CFPLDirector

New at the CFPL

2009-05-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

The CFPL is now offering computer classes, with a different menu every month. In May, we had a three session series regarding building your own website, in addition to "Introduction to Excel" and "Mouse and Keyboarding Basics." Watch our calendar for new offerings.

We've also started offering Friday Matinees. Now on the third Friday of the month at 2 pm, stop by for a movie, free popcorn and beverage. On June 19 we'll see Gran Torino, with Clint Eastwood.

In response to patrons eager to get the newest bestsellers as soon as possible, CFPL now has an Express Shelf. Located in the new book area, Express Books are designed to turnover quickly. Multiple copies of popular titles can be c hecked out for 7 days with no renewals, and no reserves. Copies of each title are also available in the regular collection if you prefer to have renewal options and a longer checkout.

All Iowa Reads 2009

2009-04-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm finding it rather daunting to blog, after my preliminary foray into Twitter. I kind of like the limitation of characters. Keeps it to the point.

This month I enjoyed participating in two All Iowa Reads events. The Rope Walk, by Carrie Brown, is a great discussion book. That's not to say everyone enjoyed the story, or believed that a 10-year-old girl is really that perceptive, or all of the other nuances that made us go "Hmm?" as we read. But it's a great discussion book, and it's not always easy to find one of those. If your book is looking for a title, this is a good one. And of course, you can still enjoy it as a non-book-club title.

All Iowa Reads is administered by the Iowa Center for the Book. The program encourages all Iowans to read and discuss the year's chosen title. The Rope Walk is the 2009 choice, and I think it's one of the best ever. It does fall into the "precocious motherless girl coming of age" genre, and there do seem to be a lot of those around, but the characters are great, and the writing is very good. The Waterloo & Cedar Falls Public Libraries do have multiple copies for your club members to borrow. Let me know what you thought of it.

I was elated to hear yesterday that Olive Kittredge, by Elizabeth Strout, won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. This one received a big "thumbs up" from our WPL Book Group when we read it earlier this year.

....Wishing you were in a book group? Or wanting to join another book group? The WPL & CFPL book groups are open to all, and we have a lot of fun. We talk about this month's book, and anything else we're reading. Join us!

National Library Workers' Day

2009-04-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

Today is National Library Workers' Day. There's no parade, no special greeting card, no presidential proclamation. But--we don't really care about that. Library workers do what they do because they love the library and what it entails. The thrill of the hunt for information, the satisfaction of introducing the customer to just the right resource, the joy of hearing satisfied buzz as a group leaves a library program. That's what it's about.

The Cedar Falls Public Library staff, consisting of 19.39 dedicated FTEs, circulated 289,605 items last year. We facilitated 237,211 patron visits, and answered 26,300 reference inquiries. We deal in statistics, but our real measure of success is your return visit. Most of us probably feel pretty uncomfortable giving ourselves a pat on the back--but today, let's make an exception.

We hope you feel welcome at the CFPL--stop in often!

National History Day

2009-03-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, I served as a judge at the Grout Museum for the local level of the National History Day competition. I make no secret of my preference for history lessons sprinkled with some fiction to make them more interesting, but felt that agreeing to judge would be a nice thing to do.

And I'm really glad I did. Over 300 middle-school-aged youth were part of the competition. It was hard to judge, but that was only because the entries in my area were really great. The kids had obviously put their hearts into researching and presenting their individual within a venue designed to capture their audience. According to the website, every day is National History Day, and in addition to encouraging students in "discovering the exciting world of the past," NHD also serves to help develop researching skills, critical and problem-solving skills, builds self-confidence and much more.

Often in my position I hear primarily about the problems with teens. And as a librarian, I do have a particular interest in research. So, it was wonderful to see this age group hand over a multi-page annotated bibliography. They'd done the research! It was mostly internet-based, and not necessarily sources I might have chosen, but I was also given the opportunity to make suggestions. There are thousands of students out there who are interested in excelling at more than their MySpace profile (not that there's anything wrong with MySpace....)! And I was handed a great opportunity to reach out and humbly contributed to their research skills. I was impressed, and I enjoyed my history lessons.

Performance Evaluations

2009-03-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

I hate performance evaluations, even for excellent employees. I like numbers, I like other sorts of assessments, but it's just no fun for me to do performance evaluations. As a result, I procrastinate. I reward myself with a small piece of chocolate when one is completed. And the day seems brighter when they are all behind me for another year. No profound point to this paragraph, but I do think about library performance evaluations--we do get a little informal feedback. Not a lot, when you consider the number of people through the doors.
Always feel free to offer feedback when you get the urge.

I am on disc 3 of the 7 disc set of "The Shack." Sometimes I read just to see what the fuss is about. I am hoping with this title that there's a big surprise coming, because so far, I'm not getting the fuss. I get the part about God, so far. But the conversation going on in the shack right now seems a little ... goofy. I'll stick with it, and assume there's a reward at the end.

Great Stuff at the CFPL

2009-03-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

Last Friday evening, I attended our first murder mystery, "The Loaded Librarian." It was fantastic! Almost two hundred people attended, and many commented that they had a wonderful time. Thanks to the hard work of staff members (especially Neal & Carol) and performers Half-Masted 3.2, we had a fun event. The program was made possible by the Cedar Falls Civic Foundation's Kathryn Ray Fund for use by the Library, and the Friends of the Cedar Falls Public Library.

This Wednesday, March 4 at 5pm, we will have a ribbon cutting ceremony for our new computer lab. Everyone is welcome to attend. The first computer class will commence at 6 pm with instructor Kim Van Deest. Computer Basics and Basic Internet Searching are on the calendar for March. New classes will be offered each month. Classes are free, but pre-registration is required. The computer lab and classes are made possible by grants from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association, the Cedar Falls Civic Foundation's Library Building Fund and Kathryn Ray Fund, and the Friends of the Cedar Falls Public Library.

Computer Classes at the CFPL

2009-02-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

We are ready to take a formal approach to teaching technology literacy! Last year we received a grant from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association that allowed us to start this project. Then, we applied to the Cedar Falls Civic Foundation for use of the Library Building Funds to match the project. In addition, the Friends of the Cedar Falls Public Library and the Kathryn Ray Funds (also a part of the Cedar Falls Civic Foundation) have pledged funds to hire instructors.

Next week, on February 26, we'll have a fun roll out of the computer lab. Participants will be shown how to setup a profile on an online dating site. In March, we'll buckle down and learn some computer and internet basics. Kim Van Deest will present these sessions. Kim is a former trainer for the Gates Foundation, the State Library, and currently works at the Waterloo Public Library and has quite a following in computer classes at that Library. Call 273-8643 to sign up for Computer Basics or Internet Searching Basics. I've assisted or passed through during several of Kim's classes, and have picked up tips even when I thought I knew it all.

Twilight

2009-01-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I read a book just to see what the buzz is all about. I remember when Twilight was published. It caught my eye because of the vampire angle. When I was younger, I tended to sink myself into one genre and stay there. I went through a horror phase, and vampires were certainly part of the attraction. I remember staying up all night to read 'Salem's Lot. Those vampires were a little off-putting, not nearly as charismatic as Barnabas Collins, a favorite in my teen years.

I haven't read horror for years. Either the writing got worse, my nerves got weaker, or my tastes just changed. But my former love of horror, and knowing my newly-turned-30 daughter got up very early to stand in line for a free Twilight tote bag made me put it on my "to-read" list.

And I'm hooked. "Sucked" in to use a bad and I'm sure very old pun by now. I find that Twilight is drawing me away from books on improving work culture, mysteries set in Minnesota, and even Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill. Hill is Stephen King's son, so I know I need to read it, I've been waiting for months for the book on CD, and I'd better get at it before it's overdue.

Listening to Twilight makes me ponder one of my favorite mysteries--what makes a story compelling? It doesn't have to be great literature. It doesn't have to be life-changing. It doesn't have to be plausible. With this one, I get little nostalgic flashbacks of the angst of being a teenaged female, and all that goes with it. The romanticism of first love, although that usually seems a little more comedy than romance, looking back. Maybe it's the intensity of the feeling, the speed at which those chemicals and phernomes start vibrating.

In any case, Twilight is one of those books. And most importantly, in my view, it's one of those books for teens. Any story that can inspire so many teens to read as much as this one can gets my attention any day.

ILA

2008-10-19T15:45:00.001-07:00

I've just returned from the Iowa Library Association annual conference. I enjoyed it, most of it. Lots of notes to share with others, and even more for my own personal pondering.

One moment will stick with me for awhile. I went to a session on understanding the Millennial generation. They don't like to stand in line. They are not brand loyal, and they have no particular music genre. Because they can get it all--on the Internet. They text constantly, email has fallen by the wayside. The environment is important. They expect results quickly. Etc, etc.

So, a fellow librarian asked the question "What do we do about these Millennials who have such a sense of entitlement, and show us no respect? I've paid my dues, they haven't, and they need to quit being so demanding." I suspect she ignored everything said in the entire session.

You know how you always think of the perfect comeback too late? I was busy feeling embarrassed for my profession, because there were Millennials in the room, but later it occurred to me that I could have responded with "When we--the public library--give them what they are entitled to, they may give us some respect." We're getting better, but we're not famous for the stuff Millennials are looking for. Want a best seller? Get in line. We'll reserve it, or get it on ILL. It will only take a few weeks. Want an answer to your reference question? Sure, but no, you can't text me, and I'm certainly not able to text you. Need me during the hours you're likely to have free time? Probably not there, sorry. But you can download a few audiobooks. Need that video for a month, because you just haven't had time? Too bad--try NetFlix, they'll let you have it your way.

There was that scare awhile back about the Internet making libraries obsolete. The Internet won't make libraries obsolete. We'll do it to ourselves.

Weather 2008

2008-07-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

It seems almost impossible to have a blog and not comment in some way about the weather of 2008. The Waterloo Public Library had a few inches of water in the basement. The Cedar Falls Public Library did not get any water. Both libraries were closed for a period of times, and have provided services to those affected by tornadoes and floods this year.

The FEMA project worksheet makes my head hurt. It appears to be a spreadsheet that expands into about ten dimensions. Also on my desk is a dirty page from a children's storybook. It appears to be the last page of the story, as the picture shows smiling dad holding a little red-clad girl high in the air, as a grinning woman waves good-bye. The text: "And from that time on, Little Red Riding Hood never, never stopped to talk with strangers."I found it in my yard on the night of May 25, "the night of the tornado" as we refer to it now.

I gathered that it was from Parkersburg, because of addresses on other documents I picked up. That's about 80 miles southwest of me. Seems like there should be a trite conclusion to draw from these words, ripped out of some child's room and blown eighty miles away....

ALA 2008

2008-07-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

I’ve just returned from attending the American Library Association’s annual conference.
The sessions were fine, I learned some practical tips, and took plenty of notes. But what I took away as my major lesson didn’t happen in a formal session. It came from visiting the acres and acres of convention center space occupied by vendors. All of the traditional companies were there: publishers, library supplies and furniture, automated system vendors. And then I saw the Nintendo booth. A salesman in jeans, a t-shirt and a faded t-shirt introduced me to wii. I tried to hit soccer balls with my virtual head while he explained that I was getting a balance workout (and that he had seen worse). Many vendors had librarians playing wii, Guitar Hero, or Dance Dance Revolution.

It was like an amusement park, but it was much more than a bunch of librarians cutting loose at their annual convention by playing games. The encyclopedia sets looked lonely as everyone watched presentations about web-based resources on plasma screens, just like in the real public library. There were new books all over the place, but there were just as many DVDs, Playaways, databases and ebooks.

My attorney/librarian daughter also attended ALA. I believe she attended only one session, but along with many other attendees, she participated in a conference-wide virtual game similar to a scavenger hunt. Along with scavenging some free advance copies and tote bags, the game was her major engagement with the conference. While hunting for clues, she learned a lot about library services and products in a fun and creative way. She turned up her nose at the formal lecture-structured sessions. And watching her learn was my major lesson, not that budgets should link to strategic plans, or that broadband in the United States needs to get faster and cheaper. I learned that current generations aren’t learning the way I was taught. Gaming is much more complex than what many of us realize. It’s not just about frivolous recreation (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Gaming is huge, it’s a legitimate learning method, and it makes learning fun. And if some next-gen librarian is standing next to you recording your wii debut with her cell phone, that learning experience can end up on the internet, so watch out!

BHCGA Grant

2008-05-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

Yeah! The CFPL will receive $30,000 from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association for a portable computer lab. The lab itself will not be portable--the computers will. 24 laptop computers will reside in a cart that can be packed up when not in use, or wheeled to another department. Our plan is to have instructors teach everything from video editing to Microsoft Office to using library databases to searching the internet. We need about $60,000 for the entire project, but the BHCGA grant guarantees that we can do this project, even if we start out with a lesser number of laptops. The classes will be available at no charge, and hopefully will be up and running by the end of the year. Thanks to staff member Mike Dargan for leading this project.

Playaways

2008-05-22T13:52:00.001-07:00

Nature seems to be really struggling with a chilly spring this year, but most of us are eager to spend time outdoors anyway. Pulling last year’s debris out of gardens is not my favorite chore, but it does go a little better when I’m listening to a book. If you read my column, you probably already know about my fond relationship with my mp3 player, but I’ve recently found a new love. The Cedar Falls Public Library experimented with Playaways awhile back, and found that people really like them.

A Playaway is like an mp3 player—a little electronic gadget about the size of a Zippo lighter that plays an audio version of a book. You listen to the book by plugging in your earphones and pressing the buttons. The Playaway makes it a little easier for those of us who might struggle with the skills or time required downloading books—one book is already on each device. So you checkout a Playaway (battery included), plug in your earphones (you can buy them at the Library if you don’t have your own), and you’re ready to listen. We recently purchased 100 Playaways. You can find them on our catalog with the keyword “playaway,” or come in and browse the collection. I can pull weeds all summer (like that’s going to happen) and never run out of listening material.

The Playaways were purchased with a generous gift given to the library from the estate of Ken and Maureen Lauterbach. The new library levy has done marvelous things to our materials budget, but gifts in memory and in honor of others really enhance the collection. For example, a group of women who refer to themselves as “Old Neighbors on Panther Lane” regularly donate money for library materials that would otherwise buy birthday gifts for each other. The result—great books about the Midwest, women and art are in our collection. Donations in memory of Karen Kelso-McMurrin have added great selections to the youth department. I hesitate to even start naming names, as there are so many, and they’ve all added so much. Library materials are a great way to give to the community.

Latitude

2008-05-13T06:12:00.000-07:00

Latitude. One of those words that seems to have a simple definition, yet actually has a lot of depth. What came to your mind? Was it the distance from some specified point; or how about the freedom of action given to people who may otherwise be governed by a set of rules. Exploration is another one. Do you travel for adventure or discovery, or do you investigate, study and analyze as your way of exploring?

Both words are pertinent to the public library. We encourage exploration, we try to encourage a lot more latitude in exploration methods than printed matter has allowed until our generation. Print is still my favorite, maybe yours too. I run across books from time to time that remind me of returning to textbooks in the fall, or I have a book in hand that allows me to close my eyes and return to the youth department of Waterloo’s old east side Carnegie library. And occasionally I pick up a new book that I absolutely cannot put down (“Three Cups of Tea” this week). But to envelope other formats and methods only increases the richness of our exploration for new experiences. We live in an incredibly busy society, and to fight for a share of your time takes strategy. It takes particular skills to select the books that will tempt you to take them home, and it takes particular skills to select a program that will tempt you to leave your home, or other responsibilities. The key is to give staff latitude, and they present some great venues for the rest of us to explore.

The Cedar Falls Public Library will host guest presenter Sue Doody on Thursday, May 15 at 7 pm for “Give Me a Little Latitude.” Sue has explored countries that many of us have only read about, and has agreed to share those trips in a way that’s much more interesting than any geography lesson (sorry—geography was not my favorite class). I hope to see you there. By the way, we recently explored what would happen if we gave you the latitude to bring in food in lieu of fine money, and our community raised five and a half barrels of food for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. Thank you for helping make National Library Week a success.

National Library Week 2008

2008-04-03T07:50:00.001-07:00

During April 13-19 of 2008, we will celebrate National Library Week. Your local public libraries will have special celebrations for you, but I thought it would be a good time to reflect on something we provide year round, something many people take for granted. Not among library staff, however. What we provide and protect is the freedom of information, and your right to privacy, no matter what your age is. If you check out a book on divorce, sex, homosexuality, abortion, incest or bomb building you may not want your interests to be widely known. Laws are in place to protect your privacy, and while the Privacy Act now provides law enforcement some privilege in this area, by and large your right to privacy is protected, no matter who you are.

The social networking phenomena seem to fly in the face of this need for privacy. For example, Facebook and MySpace participants are willing to provide fairly private information to the cyberworld at large. It interested me to read that some young adults don’t want to accept their parents as “friends” on internet sites that might reveal too much about their personal lives, when it appears to me that posting on the internet appears to strip privacy right out of our lives. I felt very exposed when I began to provide boxes on my blog that reveals what I am reading and viewing, but I don’t know if that’s my generation speaking, or my librarianship.

Whether freedom of information, and the privacy that protects your access appeals to you or not, be sure and stop at the Waterloo and Cedar Falls Public Libraries during National Library Week. In Cedar Falls, bring a non-perishable food item (or two) in to have your old or new library fines zapped. These donations benefit the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, and your library account. You can also enter drawings for prizes and enjoy cookies, provided by the Cedar Falls Friends of the Library. Waterloo will feature “Curbside to Go.” Call the library between 9 am and 4 pm Monday-Thursday, April 14-17, and tell staff what you would like to check out. We’ll have them ready to run out to your car between 4 pm to 6 pm, and you won’t even have to get out of the car. And don’t forget to check my blog (available from the library’s website) to see what I’m reading!

Friends of the Library

2008-03-17T13:19:00.001-07:00

Who could survive without their friends? We probably could, but life wouldn’t be as fulfilling. The public libraries could survive on tax dollars, but they wouldn’t be as rich. Many public libraries are fortunate enough to have Friends organizations. Friends groups are separate entities from the library itself, and operate solely to support the library. They raise money through membership dues, and other fund raising efforts. They advocate for the library throughout the community. They also donate many hours of volunteer time in support of the library. Volunteers nationwide are honored during National Volunteer Week, April 27-May 3.

Without the Friends, we wouldn’t have puppets, puppet theatres and bulletin boards in the youth department. We wouldn’t have crafts and prizes for summer library programs. We wouldn’t have refreshments and prizes during National Library Week, April 13-19 for this year. We are able to have eye-catching and interesting display of materials because of the Friends. The Friends pay for special library programs for adults, like author visits, computer classes, antiques appraisal, wine and chocolate tasting, and so many more. They pay for the popcorn at the afternoon movies, and sponsor book discussion groups. They are our strong allies in promoting literacy. The citizens of the Cedar Valley are very generous in supporting the public libraries with their tax dollars, but the Friends put the icing on the cake.

Society seems to have a harder edge than it did twenty years ago, maybe because tragedy and violence are the items that catch our attention. From what I see around the library, caring and giving still abound. For a very reasonable amount, your dollars and time will pool to make your library a greater place. And if you aren’t a Friends member—you can join at any time!

Privacy on the Net

2008-02-17T10:19:00.001-08:00

I was recently surveyed about my views as a library director regarding privacy perceptions on the Internet. It appears from this research that librarians worry about privacy alot more than the people whose privacy we protect. So that I have a better understanding of Web 2.0, I've set up accounts on Facebook, GoodReads, and Second Life. I balked about putting in my email password, but when I did, I found other people that I know on GoodReads. Facebook was ready for me--as I setup my account, Facebook was eager to provide a list of my friends who already reside there. Flickr lets me see my family's photos, and also their friends. Not only photos, but comments. This all is new to me. We have staff members who do not wish to wear nametags with their last names--yet we have people posting all kinds of personal stuff all over the web. We protect our identity out of fear, I believe, in "real" life. Yet, we are posting more and more about our private lives for the entire world to see. Takes some getting used to.

Widgets & GoodReads

2008-02-17T10:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my daughter for setting the bar so high! I've been envious of the GoodReads link in my 3-month-old grandson's blog that shows me what the grown-ups in the house are reading and viewing. So, I took advantage of the blizzard conditions that are keeping me inside to figure it out. I didn't have to call for help! I can now show the world what I'm reading by this little widget in my blog. Now, if only I can remember to maintain it.....

Films at the CFPL

2008-02-01T14:25:00.000-08:00

I’m usually way behind in my movie watching, so I was really excited this year to learn that I’ve actually seen two of the Academy Award nominees for best picture. No Country for Old Men kept me at the edge of my seat, although I understand Tommy Lee Jones’ character should have had more screen time to be true to Cormac McCarthy’s novel. I appreciated that Atonement was true to the print version, right down to the kick in the gut at the end. I love going to the theater for the big screen and the popcorn, but when that’s not possible, I like to check out the library’s DVD collection.

The Cedar Falls Library buys both educational and recreational DVDs. Night at the Museum, The Pursuit of Happyness, Happy Feet and The Astronaut Farmer are all available for your own personal movie night. I’ve seen all four, and recommend them. The reward of hard work and perseverance sprinkled with a little humor comes through in each story. I haven’t seen The Queen, and am looking forward to this peek inside the House of Windsor in the days following Princess Diana’s death.

I haven’t seen Fast Food Nation either, but I’ve read the book. On one level, it’s about what goes into the food we eagerly line up to buy. On another, it’s about the complacency in what we allow as a society. And it will be interesting to see how this nonfiction expose translates into film. This DVD is definitely on my list to see.

My travel budget right now centers on visiting grandsons, so I plan to do some armchair travels. Lost in the Grand Canyon delves into John Wesley Powell’s great exploration. Desperate Crossing, the Untold Story of the Mayflower received Emmy nominations, and sounds great. If you’re interested in nature, you might check out Living with Wolves. The Dutchers actually lived with a wolf colony to learn their social structure. If you don’t need your penguins to sing and dance, take a look at Emperors of the Ice, a National Geographic film that explores the lives of emperor penguins and the effect global warming is having on their habitat.

Take advantage of these great films. Thanks for using the library, and a special thanks to Dr. Judy Beckman for suggesting this topic.

Customer Service in 2008

2008-01-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

I have a few librarian jokes (define “joke” kindly, please). How many librarians does it take to screw in a light bulb? Two. One to screw it in, and one to SHHHHHH!!!!!! her. I suppose it’s funny if you’re my generation of librarian. Younger people won’t get it. They’re used to noise level that many of us can’t tolerate. And where was the librarian when the lights went out? In the dark. Things have changed dramatically in public libraries over the last twenty years, due to the choice to install computers and make Internet available for public access. If we hadn’t, I’m afraid we’d be in the dark now.

Across the United States, 68% of library users enter libraries to use technology. This is a significant change in what people desire in their public libraries. They’re still reading, but often it’s on a screen now. Sometimes that’s hard in the public library setting, especially when a small group needs to use a computer. We need to accommodate this somehow, in buildings that were designed for SHHHH! Public access computers, wireless computers, and gaming stations grow in use, even though more and more people seem to have computers in the home. National trends are frequently true for almost every library. However, your two local libraries would like local input on our customer service. Both libraries will now have electronic surveys available on our websites. Please let us know what you’re thinking, so we’re not left in the dark once we get that light bulb screwed in.

One thing we do know for 2008—you still need tax forms. The Waterloo and Cedar Falls Public Libraries are proud to present the basic forms, including the rent rebate form, free for your taking. Other forms can be printed on (you guessed it) the public computers for a small charge. Some patrons even use those computers to file taxes, as they clip along at the speed of light. Both libraries will have special book displays for Black History month, and are always looking for community groups that would like to use the display cases to promote their purpose. UNI currently has a great display at the Cedar Falls Library. Downloadable television shows and movies, available from the library’s website, continue to be available, with travel a hot topic right now. And treat yourself to the time it takes to read a book. New titles still fly off the shelf, so we know good old-fashioned reading is not dead yet.

Angela Ruggiero to visit CFPL

2007-12-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

We have received a grant from the Cedar Falls Civic Foundation-Ray Endowment to have three-time Olympic hockey player Angela Ruggiero speak at the library. Harvard graduate, author, Apprentice appearance, NCAA All American, gold, silver, and bronze medal winner... and she isn't even 30 years old.

We do not have a date set, but will have information on the library's website and calendar as soon as we have it set. I think Ms. Ruggiero will be a great inspiration.

Birthday presents

2007-12-11T09:19:00.001-08:00

I always hear a lot of worry about future generations and self-centeredness. It's not all hopeless, and we regularly encounter exceptions. Recently there was an article in the Courier about a girl who decided to donate her birthday gifts to children who do not have enough toys. Recently, a little girl named Annie asked for books for her birthday--so that she can donate them to the library and local shelters. That is truly the spirit of altruism and giving. The actions of these girls will influence others, and the spirit will spread. Thank you, Annie.

A Lesson in Web 2.0

2007-11-27T14:06:00.000-08:00

Remember the old excitement of bringing up a website, and leaning back to absorb all it had to tell you? Schedules, news, gossip, pictures, maps…the Internet has eagerly fed us all we can bear to absorb, and then some. The next generation of Internet, Web 2.0 is here, and it would like our help. Web 2.0 means that the content on the Internet is more user-initiated. YouTube and MySpace are two examples that you have probably heard of. The website is there, but much of the content is contributed by anyone who cares to put their selves out there.

YouTube (http://www.youtube.com ) is a fun video place to browse. Search for Waterloo or Cedar Falls Iowa and see anything from recent candidate visits to concerts to a pretty impressive wall cloud. Add your own video to share. If you’re younger, you might have your interests and friends listed on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/). Libraries like to have a presence on MySpace in hopes that teens will find us. I’ve heard that as you get a little older, you probably move to FaceBook (http://www.facebook.com/) and you will take your community of friends with you.

If you’re still emailing digital pictures to friends and family, get a free account on a space like Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/). You load the pictures on the web, and anyone can go to your site to look at them. Sound hard? No—I figured it out faster than I figured out the camera itself. Even if you’re not sure you know anyone on Flickr, search for Waterloo or Cedar Falls to see some great local photos.

The organizationally challenged among us can benefit from Remember the Milk (http://www.rememberthemilk.com/). Receive email reminders and have your to-do list and calendar available from any computer you’re near, and it interfaces with Google calendar (www.google.com/calendar). I love Google email and the chat feature that comes with it, because I can chat from any computer I’m at. If Remember the Milk isn’t quite what you want, organize photos, make lists and set reminders on Backpack (http://backpackit.com/). Once you get all that taken care of, tell the world what you’ve been up to with your own blog (https://www.blogger.com/start).

For those of us who never quite got around to creating our own website, I’m not sure it’s even necessary now. These sites can store almost any information we want to on the web, for all of the world to see.

ILA, 2007

2007-10-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

I went to the Iowa Library Association conference last week. Here are some highlights.

Opening Session: Chris Crutcher was great. I’ve had a greater respect for teen fiction ever since my YA Literature course during library school, and am now planning to read more Crutcher. Here is some of what I learned from him: YA literature is just as thought provoking as adult literature, but often gets right to the point. The story is “monstrously important.” Kids who hurt look for a character with problems similar to their own, so they don’t feel so alone. If they don’t feel alone—it helps to survive. The feeling of “alone” can lead to suicide. Banning a book with gays, teen sex & pregnancy, incest, etc, says to kids with those issues—“I don’t want to hear your story.”

I attended “The Future of Library Education” because I suspected that Jim Elmborg would also tie in the future of libraries in general, and I was right. He believes technical change has peaked—but social change has not. It doesn’t do us any good to romanticize what we do—our competition is too strong to rely on romanticizing. Reference does not fit the traditional model anymore—the traditional model is “dead.” We need to respond to what patrons want from us. Focus on literacies (information, technical, visual), not services. Focus on online access, not holdings. Reinvent our buildings and spaces. Focus on connecting within our communities in authentic and creative ways (not just current users). Elmborg predicts that within 10 years, our collections will all be digitalized—and if you doubt this, remember that just 15 years ago, most of us probably didn’t know about Windows. Change is now happening exponentially faster. As staff, we need to become power users of technology, learn to produce the info, not just provide access to it. Embrace open source and open systems, user centered technology and web 2.0. No one is impressed anymore that we have computers—they’re just natural now. We need to look outward. Communities that thrive will be diverse, creative, dynamic and open. If you find yourself saying “This is the way we do it” you’re in trouble. Those with power in an organization need to share with the creative and innovative changers. Make them feel free to move thru the agency and operate. Think global. The physical library building should now be warm, inviting, noisy, a collaborative learning space, contain technology, food, and community events. “The constant is now change” and the director is the change agent.

“Social Libraries: The 2.0 Phenomenon.” This was Stephen Abrams, who scared me with his statements. Gaming is not just a frivolous pastime for twelve year old boys--a 32 year old woman is the average gamer. If you take gaming into consideration, boys read more than girls. Surgeons who play a video game a few hours before surgery decrease your chance of dying during cardiac procedures. Missie mentioned that the Millennials IQ is 20 points higher on average than us Boomers, and I will add that their brains work twice as fast. They are: direct, nomadic, have high expectations, are confident, gamers, patriotic, achievement oriented, more liberal and more conservative, format agnostic, and have great respect for intelligence. If they have to read Romeo & Juliet—why settle for the book? They want one stop shopping to get the reviews, a podcast of the performance, the story…Only 30% of library websites follow rules of how people expect to search. Primary navigation is on the left-hand side; websites should be written in xml. Real Scary: 80% of people cannot identify an ad on Google—the average user believes those ads are “better links.” Google is now making 1 BILLION dollars of profit every quarter, and probably weight their search results by who is advertising with them, so how much do you trust their guidance? Special interest groups and advertisers drive Google. Within 18 months, Google will default all searches to local links—they will know where you are searching from, and what you’re looking for. China & Japan light years ahead of us in technology; 25% of Chinese readers prefer e-books. Search engines answer what, where, when, who. Reference people should focus on How & Why—because the search engines can’t. The number of questions answered by Google in 15 minutes equals the number of questions answered by reference librarians in eight hours. The book is not at risk—circ and publishing is up. Librarians are at risk. Look up “library dominoes” on Youtube. Your collection is essential, and you can beat Amazon by putting it in the context of your local community (e.g. at this point, Amazon will not tell you what gardening books are best for Iowa). CDs are “gone” as a format, because of mp3 players and downloading. DVDs will be gone in 5 years. 30-40% of library circulation is due to DVDs—what do we do when they are gone? Get your stuff online (digital). Video games outsell all books and periodicals, combined. 37% of 18-21 year-olds are publishing on the web. Do we have paths to our community publishing from our website? Whew.

All in all, a very good conference.

Library Displays

2007-10-26T12:31:00.001-07:00

If you’re reading the newspaper, you are probably familiar with the term “literacy.” Not only has the definition evolved over the years from the very basic, learning your signature, to more advanced expectations including reading, writing, listening and speaking, but it now encompasses more than the printed word. Striving for technological, art and multimedia literacy is now prevalent. One practical justification for desiring higher literacy rates is that it appears to be linked to higher socio-economic status. Some analysts believe that literacy rates are a crucial measure of a geographical region’s human capital. You might argue that our “human capital” is our most valuable and irreplaceable asset.

You already know we push books at the library. What you may not realize is that we also push visual literacy. I believe this literacy is the purpose of the library display cases. These cases are open to local community organizations in order to make a statement to you, the community. In the Cedar Falls Library, we had a striking 9/11 display. It started with local resident Marvin Brewster offering to display a large puzzle of the Statue of Liberty, honoring 9/11 victims. Our local fire department brought in memorabilia and gear that without words, spoke to the thousands of library visitors about a day in our history that may be better described visually than verbally. That display has now evolved into poster winners in the annual fire safety contest, showcasing local youth’s talents.

The display case list is endless, and most change every month. The Waterloo Library has hosted toy sewing machines, agricultural and nutritional education, the Button Club, the Prairie Rose Embroiderers’ Guild, and Black History. Both libraries have an “Earth from Space” display coming soon, courtesy of the University of Northern Iowa, to promote the visiting Smithsonian traveling exhibit. The Black Hawk Gem & Mineral Society, the Cedar Falls Historical Society, Cedar Valley Hospice, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill have all graced the display areas in Cedar Falls. One memorable display was the Scout bonfire, which “lit” on a timer. Approximately 20,000 visits happen at each library, every month. Please take a moment to “read” the displays.