Glitches

Apparently my Facebook account has been compromised and now I'm locked out. Silly me tried to answer security questions from my super slllllllooooooow mobile phone and took too long due to a spotty signal. I'll be able to try again in a few hours, I think. I hope.

And Patton, my laptop, is in a vegetative state and won't come alive. Looks like I'll be contacting Dell on Monday or Tuesday. For now, I've been using my desktop, Churchill.

I nearly forgot. (How could I?!) Yet another kidney stone...

eBooks for Libraries

Vicki Mazure, Director at Harbor Beach Area District Library, shared a link to eBooks for Libraries where there is a currently a petition for supporters and believers in the public library to sign and a chance to speak out against the Naughty Six, as coined by the Librarian in Black!

Just tuning in?

Here's an explanation from the folks at Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library + the people at Library Renewal:

"Libraries are having trouble getting ebooks from the largest publishing companies. These publishers are adding restrictions and price increases, or simply not selling ebooks to libraries at all:

• Penguin recently ended ebook lending to public libraries.
• HarperCollins has a 26-checkout limit on each ebook … and then the library has to buy it again.
• Random House allows unrestricted access to ebooks, but recently raised prices – in some cases tripling them.
• Macmillan, Simon & Schuster and Hachette don’t sell ebooks to libraries at all.

This means that library customers can get a print copy of a book from a library, but can’t get that same book in an ebook format. But that’s not what our customers want. Our customers are readers – and our readers want books, in all formats, from libraries."

(From eBooks for Libraries)

To All Book Publishers: 

We are your customers. We buy your print books, your audiobooks, and your ebooks. We also use libraries. We love our libraries and we trust our librarians to recommend great reads. Libraries are unique places where we discover new authors, explore new genres, and connect with our neighbors over books. In many cases, we use libraries to find more of your books to buy. 

However, unlike print books, you have limited our ebook choices at libraries. We don't think this is fair – for us or for libraries. We want the choice to check out your books, in any format, from our local libraries. We want the ability to use libraries digitally just as we have with print. 

As book lenders, libraries directly and indirectly encourage us to purchase books. We will still buy your ebooks, but we need libraries to help us discover, explore, and connect. We see libraries as your partners and we respectfully ask that you work with them. 

Therefore, we sign this petition to encourage publishers to work with libraries to: 

• Provide digital content to libraries 
• Allow libraries to have access to books in all formats 
• Develop a business model that allows publishers and authors to thrive while ensuring that libraries can continue to serve readers and build collections for our communities

 Reading is your business. Reading is our business. Reading is everyone's business. 

Want to sign the petition?
Here's how: simply visit eBooks for Libraries.

A Gift for Mum

One of my favorite photos of Mum and I.
Golf at Pointe Aux Barques. Such a great day!

I come from a family of readers; therefore, it shouldn't be a complete surprise when I say that we typically give reading material as gifts.

My dad now prefers e-books. Easy. No big deal.

And my mother prefers books in audio format -- specifically: CD. What a challenge! While the number of books available in audio format has increased over the years, being able to actually purchase books already burned on CDs has become decidedly more difficult. I understand the reasoning -- many people are now listening to audiobooks via devices such as an iPod or even by smartphone. CDs are becoming a thing of the past much like the cassette tape, vinyl records, and 8-tracks.

Fact: Fairgrove District Library actually eliminated their entire audiobook collection due to it not circulating.

Seriously, I get it. However, I feel incredibly tacky purchasing an audiobook from Barnes and Noble, downloading it, burning it to a stack of CDs, labeling each disc with a marker and then giving it as a gift to my mother. In fact, it really irks because she deserves much better than that. It feels "homemade" and not in the classy kind of way such as a warm apple pie, a crocheted afghan, or even a knitted scarf.

Truth: I've avoided purchasing specific books for mum because of this "issue." It wasn't until Christmas in which I broke down and downloaded the first two books in the Sookie Stackhouse series for her and burned them to CDs -- making sure that I had enough matching cases for each book so that they looked uniform and much more presentable.

I've tried browsing other retailers, but without much success across the board. Occasionally, I'll find the book actually on CD complete with the nice case and artwork, but it's quite rare. I've even contemplated contacting library vendors and opening my own account, but have held off because of mum's upcoming retirement -- she isn't going to be in her vehicle nearly as much which means that perhaps the preference for books on CD might likely be coming to an end. Maybe then she'll listen to books on her iPod or start preferring another format? We'll see...

P.S. Mum got Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. She'll now know what dad and I are talking about when we discuss Factions or WICKED! I wonder which Faction she'll choose? (My guess is Amity.) Dad chose Abnegation which surprised me as I pegged him as Dauntless. I chose Amity and Erudite which would likely mean that I'd be Divergent; however, reading further into the book and recently finishing Insurgent (the second book in the trilogy), I found myself wanting to join the ranks of the Factionless with my friend Janet.

Rural Libraries Conference: Day 3

The past few days have been a whirlwind -- my apologies for not posting a synopsis for Day 3 of the Rural Libraries Conference sooner.

I won one of the fabulous gift baskets: Dream Big -- which contained picnic supplies: decorative paper plates, a pinwheel, a bottle of blueberry wine, dark chocolate, a bubble wand, and a "chillable" gel wrap designed for a wine bottle.

Our morning keynote speaker was the "amazingly informed & therefore properly opinionated" Librarian in Black, Sarah Houghton! *virtual applause* 

• "Digital content forces us to be ethical people." 
• There is a significant difference between the lingo salespeople use when talking to libraries about digital resources -- they commonly use terms such as buy, sell, and own. On the flip side, the contract for these services utilizes a whole different lexicon -- license, subscription, and lease. 
• Houghton referred to the publishers whom are not lending e-books through libraries as the "Naughty Six." 
• "If you don't play nice with libraries, than you're an evil villain!" 
• Recently, a new director purchased several Kindles and using a smattering of faux Amazon accounts loaded bestseller content onto the devices which are now being circulated in the library!
• After 6-9 months, still no word from Amazon.
• Sarah Houghton, who just became director of San Rafael Public Library, plans on following suit. 
• Digital resources I want to look into: Open Library, Podio, Gluejar, and LibriVox.
• Barnes and Noble have remained library-friendly. In fact, they have a loophole in their TOS that allows the purchase of a title and placement onto 6 different devices. Impressive. 
• If I buy an e-reader, it's definitely going to be a Nook of some variety. 
• Patrons using Kindles + OverDrive are unknowingly having their personal data collected and stored by Amazon. Creepy!
• Houghton cited Doctorow's First Law (Cory Doctorow): "Any time someone puts a lock on something that belongs to you, and won't give you a key, they're not doing it for your benefit." 

After the morning keynote, we split up into various break-out sessions. I attended Non-Fiction Reader Advisory for Everyone which was presented by Holly Hibner, Plymouth District Library, and Mary Kelly, Lyon Township Public Library.

• As I stated in my notes from Day 2 (Thingamabobs and Doodads: Tech Support IS Reference), these ladies could easily have their own comedy show. For now, we have their fabulous blog Awful Library Books. 
• Hibner and Kelly didn't focus on all new books for their presentation -- as it's beneficial to have back-ups when the newer materials are all checked out. 
• "Eye appeal is appeal." --Mary Kelly
• "You need to pair David Sedaris with the right reader." --Holly Hibner, (I think)
• Note: I am that reader.
• When working with patrons, librarians need to go with the moment, start a relationship, and share the pain of everyday life. 
• "There is such stereotypes out there. People feel the need to be serious when talking to us. Lighten up!" --Holly Hibner
• Think broadly when working with teens -- they read all over the place -- from children's to adult materials.
• Keep cool things/objects on your desk -- they're great conversation starters.
• Keep creep out things nearby -- teen boys love them.
• Stop using the word 'read' and try using 'look at this' instead.
• You don't necessarily have to read the book to have it on your go-to list -- patron recommendations work just fine. The key is knowing where the book is located that way you can keep the conversation with the patron flowing.
• When constructing your go-to list cover the gamut of the entire Dewey range.
• There was some discussion of interfiling / inter-shelving of adult, YA, and children's non-fiction materials. Popular reasons:
• Size driven -- frees up much needed space;
• Stigma -- people with different reading levels are spared browsing in the juvenile area and vice versa.
• Keep a 'cool book cover' pile on your desk -- another great conversation starter with patrons. 
• Ruth Hughes Memorial District Library in Imlay City had a unique idea 'Blind Date with a Book' 
• Books are wrapped in brown paper and a bow adorns the cover
• Barcodes are placed on the front or back of the brown paper for circulation ease.
• Encourages patrons to broaden their reading territory. 
• Has been received very well by the library's patrons! (Great idea!)

Rural Libraries Conference: Day 2

Day 2 of the Rural Libraries Conference is now officially complete and I cannot even begin to adequately explain about how wonderful it was and the fun I had while learning more about the LIS field.

This morning's keynote session, Powerful Interactions: Taking Inspiration from Small and Rural Libraries, was presented by Saroj Ghoting an Early Literacy Consultant -- it was so packed full of interesting and useful that I didn't want it to end. Here are some of the notes I scribbled down in my notebook:

• A common theme between small and rural libraries -- besides serving diverse communities -- is the number of partners and collaborative projects within their communities. Ghoting showed a graph that indicated that the small and rural library has almost double the partners/connections with their community than their suburban and urban counterparts.
• I need to check out the book Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Josee Massee.
• Librarians are social entrepreneurs. 
• A statistic from the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS): 57% of libraries service a population of 10,000 or less.
• In Michigan, that would be a Class 3 agency or smaller. 
• Class 3 = 7,000 - 11,999
• Her presentation touched on two facets to early literacy emergence: learning to decode + reading is understanding the meaning.
• Singing text actually slows down the language which helps kids to learn the soft sounds of the words.
• The whole room of about 200+ read aloud the text of the Itsy Bitsy Spider. It went relatively fast.
• Next, the whole group sang aloud the same text. It went much slower. 
• It's more important for the interaction around the book to be positive rather than long. 
• A book is a discussion starter.
• Factual books actually tend to produce more interaction and discussion; however, parents/teachers/caregivers need to mix it up. 
• A toddler at the age of 2 will know 5x's as many words than their counterparts who've been spoken to only a little. 
• On a budget (aren't we all)? Consider creating your own magnetic literacy toy by using laminated pictures with magnets glued to the back and cookie sheets! (I loved this idea.) 
• I also loved the idea of hanging different mirrors with an emotion on the endcaps -- kids will love making faces in the mirror!

My break-out sessions were as follows: Digital Resources and the Rural Library: Not as Simple as It Seems presented by Dr. Robert P. Holley, Got GLBT? presented by Melanie Earley, and Thingamabobs and Doodads: Tech Support IS Reference presented by Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly.

Digital Resources and the Rural Library: Not as Simple as It Seems

• This session touched on a lot of the concepts and topics that Dr. Holley presented in his Collection Development class. 
• Having the opportunity to see Dr. Holley actually present really made me wish I would've taken a face-to-face class rather than just online format. (He has a great sense of humor which is difficult to fully appreciate online.) 
• Many of the databases in which libraries subscribe might contain content that would never be considered for purchase if it was in print format. 
• Also worth considering: digital resources might consist of content that was previously weeded by the library.
• Memorable Dr. Holley quote: "One of the major points -- Amazon wants to take over the world."
• Participant point: "Digital resources can provide opportunities to access to information that wasn't previously available in Large Print format."

Got GLBT?

• Great presentation! It was mostly a literature survey and review. Free books were available thanks to generous publishers. 
• I was very disappointed by how few people attended this session. The 'why' questions -- why didn't they attend -- currently bumping around in my head actually make me feel sick and dizzy. 

Thingamabobs and Doodads: Tech Support IS Reference

• These ladies could have a comedy show. Highly entertaining! 
• Mary Kelly quotes:
• "I do everything at my library including moving the dead deer out of the parking lot before story time."
• "We are bartenders with books instead of booze."

Another passion of mine: library architecture. I got a complete charge out of looking through the design books of architect Alyce D. Riemenschneider -- she reworked and refreshed a butchered Carnegie Library and the photos gave me goosebumps. I plan on following her work by touring libraries in which she has redesigned and built. (Note: she's merging with Quinn Evans Architects.)

I'm off to dinner...

Rural Libraries Conference: Sessions

Tomorrow, the Small & Rural Libraries conference begins and like just about every conference there will be multiple concurrent break-out sessions. For me, which sessions to attend is always a challenge because there are so many interesting topics.  It's times like these that I wish I had learned to clone myself or had access to Hermione's time-turner necklace procured from the Department of Mysteries.

Here's a breakdown of which sessions I plan on attending...

Wednesday, May 2
1:45 - 3:00p -- Torn between two sessions and decided upon...

Get Anime-ted! Get Graphic! Adding Graphic Novels, Anime, and Manga to Your Collection
This introductory program is focused on practical advice for developing and maintaining a graphic novel/manga/anime collection. It includes a brief history of the literature, information about selection of materials and other resources, displays and marketing, and using various types of feedback to build the collection.

3:15 - 4:30p -- No-brainer:

Problem Patrons: Addressing and Responding to Patron Behavior
Do you have patrons who consistently break library rules? Do you have patrons who are disruptive? Has patron behavior ever shocked you? This session will help libraries identify what policies they need to effectively deal with problem patrons and provide guidance on how to enforce them, as well as how to respond to police involvement in patron behavior situations.

Thursday, May 3
10:00 - 11:15a -- No-brainer! Dr. Holley is presenting!

Digital Resources and the Rural Library: Not as Simple as It Seems
Access to digital resources including ebooks, databases, and digital collections greatly expands the amount of information available to the users of rural libraries. These resources, however, require rural librarians to consider some potentially challenging issues. Should the small library provide access to digital resources that it would never add to the print collection?

1:15 - 2:30p -- No-brainer:

Got GLBT?
This presentation will explain the importance of having gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender material available in small and rural libraries. Online resources for collection development, what types of organizations are available in your area to provide informational presentations, popular authors that cover the topic and what to do if a patron objects to this type of material will be covered.

3:30 - 4:45p -- Torn between three and decided on this:

Thingamabobs and Doodads: Tech Support IS Reference
Library users often rely on staff for technology support. This session will describe core technology competencies required by library staff, especially at the reference desk, to capably help library users. We will discuss how tech support is directly related to customer service and library relevancy. Librarians and support staff will be inspired to provide tech support as a means to market library services - and themselves – as vital resources to the community.

Friday, May 4
10:45a - 12:00p -- Torn between two and decided upon:

Non-Fiction Reader Advisory for Everyone
Not sure how to break the ice and “sell” non-fiction? Not a big non-fiction reader? No problem! Everyone has something to share in the world of reader advisory. This program is designed to help librarians develop strategies for talking about non-fiction with all patrons and create a personal go-to list of titles -- even if your knowledge and experience of non-fiction are limited.

A Corporate Bully

If you thought bullies existed primarily in schools: think again. The retail-giant, Amazon.com, is the epitome of a bully. A corporate bully.

The Frankfurt Book Fair, via Facebook, shared an interesting article titled Amazon.com trying to wring deep discounts from publishers. (Also included is a humorous parody of Amazon's logo -- sporting a tail and horns.)

This touches on an article in which Dr. Holley shared in LIS 7340 (Collection Development) last spring/summer term which was similar to this piece: On Amazon, buy buttons still off for some Macmillan titles.

30Y.30L Tour (#2): Marlette District Library

Image by Andy Thompson

On Wednesday, November 16, I headed to the "Heart of the Thumb" --  Marlette, Michigan -- and was fortunate enough to tour one of the last remaining Carnegie libraries in Michigan: Marlette District Library. Director Jessica Moore and long-time staff member Sue showed me their library and answered my list of questions. At the end of this post, you'll find my slideshow of photos taken during my visit.

Location
For those not familiar with the area, Marlette District Library is about 85 miles almost directly due north of Kresge-Purdy Library where the School of Library and Information Science is housed on Wayne State University's Detroit campus. The State highway M-53, otherwise known as Van Dyke Road, straddles the city of Marlette with the library being on the west-side of the road.

History

In front of the library sits a historical marker that sheds quite a bit of light on the history of MDL. It reads:

In 1914 the Marlette Research Club, composed of women in the community, decided to build a public library for Marlette.  The club contacted the Carnegie corporation for a grant to build the library.  In compliance with the corporation's rules, Marlette raised funds and instituted a quarter mil tax for maintenance of the library.  In 1918 the Carnegie Corporation agreed to fund the Research Club's library project.  The simple brick building was constructed in 1921.  The building has a hipped roof and a portico of classical design.  The library was the last one in the Midwest to receive a Carnegie library grant and the second to the last to do so in the country.  The Marlette District Library is one of fifty-three Carnegie funded libraries in Michigan.

In 1991, the library constructed a much needed addition onto the south-end of the building. 

Service Area
Marlette District Library serves citizens residing in the City of Marlette and the following townships: Elmer, Koylton, Lamotte, and Marlette. In reviewing 2000 Census data, 2,104 people resided within the city limits Marlette, Elmer Township (790), Koylton Township (1,579), Lamotte Township (981), and Marlette Township (2,104-2,051=53) = a total of 4,717 citizens. However, comparing the 2000 to the 2010 Census data, there has been a -3.2 percent change.

Patrons residing outside of the library's designated service area are eligible for a library card with a one-time $10.00 fee. (I think I need to write a blog post about this topic as there seems to be quite a bit of confusion amongst my non-library friends.) Think about it this way: if you lived within the service area, you would be paying taxes to cover your library usage. Paying a ONE TIME fee of $10.00 at the time of application is much less expensive in the long run. In fact, one library in which I purchased borrowing privileges requires an annual $40 fee. The out-of-area borrower fees, like tax money, help to offset the operating costs of the library which includes the books on the shelves and the e-books in which you download. 

Size and Operating Budget
According to the Library of Michigan, MPL is a Class 2 library which meets the following standards:

• Serves a population of 4,000 to 6,999;
• Be open a minimum of 20 hours per week;
• Employ (at least 20 hours per week) a director with at least a Level 4 certificate.

Currently, Marlette District Library is open 44 hours a week and has an operating budget of about $110,000.  

Programming Idea 
Here is another spin on the traditional book club: Rather than members reading the same book, mix it up and each read something different. At the next meeting, each person shares their latest read and the group is able explore a variety of books -- some of which members likely never thought of reading! 

Collection
Marlette District Library, belonging to the White Pine Library Cooperative and the Valley Library Consortium, has about 18,000 items in its collection and circulates about 33,000 materials annually.

In the juvenile collection, the young adult works have been recently separated from the main collection making browsing for easier for teens. For ease of finding, biographies and other popular non-fiction works are donning spine labels. Examples: biographies, geography, war, and books about Native Americans. Over the years, for children's easy books it has been the practice of many libraries to simply label the first letter of the author's surname on the book's spine. While Marlette District Library partakes in this practice, they took it a step further and began alternating colors. For example: the labels for A will have a yellow background while the labels for B will have a different color. It certainly made browsing much easier and seems like it could speed up the shelf reading process for Pages.

Like other rural public libraries in the area, Marlette District Library has separated the adult fiction collection by genre: Christian fiction (most popular), Mystery, and Western. The large print collection is has also been separated as well as the biographical works in the non-fiction collection.

Special/unique items: Marlette and Michigan history, genealogy, and access to the Marlette Leader via microfilm. 

Intellectual Freedom Issues
The book And Tango Makes Three (2005) written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole received some controversy and was subsequently reclassified and shelved with the non-fiction works. Fact: And Tango Makes Three has made the America Library Association's Top Ten Challenged Books List in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010.

Several years ago, a Judy Blume book was informally challenged -- likely by a parent. Books on witchcraft often go missing. Speaking of which (haha)...

Last year, when I was required to visit several libraries for LIS 6010 with Dr. Maria Gonzalez, I began asking librarians how the Harry Potter series was received in the community. The series has experienced controversy over the years and has landed itself on the frequently challenged materials list compiled by the American Library Association. As far as the series goes in Marlette, the series was very well-received. In fact, it has needed to be replaced a few times. Occasionally, a patron will donate a gently-used copy which has found its way into the library's circulation. 

Unique Observations
Going back to the library's history, Marlette District Library constructed an addition in 1991. The basement in the newer section features a large, open room which is perfect for book sales and children's activities.

Inside the library's front foyer, there is a tall metal shelf which houses a free book exchange for patrons and non-patrons alike.

Also of note, I was impressed by how much display area was available within the library. Great for readers' advisory! 

Favorite Technology
Jessica and Sue both cited computers as their favorite sources of library technology. Rather than thumbing through a handful for books, Sue has used computers to assist with answering reference questions. Jessica is thankful for mConsole, which is a technology management system that single-handedly coordinates the handling of patron computer usage from WIFI access, enforcing time limitations, content monitoring to basics such as printing -- it does it all. 

Technology Tool Chest

Since starting library school in spring of 2010, I been able to experiment and play with different sources of technology. Among my favorites:

Jing: First introduced to me this semester in LIS 7420: Client-Based Website Development. Jing is a free software that can capture images and video on your computer. For a project, I used this software to create an instructional video on how to use MeLCat to interloan a book.

Googledocs: This was first introduced to me in my third semester via LIS 7040: Library Administration and Management. Google hosts online applications that can create word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, drawings and tables. Since winter term 2010, I have used this application every semester for group collaboration (LIS 7340, LIS 6510, and LIS 7560).

Google Wave: This application was first introduced to me during my first semester of library school in LIS 6010: Introduction to the Information Profession. My group used this application to collaborate ideas and content for a ethical scenario. Later, I introduced this application professionally when working on a federal grant with a consultant whom was based out of Okemos.

Dropbox: Like Google Wave, this online data storage was first introduced to me during my first semester of library school in LIS 6010. My group used this application to store our individual segments of a movie we created.

Blabberize: Also introduced to me during my first semester of library school, my group used this fun application to add voice-over to images of various animals for an ethical scenario skit. I also used this application to create an introductory video for LIS 6080.

Filezilla: This free FTP program was first introduced to me in LIS 6080, but I didn't actually use it until LIS 7420 for uploading html and css files to the server.


An oldie, but a goodie from fall of 2010...
Instead of a traditional, "Hi, my name is JC" video, I created monster using Blabberize and an application by AMC MadmenYourself.

Proof

This photo serves as "proof"...

Let the record reflect, that a book I needed for my seminar class could not be delivered in ample time for me to review for a bibliography project.

The ebook: Turned by Morgan Rice
(No pun intended!)