Take a tour: Glendale, AZ public Library!

I recently visited a branch library of the Glendale Public Library in Glendale, Arizona and was treated to some amazing art. I thought it might be fun for you to see what libraries are doing in other areas! Glendale has a program in place that provides commissioned art for libraries. These three pieces cost more than $500,000. Paid for by tax dollars, but not directly by the libraries. The first piece is called "the Magic Door" and is the entrance to the library's children's story hour room. Viewed at eye level, things on the inside are a bit distorted and is to make a child feel like he/she is headed into a world of their own. The second piece is a 20+ foot painting of all the animals in the sonoran desert as they would be during a 24 hour period. Beginning at one end you see animals during the early morning darkness hours and progress through an entire day. It is a beautiful painting and is labeled with all the animals of the desert. some of them you have to hunt carefully for. You could spend quite a bit of time checking this painting out! The last piece is called Sun and Moon and is made of 1000's of pieces of hand blown glass. It's suspended from the ceiling of their entry way and is very impressive. I have to tell you that this branch library was all on one level and wasn't much bigger than the Spencer or Orange City library. Very impressive.

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!

Sexy Senior Programing

This is from one of the sessions I went to at PLA. The presenters were Ing Kalchthaler and Mary Mullen from Bethel Park PL in Pennsylvania. They had some typical ideas, i.e. a tax service day, speakers to address senior concerns etc. but the most fun were there 'Way Outside the Box' ideas! And don't you love getting new ideas from conferences! Hope you can use some of these at your busy libraries.

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!

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'!

As many as 10 states passed through Bonnie's round table "Rethinking our Workforce", all sharing the same tale of financial cuts to library consulting. This economic fact makes Northwest's team approach to consulting a very Cool idea indeed! Both Dave Netz, a NW library board member, and Tena Hansen were there to field questions as well as to offer thoughts from a board member/consultant point of view along with Bonnie who spearheaded the whole thing. All those who stopped in asked great questions, but what delighted us the most was that with all the questions, our team already had answers!

Not only did Northwest offer a great new strategy for consulting, but we learned as well! There will always be ways to improve our service to our clients (That's you guys!) and to improve the quality of our team and we picked up some great ideas from those who stopped in to chat with us.

Join us in more 'outside the box' thinking as we seek ways to meet needs and improve the quality of our services.

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.

More on Gaming at the Library

So you're tired of the after school crowd racing to the library just so they can play games after school? Time to start working with them rather than against them, as it were. Time to step out of the box you're in and start looking at the gaming crowd as the perfect opportunity to up your circulation and programming statistics.

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:

1. Gaming meets needs
2. It provides social interaction that is critical for a teen's development
3. It offers physical activity (think Wii)
4. It's an outlet for creative expression
5. It offers a chance for teens to prove competence and achievement and thus opportunities for self development
6. It teaches risk taking, problem solving and how to be a team player
7. 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
8. 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!

Gaming here we come

Should there be any doubt that gaming should be implemented and used in libraries, any doubt I previously held has been dispelled. I am convinced that the reluctance to embrace gaming in a library has to do with the reluctance to embrace change. But this you should know: the average age of gamers is 34 years old! Senior citizens are also enjoying gaming connected to adult programming in libraires and senior centers.

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.

Zak the Yak With a Great Big Book Pack

Who would have thought you'd have to go north to find spring?! It's been sunny and a balmy 30 here in Minneapolis!

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!

Some New Children's Books Worth the Effort!

Today I got to enjoy the best part of my job--sitting and reading! Of course, I must read in order to know how to accurately catalog all these cool books! Every single one of them was a children's book, so I actually got through quite a few of them. This is as opposed to young adult or adult which are just too long to actually read through a whole book in one sitting (though many times I have been sorely tempted)I'll be working on those on Monday, so maybe I'll have more to share with you then! But, let me tell you about some of the cutest books I read today. These were reviewed in the ICN session about new children's and Young Adult titles. A couple of these were purchased to go with the Summer Reading Program.

Martina the beautiful Cockroach, a Cuban folktale by Carman Agra.
Thelonious Monster's sky high Fly Pie by Judy Sierra
Cottonball Colin by Jeanne Willis
Wolf Wolf by John Rocco

If I were to summarize the four of these I would have to use the word "absolutely the funniest tales I've read in awhile!" (how's that for a 'word'?) Take my word for it, you won't be disappointed! In fact, I'd venture to say they won't 'get it'. But you will! You'll be laughing all the way home! I read more than 30 books today, and I could review them all, but these are the best of them! I tell you, "What a job"! I have got to write a book as clever as one of these someday. Oh wait. I have! I just need a publisher.

Gaming in Libraries

We had an interesting, and as far as I was concerned a rather shocking, discussion at the OC library last week concerning gaming in the libraries. I was shocked by the vehemence with which the library staff objected to having gaming at the library. As it stands now, we have tons of kids, mostly boys, playing computer games such as 'Runescape' and 'Medal of Honor' after school, during school breaks, and especially during the summer. We are charged with monitoring how long they stay on the computer and it gets to be rather tiresome as even I would admit.

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!

Join me as we walk through the gaming world in libraries:

Are you missing a segment of your population in the library? Teenagers? NPR has a short segment you can listen to that talks about wooing those missing teenagers back to the library....to the games, near the books.

The Blog Game On has a very long list of research articles related to gaming in school, public and academic libraries. Very well worth looking at some of those articles

Those English Language Learners are using gaming to build their English skills, not to mention the critical thinking skills all students gain by playing games in the library or not.

If you're at all serious about gaming in the library, this is a MUST READ series: ALA held a symposium on Gaming in Libraries and you can listen to podcasts or read articles related to this symposium: explore how libraries fit into the intersection of gaming and the digital learning landscape.

Before you write the idea of gaming off--or even before you embrace it--think through what this means to your library in general. The whole idea of having gaming in the library is a challenge to librarians to 'think outside the box'. How can we offer traditional library services to a new generation of users in so that they'll understand and come to love libraries the way we do? Is it possible to use something as radical as GAMING? At the very least, it's worth a second look!

Every Child Ready to Read

It's an awesome responsibility for the libraries: working with educators, community leaders, and parents to get pre schoolers ready for the incredible task of learning to read! If you had a chance to hear Saroj Ghoting this past month, you will already be inspired to do more with your preschool or outreach programs. NWILS provided free materials for those who attended: Brochures "Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library" for parents of preschoolers from two and three year olds to pre readers aged 4-5, along with the book by Ms. Ghoting.

Programs programs programs. Summer Reading, Pre-School Story Hours: They have always been something the library has provided within our communities. But within recent years there has been brand new emphasis on the incredible importance that preschoolers have early literacy experiences. What a great opportunity for libraries to step up and fill a void. What are the libraries offering out there? Who is doing outreach and how does that look? Have you developed policies that address these issues? Have you added programs that seek to work with the immigrant population and their children, or extra toddler programs? How about online programs for pre schoolers? Anyone doing something like that? Do you use volunteers or guest readers? Here's some links to ideas: Preschool Storytime Volunteer Handbook

Cyber pre-school Story hour

Teen Tech Week '08

What are your library’s plans for Teen Tech Week? It’s March 2-8 and marks only the second year of a national promotion sponsored by the Young Adult Services Association of ALA. The theme is “Tune In @ Your Library.” Aimed at teens, parents, and educators, Teen Tech Week helps to teach kids to be competent and ethical users of technologies, focusing on the tech tools offered through libraries. You’ll find lots of resources and ideas here: http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Tune_In_@_Your_Library_resources And be sure to share your plans with others by commenting here!

A Love/Hate Relationship

So you love using the new technology! So you hate using the new technology. It's a love/hate relationship all the way around. Some days it's perfect and makes life so much easier. Some days you have nothing but trouble. Well I have the perfect quiz for you to take. This is from the Pew Internet and American Life project. They have a little rubric set up so you can see where you fall in your love and tolerance for all things technology. It's kind of fun!
"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!

TOOTING OUR HORNS

How many times do you need to tell them, before your patrons realize they can get information from your website? Do the know that they can actually go to your website and find: what books are in the library, what books they have checked out, the schedule of events, pictures of the summer program, policies (ok, so they're not really interested in what your policies are!) what to read next, book blogs and a whole lot more! Do they know you have a website? Or for that matter, do they know about programs, teen councils, book discussion groups and the whole range of things availible? We must be better at marketing ourselves. You know, and I know, that we have amazing things to offer the public. Unfortunately, for the most part our patrons don't realize it. One thing we as librarians must do is Toot Our Own Horns! Advertise, Market, Inform. We have to do it many times, and in lots of different formats. I think what is the problem for us is how MANY times we are saying the same old thing. And still people don't get it. That is all the more reason for us to keep repeating ourselves.


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?)

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.

Visit a Library in Costa Rica with Sandi Neary!

Even though I leave the US, can't stay away from libraries. In Costa Rica they are called la bibiloteca two of the pictures are of the library at Tilaran Costa Rica, one of the outside and one of the librarian, Pamela Mejies. She did not speak English, but loved having her picture taken. I have pictures of the inside, but will share those after I get back, if you are interested! Notice the shortened "La bib" over the entry door.

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.

Promoting Books-Reading Blogs

If you are reading blogs these days then perhaps you've seen this site: The Red Room which is a wonderful place to connect readers to authors and consequently librarians to books! It's a Great place for insight, for blogging ideas and for finding out what's new in the world of books.

Or check out this website from Michael Sauers. He was a speaker at the Small Libraries conference. If you missed him, at least you get to see what he's writing these days: Traveling Librarian.

There are countless children's lit blogs. So many that you could spend considerable time during your day just glancing at each one. I recommend choosing one or two and then enjoy those over a cup of coffee. They're great fun.

At any rate, if you're not reading blogs...catch up! (Good start if you're at this site!) If you are reading blogs, please tell us which ones you enjoy so we can share!

25 Skills Every Librarian Should Have

So you're a librarian! Aren't you amazed and challenged by the complexity of the job! Librarians are incredibly talented, funny and creative people. The things they need to be able to do would challenge most normal people, but we do it and make it look like the easiest job in the world. This is the librarian's job list. We have to be able to:

1. Cover books.


2. Organize and run meetings.


3. Negotiate with employees, city hall,Supervisors.


4. Be Flexible!


5. Repair books.


6. Manage 2-4 year olds in a story hour.


7. Shovel the walk in the Winter.


8. Know basic computer troubleshooting.


9. Know some basic household fix it tricks, like how to stop the toilet from running.


10. Be able to navigate computer data bases like SILO, EbscoHost,First Search.


11. Do Reader's Advisory-hook people up to the books they love.


12. Read Blogs and Wikis


13. Use RSS feeds.


14. Multi-task.


15. Operate a digital camera and be able to download pictures and touch them up.


16. Read books to kids using 'voices'


17. Form relationships with teenagers.


18. Develop a 'contacts' list of people who can help you out for programs or for fixing things at the library.


19. Shmooze with the locals-you need others.


20. Promote the Community.


21. Be calm in crisis.


22. Be passionate and enthusiastic about your job.


23. Embrace change, because it's going to happen no matter what!


24. Be an Advocate


25. Be Flexible!

Please add your two cents worth. Everyone of these 'skills' deserves a blog post of its own!

More: Bests Books from NW Librarians

Here are some more "favorite" choices from librarians in NW:

Sue Sup @ Arnolds Park:
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I read it out loud while my husband and I traveled on vacation and we liked it so much I would end up reading outloud in the tent by flashlight.

Faye @ Coon Rapids:
Boom by Tom Brokaw. I find it fascinating!

Joleen @ Rembrandt:
90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper by I lost my husband to cancer in 2000 and it was just good for me to read. I will see him again, PTL!

Carla Pitstick @ Fonda:
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs. It is first in the Mercy Thompson series, a paranormal fantasy that is a fresh and entertaining escape into an alternate present.

Meg Polly @ Whiting:
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig. He had wonderfully vivid descriptions, good characterization, delightful humor, and an unexpected twist at the end.

If you haven't sent me your favorite choice, please do! This makes a great reading list for you for 2008!

Librarians' Choice: Best Books of 2007

Northwest Librarians have chosen their favorite books from 2007. Check out what they've been reading!

1. Dave Netz @ Sioux Center: After the Leaves Fall by Nicole Baart and

Winning the Future by Newt Gingrich.

2. Cheryl Hoekstra @ Alton: The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere. It reminded me to appreciate all the small yet important things in my life.

3. Bonnie@ Northwest: John Paul the Great by Peggy Noonan. Really fascinating behind the scenes stories of his life. He's sure to be a saint someday!

4. Emily@ Denison: Animal, Vegetable Miracle: A Year of Food for Life by Barbara Kingsolver. It influenced the way I shopped for groceries, cook meats and think about food.

5. Jeannie Frerichs @ Akron: The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado. The best book I read seems to be the last one I just read!

6. Leann @ Primghar: Rescuing Sprite because it's an emotional read and inspires you to appreciate the pets you have and the small good things in life.

7. Misty Gray @ Storm Lake: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling.I loved it because I am a huge Harry Potter fan and my curiosity was quenced by the final installment!

8. Karen Kerns @ Rolfe: 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Interesting!

9. Pat Bell @ Arthur: The Door Within series by Wayne Thomas Batson. There are 3 books in the series though they are written for young adults I liked them too.

10. Barb Jorgensen @ Schaller: Waiting for White Horses by Nathan Jorgensen. Such a great story line and lots of emotion and humor and compassion.

11. Janie @ Northwest: Splendid Solution by JEffrey Kluger. I knew someone who had polio and I had heard stories about how sick she was and this book really tells how bad it was!

12. Alvina Reitsma @ Sanborn: The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright. I think it reminded me a lot of my folks how as they are growing older you can see the love between them grow and grow.

13. Chris @ Ringstead: Heat by Bill Buford. It is a true story about an amateur's apprentice to a chef in Tuscany. I was just in Italy and I want to go back!

14.Kristen @ Correctionville: Glorious Appearing by Tim LaHaye.

15. Nathan Clark @ Emmetsburg/Ruthven: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. I was surprised by how well it grabbed me and kept me going.

16. Mindy Swieter @ Rockwell City: any of Karen Kingsbury's books. She is my favorite author. She makes me cry and I love that! Also Lean Mean 13 by Janet Evanovich. She makes me laugh.

17. Tena Hansen @ Milford: The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay. Wow! What characters. Thsi book is just rich with the kind of pople we might call characters. It's a juicy trainwreck. You'll love it.

18. Erin Wolf @ Glidden: Babylon Rising series by Tim LaHaye. It's about biblical archeology and is almost a DaVinci Code type of story. I found it intriguing and quite accurate.

19. Connie V.E. @ Melvin: Any book by Karen Kingsbury. I love her books.

20. Sue K @ O.C. and NW: Blue like Jazz by Donald Miller. I was hooked by his description of living a Christian life, and of being who God intended.

21. Karla Chase @ Orange City: Deliver Us From Normal by Kate Klise. It was a fun quick read about middle school. Also Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt.

More to come! After all there are 115 libraries in NW. But you now have a new reading list to start 2008 with!

Waiting for OverDrive

Are you gearing up for Overdrive? That's the soon-to-be consortium between Northwest and Central Library Service Areas to provide downloadable audio books from the company Overdrive. This consortium will make downloadable audio books affordable for member libraries and offer much wider selection for patrons.

Most libraries, of course, have purchased audio books on tape or CDs for many years now. Anyone who drives anywhere can make great use of these. How convenient is that, reading and driving at the same time? I'm always in favor of doing two things at once!

Downloadable audios, though, take things to a whole new level. While patrons will need an MP3 player, they'll now be able to download a whole book at once and then "read" while exercising at the gym, driving, hiking, vacationing, cooking...well, you pick the spot! Patrons will have the advantage of downloading books from home because the OverDrive content is web-based.

The price tag for this would be unreachable for most small libraries in the state. Even the mid size libraries would have trouble with this, but with the WILBOR Consortium (Western/Central Iowa Libraries Building Online Resources) all libraries will be able to have the Consortium's digital library available to them. So...be sure you sign on, sign up, sign in....Get your boards psyched up so you'll be able to get in on the ground floor. There will be more details coming...

P.S. The piggy picture above is my submission for WILBOR's mascot. Some consortium, some pig!

LibraryThing & NWILS Collection in a Virtual World

If you haven't had a chance to see LibraryThing yet, you really must. The cool thing about this site is that you have the ability to catalog an entire library, hold book discussions on any number of books, and see what everyone else in the world is reading.

I'm in the process of putting up Northwest LSA's library management collection. Here's a link to the titles on NWILS LibraryThing page right now. I love the book cover view, but you can search the whole collection much the same way as you do in the library: title, author, subject. You'll see we have quite a collection available and encourage you to use NWILS library science collection--it's all there for you to borrow!

You can become a thingamabrarian yourself when you sign up for LibraryThing and catalog your own collection (how about just the books you have in your own personal library!) Other virtual library catalogs out there now are shelfari and Goodreads; they're both similar to LibraryThing, but I don't have much experience with those. Have some fun exploring all 3. To find out even more about these 3 websites, check out this article by Mark Flanagan Book Clubs in the Ethereal World.

Coming to a Computer Near YOU

If you thought ICN classes were great because you didn't have to travel too far for c.e. credits, then hang onto your hat--WIMBA has arrived! Wimba refers to virtual classrooms, which the LSAs are able to use free thanks to the State Library's community partnership with WebJunction.

Wimba Rooms make it easy for public library staff and trustees to experience the online learning environment. From the comfort of your own PC at home or at the library, you can take online classes sponsored by WebJunction and other education providers--like Northwest LSA!

And talk about a great opportunity for this: the Iowa Small Library Association (ISLA) along with Northwest, Southwest, and Central LSAs, are organizing a totally online conference slated for January 16th. “Connection, Collaboration, Community: The Iowa Small Libraries Online Conference (ISLOC)” is in the dead of winter and you don’t even have to leave town! We’ll take the weather out of the equation and meet in cozy, virtual classrooms instead. Participants will log into various Wimba rooms to join one session or several. Here’s a preview of the sessions being planned:

AM Keynote Speaker: Michael Stephens of Tame the Web
PM Keynote Speaker: Pat Wagner of Pattern Research in Colorado
Concurrent Sessions:
¨ Cool Tools, Widgets, and Gadgets
¨ Collaborating with Colleagues on the Web
¨ The Interactive Library: Promoting Service Online
¨ Trustees 2.0—An Evening Session for Boards

Also on tap: a virtual exhibit hall, a gaming session over the lunch hour, and a virtual lounge where you can network with your colleagues across the state. Oh sure, you’ll need some stuff—like high speed Internet, a microphone, speakers, and such :-) Most importantly, you’ll need to run a set-up wizard to make sure your computer has the right components to best experience this new format. NWILS will provide set-up instructions in separate emails, so stay tuned for that.

NWILS has its own Wimba room. We’ll target several days throughout December for Northwest libraries to log into our Wimba room and get the feel for it. We’ll have informal sessions for people to just get acquainted with the environment. And more deliberate times set up for actual classes worth c.e. credit, again to get the feel for the online class format.

There’s no requirement that you sit glued to your computer all day long. Choose the topics that most interest you and log into those. If you’re only able to listen to the 2 keynote speakers, that will be great. If you’re only able to join over the lunch hour—or only available for the evening trustees session—that’s great too. Regardless of how much time you spend on January 16, do allow some time that day to participate. This is a sign of things to come, as more and more classes are certain to move online.

So protect your calendar on January 16, 2008, pour a cup of coffee, and join “Connection, Collaboration, Community: Iowa Small Libraries Online Conference” from your own computer at home!

Reader's Advisory

The State Library is currently holding a Readers' Advisory workshop. The term refers to advising the reader, putting people together with the books they love. This is a very participatory class with four assignment modules in two sessions.

The first class was held this week in a WIMBA room, so that meant no travel. From the comfort of home or office, you could sit at your computer and fully participate in the introductory session. (If you haven't had a chance to take a class in a Wimba room, you are missing lots of fun! If the instructor chooses to use a video camera, you can see the instructor, too.)

The next session requires participants to complete 4 practical ways to use Reader's Advisory in your libraries by developing a blog, listening to and writing scripts for a podcast (broadcasting one if brave enough) working with wikis, or just seeing what the future holds for Readers' Advisory.

For now, I want to share a few of the cool links offered for answering the dreaded "what do I read next?" question. Follow these links to take a look at what's out there.

Reader's Robot Reviews that reveal the appeal for readers. Search the databases using "appeal factors." This link lists several genres and the reader just has to decide certain characteristics of books that appeal and then lists of suggested books are generated from these characteristics.

What's Next Probably the most well known site from the Kent District Library. This lets you find out what book is next in a series. They also have a great Reader's advisory list in general, providing books and reading links.

Genreflecting both a reference book and a website for professionals (that's you) offering advice about books to readers

Based on the Book A cool site that lets you see books that have been made into movies. Sometimes, the movie title is not the same as the book title, so you can see that change as well.

Check some of these out if you haven't already. Would love to hear of other sites that you use regularly for your Reader's Advisory @ your libraries.

Going to PLA Conference?

No doubt you've heard: the Public Library Association National Conference is coming to Minneapolis, March 25-29, 2008. NWILS office can help coordinate carpooling to PLA, so if you're planning to attend the conference--and especially if you're willing to drive and take riders--will you comment here?

Please leave your name, library, and email address. And tell us these things:

if you're planning to attend PLA'08
the dates you're thinking of leaving and returning
if you're willing to drive and take riders (and how many...)

Leave any other comments or questions, too. Thanks!

Time for Blogging

Take just a few minutes to do a poll: How many of you are planning to get started on a blog? There have been lots of opportunity to take classes, to go out on the internet and see what other libraries have done so, are you ready to jump in and try it? Don't let the form intimidate you. Blogger, especially, has tried to make it as simple as possible. The hard part is really in keeping up with the writing every day or week or whatever you have determined will be your blogging schedule. But get your staff involved. Or patrons. NWILS has put up a page to link to all the Northwest Iowa libraries who are doing blogs. Be sure to check that out, too. They'll be an encouragement to you. We would love to put a link to your blog on this page as well. So be sure to let us know when you've got one up! Then, write away.

Sanborn Public Library holds Open House

Check out these pictures from Sanborn's open house for their new library this week. Kay Larson of Spencer took the pictures. It looks like it was a great day, and congratulations to Sanborn on their great new library! For those of you who are using digital cameras in your library be sure to check this photo slide program out. This is such a fun program to use to share photos. Thanks to Milford Public Library who has also used this program to post photos on their blog. If you're interested in trying it all you need to do is click on the box at the bottom of the photos. In the meantime: Enjoy the photo show:

Library Use Value Calculator

Just as you are beginning to think about getting a new budget proposal put together this pops up from the Maine State Libraries. How cool is this? A library value calculator! And, you can use their template to adapt the calculator to your own library! (just scroll to the bottom of the page to find out how to do that) Though it does require some html it can also be used 'as is'. I envision some fun uses with this one: put it on your website for your patrons to use so they can easily see how much they're getting out of their local library. Or... email a link to your city council members so they get the full implication of exactly how much you provide. When presenting a budget request to your council, board members, etc. you could have them use something similar to this even in paper form. You probably have plenty of ideas of how this could be used. Please share!

National Friends of Libraries Week

Friends of Libraries groups now have their very own national week of celebrations. FOLUSA (Friends of Libraries U.S.A.) is coordinating the second annual Friends of Libraries Week, October 21-27, 2007. The celebration offers a two-fold opportunity to celebrate local Friends Groups. Use the time to creatively promote your group in your community, raise awareness of their activities, and promote membership. This is also an excellent opportunity for your library and board of trustees to recognize the Friends for their ongoing help and support.

One of many ideas from the FOLUSA website is to ask your patrons, board, or staff to write "love letters" to your Friends Group and post them throughout the library.

Here’s a neat idea from Dubuque. The Friends of the Carnegie-Stout Public Library in Dubuque have embarked on an eBay auction program for some of the older and more collectible items they receive. As with all other Friends' funds, the proceeds from eBay sales will be used to support library programs, collections, and other needs not currently met by the library’s operating budget. To see a list of items currently up for auction by the Dubuque Friends Group, click here: Current Items for Auction on eBay.

Armstrong PL has done a variation of this idea, but with an individual patron offering to sell the books on eBay and return the profits to the library. No doubt others have gotten in on this action, too. For more Friends Group promotional ideas, visit the national website FOLUSA (Friends of Libraries U.S.A.)

Marketing and PR

Seemingly, the demise of the library--or at least its irrelevance--is on the horizon. According to Technological Change, Universal Access, and the End of the Library at : http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3858/is_200303/ai_n9223911)

Libraries have to find ways to attract new patrons, keep the faithful ones, and continue to remain relevant in the digital world. There is an even greater need today for information than ever before, so it's critical for libraries to be advertising what they have. There is much to brag about!

So, amid all the worrisome noises technology is making about the "the end of the book", what are libraries doing to promote themselves and their involvement in their communities? There has always been a need for publicity, but there seems an urgency now--we need to be more proactive.

Libraries need to do more than a simple list of new books published in the paper. Use websites and blogs. Start online book discussion clubs. One of the session at this year's ILA conference in Coralville will be "Shoot out at the PR Corral."

If you're in the market for display ideas, a good compliation can be found at http://www.scholastic.com/librarians/printables/index.htm as well as http://www.sjrlc.org/tradingspaces/toolkit/index.shtml

Be sure to check out WebJunction resources this week, because their tip of the week is about advertising your library: http://ia.webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=14860

Let's hear some ideas for keeping the library's face "out in front." What props, signs, displays, and techniques are N.W. libraries using? What blogs, websites, tips, and techniques are you using to promote the library to center stage--and how successful are your efforts?

Banned Books Week

September 29-Octotber 6 Banned Book Week. What issues are NW libraries facing with "questionable" materials. Have any NW libraries experienced challenges to materials in recent years? How have you handled these challenges? Does your library have policies in place so you know what to do if someone should come in and complain about a particular item.

There is the issue of book selection as well. Since budgets seldom allow libraries to purchase as much material as you'd like, how do you decide what will be included in your collections? Ray Bradbury said in Farenheit 451: "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." How many NW libraries own any of the top 10 most banned books?

Visit ALA's website for more on Nanned Books Week www.ala.org and discuss your promotional plans here.

Library Makeovers

Another Lakeside Learning finished, and the State Library's Town Meeting for NW region is finished too. And given this was the theme of Town Meetings this year, what better blogging topic today than to find out what kind of "Makeovers" your library has been involved in lately? From use of fines on books, to cataloging systems, to programming...what's going well at your library?

Orange City and several other Sioux County libraries have implemented MotherRead programs. This program is designed to improve literacy skills for non-native speaking children as they enter school. This program is new to several libraries. How is it going?

Has anyone started to make plans for programming much like Manson Public Library encourages with their "Wild Wednesdays @ The Library?" Please chime in for a discussion on this or whatever else is on your mind!

Estherville PL 9/11 Program

This just in, thanks to Estherville Library Director Carolyn Walz. From the Estherville Daily News, this link opens to an article about Estherville PL's 9/11 commemoration plans today:
http://esthervilledailynews.com/News/articles.asp?articleID=5917

Hawarden PL 9/11 Program

This note from Valerie @ Hawarden PL regarding their 9/11 plans...

"...we're having a speaker who was one of the first people allowed in on a domestic flight. This gentleman flew in from Tulsa and worked as a counselor/chaplain with the firemen. It is quite a story! He moved to Hawarden a year or two ago--he comes to the library regularly and saw our ads for the movie--he told me about his experiences and some of the memorablia he has and I asked if he would be our program. I have had people talking and calling about coming--people who usually never come to a library program. I am anxious and excited to see how many people are in attendance tonight..."

September 11

Today marks the 6th anniversary of September 11th. By now you’re familiar with Estherville Public Library’s commitment to commemorating 9/11. Estherville P.L. has joined countless libraries across the country in sponsoring commemorative events on this date; Estherville stays open for 24 hours with special programming throughout the day. This year, Hawarden Public Library is commemorating the day with special adult programming, showing the motion picture United 93.

Since 2004, The September Project has been uniting libraries across the country and around the world in bringing attention to peace-keeping efforts, civics education, and humanitarian causes. “…The September Project encourages libraries and communities to come together in meaningful ways throughout the month of September. This is a grassroots effort to host public events in all libraries in all countries in September. Events explore issues that matter—like peace and freedom—and can include book displays, panel discussions, civic deliberations, film screenings, theatrical performances, community book readings, murals, kids’ art projects, and so much more. September Project events are free and organized locally. How can you participate? Organize an event at your library and tell us about it! We’ll post all events on this site as they develop around the world…”

The September Project has a really interesting blog. And it’s especially impressive to read about events that have been organized in other countries. In 2006, there were over 500 September Project events hosted by libraries in 30 countries. Read more here: http://theseptemberproject.wordpress.com/ And be sure to share news of your September 11 programs here...

Estherville Library on MySpace

Speaking of social networking, kudos to Estherville Public Library for creating a MySpace page—for the library! Two weeks ago, Estherville Library staff participated in a staff development day with a shortened version of “Flickr, Wikis, and Blogs.” The library’s page on MySpace is brand new; eventually they’ll tailor it to a teen focus. Check it out: www.myspace.com/esthervillepubliclibrary Now that’s continuing education in action—thanks to the Youth Services Staff & Paula Spoo for sharing this story!

Social Networking & Schools Studied

Northwest libraries have been hearing a lot about “the social web” lately, most notably from NWILS workshop “Flickr, Wikis, and Blogs—Oh My.” That workshop premiered in May and has since been repeated in some county settings around the region. Last month, the National School Board Association (NSBA) released a study entitled “Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines Regarding Online Social and Educational Networking.” The study was conducted by Grunwald Associates and underwritten by News Corp, Verizon, and Microsoft.

The study defined social networking as “…a cluster of technical functions that allow users to easily create, share, and respond to information…” Overall, the study provides real support for many points made by ALA regarding the importance of student access to the social web. Some valuable findings include:

60% of students report using social networking for education-related topics.
Negative experiences online are much lower than expected.
Parents are, in fact, much more involved in their kids’ use of technology than is commonly perceived.
Classroom use of technology is increasing, but school technology leaders are still skeptical of social networking applications.
The majority of school districts are using some kind of social networking software to communicate with students, parents, and the community.
Social networking does allow students to engage in creative expressions of all kinds.

The report also includes in-depth statistics and a list of recommendations for educators….find it here http://www.nsba.org/

Lakeside Learning Hotel is Really Lakeside!

We’re “putting the lake” in Lakeside Learning…for hotel arrangements, anyway! All programming on September 18-19 takes place at Buena Vista University. But this year, we’ve booked a block of 8 rooms at Storm Lake’s new King’s Pointe Resort. If an overnight stay would be cheaper than commuting—or just more convenient—then contact Janie soon to reserve a room (jbeauli@nwils.lib.ia.us) All rooms are non-smoking and will be $50.00 +hotel tax. (When you check in, please make sure the desk staff switches your room to your own credit card) And hey, if you haven’t actually driven by King’s Pointe lately, visit their splashy website http://www.kingspointeresort.com/

More About Lakeside Learning

Last week came news of NWILS premier fall education event. It’s Lakeside Learning, September 18-19 in Storm Lake. For a re-cap of Day 1:
Morning:
“Parents as Literacy Partners” with Mary Cameron
“Parents are critical to children's readiness for reading, learning, and school. Public librarians have a key role in helping parents learn how to help their children prepare. Mary Cameron will take participants through an overview of a parent-training model that librarians can use with teachers to train parents on early literacy strategies. A more detailed training will be scheduled for those making a commitment to participate in the project at a later date…”

Afternoon:
Online Safety for Kids & Parents (speaker pending)
Intergenerational Programming (large group discussion)
Wild Wednesdays @ Manson PL with Ann Schlapkohl (after school programming ideas)

Evening:
Paparazzi: Digital Photography @ The Library (Tena Hanson w/ ALA READ posters, Scott Zimmer w/ tips for teaching digital photos as a library-sponsored computer class, and Ann Schlapkohl w/ digital photo frames)

Now for the scoop about Day 2, the ever-popular Town Meeting presented by State Library staff. This year’s Town Meeting theme is “Extreme Makeover @ Your Library—You Can Do It! “…In the morning, a look at making over the library's physical space to make it more inviting. Then, we’ll consider the changing needs of our customers and what that means as far as "making over" our own attitudes and openness to change.

Afternoon sessions include:
Collection Development Makeover: Rethinking Buying and Weeding Patterns. The average library collection, regardless of size, follows the 80/20 pattern: 80% of circulation comes from 20% of the collection. This session will talk about how to rethink what we purchase and weed to break this barrier and circulate more of our collections on a regular basis.

Library Merchandising: Using ideas from both libraries and the retail industry, this session will address how to develop public libraries into more visually stimulating places. Discussion to include what we know about how customers decide what to check out, why library displays are important, ideas for displays, etc.

Making the Most of Your Library Web Site: This session is for all libraries with websites. Topics include publicizing your website; adding content that keeps drawing the public in; thinking about the website as a "branch" library that is open 24/7.

Online registration is ready, so don’t delay! Refer to the catalog for program fees and meal fees. And note: each part of LAKESIDE LEARNING requires a separate catalog registration; be sure to browse the c.e. catalog under Northwest LSA and under the State Library to find all programs http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/cgi-bin/cecat/

BookSystems & Atriuum

Thanks to all who attended the demonstration of BookSystems' newest automation software called Atriuum. The demos were sponsored by NWILS and conducted by Bart Eby at BookSystems office in Alabama. And thanks to the staff at Orange City PL and Lake City PL for hosting.

Special pricing was offered to those who attended and by now, you should have received a packet in the mail with price details. Remember, the pricing offered at June's demonstration is good through July 31st. Returning the committment sheet will guarantee it for you.

As you set about upgrading or switching to Atriuum, use this space to share your progress and what you're learning...comment here!

Lakeside Learing Coming Together

Plans are shaping up for LAKESIDE LEARNING, coming up September 18-19 in Storm Lake. All programs remain at BVU, although we may switch our hotel to the new resort on the lake. Rumor has it we can get state rates there, so we may book our block of rooms there...stay tuned on that.

The Day 1 program has switched hands several times, but it’s finally coming together. Here’s a look:

Day 1 September 18
Morning:
“Parents as Literacy Partners” with Mary Cameron

Afternoon:
Online Safety for Kids & Parents (still tentative, hoping for police officer from Storm Lake as speaker…)
Intergenerational Programming (large group discussion, brief…)
Wild Wednesdays @ Manson PL with Ann Schlapkohl (after school programming ideas)

Evening:
Paparazzi: Digital Photography @ The Library (Tena w/ READ posters, Ann w/ digital picture frames, hopefully Scott Z. w/ tips for teaching digital photos as a library-sponsored computer class)

Day 2 September 19
State Library’s Town Meeting

We'll let you know when online registration is ready...in the meantime, make plans to attend LAKESIDE LEARNING @ Storm Lake, September 18-19!

Special Project Consulting Service Update

NWILS Special Project Consulting continues going strong. It’s been no problem having projects to outsource to our group of consultants. (Imagine how busy they all would be if I REALLY advertised!) Most recently, Susan has been working with Auburn PL and Sandi with Dickens PL. In future weeks, Ann will be heading to Sanborn and Tena to Quimby.

Also: within the framework of this consulting service, Susan is doing a staff development day for Milford PL on customer service. That’s coming up in August. A nice spin-off here is that NWILS gains another workshop to use and replicate, so obviously another great aspect of this service.

Still ahead is a wiki for the consulting group. There would be some real benefit to that, especially in developing agendas and training materials.

And here’s some exciting news: I have an opportunity to tout this shiny new service at 2 conferences, at the Rural Libraries Conference in September (Ohio) and at PLA in March (Minneapolis) It’ll be done as poster sessions, but still, I’m excited about sharing this consulting approach. Because it’s a new model for regional systems to consider, it’s innovative, and I suspect it’s unique (although I don’t know that for sure) But I do know it’s working! For these poster sessions, Sue and I are working on a slideshow using PhotoStory.

Remember, you'll find a list of the Special Project Consultants on NWILS website, along with allowable projects: www.nwils.lib.ia.us Let us know how we can help!

READ Poster CDs

NWILS now has 3 sets of READ Poster CDs and they’re all in use. Those of you who attended JAMBOREE in May saw this in action, thanks to Tena H from Milford PL doing a demo. Tena is going to demo the CDs again at LAKESIDE LEARNING. (September 18-19, BTW) Our nighttime gig is going to feature digital photography things like the READ posters, digital photo frames, etc.

One important note from NWILS Board meeting. The board is very supportive of this purchase for us, but they’d like to see the CDs used in a different way. Their idea is that county library associations buy the CDs from us and actually take ownership of them. This would accomplish several things:

NWILS is credited for a pilot project by purchasing the CDs first—that’s the carrot—you have to see it to sell it!

A county association could buy a set from us; ideally, all libraries in a county would contribute toward the purchase

Easier to do “train the trainer” or any kind of training in using them when the discs “live” in a specific county

It becomes a collaborative model for county associations

It’s great PR and a brand new project to demonstrate—and boast about—to county supervisors

To encourage this idea--this blog post! We'll also talk more about this at LAKESIDE LEARNING's evening program. Chime in with any comments or questions here...

Testimonials, Anyone?

I wanted to share these testimonials from JAMBOREE 2007:

“Blogging is so fun!! Now on to wikis!” (Val Haverhals)

“A shout out to NWILS staff for a great JAMBOREE…Janie, loved your hat!” (Faye Seidl)

“I’m very excited about the new programming ideas presented today…” (anonymous)

“Can’t wait to check out all the websites, especially the blogs and Flickr (anonymous)

“NWILS new consulting approach is good stuff, sounds great…” (anonymous)

“Bonnie, I had to share this with you. I like to watch Jeopardy like you like to watch ‘24’ J One of the categories this evening was Online Words. I don’t remember the exact questions, but 4 answers out of five in the category were: What is a blog? What is a wiki? What is an avatar? (which no one got except me!!) and What is RSS? You will be pleased to know I answered all four correctly and told my husband ‘I learned all this yesterday at JAMBOREE.’ Thanks for the education!” (Sandi Neary)

Lend your comments...what was your favorite part of JAMBOREE this year?

JAMBOREE Was A Hit!

Judging by audience evaluations and comments, C.E. JAMBOREE was a bonafide hit! Two days of programming, and one evening session, piqued interest in all things social on the “social web.” From Flickr to Delicious, from blogs to wikis to podcasts and more, we learned from each other about Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 concepts. All of which led me to a new phrase: Learning 2.0!

Turns out I didn't coin the phrase, so says eagle-eye researcher Kay Larson. But I like it and I think it really fits what happened last week. Because what happened was collaborative learning: sharing our “discoveries” on the web, explaining how to blend traditional services with technologies, and going home to put learning into practice.



For instance, in the days following JAMBOREE, Valerie Haverhals from Hawarden PL started a book discussion blog: http://hawardenbookdiscussion.blogspot.com/ Val tells me she also started a personal blog for an upcoming family reunion—and already a brother is asking her to teach him all about blogging!

Turns out there’s a new article freshly posted on WebJunction about blogging, check that out here http://www.webjunction.org/

Nathan Clark from Ruthven/Emmetsburg PL has started a wiki for the 1-2 person libraries, using WetPaint for the wiki design:
http://1-2personlibrary.wetpaint.com/home His Jamboree handouts are there, too.

And you can check out lots of great “Learning 2.0” photos on our Flickr page. That's Janie being a good sport in a "mysterious skit." At www.flickr.com, search Flickr Groups for “NWILS Library Fun Fotos." You can also join the Flickr group for Northwest and include your own photos of events @ your library. If you were at Jamboree, you should be getting an invitation to join the group--give it a whirl :-)

Through discovery and conversation, people shared so many cool websites, far beyond what was pre-printed on the handouts. I'll include follow-ups in future issues of EYE-OPENER and here, too. Remember to blog what you're learning and putting into practice!

Kids First Conference

I heard through the grapevine that the Kids First Conference was super this year (as every year) Any and all Northwest library staff who attended are encouraged to blog their Kids First Conference experience here...Thanks!

Trying to Add my Avatar

Some bloggers out there need to tell me how to make the avatar image show up on the page...suggestions, anyone?
http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/wimages?yid=bonfan24&size=large&type=jpg

Your Plans for National Library Week

No doubt, your plans are already in motion for celebrating National Library Week 2007. NLW this year is April 15-21 and the theme is “Come Together @ Your Library.” Amongst many programming ideas, you can also highlight 2 special days during that week: “National Library Workers’ Day” and “Support Teen Literature Day.” Read all about it on ALA’s website, where you’ll find scads of promotional materials, press releases, posters, bookmarks, prizes and more: http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/natlibraryweek/nlw.htm

And while you’re at it, how about blogging your plans for National Library Week with your Northwest colleagues? Please contribute your ideas here and share the fun!

More From New Mexico

Last day here in sunny ABQ. The weather has been really beautiful the entire time; makes for nice vacationing and conferencing. I saw a great T-shirt today that said "New Mexico: Not all that new, and not really Mexico." All true, but still a great trip!

Just to recap some of the many sessions I attended here at the Mt. Plains Library Conference. A session on interactive whiteboards made by Smart Technologies was especially cool--it's definitely going on my "wish list" of purchases for NWILS office at fiscal-year-end!. A session on legal policies issues was interesting, presented by people who attended the latest Lawyers for Libraries conference sponsored by ALA. "50+ Boomers and Seniors in the Workplace" was good too--lots of thoughtful discussion about the generaltional differences amongst workers in any profession--and how managers can best capitalize on peoples' strengths. And again, plenty of sessions on social networking and Web2.0/Library 2.0 concepts. This will all come back to Northwest Iowa in time for C.E. JAMBOREE.

I'll include more details about the Mt. Plains Conference in a series of EYE-OPENER articles beginning Monday. But it's time to be boarding instead of blogging!

Blogging From New Mexico

Hello to Northwest Iowa from sunny, warm Albuquerque! Thanks to NWILS Board, I'm blogging from the Mt.Plains Library Conference in ABQ, as the natives have nicknamed the city.

While there were many pre-cons to choose from on Wednesday (3/14/07) the conference started for me today with the opening session's keynote speaker Joseph Janes. Among his many credentials, Mr. Janes is the chair of Library & Information Science at the University of Washington. He writes "The Internet Librarian" column for American Libraries, has authored 8 books on libraries and technlogy, and was one of the co-founders of The Internet Public Library.

His presentation was great--and very funny--we need to bring him to an ILA conference sometime soon! "What Libraries Need to do Now--and Why" encouraged the audience to interact on the web in the same ways that our customers are already doing. We need to creat blogs and wikis, not to mention great websites. We need to make our own videos on YouTube and promote our services on MySpace.

All of which bolsters the need for NWILS to raise awareness and promote these concepts, encouraging libraries to blend traditional services with new approaches that technology affords. Guess what--much of this is the focus of C.E. JAMBOREE this year! More on the Mt. Plains sessions tomorrow and in EYE-OPENER...

Public Computer Instruction

The interest and need for computer instruction continues unabated. Lake City PL began a new series of computer classes in January. Michele is coordinating and teaching classes that blend traditional topics like WORD and EXCEL with trendier topics like Using the Internet for Travel, Advanced Email, Genealogy on the Web, and Internet Safety & Security. Classes run 2 hours and attendance is limited to 6 people.

We’d love to hear more topic ideas and strategies from other libraries providing computer instruction. Who’s offering classes on using digital cameras or demonstrating great websites for parents and kids? Who’s explaining blogs or acquainting parents and grandparents with social networking sites like MySpace and YouTube? NWILS Bulletin Board Blog is a great forum to share these and other ideas!

Promote Teen Tech Week

Make plans now to promote the first ever “Teen Tech Week,” March 4-10, 2007. Teen Tech Week is sponsored by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association of ALA) The theme is “Get Connected @ Your Library” and there are lots of great posters and promotional materials available through the ALA Graphics Catalog or through the ALA Online Store www.ala.org

Why this promotion now? YALSA website explains: “…By developing Teen Tech Week, YALSA demonstrates the important role technology plays in teen life and the need for librarians to integrate the ways teens use technology into their programs and services, said Teen Tech Week chair Linda Braun. Teen use of non-print resources has increased dramatically in recent years, yet more and more teens are doing this from home instead of the library. According to a recent study by Harris Interactive, in 2005 86% of youth aged 8-18 have a computer in their home, and 74% have Internet access in their home. On average, 8-18 year olds spend 6 hours and 21 minutes per day using media (including TV, video/DVDs/movies, video games, audio media, computers and print media) According to Pew Internet Research, 71% of teens reported that the Internet is their primary source for completing school projects. Yet multiple studies have shown that the majority of teens lack the critical thinking skills and technical expertise to use the Internet and other electronic resources effectively. Teens need to know that the library is a trusted resource for accessing information and that librarians are the experts who can help them develop the skills they need to use electronic resources effectively and efficiently, remarked YALSA President Pam Spencer Holley…”

Programming ideas abound on YALSA website http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teentechweek/ttw.htm

Get into the swing of things by blogging your plans and ideas for Teen Tech Week. Blogging...techie stuff...it all fits!

Progress on NWILS New Website

Sue and I have been happily (???) revamping NWILS website! We're moving it to PLONE, just like 60+ Northwest libraries will soon be doing. We're learning to create folders, pages, links, lists, and more. At first, this process was abit cumbersome and Sue was the very definition of "high anxienty." But...it's getting easier each day as we get more experienced. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? PRACTICE-PRACTICE-PRACTICE :-)

Seriously, it will be great for us to be using the same PLONE product as you'll be using--we'll be here to help. Look to upcoming EYE-OPENERS for reminders of the PLOW training classes required in round 2. See you on the web!

Hot Topic @ ILA: Balancing Security with Human Rights

One session that stayed with me after the conference was over was the discussion panel on security and human rights. This could have been a full day (or three!), as clearly there are no easy answers here. Many questions were raised:

• When and how should a parent have access to a child's account?
• How do we create a safe environment for our staff?
• What criteria should we use to ask people to leave (how bad do they have to smell? How much of a disruption can they cause to others?)?
• Where do we draw the line with "porn?"
• Should we use technology to further restrict Internet use, or should we do all we can to give patrons more privacy?
• When should we call 911?
• Should anyone work alone in a library, and how do we handle threats if this can't be avoided?

The list goes on. We all know the issues, and we know the philosophies behind them. We also know that the philosophical response isn't always applicable in our day-t0-day work life. What suggestions do you have in terms of practical ways to manage these issues in the real world?

ILA Conference '06

By now, we're all home from the ILA conference in Council Bluffs and back to the grindstone! Before I ask NWILS consulting team to share their conference experiences here, I thought it only fair to get the conversation started with my favorite session.

It has to be Wednesday's preconference with Michael Stephens; he was also the keynote speaker on Thursday. I heard him speak at PLA in Boston, too. He's a vigorous supporter behind the notions of Web 2.0/Library 2.0. Life on the web is now all about social networking. With great explanations of blogs, wikis, IM, podcasts, Flickr and more, he inspires libraries to be about social networking too.

For a good article on that topic, he recommends the cover story in Newsweek from 4/3/06: "Putting the WE in Web." You probably subscribe to Newsweek, but it's also available in full text in EBSCO. Do a little networking yourself and email the article to your board!

Lots of ideas are racing through my head as a result, including bringing Web 2.0/Library 2.0 topics to C.E. JAMBOREE in the spring. While I ponder that and set about buying his book and loading the car for 2 days on the road, check out Michael Stephens website: ww.tametheweb.com
Look for other conference highlights here soon...Bonnie McKewon