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SELCO Librarian
Jeanne M. Steinbrink, SELCO-MLA Scholarship Recipient
Austin Public Library
Morning Sessions
My first session early this morning was Harnessing Google to Accomplish Daily Tasks, presented by Kristen Mastel, Outreach and Instruction Librarian at the U of M. Kristen presented a quick review of tools available on Google, but she said you can find similar tools at Yahoo and other search engines. Basically, I am the office financial person at the Austin Public Library but wear many other hats, so I am always looking for ways to be more efficient and make better use of my time. One thing that tends to get squeezed out is taking time to find useful tools on the Internet, so attending library conferences is a good way for me to hear about practical tools without having to do the legwork.
Kristen's presentation briefly covered Google Docs, Google Custom Search Engine, iGoogle, Google Notebook, Google Sites, and Google Alert, plus several others. One tool that caught my attention was Google Docs, which is web-based word processing similar to Word. The plus side is that Google Docs lets you prepare a document and then allow others to access it directly to edit it, yet keeps track of all revisions. This is a nice alternative to preparing a Word document and sending it as an attachment, and chance losing track of the most recent edit. It seems like a great tool for collaborative ventures.
Another feature I liked was iGoogle, which matches up nicely with my "I hate shopping" attitude of "get me in, get me what I need, and get me out as soon as possible." I like to have a place for everything and everything in its place, so I can grab exactly what I need when I need it. (I think I fell under the "thorough" personality type in yesterday's session on Negativity in the Workplace.) The iGoogle feature is a handy dandy tool to help me in my quest for efficiency. You customize a personal homepage on iGoogle for one stop shopping: RSS feeds, bloglines notifier, to-do list, local weather, news--you name it. (At an earlier session they talked about Google Calendar--another tool I intend to pursue.)
Overall it was a fun way to see "what's out there" and still get my work done at the library.
Friends Sharing Ideas was the late morning session sponsored by MALF (Minnesota Association of Library Friends). I am a book addict--not only have I worked at the Austin library for over 20 years, but I feed my addiction outside of work by buying a book almost every other week. Needless to say I am also a member of the Friends of the Austin Public Library. So whenever there is an opportunity to hear other Friends talk about ideas to support libraries, I am there.
MALF co-presenters Joan Larson and Barbi Byers led the session. Joan started the presentation by asking what Minnesota Friends groups were doing that was new and exciting (besides book sales). I am less bashful than I used to be, so I offered to go first by talking (bragging actually) about our Friends of the Austin Public Library's book project. We published Austin Remembers in 2006 with stories from over 150 local authors ranging in age from 9 to 98 in celebration with Austin's sesquicentennial. This year through the efforts of our book editor, Joan Claire Graham, we collaborated with the Friends of that Albert Lea Public Library and garnered a 2008 Minnesota Sesquicentennial Legacy Grant to bring our book and Albert Lea's book Albert Lea Remembers to the stage in the fall as an original musical. What a hit!
Many other great ideas surfaced at this session: donating books and operating a library at a county jail, a "Love Your Library" fundraising campaign, adding a line to county tax statements with the option to donate to the Library Foundation, a bridal show fundraiser, chocolate events combined with silent auctions, "Come Read with me (at the public library)" where volunteers work weekly with young readers to improve their reading skills, library staff appreciation breakfast, "Antiques Roadshow" type events, renting library atriums and terraces for special non-library events, and working with local businesses to wrap Christmas presents were some of the ways Friends were helping libraries raise funds and community awareness. And then there were book sales, and book sales, and book sales. One innovative library saved the "better" books for a special Christmas sale complete with cider, goodies and music. Many libraries have a "friends-only" pre-sale book sale or book "coupon" specials with paid memberships. Overall this was a great brainstorming session.
Afternoon Sessions
I was on a "Friends of the Library" roll so I attended Communication Strategies for Friends of the Library led by Sally Lederer from MELSA and Margie Schuster, who oversees the Friends group in the Hennepin County. Sally discussed the basic communication strategy of Who? How? and What?
Decide "Who?" your audience is and find the best way to reach them. You may be trying to reach faithful library users, schools, your city/county elected officials, or legislators.
Once you target your audience, ask "How?" to best reach them. You won't reach them all in the same manner or with the same message. You will reach your library users in a different way than you will reach your legislators. Not everyone has e-mail, but some people depend on websites for their information. Search out the best option(s) for your target group.
Once you've decided on your audience and how to reach them, determine "What?" is your key message. Your message needs to be consistent with a specific goal in mind.
The bottom line is that libraries are essential and that the friends, library trustees, and library staff should be sending the same simple message. More members mean a stronger voice to persuade decision makers to continue funding libraries.
The final session was on The First Amendment @ Your Library. Jane Kirklen from the U of M discussed recent abuses of our right to freedom of speech, especially since 911 and the advent of the Patriot Act. She talked extensively on the sometimes inappropriate use of NSLs (National Security Letters) in obtaining information normally protected by data privacy laws.
Another recent trend is "Libel Terrorism." Since libel laws are stricter in other countries than in the United States, what is acceptable here under our First Amendment rights might be considered anti-government and a punishable offense in a foreign country.
In the United States speech on the Internet gets the same protection as other printed speech. This is not so in Internet Restricted Countries (IRCs) who limit their citizens' access to free speech on the Internet.
Jane says she is close to being a First Amendment absolutist in that, "The cure for speech that we detest is more speech." This encourages debate and discussion. If you're upset with something said or written, refute it. We have to be ready to respect the speech that we abhor as well as the speech we love in order to protect our First Amendment rights.
I was torn between attending this session and the session on Inspirational Fiction, however even I couldn't be in two places at once. But I overheard many wonderful comments following the Inspirational Fiction session, so I will have to check it out later on the MLA website.
Rachel Gray – Information Services Librarian
I started out the day bright and early at the Lerner Lecture Breakfast. I enjoyed both the food and fellowship before enjoying Will Weaver’s insight on writing YA literature for boys. I have not had a lot of exposure to YA lit, but I was fascinated by how he has tailored his career to these under served young men and boys. He was a great speaker and almost even inspired me to become an author. Almost... He has ablog on writing if you are interested in being inspired by him yourself.
The first breakout session I attended was “Harnessing Google to Harness Daily Tasks” with Kristen Mastel from the UM. While a lot of what she covered was review for me, I still learned quite a bit about Google that I didn’t have any inkling about before. I’ll share a bitGoogle Notebook. This is a great tool that allows you to copy and paste information you find online and add it to your notebook file on Google’s server – all without leaving your browser. All you have to do is to highlight the text you want to save, then hit a button you’ve already downloaded as a plug-in. And *POOF*, the information is saved along with the URL you found it on. You do need a Google account for this, but these are free and easy to setup.
Another session I enjoyed was Jim Connor’s “Everyone on the Bus” presentation. He really made the attendees thing about library sustainability and finding ways to get advocates for the library in the community. I wasn’t surprised to hear him speak about how we are perceived as a luxury, but not a necessity. But I was surprised to hear him say that communities that lose their libraries really lose their hearts and the community slowly dies as people move out of the area. This doesn’t just apply to public libraries, but also to academic and school libraries. He gave all his attendees something to think about.
I have so many more tidbits from today’s conference sessions, but I have to stop here for now. I heartily recommend to any and all MN librarians to attend MLA next year. You do not need to be a MLA member to attend. The next conference will be in St. Cloud from October 14-16 2009, so mark your calendars!
Stephanie Silvers, SELCO-MLA Scholarship Recipient, Harmony Public Library
Here are some notes from the sessions I attended on Thursday (November 20) at the 2008 MLA Conference.
8:00 am – Harnessing Google to Accomplish Daily Tasks
Presenter discussed iGoogle, Google Docs, Google Notebook, and how to use them. I can see how these could be very useful, especially in larger libraries and universities as several people can collaborate on documents without having to email copies back and forth. There are lots of applications that I will be trying out when I get back to Harmony! I am so excited.
10:00 am – When Love Hurts
This was not my original workshop I had planned on attending, but ended up here anyway. We talked about romance novels in the library. Romance novels are the top selling fiction books in the U.S. There are many sub genres of the overall romance genre. Most people though do not want to admit that they read romance novels. Some websites to check out are:
1:30 pm – Guys Read … Make Noise with Boys’ Books
This was a very interesting workshop. They talked about some ways that have worked for them in reaching boys and getting them to read. The most important part is that you really should have a man, perhaps a college student or even a High School Senior leading the boys book discussion group.
3:30 pm. – Inspirational Fiction
Sharon Hincks, an inspirational fiction author talked about this genre of fiction and how it is the second most popular, best selling genre of fiction books, behind romance novels. I didn’t realize the extent that this genre has evolved into and how much it has taken off. It was very inspiring to me as this is the books that I like to read and many of my patrons are also interested in.
Jonya Pacey, Help Desk Manager
I spent the first part of the morning talking to people, going through the Silent Auction, more networking, and then stopping back up at my room to work on a couple of tickets assigned to me. So the MILE 2009 session was my first today. I was very pleased that the room was packed and with a strong showing of interested potential attendees. As one of the initial session's graduates in 2005, MILE (Minnesota Institute for Leadership Excellence) has my support and interest and I am thrilled with the success of the 2007 graduates. I see them in strong leadership roles in their libraries, being active in MLA subunits, and advocating for developing leadership skills. MILE is a springboard for anyone wanting to explore their goals and advance their career while getting involved in MLA. As I was not the only SELCO attendee to this session, I will stop here.
Right after this session, I went into the Library Management Round Table business meeting. We spent most of the meeting planning and setting some goals and then for one of them, doing some action steps for me to do right away, over the next few months. And I think this is cool and exciting; we are going to hold a conference call where we can talk about a management topic. The first one was selected today. So LMRT members can call in and talk and I'll take notes, and then get them onto the subunit's blog where people can comment. Then I will send out email encouraging LMRT members to go read and comment, continuing the conversation. So the three areas of communication that seem to be comfortable to a large percentage of library managers - blogging, conference calls, and email - will all be used and hopefully integrated together into a more seamless conversation as time moves on.
Ann B. Hutton, Executive Director
As promised in the title “Taking the Fear Out of Capital Campaign Fundraising,” this session summarized everything you need to know about conducting a successful capital campaign. The program was presented by two nationally accomplished fund raising specialists, Peter Pearson – President of The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and Morgan Rasmussen – Consultant, Library Strategies.
- Time – If the library is planning to break ground in three months, it is too late. Working with major donors requires time to develop personal relationships. Even if such a connection already exists, it may take time for a donor to commit to a significant contribution. Start the campaign 2-3 years before breaking ground. Plan a minimum of 18-24 months for the private or quiet phase of the capital campaign before announcing the broad, community-based campaign soliciting general public support.
- IRS approved 501(c)(3) – While individuals may be willing to make small contributions on behalf of good cause without documentation, the tax ramifications of a major donation require accurate accounting records with approved credentials.
- Have a track record – Generally, capital campaigns will be more successful if the library or its supporting organizations (Friends and/or Foundation) have already done fundraising. This way you build on previous successes and donor involvement and pride.
- Supportive endeavors are successful – Generally, when conducting a capital campaign for brick-and-mortar, whether new construction or major remodeling, donors will support supplemental endeavors such as a book endowment for future collection development or a opening day collection when adding extra space.
Yet to come in another post – The importance of planning and fundraising in today’s environment.
Carla Johnson
Cataloging Services Librarian, SELCO
I can only imagine the rolling eyes and snickers at this title (I say this because of my experiences with non-catalogers). I realize that the thought of entering detailed map information into MARC format does not thrill most people and I have to admit that I wasn't looking forward to sitting through a 3 hour workshop on this topic.
I was pleasantly surprised! Things got off to a slow start as we went over fixed field information, but the session picked up as we moved on to the main body of the MARC record and focused on 2 fields that I was unfamiliar with, the 034 and 255 - Cartographic Mathematical Data (it's fun to say). I learned how to convert a map scale to a representative fraction and where to find that information if I forget. Remember latitute and longitude? Presenter Stacie Traill kept us going with sample maps that she brought in. She went on to talk about physical description, notes, and map subject analysis.
Perhaps I became so engrossed in this session because - ah - well - there's something about cataloging that I enjoy and I love to read maps! Put the two together and it adds up to one great workshop. Most catalogers will appreciate this as well as any library staff having to work with map collections. It was a worthwhile and enjoyable session all around.
Michael Scott, Assistant Director
Though the day isn't over (but the sessions almost are!) I thought I'd share a few thoughts about Day 2 at MLA. The morning started off with a great session by the author Will Weaver and the value of children's literature and publishing. Will recently made the switch to writing for young people and in particular has targeted his writing to young men. Being a "car" guy, his latest books "Saturday Night Dirt" really reaches out to those young guys who are interested in cars and what he calls "technical literacy" -- they can fix anything. It certainly was motivating to me. Though not a car guy, I certainly grew up around "gear heads" and getting them to read anything is certainly no small feat! Check out his stock car that he takes out to schools: http://www.motornovels.com/
Keeping with the technical services/cataloging theme, I attended the session "Rethinking Tech Services: A Workflow Analysis." Library staff from Macalester College, Minnesota State University (Mankato), and Dakota County discussed how they had done major overhauls to their technical services (i.e. cataloging, serials, acquisitions) functions. If I could take anything away from their presentations (which were all different) it was to continually ask "Why are we doing the things we do and do we need to continue doing them?" They all found ways to add efficiency to their processes, eliminate unneccessary work, and have staff buy-in as well.
Finally, I had the opportunity to see the work being done at Rochester Public Library on developing a staff wiki. Brian Lind from RPL presented "Creating a Jimmy Choo Staff Wiki on a Shoestring Budget." Great presentation and certainly a good solution for RPL to organize all the information their staff needs to access quickly. Certainly makes a wiki worth consideration!
Day 2 was a great day at MLA and I'm looking forward to the MLA Business meeting and the Awards Banquet later this evening.
Aurora Jacobsen, Information Services Librarian
The most interesting conversation of the day, for me, was definitely LibraryThing. I've used the product a couple of times and I've liked it, but Tim Spaulding really pressed the audience to rethink the way we've not only started cataloging, but also how we've implemented tagging. I really want to see our library catalogs move in a similar direction. I shouldn't have to go to LibraryThing to find Zombie romance books. I want to find those in my library catalog. I also liked his point that most LibraryThing users have read the whole book, rather than a cataloger who is guessing on the subject based on the table of contents. Spaulding also reaffirmed the need for subject headings and their value. He also clearly loves books and libraries, and that always makes such constructive criticism easier to take.
The second session I attended was about the change to RDA and how it will incorporate FRBR. I was glad for a little bit of an introduction, and the seed planted to go and research more. However, I am not a cataloger, so I'll leave more details about this session to the experts.
The final session of the day, for me, was "23 Things: Better Than a Deep Fried Twinkie". Four 23 Things participants presented on their experiences with the 23 Things program. Linda Weinmann from the SELCO region was the first presenter. She did a great job covering Picasa. Of course, not everyone pictures will end up looking like hers, even if they used the tools she demonstrated. That takes photography talent. We also got to hear from a librarian from Concordia that adopted Meebo as an IM client for their users. Tim Johnson of the University of Minnesota libraries covered all of the things he's added to his library's blog as a result of the program. Lynn Wyman of the Ramsey County Library presented on how they implemented the program at their library and mentioned the surprising popularity of Facebook at their institution. Overall, a very exciting session and a good first day at MLA.
Ann B. Hutton, Executive Director
Interested in seeing all the info posted by SELCO staff and scholarship recipients during this year's Minnesota Library Association Conference? Simply click MLA2008 in the CATEGORIES list on the left and voila!
Michael Scott, Assistant Director
Well, if that doesn't get some attention, I don't know what will! More on that in minute.
While my first day at MLA was mostly focused on preparing for the 23 Things Party on a Stick: Social Networking in Real Life reception put on by the Multitype Library System Directors, I was able to attend a couple of programs. First, the keynote for the conference, again sponsored by the Multitype Library System Directors, was a presentation Tim Spaulding, the developer of LibraryThing, on the topic of social cataloging and social networking. He created LibraryThing to catalog his own library for his friends and it is now a huge phenomenon! It has some really great features that I truly can see anybody wanting to see in their library's catalog. Things like the possibility of tagging books, DVDs, and other library materials with words that have more meaning to them (cookery, anyone?) or the ability to more easily find a "similar books" or "you might like this" list.
Later in the day I attended a session, Introduction to RDA/FRBR. Frankly, I was a bit scared of this session but as Resource Description & Access and Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records are the items of discussion amongst catalogers, and as the SELCO Cataloging Team reports to me, I thought I should attend. Plus, I was just curious. The update, provided by Chew Chiat Naun from the University of Minnesota Libraries, asked more questions than provided answers. RDA is a new set of cataloging rules being developed while FRBR is a model used in these new rules. Essentially, the goal is to find a way to move cataloging forward to continue to meet the needs of patrons (as well as library staff) to electronically access the materials in libraries. We'll certainly be watching the development here at SELCO.
Finally, I served ice cream during the 23 Things Party on a Stick. Who knew that ice cream bars (note: the Blue Bunny Sundae Crunch Bar was the MOST popular) would be such a hit! Watch the SELCO Flickr site for photos from the party and you'll get to see me at work (and maybe a backup career!) handing out ice cream bars to librarians. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to talk "23 Things" and enjoy ice cream. By the way, all ice cream treats were "on a stick" to fit the theme.
Stephanie Silvers, SELCO-MLA Scholarship Recipient, Harmony Public Library
The first conference session I went to was AskMN: The Librarian Is In. Most of the information was on statistics and how much it has been used since it came up in April 2008. The website is AskMN.org. It is a service that is available to anyone 24/7. Member libraries staff the time, spending 1 to 1 ½ hours per week on average. You can chat live with a librarian and have an answer within a few minutes at anytime.
The second conference session I attended was 23 Things: Better Than a Deep Fried Twinkie. This session discussed the 23 Things on a Stick program and how it has been used in library settings. It was very interesting to hear how 4 libraries have incorporated it or sections of it into their libraries. Metronet has included in their technology plans and have had their whole staff going through the program. Winona has used the experience with Picaso from Google to make posters for the library. Facebook and Meebo is used in reference services in libraries. I have come away from this with some neat ideas I would like to try in my library.
Mollie Pherson, Regional Librarian
I put my volunteer hat on early today and helped with the MLA Silent Auction for a good portion of the morning. What fun!! It was a blast to visit with conference attendees and to make sure all the items were visible and matched up with the correct bidding sheets. AND I got to keep an eye on my own items I'd like to win--I tell ya, the selection is great and I'm getting lots of awesome gift basket ideas from the auction!
After volunteering, I attended Creating a Jimmy Choo Staff Wiki on a Shoestring Budget, presented by Rochester Public Library Reference Librarian Brian Lind. We are thinking of implementing some sort of wiki at SELCO, so his ideas were fabulous not only for me, but for any library staff member that is interested in starting a wiki. You are able to pick a wiki that meets the standards that you have set. The five Wikis Brian talked about were Media Wiki, PB Wiki, Wiki Spaces, Wet Paint Wiki, and Zoho Wiki. There is a website you can visit to see what wiki is right for you--Wiki Matrix. Wiki Matrix and the Wiki Choice Wizard help narrow down what type of wiki you are looking for to perform the job you want it to do.
Brian also presented the "8 Commandments of Wiki Implementation":
1. Make things findable without a search box
2. Choose navigation links wisely
3. Think about ALL users
4. Use specific language
5. One page -- multiple links
6. Choose a realistic timeline to get going
7. Link to redundant information from your public website
8. Understand your wiki won't be perfect
A Wiki does take a lot of work to set up, but in the end, it's super easy to maintain. Overall, A highly enjoyable presentation!!! I'm excited to take the information back to SELCO!
