maura and the library

Where else would I be?

2009-10-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Patron: "You're here everyday!"
Me: "That's because I work here."

Swine Flu 101

2009-09-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Woman: "There is a woman over there coughing." (Points to a woman coughing.)
Me: "What would you like me to do about that?"
Woman: "Tell her to stop! Tell her how to cough properly. It's the swine flu!!"
Me, inwardly sighing: "Thank you. Don't forget to wash your hands."

And off to order Purell.

2006 Reference Questions

2008-08-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

I am cleaning up digital clutter at home and at work and came across this word document that I started in 2006. Not sure if I blogged this reference questions or not... but I am going to now!

October 24, 2006

What was the Dow Jones on last day of 1993 and 1994? The high, the low and the composite.
What was the price of oil in 1980?
I have to research funeral directors. What do you have to do to become a funeral director?

October 25, 2006

Who manufactures Allure shoes? What is their address?
I need information on river blindness (Onchocerciasis) and Guinea worm disease (Dracunculiasis).

November 27, 2006

I am looking for primary sources, like newspaper articles for this paper I am writing. My topic is Ancient Rome, about 100 B.C. I need information on daily life, arts, and important events.
I am looking for a painting my William Harnett, an American Painter. I think it is called “Still Life Old Violin”. I have done a Google search for the image, but I only found a cartoon version of it.
Stock prices for the American Israel Corporation for 6/6/83, 6/27/83, 7/26/83, 8/9/83, 9/16/83 as well as Electro Rent Corporation on 3/31/80, 12/30/80, 11/11/82, 11/15/83, 3/29/84.

The Librarian's Reference Questions

2008-08-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

Q: How many hot dogs were sold at Yankee Stadium last season (or most recent data)?
A: According to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council (NHDSC), 1.3 million hot dogs were projected to be consumed in 2004. Updated figures will be forthcoming. (This is a reference question/bet. Loser buys winner a hot dog* and beer at a baseball game.)

Q: When is the men's marathon being run at the Olympics?
A: The New York Times has this nifty Olympics tracker that allows you to search save the events you want to watch and follow. The men's marathon is on August 23 at 6:30pm. The American favorite, Ryan Hall has a great chance at medaling this year.

* Or treat of their choosing.

an opportunity for better signage?

2008-07-30T16:50:00.001-07:00

A patron approached the reference desk said something to me in a language I couldn't quite discern. I wasn't sure if it was English, heavily accented or another language. I made the motion to "write it down?" Perhaps he could write it down or draw it.

He folded his hands together, placed it at his crotch, waved them around and said "pssshhhh".

"Oh, bathroom?" I said. And walked him over to the men's room.

2008-06-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

My father with his father and grandfather.
Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Miss you. Love you.

Screencasting

2008-06-03T06:46:00.000-07:00

Wondering about using screencasting tutorials for basic things (email, double clicking) when customers have low level or no technology skills. How helpful will that be?
And become frustrated that we need to develop tutorials to show customers how to use our systems.
(wanted to note for awhile seeing loads of ppl use the library search box to get to yahoo)

Screencasting with Polly-Alida Farrington
http://lib20.pbwiki.com/

How is screencasting different from webcasting? or podcasting? or videocasting? Oh MY!
Screencast: capture of what is happening on the screen. Software will capture mouse movements etc. Can add arrows, text, sounds, directions...
idea: dead end page-- a tutorial on how to use the catalog. do you need help searching?

Examples of screen captures and call out boxes (directions saying CLICK HERE!)
audio definitely enhances the experience. more interactive. (thinking tutorials in other languages- both in the callout boxes and audio)
seeing some examples-- having difficulties formating for various sized screens. needs to be able to fit various sized screens.

thinking about the use of these screencast for internal staff training. (downloading audio, internal staff blog)

ireadblogs: articulate will format powerpoint into slides online. can add audio.

olin library @ cornell: research minutes (90 seconds) holds the attn span. concise and well edited. hosted on youtube. gets the main point across. goofy. fun. (a good example) what are the essential factors about the lesson. one point per screencast.

screencast storytime: can be run at home. storyhour?

preparing for your screencast:

write down all that you want to share. cross out most of them.
what they NEED to know.
2-3 min max
use staff members with a lovely voice
practice the click-thrus a few times
if using web resources, remember to clear the history to ensure all the links are fresh (and clean!)
ensure passwords are kept private

screencast planning guide: http://www.notess.com/screencasting/screencastworksheet.pdf
plan out the steps. focus on one skill set.

Wink Demo:
capture options: screens per second, input driven (mouse or key press), manual capture (users presses a key when they want to record)
wink is free and can be wonky.

ideas:
sign up for an email account. printing. downloading audio. accessing databases remotely. custom search in refusa. craigslist or ebay brief overview tutorial for upcoming classes.

Gas Map

2008-05-22T07:51:00.001-07:00

The first time my blue eyes were cast upon the Census Atlas of the United States I knew I was in love. A friend of mine introduced me to information aesthetics, a great blog that highlights various data visualization projects and visual communication. Sure, I like this work because it is pretty and interesting to look at, and because sometimes the message is in the medium. Information can be more powerful when represented graphically.

Having just moved to NYC and sold my car, I feel a bit insular from gas prices. I ran past a gas station the other night and regular was $4.11. My car had a 14 gallon tank and I would be pushing it up $60 to fill my tank. Ouch. If I was still living in Stamford, I'd be taking the bus more.

So this map of US gas prices is very interesting. A few things struck me right away. New York and Connecticut (or THE Connecticut as I like to call it) are red, the highest, but New Jersey is green, the lowest. My friends commented they are moving to Arizona and Wyoming, but I am sure you have to drive more there to get around.

I also found this map easy to use. If you zoom in to the city level, the shading scale is replaced with thumbtacks of local gas stations and prices. Once you get to that level the user has the ability to change the fuel type. Clicking on the dollar amount brings up all the prices at that particular station as well as an address.

Getting to know the Internet

2008-05-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

I teach a range of basic classes for my library: computer, internet and email. These are just high level overviews with a few goals by the end of each class. Learn how to double click. Learn how to search for something in Google. Set up and email address.

Today I had a full class for Internet Basics. We require that people take the Computer Basics class. I am always trying to tweak my instructional techniques, taking notes on the class before, looking up different analogies to use, creating new exercises. And sometimes, the classroom ecology takes all the prep work and throws it out the window.

One of the things I took away from this class was a need to understand more about literacy. All seven of my participants were foreign-born and English wasn't there first language. This is one of the things I like most about my library, and how the diverse community is represented in our services and collections. It felt like two competing literacies in the classroom. First, teaching technology skills, explaining about the internet. How to enter an address, how to search, how to click on links, but aside from the instruction, how to use the mouse and navigating around the screen. Coupled with English language literacy, people who are learning English at varying levels may not understand some of the words I use. One of my students in fact told me that, she was learning English and sometimes she didn't know what I was saying. I also enter the assumption that people have the ability to read as well.

Breaking down technology into smaller bite size pieces is very hard. How to describe something like double click or navigating Windows XP without using any computer jargon is hard work.

innovation into practice

2008-04-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

I attended the wonderful Computers in Libraries conference last week, and returned back to work full of ideas, plans of failure and ready to be creative. Helene Blowers and Tony Tallent (probably the best name ever) said, "Doing.New.Things. period. action." Now I'm back at work, reviewing and sharing my notes, attempting to keep that buzz going. I blogged this during their session:

failure is about innovation! you need to fail, and fail often. these are the experiences you will be learning from. failure is okay. be ready, accept it. BRING IT!!

Bring it. Bring it. I left that session feeling so jazzed, ready to get on the next Amtrak home, plan a new program or service, and watch it fail. Then learn from those mistakes and keep on improving.

But now, I find that momentum hard to carry. I am something of perfectionist and want everything to go off without a hitch, to be perfect and elegant. There are small things I want to have happen, but frustrated about not being in a position to do so, pushing but cautious of my boundaries. I've found myself afraid to fail. Back into the cycle of what ifs which generally delivers a stasis culture. Sometimes feeling lonely in the "let's try something new boat!". And just getting wrapped back up into the daily grind.

I have to remind myself that every time I teach a Computer Basics of Internet Basics class, I am failing just a little bit. I am always trying new strategies, perfecting my lesson plane, and teaching examples. I am always left humble to my students, who can throw me a curve ball any minute, and often do. I make mistakes in my classes, and at the end of the day, it is okay. I know what worked and what didn't work, and I get on with it. I make note of the strategies that work, and continue to fine tune the other points.

Being open and ready to fail is a mindset, that might take some work to get to.

Staff Tech Training - CiL 2008

2008-04-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

staff technology training: 5 steps to success
sarah-houghton-jan, digital futures manager

great resources, but we need to make sure everyone is on the same page:

why invest in staff tech training?
save money in the long run, strengthen staff skills and confidence, showing an institutional commitment to life long learning (helps in recruitment and hiring), increase staff retention rate, increase efficiency and productivity

staff tech training takes
time and money

will need to be customized for your library, as they are all different.

competencies based training cycle:
* planning and brainstorm
* creation
* assessing the staff (what they know, don’t know…)
* training (lengthiest, most time, most effort, needs attention)
reassessment (where are we now)

* and start the cycle over

step one: planning and brainstorm
what does your staff need to know how to do with tech to do their jobs well.
ex: send a fwd, there are a lot of steps to get to the point
what questions are the staff receiving at the ref desk?

benefits of using competencies:
equitable expectations for all staff (if you do this, this is what your suppose to know)
reveals training needs in a quick manner
creates accurate job descriptions
helps with performance evaluations
consistent customer service
helps staff adjust and handle change (training is on a continual basis, become more confident, and capable to deal with new things as they come down the pipes)

working with staff to brainstorm:
create the list with staff involvement (staff know what they need to know)
brainstorming parties rock (over lunch?)
reassure staff they don’t need to know everything now

make trainings fun- through fun sites, not very serious
(ppl might not know about all the cute cats out there)

step two: creation
* work with a task force
* representatives from unit and branches
* representative from different position classifications
* focus on staff input
* get mgmnt buy-in
* and don’t call it “competencies”

some categories for staff skills:
**terminology: a staff glossary (powerful tool)
hardware, office software,
**staying current

competencies best practices:
* keep it core
* keep it task based (open email, delete email)
* different positions – different competencies
* add to job descriptions and new hire checklist
* present list online (blog, wiki, webpage) with each item linked to a how-to
* new technology? look at the list again!

step 3: assessing the staff
* assess objectiviely or subjectively? with supervisor or self
* online service tools are the easiest
* give print option too, if needed
* the psychology of maybe (maybe means no, more likely to say maybe than no)

post assessment
* review individual and group results
* work with supervisors to create individual training needs list for each employee (could staff members develop their own training needs list? )
*
trust the project manager- they are right! they looked at the data!

step 4: training
training based on revealed needed
all the way from mousing to blogging
get a training budget (!)

why should I do this?
it looks hard. too difficult.
why? prizes: mp3 player! cute star wars mp3 drive.
all these end up with the staff who have been working towards a prize. can go a long way to motivate ppl

inspruiring training:
use real world examples
make the class fun- discussions, exercises
highlight tips and tricks

step 5: reassessment
annual or biannual reviews
rewards for success or consequences for failure
nurture hidden sparks

celebrate success!!
have cake! simple messages! library staff is awesome!

-- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- -

Annette gaskins and Maurice coleman
Harford county public library

varied populations: the amish to the bloods and crips

why a petting zoo:
surveyed staff, and they discovered staff was good on 1.0 technology and needed a forum to learn about 2.0 levels (wanted to know what they’re kids were doing)

first steps:
get organized and get help: a tech fair interest group
2 pg. proposal covering time and topics to be covered
get the buy-in and get ppl excited
use the tools to promote the fair that were part of the fair

content:
wikis/open source – work tool
gaming – part of collection
streaming media – info source
im/mysace – reference
blogging – expert knowledge
mp3s/ipods – patron use (audiobooks)

first step-
realistic scheduling, couldn’t operate without affecting public service; throw $$-- get part time ppl on the desk, support support!

timing issues: Wednesdays as they open late.
one hour lecture, two hour lab for 36 ppl.
6ppl 6 stations 20 min each
and be aware of time. time to get to where the fair was help. time to get back to the branches, etc.

taking shape: finding ppl
two for the show
station masters, host and hostess (sheepdog or sherpa), get ppl moving, station staff, geek and facility support (making sure they work and making sure the Stuff gets to where it needs to go), and partnership with big box stores (provided technology, provided flat screen tvs)

take shape: finding people
early adopters, techie ppl, pages and teens, curious life long learners

space wise:
drawing ppl from all over the system

speed searching- tips and tricks for speeding up the search process

2008-04-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

greg notess – search engine showdown
speed searching- tips and tricks for speeding up the search process
wednesday 9 april 2008

why speed searching?
isn’t the web fast enough? (not at the moment. wireless iz broken)
or are we not always fast enough (both!)

take time to:
find the best search query
choose the best data source
quickly find out the terminology, finding the best resource

keystroke economy:

3, 2, 2, 1 search: first three characters of first word, then 2 of second word, 2 of third word, and 1 of the fourth word (Old School- as to save the computing process time)
find the unique term and use that for searching
web search relevancy optimized for unique words

spell checking:

long name, word phrase is unusual?
using google as spell check- for suggestions, auto-correction (our commercial databases don’t do a good job of correcting spelling, neither do our catalogs. the open web does a good job of this)
links to reference sources
suggest tools: slow your typing

greg goes to ask.com and starts typing. ask offers that neat page with some info, as well as suggested searches
type slower to increase your searching speed.

copy and paste:

can be as quick as a short query
can copy from many e-sources
using a bookmarklet can highlight a word and clicking on a bookmarklet and will search (cool!)

answers.com
try the search here, if you need to check spelling
has content from dictio snaries, encyclopedia’s (print and wikipedia)
if you don’t know a word, click on it, and does a follow up search

picky picking

search terms matter!

common number of search words
query length
average query length

which gets best results?

does depend on search engine. average query length did the best
“education attainment or highest level of school” common phrase, learning the language used in that area.

trained his eye to the unique terms- source might have a misspelling, switch to another access point

database checking:
use multiple databases ‘cause it’s fun! you’re a librarian!
as well as lack of overlap between data sources

overlap in web search
not so comprehensive for

pages buried deep within sites
forum, social network pages

users have the impression that google has everything. though not always the case.

greg practices search switching: not necessary for quick look ups.

when and for what type of searches
not for the low value info need, when triangulation not needed
use when digging deeply

hard to find answer, person, etc

search switching: how?
searchengineshowdown.com/switching
federated search ought to be doing this- doesn’t always achieve this (think of databases that hold smaller databases)
federated search engines: ex: google will cut them off. if there is no $$, google will cut that IP off if the ads aren’t visible

search switching: internal

within one system, like google
some possibily intergrated

tabs, think videos, books, “more”, browser search box (like in firefox)
turboscout, intelways, zuula, flashearth (search location and switch btw the various providers of aerial photography)

search transfer bookmarklets

customize google:
can do some neat things: make the google book search images downloadable. an extension in firefox

(the book searching two step!!)
preview at amazon or google book, or authors website. look for an extract, a unique looking phrase to locate full text books online.

q: should we be linking to full text books online?
a: no clear answer… who are you linking to? do you actually have the book? why are you linking? should we be adding for books that are out of copyright too? will they always be staying there? what are the persistence and the maintenance needs? (no direct answer, but more questions)

q: is more not always better?
a: searching a broad database, not really the precision.

Libraries as Laboratories for Innovation – cil2008

2008-04-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Libraries as Laboratories for Innovation –

Matt Gullet:
creating a new environment, ambient classical jazz music. slides running content, cool videos, flickr, etc.

you are doing something right when some people complain, but some people say, YAY!

libraries as innovation centers. Matt used a lot of things for the first time at the public library. worked in communities and worked on creating new experiences for “the library” used film festivals, tech conference for youth. the library is more; it is a community center for innovation.

imaginon:

do you go to apple stores? do you like them?
benchmarking a similar facility—the apple store was the closest thing as to what they were trying to do.
Discovery Service Center: bars, stools to sit on. wanted to make eye level contact ppl when they come in. plasma screens run content. profiles customers: take their picture, ask about their favorite websites. trying to make the space more human. we are here to help, glad you are here. controlling the environment, but being friendly.

music: we are control of what’s going on here. esp in urban areas.

apple stores have ppl clustered around tables, are teach ppl. instruction in session stick.

game lab @ plcmc
unc charlotte does research at the library. invited them to visit the library.
looking for potential relationships.

create a digitally literate ppl through games and interactive media (I’ve been thinking about games as a tool for basic computer instruction)

learning lab: small classes, demilitarized zone, new/experimental software, studio for digital programming, scanners, media hubs. a space with an lcd projector.
space to build partnerships

studio i: blue screens, digital video cameras, music studio and sound booth in development. adults like this stuff too. story: guy who produces his public access show at the lib.

Greg Schwartz, Library Systems Manager, Louisville Free Public Library

story: master facilities plan, generated about 6-7 yrs ago. a design to remodel 17 locations and build a few more. ambitious and large.

library as cornerstone for lifelong learning through technology.
4 ppl were chosen, including greg. not to toot his own horn.

not quite where they want to be yet:
why?
library ballot for taxes. budget went south, instead of thinking about technology on a broad scale, have been asked to think about content mgmt systems, workflows, how to do more with less.

a beta testing program: pairing patrons with emerging technologies. put an application on their website. give ppl things to play with (kindles, ipods) and then talk to them. how did they use it? what do they think? intersections with lib services. (so cool!) patron pool is very diverse.

looking to aggregate content of onlineUs and combine some of the locally produced content. expose patrons to opportunities to educate themselves.

greg mentioned this: http://www.lfpl.org/charrette/

three things you need in place:
talent (you may already have it. you may be it. might not be utilized)
time and space: very hard to have higher level thinking when you have day to day things to handle. impossible to step away.
support from admin: $$, space to operate. the ability to get away (think out of the office). commitment- getting them to say yes, or maybe. the greatest barrier to any innovation effort.

questions:
computer training centers will change. we’ll still be teaching word. and we'll get tired of that. the need will still exist.

matt: one of the most important things to have staff who are into it. you might not be able to build a new space, or even have a room. but more around service philosophy.

The Library Sandbox: Testing Innovative Ideas

2008-04-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

The Library Sandbox: Testing Innovative Ideas

Barbara Tierney, Science Reference Librarian, University of North Carolina

studies show there is no ideal floor plan for Ics, there are myriad possibilities for configuration

Substance trumps space. what does matter is various technologies, human expertise

info commons becoming an arena for social networking- combining the social and the academic.

info commons are all around: small lib arts college, comm. arts college, div school. changes in tech have resulted in changes in how libraries are evaluated.

if you could start over, what would you do differently?

(this presentation is not meeting up to the expectation of the program guide. sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
reading a paper you wrote? things she is saying are interesting, but very theoretical, could be greatly enhanced with some pictures of pretty Lcs and such. SHOW US what you mean. Give us feedback from users. tell us the stories.)

students are using myface. or myfaith. or something.

focus on user needs.
begin the commons with an eval program on face.

take away for MPOW – cell phone zones—maybe cute little phone booths.

movable walls.

okay. now she is showing us slides of pretty things, with lots of bullets.

innovation starts with “i”

2008-04-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

innovation starts with “i”

helene blowers: we are taking about change, but how do we get it going?

how to move orgs forward.

Tony Tallent, Director of Youth & Outreach Services, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC)
helped open up imaginon, deal day: drop everything and learn (for staff—steal this idea!)

everyone is talking about it, talking about different things, talking about the ingredients of change. think about where you land, are you the jelly or the cellophane?

what innovation is NOT:
process improvement, suggestion boxes, best practices, thinking outside the box (officially retired)

innovation is the intersection of ideas, imagination and pivotal point of reality

it is: doing new things! creativity, action. DOING.
Doing.New.Things. period. action.

what do you want? what do you need?
efficiency innovation
evolutionary innovation
revolutionary innovation
(book title: seeds of innovation)

efficiency innovation

book bundles: an idea that came from a user, “you know… take some books, tie some yarn around them and I could grab a pack when I was on the go”
very low tech

evolutionary innovation

taco bell: open 24 hrs. now taking atm. bringing parts together to make a new product or service

revolutionary innovation

the ipod: changes how we interact and use music (and more!)
zoom shopping (have one in the library?)

Fresh practices: remixing ingredients.

4 components:
creativity
strategy
implementation
profitability

shout out to youth services!!!

I am an innovator:
I have ideas, I’ve done my homework, I’ll do the legwork, I am capable of more than my job description, I am a leader too, I take risks with you.

innovation is a partnership: btw idea person and organization

innovators as managers: give staff a framework, put resources behind expectations (! yes! how can staff innovate without proper resources to do so!), create growth opportunities, SUPPORT work, celebrate success, take risks with you.
no glory grabbing, boys and girls! push the success down and celebrate!!

what does innovation made to you and your organization? how to they converge?
improvement (i words!) !!
we all have our own definitions- how do we make them all come together.

the blender: take the things that you know, successes, failures; take the pieces to make something new. don’t make a wheel.

wild seeds!! wild blooms!

Strategy:
how you are able to convince your organization to move fwd and change?

Make it believable! Focus on the MVV
Mission, Vision, Values: tie those ideas to the MVVs.
how does this new idea fit into the framework of what our library is going: how does it tie to the things our lib is about. this is how the idea is going to meet the needs of what we do.

tell a story: how will one person be affected/changed by the idea.

create alliances: farm your ideas, you’ve got buy in from colleagues when things are ready to move forward

test drive your ideas: prototype, build something with it. hard to sell on “it is really cool” doing the legwork.

don’t ask for permission, ask for support. showing mgmt and org that you are willing to provide the legwork and support.

never SELL your ideas on paper! you can’t see vision on paper. sell it personally, ask for time at a mgmt meeting or a decision maker. sell it visually in someway. walk through the vision, and walk them through a story. your lovely document, 1.5 spaced is in the a huge old pile on a directors desk.

wild success does not look like business as usual. it is panic. wild success because ppl are MAD!! staff members don’t have direction, no scripted answers.
it is magic, it is happiness, it is off the hook.

Summer Reading is a huge program:
gave theatre vouchers instead of chocolate. and what happened: huge demand! had to add more shows.

failure is about innovation! you need to fail, and fail often. these are the experiences you will be learning from. failure is okay. be ready, accept it. BRING IT!!

7 habits of highly innovative ppl:

persistence: legwork, alliances
remove self-limiting inhibitions: be more than the job descript
take risks, make mistakes: reward mistakes. (cliff jumper award)
escape: get outside your environment, take it someplace else
write things down: postits, notepads everywhere, write it down!!
look for patterns and connections: things might appear to be polar opposites, but they are connected
stay curious: so much of what libs are about

presentation wasn’t about these ideas, wasn’t about a product. but about change, how to get those ideas into practice. feeling okay about taking risks and making failures. as managers making an environment where idea change is okay.

q: what can you do to help ppl get into change:
a: hb, keep talking about it. keep making ppl comfortable with it. in order for an alvanche of change to occur, needs to be a lot of erosion. keep working at it. keep selling your ideas.

keynote: Shanachietour 2007!!

2008-04-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

keynote:

Erik Boekesteijn, Delft Public Library
Jaap van de Geer, Delft Public Library
Geert van den Boogaard, Delft Public Library

Shanachietour

3 dudes from delft public library, from the Netherlands in an RV
v.good at fundraising

toured the US and made a video about their experience. a SENSATION!!!

toured the usa in search of stories of innovation and best practices

focus on making stories, what is there were no books.

RV became the editing room, with lots of equipment. found wifi campers everywhere, and uploaded the video in the evenings.

if you have a good idea, you can make it happen. the sky is the limit.

first stop in nyc: (grabbed a lady from nypl to sit on the couches)
song: pj Harvey, you said something
what does nypl mean to the ppl in ny? universe is made of stories, not of atoms (one of the plaques outside nypl)

paul holdengräber’s goal: to make the lions roar. to make NYPL levitate (but how much does it weigh?). to continue the line of thinking that library without wars (?) to make it less intimidating, its SEXY!!

terrible that the role of innovation is less important than imagination(?) libraries need to take over what schools are no longer doing. (kgs via twitter)

DPL dude: could he have success in other arenas?

next up: PLCMC
leaving the noise of nyc for the quiet forest of charlotte
matt gullet: doesn’t see the death of books. formats will change, depending on genres.
book vs. tech: these are containers for information and culture, and need the best container for the type of information
libraries are community innovation centers: ppl learn about new things, could be tech orientated or traditional
book is a technology, one of the best ever invented

matt’s up on stage:
his kids fall asleep with books in bed (ugh, me too!)
measure door counts, circ, but also the creative things that come out of the library. need to tell the stories: most convincing!! show these! these are bigger than numbers, the success stories to promote those kinds of activities.

open environments in the physical space of the library—tech is becoming cheaper and smaller. the biggest key to new buildigs in open space and lots of outlets. not sure where the technology will be going so need to remain flexible

now, time to look at the ppl who will be doing it. visited the class of Michael Stephens. spin the library bottle!! no smooching: but what the future of libraries will look like, what is inspiring? (great way to encourage brainstorming, or allowing ppl to take freely in meetings)
library of the future will encourage the heart (ms), charges his students to go forth with visions and make them happen.

do you know the mission of google? we should be aware and use it.

what skills should the future librarian have:
student from iowa: be adaptive to change

library concept center:
libs are important, imp to think about the future and the library in it.
libs contain books, cds, lps, lots of media
media of the future? how will it be used?

libaries give you an experience you’d never forget (dude is playing Wii tennis!)
libraries need to have games, must be a part of the fabric. fun and exhausting.
all about people, share the stories, how they tell them.
ppl are the most important collection (shiny happy ppl!)

thoughts on the first 24 hours at CiL

2008-04-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

okay. I have clocked in my first 24 hours at CiL. I was ready to fall over after the presentations ended at five, had a glass a wine that went straight to my head, listened to a little George Michael in my room, then a yummy sushi dinner.

So, my initial thoughts:
Great to meet some of the people I know through blogs and twitter, especially figuring out who people are based on their tiny twitter avatar. I’ve meet very friendly, smart and generous people. Which has put to ease my middle schooler in the cafeteria fear, that I wouldn’t find people to have meals with. So silly. Just strike up a conversation, say hello, ask what people are enjoying, learning. It seems that some great friendships and collaborations are emerged from the web (Hello LSW!) and to the real world.

Apparently, green is the color for spring. The detail on the conference bags is green and there were lots of green shirts today. Maybe I’ll wear green tights tomorrow.

Utterly exhausting. All day, absorbing information. Typing my notes. Getting used to the fact that some people have more experience and skills presenting than others, some presentations didn’t quite match my expectations or even real world need. But trying to get as much out of it.

Wireless, totally annoying. So I pay ten bucks for a 24 hour period to connect, but I can’t connect to the T-Mobile network when I am in the conference rooms. But, there are some wireless networks that kept going in and out during the day. Seriously—with all the talk about how connected we are, community web 2.0 lalalala… will someone figure out how to add $20 bucks on to our registration charges and provide wireless to us free of charge? Please? We are already paying enough for $9 sandwiches and $15 nachos.

Though, LOVE the extension cords in the conference rooms. I had to charge my cell phone at one point and came in very handy. Thank you!

But the good:

The local 2.0 talk was great—some good ideas about things I had already been thinking about in my head. A colleague of mine is here as well, and we talked about doing some of these things once we returned. In my Basic Internet classes, I introduce Yahoo Local. People want to know what is happening in their community. A good talk, lots of concrete ideas.

Lee Rainie’s talk this morning was pretty interesting. He stressed the importance of user-generated content and threw some interesting statistics at us. He did tell us that the surveys the Pew conducts are in English. Hmm. I really want them to survey people in other languages especially Spanish, especially when he is talking about a large user group of libraries being Latino. Just drawing on my own library experience and the community we serve, there has got to be good data in there. And, it is just time.

Megan Fox’s presentation on Mobile Trends was a fast paced overview of the latest devices and technology out there on mobile devices. .mobi is a new domain that is just for pages formatted for mobile devices. Obviously the iphone and the ipod touch have taken over this field, but there are lots of cool tools out there. It is pretty obvious by looking at the hands of the librarians attending this conference.

More tomorrow!

Library Staff Training: High Tech & High Touc

2008-04-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

Library Staff Training: High Tech & High Touch

Donovan Deakin, WebJunction

found an increase in interest to online learning
barriers to training:
staff time, expertise, lack of $$, technology

training methods:
face to face training is still the most popular method, in house or outside contractor.

Blended Learning:
adoption and definitions are varied
not just online and face to face, for example: using a webinar, stopping and starting for discussion, or adding local content
web 2.0 techs: using tools for training as well as content matter

web-based training for staff: using Microsoft live meeting, wimba (?), etc
has chat, raise their hands, instructor can poll, interactions between different learners in the online classroom.

mgmt content:
board of trustee training
leadership and succession planning (mgmt, supervision)

patron services content:
user services: (youth, cultural and lingual diversity, adults)
working with patrons (difficult patrons, social challenges)

technology content:
info technology (networking, etc), computer applications and tools (think Microsoft), web 2.0 (think web 2.0)

training budgets are remaining static:
some see an increase in the next two years

impact and ROI:
morale and job satisfaction. Attendance and evaluation of trainings, job performance ratings (folks will have a clearer understanding), improved lib services (will be able to successful offer new service etc)

content:
modules as small as 15, just in time experiences (!!), fight it into the schedule of the libs, no time, need to make it small digestible and able to fit into daily life. (note to self: maura, think about this in terms combining online searching, etc training tips tools into life at lib)
growing awareness of new technologies in the library

Rebecca Ranallo Kahl, Internet & Media Services Manager, Cuyahoga County Public Library

CCPL: $68mil budget, 1000+ employees, 664 in union, ten busiest libs in the country
serve 47 communities, with 28 branches, so they are covering a diverse population over a decent chunk of land

staff became increasingly responsible for content on the new website, so staff needed training on using the new tools

has staff resistant to technology, hired a fulltime tech trainer, who had a background in elearning. needed someone on the staff. allows more hands on projects, using their own data.

training today:
new intranet (hmm, we have the new staff portal of the website…)
blended learnings : more options
new site has the ability to pull in more resources
ppl have the chance to go back to find the info, refresh, review or share with others
using podcasting, videocasting and putting it on staff intranet for staff members who may have missed the original training

test case:
etime tutorial: employee time and payroll software
a changed to develop some really bad training,

staff can go back and look at documentation at any time, print out paper copies.
piece for managers, comp time, working as a good start

training to come: online tutorials how to create an email signature

more interactivity and staff as technology creators: want to give them the chance to play internally

staff will be expected to use second life, increase awareness, hope staff will be excited about using this tool-

Cuyahoga conversations:
a website that will deal with community issues, they will host the site, subject specialists will moderate and manage- and they will have to be more interactive, info is going to go two ways

revamping Orientation Center:
happens when enough of ppl are hired in any given month, some people might be working for a month or so already before going through the training
(info freedom, confidentially training, customer service: lots of great free modules already out there…)

Barriers:
staff are going through it
managers are taking responsibility and getting buy in on both levels, managers are taking part in the learning
bandwidth:
fear of technology, union (makes competency based training hard, needs to wait until the next contract, “its not part of my job”), updated technology, complacency (ppl are nervous about new things. so provide multiple avenues to access information. they might get more out of in person training, but having the info available.)

outcomes:
deliberate training plans:
have ppl come in with projects they are working on, so training is hands on and focused.
responsibility for learning
more on-demand opportunities.

main goal:
to be able to retire when she never hears the phrase, “no one trained me on that”

questions:
main barriers to technology?
R: fear and challenged to use it in the branches

ways to motivate:
r: hard to do… what drove her is that she will learn new things all time. amazed when ppl say they don’t need to learn it. rlly about making it comfortable, giving various opportunities to approach it.

organization is becoming a learning organization:
r: slow going. director strongly believes in training, and continually reminding staff they are supported

r: has one staff member who handles staff training

getting buy in from decision makers, ex it training. new libs have lib skills, but not common sense, issues about technology. staff members won’t admit it or buy in. how to encourage from stake holders:
r: directors and board are v.supportive of training and understand where libs are headed in terms of technology and that it needs to be supported. I didn’t talk about web 2.0 training, because a challenge with marketing department regarding content generated by staff.

High Touch With Customer Care

2008-04-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

high touch with customer care:

Amy Blaine, Reference Librarian, Inova Fairfax Hospital

patient education materials
demands for various language translations

patient education has a economic advantage: users who are educated not as likely to replase, etc.

if patients can't read, print materials won't help them.

health literacy is the sixth vital sign-- degree to which ppl are able to understand, process and seek out information to make health decisions
(hard to hear about the scale..)
using technology to enhance patient experiences in the hospital.

would like to ask her about translation services:

mobile trends with megan fox: cil2008

2008-04-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

Mobile trends:
megan fox from simmons college (woot!)

be proactive in the role of libraries as partners in new mobile world.

3 times the no. of mobile phones than PCs
half the worlds populations in phones
phone are going to outsell tvs in the next year
cell phones are hard to give up, as compared to tvs or landlines

lots of stats about the mobile market: 90% of iphone users surf the web, most of which never used their mobile device to surf the web.
iphone can access more info all the time, how does this shape their views of information deliver and where libs are?

lib patrons use:
flip phone, ipods, gaming devices, mini laptops
more devices have sliding keyboards and larger screens
(she's talking about the ipod touch and iphone and how cool it is, how interactive it is, taps, slides, rotate... it is the latest dance craze!)
apple is innovating mobile devices

review of lots of different mobile devices and tools:
samsung instinct, verizon voyager, samsung glyde,
mini notebooks:
$$ UMPC- ultra mobile personal computer
ulcp- ultra low cost pc (300-400, stripped down)
mid- mobile internet devices

android - google phone
cool new features for iphones: etch a sketch
gesture interactions: tip it to go down, tip it to go back up (dance moves!)
visual access- camera phone to photo UPC to get more info
cosmogirl- turn page to 17 snap the red hat, where can you get it? (bloomies!)

facial recognition- for those tweens who love to snap photos
devices that read aloud to you-- visual impaired will read the currency, read the menu to you, or directory in a building
location interactions (read something about this in the local paper, for folks with alzhemier's... good for the man who was lost in MPOW)
friend finder: isn't that like twitter?

applications: access content delivered over the web
ppl want fast answers, don't want to type a lot. want quick answers, right now
round point, volantis, .mobi site galore:
.mobi style guides to be used on a mobile devices

there are some programs that will transcode (wink, squeezer, google) to translate to a mobile device (we should be doing this) will do a good enough job, but not flawless.
one challenge: won't be perfect--

opera mini, teasharp (?)- mobile browser, integrated rss
skyfox, netfront - small picture preview and allowing users to scroll in and out of content

directory listings:
find.mobi
usa.gov has mobile site!
MLB has a mobile site!!

reference content to be mobilized:
oxford uni press (dic and thes.), better homes and garden mobile recipes, world almanac

press reader: newspaper direct 60 days worth of newspapers world wide, duplicates of covers

health and med vendors: pubmed for handhelds

Britannica mobile, la times, cbs, fox, bbc all for the iphone

ebooks:
audible air (amazon just bought - $)
japan - writing books entirily on a cell phone, through text messages. 10 top selling works of fiction, 5 started as a cell phone book. love stories written in short sentences. little character development and plot. swoon.

(note to MPOW get a mobi domain)

what does a library need to have on the go:
what will a mobile user want:
lib hours, contact info, directions, events

some vendors are making the opacs mopacs

content is very much multimedia now-- how to stream on a mobile device

tv on the mobile: mobi tv, location 3 tv, over 25 different tv channels, tivo to go (!!)
companies will transcode AV for the mobile device

overdrive, media mall: libs can make audio content available for download onto devices

mobile search: using them to get answers (ready ref content)
geo questions: where is X in relation to me now?
chunks of information that are answers-- not lists of websites, ex bball scores

sms/texting: to google, to yahoo, to live, diet.com (info about food)
4info: big into sports
IM to a friend, text to a friend: simmons catalog has a new button that says: send a text, users have the call number in their phone (note to gary!)
buy things from amazon, financial data is being sent via text (huge in japan!)

key for communicating with library users, have users text info to a lib number, and have it be delivered through email. how to integrate into library services.

google gears: allows info to be downloaded onto the phone, locally onto the device when a connection is not available.

but wait, there is more!

projectors on cell phone
eink
$300 glasses available in airports, my view, looks like sunglasses, plug into ipod, can do all sorts of visual things, projects up to 80 inches. somewhat affordable.
contact lenses, the number is projected to the lenses or text message (yikes!)
Dscribe: digital fountain pen. write a message, sends it to phone via bluetooth, and then sms to recipient
a tool that will talk thoughts and digitize then (far out! helpful for ppl who lost the ability to speak)
blood tattoo (seen on lifehacker? )

surface computing: back into the hands, touching, gesturing, moving

keynote: lee rainie of pew internet

2008-04-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

keynote:
pew internet, lee rainie

user-generated experience—experiences being blogged, disorientating when you don’t live in the public eye

some amusing examples about what has been said about him in blogs.

information markets are self correcting.

something big to say:
librarians rock (duh)

run down on stats:
info ecology:
industrial age: scarce, $$, institutionally orientating
info age: abundant, cheap, available.

93% of teens use internet, more than half have broadband in homes
75% of adults use internet
62% connect wirelessly—connections from laptops, also found ppl using nonvoice communications (59% adults using cell phone to connect to eh web)
most striking: v.different from early adopters, much more likely to be minority, lower socioeconomic, noncollege degreed—challenging digital divide issues

wireless will be its own determinant of ---- (ugh… can’t try that fast!)
wireless is bringing back email (!! holla!!)

wireless really matters right now.

internet is being used as storage, email, social networks, playlists etc
a new way to rethink storage, the internet itself is a computer
and ppl think about access to information in new ways

content creation:
a big spike 62% young adults have uploaded photos to the internet
Obligation to take pictures, post them and have ppl comment on them, comment on others
Pictures are the currency of community building.

58% young adults have profiles, 33% adults have such profiles (mm comment: what happens when these y.adults become adults w/social networks; is there an impact on having adults in social networks? do y.adults care?)
33% y.adult share creative content, 13% of adults; y.adults are driving content creation, assisting others in their development

Focus on 10 problems that have occurred in the last 2 years:
education, $$, taxes, changing job, health care programs, social security, mil benefits, voter registration, local govt, legal system,

80% had been through at least one of the problem, 169 mil adults, so how did they solve those problems? what resources where available (so asked about their patronage)

53% adults had been to local library in that last year
younger adults most likely to be lib visitors (right, I already knew this) Gen Y 62%
y.adults have had good experience of libraries, and continue to use and

BREAKING NEWS:
60% of online teens use the internet at libs, up from 36% in 2000

pub lib patrons most likely to be internet users – he is saying ppl are more active in community issues (hmmm…. not so sure)

ppl were looking for particular info at the publibs and getting what they were looking for

ppl most likely to use lib: young, latinos, lower socioecon (less than 40K), afirican Americans most likely to use libs.

survey done only in English!! HELLO!!! survey in Spanish!!! (and other languages)

Lots of opportunities out there, 53% of ppl know we rock:
starts with Public Education: ppl need to know how we have changed, willingness to work with ppl. (think book a lib, hands on classes, etc: focus on the success stories—public internet, personalize. who have we helped with computer skills, job skills. thinking of one patron who within a month set up an email account, helped him apply to jobs attaching his docs, etc. got a job, helped use craigslist to find an apt!)

in the era of consumer generated content: we need to tap into these folks, and get them to tell our stories—give them 2.0 tools to evangelize about programs and collections

patrons are eager to give back feedback (yes!! lets collect it! and share it)

unpatrons are primed to seek you out:
ppl might me more dependent on libraries if they are aware of what is offered and special skills
keys for their patronage:
awareness of your work, comfort in the environment, mentoring skills –

this is the era of social networks:
ppl are depending on more than ever
ppl are more likely to rely on other ppl for recommendations due to info overflow
ppl will turn to the smartest ppl (voting? movies? eating? etc etc)

social networks are for:
learning
news and navigation
support and problem solving

going local in the library: web 2.0, library 2.0, local 2.0

2008-04-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

going local in the library: web 2.0, library 2.0, local 2.0
charles lyon – business library @ u of buffalo (home of wings!!)
http://deweyandmain.wordpress.com/

local info, close to home. where you are right now. (crystal city)

internet is great for the global, but needs work locally
limitations to local searches: what is the value of knowing # of XYZ near me? what are the hours, prices, etc.

google has an issue of scale ( as related to growth). good handle of global, but scaling down to local.
Information on the internet behaves differently at the local level than at the global level, google is as focused on the local as other endeavors. (my local example: finding a grocery store in my new hood)

google bought sketch-up to create 3d models of local environments
experimentation with geographic display of info (check out google labs, and maps feature)

the real potential of the web is more 2.0 and more deeper

local web is diverse:
local media, local photos, local search engines, maps, social networks
local web is the locals! the folks who live in the area. who knows the area best? not google? it’s the locals!!

local web is social: user generated, participatory,

local web is localized: neighborhoods, communities, blocks, streets, buildings

local web is about joining the real world and the virtual web (info about places, about the community)
the web is not so separate from the real world—it is part of.

local web brings a sense of place to the internet ($$$ holla!) (a crowded infosphere)

having a page of locally available links on the website (YES! let’s do it!)

can libraries do more and echo the local web and become more participatory?

everyday life is v.local.. ppl live their lives in a 20mile radius.

practice local U
be a vocal local
widen the local lens
be a yoke
libraries create their own local resources

local search: becoming more useful, more interesting
(check out the popular searches related to your area- find out what people are looking for)
yahoo local
ask has walking directions

libs creating their own search engines:
think rollyo. create certain sites for most appropriate for local info
take the links that already on our site into a custom google search and SHAZAM!!! a local search engine

local blogs:
place blogger: a directly of local blogs

libraries place blogging:
community blogs can focus on a certain niche, as it related to the library

news sites are combining old media with new media: newspapers and magazine with blogs, photos, and articles are being mapped (HELLO MASHUP!)

users can submit their own stories to blogs: topix.net

Skokie talk, myhalimton.ca (Hamilton pub lib)

local data:
building permits, crime reports—
http://www.everyblock.com/ (WHOA! this is super cool!!)

wikipedia: locapedia?
using wiki technology invite the community to contribute to local resources

geotagging: think flickr and maps with photos. becoming increasingly popular, easily to id local events, local photos

why libs should go local?
local is cheap (and it is where we already are!)
guidespot (creation of local guides easier and cheaper)
local ppl are passionate and way into the history
local trust- regarded as a local asset, trusted source, a local info provider
supports the missions of the library

local long tail:
do some libraries want to strive to be the center of it all.
local library in the middle

library is a mirror, lens to the riches of local information

And we are off again. ....

2008-04-04T14:00:00.001-07:00

5pm on a Friday, and I will be going full steam ahead for the next 168 hours. Yes, for the next week, and then some.

I am heading down to Computers in Libraries on Sunday. There are so many great sessions and talks, that I have had a hard time figuring out which ones to attend. I did manage to cobble together something resembling a schedule, but I am always leaving it open to chance. I am looking forward to socializing with old friends, and getting to meet some Twitter buddies in person. Maybe even sleeping in one of those days (which is about 8am!) on a plush hotel bed.

I am going to try and accomplish some conference blogging as well... We'll see how that all works out!

See you Arlington!

For questions that matter, where would you turn?

2008-03-21T08:27:00.001-07:00

One of the non-library for fun blogs I follow is PhotoBasement, a collection of hilarious photos that have me giggling at my desk for about 30 seconds. I was stopped in my tracks by this particular entry.
Okay, besides whether or not this person is serious or if it it a joke, what we have here is clearly a reference question: Why isn't my pregnant girlfriend getting her period? I tried to track down the original question, but it has been deleted. A thread on reddit came up.

My initial reaction was utter disbelief and a snort. I tried to imagine receiving this question at the reference desk, and playing the scene over in my head. Maintaining professional decorum would be a must, and relying on sources to answer the question that would be accessible to the patron. Health and Wellness Resource Center? Pregnancy for Dummies? What to Expect When You are Expecting? The more I played out the possible scene of events in my head, the more I came to the conclusion that perhaps this question would not come to the reference desk. That tools like WikiAnswers and Yahoo!Answers and AskMetaFilter allow questions of a sensitive, private, and even embarrassing nature to be asked and answered in an anonymous environment.

And then, there is the librarian who happens to be a Red Sox fan looking for information on where Sox fans generally sit at Sox Yankees games. Very important information. Where did I go? AskMetaFilter, because I trust the quality there, emailed members of the Red Sox in NYC Meetup group that I lurk on. In short, I didn't turn to any singular authoritative source in print or online. I asked around, as I took the answer to be part of community knowledge. I asked my boss (a Yankees fan), I figured out where the visitors dugout is. I understand that it is hard to separate myself from my skill set, and my question and our soon-to-be-a-father's are quite different, but we both turned to the same tools to find answers to our questions.

There has been some chatter about this issue in the blog world, and even a Slam the Boards Day! (which I like the idea of using to further promote the public library). I found that Jessamyn West sums up the debate quite nicely,

Many questions asked on these sorts of sites aren't even reference questions. What will the librarian tell you when you try to figure out whether your boyfriend becoming more distant is a prelude to breaking up? Or how good is their advice when figuring out why your fridge is making that noise. Or what are they likely to tell you when you ask about good games for your grandfather with early Alzheimers? Pointing to reference sources is fine but sometimes human answers by other non-specialist humans can succeed when pointing to a restaurant review book can fail. Sometimes you need to have a conversation about the topic, not get a list of resources. These sites help that conversation to happen.

Granted, most of the time the questions being asked in Yahoo!Answers or WikiAnswers are somewhat, well silly. Some are amusing (just search for librarian. I am sure I could contribute volumes to the question of should i ask the librarian out?) But, then again, sometimes these questions to trickle into the reference desk. And in the end, it is about connecting someone with a need to the piece of information that will get them through their day.

The techno-nots of Maura

2008-02-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

I've been at home sick for the good part of the last week and half with some sort of nasty cold thing. I am feeling pretty tired most of the time with a linger cough. As I said to my boss today, I don't have my Mauraness, and quite frankly I miss my Mauraness.

So the time at home has allowed me to be productive on some parts: list things on ebay, clean my closest, sort through books, all things good for my impending move, as well as watch The Devil Wears Prada 3 million times and Pride and Prejudice 5 million times. I've been blazing through Scrabulous games with my cousin, and reading blogs. There was a recent series of posts on techno-nots, which got me thinking about my own techno-nots. I am pretty good at most things technology, but I also have my shortcomings.

My ex boyfriend had about 5 remotes to work the TV, cable, DVD player, and some other things that controlled the sound for all these devices. I never figured them out after many years together. Remotes just baffle me. I once had a job at a cable company where I'd have to help people program their remotes over the phone. I would rather be yelled at for ten minutes than help someone program their remote.
I often don't know why a computer has frozen or a program stopped working, so I just recommend a restart and 99% of the time that seems to do the trick. Like right now, my co-worker said the printer wasn't working. I suggested turning it off and then back on. 99% of the time, it works!
I pretend to be all non interested in gaming, but really I would love a Nintendo Wii, and I had dreams about playing Guitar Hero after that one time at with some friends. Though, I am a bit scornful at other types of games, like World of Warcraft and Runescape.
I had a lot of trouble when transferring oatmeal by noon to the new server. I had to enlist a friend to help me set up the new space, and it turns out I didn't import the right files to rebuild it. Whoops!
I used to know a lot about networks, ftp, web stuff, html and css. I don't use this on a daily basis so most of it is lying dormant in my brain.
I've been told a million times how to restart the print server, but I just can't figure it out on my own.
I'm not very good at securing home networks or even for that matter my personal computer. It is so bad, but I think because I have a Mac, I am somehow immune to viruses and other yucky things.
I just started backing up 4 months ago.

BAM Feb 2008: The Surgeons

2008-02-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Due to a feverish cold last week, I was able to finish my February Selection for the BAM Challenge. I had selected a nonfiction piece, as last month's read was very romantical. In keeping with the theme of hearts, I went for the literal interpretation and selected a book about heart surgeons. I read The Surgeons: Life and Death in a Top Heart Center by Charles R. Morris.

The first half of the book was engaging and interesting. Morris was able to gain behind the scenes access to one of the top heart centers and hospitals in the US. Soon he blended into the wallpaper, and was able to present two in depth case studies of patients at Columbia-Presbyterian, an older gentleman and a young girl who ultimately died. Morris also focused on the lives of the heart surgeons which gave insight into the lives of these extraordinary problem solvers. Morris probed to learn what it takes to be a heart surgeon, including skill development, training and education, character, problem solving skills and salary. He gave us primary information by posting the notes of one surgeons diary, detailing his surgeries and challenges.

The second half of the book was very dry and not as engaging. Morris discussed quite a bit about policy, money and the future of health care: the business side of heart surgery and health care. I found this to be all rather boring, and not as personal as the work of saving lives. I am drawn to the stories about the surgeons and the difficult choices that need to be made, like the explanation of the transplant process and decision making tree. His prose was accessible, with the mechanics of surgery and the heart easily explained, including a helpful appendix. However, when discussing salaries and comparing them to what other New Yorkers make and the different kinds of work they do, was quite compelling and Morris made the argument that based on the kind of work heart surgeons do and the outcomes, they are underpaid.

I might pursue another book for the second half of the month... perhaps something a bit more romantical....

BAM Jan 08: Time Traveler's Wife

2008-01-31T08:33:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to read this book forever, and now I can return it to the person I borrowed it from (in 2004!).

Time travel is an interesting concept, one that always grabs my attention as it requires a keen eye on physics, space and time, and cool things like wormholes, quantum mechanics. Just sounds complicated. Henry has the ability to travel in time, and meets his wife when she is quite young. I found myself to be incredibly jealous of Henry and his ability to time travel, especially to see his parents before he was born. Such a great treasure to see parents before they became parents. I was terribly weepy at the end of the book as Henry was dying and in the letter he wrote to Clare. Though, I found the whole Clare and Henry dynamic a bit tiring, and would have liked some conflict between them. Their love story just seemed to good to be true, too amazing and wonderful.

And I suppose that is the point as well, Henry does time travel and one can't really do that. I appreciated the way Niffenegger let us know who was narrating, and the way she would paint a scene over many years and through the experiences of many people. I wouldn't say that I loved the book, but I am glad that I read it. From a science standout, I appreciated that Henry wasn't allowed to impact the future and change the outcome of things. How sad to carry that burden with him, but allowed the story to have a cohesive narrative as well as be a bit more believable. Though in the beginning I found the narrative a bit hard to follow. I was confused for about the first 50 pages, but was drawn to the characters. Perhaps an index to all the dates would have been helpful.

Overall, I enjoyed the escapism into a fantastic love story, sad and beautiful.

I heart Library 2.0 Tee Shirt: One Size Fits All

2008-01-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

One size fits all clothing bothers me. It might fit, but its not always going to look pretty.

Recent activity in the biblio-blogsphere has been discussing the cultural context of Library 2.0, and I have found these discussions to be quite helpful when considering the needs of one of the populations I interact with. As an anthropology undergrad, I appreciate the acknowledgment that we should be aware of the community that uses a particular web 2.0 tool and why. What are they doing there, what are the social norms and accepted behaviors, and what do the users look like, what is the benefit of belonging to this website or social network. In other words, before slapping a MySpace logo onto your library's homepage, take your time to do the fieldwork and learn about that particular information climate.

As one of the tech savvy people at my library, I have a leg up on the emerging technologies. Through our own Learning 2.0 program, I think more of our staff members are up on what exactly tagging is or how a social network works. The program definitely generated interest around creating podcasts of our programs and other tools to use internally. Though as they discovered various tools and applications, I maintained a steady reminder that Library 2.0 is about what our users want, and the ways we learn about what they want is by asking them. But as Kate Sheehan described the "slap a wiki on it and call me in the morning" mentality isn't going to automatically create an outstanding nor innovative service for our patrons unless we fully understand what their needs are, then understand the tools to meet those needs. It is going to look hurried and sloppy, with seams coming undone. Tim Gunn would not approve.

So, through this program I’ve turned on my Library 2.0 thinking cap, and in a way started to understand the culture and users of my library, at least the ones that I interact with on a daily basis. I teach Basic Computer and Basic Internet classes, and find myself developing strategies for double clicking and multi-class series, programming about applying for jobs online, and how to set up an email address. It is the most basic level of technology, something most librarians mastered years ago. And on the surface, developing programming around these skills is not sexy and not hip. Yet, the on-the-job reality is that many of our users have not had the opportunities to develop technology skills and they turn to us to help them when they are in need. Our mission is to address the informational needs to the community, and if I can call reference librarianship fieldwork, overwhelming I would categorically describe those needs as basic computer literacy skills. And perhaps what I am doing isn’t innovative and ground breaking, it is personal and local, it is serving the real needs of a community. It will be a customized piece of programming for a specific community, tailored and beautiful.

requiem for an ipod

2008-01-15T09:22:00.001-08:00

The first signs of an imminent death appeared as we sped along the BQE towards Brooklyn. I was with a friend, and her English friend who just had a jelly doughnut from Dunkin' Donuts for the first time. EVER. We were having a sing along to Mika, when the ipod stopped working. After a few attempts to restart it and hold it in positions only a yogi could master, we turned to hot 97 for the duration of the trip. Upon arriving at my friend's apartment, I immediately consulted the Apple Support pages. Repeatedly pressing the menu and select buttons to restore, as if I was on Grey's and trying frantically to get a heart beating again. Oh, she just kept redlining, with the sad ipod face.

The next morning, I attempted to squeeze a bit of life out of her. While navigating my way back to Connecticut, I willed her to work. "Please, some Journey or even the Bangles! How about a This American Life podcast!! JUST PLAY SOMETHING!!!" On my lunch break, I went to the Genius Bar and asked him to call it. He looked at my quizzically, and I handed over my ipod. "Just call it," I said, defeated. He took one look at it and smiled sympathetically at me. He tried a few things, and handed it back saying "It's gone". I looked down at my ipod, the first to have the click wheel and sighed. I walked back to the library, with my new paperweight nestled in my pocket.

Oh, my dear sweet sweet ipod. We certainly had some good times together. You arrived all shiny and new from China in the Fall of 2004 just as I was starting library school. We went everywhere together, and you were a most perfect and agreeable companion. Always there with the perfect song whenever I needed it most. These were the days of the early majority, and we'd have ipod parties. "Have you listened to Thrice? Oh man, you'll love them!" and "These Darkness B-sides are killer!"

You'd accompany me on road trips to Maine, and those long drives to Boston for Business Reference. You were there when Llama and drove cross country, when the first song we listened to every morning was Siouxie And The Banshees' "Hong Kong Garden". You were there through the relationship woes, as I sat on the rocks at the beach, melancholy listening to "When Doves Cry" and The Cure. After an early spring trip to Europe, I added Joni Mitchell, Amy Winehouse and Arcade Fire and rediscovered that part of me absolutely loved music, and discovering new music. This was a part of me I neglected for so long! You provided all the embarrassing hip hop music I love to listen to while working out, with more than 130 beats per minute, helping me through that final mile, and letting me walk it off the hour run to Queens "We are the Champions."

Ahh, yes, true sweet first ipod. You have been a great friend and companion, and have been with me through good times and bad times. It is with great sadness that I say goodbye. My life has been revolutionized by having the perfect personalized soundtrack with me at all times. Now when I strut down the street, I can strut to KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" a la The Devil Wears Prada or Tori Amos' "Siren". And thanks to iTunes and the crazy 80s mixes I was obsessed with making in college, I have all the one hit wonders I could ever want. The perfect song to jump start a party (Baby Got Back anyone?), or listen to in the subdued lighting while drinking a glass of wine (how about a little Belle and Sebastian?).

Dear sweet third generation ipod, you will be missed. I am sorry I took you running so many times, as I think that was the cause of your life sustaining injuries. Oh why did you have a hard drive?! Why wasn't there the foresight for flash memory!!!?? Though, as you are resting in ipod heaven, I think you'd be happy to know that I have two ipods now. I bought a bright hot pink shuffle for running, something to wear on my person. She is great at providing the hip hop and rock jams when I am running, and podcasts while on the train to New York. So tiny and just enough of space. And just this past week, I welcomed the ipod touch into my home. She is sleek and oh so sexy, with an elegant touch screen, room for photographs, and best of all a wifi browser. I know that my ipods and I will be very happy, and I will always remember you, my first.

Space for everyone at the library!

2008-01-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

Confession: I am a jealous person.

Over the weekend, the object of my jealousy was the Muhlenberg Branch of NYPL in my favorite neighborhood, Chelsea where my pal Jenny works.

Ahh.. Chelsea, home of Pinkberry, Big Booty Cafe and the worst experience I have ever had at a New York restaurant. That's right Mister Mexican restaurant, just because I am white doesn't mean I didn't understand the nasty things you said about me when I asked for a FORK!!!

But right, my insane jealousy. A teen space. A teen space. I work at a medium sized urban library, at the downtown branch where we have no real teen space, and I would argue till the cows came home that this is a space we need. Teens have different needs, different habits, activities, and teens today are certainly different from when I was a teen. I recall going to my hometown library, and slowing outgrowing the Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High series. I loved that the YA section was upstairs in the gorgeous adult section of the library. I felt so special and grownup, selecting books to read among the adult books! To me, setting aside precious square footage for a population says, "hey, we are about you and your needs!"

Also: Jenny is at MW ALA as she is an Emerging Leader in ALA! Woo!!

Just doing my part to be a part of the percentage of people who Google themselves on a regular basis.

2008-01-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

Confession: I Google myself (and other people I know) on a fairly regular basis.

I Google new people I meet, colleagues, friends, and yes even ex-boyfriends. I Google myself so I know what others would see if they Google me, and in an interest of privacy as well. What kind of information is available about me? The other night, I had a great conversation about the process of Googling yourself and the role of information combed from the internet used in interviews. A friend of mine recently obtained a position at a financial institution. During one of her many interviews, it was brought up that the interviewer had viewed her blog. My friend was taken aback at the forwardness of this question, and inquired as to what her impressions were. One of our companions chimed in that he just interviewed an amazing woman for a position at his firm, and was considering looking her up on social networking sites as well. I inquired as to what he would do with that information, say if she displayed photographs of her in a social setting with alcoholic beverages. The woman is of age, and does it matter to an employer what an employee partakes in between business hours? The conversation quickly moved to the idea of managing one's internet profile, through various sites. The lines between professional and personal are blurring, as I network with librarians on Facebook. Once a space exclusively for friends, it is now in someways an online resume with details of who I know, jobs I have had, educational background, as well as a tool to communicate with family scattered around. There is also the element of what content is missing from the profile, and in today's world among savvy internet users could arguably speak volumes.

Carl Sagan said, "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" (and which a Google search reveals that Rumsfeld co-opted this in regards to Iraq's WMD.) As a student of anthropology and astronomy, I would often mull this over in my head. So how much can we know about someone through a Google search? Part of what I like about having a web presense is that it can give a personal aspect to oneself, outside of professional duties, experiences and accomplishments. Part of who I am outside the reference desk. But, I am increasingly becoming aware of the need to mediate that and establish a bit of authority control on what is out there. Registering a domain, having a central location for writing and blogging, about libraries, about running, about my hobbies and interests and professional activities which bleed into each other.

And so, another year wraps up

2007-12-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

I love end of the year goodness. Like top ten lists, summarizing the year into small moments and events, and all sorts of cheeriness. And I like looking forward, to the new year, to making lists and having new goals.

I attended a WebJunction webinar today, The Personal Learning Experience for Library Staff and other Busy Professionals. (Archive should be up soon.) It was a great little reminder on organizing myself and having a learning program. Which I feel like I have through twitter, bloglines, facebook and all the assorted other tools in my life. I think I am a bit of a absentminded creative type, ideas bursting at the seams but sometimes lacking in the follow through. I will open a tab to go to site XYZ and by the time I enter in the url I can not recall where I wanted to go. I follow blogs and read about things that I want to learn and do, and sometimes they get lost in the shuffle. And I want to write more, professionally and personally. So in short, I decided to start my 2008 resolutions a month early?

Why you ask?
Well, because I believe that resolutions are about changing patterns and behaviors, two things that don't happen overnight or in a 7.5 hour workday. Behaviors and patterns that are a result of life experiences. I also believe in success and the ability to overcome obstacles, so by starting a month early, I will have some groundwork for my resolutions to stick, thereby not setting myself up for failure. I will also be more measurable in my goals, to ensure there are outcomes and products. So one of these is to write more, blog more. About library stuff, about nonlibrary stuff. I'll leave the fabulous blog entries about library philosophy and service to the folks who do that best, and figure out what works best for me. I know that I want to write about my family and mental illness. I want to write about my experiences in retail therapy. I want to write about the little moments of library joy.

Oh, and I totally want one of these.

Playing Librarian

2007-11-13T15:33:00.000-08:00

In the past 8 weeks, I have spent many hours reading through the blogs of my colleagues involved in Learning 2.0. The other week, one of our Things was LibraryThing. One of the participants blog entries about LibraryThing struck a childhood memory of playing library. I would organize my Baby-sitter's Club and Sweet Valley High books in numbered order and the rest in some order that made sense. Alphabetical by title, organized into height groups, colors. I would make little catalog records and due date cards for the title verso. It was quite the operation with a notebook detailing who borrowed what book and when it was due.

LibraryThing allowed me to organize my personal library, with the bonus of adding tags, emotional keywords. I found 15 other people who also have this book in their library. Play is the locus of Learning 2.0, encouraging staff to experiment, explore, discover the new web tools. It has been a challenge to shift the focus to play and explore, away from protocol and procedure. Play is fun, creative and one of the great benefits of play is the development of ideas, solutions; it fosters an informal setting and changes our way of thinking.

So, in thinking about play and libraries, I wonder what 'playing librarian' would look like today. Our catalogs are digital. Instead of stamping the inside of the cover, we print a receipt with the due dates. In retrospect, librarianship was probably always in my cards and as I developed intellectually my interests were aligned with the missions and goals of libraries. When asked what I might be doing if I wasn't in libraries, I am hard pressed to answer. Perhaps something in museums or art, developing training modules and staff development, teaching or tucked away in the ivory tower for the love of anthropology, of perhaps something IT related; work that complimentary to the work of libraries.

Kate mused about the word library in Bloglines, iTunes, and for every bibliophile on your holiday list, the personal library kit. Understanding what a ten year old playing library means in 2007 requires a different historical context. A child born in 1997 entered into a world when the internet was reaching toddler years. At the end of 1999, parents would be concerned about Y2K and backing up data. The child is probably playing educational video games and has mastered the mouse before kindergarten. At age ten in 2007, we would have a fifth grader on our hands, perhaps with a computer at home, maybe even one in their room. Maybe our ten year old would have a portable gaming system or mp3 player, familiar with accessing digital content online. There might not be a concern for authenticity or authorship, but rather an immediate need. Instead of the home encyclopedia collection, Google would serve as a research tool directing most search queries to Wikipedia. (Perhaps the parents are savvy and aware of iConn!) So, playing library... would the child who loves books and/or technology seek this out? Perhaps the playing would be orientated around the customer experience, like playing store , and focusing on the customer service exchange rather than the objects. Sample scenarios could be looking for the latest magna title or assistance in looking for Grand Theft Auto cheat codes.

And to take an incredibly sappy and nostalgic turn, I hope that play isn't something of the 20th centruy. And by play I mean using ones imagination and assorted objects to create a reality, outside of technology. I adore The Dangerous Book for Boys and now The Daring Book for Girls. It is a way of acting out experiences, practicing behaviors and responses, taking on a new personality and building interpersonal skills. Playing is learning.

Population

2007-11-05T09:10:00.000-08:00

Census data. Yum. Excel spreadsheets, the most one can have before noon.

Information request was for the Caribbean or Haitian population of Fairfield, CT. One of my favorite information sources that is census.gov, and I was particularly excited to use it this morning to look for data. This post is more of a post-it reminder to myself on accessing the resources. (Or if my patron calls back.) I stumbled a bit on where to go and ran a few different searches until I found an accurate match.

Using American Fact Finder, I can create a custom search that yielded me the specific data, with the ability to narrow down to specific ethnic groups and areas within a city. I used the QuickTables to access information about ancestry, and click-click-show! Population data downloadable to a spreadsheet!

A glorious way to start the week!

I'm on my air cell phone

2007-10-31T17:35:00.000-07:00

A little known fact about Maura: I like to air guitar. I like to air sitar. I like to play air stringed instruments. Always have, and hopefully always will. Air guitar is a part of who I am.

We have hosted a few Dance Dance Revolution Programs at the library, and I have looked on with envy as teenagers bopped around, their feet reaching for the right pads. I would be awkward and self-conscious without proper liquid libations. Libraries are picking up Guitar Hero as well and I hope having air guitar programs, with teenagers shredding like they are at Madison Square in '82. (However, most of them probably weren't born in '82...)

I recently attended an air guitar event and it was nothing short of amazing. May I suggest a few titles for your collection?

I recommend Air Guitar Nation, a witty documentary about one man's path to airness. The same man also published a hilarious memoir, a quick satisfying read with diagrams to develop technique.

sticks to stacks.

2007-10-31T17:34:00.001-07:00

I am from Massachusetts. I say wicked, love the Red Sox, fall is my favorite season, and I've been told I am a bad driver.

I've worked in libraries in Western Mass, at the tony library of Mount Holyoke and the quaint library of Northampton. I have always been dazzled and in love with cities, from the grittiness to the glamour, and all the little communities in between. My younger sister came down to spend a bit of time in the city with me. Our adventure started in Port Authority and quickly went to the Upper West Side, down to Brooklyn, up to Harlem, back down to Chelsea, SoHo via Chinatown, and then back to Port Authority. We even had Pinkberry.

I was catching up on my blogs this morning, and the always fabulous Jenny posted a shout out to us western mass girls. I laughed out loud, as the reference was timely. Yesterday, I watched my sister's face turn to sheer horror over the screeching subway, her nose crawl into a little acorn at the olfactory subway experience, and her wide eyes as a woman got into a shouting match with a perfect stranger in the subway for being "too old to be so rude". I got a kick out of watching her facial expressions and her face taking in the sites, sounds and smells of the city. We got to see Jenny today and meet her coworkers! (One of which told me she reads my blog, which made me realize maybe I should be more regular about updating this business...) And kudos to Jenny and her coworkers for their fantastic costumes!

From there, Maggie and I strolled down to Chinatown, so she could pick up an I Heart NY tee shirt. I haven't been down there in years, and since then the faux handbag market has grown. The marketing/harassment seems so much more intense. Small women would stand at the street corners, with small pieces of paper showing handbags whispering, fendi gucci coach chanel handbags miss. SO AGGRESSIVE. And this kept happening over and over again for a few blocks. And one woman practically had me cornered after I said no to her twice. I mused to my sister about being that aggressive for promoting new books. I would follow commuters whispering our latest new books and dvds, james patterson the new alice sebold steven colbert, handing out little informational flyers, enticing them to come back to our information lair to look at our books. I digress, I am much too literal. I need to work on this. (And because old habits die hard, I spent some time discussing the knock off industry and legislation surrounding counter fitting. Really, I just needed to lecture about something...)

Outsourcing: Yay or Nay.

2007-09-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

Picture this scene:

Just past 3pm, on a warm Indian summer September our heroine, sits at a red light, with NPR quietly playing in the background. Her mobile ear piece is attached to her right here, her planner open on her lap. She punches through her contacts list and makes a call.

A woman with a slight accent answers, "Dr. Doctor's answering service. How can I help you?" Our heroine inwardly groans, her second attempt to make an appointment is thwarted yet again by the answering service. The lady advises our girl the office will not be open again until Monday and she politely responds that she would like to receive a call back when the office is open. The customer service representative seems slightly annoyed, going over the hours again, expressing she will have to wait until Monday. Our heroine acknowledges this, thinking that the callback will serve as a reminder to make the appointment even if she misses the call, and if she has waited this long to make the appointment, how long will she have to wait to see the Doctor. Sheesh, she thinks.

Our heroine ends the call after giving her name and phone number, and closes her address book. She decides not to call Dr. Her Other Doctor , as this was just exhausting. She arrives home and lists a few things on ebay and craigslist, thereby crossing a few things off on her to-do list. After those tasks are completed, she lounges in bed nursing a small bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream and watching Izzie perform surgery with a hand drill while McDreamy searches for Meredith. There is no time for the nap she was hoping to take before returning to work.

The to-do list is filled with simple tasks that sometimes take much longer to complete than they should. Scheduling appointments, inquiring about rates, checking the weather, listing items for sale, answering emails, finding recipes. All this sort of busy work that gets in the way of daily life. Gosh, wouldn't it be great to hire someone for five hours a week to take care of these tasks for me, freeing up my time to focus on work or leisure. I found myself thinking of the The 4-Hour Workweek (which I have placed on hold at my library), and how we can hire personal assistants to take care of tasks in our lives.

Lifehacker posted about the case for personal outsourcing, and invited users to comment about the practice of outsourcing tasks in their lives. While clicking through and wondering how I might locate a personal assistant company, I came across GetFriday, a firm in Banglore India that I can hire for as little as $120 a month for 12 hours. There are pay-as-you-go plans as well as a task based plan. What do they do you may be wondering:

Online research for updating blogs
Reading bedtime stories to a young child on phone
Get an authenticated weather forecast and weather report for a particular time in a particular place on a particular day, five years ago. This was to be used as supportive evidence for a law suit
Posting job vacancies on the web
Educational research for 8-year-old (on behalf of his father)

Wow. Sounds like they do it all and more. Sounds like they could potentially be doing the work of librarians. So much of what we do is the personal touch, the face to face interaction, reading the body and face for clues, asking questions. Libraries are democratic institutions open to the people. I have researched stock prices from years ago, helped children research touch screen technologies, looked up phone numbers and provided directions at no cost to my patrons. Oh, and there are days when I feel like a patron's assistant. I often think about the value add in library services and the cost of the services we provide. I like this estimated cost calculator from Central Massachusetts Regional Library System. I can enter in my use of library services for a month and see what the value of services is. Perhaps we could end every reference with a friendly reminder of how much we are saving our patrons, "Alright, so here is the most recent review of desktop computers from Consumer Reports printed from a database, and your savings is $10.50." Because really, we are not giving our customers something for nothing.

I was having a similar discussion this morning with a friend, regarding fee 411 services. Google offers a free 411 service, as well as Free 411. I haven't tried Google's yet, but Free 411 has a 30 second or so advertisement before your information is provided. 411 costs $1.49, plus airtime with Verizon Wireless. Outsourcing, free vs. fee all come down to a matter of "how much is my time worth?" which is a very personal question that has many different answers. I also feel somewhat suspect that when you add a cost to a service, the value is almost automatic. I paid for this so I must be getting value out of it. Would library services and reference work be more valued if there was an invoice attached to each interaction? Are library services taken for granted because they are "free"?

Oh, and our heroine? Her doctor's office called back the next day for an appointment, at the end of October. And she participates in some outsourcing, on a local level. She still makes her own appointments and does her own research.

Manolo loves us!!

2007-09-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite blog is Manolo's Shoe Blog which is related to all things shoe. Manolo writes for a column for the Express of the Washington Post, and recently ran one from a librarian!
Manolo gives props to the librarians,

Now, the librarians compete with each other to be the hippest young “information specialist” in the main branch, the one with the dreadlocks, the radical politics, and the uncanny ability to access arcane databases on remote servers in Tajikistan.

Truly, this is the noblest of professions!

AHH!! Manolo loves us!!

And in a nutshell...

2007-08-31T09:30:00.001-07:00

Excuse the f-bomb in the cartoon, but this sums up my attitude on life. Having adventures, seizing the moment, doing the unexpected, taking risks and chances.

image from: xkcd.com

Vacation is good for the librarian

2007-08-07T08:49:00.000-07:00

I am back after a week long cross country road trip. My friend relocated out to Seattle, so I jumped in the UHaul and went along for the drive. It was a great adventure that generated our own list of reference questions, appreciation for the diversity of our country in terms of landscape and people, and inside jokes (camping!).

My friend is a middle school science teacher who is involved in professional development activities within the science education community, so we always have a lot to talk about. We were very excited that our UHaul was teaching evolution, and it sparked at least one conversation with fellow travelers along the way.

Reference Question of the Day:
Mario Cantone was on the View today. Wasn't he on a children's show in the 80s?

Life as a Library School Professor

2007-06-22T11:33:00.001-07:00

I came to library science out of a love of information, data, education, and technology. Library School taught me the nuts and bolts of being a librarian, the theory and the practice. I had some wonderful professors whose love of their work and career path came through in their lectures and conversations outside the classroom. One of my favorite library school professors, Stephanie Willen Brown, wrote an article for Library Journal about being an adjunct professor. I learned quite a bit from Stephanie on how to be an effective reference librarian.

Brown, Stephanie Willen . "The Adjunct Life." Library Journal 15 June 2007. 22 Jun 2007 .

Homework Help.

2007-06-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

It appears a rumor is going around in Stamford. That the librarians will answer your homework questions for you.

Fancy Friday!

2007-06-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

Hi! It has been awhile. Took a break from refgrunting, for a variety of reasons. None of them very good. Here are some loose ends that I am typing up from the last week or so.

Ahhh.. the basic questions can send us into a tailspin. A gentleman called in to obtain the conversion between an inch and a centimeter. Pretty obvious... I know it is somewhere in the area of 1 inch to 2.5 centimeters, but how to quickly access that information. The short answer is World Almanac, but for some reason I thought, the back of the dictionary! Why? Because my dictionary has all sorts of cool charts and conversion tables in the back.

I really like the ideas of roving reference, SMS or text message reference, reference through social networking, reference everywhere! Getting into the environment where are patrons are, providing services in the tools and formats they recognize. I had a reference question that came through the local hardware store regarding book binders. To get inside the mind of the patron, and follow the thought process which brought him to his local hardware store would have been fascinating, or rather simple. Perhaps he has an established relationship with John (not his real name) at the hardware store, and John seems to know everything. Or, perhaps seeing the process of book binding requiring various tools and machines, that could be purchased or supplied through a hardware store.

Tuesday!

2007-05-22T07:32:00.001-07:00

T stands for Tuesday and Technology! The third floor public computers being upgraded, so the second floor is a bit of a mad house. Also: no school today?

A patron wanted a legal sounding synonym for the "truth of the matter". Patron also requested my opinion on a sentence and whether or not something sounded legal.
Do you have wireless at any of the branches? (Yes! We do!)
Where can I buy a used computer monitor?
I lost my floppy disk. Did anyone turn one in?
Can I use that computer?
Why are all these teenagers here? Is it school vacation week? When will the computers be available on the third floor?
Where is your catalog?

Monday Reference

2007-05-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

I am really feeling energized today! I traveled to Ithaca, New York over the weekend to see a friend who has returned from The Gambia, where she was a Peace Corps volunteer. It was really wonderful to catch up and talk about our lives.
We talked a bit about technology and computers. It is really amazing to think about all the changes that have occurred in the last three years: YouTube, Wikipedia, iPod and iTunes, social networking, blogging. All of this Web 2.0 business really took off while she was away. She said, I just found out about Wikipedia a few months ago! My interests and position have me engaged in technology daily, experimenting with, learning about, teaching to others. It was a really great moment, like the internet was invented! (Don't worry. Soon enough she'll be up and running with Flickr and a blog...)

Now, the reference questions:
What is the name of the radio station for 96.3 FM out of New York. Is there a website or telephone number.
WQXR, New York Times radio station. (Who knew the Times had a station!) http://www.wqxr.com/
Can I use a pen?
Why can't I delete sent messages in my eBay account?
Since I taught this eBay class (which was very popular!), I am getting lots of questions about eBay! I love it! So the answer: turns out, I don't know why. It looks like 60 days of sent messages are kept. I imagine if there is any dispute over items, this keeps the "paper trail".
A few technology issues: converting a .wps to .doc, some of the workstations were wonky, and a teenage patron listening to gangsta rap so loud I could make out every word.
Where can I find nonfiction? (Moved into a discussion of how our library is organized rather than relying on chaos... Though a valid point was made about organizing biographies in a separate section. )
Where can I find information on Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Chad, Mali and biographies on Lefty O'Doul and other assorted Yankees (boo.. GO SOX!)
How many floors are here?
3 au pairs for the internet. Two card number look ups.
Where is the most recent issue of Barron's?
Do you have the White Pages?
Do you have change for a $20?
Looking for a French-English Dictionary.
Request for a book called A Steel Man in India. (two colleges have it)
A biography on Christian Lacroix (swoon! no book biographies, but something from Wilson's and article in Women's Wear Daily. Also my most favorite reference question of the day!)
Where can I find these books? and shows call numbers.
The machine ate my dollar! Look, it is all crinkly and torn! What should I do?

Overhead:
Rather loudly: "... and lack of sex!!!" And then something about Roman Catholics.

I'm going to count that as a reference question.

2007-05-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

One of our teenage computer regulars walks up to the desk, and asks for some scotch tape. He is about to tape a paper towel over his tattoo. I say, I think we have some gauze and hand some over to him. I inquire about when he got the tattoo, and suggest using moisturizing the tattoo and keeping it clean.

I need to look up resources on STDs for a school paper.
Can you help me set up a hotmail and myspace account?

Sunday!

2007-05-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Slow day. People must be outside enjoying this gorgeous day!

Do you have a map of Stamford?
Is BioKinetix listed in Reference USA? (No. Also not listed in Business and Company Resource Center.)
Can you recommend some dating sites for me? I am looking for ones that are legal and do not have minors.
Where does the library have parking?
Does WFUV have any information on their ratings and how they select what music to play?

Saturday Reference

2007-05-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

Only two hours on desk today:

Do you have the GMAT book by NOVA? (Patron also asked me if I was in school. No, I have a masters.)
What is the phone number for Geico? For auto insurance.
I am looking for all used record stores in CT.
I am looking for a person who used to live somewhere on Asylum Street in Hartford, CT but they moved. Can we look up the cell phone number? Can you look through tax forms and see where they are now living? (Um, no.) Can you look to see if they have a driver's license and what address is listed? (Um, no. I am not sure what the law says, but I think there is something called privacy.)
Do you have any DVDs on the US citizenship test?

Thursday Night Reference = Heartbreak

2007-05-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

A very nice boy, maybe about 10, made a gorgeous PowerPoint about the industrial revolution. He was trying to save it onto a disk, and it froze up the program. I think his PowerPoint was too big for the disk. There were some error messages, and I waited patiently for awhile, but they didn't disappear when I pressed Okay. And the sad story is, his PowerPoint got lost and it was due tomorrow. I offered to write a note to his teacher, explaining what had happened. I felt like I had failed him because I didn't know how to rescue it. (Maybe Kate has some ideas?) I also realized that I am doing a huge disservice to my patrons, because I tell them to stop using floppy disks and switch to flash drives, but we don't have them available for sale in the library! I am going to chat up Director of Public Services tomorrow about it. I already have the W.B.Mason catalog in front of me!

An older gentleman asked about job sites on the internet, and I wrote a few of them out for him. I showed him how a few of them worked, and spent about ten minutes with him walking through some searches. I asked him if he felt comfortable enough to do the searches on his own, and he said sure. About an hour later, he says he did not have any luck and could I recommend some more sites to him. (I recommended America's Job Bank, CTJobs, HotJobs, Monster, CareerBuilder.) I suggested it might be the use of keywords, and offered to help him out again. He had to leave, and I felt heartbreak again. Because I demonstrated walking through a few job sites, but not how to search properly and use of keywords. Unfortunately, this did not even cross my mind until after the interaction. I thought I had covered that, but perhaps he was doing something else when I wasn't looking. I got him part way there, but not to the finish line.

Do I have to pay to print?
Where can I find todays paper?
I don't think we've met. My name is Joe!

A rather frantic woman rushed up to the reference desk and stated she had just come from the police department, and they told her about a sex offender registry and she wanted to print out all the offenders that lived near her. Cautiously, I wrote out the address for the CT SOR and Family WatchDog (because of the mapping feature.) She seemed very animated and fired up, and I slowly went through the sites with her showing her how to search. She kept making comments about "I can't believe there are so many!" (there are 57) and "Isn't this disgusting?". I stepped around the comments to demonstrate the features. She quickly entered her address and printed out the names and addresses of offenders. I remained very neutral with her, just focusing on her need for information, though I couldn't help but think I was handing her a loaded gun. I encouraged her to read information about that registry and its purpose.

Do you have the time?
What time is it?
A list of the brownfields sites in Indiana.

Tuesday Technology Edition

2007-05-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

Instead of Reference Questions, I thought it might be an interesting change to blog the technology specific questions I get, from patrons and colleagues.

The mouse on B31 isn't working. I think we might need a new one.
The computer was frozen, rendering the mouse unusable. I restarted and everything was fine.

A message is appearing on the staff computer on the second floor stating there is an IP address conflict. Called Director of MIS and left a voicemail. Restarted computer, but I know the issue will be back. (And restarted again)

AltR to close all the Norton AntiVirus subscription updates on the database and word computers.

Patron said he spelled a word correctly, but word was telling him that it was spelled wrong. Patron did not have a space between two words.
"This is saying there are no jobs under my number." "Did you put your library card number in after you pressed print?" (Answer: no)

Friday Reference

2007-05-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Articles on transmission, differential (engines not math), the Packard, DeSoto, Mustang, and Camaro. (And by articles I mean Wikipedia.)
I'd like to use a computer, I have a Trumbull card.
My handwriting as a font! Cool! Is there any free programs for that? (Cheapest is 9 bucks. My opinion, totally worth it. Most are around $50.)
Do you have ancestry.com? Can you help me print these images?
I am looking for books on yoga and fertility.
Directions to the nearest unemployment office.
Application for first time home buyers seminar through the Housing Development Fund. (2 times)
I am selling something on ebay and don't have that high of a rating or any super seller stars. How can I list references so that people can trust me? (Recommend the usage of ebay's escrow service.)
Do you have any encyclopedias? I am looking for some information on black panthers. (I do a cursory search to see if we have a black panther encyclopedia. Nothing. So, I show her where teh encyclopedias are, and say I am going to look for an African American subject encyclopedia. She looks at me and says, "No. I mean the animal!" Totally missed the obvious question in the ref interview: the political party or the animal!)

Reference Questions: The Full Moon Edition

2007-05-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

Can you help me print?
What were the numbers for the Daily News $2 Million Mega Money Match for April 28?
Can you help me find the number for The Grand in New York on 58th Ave?
Can you help me find tourist attractions in Berlin and Dublin? (The coolest project! His class made passports and have to travel the world and write postcards about the places they have visited.)
How far down Newfield Avenue is the Italian Club?
The ladies bathroom is clogged.
Can you think I should use the word disparate instead of disparagingly? Is this sentence grammatically correct?

Monday Morning Reference

2007-04-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

What is the postal code for Lladro y Malli in Valencia Spain?

Action Packed Hour!

2007-04-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

SLAM!
Name and address of the CEO of Best Western and Hertz car rental.
The website to locate information about inmates in CT.
Stapler.
Assistance photocopying green cards and passports. (green cards are tricky to photocopy!)

(It got so very busy, that I was doing triage and stopped recording reference questions.)

If only more patrons were like this...

2007-04-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

I was helping an woman (maybe in her mid-30s) this evening on an undergraduate research paper. She was writing on Haiti and needed assistance in locating articles on immigration and assimilation. I showed her some of our databases, and found her two good articles. She had some other questions about MLA and citation, so I spent some time with her showing her how to make a bibliography.

At the end of the interaction, she turned to me and said, "You know, it's amazing what you can learn in books."

What the Patron Really Wants

2007-04-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am looking for the phone number of American Lawn and Garden Tools in Parkersburg, WV.

What the patron was looking for was the customer service phone number for Ames Tru Temper. When Googling info about the company, I found a release that the Parkersburg WV site was closed and all employees laid off in 2005. It reminds me to take the time with patrons, and suss out their query. I think sometimes I take their information request at face value, because of confidence or the line at the reference desk. I think somewhere in the back of my head, I am thinking: Save the time of reader, but not really saving the time of the reader if I am not fully exploring their information need.

And wouldn't you know... I am living what I am blogging. A young woman approached the desk, and asked for health related books. I could have easily pointed her to the 600s and said, "Health books are over there", but I asked her what topics she was interested in. She responded pregnancy, and again I asked her what sort of information she was looking for. She said there was a book, What to Expect When You are Expecting and she wanted to see if we had a copy.

Reference Questions

2007-04-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

I am looking for a book. I think the author is Michael Pfeiffer or Michael Pfeifer, and the title might have the following words in it: Potomac River Basic Indian Artifacts.
Phone number and address for Christie's in New York.

(A woman showed me her papers and motioned to clip them together. I placed the stapler in front of her. She said, "I don't know how", so I showed her, and then said, "Okay. Now you try.")

Best orthopaedic surgeons on the East Coast, more specifically Stamford and Greenwich. (Here is something fun... search for best surgeons in our OPAC. Share your findings. )
Are you having an event on lapbands?

Reference on a Rainy Windy Sunday

2007-04-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Can I use a computer?
Where are the bathrooms?
Is that you? (Shameless promotion)
What time does the movie start?
What movies do you have by Pedro Almodóvar?
I am looking for books on business statistics.
Do you have these movies? (And hands me a list.) I only have ten minutes.

Seriously. That was pretty much it in four hours. It was a ghost time, most likely due to the weather. I just spoke about customer service regarding the post office. Likewise, the police department wasn't very helpful either. I contacted them to inquire about a master list of road closings, so I could figure out how to get home. The woman's response was, "We have no idea. You are just going to have to figure it out yourself." I recently blogged about local searches for my library blog, and this type of information is impossible to find online. Two of three ways I know how to get home were closed due to flooding. I only knew this from attempting to get home those ways. While the our databases, google/ask, and news sources give us information a plenty at our fingertips, the local and current information is another challenge.

Saturday!!

2007-04-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

Do you have an art exhibit going on for The Big Read?
What are the details about the opera happening today for children?
Do you have New York State tax forms? (Being a CT library and all...)
Do you speak English?
Where can I find a public notary?
Income tax forms!
Heaven, are you going?
Where are the restrooms located?
Is there room in the digital photography class today?
May I use the quiet study room?
How do you spell financial?
Can you look up the birthday of these people? (About 9 actresses, singers and writers.)
Do you have any music CDs?

Reference Questions: Friday the 13th Edition

2007-04-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

I am not sure I believe in things like Friday the 13th or full moons, but I will tell you this:
There have been some characters in here today. Wow.

Can I return Stamford Library books to Darien or Greenwich?
Are spaces in the library for quiet conversation? I am meeting with someone to practice conversational skills.
May I have more minutes please?
Where can I find travel guides to Greece and Athens?
I am looking for a guide to do my taxes.
Do you have any materials on diluted securities or convertible securities?
Do you have The Secret on DVD? Your catalog says you have one copy available.
(Yes. We do have one copy on the Bookmobile. Here is where the Bookmobile would be today. But, I don't want to drive there and have it not be there. That would be a waste of my mine. If you want it to be there and think that it will be there, it will be there!! Power of positive thinking!!)
Can I have the most recent copy of The Outlook. (We had April 4 in the binder and in the S&P database, April 4 is the most recent edition.)
I saved something to the desktop, and my session timed out. How do I get that back?

I think there is an FHA refund program for people who have paid their mortgage in full and overpaid the insurance.
I am looking for form 1120=H.
I am in Rye, and looking to access the statewide union catalog for CT. (Patron, who is a librarian could not search ReQuest in NYC because of her IP address. Provided contact information for iCONN. )
I have this receipt and I have to go to the website, enter a code, and then I will get a coupon for 15% off. I have a computer-phobia, so can you do this for me? (Again, this is in the same school of I need to apply for a job at Home Depot, I don't know how to use a computer, I don't have an email address, and I need to do it in 15 minutes. I ended up doing it for her, it took me all of 3 minutes, but had I left her on her own, she wouldn't have made it past the first screen. Now, I could write a whole other blog post about whether I am doing her (and my colleagues) a disservice by just doing it.)
I need help printing.
If I was looking for my friend who was using a computer checking his email, where would he be?
Tax forms. Tax forms.
Help me print. The document isn't showing up in print preview. What's your name? You have pretty eyes.

Postal at the Post Office, Or Lessons in Customer Service

2007-04-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of the US Postal Service. I love sending letters, postcards, packages, little bits of goodness through the mail. And I love getting letters, postcards, magazines. I respect the credo, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds, and fully appreciate their efforts.

I am also a fan of excellent customer service, friendly, solution orientated and productive. Background: For the past few months, I have been receiving mail for people who do not live at my house. There are 3 apartments, 5 last names, all clearly written in large letters on the mailboxes. The other issue is that the carrier continually leaves the door to my mailbox open, and at times I have a wet New Yorker or Vogue or Library Journal. This does not make me happy.

Wednesday, I dropped off the large stack and explained that these people do not live at my address. I watched the clerk put a rubber band around the package, and then I bought some stamps. Thursday, the package is back with the rubber band. Now, I am a little annoyed. I have to go back to the Post Office anyhow, but now I must return this package again. I am realizing that nothing had been done about the issue, just that the mail was returned to a carrier and ended up back at my apartment. I arrived, and spoke to a new clerk regarding the two issues. She gave me a phone number to call regarding the open door. I protested, saying I have been down that road, and I would like to find a new solution. She was unable to give me one, but just to call that number again. For the mail delivery issue, she suggested I take the mail back to my apartment and leave it in the box, a solution I have attempted, however my carrier would not pick up the mail.

At this point, I start to get more upset and frustrated at the lack of creative problem solving, as all the solutions they are suggesting have failed, and placing the onus on me. I tell her, loudly and perhaps a bit forcibly that I refuse to take the mail back home with me, and if I do take it back, I will throw it away. Well, everyone gets quiet, and the clerk informs the it would be a federal offense to throw away first class mail and that I shouldn't say that. Well, civil servants, this is the viable solution to ending the mail issue. By not providing a solution, we are creating more work for everyone.

I end my transaction with mailing two packages (which I pray arrive at their destinations) and purchase some stamps. I make a phone call and speak with a supervisor at the Carrier location, who seems sympathetic and understanding. Later in the evening, I reflected on the experience, being a civil servant, productivity, and problem solving. During library school, I worked for a telecommunications company. The site I worked at was completely mismanaged and Dysfunctional. Work was routinely shifted around, people always got the runaround, you could never get a straight answer, and eventually everyone got laid off. My role was to coach and train our employees to optimal job performance. Now coaching and training people who have no motivation is not easy, so I was always searching for creative and innovative solutions. Even in my current position, I am forced to find creative ways to teach computers and the internet to people who wouldn't know how to turn a computer on. I learned something very important on my first day alone at reference desk in a public library. My boss imparted some advice on me that has become a driving force in my customer service philosphy: to not let the patron leave empty handed. This requires innovative and quick thinking.

I have toyed with the idea of writing a letter to the Postal Service. Here is some of the text:

Due to the lack of solution regarding my problem, I am requesting a "return to sender" stamp. Likewise, I will be billing you for 4 hours a month, for the time it takes me to sort the mail, stamp it, and put it back in my mailbox. I am really looking forward to being a part of the postal service team. As a fellow civil servant (I am a librarian), I would just like to say that you suck and we are kicking your ass in terms of efficiency!

(Thanks to Kate for the last line!)

The Evening Shift

2007-04-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

The past 24 hours have been full of network connection issues. When I arrived at work, there was no interweb, but for some reason Flickr, gmail, and Facebook all worked at my desk. Clearly, the important tools for a Reference Librarian.

Do you have the Deadliest Catch on DVD? (Doesn't the name of this show should like an extreme dating show?? Also, friend from high school is on this show! COOL!)
Where can I find this book: 808.something?
What is the phone number for San Diego Public Library?
Articles on team dynamics and leadership.
Biographies on Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.
Please help me print.
May I have a scrap piece of paper?
How can I tell if a company is reputable? (Me: What kind of information were you looking for? Patron: (and this is the real reference question) My daughter won a trip to Hawaii from this company, but we have to buy $300 worth of products. I just wanted to make sure this company was reputable.) (Company was Sun Laboratories out of LA, and according to the LA BBB company gets an F rating.)
I am looking for the address, phone number and name of ambassador for the US Embassies in Paris and Berlin. Is there one in Dresden?

(I am getting a lot of questions about Germany lately. )

My boss got this question today: Where do I sign my CT tax return?
And apparently, it took him about 5 minutes to explain where.

Fun New Tool

2007-04-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

I am into the visual representation of data. When data is placed on a map, the story emerges in ways that it might not have been able to been told.

I found this site today: Social Explorer Maps. A team at Queens College at CUNY developed these interactive maps that display census data. They have a few free maps to play around with. One of the cool features I like is the ability to take snapshots of the maps and develop a slideshow. (It looks like only subscribers can save slideshows.) Maps can be a really powerful way to displaying data and showing changes over time. I liked looking at the NYC maps race maps over time. These data maps really do tell a story (through numbers.)

After a Long Weekend...

2007-04-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

Everyone wants to use a computer.

I am looking for an article that is in J-S-T-O-R, and the web site I am on is asking me to check with my library. Do we have this? (Of course! I often pronounce it like J-Store, and it was fun listening to someone spell it out, like an acronym.)
Do you have The Double Bind? It is on the best-sellers list.

Reference Questions (for real.)

2007-04-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

There is a little Italian place next to 15 Cedar Heights. What is the name and phone number of that store?
What time do you close?
Where can I get an ID card in Stamford?

non-Reference Reference Questions

2007-04-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Do you live in Stamford? I live in the area.
Are you married? I tend not to answer any personal questions when I am at work.*
Oh, you aren't trying to make friends? Uh, no. I wouldn't say that, just that this is my work environment and I keep that separate from my personal life.
Do you have a cellular phone? Um, why?
Maybe I could call you sometime if you did. I don't think so.

This is the second time I was asked out today. Must be the tights.

* (Note to self: How could you forget your imaginary husband? Johnny Depp)

Ahh.. Coffee.

2007-04-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Been on a latte kick lately... Having a Starbucks in the library is A) fabulous (esp with discount!) and B) dangerous.

I really like the Way I See It quotes on the cups, and I really liked the one I had today:

"People should get out of their comfort zones on a daily basis. Take up knitting and boxing. It will make you so much more interesting."
-- Raymond Lawson

Funny it should be that combo! I already knit, and have been toying with the idea of taking up boxing.

homeless and drunk @ your library

2007-04-03T06:19:00.000-07:00

Kate, our Loose Cannon Librarian, posted a great entry about Social Services @ Your Library. Being a newbie librarian at a public library I have had a crash course in Social Services in American 101. Outlook, not so good.

I was sitting at the reference desk for a two hour shift, and reading her entry. Halfway through, one of our drunk homeless drug addicts yells to me, "MISS! I NEED YOUR HELP!", a homeless man ask for directions to Norwalk, and a rather lonely man at home calls on the phone to find out how much vitamin E is in sesame seeds (which turned into how many micrograms are in a milligram...)

When meeting new people, one often engages in a discussion about their work, academic or professional. I enjoy my work and want to share my love for libraries and information with others. I find more and more when I talk about my work that I am stressing the personal touch. That so much of my position, whether I like it or not, is kindness and a human touch. Likewise, I have learned (hello newbie!) that kindness can be mistaken for friendship and inappropriate questions and comments. When the streets, shelters, jails are dark and dangerous places our library is a welcomed alternative. (Or is our library a welcomed alternative?)

I think I have become more tolerant of the suffering in our library, and perhaps I am romanticizing this as well. A place with warmth, computers, comfy chairs, bathrooms, and ears attached with desk. So that when the drunk man yells at me from across the room to make his font bigger, I try to place his behavior in the context of a society that is ill equipped to deal with his addictions and provide his basic needs. I sometimes feel apart of that process that is criminalizing the mentally ill, when someone who is drunk and passed out is kicked out. At times, I feel like I should have a card that makes me exempt from our patron's irrationality. Sometimes, I want to roll my eyes, and lament about how rude it is to call out. Down at the root, we are both trying to make it through the day the best we can. I feel ill equipped to discuss the issue because it is such a juggernaut, and I wouldn't even know where to begin. There are days when I go home and feel exhausted and dejected. That America has given up on the poor, the ill, and the hungry, and maybe I should just find a cushy corporate job.

Oh, the things I didn't learn in library school.

Word of the Day

2007-04-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

logorrhea, an excessive flow of words.

otherwise known as verbal diarrhea.

Reference Questions!

2007-04-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

I hadn't even left my house, and felt I should go back to bed.

I ripped my parking pass this morning, the part that hangs from my rearview window. I proceeded to knock over the base for one of our phones (while the other librarian was on it)! Okay, question time. It is grey, cloudy, rainy and cold, so there isn't too much activity this morning.

A few guest passes for the computers. A printing question. A wireless internet question.
How do you spell Caucasian?
Can you place the movie "Matador" on hold for me?
Do you have a cross reference directory? Who is the publisher?
How much vitamin E is sesame? (Which then turned into how many miligrams are in a microgram, and a whole lot of logorrhea unrelated to grams, vitamin E and sesame.)
Where are your Connecticut State Laws located? Where is the courthouse located?
Where on the web can I find quotes on daily securities from the US Government?
One of our regulars uses an on demand publishing service for his book, and wanted to research other on demand publishers.
Can you tutor me in Flash and Powerpoint? I need to know them both right now!!
Do you have a map or Norwalk?
MISS!!! I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!

Reference Questions (post vacation)

2007-03-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first day back from vacation, and I was jetlagged and dealing with some genealogy questions I should have not entertained. Live it, learn it.

Where can I find a copy of today's paper? (Posed by one of our teen tech interns...)
Where can I find People?
Do you have Consumer Reports?
I need the phone number for the CT Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities in Hartford, CT.
Do you have TurboTax?
I need an application for an international driver's license.

Reference Questions... (before vacation!)

2007-03-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of desk time today. Which is fair, because I will have a lot of time in Europe next week! Yippee!!

So here we go,
I need tax forms, and I have these [a 1040EZ and CT Booklet]. Do these go together? I am not sure what I need.
Computer usage.
Request for two articles in the newspaper yesterday, one about property reevaluation and the other about proposed development in the South End. Patron also wanted to see if there was any visual renderings of the project on the developers website.
Did Jimi Hendrix write any books? I know Jim Morrison did. [ I said, "I don't think so, let's check, but I know he wrote some pretty awesome riffs!" And turns out, Jimi did not author any books in our collection, but we have a handful of biographies.]
I need to generate a list of environmental engineering consulting firms in New York and Connecticut.
Patron was looking for English (ESL) cassettes.
Computer stuff: how to print, card number look up.
Directional: to bathrooms, tax forms, copier, circulation.

Reference Questions on the last Monday of Winter

2007-03-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

The name, address and CEO of Earthlink.
From my pal Alison, a Claude Levi-Strauss article about a birthing ritual with music and it was in Java or Bali. (Working on it!)

Reference Questions

2007-03-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have this website to get a free Cingular telephone. Can you do it* for me? I don't want to deal with the internet.

*It being, go to the site, fill out all the information, so he can get his free Cingular telephone.

Small World of Librarianship

2007-03-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

Like most fields, the library world is pretty small. And with the internet, it is even smaller! We love to blog! Share information and experiences! Collaborate over wikis! Flickr, podcasts, YouTube, oh my!

Kate Sheehan, Coordinator of Technology at Danbury Public Library has started a new blog that I love the name of, Loose Cannon Librarian. Kate and I crossed paths at library school, and I filled her shoes when she left the Ferguson Library.

Social Networking

2007-03-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

I wrote this for my boss, and thought I might share it here as well. This is a bit of what I am doing when I am not on the desk.

- - - - -

Digital divides exist on many levels, and often within the homes of parents and their teenage children. To help bridge this gap, I have collaborated with Youth Services Librarian Rebecca Stine to offer workshops for parents about MySpace and other social networking tools. Our goal was to educate parents and guardians about the site, explore how the site functions in terms of profiles and search capabilities, examine the risks and dangers, and some of the constructive ways the site is used. We wanted to provide a space where parents could ask questions, see live examples, and gain an understanding of the benefits and risks, and leave with an awareness of social networking. We had an impressive turnout for our last session, 13 people and Channel 12 News did a brief spotlight about the class as well. Due to the recently publicly, and the interest it has generated, we will be offering this workshop again next month.

Professionally, I have been traveling to other libraries and conferences to speak about social networking tools to other librarians. These presentations examine how various libraries are using the technologies and the potential application within library framework. Web 2.0 tools, like blogs and wikis, have created environments that support collaboration both locally and globally, with other professionals or with patrons. With a working knowledge of these tools librarians can understand the context in which today's patrons, especially youth are connecting with each other and the world. Text messaging, YouTube, and Google have created an environment where information needs can be immediately met and the user may not have the same concerns about authority that information professionals have. As librarians, our roles are to help mitigate these differences by educating youth about information literacy and authority, and perhaps providing library services in these formats. Similarly, with the technology boom of the last decade and the rapid development and adoption of new applications, it is important that we, as librarians to keep our fingers on the pulse. Libraries are community centers for people to explore and utilize new technologies, where services on the cutting edge are offered. Libraries are community centers for people to learn about, explore, and utilize technology, and to be offering services on the cutting edge it is essential for librarians to be aware of the trends and future developments.

Scrotums!

2007-03-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

Hey librarians! Are you sick of hearing about scrotums (or scrota)? The New Yorker has a fabulous piece this week in the Shouts and Murmurs column.

Reference Questions

2007-03-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

I would like to renew my materials.
I have a papaya and I am not sure if I can eat the seeds or not, and the fruit is not listed in my Joy of Cooking.
Help! I accidentally glued my fingers together with Super Glue! How do I unstick them?
I'd like to apply for a job at FedEx and I need to go online to do that, but I don't know how to use a computer! I don't even have an email address. (These are so tricky. On so many levels. This could be a whole separate blog post.)
Do you have any tax guides?
A colleague asked for assistance with a patron trying to print something. Patron thought she was getting three copies, but in fact what she wanted to print was three pages.
What is the Connecticard and how can I get one?
I would like to place a hold on the book The Self Publishing Manual.
Can you help me find a contact phone number for the Mantis corporation?

Reference Questions

2007-03-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

Are you the (can't make it out) library of Harry Bennett? (I provided her with the number for one of our branches.)
Five people wanted to use our computers.
What does this message mean? I have to shut the computer down? (Patron was asking about the desktop image which lists our computer usage policy and how to close your session.)
I would like to speak to the person who manages the visiting books program. (Discarded books to folks in nursing homes.)
I would like the phone number for PricewaterhouseCoopers on Atlantic Street in Stamford, CT. (Said in the loveliest British accent.)

And my Director of Public Services sent me this YouTube video.

Reference Questions: Four hour evening BONANZA!!!

2007-03-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

Can I have a scrap of paper?
Can I use the men's room? (A woman. I told her that it probably wasn't clean and there was another restroom on the third floor.)
I am looking for international data about the number of students who graduate from high school and the number of students enrolled in college. It is for a company I work for to throw on (i love data questions!)
Do you have any quiet study rooms?
TAX FORMS!!!!!!!! (2 times!)
How can I access the Library of Congress holdings? Do I need a library card to search in their catalog? Can I print out the information I find in the catalog?
I'd like to make a reservation for the internet.
Biographies on Ray Barretto, Bernie Geoffrion, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Ricardo "Richie" Ray.
My computer mysteriously froze. (Restart! Check!)
Ugh, what is wrong with my screen? (The resolution needed adjustment. Check!)
Can I get an application for a library card?

Overheard:
"Monique has MySpace issues!!"
The sound of a soda can being opened.

the non reference question.

2007-03-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

My job is to connect people with information and services. Sometimes those services include emergency medical responders. (Yes, I just said that.) Twice, since the start of the year I have had to call 911 to assist patrons.

Sometimes young women need young women products. Sometimes children just need a friendly smile and a someone to acknowledge them in a positive way. Sometimes old men just need an ear.

These skills and services probably won't ever be listed in my job description, and there isn't a gold star on my paycheck.

I am connecting people to kindness and goodness.

Reference Questions

2007-03-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

Is blood blue when it is in your body? I remember hearing that in school, and wanted to check on it. (Patron is about 25. This one stumped me too! I remember being taught that as well. Turns out veins look blue due to the scattering and absorption of light of skin at different wavelengths, the depth of vessels and the visual perception. This question took some hunting in databases. I found it quickly in Wikipedia (I know, I know), but it illuminated how tricky it is to search for questions that are not technical. I found plenty of entries on veins and what they do, but not on this perception.)

Registration for my digital photography class. (Now full!)
Who is David Birline or David Dirline? (I have no idea. )
Questions about tutor.com service.
Looking for New York Non resident tax forms.
I am looking for a type of business in Palm Beach County, FL. How would I go about getting a list?
I am looking for information on the forensics on the death of Madalyn Murray O'Hair.
Do you have any large paperclips?
I am looking for the Jewish Year Book that is published in London.

Sunday Sunday Sunday!

2007-03-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

Four hours of reference FUN!

Do you have The Miracle Worker on DVD?
I am looking for articles or books on the future of 35mm film photography.
I am looking for a book, ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life. Does your library carry this?
Where can I find these call numbers?

I am looking for articles on the common cold in children. Information about treatment, symptoms, and causes.
Do you have any DVDs on American History? Specifically the Trail of Tears or Cherokee Indians?
Is there an 800 customer services number for MySpace?
Do you have any Connecticut mastery test study guides?
Can you help me find this person's address? They live in New York City.

MySpace for Parents

2007-03-03T13:04:00.000-08:00

Whoa! Rebecca and I did our second MySpace for Parents class today, and we had 13 people! Great turnout!

This class takes a look at MySpace, FaceBook and YouTube and deconstructs the sites for parents. We look at the anatomy of the site and profiles, the nature of its use, what information is shared, privacy levels, how to search for people, and answered questions about the site.

One of the issues I struggle with is when a parent wants to examine their child's profile without their knowledge. "So, how do I see my son's profile? He has it listed as private." Maura the Librarian moonlighting as an online PI. I generally ask them if they have talked to their children about their use of social networking sites, and to come out and ask to see it. My goal is to teach parents about the uses of these sites in a safe environment, equip them with the knowledge to have conversations with their children. To understand the long term implications of social networking sites and who else is looking. And it is hard for me to tell someone who could be my parent how to parent, when I have no children myself.

The other fab thing is that Maura the Librarian was featured on the five o'clock news that evening! After the class ended, a reporter arrived and asked to interview me. I talked about what we did in the class and why it was important. We are going to offer it again next month as well. We did this class in October and had 5 people. I did get a speaking gig at another library through one of the participants. (Our director of public access said there was low turnout at all branches.) I did learn about the importance of marketing the program, and I think that made a difference. We were listed in the Stamford Advocate and sent press releases to the schools and PTA. It is also really nice to be in a library that has a marketing department.

These classes are also great because they are free! And I really enjoy connecting with members of the community and meeting their needs. These are days when I get home from work exhausted, but energized.

Reference Questions

2007-03-03T07:48:00.000-08:00

I'd like to register for your MySpace for Parents class. (two!)
Where can I find this book? (a 306 call number.)
Is the Stamford Board of Reps the 27th or the 28th?
Books on writing cover letters.
Where are the CDs? I want to browse.

Reference Questions

2007-02-28T11:25:00.000-08:00

An NYT Article about Roderick Hills. (Patron had the citation.) Also, other articles from the WSJ from 1975 about Roderick Hills.

Reference Questions:

2007-02-27T07:29:00.000-08:00

An application and application instructions for Deal or No Deal.
Location of closest CT Works office.
Address and CEO of HP.
Tax forms!
Phone number for Social Services in Stamford.
Do we have "The Secret" on DVD or book? (Yes, and you have to wait.)
Does the actress Debra McIntyre have a show on TV right now? (Patron meant Reba McEntire.)

Overheard:
"She doesn't have many clothes on."

Reference Questions of the past weeks

2007-02-26T07:56:00.000-08:00

Mailing address for Tile Magazine.
What I am looking for you can't take out.
A list of pleadings or court hearings for Fairfield County, including divorce, foreclosure, bankruptcies. Something on a weekly basis.
How many (Toyota) Lexus RX Series were sold in the US? Latest possible data.
Looking for Grifith's Evaluation of London.
Directories for property management firms.
A few middle school students and their projects: radar, touch screen technology.
How do I get a green card?

Milestones in Library Land

2007-02-23T14:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel very inspired to blog, but then I get home and watch Lost on DVD and get, well lost.
But today, my director of public services inspired me to maintain a log of the important events that happen in Library Land.

Today, it was the B word. Bitch. I am sure I have been called a number of bad things out of earshot, in people's thoughts, in foreign languages, etc. Until today, nothing to my face. I was helping a gentlemen through applying for a job online. I continually struggle with explaining technology and computers to people who have a basic skill set. I try and listen to what they are saying, watch what they are doing, and work from there. I was listening to the man explain what he wanted to do, and as I was answering his question, the patron next to us said, "Well, you have to this, and this and this and then..."

I cut him off. "Thank you for your input, I think I can take it from here," I said. (Or something like that. And patron input happens all the time. Sometimes it is great (language translation) and sometimes, it gets in the way.) So, the next thing I hear is bitch, just softly under the breath, but loud of enough. I ask, "Excuse, me? What did you just say?" (I know, I sound like my mother.) He tells me he was talking to himself, and I comment that it is inappropriate nonetheless. I continued my interaction with the patron, but was plagued by technical difficulties from our reservation system.

Reference Questions: two hours in the morning.

2007-02-06T07:18:00.000-08:00

How do you spell irrelevant?
Do you have Heads of families at the first census of the United States taken in the year 1790 : New York? What census data do you have?
Is there a community calender?
Are you offering tax services for immigrants?
Do you subscribe to the Commercial Record electronically?
Do you have a three hole bunch?

Reference Desk: afternoon

2007-02-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

Can you connect to MySpace?
Do you have nonresident CT tax forms?
I have a citation for a New York Times article, but I can't find it in the newspaper.
Do you have any LPN study books?
NADA or KBB Value for a 1990 Volvo GL 740 with 140k miles.

Reference Questions

2007-01-31T15:59:00.000-08:00

Looking for data on housing for 2005 to 2006, number of houses sold or sales volume.
Where did Jan Sterling die?
Rice manufacturers and distributors in Texas.