Stopped by the Train

One reason I love being a librarian (among many) is other librarians. We share knowledge unselfishly with no thought but to make all libraries and thus our communities better. Check out the Hennepin County Library Extranet — “Welcome to Hennepin County Library’s extranet. Here we offer a sampling of resources from our staff intranet and public web site to the broader library community.”

The “Librarians Blog” demonstrates a really efficient use of a blog tool. Hennepin reference librarians have been collaboratively blogging since 1996 to share reference information, websites, etc. (only entries since January 2005 are online)

This site is a textbook for library managers with everything from policies, to training, to tip sheets, to presentations. Thanks Hennepin!

Thanks to Doug Johnson for pointing out this article on the MEMO list. It comes from BeyondChron, San Francisco’s Alternative Online Daily.

School Beat: A Library Without a Librarian is Just a Room Full of Books by Ren Volpe‚ Mar. 02‚ 2006.

The article deplores the state of school media centers in San Francisco. Not too hard for me to believe, as when we lived in California school my son was in a kindergarten class of 40 and school support left much to be desired.

It would be easy to dismiss the article as the state of affairs in California. However, many of the examples sound familiar to situations in Minnesota. However, I must say, that the 44 schools I participate in service to who are Online Libraries on the SELCO Integrated Library System are doing substantially better than most others in the region, and definitely better than in San Francisco. It follows that schools willing to make the investment in belonging to the regional library automation system have made the commitment to library service for their students which include providing a certified media specialist and better than average collection.

Jay Leno’s monolog a few minutes ago . . . “it rained so hard in LA today that people went in the library.”

C’mon, Jay — you owe Libraries an apology!

The hottest topic of library discussion lately is wireless access – how to do it, what kind of policies to have, what kind of problems might occur. Libraries are trying to give their customers what they want – and they want it all!

Now tonight I received an E-mail from Barnes and Noble. It says Get affordable WiFi service at over 600 Barnes and Noble stores. Bring your laptop and enjoy low rates as you cruise the Internet, relaxing in one of the many comfortable chairs throughout the store or while sipping coffee in our Café. Looks like B&N has learned one more thing from us . . . . whatever we do, they do as well (or possibly better), and make a profit. Books, coffeebars, storytimes, now I-net.

Ironically, just today – the same day B&N sent out this newsletter – the March 3rd SirsiDynix E-Newsletter “OneSource” features Stephen Abram’s “Wireless Libraries and Wireless Communities: Why?” Stephen begins . . . . Wireless – this is such a HOT topic! Every library conference has sessions on it. Every vendor is offering some form of it. Library users are using it – at home, at work, at school. There’s an explosion of interest in wireless. In this column I’ll list some of the reasons why wireless technologies are ready for all types of libraries. I’ll also list a few strategies that may help move your enterprise to the next level . . . Good article!

Funny . . . . I pondered “change” last night (at least I think that’s what I was writing about) . . . . and today I stumble on yesterday’s Stephen’s Lighthouse entry on “Change”. There must have been something in the stars yesterday.

Anyway . . . . Stephen quoted “Things do not change; we change.” from Henry David Thoreau.
and
Ghandi: “Be the change that you seek in the world.”

Thanks, Stephen.

Nothing stays the same. We are either moving forward or backward. It is impossible to stay in one place, or remain at status quo. I learned this (or something like it) somewhere in college in a psychology, or maybe a philosophy class. It struck me enough to remember it, but I didn’t understand it then as I do now some decades later. It seems that those individuals or organizations who are healthy are looking toward the future. Those that are longing for the past and trying to live in it are less fulfilled and happy.

I’ve been reminded of this fact often in my life, especially when getting ready for a move. As a military family, whenever we had a permanent change of station (PCS), we most times knew for many months that it was coming. During those months of waiting and preparing I experienced increased alienation from my friends. While they were living in the present, their conversation was most often about what was to come. It amazed me how most interaction was about tomorrow. I, on the other hand, had no future there and interaction was meaningless. By the time the movers came to pack our household goods I was usually all but alone, as my friends had moved away from me as I retreated from them.

Once again I find myself in that situation as indeterminate changes in life are threatening. I know that the comfortable though progressive situation I’ve been in is changing direction and bittersweet though it is, circumstances have gone so far that they cannot return to where they once were.

Organizations are like that. We wax nostalgic for the library of our youth – the single high-ceilinged room in the small town with hardwood floors that creaked. The place where my 3-digit library card number would get me a trip to wherever any of the hundreds of books would take me. Libraries have moved forward at breakneck speed, lifted and pushed by the waves of technology and the insatiable desires of customers to have it all, whenever and wherever they want it.

We, as a profession, are changing and mostly moving forward. Libraries as institutions are molding and generally moving forward. Those that are not are being sucked in the undercurrent of waves and will surely drown. Change happens. It’s fun when we ride the waves. It’s terrifying when we resist and spiral downward.

Kudos to MINITEX and Metronet for sponsoring the Cathy DeRosa presentation at the Como Park Arboretum on Tuesday. Cathy expanded on the OCLC study Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources. (click on the title to go to the OCLC site to download and read the report.)

The report tells us that “books is the library brand. There is no runner up.” (page 6-3). Libraries and librarians have an identity crisis. We know what we do, and we know who we are. Most library users know who we are, but when they define us they define as being about “books” and only “books”, which doesn’t capture all that we are about (research, technology . . . ).

This seems to be a really popular theme lately. NPR Talk of the Nation featured a segment called “If a Library is Bookless, What’s In It?” (Monday, February 27th). The program raised 2 questions: What is the library’s role — and who should pay for it? Featured guests were Tom Frey, executive director, The DaVinci Institute, Jo Haight-Sarling, director, access and technology services at the Denver Public Library System, and Charles Brown, director, Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, N.C. (formerly Hennepin County Library Director). The segment is available for listening on the NPR site.

I attended the Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources presentation by Cathy DeRosa today. My colleague, Mary Beth, did an excellent job of summarizing Cathy’s remarks. I won’t rehash them – go on over to Newlyminted Librarian if you wish (the link will open a new window. Read NML and come right on back).

I’ll add a few more thoughts – MB captured Cathy’s opening questions. One of them was, if you had $$$ what would you spend it on, content or service? Interestingly, many librarians would put $$$ in content, but it appears that information consumers would prefer to have service. A library director just the other day told me proudly how her library had recently (when faced with a budget cut), cut library hours and staff, but increased the materials budget. This flies in the face of the study.

I suspect that this response may be skewed by the focus or mission of the library in question. A popular, browsing collection probably would better benefit from best sellers bought in multiple quantities. However, decreasing hours and staff would hamper service to customers who are coming to the library for help in finding information.

Customer service is the value-added aspect of libraries that gives us our niche market. No one else does that for the citizens of our community. When someone wants to find XXX and even Google can’t help, who ya gonna call? Not ghostbusters – but your library! Customer service is what makes libraries the education utility of the culture.

But we’re still faced with what all those people surveyed in the OCLC report think of libraries. My gut tells me that the report is pretty much on target with what most people think of libraries, and their perception is reality. Cathy quoted words like “sacred” and “the library of my childhood”, and we all cringed. Houses of worship are not too full (except on high holy days) and childhood lives only in memory. This does not bode well for support that will equip an alive, essential library.

How to change perception? Tonight I reach to grasp the perception defined in the report. Maybe after understanding how libraries are viewed, we can begin to edit the photo.

Reading my newspaper this morning, I was excited to see the headline . . . “Borrowing increases for college students.” As a librarian (and parent), I’m thrilled that all these college students are going to the library, and checking more books out. Turns out, those college students are “borrowing” more $$$.

On February 9th we learned that Gary Price is leaving “Search Engine Watch.” – officially, he said he was he was going to Ask Jeeves. SEW Blog by Danny Sullivan.

Now, we hear that Jeeves is retiring. Chris Sherman did a nice obituary.

I guess all we’ll have left is “Ask”. Jeeves, we’ll miss you!