In the last few posts I have answered questions about my presentation. Now I am posting notes from the programs that I attended. I attended the Reception at the Allen County Public Library on Sunday evening, programs on Monday and had the pleasure of seeing Rosella Garcia, Lake County Public Library Literacy Coordinator, accept the Tom Zupancic Literacy Award at the Awards & Honors Banquet on Monday evening.
The conference was held in Fort Wayne and the ILF Committee did a great job presenting an interesting and smooth running conference.
PROGRAM NOTES
EXPLORING THE BORDERLANDS BETWEEN ILS 1.0 AND 2.0
Melissa Kiser, Information Technology Librarian, Allen County Public Library
Web 2.0 refers to the “second generation” of web-based communities and services that promotes collaboration and sharing between users.
Sites that ACPLib 2.0 uses to communicate with their users, to share new ideas about library services and materials with the wider Allen County Community, and to collaborate on internal projects:
Most Popular Titles
ACPL Staff Picks
ACPL Blog
ACPL Kids Blog
ACPL Teens Blog
Branch blogs
ACPL on Flickr
ACPL on YouTube
Search Cloud – see popular search terms in OPAC
NEIRRS Podcast –North Eastern Indiana Radio Reading Service provides web access for those who are blind or have reading challenges.
Library Elf
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT MINDSET: Surviving a 10% Increase in Circulation with No Increase in Staff or Funding
Sara Laughlin and panelists from the circulation department of the Monroe County Public Library
From pages to supervisors, everyone has a hand in identifying and implementing changes in circulation: problem, action, result.
1,100 holds per day, 20% of checkouts go through as holds – holds on everything; 10% of holds not picked up; 7 days on hold shelves
-reduced “claims returned items”
-doubled the percentage of self-checkout transactions
-speed shelving time – eliminated excessive “touches” – no sorting shelves, put on carts
WHAT ARE LIBRARIES DOING FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT?
Rob Fox & Libby Walker, Vigo County Public Library
-Continuing education for staff at professional meetings
-Believes in “home-grown” librarians & supports staff
-Process for tracing library certification levels and LEU
-In-House LEU Approved Training
-VCPL Staff Institute, close library & training approved for LEU credit
-Staff Association – grants & programs eligible for LEU credit
-Friends – scholarships
-Self-service employee portal – information about benefits, library news & resources supporting professional development
Carolyn Strickland, Lake County Public Library
http://referencetoday.blogspot.com/2009/10/lake-county-public-library-professional.html
-Formal Training Program: all public service staff required to attend standard training modules as well as subject overviews offered annually
-LCPL classes & trainers approved for LEU credit by state; classes open to all libraries & their staff at no charge: 464 credits have been awarded in 2009
-Informal Database Training: Adopt a Database Program, And the Winner Is….Program, Weekly Database Q & A’s, Database of the Month, Database Tip Sheets, & Vendor Training
-In-Service Training & Cross-Training
David Dyer, Carmel Clay Public Library
CCPL’s Web Adventure – 23 Things
Ten week program to train staff on Web 2.0: includes Blogging; Photos & Images (Flickr); RSS & Newsreaders; Social Networking (MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn; GoodReads & LibraryThing); Wikis; Online Applications & Tools (Google Docs & Google Maps); Podcasts, Video & Downloadable audio; and Professional Networking & Distance Learning.
Surveyed staff – Most liked doing it, but everyone did not complete the program.
Comments: too many activities and not enough time.
FLOATING: SHIFTING COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT TO A NEW LEVEL
Ingrid Norris, Lake County Public Library
What is floating? One system, one collection – materials “float” freely among system libraries rather than being “owned” by a specific location.
What are the benefits? Items spend less time on delivery trucks so materials are more likely to be on the shelf for people to check out; avoids extra transactions; and extends life of the collections
Making it easy for staff – staff don’t have to do anything extra to make each transaction work; promote benefits to customers; easy to use tools for weeding & responding to stock fluctuations
How do I get started? Will your ILS support floating/shared collections? Decide what will be exempted. Implement then deal with any problems that come up!
Any comments or questions?
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Professional Development Program - ILF Part 2
And the Winner Is...Program
We just finished this year-long program. Staff were encouraged to recommend databases to patrons and keep track of the number with hash marks. I contacted our vendors to ask for inexpensive prizes (mugs, bags, pins, paperclip holders, etc.). My database contacts were very accomodating and excited about the program. So...each month we had a drawing from the logs that staff turned in and three winners received prizes. Of course, the real winners were our patrons! This program added a "friendly competiton" aspect to what we do every day - recommend databases to our patrons.
Weekly Database Q & A's
Our webmaster sends out a Question and Answer email (separate emails) to all staff. Questions come from a number of sources. They can be actual patron questions or ones that we make up to promote a database. It's very popular and when we stopped it for awhile, staff complained.
Database of the Month
An individual database is promoted each month on the website and I give a database demo at our monthly staff meetings. We also create displays in the library with posters and bookmarks.
Database Tip Sheets
These tip sheets are posted on our database page. Staff and patrons have access to a tip sheet on all of our subscription databases. They are created and updated by our webmaster and myself.
Vendor Training
These are very helpful. This past year I contacted a number of our vendors and scheduled webinars during some of our Reference Staff Meetings - twenty to twenty-five librarians were trained in one session.
I am always looking for new ways to promote our databases. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. Carolyn
We just finished this year-long program. Staff were encouraged to recommend databases to patrons and keep track of the number with hash marks. I contacted our vendors to ask for inexpensive prizes (mugs, bags, pins, paperclip holders, etc.). My database contacts were very accomodating and excited about the program. So...each month we had a drawing from the logs that staff turned in and three winners received prizes. Of course, the real winners were our patrons! This program added a "friendly competiton" aspect to what we do every day - recommend databases to our patrons.
Weekly Database Q & A's
Our webmaster sends out a Question and Answer email (separate emails) to all staff. Questions come from a number of sources. They can be actual patron questions or ones that we make up to promote a database. It's very popular and when we stopped it for awhile, staff complained.
Database of the Month
An individual database is promoted each month on the website and I give a database demo at our monthly staff meetings. We also create displays in the library with posters and bookmarks.
Database Tip Sheets
These tip sheets are posted on our database page. Staff and patrons have access to a tip sheet on all of our subscription databases. They are created and updated by our webmaster and myself.
Vendor Training
These are very helpful. This past year I contacted a number of our vendors and scheduled webinars during some of our Reference Staff Meetings - twenty to twenty-five librarians were trained in one session.
I am always looking for new ways to promote our databases. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. Carolyn
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Professional Development Program at ILF
I received the following e-mail from an attendee at my ILF presentation on Professional Development at Lake County Public Library:
Hello, Carolyn,
I didn't make enough notes about your adopt a database program. Could you give me a review of how you operate that? Do staff members do one database at a time? Do they switch around to keep up with all the databases? Do they test them daily? More than once a day?
Also, what is the "And the Winner is.." program? Actually, I would like to know a little more about everything on slide 6 -- the Informal Database Training slide.
The slide that is referenced is in the slide presentation posted on this blog. I'll describe each program in a separate posting.
I initiated the Adopt a Database program in 2006. Reference librarians are assigned three databases to monitor for a six month period. There is a Database Checklist that they use to check their assigned databases. The goal of this program is two-fold: 1) to catch any problems with the databases early and 2) to familiarize staff with the library's subscription databases.
At the end of the first year, I asked staff to write up three questions & answers for each database that they monitor.
At the end of 2007, they were asked to give their recommendation on whether or not the library should continue to subscribe to their databases. And during the year they were asked to give a short presentation (10 - 15 minutes) highlighting the features of one of their databases at our monthly Reference Staff Meeting.
This is the checklist that they all use - they are asked to perform searches on a weekly basis and contact either our webmaster or myself if they find a problem.
Assigned Databases:
_____________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Date:
Database:
Searches Function: Individually/Through Power Search (federated search)
Database Available: Staff Computer/Information Station (Public)/Remotely
Links Work: Power Search/Alphabetical List Page/DB in Library Page
Results Display Properly: Yes/No
So far it has been very effective as a learning tool and for catching any database problems. Your comments are welcome. Carolyn
Hello, Carolyn,
I didn't make enough notes about your adopt a database program. Could you give me a review of how you operate that? Do staff members do one database at a time? Do they switch around to keep up with all the databases? Do they test them daily? More than once a day?
Also, what is the "And the Winner is.." program? Actually, I would like to know a little more about everything on slide 6 -- the Informal Database Training slide.
The slide that is referenced is in the slide presentation posted on this blog. I'll describe each program in a separate posting.
I initiated the Adopt a Database program in 2006. Reference librarians are assigned three databases to monitor for a six month period. There is a Database Checklist that they use to check their assigned databases. The goal of this program is two-fold: 1) to catch any problems with the databases early and 2) to familiarize staff with the library's subscription databases.
At the end of the first year, I asked staff to write up three questions & answers for each database that they monitor.
At the end of 2007, they were asked to give their recommendation on whether or not the library should continue to subscribe to their databases. And during the year they were asked to give a short presentation (10 - 15 minutes) highlighting the features of one of their databases at our monthly Reference Staff Meeting.
This is the checklist that they all use - they are asked to perform searches on a weekly basis and contact either our webmaster or myself if they find a problem.
Assigned Databases:
_____________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Date:
Database:
Searches Function: Individually/Through Power Search (federated search)
Database Available: Staff Computer/Information Station (Public)/Remotely
Links Work: Power Search/Alphabetical List Page/DB in Library Page
Results Display Properly: Yes/No
So far it has been very effective as a learning tool and for catching any database problems. Your comments are welcome. Carolyn
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Britannica Presentation
Check out this SlideShare Presentation: ALA Presentation in Chicago for Britannica's Educator to Educator Series.
Britannica Presentation
View more presentations from lcplreference.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
ALA 2009 Annual Conference in Chicago
It was a busy four days and it has taken time to digest all the ideas. Two programs were especially relevant to LCPL and libraries in general: the first dealt with screencasting or short online tutorials for our patrons. As more and more of our patrons are visiting us online it is imperative that we're there to instruct them online and screencasts seem to be an efficient way to do this.
The second program presented new ways of dealing with collection development - one speaker actually proposed that librarians were a thing of the past - let the patrons decide what the library purchases: let patron requests (new or old titles) trigger purchases or else contract for a machine that would print on demand. Another speaker talked about centralized purchasing - a team of collection librarians purchased for all subject areas.
Interesting ideas in a time of shrinking staff and budgets.
Here are my notes:
ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
2009 Chicago, Illinois
Casting a Wide Net: Using Screencasts to Reach and Teach Library Users
Program was introduced by Committee co-chair, Michelle Jacobs, via screencast since she was not able to attend the conference.
http://rusamarshottopicsannual/2009.wordpress.com/
Panelists:
Eric Frierson, Education & Political Science Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington
Carmen Kazakoff-Lane, Head – Extension & Inter-Library Loans, Brandon University
Mick Jacobsen, Adult Services Librarian, Skokie Public Library, Illinois
The RUSA MARS Hot Topics Discussion Group presented a panel discussion on Screencasts. Screencasts are short instructional videos created by librarians and made available to patrons 24/7. Since many of our users are virtual, we need to make information available at their point of need.
Eric Frierson of the University of Texas at Arlington demonstrated how his library’s online catalog used embedded screencasts, with links to videos such as “Where’s the PDF?”, “I need peer-reviewed”, or “Bad Results” appearing when users are likely to need them. He has also created a welcome video to introduce users to his education subject guide – which can be a bit overwhelming for new users.
Mick Jacobsen of Skokie (Illinois) Public Library gave a public librarian’s use of screencasting and observed that his patrons are interested in information rather than reference sources. He stated, “very few people come to learn to Reference USA. They wouldn’t know what we’re talking about. But they would respond to ‘Do you want to find more customers?’” Skokie PL has a number of screencasts in their Skokie Business Portal.
Carmen Kazakoff-Lane, from Brandon University in Manitoba, demonstrated the Animated Tutorial Sharing (ANTS) Project, a collaborative project among librarians to create and share tutorial videos across institutions. The project currently involves librarians in Canada and the United States but is open to librarians elsewhere.
The goal of the project is to create a shared repository of library, research, and information literacy tutorials created using screencast software such as Adobe Captivate, Qarbon Viewlet Builder, Techsmith's Camtasia Studio , or similar products.
Tutorials contributed to the ANTS project are made publicly available for use by all libraries via our affiliated sites: LION TV and Screencast.com . Editable Source code is also available from our DSpace repository for those who wish to add their own brands, local links, etc.
What Do I Watch, Listen to, Play, or Download Next: Readers Advisory Techniques for the Digital World
Presenters:
Helen Stewart, Schaumburg Public Library (IL)
Amy Peterson, Schaumburg Public Library (IL)
Steve Gianni, Northbrook Public Library (IL)
Presenter Helen Stewart from Schaumburg started the session of with RA information for movies. She reminded the attendees of the challenges facing librarians who work with multi-media. Circulation for AV is “going through the roof.” Formats are always changing and librarians must keep a list of titles ready for recommendations and always know what’s playing in the local theaters.
Some display and marketing tips:
-think retail when displaying and change displays often to increase interest & excitement
-group movies by genre for “grab & go”
-be prepared to do reference interviews for movies – what type of movies has the patron enjoyed in the past, who are the favorite directors/actors, what about the rating of the film – are R-rated filsm ok?
-good resources for movies: reel.com; Amazon listmania; and Rotten Tomatoes and to be sure a movie is “kid-safe,” try Kids in Mind
The second presenter, Amy Peterson, also from Schaumburg, discussed audiobook advisory. Some tips from Amy:
-remember narrator preferences
-single narrator, multiple, or a full cast
-abridged versus unabridged
-production quality & format
-good sources for audiobooks: Audiofile magazine, APA, Booklist and audio discussion lists
The third presenter, Steve Gianni from Northbrook PL talked about his library’s music collections. Some tips:
-he recommends asking staff who may have interests in music beyond your own to build the collection
-arrange materials like retail stores do
-create displays based on what is going on in the music world locally and nationally
-make collection accessible and be ready to answer questions
-recommended resources: Billboard, New Music Express, and award lists from the Grammy and Town awards; for classical - NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection; and for kid safe music for tweens – Radio Disney
Collection Development 2.0: The Changing Administration of Collection Development
Speakers:
Rick Anderson, Associate Director from Scholarly Resources & Collections, University of Utah
Martha White, Director of Library Experiences, Lexington (KY) Public Library
Jonathan Nabe, Collection Development Librarian, Sciences & Technology, Southern Illinois University – Carbondale
Collection development is undergoing revolutionary changes. In the last few years, most libraries have made major changes in the way they manage collection development – what changes have some libraries implemented and why.
Jonathan Nabe from SIU in Carbondale
“Fewer Cooks @ SIU”
SIU hired three collection development librarians with full
responsibility for all aspects of CD: selection, analysis, policy, etc
Benefits:
Increased Oversight
Better balance
Better collection? Too early to tell
Wave of the Future? On the plus side this plan offers a new outlook and increased attention to the collection but on the negative side this is a heavy workload & a lot of responsibility for three librarians
What do we collect?
• No longer just what the publishers offer
• Materials produced within our institutions
• Institutional repositories
Current trends
• Patron Driven Acquisition (PDA)
• Pay-per-view
• ILL
• Cooperative Collection Development
Is Your Library a Repository?
Current trends work against libraries’ role as archival authority:
• Electronic journals and books:
– a license is only as good as the power to enforce it
• PDA:
– many books and people left out
• Pay-per-view:
– what about the patrons of tomorrow?
• ILL:
– unsustainable
Martha White from the Lexington Public Library mwhite@lexpublib.org
Themes from Ms White’s presentation:
1. Give the customers what they want
-multiple copies
-displays & website exposure
-“Power Wall” bookstore like, face out & categories
-signage
2. Centralized Selection
-representative interest across system
-replacement cycle > no circulation reports
-train staff to buy in
-through communication > gaps in collection
-scope statement
-weeding parties with strike teams
3. Reduced holding reserves from 7 to 5 days; charge $1 per book for non - pick up and have instituted self-service holds pickup
Rick Anderson from the University of Utah
Need to rethink the idea of library collections –
Why did we collect?
· Printed materials are physically awkward; hard to locate with card catalogs, and usually at another location
· Printed materials are expensive, usable by only one person at a time and usable only when the library was open
Should we continue to collect print?
· Users are online, online materials do not have physical constraints, can be used virtually by all anytime, anywhere, stored very cheaply
· Radically new information market – librarians guess wrong 50% of the time and patrons interest in print books has dropped dramatically
Bottom Line –
· CD is a guess
· Is wasteful
· Guesses today are much more expensive
· Point of need purchase is now an option – so why are we still guessing???
· Alternatives: electronic on demand – only purchase when patron checks out a book (NetLibrary); print on demand – INGRAM; ILL as CD (buy instead of borrow); in house printing > expedited patron requests; and cooperative collection development or regional warehouse.
Tough Questions –
· Why do we need librarians?
· Do patrons really want the best information?
· Who will preserve and safeguard information?
· Why are we rewarding laziness?
Who Cares About Privacy? Boundaries, Millennials, and the MySpace Mindset
Libraries have long trumpeted their role as protectors of privacy, but what does privacy mean in an age when people share all aspects of their lives with a worldwide audience? Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of The Anarchist in the Library and the blog/book in progress, The Googlization of Everything, and Frances Jacobson Harris, author of I Found It on the Internet: Coming of Age Online, will engage the topic of how the changing definition of privacy impacts the library research environment.
Speakers:
Siva Vaidhyanathan, Associate Professor of Media Studies and Law – University of Virginia and author
Frances Jacobson Harris, Librarian, University Laboratory High School; Professor of Library Administration, University Library -University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and author
Professor Jacobson Harris:
http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/library/harrisvita.htm
http://bit.ly/12v600
Notes from Professor Jacobson Harris’ presentation:
Myths vs. realities:
- Predators don’t typically troll SNSs for victims
- Real teen responses to predators vs. researchers-as-teens response to predators
- Cyberbullying is an extension of f2f bullying
- Teens are not equally at risk online: those who are most at risk often engage in risky behaviors and have difficulties in other parts of their lives.
Libraries:
- How can we support & foster collaborative work; protect privacy; and remain relevant?
- How can we honor the role of social networks in communication and collaboration?
To do List:
- Look at those acceptable use policies & filters
- Look at how millennials do research, both formal and informal
- Look for ways to balance protecting privacy & fostering collaboration
- Look past traditional access points (toward mobile devices, online gaming communities, virtual worlds….)
Professor Siva Vaidhyanathan:
http://www.law.virginia.edu/lawweb/faculty.nsf/prfhpbw/sv2r
http://www.googlizationofeverything.com/2008/11/some_initial_answers_to_my_ini.php
Notes form Professor Vaidhyanathan’s presentation:
- There is NO such thing as Millenniums! To classify a group by age causes three things: 1)eroticizes them, 2)homogenizes them, and 3)encourages hammering
- We shouldn’t be pandering to these students > we owe them an education > give them guidance on managing their reputations
Reputations are managed through interfaces with:
- peer to state (data collection)
- peer to firm (data from businesses who collection information on card holders)
- peer to family
- peer to peer (friends & co-workers)
- Peer to power (boss, principles, church leaders, etc.)
Social Network Services (SNS) need tools for privacy & managing reputation instead there is technical bias encouraging sharing beyond context (add to your network theme)
Need laws to enforce policy changes:
- shift defaults
- disclosures up front
- protection of the minority
There is Class differential: Class & Public Persona
- one in four children are born in poverty
- poor children are less skilled to manage their public persona
- poor choose My Space over Face book
- More SMS on phones than on Twitter
Imagine the stakes of a soiled reputation – notion of being able to manage social reputation hard but almost impossible for the poor.
Societal challenge: all in this together > new technology challenges everyone, not just the young.
Comments welcome.
The second program presented new ways of dealing with collection development - one speaker actually proposed that librarians were a thing of the past - let the patrons decide what the library purchases: let patron requests (new or old titles) trigger purchases or else contract for a machine that would print on demand. Another speaker talked about centralized purchasing - a team of collection librarians purchased for all subject areas.
Interesting ideas in a time of shrinking staff and budgets.
Here are my notes:
ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
2009 Chicago, Illinois
Casting a Wide Net: Using Screencasts to Reach and Teach Library Users
Program was introduced by Committee co-chair, Michelle Jacobs, via screencast since she was not able to attend the conference.
http://rusamarshottopicsannual/2009.wordpress.com/
Panelists:
Eric Frierson, Education & Political Science Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington
Carmen Kazakoff-Lane, Head – Extension & Inter-Library Loans, Brandon University
Mick Jacobsen, Adult Services Librarian, Skokie Public Library, Illinois
The RUSA MARS Hot Topics Discussion Group presented a panel discussion on Screencasts. Screencasts are short instructional videos created by librarians and made available to patrons 24/7. Since many of our users are virtual, we need to make information available at their point of need.
Eric Frierson of the University of Texas at Arlington demonstrated how his library’s online catalog used embedded screencasts, with links to videos such as “Where’s the PDF?”, “I need peer-reviewed”, or “Bad Results” appearing when users are likely to need them. He has also created a welcome video to introduce users to his education subject guide – which can be a bit overwhelming for new users.
Mick Jacobsen of Skokie (Illinois) Public Library gave a public librarian’s use of screencasting and observed that his patrons are interested in information rather than reference sources. He stated, “very few people come to learn to Reference USA. They wouldn’t know what we’re talking about. But they would respond to ‘Do you want to find more customers?’” Skokie PL has a number of screencasts in their Skokie Business Portal.
Carmen Kazakoff-Lane, from Brandon University in Manitoba, demonstrated the Animated Tutorial Sharing (ANTS) Project, a collaborative project among librarians to create and share tutorial videos across institutions. The project currently involves librarians in Canada and the United States but is open to librarians elsewhere.
The goal of the project is to create a shared repository of library, research, and information literacy tutorials created using screencast software such as Adobe Captivate, Qarbon Viewlet Builder, Techsmith's Camtasia Studio , or similar products.
Tutorials contributed to the ANTS project are made publicly available for use by all libraries via our affiliated sites: LION TV and Screencast.com . Editable Source code is also available from our DSpace repository for those who wish to add their own brands, local links, etc.
What Do I Watch, Listen to, Play, or Download Next: Readers Advisory Techniques for the Digital World
Presenters:
Helen Stewart, Schaumburg Public Library (IL)
Amy Peterson, Schaumburg Public Library (IL)
Steve Gianni, Northbrook Public Library (IL)
Presenter Helen Stewart from Schaumburg started the session of with RA information for movies. She reminded the attendees of the challenges facing librarians who work with multi-media. Circulation for AV is “going through the roof.” Formats are always changing and librarians must keep a list of titles ready for recommendations and always know what’s playing in the local theaters.
Some display and marketing tips:
-think retail when displaying and change displays often to increase interest & excitement
-group movies by genre for “grab & go”
-be prepared to do reference interviews for movies – what type of movies has the patron enjoyed in the past, who are the favorite directors/actors, what about the rating of the film – are R-rated filsm ok?
-good resources for movies: reel.com; Amazon listmania; and Rotten Tomatoes and to be sure a movie is “kid-safe,” try Kids in Mind
The second presenter, Amy Peterson, also from Schaumburg, discussed audiobook advisory. Some tips from Amy:
-remember narrator preferences
-single narrator, multiple, or a full cast
-abridged versus unabridged
-production quality & format
-good sources for audiobooks: Audiofile magazine, APA, Booklist and audio discussion lists
The third presenter, Steve Gianni from Northbrook PL talked about his library’s music collections. Some tips:
-he recommends asking staff who may have interests in music beyond your own to build the collection
-arrange materials like retail stores do
-create displays based on what is going on in the music world locally and nationally
-make collection accessible and be ready to answer questions
-recommended resources: Billboard, New Music Express, and award lists from the Grammy and Town awards; for classical - NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection; and for kid safe music for tweens – Radio Disney
Collection Development 2.0: The Changing Administration of Collection Development
Speakers:
Rick Anderson, Associate Director from Scholarly Resources & Collections, University of Utah
Martha White, Director of Library Experiences, Lexington (KY) Public Library
Jonathan Nabe, Collection Development Librarian, Sciences & Technology, Southern Illinois University – Carbondale
Collection development is undergoing revolutionary changes. In the last few years, most libraries have made major changes in the way they manage collection development – what changes have some libraries implemented and why.
Jonathan Nabe from SIU in Carbondale
“Fewer Cooks @ SIU”
SIU hired three collection development librarians with full
responsibility for all aspects of CD: selection, analysis, policy, etc
Benefits:
Increased Oversight
Better balance
Better collection? Too early to tell
Wave of the Future? On the plus side this plan offers a new outlook and increased attention to the collection but on the negative side this is a heavy workload & a lot of responsibility for three librarians
What do we collect?
• No longer just what the publishers offer
• Materials produced within our institutions
• Institutional repositories
Current trends
• Patron Driven Acquisition (PDA)
• Pay-per-view
• ILL
• Cooperative Collection Development
Is Your Library a Repository?
Current trends work against libraries’ role as archival authority:
• Electronic journals and books:
– a license is only as good as the power to enforce it
• PDA:
– many books and people left out
• Pay-per-view:
– what about the patrons of tomorrow?
• ILL:
– unsustainable
Martha White from the Lexington Public Library mwhite@lexpublib.org
Themes from Ms White’s presentation:
1. Give the customers what they want
-multiple copies
-displays & website exposure
-“Power Wall” bookstore like, face out & categories
-signage
2. Centralized Selection
-representative interest across system
-replacement cycle > no circulation reports
-train staff to buy in
-through communication > gaps in collection
-scope statement
-weeding parties with strike teams
3. Reduced holding reserves from 7 to 5 days; charge $1 per book for non - pick up and have instituted self-service holds pickup
Rick Anderson from the University of Utah
Need to rethink the idea of library collections –
Why did we collect?
· Printed materials are physically awkward; hard to locate with card catalogs, and usually at another location
· Printed materials are expensive, usable by only one person at a time and usable only when the library was open
Should we continue to collect print?
· Users are online, online materials do not have physical constraints, can be used virtually by all anytime, anywhere, stored very cheaply
· Radically new information market – librarians guess wrong 50% of the time and patrons interest in print books has dropped dramatically
Bottom Line –
· CD is a guess
· Is wasteful
· Guesses today are much more expensive
· Point of need purchase is now an option – so why are we still guessing???
· Alternatives: electronic on demand – only purchase when patron checks out a book (NetLibrary); print on demand – INGRAM; ILL as CD (buy instead of borrow); in house printing > expedited patron requests; and cooperative collection development or regional warehouse.
Tough Questions –
· Why do we need librarians?
· Do patrons really want the best information?
· Who will preserve and safeguard information?
· Why are we rewarding laziness?
Who Cares About Privacy? Boundaries, Millennials, and the MySpace Mindset
Libraries have long trumpeted their role as protectors of privacy, but what does privacy mean in an age when people share all aspects of their lives with a worldwide audience? Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of The Anarchist in the Library and the blog/book in progress, The Googlization of Everything, and Frances Jacobson Harris, author of I Found It on the Internet: Coming of Age Online, will engage the topic of how the changing definition of privacy impacts the library research environment.
Speakers:
Siva Vaidhyanathan, Associate Professor of Media Studies and Law – University of Virginia and author
Frances Jacobson Harris, Librarian, University Laboratory High School; Professor of Library Administration, University Library -University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and author
Professor Jacobson Harris:
http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/library/harrisvita.htm
http://bit.ly/12v600
Notes from Professor Jacobson Harris’ presentation:
Myths vs. realities:
- Predators don’t typically troll SNSs for victims
- Real teen responses to predators vs. researchers-as-teens response to predators
- Cyberbullying is an extension of f2f bullying
- Teens are not equally at risk online: those who are most at risk often engage in risky behaviors and have difficulties in other parts of their lives.
Libraries:
- How can we support & foster collaborative work; protect privacy; and remain relevant?
- How can we honor the role of social networks in communication and collaboration?
To do List:
- Look at those acceptable use policies & filters
- Look at how millennials do research, both formal and informal
- Look for ways to balance protecting privacy & fostering collaboration
- Look past traditional access points (toward mobile devices, online gaming communities, virtual worlds….)
Professor Siva Vaidhyanathan:
http://www.law.virginia.edu/lawweb/faculty.nsf/prfhpbw/sv2r
http://www.googlizationofeverything.com/2008/11/some_initial_answers_to_my_ini.php
Notes form Professor Vaidhyanathan’s presentation:
- There is NO such thing as Millenniums! To classify a group by age causes three things: 1)eroticizes them, 2)homogenizes them, and 3)encourages hammering
- We shouldn’t be pandering to these students > we owe them an education > give them guidance on managing their reputations
Reputations are managed through interfaces with:
- peer to state (data collection)
- peer to firm (data from businesses who collection information on card holders)
- peer to family
- peer to peer (friends & co-workers)
- Peer to power (boss, principles, church leaders, etc.)
Social Network Services (SNS) need tools for privacy & managing reputation instead there is technical bias encouraging sharing beyond context (add to your network theme)
Need laws to enforce policy changes:
- shift defaults
- disclosures up front
- protection of the minority
There is Class differential: Class & Public Persona
- one in four children are born in poverty
- poor children are less skilled to manage their public persona
- poor choose My Space over Face book
- More SMS on phones than on Twitter
Imagine the stakes of a soiled reputation – notion of being able to manage social reputation hard but almost impossible for the poor.
Societal challenge: all in this together > new technology challenges everyone, not just the young.
Comments welcome.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
June Reference Updates
Update Your Resume & Find a Job classes are being offered at the Central Library in June, July & August. (Check Happenings for dates and times). Reference Librarian Debbie Rzepczynski adapted the 2009 Staff Subject Overview: Trading Places into "hands on training" for the public. Powerpoint, handouts, & bookmarks are available if you want to offer the classes at your branches.
Plunkett Research Online LCPL's newest business database. This database is highlighted on the Magazines, Newspapers & Databases page. It contains data on 32 major industries. Patrons can use this database to conduct business & industry research, create marketing plans, analyze emerging technologies, analyze major companies, develop business plans & sales guides, download prospect lists and much more. The top 500 companies in each industry sector are profiled. Information is timely and up-to-date with a weekly update schedule. NOTE: it also has a Job Seeker Resources & Tools Center. Take a look at it today so you'll be ready to recommend it.
Are you ready for Adult Summer Reading? The committee has worked hard to coordinate this systemwide program. Thanks to Barbara Sakowski, Rosella Garcia & Bob Mele for all their hard work. Kudos to Donna Lison for designing the promotional materials! Your posters, entry box signs, & prizes have been sent out through dispatch. If you have any questions, contact any member of the committee. So get ready to recommend "great reads" to your patrons and Be Creative @ Your Library.
June Outreach: I'm promoting LCPL's business resources on June10th at the American Business Women's Club in Highland and on June 24th at the Cedar Lake Chamber of Commerce.
C. Strickland
Plunkett Research Online LCPL's newest business database. This database is highlighted on the Magazines, Newspapers & Databases page. It contains data on 32 major industries. Patrons can use this database to conduct business & industry research, create marketing plans, analyze emerging technologies, analyze major companies, develop business plans & sales guides, download prospect lists and much more. The top 500 companies in each industry sector are profiled. Information is timely and up-to-date with a weekly update schedule. NOTE: it also has a Job Seeker Resources & Tools Center. Take a look at it today so you'll be ready to recommend it.
Are you ready for Adult Summer Reading? The committee has worked hard to coordinate this systemwide program. Thanks to Barbara Sakowski, Rosella Garcia & Bob Mele for all their hard work. Kudos to Donna Lison for designing the promotional materials! Your posters, entry box signs, & prizes have been sent out through dispatch. If you have any questions, contact any member of the committee. So get ready to recommend "great reads" to your patrons and Be Creative @ Your Library.
June Outreach: I'm promoting LCPL's business resources on June10th at the American Business Women's Club in Highland and on June 24th at the Cedar Lake Chamber of Commerce.
C. Strickland
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Reference Word Cloud
I created this word cloud from words used in my Reference Annual Report 2008 - enjoy!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Managing Electronic Resource Collections
MARS Products & Services Committee Discussion Forum
2009 Midwinter
Discussion Questions
Print Reference Sources:
1) Are print sources obsolete? Should we continue to order them? Why? Why not?
2) Have you conducted any use studies of your print reference collection lately? Can you share the results?
3) What do you think is the right balance between electronic and print reference sources? What is the current balance in your library?
Electronic Reference Sources: Access & Integration
4) How do you provide access to your electronic reference collection? (catalog, portal product such as Reference Universe?) How successful do you find this approach?
5) Do you integrate access to electronic and print reference sources so that key print tools for a particular subject/discipline aren’t overlooked?
6) Do you integrate free and purchased reference sources? Why? Why not? How do you do it?
7) How do you facilitate patron discovery of electronic reference sources? (Browseable electronic reference collection? Subject or course-specific web pages? Subjection to google-like searches? Other ways?)
Electronic Reference Sources: Use by patrons
8) Do you find that your patrons are willing to use electronic reference sources? If not, how can we better promote these resources?
Are electronic reference sources valuable even if our users DON’T use them? For example, librarians may use Reference Universe all the time.
The Future of Electronic Reference Sources
9) What features would you like to see in electronic reference sources? For example:
a. Multimedia (graphics, sound files, videos)
b. Web 2.0 functionality (tagging, blogs, RSS feeds, discussion forums)
c. Customization options for librarians, faculty and students
d. Better inter-operability between different publishers and third-party products such as catalogs, portals, metasearch engines)
10) Do users currently use such features if available in reference sources? Do you think our users expect these features?
11) What message should librarians send to the major publishers of online reference sources? What are our priorities? (interface, platform standardization, variety of pricing models, ong term access, etc)
Answer the questions and we'll have our own online discussion forum. All comments welcome.
2009 Midwinter
Discussion Questions
Print Reference Sources:
1) Are print sources obsolete? Should we continue to order them? Why? Why not?
2) Have you conducted any use studies of your print reference collection lately? Can you share the results?
3) What do you think is the right balance between electronic and print reference sources? What is the current balance in your library?
Electronic Reference Sources: Access & Integration
4) How do you provide access to your electronic reference collection? (catalog, portal product such as Reference Universe?) How successful do you find this approach?
5) Do you integrate access to electronic and print reference sources so that key print tools for a particular subject/discipline aren’t overlooked?
6) Do you integrate free and purchased reference sources? Why? Why not? How do you do it?
7) How do you facilitate patron discovery of electronic reference sources? (Browseable electronic reference collection? Subject or course-specific web pages? Subjection to google-like searches? Other ways?)
Electronic Reference Sources: Use by patrons
8) Do you find that your patrons are willing to use electronic reference sources? If not, how can we better promote these resources?
Are electronic reference sources valuable even if our users DON’T use them? For example, librarians may use Reference Universe all the time.
The Future of Electronic Reference Sources
9) What features would you like to see in electronic reference sources? For example:
a. Multimedia (graphics, sound files, videos)
b. Web 2.0 functionality (tagging, blogs, RSS feeds, discussion forums)
c. Customization options for librarians, faculty and students
d. Better inter-operability between different publishers and third-party products such as catalogs, portals, metasearch engines)
10) Do users currently use such features if available in reference sources? Do you think our users expect these features?
11) What message should librarians send to the major publishers of online reference sources? What are our priorities? (interface, platform standardization, variety of pricing models, ong term access, etc)
Answer the questions and we'll have our own online discussion forum. All comments welcome.
Can You Open This for Me?
Using and Understanding Open Source Tools
Hot Topics Discussion Group
Midwinter 2009
Presenters:
Marsha Schnirring, Instructional Services Librarian at Occidental College
· Discussed Zotero
Ian Chan, Web Development Librarian at CSU San Marcos
· Compared research guides using Moodle, Drupal, and Library a la Carte
Open Source: a peer-based design/development process that makes the product’s source accessible to the public. The term usually applies to software.
Open Source Software: Software that is developed using an open source process and that adheres to the Open Source Definition – see http://www.opensource.org/
OpenOffice – http://www.openoffice.org/
An office software suite that includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and database applications
Zotero – http://www.zotero.org/ a bibliographic citation manager that works with Firefox Web browser
Library a’ la Carte – http://alacarte.library.oregonstate.edu/ a content management system designed for creating and maintaining library research guides
Drupal - http://drupal.org/ a content management system
Moodle – http://moodle.org/ a course management system used by many colleges and universities
I attended this Discussion Group to find out more about OpenOffice and came away with much more. I'm looking at Library a'la Carte and the other management systems to see if we can use one of them to manage our online training classes.
Comments welcome!
Hot Topics Discussion Group
Midwinter 2009
Presenters:
Marsha Schnirring, Instructional Services Librarian at Occidental College
· Discussed Zotero
Ian Chan, Web Development Librarian at CSU San Marcos
· Compared research guides using Moodle, Drupal, and Library a la Carte
Open Source: a peer-based design/development process that makes the product’s source accessible to the public. The term usually applies to software.
Open Source Software: Software that is developed using an open source process and that adheres to the Open Source Definition – see http://www.opensource.org/
OpenOffice – http://www.openoffice.org/
An office software suite that includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and database applications
Zotero – http://www.zotero.org/ a bibliographic citation manager that works with Firefox Web browser
Library a’ la Carte – http://alacarte.library.oregonstate.edu/ a content management system designed for creating and maintaining library research guides
Drupal - http://drupal.org/ a content management system
Moodle – http://moodle.org/ a course management system used by many colleges and universities
I attended this Discussion Group to find out more about OpenOffice and came away with much more. I'm looking at Library a'la Carte and the other management systems to see if we can use one of them to manage our online training classes.
Comments welcome!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
How Librarians Are Using Web 2.0
RUSA MARS User Access to Services Committee hosted a discussion group on Web 2.0 tools. In 2008 the Committee sponsored a survey asking public and academic librarians a range of questions about how they are using Web 2.0 applications in their libraries.
There is interest and some implementation in public libraries with blogs, wikis, flickr and Facebook but overall public libraries have not jumped into the social networking aspect of 2.0 like academic libraries.
I think that the patron base accounts for much of this. Colleges & Universities are serving generations that have grown up with the Internet - this is how they communicate. So many colleges have developed interactive online classes for students and use YouTube and Podcasts.
The members shared a representative list of tutorials for some of the Web 2.0 products more commonly used in libraries. Here is a sampling:
Blogs: Blogger Video Tutorials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryb4VPSmKuo
http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g
Wikipedia Tutorial
http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_tutorial
What is RSS?
http://rss.softwaregarden.com/aboutrss.html
Mashup Tutorials
http://www.deitel.com/ResourceCenters/Web20/Mashups/TashupTutorials/tabid/985/Default.aspx
How to Use del.icio.us
http://websearch.about.com/od/dailywebsearchtips/qt/dnt0412.htm
If you'd like to see the bibliography of tutorials, let me know and I'll send you a copy.
There is interest and some implementation in public libraries with blogs, wikis, flickr and Facebook but overall public libraries have not jumped into the social networking aspect of 2.0 like academic libraries.
I think that the patron base accounts for much of this. Colleges & Universities are serving generations that have grown up with the Internet - this is how they communicate. So many colleges have developed interactive online classes for students and use YouTube and Podcasts.
The members shared a representative list of tutorials for some of the Web 2.0 products more commonly used in libraries. Here is a sampling:
Blogs: Blogger Video Tutorials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryb4VPSmKuo
http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g
Wikipedia Tutorial
http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_tutorial
What is RSS?
http://rss.softwaregarden.com/aboutrss.html
Mashup Tutorials
http://www.deitel.com/ResourceCenters/Web20/Mashups/TashupTutorials/tabid/985/Default.aspx
How to Use del.icio.us
http://websearch.about.com/od/dailywebsearchtips/qt/dnt0412.htm
If you'd like to see the bibliography of tutorials, let me know and I'll send you a copy.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Dewey Update - OCLC Research Update
WorldCat Survey Findings - What do users want?
1. More subject information
2. Summaries and abstracts in records
3. Book Covers
4. Datamining - clusters of like materials in a search
5. Fiction Finder - grouping of all titles into works with fast headings
6. Software that tags parts of speach (mix between library supplied data and end user supplied)
Announcements:
- New DDC23 should be out by late 2010 or early 2011
- New ILL Web Delivery Tutorial on the OCLC website: www.oclc.org
- WorldCat Mobile pilot - a program that brings WorldCat.org to hand-held communications devices such as PDAs and smartphones.
Members of the editorial team presented outlines of proposed changes to DDC: "Language variations" by Julianne Beall, "Rethinking meals" by Giles Martin and "780 Music" by Michael Panzer.
For more information check out this blog - 025.431: The Dewey Blog for a far better description of the updates from real catalogers and not just a reference librarian.
1. More subject information
2. Summaries and abstracts in records
3. Book Covers
4. Datamining - clusters of like materials in a search
5. Fiction Finder - grouping of all titles into works with fast headings
6. Software that tags parts of speach (mix between library supplied data and end user supplied)
Announcements:
- New DDC23 should be out by late 2010 or early 2011
- New ILL Web Delivery Tutorial on the OCLC website: www.oclc.org
- WorldCat Mobile pilot - a program that brings WorldCat.org to hand-held communications devices such as PDAs and smartphones.
Members of the editorial team presented outlines of proposed changes to DDC: "Language variations" by Julianne Beall, "Rethinking meals" by Giles Martin and "780 Music" by Michael Panzer.
For more information check out this blog - 025.431: The Dewey Blog for a far better description of the updates from real catalogers and not just a reference librarian.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
ALA Midwinter 2009
Denver in January - the mountains are beautiful but the weather is not.
It was a busy but informative meeting - I am on the MARS Chair's Program for Chicago and I want to take this opportunity to promote the program.
"Who Cares about Privacy? Boundaries, Millennials and the MySpace Mindset"
MARS Chair's Program - ALA Annual Convention
Sunday, July 12, 10:30 - noon
Libraries have long trumpeted their role as protectors of privacy, but what does privacy mean in an age when people share all aspects of their lives with a worldwide audience? Is the library's committment to privacy standing in the way of offering a truly collaborative research environment for our millennial users? The speakers will participate in a lively discussion on the changing definition of privacy and its impact on libraries and the research process.
So mark you calendars now.
My Committee commitments kept me busy with Executive and All Committee Meetings, My Favorite Martian Award selection and the Chair's Program but over the next few days, I'll post notes from the Discussion Groups that I attended.
It was a busy but informative meeting - I am on the MARS Chair's Program for Chicago and I want to take this opportunity to promote the program.
"Who Cares about Privacy? Boundaries, Millennials and the MySpace Mindset"
MARS Chair's Program - ALA Annual Convention
Sunday, July 12, 10:30 - noon
Libraries have long trumpeted their role as protectors of privacy, but what does privacy mean in an age when people share all aspects of their lives with a worldwide audience? Is the library's committment to privacy standing in the way of offering a truly collaborative research environment for our millennial users? The speakers will participate in a lively discussion on the changing definition of privacy and its impact on libraries and the research process.
So mark you calendars now.
My Committee commitments kept me busy with Executive and All Committee Meetings, My Favorite Martian Award selection and the Chair's Program but over the next few days, I'll post notes from the Discussion Groups that I attended.
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