Outcomes based training for libraries

Yesterday I went to a very interesting training sponsored by UALC:  Outcomes based measurement by Julie Todaro. She did a great job. There were many people there (maybe 100) from academic libraries in Utah. It was kind of fun to catch up with some of my old “cronies” from when I used to work at Primary. I miss all of those people a lot and wish I did more to connect with them. They always felt like friends to me (and still do).

It reminded me of the time I spent one week in DC doing OBE with the IMLS. I enjoyed that training as well. I went with Rose Frost and Juan Lee. It was a lot of fun.  Rose and I got split up on the metro one night. She went one way and I went another but we finally both got back to the hotel in one piece. Actully the IMLS training was very well done and really taught me alot on the topic. It was one week vs one day, and was so good. Much more in depth, actually.

This fall I plan to teach long range planning training to public library directors in Utah. I will use what I learned from Todaro, what I learned in DC, and what I learned from Sandra Nelson for the training. It will be based on the Planning for Results by Sandra Nelson.  It all has to do with good, meaningful reporting of what people want to accomplish in their libraries. I’ll have the training schedule up pretty soon, probably in 3 locations in Utah, and hope to get Craig Neilson and maybe others from USL to help out on the instruction. People have been calling me and emailing me about when it will start so I know there;s high interest among Utah library directors. When it’s posted you can register online at http://library.utah.gov/workshops

Tools of engagement

As Clay Shirky said in his 2008 keynote at  Web 2.0 Expo,  media is a triathalon: people like to consume, produce, and share it. Media that is targeted at you but doesn’t include you may not be worth watching. We might ask ourselves, in what ways are we engaging our audiences? How well do libraries help their customers to be a part of the picture?

Some ways that librarians can include others:

Make your website interactive with blogs, twitter, feeds from library-esq resources, etc. Some of the things we have tried may already be old school. What’s coming down the tube next? It’s pretty fun to at least watch and wonder.
Start projects that the public can have fun with.

free 2 succeedHere’s one really fine example.  The Bay Area libraries are having a Free 2 Succeed campaign. One library has a Free 2 Succeed job center and career information center.   There’s a Free 2 (fill in the blank) decal that people can download from their website and stick on a t-shirt or whatever else.   There’s a Free 2 contest where patrons can win prizes for telling what the library has done to make them free 2 move about the community.  There’s a video on the Free 2 website that highlights people in the community and what they are free 2 do.  Fun stuff.

Free Webinar: Finding (Legally Safe) Music and Videos for Presentations, Blogs and Podcasts

June 17, 2009, 1-2 pm MDT

InfoPeople of California is offering a free webinar. Pre-registration is not required. To participate go to
http://infopeople.org/training/webcasts/webcast_data/321/index.html

Your library has been creating content for websites and blogs for years, and now it’s moving into adding sounds, songs and video. You know just what type of clip you want, but have an uneasy feeling about its copyright status. Do you have a right to use it? Is there podsafe content you can use?

This webinar will help you analyze the legal rights attached to sounds, songs and video you find online and offline. It will walk you through safer approaches to using audiovisual content you want to use to make your podcasts sing!

At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:

• Understand the concept of podsafe music and sounds

• Identify at least three good sources

• Be familiar with best practices in evaluating Fair Use when using video and audio

• Know what to ask for when requesting permission from copyright owners

This webinar will also be of use to reference staff who field questions from the public about copyright issues.

Speaker: Mary Minow, attorney, consultant, and a former librarian and library trustee. Mary has taught library law at the San Jose State School of Library Science.  She was President on the board of CALTAC in 2002, the California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners, and now serves as its Policy Analyst. Mary is the first recipient of the California Library Association’s Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award, given in 2004.

If you cannot attend the live event, access the archived version the day following the webinar: http://www.infopeople.org/training/webcasts/list/archived

Kanab City Library celebrates 10 years in its new building

Kanab City Library was filled with fond memories and tributes to Marolynn Watson at their Tenth Anniversary Open House on May 16th 2009. The Library Board and staff had gone all out to show off many highlights of the past ten years. There were displays showing library accomplishments and artifacts of the library in days of old. The library first started  in 1915.

Marolynn Watson was the Library Director from 1980 to 2002. She got the funding and all of the approvals for the current library building. She was described as a “bulldog,” fighting hard for the community and the library. She received a special gift: a plaque to be put up on the entryway pillar. She and her son Rob flew in for the occasion.

Dicki Robinson, Library Director, gave a rousing speech about the library and Marolynn’s part in it. Rob Watson paid tribute to his mother and told many of the things she did to improve literacy in the community during her tenure as Director. Gail Glauser, Library Board Chair, presented the library a plaque that will be mounted in the front foyer.

Sheila Bernstein completed the day by playing “Impossible Dream.” A great time was had by all.

UPLIFT grant: Utah Library Assoc. Conference

Norma BlakeUtah Library Association received an UPLIFT Organizational Resource grant from the Utah State Library in 2009. About 400 librarians and library enthusiasts attended the annual conference, “Utah Libraries: Turning up the Volume.”

Four presenters were sponsored, in whole or in part, by the grant:

  • Norma Blake, NJ State Librarian, LJ 2008 Librarian of the Year, ULA keynote speaker, “Libraries Surviving Tough Times”
  • Joyce Saricks, “What we didn’t learn in library school”
  • Celia Ross, “Making sense of business reference”
  • Grace Mary Gouveia, “Collecting and supporting local history”

Here’s what attendees said about the programs:

Confidence building
Exceedingly interesting
She (Joyce Saricks) was amazing.
Great ideas and how-to with a small staff
Dr. Gouveia was very interesting–good choice for a presenter
I will share this info with my library’s other reference librarian
I can serve our community’s needs better because of this training
Norma gave a wonderful presentation about coping in today’s world
Celia was great! Excellent speaker with great useful information and sources
I enjoyed learning from this very knowledgeable and competent presenter. She is very good at explaining complex info in an understandable way. I would recommend her returning in the future for additional presentations.

What are Friends for?

Friends of the Library training is coming June 23 & 24 here in Utah. Register: http://library.utah.gov/workshops

When I think of Friends of the Library I think of collaboration. What are Friends of the Library groups for?

  • Public, academic. school, and special libraries. No one’s too obscure or too high powered to have Friends.
  • Supporting and benefiting the library community
  • Service
  • Connecting with others in the business world
  • Public relations
  • Advocacy
  • Community involvement
  • Literacy promotion, especially in school Friends groups
  • Fund raising

What can they sponsor?

  • Film festival
  • Storytelling contest
  • Book sales
  • Booth at the County Fair
  • Teachers’ tea
  • Bring shut-ins to the library during National Library week to meet the staff and the mayor
  • Special anniversary programs
  • More computers in the library
  • Job Fair at the library
  • Outreach program at the senior center
  • Provide funding for special library projects
  • Hospital book cart
  • Puppets, toys, and games for children
  • Promote literacy and reading
  • “Books for babies” kits
  • Making a new teen area in the library
  • Any activity that would benefit the library community

Google chrome

Just when I ditched ie as my default browser comes another strong defender…google chrome. It’s been around for awhile but is coming out strong all over the world it seems.