A Library Conference Without the Travel Hassles

' Want to attend a library conference but dread the transportation, hotel and assorted food expenses--not to mention lugging around heavy totebags and luggage? Try attending an online conference! The 4th annual "Your School Library" conference runs from May 25- June 10. With over two weeks planned, there are plenty of days for you to log "into" the conference and participate. And the topics aren't just for teacher or school librarians; there are ten "hot topics" that will feature a variety of speakers from all over the world. A few topics that should interest any librarian (particularly youth services librarians) are "Boys and Books," "Reading Research," and my favorite, "Promoting Reading Through Graphic Novels." (I happen to be presenting one of the sessions within this track. )

Keynote speaker is Stephen Krashen, author of (among other things) The Power of Reading. If you haven't already read this book, you definitely need to add it to your list of MUST READS.

For $130, the conference registration fee seems like a bargain--especially when you can sit back, relax, and attend the conference in your jamies if you like. Ahh, the advantages of online learning!

For more information about Your School Library's 4th annual conference, check out their website here: http://yourschoollibrary.org/

For additional information about Stephen Krashen, visit his website at http://www.sdkrashen.com/

And for information about the topic I'll be presenting at this conference, see the description at
http://yourschoollibrary.org/work/promoting-reading-through-graphic-novels/

On Becoming a Librarian

While reading an un-related article on Library Journal’s website (although I suppose all the articles on LJ’s website are somewhat related—their site IS about libraries, after all)—anyway…I stumbled onto this article. The title intrigued me: “How to Become a Librarian—Updated.” Hmmm…I wondered if there was a NEW way to become a librarian, something short of getting the master’s degree in library science. I clicked. I read. (You can do likewise from the URL below.) The article talks about how everyone who loves books wants to work in a library. (I usually mark a big “X” next to a job applicant who begins a cover letter or interview with, “I just LOVE books!”) It goes on to talk about types of libraries, school and funding options, blah, blah, blah.

The thing that really caught my eye, though, was the center section with the subtitle “Before Making the Leap.” This section includes quotes from librarians about why they became librarians. Some of them are funny, like the person who said s/he didn’t like being in business and since s/he spent so much time in a library—well, why not become a librarian and get paid to be there! My favorite from the list is this one:

“What I love about library science is that no day is ever the same, and you learn new things every day. When doing reference, it’s all the fun of research without having to write the paper; when doing cataloging, it’s like being paid to do puzzles all day. The more I study, the more I learn about LIS, the more interesting I find it. There is no limit to the things I can learn.”

I would agree with that observation, and yes, doing research really IS fun. As I read through the comments in the article, I thought about why *I* became a librarian. My main reason? I love helping other people learn. Presenting programs, whether a storytime for young children or an adult program about resume’ writing, is a way for me to help people learn something new. Guiding people to information, introducing them to new search techniques or databases, leading them to new authors and titles…it’s all part of helping people learn, of helping them advance and getting their light bulbs of new ideas and knowledge to burn even brighter. Yeah, I love my job. I really do!

So what about you? If you’re a librarian, why did you make the leap into this field? And if you’re not a librarian, what’s holding you back?


http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA605244.html

A "Reading" Song to Share

Somehow I had not yet heard about this video until today--a tribute to reading, and an obviously successful way to motivate middle-school students to realize that reading is a "cool" thing to do.
I learned about this one on PUBYAC. (By the way, if you are a youth services librarian of any type, you will want to subscribe to PUBYAC, the list serve that is a.k.a "the great brain.")

"Gotta Keep Reading"--Ocoee Middle School
http://www.schooltube.com/video/e9bd79d29b4d0e6a2345/Gotta-Keep-Reading--Ocoee-Middle-School/

Curious about the school, I located this news story via Google:
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-03-05/news/os-oprah-ocoee-middle-video-030510-20100305_1_music-video-oprah-show-reading

Enjoy!

The Effects of Library Ash

During the past week, I have been obsessively checking online news reports about the Icelandic volcano eruption which grounded planes in most of Europe. With my husband scheduled to conduct an orchestra concert in London in just a few weeks, we are wondering if he should create a “plan B” in case flights are again grounded due to continued activity with this volcano.

The bizarre thing about this volcano is the far-reaching impact its devastation has caused. I heard a story about how Kenyan farmers are being negatively affected because their produce cannot be shipped to Europe. The produce is withering away in storage, while the farmers’ bank accounts are suffering from lost deals. Weddings, funerals, sports events, concerts, international meetings, vacations, business conferences and more have been impacted by this lone volcano with the giant name that few people can pronounce. Who would have thought that this one incident could so dramatically and negatively affect most of the world? It’s a classic example of “trickle down effect” and a lesson on how we don’t live in isolation—a lesson about all of us suffering when bad things happen to other people in other places.

The volcano incident left me wondering about library ash. What is the trickle-down effect of the eruptions occurring within many local and state budgets where library services are getting cut? How is the rest of society affected when a library system has to cut its hours, reduce its collection or nix its programs? How many far-reaching negative consequences will occur because a small library in a little town located near my library in Iowa is facing a 39% budget cut? Will my library be able to handle the additional burdens of increased demands I may see for my own services, programs and materials now that the neighboring townsfolk have reduced library services? Will the residents of this town grow even more “digitally divided” when they don’t have access to public computers? Will the children not become as literate because they may miss out on books or storytimes? What kind of employees will those kids grow up to be?

I could go on. Bottom line: We don’t live in isolation. We should care when library budgets are cut and communities are left without many valuable resources.

Here’s the recent “State of America’s Libraries” report form ALA:

http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries/index.cfm

Nice People--a Library Director

What other “nice people” are in the public library? Although I’ve never stepped foot in his building, the Tell City-Perry County Public Library in southwestern Indiana, Larry is a nice public library director. He’s someone I would want to meet at the library. I’ve only met him at library conferences, though, namely at district conferences of the Indiana Library Federation (ILF).

Larry made a positive first impression as one of those “passionate librarians”—one who is on fire about the importance of his work and the priority of the people he serves. And he smiled a lot, too. Smiling is always a good thing in a library setting!

Since that first meeting, Larry and I worked together (usually long-distance since our libraries were in neighboring yet different areas of the state) regarding other aspects of ILF, and Larry was always an encouragement not only to me, but to other people on the committees and to the organization as a whole. He has become even more of an encouragement now that I am a library director. In fact, I have officially appointed Larry as my library mentor! He has patiently advised me, listened to me, and cheered me on through a variety of aspects during my first year as a new director. Larry’s professionalism, friendliness and helpfulness are reasons he’s another one of the many “nice people” you’ll meet at your public library.

Nice People in the Library--Readers' Advisor

Keeping with this week’s theme about “nice people” in my community, I will write about another staff member of the public library: Joann.

Joann was a children’s library assistant when I first met her. She was employed at the library that I frequented as a kid, Oaklyn Branch Library in Evansville, Indiana. However, I didn’t know her back then. I didn’t meet her until I was taking my own children to that same library location. I took my children to the library every week. I was impressed by the fact that Joann could remember all of my children’s names. That was no small feat given the fact that I had six children! I was even more impressed by the fact that Joann not only knew their names, but she knew their individual interests. She knew that Carla loved horses, and one day when we arrived at the library Joann came up to Carla and said, “We just got this new book at the library, and I saved it back for you because I knew you would like it.” Needless to say, Carla liked the book. Carla also liked Joann, as did all of us in my family. We weren’t alone. Everyone loved Joann!

Joann had a servant’s heart, and her main heart’s desire was to please the library patrons she was serving. If anyone had a question or needed library materials for a project, Joann would labor away until she found the correct answer or provided her patrons with a stack of books on the topic. She wouldn’t just find one book for your project; it was always a stack of books! In other words, Joann went above and beyond her “call of duty.”

Joann later became a readers’ advisor at this same library location. I later became a co-worker with Joann when I started working at Oaklyn—the first step in my library career. I don’t recall a single day when Joann was ill-tempered or rude with anyone. And I soon realized that Joann didn’t just remember the names of my children; she seemed to know the names of everyone who walked into the library! I was amazed with her memory until I realized she likely made a conscious effort to remember people. The wonderful thing about Joann, though, was that it wasn’t EFFORT for her to remember people; it was a natural response and joy for her. Joann was niceness personified! Joann positively influenced my children during their “growing up” years by providing them with plenty of interesting reading material and a pleasant, welcoming environment at the library.

Lessons I learned from Joann and try to apply now that I’m a librarian: Be nice, address your patrons by their names, serve them with a pleasant attitude, and give them more than they ask for.

Joann still works at Oaklyn. If you visit that library and see her, please give her a hug for me!

Nice People--A Library Supervisor

Over the weekend, I was challenged to "blog about nice people" in my community. I declared in an earlier post that the public library staff are "nice people" (or they should be!). This week I'm going to write about some of the nice library staff that have positively affected my life. First up: Carol.

Carol was my supervisor when I worked in the children's department of the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library (EVPL) in Indiana. She had a lot of experience as a children's librarian, and most impressive was the way she could whip up the title of a book with scarcely a clue at all. Those patrons who come into the library and say, "I read this book three years ago, and it had a horse in it, and the cover was green" were no problem for Carol. I never had a "stumper" that she couldn't solve.

One of the neat things about having Carol as a supervisor was that she always supported her staff's ideas. When I proposed doing a baby lapsit program at EVPL's Central Library, other people commented, "We've never done that at this location" or "Parents won't drive all the way downtown with their baby." Carol said, "Let's give it a try." And when I further proposed that we conduct those baby programs on Friday mornings, Carol said, "Well, it's an odd time for programming, but let's give it a try." We did. And it worked. Carol believed in her staff and allowed them the opportunity to use their talents in a way to benefit the library and its users.

Another great thing about having Carol as a supervisor was that she would often surprise staff with little goody bags--especially at holidays. On October 31, you could guarantee you'd have a pumpkin-decorated gift bag sitting on your desk filled with an assortment of candies, a holiday pencil and a few other surprises--just for fun.

When I entered managerial positions within my library career, I tried to immitate Carol's positive management behaviors: : Know your stuff, believe in your staff, and show your employees you care about them. Thanks for being so nice, Carol!

Blog about "Good People"

A friend referenced a recent challenge for today: Bloggers should write about "good people" in their communiities. My friend chose a particular family that is certainly in the top 10% of "good people." I'm choosing to write about a group of people that are in my community, your community, my grandkids' community, most every community across the U.S. I'm choosing to write about your local public librarian.

While not all employees in a public library are degreed librarians, they all get the privilege of the title because of the tasks they do (and because we don't usually make the employees wear a gold star if they do have the master's degree in library science). It doesn't really matter. The employees at your public library are good people doing good things--no, doing GREAT things! Whether it's the clerk at the front counter who remembers your kids' names or shows genuine concern about your health issues, the readers' advisor who leads you to discover a fantastic new author or book series, the reference librarian who helps you maneuver a new database where you can learn how to create (or re-create) your resume and search for jobs, or the youth services librarian who turns your kids on to reading or provides a "cool" activity that makes your teen WANT to hang out at the library, these are GOOD people doing GREAT things on a daily basis. Take a moment to thank them this week.