CHAPTER'S CAFE

A Kansas First Reader

2011-12-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

"Studies in Reading, First Reader" was compiled by J.W. Searson, George E. Martin, and Achsah May Harris and published 1920 by the The State of Kansas, copyright was 1917 by the University Publishing Company, The State of Kansas.

J.W. Searson was a professor of English at the Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan.

Martin was Superintendent of the Training School and Dean , Nebraska State Normal School, Kearney.

Harris was a professor of primary education, Kansas State Normal School, Emporia.

It was 186 pages, illus. and contained a variety of stories, poems, and simple songs. Some of which had been written by Harris: "A Letter from Santa Claus", "Mr. Lincoln and the Bird", " The Wind and the Sun" , "Story the Bean Told" and "Our Flag." Most were poems with one a skit retelling an Aesop fable.

Around Green Hills

2011-12-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

A fun old reader from the American Book Company, New York, 1948. It was titled: Around Green Hills, a "First Reader - Betts Basic Readers, The Language Arts Series." A Philippines copyright was listed for 1950.

The stories were divided into "Happy Days", "Here Comes the Circus", "A Farm in the Hills", "from Farms and Gardens", and "Last Days of the Year."

WHAT DOES A BOARD OF REGENTS DO?

2011-12-20T06:23:00.000-08:00

Many schools, colleges, and universities have as their primary governing body a 'board of regents'. This phrase is defined as a committee of university officers who have general supervision over the welfare and conduct of students or a body that manages the affairs of an institution. Yet, what does that really mean?

The variety of interpretations is also interesting. The Louisiana Board of Regents says "The Board of Regents is committed to increasing the educational attainment of Louisiana's citizens through its policy work including statewide academic planning and review, budgeting and performance funding, research, and accountability." Other states define it more or less along those same lines.

One thing is apparent regardless of individual differences between states and schools. More and more such bodies are attaining new levels of transparency in their work. Agendas, mission statements, dockets, meeting dates, contact information and news releases are increasingly being placed on web pages and made publicly accessible. Examples include U of M, U of W, and Baylor.

This is very important, this issue of transparency, for new required levels of assessment and accountability being demanded, within and without, the academic sphere.

Libraries (academic and public) and library systems also have similar board structures for similar purposes. There too the need for transparency, accountability, communication, and involvement (contact, scheduled, etc.) are important. The benefit of a board should be its ability to be objective and distanced enough to properly oversee the big picture, its willingness to go below the surface to see things as they really are and not just accept formal records, and connect with all those involved from the highest office to the lowest position. Not as micro managers but as observers, advocates, and supporters of all the institution. It should encompass an ability to listen to and consider alternate views, review information and ideas outside formal channels (where they can be stifled or ignored), and support the development as a positive work environment and productive service provider.

Signs Things May Not Be Working Well

2011-11-04T05:24:00.000-07:00

Communication breaks down. Where once regular emails were sent out to inform and involve the workforce, there is nothing but the sound of crickets in the electronic in-box. Nobody knows what is going on across departments, only some news is shared providing a slanted view or telling only part of the story.

Group building breaks down. Regular meetings have a two pronged impact. They provide a venue for management and also tie people together as a working whole. People working in departments need to come together to work together. The people in those departments need to meet with people in other departments to achieve things. The totality needs to meet occasionally to be motivated to excel. There has to be massive "buy in" by employees not just because of a paycheck but because they are made to feel part of the process and significant.

Big picture is lost in the petty details. The over concern on rules, crossing "t's" and dotting "i's" can miss the larger awareness around the business. The monitoring of the minor issues can often allow an elephant of problems to amble by unnoticed. Issues of landscaping or the color of tile in a new wing must never swamp more important issues of infrastructure or daily operations.

Participation of leadership is missing. This means limited leadership. Too many leaders in a company feeling they have to do it all themselves can spell disaster. Allowing others with experience, knowledge, or common sense to be involved will save money, time, and reputations in the long run. True leaders will consult those who are on the front lines, those who have dealt with an issue before, and those who have been around awhile. Carrying the ball all the way down the field to glory seldom happens in real life. Your failure to cross check and double check procedures, policies, history, and failures of the past will sideline you big time.

The Disappearing Library?

2011-09-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

Everything's online now. Who need books? Who needs shelves? I have to go to the library?

The perception is that libraries are old school. Everything is smaller, portable, and electronic and books are ancient, locale oriented, and tactile. Who need the library? Smart phones and portable electronic devices are putting everybody out of business.

I am reminded of a novel I read one time that had an insightful scene of an older couple selling their old, wooden dining table. It had been in the family for generations. They wanted to get rid of it so they could get one of those new chrome and plastic tables...

Sometimes what is new is not as good in the long run. A reason books have been around in the same format since the 1440's is it was a system which worked. The organization, controlled vocabulary, and the other values which developed around the place of information all worked.

The library as place and idea is most endangered by those rushing to embrace the newest electronic technologies, ideas, and approaches without regard for the wisdom already in place. New technologies do not mean increased skills or improved technologies.

Everyone has a laptop but no one can write. Everyone is texting but reading scores are going down.

Why? The library is as much an ethos of learning as it is a place or a function.

In essence the library is the grand old dame walking with a cane being run down by the skateboarder in cut-offs....

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE OTHER SIDE

2011-08-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

One of the major problems library and information professionals face comes from the lack of understanding of their role by the administrators and professionals with whom they work.

Stereotypical and often caricatured representations of the "librarian", set in stone through movies, jokes, and even (unfortunately) some literature mean the role has been frozen in place. The person in the position is always the "little old lady with the books", the "liberry man or woman", the gloried "book clerk" whose only task is to circulate and shelve those musty tomes, the Luddite with a detestation of all things technological or of the modern era.

This clear mental connection of the world of the library with all things dated, aged, or out of touch, has been hauled out in every teacher and administrator textbook of the last twenty years. The library profession, in fact, seldom makes into the pages of those books, into the curriculum of roles in the school, or onto the radar of modern pedagogy.

The result is English instructors address how to use the library in research, business instructors teach students to use databases or develop search strategies, and the skills remaining are largely non-professional ("Can we get some paper in the computer lab?") and directional ("Where is the restroom?"). The concept of information literacy is confused with the same old bibliographic instruction and issues of information development, growth, and access go under addressed, if at all.

The professional is left to wonder, "Why did I go to graduate school again?" The only one who seems to consider them professionals, peers, and educated is another library professional.

The profession, however, has some blame in this. It crumpled before the challenges of the 1960's that the term "library" could not expand to include non-book formats. The resultant, and confusing, "Media Centers", "Resource Centers" and the like, eroded the strong and secure place of the idea of a library as a source for all information. The reluctance of libraries to embrace and run with new technologies gravely handicapped them in the technology race. The intense gatekeeping that kept change from occurring until almost too late gave others the lead as information mavens. The library was left cooling its heels as the waltz it had prepared for turned into a foxtrot without warning.

Is it too late? Will it be necessary for the profession to re-invent itself and reassert its role? If so, maybe this time the need for change will be made a part of the future.

WHAT MAKES AN OUTSTANDING UNIVERSITY?

2011-08-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

WHAT IS A ‘WORLD CLASS’ UNIVERSITY?

It is that time of year. Schools are gearing up and students packing up to head off but how to determine the wheat from the chaff?

First, no standard definition seems to exist. Forbes has listed the following as indicators:

1. TOP QUALITY STUDENTS AND FACULTY from diverse backgrounds. Student population is significantly international in profile

2. LOTS OF MONEY or “Sizeable budgets” through endowments, foundations, and government grants/monies

3. FREEDOM AND AUTONOMY. An environment marked by “combination of freedom, autonomy and leadership. World-class universities thrive in an environment that fosters competitiveness, unrestrained scientific inquiry, critical thinking, innovation and creativity.” Forbes added: “Institutions that have complete autonomy are also more agile, because they aren't bound by clunky bureaucracies and externally imposed standards. As a result, they can manage their resources efficiently and quickly respond to the demands of a rapidly changing global market.”

Forbes, writing basically to country’s wishing to enhance their educational profiles, cautions: “Finally, it is important to note that elite universities are not labeled by self-declaration; rather, their status is conferred by the outside world on the basis of international recognition. The competition to be a world-class university, then, will continue to be a case where many are called but few are chosen.”

Sources/Further reading:

Salmi, Jamil. “What Makes a University Great?” Forbes, at http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/10/world-class-best-university-ranking-world-bank-opinions-colleges-salmi.html

Levin, Henry M. “What is a World Class University?” at http://www.tc.columbia.edu/centers/coce/pdf_files/c12.pdf

“Hallmark of a World Class University” at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCR/is_4_39/ai_n16123684/

GLOBAL: Aspiring to World Class Achievable at http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090813164806839

Annon, Rob. “How to make a World Class University.” At http://dontleavecanadabehind.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/how-to-make-a-world-class-university/

CREATIVE EMPLOYEES: WRANGLING CATS

2011-02-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

The most dynamic, innovative, and fun place to work will be an employer who recognizes that different personality types may need different things from a job and if that need is identified and used will give greater value for money.

Unfortunately, too many do not recognize this and constrain the individuals who need some freedom, criticize or ignore the individuals who need feedback, or establish systems designed to eradicate the creative in the name of conformity.

What does your workplace look like? Remember a system produces exactly what it is designed to produce and 'garbage in equals garbage out'.

Having creative people on the payroll can be like wrangling cats, but the result of a little freedom, some encouraging feedback and recognition, and a more flexible system can have positive results.

For more on this subject click here.

CREATIVE ELVES BRING MERRIMENT TO SNU'S WILLIAMS LIBRARY

2010-12-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

The elves were busy this month in the campus library of Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Oklahoma. Bringing cheer and whimsey were the student employee's of the R.T. Williams Learning Resource Cemter. Library Director, Dr. Arlita Harris commented "...the student staff made these from discarded books. They're just stacked....no gluing or anything else to keep them together. There are several around the library."

A New Book Blends Storytelling and Learning

2010-12-13T07:17:00.000-08:00

STORYTELLING IN LEARNING

This is a 'must have' addition to any library, classroom, resource center, or private collection. The quality and scope fill a much needed gap in resources for integrating storytelling effectiveling in the learning setting.

"Character traits for three grade levels are promoted in a collection of world folktales, legends, myths, and personal stories, with corresponding questions and activities.

Research affirms that storytelling enhances analytical and organizational skills, as well as all aspects of language arts development—happy news for teachers and librarians for whom reading comprehension is always a top priority. By involving students in the process of Question-Answer Relationships (QAR), you can enlist powerful stories to shift their imaginations into high gear.

Storytelling and QAR Strategies offers a clear, detailed explanation of this research-based, reading comprehension framework, providing teachers, school librarians, and storytellers with the tools they need to incorporate the deep learning of QAR into storytelling events and classroom work. The authors furnish traditional tales, fables, and myths related to the 12 pillars of character education, underscoring the traits of caring, citizenship, fairness, honesty, respect, and responsibility. Each story is supported by QAR questions and includes activities for pre- and post-reading, as well as complete documentation and source information.

Bundling together character education, storytelling, and QAR, the book puts all of the necessary materials at the fingertips of teachers and librarians. It is also a valuable tool for storytellers, with guidance on developing the QAR strategies around a multitude of stories. Research proves that teaching QAR strategies results in deepened student comprehension as well as higher test scores. Thanks to this book, implementing the technique has never been easier.

Features

• Stories for grades 3-8, separated by grade level

• Questions for each QAR strategy for each story

• Worksheets, organizers, and activities

Highlights

• Provides a wide range of stories for grades 3-8 that teach good character traits and also a taxonomy with which to help students uncover deeper meanings

• Defines QAR as a reading comprehension strategy

• Enables the teaching of higher-order thinking skills through QAR

• Reviews the reading research connected with QAR as a successful builder of student reading, listening, and comprehension skills

Phyllis Hostmeyer, a consultant for Educational Resources Group, Inc., works internationally conducting professional development for educators. She offers workshops on all aspects of reading, writing, and language arts. She also works as a storyteller who shares personal narratives, Bible stories, and her original versions of fairy tales and fables.

Marilyn Adele Kinsella of Fairview Heights, IL, has told stories professionally as a teacher and children's librarian since 1981. She graduated with honors from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, IL, in 1974, with a BS in elementary education. She currently works exclusively as a freelance storyteller, workshop presenter, and writer. Although this is her first book, many of her stories and articles have appeared in books and magazines including Libraries Unlimited's The Storytelling Classroom: Applications across the Curriculum. "

Book link: http://www.abc-clio.com/product.aspx?id=2147483807

MARILYN'S LAW (2010)

2010-12-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

Monday, December 17, 2007 MARILYN'S LAW

As a librarian who worked her way up through various low paying clerical, support, and assistant positions before going to graduate school I have some observations. So here are "Marilyn's Laws":

Things change.

When I first started working in a school library nothing much had changed in forty years. There were cards, date due slips, more cards.... Then computers showed up to print out inventory lists and then shelf lists....Then the desktop models came on the scene....and were improved....and now pod casting....streaming video....and who knows what else. The exact nature of the change may not be identifiable but the fact of inevitable change remains constant.

The personal touch is always crucial.

Call it customer service, added value, or whatever label emerges, in the end it will always be how the customer is treated by the staff (human, electronic, robotic, or human-alien hybrid!) that will determine success.

Book & resources collections are like the refrigerator.

Occasionally a person has to go through and trash the moldy cheese, ditch the melting head of lettuce, and dislodge the "mystery" that was hidden behind the jar of olives. It is healthy, it is invigorating, and it is an absolute necessity for many of the same reasons noted: information can grow moldy, old and battered resources fall apart, and some items found on shelves and in collections are a real mystery (why did we ever put that on the shelf?)

The first librarian I ever worked with was Jean Thompson of the Oklahoma City Public Schools and she taught me many things of lasting worth. In a spirit of collegial cooperativeness I will pass them along:

Always leave yourself a note to remind you what you were doing with any stack of (books, cards, inventory lists, etc.). She was working as professional librarian in a school district and visited 12 different schools a month. Each school was supervised by a library media aide (as we were called).
Nothing in any library will ever be completely "finished". There is always and eternally something more that could or should be done.Always work through any one stage of a process completely before moving on to the next. Add all the labels, then add all the bar codes, and then stamp all the books. Learn to skim; you never get time to read all the books you should in a library job.
Speak positively to any child you meet. Make them the center of your attention - even if you are simply giving them a paper clip. [m.h.: Same applies to their grumpy, smelly, or cantankerous older additions].

ASSESSMENT IN LIBRARIES

2010-12-11T08:45:00.000-08:00

Those who love reading, learning, and appreciate that some things should be valued because they exist and not just because they provide a service or make money, understand the historic role of the library in western culture. The library - that place of the book - was the symbol of learning, of pulling one's self up by the bootstrap, of making something from a nothing, of hearing the wisdom and the folly of past centuries and to use that knowledge to chart a personal life filled with purpose and potential.

Once, only those who had made the decision to become more than they were, even sought out this collection. The worthy, known by their self-knowledged ignorance and thirst for something more.

Today, for many reasons good and bad, the library is seen as a service with customers, a service plan, and strategic goals to achieve. Simply 'existing' is no longer suitable or advisable. In a best case scenerio the library then becomes a multi-faceted place redefining itself from book-centered to information centered portals to enrich, engage, and educate its community.

As a result, the new watch word in an era of shrinking public funds and massive realloacation of funding across the board in academia, how does the library-information center prove its worth? Like plumbing taken for granted and only noticed when it does not work, the library is is danger of becoming so common and accepted, it has lost all value. The professional is viewed less as a professional with special training but as the person waiting tables or taking orders behind a counter. The services of the library are seen to be only one of many choices and the fact that faster, 24 hour service that requires no movement from in front of a computer screen is available via inferior outlets (no quality control) has little meaning.

So, what are we assessing? How do we assess it? Will the values of the library as the outlet allowing that lightbulb of awareness to pop on over the minds of students and people survive the budget cuts? Will the professional trained to not merely use the tools but knows how to build answers to information needs be replaced by the lower paid, less trained, book clerk? Will the instructional aspect of library service be replaced by empty social activities that entertain but do not inspire?

How can libraries chart a course through changing times and come out of the fog of the future with a sturdier, more creative, and better quality ship?

Teaching Information Literacy

2010-12-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

After a couple of semesters working with students fresh from high school, I am more deeply commited to the need for information literacy at the college level. It is not uncommon for new freshman to report for classes with no experience doing research, writing a paper, or learning to evaluatively use online information. They have next to no knowledge of plagiairism and no understanding that information comes in many forms and shapes.

Ideally, on the college level this should be in the student's 'DNA' but since it is not, here are some things to help maximize the success of IL on the collegiate level.

Burkhardt and Macdonald's Teaching Information Literacy: 50 Standards-based Exercises for College Students (ALA, 2010) is one place to start. At just 138 pages it is not long, and the layout makes it very easy to dip into to access and ultilize the gems that to be found in this work. Included are standard activities familiar to all on periodicals, websites, and the like but also a section on assessment. It is available from Amazon for about $40 but looks to be a useful addition to any involved in integrating information literacy into their curriculum in meaningful ways.

WORLD'S SHORTEST BOOKS

2009-11-25T11:00:00.000-08:00

No source - came in the email:

The Worlds Shortest Books

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY COUNTRY
By Jane Fonda & Cindy Sheehan. Illustrated by Michael Moore
________________________________________

MY CHRISTIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS &HOW I HELPED AFTER KATRINA
By Rev Jesse Jackson & Rev Al Sharpton

_______________________________________

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT BILL
By Hillary Clinton
________________________________

Sequel: THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HILLARY
By Bill Clinton
___________________________________

MY LITTLE BOOK OF PERSONAL HYGIENE
By Osama Bin Laden
___________________________________
THINGS I CANNOT AFFORD
By Bill Gates

____________________________________

THINGS I WOULD NOT DO FOR MONEY

By Dennis Rodman

_________________________________

THINGS WE KNOW TO BE TRUE
By Al Gore & John Kerry
_____________________________________

AMELIA EARHART'S GUIDE TO THE PACIFIC

___________________________________

A COLLECTION of MOTIVATIONAL SPEECHES
By Dr. J.. Kevorkian
__________________________________

ALL THE MEN WE HAVE LOVED, BEFORE ......
By Ellen de Generes & Rosie O'Donnel
____________________________________

GUIDE TO DATING ETIQUETTE
By Mike Tyson
__________________________________

THE AMISH PHONE DIRECTORY

_______________________________________

MY PLAN TO FIND THE REAL KILLERS
By O. J. Simpson

_________________________________________
HOW TO DRINK & DRIVE OVER BRIDGES
By Ted Kennedy

___________________________________
MY BOOK OF MORALS
By Bill Clinton with introduction

*******************************************************

AND, JUST ADDED:
Complete Knowledge of Military Strategy!
By Nancy Pelosi

**********************************************
What I did to Win the Nobel Peace Prize
By Barak Obama

ALA ONCE AGAIN SHOOTS SELF IN FOOT

2009-07-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

The mantra was crystal clear in library school. The professional librarian and information broker was the guardian of access to all views of a subject, warrior for the rights of the non-popular view, and saint of a 'balanced collection.'

Unfortunately, as numerous book reviews, articles, speeches and actions, revealed the American Library Association had fallen prey to a narrow understanding and a biased definition of the subject of balance and diversity.

It was alright to defend and express views that homosexuality was a right, a biological imperative, etc. It was not alright or defensible to suggest the lifestyle was a choice, or one condemned by a sacred book. It was alright to mock and deride 'fundamentalists' in a book review but not alright to deride anything with a liberal or leftist agenda.

Balance as a functional descriptive was clearly anything left of left of center. This tunnel visioned, self-serving, and narrow construct caused many to leave the organization that could not be true to the very ethic it espoused for the profession.

ALA, in choosing to not have the voice or views of sides of an issue represented, voids any claims it might like to have that they oppose censorship. Silencing any voice in the marketplace of ideas - no matter how repugnant, dangerous, or stupid the voice - marginalizes the high moral ground ALA has so long claimed as its own in the area of censorship and limiting access to ideas.

Read about the silencing of one voice by ALA -

http://www.investigativeproject.org/1101/library-association-abandons-principle-allows

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO CREATIVITY?

2009-05-11T09:16:00.001-07:00

I watch the HDTV shows where they keep fixing up places to sell them, staging house so people can "visualize" themeselves in that setting. The potential buyers come through and do they look at the layout? Do they look at the flow? Do they look at the space versus need issues? Do they see it being shaped by their own style? NO!!! They get hung up on the color on the walls, or the furniture in the house (I mean - the furniture is not staying folks ) and the way other people have decorated.

What in the world happened to creativity? This staging thing is a pretty new concept. Most of the houses I walked through were always empty, but still I never had the problem these folks appear to have. I could walk through empty rooms and see how this color or that color might look good. I could see how our furniture might fit in the space. I could see it as it might become, not necessarily as it currently was.

This difference is key I believe and related to way we have minimized true creative development in our nation. We cannot see how things might be, we can not envision other realities, and we cannot trust our own skills and sense to express our vision. We buy a "look" or a "style" and never try to individualize it - to bring a true creative element into any of it. If it does not fit the hottest trends, we can also minimize the nascent creatives trying to express themselves.

Be sure and support the creative activities for youth at local libraries over the summer. Do you part to release the power of the creative mind. Remember Einstein said imagination was the most important skill.....

ACADEMIC LIBRARIES AND STUDENT RETENTION

2009-05-06T03:25:00.000-07:00

My notes for a meeting.....

The Academic Library & Student Retention (Slideshow)
http://www.slideshare.net/wil.weston/the-academic-library-and-student-retention

Colorado Study Quick Facts
http://www.lrs.org/documents/quotable/ALIS_qf.pdf

Colorado Study Report
“How Libraries Help Teachers Teach and Students Learn”
http://www.lrs.org/documents/academic/ALIS_final.pdf

Academic Libraries and Retention
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W50-4P47V3K-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=18a312f9266284091b03d3335c26382f

Making First Impressions
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1207&context=libphilprac

Kelly, Maurie Caitlin. “Student Retention and Academic Libraries.” _College & Research Libraries News_ 56.11 (Dec. 1995): 757-759.

Kramer, Lloyd A. and Martha B. Kramer. “The College Library and the Drop-out.” _College & Research Libraries_ 29.4 (July 1968): 310-312.

Mallinckrodt, Brent and William E. Sedlacek. “Student Retention and the Use of Campus Facilities by Race.” _NASPA Journal_ 24.3 (Winter 1987): 28-32.

Mezick, Elizabeth M. “Return on Investment: Libraries and Student Retention.” _Journal of Academic Librarianship_ 33.5 (Sep. 2007): 561-566.

Rushing, Darla and Deborah Poole. “The Role of the Library in Student Retention.” _Making the Grade: Academic Libraries and Student Success_. Eds. Maurie C. Kelly and Andrea Kross. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2002. 91-101.

Hardesty, Larry L. _The Role of the Library in the First College Year_. Columbia, South Carolina: National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, University of South Carolina. 2007. This book includes the following chapters:
“Engaging Students in the First College Year: Why Academic Librarians Matter”, by George D. Kuh, Polly D. Boruff-Jones and Amy E. Mark.

“The Library and First-Year Seminars: In-Depth Analysis of a 2001 National Study”, by Colleen Boff and Kristin Johnson.

“Research on Student Retention and Implications for Library Involvement”, by Cindy Pierard and Kathryn Graves.

Pierard, Cindy and Kathryn Graves. “The Greatest Problem with which the Library is Confronted: A Survey of Academic Library Outreach to the Freshman Course.” _Making the Grade: Academic Libraries and Student Success_. Eds. Maurie Catlin Kelley and Andrea Kross. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2002.

Gratch-Lindauer, Bonnie. “Information Literacy-related Student Behaviors: Results for the NSSE Items.” _College & Research Libraries News_ 8.7 (2007), Jan. 3 2008.

Whitmire, Ethelene. “Development of Critical Thinking Skills: An Analysis of Academic Library Experiences and Other Measures.” _College & Research Libraries_ May 1998: 266-273.

Kuh, George D. and Robert M. Gonyea. “The Role of the Academic Library in Promoting Student Engagement in Learning.” _College and Research Libraries_ 64.4 (2003): 256-282.

CALL ME THE STEAMED LIBRARIAN

2009-04-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

I confess, I attended a "Tea Party" today. Having attended events similar to this on the behalf of education in the state, and being in concert with the "Enough with the Spending Spree Already!", I headed to the state house. Words fail me at the sight seen as thousands crammed the south plaza, the steps, hiked blocks (some pushing baby carriages) to get to the rally point.

Men, women, young, old, black, white, and brown all mingled in a common cause of expressing their rights as freedom loving citizens of the United States of America. The right to question, challenge, and even rebel is retained for citizens in the founding documents....and that is the great balance of power. The branches of government : the executive, the legislative, the judicial, and the voting population. THAT is balance of power!

What makes me a particularly "steamed" librarian? As a professional who teaches evaluative criteria to students, who instructs on how you recognize a quality, unbiased resource, I had trouble finding "unbiased" articles to share with students. Watching the news at home, I found troubling phrases in news teasers.

CNN pondered if this event held across the nation was a "one time event" or a sign of something "worse"? Excuse me??? A free people, exercising their rights to assembly, free speech, and a challenge to their elected officials to redress grievances is something "worse?" A people asserting their legal right to participation in the process of government, demanding accountability, and sensible spending practices by all elected officials elephant or donkey!!

That type of bias, prejudice, and short sighted reporting, writing, and heading talking is not worthy of the best heritage of journalism in the US. It is a return to the muckraking and yellow journalism so despised by earlier generations.

This is not an attack on the President as a person. It is a groundswell response to the political views and direction of the current leadership in Washington and a rejection of the blanket of enertia that had buried the American populace for too long.

Move over "ET", "People", reality TV, and all Hollywood gossip designed to distract us like the downtrodden people in "The Running Man".

Is is possible that a growing number of people are looking beyond the smoke and mirrors...they see the reflection of the shades of Concord, Lexington, Philadelphia.... Is that sound they hear the soaring chorus of voices saying..."We the People...."

INTERIOR CUSTOMERS

2009-04-04T19:23:00.000-07:00

One of the overlooked aspects of customer service is the service to the people you work with or employ. It is just as vital to express strong customer service values in dealing with this customer as with the day-to-day walk in. There are two reasons why this is an area that is so important.

What is inside the employee reaches out to greet the customer. If the boss or managers or administrators have ridden over, trampled, tricked, manipulated, or cheated those under them - that will come out in how those employees treat customers. Bad management results in low morale that results in bad service.

People only want to share, are enthused about, an experience that is positive, rewarding, fun, and fulfilling. Employees who are undervalued, underpaid, suspected, controlled, or micro-managed lose all desire to actually work for that establishment. Bad management results in low morale that results in bad service.

How to Safeguard Interior Customer Service:
Recognize and publicly reward ideas, innovations, extra work, achievements
Respond quickly and courteously to emails, letters, or phone calls from the people in the office
Build collaboration and partnerships into decision making processes and projects
Reach across the office - and the departments - to make connections that will benefit the company
Show workers they are valued as contributing team members and as human beings - just because they are a salary line on a spreadsheet they should always be treated as a person
Focus on "buy-in" participation instead of "top down" dictates
Generate good will and use the "Golden Rule"

SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE

2009-03-24T05:42:00.000-07:00

Substantive change

Submarines used to need to come to the surface to use their radios and communicate to base. Arctic subs faced a challenge of often having many feet of solid ice floating on top the water surface. Using explosives, they would break up that ice to allow the sub to surface.

Sometimes though, looking out at the ice the surface seemed unchanged and some would wonder if the charge had been large enough?

The truth was the charge had been large enough to explode the ice chunks in to the sky and then they would simply settle back into their previous positions – apparently and seemingly unchanged.

When a business or organization needs to break through the layers of encrusted bad habits, losing patterns, or institute corrective changes – how do you overcome that ‘settle back into place’ syndrome?

--The Explosion must be big enough to eradicate portions of the ice layers and redistribute the remaining pieces – radical change.
--Momentum of the change needs to be constant enough to establish new patterns, habits, etc. – river of change.

Destroying Employee Intiative

2009-03-18T05:45:00.000-07:00

Management and administration can be the biggest hurdles to actually getting anything done. When a message is sent that people have some autonomy over their area of responsibility, are encouraged to act and think creatively, and are charged to reach specific goals there must be an accompanying freedom to act. Yet, this is often where management grows big feet to trip up their people and set them up for failure. This can be done through micro-management, control, and a prolonged period of "approval" that serves to dampen the initial enthusiasm instead of releasing it to perform or achieve.

Some changes need to be done carefully, thoughtfully, and in gradual steps. Others need to be put into action immediately to "strike while the iron" is hot. When everything is done like the birthing of elephants (at a high level and taking two years) then 'point of need' is missed. Someone else will have stepped up to fill the void. The window of opportunity will have slammed down hard.

For more on this subject: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/tech-manager/?p=267

BAD MANAGEMENT TENDS TO REPEAT MISTAKES

2009-03-05T03:55:00.001-08:00

Ultimately the buck always stops with upper management. The lower ranks may bear the brunt of bad policies, but only so long. Low morale strikes and unanswered questions, heavy handed approaches and top down decisions made without bringing in the local experts will lead to high job dissatisfaction, loss of value, and lack of respect for the management results. High turn over rates ultimately lead to systemic reflections of a business that does not learn from its mistakes.

Simple steps can be used to avoid this situation. Engage the employees, listen to their ideas, note the good points and the bad points. No one management position can have all the answers for those under them. They should listen and be responsive to the employees.

High pay is not always the answer: recognize the employees for their ideas, work, or loyalty; respect them and their experience and listen and learn from their insights. Flexible hours, creative approaches, and other ideas can assist the overall plan and be a positive reward for the employee.

Consult the local experts and the ones in the trenches , before making sweeping changes - the amount of change resistance will dramatically decrease as a result. This initial "buy-in" approach will be good for the business, good for the employees and ultimately good for the customer.

A satisfied, enthused, supportive employee conveys the best of the business without even trying.

What Is In A Name?

2009-01-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

As a profession we have been in danger of tossing the baby out with the you know what. We have been, over the years, librarians who have been made to feel that our role is undervalued, unimportant, or unneeded. We allowed the profession to become too unbending, unchanging, and too esoteric. The Kingdom of the Book was infiltrated by passing fads such as "tape recordings", "records" and "filmstrips". We became "Media Centers" - so much better than that staid "Library". No matter we could not really define or explain the "media center" or why it was a better term. We became "Resource Centers" and "Learning Centers" with the same lack of clear focus or rationale. Computers and technology arrived and we skittered away, jumping on chairs in fright or disdain. Then we noticed that people were no longer climbing the stairs of the citadel, but were instead walking into cafes or finding information at home....Suddenly, prophets arose in the stacks using strange terms such as "information skills", " library commons", "Internet searching behaviors" and "customer service" : the librarians climbed down off their chairs and donned new coats. They were no longer the dragons, the gatekeepers, the guardians of civilization, the mystic guide into the kingdom of knowledge...they were information brokers, knowledge administrators....

The overriding question must be why did the library professional abdicate the definition of its role to others? Why did the term "library" no adjust and adapt to include new forms of the same things? Today the focus is on content and not format. It does not matter if the information comes from a book or a DVD - what is important is the information and its quality.

The LIBRARY must continue to define itself, adjusting to be a place of information and ideas - regardless of the formats it holds. Formats may change but the idea of the LIBRARY remains.

Is Caroline Kennedy Qualified?

2008-12-22T10:24:00.000-08:00

I was greatly amused the other day as the news heads were discussing if this woman had the qualifications and experience to be a state senator in New York. How far have we come from the ideals of the early congresses when it was expected that every person would indeed serve as needed. What about one good citizen seeking to make a difference and improve the lot of his or her community? To give something back to the nation that provided them with freedom , liberty and the chance to make good? This is a mark of how "professional" government and politics has become. I think it would be good if people served by lottery (like a jury) and there were limitations on all offices. I also think that some offices - like police, judges, and county clerks - should not be political at all.

As for the fact that apparently the lady in question may not have voted in all recent elections - I would say that she probably fits in with many of her peers and may in fact reflect the majority of most of the American populace...

NEW EMPLOYEE'S WELCOME

2008-12-15T04:51:00.000-08:00

New Employee’s Welcome Checklist

GETTING ACQUAINTED

Documents to Have on Hand
Telephone list
Handbook
Copies of recent public relations materials
Map of campus
Basic “How-To’s”: access, parking, pay periods, restrooms, coat racks, hours, E-mail, answering the phone, etc.
List of staff members
Job Titles and position descriptions for staff
Documents pertaining to the history of the organization
Documents pertaining to current strategies and goals
Annual reports
Budget information & procedures
Calendar information for important dates and events
Policies and procedures for the area of responsibility
A list of all upcoming due dates for projects, etc.

Items to Welcome the New Employee
A pen
A notebook or pad
Some “starter” supplies
Temporary nametag (or permanent one)
Name plate for door or desk
Business cards (general until personal ones are ordered)
Gum, mints, etc.

Place all items in an large envelope, stock their desk with supplies, and introduce them to everyone when they arrive.

OFFICE APOLOGIES

2008-12-07T08:10:00.000-08:00

When lower level workers mess up they have to apologize and may get canned. Upper levels, however, often escape both aspects. If caught by those above them, they may be quick to apologize to the supervisors - but they seldom apologize to the ones they victimized below them in the office pecking order. This may happen for a variety of reasons: shame, inability to make themselves vulnerable, or a deep down belief they really were in the right and do not need to apologize (which is a whole 'nother story). The hallmark of a truly good leader is one who not only apologizes to those who catch him or her in their error - but also to those they had authority over. As the old saying goes....what goes around comes around....modeling good and ethical behaviors will reap great workplace rewards. It will also generate more respect for management.

How Safe is Safe?

2008-12-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

In a troubling story reportedly from ABC News comes a tale of states that confiscate safety deposit boxes - even though the people were paid up and had not moved. Apparently some states are viewing such items as revenue sources and labeling them as "abandoned" without really checking the facts.

It was recommended that safety deposit boxes be used at least once a year and that a list of values and assests kept there be made for any heirs.

It would also be good to read the fine print on any agreements signed concerning safe deposit banks and ask questions up front and demand good answers in writing.

There is, however, always the coffee can in the back yard - or a high tech modern equivilant.

World Storytelling Day 2009

2008-11-17T07:03:00.000-08:00

Get planning now to host an event at your library!
http://www.freewebs.com/worldstorytellingday/index.htm

OKC Metro University Co-Sponsors Tellabration!

2008-11-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

Here are links to two news releases concerning the event for ages 12 and above.

IPHC News at http://comm.iphc.org/blog1.php

Oklahoma Tellers at http://oklahomatellers.blogspot.com

Sat. Nov. 22, 2008 at SCU (between Rockwell and Council) in Bethany. 7 p.m.
Fundraiser: $5.00 per person or $3.00 per person for any with a valid student ID

How Not To Manage

2008-09-07T04:04:00.000-07:00

Follow these surefire ways to gut your staff of all desire to achieve or be united in their task:

-Never recognize that the people hired have professional expertize; minimize or ignore at every opportunity.

-Never recognize your staff for their achievements

-Provide them with very specific goals but do not give them the resources, staff, or support needed to achieve the goals

-Micro-manage every task - all the time. Retain ultimate power and authority at all costs.

-Never trust.

-Spy on staff, spy on their emails, correspondance, appointments, and their work.

-Walk into offices while people are in the middle of conversations with visitors/clients to show who is in control

-Send staff on errands during their lunches or break times.

-Say one thing to the governing board - but another to the staff.

-Make sure that the staff never talks to the governing board and the governing board never talks to staff.

-Avoid transparency in operations, meetings, etc.

-Engender fear, lack of trust, and lack of joy in the workplace.

-Use staff meetings as times to tell your staff over and over again how badly they do, how the company suffers, how gloomy the future looks...

-Never allow anyone to encourage peer training, encourage open dialogue, provide ideas or feedback.

-Be the only channel for information, training, and control.

-Never trust your staff....and show it

THROUGH THE YEAR IN LIBRARY PROGRAMMING

2008-07-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

There is a rhythm to the way the year flows in programming for a public library, especially as it pertains to children and youth. A good rule of thumb is to work at least three months ahead of the events. This allows time for funding, supplies, promotion, presenters, scheduling, and other issues to be addressed. Here, for any newbies, is a general way the year can often go:

SPRING
Unless begun even earlier (as required by some systems) in the early months of the year plans are begun for the big summer reading program. Sometimes just general ideas (unless the theme is already known); craft ideas (so supplies can be planned for and ordered in time); and possible presenters identified.
Events during the time period include: Martin Luther King's BD, Valentine's Day, Presidents Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, National Library Week, Springbreak, Earth Day, and End of School.

SUMMER
Summer will be the busiest time of the year in public libraries as they promote summer reading among youth, teens, and increasingly, among families and adults. This increased foot traffic means other departments should have plenty of materials on hand to promote the use of the library or other programs.
Events during the time period: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, summer school (contact the school and arrange to have kids signed up for the summer reading program as well and use the school as an "extension" of the library) , camps, local VBS programs (find ones in your area and arrange to drop off information about the program or the library for parents and/or students). There may be special community events as well for you to link to.

FALL/WINTER
This is the time when some libraries cease programming - what a bummer! You have just spent months charging up the excitement of local kids and parents and then - nothing? Instead, plan some special guest programs ( pull in volunteers to give yourself or your staff a break), promote exciting new programs for the fall (reading clubs, craft events, and etc.). Plan into the early spring so you can concentrate on creating great summer programs. Pick up a schedule of the nearby school and plan programs for days the children are out of school. Set a schedule in place for weekly programs for various age groups. Send out information on programs and services to local schools, daycares, homeschooling groups, churches, health departments, etc. Leave flyers or promotion material in places where people are: doctor's offices, grocery stores, churches, community centers, gyms, etc.
Events during this time period: Labor Day, Back-to-School, Library Card Day, Halloween, Harvest, Teen Read Week, Thanksgiving, Tellabration (R), Children's Book Week, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year's Day.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH

2008-07-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

[From a circulating email]

" As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart ofgroceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and alady sitting inside the car, with the door open. The old man was looking at theengine. I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the oldgentleman from about twenty-five feet away. I saw a young man in his earlytwenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. > > The old gentleman saw him coming too and took a few steps towards him. Isaw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young manput his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade andthen turn back to the old man and I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying,'You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age.' (the'Punk') And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeledrubber out of the parking lot. > > I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as hewent back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went to his wifeand spoke with her and appeared to tell her i t would be okay. I had seenenough and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and asI got near him I said, 'Looks like you're having a problem.' Hesmiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood myselfand knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around I sawa gas station up the road and told the old gentleman that I would be rightback. I drove to the station and went inside and saw three attendants workingon cars. I approached one of them and related the problem the old man had withhis car and offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him.The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared tobe comforting his wife. > When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As themechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the oldgentleman. When I shook hands with him earlier he had noticed my Marine Corpsring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. Inodded and asked the usual question, 'What outfit did you serve with?' > He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at TarawanSaipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. He had hit all the big ones and retired fromthe Corps after the war was over. > > As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lowerthe hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but wasstopped by me, and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card. > > He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed hadhis name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We all shook hands allaround again and I said my goodbye's to his wife.. I then told the twomechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the stationI told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me andhelp the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused tocharge me. One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly likethe card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that theywere Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I wasleaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given tome and I said I would and drove off. > > For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and tookthe card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long, time. The name ofthe old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name........ > Congressional Medal of Honor Society. > > I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over. Ilooked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that onthis day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help. Hewas an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness andcourage and an honor to have been in his presence. America is not at war. > > > > The U.S. Military is at War. America is at the Mall. >

> If You Don't Stand Behind Our Troops, > PLEASE Feel Free To Stand In Front Of Them!!!!!!!!!!!! "

THOUGHTS ON COMING TO AMERICA

2008-07-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

The issue is one that often gets emotional and both sides can be faulted: Illegal immigration. The main issue, however, is one of "illegal" entry into the nation and not true immigration from one nation to another through legal means. This legal step involves a) a conscious decision to leave your homeland for any of several reasons (liberty, religious freedom, opportunity, etc.), b) a voluntary commitment to socialize into the new country by learning its language, laws, customs, and traditions, and c) a commitment to dedicate your "life, liberty and sacred honor" to the new adopted homeland. Does this mean that you must divest yourself of all that was part of that other land? Probably not....but there are reasons a person chooses to leave....keep the good and chunk the bad. Keep some things....but they should be blended into the flowing current of the American social life so that it moves with, and not against, its forward progress. Why come to another country to live and simply turn it into what was left behind? That is colonization and not immigration. Just something to think about.....
From an email going the rounds.....

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented . Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.

Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out.

My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany , Italy , France and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan . They were defending the United States of America as one people.When we liberated France , no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2008 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty , it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill ...I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

Looking in the Mirror: Leadership Styles . M. Hudson, 2008.

2008-06-13T04:31:00.000-07:00

"Pinball Leadership" - a form of crisis management. Bouncing from one critical, urgent, or compelling event to the next with no plan or directive. No no plans or developments can form because in this firefighter approach so much energy is required to rush to the crisis and take care of it. There is always, always a crisis.

"Look At Me!" Leadership - This leader will be in every page of the annual report, every photo in the newspaper, have an overlarge photo on the company website, and will generally be the person everyone has to go through (even when they are dealing with area for which company specialists exist). Is the only one the public will ever see at events and the only voice of the company heard.

"Let's Think About It" leadership - Default, passive leadership. If I think about it long enough and just wait awhile ,it will all go away, and I will not have to do anything at all.

"Let's Do It!" Leadership- Energetic, initiative driven, and motivated, but may act without establishing a solid ground work or getting "buy in" from co-workers.

"What Do We Do?" Leadership - Leadership by collaboration extremis. No action taken without it being a community endeavor with total participation, agreement, and buy in. Cautious, careful but frustrating to any of the emerging "Let's Do It!" leaders around them.

"Moving target" Leadership - If I keep busy and on the go, I can default til tomorrow almost everything. I never have time, I am so busy, and have to be someplace, anyplace, that is not here.

"Plan To Work and Then Work the Plan" Leadership - May plan one, two, and maybe more years into the future, develop some framework plans, constantly tossing out ideas, possibilities, and opportunities to see what "takes root" in the people they supervise or work with. A combination sign post, cheering squad, and gate opener who helps to make the total group achieve and keep focused.

MYSTORICAL: WHERE HISTORY AND MYSTERY MEET

2008-05-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

Visit this new blog for some off the wall history! http://mystorical.blogspot.com

Need A Special T-Shirt Design for a LIbrary or School Event?

2008-04-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a great source: FRESH EIRE DESIGN. He can design it and then put it on Cafe Press - no messing with handling the orders or anything! The options include caps, cups, mousepads, etc.

Oklahoma Authors, Writers, and Publishers

2008-04-07T03:59:00.001-07:00

A new blog promotes the many wonderful writers in the state, or those who have written about the state. Visit the OK Authors Blog.

BOOK ENDS: ESSENTIAL LOCAL PARTNERS

2008-03-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

Practical Partnerships – A Necessity of the Future
Shrinking budgets, rising costs, swelling demands all combine to make it far more difficult for any community entity to stand-alone and hope to achieve to the same degree as years past. Partnerships, between community members, are a logical means of achieving not only the same level of past successes, but to surpass what went before to bound into a more excellent future. With their common goal of improving and encouraging literacy within the community, the public school and the public library serve as natural partners.

Practical Partnerships with the Local Library : Plans and Programs
The Reading Club : “The Eager Readers”, “The Chapters Café” (:)
Objective: encourage students to read, visit the public library, and gain new experiences of the world of books.
Procedure: Teacher or school librarian meets with public librarian to plan the reading club. Teacher signs up students at the school and the public librarian plan programs to support or enhance the theme or themes utilized in the reading club.
Activities: Teacher encourages student visits to programs at the library; public librarian visits class or school; public library plans programs to enhance school activities; teacher promotes participation and visits to public library; and students display writing or art in the public library to encourage students and families to develop a library habit.

The Contest : “Make Your Class A Star”
Objective: encourage students to read, visit the public library, and gain new experiences of their community and the world of books.
Procedure: Teacher and public librarian plan a contest where students/classes can earn points for participating in various activities. Public librarian and teacher keep record of scores. Winning class is the class with the most points and are rewarded with a prize such as a class pizza party, a special award assembly, free books, etc.
Activities: Students win points for the following activities:
· Visiting the library or attending a program (have librarian sign a special form)
· Having the public librarian visit class for a talk or story time
· Class tour of the library
· Getting or replacing a library card
· Checking out books from the library and school library
· Displaying artwork in the library

The Collaborative Lesson : “Meet the Public Library”
Objective: Building community partnerships

The Professional Visit : “Career Day”, “Community Helper Day”
Objective: Schools can invite into classes local librarians and information specialists

The Research Project : “The Amazing, Colossal, Information Search”
The Parent Link: “Empowering Parents to Succeed”
Objective: Providing parents with skill building opportunities
Once a month bring in the public library or school brings in a team of local trainers (from local county health departments, schools, colleges, etc.) to provide workshops for parents on a variety of useful subjects (i.e., homework, reading skills, discipline, etc.)
Activities: Videos, modeling of skills, and discussions

The Early and Ongoing Literacy Link: “It’s Never Too Early To Start”
Objective: Building community partnerships

Special Program Connection: “The Arts For Everyone”
Objective: To provide community children with opportunities for art related experiences
Public library can schedule an “artist-in-residence” for after-school or summer art programming. Public library can offer to display art projects created by children. School art programs can

Practical Partnerships with Other Local Community Businesses
The key to a successful community partnership is in doing the homework: How many other agencies currently address the same needs? How many community groups are currently supporting such efforts? Where is the future hope of growth in the area?

Sample businesses: department stores, grocery stores, fast-food stores, professional offices, churches, community groups, government agencies, volunteer groups, office supplies, etc.

Personally approach these businesses with a specific, people focused goal in mind:
We want to get books into the hands of low-income, at-risk children
We want to help parents build skills to develop successful students
We want to create a parent-resource room in the local school
We want to encourage children to read by providing fun and motivational reading activities
We want to have only the best and most recent resources in our school library
Specifically state what you are looking for:
Funding
Space (i.e., your school or public library is too small and you would like to partner for use of space )
Supplies
Materials
Volunteers
Fiscal management (i.e., someone to be the agency of record for a grant, etc.)
Outline how they will benefit from the partnership:
Directly impacting persons in the community
Positive publicity in the area – mention them often in press releases, signs “co-sponsored by”, etc.
Seen as supportive of the most important aspects of the community - its children
Satisfaction of knowing they have given back to the community something of lasting value
Perceived as a partner in solving community problems of illiteracy among children or parents.
Honor, respect and kudos from the community
List concrete ways the partnership will impact the community in a positive manner:
Reading achievement levels will go up as parents are given skills to encourage learning
Achievement levels go up as children are motivated to want to read
Communities strengthened as families are empowered to gain necessary skills in parenting to “raise a reader”.
Illiteracy rates will decrease as reading and learning are actively promoted and supported
Follow-up with a wonderful thank you letter.
--M. Hudson, 2001

BIGFOOT IS LOOSE IN THE LIBRARY

2008-03-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Bigfoot Is Loose In The Library! Created by Marilyn Hudson

Purpose: An event designed to introduce scientific methods in a fun, exotic, and mysterious environment. It is adaptable to any age group or skill levels. May be used in a school setting incorporating geography, mathematics, problem-solving, and social studies areas.

Activities:
Learn About Bigfoot (area 1)
· Using books, video clips, articles, webpages, maps, review all available information on the history, legends, controversy surrounding the creature commonly called “bigfoot”.
· Questions to ask might include when was “bigfoot” first reported? How has bigfoot acted (i.e., like a monster, a man, or animal?). How large is bigfoot?
· Testimony may be shared as a storytelling session.
· Learn about other “forgotten” animals or peoples (i.e., gorilla )

Track a Bigfoot (table or area 2)
· Bigfoot Game: two teams play a relay type game where a “sighting” is reported (leader calls out a location in the room marked by a numbered “footprint”; a player or players must rush to “investigate” (measure footprint, collect any samples left etc.), and a player must “track” the bigfoot on a map with a marker or pin. (see separate sheet)
· Casts of a bigfoot track are made using foam paper and a plaster cast of the footprint.
· Draw a bigfoot picture (using a sponge “footprint” and watercolor paint)

Examine the Evidence
· Photos, hair samples (various hair samples to show how difficult id can be), testimony (table #3)

File a Report
· Fill out official reports (in writing, or on tape, or video).
· Properly filled in reports become eligible for a drawing for a prize (backpack, etc.)

Just for Fun (table or area 4)
· Have photo taken with the “bigfoot” (a large painted image of a big foot.
· Receive certificate as official bigfoot investigator.
· Have a “bigfoot” snack. Sing a bigfoot song or “we’re going on a bigfoot hunt”

Setup:

Table 1. Table 2. Table 3. Table 4.

books maps evidence image,
video clip bags certificates
audio snack

Resources:

Bigfoot. (Ancient Mysteries). Color; 50 minutes; documentary; VHS. A&E Home Video. 1994.

Byrne, Peter. Bigfoot: monster, myth or man? Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books, 1975.

Christian, Mary Blount. Bigfoot. (The Mystery of…). New York: Crestwood, 1987.

Miller, Carol. All about monsters. (Usborne World of the Unknown). London: Usborne Publishing, 1989.

Mysterious Creatures. (Mysteries of the Unknown). New York: Time-Life Books, 1988.

Pyle, Robert Mitchell. Where bigfoot walks?

Shackley, Myra L. Still living?

ORDER GREAT "READ" LOGO ITEMS

2008-03-17T13:21:00.001-07:00

T-shirts, mugs, clocks, caps, journals, etc. are all available at CafePress. The designs are by FRESH EIRE DESIGNS. Check them out!!

WHY MESS WITH THESE KIDS EACH SUMMER?

2008-03-16T05:38:00.000-07:00

Readers Really Do Succeed!: Summers at the Library and What Every Parent (And Grandparent) Needs to Know.

What is the best deal around for families during the summer? The local public library.
Each summer libraries across the country gear up for an exciting invasion of children. Special themes are adopted, libraries decorated, and the word spread that long days of reading fun are just around the corner. The best part for parents is that this exciting educational program is free. The public library has a long history of encouraging children to read; they invented the summer reading program in the 1890's. While schools teach the mechanics of reading, it is the library that encourages people to love reading for a lifetime.

Why A Summer Reading Program?
Lovers of libraries have long been convinced that reading makes a difference, and now research is proving that when children are involved in library reading programs over the summer it makes a positive impact. Recent research [1]has shown that this is indeed true. Children who read over the summer are better prepared to return to school, achieve better grades, and do not have to play "catch up" as much as those children who do not read over the summer. When children are ready to go when classes start, the teacher does not have to waste time re-teaching but can plunge right ahead into teaching the new skills for that grade!

How Do They Work?
All libraries are different. Libraries are funded (usually) through property taxes and this can limit how much money can be spent on bringing in special programs, providing prizes, or even new books! Community business partners are crucial. Local businesses or professionals can support literacy in their communities by donating funds, prizes, funds for new books, or volunteers to help. About May or June, libraries begin seriously promoting summer reading programs throughout the community. If you don't see signs - ask the library! I guarantee they do not bite. If you don't have a library card the process is quick and painless. Be sure and take along some identification (driver's license and other items) to speed the process up. [2]

How Communities Can Help
Any community concerned with impriving its future will want to support the annual summer reading program among its youth (children and teens). Some libraries because of funding can only do a four-week program. Children, however, are out of school far longer than that. Often the children who most need to attend cannot because of lack of transportation or other issues. Community groups could work with the library to establish "satellite" reading zones in communuty centers, shopping centers, and local schools. Schools can assist by not only promoting the program to their students but recognizing their participation when school starts again, by opening their schools (or corner of the playground) one day a week for "storytimes" operated in collaboration with the local library's program. Community members can volunteer to be readers, help sign children up or any of a dozen other activities that will assist in this wonderful effort to help children achieve.
____________________
"Marilyn A. Hudson is experienced connecting kids, parents, and libraries as both a certified Public Librarian and a School Library Media Specialist. Her library summer programs were always vastly successful with each year bringing in more and more children."--Mary Innis (2002).

[1] Information on research :Highlights on Research on Summer Reading and Effects on Student Achievements at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/summer/research.htm
[2] To locate a library near you: www.metrolibrary.org; www.pioneer.lib.ok.us; or www.tulsalibrary.org . Other locations may be located on the Oklahoma Department of Libraries online directory at www.odl.state.ok.us/go/pl.asp

A great read related to this topic:

St. Lifer, Evan. "Parallel Universes". School Library Journal (June 2004): 13.

BALANCE FALLS TO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

2008-03-12T04:17:00.000-07:00

Part of the work of a librarian is collection development and that development goal is to create a balanced pool of information. There will be books pro and con and middle of the road. To do anything else is propaganda, didacticism, and controlled information. Recently a story of a librarian who suggested a title for a class reading list that provided some measure of balance, or at least an opposing view, was fired, has been threatened with law suits, and been the subject of personal harassment.

I have presented the facts - free of the details that serve to inflame and color the incident. The person is a Christian librarian, the instructors who were angered were largely homosexuals, or those who mistakenly believe that an opposing view equates to harassment, intimidation, hate-mongering, or other terms yet to be defined. They have claimed they felt intimidated, "unsafe", and harassed because this librarian dared suggest a book that did not align with their views on a freshman reading list. The reactions begs the question if education is going on at Ohio State University-Mansfield, or indoctrination? Was there a memo sent out that said it was the purpose of education to insure all march to the same drum, hold the same views, and dissent only along approved lines?

This is an attack on the work of a librarian to provide access to all the facts, all the theories, and all the ideas and allow the individual to make the decisions once all sides of the issue are considered. Professional librarian should be up in arms, rallying support to this person, simply on the principle of the balanced collection. I doubt that this will happen. That is the fearful element to this story. Has the silencing of dissent already begun in this country? Concepts of balance, objectivity, and fairness once ruled. Have these been lost in a haze of political correctness? It sounds like that those in the administration, faculty, and supporters of the college that tossed out this librarian, should reconsider their actions. We cannot afford to confuse opposing views with harassment or creating an unsafe environment - down that road are the echoes of Berlin and the book burnings...that is something we cannot afford to forget or overlook.

[Read the story at:http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=58629; another related story indicated that some libraries may have forgotten this basic tenet of a balanced collection at http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49921; other views

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6327150.html

http://www.humanevents.com/blog-detail.php?id=14083

http://www.dispatch.com/live/contentbe/dispatch/2006/05/13/20060513-A13-00.html

http://volokh.com/posts/chain_1147123067.shtml

http://blog.stephenleary.com/2006/05/ala-censors-scott-savage.html

http://www.reclinercommentaries.com/2006/04/scott-savage-and-ohio-state-university_27.html]

SPORTS IN EDUCATION

2008-03-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

"Academy: A modern school where football is taught." - Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) - The Devil's Dictionary, 1911

"Sports is the lowest common denominator. The educated and the uneducated achieve equally. Education, on the other hand, requires work, commitment, and a willingness to achieve exellence. Win a game and have something for a decade. Win an education and you have something for a lifetime." - Marilyn A. Hudson, 2008.

The Empty Library: Sports, Priorities, and Self-Destruction

2008-03-09T06:12:00.000-07:00

Being a professional in the library field, I am very fond of libraries, as you might well imagine. I am also a radical when it comes to the role of sports in education. Not the good kind either. I am not opposed to the concept of sports. I am, however, opposed to sports that do nothing but drain precious funding from already strapped educational entities and confuse a student (or their parents) as to their true priorities. I recall a local bond issue where voters were asked to approve a new press box at the high school...in the same year that teachers were having to buy their own school supplies and vacuum their own classrooms! In the same year that library budgets were slashed and critical support positions were eliminated. I have heard all the arguments. Sports develop team spirit, fellowship, and school spirit. They build community involvement and support. They enhance the physical well being of students, they make money in the long run, etc. Let's look at those. 1. Sports develop team spirit. Only if you are actually on the team. How many students are in the school who are not on the team? What is being done to give them a sense of team spirit, value, or acclaim? 2. The build community involvement. Yes, with the sports program! The general school - with its emphasis on academics - takes a back seat. Reading, writing, arts, and mathematics are not as valued as sports. It should also be remembered none are as fickle as sports fans either. Do not our schools - and the children and youth in them - deserve more than fair weather supporters! 3. They enhance physical well being - once again only on those on the team and in training. Not addressed are the number of injuries and strains that occur from over practice or too much play. Also, the number of couch potatoes in the audience does not speak well to the lasting effects of sports as a contributor to lifelong activity. 4. They make money in the long run - once again only for the sports department itself. The sports department becomes its own kingdom in many schools, isolating itself from the general demands and regulations under which the rest of the school operates. Piffle! Sports are created by sports lovers to satisfy other sports lovers. Period. People want to bask in the vicarious glory of another's success to compensate for their own age or their own inabilities. Meanwhile in the libraries on campuses across the country, librarians make do. They make excuses and apologies as to why they do not have the resources the students need. The cringe when remarks are made as to the condition of their chairs, tables, bookshelves, and technology. They provide quality, professional support, assistance, and caring concern to the well being of students despite the lack of funds or support. They struggle on helping the student gain skills to make them a lifelong learner, to help them achieve something in their lives of lasting significance, and give them the tools to help them march confidently into the future as that rare breed - an educated human being. They tape, repair, renew and make do under ever tighter budgets and lack of administrative or community support or in a haze of total invisibility in order to provide service to every student on a campus or in a school. Research indicates that sports have a tendency to confuse students as to their true priority when they are in school (Steinfield, Beyond the classroom: Why school reform has failed and what parents need to do.). In the long run, which activity will have the most lasting impact on a student? Sports that will only involve a select few or a library where every student and every learner is served and helped to achieve? My money is, and always will be, on the local school, campus, or public library that services the minds of the future.

What To Do With An Old Card Catalog?

2008-03-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

Recently this was something that my library faced. We desperately needed the space being taken by the outdated and no longer used card catalogs. What to do? We tried selling - but they were not the quality wood that collectors wanted and not tech enough for those retro-60's crowd. I found a place on line that gave some ideas Library History Buff at http://www.libraryhistorybuff.org/cardcatalog.htm.

If I were still in an elementary library the long drawers would work well to store art supplies (brushes, yarns, etc.) or if I had a collection of audio cassettes I could not get rid of due to archival collections, the drawers would work there as well. Long cords could be stored in them, rolled up posters, and small items galore.

A library in Alaska gave a whimsical treatment to theirs (seen in photo). The card catalog is in the library of West Valley High School (Fairbanks). "It was somewhat sad to see it shunted off to the side," reported a vistor to the library, " but the plants were a cute idea".

So, what did we finally do with ours? Once one was found to be in much worse condition than first thought, we ended up scrapping it. The other is taking on a new life as a couple of coffee tables for some small group areas. A tip of the hat to days gone by......

Learning To Cut Bait

2008-02-24T16:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the hardest thing an administrator has to do is to learn when it is no longer feasible to pursue a course of action. The grand idea cannot be supported by the budget, the audience was never found, or the cooperative support fizzled before it began. Sometimes the big ideas and grand visions going into a situation are just never bought into play by the power block or the stakeholders with the money and influence never make a move to make the dream a reality. Worse is when the setting you go into redesigns itself half way across the river into something it had not been before. The stress of change, the stress of retrenchment, and the stress of a nagging sense of devaluation in the workplace can all be triggered through a variety of events. What to hang onto and what to discard? When to stay and when to move on? These are issues that staff in the library also have to handle. Create a file with some of the things you would use to judge when it was time to cut a program, service, or exit entirely. What criteria would you use? What objective and subjective elements would you need to track to have the necessary data to make such a decision? Making the file now - before the fact and when minds are clear - can be a big help later on when emotions may be running high or disappointment makes decisions a hurdle.

WIKIS, CONTACT, and Good Information

2008-02-17T07:56:00.000-08:00

Researching on another subject, I ran across a website hosted on Rootsweb called "Abandoned Amusement Parks." I was amazed to see several mistakes concerning local parks and their history and the statements on the site. I searched for a contact information link but found none. I recalled that the previous week while assisting a researcher on animals launched into space, I found a wanna-be wikipedia site that stated matter-of-factly that no monkey was ever sent into space! Again ,the only way to correct this mistake was a lengthy and very drawn-out registration process. Once completed - it then said no changes could be made!

A New Year's Resolution Worth Keeping

2008-02-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

Read through a secton of your local public library. Think about that for a minute. Take a tour down the self-help section ( probably in the 300's and 640 areas) and imagine all the wisdom, sage advice, and down right smarts you'd have at the end of the year! Or, stroll past the 800's and step neck-deep into the world's words and verses. Your vocabulary would be fearsome by the end of the year.... It's all free (if you return things on time) and you will have so much fun and a sense of accomplishment. Chances are when you finish that section you will be eager to tackle the next one! After that, when you speak, people will probably stop to listen.....

MARILYN'S LAW

2007-12-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

As a librarian who worked her way up through various low paying clerical, support, and assistant positions before going to graduate school I have some observations. So here are "Marilyn's Laws":

Things change. When I first started working in a school library nothing much had changed in forty years. There were cards, date due slips, more cards.... Then computers showed up to print out inventory lists and then shelf lists....Then the desktop models came on the scene....and were improved....and now pod casting....streaming video....and who knows what else. The exact nature of the change may not be identifiable but the fact of inevitable change remains constant.

The personal touch is always crucial. Call it customer service, added value, or whatever label emerges, in the end it will always be how the customer is treated by the staff (human, electronic, robotic, or human-alien hybrid!) that will determine success.

Book & resources collections are like the refrigerator. Occasionally a person has to go through and trash the moldy cheese, ditch the melting head of lettuce, and dislodge the "mystery" that was hidden behind the jar of olives. It is healthy, it is invigorating, and it is an absolute necessity for many of the same reasons noted: information can grow moldy, old and battered resources fall apart, and some items found on shelves and in collections are a real mystery (why did we ever put that on the shelf?)

The first librarian I ever worked with was Jean Thompson and she taught me many things of lasting worth. In a spirit of collegial cooperativeness I will pass them along:Always leave yourself a note to remind you what you were doing with any stack of (books, cards, inventory lists, etc.). She was working as professional librarian in a school district and visited 12 different schools a month. Each school was supervised by a library media aide (as we were called).

Nothing in any library will ever be completely "finished". There is always and eternally something more that could or should be done.Always work through any one stage of a process completely before moving on to the next. Add all the labels, then add all the bar codes, and then stamp all the books. Learn to skim; you never get time to read all the books you should in a library job.

Speak positively to any child you meet. Make them the center of your attention - even if you are simply giving them a paper clip

MANAGERS: THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGGGLY

2007-12-17T17:58:00.000-08:00

Administrators/Managers? Supervisors come in three forms: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. I can say that bravely because "now I are one" as the small child once declared. I have had supervisors across many occupations and make-do jobs.The good have included people who encourage, inspired, trained and motivated. They preserved the self-respect of their employees while earning respect for themselves.The bad were the petty, the proud, and the non-too-bright. Some of the worst managers? Principals. They are teachers who have become "head teachers" but have no training in human resource management or good management/administrative skills. Customer service is solely exterior focused (parents are the number one squeaky wheel).The ugly were demeaning, controlling, manipulative, and lacking in any skills across many areas.Ex-military - the worst. When I dared to complain about an unjust situation once, I was intimidated, not by the principal himself, he delegated the job to his vice principal, that "if I wanted to keep my job----." The problem? I had been hired as an assistant librarian at his school and worked the same hours as every other one in the district - but made less money. The personnel office could or would do nothing. What is that you say? Why didn't I complain to the support staff rep? The person in the personnel office WAS the rep. As I said...ugly. Although I learned something from every one (even if it was simply what NOT to do) some were true teachers who served as coaches and mentors and friends. I thank them. Thanks Jean, Jan, Lynda, Jeannie, Kathryn, Denyvetta, Rosemary, Dana.......

CUSTOMER SERVICE IS MORE THAN FLYING FISH!

2007-12-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

Humans, by nature, are prone to fads and flighty following of the first new idea to come down the pike. It's the grass is always greener syndrome. Take "customer service".Sam Walton reintroduced society to the "personal touch" and, for a window of time, made the mega store seem small-town intimate.Then other, trendier, companies came along and ramped the whole thing to a different level. Places like "Barnes and Noble" with those cozy chairs, cups of coffee and a great big "we-don't- really-care-if-you-buy" attitude. No heavy breathing sales clerk grinding their teeth as you absorb a volume of World War II battleships with the abandon of a ten year old.Over the years, though, despite the "flying fish" reference, I have learned a couple of important facts regarding customer service.Fact one: Happy employees provide quality customer service. As the dear old lady in church once said, "People can't give what they ain't gettin'!" Someone very smart once said that a system functions in just the way it is created to function ( to be honest I really can't recall the name but I recall the premise of the quote). Bottom line, suspicious, rule creating, negative thinkers, and control freaks get exactly what they deserve and reproduce themselves in the workplace environment. Workplaces designed by people who just completed a course in "Fear 101" or "Intimidation for Dummies" find that all the layers of staff have the same values. Ultimately, this is all reflected to the exterior customer. Happy, positive, respected, and appreciated staff reflect all of those qualities right back into the face of every customer they encounter.Fact two: Customer service is something that staff need to be trained in, see modeled by co-workers, and finally make it their own. Some of the most important modeling comes from seeing how staff higher up the food chain treat them. Who hasn't seen a scene like this? The "BIG WIG" comes through, with a small gaggle of potentates and those semi-potent. The "BIG WIG" surveys their vast kingdom (i.e., your workplace), nods as an underling murmurs some important fact and sweeps on through the area to be gone in 60 seconds. What is wrong with this picture? Why should I work and slave to make this company a success when I am treated that that? Who hasn't silently fumed at the store when the lines are backed up into the parking lot and other, non-checking staff saunter through, or worse yet, a manager looks bemusedly around as if to say, hey - wish I could help, but I am a manager. Occasionally - a staff needs to see their leader "in the trenches" and "getting their hands dirty." Customer service by example to both the interior and the exterior customers starts at the top.In the long run it is really much simpler than trying to catch a 20 lb. halibut barrelling your way. Make your people happy and show them how it's done.

S.A.L.T.: Schools and Libraries Together

2007-12-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

S.A.L.T.: Schools and Libraries Together. Marilyn Hudson 2000.
“Budget cuts. Teacher lay-offs. Short-falls. Cuts in programs.”These are phrases striking terror in the hearts of educators and librarians across the state. A centennial year and old problems still dog the heels of those who have for so long struggled to do a stellar job in spite of obstacles created by shrinking budgets, decreased tax bases, mounting regulations, and elevated public expectations. Amid the crisis of dwindling resources, the “clean slate” of a new millennium provides an opportunity to find creative alternate solutions to the problem of how to do more with less.

New Partners From Near Neighbors

Some communities have long enjoyed a rich relationship of professional collaboration and cooperation between the public library and the public school. Others, however, have retreated into a “Yours” and “Mine” stance that diminishes the once rich areas of mutual support between two agencies sharing mutual goals of fostering life long learners in their communities. The challenges of the present offer an excellent opportunity to re-discover that mutual goal, foster new partnerships from near neighbors and begin to add to the “Yours” and “Mine” equation a resounding “Ours”. There are both barriers and bridges to making this a reality: The barriers of a history of isolationism or exclusion, fears of change or loss of power, a continuation of business as usual; bridges in the form of new ideas, dynamic professional collaboration, and inclusion.Models of Partnerships

A prime example of the power of partnership can be seen in the Tall Trees Initiative (www.wls.lib.ny.us/talltree/about.html) that brought public schools and libraries together for full professional collaboration to better serve the needs of the local community. Similar programs were several state initiative programs(Iowa Stories 2000 www.christievilsack.org; Washington State www.k12.wa.us/SBE/position_statement.html; Wisconsin www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/bbcsp ). Locally, an example was the decision by one library to send an artist program into targeted local schools. Other examples, partnerships with local schools to offer reading and family literacy programs in areas schools after the school day and during the summer.

Other Models

Local public librarians can be a source of enriching programming for public schools as they provide story times, professional expertise, talks to local parent-teacher groups, presentations at career days, workshops, and links to local artists. Local teachers can provide expertise for development of early and family literacy programs and crucial links to families to promote library programs.It all comes down to accepting the challenge to think in new ways and dream the possibilities found in local partnerships. True collaborations comprised of equal professional agencies seeking to reach a common goal in an efficient manner.

Partnership Can Be Painless

First step considerations:

Recognize that no one is an island and seek the strength in numbers.

Identify overall goals and clarify your mission

Review ways public schools and public libraries overlap. Where is duplication of effort taking place? Where is support required? Note all the intersections of activity as they form the basis of coalition.Look at the needs of the community. Who can help meet those needs?
Communication:Initiate professional dialogue to explore ways collaboration can emerge. Plan for change and prepare staff for new profile and methods
Cooperation:Identify people, institutions, and groups that can, through either their passion, their position as stakeholders, or through financial resources, bring about solutions and change.Map out ways each agency contributes to achieve goals
Collaboration:Calendar collaboration for one or two specific areas. Bring together collaborative partners to map out joint projects. Establish action as the minimum criteria for the partnership. Anyone can talk – make yours one that sees results in fulfilled goals. Evaluate, correct, and prepare to continue for the next year
Basic Partnership Examples : Libraries Can…Visit local schools to introduce themselves and meet staff. Provide tours for classes or groups.

Design special programs to extend into the school (reading programs, clubs, contests, etc.)Maintain school or class reading listsOffer enriching, literacy or cultural based programs for families and youth.

Display student artwork

Visit schools for story times, present to teachers/parents, promote library programs.

Funnel information into the schools about cultural or literary programs offered by library,

Plan collaboratively with local teachers for short or long term programs
Basic Partnership Examples : Schools Can…Visit local library to introduce yourself and meet with staff.

Post or distribute library program information or flyers to students, families, and staff.

Promote and reward attendance of students at library programs.

Provide student artwork for displays.

Include information about library, library cards, programs, in school or class newsletters. Encourage interaction of students and parents with local library. Communicate major assignments to local library. Assist library in community outreach to emergent readers and . collaboratively with local libraries for short or long term programs

Summer Reading Programs: Work Smarter Not Harder
Item: Schools want their children to read over the summer. Reading teachers labor over making reading calendars, arranging for reading logs, prizes, and motivations to "keep them reading."
Item: Public libraries want children to read over the summer. They purchase and produce reading calendars, reading logs, provide prizes, programs, and motivations to "keep them reading."
Such needless, time consuming, and double expenditure activity goes on in every community in the country. Often there is a correlation between children who do sign up for summer reading in the local public library and those who do well in school. Often the same students who are identified as "at risk" at school are the ones who do not know about, or participate in the public library summer program. Two spheres of influence and contact that could merge to serve a larger community base remain independent and duplicate what others are already doing. The result is that neither is as successful as THEY COULD BE. Identity In The Crisis: Honeycomb? Or Vine? The honeycomb presents an image of compartmentalization, looking inward, and keeping separate. For many public schools and public libraries, this is how others see them in their communities and is a hurdle to be cleared if partnerships are to be formed. The vine, however, brings images of positive action and a growing movement both upward and outward that is what partnerships are really all about. Collaborative professional who put aside “yours” and “mine” in favor of the real strength and power found in “ours”.

We Can Have A Flavorful Future…Just Add A Dash of S.A.L.T.!

IRRITATIONS

2007-12-17T17:47:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me the other day what had been my greatest irritations in the library field. I mulled it over for about 30 seconds and then knew exactly what the number 1 source of irritation was. The library field is one of the few that seems to have problems recognizing, empowering, or promoting the expertise of their people. Library systems that bring in outside experts to tell them the same thing their staff had been telling them all along. Children's librarians that are not seen as having any expertise (even when trained in education or children's services). Reference librarians (even when they have specialized degrees in a particular field) who are not recognized, or allowed to be, the experts their training says they are. Gifted librarians with apparent skills in leadership, organization, or creativity are seldom, if ever, intentionally mentored or encouraged. School principals who never recognize the specialized training of their librarians is similar, and often superior, to their own administrative training, the counselors training, or the reading specialists training.Strategic planning that fails to tap the ultimate source of ideas among the library staff is planning that will always fall short. The people who work with a system daily often have creative solutions and innovative ideas that have no viable outlets. Every library - every business - needs a suggestion box. It should operate by the simple rule that if you complain you have to offer an alternative, a way to make it work better, or to improve the end product or experience. This allows the complaints to be voiced in a productive manner. Caution: it only works if top brass (building, system, corporate level) actually listen, consider, respond, and implement at least some of the suggestions made.

BEHIND THE SCENE IMPACT ON FRONT COUNTER SUCCESS

2007-12-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

An event recently made me recall that it is often the small and simple things that result in a great work experience and, by trickle down, a great experience by the library customer."Back room stress" - that stress that comes into a place when one person arrives (usually the boss) can be a positive, energizing stress event that gets people charged up and ready to "GO!" , or a negative, worrisome stress maker that makes everyone cringe and cry "NO!"The "play" aspect of human development is crucial to a happy, productive, and energized work experience. Build your work force through group building experiences: spontaneous office parties, surprise gifts (a thank you card with a can of soda is within any one's budget!), recognitions (public pat on the back, a photo on the bulletin board, a parking space for the recognized employee of the month....again budget is not the issue).Why? That stress experience of the back room, pre-hours, is carried out to the front desk and to every phone call answered and every customer assisted. A fun, positive work place is reflected in its people.Every employee has the responsibility to leave their troubles at the office door - but bosses - don't replace one set of troubles for another. Make your employees WANT to do their best, WANT to achieve for your company, WANT to come to work.....that is the employers responsibility in this thing we call a modern workplace.
problems for the system, beneficial return for the system.

MY 2 CENTS ON HARRY POTTER

2007-12-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

The books are works of fiction. Remember this.The books are not designed for 2nd or even 3rd graders to read alone – there is an appropriate age for these books. The author designed them to “grow” with the characters.Parents should always read along with or read to their children books that may raise questions best answered by the parents: Sex, Religion, Politics, and Values. In that way, the parent is nearby to respond to concerns or to share what the family belief system is on that particular subject. The books target children on the edge of adolescence. Children who are learning to think and form their own belief systems. Parents should be aware that sometimes they will have different views but that is all part of the growth process.The books are works of fiction utilizing a make-believe world of wizards, and magic to convey a timeless tale of an orphan who must learn to overcome difficulties, face his fears, and finally stand up for what he believes to be right.The books are works of fiction that show human weakness, injustice, fear, and revenge. They also show characters who must then wrestle with the inevitable problems created by those very common human weaknesses.Readers (or parents and churchgoers) should not believe all the things an author (or the publisher) says while promoting their books. Some conservative religious types have labeled the books as teaching or promoting witchcraft. If parents wish their children to be instructed in faith matters and taught a particular religious view that will have a more lasting impact than reading a series of fictional books. It will be lived before them 24/7 and serve as a model and a standard by which they will measure all new ideas they encounter. Likewise, reading a series of inspirational books will not necessarily generate faith in a young person.Remember C.S. Lewis: thirty years ago many fundamentalist and conservative Christians were concerned about the “Chronicles of Narnia.” That is not to say Rowling’s works are anywhere in the same ball park – it is simply to point out that perspectives can, and do, change.

HOW TRANSPARENT IS YOUR INSTITUTION?

2007-12-17T17:43:00.000-08:00

"Transparency" is the process of making the inner workings of a government, business, or institution, more public. It is often for the sake of fighting corruption but is also handy to provide additional assistance in the future of a company or an institution. If Enron had been more transparent - things there would have gone much different.
Most governments are complying with the UN call for transparency by making their records, forms, staffs more known and and accessible. Down loadable forms are more cost productive and more transparent: double your reason to comply.
Some institutions, however, do not welcome this move to transparency. Such a move opens them up to inspection, accountability, and change.
There is fear because bad judgements, poor management, biased procedures, and a host of other failings will be out in the open for all to see.
Nonprofit institutions - need to embrace this transparency because it can also reveal the truth about how much it really takes to function, how much is lost due to skewed priorities of governing bodies, or how much is not done because of low support from the bases funding the institution.
Everyone likes to put up a good front - but not at the cost of sound management. Some whiz may see immediately what may be a symptomatic problem in the way the organization is structured.
One perk, however, is that it may be that someone out there reading that courageous open business statement will be moved to be the next great benefactor.
Are you ready to be truly "open" for business growth?

VENTING AS STAFF SAFETY VALVE

2007-12-17T17:42:00.000-08:00

Management types often confuse people's need to give vent to restrictions, workplace shortcomings, stupid rules, dumb executive decisions, and short-sighted corporate moves as a sign of an unhappy employee. They can feel threatened and promote an environment where "happy, happy, joy, joy" is the only accepted demeanor. What they fail to understand is that such venting can be a safety value to help staff maintain an even keel. Management would be smart to find a way to listen to the subjects of the venting. Many times the people "on the front line" can see a far better method of doing something, find a better procedure, and institute a more efficient process than "suits in an office". The real problem can be in a management that creates an environment where such venting is impossible, where open dialogue is silenced, and communication is all one-way. Then staff can feel stymied, frustrated, devalued, and ignored. The wise manager should recognize the difference between chronic complaints and necessary venting.