice, hatred, greed, betrayal, sacrifice and loss.

E-Austen

2007-10-31T09:21:00.000-04:00

I get a little email every day called Library Link of the Day with link to a news story of interest to libraries. Yesterday I found this one in my mail and thought it was a great mashup of my favorite things: libraries, technology and Austen. Two comments even let readers know that they can get these things FREE from the public library - YEAH!!!

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/technology_internetcritic/2007/10/reading-jane-au.html
Reading Jane Austen on a BlackBerry -- Reader, I Liked It [Chicago Tribune]

To get your own Library Link of the Day http://www.tk421.net/librarylink/

A few good books

2007-09-27T13:48:00.000-04:00

I know it's a bit after summer but here are a few of my good reads to take us into fall. Many of these are on my LibraryThing but I wanted to add my thoughts on these. I hope to add a few more posts like this soon.

Austenland by Shannon Hale
This is a book published this year which was a great fun read. I am a Jane Austen nut so the story was right up my alley. The main character, Jane Hays gets to live out her Jane Austen fantasy at a period strict resort. A little contrived but fun all the way through.

Pride and Prejudice And Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
OK, I can't write about my good reads without including my favorites.

P&P is the classic romance tome with the wonderful language and wit of Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennett as they struggle with and against pride, prejudice and love. I have read and watched (many versions) so many times my husband doesn't know what to do with me. Each perusal bring something new so I just can't resist and it's just such a nice relaxing read.

Mansfield Park is such a different book. Romance and marriage are a key themes but there is much more to explore. Fanny Price is the poor offspring of a family with too many children sent to live with wealthy relations. Class divisions are very evident in this book but it creates a wonderfully woven story speaking to class, love, lust, and finding one's true self. I love this book for the triumph of goodness and for making the reader think about consequences of one's actions.

Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Carrie Bebris

I am a purist and don't always like to go beyond the story, but this was very different. A mystery story beginning right after Elizabeth Bennett becomes Mrs. Darcy. The plot isn't a classic who-done it but contains magical themes and grabs the reader with the familiar characters with a little bit more development.

Post 2.0

2007-09-20T13:31:00.001-04:00

Now that I've finished this project, I'm trying to keep more up to date. A colleague emailed the page below on concepts all librarians need to know. It was very interesting but still a little techie for me. Definitely good to be aware of what all those acronyms mean and where to go for more information.

http://otherlibrarian.wordpress.com/2007/09/06/under-the-hood-of-web-20-the-top-ten-programming-concepts-for-librarians-to-understand/

Maryland Libraries Learning 2.0 - 23 Things DONE!

2007-08-29T15:25:00.000-04:00

Well, I've finally made it to the last Thing: my overall thoughts. I have found this program to be both taxing and rewarding. It took at lot of time to finish the discovery exercises for some of the Things although some took more time because they were too much fun. As with all technology (and really anything in life), discovery is only the beginning. If you don't apply your knowledge from time to time you forget - does anyone remember how to do quadrilateral equations? Thus the Things that will stay with me the most are those that I use frequently which I suppose is the greatest challenge out of this program.

Blogging has been lots of fun and I plan on trying to post something at least every month. Now I can expand on more topics and maybe write about the books that I added to LibraryThing. I also think that the downloadable books part will be helpful for assisting and suggesting to customers for home use.

As for where to go from here, I think that we need to continuously review and expand on the Things explored here. To remain relevant in the library world we need to understand the technologies out there and how our customers can use them both in and outside of the library (often very different experiences).

This was a very unique way to continue my learning at my own pace and would love to do something similar again. Having several colleagues participating was a great motivation to keep moving as was my system's incentive and support.

Books & the digital world

2007-08-29T14:59:00.000-04:00

As I get close to finishing my 23 Things, today I looked at our offerings for downloadable audio books. When I had a long commute, audio books were a staple for me but now that I spend so little time in the car, I just don't get the time although I really like them and their digital counterparts. The Overdrive Digital Media Guided Tour was long but was very informative for a novice. Netlibrary is similar but the Overdrive tour was so good that it made me try it out. It was very easy to sign on, locate some interesting books and download them. I don't have my digital player yet to use these most effectively so I just have to locate a CD-RW and I think I'll be in business. A long car ride should be much more interesting next time for the whole family.

Project Gutenberg was another site to explore but these books were digital copies to read. I like the computer but can't bring myself to read too much on the screen. Spending all day in front of a screen probably contributes to this aversion.

Podcasts

2007-08-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

Podcasts are a great idea if you know what you want. I found that the sites I checked out were really hard to use if you just wanted to check it out. Their subjects were too broad and not clearly defined; key words gave me too many hits and too many false hits. Also the main page for each series was only as good as it's description and tags. There was one for booktalks with over 350 casts. It looked good at first but with only title and author I found it daunting to identify YA titles.

Looking at the Merlin site was much easier because it directed me to websites that I was interested in with podcasts that I wanted to hear. I really liked Kankakee Public Library's site which had casts for YA topics so I added this into my Bloglines. Once I get my MP3 player, I'll try my hand at downloading!?!

Podcast.net
Podcastalley.com
Yahoo Podcasts
MERLIN podcasting learning link

http://www.bloglines.com/public/jonesjennifere

No Cookies in the Library - Classic Sesame Street

2007-08-17T12:05:00.001-04:00

I really like this video and have added it to my YouTube favorites. I was directed there years ago but can't remember by whom (sorry no citation). YouTube is one of my favorite 2.0 websites even if I don't think I'll ever upload anything.

There is so much neat stuff for entertainment but there's also so much more. It will be fascinating to see how upcoming elections are affected by use of this medium. I even got to see some BBC footage of flooding in Stratford-upon-Avon England from earlier this summer. How cool is it to be able to tap into sights and sounds around the world!

Award winning 2.0 sites

2007-08-06T12:35:00.000-04:00

This Thing asked us to check out http://www.seomoz.org/web2.0 and explore some award winning 2.0 sites that are out there. I clicked on a few categories and found that most of the ones I was interested in, I had already heard of or used the award winners. I guess that means that I'm not so cutting edge, but that's not much of a surprise.

I also discovered that these sites are only as good as the users who contribute. Looking at City Guides & Reviews, http://www.yelp.com/, and Real Estate, http://www.housingmaps.com/, showed that the major cities have good coverage but it's hit or miss in other places, even in the suburbs outside of the big cities. This is a major drawback when looking for a different restaurant or choosing a house. As I've said before, many of these sites have potential but without proper execution and buy in, they end up just being time wasters instead.

Open Source Software

2007-07-31T16:40:00.000-04:00

As you will see from the very long post below, I published a document made in Google Docs on my notes from ALA Conference in June. Overall, I think open source software will be the hot new thing that will overtake the proprietary market. I have to say that Google Docs was easy to use although I did miss the auto-edit/correction feature of Word (as annoying as it can be when it does what you don't want) and liked that I could even save it as a pdf.

Open source has so many advantages. I will definitely recommend it to customers with Macs who need to use library PC's. And more and more library systems are embracing the customization and flexibility of open source catalog databases. The software companies need to wake up and find a new niche because no one will want to pay exorbitant prices for software that continuously needs to be updated if they can get current and easy accessible free stuff online. I'd even be willing to say goodbye to auto-edit.

2007-07-31T16:39:00.000-04:00

ALA Notes

YALSA Beginner's Guide to Teens in Libraries

Friday, 6/22/2007 , 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Amy Alesio, Teen Coordinator at the Schaumburg (IL) Township District Library

Nick Buron, Queens Borough Public Library

This was an excellent preconference. Amy and Nick are very passionate about YA service and I'm still digesting it all.

Have your definition of teen and know it – can vary system to system – what is our mission for these kids?

Demographics – how many teens; who are they; where they are

School – graduation rate; college entrance; military

Social Services – foster care; assistance

Hang out – where – talk to them to find out

Great @ door when schools out and then 15 minutes later=are you settling in – give them the 15 minute window to unwind and then crack down

Amy had a 20% increase in programs after using MySpace

Goodreads.com

Find a way to say yes – don’t always say no

Follow up with teen service (or any for that matter) – Here’s the information you asked for, now go get an A – Let me know what grade we got (from a HCPL LA)

Interact while walking side by side to the stacks – don’t just want in front – use the opportunity

Bad behavior – "Selected" themselves to be kicked out – teens will live up to your expectations though

TAG project - $100 (can be fictional) what would you buy – make them stick to the budget – better idea of how material selected and get a feel for budgeting – work with Materials to actually let them buy a certain amount of material

PLA -LD Who's In Charge? I Am?! How to Be the Person in Charge; How to Train Your Staff to Be in Charge

Saturday, 6/23/2007 , 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Brett Lear, Jefferson County (CO) Public Library

Ann Bever, Assistant Manager, Dallas Public Library

Mary Jo Giudice, Branch Manager, Dallas Public Library

Marcia Trent, Branch Administrator, Dallas Public Library

Not a lot of new thoughts here but a very worthwhile session.

lead by example - be there, 1st in last out

buy donuts

get to know staff - listen - base approach on personality - find the best way to communicate with each person (don't' schedule morning meetings with a night person)

be accessible

confide in a plant or pet

solve problems quickly when possible

put yourself on hold - detach - avoid hurt feelings - end with laughter

give feedback generously - no such thing as over communication - monthly staff meetings, use of white and bulletin boards, put signs in bathrooms, kitchen/lounge, taped to tables

lead means to let go of the reigns - make staff part of process

management - directing resources and people - art or science of achieving goals through people

coach and mentor - hire for attitude, train for aptitude

don't just make decisions for staff - what do you want to do

ALSC Libraries + Lobbying = Success

Saturday, 6/23/2007 , 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Kathleein Reif, Director, St. Mary's County Library, MD

Maria Salvadore, Salvadore Consulting, DC

Emily Sheketoff, Associate Executive Director, Washington Office ALA

I hadn't anticipated attending this session, but another I tried to get into was so packed, I couldn't get in the door so this was my second choice and very interesting. Much of this was a review but sometimes hearing it in another way helps bring it home.

what do we want to achieve - am I asking the right questions - who is the right person to do the asking

keep message fresh - use stories shared w/passion

build local partnerships - get informed, get active

3 R's - Relationships, Resources, Results

relationships make the world go round - be in the community listening

how does my library help solve a problem - are we doing what we say we are doing - why does what I do matter

talk about your services in their language - not in library language

resources - never enough staff or money so get over it and do what you do

All staff need to know the marketing speech - 5 minute, 30 second and 90 second - why are we important - educate staff and customers

We are a trusted profession but if we don't make ourselves heard $ will be cut

results - significant programs & statistics - passionate stories of success

form relationships w/ local legislators - face-to-face best method for getting what matters to you across - keep it brief - connect it to the constituents

be specific, informative, courteous and follow up (shows you can and pay attention even if you don't get the desired result)

non-traditional allies - chamber of commerce, medical groups, children's literacy groups, authors, community leaders

use the media - we are the feel good story

Mario Ascencio’s REFORMA party

Mario has been a librarian in the DC area and passionately involved with REFORMA for years. His parties are always an interesting mix but this had a more library flair, celebrating his inauguration as president of REFORMA.

YALSA Trend Setters in Teen Literature

Sunday, 6/24/2007 , 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

This was a packed session and I had to find a spot on the floor. One of the panelists was Perry Moore who was the producer and force behind the recent Chronicles of Narnia movie. I really enjoyed his passion and look forward to reading his new novel, Hero. There was a lot to absorb and few notes but here are the highlights.

6 Trends

1. Books for older teens

2. Adult authors writing for teens

3. "Feminization" of literature - feature of women characters in fiction and NF, ethnically diverse role models

4. International authorship

5. New/Noteworthy forms - GN, series, continuations, diaries/letter forms, scripts, epic pagination, American ethnic experiences, companion novels, combined forms, contemporary realism

6. Content trends - genre fiction, fantasy, humor, biography

YA Taboo - falseness

AFL -FOLUSA Street Lit

Sunday, 6/24/2007 , 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

After how packed my first session was, I went into this early and boy was I glad I did. This room was tiny and by the time we started, every space on the floor and out the door was occupied. With Terri Woods, T.N. Baker and Darren Coleman speaking and signing books, I'm surprise it wasn't worse.

I don't have many notes from this session as they talked about their lives and how and why they write. It was fascinating and hard to write while they were talking. Terri Woods sequel to True to the Game is due out in November - fans will be so happy! She was the most passionate speaker of the panel and I was drawn to her story about how she turned to writing - She looked around one day and saw that everyone she knew was dead or locked up and that no drug dealer was coming to save her so she had to help herself.

They all acknowledged that Street Lit is a controversial genre but that they write about what the kids are exposed to so no wonder they are drawn to these books. Some of the librarians in the audience said that they pair the books with classics from Maya Angelou, Claude Brown, Richard Wright. It may not be instantaneous but over time, they have found it has worked.

YALSA Video Games as a Service: Hosting Tournaments @ your library

Sunday, 6/24/2007 , 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Eli Neiburger, Anne Arbor District Library

This final session of my weekend wasn't as hands on as I had hoped. The purpose of this session was more why you should do it and the successes that the presenters have had. Eli is putting out a book with AL Editions and that will contain the details as to how to put on tournaments.

Let's play in the sandbox

2007-07-31T15:16:00.000-04:00

I've always loved playing in sandboxes. There's something so relaxing about the movement of sand but this is so different. So much of 2.0 is about playing that I'm not sure how you can define this step as The Sandbox plus it's not really relaxing.

That said, I do like PBWiki. We have started a branch wiki using this site and going through this Thing has helped me understand how we can better manipulate it. However, knowing how to technically use something and discovering how to use something to improve what you do really is the difference. I think that wiki's can have real potential but it's not playtime in the sandbox. As we discovered with our branch project, we need to find the REAL useful application of this to get everyone on board and actually make it useful.

Wikitriguing

2007-07-24T15:06:00.000-04:00

Wikis are one of the more intriguing and potentially useful Things of this program so far. I feel that the best description of them is that they are a web page which can be easily manipulated by anyone who can type. This lends to many useful applications. I really liked St. Joseph County Public Library's one for subject guides. Their librarians are able to take what most library's do on paper and make them organic and linkable. I checked out the HP page and ended up right at their catalog when looking for more information on a read-a-like. How useful is that - to be interested in a title and be led right to where you can actually locate a copy?

http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page

Examples such as this are showing how this technology is being implemented as a tool to improve what we do. Our branch has a brand new wiki and we are exploring what we can do with it. So far we've used it to coordinate a branch brunch so everyone knows who's bringing what or changing their mind. We've limited ours by password so it could potentially be used to track problems or discuss issues we are encountering. Most often we use email but this process can loose the train of thought so I think the wiki might be of use if we can get everyone on board. This is another drawback of technology though - it's only helpful if it's actually used and doesn't create more work.

del.icio.us?!?

2007-07-24T14:49:00.001-04:00

Del.icio.us was a term that I didn't fully understand until I did this Thing. The term is bandied about so much but I did at least know that it was one of the new "social networking" sites out there. I definitely see the appeal of bookmarking your items where they are easily accessible but I've been doing that with Yahoo! Bookmarks for a while. I can see my stuff anywhere but can't share the whole list.

I see potential value for implementing this on the reference desk; all those sites that you need to use, some so infrequently that you never can find them when you need them. Personally though, I think that Del.icio.us looks like a confusing site. The search engine didn't seem so great and I'm still not convinced that tags are better than folders. I think I'm better off sticking with what my good old standby of Yahoo!

Library 2.0 Thoughts

2007-07-23T12:48:00.001-04:00

After reading the articles on the OCLC website it reminded me why I have a bit of a problem with "Library 2.0." I thoroughly embrace technology and try to take advantage of it to make my life/work easier but it's not the solution to every question.

Let's remember the 5 laws of S. R. Ranganathan:

Books are for use.
Every reader his or her book.
Every book its reader.
Save the time of the reader.
The library is a growing organism.

See the last one - "a growing organism". Why do we as a profession feel that we must change our thought process when Ranganathan had it all along? Libraries, and for that matter librarians, are ever changing things. If we are not, then we have failed in our professional duties. We may need to change our terminology (book to information regardless of format) and use new ways of getting to the necessary information but the process and the reason for what we do remains the same. We don't have to climb on the 2.0 or 3.0 etc bandwagon to fulfill our mission.

The other problem I have is that it is easy to get caught up in the terminology and being "on the cutting edge" that it can hold us back from fully doing our jobs as librarians. The idea becomes the whole thing and the implementation and purpose gets lost. All these authors sound so enthused but if you don't have the follow through, you end up with frustrated librarians who are giving sub par service through no fault of their own.

I think we need to stop trying to label things and just do what Ranganathan and others defined in the first place - help our users find what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. By remembering this simple theory, the heart librarianship, it's much easier not to be intimidated and afraid of growth or change and to use technology as another tool in our arsenal not the only one.

http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/1.htm

Technorati

2007-07-17T18:18:00.000-04:00

Technorati is a very interesting blog search engine. Back on Thing 8, I found a Jane Austen blog whose author has commented here, assisting me in my learning. If you're looking for blogs, this can be a very useful tool but I have so much on my plate that adding anymore info to it might make me melt. I don't like that the search brings you to posts tab first which can be overwhelming and have a lot of false hits.

The popular page is pretty predictable with a mix of celebrity, politics and pundits - Good to gage what's in right now.

Like many of these technology Things, I can see how I could spend my entire life wrapped up in this and forget to breath - So for now, I know how to use the tool and will remember it's out there when I need it.

Not technology but library philosophy

2007-07-06T10:30:00.000-04:00

I was just reading the June 15th, 2007 Library Journal editorial (Fialkoff, page 8) on the great library debate of Blockbuster/Borders/Barnes & Noble vs. the library. There was a great quote by John Cotton Dana which supports my long held belief: get them in the door by any means and they'll find what else we have.

"See that your library is interesting to the people of the community, the people who own it... Deny your people nothing which the bookshop grants them... Open your eyes to the cheapest of books..." 1896

Dana was director of Newark PL, NJ 1902-1929

What's your view?

Rollyo - Ooooh!

2007-07-05T15:05:00.000-04:00

I tried Rollyo today and it has potential! My "Books & film" search combines Amazon, IMDB & World Cat, my three favorite search places beyond my library's catalog (couldn't make that search work). This might help narrow the search when looking for items in a reference interview - I can't wait to try.

http://rollyo.com/jonesjennifere/books_film/

LibraryThing

2007-07-05T11:59:00.000-04:00

I've looked at this site before but have never added books until now. I added a few books, most of which are on my blog, and it was fun to see how many people have already added these to their own library. I think that I could get lost exploring here, especially for titles that I love, so I'll try to restrain myself. In addition, one problem with having this be more wiki like with less authority control is the multiple versions of entries. Searching on Great Tales of English History lends many records most of which don't have complete enough data to see which is which (there are 3 volumes on different time periods) so I'm not sure I ended up with the right one that I wanted.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jonesjennifere

I did try a few cool features that can be added to my blog and ended up liking the random links from my library. The search box ended up searching someone else's collection and I have no idea what happened so I decided I liked the covers with the random links better.

Online Image Generators

2007-07-02T14:55:00.000-04:00

I played around with some image generators today. These are very similar to mashups, allowing you to customize images/icons. My favorite is Yahoo! Avatars but I don't think I can do anything with it except in Yahoo! I had previously checked out the M&M site which is fun but didn't save anything there.

Thanks to janefan's comment I've amended this post with my Avatar 7-6-07

Returned from ALA

2007-06-25T11:54:00.000-04:00

I've just come back and have so much to digest. All my programs were great and the exhibits were incredible. Once I get my feet back on the ground, I'll post some highlights.

RSS & Bloglines

2007-06-15T13:56:00.000-04:00

Today I created a Bloglines account (see link below) and entered some feeds. I have had experience using RSS through my Yahoo!Mail account so am looking to see if Bloglines will add to my experience or be another place to look since I already use the mail account heavily. So far it looks like I will have the same functionality so right now it doesn't look like it will help me out any other than by sharing my interesting feeds with my readers.

http://www.bloglines.com/public/jonesjennifere

I did figure out the one thing I was really curious about - that this blog has an RSS feed. Blogger already had this feature easily accessible so you can add me to your Bloglines or other account and keep up with my current posts.

http://mdpubliclibrarian.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

After adding feeds from sites I already knew, I went on to #9 and added in MERLIN. This site will definitely take some exploring but hopefully the RSS feed will help. I also searched Technorati and found my own blog (pretty neat) and then searched on Pride and Prejudice to see what was out there. Wow, there were 50 blogs! I found one that I added as it had some recent posts and some funny video montages. I also found a great Mashup of Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice. It's worth it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sge5pUSJIRY

Mashups

2007-06-15T13:17:00.001-04:00

Trading Card
Originally uploaded by jonesjennifere@yahoo.com

Check out my trading card - I needed to find a better photo but this was pretty cool way to manipulate digital pics.

Blogging fun

2007-06-13T14:42:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been having fun exploring ways to add pictures and using features of the blog to customize the look - I figured out how to add links and will be adding more. This post helps me to complete Thing 7 of the 2.0 project. Now I just have to get into mashups and then we'll be ready for RSS.

Nancy Shushing the Washington Monument

2007-06-13T13:35:00.000-04:00

Here is a second attempt at posting photos on my blog. This one was entered from the blog while the other was done through Flickr. So far this is fun! Now if I could only figure out how to add links to cool links.

Both of these were taken by my sister last year.

Nancy shushing the metro Elephant

2007-06-13T13:24:00.001-04:00

DC 028
Originally uploaded by eej7librarian

Check out this pic taken outside a DC library

Tech Fair

2007-06-13T12:33:00.000-04:00

I went to the Tech Fair this morning and got some great exposure to all these new technologies - kudos! to all those who helped out. Now the task of making sense of it all and putting it into action.

Update on my goals - I still am thinking about using this blog regularly as my manageable goal for Library 2.0 but Wiki's are really intriguing me. How would a wiki work to coordinate a meeting agenda and minutes? Is there a way to use these to facilitate discussions/decision making when you can meet face-to-face? There's definitely more to explore, so here's the new goal:

EXPLORE AND THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES

7 1/2 Habits

2007-06-07T10:47:00.000-04:00

After listening to this presentation from PLCMC, I thought hard about which habit is the hardest for me. I've come to realize that it is actually the 1st: Goals. I have many things that I want to accomplish but often find it hard to put them into language that can be achieved. I am striving to take my "big, audacious goal" and break it into the more manageable goal steps which will lead to successful completion.

For the Maryland 2.0 project, my goal is to discover new technologies and then to find a way to employ one of them into my weekly if not daily activities.

My next post will pinpoint steps for this goal.

http://www.plcmc.org/public/learning/player.html