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.