Presenters: Brent Husher & Cindy Thompson, UMKC Miller Nichols Library
This presentation is how to incorporate an idea into your library fast.
Beginnings
-How do you make the decisions
-Sometimes if you don't have the authority, you may still need to take the authority
Authority
-If you don't feel comfortable taking the authority by yourself, get others to help
-Understand the culture you work in
-Write a proposal if others initially say no
Buy In
-Politics is a part of most of our work environments
-Negotiate and try to get buy in from those that would be the most involved/interested before throwing it out to everyone
-Think about everyone who will be affected by your proposal and talk to then first
-If you are not the person in charge, make sure you have buy in from your administrator(s)
-Say "I think this is important for our library, I would love to be involved in this, what do you think." Start a discussion, don't just go straight to asking permission. A dialogue should be started which should then lead to permission in the end.
Keep the Ball Rolling
-Need to have frequent follow-up
-Do not necessarily need to have a lot of meetings, but a lot of communication
-Pull a team together thinking who needs to be on the team
-Keep your group focused
-Set deadlines and follow them
-Keep all stakeholders informed as the process is going on
Stumbling Blocks
-Missed deadlines - having a good leader to keep in top of things, and when forming a team if you know they are good at being on top of things can help keep deadlines
-If only one person has the ability to work on a specific area, yet is busy with other things can delay the project. Try to get progress reports and keep communication going with the person.
Finish Line
-With almost any project, there really isn't a finish line. There will always be something that will need to be updated, follow-up, etc.
-Try to have some sort of finish line so that there is some gratification that this process has been completed.
This was a good presentation, with lots of ideas that I can take and use.
Showing posts with label librarians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label librarians. Show all posts
Friday, October 8, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
MLA Conference 2010: How to Get Others to Do What You Want: Leadership in the Library
Presenters: Steven Potter, Laura Rein, and Shirley Baker
Steve Potter, Director of Libraries, Mid-Continent Public Library
Topic: Pulling Together So You Don't Pull Apart
Need to make sure that everyone has the same perception of what "real" work is. This includes desk work, helping patrons in the stacks, and doing outreach. It takes all of this to make the library work. This led to writing a vision for the library. If everyone knows the vision of the library and if everyone can articulate it, everyone can be on the same page. Everything that was done needed to be attached to the goals and vision of the library. Strategic environment matters. There are a couple of keys to this. There needs to be buy-in from the highest level. The plan also needs to be presented to the employees. Communication and connecting everything back is key. There is a distinct difference between managing and leading. Take time to plan and make sure that you are moving in the right direction. Need to think of things as one of four criteria: Urgent and Important, Urgent and not important, Not Urgent and important, and Not urgent and not important.
Laura Rein, Dean of University Library, Webster University
Topic: Bottom-up Strategic Planning and Finding ways to say Yes!
2/3 of the students and faculty do not reside on campus. They are either online or at a different campus across the world. Bottom-up strategic planning is writing the goals and objectives from the staff and then up. One of their library goals is take the library to where users are. Another goal is to integrate the library into university life, by saying yes to the groups that want to use the library outside the normal use of the library. Also do continual assessment, which get a high response by allowing the students to entire a drawing for an iTouch. By doing this they get 1000 responses. Basically this director not only listens to the users, but also responds to the user needs by acting on the requests and doing something about what is being asked for. It is not always possible to say yes. Also there are times where some staff are upset, and also some students are upset by decisions, but in the end there is a reward in seeing the users happy with the library overall.
Shirley Baker, Dean of University Libraries & Vice Chancellor for Scholarly Resources, Washington University.
Topic: Fearless and Fair
It is important to look for the potential in your staff and nurture each one. Even if they do not want to be challenged, or to do more than the basic necessities, but it is important to push them to their full potential.
In a new job, 20% will accept you no matter what, 20% will oppose you no matter what, and the rest will sit on the fence and see who wins. A leaders job is to fix those that aren't doing anything. Hold up pay check and say to get this you have to do what I want, If you don't want it, then you can do anything you want. You won't always succeed when doing something brave and firm, but you will succeed more times than not.
Remember: It is either you or your replacement that will do what it takes to get the job done.
This presentation was good. With three presenters each having only 10 minutes there was more that I would have wanted to hear from each one of them. However what they did say was good food for thought which I can take back to my job and incorporate.
Steve Potter, Director of Libraries, Mid-Continent Public Library
Topic: Pulling Together So You Don't Pull Apart
Need to make sure that everyone has the same perception of what "real" work is. This includes desk work, helping patrons in the stacks, and doing outreach. It takes all of this to make the library work. This led to writing a vision for the library. If everyone knows the vision of the library and if everyone can articulate it, everyone can be on the same page. Everything that was done needed to be attached to the goals and vision of the library. Strategic environment matters. There are a couple of keys to this. There needs to be buy-in from the highest level. The plan also needs to be presented to the employees. Communication and connecting everything back is key. There is a distinct difference between managing and leading. Take time to plan and make sure that you are moving in the right direction. Need to think of things as one of four criteria: Urgent and Important, Urgent and not important, Not Urgent and important, and Not urgent and not important.
Laura Rein, Dean of University Library, Webster University
Topic: Bottom-up Strategic Planning and Finding ways to say Yes!
2/3 of the students and faculty do not reside on campus. They are either online or at a different campus across the world. Bottom-up strategic planning is writing the goals and objectives from the staff and then up. One of their library goals is take the library to where users are. Another goal is to integrate the library into university life, by saying yes to the groups that want to use the library outside the normal use of the library. Also do continual assessment, which get a high response by allowing the students to entire a drawing for an iTouch. By doing this they get 1000 responses. Basically this director not only listens to the users, but also responds to the user needs by acting on the requests and doing something about what is being asked for. It is not always possible to say yes. Also there are times where some staff are upset, and also some students are upset by decisions, but in the end there is a reward in seeing the users happy with the library overall.
Shirley Baker, Dean of University Libraries & Vice Chancellor for Scholarly Resources, Washington University.
Topic: Fearless and Fair
It is important to look for the potential in your staff and nurture each one. Even if they do not want to be challenged, or to do more than the basic necessities, but it is important to push them to their full potential.
In a new job, 20% will accept you no matter what, 20% will oppose you no matter what, and the rest will sit on the fence and see who wins. A leaders job is to fix those that aren't doing anything. Hold up pay check and say to get this you have to do what I want, If you don't want it, then you can do anything you want. You won't always succeed when doing something brave and firm, but you will succeed more times than not.
Remember: It is either you or your replacement that will do what it takes to get the job done.
This presentation was good. With three presenters each having only 10 minutes there was more that I would have wanted to hear from each one of them. However what they did say was good food for thought which I can take back to my job and incorporate.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Persuasion, Influence, & Innovative Ideas, CIL2010 session
Persuasion, Influence & Innovative Ideas
Rebecca Jones, Partner Dysart & Jones Associates
How to influence your colleagues and your users
Important to Keep in Mind
-An idea or anything new = change
-People don't like change when it involves them, unless there is something in it for them.
-Group = people brought together to work
Discovery, knowledge, exploring, inspiration - words used in mission/vision statements, yet libraries don't really want ideas to inspire or discover or change.
Why are some naysayers?
-Don't see what's in it for them
-Fear
-"laters" or "laggards"
Influencing is built on:
-competence
-clarity
-relationships
Influencing others starts with ourselves
-Presence is the most important part of influencing
-We have to see ourselves as influencers
-We must be clear on what we want to see happen
-We must learn new approaches
"Influence is one of the highest skills that we have as humans" Rebecca Jones
Consider the broader Context
-"Leadership is a process of social influence through which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task." Chemers
Some Underlying Principles
-One in ten Americans tel the other nine how to vote, where to eat, and what to buy
-Passionate, informed, well-connected, articulate people with broad social networks, to whom others look for advice & recommendations
-"talkers"
Effective influencers tend to be:
-"expert" in a specific domain
-"early adopters" or certainly know how to build relationships with early adopters to move change through
-Opinion leaders
-Knowledgeable about the issues being dealt with
-viewed as trustworthy
-with connections
Influence without authority
-Assumptions/everyone is a potential ally
-Clarity/be clear on your goal or objective
-Diagnosis/Understand the other person's situation
-Currencies/Identify what's important at this point for our & them
-Relationships/Develop & deal with
-Influence/Through give & take
Wooing (The Art of Woo)
-Knowing what you want
-Getting it in front of a few people
-Forming, molding & building a snowball
-Following the network
-One idea, one ally, one email, one conversation, one meeting, one presentation at a time
-use their knowledge & connections to help others
Competence
-Know your strengths & weaknesses
-Work to your strengths
-Keep the organizational perspective
-Critical success factor for credibility & expertise
Relationships
-Get to know people, what they do, & keep in touch - regardless of level
-Build trust; it's incremental & fragile
-Must understand your organization's hidden yet important relationships & where the real power lies
"You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time." J.S. Knox
Our language needs to change to make it more streamlined. Presenter never wants to hear the term "bibliographic instruction" again. No one really knows what that means.
Being Part of the Quotient - To move to the decision-making table:
-Clear direction which can be articulated
Clarity
-Be clear on what you want
-Be clear on what you've got & where your lines will be drawn
-Communicate clearly, in the style of the listener
Influencing Styles
-Involving: "pull" communication style matches others'; building collaboration
-Inquiring: "push" listening carefully to identify others' needs & 'currencies'; to give & take
-Leading: "pull" engaging people to share stories & common grounds
-Proposing - "push" presenting possible solutions or a choice of options; structured & rational
Inquiring
-Based on assumption that people are more motivated by what they'll lose
-Requires a good blend of both expertise & credibility - & trust
-Use images & metaphors, not facts & logic
YES!
Core principles that increase your persuasiveness:
1. Reciprocation
2. Authority
3. Commitment/consistency
4. Scarcity
5. Liking
6. Social proof
***This was another good session with lots of information to process.***
Rebecca Jones, Partner Dysart & Jones Associates
How to influence your colleagues and your users
Important to Keep in Mind
-An idea or anything new = change
-People don't like change when it involves them, unless there is something in it for them.
-Group = people brought together to work
Discovery, knowledge, exploring, inspiration - words used in mission/vision statements, yet libraries don't really want ideas to inspire or discover or change.
Why are some naysayers?
-Don't see what's in it for them
-Fear
-"laters" or "laggards"
Influencing is built on:
-competence
-clarity
-relationships
Influencing others starts with ourselves
-Presence is the most important part of influencing
-We have to see ourselves as influencers
-We must be clear on what we want to see happen
-We must learn new approaches
"Influence is one of the highest skills that we have as humans" Rebecca Jones
Consider the broader Context
-"Leadership is a process of social influence through which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task." Chemers
Some Underlying Principles
-One in ten Americans tel the other nine how to vote, where to eat, and what to buy
-Passionate, informed, well-connected, articulate people with broad social networks, to whom others look for advice & recommendations
-"talkers"
Effective influencers tend to be:
-"expert" in a specific domain
-"early adopters" or certainly know how to build relationships with early adopters to move change through
-Opinion leaders
-Knowledgeable about the issues being dealt with
-viewed as trustworthy
-with connections
Influence without authority
-Assumptions/everyone is a potential ally
-Clarity/be clear on your goal or objective
-Diagnosis/Understand the other person's situation
-Currencies/Identify what's important at this point for our & them
-Relationships/Develop & deal with
-Influence/Through give & take
Wooing (The Art of Woo)
-Knowing what you want
-Getting it in front of a few people
-Forming, molding & building a snowball
-Following the network
-One idea, one ally, one email, one conversation, one meeting, one presentation at a time
-use their knowledge & connections to help others
Competence
-Know your strengths & weaknesses
-Work to your strengths
-Keep the organizational perspective
-Critical success factor for credibility & expertise
Relationships
-Get to know people, what they do, & keep in touch - regardless of level
-Build trust; it's incremental & fragile
-Must understand your organization's hidden yet important relationships & where the real power lies
"You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time." J.S. Knox
Our language needs to change to make it more streamlined. Presenter never wants to hear the term "bibliographic instruction" again. No one really knows what that means.
Being Part of the Quotient - To move to the decision-making table:
-Clear direction which can be articulated
Clarity
-Be clear on what you want
-Be clear on what you've got & where your lines will be drawn
-Communicate clearly, in the style of the listener
Influencing Styles
-Involving: "pull" communication style matches others'; building collaboration
-Inquiring: "push" listening carefully to identify others' needs & 'currencies'; to give & take
-Leading: "pull" engaging people to share stories & common grounds
-Proposing - "push" presenting possible solutions or a choice of options; structured & rational
Inquiring
-Based on assumption that people are more motivated by what they'll lose
-Requires a good blend of both expertise & credibility - & trust
-Use images & metaphors, not facts & logic
YES!
Core principles that increase your persuasiveness:
1. Reciprocation
2. Authority
3. Commitment/consistency
4. Scarcity
5. Liking
6. Social proof
***This was another good session with lots of information to process.***
The 24th Thing CIL2010 Session
The 24th Thing: What's Next
Sean Robinson, Allen County Public Library
Lori Reed, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Christa Burns
Michael Sauers
Helene Blowers was supposed to present this session, but unfortunately she was unable to attend.
What is your vision?
-What are you trying to do with these 2.0 tools?
3 tenets of the 23 things
Engage
Enrich - reach people, if you blog you want people to read it. How can you have a message that resonates?
Empower - empower others and fight for what you love
What is your strategy? "If you are in a great organization your mission/vision statement is a cooperative effort among all." -
3 Questions
1. How are people finding us
2. What are they
How are they finding us?
-Users need to find us outside the actually building
-We need to go where are users are
Engagement is not an idea, it is a practice
"I'm not desperate for attention, I just like spending ten hours a day on twitter."
Nebraska now has an ongoing 23 things that started in May of 2009. They learn 1 thing a month until they run out of things. May have been better to have 2 things a month to keep participation up.
Have to keep promoting the 23 things in order to keep people participating.
Innovating During a Time Of Change
Libraries are facing a time where budgets are being cut and some are being completely closed.
At the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library -
Budget was cut by 2 million, and 120 people were laid off.
Now they are talking about losing over half the staff in July
"In calm weather, all ships have good captains"
To get through these tough times had to advocate and started SaveLibraries.org
Five Quick Ways your library can innovate during tough times
1. Innovation is more than technology
2. Be willing to do what's right for the organization and the profession
3. You can't communicate too much
4. Accept the fact that libraries are going to look very different in the future
5. This is an opportunity to learn, grow, adapt, improve, and let go of what's not working
We should not have to tell people why libraries are important, that should be inherent in everything that we do.
***This presentation was very good. It took a turn at the end, but Lori had some great thoughts on libraries in peril. I really enjoyed this session and while I didn't get to hear the presenter that I was hoping to, I thought they did a great job at the last minute.***
Sean Robinson, Allen County Public Library
Lori Reed, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Christa Burns
Michael Sauers
Helene Blowers was supposed to present this session, but unfortunately she was unable to attend.
What is your vision?
-What are you trying to do with these 2.0 tools?
3 tenets of the 23 things
Engage
Enrich - reach people, if you blog you want people to read it. How can you have a message that resonates?
Empower - empower others and fight for what you love
What is your strategy? "If you are in a great organization your mission/vision statement is a cooperative effort among all." -
3 Questions
1. How are people finding us
2. What are they
How are they finding us?
-Users need to find us outside the actually building
-We need to go where are users are
Engagement is not an idea, it is a practice
"I'm not desperate for attention, I just like spending ten hours a day on twitter."
Nebraska now has an ongoing 23 things that started in May of 2009. They learn 1 thing a month until they run out of things. May have been better to have 2 things a month to keep participation up.
Have to keep promoting the 23 things in order to keep people participating.
Innovating During a Time Of Change
Libraries are facing a time where budgets are being cut and some are being completely closed.
At the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library -
Budget was cut by 2 million, and 120 people were laid off.
Now they are talking about losing over half the staff in July
"In calm weather, all ships have good captains"
To get through these tough times had to advocate and started SaveLibraries.org
Five Quick Ways your library can innovate during tough times
1. Innovation is more than technology
2. Be willing to do what's right for the organization and the profession
3. You can't communicate too much
4. Accept the fact that libraries are going to look very different in the future
5. This is an opportunity to learn, grow, adapt, improve, and let go of what's not working
We should not have to tell people why libraries are important, that should be inherent in everything that we do.
***This presentation was very good. It took a turn at the end, but Lori had some great thoughts on libraries in peril. I really enjoyed this session and while I didn't get to hear the presenter that I was hoping to, I thought they did a great job at the last minute.***
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Instructional Technology: It's A Team Thing CIL2010 Session
Instructional Technology: It's a Team Thing
Beth Filar Williams, Distance Education Librarian
Lynda Kellam, Data Services & Government Information Librarian
Amy Harris, First Year Instruction Coordinator
Hannah Winkler, Libraries' Digital Designer
University Libraries, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
High Impact/High Effort
-JIT instruction
-Outcome based assessment
High Impact/Low Effort
-Wikis
-Clickers
-Pod/Vodcasting
-LMS content
Low Impact/High Effort
-Virtual Worlds
-Games
Low Impact/Low Effort
-BIZ Game
-Subject specific content
***I should have just stayed in the room during this session. This isn't a slam to the presenters because they were very good and engaging, my heart just isn't in it right now.***
Beth Filar Williams, Distance Education Librarian
Lynda Kellam, Data Services & Government Information Librarian
Amy Harris, First Year Instruction Coordinator
Hannah Winkler, Libraries' Digital Designer
University Libraries, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
High Impact/High Effort
-JIT instruction
-Outcome based assessment
High Impact/Low Effort
-Wikis
-Clickers
-Pod/Vodcasting
-LMS content
Low Impact/High Effort
-Virtual Worlds
-Games
Low Impact/Low Effort
-BIZ Game
-Subject specific content
***I should have just stayed in the room during this session. This isn't a slam to the presenters because they were very good and engaging, my heart just isn't in it right now.***
Virtual Learning & Training: From Classrooms to Communities CIL2010 Session
Virtual Learning & Training: From Classrooms to Communities
Alison miller, Distance Education Research, The Internet Public Library (IPL)
Meredith Farkas, Head, Instructional Initiatives, Norwich University
Online learning needs to include more than just written lecture notes, written assignments, etc. f2f classes include more discussion, questions that can come up during lectures, etc. How do we translate that to an online environment?
Web 2.0 ideas for the classroom
-Age of participation
-The wisdom of crowds (can learn from the students as well as the instructor)
-Social constructivism (the instructor should be more of a facilitator)
Used Drupal an open source resource that can be used as websites, LMS, etc.
Students can blog and they can find it all in one place. The core of the classroom is the conversation between students and teacher
Why Blogs?
-Familiar medium: new types of blogging: in MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
-Faculty communication with students
-Builds student sense of ownership over the medium
-Community-building
-Reflective learning
-Discussion and debate
-Writing in public
-Everyone is teacher and learner
Blogs can...
-Promote critical and reflective thinking
-Enable collaboration and knowledge-sharing
-Create an informal environment for student discussion and community-building
-Encourage dialogue and debate
-Encourage students to teach as well as learn and co-construct their learning experience
Lessons Learned on blogging
-Looking good on paper isn't enough
-Take advantage of key moments
-The most exciting technology isn't always the best for users
-Own your disasters
-Define success
-Ill-considered ideas hastily implemented can be a great success
***This session was really good and had some great ideas for me to take back and incorporate in the course that I teach. I already knew that I need to add more interaction within the course, but this session really solidified this.***
Alison miller, Distance Education Research, The Internet Public Library (IPL)
Meredith Farkas, Head, Instructional Initiatives, Norwich University
Online learning needs to include more than just written lecture notes, written assignments, etc. f2f classes include more discussion, questions that can come up during lectures, etc. How do we translate that to an online environment?
Web 2.0 ideas for the classroom
-Age of participation
-The wisdom of crowds (can learn from the students as well as the instructor)
-Social constructivism (the instructor should be more of a facilitator)
Used Drupal an open source resource that can be used as websites, LMS, etc.
Students can blog and they can find it all in one place. The core of the classroom is the conversation between students and teacher
Why Blogs?
-Familiar medium: new types of blogging: in MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
-Faculty communication with students
-Builds student sense of ownership over the medium
-Community-building
-Reflective learning
-Discussion and debate
-Writing in public
-Everyone is teacher and learner
Blogs can...
-Promote critical and reflective thinking
-Enable collaboration and knowledge-sharing
-Create an informal environment for student discussion and community-building
-Encourage dialogue and debate
-Encourage students to teach as well as learn and co-construct their learning experience
Lessons Learned on blogging
-Looking good on paper isn't enough
-Take advantage of key moments
-The most exciting technology isn't always the best for users
-Own your disasters
-Define success
-Ill-considered ideas hastily implemented can be a great success
***This session was really good and had some great ideas for me to take back and incorporate in the course that I teach. I already knew that I need to add more interaction within the course, but this session really solidified this.***
Usability & Libraries CIL2010 Session
Usability & Libraries
Peter Webster, Systems Librarian, Saint Mary's University
Yu-Hui Chen, Bibliographer & outreach Librarian for Education
Carol Anne Germain, Networked Resources Education Librarian, University at Albany
Libraries know that their online services are not perfect.
But users view library online services as "broken" and unusable
What We Hear from Users
-There are too many places and choices to search, I can't find what I need.
-The library needs more stuff. Finding good references that are not available is really frustrating. ***I get this ALL the time.***
-I'll just use Google instead. Everything is in Google anyway.
Beyond user friendly software and reliable hardware
-users expect easy, direct and immediate access to needed info
-users have ever improving alternatives to judge library services by
-users have little tolerance for services which fail to meet rising expectations
Basic Service expectations
-Confusing, Inconvenient, Unreliable, Slow = broken
-Less than immediate access to information = broken
-Limited or incomplete collections = broken
Areas for focus for the future
-seamless, simple, fast and reliable systems and services
-Common interfaces, seamless and integrated discovery
-Comprehensive information access
Project Overview
-Online survey ARL academic libraries
-84 institutions participated
-Survey content
--Policies/standards/guidelines
--Usability testing
--Resources (staff, time, training)
Issues, Challenges, & Recommendations
-Stakeholders
--Little knowledge of and support for usability
--Limited usability expertise
--Political agenda
-Resources
--Staff and time
--Organizational knowledge
If we have good usability, then users will stay. If we do not have what they want or can use then they will go elsewhere. ***I have been saying this for years, yet I still do not have any listeners. Librarians do not necessarily know what is best for the user.***
Peter Webster, Systems Librarian, Saint Mary's University
Yu-Hui Chen, Bibliographer & outreach Librarian for Education
Carol Anne Germain, Networked Resources Education Librarian, University at Albany
Libraries know that their online services are not perfect.
But users view library online services as "broken" and unusable
What We Hear from Users
-There are too many places and choices to search, I can't find what I need.
-The library needs more stuff. Finding good references that are not available is really frustrating. ***I get this ALL the time.***
-I'll just use Google instead. Everything is in Google anyway.
Beyond user friendly software and reliable hardware
-users expect easy, direct and immediate access to needed info
-users have ever improving alternatives to judge library services by
-users have little tolerance for services which fail to meet rising expectations
Basic Service expectations
-Confusing, Inconvenient, Unreliable, Slow = broken
-Less than immediate access to information = broken
-Limited or incomplete collections = broken
Areas for focus for the future
-seamless, simple, fast and reliable systems and services
-Common interfaces, seamless and integrated discovery
-Comprehensive information access
Project Overview
-Online survey ARL academic libraries
-84 institutions participated
-Survey content
--Policies/standards/guidelines
--Usability testing
--Resources (staff, time, training)
Issues, Challenges, & Recommendations
-Stakeholders
--Little knowledge of and support for usability
--Limited usability expertise
--Political agenda
-Resources
--Staff and time
--Organizational knowledge
If we have good usability, then users will stay. If we do not have what they want or can use then they will go elsewhere. ***I have been saying this for years, yet I still do not have any listeners. Librarians do not necessarily know what is best for the user.***
Friday, October 9, 2009
MLA Conference - Last Day
I am waiting for the last day of the MLA conference to start. I have to say that I am very pleased with the conference this year. I have went to some great sessions, learned some new things, and have also had some great conversations with other librarians. I have especially enjoyed the meals with other librarians and hearing the great stories.
To my friend out there who is clueless about librarians and their jobs (yes you know who you are), I think that if you attended this conference you would be in for a big shock as to the future of libraries and librarians. Yes we do know about technology, we do teach our users, and we collaborate with each other. Librarianship is so much more than checking out books and shushing people. The jokes are getting old my friend, the sad part is when you say them you really aren't joking. Well this conference has brought to light the great things that librarians are doing. Libraries are the heart of a corporation, the institution, and the community. The world may be changing, new technologies are abounding, yet the library will still be here. Maybe not in the sense that most people think of libraries, but we will still be here, we will still be instructing users, we will still be collaborating with each other, and we will be incorporating new technologies into our services to give our users what they want. This is an exciting time and I am glad to be a librarian.
To my friend out there who is clueless about librarians and their jobs (yes you know who you are), I think that if you attended this conference you would be in for a big shock as to the future of libraries and librarians. Yes we do know about technology, we do teach our users, and we collaborate with each other. Librarianship is so much more than checking out books and shushing people. The jokes are getting old my friend, the sad part is when you say them you really aren't joking. Well this conference has brought to light the great things that librarians are doing. Libraries are the heart of a corporation, the institution, and the community. The world may be changing, new technologies are abounding, yet the library will still be here. Maybe not in the sense that most people think of libraries, but we will still be here, we will still be instructing users, we will still be collaborating with each other, and we will be incorporating new technologies into our services to give our users what they want. This is an exciting time and I am glad to be a librarian.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
MLA Conference Keynote - Library Advocacy from the Frontline
I am sitting here at the Missouri Library Association Annual conference. The keynote speaker is the first line up. I am hoping to be able to blog throughout this conference to keep everyone up to date on what is going on here at the MLA conference.
Dr. Camila A. Alire, the president of the American Library Association is the keynote speaker and discussing how advocacy must start with the library staff and faculty.
She defines advocacy as "active support of a cause or course of action." Her presidential initiative is involving library staff in library advocacy. "We all must advocate for the value of our libraries and all of us must also be able to articulate our value as library employees."
Types of Advocacy
-Legislative
--Library Administrators
--Trustees
--Friends
--Grassroots
What's not happening is frontline advocacy coming from librarians and library support staff.
So how can librarians and library staff advocate for their library?
1. Articulate the value of your respective libraries and the value to their communities.
2. Intermediaries - Improve the quality of resources and services in the library environment.
Typically frontline librarians and staff are not charged to do library advocacy. Usually they are just responsible for services and outreach. The main thing that should be being done is to talk about how good your library is.
Level 1 Advocacy - Involve people by the virtue of their title and/or responsibilities
Level 2 Advocacy - Involve other librarians and library staff
Build an Advocacy Team
-Determine the extent of frontline staff involvement
--Provide scripts and/or "cheat sheets"
-Articulate that involvement and add to job responsibilites
Remember that staff must do advocacy at their comfort level by matching the message with the venues (grocery store, ballgame, etc.), work with staff for input, and then allow the staff to meet so that they can assess the outcomes of advocacy.
"Anyone who thinks they are too small to be effective has never been in bed with a mosquito."
My thoughts - this was a good session with a lot of good things to think about. We don't really think of librarians and library staff needing to advocate for the library, but it really is part of our job.
Dr. Camila A. Alire, the president of the American Library Association is the keynote speaker and discussing how advocacy must start with the library staff and faculty.
She defines advocacy as "active support of a cause or course of action." Her presidential initiative is involving library staff in library advocacy. "We all must advocate for the value of our libraries and all of us must also be able to articulate our value as library employees."
Types of Advocacy
-Legislative
--Library Administrators
--Trustees
--Friends
--Grassroots
What's not happening is frontline advocacy coming from librarians and library support staff.
So how can librarians and library staff advocate for their library?
1. Articulate the value of your respective libraries and the value to their communities.
2. Intermediaries - Improve the quality of resources and services in the library environment.
Typically frontline librarians and staff are not charged to do library advocacy. Usually they are just responsible for services and outreach. The main thing that should be being done is to talk about how good your library is.
Level 1 Advocacy - Involve people by the virtue of their title and/or responsibilities
Level 2 Advocacy - Involve other librarians and library staff
Build an Advocacy Team
-Determine the extent of frontline staff involvement
--Provide scripts and/or "cheat sheets"
-Articulate that involvement and add to job responsibilites
Remember that staff must do advocacy at their comfort level by matching the message with the venues (grocery store, ballgame, etc.), work with staff for input, and then allow the staff to meet so that they can assess the outcomes of advocacy.
"Anyone who thinks they are too small to be effective has never been in bed with a mosquito."
My thoughts - this was a good session with a lot of good things to think about. We don't really think of librarians and library staff needing to advocate for the library, but it really is part of our job.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Using Web 2.0 Tools for Library Instruction
I am currently working on a presentation dealing with the use of web 2.0 tools, how to incorporate them, and how to market them to students. I would love to hear from other librarians and instructors to hear what they are doing in their coursework to implement such things as blogs, tweets, Facebook, podcasts, etc.
My personal experience that I have found is that students use such things for personal use, but when it comes to education, they try to stick with more traditional settings. This is completely opposite of what the literature is saying. So what is going on? I am on a quest to find out if it is just our area that is having this issue or not. Are students just not ready to use social networking tools in their education? Any thoughts that you have out there would be great.
My personal experience that I have found is that students use such things for personal use, but when it comes to education, they try to stick with more traditional settings. This is completely opposite of what the literature is saying. So what is going on? I am on a quest to find out if it is just our area that is having this issue or not. Are students just not ready to use social networking tools in their education? Any thoughts that you have out there would be great.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Mobius Conference - VuFind at Truman Next-generation Open-source Blues
This session is about using an open-source next-generation catalog. Presenter is Stephen Wynn, Head of Technical Services and Systems at Pickler Memorial Library, Truman State University.
Last-generation catalogs are unfriendly, have limited feature and are no longer cool.
Next-generation catalogs have visual organization of results, faceted searching, results from catalog and more, social software, tag clouds. Examples include Encore and Aquabrowser. Presenter is showing an example of Encore and it looks really cool. So much nicer than the regular (old-fashioned) library catalog.
Right Generation Interfaces
-are told that libraries are losing users to Google and Amazon, but are we really in competition with them?
-Cool is nice, but most of the time libraries are not cool.
-Libraries should be interested in useful features such as faceted searching, breadcrumbs and social features
Options for Open Source catalogs:
Blacklight, Fac-bac-opac, LibraryFind, Scriblio, VuFind
VuFind - pulls info out of the last generation catalog such as if a book is available, descriptions and holdings, with next-generation users can then tag or rate the item. This also has a "cite this" option for different style guides. Students love this feature!
Features of VuFind include faceted searching, social software, real-time data from catalog, customizable index, breadcrumbs, statistical information available through SOLR Admin Module, locally created fields may be addded to the index in any way you please, relevancy ranking is completley customizable, and links to book cover images, reviews and other vendor content.
VuFind Social Software - users can set-up an account, add tags, rate items, etc. Does not currently have visual organization (tag clouds)
Fuctions for placing holds and obtaining "My Library" information are not yet written.
This library ran into problems with the installation instructions, they had to write their own.
There is a large learning curve for this product, not just this product but all the others that have to be used to support this (i.e. MySQL, Linux, Apache, etc.)
Result: did not end up implementing because of problems such as placing holds, viewing checked-out items and fines, built-in security measures, and optimizing SOLR.
While it did not work for this library, other libraries out there are using this and other's like it.
Last-generation catalogs are unfriendly, have limited feature and are no longer cool.
Next-generation catalogs have visual organization of results, faceted searching, results from catalog and more, social software, tag clouds. Examples include Encore and Aquabrowser. Presenter is showing an example of Encore and it looks really cool. So much nicer than the regular (old-fashioned) library catalog.
Right Generation Interfaces
-are told that libraries are losing users to Google and Amazon, but are we really in competition with them?
-Cool is nice, but most of the time libraries are not cool.
-Libraries should be interested in useful features such as faceted searching, breadcrumbs and social features
Options for Open Source catalogs:
Blacklight, Fac-bac-opac, LibraryFind, Scriblio, VuFind
VuFind - pulls info out of the last generation catalog such as if a book is available, descriptions and holdings, with next-generation users can then tag or rate the item. This also has a "cite this" option for different style guides. Students love this feature!
Features of VuFind include faceted searching, social software, real-time data from catalog, customizable index, breadcrumbs, statistical information available through SOLR Admin Module, locally created fields may be addded to the index in any way you please, relevancy ranking is completley customizable, and links to book cover images, reviews and other vendor content.
VuFind Social Software - users can set-up an account, add tags, rate items, etc. Does not currently have visual organization (tag clouds)
Fuctions for placing holds and obtaining "My Library" information are not yet written.
This library ran into problems with the installation instructions, they had to write their own.
There is a large learning curve for this product, not just this product but all the others that have to be used to support this (i.e. MySQL, Linux, Apache, etc.)
Result: did not end up implementing because of problems such as placing holds, viewing checked-out items and fines, built-in security measures, and optimizing SOLR.
While it did not work for this library, other libraries out there are using this and other's like it.
Mobius Conference - LibGuides
Second session getting ready to start. This one is about LibGuides presented by: first Rebecca Power anbd Chris LaBeau from UMKC, second Jaleh Fazelian and Melissa Vetter both from Washing University in St. Louis and Rick Dyson from Missouri Western State University . Several presenters from Wash U today.
LibGuide - predesigned website librarians can update easily can include RSS feeds, embedded chats, Delicious tag clouds, embedded video, student feedback, polls, etc.
Chris LeBeau - uses LibGuides first as classroom instruction and then for reference help. Students know what content they want, but not necessarily a specific item. Uses tabs on her libguide for organization purposes. Presenter is giving good information, but really specific to what she is doing - business resources. Study - average student only asks .1 question in class, teachers only ask 3 questions. On a one to one basis students will ask far more questions. On her libguide gives an area a way for students to ask questions after the class.
***Good idea to use for my bibliographic instruction classes.***
This presenter created a Q&A page with questions asked after the class.
Rebecca Power - Embedding the library, can embed a LibGuides widget into Blackboard.
***This is something that I would love to do to give students more information about the library and librarian. Students could have this at home when they are doing research. I am still thinking that I would like to go to their classes so they can see the "face" of the library. But what a great way to connect to the students where they are.***
Jaleh Fazelian and Melissa Vetter - Assessing LibGuides. Are students and faculty really using them? They compared their web based guides to their LibGuides. The overall usage of LibGuides increased exponentially in a year's time. Why? Link to guides better situated on newly redesigned home page, promotion of LibGuides, push to advertise in all areas, links in email signatures. Besides looking at stats, interviewed faculty and grad and undergrad students to see how they liked/used the guides.
Best quote from Jaleh Fazelian "It's not about what we [librarians] want, it is about what they [students] want." Amen sister.
Rick Dyson - started LibGuides in 2007, uses it for subject guides and course guides. What else can they be used for? Currently they have over 40 public guides. Non-traditional guides include special collections, library documents, faculty services, and guidelines for library exhibits.
***side not to my Bolivar colleagues, would be good to have one for the Author Series. ***
Private guides include policy and procedures for staff. Staff can not only access but have write access.
***So my question is with the way he is describing it, how is it different from a wiki? I'm thinking money.***
Rick has a libguide for his presentation found at http://libguides.missouriwestern.edu/mobiuspre
***I really think that this presentation would be better if they could have divded out the information instead of trying to put all this info into one presentation. Five different presenters from three different schools, all talking about something different. The only similarity is that they are talking about LibGuides.***
LibGuide - predesigned website librarians can update easily can include RSS feeds, embedded chats, Delicious tag clouds, embedded video, student feedback, polls, etc.
Chris LeBeau - uses LibGuides first as classroom instruction and then for reference help. Students know what content they want, but not necessarily a specific item. Uses tabs on her libguide for organization purposes. Presenter is giving good information, but really specific to what she is doing - business resources. Study - average student only asks .1 question in class, teachers only ask 3 questions. On a one to one basis students will ask far more questions. On her libguide gives an area a way for students to ask questions after the class.
***Good idea to use for my bibliographic instruction classes.***
This presenter created a Q&A page with questions asked after the class.
Rebecca Power - Embedding the library, can embed a LibGuides widget into Blackboard.
***This is something that I would love to do to give students more information about the library and librarian. Students could have this at home when they are doing research. I am still thinking that I would like to go to their classes so they can see the "face" of the library. But what a great way to connect to the students where they are.***
Jaleh Fazelian and Melissa Vetter - Assessing LibGuides. Are students and faculty really using them? They compared their web based guides to their LibGuides. The overall usage of LibGuides increased exponentially in a year's time. Why? Link to guides better situated on newly redesigned home page, promotion of LibGuides, push to advertise in all areas, links in email signatures. Besides looking at stats, interviewed faculty and grad and undergrad students to see how they liked/used the guides.
Best quote from Jaleh Fazelian "It's not about what we [librarians] want, it is about what they [students] want." Amen sister.
Rick Dyson - started LibGuides in 2007, uses it for subject guides and course guides. What else can they be used for? Currently they have over 40 public guides. Non-traditional guides include special collections, library documents, faculty services, and guidelines for library exhibits.
***side not to my Bolivar colleagues, would be good to have one for the Author Series. ***
Private guides include policy and procedures for staff. Staff can not only access but have write access.
***So my question is with the way he is describing it, how is it different from a wiki? I'm thinking money.***
Rick has a libguide for his presentation found at http://libguides.missouriwestern.edu/mobiuspre
***I really think that this presentation would be better if they could have divded out the information instead of trying to put all this info into one presentation. Five different presenters from three different schools, all talking about something different. The only similarity is that they are talking about LibGuides.***
Mobius Conference - Embedded Librarian
I am sitting at the first session entitle the Embedded Librarian - hoping to learn new and great things. The speaker is Brian Vetruba, Catalog librarian from Washington University in St. Louis. Right now technical difficulties with the presentation.
Presentation started - via webcast
Started in 2006 holding "office hours" - Official office hours at Main Library underutilized office located off-campus. Departmental lectures and social events became "office hours"
Becoming Embedded
-Regular office hours in convenient setting
-Problem was finding space and computer could use
-2 to 2.5 hours a week in the Dept.
Advertise and Be Visible
-Email, newsletter, signs
-Don't stay put in your office
-Strategically walk the halls
-Strike up conversations with faculty and students
Informal conversations can be productive
Results--Personal touch back into librarianship
***My thoughts is that this is a great idea when you are at a large university, you really need to have that interaction with the faculty and students to find their needs. I was hoping for more information on how to do this virtually which he has not discussed.***
Benefits
-Convenience
-being seen will prompt questions
-good pr for library
-market other services
-collegiality with faculty
Drawbacks/Challenges
-commitment of time
-no print resources available
-space at dept.'s whim
***I'm still thinking that there is a better way to do outreach to other dept.'s and students. In our world of the social web, it would be better to hold virtual office hours. I understand wanting to be "seen" but why not "go" where the students are...Facebook, MySpace, chat, etc. Just saying.***
Suggestions
-have relationship established with dept. beforehand
-walk the halls, meet people
***Presenter is good, but the presentation was not really what I expected. In other words there was good information, but really nothing pertained to what I would be doing in my job.***
Presentation started - via webcast
Started in 2006 holding "office hours" - Official office hours at Main Library underutilized office located off-campus. Departmental lectures and social events became "office hours"
Becoming Embedded
-Regular office hours in convenient setting
-Problem was finding space and computer could use
-2 to 2.5 hours a week in the Dept.
Advertise and Be Visible
-Email, newsletter, signs
-Don't stay put in your office
-Strategically walk the halls
-Strike up conversations with faculty and students
Informal conversations can be productive
Results--Personal touch back into librarianship
***My thoughts is that this is a great idea when you are at a large university, you really need to have that interaction with the faculty and students to find their needs. I was hoping for more information on how to do this virtually which he has not discussed.***
Benefits
-Convenience
-being seen will prompt questions
-good pr for library
-market other services
-collegiality with faculty
Drawbacks/Challenges
-commitment of time
-no print resources available
-space at dept.'s whim
***I'm still thinking that there is a better way to do outreach to other dept.'s and students. In our world of the social web, it would be better to hold virtual office hours. I understand wanting to be "seen" but why not "go" where the students are...Facebook, MySpace, chat, etc. Just saying.***
Suggestions
-have relationship established with dept. beforehand
-walk the halls, meet people
***Presenter is good, but the presentation was not really what I expected. In other words there was good information, but really nothing pertained to what I would be doing in my job.***
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