Deliverables from PLA Conference

One major purpose of attending any conference is to get new ideas, and hopefully be able to implement them back home. PLA really had a ton of great ideas. Here are some things that we will be looking to potentially implement in either the short term (next six months), medium term (six months to a year) or long term (one year+. Note that following deliverable is reference to program (you can read more about them in blog) where this idea evolved from).

Your feedback is welcome here!

Short Term (Next Six Months)

• Work with reference staff to revise, re-imagine and reprint end cap signage in the adult nonfiction; 3 digit Dewey, plus popular subject headings; to make a more self-sufficient environment and empower library patrons. (Creating Self-Directed Library Environments; Cracking the Code: Beyond Dewey).
  
• Work with staff to create a “library directory”, a simple, easy to use map for patrons; helps patrons to move through the building more easily; fine tuning the patron-centered library experience. (Creating Self-Directed Library Environments).
  
• Disseminate tips for more focused email messages by using simplified email writing template (The 30-Second Email: How to Write Clear and Productive Email Messages).
  
• Put together lists of books and websites for readers’ advisory and make available online and in reference notebook. (Crossover Advisory).
  
• Create small professional library at VG with subjects including organizational culture and development, leadership, management, etc. (Shortcuts to Greatness).
  
• Increase attendance and revenue from "RRR" fundraiser event by 25%. (Jumpstart Your Fundraising!)
  
• Explore purchase of iPad (or other tablet device) and how to best apply to library practice. (Top Ten Tech Trends).
  

Medium Term (Six Months to a Year)

• Work on team-building with Adult Services Team. Hold regular (monthly/quarterly??) meetings to discuss programming, collection and adult services ideas and trends. Look at creating team goals and think of ways we as a team can improve the organization and improve the customer experience. Look for ways to make our library experience more user-focused. (Creating the Customer Experience).
  
• Continue advocacy and education for staff re: teens in library. Example, create a monthly staff update for teen books & materials; hold one teen staff development training in 2010 (Top Trends: Taking Teen Services to the Next Level).
  
• Meet with book club facilitators to share ideas, a potential collaborative project, and create Reader’s Advisory tools for staff and patrons.
  
• Explore more front-line library advocacy. Share topic at staff meetings. (Every Voice Makes a Difference: Frontline Library Employee Advocacy).
  
• Explore adult/boomer/senior programming that is engaging and mentally stimulating. (The One-Room Schoolhouse Project: A Successful Model for Outreach, Partnerships, Senior Services and Local History).
  
• Fund Development - Hone grant writing and fundraising skills and actively pursue these opportunities. (Jumpstart Your Fundraising!)
  

Long Term (One Year+)

• Work on “reinvent” and “reimagine” thinking. Always be looking for ways to reinvent our organization. Keep learning about and set aside time for big-picture thinking. Learn to take risks and be able to articulate to library leaders why we should take such risks. (Reimagine, Reinvent & Reallocate)
  
• Organizational development - developing the ideal culture at the library that fosters a spirit of teamwork, innovation, pride, and excellence by developing staff and setting a common vision. Also position Rancho Cucamonga as a national brand - developing a plan to promote and showcase RCLS as a national brand like Anythink, Charlotte Mecklenberg, Hennepin County, etc. (in their hayday). (Organizational Culture).
  
• Strategic Plan - create a strategic plan for 3, 5, and perhaps 10 years. (Shortcuts to Greatness).
  

Every Voice Makes a Difference: Frontline Library Employee Advocacy

Presented by Camila Alire, ALA President and Jeannie Dilger-Hill, Director of the La Grange (Illinois) Public Library.

This is a program designed by ALA President Alire to have our frontline staff (those who work at service desks) promote the library. Often times we think of our library administrators, board members, foundation and friends as promoters, but everyone in the library can promote what we do to, in order to help us weather and survive the current economic storm.

Frontline staff need to be able to articulate two simple concepts to the public:
1) the value of our libraries
2) their value as a library employee

This is done at their own comfort level, talking with those they know. It is very simple, easy to do, and it may be something we do already, every day, but we haven't given it a name or set it apart as a separate function of staff. Think about what you do while working at the Ref, Circ, Children's or Tech desks, how many times do you promote a program using the library calendar, perhaps you talk to a patron about the science fiction bookclub while you are helping them to locate a book, or give a flier to and talk about a computer class to a patron who is looking for an instructional computer book. Or maybe you are out of the library talking to a neighbor who is new to the area, they ask where you work, and you tell them all about the library. This is "frontline advocacy."

Every day is an advocacy opportunity. Here's what staff can easily do on a daily basis.
Take photos of programs (we already do this), when thanking volunteers be sure to include a sentence about their positive effect (done!). Create a "snapshot day," take library statistics for one day, including photos, patron quotes, at the end of the day all libraries report to the state legislature. One day has much more meaning, than a year's worth of statistics. It's easier to get a clear picture of one day; has more impact.

Another way to think of advocacy is "every day, you are campaigning for your job" on the front lines.

A Frontline Advocacy toolkit is available at: www.ala.org/frontlineadvocacy

I liked this program very much, and would like to talk about this at our staff meetings. It is definitely something we already do, but I think we could step it up a notch, and involve more of our Circ staff, and part-timers.

Two Teen programs

One good, one not very good -

The first (not very good) program was called “Reinventing your Teen Department” and the biggest tip was to have gaming be a daily service. The presenter actually went through like 4 slides with pictures of gaming systems, saying “this is a Playstation 3, this is an Xbox 360, this is a Wii.” Once they started pushing for an all-night gaming program, I closed my eyes and took a nap. :)

The next workshop, “Top Trends: taking teen services to the next level” was entertaining and informative. Two really funny librarians from Queens and Schaumberg, IL talked about several aspects of teen services: readers advisory, arketing magic, teen spaces, clubs & programs (including TAGs).

Under readers advisory they suggested sending out regular book lists for staff to keep them informed and ready to help teens. Current trends – steampunk (traveling through time?); werewolves, angels, mystery/suspense. Create displays that will attract teens in the adult areas since teens are often there as well. They mentioned there is a new YALSA award for best YA nonfiction.

Marketing Magic included lots of ideas for marketing to teens. I didn’t see much different here than we already do, but they suggested trying social media and see what works for your community. Not everyone will be successful with Facebook or Twitter. Also, consider how you market to tweens since they are often overlooked group. Best marketing is word of mouth.

Teen spaces covered just that. They showed lots of pictures of nice teen spaces. Get teens involved in creating spaces and partner with schools (art depts.) to help make those spaces interesting.

Club & programs covered how to get teens interested in programs especially by asking them, giving surveys, outreach, and going to nontraditional teen places like juvenile detention centers. They said TAGs typically go through cycles (as ours has!) and if something’s not working, try something else, don’t just get rid of it. A big trend for clubs and programs is service. For example, one library launched a program called “The year of 1,000 volunteer hours.” Many of their programs involved doing things for others – knitting blankets for the animal shelter, making cards for soldiers. These programs were really successful and show that teens want to help but often don’t have the means or know-how to do so. Other ideas for clubs – cooking club, cultural club, tween club, story & acting group, book buddies (teens read to little kids), breakdancing club.

Overall the presenters offered lots of great ideas and a lots of positive ways to serve teens in the library.

(A third teen program I had hoped to attend, “Cool teen program for under $100,” conflicted with another program that I did attend. There is a book of the same name that I will look into purchasing if anyone is interested.)

Mourning the loss: the challenge of change

Presenters: Pam Nissler & Beth Jones, Jefferson County Public Library; Missy Shock, Douglas County Libraries, CO

This program was fairly good about how two sister library systems handled some major changes they instituted in their libraries. They talked about the “human element” of change, saying that changing spaces and operations can be predictable, linear and planned for, but it is not easy to change people or predict how people will experience change.

The way people go through change is comparable to the way they go through loss – several stages of mourning that are different from person to person. They said it’s important to give people time in each stage and help make the process as positive as possible. For example, one manager whose staff was moving from an old beloved building to a new building in a very different part of town had her staff make scrapbooks and record memories of the old building to take with them.

The program got a little dry and theoretical at this point as they shifted to explaining the Rogers Innovation Adoption Curve (from early adapters to laggards) and gave a lengthy description of the book “Influencers” which I’d heard of through my work on the Employee Orientation committee. I have to admit, once they started talking about the book, I decided it would be easier for me to read it than try to take notes on their convoluted presentation of it. Basically, you *can* influence people and must reach their hearts and minds in order to change their behavior.

Other tips – there are do-overs with change (if you handled something poorly with your staff, go back and be honest about it, and try it again); don’t get discouraged about change; tell stories to get change moving (“This is what our library will be like when these changes have been made…”)

I have some handouts from the program if anyone is interested or wants clarification. And, yes, I will be checking out Influences to give it a skim. 

Organizational Culture

Organizational Culture
I wanted to go to this program because I am a member of one of the three Team RC teams and our primary goal is to develop the ideal culture in Rancho Cucamonga. This facilitator spoke about some of the steps she took to do this in her library.

Why consider org culture?
- major change initiatives focus on making the library more customer focused, innovative, and cost conscious
- change is sometimes met with resistance and fear

What is org culture?
- a pattern of basic assumptions -- invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration -- that has worked well enough to be considered valid
- how an organization operates and how its members frame events from both inside and outisde the organization.

4 Types of Cultures
- clan (support) - a friendly, nice place to work, like an extended family, the org is led by loyalty. Success is defined by concern for people.
- hierarchial (power)- a very formal place to work, lots of governance. The org is held together by rules and policies. Success is defined by dependability and often, low cost.
- Market (role) - a results oriented work place, getting the job done is what counts. Success is defined by numbers or market share.
- Adhocracy (achievement) - a dynamic and creative place to work. The glue that holds it together is innovation. Success is defined as being a service leader. Innovation and creativity is king.
Most organizations are combination market or hierarchy. Not as many are adhocracy.
Diagnosing Org Culture (book)
Organizational Culture Assessment
Organizational Culture (personality) (long term lasting orientation that is not easily swayed)and Organizational Climat (mood) are different.

Steps for Designing an ideal culture...
1. Diagnose and come to a consensus regarding present - all members of management team too the org culture asssessment instrument, two staff members from each band of levels were randomly selected to take OCAI, all levels were represented.
2. Diagnose and come to consensus regarding the future - all members of management team too the org culture asssessment instrument, two staff members from each band of levels were randomly selected to take OCAI, all levels were represented.
3. Examine cultures
4. Develop Illustrative stories
5. Determine the action steps needed - draw a map of where you want to go. If you want to increase CLAN skills - form teams, be clear about standards, build your people, celebrate your successes. If you want to ADHCRACY - manage intolerance, celebrate people trying, out innocv ations in people's job descriptions. Think about the future (20 years from now). See what your peers are doing. Manage a reward system for improving things. If you want MARKET - manage competitiveness, numbers are not everything but you expect world-class service, go out and shop with your competitors.
Just remember, you can't do everything, so ask what the key areas to address are, where to begin, what activitiies need to be started or stopped. Along the way, identify your small wins, design follow-up and accountability (set up targets and monitor progress), provide information and explan why (tell everyone why the change in culture is neededed and waht impact it will have on them personally and on the whole organizatin), focus on progress.
6. Design an Implementation Plan - how to get from here to there (like a technology plan), identify the people who will champion this change, be inclusive, then - just do it.
email: kirstys@grrl.lib.mn.us

Cracking the Code - Beyond Dewey

Cracking the Code: Beyond Dewey
- moving from Dewey system to word-based systems - changing the way you think - think the way customers think - it's about where people will find books

Molly Moyer - moving from public library model to bookstore
Bookstore - customer based organization (have to listen to how people ask for things and reduce the barriers that keep customers from what they want). Criteria for location - is a book selling where it is? If not - move it. Example: true crime moved from mystery to law section. To market materials - instead of read-a-likes - they do "shelf-talkers."

Marshall Shore (Maricopa)
Third Place Elements - distinct from work or home, liberating free space, playful - no Dewey came from this. Elements that he looked at were shelving, display, furniture, signage and collection. They had a Costco type building, so they used end panel wraps to showcase subjects, theatrical gels to highlight areas, but also used shelving on wheels so they could change the space as they wanted. They also did a lot of things we already do (comfy chanirs, slatwall, merchandising, etc. ) DEWEY - they moved away from Dewey and used subjects and neighborhoods and shelve by title - neighborhood (HEALTH), subject (DIET), then shelved by title. There is a call number label on each book that would read (HEALTH then DIET).

Rachel Fewell - Anythink Libraries
WordThink Grid - Neighborhood is RELATIONSHIPS and subject are DATING, ABUSE, DIVORCE, FAMILY, MARRIAGE, SEX, WEDDINGS. In the catalog, the call number says "business." Business Industry Standard and Communication (BISEC). The upside to this is - like items live together (books with like subjects are within proximity but also nonfiction DVDs can be interfiled). The downside is - where do things go?
This is time-consuming - having to change every item. They use Horizon so they put the new "call number" into the notes field, then used SQL to move from that field into the 082 field when they were ready to flip the switch. Biography, History, Places, Technology & Transportation, Science, Parenting, Art, Sports, Life Issues, Animals and Pets, Crafts Cooking Gardening and Reference, Math Careers Government and Law, Curiosity and Humor are their neighborhoods. They wanted to create nooks, not traditional shelving.

All in all this was very interesting, and definitely something I am going to think about. The question is - what do you think???

Nonfiction Reader Advisory: Titles, Tips & Techniques

Presenters: Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly. Mary's website is www.awfullibrarybooks.info. She also recommended fark.com, snopes.com, neatorama.com, poitnlesssites.com - all good for starting conversations when doing readers' advisory.

Mary recommended becoming more familiar with the collection by picking a dewey a day and walking through the shelves, flipping through the books. Mood and tone are just as important as topic. She recommended creating a personal go-to list, covering all the dewey ranges. Some suggestions are: The Worst Case Survival Handbook, Type Talk at Work, Too Much of a Good Thing, Stiff (or any Mary Roach), What Einstein Told His Cook, Animals in Translation, The Sociopath Next Door, Ice Bound, The Zombie Survival Guide.

Holly described some techniques for readers' advisory, such as asking patrons what kind of movies or magazines they like. She recommended some books based on tastes (funny, scary, etc.): Flirting With Pride and Prejudice, Monty Python Live, Seeking Spirits (about ghost hunters), A Country Called Amreeka, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Incontinent on the Continent, The Lost City Of Z (which Casey was reading on the plane coming here!), Shop Class as Soulcraft, Sweet Potato Queens.

Holly also discussed pairing fiction with nonfiction. For example, chick-lit readers might like See Jane Write, horror readers might like On Monsters, etc. She recommended some RA websites: readersbanquet.blogspot.com, bookslut.com.

This workshop was fun, and the recommended books are websites were great. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I like the idea of spending more time in the shelves and making lists of recommended reading. I'm excited to get back to the library and get started on this!

Perfect Harmony: Orchestrating Cultural Partnerships

Presenter: Dr. Sherry Baker,Community Education Coord., Lexington (KY) PL

This program discussed the community partners used by Lexington for their musical programs, especially the partnership with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra. None of these program were held in the library, but took place in community centers, churches and senior centers. The idea behind their outreach program is "the branch without walls." Motto: "bringing the library to you."

Recent outreach programs: New Horizons band which partners with seniors; puppets and partners for children's storytimes

challenges:

Their partners were not always excited about the library programming, so she used her background in music to partner with outstanding arts partners to create engaging programming for kids

Key is to find the right person to contact within the organization and discuss partnership

What does the library offer the organization?
What are the expectations of the partnership?
What are the materials needed and who will supply them?
Whether there will be payment needed; put it in writing

Program Plan
length of series (i.e. 6 weeks)
purpose to experience the elements of mucis first-hand
format of each program: read a picture book that introduces musical element
use instruments to explore that element
Culminates in a visit from the Instrument Petting Zoo from the Lex Phil on the final week

Remember to include library materials!

Materials:

simple percussion instruments, drums, shakers, recorders. simple cleaning supplies. library books

Budget:

discussed wants with two local music stores, attained estimates

determined need of around $500 for instruments

request program support from Friends

Lesson plans:

concept: what is music? book and music that related

culminating event was a community event: children and parents participated

kids got experience with instruments

Music Discovery series

Other partnerships:

children's theater

Mamma mia (senior residences and nursing homes)

New Horizons Band; chamber performances for music discussion grps (seniors)

programs held at community centers and section housing part of town

use contract

look for these groups in your town looking for performance experiences (colleges)

new horizons for older adults who have no music experience/ways to work together/bring to senior discussion group

brainstorming:

identify 5 cultural institutions in your community

Identify 3 interests that you have: what do you enjoy in your leisure time?

intersection: the place to start

This program covered pretty much the same information that we already know. The only new info was the New Horizons Band and I'm going to check on this to see if we have a chapter in our area. It might be a useful way to reach a new segment of older adults and it would fit in just right with our performing arts focus.

Reimagine, Reinvent & Reallocate: Our new reality

Presenter: Sandra Nelson, Sandra Nelson Associates

I've seen Sandra before (Infopeople, I think) and if you ever get the chance to see her, take it! She's a big-picture thinker, pragamatist and tends to focus on the present or near future (unlike Stacey Aldrich who is a futurist).

Sandra talked about two types of changes in libraries - big (reimagining) and small/medium (reinveting)

REIMAGINING means doing new things. Creating a children's museum on the second floor is definitely reimagining. She gave several other examples of reimagining.
Aarhus Public Library in Denmark used their library lobby as a "lab" - a flexible space that contained interactive exhibits/activities that people can move in and out of as they like. There was a literature lab (poetry readings, etc), news lab (wall of screens with news from 10 different counties), Music lab - live music, listening stations; the "square" - a public space for groups to sit and hold meetings, someone held a giant chess game. Each lab was held for 6 months and after all the labs were complete, the lab project ended. She emphasized the importance of letting things go and not continuing to do things year after year after year if they're just not working anymore.

The next example of reimagining was Imaginon (Charlotte-Mecklenbery library). She highlighted the theatre, interactive spaces and children's museum.

For Sandra, reimagining is very closely connected with making things interactive, flexible, user-centered, collaborative.

Next was REINVENT, or creating small/medium-sized change or doing old things in new ways. To help understand when libraries might want to reinvent, Sandra gave these benchmarks:
-After doing something 2 years, look at it carefully
-After doing something 5 years, look at it with suspicion
-After doing something 10 year, throw it out and start over!!

Her examples of reinventing were quite good:
1. Library Koncept in the Netherlands- music pod chairs with iMac computers, downloadable music, and comfy seating. These were awesome and who wouldn't want to sit in the pod and listening to music?
2. Storyville, Baltimore County Libraries has created an interactive children's space centered around children's stories. They have the very interactive exhibits and activities we've been seeing in the museum visits, but all contained within the library walls. If you haven't seen Storyville, take a look at the website.
3. Senior space in Old Bridge, NJ - these folks created a "memory" space for their local seniors that transformed their library and make it much more interactive for the seniors and community.
4. Deweyless cataloging would also be an example of "reinvent".

The last part of the program was Reallocate. In order to reimagine and reinvent we must reallocate. Change comes from people's actions and because staff take up the largest portion of library budgets, we must reallocate staff - their tasks, their attitudes, their level of flexibility, etc. She said managers have to reallocate what staff do, and we each individually have the responsibility to change our own work patterns, thinking, etc. She encouraged us to live out of our imaginations, not our history!

At the end, Sandra seemed to be mostly trying to inspire and here are some quotes she shared:

An inventor is someone who doesn't take his education too seriously. (Ketterling)

The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence, it is to act with yesterday's logic. (Peter Drucker)

To move forward takes vision, creativity, and courage. (her own)

Let me know if you have any questions about this excellent program. :)

The 30-Second Email

Speaker: Debra Hamilton, President and CEO of Creative Communications and Training, Inc.

Email is the dominant form of communication today and it is also one of the major causes of work-related stress. According to Debra Hamilton, this is because over 60% of email messages fail to communicate a complete message. And poorly written email can affect profits. When email messages are unclear, it results in a chain reaction of needless follow-up emails and corresponding responses. Much of the way email impacts productivity and profits is through this rework - rewriting to clarify a message, obtain more information, correct a misstatement, and so on. One study reveals that a company with 100 employees can expect to lose more than $450,000 a year because of email blunders and rework. Add to that dilemma a reader who is angered by an insidious tone and the casualties keep coming: impaired working relationships, breakdown of trust, and the need for damage control.

You give your readers a complete message in 30 seconds or less by using a simplified email writing template to focus your thinking. This template includes:

o an explicit subject line that clearly states why you are writing (to update, educate, persuade, inquire or make a request).

o An opening sentence which reiterates why you are writing and states the context and purpose of the email.

o The body of the email which should explain who, what, why, when, where, how.

o Finally, the closing should give a quick recap and clear call to action

Ms. Hamilton wrapped up her presentation by encouraging us not to respond to angry emails online. She suggested that we use the phone or set up a face-to-face meeting in these situations.

If You Didn't Work Here Would You Come Here?

Presenter: Sandra Sojanos and a panel of speakers.

This workshop was about the young professional demographic, in their 20s and 30s. This age group is underrepresented at public libraries. I've been learning a lot lately about how baby-boomers are underrepresented in libraries, but this younger demographic is also missing out, for many of the same reasons - they don't have young children and they don't feel that library programming meets their needs.

Some ways to appeal to this demographic include:
Zines, cult movies, cultural awareness, stand-up comedy, music, food, fashion, authors, true crime, local art, speed-dating, anything quirky and different.

Marketing and graphics are important, after-hours events are recommended, serving alcohol helps bring people in. They recommended reading the book "Generation Me" to learn more about this demographic.

Advocating for Library Outreach Services

Speakers: Sandy Littletree, Knowledge River
Connie Purcell, Hickory PL
Fatima Perkins, Towanda District Lib
Miguel Figueroa, Director of Office for Diversity, ALA

Presenters discussed the ALA toolkits that guide staff through the process of developing, promoting, and advocating for library outreach in various areas:

-The Small but Powerful Guide to Winning Big Support for Your Rural Library
-The Guide to Building Support for Tribal Libraries
-How to Serve the World @ Your Library
-Keys to Engaging Older Adults @ Your Library

These toolkits provide rules in the ongoing challenge of winning support for your library. Steps to success:

-Start now
-build your team
-make an action plan
-have a clear, memorable message
-target your audiences
-identify strategies
-practic word-of-mouth marketing
-have an enthusiastic, articulate spokesperons
-evaluate constantly
-don't stop

These toolkits can be downloaded at the ALA website. I plan to look at them more closely when I get back to the library. They sound like excellent resources to help us seek information, learn about trends and get more insight about the experiences of other libraries.

Stop Passive Aggressiveness@your Library: A Dangerous Idea

The presenters of this workshop included our very own Stacey Aldrich, CA State Librarian, and several other library managers and directors. They started off with a definition of PA (passive agressive) behavior from Wikipedia, and DSM. Some of the slides and ongoing joking between the presenters was humorous, yet not, considering the behavior was modeling PA. It was partly humorous, because we've all encountered these behaviors at some point in our lives. It's one of the most common ways anger is expressed in the workplace. After the definition and examples, they most importantly, gave strategies to deal with these behaviors.

Wikipedia definition: "Passive–aggressive behavior (negative personality trait) is passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to following through with expectations in interpersonal or occupational situations. It is a personality trait marked by a pervasive pattern of negative attitudes and passive, usually disavowed resistance in interpersonal or occupational situations.
It can manifest itself as learned helplessness, procrastination, stubbornness, resentment, sullenness, or deliberate/repeated failure to accomplish requested tasks for which one is (often explicitly) responsible. It is a defense mechanism, and usually only partly conscious."

They talked about the PA employee and manager; and most importantly, what motivates this behavior, where does it come from?

Top 5 motivators of PA behavior:
1. non confrontational, person would rather not do anything.
2. disappointed communicator, person has been met with negativity in the past over ideas they have proposed
3. control freak, the Type A personality
4. past-ist, "been there done that"
5. "not my problem"

Top 4 strategies in dealing with PA behaviors:
1. be assertive - take action, don't ignore. "Silence is not golden, it is permission."
2. be objective - don't take it personally, don't assign motives. State behavior, actions, and impact on others.
3. communicate - talk openly and honestly. Bedirect and keep it simple. Model appropriate behavior and ask questions, approach with mutual respect.
4. document - keep records of assignments, follow-up and behaviors.

A practical exercise was given to the audience, in the form of a story about a fictional "Jane & Molly @the Library." We then worked in small groups, and gave feedback to the presenters on how we would handle the situation.

Passive aggressive behavior is something that can negatively affect an organization, this workshop's goal was to give the attendees more information to understand, and to deal with these behaviors. What I learned; how to more clearly identify these types of behaviors, and how to confront them. Part of my motivation in addending this workshop was to see what our State Librarian had to say about this topic.

I Remember When...Connecting Your Community

Speakers: Mark Richardson, YA Librarian, Cedar Mill Community Library, Portland
Donna Bachowski, Orange County Library System, Orlando, FLA

The first part of the presentation covered the Cedar Mill Library's oral history project which featured a variety of people with immigrant stories to share. By using high school students as the interviewees, the project evolved into a learning experience for the students. Through the powerful narratives, the storytellers had a chance to teach them, too. The students learned that the Northwest was and is a destination for people seeking better lives.

The second part featured Orlando Memory, a community digital archive which was designed to connect residents and their shoebox of memories. Although the Orange County Library system had a tough time getting the program off the ground, it now hosts the popular site where people's "instant memories" are kept.

I learned that RCPL is very fortunate to have received the California of the Past digital storytelling grant. Why? Because we were supplied with excellent recording equipment and a place to post our digital stories. On the other hand, the speakers spent much of the program discussing the problems with the equipment they used and the trials and tribulations of trying to post their digital stories and podcasts to the web. They also had a really tough time with the editing piece and finally just gave up and posted the stories unedited. While this wasn't the most exciting program, it was interesting to learn what other libraries are doing.

Be a Good Boss: One Year to Success

Are you a boss? Are you thinking of being a boss? Do you want to be a boss? Do you have a boss? This workshop is for everyone. Speakers were Kimberly Bolan, Indianapolis librarian & trainer and Catherine Hakala-Ausperk, Deputy Director Cleveland Heights, Ohio. They started out by having the audience say outloud the first name of their "best boss." It was a loud chorus, there are lots of good bosses, that's the good news! The first slide of the presentation illustrated that supervisors/leaders/bosses should know how to and be prepared to do any job. The slide was of a toilet.

From there, they talked about 3 kinds of bosses:
1-Newbie - the brand new boss
2-Know but doesn't have time - the busy boss, most fit in this category
3-Don't know what they don't know - only a few, not a good place to be

What is needed to achieve greatness is:
1-committment
2-time
3-a plan

By spending an hour a week on personal development. How to find time...
-arrest the time thieves
-check email only twice a day
-stop "polishing the pearl"
-master the art of nonfinishing
-skip a lunch...it's your career

A plan can be developed by taking any mangement, supervison book, there are many, and the author has one to be published in April by ALA Editions. Then divide the book into a one-year plan. Focus on each topic, and apply.

Handouts and further information available at: indielibrarian.blogspot.com

The presenters in this workshop seemed like they are definitely "good bosses." I liked their idea of having all staff do outreach, and go out into the community to promote the library, not just the supervisors, but everyone at all levels.

The One-Room Schoolhouse Project: A Successful Model for Outreach, Partnerships, Senior Services and Local History

Speaker: Elizabeth Goldman, The Black River Group

It all started with a potato. From 1920-1960, the farmlands in Michigan were dotted with hundreds of one-room schoolhouses and there are many people who went to school there. Every morning, these students would take a potato to school and the teachers would put them in the pot belly stoves to cook. By lunchtime, the potatoes were done and everyone had a baked potato for lunch. This shared memory led the Chelsea (Michigan) Library (2008 Best Small Library in America) to join forces with the local senior center to create a documentary about it. Key pieces that made it happen:

-established relationship with senior center
-an identified need
-established record of grant funding
-big imaginations
-willingness to take risks

Why is this important?

-advocacy at a grassroots level
-share workload and expertise
-libraries need to prove they are innovative and deeply committed to their community
-also that they are essential to the success of their community

As we know, the senior population is changing and it's time for libraries to rethink how they provide services to them. Projects such as oral history programs offer ways for libraries to reach out to seniors through engaging and mentally stimulating ways. We need to be responsive and adaptive to the special needs of seniors.

Communication Excellence - how to be heard/how to listen

Presenter - Debra Hamilton, Hamilton Associates

The last program of the day was also the longest, but worth the extra time. Debra is a polished, excellent communicator and modeled everything she talked about.

She started by saying that the responsibility for successful communication lies 50/50 on both listener and speaker. And that both must work equally hard to engage in effective communication.

She covered the following aspects of communication:

Communication Situations - regardless of the situation you find yourself communicating in, your thoughts and feeling affect your actions during conversations and thus your ability to communicate effectively. While communicating, your actions reveal your feelings and thoughts. For example, some people might communicate with silence behaviors like avoiding a topic, withdrawing, and others might behave "violently" with controlling, attacking behaviors during conversations. The ideal is somewhere in between silence and violence, where we act assertively which results in powerful, confidence, effective communication.

Communication barriers - Perceptual barriers (talking to people with different learning or thinking styles-left brain/right brain); physical barriers (distance, temperature, noise, etc.); emotional barriers (fear, presumptions); cultural/language barriers; gender differences; and lack of interpersonal skills all lead to failed communication. Here she also talked a whole lot about multiple intelligences and the fact that good leaders have good intrapersonal skills (they know about themselves and can manage their own emotions), which allows them to then have good interpersonal skills (they can help take care of and communicate well with others). That's just one example of overcoming communication barriers.

How to be heard -

Ask open-ended questions - yay! we know what these are.
Manage resistance - deal with those who may oppose you through methods like acknowledging their resistance; (Q-TIP) quit taking it personally; asking questions for clarity; reframing the situation; asking how they can help with the solution
Use words that influence - don't say I hope, say I'm confident we can... Don't say I think, say I believe we can...
Project confidence
Build trust

How to listen (she got short on time here)
Be attentive, understanding, and encouraging to your speaker. Do not give advice.

There was lots more to this workshop. Please let me know if you're interested in the topic. I can offer suggested readings, worksheets, and exercises all from Debra Hamilton.

Defining the Best Customer Experience

Presenters: New Zealand/Auckland community libraries

This wasn't the most dynamic program. Mainly I wanted to go to hear the New Zealand accents (not really!) but they brought up some good points. These libraries completed a research study on determining the best possible customer experience - kind of like our 2nd floor feasibility study. They surveyed people, did focus groups, and got lots of input from the community.

Their findings were fairly staightforward. That the public likes library staff that are welcoming, friendly and helpful (although very few patrons were ever actually greeted when they entered the libraries- just the regulars); they liked the free collections and resources; safe and friendly meeting spaces; and dedicated programs and resources for children. Other learnings were that library staff placed more value on services and products than customers; and policies and procedures were barriers.

Trying to move forward with this information, the libraries began a holistic program toward creating the best possible customer experience. They called it "Walk in our customers shoes" where the staff worked in small teams to go to places like libraries, stores, restaurants, etc. to view the place through a customer's eyes. They collected tons of data and at that point set up initiatives for their own libraries to move forward.

It seemed the most valuable change in creating the experience was the staff buy in of the idea of creating a customer-centered library. The staff really 'got it' by walking in the customers shoes and as a result the libraries go big buy in on changes that were implemented. I thought the presenters' comment that being customer-focused is different from being friendly was interesting and something to explore a little in our own libraries. Another more memorable comment was that you don't get a good customer experience out of the procedure manual.

Overall it seems the changes they made were practical and doable - though they really didn't get into any detail about what the changes were. Just that involving staff in the process of identifying what changes needed to be made was transformative for their staff and library.

Don't Play Dead When Facing Life-Threatening Budget Cuts

Speakers were from the San Jose Public Library. This program was proposed 18 months ago, and since then, their budget situation has dramatically changed.

Unfortunately their presentation was not significantly changed to reflect these budget cuts. Rather, they tended to focus just on how they do things in San Jose. I kept waiting to hear about if they implemented furloughs or layoffs or cutting back hours (and the rationale behind whatever they did) but they never got there.

Five years ago, San Jose Public really was a model for innovation in public libraries. I know we learned a lot from them (i.e merchandising, inviting public spaces) but now, they seem to be living in the past.

Providing Consumer Health Information at Your Library

Speaker: Andrea Kenyon.

I attended this workshop because I'm never quite comfortable dealing with medical questions at the reference desk. I find it hard to walk the line between being helpful and making it clear that we are not medical experts. So I was relieved when one of the first things addressed in the workshop was the fact that many librarians feel the same way. People tend to be more comfortable with librarians than with doctors, so the library is an obvious place to go with medical questions. We will always be called upon to answer medical questions, so we would be wise to have a few resources handy.

She talked about the importance of health literacy and shared some useful websites. She recommended knowing the community and understanding some of the main health information needs and resources.

A big issue, for both patrons and for librarians, is the expectation that a public librarian can answer specific, personal medical questions. This is the problem I've come across - for example, a patron describing symptoms and hoping for a diagnosis. This can be very uncomfortable and distressing for both parties.

She recommended being very careful during the reference interview to make sure the patron understands that the conversation is confidential and that we will respect their privacy and refrain from judgment. It's also important to ask if their question was fully answered and to encourage patrons to consult health professionals when necessary.

I'm glad I attended this workshop, but I didn't gain any big insights. The advice was mainly practical and based on common sense. The list of websites is a useful resource and I'm sure I will get some good use out of it.

Thrilling Tales and Selected Shorts: An Adult Storytime at Your Library

Presenter: David Wright, Seattle Public Library.

This workshop was a lot of fun. David Wright is a former theater-dude who has launched a very cool adult storytime program at his library. It's a lunch-hour event, held twice a month, in which adults gather around to hear a story. He talked about the cultural importance of story-telling and gave some useful advice about how to select good stories. He does his own reading, but he mentioned that almost every community has local theater people who could make good story-tellers (obviously, we have more access to this group than most libraries would). There are many ways to do these programs, either in the library or in the greater community, and with podcasting and the like, the possibilities are endless. There was a good combination of entertainment (he told several stories, which were wonderful) and practical advice. I left this workshop feeling very excited and wanting to run out and tell stories. I would like to try something like this for the Transforming Life After 50 fellowship. Very fun and inspiring!

Expanding Your World Through Web Conferencing

This program could probably be best called "Web Conferencing for Dummies".

But this was a good program, very basic but then again, it's not like I am an expert in web conferencing.

Now that we have a WebEx license, I was just interested in learning more about doing webinars, web-based meetings, and other applications that can be done online. This is one area where rural libraries seem to be leading the parade (probably out of necessity as much as anything) but the presenters were very clear and organized (probably essential for web conferencing!)

I think this was a good example of why PLA can be such a good conference. This particular program had maybe 35 people in the room but the topic was relevant, and at least this time, the speakers were all uniformly good.

Step Up! Timely Outcomes-Based Model for Helping Job-Seekers

Presenters: Kerwin Pilgrim and Edwin Maxwell, Brooklyn Public Library.

The STEP (Skills Training and Employment Project) program was funded by the US Department of Labor. Through this program, BPL offers one-on-one services for job-seekers and matches job-seekers with resources and services. A STEP session, which lasts about 30 minutes, includes:
1. Conducting an extended reference interview (a one-on-one consultation) in which the patron explains their issues
2. Asking questions to determine the patron's needs
3. Laying out a course of action and giving referrals to training, education, and job placement

It's important to set aside a private place for the one-on-one consultations. The sessions are usually done by appointment, but they also have walk-in hours. BPL also offers regular resume-writing and interviewing workshops, plus special programs featuring people from local industries.

They used some of the money to purchase books and databases to beef up their job-skills collection. They use a database called Career Cruising, plus Learning Express Library and Reference USA. They also formed partnerships - Chamber of Commerce, community colleges, etc.

They gave some advice about how to collect outcome data through workshop evaluations and follow-up surveys.

Although I enjoyed this workshop, I was hoping for a bit more. The content seemed pretty simplistic and obvious, and it also seemed that the librarians were duplicating the services offered by other agencies, like the local unemployment office. The assessment aspect is impressive, but they can't offer much beyond that. Still, any help libraries can offer job-seekers is a good thing and it was nice to see what BPL does.

Shortcuts to Greatness

Karen Hyman from South Jersey Cooperative - speaker.

All of us are here together for this program to learn what the shortcuts are to greatness. The premise is that excellence and a history of support are not working as well as they used to. Smoke and mirrors and inertia are not working as well as they used to. for many, fun is in short, at least shorter supply. Moving toward greatness was never more necessary, rewarding, or entertaining.

10 Steps
1. Great Libraries Have Great Leadership - great leaders set an inspiring and effective vision (one that you can keep in mind), are confident they can notice and fix things that don't work (willing to try things), take notice, have courage, ask questions, and model behavior. They are high in emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills) which can be developed through experience. Leaders set the bar high for yourself and learn all you can; find coaches among mentors, coaches and staff; notice and eliminate energy depleters; and remember that courage is a choice, not a personality trait. If you want to have great leaders, remember - their greatness is in your self-interest, their leadership skills are developed through your obvseration and feedback, perfect leaders are like perfect mothers (they're fictional).

2. Visionary leadership relies on wonderful staff - there is no alternative. You want passionate enthusiastic staff, so - hire them, inspire liberate and cherish them (your front line staff are your heroes). Make passion and enthusiasm part of your leadership. Hire people who will - engage well with others and are passionate about providing excellent service, are team players, think quickly on their feet, and are excited about the prospect of growing and changing the environment. What motivates people - the chance to work with great colleagues you can respect and learn from; clear meaningful goals, inspire them. People are motivated because they do things that matter, because they are interesting, and because they are part of something important (Dan Pink).

3. Visionary leadership and great staff can create a great culture. Culture is how and organization operates supports innovation, flexibility, and quality execution, supports effective teamwork, and avoids rigidity in politics, mediocrity, complacency, and the aura of failure. Does your library have a vision or driving statement? Values are what we value - values are shown by who gets rewarded, promoted, or let go; are shown in how we treat the people who work in our libraries, those who walk in the door and those who don't use the library (yet). Organizations need and inspire an effective vision - doesn't have to be innovative or original but is short and focused on the community. To build a great culture - involve staff, users and non-users; set an inspiring vision; develop core competencies and expectations of everyone at all levels; reinforce the vision on your website.

4. The Library belongs to the customers. Visionary leadership and great staff are there to make the experience that the customers love. There is not alternative. if we are not the public library the people want - that's our fault. We need to adjust to our customers. Customer focus means reaching out and continuing renewal. Your library is as friendly as your least friendly employee. Customer focused libraries get to first base - ditch the rules/burn the signs, observe and respond to cultural shifts, choose your fights, rethink your fines or at least change your message, show respect and affection for their customers.

5. Great libraries practice rapid recovery. Good processes help talented people get more done. Bad processes try to prevent recoverable mistakes. A loyal customer feels great about dealing with you, has needs that are consistently met, will proactively talk about you. Just fix problems quickly. (Netflix) Vancouver PL says "library should be an expression of its community's vision and creativity..." Houston PL - respond to any customer problems within 3 days, low hanging fruit they handle right away, work on uniformity of response, if staff makes a change and the customer goes away happy all they do is just review policy.

6. Great Libraries seize opportunity. Develop and maintain connections with those who share constituencies and be there when the chips are down. They'll remember. Houston PL (during a national disaster when everything was closed by city employees had to go to work) offered free day care for two weeks for all city employees.

7. Great libraries have heart and soul. Emotional bonding - a heartfelt connection - makes it 3 times more likely people will stay loyal. The ideal flawless service, is delivered in an atmosphere of caring.

8. Great libraries have a sense of humor and show it in their building, website, and publications. Anythink - horror bookmarks, romance posters, etc.

9. Great libraries look cool. Are there shortcuts to looking cool? - Merchandise. Paint. Hang a banner. Put some big pictures of people on your website and in your library. Do a wordle at www.wordle.net. Smile...now... Reconfigure to fit people's needs (Paco Underhill). Change your look online - have a cool looking website (use real patrons doing real things in your library with some of their real quotes to advertise what you do). Change your look - staff shirts, jackets, etc. that fir your style and send your message. Smile. Your library is as cool as your least friendly public service employee.

10. Great libraries don't wait to be great. 5 things you can start today.
- Set a simple, inspiring and usable vision, share it with your customers and potential customers, and make it the touchstone for all your other choices.
- Develop core competencies/expectations of everyone at all levels to match that vision in terms of enthusiasm, flexibility, etc. Define the job that you want done and celebrate what you want to foster.
- Practice rapid recovery. Notice what's not working and respond quickly to customer and staff feedback.
- Change your look. Increase the coolness factor of your staff, your space, and your website.
- Go the the extra mile. Put heart and soul and spirit of fun into your library service.

As usual, Karen Hyman is action packed and full of energy. Another inspiring talk...

From NOT to HOT: Turning Your Unknown or Mediocre Library into the Happening Place in Your Community

Considering that the title of this workshop seemed a bit insulting, it shouldn't have been a big surprise to find it so disappointing. The presenter, a former library director and current consultant/trainer, Victoria Ashford, presented what seemed like very basic concepts (she spent a solid ten minutes explaining the concept of internal/external customers) in a condescending manner. Her nuggets of wisdom included not repairing library furniture with duct tape, making staff wear uniforms, and other eye-roll inducing comments, which she insisted we write down. Almost half the people in the room left early, including myself.

Despite the disappointment, it did make me stop and realize how good we are at what we do. It's good that these concepts are old news - it means we're smart and good at what we do. So I left feeling disappointed and uplifted at once.

Jumpstart Your Fundraising!

This was a program by the St. Paul (MN) Friends/Foundation on fundraising ideas.

They outlined 12 basic foundations of fundraising, all of which were (to us) pretty elementary (i.e. create a separate 503c(3) group, have events, thank your donors, etc). They did offer some good ideas however (i.e. making personal "thank you" phone calls for any donation over $100, at all fundraising events have a phone bank and at the time, have donors call other prospective donors. We do this at the Telethon but there are other opportunities for us).

Here is one interesting fact: People that give a low level amount to an organization seven years in a row are those most likely to give a planned gift. We have quite a few of these so who knows what is in our future?...

The St. Paul group said they received $375K a year in fundraising. By contrast, we bring in around $200K between our Friends and Foundation so I would say we are doing pretty well in this area.

But we can always do better! Actually, this was a good program. A little basic but if nothing else, reassured me that we are doing a good job in the area of fundraising.

Crossover Advisory: Adult Book for Teens and Teen Books for Adults

This workshop was presented by Jessica E. Moyer, a doctoral student in literacy education and a panel of four.

First up was Diana Herald, editor of Genreflecting and co-author of Strictly Science Fiction. She gave many recommendations of books that work well for both teens and adults. Some good ones at the moment are Going Bovine, What I Saw and How I Lied, and Audrey Wait.

Next up was Katie Mediatore Stover from Kansas City Public Library. She discussed some of the things teens look for in books - grit, honesty, social awareness - and she highly recommended any and all Alex Award books for both teens and adults.

The next speaker was the author Brandon Sanderson, who writes epic fantasy for teens. He spoke about his own experience as a "reluctant reader" and how an 8th-grade teacher made all the difference by introducing him to adult fantasy books. Until he found that genre, he felt "talked down to" by typical YA books, but fantasy inspired and challenged him.

Last was the author Kim Harrison, who is best known for her adult books. She writes a YA series about the character Madison Avery, a high school girl who just happens to be dead, which creates some issues. She talked about the differences between writing for adults/teens, and shared her perspectives.

I enjoyed this workshop very much. I don't read much YA or genre fiction, so it was helpful to get some good titles to recommend. The main points I took away were that good books are good books, period, whether they're labeled YA or genre fiction or anything else. A good book will automatically appeal to a diverse audience. Also, young readers deserve quality writing and often don't get the credit they deserve for their reading choices.

Tough Decisions in Tough Times

I think I can wrap up my impressions of this program by one thing Thomas Galante, CEO of the Queens Public Library of NY said: "Don't wait until it rains to fix the roof". Making tough decisions in tough times is inevitable. But prior to having to do this, you should *constantly* be eliciting support on all levels, whether it is financial (Friends, Foundation), political (local electeds, Library Board) or other (your user base and internal partners). Constantly work these people when times are good so that when times get tough, you have your allies lined up and ready to support you.

Based on some of the horror stories I have heard about budget cuts (30-50% is pretty common) makes me realize that in Rancho, we are doing something right (in that our cuts have not been anywhere as draconian). But if times do get tougher, I think we have done a good job of building our political base, and if we needed to unleash them, I suspect we will be pretty formidable.

Just hope we don't have to...

Exploration Station: Doing Science with Preschoolers

Here is the setting: There are around 250 children's librarians. And me...

But this was a real good program. The Cuyahoga County Library in PA (by reputation one of the best libraries in the country) did this program. The speakers were engaging, dynamic (and wore wireless headsets so they were able to roam around and still be heard). The title of the program gave a good idea of what this program was about, and it lived up to its title.

The Library worked on the premise that the child *and* parent need to be engaged in the learning experience. This experience should be hands on. This experience should ultimately point back to their book collection. And at the end of the day, the child (and parent) should reinforce this experience by taking something home, whether it is a craft, book, or hopefully both. (Gosh, this sounds familiar...)

What this Library did was create 20 different kits that address curriculum standards. Subjects ranged from science (i.e. light, color, what things will float, etc) to math to music. These kits (just stuff in a cardboard box) were not very complex, and relatively low cost.

Here is example of how the "what things will float" kit worked: All this kit consisted of was a small plastic tub, a little water, a piece of aluminum foil and some pennies (or could use rocks). The parent and child are given basic instructions on what to do, in this case put foil on the water and see if it floats. Then start putting pennies on the foil to see if it will still float. At the point, the parent should start facilitating the learning experience. There is the concept of floating. Plus counting (adding one penny at a time). And eventually why something will no longer float. Very simple but at the same time, an interactive learning experience. Accompanying each of these learning kits is a laminated card that explains the learning activity plus the curriculum standards it addresses.

This Library does this program once a week per library. (It rotates the kits around their system). They use a decidated space to set up the program. The way the program works is first there is a 10 minute storytime, then around 40 minutes to "play" with kits, then a 5 minute "clean up" activity (I liked this idea!) and then a 5 minute wrap up.

All in all, very interesting. The audience loved this program and thought it was very innovative. But this is what I took away: Yes, it was innovative, but we are taking this same concept (interactivity, facilitated learning with parent and child, purposeful play, taking something away at the end of the experience) and instead of having stuff in cardboard boxes, we will have our PALs. I personally think that if a huge room full of children's librarians were impressed with these Exploration Stations, they will be blown away by the PALs!

Confessions of New Library Directors

Four new library directors spoke about their new jobs (the process to get there, the first week, the first issue, etc.)

Jefferson County Director - he outlined his decision making process that lead to applying for the director job (and to be honest, I have thought about several of these myself).
-- wasn't sure if he wanted to be a library director
-- wasn't sure if he was good enough to do the job
-- wasn't sure if he had a strong enough vision for the future
-- if he had a vision, would he be able to get people to follow him?
-- since he was in the organization and he was the only one who had a shot at the position, should he apply to protect the other staff from some new director coming in and changing everything (that didn't need to be changed)?
-- was he willing to give up the cool projects he was working on?
-- will he get the job???
He ended up applying and getting the job and realized it wasn't what he thought - much harder! He realized he had to be able to do everything, he never had enough time for this staff, his staff really wanted him to succeed, very hard to find great managers to support him, and since he was the boss - he could still work on those projects he wanted.

Salt Lake City Director - when she realized he got the job (in another state), she started making a list of what she wanted to do when she started. She began by identifying all the people in the city she wanted to meet. Her list grew to 100 people (city officials, boards, commissions, fire chief, police chief, superintendents, rotary president, etc.) When she started, she called all these people up and asked for a meeting (they all agreed). She asked them all the same three questions - 1. tell me about the city, 2. tell me about your experience with the library and 3. if I'm ever in trouble (some kind of controversy), will you help me?

A few months later a major controversial issue came up and she needed help - they all came to her side. She was pleased she established those relationships.

(former) Butte County Library Director - shortly after he started, he had to deal with severe budget cuts. First 23% cut in service, then a jump to 50% (even though all other county departments remained at the 23%). He went to the budget hearing and asked that all departments be cut equally and not just single out the library (which would mean shutting down, layoffs, etc.) His comments landed him (misquoted) on the front page of the paper ("Library Director wants to cut police and fire...") He was freaked out but it really sparked an interest from the community who loved the library. The Friends mobilized and started a support and awareness campaign. They set up tables outside the libraries and handed out postcards for patrons to sign and right notes to the Board of Supervisors. They even had crayons and asked each storytime kid to fill one out. They also rented buses and arranged to transport the public from wherever they were to the next County budget hearing and they all got up and spoke in favor of the library. In the end, the Board of Supervisors asked the director to call off his people and that the library would not face anything more than other departments!

Director of Boulder Library (formerly manager of Imaginon Library) - Tony talked about his first week on the job and basically said it was nothing he expected or wanted. His entire first week was controlled by others. He suggested that new directors take a hold of their first week so they can get to know their people, the libraries, the community, etc. (especially if they are new to the city). His first week included 2 days of new employee training, walking into his office and finding no computer, and an all-day exec team team-building session.

His three main comments were:
1. You can't always have all the answers (and that's OK)
2. Own your first week the way you want it
3. Document the stories of your library, not just the statistics.

All in all, this was a great program. Definitely something worthwhile for those thinking of being a library director one day.

MP

The Impact and Benefits of Library 2.0 Programs in Public Libraries

This program was presented by the adorable and enthusiastic Michael Stephens of Dominican University. He presented the results of research into the application of the "23 Things" program in an Australian library. He started out with some vague advice about being open to change, breaking down barriers, learning from mistakes, and the like. It was nice to hear, but not particularly useful or meaty.

Next, he talked about the factors that create success in library 2.0 programs. These include encouraging staff to work together, giving staff ample time to commit to the project, offering incentives, and open-ended completion (meaning having no concrete end date).

What I took away from this workshop was: 1. When undertaking a new project (2.0 or otherwise), it is important to have a "map" or vision of the desired result, which should reflect the library's core values, such as service, and shouldn't be shiny and new for no applicable reason. And 2. The more staff are encouraged to "play" with new technologies, the more comfortable and excited they will be when it comes to relaying this knowledge to the patrons.

Readers Advisory Toolkit 4: Multimedia Readers’ Advisory

First up was Neal Wyatt, a PhD student and academic librarian at Virginia Commonwealth University, who talked about different 2.0 tools that can be used in readers’ advisory. I wasn’t hugely impressed with her – she was uncomfortable and read directly from her notes in a monotone, which isn’t a great way to keep people awake so early in the morning. She recommended using tools like Novelist and Library Thing, and went on about annotating and cross-referencing every item in your library catalog. There was some good advice, but she was very academic in nature and not very public-library friendly, which seemed odd for PLA.

Next up was Joyce Saricks, who spoke about audiobooks. She writes audiobook reviews and is an avid listener, and she was able to put into words what makes or breaks the narration of an audiobook. As a listener and buyer of audiobooks, I was impressed with her observations. She was right on target when she said that a well-narrated audiobook seems perfectly natural and mimics the experience of reading, but a poorly-read audiobook can ruin the book, and perhaps even the author, for the listener permanently. She gave us some useful links for audiobook reviews, and mentioned that while she believes that downloadables are the future, she thinks they still have a ways to go before people give up on their CDs. I agree with this – I think downloadables need a bit of tweaking before they catch on and finally replace the CD book market. The frustration level is still a bit too high, especially for boomer-age adults and not-so-tech-savvy people.

Last on the line-up was Georgine Olsen, from a rural community near Fairbanks, Alaska, who talked about the process of “sliding” patrons into new reading genres. Her library serves many homebound and rural people, and they have a delivery system. Many of their patrons prefer one particular genre or author, and the library quickly runs out of books that meet their preferences, which can leave patrons and librarians frustrated. I’ve noticed that this happens often with my HouseCalls patrons. She recommends having a specific plan, almost like a marketing plan, for each “slider” patron, to slowly ease them into new authors and genres. It takes some planning, but it saves a lot of frustration in the long run. I found her advice very useful and I’m looking forward to trying out her techniques.

What I took away from this workshop was: 1. Make readers’ advisory a personalized experience by taking the extra time to plan ahead rather than react after the fact. 2. Read more adudiobook reviews and try to get a better sense of the elements that make or break audiobooks for the listener.

Sharing Our Local Treasures with the World: the business of managing digitization projects

A talk table with Patricia Van Skaik, Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County; Jodee Fenton, Seattle Public Library; Jim Kroll, Denver Public Library. Each presenter talked about their unique experience with digitization projects.

From Patricia,
Panoramic view of city (daguerrotype) preservation project. Led to focus on related topics such as immigration, and layers of information; creation of recommended reading lists, all from one photo being enlarged with a microscope showing fine details and revealing information about history. Main point is to make accessible and preservation.

From Jodee Fenton,
Why do you want to digitize?
It increases the lifespan of the original photo, makes it visible, increases access, keeps us (the library) relevant, inventory (know what you have, know what others have), who are your users (unintended users), where does the money come from (convince others that you have a valuable community resource), keep Administration and Boards in the loop, know your local treasures, be familiar with and keep up with changing standards and best practices, start with a small project.

Strategic partnerships
shared missions; find shared ground for collaboration
-scope of partnership
-value added; give something to partnership; push/pull
General workshops for the public
Keep abreast of emerging technologies
Customer expections, "Isn't it all online somewhere?"
Know your resources and others
Be on your toes
Local and global presence
Know how to search and use what you have
Customer service
Different reference interview skills

From Jim,
Project came about due to a local professor wanted his students to be able to search, find, and then include digital photos in their history papers. Once you digitize, you own the copyright. Library local history department had to think like a business, for-profit in providing digitized photos to vendors; high cost of equipment. Photos included in Library of Congress American Memory project.

Each presenter had a unique project, or perspective. Interesting idea, once you digitize a photo, you own the copyright, and can then sell the image for profit. I also liked the idea of focusing on various related topics; that there may be layers of information, and creating related/recommended reading lists to further market library collection.

Author Events Made Easy

As I am always interested in learning new tips from those "in the know," I was intrigued when I saw the listing for an Author Events panel composed of Virgina Stanley (Director of Library Services with HarperCollins Publishing), Marcia Purcess (Vice President and Director of Library Relations for Random House Publishing) and Chappel Langemack (Library Cluster Manager, King County Library System in Seattle). During the presentation, the panel told the audience that booking an author is easy, it just takes advance planning and flexibility to be successful. However, they warned that sending authors to events can be costly since transportation, accommodations and other expenses can add up. If you have funds to cover these costs, you've got a greater chance of securing the author of your choice. If you don't have the funds, you might want to consider inviting a local author or an author who will be touring in your area.

One thing I plan to make good use of is a handout listing the Association of American Publishers Libraries Committee members. These are the people who book authors for library events. Another helpful idea offered by the panel members was to create programs focused on creative writing, short story writing, first-time novelists and local authors, as they are often well-attended by patrons who are aspiring writers. All in all, I found this event to be filled with practical advice on how to host an author event.

I Have These Statistics - Now What: Getting Started on the Path of Collection Analysis

During the afternoon session, I attended a presentation about library statistics, with speaker Kathryn King, Adult Materials Selector, Fort Worth Library, Forth Worth, Texas. She discussed the reasons why we should do analysis, including allocating material funds, staffing, shelving and determining if a collection meets patrons' needs. There are many types of statistics such as circulation, holdings, age of the collection and inhouse use. When analyzing a collection, it is important to decide exactly how old is too old? Kathryn stated that 70% or more of a collection should have a copyright date of 5 years or newer. Date critical areas are medical, legal, financial, computer and travel; if books in this area are too old, they may contain misinformation and lead patrons to make wrong choices.

Kathryn discussed a concept called relative use, which is: % of circulation divided by % of holdings. When relative use = 1, stay the course. When relative use > 1, patrons want more books and you should expand the collection. When relative use < 1, the shelves are overstocked and you need to weed and update. Knowing your library's relative use number allows you to make an action plan, so you can incorporate your analysis into your current workflow. It helps you set purchasing and/or weeding goals. It also makes it easier to ask outside funding groups for help because you have a specific, measurable goal.

Building and Sustaining Your Library's Local History Collection for the Future

PART I BY CASEY (PART II BY KARYE BELOW)
This program's presenters gave different perspectives about local history collections in a state, urban and public library. The panel consisted of Kris Rzepczyniski (Michigan Genealogy Coordinator, Library of Michigan); Tim Gleisner (Manager of Local History and Special Collections, Grand Rapids Public Library); and Sara Wedell (Adult Services Librarian, Chelsea Township District Library). They discussed how local history is a powerful promotional tool that helps libraries foster relationships with their most ardent supporters. From identifying community partners to the variety of sources available for building a local history collection to ideas for program development, the panel discussed ways to position libraries as THE community source for local history information.



I thought they made an excellent point by reminding us that all items in a local history collection must fit the scope of the collection. We need to "be selectors, not hoarders." By having a clearly-defined local history collection development strategy, libraries can cultivate a reputation of responsible, involved stewardship.

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PART II BY KARYE
Building and Sustaining Your Library's Local History Collection for the Future

All the speakers in the program were from Michigan representing 3 perspectives (state library, large urban, and small public). A library's local history collection is an "invaluable community asset." In the short term it is the community source for information, and brings in new patrons, in the long term it is the source for the community's memory (which takes time to build). A local history collection can be a powerful promotional tool.

There are many potential community partners:
-other libraries and archives
-genealogical and historical societies
-newspapers
-churches
-schools, colleges, universities
-foundations
-state agencies
-county, city clerks
-funeral homes, cemeteries
-family history centers (LDS)
-social, cultural, family associations
-civil war re-enactors

Potential for building relationships with joint programs and fundraising. The challenges are doing more with less, and relevance. Plus answering the perpetual question "isn't everything online."

Promote through exhibits and displays, aricles in publications, indexes, online exhibits and indexes, blog, and programming (genealogy lock in, history detectives, classes, tours, author visits). More challenges include, population changes, meeting patron demand, keeping up with incoming materials, selection and space.

The most interesting presenter was from Chelsea District Library, which was named "Best Small Library In America" 2008 by Library Journal. Population 4,000. The main points given were:
-Use of "Archivist's Toolkit" open source software.
-Define the collection parameters, and acquiring new materials (not only donations, but through purchasing),
-Content creation (engaging the community to tell their stories, as there are not many local history books about this area),
-Be visible (attract donations by cultivating a reputation of responsible, involved stewardhip), family history database created (originally from a donation, online access, volunteer-powered with limited staff oversight),
-Monthly program (historic interest group, which involves local historians, educates the community, and highlights the collection),
-Community history project (video interviews, grant-funded, active history).

Challenges include maintenance (proper storage, preservation, conservation), space (growth opportunities are limited), limited funds (small percentage of print budget).

This program was a good overview of local history collections in libraries. It was a useful reminder that such a collection although it seems separate, has the same requirements; a collection development policy defining parameters, how to handle donations, budget, staffing, promotion.

Creating Self-Directed Library Environments

PART I - BY KARYE (PART II BY CASEY - SEE END OF THIS POST)
Presented by Ned Himmel and Ruth Barefoot, San Jose Public Library.
All about the "San Jose Way" which was developed through working with consultants, including Paco Underhill (Envirosell ; author of "Why We Buy"). It's signage to help library customers "move through the building" in an intuitive, natural way, and re-invents the library space to make it easier for the customer to use.

Guidelines include:
-less is more
-in-depth signage in waiting areas only
-merchandise materials face out
-use pictures and graphics
-signage hierarchy, based on customer need
-language translation not critical (a suprising finding, as they assumed everything needed translation)
-a recognized "look and feel" so patrons can navigate any library facility (branch)

"A self sufficient wayfinding system is critical for 40% of new visitors".

The library environment was reinvented to utilize customer's retail instincts with:
-wayfinding
-branding
-signage
-zones
-merchandising standards
The objective being "navigable spaces".

Important features of signage:
-A sense of movement - odd shapes and sizes - keep it concise and easy to read while moving.

Signage minimizes the use of dewey numbers, include the 3 digit numbers only, no decimal and popular subjects. For example, 822 - 916, Shakespeare, Atlases, Travel.

Other wayfinding elements include the use of flooring to define spaces and pull the visitor in. And branding by use of a color palette for each zone in the building. So customers know when they are in the teen area, children's area. There are cues such as color scheme. Use of lighting, brighter in areas with traffic, to keep people moving, and softer where people might want to linger in a book stack to browse. A library directory that is visible just after visitors walk in, essentially a color coded map to easily see what is in the building; giving a quick overview. A monthly calendar flier, side one is the monthly view, with a separate box for weekly programs; side two gives more details about each program.

Some children's spaces included a small door to enter, just for kids. A small space with moveable toys on the wall, with a small keyhole entrance and exit. Children's computer keyboards were color coded in primary colors, and each workstation had a bench rather than a chair, so several children could sit around a PC, encouraging working together.

Another ease of use feature where large buttons on the website, very clear and easy to see. Each button was a link to a library service, for example "reserve a study room."

Staff had a "service hub" designed to enable teaching, rather than a traditional desk or reference counter. The goals being, customers see everyone as helpful, they want to feel valued and they want their questions answered with minimal referral.

There were lots and lots of gorgeous photos of San Jose branches showing examples of the reinvented library spaces. Ideas I took away from this: Reserve study rooms on the library website which makes it self-serve and easier for the patron; use of a library directory map (color coded) just inside the entrance; re-print the end caps at Archibald using 3 digit dewey, plus popular subject headings, as in the above example to create a better patron experience. I did see a lot of examples given in this program, of things that we are already doing.
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PART II BY CASEY
Creating Self-Directed Library Environments *or* Experience = Environment + Service

The first workshop I attended this am was facilitated by Ned Himmel (retired Library Director, San Jose PL) and Ruth Barefoot (manager of the San Jose Way branch of SJPL). They discussed smart wayfinding techniques which have been used to reinvent the library environments in the SJPL system, funded through a 2006 LSTA project. Their contractor was Paco Underhill, author of the Call of the Mall and the project featured wayfinding, branding, signage, zones and merchandizing standards to create navigable spaces within the libraries.

Something that caught my eye during the ppt was their use of brightly-colored, oversized computer keyboards on the OPACs in the children's room. I thought this was an idea we might like to try sometime in the future. These keyboards made the children's area seem more playful. They also replaced all the chairs at the kids' computers with benches, which encourages several kids to sit together. This leads to increased camaraderie and helps encourage collaboration. The goal of all these efforts is to create lifelong library usage.

Top Ten Tech Trends...

Well, this program was guilty of false advertisment.

First of all, there were only *four* trends identified, and out of these, only one made sense to me! Here were the four trends:

- "Electronic Content Distribution". Michael Porter from OCLC basically stated that libraries do not do a good job of distributing their content (i.e. databases, web pages, online catalogs, etc). He said that companies like Netflix or iTunes or Amazon do, and in the process have stolen our market share. But that was it. Didn't offer any ideas or solutions on how we should improve distrbution. It was be like saying "Libraries need more money". I mean, that is also a given. But this speaker totally lacked substance.

- "Smartphones and Augmented Reality". Augmented reality is using existing technology like GIS and overlaying with data and/or photos via smartphones. For example, you could theoretically take your phone and point it at a bookshelf in your library and then on your phone, you would get reviews of the books you pointed at, or perhaps articles on the subject these books were about. Theoretically, you need to program something called a QR code. It apparently exists now but someone has to do this. A bit futuristic but I guess this kind of thing has potential applications.

- "EBooks". Not new but this speaker (David Lee King) said that when the iPad hits the market next week, it will revolutionize eBooks. He was working on the premise that Apple has already done at least three killer apps (the mouse and GUI interface have revolutionaized PCs, iTunes revolutionized the music industry, and the iPhone revolutionized hand-held devices). So the iPad should revolutionize how people read books, newspapers and magazines. Apparently Apple has already been working with the largest book publishers for content, so i will be interesting to see where the iPad takes eBooks. I am fine with getting a couple of iPad to play around with. If nothing else, they will be perfect for "roving reference" in that you can access catalog and our databases while walking about the floor.

- "Changing the Digital Divide". Another "trend" that didn't make sense. Of course a digital divide exists but how is this a trend?

Anyway, that was the Top Ten Trends. Overall, other than the part about the eBooks a fairly disappointing program.

Revitalizing Communication and Professional Development Through Unconferences

This program was presented by staff from the Brooklyn Public Library and Darien Library. After a rocky start (the speakers didn't know how to use a mic or at least speak into it and the powerpoint slides only showed the background of the slides - no content and the speakers blamed the computer for their problems), the program got considerably worse. I wish they had comment cards because I would have commented on the irony of three people who have zero presentation skills and presenting at conference were giving a presentation about conferences!

Anyway - whereas there wasn't much to this, I did get this:
- Unconferences are structed/unstructured conferences that are planned from the bottom up versus top down.
- A Wiki (or some kind of similar communication tool) is set up to ask for session ideas for the unconference. People are also asked to include the topics on which they are capable of speaking/facilitating.
- The organizers to through the suggestions and create a conference schedule based on the most popular session topics (voted on by staff). They assign a facilitator to each session based on what expertise people said they had.
- Logistics are set up to accomodate several programs.
- People can go to whatever program they choose and if *they* are not contributing to the program they should go to something else.
- No PPTs, no agenda, you show up at the topic of your choice and talk with whomever is there about that topic.

Sounds interesting actually.

Michelle

You Say You Want a Revolution

Just went to a program conducted by Rangeview Library District (CO). Located in Adams County, population 315,000, budget $12 million (from $4 million before recent ballot measure passed), and 7 locations. The program chronicled the evolution and revolution from tired old libraries to experience-based libraries rebranded as "Anythink" Libraries. It is obvious they spent a TON of money on PR and branding to push their agenda forward. Some of what they discussed included:
- Staff-Appreciation Task Force - to find ways to develop ideas for appreciating staff (included a staff appreciation breakfast and lots of outside the library events like bowling night, hikes, health fair, trivia night)
- Look at Conventions - basically look at the things you have always done and re-examine them (fines and fees, Dewey, refdesks, etc.) As a result of doing this, they have eliminated fine altogether, have eliminated their reference desk (now only "service points") and have eliminated Dewey. They are doing a program on Saturday that I may try and catch about no Dewey.
- SRP - did away with number of books or pages to read requirement and the prizes - focused on creating an experience instead.
- Performance evals moved from skills based to competancy based - instead of mentioning every program people did, evaluate on topics like "I am customer service oriented," "I am innovative," "I am emotionally mature" etc.

So, basically people were trying to show how they changed so much of their everyday business from traditional to experiential. Oh yes, they did say "we invented the library experience..."

MP
Michelle Perera, Rancho Cucamonga Library

Sent via Blackberry

Portland Children's Museum

What an amazing place! This might be my new favorite... Today we had a tour by Peter at the Portland CM - he was fantastic - full of energy, very funny and super-dedicated. He showed through the entire museum, including exhibits, workshop, storage, craft rooms, birthday rooms, and classrooms. This museum has a preschool and kindergarten on site, as well as a charter school. It was very impressive and a very special environment for learning. Oh yes - book everywhere! One other thing - Peter said that more children's museums should start building smaller scale exhibits (20 sq ft) because those are manageable and very useful - uh, can you say PAL?) Here are some pix:
Baby Area - including a *waterbed* for them to bounce around on (I loved it) - this was a very stimulating environment for them but very simple (this museum is definitely about less is more).






Some pix of the performance space:






The "Garage" - where you can build stuff from recycled products (mostly donated by the community). This place was very cool - check out the clock they made - we should do this as a craft (perhaps for Daylight Savings!)...





And last but not least - the classrooms! I may have gone to Harvard if I started out in learning environments like this (definitely not institutional)...






And some misc. pix that I love - especially the light-tables and "mulch" dig (super-popular)...





MP