Friday Notes

New Friday Notes for 10/26/2007

What do YOU think:

If a library is in trouble (whatever that means to you), who, if anyone, should intervene:

1. NO one, it is their own look out.

2. The Mayor & City Council, it is their cities library.

3. The County Library Association, the other county libraries are the ones being hurt in the long run.

4. The LSA, they have the experience and expertise to help fix problems.

5. The State Library, sometimes it takes a hammer to get attention.

& if you select one of 2 to 5, WHY & HOW?

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

And I'm trying another new program.... Zundry

PLA conference registration opened September 5
Registration for the 12th National Conferenceof the Public Library Association opened on September 5. Popular events such as preconferences, tours, and author luncheons are expected to fill up quickly. The conference will be held March 25–29, 2008, in Minneapolis. A special earlybird rate is available for PLA and Minnesota Library Association members who register before January 18....

Meg Cabot to keynote PLA luncheon
Meg Cabot, author of the popular The Princess Diaries series, will keynote the Preconference Luncheon at PLA’s 12th National Conference in Minneapolis, March 25. Tickets can be purchased online.Cabot is the author of more than 40 books for both adults and teens...

As you may have heard, Southeastern, East Central, Northeast and North Central LSA offices have coordinated an exciting opportunity to travel in style and good company to the March 2008 PLA Conference in Minneapolis. There are two general routes planned, one to start in Burlington and the other in Ottumwa and work their way north along two routes. At this time no stops are guaranteed and we will be working with the bus company to determine the most efficient routes based on the home locations of our passengers. The buses will arrive in time for opening session on Wednesday, March 26 and return following the closing session on Saturday, March 29. Round trip fare will be $76.
 
Don’t miss this chance to relax, watch movies, and chat with fellow librarians on your way to Minneapolis! Registration must be no later than February 1 through the State Library CE catalog at http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/cgi-bin/cecat/. Browse by date into March and you'll see the bus trips listed at the bottom. Cancellations must also be received by that date to avoid being charged.

LSA's

FROM across the river (Alliance Library System):

If you have ever had problems managing problem behavior in your library, you may want to access the online version of Safe Harbor:  Problems and Policies for a Safe Library. http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/safeharbor/ 
 Rose M. Chenoweth was the project manager for this grant.  Nine public librarians wrote policies and procedures for handling various situations.  The book is no longer for sale but the online database is available to everyone.

FROM the Eye Opener: (edited)

1)  November 8^th: Tried & True Toddler Ideas:  A few weeks ago, EYE-OPENER explained the LSA focus this year on early childhood literacy. All seven Library Service Areas are rolling out an array of workshops on early childhood literacy themes.  This particular focus is the result of new monies for the LSAs in fiscal ’08.  So November 8^th brings another program on this topic to Iowa’s libraries and those staff working with youngsters aged 2-3. 

Broadcast over the ICN, “Tried & True Toddler Ideas” will be presented by SusanDailey, author of A Storytime Year and Sing a Song of Storytime.  “…this ICN program will include great books for the toddler set with fantastic fingerplays, prop activities, and super simple crafts.  In addition to her books, Susanis a branch manager in the WellsCountyPublic Library system in Indiana. She has presented workshops in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohioand Arizona.  Visit her website here: http://www.susanmdailey.com/index.htm  …”

This workshop is coordinated by Southeastern Library Services in partnership with Iowa Public TV; LSA offices are helping with promotion and encouraging interested staff to request an ICN site nearby.  Booking ICN sites for this program is a departure from what you’re used to—if you’d like to request a site near you, you’ll need to do that through Iowa Public TV.  IPTV is providing all ICN rooms for free and booking rooms—upon request—around the state.  <clip> .If you want to try for other rooms, you can—but do it quickly, registration deadline is November 5^th.  The program runs from 8:30AM—11:30AM.  Turn to the c.e. catalog for the full scoop and you’ll be directed to IPTV’s website too: http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/cgi-bin/cecat/

2)  November 8^th = Trustee Program “Fair Pay for Library Directors”  Next up on November 8 is a nighttime program expressly for library trustees.  Sponsored by the State Library, it’s an important discussion to join: “…Too often, the work of library directors is misunderstood, undervalued, and not compensated fairly. Many library directors receive lower pay than other employees who do comparable work. In this session, we will discuss why fair pay is important and what the library board can do to address this issue. By the end of the program you will be able to:

• State the board's authority regarding compensation of library employees
• List benefits to the library/community of fair pay for the librarian(s)
• Describe at least one way to present salary and "justification" to funding bodies
• Describe 2 ways that the "Value of Librarians: Reaching Equitable Compensation" questionnaire might be used to reach equitable pay for the librarian …”

For those boards looking to hire a new director in the coming months….For those libraries whose staff salaries have lagged woefully behind comparable positions in the city/county…This is a vital for boards to learn more about, discuss, and take positive action on.  What if every library pledged to send at least one trustee to this program—what difference might that make in adjusting attitudes, not to mention salaries?!  

“Fair Pay for Library Directors”runs from 6:00PM—7:30PM ..... Once again, register within the c.e. catalog http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/cgi-bin/cecat/

4)  HolidayFundraiser Idea:This fundraising idea comes from Hubbard Public Library.  They’re hosting a “HolidayHor D’Oeuvres Cooking Class”on Sunday October 28^th.  A local church provides the venue and people attending will learn to make 10 different holiday appetizers for those upcoming holiday parties.  The culinary guide is a former chef at Terrace Hill, having worked as the chef to former Governor Terry Branstad.  In addition, representatives from Pampered Chef will be on hand with gift and table decoration ideas.  Admission price is $10.00 and all proceeds go to the library to raise funds for a new copier.  Thanks to Hubbard Public Library for sharing this delicious idea!

NEILSA e-rate Consortia Blog at: http://www.neilsa.org/weblogs/consortia.php

SEILSA Blog up at: http://southeasternlsa.blogspot.com/

SWILSA Blog at: http://swilsanews.blogspot.com

Footnotes is now online. http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/news/footnotes

CLASSES:

UPCOMING CLASSES: TechAtlas, Google Extras, Technology Toys, Gameing in the Library, Using WebJunction

November 30 at the West Union Computer Lab, this class will be in the state wide ce catalog for registration Monday after noon.

IM & Socal Networking Workshop

In this workshop Kim will show you how to, and you will, set up a Facebook page & MySpace page for your library, you will setup and use one of the chat features. Ken will discuss policies and provide samples.

“Most social network services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, and so on.”  “The main types of social networking services are those which contain directories of some categories (such as former classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and recommender systems linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, with MySpace, Bebo and Facebook being the mostly widely used in 2007.”  "Social network service," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,
 
You are strongly encouraged to bring your laptop and use it during the session.  If enough interest is shown we will have a computer lab only session in the morning and a laptop only session in the afternoon.

 

Non-Consortia Workshops e-rate workshops in CILSA and SELSA
November 6th [CILSA] 9:30 am - 12:30 pm Des Moines/State Library
November 20th [SELSA] 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Burlington
November 28th [SELSA] 2:00 pm -- 5:00 pm Oskaloosa

IF you ask we will run one in NEILSA

E-rate Training Sessions Scheduled for forms 470 and 471 for schools
Training sessions via ICN video conferencing for completing required E-rate forms for the 2008-09 school year have been scheduled on the following dates/times. ICN sites will be added upon request.

E-Rate 102: Form 470
November 13, 14, 15, and 20 (repeat sessions; all from 3:00-5:00 p.m.)

E-Rate 103: Form 471
November 29, December 4, 6, and 12 (repeat sessions; all are from 3:00-5:00 p.m.)

To request a site for either/both trainings, send an e-mail with desired dates and ICN site to Debbie Fiscus (debbie@iptv.org).

CHILDREN’S SUMMER LIBRARY WORKSHOPS:

Feb 6 - Grundy Center Community Center
Feb 7 - Johnston Public Library (2 workshops - morning and afternoon)
Feb 12 - North Liberty Community Center
Feb 13 - Fairfield Inn - Fairfield
Feb 14 - YMCA - Red Oak
Feb 15 - Swan Lake Nature Center - Carroll
Feb 26 - Iowa State Bank - Orange City
Feb 27 - Park View Inn - West Bend
Feb 28 - Mason City Public Library
Feb 29 - Upper Iowa University - Fayette

TEEN SUMMER LIBRARY WORKSHOPS:

March 11 - North Liberty Community Center
March 12 - Johnston Public Library
March 13 - Kings Pointe Resort – Storm Lake
----

Karen M. Day, Administrative Assistant
North Central Library Service Area

Train Employees and Officials to Be Ready for Privacy Challenges  Class this fall co-sponsored by NEILSA & Waterloo Public Library

RE: Application and Report Form for Accreditation and Standards -
DUE January 31, 2008


The State Library is required by the Code of Iowa to document the condition of public library service in Iowa. In order to fulfill that requirement and to provide public libraries with a tool for identifying strengths and areas for improvement, the State Library requires that public libraries submit accreditation reports. Uses of the report are
numerous, benefiting the local library as well as the library community.
The application/report form:
* Is the mechanism for applying for accreditation;
* Benchmarks the status of local library service; and
* Determines eligibility and funding tier status for Enrich Iowa.
Use the Accreditation Application and Report form to apply for accreditation or report your library's progress toward meeting accreditation requirements. Accredited libraries that have met additional standards may submit the form to update their status.
Non-accredited libraries that have met additional measures should also submit the Application/Report form, especially if they are eligible for a higher Enrich Iowa Tier. One copy of the form and additional documentation should be mailed to the State Library and to your Library Service Area.
In 2004, your library received six copies of In Service to Iowa. Please contact the State Library if you need additional copies at a cost of $5.00 per copy.
All Tier 1 and Tier 2 public libraries must have a current set of by-laws (Measure #7) and policies (Measure #8) on file at the State Library. A copy of the Library Ordinance will not meet Measure #7. Accreditation certificates will be issued by the State Library no later than July 30, 2008. The period of accreditation will be from July 2008 through June 2011.
Additional information at:
www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/accr-and-standards/FY08(State Library Web site)
* Introduction, Application and Report Form for Accreditation and Standards, FY08
* Application and Report Form for Accreditation and Standards, FY08
* Request for Supporting Documentation
* List of 138 public libraries required to file an Application and Report Form for Accreditation and Standards, FY08 by January 31, 2008
* List of 161 libraries accredited in 2005 due to renew accreditation
* List of 326 accredited public libraries
* A link to explanations of the standards in Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 of Enrich Iowa

Questions should be addressed to Gerry Rowland, State Library of Iowa, 800-248-4483 or 515-281-7573, or e-mail Gerry.Rowland@lib.state.ia.us.

NOTE: Help on many of the requirements can be had from your LSA

BRASS D & B PUBLIC LIBRARIAN SUPPORT AWARD

The Dun & Bradstreet Public Librarian Support Award Committee is seeking nominees for this award to be presented at ALA 2008. The $1,000 award will support attendance at the Annual Conference for a public librarian who has performed outstanding business reference service and who requires financial assistance to attend the ALA Annual Conference. For additional information, see the following:
http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaourassoc/rusasections/brass/brassawards/awarddescription/dunbradstreet.htm
Applications are to be made in writing to the chair of this standing BRASS committee by December 1, 2007. Chair: Nelly Somerman, nsomerman@stdl.org

DUE DATES:

October 22, 2007 at 9:00A.M. at Dike Grundy County Association Meeting
October 30 - Public Library Survey Due at SLI

November 1 Waukon 2:00 - 3:00 Allamakee County Library Association
December 6 Library 101

2008

January 31 Accredation Report

April 1, Aplington 7pm Butler County Library Association
April 15, Strawberry Point at 7:00 Clayton County Library Association
October at 7:00 pm Howard County Library Association
October 16 at 7:00 pm Clarmar Winneshiek County Library Association

The State Library Calendar http://www.silo.lib.ia.us

STUFF:

Malibu branch used as fire staging area (PDF file)
The County of Los Angeles Public Library’s Malibu branch was closed to the public October 23–24 so it could serve as a staging center for firefighters seeking to control the nearby Canyon Fire. Eight branches of the San Diego County Public Library remained closed October 24. San Diego Public Library Director Anna Tatár said 11 city branches were closed, but none damaged by the fires. SDPL sent hundreds of children’s books to the evacuation center at Qualcomm Stadium. KPBS-FM in San Diego has put together a Google Map of the various fires, burnt areas, and evacuation stations....
County of Los Angeles PL; San Diego Union Tribune, Oct. 24; California State Library blog; KPBS-FM

New Australian TV comedy: The Librarians
The Librarians, a dark new comedy on Australian TV that delves behind the hard cover of a suburban library, debuts October 31. Frances O’Brien, devout Catholic and panic disorder sufferer, runs a tight ship as head librarian at the Middleton Interactive Learning Centre. Her life unravels when she is forced to employ her ex-best friend, Christine Grimwood—now facing criminal drug charges—as the children’s librarian. As pointed out by director Wayne Hope, the variety of people at a public library makes it ripe for comedy material. The Australian Library and Information Association has launched a blog to serve as a professional forum about the show. Check out the trailer (:56) and interview (4:48). The shows will be downloadable from ABC Television after they are broadcast....
National Nine News, Oct. 18; ABC TV; Australian Library and Information Association

Sue the libraries! They’re offering cheap content
Andrew Brown writes: “Why hasn’t the Recording Industry Association of America sued a library yet? As a means of getting music to rip, the local library is hard to beat. It’s free, or very cheap. It will lend CDs for a fortnight, from a fairly wide range which can be browsed in a comfortable and convenient place; and if it does not have a particular CD or DVD, it will make an effort to find it. If I wanted to build a collection of published music for which I did not pay, the local public library would be more useful than the whole internet.”...
The Guardian (U.K.), Oct. 18

Massachusetts libraries move with the times
At the Boston Public Library each month, teenagers get down to the vigorous techno thumps of the popular arcade game Dance Dance Revolution. The Norwell Public Library treats visitors to a monthly free dinner and a movie. Borrowers in Andover take out portable, digital audio books so tiny that they can jog through the park or shop at the mall while listening to Dan Brown’s bestseller The Da Vinci Code....
Boston Globe, Oct. 22

How to spot an email scam
Wonder whether the message announcing that you’ve received an e-card is legit? Or whether PayPal is really trying to contact you? Here’s a visual guide to spotting malware, fraud, and other dirty tricks in your inbox....
PC World, Oct. 14

Experimental library tools
Ken Varnum at the University of Michigan has posted a short list of nine library websites (such as MIT Libraries’ Betas and Vanderbilt’s Test Pilot) that list experimental, beta, or trial web tools and services. He is asking other institutions with similar sites to add them to the directory....
RSS4Lib, Oct. 22

PC Magazine’s 100 favorite blogs
Brian Heater writes: “Perhaps surprisingly, the hardest part of the task wasn’t finding 100 blogs that our staff members liked, but rather whittling our original choices down to a mere 100. Hands down, technology was the category that required the greatest amount of pruning.” Second place turned out to be gossip blogs. A few that made the list: Ars Technica, BuzzMachine, Camcorder Info, Download Squad, Evil Mad Scientist Labs, Paleo-Future , and Post Secret....
PC Magazine, Oct. 15

The list of best Mashable lists
Mashable has put together hundreds of lists—useful lists of links, carefully chosen to make you significantly more productive; so many resources, they’re hard to sort through (unless you’ve been through library school). Marketing guru Seth Godin lists them here. They include: 30+ wiki tools and resources, 100+ tools for Flickr addicts, and the ultimate RSS toolbox....
Squidoo Tech, Oct. 19

Steal this wireless policy checklist
Use this “Quick Look” checklist to make sure you’re covering your bases when it comes to crafting a wireless policy for your library. First, look at your existing internet use policy. Do you need to add anything to it on using wireless? You may decide that it covers your situation. Do keep in mind some possible additions, however....
Louise Alcorn, MaintainIT Project blog, Oct. 22

Celebrating research libraries
The Association of Research Libraries has published a book and corresponding website that profiles selected rare and special collections in major research libraries of North America. Celebrating Research includes 118 collection profiles, each from a different ARL member library. Each profile is illustrated with photographs (such as this one from the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas) and tells a story of a single collection, recounting how the resources were acquired and developed....
Association of Research Libraries, Oct. 9

Haunted libraries in the U.S. and elsewhere
George Eberhart writes: “In the fall, a journalist’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of ghosts. Newspapers and magazines that haughtily refrain from printing news of the paranormal for 11 months of the year eagerly jump on the Halloween coach in October to regale their audiences with dubious tales of the preternatural. The following list represents a fairly comprehensive list of current and former library haunts.”...
I Love Libraries, Oct. 23

New round of Gates grants to public libraries
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced $8.3 million in grants October 23 to help public libraries in 10 states provide quality access to computers and the internet. The new “Opportunity Online” hardware grants are for public libraries serving communities with high concentrations of poverty and that are at risk of having outdated technology. More than 1,000 library branches in Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wyoming are eligible for grants in this first of three rounds....
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Oct. 23

The role of public libraries in distance education
AL columnist Meredith Farkas writes: “Our distance students have no idea that most public libraries do provide ILL services. They are floored when I tell them that. It doesn’t occur to many of them to even see what their local public library might have to offer them. Public libraries often have excellent microfilm collections with lots of great primary source historical material. We don’t mail our microfilm to students, so if they can find and access back issues of The Chicago Defender or Harper’s at their public library, that is a great thing.”...
Information Wants to be Free, Oct. 17

Students today
“A Vision of Students Today” is a short (4:44) video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today—how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. Created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University, this video has been stirring up comment and video responses a number of places....
Digital Ethnography @ KSU, Oct. 12

Information R/evolution
Another video (5:28) by KSU’s Michael Wesch explores the changes in the way we find, store, create, critique, and share information. It was created as a conversation starter, and works especially well when brainstorming with people about the near future and the skills needed in order to harness, evaluate, and create information effectively. BoingBoing calls it “a gloriously optimistic video about our collective power to make sense of the world in a way never dreamt of in the days of paper organization.”...
YouTube, Oct. 17

Yale library opening spurs campus-wide party
Only at Yale University, students said, would the opening of a library draw over 1,000 students to Cross Campus and spur a night of partying. As the minutes ticked down toward midnight October 18—when the doors of the newly-renovated Bass Library were thrown open for the first time—excitement emanated from hundreds of students. As the doors opened, they streamed down the stairs into the library chanting, “We love books!” One administrator said he was enchanted by the experience....
Yale Daily News,Oct. 19

Best practices for protecting patron privacy(PDF file)
Now that libraries have greater-than-ever potential for collecting and storing many types of personal data, often in digital form, librarians must be increasingly vigilant in guarding the public trust. Fortunately, the library literature offers many concrete actions librarians can take to protect the confidentiality of library patrons. The University of Vermont’s Trina J. Magi offers a checklist....
AALL Spectrum12, no. 1 (Sept./Oct.)

OCLC is now ... OCLC
Andrew Pace writes: “If you’ve been on a conference call with OCLC lately, you might have experienced that awkwardness of not knowing who you’re talking to sometimes—OCLC? PICA? Former Fretwell-Downing? Well, in an effort to get out in front of the impending confusion, OCLC has rebranded itself . . . OCLC. There’s a new logo and a new tag line.”...
Hectic Pace blog, Oct. 24

Social networking and libraries
The practice of using a social network to establish and enhance relationships based on some common ground—shared interests, related skills, or a common geographic location—is as old as human societies, but social networking has flourished due to the ease of connecting on the Web. This OCLC membership report, Sharing, Privacy, and Trust in Our Networked World, explores this web of social participation and cooperation on the internet and provides insights into the values and social-networking habits of library users....
OCLC, Oct. 23

Summer Reading Research Study: Deadline extended
Dominican University GSLIS is conducting a survey on whether public library summer reading programs have an effect on student achievement. Participation in the study will help articulate the purpose of public library summer reading programs and open channels for healthy discussion of key issues between the library and education communities. The deadline has been extended to October 30....
Dominican University GSLIS

The fight continues for public access to NIH information
The U.S. Senate is still considering the FY2008 Labor–HHS-Education bill, which includes several very important library service–related funding provisions. One important provision directs the National Institutes of Health to implement a mandatory policy ensuring the free, timely access to all research articles stemming from NIH-funded research via NIH’s PubMed Central online archive. ALA, ACRL, and other library groups have strongly supported this proposal....
District Dispatch, Oct. 20

Anglo-American national libraries join forces on RDA
Four national libraries have joined forces to implement a new standard for resource description and access designed for the digital environment in which libraries now operate. The Library of Congress, the British Library, Library and Archives Canada, and the National Library of Australia have agreed on a coordinated implementation of RDA: Resource Description and Access, the successor to the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules....
Library of Congress, Oct. 22

Contemporary art books—free to a good home
The Distribution to Underserved Communities Library Program (DUC) distributes books on contemporary art and culture free of charge to rural and inner-city libraries, schools, and alternative reading centers nationwide. Offering well over 490 titles by more than 90 different publishers, the program reaches readers in all 50 states and has placed over 200,000 free books in public libraries, schools, and alternative pedagogical venues....
Art Resources Transfer

Hope: Volume 1(PDF file)
Melissa Fay Greene tells the story of how a children’s librarian and his donkey-drawn bookmobile are saving the world, one child at a time. Yohannes Gebregeorgis, a children’s librarian from the San Francisco Public Library and cofounder of Ethiopia Reads, returned to his Ethiopian homeland five years ago and rides the circuit across a landscape of grass huts, volcanic lakes, camel drivers, and hyenas, accompanied by Winnie the Pooh, Peter Rabbit, Babar, the Wizard of Oz, and other favorite kids’ books. Photos by J. Carrier....
Good Housekeeping,Oct., pp. 200–205, 286–290

Them! Google’s ambivalence toward LIS
Shawne D. Miksa writes: “From all accounts, Google has no interest in replacing libraries. They express a great appreciation of libraries. However, their awareness of library and information science beyond that of supplying people to stock and staff book storehouses is vague at best. Their notice of the field manifests itself much like the ants in the classic science-fiction film Them!, who only bother with the humans when they are presented as a possible food source.”...
ASIS&T Bulletin(Oct./Nov.), pp. 30–33

New humanities research network(subscription required)
It’s about to get a lot easier for philosophers, classicists, and literary scholars to share work in progress. The Social Science Research Network, an online clearinghouse for current research popular among social scientists, has created a Humanities Research Network along the same model. To begin with, the new network will cover three areas—philosophy, classics, and English and American literature, broken down into detailed subcategories. More disciplines will be added in the coming months....
Chronicle of Higher Education,Oct. 22

19th-century British newspaper site launched
The British Library, in partnership with the Joint Information Systems Committee and Gale, launched a 19th-century British Library Newspapers website October 22 as part of its £22-million digitization program. Post-secondary education communities in the UK will enjoy free online access to a cross-section of 19th-century national and regional titles, greatly enhancing research into British society, culture, and history....
British Library, Oct. 22

October is Theological Libraries Month
Theological libraries are celebrating this month with special bookmarks and posters to advance the importance and value of theological libraries and library services to targeted faculty, administrators, staff, and students. Find out how participating seminary and university libraries are using the month to showcase their services....
American Theological Library Association

Librarian’s Blues
Keith Johnson, media center director at John F. Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minnesota, taped himself singing his own blues song (2:42), which, he says, “I first tried to sing on a live school TV news show at Bloomington Kennedy last spring as I was trying to highlight the issue of getting our books back before the school year ended.... Thanks for your efforts to eliminate this heinous scourge of overdue books.” Johnson is half of the talented Celtic Cat and Prairie Dog duo....
YouTube; Blue Skunk Blog, Oct. 19

The practice of using a social network to establish and enhance relationships based on some common ground—shared interests, related skills, or a common geographic location—is as old as human societies, but social networking has flourished due to the ease of connecting on the Web. This OCLC membership report explores this web of social participation and cooperation on the Internet and how it may impact the library’s role, including:

The use of social networking, social media, commercial and library services on the Web
How and what users and librarians share on the Web and their attitudes toward related privacy issues
Opinions on privacy online
Libraries’ current and future roles in social networking
The report is based on a survey (by Harris Interactive on behalf of OCLC) of the general public from six countries—Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States—and of library directors from the U.S. The research provides insights into the values and social-networking habits of library users. http://www.oclc.org/reports/sharing/

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

 Be aware.  The complete report is 8.9 Mb.  Individual sections are available for download  in smaller pdf chunks.

From the Conclusion:

http://www.oclc.org/reports/pdfs/sharing_part8.pdf

-----------------------------begin quoting here--------------------------------------------

On the social Web, the library brand must go from institutional to personal. For example, many libraries have initiated broadcast services on their Web sites; RSS feeds and blogs are among the most common. No doubt, these are useful services. But if our goal is to create a social library, focusing on these broadcast services is likely leading us in the wrong direction—perpetuating the traditional concept (brand) of the library as a supplier of information, an institution, not a place for idea generation and exchange. Some very simple techniques are creating a personal brand promise for online commercial sites. A quarter of survey respondents told us they establish a “my favorites or wish list” on commercial sites. No such service exists on most library sites. While this simple application is no doubt a relatively useful service for consumers, it is an invaluable brand endorsement for the vendor. It creates a partnership into the future, a sense of joint ownership of the Web experience and provides users with a personal reason to return. By inviting participation, the connection between the customer and the supplier, or the user and the library, changes. And so do the perceptions.

Our perceptions become our realities, and often, also our limitations. This was clearly the case for the authors of this report when we began our research on social networks a year ago. There is no doubt that our initial perceptions of social networks influenced our approach to this study. Handicapped by only limited personal experiences with sites, we began our study as we had every study before it—by looking at social networks as a service or set of services to be studied, learned and implemented. We conceived of a social library as a library of traditional services enhanced by a set of social tools—wikis, blogs, mashups and podcasts. Integrated services, of course, user-friendly for sure and offering superior self-service. We were wrong.

Our view, after living with the data, struggling with the findings, listening to experts and creating our own social spaces, is quite different. Becoming engaged in the social Web is not about learning new services or mastering new technologies. To create a checklist of social tools for librarians to learn or to generate a “top ten” list of services to implement on the current library Web site would be shortsighted. Such lists exist. Resist the urge to use them.

The social Web is not being built by augmenting traditional Web sites with new tools. And a social library will not be created by implementing a list of social software features on our current sites. The social Web is being created by opening the doors to the production of the Web, dismantling the current structures and inviting users in to create their content and establish new rules.

Open the library doors, invite mass participation by users and relax the rules of privacy. It will be messy. The rules of the new social Web are messy. The rules of the new social library will be equally messy. But mass participation and a little chaos often create the most exciting venues for collaboration, creativity, community building—and transformation. It is right on mission.

Our pioneers in “Beyond the Numbers” indicated that they started with a small step into the social world, by blogging, chatting or contributing to wikis—by participating. And discussing what they learned. We want to hear your perspectives and ideas. Share your comments at www.oclc.org/reports/sharing/.

The new Web is a very different thing. Libraries need to be very different, too.

The public is encourged and welcome to attend.

NORTHEAST IOWA LIBRARY SERVICE AREA

Meeting Dates, Time and Location
Nov. 5, 2007 2:00 p.m., Tripoli Public Library.

I would choose the LSA and the State Library if the library was in trouble. Before going to the city I would need the best advice I can receive in order to present to the city council. Often the city does not value the role of the library in the community.
Mary Fran Nikolai (Email) - 10 27 07 - 10:20

#3 and #4 The “local” librarians are probably the ones that will get the first trouble call. Then call in the LSA. I assume you are referring to the AV thing?
We local librarians didn’t even see all the problems up there, so how could the LSA know when they seldom do personal visits without being invited? Used to be the LSA’s made periodical checks or visits. I doubt if Eunice has been in any NE libraries, Ken you have been to a few on invitation. I would like to know how AV was doing interlibrary loan for the last 10 years. If they were going through your office why was it not questioned?
McGrane (Email) - 10 27 07 - 11:45

Thank you for the comments, I hope we will get more.
To answer a couple of implies questions. We only “intervene” when asked, the local board is sacrosanct for us so we tend to be very conservative in our interfering with it’s actions. And no, this was not engendered by the AV thing; it is one of those questions we always debate. That is why we asked for your input, maybe when we see/hear of something going wrong we should step in.
We depend on the local association/individual librarians to keep us up to date and to pressure the “lost” librarians to call. Yes, we used to visit at least twice a year in each library, but gas was less than $1.25 when I started and we had 6.5 FTE working just libraries in the Region, now we have about 2.75 FT working libraries, less if you take out e_rate. Back then we had a full time administrator (a.k.a the Boss) now like Arlington/Fayette & Waterloo/Cedar Falls we have a shared Administrator, Eunice also does the vast bulk of the reference calls and computer related consulting. With the LSA’s no growth budget I don’t see the situation changing much. I don’t like it, as it was a lot of fun driving around NE Iowa and visiting with the amazing group of people who take on the task of running the local library. Maggy in Waucoma always had grandma made jelly (the kind with the wax on top), one time in Harpers I had to watch the library while the librarian ran home to get me some frozen fish, or visiting the library at Luster Heights. Driving around visiting the libraries was a fun job for a guy from a small town in Michigan. NE Iowa is a fun place from Billy clocks to the Field of Dreams, to the best little town by a dam site – and every one with a library.
As to how a local library can do ILL for years without the LSA noticing; We notice, but we have a number of libraries for whom we do ILL and reference, not everyone has made the change. Often the lack of change is because the librarian and board do not have the education needed to do their jobs, properly. This comment is getting to long but keep your comments coming PLEASE.

Kenneth Davenport (Email) - 10 29 07 - 10:45

It really depends on the problem. Most likely, I would utilize all the sources to get a well-rounded answer. Though I would probably consult with the LSA first.
Susan (Email) - 10 29 07 - 15:40

I would probably contact any local county libraries to see if they have had any similiar problems and see how they would handle it. Then I would contact the LSA to see if the problem was more statewide than just our library.
Lezlie (Email) (URL) - 10 30 07 - 10:16

I would hope that the Mayor and Council see it first, but in small towns, they don’t always pay attention. I would then hope that the librarian would get help from the LSA or State Library before it would affect the other county libraries depending upon the problem.
LaVonne sternhagen (Email) - 11 07 07 - 15:56