10 Steps to a Better Library Interior

I recently came across an interesting little article on LibraryJournal.com that gave 10 tips for a better library intereior that I thought I would share with you.
So without further ado, here is 10 Steps to a Better Library Interior.
Enjoy!

Christmas, and More, at the Library!

T'is the season to deck the stacks with evergreen boughs and Christmas ornaments. As December 25 approaches, libraries across Canada have created holiday displays, read “Frosty the Snowman,” and held fundraisers in honor of the upcoming, Christian holiday. However, December is a month of many festivals and Christmas is celebrated in a number of ways by different cultures.

Besides Christmas, both Hanukkah and Kwanzaa occur in December. This year Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is celebrated from sundown on December 20 to sundown on December 28. Kwanzaa, a week-long celebration of African-American culture, occurs each year from December 26 to January 1. Because the Muslim calendar moves around, some observances of this faith occasionally show up in December too. In the spirit of inclusion and education, consider adding a few materials on these holidays to your displays, picking some new titles for storytime, or trying some related children’s crafts.

Along with recognizing other holidays, the library can be a great place to showcase a diverse range of Christmas traditions. Although Southern Alberta is mostly dominated by Canadians of European descent (German, Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, Ukranian, Italian to name a few), there exist significant populations of Japanese, Chinese, Latin American, and West Asian descendants and immigrants. If you library has a good relationship with a local cultural centre or a representative of a cultural group, consider inviting them into the library or partnering with the on a yuletide program or event.

To learn more about multi-cultural programming, check out the slew of information Library and Archives Canada offers on Multicultural Resources and Services. In closing, I would like to say that every community is unique and these suggestions may or may not apply to yours. Yet, it is worth it to recognize that the library is a place for everyone at all times of the year!

I wish you peace, joy, and love in the holiday season.

Community Value

For years now we've all heard about how libraries are transforming into new 'spaces'. Not just books, or not just books and computers. Libraries have changed over and over again, and are often on the leading-edge of adopting new ideas and new technology, and in doing so are invaluable pieces of their communities.

However, while reading a report from Library Journal's (L J) latest Design Institute gathering, I came across some discussion which seems very relevant to the Chinook Arch member libraries: creating a community space, and its ties to political 'success'. To some extent, all libraries engage in this already. Libraries offer programs, events and services to the community, and funding for these items comes from the community. As with most things, though, taking the idea of being a community space a step or two further may yield positive results for the library.

Opinions from the LJ session suggested that turning the library into even more of a community space, one well-tailored to the community's various needs, will aid in navigating the 'political shoals' that librarians and library boards are often faced with when looking for funding:

Librarians who really have ways to gather intelligence about their communities are the ones who are succeeding,” Scherer said. “The space is getting more anonymous to allow for anything to happen, but the services are getting much more tailored.”

That tailoring is key to political success, said Joseph Huberty, a partner at Engberg Anderson. “I think that local emphasis, tailoring the project to meet the community’s needs, is essential. No one will vote for a project unless they perceive an underlying need,” he said.

"Intelligence" sounds a bit like spying, but what he's really talking about is simply knowing the community like most library managers do.

So, with this in mind, when considering your next round of budget negotiations with town or city council, or when looking for new sources of funding from the community, are there any ways your library can be transformed into a space (services, resources, etc.) that is more tailored to your community's needs than ever before? Session attendees suggest that one of the biggest factors is identifying needs, and making those needs clear to the people in charge.

Or, to put it another way: "I think that local emphasis, tailoring the project to meet the community’s needs, is essential. No one will vote for a project unless they perceive an underlying need,” he said."

However much you do this now, you may find that looking for more opportunity in this area can really cement the role of the library in the hearts and minds of the community and its leaders.

The whole Library Journal article can be read here:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/community/managinglibraries/891656-273/changing_spaces_exploring_future_user.html.csp

Staff Development Day

Chinook Arch HQ staff recently participated in a staff development day where we learned more about our benefits package, participated in a team building exercise about communication and had some discussion around the concept of intellectual freedom. Staff were also 'quizzed' on Chinook Arch facts and rewarded with a holiday treat for knowing the correct answer.

Staff development days have many purposes:

• Allow staff time together in a more relaxed environment
  
• Allow staff who may not normally get a chance to talk to each other an opportunity to chat
  
• Builds a feeling of comraderie and reinforces common goals
  
• Allow staff to learn more either about their day-to-day work or overarching philosophies that affect their work. This can result in greater job satisfaction and better service to patrons.
  

Many libraries, and other organizations, recognize the value of staff development days. As such, a survey of libraries and their staff development days was conducted by the ALA Emerging Leaders Team and the results published on the Staff Day Success wiki (http://librarystaffdevelopment.wikispaces.com/). The team also shared on the wiki all of the ideas and resources for staff development that they collected through the survey. Included on the site are:

• Ideas for keynote presentations at your staff development day
• Ideas for topical workshops, including resources. Some of the ideas include: community involvement, customer service, team building and technology training
  
• Ideas for staff recognition
• 'Just for fun' activities
• Evaluation methods for your staff development day
• Other resources for professional development and staff development days

The Emerging Leaders Team's ultimate goal is to create a guide available through the ALA's LearnRT website for libraries interested in implementing their own staff development training programs. Watch for this resource at www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/clenert/index.cfm. In the meantime, the team continues to add to the Staff Day Success wiki.

There are also lots of ideas around team building, communication, etc on the web. You might want to do a bit of a needs assessment first to determine what the needs of your staff are. And of course, Chinook Arch staff are available to train on some topics.

Has your library held a staff development day? We'd love to hear about your experiences.

Read Dating

While I was scanning through some of today's twitter updates, I noticed one from Vancouver Public Library that read "LGBTQ Read Dating tonight, 6:30, Alice McKay Room, Central Library. For adults aged 19-35. Bring a book, DVD, or CD to discuss." While I'm not too familiar with this particular program's details, the concept seems a great one...and not just for the LGBTQ community. There are many single people in any community and many of them would probably appreciate having somewhere to go to have intelligent conversations with other singles in the area. Having a book club designated for singe people is an easy way to serve that need while simultaneously attracting people into the library. What a great idea for adult programming!

EBook Selection Diminishes as Penguin Pulls Out of Library EBook Lending

Given that my last two blog posts were on eBooks, I had intended to write on a different topic this week. However, it was not to be so. On Monday, November 21, Penguin Group USA announced that it would stop the library lending of new eBook titles and stop all library lending of its Kindle editions, citing security concerns as the reason for their withdraw. OverDrive posted a cursory message about this on their website, while Library Journal’s “The Digital Shift” fleshed out the situation a bit more. The story was additionally picked up in the mainstream media by Forbes.

While obviously unhappy about this new set-back in the eBook realm, my scan of the library world picked up morose undertones that did not characterize the backlash to HarperCollins' move earlier this year. Librarians seem to be increasingly pessimistic as we are being slow shut out of the eBook market. In her reaction to the situation, Librarian by Day noted that of the six big publishers only RandomHouse is playing nice with libraries. This is, admittedly, quite awful, since library patrons have ever-increasing expectations about what the library should provide.

The real problem is that the publishing industry is in flux and trying to desperately to safeguard their profits, as Andy Woodworth points out in “The Ever Increasing Disappointment with eBooks.” Until the sector straightens itself out, we will likely continue to see this sort of erratic behavior. Although there is no telling what the outcome will be, the publishing industry’s shift to digital has recreated a situation more than reminiscent of what the music industry underwent in the early 2000s. This likeness leads me to wonder if we are headed towards a total restructuring of the publishing industry, including a full-blown explosion of the eBook pricing bubble (see my post Ebooks: The New Normal).

My only hope is that libraries will be able to stay in the eBook game, no matter what happens. The publishing industry has much to gain by recognizing libraries for what they are and an eBook sold to a library is, unquestionably, an eBook not pirated, no matter how many times it circulates. For more compelling reasons why publishers should value libraries, see Librarian By Day’s follow-up post: "9 Reasons Publishers Should Stop Acting Like Libraries are the Enemy and Start Thanking Them."

Librarians helping librarians

I've spent about 30 minutes over the last week browsing around my usual library blogs and news sources in search of some blogging inspiration. I found none. Then, just now, having abandoned my search for ideas, I stumbled across an item from one of my old home libraries, the London Public Library (or, as I've had to start calling it since arriving in Lethbridge, 'the other LPL'.

The London Public Library publishes monthly newsletters on a great variety of topics. What may interest library managers and book-lovers reading this blog are their genre guide newsletters.

All told, they publish newsletters on 19(!) different genres, covering new releases and popular titles.

I thought perhaps blog readers here would enjoy this information, so check out the link below. It's worth noting, too, that clicking on one of the newsletters takes you to this month's edition, and it is not necessary to sign up to read them.

http://www.nextreads.com/join.aspx?SID=3d2c8c94-6a5c-40ff-bf71-c6e8e3040561

Melvil Dewey: International Library Hip Hop Superstar

While scouring the internet, I came across a very charming (dare I say slightly cheesy) YouTube video called "Welcome to the Library." The video features a very silly looking man rapping about how awesome his library is.

YouTube suggested that I should also check out his other videos "The Dewey Decimal Rap" and "Library Card", which I did. Both were equally as amusing.

I decided to look further into this mysterious library rapper. It turns out that Melvil Dewey, as he's known, "teaches children the importance of libraries in our communities, advocates reading and introduces basic library skills. His first single, The Dewey Decimal Rap, has over half a million hits on YouTube and is being distributed worldwide by McGraw-Hill in 2012. Meanwhile, two of his music videos have been deemed by The Huffington Post as two of the nine funniest library videos ever. Complete with book turntables, a rapping book drop and golden library cards, this high-energy hip hop artist empowers children to speak up for their library and encourages them to become lifelong readers." (http://storyyeller.com/bio/)

How can you not like a goofy guy who raps to promote libraries? He brightened my day! I hope he brightens yours too. :)

Delicious Story Hours

With the holidays fast approaching turning your story hours into a tantalizing treat might be just the thing you need to entice parents and youngsters out of their warm and cozy homes. Here are some stories you could use:

A Apple Pie (http://chinookarch.bibliocommons.com/item/show/359700040_a_apple_pie)

Anyone Can Eat Squid (http://chinookarch.bibliocommons.com/item/show/171635040_anyone_can_eat_squid)

Fandango Stew (http://chinookarch.bibliocommons.com/item/show/973874040_fandango_stew)

How Did that Get in my Lunchbox? (http://chinookarch.bibliocommons.com/item/show/978063040_how_did_that_get_in_my_lunchbox)

Rah, Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant (http://chinookarch.bibliocommons.com/item/show/977902040_rah,_rah,_radishes)

Tales for Very Picky Eaters (http://chinookarch.bibliocommons.com/item/show/973498040_tales_for_very_picky_eaters)

Time to Eat (http://chinookarch.bibliocommons.com/item/show/887906040_time_to_eat)

Of course you can add some healthy holiday snacks to your programs to make them even more appealing. How about:

• the ingredients for an apple pie (apples, raisins, walnuts)
• fall coloured vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, corn, radishes, yellow and red peppers)
• gingerbread men (just supply the cookies, icing and candies and kids can make their own)
  

And of course, there are some great ideas for delicious programming for adults as well. How about:

• Afternoon Tea
• Chef's Night Out
• Chocolate Social
• Coffee & Current Events
• Foods of Fall
• Sushi Class
• Tea Seminar

Share your ideas for tasty programming by leaving a comment here!

The Power of Transmedia Storytelling

The closing keynote address at this year's Netspeed Conference was delivered by Kevin Franco. The subject matter of the address was transmedia storytelling - a unique and interesting concept that I thought should be shared.

Kevin was one of the creators of the "Transmedia Storytelling Thriller" One Child - an online book released in real time through a variety of media. The author of the book is Jeff Buick, and Kevin is the marketing genius who brought the book to life through transmedia storytelling. Jeff wrote the story which follows the lives of several people, seemingly un-related, over a 30 day period in the summer of 2010.

The basis of transmedia storytelling is that it uses multiple story threads that intersect to create a full story. In the case of One Child the story was released in real time as it would have occurred. Here are some of the different ways in which the story came to life:

• A soundtrack for the book was created
• Social media was used to support the characters and the storyline - online profiles were created for characters in the story so that readers could interact with them
  
• An online radio station was created to support the storyline - it broadcast fresh audio everyday with news reports that incorporated actual events happening in the world, coupled with the news and events happening within the story (each new day in the story begins with a radio broadcast).
  
• Websites were created for 4 fictitious companies from the story - you could go online to learn more about the companies and how they would be perceived in a real world situation.
  
• 4 scenes from the story were recreated on film - so when readers read one of the news reports in the story they could click it and actually watch the news report right there on their iPad or desktop reader.

The really interesting part of this whole project was that the different media used did not simply duplicate the story. In fact the different threads of the story may or may not have been mentioned in the original narrative. The way in which the storyline and characters were supported created a real blending of fact and fiction which gave readers a completely different kind of reading experience - one that they became truly emotionally invested in.

You can learn more about the story and even purchase it at http://www.enthrill.com/onechild

Ebooks: The New Normal

On Wednesday, October 12, I had the privilege of attending the second annual virtual conference on eBooks, “Ebooks: The New Normal.” While the summit did not inspire me as much as the last year’s, I wanted to share with you the best of the many unique ideas presented.

As one of the opening keynote speakers, school librarian and author of the The Unquiet Librarian blog, Buffy Hamilton, had a lot to say about equality, access, and how libraries need to take advantage of a situation of confusion. She asserted that libraries need to make themselves an integral part of the eBook learning experience. She also voiced concerns about a lack of a standard DRM (Digital Rights Management), meaning all eBooks would work in exactly the same way, and about privacy issues with patrons using Kindles in the States. (If you would like to know more, Librarian by Day has written an amazing article on the deal that U.S. libraries cut with Amazon.)

In the session “Ebooks: Strategy (Not) Required,” Susan Lyons, Learning and Engagement Manager of the Richmond County Public Library talked about an amazing outreach program called “The EReady Takeover.” After noticing a number of customers in a restaurant using portable reading devices, Susan partnered with the venue and spent a day teaching people how to download library eBooks. To do so, her library created a mobile lab and gathered a team of 8 librarians. Since their first outing, the library has partnered with 12 other local business. Susan said that it has been a great opportunity to dialogue with non-library users, as only 10% of those helped were aware of the library’s eBook collection.

Lastly, Eli Neiburger, who was part of a panel presentation entitled “The ebook Evolution: How They’ll Change Public Libraries,” spoke passionately about how libraries need to focus on diversifying their value. He cautioned that we are currently in an eBook pricing bubble and that at some point disruptive technologies will cause this bubble to burst. Therefore, libraries should be creating content and services that are unique to their communities. Besides programming and working with local groups, he said libraries could be circulating items which could not be found elsewhere. Due to current licensing models and the fact that libraries do not actually own their digital content, Eli felt that this strategy would be the best way hedging against rapid demand shifts.

Snapshot Day 2011 Highlights

Well, Snapshot Day/week is once again complete for the Chinook Arch Regional Library System, but it's still happening throughout the province. We were very excited this year to incorporate some new ideas and new libraries. This year, we had 17 libraries in the region participate. In addition, we had libraries participating in 5 other regional Systems! The final numbers aren't in yet, but it should be impressive.

This year we offered an option for online patrons to participate. Online participants were able to fill out the patron comment card online, as well as upload their own 'snapshots' to our Flickr account. Uptake of this option was ... limited to say the least, but this year we can include online visits in our stats too (for the first time in a number of years).

For those of you who might have already 'liked' Brooks Public Library on Facebook, you may have seen some of the wonderful things they did for their Snapshot Day on October 6th. Here's a sampling:

• Hourly door prizes
• Words on the Window community art project - patrons were invited to write why they love the library using window markers on all the library windows
• Scavenger Hunt - winners received a pack of books
• Wii Gaming for Tweens and Teens
• E-book and Library-to-go training sessions
• Senior's Outreach
• Friends of the Library raffle
• Free cupcakes (handmade by library staff)
• Grand prize draw of a Kobo Touch e-reader

My favorite post on Facebook from this library yesterday was "Pssst. The first person to come into BPL and scream "I LOVE THE LIBRARY!!!" before 12 Noon will win a prize. Hurry hurry!"

The library promoted the event in the newspaper, on the radio, and via Facebook and Twitter. They tweeted and posted on Facebook live all day, and decorated the library with a giant book, a Giller display, a Brooks Reads display, and lots of balloons.

And here are just some of the results of their efforts:

• 302 people visited the library
• 26 people used the computer lab
• 600 reference questions were asked! (wow)
• 98 comment cards completed
• 29 scavenger hunt participants
• 12 Wii game participants
• 4 training attendees

Congratulations to the Brooks Public Library and their staff for putting on such a great event. If you haven't 'liked' their Facebook page yet, go do so now, and learn more about what they did on Snapshot Day: https://www.facebook.com/BrooksPublicLibrary

Chinook Arch libraries, please don't forget to submit your Snapshot Day stats via SurveyMonkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SnapshotDaySystemSurvey

You can also upload your snapshots to our Flickr site at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/albertasnapshotday2011/

Congratulations everybody on a great job this year!

OverDrive Training Month 2011

September 12 to October 7 is OverDrive Training Month. For this month, OverDrive has offered a few online sessions for those who work closely with the collection to better familiarize them with upcoming changes. During this timeframe, I have taken both seminars, the 2011 OverDrive Experience and eBook Explosion, and would like to share with you some of what I have learned.

OverDrive has recently begun to combine formats into single records within their online collection. Previously, users often had to choose between multiple records that offered differing formats: EPUB or PDF for eBooks, MP3 or WMA for audiobooks. Because readers found these multiple formats confusing, OverDrive has combined them into a single record. Now users can select the record and then select the format of their choice. This also had made purchasing easier in that buyers need only select one record of an an eBook or audiobook, instead of having buy multiple formats.

To give users a better sense of what a book is like before downloading it, OverDrive will soon be offering thousands of DRM-free sample files. By giving patrons a “sneak-peak” they are hoping to decrease the amount of downloaded and unread titles and to mimic the real life, borrowing experience. Soon, you will be able to look inside before checking out a title.

Another feature that I am very excited about is the incorporation of a “Recommend to Library” button. By adding this button to a library’s OverDrive site, a patron can click into a list of potential titles that their library could purchase for them and make recommendations to their library. The Chinook Arch librarians have been talking about adding such a feature to the site in the last month or so, so this addition could not be timelier.

OverDrive has also added better searching, with the ability to offer alternate options for incorrect spelling, is working on a more effective help system, and has added free titles from Project Gutenberg to our site. Many of the features that I have listed here will appear on our website over time, with some of them already available.

Besides these two courses, OverDrive has a number of online tutorials that can be watch whenever you have 15 to 50 minutes. You can access them at: http://www.overdrive.com/learningcenter/viewnow.aspx. If you are interested in either of the above sessions, you can sign up for them here: http://www.overdrive.com/learningcenter/registration.aspx.

CBC: Whither the Library

On Tuesday, August 2, when the debate surrounding the closure of library branches in Toronto was just getting off the ground, the CBC Radio show The Current did a segment on the value of libraries to their communities. The host covers a range a topics, and challenges the interviewees to make clear the pro-library point of view.

Interview subjects include the directory of the Hamilton Public Library, and a Toronto Councillor and Public Library Board Member. While the individuals that are interviewed are quite skewed towards Toronto and area, the ideas and principles are much more universal.

The segment covers the advacement of ebooks, the use of the library as a 'living room and study space' by members of the community, and as a space for the community to gather and host events.

A discussion that caught my ear surrounded the issue of closing a branch versus reducing hours across more branches to save money. It centers on the nature of library services and how they enhance the community around them.

The whole clip, about 20 minutes, is definitely worth a listen:

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2011/08/02/whither-the-library/

Protect Yourself from Hackers

As many of you probably know by now, my Facebook and Hotmail accounts were recently hacked. Although I am careful to not keep very personal or financial information in these accounts, it was nonetheless disturbing. The hacker started conversattions with a number of my friends, asking for money - luckily, they all realized what was happening, because I was not in England, and I would NEVER have a conversation that did not include capitalization and proper punctuation :)

It took me quite some time to gain back control of my accounts and to clean up the mess he had made. As such, I have become more aware of what I should be doing to help protect myself. Here are some tips for you from the CNBC report "6 Ways to Protect Yourself from Online Hackers" (along with some of the new tricks I have employed):

1. "Don't use the same passwords. Consider creating an excel spreadsheet with your various accounts, usernames and passwords. Just be certain to password protect that file and ensure that your own computer's security is rock solid. "
   
   I am definitely guilty of this one. I have passwords for literally dozens and dozens of websites. As such, I tend to use the same one - or a variation on one - to make them easy to remember. So, after my hacking incident the trick I have employed is to create complex passwords for the sites that I want to keep most secure - those that would contain the most personal information or cause the most harm if hacked (such as my webmail accounts, Facebook, and my online banking). For all the other sites (such as gaming sites, survey sites, etc) where there is no personal or financial information stored, I use one password that can be remembered easily. This way I only need to remember a few different passwords, but am still protecting myself.
   
   


2. "Don't use the same security questions. Just as people use the same passwords, they also tend to pick the same security questions—and thieves can use those to brute force their way into other accounts in your name, even when there's a flag on the account to watch for possible fraudulent activity."
   
   Whenever possible I try and make up my own security questions. This is not as difficult as making up new passwords for every account because as long as you can access the question, you should know the answer. Try and make it something only you would know.
   
   


3. "Beware your history. Online shopping is one of the fastest-growing segments of retail, but people often don't think about what happens after they complete a purchase. One of the biggest problems facing online shoppers is everyplace you’ve done business, you've left your personal information behind. Luckily there are now some tools to help you combat this problem. Services like ShopShield allow shoppers to keep their address, credit card information and more at a single location, instead of multiple e-tailers. And FirstData is experimenting with card readers that are designed to attach to consumer’s computers, letting them swipe credit cards at home and not have to leave that data on file with an online retailer. "
   
   I don't do a whole lot of online shopping, but realized after my email was hacked how vulnerable I was. A number of online retailers will store your credit card information on file so that you don't have to enter it every time you want to purchase. Because I store website logins in my email (another change I have made) I realized that the hacker could easily have used these to do some major purchasing on my credit card. As a result I immediately replaced my credit and bank cards.




4. "Share less. As social media grows, people have become a lot more open with personal information. You've probably heard not to announce on Facebook when you'll be out of town (it's an open invitation for thieves). But too many people don't realize they could be handing out their passwords without meaning to.
   
   Here's how it happens: People often choose a favorite pet or their child's name as a password, to help them remember it (and thinking that a stranger wouldn't know that sort of thing). But on their Facebook page, they've got all that information available and may not block access to it adequately via the site's security settings."
   
   I have always tried to use passwords that I thought very difficult to guess - certainly not something that would be even remotely available on my Facebook page. But somehow the hacker got in anyways. I see a lot of my Facebook friends sharing information that I wouldn't dream of - putting up their work schedules, or announcing they are leaving on vacation. Some Facebook users even like to announce that they'll be away from Facebook for a while. I've advised against this for 2 reasons: 1) It indicates that you are likely to be away from your house too. 2) It lets hackers know that they can probably take over your Facebook account for a while without you even noticing.
   



5. "Read the fine print. Living our lives online has made us a much more fast-paced society. So fast, in fact, that most people don't bother to read the policies they agree to at many sites. Most assume the language is basically the same everywhere and is meant to protect them, but often they're signing away their rights.
   
   Major corporations, for instance, might include a clause noting that by accepting the terms of their agreement with one subsidiary, you give them the right to share that with all of its holdings, meaning all of a sudden, your data is at dozens, hundreds or even thousands of sites without your knowledge.
   
   Read privacy policies closely and see with whom the companies you do business with share their data. "

I would suggest also ensuring you have anti-virus software on your computer and up-date it regularly. After my hacking incident I had my computer scanned for any malicious software that might have enable the hacker to read my keystrokes (nothing, by the way).

Also, be aware of using public computers. When I am away at conferences or on vacation I am constantly looking for computers to check my email and Facebook. I may rethink that now.

I have also looked into the security measures I can take on all my accounts. For example, with Facebook you can choose to have it notify you when someone logs into your account from an unrecognized computer. For bank accounts, you can choose to be notified when your bank or credit cards are used for over a certain amount of money.

One last tidbit of information for you. After I finally regained access to my accounts (no easy feat), I had to really do some cleanup. If you're not careful you could continue providing the hacker with personal information without even knowing it. Here are some of the changes I had to make:

Email:

• The hacker had set all of my emails to forward to his account. Hotmail notifies you with a bar across the top of the screen if this is happening. Thank goodness I noticed it so I could stop the forwards.


• The hacker's email address was added to my hotmail account as an alternate - giving him easy access to change my password at anytime. Obviously I had to remove it after changing my password.


• I also ensured that I checked all of my sent mail and notified those friends that had been contacted by the hacker to let them know what had happened. I also sent a warning to my entire address book - the hacker now had their email addresses.

Facebook:

• I had to add back Friends who the hacker had blocked and removed from my account. These were the friends who recognized what was happening and tried to warn myself and my other Facebook friends.


• I had to change my settings back so that my posts would again be visible to other people. This one took me a while to figure out. He had changed my defaults so that my friends could not see any posts that I made warning of the scam.


• I contacted any of the friends he had contacted via Facebook to let them know, again, that I was okay, and that I did not require money to be sent.

I don't think it's possible to not have an online presence these days. After this incident I was tempted to quit Facebook altogether - but realized that doesn't keep me completely safe; my email account contained more personal information than my Facebook did. Instead, I am even more diligent in ensuring that I don't post personal information that is not otherwise easily accessible anyways, and that I follow the advice above. Lesson learned.

(Source: "Six Ways to Protect Yourself from Online Hackers", CNBC.com, Accessed September 16, 2011. Available at:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43098448/Six_Ways_to_Protect_Yourself_From_Online_Hackers)

Library Board Basics: A Workshop for You

On Saturday, August 20th, Pat Wauters and I attended a “Library Board Basics” workshop presented by the Public Library Services Branch at the Taber Public Library. The day-long workshop was attend by board members, staff and member library staff from within and outside the Chinook Arch Regional Library System. Although still in development, this workshop was extremely useful to me as it helped understand how a board should effectively function and work with their library manager.

The workshop focused on four key areas: a general overview of library service and values in Alberta and beyond, the roles and responsibilities of the library board, funding and finances, and board effectiveness. Kerry Anderson, Ken Feser, and Patricia MacNamee clearly explained each of these topics and answered all questions. Attendees were provided with helpful literature, such as a guide to The Alberta Libraries Act and Regulation. (Note: I have found it a bit tricky to view these documents online and have notified them.)

If you are a board member or a library manager, I would highly recommend attending one of these workshops. Being aware of how a board should work is an important step in delivering effective library services to your community. As a board member, you are legally responsible for your actions, so knowing the ropes is in your best interest as well. The Public Library Services Branch holds these workshops at interested libraries across the province when asked.

If you would like to attend a future workshop, keep an eye out for announcements and notifications from Chinook Arch or contact the presenters through their website: www.albertalibraries.ca.

P.S. For anyone else having problems with the documents, Kerry Anderson emailed me direct links to the files. You can get to them by clicking on the below linked words:

• Libraries Act
• Libraries Regulation
  

Thanks Kerry!

What's a Library Worth?

There's a really great article in today's Globe and Mail by Vincent Lam that discusses a library's worth in the wake of proposed budget cuts to the Toronto Public Library.

Among his arguments against the cuts Lam asks:

Where would the 10-per-cent budget cuts come from, anyhow? Would it be from your library's settlement and housing seminars for newcomers to Canada? From the library's workshops on resumes and interviewing skills for those seeking employment? Perhaps some brave councillor would like to explain the axing of Homework Help for Teens, a free evening tutoring program, or the popular Business Seminar Series, which helps new entrepreneurs get off the ground?

Lam goes on to point out that the cost of running one of the busiest library systems in the world costs each Toronto citizen only 19 cents per day (or $68 per year); compared to $1 per day for the Toronto Police Service and 37 cents for Waste Management.

Lam's arguments are engaging and convincing and demonstrate some excellent examples of how we could be talking about the worth of libraries. I'd encourage you to give the full article a read at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/modern-citizens-know-a-librarys-worth/article2147704/

Fall is here, and so is RISE

As the summer (sadly) starts to wind down, activity on the RISE network is beginning to pick up.

There are a number of interesting sessions coming up, including a live videconference from Australia on the Great Barrier Reef. The always-popular Law@Lunch series will also be swinging back into action, with several videoconferences planned for September and October.

A new series of videoconferences from Culture & Community Spirit is on the RISE calendar now. The dates Are October 6, 18 and 20, and November 3 and 17. They will be providing information on grants available to non-profit and charitable organizations, and on the tax credit available to donors. Space is limited to 3 particpants at each date, so sign up now!

If you see something on the calendar that you'd like to sign up for, contact Kerby or Jeremy as quickly as possible to secure a spot for your library.

In the coming months we'll be talking with a number of community and public awareness groups and non-profit organizations about partnering with RISE to provide content of interest to communities through the Chinook Arch region. If you have any suggestions for groups we may with to contact we would be more than happy to explore the possibilities.

Mmm....steak. And great customer service!

Recently, we've heard a lot about how social media can help us market ourselves and our businesses, but many of us still don't really understand how. So we blindly sign up for up our twitter account and fumble to learn all of it's bells and whistles and we start following people and they slowly begin to follow us...so what? How is this helping? Chances are it isn't if that's all we're doing. We need to listen to and respond to the people we're following and who are following us. Recently, I read an article about a really awesome example of how listening to your followers can do amazing things for your public image. A man was about to board a plane and jokingly tweeted "Hey @Mortons - can you meet me at network airport with a porthouse when I land in two hours? K, Thanks. :)" And Morton's did. When the man's plane landed, there was tuxedo-clad waiter holding a doggie bag with the man's name on it. Talk about great customer service and great PR! When you listen to and respond to the people who are talking to you on twitter and facebook, it builds a more personal relationship with them, which is what many of us are doing already in our small libraries with the people we physically see. We always hear about how great it is that rural libraries know their customers...that's because we work hard to establish relationships with people when they walk through our doors. Using social media is just another way to develop these relationships when people aren't actually in the building. It's almost like outreach. So go on, reach out and talk to your tweeps! Great things could happen!

Ready for Romance? New Novels and Hot Trends

Can’t keep up with the deluge of romance titles? Join Booklist romance editor Donna Seaman for a lively overview of forthcoming romance titles from five leaders in the genre as representatives from Harlequin, Sourcebooks, Macmillan, Baker, and Harper showcase established and new writers and the latest trends from demon passion to Amish love stories in a free, hour-long webinar.

Tuesday, September 13, 12:00 pm
Register at: http://ala-publishing.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0xNzE3ODI0JnA9MSZ1PTEwMjgyMjUxMjEmbGk9NzgzMzA1Ng/index.html

Canadian Library Month

October is Canadian Library Month. This year’s theme is “Your Library: A Place Unbound”.

The Canadian Library Association has prepared tools and resources to help you celebrate. Visit
http://www.cla.ca/clm11/index.html for tools that include:

• Backgrounder and press release
  


• Ideas for celebrating
  


• Poster graphic
  


• Bookmark graphic
  


• Calendar of events

Why not share how you plan to celebrate? Post a comment on this blog for others to read.

Don't forget that Snapshot Day is being held from October 3-9, 2011 in the Chinook Arch region. This is a great way to not only celebrate Canadian Library Month, but also to create a 'picture' of what your library does in one day. Snapshot Day materials are now available at: http://chinookarchsnapshotday.pbworks.com/w/page/27706121/Snapshot%20Day%202011

BiblioCommons Lists: Fun and Effective Resources.

This summer I have been perusing the lists in BiblioCommons quite a bit. Usually I am looking for Twitter material, poking at others lists to see if all the items are available in our system. However, beyond this use, BiblioCommons lists are a great way to build your library’s connection to the community and promote new, favourite, or themed materials.

Since going live with our websites and BiblioCommons, a number of Chinook Arch member libraries have been creating lists of new items and then linking to these lists from their library homepages. Arrowwood, Cardston, Coaldale, Granum, Milo, Picture Butte, Pincher Creek, and Stavely all partake in this. I have also seen Lethbridge link to lists from their scrolling banner. If you have chance, check out some of this different ways these libraries have chosen to display their collections.

Lists can also be useful for patrons searching for new fiction and non-fiction titles. Edmonton Public Library does a great job of crafting helpful, unique lists which you can always turn to. A few of my favourites are EPL Picks - Nonfiction - Need a Summer Project? and EPL Picks - Adult Fiction - Mystery - Cats and Dogs, but there are loads more. Within our system, LPL_Teens does a fabulous job of creating comprehensive lists of items, all of which are available to your patrons.

I would like to end this post with a few last words on list searching and selection. When looking for lists, you can either look for the lists themselves by selecting “Lists” from the drop-down search menu or search for the user who creates the lists by selecting “User” from the drop-down menu. To select “User” you need to go into BiblioCommons, as this category is not yet available on your library’s website. Also, when looking for exceptional lists keep an eye out for the staff icon: Although there are many bibliophiles who do not work in the library, I find that staff are often amazing makers.

Free Resources for Geneaology in the Library

In most public libraries (and certainly all the ones I’ve ever been in), resources for patrons to conduct family history and genealogy research are present, and sometimes form quite a large part of a library’s collection.

Many counties, provinces, states and countries have made vast amounts of data available for research. However, in many of these instances, the content is only available for a price – a fairly steep one at that. Some sources may let you see materials online without charge, but ordering a copy is far from free.

Any librarian who has aided someone in genealogical research has encountered the ‘usual suspects’: namely various Ancestry websites, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints FamilySearch.org. Ancestry is fairly expensive, even for their stripped-down ‘Library Edition’ (available through annual subscription only), and the information available at FamilySearch.org is not all that coherent. For those beginning research in Alberta, or Canada in general, the FamilySearch.org collections are largely limited to census data, with some province-specific sources (though none from Alberta!).

So where to next?

While there are many, many great not-for-free sites out there with mountains of good information, the internet (as it so often is in many areas) is rife with free family history research content; you just have to know where to look. A word of warning: the information available for free is of varying quality and reliability, but a keen eye can help to sort the good from the bad.

Cyndi’s List

If you’ve done much work in this area, there’s every chance that you’ve encountered Cyndi’s List. At the ripe age of 15 years, Cyndi’s List is a veritable internet veteran, and nearly a one-stop-shop for free online genealogical resources. When I don’t want to pay, this is always my first stop. Note: not everything is free. A large number of the links are to Ancestry.com, in particular those with census data, and require payment to actually see anything.

The website has been remade in the not-too-distant past, and the navigation is fairly straightforward. Everything is sorted into categories. Country, record type (military, census, adoption record, etc.), societies and groups, and the list goes on… and on, and on.

If, for example, you go to Canada > Provinces > Alberta > Birth, Marriage, Death, you’ll see links to the Alberta Family Histories Society, Ancestry.com, Calgary Newspaper Announcements and a link to Vital Statistics sources from Service Alberta.

The sheer volume of resources available through Cyndi’s List makes any detailed discussion here impossible. I would encourage you to head there and give it a try yourself.

Rootsweb

Though owned by Ancestry, rootsweb is an entirely free service. The best use I’ve found is to search for names, and investigate the family trees people have posted. Oftentimes they are posted with no source information, but the site can prove useful for getting suggestions for names (and spellings) that can lead to detailed research from a more concrete source. Some people will have linked (or cited) sources with their family trees. If you encounter one of these, be sure to note the information for future use. It may prove quite valuable.

Find a Grave Canada

Find a Grave is, to be blunt, a fantastic website. Thousands of individuals have dedicated their time to locating, photographing and detailing the graves in cemeteries across the country. As well, the US database is even larger. On top of this, members can submit individual graves, also often with photos. I have personally found graves of a number of relatives while conducting research. The site can help to nail down dates and places, and adding a photograph to the family research scrapbook is always welcome. Best of all, it’s all free!

This has been only a tiny sample of what’s available out there, and I’d encourage you to do some digging around on your own. There’s really no telling what you’ll find for a patron, or what you might find out about your own past.

If you have any experiences you wish to share, feel free to comment!

CNIB's Summer Reading Program

I have a niece who was born with albinism. As such she sports beautiful snow white hair and violet eyes, but is also legally blind. Though she always did well in school, I know she often felt 'different' and tried her hardest to be just like the other kids. As such, providing opportunities that are accessible to all children is very near and dear to my heart.

The CNIB Library has teamed up with the TD Summer Reading Club to support accessible programs in public libraries. Kids under the age of 16 who are print impaired in your community can join the club through the CNIB Library to:

• Read books in audio and braille
• Take part in accessible activities by web, email or phone
• Join the CNIB team challenge and win prizes

The CNIB also offers a lot of great resources for providing your own accessible programming for kids in your community. You can download their Guide to Accessible Books at : http://www.cnib.ca/en/services/library/libraries-schools/visunet/Documents/SRC%202011%20Guide%20to%20Books.doc

Their Guide to Accessible Activities is available at: http://www.cnib.ca/en/services/library/libraries-schools/visunet/Documents/SRC%202011%20Guide%20to%20Activities.doc

You can also check out page 28 of your TD SRC Staff Manual for tips on including kids with print disabilities in your programming: http://www.td-club-td.ca/2011/009003-11-1000-e.html

Providing accessible programming at your library can be as easy as describing what you are doing and including activities that don't require vision.

For more information on the CNIB TD Summer Reading Club go to http://www.cnib.ca/en/services/library/kids/summer-reading/