Author Name: Jeff Ridgeway
Library System: Washington County Free Library
Top 3 things learned:
1. Sam Eddington is unique. I enjoyed learning about the Story Time App and may use it in the future, but probably not in the way that he used it.
2. I learned that I could probably have been an illustrator for Marvel had I continued to pursue my Art career, but at this point I don't think that's in the cards as I don't want to memorize all of the primary muscles in the human body.
3. I think that Allegany Co. presented two or three common sense ideas that we will probably look at adopting or at least consider for next year's reading club, but I also find that we are doing a pretty good job of presenting a high quality program ourselves.
How to implement:
I could see doing a "Wednesdays with Us" type of program where we standardized some program times in all outlets. I can see us putting out a "call for performers" for the Summer Reading Club, with a set expense account for those performers. I would like to see the WCPS schools do a complete buy in of our program to the extent that everyone enrolled in the system would be enrolled in our club (we would then have over 20,000 enrollees if that happened). I am looking at doing a story time with an IPad and can create story stretchers such as nursery rhymes using the app shown to us.
Additional learning: I think that we could have used a little more in-depth discussion regarding the SRC. The panel scratched the surface, but I think that having us get together with the individual librarians in each system is beneficial.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Summer Reading Club Summit
Author Name: Sarah McGuire
Library System: Allegany County Library Systems
Top 3 things learned:
1. Popular Graphic Novels
2. Drawing superheros!
3. Shadow puppet ans 30 hands app
How to implement: What to look for in a graphic novel, this is not one of my strong points.
Library System: Allegany County Library Systems
Top 3 things learned:
1. Popular Graphic Novels
2. Drawing superheros!
3. Shadow puppet ans 30 hands app
How to implement: What to look for in a graphic novel, this is not one of my strong points.
Summer Reading Club Summit
Author Name: Abigail Andrews
Library System: Washington County Free Library
Top 3 things learned: I learned how Garrett and Allegany Counties conduct their Summer Reading Clubs, about the Shadow Puppet Edu and 30 Hands apps, and learned about the process behind comic book art. I was very impressed by Allegany County's Sponsorship Packet and Wednesdays with Us programs.
How to implement: Hopefully we will be able to adapt the sponsorship packet to meet our needs in Washington County. While it is nice to have the same program on different days so that a wider variety of people can attend, maybe we can also add in programming at a consistent time county-wide.
Library System: Washington County Free Library
Top 3 things learned: I learned how Garrett and Allegany Counties conduct their Summer Reading Clubs, about the Shadow Puppet Edu and 30 Hands apps, and learned about the process behind comic book art. I was very impressed by Allegany County's Sponsorship Packet and Wednesdays with Us programs.
How to implement: Hopefully we will be able to adapt the sponsorship packet to meet our needs in Washington County. While it is nice to have the same program on different days so that a wider variety of people can attend, maybe we can also add in programming at a consistent time county-wide.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Tri-County Summit 2015 FYI: The Team, the Theme, and the Location
The Team:
Representing Allegany County: Carl Emerick & Kate Livengood
Representing Garrett County: Ann Leighton & Crystal Adkins
Representing Washington County: Beau Bradley & Will Carroll
Representing WMRL: Tracy Carroll & Elizabeth Hulett
Facilitator: Julie Zamostny
Why do we do the Tri-County Summit?
Before 2006, each of the library systems did their own staff day every year and at some point, the suggestion was made to have the three counties work together every other year to plan a shared staff day. Thus was born the first Tri-County Summit in 2006. The second Summit was held in 2009 and in 2010, the WMRL Advisory Board wrote the Summit into our core services and so we are committed to collaboratively planning a shared staff day every other year. The summit allows us to pool our resources, our talented staff, ideas, and energy for the purposes of lifelong learning, connecting/networking with each other, fostering community, and identifying areas for new collaborations.
When is Tri-County Summit 2015?
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015
Where is Tri-County Summit 2015?
At the Fletcher Branch of the Washington County Free Library
The Theme for Summit 2015:
It's a draft; we're still word-smithing...
"Bridging Our Gaps With Creativity: Honoring Our Past While Building Our Futures”
It may look something like this...
RELIB Staff Day
Author: Bonnie Winters
Library System: Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County, Oakland
Top 3 things learned:
From the Staff Round Robin, I learned that coming up with some programs that target our male patrons would be a good idea.
From the Creative Problem Solving break-out session, I learned that individuals react to change based on their own mental model and where they are in the transition process, moving through the phases from endings to new beginnings. The exercise we did with Julie in the problem solving session was
very helpful in showing how people view change.
Also in the problem solving session, we worked through a transition (the pie), the core components (ingredients of the pie), and then removal of one of these core ingredients and likened the process to the starfish losing one leg. The starfish's response would be to grow a new leg. And our assignment
was to list 1 or 2 opportunities that became available because of the lost component. In other words, we had to look at the pie with a new set of possibilities, rather than giving up because the one component was missing.
How to implement:
Regarding programming targeted to male patrons, we are researching options available to us.
Regarding the problem solving model, I have to remember to be open to new possibilities and looking at each situation with an open mind. Just because we can't do it one way doesn't mean we might not be able to do it in a different way.
Library System: Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County, Oakland
Top 3 things learned:
From the Staff Round Robin, I learned that coming up with some programs that target our male patrons would be a good idea.
From the Creative Problem Solving break-out session, I learned that individuals react to change based on their own mental model and where they are in the transition process, moving through the phases from endings to new beginnings. The exercise we did with Julie in the problem solving session was
very helpful in showing how people view change.
Also in the problem solving session, we worked through a transition (the pie), the core components (ingredients of the pie), and then removal of one of these core ingredients and likened the process to the starfish losing one leg. The starfish's response would be to grow a new leg. And our assignment
was to list 1 or 2 opportunities that became available because of the lost component. In other words, we had to look at the pie with a new set of possibilities, rather than giving up because the one component was missing.
How to implement:
Regarding programming targeted to male patrons, we are researching options available to us.
Regarding the problem solving model, I have to remember to be open to new possibilities and looking at each situation with an open mind. Just because we can't do it one way doesn't mean we might not be able to do it in a different way.
Governor's Grants Conference 2014
Author: Harry Sachs
Library System: Washington County Free Library, Hagerstown
Learning Event website: http://grants.maryland.gov/Pages/ConferenceDocs.aspx.
Top 3 things learned:
1) MARYLAND OPEN DATA LAW—Government Transparency
A major focus of the conference was this new law with speakers from the state and federal levels offering commentaries. This law, which went into effect in 2014, requires state agencies to make much of its public information machine-readable and searchable. A 37-member council was created as part of the law with a set list of targets that include designing and conducting a statewide data inventory, agreeing on minimum metadata standards and geo-aggregate standards, reviewing data mapping practices and establishing a statewide standard disclaimer and acknowledgement requirement. This council will encourage all branches of state and local government to use state open data portals and create their own, and adopt policies consistent with state Open Data policy. A national organization recently ranked Maryland in a six-way tie for first place for the state's commitment to open data and government transparency. The state's open data platform (http://data.maryland.gov) is part of an effort to foster government transparency and innovation and help spark entrepreneurial opportunities. The data can be viewed by type or category, such as administrative, budget, agriculture, economic or demographic. Visualization tools allow users to create charts and maps based on the data and embed these into web documents to share with others.
2) USA SPENDING—Tracking What the Federal Government Spends
Required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, this tool (http://usaspending.gov) is meant as a way of using technology to give the American public the means to track federal government spending with a single, searchable database on federal grants. According to its website, collecting data about the various types of contracts, grants, loans, and
other types of spending at the federal level will provide a broader picture of the Federal spending processes, and will help to meet the need of greater transparency.
3) EARN MARYLAND—Workforce Development Grants Program
EARN Maryland (www.earn.maryland.gov) is a new state-funded ($9 million) competitive workforce development grants program that is industry-led and regional in focus. EARN Maryland aims to address the demands of businesses by focusing intensively on the workforce needs of a specific industry sector over a sustained period. EARN Maryland invests in strategic industry partnerships from key economic sectors in every region. In Western Maryland, the EARN Maryland 2014 Implementation Grantee Partnerships include the Washington County Manufacturing Partnership.
How to implement:
The Open Data Law could be the focus of a future workshop on government transparency and citizen access to data. The Maryland Office of the Attorney General has also recently released this fall a revised edition of the Maryland Public Information Act Manual. Because the law has just been
enacted, the best approach at this time would be disseminating information for public awareness purposes.
Library System: Washington County Free Library, Hagerstown
Learning Event website: http://grants.maryland.gov/Pages/ConferenceDocs.aspx.
Top 3 things learned:
1) MARYLAND OPEN DATA LAW—Government Transparency
A major focus of the conference was this new law with speakers from the state and federal levels offering commentaries. This law, which went into effect in 2014, requires state agencies to make much of its public information machine-readable and searchable. A 37-member council was created as part of the law with a set list of targets that include designing and conducting a statewide data inventory, agreeing on minimum metadata standards and geo-aggregate standards, reviewing data mapping practices and establishing a statewide standard disclaimer and acknowledgement requirement. This council will encourage all branches of state and local government to use state open data portals and create their own, and adopt policies consistent with state Open Data policy. A national organization recently ranked Maryland in a six-way tie for first place for the state's commitment to open data and government transparency. The state's open data platform (http://data.maryland.gov) is part of an effort to foster government transparency and innovation and help spark entrepreneurial opportunities. The data can be viewed by type or category, such as administrative, budget, agriculture, economic or demographic. Visualization tools allow users to create charts and maps based on the data and embed these into web documents to share with others.
2) USA SPENDING—Tracking What the Federal Government Spends
Required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, this tool (http://usaspending.gov) is meant as a way of using technology to give the American public the means to track federal government spending with a single, searchable database on federal grants. According to its website, collecting data about the various types of contracts, grants, loans, and
other types of spending at the federal level will provide a broader picture of the Federal spending processes, and will help to meet the need of greater transparency.
3) EARN MARYLAND—Workforce Development Grants Program
EARN Maryland (www.earn.maryland.gov) is a new state-funded ($9 million) competitive workforce development grants program that is industry-led and regional in focus. EARN Maryland aims to address the demands of businesses by focusing intensively on the workforce needs of a specific industry sector over a sustained period. EARN Maryland invests in strategic industry partnerships from key economic sectors in every region. In Western Maryland, the EARN Maryland 2014 Implementation Grantee Partnerships include the Washington County Manufacturing Partnership.
How to implement:
The Open Data Law could be the focus of a future workshop on government transparency and citizen access to data. The Maryland Office of the Attorney General has also recently released this fall a revised edition of the Maryland Public Information Act Manual. Because the law has just been
enacted, the best approach at this time would be disseminating information for public awareness purposes.
Kids Are Customers, Too
Author: Laura Gross
Library System: Washington County Free Library, Smithsburg
Top 3 things learned:
How to implement:
Library System: Washington County Free Library, Smithsburg
Top 3 things learned:
- Early Childhood Readiness to Read.
- Greg Pizzoli's writing process.
- The benefits of comic books.
How to implement:
- Post tips around our children's room to give parents ideas how to incorporate reading skills into every day activities.
- Create specified lists of activities (At the beach, In the car, etc...) for parents to take and use to help their children with reading readiness.
- Keep updated with the newest and best comic for recommendations to parents and kids.
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