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

Follow up to Lakeside Learning - Annual Survey

As Bonnie promised here are some answers to questions asked during our evening session. I have contacted Gerry Rowland at the State Library to confirm my responses.
Question #1: Item # 133 In Library Materials Use
The question asked was counting "other" in library use. In library use has no other category. This is for materials (holdings) only. As people come in to use the copier, fax, drinking fountain, etc. that would be one visit (Item #134), no matter how many things they do.
Speaking of visits; if the restroom is located in the same building but outside of the library proper, I don't think that I would count as actually leaving and returning and should probably only count as one visit. Try to give a clear picture of what is happening at your library. Use your best judgement.
Question #2: If janitorial service is by contract: you do not count them as "other paid staff" (Item #8,9), but you do enter the dollar amount spent on this contract in expenditures. It would go in Item #74 "Plant operation."
Question #3: Do you count multiple books for a book discussion that you get through the book discussion list rather than SILO?
As the borrower, you would count each copy as a circulation for your library. As a lender they would be a "non-SILO generated" ILL transaction. Remember, lender transactions do not count in your circ. Please note the difference between "multiple copies for book discussion" and bulk loans in the Access Plus Terms of Agreement.
Question #4: Where do you count circulation for the patrons who live in an incorporated area (town) that has no library, no contract for service, and is in your county?
Item #125 Other circulation. Be sure to enter this town in Line #162 & #163 "Cities without libraries that your library serves without compensation."

That's all the questions I wrote down. Anyone have any others?
Blogging is not something I am in the habit of doing, so I might need a gentle reminder to respond to your comments!
Thanks for all your input and questions at Lakeside Learning. I hope the discussion was helpful.

Ann S.
Manson Public Library

Follett Automatin Buys Sagebrush

Here's some library automation news that bears repeating. Back on August 17th, I emailed Northwest libraries with this: Follett has acquired Sagebrush/Winnebago. This happened in late July. While I don’t have super current numbers, I believe the majority of automated libraries in Northwest have automated with Sagebrush/Winnebago. So now you’re really all Follett libraries!

If you’d like to read more about it, here’s a press release from Follett:
http://www.fsc.follett.com/newsnevents/pressreleases/release.cfm?pressID=25

Don't forget to use this blog as a forum for any automation-related questions or comments! Bonnie McKewon

Downloadable Audiobooks?

In recent weeks, a couple of libraries have posed the question: are any libraries out there buying downloadable audiobooks? What are they paying and what vendors are they using? Certainly libraries across the country are providing this service, I just don't have any solid numbers on which Iowa libs are getting in on this action.

If you'd like some background reading on the topic, refer to an article in Computers in Libraries: "An Overview of Digital Audio Books for Libraries" Computers in Libraries, 10417915, Jul/Aug 2005, Vol. 25, Issue 7. Hint: you'll find this journal in EBSCO, so a good time to test your EBSCO search skills! Call NWILS if you need help.

You'll also find great background information at WebJunction:
http://ia.webjunction.org/do/Search And following the PLA Conference in Boston this spring, they've posted handouts from many of the conference sessions. Scroll down the list of sessions and you'll see some that addressed audiobooks. Click here to see the PLA handouts: http://www.placonference.org/handouts_audiotapes.cfm

We shouldn't assume that this is new service is only being offered in larger metro libraries, so please share your answers and experiences here to start a discussion! Thanks...Bonnie McK @ NWILS

PLA '06 Conference Wrap-Up

To wrap up news from the PLA conference, below you’ll find a handful of websites and books recommended by various conference speakers. In addition to perusing the list below, remember the “Keeping Current” session at JAMBOREE. In “Keeping Current,” we talked about the PLA website as a great source for conference materials because many handouts are viewable there. And don’t forget to tap into the PLA blog, too. You’ll find links to PLA conference handouts and to the PLA blog here: www.pla.org

Selected Books:
The Call of the Mall (marketing) by Paco Underhill, Simon & Schuster c2004
The Cluetrain Manifesto (how the Internet has changed business models) by Christopher Locke et.al., Perseus Books c2000.
Demonstrating Results: Using Outcome Measurement in Your Library by Rhea Joyce Rubin, PLA c2005
The Library’s Continuous Improvement Fieldbook: 29 Ready-to-Use Tools by Sara Laughlin, ALA c2005
Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources, OCLC c2005
Small Pieces Loosely Joined (website content) by David Weinberger, Perseus Books c2002
Technology For Results by Diane Mayo, PLA c2005
Why We Buy (marketing) by Paco Underhill, Simon & Schuster c2000

Selected Websites:
http://www.niost.org/ (the National Institute on Out-Of-School Time)
http://www.afterschool.gov
www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm
http://ia.webjunction.org/do/Home
www.aarp.org/internetresources (AARP’s Internet Resources on Aging)
http://www.tametheweb.com
http://www.bloglines.com

PLA '06 Boston Conference: The Role of the LIbrary's Website

EYE-OPENER articles in recent weeks have pointed to the newly launched PLOW Project (Putting Libraries on the Web) This new initiative, administered by the State Library and funded through a grant from the Gates Foundation, will offer website hosting and email hosting to Iowa’s public libraries. To date, 219 libraries statewide have turned in a letter of intent, signaling interest in participating. Happily, 54 of those are Northwest Iowa libraries. Remember, the earliest deadline to return your letter of intent is April 28.

So in light of the PLOW Project and so much interest from Northwest libraries, I want to share points from a PLA conference session entitled “The New Branch: What is the Role of the Library’s Website?” Speakers from Phoenix and Denver Public Libraries shared the dais and agreed that a library’s website must be engaging, relevant, informational, and functional. They urged libraries to see their websites as educational opportunities to link people to the library’s own collection, but also to other online resources like EBSCO, to package the best of the web in terms of children’s sites, medical sites, consumer information, etc.

The speakers also stressed the need to make library websites functional and convenient. Here are some of their suggestions for making websites convenient by making them customer-service driven:

Online fine and fee payment
Online reserves
Online overdue notices—days before the items are actually due
Online reporting of lost or stolen cards
Online library card applications
Online donations to the Friends Group or to the library foundation
Online program registration
Online meeting room reservation
Online customer satisfaction—or other kinds—of surveys (“Survey Monkey” anyone?)

Virtual branches much also relay the feeling that there’s a staff behind the web, so always bring forward the staff presence by presenting:

Email us
Website feedback
Blogs
Virtual reference questions
Online book discussion groups
Virtual programming like pod-casting story times

You can see these features in action on Denver Public Library’s website: http://denverlibrary.org/ The PLOW Project promises great website design and content for Iowa’s libraries. Be sure to join in and ensure that your new website will shine a new light on what your local library has to offer!

PLA '06 Boston Conference: The Perceptions Report

You may have heard mention of the latest study from OCLC entitled Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources. The “Perceptions Report,” for short, was the focus of a PLA conference session. The report summarizes findings from an international study on the information-seeking habits and preferences of consumers in 6 countries. The entire survey was done online and solicited 3,300 responses from the U.S., Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, and the UK.

Many of the findings indicate that, while most information consumers value libraries and view them as places to learn and borrow printed books, people are still largely unaware of the rich electronic content they can access through their libraries. Here are just a few of the findings:

93% said that Google provides worthwhile information
84% begin their search for information on the Internet
70% of the U.S. population is online daily, at work and at home
51% are using instant messaging
30% have never heard the term ‘online databases’

So what could your library do with this information? The entire “Perceptions Report” is online as a PDF file here:
www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm Note that the PDF document is 286 pages, but a paper copy is available for purchase for only $19.00 from the OCLC website as well. The questions are already there, developed by a team of professional researchers at OCLC Market Research and Harris Interactive, INC. Libraries could adapt the questions for use in local surveys (here’s where NWILS “Survey Monkey” workshop comes in handy) See how answers from your community compare with the national findings. Consider what this might mean in terms of marketing the library’s electronic resources like EBSCO, FirstSearch, etc. Think about how this might fit into your library’s long-range plan. The “Perceptions Report” is interesting, important reading if you’re up for “keeping current in library land!”

PLA '06 Boston Conference: Community of Learners

The Public Library Association’s National Conference in Boston was great—my thanks to NWILS board for supporting this opportunity. You may have already seen some conference photos taken by Tena Hanson @ Milford, our gal-on-the-scene reporter! Tena was one of 2 library directors from Iowa selected to attend the PLA conference with funds from the Gates Foundation. While there, Tena attended sessions on the Gates initiative called “Rural Library Sustainability,” an effort to help maintain public access computing in small, rural libraries across the country. Take a peek at her pictures: www.milfordlibrary.net/Today.at.PLA.htm (Tena opted for the Concord Literary Tour, I took the Boston City Tour one day and the Harvard/JFK Presidential Library Tour another day. The PLA planning committees organized some of the best tours ever—oh sure, the sessions were good too!)

One session I attended was called “Building a Community of Learners,” wherein the panelists stressed that it’s more imperative than ever for public libraries to be seen as partners in education. One speaker said “…a library’s best event can no longer be stand-alone story hours…public libraries need to be an education partner and reach out to others in the community in cooperative efforts.” Other speakers encouraged libraries to transform their children’s and YA spaces into deliberate homework help centers, complete with tutors, booktalks, online assignment messages from teachers, library instruction—and snacks J The idea was to formally recruit TAG students, college students, and grandparents as tutors, all volunteering in the public library’s homework center consistently throughout the week.

For follow up research—and some great statistics on the impact that public libraries have on childhood education—here are some recommended websites:
http://www.niost.org/ (the National Institute on Out-Of-School Time)
http://www.afterschool.gov/
http://www.partnershipsforlearning.gov/
http://www.imls.gov/ (Institute of Museum and Library Services)

Adult Programming Ideas

NWILS Monday Morning Eye-Opener has started a series of articles on adult programming ideas. We're anxious to learn of the programs you've hosted in your own libraries for adult and senior audiences. Have you brought in Iowa authors, Humanities scholars, or storytellers? Have you taken a new angle with book discussion groups? How about unique exhibits and displays? What types of fundraisers has your library sponsored?

Please share your ideas with Northwest libraries by adding your ideas and comments below. We'll cull through the ideas from week to week and include them in EYE-OPENER too. Thanks!

Computing Tips & Tricks @ LAKESIDE LEARNING

Thanks to all who attended LAKESIDE LEARNING 2005 at Storm Lake! You all made it our highest attendance yet!

The program on Day 1 shared an assortment of computing tips & tricks, along with valuable websites for reference work and library management.

Here's your chance to chime in with your favorites. Share a trick or an especially fun feature of any software application (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.) Or share some favorite websites that you turn to often in your library.

If you share--and post your favorites on NWILS blog--you'll receive extra c.e. credit points. So join in. Blogging is fun--and you'll come away saying "hey, that was easy!"

Wireless Connections & Laptop Computer Policies

One Northwest library recently asked our office for sample laptop policies, specifically for libraries with wireless Internet connections. Another good question, but a topic for which we have very few samples.

There's a good article on this topic at Web Junction Iowa: “Web Junction’s Focus on Wireless Internet Access in Public Libraries.” Here’s the link: http://ia.webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=11027

Without sample policies on the topic to share just yet, this becomes another good question to pose to you practioners out there and see who can chime in. Just click on "comments" below to read answers from your colleagues in Northwest Iowa libraries.