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!