Professional Collection in Transition

Over the course of the next several weeks the books, kits, and DVDs of the Professional Collection will be transferred to Library Processing @ the East County Regional Library. The archived journals will soon follow. New materials will be received into the Professional Collection directly at Library Processing.

This blog has been a terrific way to share information and ideas with you. With the change in the Professional Collection, In the Know will now cease publication.

Thank you for your readership.

New Book

• Civic Engagement in an Older America edited by Greg O'Neill and Sarah F. Wilson (a publication of the Gerontological Society of America)

FYI: This book is not a tidy ALA how-to manual about recruiting senior volunteers or conducting multigenerational programming. This is 5 chapters of research studies reproduced to demonstrate the vitality of older adults and the effect civic involvement has on their well being to measurable standards. Very academic. The direct applicability this book has to life at LCLS may be limited. Given the population we serve, the likelihood that we would turn away vibrant, eager, capable, and eligible volunteers based upon advanced age is slim. Similarly, we would and do embrace programming for and by the older population.

Here are the chapter titles:

• Identifying the Boundaries and Horizons of the Concept of Civic Engagement for the Field of Aging


• Conceptual Foundations and Challenges: Civic Engagement in Later Life


• A Profile of Older Adults' Civic Engagement: Research Gaps


• Outcomes of Civic Engagement for Older Adults


• Seniors and Civic Engagement: Challenges and Critical Perspectives

New Book

• Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler

FYI: "In a densely crowded marketplace, corporations, organizations, and even individuals look for ways to differentiate themselves. That is the job of branding. Whether your goal is to express a new brand or to revitalize an existing one, here is a proven, universal five-phase process for creating and implementing effective brand strategy, design development through application design, and identity standards through launch and governance, Design Brand Identity is an essential reference for the entire process." - from the back cover

Macgyver Tip

From lifehacker.com
March 15, 2011

Whitson Gordon — We've shared a few ways to boost your cell phone signal before, but technology weblog The Next Web shows us another way: just stick it in a glass.

We've used this trick to boost our smartphone's volume before, but TNW claims it actually works for signal as well:

So a few years ago one of the waitresses there discovered (how?) that if you put a phone in an empty glass it dramatically improves the reception. The Pasta e Basta restaurant is basically stuck in a concrete basement so reception has always been awful. But since they found out about this trick they at least have had enough reception to make and receive calls.

The waiter gave me glass, I put my iPhone in, reluctantly, and lo and behold: I got 3 bars and no 3G but some GPRS. Not perfect but a huge improvement from the ‘No signal' message I got earlier.

Of course, you probably can't make a call with your phone stuck in a glass, but you could probably manage to send a text message or two, or receive voicemails and jump outside if they're important. This is the first we've heard of this method, and a few people have noted that this does work, but we haven't tested it ourselves.

New Materials

• Customer Service at the Library: Making the Experience Meaningful & Memorable

FYI: DVD contents include ABC's of Service, The Value of Customers, Why People Stop Coming Back, Customer Needs and Wants, Cultivating Loyal Customers, Healthy and Deadly Attitudes, The Power of a Smile, Words to Use and Words to Lose, The Value of Thank You, Customer MAGIC, Telephone MAGIC, Email Etiquette - from Program Contents

• Microblogging and Lifestreaming in Libraries by Robin M. Hastings

FYI: "Microblogging and Lifestreaming in Libraries is a start-to-finish passport to using such services as Twitter, Friendfeed, and Tumblr to engage, and communicate with library patrons. Veteran microblogger Robin Hastings leads reads readers through how to use these cutting-edge social media applications to keep patrons updated, market the library, and build community. This comprehensive field guide covers everything from how to feed blog posts into Twitter, feed tweets into a Web site, and utilize Twitter for library events, to ways to incorporate these tools into your organization's marketing strategy." - from the Foreword

New Book

• Integrated Advisory Service: Breaking Through the Book Boundary to Better Serve Library Users edited by Jessica E. Moyer

FYI: "Library collections today have grown beyond books and periodicals with numerous diverse formats, ranging from audiobooks and graphic novels to film, television show recordings, and even games; but until now, little has been done to maximize the connections between these media. Integrated Advisory Service: Breaking Through the Book Boundary to Better Serve Library Users is designed to assist librarians in making connections between all the different media in library collections and advising patrons." - from the back cover

Golden Books Gown

Ryan Novelline fabricated a gown entirely out of Golden Books. The "fabric" is 22,00 square inches of illustrated pages sewn together with golden thread.

For a more detailed look at the construction process, take a look at Ryan's online portfolio page.

Free Books

Give Away some Ebooks
by David Lee King on March 7, 2011

A couple weeks ago, I saw a pretty cool idea at the Denver International Airport, and thought it could be adapted to libraries.

1st Bank had some large advertisements up in the airport, giving away free ebooks (see the pic in this post – this was one of two signs I saw). All you needed was a smartphone with a QR Code reader – aim and read the code, and you were directed to download a free ebook (there was also a button to open a new banking account).

Pretty ingenious, if you ask me. Just guessing here, but I’m pretty sure the only books I saw were “free” out-of-print classics. For most people – people who are stuck at the airport with nothing much to do – what a cool idea! Give em a book (even if it’s freely available online), and brand it as your business.

How can this work for a library?

Why not copy this idea? Use a QR Code, put up a sign at the mall or the grocery store, and offer a “free” ebook (maybe something legally free from Project Gutenberg). Send the user to a mobile webpage, branded as your library – with a link to the ebook, and some info about your other cool services.

In essence, it looks like the library is giving away a free ebook – that works with multiple ereaders! Even those pesky Amazon Kindles that don’t play well with libraries.

New Books

• Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence edited by Ruth F. Metz
• Reference Reborn: Breathing New Life into Public Services Librarianship edited by Diane Zabel

FYI: "The roles of reference librarians are constantly changing. Today it's not unusual for librarians to also serve as trend trackers, data analysts, project managers, IT troubleshooters, marketers, and staffing specialists. Academic and public libraries across the country are experimenting with new service models to accommodate new technology, budget constraints, and a clientele with new needs and expectations. Not surprisingly, librarians are assuming revised roles as a result." - from the back cover

New Books

• The Frugal Librarian Thriving in Tough Economic Times edited by Carol Smallwood

FYI: "The Thirty-four chapters of The Frugal Librarian present insightful-and often personal-responses and recommendations on how to not only survive but also thrive in tough economic times." -from the Foreword

• Winning Library Grants: A Game Plan by Herbert B. Landau

FYI: "Tightening budgets and ever-shrinking sources for funding have made winning grants more important than ever before. But where should a library grant novice begin? Right, here of course. Herbert B. Landau, the author of The Small Public Library Survival Guide and an experienced marketeer and manager, offers a practical and comprehensive manual that guides you through grant fundamentals." - from the back cover

New Book

• Everyone Plays at the Library: Creating Great Gaming Experiences for All Ages by Scott Nicholson

Librarian Origin Stories

Librarian origin stories
Bruce Jensen is engaged in a large-scale study of the vocational backgrounds of librarians worldwide. In his “Librarian Origin Stories” survey, he wants to know what led you to choose a library career. If you have questions about the survey, send him an email....
Bruce Jensen

"Whether you're a first-year circ clerk or a retired library administrator, Librarian Origin Stories wonders how you joined our merry guild. It's a worldwide exploration of the experiences and backgrounds of all who work to keep these wonderful places humming.
You can be as private as you want; the online survey offers several flavors of anonymity. And if you like, you can request results when you finish the short questionnaire." - from Bruce Jensen's Web site

[Click the Librarian Origin Stories hyperlink above to tell your story.]

Approachable You

Published on American Libraries Magazine (http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org)
Tue, 02/08/2011 - 16:49

By Will Manley


Aren’t you looking at me?

I am not a behavioral psychologist but it seems to me the most basic element of establishing a connection with someone is making eye contact. Take my granddaughter, Sophia. She’s 3 years old and is always the most popular person wherever she goes because she loves to go right up to people, look them in the eye, and with unbridled enthusiasm blurt out, “Hi, my name is Sophie!”

Unfortunately in today’s world, even our most extroverted librarians are not making eye contact with the people in their libraries. Walk into any library at any time and you will see the same sorry syndrome. Librarians at public services desks are not looking at the public, but at their computer screens. Nothing makes me angrier. And everybody wonders how best to frame library advocacy in a time of dwindling resources and Tea Party politics. How’s this for advocacy? Look like you give a darn! Keep your eyes on the prize—the patrons!

You librarians, what are you doing? A patron has to wonder. You’re not laughing while you’re looking at your screens so you’re probably not watching YouTube clips of great moments in comedy. You don’t look terribly absorbed so you’re probably not reading a Stephen King novel. You don’t look particularly serious so you’re probably not doing anything very important for your actual job. You also don’t look half asleep so you’re not reading library literature.

To be precise, you have that bored, listless look about you, as though you are engaging in that great America at Work time waster: surfing the internet. At least that’s what it looks like to me and everyone else trying to get your attention. What a great way to reinforce one of the library profession’s most odious stereotypes: “Oh, you’re a librarian? You must get to do a lot of reading on the job.”

This is not fair. Back in the Dark Ages, when I worked the reference desk (and yes there were no “snow days” then so you walked three miles through a blizzard to get to work) we were not allowed to read at the reference desk because of that very stereotype; it made us look unapproachable. So why is it okay now to move your eyes over a computer screen? How is that different from a book or a magazine?

I suppose the theory today is that if you are staring at a computer, you are doing something serious, like research. Serious research, my foot! We all know where internet surfing takes you: into the most inane sites imaginable. I mean this really bugs me.

So, today I’m shopping out of town and pass a library I’d never been in before. Like any nosy librarian, to the great frustration of the family members I am with, I just have to go in for a look/see. What do I see? I see a reference librarian staring at a computer screen. This makes me really flippin’ mad.

Since no one knows me at this library, I decide to sneak up behind the reference desk and see what inane, inconsequential, and idiotic site this librarian is staring at. It’s my daily blog Will Unwound [2]. I’m not kidding.

Did I say I have a problem with reference librarians looking at computer screens? You must have misunderstood me. I actually think it’s very important for librarians to keep up with their library blogs, especially those that tell them to keep their eyes on the customers.

New Books

• Be a Great Boss: One Year to Success by Catherine Hakala-Ausperk

FYI: "To help library managers improve their skills and acumen, renowned speaker and trainer Catherine Hakala-Ausperk presents a handy self-study guide to the dynamic role of being a boss. Organized in 52 modules, designed to cover a year of weekly sessions but easily adaptable for any pace...Suitable for all levels of management, from first-line supervisors to library directors, this book lays out a clear path to learning the essentials of being a great boss." - from the back cover

• Managing Library Volunteers (2nd ed) by Preston Driggers and Eileen Dumas

FYI: "Authors Preston Driggers and Eileen Dumas have completely overhauled their classic work and present a top-to-bottom toolkit for recruiting, interviewing, training, supervising, and evaluating volunteers..." - from the back cover

Productivity

Micro-productivity: Accomplishing Major Goals With Minor Effort

-from www.lifehack.org

When I’m not writing for Stepcase Lifehack, I spend my time crafting microfiction. I am the author of a 365-part fiction serial running at MargeryJones.com, and I have a piece of microfiction being featured in an upcoming HarperCollins fiction anthology on sale this June.

So I know a little something about getting a lot accomplished in a short amount of time. For example, sitting down and creating a novel is intimidating. But by focusing my efforts into writing a daily serial, I’ll have a novella complete by the end of the year with very little time invested per month. Some of the precepts of writing microfiction can easily be applied to any situation to help you reach a major goal or milestone.

I’m not the first person to write about this kind of “micro-productivity”. The Friendly Anarchist wrote a blog post about making the most of those 5-minute windows of time we all have in our day. He suggests that when you have a spare couple of minutes with nothing to do, you should use it to do something worthwhile, something productive: “Create cool stuff: Edit some photos, skribble some sketches, jot down an outline for your next essay, write a haiku.”

He argues that we sometimes psyche ourselves up when reaching for major goals or blocking out time for creative pursuits. By working in small chunks of time, “your old buddy procrastination has no chance to hit, if all you got are five minutes. And who knows, maybe…you’ll get an effortless 20 minutes of action, without even having to struggle.”

So, if you’re interested in accomplishing big projects with just a little bit of effort, here’s the basic process to follow.

1. Set a major goal

This is the time to dream big. Maybe you want to write a novel, get in shape, or earn some extra income with a side business. Decide what major life goal you have been putting off for years, and make a commitment to make a dent in the work required to make that goal a reality.

2. Break down that goal into micro-tasks

Say your major goal is to get rock hard abs by the end of the year. You might decide that the way for you to accomplish that goal is to do 100 crunches a day. If you’re committed to writing a novel, break down the work of writing into a set number of pages, chapters, or words.

The important thing isn’t how you break down the work leading towards successful completion of your goal, but rather that you break down the work into small, manageable micro-projects. Think about what you can conceivably get done in a 5 or 10 minute period of time, or what you can do over several such blocks of time without major fits and starts.

3. Set a schedule

For example, say you’re still planning on working on your abs, and want to do 100 crunches a day. You break down those 100 crunches into 4 groups of 25, making your goal easy to achieve during the commercial breaks of an hour long TV show.

Or maybe you’re dead-set on finishing a novel, so you dedicate three of your coffee breaks at work each week to scribbling a few passages into a notebook.

4. Get ahead of schedule

How do you do that? Simple. Just make an effort to use any 5-10 minute chunks of free time that you would otherwise “waste” to work on your project. I mentioned working your goals into TV commercial breaks above. Other great places to sneak in a little productive time include your morning commute (assuming you are a carpool passenger or subway rider), or while you’re making dinner (while waiting for water to boil or the microwave to ding).

And when you’re ahead of schedule (which is easy to do when it only takes 5 minutes to make progress), you’ll find that your this boosts your confidence. And when you feel good about your project and your goals, you’ll be more motivated and more productive.

Conclusion

Obviously you shouldn’t use every spare 5-minute chunk of your day towards your goals. Everybody needs a little down time to veg out and recharge their batteries. But by making a conscious effort to spend a few minutes per day working towards a major life goal, you will make slow, measured progress that might not be possible otherwise.

And even if you don’t have a major goal you’re working towards, using several 5-10 minute blocks of time towards a productive goal each day can really do wonders for both your personal and professional life. In an older post here at Lifehack.org, Leo Babauta wrote a great list of ways to make productive use of these small chunks of time. Those tips included balancing your checkbook, networking with your professional contacts, or even earning extra money by freelancing on the side.

Big goals are scary. You can easily get derailed working on major projects if you get frustrated or anxious about working on them. Working on a project for 5-10 minutes at a time can keep you from becoming your own worst enemy. And when you aren’t getting in your own way, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.


Author: Tucker is a writer and social media professional living in New England. When she's not staring into a tiny electric box, she engages in pointless acts of stupidity at BadBoozeReview.com and posts daily at MargeryJones.com

From the Learning Round Table of the American Library Association
by Marianne Lenox

A Collaborative Learning Experiment: Top Ten Customer Service Skills for Library Staff

Recently I was asked to give a 15 minute talk on customer service skills to the Huntsville – Madison County Public Library Public Service staff at their regular monthly meeting. Though I started the discussion with ten points outlined below, I knew that our front line staff could contribute even more and wanted to capture the exchange. We live-blogged it on our Drupal-based staff Intranet, adding notes during the discussion and encouraging comments afterward. Here are the results of that conversation:

1. Greet every customer
Every single patron deserves your eye contact: A smile and a hello are even better. Jackie Matthews (Youth Services) spoke of introducing herself, letting the patron know that she is willing to help if there are problems or questions. “Be alert for customers that come in the library angry or upset, a greeting validates the patron and let’s them know they are valuable to us. Sometimes a patron just doesn’t know where to go and will hover around a public service desk or in the stacks, often not asking for help.” Cerene Prince, of the Computer Training Center, spoke of engaging the patron in conversation to create a friendly, accessible atmosphere in the library.

2. Be aware of non-verbal clues
Occasionally a customer will approach a desk or a staff member with a set jaw and a fierce look. Typically this type of body language might alert us to an impending conflict and allow the staff member to create the proper tone for the conversation. Kill them with kindness and anticipate the solution, reminding yourself where supervisors are at the moment. Also consider the non-verbal clues you might be projecting: slumped posture or arms folded indicate an unwillingness to help.

3. Listen
Sometimes to be heard is all a patron really wants. Listening skills allow you to get past “Can I help you?”

4. Restate the problem or question
Not only will you make sure you’ve heard the issue correctly, but restating the customer’s issue will validate the situation. Give the patron a chance to ask questions after your restatement. David Lilly, head of reference and adult services reminded us to, “ask open-ended questions to help narrow down the issue if it seems vague.”

5. Be Empathetic
Find common ground, and have compassion for the issues at hand. Even if you don’t agree, apologize for the situation. You really can be sincere when you say, “I am so sorry this is causing a problem.”

6. Provide alternatives to “No”
If you can’t find a solution, find someone who will. Trying to find something else to say when your first impulse is a negative reply proves that you have been listening and truly want to help. Susanna Leberman, of Heritage and Archives, often uses “Let me confer with my colleagues” as a customer service catch-all to a quandary. In the session, she noted a recent episode in which a pair of genealogy patrons needed a particular book from the archives. As it sometimes happens, the book was not on the shelf where it was supposed to be. After a five-minute search, she returned to the pair and explained that the book was missing and asked how long they planned on visiting the library that day, indicating that other staff were willing to help. Susanna rallied the department and reported that, “Though it was a bumpy road getting the researchers what they wanted, with team effort and a little time, the problem was solved.”

7. Reserve judgment
Always be a professional representative of our mission: This is the public’s library. It doesn’t matter how a patron is dressed or what they are checking out, it’s important that we never are seen to be critical of the customer or the materials he or she checks out.

8. Get (back) to them as soon as possible
Whether on the phone, email or in-person, treat the patron with respect by following though. A real, live customer comes first over those on the phone. Often a patron’s phone call may be transferred from one department to another in search of resolution. Computer training center coordinator Stormy Dovers noted that she learns as much about the other departments as possible so that when patrons call with questions she can answer… instead of sending them to someone else.

9. Follow your gut instinct
If you get feeling that something is wrong, it probably is. I noted that staff should immediately contact security or a supervisor, but call 911 if you see a crime being committed in the library.

10. Thank them for using the library
Your parting words to the patron may very well be what is remembered most about a visit to the library. Are there upcoming programs or new resources to discover? Let them know we’re glad they came and offer them a reason to come back!

That afternoon, Development Director Stephenie Walker added to the talk’s blog post on our staff Intranet: “In a time when funding is at an all-time low it can be easy to be discouraged and feel helpless, but no matter what, we always have control over how we interact with patrons. In the end, they are why we do what we do – from placing a book on hold, to fundraising, to advocating with a commissioner, we do it for them.”

We do it for the patron. I just love that. Thanks, Stephenie, and all our staff who helped with this project. We learned a lot.

Like any set of skills, evaluation and practice go along way towards mastery. Customer service is no exception. In this case, the conversations around each issue during the talk allowed us to explore beyond the bullet points. As the discussion continued online, staff added even more examples of excellent customer service: I am considering this experiment in collaborative learning a success.

Can you think of other learning methods that can be used to combine content and real-life experiences? Please share!

From guardian.co.uk
By Maev Kennedy
Friday 14 January 2011 17.47 GMT

Library Clears its Shelves in Protest at Closure Threat

Users Urged to Take Out Full Allowance of Library Books in Campaign to Keep Stony Stratford Branch Open

Stony Stratford library is one of two branches being considered for closure by Milton Keynes council. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian The library at Stony Stratford, on the outskirts of Milton Keynes, looks like the aftermath of a crime, its shell-shocked staff presiding over an expanse of emptied shelves. Only a few days ago they held 16,000 volumes.

Now, after a campaign on Facebook, there are none. Every library user was urged to pick their full entitlement of 15 books, take them away and keep them for a week. The idea was to empty the shelves by closing time on Saturday: in fact with 24 hours to go, the last sad bundle of self-help and practical mechanics books was stamped out. Robert Gifford, chair of Stony Stratford town council, planned to collect his books when he got home from work in London, but left it too late.

The empty shelves, as the library users want to demonstrate, represent the gaping void in their community if Milton Keynes council gets its way. Stony Stratford, an ancient Buckinghamshire market town famous only for its claim that the two pubs, the Cock and the Bull, are the origin of the phrase "a cock and bull story", was one of the communities incorporated in the new town in 1967. The Liberal Democrat council, made a unitary authority in 1997, now faces budget cuts of £25m and is consulting on closing at least two of 10 outlying branch libraries.

Stony Stratford council got wind in December and wrote to all 6,000 residents – not entirely disinterestedly, as the council meets in the library, like many other groups in the town. "In theory the closure is only out for consultation," Gifford said, "but if we sit back it will be too late. One man stopped me in the street and said, 'The library is the one place where you find five-year-olds and 90-year-olds together, and it's where young people learn to be proper citizens'. It's crazy even to consider closing it."

– they should be finding ways to expand its services and bring even more people in."

Emily Malleson, of the Friends of Stony Stratford Library, said: "I was lucky, I got in early, so I got some nice children's books – and my children came along and took out all their books too. I had to bring the car to get them all home.The late-comers just had to take whatever was left."

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2011

New Book

• Reading Group Choices (Selections for Lively Book Discussions) 2011 edited by Reading Group Choices

FYI: Selections include Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers, The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet, The Red Thread by Ann Hood, and Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.

New Books

• Writing Reviews for Readers' Advisory by Brad Hooper

FYI: "Reviews are an important resource for readers' advisory and collection development. They are also a helpful promotional tool, introducing patrons to what is new on the shelf. This resource includes

- Tips for writing strong, relevant review

- Different ways reviews can be used to promote your library

-A chapter by Joyce Saricks covering the how-tos of reviewing audiobooks

Whether the ultimate goal is writing for a library website, book club, or monthly handout, or freelancing for a newspaper, magazine, or professional journal, readers will find plenty of ideas here." - from the back cover

• Fang-tastic Fiction: Twenty-first Century Paranormal Reads by Patricia O'Brien Mathews
• Doing Social Media So It Matters: A Librarian's Guide by Laura Solomon