Great book

I just finished Monday Morning Mentoring by David Cottrell. It was a great book to read while writing performance reviews - really got me thinking about how we lead people and are led by people. We all want the best to come out at work but we loose focus. My two thoughts from this book for the day are:

1) What is your Main Thing?
Make sure you know it and work for it. If something doesn't fall within the main thing, you should find a way to say no. If everyone on your team knows what the Main Thing is, your work will be more targeted and productive. Like the old saying - if you don't know where you're going, how will you ever get there.

2) Are you a bucket filler or a bucket drainer?
We all have buckets of motivation that we have to try to keep full and leak free. However, when others are bringing you down, they've got their dipper in your bucket and don't make it worse by siphoning from someone else's because by filling their bucket, you fill yours too.

Pachelbel Rant

Two teens shared this with me and then I kept hearing the cannon everywhere. I love the song but can enjoy the rant.

Gamer Girl by Marianne Mancusi

I enjoyed this Young Adult book - check it out at your local library

Maddy has left her private school in Boston for her grandmother’s unicorn statue infested house after her parents divorce. Her mom and her former friends are too busy, her sister can’t understand and grandma helped to get her labeled “freak girl” on her first day of public school. Her only escape from this reality is an online fantasy game where she falls for the dashing and gallant, Sir Leo. Through a few like minded souls and a new manga club, she begins to find a way to enjoy reality again and find her real life knight.

Another library blog

This blog was forwarded to me recently and I have to share how true these laws are:

http://juralib.blogspot.com/2009/06/sixteen-laws-of-public-librarianship.html

MLA 2009 Day 1 DLDS Update

After lunch and a lovely stroll on the beach, I went to the DLDS update. This was a whirlwind overview of all the Division of Library Development & Services did for Maryland libraries during 2008. I wrote copious little notes to myself but then was able to pick up the MAPLA Year End Update May 2009 which covered everything that my chicken scratch missed.

The website is http://www.maplaonline.org/DLDS/ and the file is found here http://www.maplaonline.org/DLDS/adobe/Update09.pdf

This was useful and informative and kept me thinking beyond my own library.

MLA 2009 Day 1 Legislative Challenge

After the opening session, I tried to go to Moving Reference Beyond the Desk but it was SRO out the door. Reexamining my conference program and seeing what was around, I walked into The Legislative Challenge: Library Advocacy in 2009 and Beyond. I had looked at this session originally and also recognized Natalie Edington inside so this session was it.

Most of the session was spent in discussing the MLA Legislative Panel and I learned a lot more about what our organization is doing to represent library interests. The panel includes representatives from MLA and various libraries throughout the state. They monitor legislation, give testimony, build relationships with elected officials, let the membership know what's going on and help coordinate advocacy efforts.

Denise Davis (Legislative Officer, MLA Legislative Panel) and Natalie (Assistant Legislative, Office MLA Legislative Panel) highlighted some of the items they addressed during the past legislative session most of which focused on budget cuts.

Next, Kristin Murphy and Lynne Bradley of the ALA Washington Office gave a brief overview of advocacy efforts on the national level. There wasn't a lot of time left in the session but they gave us a Checklist for Library Advocates:

• Talk, talk, talk - keep saying it, don't hound/annoy but it takes time for messages sink in and mean something
• Keep informed
• Get to know your legislators & staff
• Work on handouts, newsletters, etc.
• Attend or host town hall meetings
• Use in-library events - real & virtual tours
• Lobby
• Press events
• Work with all types of libraries & supporters
• Build your network - before you need it

Not always a choice of funding this or that but how to fund both

Libraries are the most efficient use of taxpayer funds $1=$3.8return (didn't write down where this study was conducted but think is was in the Midwest).

MLA 2009 - Opening

The weather was much better this year and my conference began with a breakfast for the Maryland Library Leadership Institute. It was a wonderful way to start the day, Mimosa's, conversation and watching the dolphins swim! I wished more of my MLLI class was there but I did run into several more throughout the two days.



The opening session was captivating, with Paul Holdengraber from NYPL in a discussion with Elizabeth Cromwell and Darell Batson about the successes of the "Live from the NYPL" program. Although, everyone was quite intimidated by the sheer volume of NYPL's program and that we might not be able to even come close, there were lessons that we took away.

Here's my list:

• Always look for ways to innovate and attract customers
• Don't be afraid to try
• Shoot for the moon and you'll at least fall in the stars (a wording from a previous experience but one that I needed to be reminded of)
• Do the unexpected
• A successful program is a bit of a chemistry experiment

TheirSpace - November 13, 2008

Ok - last one to catch up with. This all day teen training had a variety of panelists.

First, Jamie Watson from Harford County showcased some books to help us connect with reluctant readers. Teens are like adults - special readers are a small number with popular readers the largest.

Reluctant Readers
Dormant - likes to read but too busy
Uncommitted - don't feel a need to read but will with a recommendation
Unmotivated - (largest number) reading is dorky - there are no good books - only read "boring" books required for school
Unskilled - truly has a tough time reading

Unmotivated and unskilled want to choose their own books but need a smaller/narrower choice set

Once a book becomes assigned in curriculum it becomes dorky & awful

Katie George at Howard County talked next about Teen Advisory Boards. She addressed the 40 developmental assets that apply to teen participation in libraries and went over the ladder of participation.

Non-participation
1. Volunteers are manipulated
2. Volunteers are decoration
3. Volunteers are tokenized

Participation
4. Volunteers are assigned & informed
5. Volunteers consult & inform
6. Staff initiate, share decisions with Volunteers
7. Volunteers lead & initiate action
8. Volunteers initiate, share decisions with staff

TAB's consist of 2 parts: communication and results

Communication - connectedness, meaning and control - take any one piece away leads to problems

connectedness + meaning = manipulation & abuse
connectedness + control = delinquency
meaning + control = fundamentalism

Effective communication leads to connections, discoveries, understanding and innovation

Results come from teens engaging in the process and having their accomplishments highlighted.


Next several counties presented ideas for teen book clubs.
Lee Farrell of Howard shared her Mother Daughter book club. She prepares ballots and a showcase of possible titles and one of their meetings is to choose the year's titles. They also assign a snack person.

Stefan Freed of Baltimore County shared his experience with a Parent Child book club to be more inclusive. He collected pages of title ideas with notes throughout his time running this club and had several newspaper articles written about his program.

Rachel Hannum of Cecil County shared her teen book club. She has had success with Book Hook
exclusively for 6-8th graders and conducted 3 times a year. They discuss one book every other week for two months. All books are paperbacks and the teens get to keep the books which are purchased by the Friends.

Rachel stresses:
it's not school - keep it relaxed
cater to your readers
offer confidentiality
begin with a silly ice-breaker
always read a short plot summary first
- jog memories and encourage those who didn't finish to talk anyway
ask questions that allow teens to talk about their lives
use multimedia
snacks
get feedback - listen to suggestions


Last came Elizabeth Rafferty and Bryon McDonald from Baltimore County who discussed how BCPL developed their gaming program. Elizabeth gave an overview of why gaming is important. She gave us a handout with lots of good stats and links. I'm working on getting this electronically so I don't have to type it as my fingers hurt from all these posts today. Hopefully, I'll actually get this up soon! :)

Service that Works - November 20, 2008

Another training that I attended was this MLA sponsored one. Most of this training was a refresher of concepts and personality types that were explained in more detail in other trainings that I have taken. A few things that stood out:

Avoid no - tell the customer what you can do
Apologize for the situation that the customer finds themselves in not for policies
Think about what expectations are we promoting - unreasonable customer expectations?
Perception - customer's perception can change what the situation truly is

LEAP
Listen - ask questions to make sure you understand the problem -use eye contact, rephrasing, nodding, etc
Empathize - put yourself in the customer's shoes
Acknowledge - recognize the customer's feelings and that there is a problem; apologize for frustration, the situation, etc
Resolve - work with the customer to find a resolution - offer solutions and choices (here's what we can do, let's try...); engage them in solving the problem

When to walk away or get a supervisor - abusive language
Raised voice = you talk softer

Avoid - "Our policy..." or "You have to..."

YRead - October 25, 2008

I have been very remiss in posting as I realize that my last post was about the time I went to the YRead conference and never wrote anything up. This is a new bi-annual conference (Opposite to Books for the Beast) held at the Carroll Community College. I chose the multi-cultural track and read four interesting books. This conference is only a half day one and was too short in my opinion. We barely scrapped the surface of discussions and most of mine centered on how to incorporate the books into curriculum which didn't interest me.

Red Glass by Laura Resau
This story begins in Arizona when Sophie's family takes in a young boy who is the only survivor from a group trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico. The boy doesn't speak so Sophie nicknames him Principito, or Little Prince, after the story he loves to listen to her read. The boy's remaining family in Mexico learn that the little boy is the sole survivor. Sophie, her Aunt Dika, a refugee of the war in Bosnia, Dika's boyfriend and his son and Principito go on a road trip to his village where he has to choose between Sophie and his family.

Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin
Karina is the daughter of a Haitian immigrant in New York. Her mother married "the Daddy" for stability but this all seems about to topple when he almost kills her older sister. Beatings are normal and deserved, abuse is covered up while fear and guilt are rampant. Will lies cover everything up or will Karina make her own normal life?

The Absolutely Ture Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
A very funny tale of heartache and isolation. Junior is an Indian living on a reservation until he is forced to see that hope doesn't just happen but you have to make it happen. He transfers to the miles away white school and fights to belong somewhere. Interspersed with Junior's brutally honest cartoons, this is a quick read covering issues from Indian rights, alcoholism, violence and despair.

In the Name of God by Paula Jolin
Nadia lives in modern day Damascus right in the middle of the struggle between Muslim and Western beliefs. She is a good religious girl but she struggles to figure out her path. Her brother can't get a job, her cousin is arrested and no one knows his fate, good Muslims are dying so Nadia begins to think of acting radically herself. How far will she go? What is right or wrong or justified?

Colbert Report - Communist Library Threat

I found this on another blog but I laughed so much it gave me an excuse for a post. Enjoy!

MLA notes Day 2

Ok, ok, I know. I said I'd post these notes a long time ago and I'm horrified at how long I've actually put it off. I guess my only excuse is that we've been real busy with a lot of year end deadlines and the beginning of Summer Reading but only you can forgive me.


A Prescription for Teen Services - Erin Lockledge, Editorial Director, Rosen Publishing

This was my first session after the business meeting breakfast and it was about health information geared for teens. It was nice to see how much work Rosen Publishing was doing in this arena but it doesn't help much if your system doesn't pay for this service. I did learn some new things anyone can use:

We discussed Evidence Based Practice, using quantitative data to support your results - what is your program and it's benchmarks (# of attendees/feedback/change in circ patterns or usage reports). Erin stressed that community health impacted leadership, voting rights and overall citizenship.

Places to go for ideas: YALSA listserv, Chase's, community groups (Health Depts), Howard County has some good toolkits with A+ Partners in education and also Multnomah County's teen health site.


And the Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Melissa Rabey, Teen Librarian, Frederick County Public Library

This session was an excellent end to my conference and Melissa was a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic presenter. She began with a discussion of participatory culture which is not a new things but it is new in it's methods. The culture is ending up with more Prosumers (produce + consume) who aren't just consuming what they find but producing and morphing content. This can be found in thousands of years of literature with authors taking and building on each other (Shakespeare and Homer are two great examples)

This will affect libraries as customers expect more and up to date technology, services, programs and methods of providing service. Our customers have high expectations, although, we will still find those to whom we need to teach technology. However, she pointed out that we have a wide variety of entertainment products Blockbuster or bookstores will never have: Internet, Books, CD's and the most importantly social interaction and community.

The title of the session was did appear as she talked about programs and outlets libraries can provide. Some ideas: RPG (role playing games) including book based - be characters from Harry Potter and make your own story lines; fan fiction writing workshops which are story driven since characters are already fleshed out in original and develop writing style; and digital video editing and image manipulation workshops.

There are many challenges to this participatory culture. The first and most dicey is copyright since there are laws but much is still in flux with the new media and mashups. Not always clear what is protected or prohibited. For library programming, it is best to avoid any audio and video that is not self produced as these industries are cracking down. The next challenge is to keep our technology up to date which is always tricky but even worse with bad budget years. The last issue to consider is staff doubt. Many of us encounter staff who don't think that a program or service has any value or place in a library.

On the other side, there are great rewards such as serving new demographics, increased visibility, redefinition of the library's role, creation of community connections, and being an active participant in creating culture not just being the archive for it.


Overall this was a great conference and I look forward to going again. Not only were the sessions excellent, but the site and set up were conducive to making it enjoyable. After ALA where you had to run all over and choose one session over another since you just couldn't get there in time, it was great to have everything in the same hotel. In addition, there was enough down time and social activities to meet local colleagues and get to know those in your own system.

MLA notes Day 1

The 2008 MLA conference began with Peter Forni addressing the general session on civility. He stressed that life is a relational experience that is defined by our connections. The quality of our life depends on the quality of these relationships and thus the relational skills that we possess. He was an excellent and engaging speaker and now I want to delve into his books. This topic translated well to the library world since by performing reference services, we are aiding in creating connections whether it's through computer access or programs or community information.


He shared some useful information for us on how to deal with incivility. First of all he stressed that you must be prepared - don't be surprised when confronted with rudeness. You aren't supposed to expect it and therefore send out the wrong vibes but that in order to counteract rudeness you can't be taken off guard. Second, don't take it personally and third decide how you will react. As public librarians, knowing how to act is such a necessary skill that it's good to be reminded of this.

Some other tips:
Be secure - think of yourself as an accomplished person who doesn't need to prove anything
Practice empathy
See others as ends in themselves
Financial gain is a means not the end
Diffuse stress
Get to know people - end anonymity which encourages inattention and careless attitudes
Don't be hostile and shift hostility to others

IDK! Teen Service Made Simple - Stephanie Ewell & Jessica Smith-Harper from Wicomico Co.
This session discussed how the county obtained a grant to improve their teen services. It was good to hear the experiences of another system but much that they did would just be to difficult to staff or find a location in the library for. I did really like the "rave card" model they used to promote their programs which they said was their best response method. In addition, they put on a program even with one teen or else that kid may never want to come back., however, this seems to be a rare occasion for them. They explained out they set out high interest materials to draw the teens during the programs and didn't prep ahead of time but let the kids set up and be part of the process.

Using Ipods to get students and staff to tune in to reading - Lisa McKenney & John Taube from Allegany Co. and Mike Fiscus from NE Elementary
The last session of my day made us all very envious. The library and the school partnered to create book backpacks with an Ipod preloaded with the audiobook and added literary content. This was a really cool project but a bit pricey for many of us to dream about without a grant. They showed how the audio aided the students in fluency and expression and the content hat they created increased the understanding of the stories.

The coolest thing was PhotoStory 3. This is a software package that allows you to take still digital images and create a slide show with text and audio. This impressed many of us and the presenter of a Day 2 session mentioned that she was more excited about what they could do with that. Allegany County used similar technology to create online computer classes and info about their wifi. I wondered about introductions to the library and it's services presented in other languages (a colleague had recently mentioned that we should have a video for our new Spanish speaking customers so that they fully understand what we can do). So many cool possibilities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnxsCKC6Lsg Photostory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUtk8alria4 Audacity clip

MLA - Maryland Library Association Annual Conference

I went to Ocean City for the first time to attend this year's MLA conference. This was a wonderful two days of ocean and bay views coupled with library learning, networking and fun! I promise to post session notes in the coming week but click HERE for a taste from another colleague.

The new Ocean City library was lovely and the staff were great hosts for a conference reception. Great atmosphere and music! Check out the brand new building:
http://www.worc.lib.md.us/library/newoclib.htm

The Complete Jane Austen pt. 2

Yes, yes, I am very behind in posting this but just watched the new Sense & Sensibility again last night (a wonderful Mother's Day present) and am looking forward to the bonus disc of Miss Austen Regrets. I thoroughly enjoyed my Austen evenings on PBS (followed with the bonus David Starkey's Monarchy) and missed them as soon as they were done. The short new ones had their drawbacks in time constraints or casting but nonetheless were fun in their own way. The new S&S was really good but Andrew Davies knows how to interpret these to film. Since it was a two parter, much of the rushed feeling of the other adaptations is lost and we get much more nuanced characters. Despite any liberties, I think this was excellently cast and very well directed and produced. I still love Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman but this version is a great update and good for a grey Sunday afternoon.

The Complete Jane Austin on PBS pt.1

I have to confess that I've caught the first three weeks of these but did miss the last one. I've instructed the family that at 9 each Sunday I will be watching PBS and to not disturb. It's been a nice little break but Sunday night I was too much of a football fan to remember poor Jane.

Even though I missed one I did want to add a few particular comments on the ones I had seen. I will begin by saying that I enjoy any Jane adaptations but there are two things that have bugged me about these.

Since these are SO short they do feel rushed. I know a colleague who hadn't read one of the books was a bit lost as much isn't explained and charachters or plot lines are completely elimated. She's also reading P&P now and commented that the themes are so similar she keeps getting the characters confused.

I recently finished rereading Mansfield Park prior to the airing and I was more disappointed with this one. I really love this book but their Fannie was all wrong! She needs to be soft spoken; I think this actress would have been better as Maria.

I am looking forward to catching the rest of these and seeing how the S&S and Emma are done. I own the Firth/Ehle P&P and can watch it anytime but it's always fun to see on TV so can't wait for that to begin. Happy Viewing!

Books for the Beast

I know I haven't posted in a while and then two in one day - well I actually have something to say. On Saturday, I went to the biannual Books for the Beast conference near Baltimore. It is a Young Adult Literature conference where participants read a group of books from two genres and then get together to discuss them. They even recruit teenagers to come free to event. I picked Real Life and Science Fiction/Fantasy. I found that it was very interesting to discuss these with professionals from Virginia, Maryland, D.C. and beyond. There was only one teen in my Real Life discussion but I enjoyed getting a better handle on some books for reader's advisory.

I wasn't able to get or read all 10 books, and found that like the teen lit I remember, they are pretty predictable but enjoyable.

Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci
Victoria, a.k.a. Egg, is living in a fantasy world of her own creation. Living in Hollywood with an actress mother and creature creator father, she idolizes her movie heroine and is a loner until she meets the new boy Max and realizes that there's more to life than being "boy proof."

Jason & Kyra by Dana Davidson
This was the steamiest of the books on the list and I think my teen audience may really like it despite the happy ending. Good looking, popular and sporty Jason happens to actually be smart and falls for Kyra. Kyra smart, happy and actually pretty (once you get past other characters prejudices) falls for Jason. Once the girlfriend is out of the picture, the relationship story centers on sex, trust and forgiveness.

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar
This book had me laughing out loud. It's always hard to pick books for guys unless they are SF/Fantasy but I think this one may work. Scott Hudson and his friends are beginning high school and trying to stay friends, get a girlfriend and survive the year. This story hinges on the fact that life changes and that you can't control where it goes just find out how to enjoy the ride.

So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez
Xio (C.O.) and Frederick are locked in that first relationship figuring things out struggle. Set in a Latino community, Frederick arrives from Minnesota and begins to worry if he is really gay. Not an easy book to recommend to someone who's in the same situation but a good read for anyone as it deals with stereotypes and uncertainties. The story gains by alternating chapters told by the two main characters. Much is unresolved but so much always is.

Tithe by Holly Black
An interesting modern faerie tale as the subtitle announces. Kay is going along semi-happily with her wannabe rock star mother until an odd attack leads them back to her grandmother's in a dying New Jersey town. She has always known faeries but gets drawn into their world and finds everything is not as it seemed as a battle ranges between faerie courts and subjects. The writing style is overdone at times and some scenes feel forced but some in our group said Black's other books in the series get much better.

The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber
This was a major fractured fairy tale. The beginning had me stumped as to where we were going but I enjoyed the ride. Lump, a very ugly baby, is found and raised by a witch. He is spoiled and ungrateful and spends the rest of the novel on his journey to redemption. The cast include Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, a little Midas and more.

Black Juice by Margo Lanagan
I read this book first as it was short stories and I thought it would be a nice starting place for my Books for the Beast journey. The stories were very odd though. Some I really liked (My Lord's Man and Wooden Bride) and wanted so much more and others (Red Nose Day) were just too strange. I also felt that the story unfolded too quickly while still leaving details out; it felt like when you catch a movie in the middle and not knowing how the story got there. Many in our group reread them several times to find the details. As a group we thought that it should be recommended for teens to read the ones that they liked but not necessarily the whole. The stories are so different that there is a little for everyone touching on prejudice, hatred, greed, betrayal, sacrifice and loss.

E-Austen

I get a little email every day called Library Link of the Day with link to a news story of interest to libraries. Yesterday I found this one in my mail and thought it was a great mashup of my favorite things: libraries, technology and Austen. Two comments even let readers know that they can get these things FREE from the public library - YEAH!!!

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/technology_internetcritic/2007/10/reading-jane-au.html
Reading Jane Austen on a BlackBerry -- Reader, I Liked It [Chicago Tribune]



To get your own Library Link of the Day http://www.tk421.net/librarylink/

A few good books

I know it's a bit after summer but here are a few of my good reads to take us into fall. Many of these are on my LibraryThing but I wanted to add my thoughts on these. I hope to add a few more posts like this soon.

Austenland by Shannon Hale
This is a book published this year which was a great fun read. I am a Jane Austen nut so the story was right up my alley. The main character, Jane Hays gets to live out her Jane Austen fantasy at a period strict resort. A little contrived but fun all the way through.

Pride and Prejudice And Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
OK, I can't write about my good reads without including my favorites.

P&P is the classic romance tome with the wonderful language and wit of Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennett as they struggle with and against pride, prejudice and love. I have read and watched (many versions) so many times my husband doesn't know what to do with me. Each perusal bring something new so I just can't resist and it's just such a nice relaxing read.

Mansfield Park is such a different book. Romance and marriage are a key themes but there is much more to explore. Fanny Price is the poor offspring of a family with too many children sent to live with wealthy relations. Class divisions are very evident in this book but it creates a wonderfully woven story speaking to class, love, lust, and finding one's true self. I love this book for the triumph of goodness and for making the reader think about consequences of one's actions.

Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Carrie Bebris

I am a purist and don't always like to go beyond the story, but this was very different. A mystery story beginning right after Elizabeth Bennett becomes Mrs. Darcy. The plot isn't a classic who-done it but contains magical themes and grabs the reader with the familiar characters with a little bit more development.

Post 2.0

Now that I've finished this project, I'm trying to keep more up to date. A colleague emailed the page below on concepts all librarians need to know. It was very interesting but still a little techie for me. Definitely good to be aware of what all those acronyms mean and where to go for more information.

http://otherlibrarian.wordpress.com/2007/09/06/under-the-hood-of-web-20-the-top-ten-programming-concepts-for-librarians-to-understand/