Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Meet Abe Lincoln
At this week's Lakeside Learning in Storm Lake Bonnie was telling us about the variety of programs that were possible for adults. We heard about WILBOR, Current Event topics, Medline and the Lincoln Bicentennial. There is a great website, (http:// www. lincolnbicentennial.gov) that provides lots of facts and information but of course nothing could possibly be better than actually meeting Abraham Lincoln and hearing about 1860's life. This Lincoln reenacter, Stan DeHaan , is from Orange City and does presentations all over the state. He gave about 40 minute presentation that included portions of 2 inaugural speeches and the Gettysburg Address. He talked about growing up, his family, his faith and his presidency. This was an amazing presentation and not only would adults enjoy a program like this, but so would young adults .
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Lakeside Learning:morning sessions
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Milford Public Library Staff Development Day
Here's an idea for County Library associations! Getting together to do staff development!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Meet Kay, Spencer Public Library's new Director!
Here's a Gal who's been in libraries for awhile. Many of us know her from a variety of meetings over the years because she is active and very involved. But Kay Larson has just recently stepped up to become the director of the Spencer Public Library and we'd like to take this time not only to say "Welcome" but also to get to know her a bit better! She took time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for us:
Did you have any other libray experience before you came on board at your present library?
Way back in the dark ages(like 1973) I worked as a volunteer at the Cattermole libraryin Ft. Madison for Rose Reynolds. We were living on a farm while I worked for DuPont Paints. Years later, I applied for the director's job at the Peterson library because of "all" my previous experience. They must have believed me or been desperate because I got the job in 1987. From 1987-1994, I was director at Peterson, learning all about library work from my PLM courses and the continuing ed offered by the Regional and State libraries. in 1994 I started working at Spencer Public Library and moved from part time clerk to the director in March 2008.
Think back to your first day of work at the library, or your 2nd 3rd or more...what surprised you, or wasn't exactly what you expected?
When I started at Peterson's library I was aghast that there was not a card catalog and that the nonfiction books were not shelved in Dewey order. I quickly found out that people in a town this small just asked the librarian where a certain book was and she got it for them because she had been working there for 20 years. Of course, I had no clue where anything was in the library. I did a lot of looking for the first few months.
Share a funny, fun story with us about getting oriented as a library director.
Although I have been the director for about 4 months, the other day I introduced myself to someone as the Assistant Director. Old habits die hard, I guess.
What has been your biggest challenge so far? Do you have any thoughts about where you would like to see your library go in the future?
My biggest challenge here at Spencer Public Library has been to find the time to learn as I go and keep the work done at the same time. It is very easy to just keep doing my "old" job instead of training someone else to do it.
Tell us something about yourself, i.e. your hobbies, family, favorite books/authors..
My husband and I live on a farm about 25 miles from Spencer so the commute can be nasty in the winter. My husband has been on the NWLsa bord for 12 years and is back on again. I have lots of cats outdoors and a couple of spoiled ones indoors also. When I read for fun, I usually like mysteries althought I was surprised how much I enjoyed "water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. I like to garden but hate kitchen work so my garden has been gradually taken over by perenial flowers. Last year I got my amateur radio license but I have't been on the air yet. This job keeps interfering with my hobbies!
What other Questions can we answer?
Sure, when is the quiet season in the libraraies? LOL!
Friday, August 01, 2008
New Director @ Albert City
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Reading Roundtable
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Directors Retire
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Library 2.0 for Every library
1. Have Firefox on all your public computers.
2. Add Del. ici.ous tags for all your bookmarks. No matter what, no matter where all your favorites will be right there. You can even point your patrons to them!
3. Have RSS feeds for lib news and programs so tech savy patrons get automatic updates when you introduce new things!
4. Encourage your staff to BLOG
5. Design a way to do info sharing with staff through internet BLOGs or Wikki's.
6.Collaborate with partners using Google Docs or Picasa (i.e. other libraries in your county)
7. Blog from your web page and allow public comments.
8. Keep a flickr page of interesting library pictures.
9. Allow IMing, gaming and YouTube on your public computers.
10. Engage your teens with the technology you're using.
Thanks to the Other Librarian" at wordpress.com for these great tips.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Award Winning Books
These are the 2008 Boston Globe Award winners . You can read more about each book and the award itself , as well as the list of the honor books. Winners were announced on June 18. These are books that could be easily added to any collection!
Librarian and Technology
Monday, June 16, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tech Term Knowledge Pt. 2
Hyperlink: A navigation element in an email, blog,or website that opens on a webpage or takes you elsewhere. Click on Hyperlink and you'll see what I mean!
Kindle: For a consumer from Amazon. An electronic device that stores, organizes and plays print or text files like e books.
MP3 Player: For consumers. An electronic device that stores, organizes and plays audio files like music and audio books. IPods, Sansa, Zen Stones are examples.
Netiquette: ettiquette on the net. Mostly encouraged when emailing, but increasingly important in IM and social sites. Be polite. Be Nice. Be diplomatic.
Quick Time: A file extension developed by Apple. When you see a quick time extension on the web, it means the file in question is a movie or video clip.
Synchronous learning: An online classroom with lots of other people logged into the class in real time, discussing together. As in a WIMBA class from NW. This term is opposite of asynchronous learning.
Widget: In computing terms this refers to objects on a webpage that users interact with. Hyperlinked objects that when placed on your website or blog take you elsewhere on the web. An example is LibraryThing that provides widgets for you to put on your website.
WIMBA: A corporate name and leading producer of collaborative learning software and online classrooms. Web Junction uses WIMBA classrooms as their vehicle for the State Library and NWILS. If you were involved in last winter's Online conference you were involved in a WIMBA room.
If you keep tabs on new technology terms, you'll be learning something new every day. Check out www.webopedia.com to find the definition for terms that are unfamiliar, or to learn new ones! Keeping up is hard to do, but this site can give you a hand.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tech Term Knowledge
Applet A software component that runs in the content of another program. A small application like a web caculator or a text editor. Windows media player is one....
Asynchronous Learning: An online classroom but one not in real time. It is not connected to a teaching human at the other end, but is rather a tutorial, like web junction. You take these 'classes' on your own time and at your own speed, by yourself.
Avatar: a 'cute' image of your alter ego when you're online in IM or 2nd Life.
Bandwidth: The maximum amount of data that can flow throgh a communication path at any given time. It speaks to the speed of your internet connection if you look at it as a garden hose.
DRM: Digital Rights Management. It is the transferring to other medi functionality after its been downloaded; like downloading a book from Wilbor to Media Player to your MP3 player.
Emoticons: The smiley faces used to express feelings when you are using IM or emailing someone.
FAQ: Frequently asked Questions. As in the NW FAQ page about Wilbor.
VOIP: Voice over internet protocol. Your computer receives voice transmission from another connected computer, not a long distance phone call. Skype is an example.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Don't have Time?
Delegate some time each week to pend at that keeping up task. Blogs are a great way to start and there are some great ones out there that will help you sort through all the important explosions of technology and information:
Library link of the day
Librarian in Black resources and discussions for techie/not so techie librarians
Library Garden A discussion from different kinds of libraries helping keep libraries relevant
Tame the Web libraries, technology, people
LISNews news for the librarian among us!
Library Journal Ok we just can't get away from reading, reading reading. It's what we do/promote!
There are also, a whole host of blogs and sites out there that are geared towards libraries and reading, that provide all kinds of reviews, or just discussions about topics that you might have a particular interest in. If you use an RSS feed you never have to go hunting for that site or try to remember which one it was. It will come into your computer automatically.
Some really good blogs that provide book reviews:
Big A Little a
Youth services Librarians unite
What Adrienne thinks about that
chicken spaghetti
Jen Robinson's promoting the love of books by children and the continued reading of children's books by adults
By checking any of these sites out, you will no doubt find more sites from links that are available there. Oh, I know, reading blogs, or about available technology won't get books processed or shelved, or even other technological problems that you have get solved, patrons served, but you will be much more knowlageable about what's out "there" right now. Keep up!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Take a tour: Glendale, AZ public Library!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Google and the librarian
Another session at PLA was entitled: What Does it take to be good at Reference in the Age of Google? presented by Joseph Janes a professor at the Information School at the University of Washington in Seattle. Here's the gist of this workshop:
You know Google, basically, it's a 'really big ad agency with a search engine attached to it!' In lots of ways Google has changed our lives. It's certainly entered into our vocabulary! If you have a specific thing to find out, it will. It fills in a momentary gap in our knowledge and sometimes in our collections. It even means that you don't have to do the dumb stuff anymore It's fee. It's quick. It's easy and it's good enough. But not perfect. We can do it better! Here are some things that Google CAN'T do. Believe it or not Google is filled with limitations and I'm sure you've noticed them.
It can't select, i.e. tell you which of something is the best.
It can't evaluate, decide, understand, give depth, help in an active way, be a part of a community of learners, give you accuracy, or even find materials either virtually or physically!
All this to tell you that we as librarians are in timesaver positions. We can do it faster. Sure Google is fast, but we have all these other things that we offer that make us even faster!
So here are some suggestions , not to compete with Google, but to prove that the library is still very relevant today!
People come to us with reference questions today because they have failed. Like the gal who was in the library yesterday to ask us to help her find a book about phenome toxcicity in cats and dogs. Please, please please. Just try and get google to help do that!
Increasingly, though, We must be where our patrons are, both virtually ad physically. We must offer a presence on the internet as well as in person.. This means we need to build tools that help people find what they're looking for. Think Pathfinders, vodcasting, something like research minutes on youtube, blogs, or some type of community partnerships. Above all use your secret weapons: print. And doing what you you got into this job to do!
One of the best thoughts from this session, though was this: We need to have an extended notion of the library. A library is not just 4 walls and a roof with books inside and hours posted on the door. The library is anywhere, anytime, and any way in which people interact with information that is organized, provided by and supported by the library. The library is/should be a bigger place than just the building! It is an actual physical location and it can be everywhere. Wow!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Sexy Senior Programing
Using Intergenerational Programming, a kind of buzz word for libraries today.And you absolutely MUST see their VBLOG posted at YOUTube. Seniors are often featured on these.Working with Schools and families is critical for this type of programming:
-Family Battle of the Book
A book would be chosen for families to read and then they would come together at the library for a Quiz Show style Competition. This would be geared toward families with children in 2nd through 5th grades though it could be adapted I'm sure any way you would like.
-More than Grandparents Day
For regular storytimes have children invite older adults to join them.This could also include an 'Adopt a Grandparent' program. Older students (JH and up) would be invited to travel to nursing homes or senior care facilities to read to them. They found that if they bring a short picture story style book then the senior and the student can have a discussion afterwards. There could even be themes to the reading, i.e. World War II books, Depression Era stories, etc.Students have even done old time radio scripts for their older audience.-Movies for your MindThis involves finding general movies, foreign films with subtitles, unusual movies to be shown when the library is closed. Discussion following. Movies are then reviewed on a BLOG.
-Seniors and Technology
Have a 'Senior Morning' before the library is open for seniors to practice things at the computer. Mousercize, learn Microsoft Tools programs, or even teach them to BLOG, do digital photos, etc.Seniors could enjoy gaming such as the WII or or other online gamesThis would be an opportunity to to pair kids with Seniors to learn games. Kids and Seniors can compete against other kid/senior teams just for fun! Families can play against families.
-Laughter Club
This is actually a formal club that meets once a month. It's geared to seniors to help them reduce their stress, improve their health, to feel more positive and to have social interactions. They actually intentionally laugh! You can find more information from the World Laughter Tour.
If you try some Senior programs, or already have them we would love to hear what you have been doing!
Friday, April 04, 2008
The Job We Do!
Consulting and Consultants have always been a 'given' in the Iowa Library Community. But I wonder if you know how endangered they actually are! The Iowa Library community of consultants and their staff are dwindling, and this means that our own consultant, Bonnie with her trusty help, Janie, have had to scramble to keep up with the demand. (i.e. NW staff has gone from 7 fte to just 2 in less than 10 years) You all probably know the results of that: the birth of the Northwest Consultant Team. This year's PLA was a once in a Blue Moon chance for us to showcase this surprisingly fresh idea. And Surprise! Systems and consultants from all across the country who find themselves in the same dire state of short-handedness came to find out 'how it's done'!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Share the PLA Conference!
Many of us are freshly back--and newly inspired--from the PLA National Conference, held last week in Minneapolis. Staff from several Northwest Iowa libraries were there, from Onawa to Orange City and lots of towns in between. This year saw an estimated attendance of 9,500, with over 400 vendors in the exhibit hall. In the coming weeks, we'll use EYE-OPENER to share the learning and NWILS Bulletin Board Blog to share the experience!
For my money, the opening and closing keynote speakers were the best in memory. John Wood, author of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, was the opening keynote speaker. With a photo slideshow, he told about leaving his executive job at Microsoft after a life-changing vacation to Nepal. He quickly went on to establish a non-profit organization called Room to Read, which now fundraises to build schools and libraries in developing countries. His aim is ambitious because the statistics are staggering:
110 million children in developing nations between the ages of 4 and 10 are not enrolled in school
1/7 of the world's population is illiterate
2/3 of these groups are girls and women
He described these "grand challenges" behind Room to Read:
To build schools in places where there are none
To provide reading rooms with multi lingual books in these schools
To offer scholarships to girls in third world countries who otherwise would not have the chance to attend school
John Wood has a great story and Room to Read is a great cause for library advocates to know about.
The closing keynote speaker was Paula Poundstone, comedian and author of a new book There's Nothing in This Book I Meant to Say. With her trademark stool, microphone, and diet Pepsi, she had the crowd roaring. It was a fresh and entertaining way to close out a conference jammed packed with information and ideas.
So that was the beginning and the end. Of course, there's lots to relay about everything in the middle, so I'll continue sharing PLA sessions in the coming weeks. And for all Northwest library staff and trustees who attended, be sure to comment here with your favorite PLA moment.
And take a minute to watch our slide show thanks to our gal blogger and conference photographer Sue Kroesche.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
More on Gaming at the Library
There are several websites with ideas about gaming programs including Librarian in Black, The Shifted Librarian, and an article from the Philly News that will help you promote your library and gamers.
Think about these things in relation to how gaming fits within the context of the library's mission:
- Gaming meets needs
- It provides social interaction that is critical for a teen's development
- It offers physical activity (think Wii)
- It's an outlet for creative expression
- It offers a chance for teens to prove competence and achievement and thus opportunities for self development
- It teaches risk taking, problem solving and how to be a team player
- Gamers must spend time reading instructions, walking through rules of the game and even being involved in websites and chat forums related to their games
- For ever one hour of playing, gamers spend 4 hours reading!
Looked at from that angle, who wouldn't want games at the library? I'm not talking about the violent, grand theft auto games here, just your avarage 'Runescape' or 'Medal of Honor' or any one of a dozen other readily available game that your teens are playing at your library. Video games are great for helping libraries challenge their inaccurate image as dusty and outdated. So...game on!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Gaming here we come
Multitudes of ways to use gaming creatively exsist out there and we need to get started. Are you hunting for a way to get your missing teenagers back? Wonder where some of those seniors are? How about all those men that have been missing from the stacks since they graduated from high school? They're all out there playing games on their computers.
In at least 3 of the PLA sessions that I attended I had a great opportunity to see what other libraries are doing to use gaming and invite those missing patrons back to the library. This is just a teaser post since I have lots to say about this, so hang on! Sites and ideas are coming. But think about this: Nearly 80% of teens play games. And gaming = literacy. We need to think about how that will translate into our libraries if we aren't in some way a part of it. More later.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Zak the Yak With a Great Big Book Pack
The opening keynote speaker is John Wood, who in 1999 founded Room to Read.Org after a vacation to Nepal, and found a library in an elementary school with no books. "Perhaps, sir, you will one day return and bring us books" became the challenge for him to see to it that every child in every country (especially third world, developing countries) should be educated. That challenge especially included girls who are often neglected in favor of boys when lack of money keeps them home. These were John's Grand Challenges:
To build schools in places where there are none.
To provide reading roomswith multi lingual books in these schools.
To offer scholarships to girls in 3rd world countries who otherwise would not have the chance to attend.
Room to Read insists on involvement from the local community, hires local staff, and raises its money from the monied world at large, as well as in the local community. Check out Room to Read. Wish you were here. Pictures later!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Some New Children's Books Worth the Effort!
Thelonious Monster's sky high Fly Pie by Judy Sierra
Cottonball Colin by Jeanne Willis
Wolf Wolf by John Rocco
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Gaming in Libraries
So when there was a proposal that we add XBOX for kids--well, you can imagine that it didn't go over well. Not all because it would be one more thing for us to monitor, but because of the objection to the damage that gaming creates. So, knowing that there is a lot of research out there about gaming, and lots of libraries who are really getting into this, I went out and took a look at what's going on. Surprise, surprise, but it isn't just libraries who are 'wooing' the teenage crowd with games and all things associated with gaming--so is the business world and schools!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Every Child Ready to Read
Monday, February 25, 2008
Teen Tech Week '08
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
A Love/Hate Relationship
"Do you cringe when your cell phone rings? Do you suffer from withdrawal when you can't check your Blackberry? Do you rush to post your vacation video to your Web site? The questions below allow you to place yourself in one of the categories in the Pew Internet Project's Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users. To identify the typology group to which you belong, please answer the questions below. When you press the 'Calculate My Results' button, a new page will tell you in which group you fit, along with a description of the general characteristics of that group" Have fun! Now you know why you love/hate the computer!
Friday, February 08, 2008
TOOTING OUR HORNS
Here is a fabulous blog that lists a lot of ideas for sharing the library with our public. It gives links to sites with marketing plans, tips for marketing, and ideas from libraries with unusual ad plans. I love the idea about library staff pushing book carts in parades! (Do you think I could get NWILS staff,i.e. Bonnie and Janie to join your parade?)
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Library visit in Costa Rica
Our own Sandi Neary is still in Costa Rica. Here is her report on the state of libraries elsewhere!
Thought I would regale you with another small library in Nuevo Arneal Costa Rica. The town is about the size of Laurens and the library has been open only a few days. The first picture shows a young patron enjoying"Spot" in Spanish. The second picture is the children's craft area, called Cotton Corner. They name comes from a young boy who wanted to name the library "Cotton". When asked why, he explained he had a thin cotton "blankie" at home and he always felt safe with his "blankie" and the library should be a safe place. Although the "board" did not think that was an appropriate library name, it was appropriate for the kids corner.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Visit a Library in Costa Rica with Sandi Neary!
Ed and Leslie Woods are the overseers of the Casa de Sol (house name we rented). Anyway, Leslie is starting a library in Nuevo Arenal, village about 11 Kms from here. She just hired a librarian last Saturday. They are working with a librarian from Nicaragua using interns from the US to establish libraries in many small CR towns. I think one day next week they will be in Nuevo Arenal and Leslie said I could go with her to meet them.
The libraries concentrate mainly on children's books and activties. This is the easiest way to introduce library use, and educate kids. More use of the library as the kids become adults. It will perpetuate itself! There are a few English paperbacks in the libs just to help the English speaking residents. These are donated by the residents. Leslie said also she is meeting with the "city council" next week, to see if they can get "public support" for the Neuvo Arenal lib. Sound familiar? Notice the international lib sign includes a child!
Just couldn't resist telling you about this! Weather is about 85 in the day and 60s at night. We are enjoying immensely.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Promoting Books-Reading Blogs
Saturday, January 12, 2008
25 Skills Every Librarian Should Have
- Cover books.
- Organize and run meetings.
- Negotiate with employees, city hall,Supervisors.
- Be Flexible!
- Repair books.
- Manage 2-4 year olds in a story hour.
- Shovel the walk in the Winter.
- Know basic computer troubleshooting.
- Know some basic household fix it tricks, like how to stop the toilet from running.
- Be able to navigate computer data bases like SILO, EbscoHost,First Search.
- Do Reader's Advisory-hook people up to the books they love.
- Read Blogs and Wikis
- Use RSS feeds.
- Multi-task.
- Operate a digital camera and be able to download pictures and touch them up.
- Read books to kids using 'voices'
- Form relationships with teenagers.
- Develop a 'contacts' list of people who can help you out for programs or for fixing things at the library.
- Shmooze with the locals-you need others.
- Promote the Community.
- Be calm in crisis.
- Be passionate and enthusiastic about your job.
- Embrace change, because it's going to happen no matter what!
- Be an Advocate
- Be Flexible!
Please add your two cents worth. Everyone of these 'skills' deserves a blog post of its own!