LIBRARY LOUNGE

Great PSA!!! I love AskColorado. Just used it this past weekend.

Here is a design for our new Library near Wright Farms from a grade schooler who was asked to design the perfect library.
Mindy

I just finished a great column by Rachel Singer Gordon and Jessamyn West in the February Issue of Computers in Libraries (tech tips for every librarian - page 42-43). I especially related to the following quotes:

“If we want to continue to market ourselves as a place for answers and support - not to mention as a place to get on-line - we can’t leave out the technological piece entirely. We can certainly establish a level of support that we are able to and willing to provide, then refer patrons to an authority on the subject (just as we would refer them to a community law library for legal resources, or to a doctor for medical advice). But when we provide no support at all, we leave a gaping hole in our claim to provide information and make it more difficult to make the argument that libraries remain essential in a technological society.” (emphasis is mine)

“When patrons’ attempts to access our online resources with their personal equipment are thwarted, they deserve the same level of support as they’d get if they were in the library.”

“When we provide and promote technology in our libraries, we take on a certain responsibility for ensuring patrons’ smooth use of that technology. When we take on the role of providing information, we can’t decide that technology is somehow exempt.” (emphasis is mine)

“Providing technology support and training for patrons parallels our role in supporting literacy, from our story times through our collections to our sponsorship of formal literacy programs. Computer literacy today is equally as important for participating in society, whether it involves applying for jobs on the internet or looking up a book in the online catalog.”

I look forward to a time when this attitude is predominant in libraries of all sizes and job descriptions change to encompass these ideas.
Mindy

“…the Library would make it easy for users to join the conversation regardless of where they are, through the presentation of a single facade. There is, for example. only one Google, one Amazon, and one Wikipedia. Why should users have to search from among thousands of libraries to find the conversations they want? Participatory networking will be most effective when libraries work together, when the whole is greater than its parts.”

Participatory networks, Lankes, Silverstien, and Nicholson, Information Technology and Libraries, Volume 26, Number 4, December 2007

Maybe Open Worldcat is the beginnings of this?
Mindy

“It is no longer acceptable not to be deeply knowledgeable and engaged with the technology. Technology now doesn’t just support your services, it actually lets you do wholly and totally new things. We have something called Sounds Familiar on our website that’s around dialect in the different regions of the UK. We opened this up to schoolchildren to contribute and to populate the map with their own recordings, and now we’ve had a great Web 2.0 experience but, more importantly, we have a great new even better research resource.”

Dame Lynne Brindley has been the Chief Executive of the British Library since July 2000. She is the first woman and the first information professional to have held the post. Since her appointment Lynne has led a major strategic development and modernisation programme to ensure that the BL remains a relevant, innovative and accessible national institution in the 21st century. The BL provides services that underpin UK competitiveness in research and contributes to innovation and creativity in our knowledge society. The BL reaches out to a wide public, increasingly through its digital services. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours List 2008 for services to education.

Have a beta-test mind - just do it!: An interview with the British Library and SLA , January 2008, Written by Lynne Brindley and Janice Lachance, http://web.fumsi.com/go/article/use/2661

I have been wanting to add IM (Meebo) to our website ever since I learned about it but have yet to work at a library willing to do so. I just read this fantastic idea on the ALA Techsource Blog which was posted by Michael Stephens earlier this year. WOW! Now I really, really want to do it and I want to do it all over our County on all kinds of websites ;0)

“Steve Butzel from Nashua Public Library in Nashua, NH wrote to me this week about my article in the current issue of Computers in Libraries entitled Embedding a Librarian in Your Web Site Using Meebo. Pondering how easy it is to embed a librarian IM widget in a web page, Steve was surely muse-inspired when he emailed:

“I have been toying around with adding a Meebo widget to our reference department web page, and we are soon going to add it to our Teen Services page. I am also exploring the possibility of putting our Meebo widget on other sites in cyberspace, for example, on the town’s City Hall web page, or the local newspaper webpage, etc. It certainly would be a way to reach beyond the walls of the library. Do you know of other libraries that have done this?”

Zing! Excellent idea, Steve. I haven’t heard of any libraries doing this yet but the mere thought of it is inspiring — has anyone done this? Are you going to give it a try now? I like the idea of finding an embedded librarian while I’m surfing the local animal shelter page or newspaper. Please, TechSource readers, if the library muse inspires you to try this, let me know.”

Thanks for the great idea Steve and thanks for passing it on Michael!
Mindy

Library Language Included in Head Start Bill

“The ALA Washington Office is pleased to announce that the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate conferees have approved a conference report for the Improving Head Start Act (H.R. 1429). Head Start is a comprehensive child development program with the aim of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families.

ALA advocated for language to be included in the bill that provides opportunities for libraries to play a greater role in Head Start programs. That language was included in the conference report. By recognizing the important role that public libraries play in improving literacy and school readiness in the Head Start reauthorization bill, libraries across the country can continue to develop new, innovative programs to provide young children with the tools they need to succeed in school and life.

Both the House and the Senate are expected to approve the conference report later this week, and the President is expected to sign it.

You can find additional information about libraries and Head Start at the ALA Washington Office’s website.”

So yesterday we went to the Denver Art Museum and while there we stopped in at Novo Coffee. They have a location across the plaza and a couple in the art museum itself. I don’t drink much coffee anymore (I was getting tea) so I can’t tell you if it is as good as the owner says it is but what I can tell you is that their customer service is great! The woman who took our order and prepared our drinks was so good that we decided to stop back in when we were done at the museum. It was on the second trip that we met one of the Owners. The clerk told us all about the coffee and was so enthusiastic about the product she was selling. You could tell that she enjoyed her work and was proud to work for this company. When we returned she was still working and the owner heard her welcoming us back and he came up and introduced himself. He told us the story of Novo and what really impressed me was how much bragging he did about his employees. There was no me, me, me - it was all them, them, them. I love it when I see someone passionate about their work, product and employees - it makes all the difference.
Novo Coffee

I just finished reading the Executive Summary of this report and although it is nice to be validated the information was not new or surprising to me. As someone who has been involved with the technology for a library and also the budgeting and finances the 3 significant themes that emerged are the realities that we deal with everyday. They are:

1) Technology is bringing more - not less - public library use.
2) Library infrastructure (space, bandwidth and staffing) is being pushed to capacity
3) Libraries need more technology planning and dedicated technology support.

One of the duties I really enjoy as part of my job is tracking statistics for the library. Not only is it interesting to monitor how the changes we are making really affect usage (slowly) but it also helps to keep us on track when it comes to strategic planning and budgeting. Our statistics prove out number one and a quick visit to most libraries to see the waiting list for Internet use will also confirm it.

What I find most useful about this study is that it will give me the amunition that I need to accomplish the following:

1) Defend putting a larger portion of the budget towards technology. This includes space, training, programming, bandwidth and staffing. Which leads to:

a) Increasing the staffing in the technology support area of the library so that there are staff dedicated to: training staff on use of technology, holding technology programming for patrons, research and review new technologies and trends for use in the library, use best practices in maintaining the technology structure currently in the library and preparing budgeting for technology in the library including replacement schedules, maintenance and upgrades.

b) Changing the major focus of employees away from books and towards customer service which includes the use of the technologies that the library provides. We can no longer dedicate the majority of our staff to books (choosing them, cataloging them, shelving them, and checking them out). Although these things are still important and must be done, many of them can be automated (standing orders, self-check machines, etc.), freeing up staff time to work with technology. I think staff time needs to be reallocated to match patron usage.

So in our library this will probably end up being about 50/50 when we move into our new buildings which will have the space for and have been designed for many more computers than our existing facilities. It will be interesting to see how staff adjusts and how what we do changes as we physically evolve to more technology oriented facilities.

WOW! What a special day at our library - Eugene Fodor, the world-renowned violin soloist, came and played his violin. It is not often when one has the opportunity to see an artist like Mr. Fodor play in person, much less within feet of you. I have heard some beautiful music played at large venues but never have I stood literally just a few feet away from someone who can play the violin like that. I am sorry I cannot remember the name of the song he played but it was amazing. Wow! (I had to say it again!)
Mindy