Digital Media in Storytime

On October 6-7, 2014, I attended the Digital Media in Storytime workshop presented by Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen and Cen Campbell.  Both days focused on integrating new media in storytime, as well as the idea of transforming storytime by repeating one book in different ways over a six week period so that children learn the book by heart.  As someone not comfortable with new media, I looked forward to two days of learning and trying new (to me) technology.

Since I was already familiar with the idea of transforming storytime, that was more of a review.  However, I learned lots of new information in regards to technology.  I learned about different sources for reviewing apps, such as http://littleelit.com/ (Cen Campbell's website), Common Sense Media, Children's Technology Review.  Kirkus, School Library Journal, and other typical book review sources also review book apps.  I also learned about various ways to include apps in storytime, such as projecting a book app to read a small board book (such as Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton), showing a new flannelboard (using the Feltboard app), and playing a guessing game with an animal sounds app.  My other big take-away from the workshop isn't necessarily learning something new, but receiving confirmation that digital is not always the best replacement for a favorite book or flannelboard and that the entire storytime does not need to be digital.  I definitely gained confidence in starting to experiment with new media in ways that still feel comfortable to me.  It was nice to see it put into action by practicing during the workshop.

I am responsible for the infant and toddler storytimes and share responsibility for pre-school storytime.  While I would most likely not use technology in the younger storytimes based on the recommendation for no screen time under age two, I would like to experiment with technology in pre-school storytime.  New media is becoming a trend in libraries nationwide, so I appreciated the chance to learn and experiment over the course of the workshop.  Overall, this workshop was well worth attending. 

ARSL Conference Notes

ARSL Conference - September 2014

Here's more from the ARSL conference I attended in September.

Delivering Excellent Customer Service -Break-out Session – Lisa Lewis

This session included tips and ideas on how to ensure that our patrons have a wonderful experience at the library through great customer service. (I’m listing these tips and ideas here, but some may go against your own library policy, so you’d need to check.)

Signs and Displays

• What is the first sign a patron sees when entering the library? Does this sign say “NO . . .”?  If it does, we should consider changing the wording. Negative wording hurts business and puts people on the defensive.
  Some examples:
  If the sign says No food and drink, change to something like “We love food, just not in the library.”
  No cell phones – Try “Thank you for not using your cell phone in the library.”
  Instead of No Loud Noise (etc.), try “Thank you for conversing in soft tones.”
• How many signs/posters do we have? Less is more, so use as few as possible.
• Weeding is important! Don’t overcrowd the shelves.
• Wipe off dust jackets when the books come in. Replace damaged ones.
• Change displays often.
• Using a digital frame at the circulation desk is a good idea. Add events to the display along with the photos.
• Suggestion: Set up maker-space tables with arts/crafts books and a craft for peopleto do.
• Suggestion: Display a table of cookbooks and add cracker and cheese, etc. (I’m not sure how this would work if we don’t allow food in the main part of the library, though.)

How We Assist Patrons

• Show people where things are.
• Be courteous on the phone.
• Don’t ever say:
  Are you sure?
  Wait, you’re confusing me.
  You’re wrong.
  Well, no one else has had that problem.
  Who told you that?
  Well, you’re gonna have to . . .
  It’s library policy. (Instead, explain why we have this policy.)

Fines and Fees

• Ease up and give staff the authority to forgive a fine.
• Chill out, loosen up, break the rules, compromise.

Tablet Slinging Librarians – Break-out Session – Leah Kulikowski

This session focused on practical and creative ways to use tablet technology to stay on the leading edge of customer service. A number of libraries are using tablets for:

• Children’s programs (Storytime apps like Peter Rabbit pop-up book App)
• Roving reference
•  Checking out books (with a Bluetooth barcode scanner)
• Credit card payment of fines
•  Music during programs
• Inventory (with a Bluetooth barcode scanner)

Leah said that her library uses an iPad as a Look-up Catalog Tablet mounted to the wall in the Children’s area. She also said that they took tablets to the park and signed up children for Summer Reading Club.

I thought these were innovative ways to bring tablet technology into the library.

Easy Patron Surveys

Easy Patron Surveys from Library Juice Academy

Instructor:  Jennifer Sweeney

Course overview

Surveys are one of the most useful and least expensive ways to gather information about your patrons! This course will orient participants on basic survey procedures, techniques, tips, and tricks. Topics will include sampling and response rate, question/response design, interpreting results, and ethical questions. The course provides readings, hands-on exercises, example survey questions and response patterns, discussion, and up-to-date online resources. Participants will finish the course prepared to collect and analyze survey data from library users on a number of different topics.

At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Select and reach the most respondents for typical survey topics
• Design relevant questions and useful response categories
• Use a spreadsheet to analyze survey results
• Understand basic ethical principles in survey design and use, such as protecting respondent privacy.

My summary

This course ran over four weeks. Each week covered a different topic: Overview of Survey Research, Sampling, Question Design, and Analysis and Reporting. I found the course to be a good balance between theory and practice.  This is a huge subject, and it is easy to spend a lot of time gathering information that isn’t really what you were looking for. Since I had done some patron surveys in the past, I think I was able to get even more from the class. I especially appreciated the methodology presented to assist in analysis (I was a math major after all).

How it fits in the big picture

I am interested in finding ways to measure the impact of the public library on its community beyond statistics and anecdotes.  This course has helped me start small, by developing surveys we can use after patrons attend classes or programs. I was also made aware of LibQUAL +, a suite of services libraries use ”to solicit, track, understand, and act upon users' opinions of service quality.” Perhaps it will be worth the investment at some point for WCFL to engage LibQUAL+ in order to focus and improve our services.

ARSL Conference Notes – September 2014 

On September 3 – 6, I attended the ARSL (Association for Rural and Small Libraries) Conference in Tacoma, Washington and found it to be a very worthwhile experience. Well organized and complete with good food and a great setting, the conference offered a number of break-out sessions helpful to small/rural libraries. 

On Thursday and Friday, we had breakfast and lunch speakers and 3 breakout sessions each day. On Saturday, Clancy Pool (Library Journal Para-librarian of the Year) gave a dynamic presentation – From Farm Wife to Cover Girl - about bringing a new spirit and library to her small town of about 500 people in Washington State’s Whitman County. While all the speakers gave interesting addresses, Clancy’s was a great one with which to conclude the conference. 

A few points I noted from her talk include: 

• People like to donate to specific things. 
• Look for resources to improve your library. 
• Find a mentor and be a mentor. 

Here’s a link to the Library Journal story about Clancy. It's worth reading.

Uniquely Connected: Expanding Community in 21st Libraries (Speaker Karen Archer Perry at Thursday's Breakfast)

Karen stressed that libraries sit at the junction of knowledge, service, and communities, and that she thinks “librarian super powers will save the world.” These powers, or tools for change, include trust, knowledge, technology, and place. 

Points I noted:

• If you want to get people into your library, get out into the community and meet people where they are. 
• Only 23% of the public says they really know what’s going on at their library. 
• People love the core services that libraries offer. 
• People need help navigating to things of meaning to them, and librarians can do this. 
• Librarians are America’s digital literacy corps. 
• eReader tablet growth is significant, yet 62% said they didn’t know libraries loaned eBooks. 
• Create an experience, not a product. (This was a prominent theme throughout the sessions I attended. My take on this concept is that we focus on service, and the product follows.) 

I have more notes to add from other sessions, so I will continue to post.

Black Eyed Susan Tapestry

On Sat., Sept. 13, I attended a program in Westminster MD about the 2014 Black Eyed Susan Award books.  We had to read about 15 books in advance in three different age categories and come prepared to discuss them with other children's public library specialists in Maryland.  The books I read were in the categories of picture books, gr. 4-6 books, and gr. 6-9 books. Pat Goff, who is the chairperson for the Black Eyed Susan Award committee gave a brief introduction. We each attended three one hour sessions.  There were about 10 librarians discussing the books in the various categories in each session.  The discussions were led by a moderator who had participants summarize the books and speak to their salient points.  I enjoyed talking about the literature and made notes on a few books that I may need to order for our collection.  Mary Amato, a children's author who lives in the Washington D.C. area was the keynote speaker for the day and talked about the influence of music on her books as well as how her own life is reflected in some of the stories she writes. After Mary's program, there were  presentations on the best middle grade and picture books of 2014.  Over all, I enjoyed the day very much.  I don't get to have discussions about topics in children's literature very much, and it was nice to see some of the other professionals in the field and ask them about their programs and collections.

Staying on Top of Technology Trends

I also took part in the InfoPeople course, Staying on Top of Technology Trends. What I appreciated the most from this course was that the instructor provided examples of how to keep up with general technology changes and how to keep up with the changes specific to libraries as well. The course material was extremely helpful to begin a trendwatching experience, by providing a plethora of updated sites and blogs which all discuss changing technology.

Keeping up with trendwatching blogs was definitely the key described in this course. Though I had been familiar with sites such as trendwatching.com, I had always been intimidated by the pure amount of information on developing technology available online, and so had been ignoring most of the sites. The best way to help keep up and organize the information is to use an RSS reader. While this may seem like old hat to most tech-savvy gurus, I personally cannot express how much easier it is to peruse internet articles with an RSS reader. I had been reluctant to use one, but at the advice of the instructor, I created a Feedly account and there was no turning back for me. Even though I only follow a few blogs, it really makes it easier to sift through the new information and preview articles before reading them.

The other helpful information I found in this course was the lists of suggested websites and librarian blogs which specialize in library technology, or even general technology. At the end, a Resource File was provided which concisely lists these blogs for convenience. I included the link to the resource file because I believe everyone can benefit from following even a few of these sites.

One of the key trends mentioned in the course was the use of cloud technology in library systems. I am not very knowledgeable about what uses we have here in Western Maryland for cloud computing at the library (outside of ILS storage), but I think it is definitely a direction we should look into.

Staying on Top of Technology Trends

I just finished a class called Staying on Top of Technology Trends. It was offered by Infopeople and was a four week webinar. Because I am part of WMRL's Technology Interest Group, WMRL was kind enough to foot the bill for the course.
 I learned where to go to find out the latest and greatest in the technology, specifically for libraries.  If I choose trend watchers wisely, I won't have to weed through dozens of sites sending me information.
One thing that particularly interested me was the concept of Makerspaces.  They sound like a great idea.  We have trouble getting teenagers to come to the library, and if we had some makerspaces, I think we could attract more of them.  The only problems would be finding space and money!
I also thought the idea of '23 things' was interesting.  This is a program developed by the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.  The staff was given a list of 23 technologies they should be aware of such as RSS feeds and blogs.  I think this is a good idea.  I know our system would benefit from having all staff competent in basic technology skills.
I hope I can use some of the ideas I learned about in this course to help bring staff in Allegany County up to date on technology trends.