Shift Happens: The Quest for Continuing Relevance

ALA Annual Conference 2012

Anaheim, CA

June 22, 2012

The Shift Happens session was about the implementation of a new staffing model by the King County (Washington) Library System in order to support a vision to provide the best possible library service to their patrons; to provide services that matter, when and where they want it. They wanted to take their professional librarians out of the day-to-day operations of the library to free them to spend more time thinking, creating, planning, and implementing services for their communities.  Under the new staffing model, a new position, Public Service Assistant (PSA) was created.  The day-to-day operation of the library was shifted to non-MLS staff, and non-MLS staff was allowed to take managerial positions.  

The service goals of King County are: 

1) Facilitate early literacy (birth to 5 yrs); 

2) Engage and support teens and children (ages 6-18 yrs); 

3) Encourage lifelong learning in a variety of ways; 

4) Provide personalized information access and assistance; and 

5)Reach and engage a culturally diverse population. 

Service delivery is in the library, in the community (physical outreach) and online (virtual outreach). The new model was implemented in 3 pilot libraries for one year. Evaluating the new model had some surprising outcomes. Librarians felt that their worth had been devalued by removing them from the patrons, but at the same time, they were able to plan and provide a variety of successful programs and services they would not have been able to under the traditional staffing model which kept the librarians in the library behind the desk. The system is making some adjustments to the model, and moving ahead with implementing the model at more libraries this year.  The presenters warned that it is necessary to allow time to process the change.

This model makes a lot of sense to me. I feel I make my biggest contribution to the library when I have time to think, create, plan and implement. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen very often when I am at the library!

ALA Annual 2012: Pre-Conference on Civic Reflection

ALA Annual Conference
Anaheim, CA

Program attended: Civic Reflection Builds Community Connections: A Program Model for Libraries

Description (from ALA):  Targeted at library directors, department heads and senior staff from public, academic and special libraries, this hands-on workshop will train participants in dialogue facilitation skills with proven success in strengthening partnerships, building effective teams across departments and organizations, and raising the profile of the library as a center for community life. Participants will leave with valuable facilitation skills that can immediately be put to use for their libraries and communities.

Reflection: So far, all of the preconferences I've ever attended - whether at MLA or ALA - have been the highlight of the entire event and this one was no exception. Although it was a day and a half long preconference, the time went by quickly and left me wanting to know and do more. That's usually a good sign.

What is civic reflection? My interpretation is that civic reflection is the practice of engaging in a structured-without-being-inhibited discussion with a variety of people that is focused on a particular object or a combination of objects (i.e. a poem, an image, etc) in the attempt to elicit insights around a particular topic and thus generating lively and meaningful conversation that doesn't necessarily lead to observable outcomes but possible leads to a change in an individuals thinking or perspective. It's a different way to go about discussing themes (think: book clubs). It is also a softer, friendlier approach for getting folks to think and talk about challenging topics. It actually reminded me of something I heard Nancy Duarte say at PopTech 2011 about the differences in how Westerners and Easterners tell stories. She explained that after analyzing stories and speeches from countries in the two hemispheres it was clear that there are different techniques: westerners tend to be more direct and employ the shortest-distance-between-two-points-is-a-straight-line approach when conveying a message. Easterners avoid the direct approach in favor of a circular method that spirals around the main point in the effort to get the listeners/receivers to come to the conclusion on their own and thus experiencing a stronger resonance. Civic reflection is very much like the latter.

For a workplace example, let's say you're supervising a team of five or six people and you've identified a need within the team for improved communication (because who among us doesn't need to communicate better, right?). But instead of coming into your staff meeting and saying, "We need to communicate better," you instead ask your team to read a poem or essay that loosely - not directly - raises questions about communication like, Gate 4-A by Naomi Shihab Nye. Then, by trusting the civic reflection process, you as the facilitator step back and let the group organically discuss issues that resonated with them. You can always guide the group to the area of communication by asking questions but know that it might not happen this first go-'round.

One thing that was evident to me is that a civic reflection isn't necessarily a one-time-only gig. In fact, it might be more beneficial and have a greater impact if the discussion is continued over 3 or more 90 minute sessions.

How might this be applied to staff development?  My first inclination was to try this with a blended learning event that starts by having a group of staff complete the same skillsoft course (I know, I can hear the groans from here...) but then have that group of folks meet face to face to experience a civic reflection around whatever the course topic is. I also think it might be helpful to employ this type of conversation model to the One Maryland One Book events that happen in October. The civic reflection model seems extremely flexible that I'm having a hard time not thinking of ways in which I can apply this to staff development and I'm looking forward to experimenting this year.

If you have ideas or suggestions or questions about how we can take advantage of this process here in the west please feel free to ask me but Carrie Willson-Plymire is our local civic reflection contact - she was one of the co-facilitators for the preconference at ALA and she's lead several other civic reflections in MD as well as in California, too.

I'll probably write more on this later ... there is still much to consider!

The E-book Elephant in the Room: Determining What’s Relevant and Effective for your Patrons & Making Effective Decisions for Your Future E-collection

ALA Conference Seesion
Anaheim, CA
June 22, 2012

 

The E-book Elephant in the Room session discussed different approaches libraries (both academic and public) are taking in response to the changes e-books are bringing to libraries.  The presenters were

 Anne Silvers Lee, Free Library of Philadelphia;  Arlene Moroni, King County Public Library, Heather A. McCormack; Linda Di Biase, Collection Development Librarian, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle; and  Sue Polanka, Wright State University. This session began with a challenge to librarians. Is the goal of your e-book collection to build a comprehensive collection, or to provide the most access to the most people? Most libraries are now moving to a hybrid model. King County’s experience has been the high demand has led to an increase in ebook purchases. They have been able to accommodate this increase by decreasing their database budget by 50%. They were able to weed out those e-resources not being used, and to help their patron’s transition to what was available by creating scripts. The University of Washington has been piloting different was of purchasing ebooks over the past several years.  The researchers were able to access the materials online. After so many activities, the ebook would be purchased.  Working in an academic consortia environment, the current pilot provides 10 short-term loans after which five virtual copies are purchased which may be used by members of the consortia. Ms. Silver Lee from the Philadelphia Free Library made a very interesting point- that their print book budget was roughly divided  with 60% to adult materials and 40% to juvenile. When they reviewed their ebook spending, 88% went to adult fiction and nonfiction,  and only 12% to juvenile and YA materials.  She also discussed ebooks and the digital divide implications. In Philadelphia, 40% of the households do not have internet access, however, more and more low income people are purchasing smart phones, causing the library to make sure their eresources address mobile access.

ALA Annual 2012: Empowering Staff To Learn

ALA Annual Conference
Anaheim, CA

Program attended: Empowering Staff To Learn: Self-Directed Learning Models

Description (from ALA):  Do those you train resist learning? Is formal training not yielding enough return? Join this program to learn successful methods for empowering your staff to seek learning, develop informal learning goals, and create a culture of growth and learning in your library

Reflection: I was hesitant to attend this session at first because I didn't feel like the description matched the environment here in the western MD panhandle. I rarely encounter resistance to learning from my colleauges and when I have encountered it I've found that there is almost always an underlying issue and that the resistance is a defense toward that underlying issue and not necessarily toward learning itself. Does that make sense? 

However, I attended anyway because it was sponsored by the Learning Round Table and they usually provide time-worthy programs and I'm 50% glad I attended because although it wasn't an A-ha! kind of program (I didn't leave with any big, inspiring ideas), it was a tool-kit building program and I'll share some of those tools that I acquired with you here.

1. This first take-away is more of a reminder to myself: if you're gonna talk the talk you better walk the walk. I was disappointed in the presenters' presentation techniques: poorly designed PowerPoint slides, not having set up and checked the microphones before starting, the speakers kept interrupting each other. This is just me sharing my pet peeves. As a trainer/staff development librarian I'm almost too aware of my own and other trainers' presentation styles. If I'm going to stand up in front of a group of peers and impart knowledge as an effective teacher/trainer, etc then I better darn well be modeling those behaviors during my presentation. I felt these two trainers were missing that in this presentation.
2. A book to read: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't. Author: Jim Collins.
3. The presenters recommend this Learning Styles web site as a free and easy way to identify your learning styles and to learn more about what they mean: http://www.learning-styles-online.com/ If you are familiar with evaluating websites then I hope you'll take a look at this site and share my concerns - or feel free to disagree with me; I'd love to have a discussion about this. Sure, it's a free site and sure you can take an online Memletics Learning Styles Inventory but what I want to know is, who created this site? Who created the inventory? Who are these people that wrote the testimonials? It raised more than one eyebrow with me and I'm surprised that other librarians are recommending sites like this to their peers. I understand why they did it but if they had gone directly to the source of this Memletics learning style (http://www.memletics.com/) they'd find a dead site. Hmm...
4. New word/concept: Andragogy. Andragogy is (according to Wikipedia), "learning strategies focused on adults." It differs from Pedagogy in that the focus there is on children. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy

Final Thought: if you recognize a resistance to learning in yourself or want to know how you can learn more about your learning styles, let me know. I'd be happy to talk with you or - if this is something that many folks are interested in region-wide then I can work on scheduling some workshops.

MLA/DLA 2012 Annual Conference

MLA/DLA 2012 Annual Conference

Ocean City, MD  May 9-11, 2012

Marilyn Pontius, Branch Manager of the Hancock War Memorial Library

The Maryland Library Association (MLA), together with the Delaware Library Association (DLA), held their joint 2012 Conference in Ocean City, Maryland May 9-11 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center.  The annual conference provides an opportunity to bring together library professionals from across the two states to “learn, share, and grow” (MLA, 2012). The theme of the conference was Choose Your Own Journey.

At the time of registration, first-time conference attendees were asked if they would like a mentor to help them navigate during the conference.  I took advantage of this offer, as was contacted via email before the conference by Ms. Monica McAbee, Adult Services Selection Librarian from the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System. She was very helpful  answering questions before the conference, as well as making me feel welcome once there.

The conference included social activities, organizational meetings, training workshops, speakers, and award presentations in a relaxed atmosphere. The conference included a vendor area, with booths from a wide variety of library vendors and library schools, including the University of Tennessee Knoxville School of Information Science.  

I was able to attend several training sessions including Great Graphics on a Shoe String Budget, presented by Christine Karpovage, the Graphic Designer/Webmaster from the Delaware Division of Libraries and Erica Karmes-Jesonis, the Graphic Designer/Webmaster of Cecil County (Maryland) Public Library. This workshop was targeted at librarians like me, who have little graphic design training, but find themselves making flyers and signs for their libraries. The workshop covered basic graphic design principles and tips on free and legal image sources.  Another session I attended was Using the Naikan Technique for Reflective Professional Development given by July Zamostny, Staff Development Coordinator from the Western Maryland Regional Library.  This workshop presented a simple technique that can be used to evaluate and reflect upon situations or events to help develop and incorporate a better understanding of the events encountered all around us every day. The technique uses critical thinking to examine a situation or event to identify what you gained, what you contributed, and how your actions impacted others, in order to fully incorporate the experience into your personal knowledgebase.

The dinner speaker on Thursday, May10, was Jay Parkinson, MD, MPH presented What Libraries Can Learn From Healthcare. Dr. Parkinson, a pediatrician and preventative medicine specialist, started a medical practice in his neighborhood of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY in 2007.  He wanted to return to the idea of a town doctor who made house-calls, bringing medicine to the patients rather than making patients come to the doctor’s office.  People would visit his website, see his Google calendar, choose a time and input their symptoms. His iphone would then alert him, and he would make the appropriate house-call. Patients would pay via Paypal. He would follow up via email, video chat or in person.  His success lead him to co-found Hello Health, a new way of experiencing healthcare via a Facebook-like platform that users technology to restore a traditional doctor-patient relationship updated for today’s lifestyle.  This was a very interesting presentation, and provided much inspiration for re-inventing library services and service delivery.

Throughout the conference, there were informal, social situations that promoted networking and camaraderie among the attendees. I was able to talk to several prospective students at the University of Tennessee Knoxville School of Information Science table in the vendor area, as well as visit several vendors.

Friday morning, I presented Training a New Breed of Rural Librarians to approximately 20 conference attendees to discuss my scholarship grant. The presentation was divided into three parts. First, the five phases of the Information Technology for Rural Librarianship (ITRL) Grant from IMLS was presented. Secondly,  I presented the curriculum and some of the outcomes my library has received in response to the customization of the course work. Finally, I reviewed the process of developing a library ‘elevator’ speech that can be used to promote and advocate for a rural library in a variety of situations. The presentation was well received and there were several questions following the presentation.  The slides may be viewed at http://www.slideshare.net/MarilynPontius/training-a-new-breed-of-rural-librarians.

               

The closing event of the conference was a luncheon during which several awards were presented. One of my colleagues, Ms Lisa Key, was awarded the Maryland Library Association Paraprofessional Award.  The luncheon concluded with an author interview of Kate Alcot, the author of The Dressmaker: A Novel. The book is about the life of a young dressmaker who survived the sinking of the Titanic. The interview was staged to recreate two people having tea on the Titanic, which was a nice touch.

Overall, the conference was a wonderful experience. The conference committee did an outstanding job. I hope I will be able to attend more MLA/DLA conferences in the future!

Reference:

MLA. (2012). What is MLA?   Retrieved May 16, 2012, from http://www.mdlib.org/Default.asp

Microsoft PowerPoint 2010

This morning's Tips & Tricks on Microsoft PowerPoint at Kaplan University proved to be well worth the time and $15 admission fee!.  Presented by John McAtee, it covered all of the basics as well as some things I considered more advanced.  Transition from slide to slide (and what cool effects the 2010 version has!), animation of the text on the slide, and creating a Master Slide so you don't have to format each slide individually, were just some of the tips I learned.  If anyone uses PowerPoint to create presentations for the public (or staff), this is a worthwhile class to take.

Marsha

HTTPS Everywhere

Another fine presentation by Maurice Coleman.  My take aways include using HTTPS Everywhere from the Electronic Frontier Foundation,  HTTPS Everywhere is a fee extension to create a private tunnel between your browser and the web site you are using, by forcing a https connection.    He also reiterated that Terms of Service really work to the advantage of the information provider so they can further their business, not as much to protect the end user.  Good Review of stuff everyone should be doing on their computers and devices.