NaNoWriMo

Want a great library program for the month of November? Want to draw in all those emerging writers, or just those who love to write? Why not participate in NaNoWriMo - or National Novel Writing Month? Here's the concept:

NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces participants to lower their expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

In 2009, there were more than 165,000 participants around the world. Participants can meet and discuss via the online forum available at the NaNoWriMo website: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

So, how can you participate as a library?

• Advertise the month at your library and lead people to the website for more information (flyers are available on the NaNoWriMo website for printing at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/1005807)
• Set aside writing space for participants
• Have weekly programs that invite participants to come in and work together
• Hold a video conference with other libraries so that even more participants can work together
• Hold a reading at the end of the month where each local participant gets to read a passage from their novel
• Post a comment on this blog to share your unique ideas for participating in this event

A Library Outreach Guide and free Library kits are available from the website at: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/library

This is a great way to connect with emerging writers in your community, and just a fun event for your library that can be held with very few resources.

Customer Focused Service: Say Yes, Not No

Last week, the entire staff at headquarters participated in a day long workshop focused on customer service training. The workshop, conducted by Brenda Robinson of the Robcan Group, introduced some interesting concepts to the staff here including the idea that internal relationships affect your external service. One of the major focuses of the day, however, was the idea of always communicating positively with your customer. Here are a few points that I took away from the day:

• The first 8 words of an e-mail or phone message are the most important. A lot of people will not read beyond those first 8 words without being given incentive. So make them positive and reassuring.
• When faced with a challenging situation or dilemma, ask yourself "what would work"? Brenda gave a very humorous anecdote relating to the differing ways her and her husband like to fold towels. They ultimately decided that stuffing the towels in the cabinet was all that was really needed - it got the job done and eliminated the arguments. When thinking about how to best serve your customer think about "what would work"? Sometimes existing policies impede our ability to serve our customers well; perhaps its time to review and revise them.
• Good customer service must include, involve and engage. Involve and engage your customers in deciding how to best serve them.
• When you have to say 'no' to a customer, don't start with the word 'no'. Give them the 'why' first - the reason you are ultimately having to say no - and they are more likely to hear you.
• Don't stop there though - give them options and alternatives if you have to say no. Make them feel like you've done everything you can to help them, even if you can't give them exactly what they've asked for.
• And lastly, don't actually say the word 'no'. Use positive language. We are all so accustomed to saying 'sorry' that we don't realize it actually has a negative effect. Avoid words like: sorry, unfortunately, regret, can't, inconvenience, rule, only, have to. Instead use positive words/phrases such as: I'll do everything I can, the next step is, etc.

The kind of thing Brenda was describing reminded me of a blog post I wrote a few months ago called "Do Libraries Send Mixed Messages?" . It involved the use of signage in libraries, and that instead of telling our patrons what they can't do, we should be telling them what they can. In many ways consistent use of positive language is a whole new way of thinking. How often do we say 'sorry' or 'unfortunately' in a day? It may take some real effort but in the end we will end up with happier, more satisifed patrons.

Quick Computer Training

Looking to brush up on your computer skills?  Check out this article from ALA's Learning Round Table for websites offering free tutorials, webinars, screencasts and more.
http://alalearning.org/2010/09/25/5-library-sources-for-quick-computer-training/

Taking back ebooks!

On Wednesday, September 29, 2010, Terra Plato and I attended “ebooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point,” a virtual summit. In what I would describe as a highly unique experience, we both logged in to our individual computers and proceeded to listen and watch different presentations throughout the day.

Besides the exploration of such issues as what the future of reading will look like and scenario planning for ebooks, I was comforted hear much discontent from the panelists about the current software and structures offered by ebook vendors. Sarah Houghtan-Jan, techie librarian and writer of the blog Librarian in Black, complained bitterly about how user-unfriendly most of the ebook vendor interfaces are. Her thoughts were echoed by a number of other panelists, some quite revolutionary.

Which brings me to my favourite session, the closing keynote address, “The ‘New Librarianship’ in the Age of the Ebook,” by David Lankes, Director of the Information Institute, Sycaruse University. Coming out swinging, Lankes argued that the current situation with ebook publishing is both librarians’ problem and opportunity. Not only did he call for strong political action, but he also stated that in order for libraries to take control of offerings, they must innovate and build a platform to serve their own needs. “Waiting for publishers to figure out the ebook model of the future is like waiting for heroin addicts to develop methadone,” Lankes asserted and I couldn’t agree more. Almost breathless through his impassioned speech, I felt incredibly hopeful for the future of libraries and ebooks.

We have had our own struggles with ebook distribution, but knowing that we are not alone and that there is a strong desire to change is heartening. If libraries can forge their own way into the world of ebooks, we will be able to better serve the needs of our communities apart from current consumer models. With so much concern, change is inevitable and I, for one, will welcome it with open arms.

Sit. Stay. Listen.

This might just be the cutest and most heart-warming library program I have ever encountered - children gaining self-confidence and improving their literacy skills by reading to dogs in the library.  According to an article in August's issue of American Libraries magazine, libraries across the United States (and some closer to home) are bringing registered therapy dogs into the library a couple times a month to listen to kids read.

  

The programs, with names such as "Read to Your Breed," "PAWS to Read," and "PAWS for a Story" provide a safe and nurturing environment for beginning and struggling readers.  While most children would find it an exciting change to read to a dog, the experience is especially beneficial for children who may be slower readers than their peers.  Since animals are perceived as uncritical, it is easier for a child to read to a dog than it is for them to read to a grownup.  Gloria Laube, a certified dog handler, noticed that children who read to dogs "become more confident readers as well as develop more self-confidence socially.  Some children who would barely whisper were reading normally after a few weeks" (Hartman, 2010).  Gloria is so passionate about the program that she started librarydogs.com, a website designed to encourage others to start up similar programs.

Now, some of you may be hesitant about bringing a dog into the library fearing that they might be messy or might misbehave, but this is why the programs only use trained therapy dogs.  Therapy dogs are trained to listen to commands and have calm temperaments that make children feel comfortable. They are also well groomed and have no problems staying on a leash.  The dogs used in Read to Your Breed (San Diego Public Library) stay on a leash and sit on a mat or blanket the whole time they are in the library.  Sunny, an 80 pound Collie even lets the children cuddle up to her while they read and is attentive during the story.  

I thought this was such a great idea that I did a bit more research on similar programs and discovered that Edmonton Public Library has already embraced this idea.  In collaboration with the Pet Therapy Society of Northern Alberta 14 out of 17 EPL branches present PAWS for a Story at least once a month.

Libraries looking to use therapy dogs in the library should check out:

PALS

http://www.palspets.com/

St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Service http://www.sja.ca/Alberta/communityservices/programs/pages/TherapyDogService.aspx

Library Dogs

www.librarydogs.com

(Reference: Hartman, Anna. "Good Dog. Sit. Listen." American Libraries, August 2010 http://bit.ly/9qN6ta)

Unshelved Answers

I ran across a neat site today. It is called "Unshelved Answers" and the concept is quite simple. It's librarians doing what librarians do best - answering questions. It is a place for librarians and library staff to go and ask questions of other librarians, thus benefitting from the collective knowledge of the many librarians who contribute to the site. And of course, if you are one of those librarians who just isn't satisfied with how your detective skills were used on the frontline today, you can contribute too.

The site seems to be in a transition phase, but right now, anyone can post questions, comments, tags and answers, so it's easy to participate. And there aren't a lot of rules - it seems to be a casual, friendly site. The more specific your question though, the more likely you are to get a useful answer.

Here are some examples of recent questions posted (and answered) on the site:

• Suggestions for positive language to use with patrons - received 9 answers, including one library that prohibits food and drink who offers to put patron's beverages in the staff fridge for them until they leave and provide gumballs to replace gum or lollipops that were disposed of as the patrons entered the library.
• Youth library decorating ideas - one example posted was, "I always have one table covered with a large sheet of paper and a can of markers near by. In large letters, in the center of the paper I post a book related question. "What is your favorite book?", "What was the last book you read?", and others. It doesn't really matter what the question is, before you know it the paper will be full of colorful flowery (the girls particully [sic] like this) writing".

This is a great way to get opinions from a wide variety of other libraries and just see how others are handling tough situations where it's not always clear what to do. One of the most popular uses of the site seems to be questions posted about specific books patrons are looking for but for which they can't remember the title.

Ask your own question, or browse for existing questions and answers using the 'tag' section of the site. You can also subscribe to the 'recent question' feed via RSS (Lauren is teaching an upcoming workshop on this if you need to learn how).

Visit the site at: http://answers.unshelved.com

Mentally Prepping for the Futures Symposium

Over the last few weeks, I have spent a lot of time pondering library technologies and their future developments. As many of you know, Chinook Arch staff have been working away to bring you both BiblioCommons and a new website. Recently, however, I have also been investigating how to effectively plan for those technologies that will improve our services for you and your patrons.

In order to do so, I have been reading a variety of things and partaking in some educational opportunities. One of the most interesting resources I have come across has been “The Bookends Scenarios: Alternative Futures for the Public Library Network in NSW in 2030,” which Kerby Salberg sent to me and I would highly recommend. On the side, I have been reading Richard Florida’s new book “The Great Reset” and for the last six weeks I have been taking an Elements of Technology Management course from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

All of these activities have led me to wonder a few things. How do we prepare for what technologies are coming and how can we guess what your patrons will want? Right now there are many trends that are overhauling the current library landscape, which is still in flux. To make our best guesses about what will happen, we need to look to the patrons to see what they are doing right now and where we can do things better. Therefore, I would like to encourage you to turn your eyes to your own communities and observe what is happening and changing and share those observations with. If we wish to stay relevant in the future, we must consider what is happening today.

On that note, have a great long weekend!