Friday, November 23, 2007
Last Assignment
Well, now that I've survived Thanksgiving it is time to buckle down and get the last assignment of semester one under my belt (and off my to-do list). This has been terrific learning experience. I would be hard pressed to come up with which week was my favorite. If pushed, I would have to say the week this blog was created because this blog has been like a holiday tree (Okay.Enough with this political correctness. You know which holiday I'm talking about so let's just call a Christmas tree a Christmas tree shall we?) off of which all these other shiny bright things have been hung. The blog let us send our hypothetical readers to other cool things like Flickr and Survey Monkey. The blog also acted like an anchor. We grew familiar with how it worked and could add pieces as we went to dress it up but we could always come back to something we understood. I had the most fun with Flickr when I did the Nancy Perl tour of the library slide show. I think the process that has been used for semester one has been most excellent. I know there are weeks when I feel overwhelmed by my day job and getting to the week's assignment just seems like one more thing, but stretching out assignments over too long a period would let me totally forget to do them. So I think the pacing is right on. I also like that participants have been asked to reflect on what they are learning and apply it to their local situation. From what I understand about adult education, this is precisely how it should be done. Theoretical with concrete applications really strengthen learning. Any day now I will be attaching this blog to the library's web page and taking it public. I have been talking to staff about some of the cool things I've learned and we have thought of about a gazillion cool things to do. Not that these things will happen quickly, but just knowing what the possibilities are frees the mind and makes it more flexible. This has been fun !!!!!!! I've really enjoyed myself and learning new things on a weekly basis. I have every intention of signing up for 2nd semester and playing even harder!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Wonderful Wikis
Greetings!
This is the last assignment for the first semester of ProjectPlay! and a reflection on wikis and their usefulness to public libraries - this one in particular. Wikis are an open, interactive, collaborative way of having conversations where input from everyone helps create a better product than any one individual could create. Wikis are like a lot of the other tools we've been exploring this semester in that they require a high degree of trust. You have to trust those who choose to interact with your wiki or blog or those who tag. Moving away from an authoritative model -- where such things as "authority control" are considered good -- to a wide-open, highly subjective model is frightening to some and exhilarating for others. And where you land on that continuum between fright and euphoria probably depends on how much you trust the public and how much you believe in the wisdom of the crowd. It will come as no surprise to my readers that I come down on the euphoric exhilarating end of the continuum. Many will say this is because I'm an idiot and don't learn from previous bad experiences with the public. But I am a true believer in democracy and believe that as a general rule the larger the number of participants, the better the decision ( recent general elections proving the exception, rather than the rule). So, inviting more people to the party will only make the party better. I have seen a wiki used for creating a strategic planning document with good effects. I have heard of libraries attempting to use one for delivering library board packet information -- which would probably work as long as board members didn't do any editing thereby creating an on-line quorum and thereby breaking open meeting law. Wikis seem a perfect venue for getting feedback and suggestions from all library staff around policies. Front line staff often have a better take on the implications of a policy and how it might play out, then the library board or administration. I think a wiki could also be used to update a strategic plan. The document could be put out there with comments about how implementation is progressing. The public would then make comments and suggestions about how to achieve those goals-- and, gasp!, even if those goals make sense. This would be a way to check to see if the public perception (that the goals have been achieved) match the library director's. Participatory libraries is what I believe the next iteration of the public library is all about. Library 2.0 will really put the public in public libraries. I can't wait to try out all the things I've learned this semester !
Ciao!
This is the last assignment for the first semester of ProjectPlay! and a reflection on wikis and their usefulness to public libraries - this one in particular. Wikis are an open, interactive, collaborative way of having conversations where input from everyone helps create a better product than any one individual could create. Wikis are like a lot of the other tools we've been exploring this semester in that they require a high degree of trust. You have to trust those who choose to interact with your wiki or blog or those who tag. Moving away from an authoritative model -- where such things as "authority control" are considered good -- to a wide-open, highly subjective model is frightening to some and exhilarating for others. And where you land on that continuum between fright and euphoria probably depends on how much you trust the public and how much you believe in the wisdom of the crowd. It will come as no surprise to my readers that I come down on the euphoric exhilarating end of the continuum. Many will say this is because I'm an idiot and don't learn from previous bad experiences with the public. But I am a true believer in democracy and believe that as a general rule the larger the number of participants, the better the decision ( recent general elections proving the exception, rather than the rule). So, inviting more people to the party will only make the party better. I have seen a wiki used for creating a strategic planning document with good effects. I have heard of libraries attempting to use one for delivering library board packet information -- which would probably work as long as board members didn't do any editing thereby creating an on-line quorum and thereby breaking open meeting law. Wikis seem a perfect venue for getting feedback and suggestions from all library staff around policies. Front line staff often have a better take on the implications of a policy and how it might play out, then the library board or administration. I think a wiki could also be used to update a strategic plan. The document could be put out there with comments about how implementation is progressing. The public would then make comments and suggestions about how to achieve those goals-- and, gasp!, even if those goals make sense. This would be a way to check to see if the public perception (that the goals have been achieved) match the library director's. Participatory libraries is what I believe the next iteration of the public library is all about. Library 2.0 will really put the public in public libraries. I can't wait to try out all the things I've learned this semester !
Ciao!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Tag, You're It !
Greetings!
This week's ProjectPlay assignment was to investigate tags on various sites such as del.icio.us and to blog about implications for public libraries. Well. When I was in library science school -- back in the days when books were replacing papyrus rolls (And you should have heard the complaints about that radical new technology then! The idea of turning a page and going from the bottom of one page to the top of the next instead of being able to continuously scroll down a page was bemoaned as the end of civilization as we knew it. But I digress.) -- the class I enjoyed the most was cataloging. I enjoyed it because there actually was a right answer (or maybe two right answers if you made your case extremely well). Unlike the rest of library science (The science part is really a misnomer because there really is nothing very scientific about it. Information systems, because they mirror the human intellect (because humans create it), tend to be organic. Searching for data is an inuititve process that runs more on hunches than repeatable, "scientific" techniques. But I digress. Again.) classifying information has a system or method to it. If you understood the system, you could correctly classify the item (ususally a book). Having a corrrect answer can be very comforting. Especially when you're a student and are looking for certainty. As I have matured, I've realized that certainty (as well as control, power, and a few other things that I can't recall right now) is an illusion. So the idea of a right answer isn't nearly as attractive to me now. All the preceeding was a very long wind up for this "pitch". I think the idea of libraries using tagging is extremely cool! I think libraries have been way too rigid about many things and that using tags and allowing tagging is a way of letting go of some of that rigidity. I think that tagging may be to cataloging what the King James Version of the Bible was to the authority of the church. Tagging is a fine example of participatory democracy. The people get to speak and the power of the group gets expressed by "voting" the terms that make sense to you. This is also language evolving right in front of our eyes. It is so cool! If a given term makes sense to describe a book you just read you tag it with that word. If others see that term and it makes sense to them, that tag gets used more and more. The more the tag is used the more people become aware of that tag and they start to use it too. This is language evolving dynamically. I also like the idea of tagging because I truly believe the group is smarter than the individuals that make up the group. Having many minds creating a "subject heading" allows all the various subtleties of language to be expressed in the tags all the members of the group assign. The more the merrier, and the more the better the tag's definition is. Tags on library websites is the obvious way to go. Tag clouds will take people to what others find fascinating and will let everyone who wants to, participate in the social network the cloud creates. I think I'll quit now.
Until next time, play on!
This week's ProjectPlay assignment was to investigate tags on various sites such as del.icio.us and to blog about implications for public libraries. Well. When I was in library science school -- back in the days when books were replacing papyrus rolls (And you should have heard the complaints about that radical new technology then! The idea of turning a page and going from the bottom of one page to the top of the next instead of being able to continuously scroll down a page was bemoaned as the end of civilization as we knew it. But I digress.) -- the class I enjoyed the most was cataloging. I enjoyed it because there actually was a right answer (or maybe two right answers if you made your case extremely well). Unlike the rest of library science (The science part is really a misnomer because there really is nothing very scientific about it. Information systems, because they mirror the human intellect (because humans create it), tend to be organic. Searching for data is an inuititve process that runs more on hunches than repeatable, "scientific" techniques. But I digress. Again.) classifying information has a system or method to it. If you understood the system, you could correctly classify the item (ususally a book). Having a corrrect answer can be very comforting. Especially when you're a student and are looking for certainty. As I have matured, I've realized that certainty (as well as control, power, and a few other things that I can't recall right now) is an illusion. So the idea of a right answer isn't nearly as attractive to me now. All the preceeding was a very long wind up for this "pitch". I think the idea of libraries using tagging is extremely cool! I think libraries have been way too rigid about many things and that using tags and allowing tagging is a way of letting go of some of that rigidity. I think that tagging may be to cataloging what the King James Version of the Bible was to the authority of the church. Tagging is a fine example of participatory democracy. The people get to speak and the power of the group gets expressed by "voting" the terms that make sense to you. This is also language evolving right in front of our eyes. It is so cool! If a given term makes sense to describe a book you just read you tag it with that word. If others see that term and it makes sense to them, that tag gets used more and more. The more the tag is used the more people become aware of that tag and they start to use it too. This is language evolving dynamically. I also like the idea of tagging because I truly believe the group is smarter than the individuals that make up the group. Having many minds creating a "subject heading" allows all the various subtleties of language to be expressed in the tags all the members of the group assign. The more the merrier, and the more the better the tag's definition is. Tags on library websites is the obvious way to go. Tag clouds will take people to what others find fascinating and will let everyone who wants to, participate in the social network the cloud creates. I think I'll quit now.
Until next time, play on!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Spenser & Susan
Greetings Readers!
I just finished reading the latest Robert B. Parker book entitled, "Now and Then". It's a classic Spenser novel with a classic plot, characters, and discussions centering around the private detective's long-term relationship with his lady-love, Susan. It's a short read, as are all Parker's works, because the action is driven by witty, pithy, dialog and sometimes significant silences. It's comfortable because the characters are all well known and there is nothing too surprising about how they act in dangerous situations. It reveals a little more about the love relationship between Susan and Spenser -- which at some level is probably what keeps many of us still reading. I guess there is a little surprise. After twenty years or more in a committed relationship. Susan brings up the idea of marriage. Upon reflection Spenser agrees that marriage is different. At the end of this book, they are not renting the reception hall, nor setting a date. But one can see where they might. Robert Parker has many books in this series of action / mysteries each revealing a little more about the main characters. If you're a long-time reader of the series, you won't be disappointed. If you're new to this series and like this book, you are very much in luck because there are many books in the series to keep you busy -- probably all the way through the upcoming winter.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
That LibraryThing
Greetings!
You may have noticed something new on this blog. Attached to the left hand side of the page is a randomly generated list of coverart of books in My Library at the LibraryThing website. This is a pretty cool way of putting together a collection of your favorite titles in one place. I could also see where if you wanted to spend the money -- which isn't much, actually-- you could put your entire personal library collection on-line and then be able to know what you own rather than rely on one's memory. The suggeter component makes better suggestions than Amazon (which drives me nuts because I don't want their stupid suggestions ( and I can't seem to figure out how to turn off that feature)) because it looks at a much larger database of titles and can predict what books others who own that title also own ( and therefore probably like). The Unsuggestor isn't quite as useful. The site has been glitchy when I was using it to start entering books into "My Library". And was glitchy again this afternoon. The Library Congress interface seems to be out to lunch today as well. Books I had entered included some, but not all of the Terry Pratchett canon -- this was due to the fact that the link from Amazon.com didn't include all the titles. So the Suggester gave me more Terry Prachett novels that I already knew about. I did come across a couple of authors I have missed in my wanderings, but Randkin, Bill Fitzhugh, and Tom Holt, I already knew about as funny, satiric writers. The Unsuggester didn't seem to work for me. I put in a title I owned or like and it found more titles by the same author. It's a great idea, but it didn't work for me.
Until next time, ciao!
You may have noticed something new on this blog. Attached to the left hand side of the page is a randomly generated list of coverart of books in My Library at the LibraryThing website. This is a pretty cool way of putting together a collection of your favorite titles in one place. I could also see where if you wanted to spend the money -- which isn't much, actually-- you could put your entire personal library collection on-line and then be able to know what you own rather than rely on one's memory. The suggeter component makes better suggestions than Amazon (which drives me nuts because I don't want their stupid suggestions ( and I can't seem to figure out how to turn off that feature)) because it looks at a much larger database of titles and can predict what books others who own that title also own ( and therefore probably like). The Unsuggestor isn't quite as useful. The site has been glitchy when I was using it to start entering books into "My Library". And was glitchy again this afternoon. The Library Congress interface seems to be out to lunch today as well. Books I had entered included some, but not all of the Terry Pratchett canon -- this was due to the fact that the link from Amazon.com didn't include all the titles. So the Suggester gave me more Terry Prachett novels that I already knew about. I did come across a couple of authors I have missed in my wanderings, but Randkin, Bill Fitzhugh, and Tom Holt, I already knew about as funny, satiric writers. The Unsuggester didn't seem to work for me. I put in a title I owned or like and it found more titles by the same author. It's a great idea, but it didn't work for me.
Until next time, ciao!
Friday, October 26, 2007
What I'm Reading Now
Good Morning!
If you can call a day that starts with a little rain and a mass of cloud cover and very little light "good". I'm of the age that thinks any morning you wake up and get out of bed can be called "good". And indeed today is good for something. It's perfect weather for reading. I just finished a new book Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell. This book tells the story of an exciting chase for a the lost Shakespearan play, "Cardenio". It's an action story with lots of historical detail, much in the same vein as "The DaVinci Code" only with a female protagonist (a scholar turned director of Shakespeare plays) and with an Elizabethean theme. As you may have surmised from previous posts, I'm a crane nut. I love Sandhill Cranes and birding generally. Another one of my passions is Shakespeare. I make a pilgrimage every year to Stratford, Ontario for a week of theatre (they spell theater with an "re" in Canada). We go to a matinee performance and an evening performance for 5 days, see a matinee on Sunday and start back to Wisconsin. Most of the plays we see are Shakespeare although the Stratford Festival started doing Broadway musicals a few years ago ( they used to do Gilbert and Sullivan productions which were just marvelous and were somewhat historic and very British so that sort of worked)and don't get me going on that ! I mean musicals are great and they are very well done with high production values but it's not really Shakespeare, is it? Anyway. The book by Carrell is very well done and a bit of a page turner. It's a great read for a dreary October morn.
Have a great one!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Take a Tour with Nancy
Greetings!
This is the first photo in a set of 8 that will take you on a tour of the library and show you some of the ideas I have for using Flickr on my blog and on the library website. In some of the photos Nancy shows off a new program ( our Random Acts of Popcorn) and some new technology (the Wii unit that just arrived). Her photos also use the library as background and could be used to show off some of the architectural features of the building. Using the Nancy Perl doll allows me to avoid the problems of permission to use images of real people and also lets my sense of humor loose (Okay, I think some of the photos are funny. Maybe you don't and that's fine too!) and this way I can state categorically that no humans (or any other animals -- although I did find a dead asian beetle adhering to my knee after I took a low angle shot, but I think it was already dead because the insides weren't squishy (they were all dried up) were harmed in the production of this photo sequence. Flickr has been easy to use and if I've had difficulties, the help areas have been very good. One drawback -- besides having proper manners and asking people if you intend to publish their picture ( or getting a more legal release signed) is that you can't just link to a slide show (or at least I haven't figured out how to do it). But now, for your entertainment and amusement follow this link to my photo page and view the slide show.
Enjoy!
This is the first photo in a set of 8 that will take you on a tour of the library and show you some of the ideas I have for using Flickr on my blog and on the library website. In some of the photos Nancy shows off a new program ( our Random Acts of Popcorn) and some new technology (the Wii unit that just arrived). Her photos also use the library as background and could be used to show off some of the architectural features of the building. Using the Nancy Perl doll allows me to avoid the problems of permission to use images of real people and also lets my sense of humor loose (Okay, I think some of the photos are funny. Maybe you don't and that's fine too!) and this way I can state categorically that no humans (or any other animals -- although I did find a dead asian beetle adhering to my knee after I took a low angle shot, but I think it was already dead because the insides weren't squishy (they were all dried up) were harmed in the production of this photo sequence. Flickr has been easy to use and if I've had difficulties, the help areas have been very good. One drawback -- besides having proper manners and asking people if you intend to publish their picture ( or getting a more legal release signed) is that you can't just link to a slide show (or at least I haven't figured out how to do it). But now, for your entertainment and amusement follow this link to my photo page and view the slide show.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
World's Biggest Sandhill Crane
Greetings!
As part of the ProjectPlay assignment I went browsing through the pictures available on Flickr. Since one of my other passions is Sandhill cranes (it ranks right up there with the Green Bay Packers, Terry Pratchett books, Shakespeare, and dark chocolate) I thought I would explore the images available. There were over 4,300 images of sandhill cranes! What bliss to be able to look at all the pictures of cranes and to learn of other spots around the country where I can go looking for them. My goal every year is to see Sandhill cranes every month. This works out pretty well in Wisconsin from March through November. Lately with the warmer winters, I can sometimes still find cranes in Wisconsin in December and they often return in February. This leaves me to go traveling in December, January, and February, looking for them. Every February I make the pilgrimage to Kearney, Nebraska to see the annual migration of about half a million cranes that are coming up the flyway to Canada, Alaska, and beyond. In December and sometimes January I go to Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife area in Indiana (about three hours from here) where the midwest flock stages on their journey further south. You can usually see 10 to 20 thousand cranes there. I've been to Bosque del Apache in New Mexico, Georgia, Florida, and a little place in the mountains in Tennessee (by the Georgia border) to get my January cranes. It's a cool reason to travel and it gets me away from the library. Imagine my surprise when I saw this huge statue of a Sandhill Crane in Steele, North Dakota. I never would have imagined such a thing existed, and now I will have to plan a trip out to see it. That way the next time I post a picture of the giant crane, that will be the Bookrat standing in front of the legs! And now for another part of the Projectplay assignment. Let's see if I can actually post this to my blog from Flickr! Ciao!
As part of the ProjectPlay assignment I went browsing through the pictures available on Flickr. Since one of my other passions is Sandhill cranes (it ranks right up there with the Green Bay Packers, Terry Pratchett books, Shakespeare, and dark chocolate) I thought I would explore the images available. There were over 4,300 images of sandhill cranes! What bliss to be able to look at all the pictures of cranes and to learn of other spots around the country where I can go looking for them. My goal every year is to see Sandhill cranes every month. This works out pretty well in Wisconsin from March through November. Lately with the warmer winters, I can sometimes still find cranes in Wisconsin in December and they often return in February. This leaves me to go traveling in December, January, and February, looking for them. Every February I make the pilgrimage to Kearney, Nebraska to see the annual migration of about half a million cranes that are coming up the flyway to Canada, Alaska, and beyond. In December and sometimes January I go to Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife area in Indiana (about three hours from here) where the midwest flock stages on their journey further south. You can usually see 10 to 20 thousand cranes there. I've been to Bosque del Apache in New Mexico, Georgia, Florida, and a little place in the mountains in Tennessee (by the Georgia border) to get my January cranes. It's a cool reason to travel and it gets me away from the library. Imagine my surprise when I saw this huge statue of a Sandhill Crane in Steele, North Dakota. I never would have imagined such a thing existed, and now I will have to plan a trip out to see it. That way the next time I post a picture of the giant crane, that will be the Bookrat standing in front of the legs! And now for another part of the Projectplay assignment. Let's see if I can actually post this to my blog from Flickr! Ciao!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Farewell From Green Bay
This has been an exciting conference. The keynote speaker, David Maraniss, was interesting and inspiring as usual. The session offered covered a wide range of topics and there was a great opportunity to meet with my fellow Project Play Classmates. And yes that was the Bookrat with the sampler of beer at the Titletown Brewery. It was so cute that all the little glasses of beer arrived on a little flatbed railroad car (the wheels actually rolled, too!). Due to scheduling conflicts the Bookrat found herself with some time on her hands and decided to have lunch at Lambeau Field. It was an incredible experience for a Packer fan such as the B-rat. This has been a liftetime goal and to finally visit the home of the Packers and to run out of the players" tunnel on to the field with the crowd cheering (Yeah, they play some canned crowd noise and so what if it was cheesy, it was also wonderful!) was awesome. And due to excellent timing some young men who were delivering leftover desserts from some corporate event to staff, gave our little group cookies (football player sized) and sodas. Just for being there! The whole tour and lunch only took a few hours out of the day and the Bookrat was back on time for the next meeting on the schedule. It was a most excellent day and a most excellent conference!
The B-rat will be heading back to DeForest this morning and will see later today, just how high the pile of stuff is on her desk! (In case you hadn't noticed, the color scheme the Bookrat uses includes green and gold, so this Packer mania should come as no surprise to the observant.) Until the next time, adieu!
The B-rat will be heading back to DeForest this morning and will see later today, just how high the pile of stuff is on her desk! (In case you hadn't noticed, the color scheme the Bookrat uses includes green and gold, so this Packer mania should come as no surprise to the observant.) Until the next time, adieu!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Greetings from Green Bay
The Bookrat has made it to the annual pilgrimage of librarians in the state of Wisconsin. This year the meeting place is Green Bay at the Regency Suites. The B-rat ( pronouced Bee-rat, not brat --like a spoiled child. Or brat -- like a sausage often consumed with beer at a tail gate party outside of Lambeau Field home of the mighty Green Bay Packers ) was late to bed and is now getting up at the normal time of before 5 a.m. The B-rat often blames the cats for awakening her so early, but obviously its not there fault. After consuming caffeine in large quantities, the book rat plans on becoming another kind of rat for a while and hit the gym. Once a rat, always a rat I guess. And after that, hours and hours of inspiring words from fellow librarians! The B-rat will keep you informed.
Ciao!
Ciao!
Friday, October 12, 2007
The Power of One or Maybe a Few & I get sidetracked
Greetings!
This has been one of those weeks where first the air conditioning didn't work. It got fixed just in time to beat the arrival of the cold front that dropped temperatures down to where they belong this time of year -- which means hovering around overnight lows that might put one in mind of turning on the heat! Then, last night, as the library's Dewey Stitchers were leaving the building, the elevator decided not to run. As previously stated, it's been one of those weeks. Last weekend however, was the culmination of lot of frenzied activity to convert the room formerly-known-as "The Ellison Room" ( a clever name referencing the fact that our Ellison machine was made available there to the public) into "The Rosenberry Room" to honor the former head librarian and her husband. The Rosenberrys (Howard and Peg) were one of the driving forces behind this community actually having a library. In 1964 or perhaps the year before, there was legislation (either at the state or county level) that basically said if a community wanted a library, then it needed to be in place by a date certain or the process for getting recognized as a public library would involve a number of hoops to jump through. The Rosenberrys and their friends, who included organized groups that socialized around topics such as these : Opera, Charles Dickens, and Sherlock Holmes, decided that there should be a public library in the DeForest area and set about making it happen. And they did. They put the squeeze on local businesses, individuals, and governments and on May 21st, 1964 the library board of the DeForest Area Public Library met for the very first time. By December of that year they opened a library. For a while there was some turn over at the helm. In 1968, when the library board was looking for a library director, Howard Rosenberry volunteered his wife Peg. She agreed to do it. The fact that Howard volunteered his wife without consultation might be interpreted as typical of the times. But it wasn't. The Rosenberry daughters (there are five of them, plus an AFS student from Norway who became a daughter during her year's stay with the family) affirm that the reason their dad volunteered their mother was because she was too self-effacing, too shy, to have put her self forward or in any way appear to be assuming she could do such a job. Howard had every confidence she could and supported her going back to school to get her degree in library science. Peg was the library for the next 20 years and her resignation brought the Bookrat to DeForest. The library board and staff finally honored the contribution this family made to the community with a ceremony and room naming on Saturday, October 6th. Unfortunately, both of the honorees had passed away by that time. The daughters pointed out that actually, that was great. Their parents would have like the idea that after they were gone that there was this wonderful occasion to bring their daughters together and to remind the community that individuals can make a difference.
Now, wasn't that an extremely long wind up, to get us to the title of this posting? I think we all know individuals who have made a difference. I firmly believe that public librarians are positioned well in most communities (It may be easier in slightly smaller libraries.) to be agents of change and to improve the community's quality of life as well. That often involves the extremely strong will of the library director. But what difference can one person make in the crush of the digital age and the screaming for attention that each new technology demands of the responsive public library? I think it all comes down to values.
There is much debate about the future viability of public libraries : Will it be replaced by the Internet? Will the printed book disappear? But public opinion polls and surveys generally agree that the public likes the idea of a public library, even if they personally don't use it. Now why is that? Subliminal programming leaps to mind. But that would involve having the means and opportunity to get at the general public and actually mess with their minds which can certainly be done (cf. mass media) but which most libraries don't have the time or the means to do. Maybe public libraries are a little like going to church. You attend when you're a little kid because your parents make you, which is where you learn to value it. When you get to the age of adulthood -- whatever that might be in your own particular family-- you may fall away from going to church. Then, when you have children of your own, a remarkable thing happens. You start going to church so your kids will go. And the circle of acquiring the values of one's particular clan, comes full circle. We see this pattern happen in library land as well. Pre-schoolers and primary-aged kids are great users of libraries are brought to the library by their young parents or the elders of their family. As the child ages he/she has less and less to do with the library. While at university, public libraries don't exist for most students. They get a job, have that first child and suddenly they're back using the library. It seems to me that this behavior in both cases, church and public libraries, is because these institutions epitomize the values of large groups of society. Parents want their children to share their values so they take their children back to that place where they themselves received "instruction". Perhaps, that's why public libraries have such staying power in the face of the digital age-- return customers and a values-transfer mechanism. I've always thought that to expand or even maintain our customer base we had to get the youngest members of the community and their caregivers "hooked on books". Listening to language and stories, and looking at books is still the major language acquisition modality for babies. Libraries have touted the language acquisition piece as new early-brain-development research trickles its way down to story hours. Public libraries have pushed the socialization piece as well for toddlers. You know, the bit about preschool story hours helping children learn to sit still, take turns, and share. Public librarians have generally not dared to look at the values piece. But I think it's there and we better start paying attention to it if we want public libraries to continue to exist in whatever shape they morph into next. I'll quit these musings for now since I've run on so long. But I think the power of public libraries is that one little kid in story hour(and a few of his /her friends who are having a grand time playing, laughing, making noise, surrounded on all sides by books) who is laying the groundwork for public libraries to exist twenty years from now.
Let me hear from you! ( You know who you are. I'm looking right at you!)
This has been one of those weeks where first the air conditioning didn't work. It got fixed just in time to beat the arrival of the cold front that dropped temperatures down to where they belong this time of year -- which means hovering around overnight lows that might put one in mind of turning on the heat! Then, last night, as the library's Dewey Stitchers were leaving the building, the elevator decided not to run. As previously stated, it's been one of those weeks. Last weekend however, was the culmination of lot of frenzied activity to convert the room formerly-known-as "The Ellison Room" ( a clever name referencing the fact that our Ellison machine was made available there to the public) into "The Rosenberry Room" to honor the former head librarian and her husband. The Rosenberrys (Howard and Peg) were one of the driving forces behind this community actually having a library. In 1964 or perhaps the year before, there was legislation (either at the state or county level) that basically said if a community wanted a library, then it needed to be in place by a date certain or the process for getting recognized as a public library would involve a number of hoops to jump through. The Rosenberrys and their friends, who included organized groups that socialized around topics such as these : Opera, Charles Dickens, and Sherlock Holmes, decided that there should be a public library in the DeForest area and set about making it happen. And they did. They put the squeeze on local businesses, individuals, and governments and on May 21st, 1964 the library board of the DeForest Area Public Library met for the very first time. By December of that year they opened a library. For a while there was some turn over at the helm. In 1968, when the library board was looking for a library director, Howard Rosenberry volunteered his wife Peg. She agreed to do it. The fact that Howard volunteered his wife without consultation might be interpreted as typical of the times. But it wasn't. The Rosenberry daughters (there are five of them, plus an AFS student from Norway who became a daughter during her year's stay with the family) affirm that the reason their dad volunteered their mother was because she was too self-effacing, too shy, to have put her self forward or in any way appear to be assuming she could do such a job. Howard had every confidence she could and supported her going back to school to get her degree in library science. Peg was the library for the next 20 years and her resignation brought the Bookrat to DeForest. The library board and staff finally honored the contribution this family made to the community with a ceremony and room naming on Saturday, October 6th. Unfortunately, both of the honorees had passed away by that time. The daughters pointed out that actually, that was great. Their parents would have like the idea that after they were gone that there was this wonderful occasion to bring their daughters together and to remind the community that individuals can make a difference.
Now, wasn't that an extremely long wind up, to get us to the title of this posting? I think we all know individuals who have made a difference. I firmly believe that public librarians are positioned well in most communities (It may be easier in slightly smaller libraries.) to be agents of change and to improve the community's quality of life as well. That often involves the extremely strong will of the library director. But what difference can one person make in the crush of the digital age and the screaming for attention that each new technology demands of the responsive public library? I think it all comes down to values.
There is much debate about the future viability of public libraries : Will it be replaced by the Internet? Will the printed book disappear? But public opinion polls and surveys generally agree that the public likes the idea of a public library, even if they personally don't use it. Now why is that? Subliminal programming leaps to mind. But that would involve having the means and opportunity to get at the general public and actually mess with their minds which can certainly be done (cf. mass media) but which most libraries don't have the time or the means to do. Maybe public libraries are a little like going to church. You attend when you're a little kid because your parents make you, which is where you learn to value it. When you get to the age of adulthood -- whatever that might be in your own particular family-- you may fall away from going to church. Then, when you have children of your own, a remarkable thing happens. You start going to church so your kids will go. And the circle of acquiring the values of one's particular clan, comes full circle. We see this pattern happen in library land as well. Pre-schoolers and primary-aged kids are great users of libraries are brought to the library by their young parents or the elders of their family. As the child ages he/she has less and less to do with the library. While at university, public libraries don't exist for most students. They get a job, have that first child and suddenly they're back using the library. It seems to me that this behavior in both cases, church and public libraries, is because these institutions epitomize the values of large groups of society. Parents want their children to share their values so they take their children back to that place where they themselves received "instruction". Perhaps, that's why public libraries have such staying power in the face of the digital age-- return customers and a values-transfer mechanism. I've always thought that to expand or even maintain our customer base we had to get the youngest members of the community and their caregivers "hooked on books". Listening to language and stories, and looking at books is still the major language acquisition modality for babies. Libraries have touted the language acquisition piece as new early-brain-development research trickles its way down to story hours. Public libraries have pushed the socialization piece as well for toddlers. You know, the bit about preschool story hours helping children learn to sit still, take turns, and share. Public librarians have generally not dared to look at the values piece. But I think it's there and we better start paying attention to it if we want public libraries to continue to exist in whatever shape they morph into next. I'll quit these musings for now since I've run on so long. But I think the power of public libraries is that one little kid in story hour(and a few of his /her friends who are having a grand time playing, laughing, making noise, surrounded on all sides by books) who is laying the groundwork for public libraries to exist twenty years from now.
Let me hear from you! ( You know who you are. I'm looking right at you!)
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Survey Monkey, et.al
Good Morning!
I know that there is a general fear of asking for comments and input. And the fear's the same whether you put out a cardboard box (nicely covered in wrapping paper to make it look attractive, with a slot cut in the top and color-coordinated slips of paper cut to a uniform size that when folded in half will slip easily into the aforementioned slot laid neatly next to the box with a supply of writing utensils nearby and the motto "Comment Box"emblazoned on the side) or a paper survey with carefully crafted questions and not too many open-ended ones at that, or something as wonderful as an online link to something like Survey Monkey. The fear is that there will be negative comments and of course there will be. But I have been through enough customer service workshops and trainings, and I have enough years on me to have observed, that negative comments can be gold. You can't fix a problem if you don't know the problem exists. Allowing anonymous comments lets loose some people's demons which they then visit, full-force, upon you. But this negative energy is exactly that, energy. Which if left undealt with can run like a virus through your customer base. But if met and mediated head on, it can strengthen your institution. I believe the metaphor I've just created is the "Vaccine Model of Customer Service". Dealing with the negative comments and customers strengthens the resilience, the immune system, the ability of the institution to be nimble and responsive, in a way that all the aren't-we-just-wonderful cheer leading comments we all love to get does not. And that negative energy with the right handling can be turned to positive energy -- it's sort of a Zen thing. Do I like negative comments? Of course not, but they are necessary. Do I want to solicit them so that customers have an easy way to vent their spleen at the library rather than tell all their friends about what an awful thing just happened to them and have those friends each tell all their friends? You betcha! I really believe in the power of the group. Ive been involved in many process during my career that proved to me beyond a doubt that the group is smarter than I am -- well, most of the time. Anytime I can get help from others, I'm more than willing to take it. Anyway, an institution like a public library needs to serve the public and the best way to know if you are (serving the public) and how good a job that public thinks you are doing, is to ask them!
All that being said, I would now like to invite you, Gentle Reader, to follow this link to my first Survey Monkey survey and tell me "Whad da ya want?" so that I can attempt to do something about it. Thanks for reading!
I know that there is a general fear of asking for comments and input. And the fear's the same whether you put out a cardboard box (nicely covered in wrapping paper to make it look attractive, with a slot cut in the top and color-coordinated slips of paper cut to a uniform size that when folded in half will slip easily into the aforementioned slot laid neatly next to the box with a supply of writing utensils nearby and the motto "Comment Box"emblazoned on the side) or a paper survey with carefully crafted questions and not too many open-ended ones at that, or something as wonderful as an online link to something like Survey Monkey. The fear is that there will be negative comments and of course there will be. But I have been through enough customer service workshops and trainings, and I have enough years on me to have observed, that negative comments can be gold. You can't fix a problem if you don't know the problem exists. Allowing anonymous comments lets loose some people's demons which they then visit, full-force, upon you. But this negative energy is exactly that, energy. Which if left undealt with can run like a virus through your customer base. But if met and mediated head on, it can strengthen your institution. I believe the metaphor I've just created is the "Vaccine Model of Customer Service". Dealing with the negative comments and customers strengthens the resilience, the immune system, the ability of the institution to be nimble and responsive, in a way that all the aren't-we-just-wonderful cheer leading comments we all love to get does not. And that negative energy with the right handling can be turned to positive energy -- it's sort of a Zen thing. Do I like negative comments? Of course not, but they are necessary. Do I want to solicit them so that customers have an easy way to vent their spleen at the library rather than tell all their friends about what an awful thing just happened to them and have those friends each tell all their friends? You betcha! I really believe in the power of the group. Ive been involved in many process during my career that proved to me beyond a doubt that the group is smarter than I am -- well, most of the time. Anytime I can get help from others, I'm more than willing to take it. Anyway, an institution like a public library needs to serve the public and the best way to know if you are (serving the public) and how good a job that public thinks you are doing, is to ask them!
All that being said, I would now like to invite you, Gentle Reader, to follow this link to my first Survey Monkey survey and tell me "Whad da ya want?" so that I can attempt to do something about it. Thanks for reading!
Friday, October 5, 2007
A New Feature
Greetings Readers!
If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will notice a new feature. The Bookrat has added a Blogroll! I don't know why it is so strangely satisfying to succeed whcn dealing with a new bit of technology. Since this blog is entitled "Bookrats Musings", I shall take a moment to muse on that topic. A long pause occurred here while the Bookrat went and got some popcorn, then got a soda, then went to see if the bookrat could turn on the hall lights in the basement for the Alternative Education Program of the High School that resides in the basement of the library (which the Rat failed miserably at, but did manage to turn on all the lights in the library (which opens at 1 p.m. on Fridays) which attracted a mother with child hopeing we were open and a single male returning dvds like moths to a flame, and having written this incredibly long run-on sentence, the Bookrat has reached the conclusion that overcoming technology is strangely satisfying just because it is. So there. Creating a blogroll was part of the on-line Project Play's assignment for week 3. I can see where this is a timesaver and also another way of sharing one's interests with blog readers and /or website visitors. Until later, Ciao!
If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will notice a new feature. The Bookrat has added a Blogroll! I don't know why it is so strangely satisfying to succeed whcn dealing with a new bit of technology. Since this blog is entitled "Bookrats Musings", I shall take a moment to muse on that topic. A long pause occurred here while the Bookrat went and got some popcorn, then got a soda, then went to see if the bookrat could turn on the hall lights in the basement for the Alternative Education Program of the High School that resides in the basement of the library (which the Rat failed miserably at, but did manage to turn on all the lights in the library (which opens at 1 p.m. on Fridays) which attracted a mother with child hopeing we were open and a single male returning dvds like moths to a flame, and having written this incredibly long run-on sentence, the Bookrat has reached the conclusion that overcoming technology is strangely satisfying just because it is. So there. Creating a blogroll was part of the on-line Project Play's assignment for week 3. I can see where this is a timesaver and also another way of sharing one's interests with blog readers and /or website visitors. Until later, Ciao!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Why Do You Read?
A couple of posts ago, I asked the questions "What are you reading?" Now, I'd like to know why you read. There are a few glib, surface answers that pop immediately to mind like : 1) for entertainment 2) to pass the time 3) to get pulled out of this time and into a different time or space. I guess those reasons just enumerated would fall into the category of "for a mind-altering experience". Which is all fine and dandy, but it's not getting at the heart of the question I'm trying to ask. If you're reading a classic, a great work of literary art -- 1) why are you reading it? and 2) what makes it a great work of art? The answer to question #1 might be that you want to be able to more or less name drop that title into conversations to impress your friends and astonish your enemies. The answer to question #2 we've all learned in English class, i.e. it has stood the test of time (that means it has stayed in print for oh, at least,say,50 years) and that its themes have universal appeal (that they transcend space and time which actually nicely circles us back up to answer number 3 to my very first question above) [Sister Jeremy would be so proud that I could still remember this]. So, I would be really interested to know why you read or attend theater (or theatre) or interact with the arts. I'll tell you why I think I do. I'm looking for insights into the human condition, or "illumination" as Sister Cyrille would call it. I hope that by understanding the commonalities of what it means to be human regardless of the historical era or the geographic place that I might actually get a grip about what it means to be me, interacting with you and all the others that make up my life. A good novelist can do that even while entertaining us with an breath-takingly exciting plot. John Grisham can give us insights into why money and power are so corrupting and how easily they seduce good people. Terry Pratchett through his satires holds up a mirror to all the foibles and follies of people from all walks of life so that you may bemoan the human condition, but you can have a good hard laugh at it at the same time. I think most of what is published actually does have some redeeming features especially if you're an English major in search of a thesis. Best-sellers are an expression of popular culture. Popular culture is what it is. It is "culture" because it is widespread and generally understandable to everyone, which is also why it's called "popular". It is accessible to the populace. I'm noticing here that I've begun to veer off into my popular culture rant. So, I'll end this now, where I began, asking you to tell me "Why do you read?"
Saturday, September 29, 2007
A New Book Changes Reading Plans
I discovered that the new Terry Pratchett book had arrived yesterday. So, I snagged it off the shelf and brought it home after a very long day at work. I started reading it immediately, but paced myself. I read only the first chapter to get me into the book, but since I so look forward to the publication of Pratchett's books, I want to savor it as well. This is a Discworld novel. For those of you who don't know what that means, I pity you. Pratchett has created a fantastical world inhabited by dwarfs, vampires, witches, wizards, death (as a character), etc. all inhabiting Discworld -- a flat plant that makes its way across the universe on the back of a giant turtle who stands on 4 (or 5) elephants. His characters and situations, however, mirror the world we inhabit and our foibles. Pratchett works are overlooked sometimes because of the fantastical species that form the fabric out of which he weaves his satire. He is, in my opinion, one of the great satirist of our time and deserves to be read more widely. Not only are his insights keen, he is one of the funniest authors you will find -- in the Monty Python school of absurdity. Anyway, the new book is called, "Making Money". The protagonist is Moist Von Lipwig, who in a previous book revamped the postal system of Anhk-Morpork and has now been asked to take over the mint, hence the title, "Making Money". Having a new Terry Pratchett book to read on a weekend with beautiful Fall weather in the forecast and a Badgers game and a Packers game to look forward --- life can't get much better than this!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
What I'm Reading
I thought this would be a good place to not only share information about what new titles -- in various media-- are arriving at the library, but to let you know what members of the staff are reading. Since I'm always the one with these nifty ideas that create more work for other people, I thought I would lead off and tell you what I'm currently reading, what I read recently, and what I plan on reading. I'm on page 167 of Tess Gerritsen's new book, "The Bone Garden". It shifts scenes from the present day--where Julie Hamill discovering a skeleton in her rural Massachusett's garden--to Boston in the 1830s when the West End Reaper is killing young women and Oliver Wendell Holmes (Senior) is a medical students involved with one of the protagonists. So far, it's compelling but a little on the depressing side (because it shows the underbelly of human nature). Gerritsen's writing reminds me of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs ( I just read "Bones to Ashes" (good) her character, Temperance Brennan is what the television series "Bones" is based on). My previous book was "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman. Pullman's trilogy, "The Dark Materials" is being made into movies, with the first book in the series,"The Golden Compass, coming out soon -- October or November. My next book is Elizabeth Peter's new Amelia Peabody book, The Mummy Case". If you haven't discovered this series of mystery/adventure tales set in Egypt prior to World War I, you're in for a treat. Amelia Peabody is an amatuer archeologist who meets the strikingly handsome Radcliffe Emerson; they hate each other; they love each other; they marry; have a child who is a prodigy in all things Egpytian; He grows up; marries; has children. As you can see, this is a long series. All the books have a great deal of humor provided by Amelia's diary entries -- which reveal a lusty, conniving matriarch. Every book in this series, and there are many, are fun and the Egyptian history is spot on because, the author herself is an Egyptologist when she isn't writing novels. I'll see if I can get someone else on staff to reveal what they are reading. Ciao!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
First Posting
Greetings Cyberworld!
This is the first posting from the DeForest Bookrat. Creation of this blog was / is an assignment from Project Play! Using blogs in the public library is the assignment and the myriad uses this type of communication can be used for in the public library arena. Well, off the top of my head, I can think of a couple. This is a great way to communicate more frequently than say a weekly newspaper column -- which I do now. Blogging on a regular, dare I suggest, daily basis, could alert the library's users about new books, and other media as items arrive rather than gathered into a weekly pile and delivered in print. Same thing holds true for news items that would go into a print newsletter. As things are planned, they can be blogged. Postings from the library on the blog would also be a good way of letting blog readers know what is happening that day at the library. And then there's the whole advantage of two way communication. The blog allows library users to ask questions, make comments on programs, or ask for specific titles and specific types of programs. This could be the greatest communication device since sliced bread(Well, I guess sliced bread isn't actually much of a communication device unless you toast it and scrape off the brown bits to write your message.) for public libraries who want to communicate with the public [which, let's face it, isn't all public libraries]. Anyway, I'm glad to have been pushed to give this a try.
This is the first posting from the DeForest Bookrat. Creation of this blog was / is an assignment from Project Play! Using blogs in the public library is the assignment and the myriad uses this type of communication can be used for in the public library arena. Well, off the top of my head, I can think of a couple. This is a great way to communicate more frequently than say a weekly newspaper column -- which I do now. Blogging on a regular, dare I suggest, daily basis, could alert the library's users about new books, and other media as items arrive rather than gathered into a weekly pile and delivered in print. Same thing holds true for news items that would go into a print newsletter. As things are planned, they can be blogged. Postings from the library on the blog would also be a good way of letting blog readers know what is happening that day at the library. And then there's the whole advantage of two way communication. The blog allows library users to ask questions, make comments on programs, or ask for specific titles and specific types of programs. This could be the greatest communication device since sliced bread(Well, I guess sliced bread isn't actually much of a communication device unless you toast it and scrape off the brown bits to write your message.) for public libraries who want to communicate with the public [which, let's face it, isn't all public libraries]. Anyway, I'm glad to have been pushed to give this a try.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
