Gaming, Gold Stars, and Birthdays

February 26, 2009 at 8:48 pm (Library 2.0, blogging, creativity, fundraising, gaming, innovation, personal, philosophizing)

Another random update in-between tasks and projects:

Gaming

Under the heading of “Wait, what?”: some gaming kerfuffle in Nebraska. The YouTube video in question led to a state investigation (complete with report) and, thankfully, an eloquent response from the Nebraska Library Commission.

A lot of ink has been spilled on libraries and gaming, and as a lifelong gamer myself, I’m just a touch biased. I do worry, however, that the opposition to gaming in libraries is merely one symptom of a larger cultural problem in America: the belief that we must always be working, all the darn time (which, alas, the shiny Web 2.0 technologies sometimes make it all too easy to do).

Life is so very short – don’t we all deserve fun, rest, and recreation? Are we really going to be on our deathbeds wishing we’d worked more? Methinks not. Maybe if more libraries embraced a healthier, holistic approach to work and play, we’d have a healthier citizenry. You work hard, you play hard, you go to sleep (for 8 hours, naturally, and please call your mom).

If that doesn’t convince you, doubters, chew on this: all those people you’re going to be asking for donations, in about 10 years? They’ll remember that you frowned upon them and their interests back when they were young, and will probably be less inclined to support the library. I’m just saying.

[Really, the only thing the Nebraska librarians did wrong was use "Yackity Sax" in the video. Can we say "earworm?" Quelle horreur! :) ]

Moving on…

4 Gold Stars

I’m pleased as punch that CLP has been named one of America’s Star Libraries by Library Journal. To celebrate, I’ve put four gold stars on my badge – if anybody else in the building would like one, I’ve left the sheet on my desk (feel free to use your own, too). Next time, we could totally get five. I’m serious. Let’s get cracking!

Kudos also to the Sewickley and Green Tree libraries for earning stars! Who knew Pittsburgh-area libraries  were so great? Why, you did, Constant Reader!

Birthday Number One

Eleventh Stack celebrated its first birthday this week. I swear, I didn’t deliberately pick George Harrison’s birthday as the launch date, but am pleased as punch it turned out that way.

On a more serious note, I couldn’t be more proud or pleased about the way the project has turned out so far. You know you’ve been a good leader when the team doesn’t really need you to function. Oh, sure, I’m the one who gets to represent us at meetings and whatnot, but when it comes to the day-to-day matters like proofreading or switching days, the team works it out amongst themselves. We make our decisions by consensus and everybody is empowered to fix tiny typos or other troubleshooting issues. It goes without saying that everyone is also empowered to write about whatever they want, and they all know, instinctively, how to make the library look good.

At our last blog meeting, I asked the team if they’d be willing to share some of their “best practices” for blogging. I reprint the list here in the interest of Learning 2.0:

  • Have a planning process and write effective guidelines
  • Once you’ve done that, “Just do it!”  [It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission]
  • Blogging does not necessarily lead to increased circ, so don’t make this a condition of a “successful” blog
  • Have a consistent schedule and make sure everyone knows what it is
  • Be realistic about the schedule you set
  • Readership can grow slowly, and people won’t always want to comment.  Don’t worry about this.  Just keep going.
  • Short posts and/or videos are good!
  • Steal ideas. :)
  • Proofread, proofread, proofread!
  • It’s okay to write about the familiar.  Sometimes it’s preferable.
  • When writing, leave plenty of time for dealing with technology glitches
  • Pay attention to what other team members are doing so you don’t repeat yourself [NB:  Three zombie posts is NOT excessive in Pittsburgh. :) ]
  • Collaborative posts are good!
  • “Word of mouth” advertising can be really effective (Facebook, your .sig file, etc.)
  • Use your own, unique voice

 So, there’s that.  Why no, I am not misting up with affection.  That’s just something stuck in my eye, probably.

No.  I love these people.  I really do.  And I’m so proud of what they’ve accomplished, that my heart grew three sizes this day!

Ahem.  :)   Twitter training and number-crunching are in my future, but for now I’ll say, “until we meet again,” by which I mean, “probably next week,” as there will be much to tell!

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Random alchemy update

February 20, 2009 at 5:55 pm (Learning 2.0, Library 2.0, Twitter, collection development, databases, humor, philosophizing, presentations, web resources)

It’s been a busy, exciting week. Here are a few of the many things going on in the alchemy lab.

We’ve Got Widgets

Ryan gave a brief training this morning on the widgets our IT department has developed. Good stuff. I’m now on a mission to discover if anybody’s created anything like Book Burro for A/V formats, and, if not, can IT build us one…

Twitter

Under the heading of “still somewhat secretive,” we’ve figured out a cool way to use Twitter that will work for our library, and yours truly is trying to coordinate the training / implementation effort. What’s really great about this is the sheer number of volunteers, and the sheer range of staff it covers (older, younger, timid, more adventurous, etc.). 2.0 technologies are becoming, for lack of a better word, ecumenical around here. It’s a lovely thing.

23 Things

The Allegheny County version of a 23 Things learning program has made all kinds of progress since last I brought it up. We have four technology playgrounds scheduled, one in each region except Central (more on this in a bit). Staff who attend will get a chance to play with Flip cameras and other geegaws, and learn about blogging and other social tools, as an appetite-whetter for the program itself, which will start near the end of April. Team Celery Stick (don’t ask) is meeting next week to keep the momentum going.

CLP Technology Playground

A cross-departmental group, which includes Ryan, Irene and me, has been planning a technology event for the public, scheduled for 4/25/09. We’ve reached the point where we know what activites we’re going to have, and how to staff them; what resources we want to show off; and what sorts of prizes/incentives we’d like to offer for participants. Now we’re working with Communication and Creative Services to create publicity and day-of props/handouts. My role in this phase has been creating draft copy, and Kaarin and I worked on revisions this afternoon.

Database stuff

This past week I accepted the role of chair on the EREC committee, which is responsible for recommending the purchase of electronic resources at the county level. The group is utterly fabulous, full of good ideas and wisdom/experience, and based on our meeting yesterday, I think 2009 will be a good year, despite challenges.

The state of subscription databases in a Google age is an interesting one. The committee has an opportunity to try some new things this year, and maybe take some risks (? – we can start small!). The outgoing chair, Ann, has given me a checklist of things to think about and work on, so I’ll be spending a lot of time on that in days–and entries–to come.

Weeding

Nothing like some old-school library work to ground you after all the meetings and the planning! I’m almost done with the LC circulating collection, weeding primarily for duplicates and poor condition, but I’ve also got some notes and lists on things we could use. I’m also moving some things from circ to reference. Dewey and reference collections to follow later this year…

When Technology Fails

Our computer network (internet, ILS and all) was down between noon and 3 p.m. today. Some patrons were unhappy and left, but there were plenty of other folks who stayed behind to read, study, and use non-computer resources. Customer Service was able to use offline functions to check out patrons’ materials, and it was actually kind of fun, in a creative way, to see exactly what sort of work could be accomplished without the Almighty Internet. Good practice for the zombie apocalypse, too.

A Touch of Sentiment

In a recent post on the experience economy, David Lee King provides notes on a presentation by Jane McGonigal. I’ll reproduce the money quote here:

Four key principles of happiness:

satisfying work to do
experience of being good at something
time spent with people we like
chance to be a part of something bigger

That’s the perfect description of a normal day around here, from my perspective. Of course, that condition begs the question, what do you do with your good fortune?

That’s one for pondering over a leisurely weekend. Next week, more alchemical whimsy, workload depending…

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The Big Picture (Midweek Inspiration)

February 18, 2009 at 1:57 pm (personal, philosophizing, professional development, traditional library services)

As a little respite from all the alchemical-hectic, I did some professional reading on my lunch hour. Here’s today’s refreshing thought, courtesy of Stephen Abram:

We stand on the side of angels when we speak for intellectual freedom, protection of culture, learning, research, workplace information, the success of our neighborhoods, and more. This is not just our passion; it is our responsibility as a profession. And that is the big picture.

excerpt from “The Really Big Picture.”

Your mileage may vary on angels, but it’s always good to stop, take a breath, and ponder the big picture.

Have been busy with many projects – I’ll have a summary/recap up by the end of the week, or early next, if all goes according to plan. What’s your week been like at your library? How does it all fit into the big picture?

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CLP Music Dept. Promo – From Haydn to Hip-Hop

February 15, 2009 at 2:43 pm (Learning 2.0, Library 2.0, creativity, humor, innovation, music, web resources)

Ryan and I get up to some pretty cool stuff around here, but we’re not the only ones in the organization having fun with technology. I’m happy to share a video effort put together by my colleagues in the Music Department. I’m also pleased to point out that Bonnie, Wes and Tim, three librarians who appear in the video, are also members of the Eleventh Stack blog team – clearly, this building is chock full of creative, multi-talented librarians!

Check out the wonders of our music department via the video stylings of David K., with expertise, help and support from music librarians Kathie L. and Kirby D.

Conventional wisdom has it that your videos should be short; I think this is definitely one of those exceptions that proves the rule – by this I mean, your video should be short unless you’ve put a lot of thought and care into a longform piece, as is the case here. And I definitely want to snag David for my own video efforts, before he gets snapped up by Cannes or Telluride.

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Text-tastic thoughts

February 13, 2009 at 2:54 pm (Learning 2.0, Library 2.0, SMS, innovation, news, texting)

Pittsburgh’s Port Authority is beta-testing RouteShout, a service you can text to find out when your next bus is coming. You can see the GoogleMap of beta stops here, and learn more about deeplocal, the Pittsburgh-based company behind RouteShout, here.

I like the idea of texting a library or librarian for information, but it’s the size of the information packets that concerns me.  Bus arrival times are the perfect information packets for texting, because they’re short, useful and informative.  Longer questions I’m not so sure about – how would that work?  Appropriate library data that comes to mind includes hours of operation, phone numbers, and the location of the library closest to you at any given time.  I know various libraries offer text services, and I’ve been exploring their services to see what we could learn from them.  I know there’s been some dubious press on Mosio’s Text A Librarian package, in particular, lately, but the idea in its pure form still has merit.

One of the books I read last month, Mobilizing Generation 2.0, devotes an entire chapter to what non-profits could potentially do with cell phone technology. A companion wiki also features a related article for those of us with shoestring budgets (and whose isn’t, these days?) who might not be able to take on another vendor-based service. Of course, I like the notion of the entire consortium teaming up to form Voltron, er, sponsor a countywide text-based service. If you’re going to dream, dream big, right? Right!

At any rate, the book itself is highly recommended, especially because it frames technology issues in such a way that it will make sense to non-librarian bosses/managers/directors. Those of you already on the bandwagon will appreciate the companion website’s extra essays, and may find yourself dreaming more big dreams after seeing the video for The Extraordinaries. I’m loving that slogan, in particular, and wish some library had thought it up first…

Do you text much, personally or professionally? Would texting make sense in the context of your library’s services? If so, in what ways? If not, why not?

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“There’s no crying in library science!”: Things I’ve learned.

February 10, 2009 at 5:57 pm (leadership, management, personal, philosophizing, presentations, professional development)

Yesterday I spent my lunch hour with some students at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Information Sciences. I’d been invited to share some of my experiences and thoughts about working in a public library, which gave me pause. I’m in my seventh year at CLP (spent 2 years as a clerk before earning the degree), and while that’s plenty of time to have learned things worth sharing, it’s still a drop in the bucket of the institution’s 114 year history. Quite possibly the most humbling, daunting presentation I’ve ever been asked to give.

That being said, here’s a snapshot of what I told them:

You will never be done learning.

Every moment is a teachable moment. Every conversation you have with a colleague is an opportunity to grow and change. Every patron transaction is an opportunity to expand your professional horizons.

Library science is people! It’s all people!

To be successful in a public service position, you have to be willing to love people who may not always behave in a very lovable fashion. Note that I did not say “like” or “coddle.” Sometimes a polite “no” is the most loving thing you can say. That being said, most people mean well and behave well. And when they don’t?

Nothing is ever personal.

People come to the reference desk with a whole separate context of which we’re not aware when we talk to them. Anything and everything that happened during their day could be affecting the way they’re behaving now. It has nothing to do with you. Just answer the question, and try to let the personal stuff go.

Management is not the enemy.

A few years ago, my then-boss asked me to sub for her at a managers’ meeting. I wasn’t sure what would happen there, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the group gathered around the table and had my lightbulb moment that “the management” was actually X and Y and Z and Q and D, all people I liked and respected very much. It’s easy to sit around and complain about “the management.” It’s harder, but more worthwhile, to get to know them and learn where they’re coming from.

If you don’t get a job you applied for, it really is because something better is coming down the pike for you.

Note: You should never say this to someone who just got turned down for a job. That being said, there are all kinds of reasons why people don’t get hired. Some of them have nothing to do with the applicant. With patience and persistance, you will find the correct job in the correct place at the correct time.

Try new things, especially if they scare you.

Volunteer for interesting tasks outside your area of specialty. Apply for positions that interest you, but that you might not necessarily be qualified for. If you’re not just a little bit scared about the next step, you’re probably not challenging yourself enough.

Take your breaks and lunch.

Public service can be hard, hard work. It requires patience, kindness, a sense of humor, and a certain amount of physical and emotional fortitude at times. Take your breaks and lunch! Walk around the building. Talk to people. Go outside, if you can. Corollary: make sure you’re getting 8 hours of sleep, drinking lots of water, and cultivating a pleasant, happy life outside your library. Oh, and call your mom. She misses you.

One thing I didn’t mention, but should have, is that, on a normal day at the library, nobody dies, and nothing gets set on fire. There simply isn’t any crying in library science. Or, at least, there shouldn’t be. The work we do is important, but rarely is it urgent, and almost nothing (save book challenges, criminal incidents, and acts of the gods), is worth freaking out about.

What have you learned from your library life thus far? Where are you on your career path? Do you have any gems you can share that have helped you along, especially if you picked them up during challenging times? Who do you look to for advice and mentoring in your organization? Are you called upon to offer advice/mentoring to others? How do you feel about that?

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The Saturday Symphony

February 7, 2009 at 1:56 pm (Learning 2.0, Library 2.0, personal, philosophizing, social justice, traditional library services, web resources)

Your alchemist likes working Saturdays.  Saturdays have a different rhythm, tone, and feel to them.  Being allowed to wear blue jeans certainly doesn’t hurt.

Today we’ve been busy, in a steady, non-frantic way, since the doors opened.  Folks are working on papers, using the computers, using the wireless, and otherwise reading and studying – two people are bent over a chessboard, carefully contemplating their next moves.

Questions have run the gamut from fetal alcohol syndrome to M.C. Escher to landlord/tenant relations (coupled with referrals to other libraries that can provide legal assistance, if needed).  There is, of course, the usual flurry of “how-do-I” questions:  reserve a computer, get headphones, find the mezzanine.  Visitors stroll through, gaping at the decor and architecture.  Tax preparation season has started, too, so there’s a steady undercurrent of helping people find the room where our VITA  (volunteer income tax assistance) volunteer has set up shop.

I won’t lie to you – it’s been challenging getting back into the groove after Midwinter.  Despite the amount of work I could do from a distance with my laptop, it didn’t make up for the experience of being able to get something out of my desk or the P drive, or to talk to a peer when I needed/wanted one.  And yet, the Saturday symphony makes all the re-entry challenges worthwhile. 

I really wish we had a webcam, sometimes.  That might be a sticky privacy wicket, though…

At any rate, I’ve been typing this between transactions, and I’ve been giving a lot of help intermittently to a patron who is not very comfortable with the internet.  I’ll leave you, therefore, with what feels like not just the soundtrack to today, but to the state of libraries in general.

Walk on, my brethren and sistren.  Walk on.

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Church 2.0

February 4, 2009 at 12:12 am (Learning 2.0, Library 2.0, creativity, innovation, philosophizing, religion, web resources)

In which a Texas church uses technology to engage its users. Librarians, take note!

This is both cool and noteworthy for a number of reasons:

  • Combines  intergenerational collaboration and fun marketing techniques
  • Shatters stereotypes about seniors and computers
  • Uses new technologies to promote and enhance a traditional institution
  • Emphasizes what the website has to offer the user

Sunset delivers on its promises, too.  If you check out the church page, you’ll notice that its design is focused on what the user can do and learn there: read, listen, download, register, and–most importantly–find information easily. They’re even using Skype!

Church 2.0? Why not? Think about it: an organization, driven by a strong sense of mission, seeks to enhance the user experience for its members, and draw in new ones by taking advantage of emerging technologies. Sound like any other cultural institution you know of?

I know, I know: a library isn’t a church (or is it?). Perhaps I’m just pleased to see so many of my professional interests coming together in one place. If, like me, you’re fascinated by the relationship between religion and culture, you might like the God Spam blog, the source of today’s ruminations.

What are the dominant religious beliefs in the patron populations you serve? The underserved religious populations? How do/would you serve/support them? Are they using emerging technologies? If you don’t know, how could you find out?

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Barbaric yawps (more thoughts on Twitter)

February 2, 2009 at 7:46 pm (Learning 2.0, Library 2.0, Twitter, creativity, innovation, philosophizing)

Walt Whitman would’ve loved Twitter, I think.  All those voices lifted up over the rooftops of the world!  We’re still trying to find our Twitter-voice here at CLP.  The first people who try out a new technology set the bar; those of us who ruminate and come after try to either vault over the bar or limbo under it.

So there’s been a lot of oral and written brainstorming with my peers over the last few months, a lot of experimental refdesk Tweeting via my personal account (mostly to prove that it CAN be done without ignoring in-person patrons), and careful reading of various tutorials. The one that resonates most strongly is that last: “Give me content worthy of your institution.” Hear hear – which is why I’ve been trolling Twitter looking for interesting people who do interesting things.

One thing I noticed is that when I find a Twitter account that’s really cool, I often don’t want or need to comment on the tweets. This is primarily because the tweeter has said whatever s/he had to say brilliantly, that all I could possibly add is “I agree!” or “Wow!”

One excellent example of that particular phenomenon is Issa_haiku. Here you have a short, quality piece of writing, delivered on a dependable, yet not annoying, basis, for the purposes of both instruction and delight. That’s the gold standard (the fact that one of my peers just might agree with me is a bonus :) ).

At any rate, one thing we’ve considered is a “book of the day” Tweet, but we’re still trying to work out the logistics on that one. If only one person’s doing it, even if it’s only once per day, it wouldn’t be nearly as diverse or interesting as if a bunch of people were doing it on a rotating basis. Then there’s the discovery I made late last week, that Encore’s links don’t resolve neatly to tinyURLs, the way the classic catalog links do. And do you just post the link, or write a short summary to go with?

Much to ponder there – thoughts? How are you using Twitter, personally or professionally?

We’ll give Ken Wagner the last word here:

Walking empty streets
under a full moon, even
Google can’t find me.

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