ALA MIDWINTER MEETING
Philadelphia, PA
January 10 – 16, 2008
OCLC Midwinter 2008 Symposium:
New Leadership for New Challenges
Speakers:
Leslie Crutchfield, co-author, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact nonprofits
Dr. Rush Miller, co-author, Beyond Survival: Managing Academic Libraries in Transition
“Great leaders are valued for their ability to guide groups to new heights or through troubled waters. But can a great leader be effective if an organization is not ready for change? This OCLC Symposium will explore how both individual and institutional leadership has an impact on the success of libraries.” George Needham, Vice – President of Member Services, OCLC
Crutchfield’s
six practices that determine an organization’s greatness & Miller’s comments on relating them to the library world:
1.
Serve & advocate – “Giving wonderful, effective information services is a necessary thing and crucial to our mission. But good service alone is not sufficient to guarantee support or create an environment conducive to overall success.” Not only should libraries be providing great programs and services, they should work with local governments to provide policy changes that will benefit the community – encourage town council members to join a “reading program” or support a literacy program.
2.
Make markets work – “I would emphasize that libraries, like other nonprofits, must operate in a more “business-like” manner to be successful in the future.” Don’t be afraid to change things – look at the output of departments and branches, brainstorm ways to improve. Look at your administrative hierarchy – has it been changed in the last twenty years?
3.
Inspire evangelists – “Great nonprofits see users, volunteers, donors and advisers not only for what they can contribute in terms of time, money and guidance but also for what they can do for their cause.” We need to recruit donors and volunteers who are passionate about the library to help the library achieve its goals.
4.
Nurture nonprofit networks – “although most groups pay lip service to collaboration, many of them really see other organizations and departments as competition for scarce resources.” Not so with libraries! We share resources – see ILL. We have long collaborated with other libraries: academic, school, etc. We need to take it further and seek partnerships with organizations in our communities, such as businesses, health organizations, historical societies, etc.
5.
Master the art of adaptation – “High-impact organizations are exceptionally adaptive, modifying their tactics as needed to increase their success. They respond to changing circumstances with one innovation after another.” Few organizations are adapting to change as much as libraries– technology has changed and continues to change every aspect of the library profession. Librarians are adaptors – there is always something new around the corner.
6.
Share leadership – “Leaders of high-impact nonprofits cultivate a strong second-in-command, build enduring executive teams with long tenure, and develop highly engaged boards in order to have more impact.” Miller says, “Few library directors are egotists; most of us have been advocates and practitioners of shared governance for most of our careers.” Know your library mission – make sure your staff knows the mission. Be willing to let go of things that are no longer relevant – it’s not easy, but it frees resources so libraries can concentrate on the things that are relevant today.
Best Practices in Cooperative Reference: Reference and Social NetworkingPanelists:
Stephen Francoeur, information services librarian and assistant professor at Baruch College
Communication Options:
-Social Networking Sites are people oriented and primarily designed to facilitate interactions
-Social Media Sites are object oriented
Current library uses of these sites:
-promote library resources & services
-relationship building
-search library resources
-reference services
-Mostly academic libraries in Facebook – it’s a ready made outreach since its members are
mainly students
Beth Evans, associate professor and the electronic services specialist at Brooklyn College LibraryIf patrons don’t come to the Reference Desk or our website, where do we go?
-Facebook & My Space – use these tools for outreach and to disseminate information
about events, services & resources
-New environment for reference questions & answers: post screencasts on video sharing
sites; post screenshots on image sharing sites, e.g. Flickr – Librarians can reuse content in
different formats
Do we belong?
-they don’t expect us to be there
-this is reference in an open environment, are we ready?
-service is not under our own control, are we comfortable?
-Facebook offers enhanced interpersonal relationships which are closer to a face to face
reference interview
R. David Lankes, director of the Information Institute of Syracuse, and associate professor in School of Information Studies
Participatory Reference
-current model is library centered > new model puts librarians in an awkward spot – are we
content experts?
-there is pressure to participate > user is in control > it’s collaborative conversation
-Tools are easy but libraries are obligated to innovate and facilitate communities > go beyond
the basics
2. Conclusions:
-don’t socialize reference
-innovate core principles into a new model of collaborative communication
-accept the obligation of leadership in a changing environment
Hot Topics Discussion Forum:
“Tag You’re It! A Revolution in Patron-Library Interaction”Speakers:
Jennifer Sweda, Cataloging Librarian for the University of Pennsylvania Libraries
PennTags Project:
http://tags.library.upenn.edu/-Software allows users to tag cataloged items
-Tags are hyperlinked in the OPAC and have side by side architectures
-Users can choose any terms that have personal relevance
-This software allows users to locate, organize and share favorite resources
Lauren Stokes, Viritual Library Manager at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library DistrictPatron Ratings & Reviews:
http://www.lvccld.org/Similar to Amazon.com, but staff edit reviews before they are posted. Software developed by Innovative Interface Inc. I chatted with a librarian this morning and she says that finding titles with patron reviews are hit or miss – to view a record with a patron review, type in "Little Miss Sunshine" from the catalog search or click on
Books, Movies, and More and click on “Pearl’s Picks” for a list of reviewed titles. Patron reviews are indicated in the bottom right corner of the record under the "Rating stars."
Kate Sheehan, Coordinator of Library Automation at Danbury Public LibraryLibraryThing Project:
http://www.librarything.com/thingology/2007/05/danbury-ct-kicks-off-librarything-for.php"Thing~ology is LibraryThing's ideas blog, on the philosophy and methods of tags, libraries and suchnot." Users at Danbury Public Library can add tags to records in the library's catalog.
Follow the links and enjoy the innovative things out there in libraryland. If you have any questions or comments, please post. cs
