How to Keep the Light On

November 4, 2009 at 6:48 pm (Facebook, Flickr, Library 2.0, creativity, fundraising, innovation, leadership, web resources)

Kudos are in order for everybody involved in the Keep the Light On Levy, one of 30 successful library levies in Ohio this election season.  Mahoning County residents obviously have their priorities straight when it comes to library funding, but the phenomenal effort exerted by the library’s supporters was, I’m sure, a key role in the levy’s passing.

What made this campaign so delightfully awesome? Let us count the ways:

  1. The perfect slogan.  Keep the light on.  Could it be any clearer?  Mood, imperative.  Focuses on the positive.  Uses one of humankind’s most primal metaphors, light, implying warmth, growth, safety, knowledge.  Sheer genius.
  2. Gorgeous web design.  Love the simple primary colors.  Love the inclusive photo on the front page that reflects the diverse makeup of the Mahoning Valley.   Love the simple box arrangement that makes the page easy to navigate.  Ditto on the tabs at the top.
  3. Patrons are front and center.  Two of the first things you see there are “The People’s Blog” and “Real Quotes From Real Library Users.”  The scrolling list of library supporters is a nice touch, too, letting people see how much they’re appreciated.  The only thing that could make this even better is moving the library usage calculator up higher, so people could see and use it more easily.
  4. Transparency.  As you navigate the site, you will see funding issues explained in a clear, concise fashion.  The FAQ, in particular, explains where library funding comes from at the state and local levels, what cost-saving measures the library has already tried, and how much money fundraisers and other revenue-generators actually raise.  Most importantly, the FAQ details what cost-saving measures the library has already taken, and what consequences would occur if the levy doesn’t pass.  Here, in my opinion, is the money quote:

    5. Levy FAQ 6. What effect has the loss of 31% of State funding had on Your Library?  Thirty members of Your Library staff had to be laid off. Funding for books and other materials dropped dramatically. The entire staff, including the Director, took wage cuts. The library was forced to reduce hours at all locations.

    Emphasis mine. Everybody. Took. Wage. Cuts.  Wow.  That is definitely one way to tell people that you are dead serious.  Would you take a wage cut for your library?  But I digress:

  5. Good use of social media/web technologies.  Content on YouTube.  Strong Facebook and Twitter presences.   Including PayPal as a donation option.  An e-newsletter.  Clearly this group “gets it” when it comes to reaching out to tech-savvy patrons and including them in their advocacy efforts.

    6. [Aside:  Yes, I'm biased.  You can take the girl out of Youngstown, but you can't take the Youngstown out of the girl.  And honestly, why would you want to?]

    What insanely cool, awesome thing are you doing to rock the advocacy boat at your library?  Leave a comment telling me about your creative/unusual “save the library” endeavors, and you’ll be eligible to win a copy of Keri Smith’s This Is Not A Book – I just happen to have stumbled into an extra copy, and I can’t think of a better way to reward hands-on advocacy than with a hands-on, not-a-book destructo-journal.

    Leave a comment by 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, 2009 to be in the running. And thanks in advance for everything you do to keep the light on in your libraries!

    You know what’s almost as important as keeping the light on? Lightening up. Methinks my next post is going to be both fun and silly, because, quite frankly, there’s been a dearth of that around here lately. Stay tuned.

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10 Things I Will Do When I’m A Library Director

October 28, 2009 at 5:03 pm (blogging, creativity, ethics, humor, innovation, intellectual freedom, leadership, management, philosophizing, professional development, social justice)

I think about the future a lot.  The present is a good place to be; some would argue it’s the only place to be.  But I also believe in lifelong learning and growing, and I already know that, someday, I want to be a library director.  So I spend a goodish chunk of my time thinking about that goal, and how I will get there.

Part of said thinking involves visualizing myself in certain situations.  What would I do if X, Y, or Z happened?  How will I interact with my board?  With my community?  With my patrons?

The result of all that thinking is this somewhat idealistic list of things I solemnly swear I will do when I am a library director.  Those of you who currently wear that hat may smile or correct me as you please, but these are my thinks based on my perspective in the here-and-now.

  1. I will know the first and last names of everybody I work with.  Yes, even if it’s a big library.  Yes, from the person who cleans the toilets to the president of my board.  I will take an active, genuine interest in their lives, seeing them not merely as employees, but as people with hopes and dreams who, properly cultivated, can make the organization more excellent via their personal growth and development.
  2. I will treat everyone on my staff with dignity and respect.  If I am wrong, I will apologize.  If I have to do something unpopular, I will explain why, and clearly.  I will communicate with them clearly and frequently, and I will respect everyone’s inherent worth, regardless of race, religion, gender, class, or favorite sports team.
  3. I will nurture and encourage innovation and change.  I will support my staff when they have wild and crazy ideas, give them the opportunity to test out their theories, even–perhaps especially–the ones of which I’m skeptical.  I will trust that they love the library and the community too, and that they have its best interests at heart.  I will actively seek out staff and volunteers who can help me create a 21st-century library for 21st-century patron needs, and I will be fearless about trying new things and making mistakes.
  4. I will pitch in and help with whatever task needs done, no matter how big or small.  Something that left a big impression on me as an undergraduate was an event the college president organized every year during homecoming.  He called it “Lance Cooks,” and it means exactly what it says:  he cooked and served food in the cafeteria line, and made conversation with everybody who passed through.  It blew my mind that the college president would do that, and it made me feel good about the future of our campus.  It also makes me want to be the director who opens the front doors every morning, a la Will Manley, or who works the circulation desk regularly.
  5. I will live in the community I serve, and become an active, engaged member of it.   No ridiculous commutes for me.  I want to be right up close to the action, shopping in the community’s stores, volunteering at its other non-profits, and getting to know its people in all sorts of situations, not just director-patron ones.  If my job is to lead a library, then I want to do it in the most accessible fashion possible.  The title of “director” should be a bridge, and not a barrier.
  6. I will dress up like a pirate on Halloween.  Okay, to be fair, I’m already planning on doing that anyway–but that’s not the point!  Leadership is a very serious business, especially during difficult times.  However, I don’t ever, ever, ever want to lose sight of the fact that, despite its difficulties, life has plenty of fun things to offer, and I will bend over backwards to create an atmosphere of fun, trust, and bonhomie in my library.
  7. I wil bend over backwards to make the arcana of librarianship transparent and comprehensible to my board.  Face it:  there are going to always be some things that only librarians care about, and that would make the community’s eyes glaze over if we tried to explain, no matter how much we prettified it.  That being said, we ARE degree-holding professionals with a particular skill set and particular rationales for why we do things.  Sometimes, that will need to be explained to a board, cheerfully, and with patience.  This is the area where I have the least expertise, but I’ve served on one strategic planning committee, and got a good introduction there to the scope of the task ahead.
  8. I will be a loud, aggressive, passionate, fearless advocate for libraries.  I will blog.  I will write collection development policies that uphold the community’s freedom to read.  I will podcast.  I will take advantage of every traditional and emerging technology to get the word out about the value of my library.  I will cultivate relationships with my local and state senators and representatives.  I will work with my Friends Group.  I will get more deeply involved at the state and national levels of library advocacy.
  9. I will embrace transparency whenever possible.  I will make it easy for community members to contact me.  I will have an open-door policy with the staff.  I will hold open houses and community meetings, and I will communicate early and often about any service changes that might come along.  I will be candid about library finances.  I will ensure, whether or not I’m actually responsible for website maintenance, that my library’s website contains the most up-to-date information about the library, its policies/procedures, and its resources.
  10. I will stay humble, grounded, and focused.  I will constantly question whether or not the actions I take are in the best interests of my staff and the community.  I will earn my salary with blood, sweat and tears, down to the last penny.  I will surround myself with intelligent people who will gently, but firmly, correct me if I am drifting off course.  I will network with other library directors and learn from their expertise, not just when I’m a newbie, but for as long as I have the privilege to lead.  I will aggressively pursue continuing education opportunities, and my default setting will be that there is always, always something more to learn.  And finally, I will be open to the lesson in all life experiences, including the gut-wrenching, painful ones.

That’s a tall order, I know.  Break it to me gently, if you must disabuse me of my idealistic notions.  But I would argue, once again, that if we give up our ideals, we are lost.  Even if they are impossible, it is in the striving that we will become better library leaders.

Er, right?

But what about the fundraising part, you ask?  Ah, fundraising.  That’s a whole post in and of itself.  Given that I’ve wanted to be a fairy godmother since I was a child, it’s yet another one of those things I muse about all the darned time.  If I get a breather, we’ll discuss it.

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You can’t spell intern without “ni!”: Stuff I’ve learned.

August 25, 2009 at 4:28 pm (blogging, collection development, creativity, databases, humor, leadership, management, professional development, web resources)

If that subject header had you scratching your noggin, click here for elucidation.  For the rest of you, on with the story!

For the past few months, my workload rose to such a pitch that half-joking plea for an intern had become part of my regular rotation of requests.  Call it manifestation or plain old nagging, but when an opportunity appeared mid-summer, yours truly was given an intern…er, 1/2 an intern.  In Solomonic fashion, Tanya split her time here at Main between the stacks and shelving department, and helping me with tasks in Ref. Services.

Having her around has been educational.  For one thing, Tanya’s not planning to make librarianship a career, though she was intrigued that there were such things as medical libraries and librarians.  Working with her has forced me to re-examine everything I do, because I know I’m going to have to explain/justify it to a non-library person.  It’s also forced me to be even better organized, because I want to make her time here useful and educational – that means having tasks ready, and not just tasks, but a variety of tasks, so that she gets a well-rounded experience.

On top of that, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to model that one behavior I hope to someday perfect–the art of dropping everything and paying attention to her when she has a question–as well as other behaviors worth having in the bag of tricks:  patience, a sense of humor, problem-solving skills, diplomacy, flexibility and creativity.   We had a teachable moment just this morning, in which I was having difficulty exporting data from Millennium Create List, and I had to ask one of my peers for a reminder/refresher on the spot–not sure if that was more educational for her or for me!  But still, the point was made:  even the nominal leader gets stuck, and needs to ask for help.

Here are some of the things Tanya’s helped me with so far:

  • mass mailings
  • weeding (literal and digital)
  • creating digital booklists
  • creating displays
  • database evaluations [seeing how a non-library person perceived our electronic resources was insanely valuable]
  • collection development (print and digital)
  • searching for missing items
  • shadowing at the reference desk

She also wrote a very nice Eleventh Stack post describing her internship, both at Main and at the Carrick branch, where she spent the first part of her summer. If the point of internships is to educate folks on just how important library service is to the community, I’d have to say “mission accomplished” on this one. I can’t really take the credit for that, per se, but I’m glad I played a small part in helping her have a good library experience.

As for me, I was a lot more comfortable in a leadership role this time than I was last time, when I supervised the Help Desk workers. Funny what time and, hopefully, a little maturity, can do! I am still not 100% convinced it’s the direction in which I want to take my career, but I now know that I could become a good manager if I were willing to work at it. So the real question is, what would make me happy?  Although I’m pro-money, and fond of regular meals, I’m a little more concerned with other levels on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs at this point in my life.

If and when I ever get a handle on that, I’ll let you know. And if that last paragraph shocked you, you should hear about my backup plan just in case this whole librarian thing doesn’t work out. No, not the goat farm – that’s the retirement plan.

I have a few writing topics I’m going to defer until September, as they revolve around specific timed events.  There are a few things saved in my newsreader that I want to warble about, but for now, let’s leave it open-ended.  Your alchemist also takes requests, so if there’s something you’d like me to write about, do leave a comment.

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Indeed A Stage: Librarians and Theater

August 10, 2009 at 2:18 pm (Library 2.0, creativity, humor, innovation, personal, philosophizing, presentations, professional development, theatre)

Well, that was fun!  But, all good things must come to an end.  I really enjoyed being on stage again after — yikes! — twelve years.  I suppose it’s less than that, given that I performed at Friday Nite Improvs for a few years. But it’s been more than a decade since I had to memorize a script and put on multiple shows in a weekend.  I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it until I started rehearsing, too.

At this point you might be saying to yourself, “Well, dear, that’s very sweet and all, but shouldn’t you go back to being a grown-up now?”  I suppose I should, rather.  Still, there are plenty of grown-up, sophisticated library bloggers about–I’ve decided that I’d much rather be the holistic type who tries to convince you that things like theater and improv could actually be good for your career.

Consider the reference librarian.  S/he frets and struts an hour or two upon the refdesk, then is no more (presumably s/he’s in a back office somewhere, ordering books, attending meetings, ripping her/his hair out, etc.).  S/he has scheduled entrances and exits, and when s/he’s at the desk, s/he has a role to play.

Occasionally these roles are scripted; more often, they’re improvisational.  You have a situation/location (the reference desk) and a relationship (librarian/patron).  Although there are a number of different shapes the conversation could take (Where’s the bathroom?  Do you have Jane Eyre? Does this reference book make my bag look fat?), you have absolutely no idea what any given person is going to say to you, and you have to be ready to respond in the moment.

One thing I love about improv is its reliance on “Yes, and.”  In the best improv scenes, the partners roll with the reality of the situation no matter how far-fetched it becomes.  “Did you steal a kidney from the transplant truck? ”  “Yes, and I wanted you to see it first–happy anniversary, honey!”  Hopefully nobody is bringing transplant organs to your desk, but they are bringing you a lot of other transactions where “Yes, and” is an appropriate response.  For example:

“Do you have The Castle of Otranto?” Yes, and you might also like The Mysteries of Udolpho, Northanger Abbey, or The Monk!

“Is there a bathroom on this floor?” Yes, and I’d be happy to show you where it is.

“Can I take books out of this section?” Yes, and nearly all of the other books on this floor are available for checkout, too.

“How many items can I take out at a time?” 50, (yes implied) and that total includes 10 DVDs, 10 CDs, etc.

The skeptical among you might be wondering, “Okay Tallulah Bankhead, what about those of us who don’t work in public service?”  Just because you don’t work directly with the public doesn’t mean you’re never going to be asked to give a presentation or, at the very least, speak in a meeting.  In fact, the amount of public service you do seems to be inversely proportionate to the number of meetings you must attend (I’d like a grant to study this — wouldn’t you?).  Why not get over your fears by trying out a few improv games?   At the very least, your next staff meeeting / training will be the one your colleagues will discuss for years to come.  “Remember back in the summer of aught-nine, when Tallulah had us play ‘Freeze’?  Good times!”

One shameless omission from both lists is “Questions,” in which the scene partners can only speak in queries.  This is a lot harder than it sounds, but a great way to break your brain out of its usual channels and stimulate some creative thinking.  And isn’t that something else we Librarians 2.0 are supposed to be doing?

Future posts will, I promise, be more “normal,” but I think the most important thing my return to the stage has taught me is that the boundaries between work and home are a lot more porous than most of us imagine.  After all, it’s not like we completely shed our personalities when we step into our offices–decorum might suggest we keep certain things under wraps, and tact will always be a huge part of professionalism.  Still, we are who we are, quirks, personalities, interests, and all.  I’m in favor of a holistic paradigm of library science, where who we are outside of our offices can feed and nurture the kinds of things we do inside of them.

Just a theory.  What sorts of things do you do in your leisure time that sustain your workday persona?

Back later this week with more whimsical thoughts…

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Soylent Green (day in the life, part II)

July 31, 2009 at 3:33 pm (blogging, creativity, databases, day in the life, leadership, management, personal, philosophizing, professional development, traditional library services)

Fables of the Reconstruction

The problem with part I of this “day in the life” recap is that, despite my best efforts, it still doesn’t capture what passes for normal around here. Monday was very tech-heavy, which could lead to the mistaken impression that I get to play with cool 2.0 stuff all day long while my colleagues are sweating away at the refdesk. Not so.

A normal day around here also usually involves a lot more walk-and-talks. This is a term used to describe the state of affairs when one is conducting business while walking around, as seen on Sports Night and The West Wing. Teamwork and collaboration are the order of the day around here, and while there are many thngs I do independently, like buy books in my subject area and tot up those darned database stats, there are also a lot of things that only come together when my compatriots and I team up and form Voltron.  I also get more phone calls these days, and my presence is required at more meetings.

On top of that, I’m forever charging into people’s offices with a crazy idea, philosophical question, or shameless request (how do you think I got an intern? Ask and get!). The two people I consult regularly — my boss and one of the other senior librarians — are great models for leadership because no matter how many times I go in to talk to them, they stop whatever they’re doing and give me their full attention. They do this for everyone else on staff, too, and I’ve tried to emulate this behavior because I think it’s a valuable one.

Another dimension of the new normal around here is the ongoing advocacy effort. There’s a staff blog and wiki where everyone can contribute their ideas and ask questions, and I log in to read these and contribute whenever I can. It’s comforting to me to see the organization use emerging technologies for the common good, to keep everyone on the same page, spread accurate information, etc., and no matter how our particular situation turns out, at least we’re using all the tools at our disposal.  This morning, in particular, it was amazing to log in to the advocacy wiki and see all the great ideas coming from people all over the system. 

In other words, library service is people!  It’s all people!  Whether the service benefits a peer or a patron, everything I do on a so-called normal day revolves around helping a real person.  And that’s often chaotic, messy, and hard to pin down.

Zone defense

I’d hoped to type up my refdesk observations from the other day, but, life happens.  I know they’re on my desk somewhere.  Problem is, so are a lot of other things.  Like small press catalogs, to-do lists, piles of books, spreadsheet printouts, booklists, newspapers, etc.  The rest of my time this week has been occupied with totting up 2nd quarter database stats – I’m about 3/4 done – and preparing for the meeting we had around 1 p.m. today.  It went well, I think.  I’m getting more comfortable with planning and running meetings, and actual work is getting done, which is the goal.  There’s almost nothing worse than a meeting that’s a waste of everybody’s time.

So, that was a day – literally and philosophcially – in my library life.  It’s crawling chaos.  It’s madcap zany.  It’s headache-inducing, spirit-lifting, skippy-dancing, goat-farm-dreaming, puzzle-pondering goodness.  I feel very fortunate to be here, and I wouldn’t change a single thing…except, maybe, to have one whole wall in my office that was nothing but whiteboard.  That would be pretty cool.

Things I want to talk about if I ever get 5 seconds:

  • Having an intern
  • Book reviewing
  • Why Walt Crawford is awesome
  • Gen X leadership

The reach must exceed the grasp.  Isn’t that what library blogs are for?

I’ll be on staycation next week, though.  The play I’m in goes up Friday and Saturday, so I’ll be focusing on delivery and diction rather than databases and desk work.  I maybe might chime in with some of the more abstract, bigger-picture ruminations I normally don’t have time for, but that’s a longshot-darkhorse prospect.

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Summer Reading 2.0

June 19, 2009 at 4:52 pm (23ThingsN@, Learning 2.0, Library 2.0, creativity, innovation)

I couldn’t leave us on the last post’s lugubrious note – not when there are so many cool things afoot.

For example, one of our 23 Things ‘N @ participants created an awesome video to show off her library’s summer reading activities. Observe:

Hurray for Scott Township!  And trust me: you haven’t lived until you’ve tried a Frownie.

So many things I want to blog about, so little time! What I really want to write about, though, is reading 2666. I’ve finally finished it, and I have some thoughts about the process of reading it, given that it’s a 900-page unfinished novel in a Web 2.0 world.

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Marketing, Advocacy, and T.S. Eliot

June 9, 2009 at 5:19 pm (creativity, databases, philosophizing, professional development)

I’m usually not scheduled for the reference desk on Tuesdays (sniffle), so I spend my time catching up on committee work and other extended projects.  Today I’d set aside some time to read the EREC binder, because if I’m going to chair a countywide committee, I want to make sure I know the history (fairly reasonable, no?).

Among many other useful things, I found a copy of Rivkah Sass’s 2002 article, Marketing the Worth of Your Library.  As I read it, it struck me how the debates in library marketing have changed very little in nine years!  We are still talking about:

  • “Library as place” vs. “24/7 access”
  • Librarians as marketers (or not)
  • Databases trumping Google
  • The true costs of “free”

The one thing that perplexes me is why some librarians are still reluctant to be marketers, given that we live and move and have our being in an age where hordes of people choose to brand themselves via blogs, Tweets, Facebook, etc.  How can you put so much delight and glee into crafting a digital presence, and still be gun-shy about marketing?

Maybe it’s the word “marketing,” which still has icky connotations for many of us.  We became librarians because we didn’t want to buy, sell or process anything, and the notion of selling democratic access to information can definitely leave a sour taste in one’s mouth.  Marketers, for many of us, are those unscrupulous folks featured in the film The Corporation, who actually studied nagging patterns in order to more effectively market to small children. And we don’t want to be identified with Those People.

 Marketing sounds so much better when we call it “advocacy,” doesn’t it?  The definition of the two words are strikingly similar,  to be sure.  A quick trip to OneLook renders the following definitions:

marketing: the commercial processes involved in promoting and selling and distributing a product or service.

advocacy: active support, especially the act of pleading or arguing for something.

Note that the main difference between the two concepts is the absence of “filthy lucre” and the presence of pleading.

I am writing with tongue in cheek, of course, because such debates amuse me more than anything else. Rather than get upset or argue about it, why not just accept and get cracking? Whether we like it or not, we are the public faces of our libraries, so we might as well take every opportunity to promote our products and services.

Maybe I just feel that way because it comes naturally to me. I don’t see how I can talk to patrons and NOT recommend an applicable database, or take the opportunity to talk about the state budget. It’s easy to advocate when you’re in love you believe in the service you’re promoting. I’m open to the possibility that I could be wrong – however, I’ve come to believe that, when it comes to differences of opinion in library world, the best position to take is T.S. Eliot’s: “Teach us to care, and not to care.” We should care enough to go to bat for our libraries, but we could probably stop caring about what the proper name for it should be. That way lies madness. Madness, I say!

I think about this stuff a lot because 1st quarter database stats were way down from last year, and that scares me. I refuse to accept the argument that goes, “Well, people Google these days, so why bother?” We should bother because the content of the subscription databases is, quite simply, better than the free web, especially when it comes to full-text journal articles. There are a million print pieces available via PA POWER’s librarian-only website, and from the vendors themselves. Now I just have to make the time to write up a million graphics requests, so they can be personalized with the library’s logo…

On a happier note, I’m told that 6 boxes of promotional materials from Mango Languages are winging their way toward me as I speak, so, huzzah for the path of least resistance! Vendors are really bending over backwards these days to make their products promotable, which makes everyone’s lives just a little bit easier.

On an extremely happy note, all those hard-core advocates who deluged their senators with e-mail, phone calls, and letters will be happy to learn that a little victory was won yesterday in the PA House Appropriations Committee meeting. I did my part not only by e-mailing my representatives, but also, with the blessing of my boss and The Other Powers That Be, inserting language on the database page that draws users’ attention to the budget situation – you can see it here (scroll down past the subject headings to “Access PA POWER Library”).

Back to my graphics requests. I may or may not get to post later this week, but if I do, I want to talk specifically about why Allegheny County’s public librarians should put their hats in the ring for the Emerging Leaders program this year.

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(Approximately) 88 Lines About 29 Bloggers.

May 15, 2009 at 2:59 pm (23ThingsN@, Learning 2.0, Library 2.0, blogging, creativity, humor, professional development)

This week on 23 Things ‘N @, the ultimate library reality show, our intrepid participants created blogs. Some were blogging for the first time, and others were taking the opportunity to add depth and breadth to their prior blogging experience.

In what may seem like a surprise twist to some, but not to me, a number of participants chose not to create a blog at all. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, part of the course does require starting a blog. On the other hand, folks who have concerns about privacy–and yes, Virginia, they do exist–have the right to opt out of any activity that makes them uncomfortable. And on that third hand, which most of us have not got, the sad truth is that between Pennsylvania’s library budget woes and the insane crush of increased activity the consortium’s seen since the economy went south, some of the participants simply don’t have the time to finish the exercise.

All that being said, those who did rise to the blogging challenge demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that Allegheny County is full of creativity, talent, wit, and humor. The blogs featured below are well worth a visit, and if you’d be willing to encourage the bloggers with a comment, well, that would be right kindly of you.

Suzy, The Little Librarian asks an excellent question about blogging.

Cathy Behm is having fun with fonts…

Kara’s Universe is off to a thoughtful, yet still creative, start.

Don’t Panic is not just good advice, it’s a great blog!

The tech-savvy bibliokaren goes to bat for Allegheny County teens.

Regina’s Reactions is off to a strong start with an interesting observation.

i’d rather be quilting is an excellent 23 Things metaphor!

Nonsenssikl Skript makes excellent use of the letter “K.”

Dani’s 23 Things Adventure demonstrates depth (and cool design).

Marilyn Jenkins poses the excellent question, Where in the World are we Going?

Flying Monkeys With ADD wins at blog naming…

…as does Lost in the Future.

You can Just Add Text with Megan Fogt…

Or get your Penny Arcade references fresh off the griddle at meg’s 23 things.

Team Celery Stick gets into the act with Daughter to College….

…and I Heart String Cheese.

Debi’s Readit Blog looks like it’s going to be about books (woohoo!).

23 Things for Dinosaurs tells it like it is…

…scottkids continues the motif…

and Sharon’s 23 Things shows signs of relief!

Helen’s Garden provides yet another lovely analogy (leafy green!).

Sha-poopie multi-tasks and works it.

Inside the Stacks is thoughtful and literary.

Natalie’s 23 goes above and beyond.

For a proud declaration, see I’m a Lifelong Learner.

Wilkinsburg/Marc sends you to a print source for clarification…

Take a peek at a normal day in the life of a librarian with library life, shelflisted.

In case you were wondering, Here’s Waldo!

Learning really is lifelong at Techie Grandma’s Blog.

I can’t even tell you how much it bugs me that time constraints forbid linking to some of the other fabulous blogs that bloomed this week. Feel free to drop by the 23 Things Blogs page on our official program wiki and do some exploring on your own.

Next week, the alchemist calls shenanigans! Stay tuned.

ETA/NB: There was a whopper of a lulu in the above, which I have since changed. This is yet another good reason not to try to tackle long posts on a busy day! Mea culpa, and my apologies.

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Alchemy by Numbers

April 29, 2009 at 5:04 pm (Twitter, blogging, creativity, databases, humor, professional development, reviews, virtual reference)

A whimsical twist on the workday chronicles:

Number of library staff countywide registered for 23ThingsN@: 240. Eek! Pass the smelling salts…

Number of Twitter followers as of right now: 92

Number of Eleventh Stack visitors so far today: 114

Number of total visitors since the blog’s creation: 54,003.

Number of people registered for next week’s NetLibrary training sessions: 33

Number of nervous breakdowns I’ve had while planning those sessions: 19.

Number of awesome committee members I serve with who help me whenever I ask: 10 [did I mention we have the best committee in the whole county? :) ]

Number of exciting announcements I hope to be able to make very soon: 1

Number of things remaining on my to-do list: 145

Number of those things that can reasonably be accomplished before I go home today: 5

Number of meetings arranged this week: 2

Number of meetings that had to be arranged with multiple updates because Outlook is a royal pain in the nether quarters: 1

Number of e-mails in my in-box: 31

Number of things I’m avoiding: 1

Number of hours of OTR I need to burn: 11

Number I’ve scheduled: 7.5

Number of books I promised to review: 6

Number of books I’ve actually finished reviewing: 2

Number of questions I’ve tried to answer on VR this shift, but haven’t snapped up fast enough: 4

Number of questions successfully answered on VR today: 1

Number of librarians currently staffing AskHere PA: 34

Number of additional projects I’m considering taking on: 1

Number of people who will be needed to talk me out of it: 7

Number of library blogs to which I subscribe: 12

Number of non-library tech blogs to which I subscribe: 1

Number of reference questions worked on this week: 3

Number of hours invested in those questions so far: 4

Number of questions for which the answer was easily available online, and deliverable within 48 hours: 0

There you have it. If you wrote up your work day in numbers, what would it look like?

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Dreaming the Library (professional reading)

April 9, 2009 at 5:24 pm (Library 2.0, creativity, innovation, leadership, management, philosophizing, professional development)

This month’s professional pick was Matthew Kelly’s The Dream Manager. It was pure serendipity that I’ve been reading this at the same time the Darien and Taiga statements came out – I don’t plan these things, but they seem to work out that way. Such is alchemy. :)

The Dream Manager is an extended parable about a janitorial company that suffered from high turnover costs, and how it turned that trend around by investing in its employees and their dreams. Step by step we see how a company can go from struggling to amazing by treating its human resources like, well, resourceful humans. Here’s the money quote:

In our corporate dealings, let us never forget that it is people who drive every business and organization. On both sides of every transaction, we find people. It is, therefore, people who decide whether organizations will be successful or unsuccesful…and people have dreams.

I know I’ve probably lost one or two of you by now, if the very word “dream” didn’t scare you off already. But, as with all things, there’s a middle ground to dreaming. Far too much of library rhetoric is composed of either pie-in-the-sky speculation that doesn’t take the reality of the human condition into account, or extreme cynicism that blows apart any glimmer of hope anyone has to offer because what’s the use of trying and who needs an MLIS and by the way we’re all going to die broke and homeless, so, whatever.

But library workers are in a unique position to leverage the power of dreaming, because what do we do all day already? We help people achieve their dreams. We help the woman working on her resume, or the proud grandpa learning to e-mail pictures of his grandchildren to far-away friends, or the student who has to write a critical paper on “A Rose for Emily.” Library workers connect people with the information needed to achieve their dreams, tall or small.

[Because people are people, they sometimes don't behave very well. But, I've found, usually there's a frustrated dream behind that bad behavior. Life does not deal all of us the same cards, and while that is not an excuse to behave poorly, it is a reason. If you can ferret out the goal behind the frustration, and maybe remove the barriers to the dream, you might get somewhere. Just a theory.]

So, we’re all pretty well acquainted with patrons’ dreams. What if we approached our own dreams, and those of our peers, with the same attention and respect? If everybody in your organization felt valued and appreciated as a human being, with a backstory and outside interests, and goals and objectives, and, well, dreams, can you imagine?

Of course, it’s not enough to have the dreams. You have to have a plan to back it up. One major reason dreaming is frowned upon is because there’s no plan and no accountability. Enter the Dream Manager, the person in your organization who functions as a coach to help you achieve your dreams. This could be an official, separate position. It could be an additional task that a manager takes upon him/herself. It could be an extremely informal thing that a bunch of individuals within an organization decides to do, in the attempt to support each other. The important part is that there’s somebody there to bounce your dreams off of, who will give you constructive criticism and help you form a plan.

Now, honestly, if you knew somebody was going to listen to you seriously, and help you achieve your best self, wouldn’t you respond by working your little heart out? I know I would! This book is recommended for library managers, people who think they might want to be library managers, and front-line staff looking for a glimmer of hope. I would also like to challenge the cynics to read this one, too, and see if it’s realistic enough for them. As a confirmed “show me” skeptic, I think it will hold up well, but I’d like to hear from some bona fide gloom cookies. :)

What’s your take on dreams? Do you have a mentor, manager, or co-worker you could trust with your dreams? What could your organization acheive if there were a mechanism for people to grow their dreams in a realistic way?

I’ll tell you my dreams if you’ll tell me yours….

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