Posts filed under ‘Uncategorized’
Terry Pratchett’s Sad News
Bill & Ted Had It Right!
When I first decided to return to school to become a librarian, I had a pretty narrow view of what a librarian was:
A librarian was the lady (yes, in my head and in my experience, they were all women) who helped me navigate the stacks and find books I would like to read. She answered every question I had and seemed to know everything, or be able to find out anything she did not know very fast.
I wanted to be that woman-a kind, helpful, friendly person who knows everything! While I knew intellectually that there was more to the profession, what appealed to me about the job was working with the public. Librarians had made a huge impact on my life and I wanted to do the same. In fact, I had always wanted to be a librarian, but graduate school wasn’t a possibility earlier in my life. Stuck in a corporate job that I didn’t find challenging, I craved human contact and returned to school to become a librarian.
Peter’s post about customer service brought this memory back to me. I, and many of my fellow MLIS students, want to be librarians because we want to help. We want to provide answers. We want to make a difference. Customer service is a regular topic of conversation which often sounds something like this:
“if ‘they’ dislike working with the public so much, why are they in this profession? Why are they here? If ‘they’ left, maybe then those of us who actually want to help people could get a job”.
I am the first person to admit, these goals and the desire to ‘help’ may be naïve and our conclusions about job availability could be disputed. However, the reality is, many library science majors feel this way. In fact, many college students feel this way. On several occasions while working reference, I have been explicitly thanked for providing help and instruction and told about how the ‘other librarian’ was so ‘mean’ (in the defense of the other librarian, no one who has complained has ever been able to attach a name to the complaint).
With my business background, I know that customer service is the only way for a business with limited resources to survive and compete against organizations with relatively unlimited resources. Google, Yahoo, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.-compared to most libraries, are competition with virtually unlimited resources. Libraries and Librarians need to remember that no matter what kind of day we are having, no matter how difficult the patron, it is in our own self interest to treat the patrons well. If we library science students want to have jobs available when we graduate, there needs to be thriving libraries in our communities.
With this in mind, as I start my career of library work, I pledge the following:
- No matter what is happening in my personal life, while at work, I will smile at every person I come in contact with.
- When a patron apologizes for bothering me (as is often the case), I will assure them that it is no bother-I am here to help them and happy to do it.
- I will remember that the person asking me for assistance has chosen the library over many other resources. I will do everything I can to make them happy about making that choice.
- When I am not at work, I will promote libraries every chance I get. If anyone tells me of a bad experience, I will encourage them to try again-most librarians are in the business because they want to help, they want to make a difference, they like people.
I encourage all library staff-regardless of title or time in-to make a similar pledge. I encourage library science students to speak openly with professors, co-workers, and one another about customer service. Finally, I encourage everyone to follow the advice of ‘Bill & Ted’: Be Excellent to Everyone!
Happy Hanukkah from Everyone at LibraryGarden!
You too can make a fun, funny, free greeting card at Jib Jab. My sister made several the other day and then I just had to try it! All you need is your Internet connection and some digital photos – it’s actually very easy and the site guides you through just a few quick steps. Try it!
We all here at Library Garden wish a happy and healthy holiday season to everyone, no matter what you celebrate, or if you don’t even celebrate, and all the best wishes for the upcoming new year!
Okay, one more, I just couldn’t help it! Be sure to turn up your volume! 🙂
Tetris, Library Arcade and Brownies
I was going to save these for a little “Friday Fun” at the end of the week, but I have a few spare minutes between meetings so I am sharing early. Here are three totally unrelated items that in the last 24 hours have made me sit back and go “Whoa, is that ever cool”.
The first is library-related: The Library Arcade at Carnegie Mellon University Libraries. I have not had much of a chance to play, but will definitely be trying to master both of these games at some point.
The seconds is just pure geek fun: Mikontalolights created by students in Finland who transformed a school dorm in to the world’s largest Tetris game. Here it is in action:
And finally, a little something that I have added to my holiday wish list. I am an edge lover and Baker’s Edge is like an answer to my prayers (and I also wonder how come I didn’t think of this myself!). Isn’t it a think of beauty?
Happy Birthday Mark Twain
Last night Princeton Public Library had a standing room only crowd for a program that paid tribute to Mark Twain on the eve of his 172nd birthday.
Twain’s appearance at the library was performed by Alan Kitty, a local actor who has played Twain throughout much of his career. Last night’s performance of his original one man show Mark Twain’s Last Stand was the perfect way to celebrate the birth of this American icon — especially given that it was in a town that Twain himself visited and dubbed to be better than Heaven (at least for him).
Happy Birthday Mr. Clemens!
More photos from the night can be found on the PPL Flickr Account.
Ideas to Post Ratio
I was thinking this morning about all the ideas I have had for posts that have never made it to this blog. I have not kept count so I can not truly quantify, but I am fairly certain that if I tracked it in some way that the statistics would show that my current Ideas to Post Ratio (hereafter known as IPR) would be 10:1 at best. That is to say, for every 10 ideas I think I want to blog about only 1 actually ever gets fully written and posted here. I would like my IPR to be down around 3:1, which is where it probably was about a year ago, but somehow my days fly by and the fingers never find time to hit the keyboard to write what is swirling in my brain.
My ideas for posts tend to come when I am driving to work or when in the shower since they are often the only “alone time” I get in a day (working parents with preschoolers will understand that the shower is a sanctuary of peace). I sometimes fully write these posts as I lather and rinse, refining them as I dry off. Then I open the bathroom door and somehow my brain loses all those sentences that I formed in my steamy sanctuary before I can actually find time to sit down to write in the late evening hours.
I am making one of my New Year’s resolution early this year, which is to better my IPR so that I am at least in the 5:1 range instead of my current miserable ratio. In fact, I might even start to track my ideas so I can quantify this (and to keep me on track for my resolution).
Anyone else having this same issue lately? I have an abundance of reasons why my IPR stands where it is, but really no good excuse. I would also love it if others would share their IPR here — partly to make myself feel better and partly because I am curious.
David Lee King’s new video kills!
YAY!!
David Lee King has offered up a new song/video Social Digital Revolution. I love this tune! The poppiness. The playfulness. The great lyrics.
Enough of my blabbering, just go watch it: http://blip.tv/file/441515
Jim Trelease to speak in Princeton
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Save the date and plan to attend this event that will be of interest to school librarians, youth services librarians, teachers, parents, grandparents… well, almost anyone! Jim Trelease will be retiring from the speaking circuit after January 2008 and this presentation will mark his final public speaking appearance in a NJ venue. As he announces on his site:
“January 2008 will be Jim Trelease’s last month of public seminars. After that his only programs will be for teachers through the Bureau of Educationand Research (BER) and a few isolated librarian conferences. Why retirement? Four grandchildren and a wife who has waited 23 years for him to “come in off the road” to travel with her. (Jim suspects there is an oxymoron in there somewhere.)”
The library has teamed up with several PTOs and the local school board to make this event happen. Trego-Biancosino Hall at Princeton High School seats 770, but arrive early as this free event is sure to draw a crowd.
More details can be found on PPL’s site:
http://www.princeton.lib.nj.us/children/
Too busy… (Pick up a phone!)
As my friend and blogmate Janie Hermann recently pointed out, we’ve all been a little too busy lately to post to the blog. But that got me thinking (as many things do) to one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes, The Boyfriend. Jerry gets upset because he gave his phone number to Keith Hernandez, but Keith hasn’t called yet. Elaine suggests that Maybe Keith hasn’t called because he’s been busy, to which Jerry responds, “Why do people say they’re too busy. Too busy. Pick up a phone!! It takes two minutes. How can you be too busy?”
We’re all busy right? No excuses. So I’m “picking up the phone”, as it were. While the past coupla months really have been maybe the busiest I’ve been in my career, they’ve also been extremely satisfying.
Last Thursday, I got home late after two days of traveling, standing, and talking (one day co-teaching a team building workshop, one day staffing a booth at a business expo) to find AL Direct in my email. I was thrilled and energized to see that two projects that I’ve been involved with received recognition.
I’ve already mentioned the launch of the CEBuzz blog in a previous post, but I don’t think I’ve written yet about the commercial we have running on MTV to advertise QandANJ. I gave a sneak preview of an early cut of the commercial to attendees at the Colorado Collaborative Virtual Reference Symposium this summer, but you can now view on YouTube the final version (that premiered during the MTV VMA’s and is now running on MTV in Jersey markets). Almost 2200 views and counting! The commercial has also gotten us some attention from our local press in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
I suppose what I’ve enjoyed most about the past few months is that there has been an incredible amount of collaboration with smart, results-oriented, creative, fun people! The launch of the CLENE blog was a collaboration between (or is it among–grammar police, please comment) me, Gail McGovern, and Mary Ross. We worked together (remotely) to plan the blog (mission, goals, editorial guidelines), design the blog, and recruit a wonderful roster of authors.
Then there was the (again, remote) collaboration with my Library Garden blogmates to put together our traveling road show, “Magical Mystery Tour“. The first day we presented (On Aug 22, in Princeton) was actually the first time we were all in the same room together!
Earlier this summer I worked with QandANJ Project Coordinator Beth Cackowski on our joint presentation at the Colorado Virtual Reference Symposium. We also worked together, along with our leader Karen Hyman, our video designer Roy, and our Comcast agent, Debra, to develop the commercial, and put together a plan for airing it. (Not as expensive as you might think—I urge everyone to investigate doing quality TV ads in your area!)
Concurrently, I was collaborating with my friend and former co-worker Karen to put together and deliver a full day workshop on Team Building as part of New Jersey’s multi-part “Super Library Supervisor“series. Karen and I used to be on a county library management team together, but we had never trained together, so this was a real treat! Team training is always more fun than going it alone, especially when it’s with someone you just enjoy being around. We delivered the training last week, and while neither of us was used to being on our feet for 8 hours, the day was a great success.
The day after our training, I had the pleasure of staffing SJRLC’s booth at the South Jersey Business Expo. This was the third year we’ve had a booth at the Business Expo and it’s been a great success. SJRLC’s crack Advocacy Team plans for the Expo throughout the year and takes shifts staffing it on the day of the event. It’s amazing how many people want to stop and talk about library services. And let me tell you, telling them that they can get 24/7 research and homework help (through QandANJ) really stops them in their tracks. I just love blowing people’s expectations out of the water like that! Almost as much as I love having the opportunity to work with so many top notch people.
So that’s what I’ve been doing the past so many weeks. Not a lot of down time, but it was all good. No apologies for not posting more (I promised myself I would never do that), but I will try to give myself permission to write shorter posts. It doesn’t need to be War and Peace, right? 🙂
Crickets in the Garden
I hear the sounds of crickets in the garden — the Library Garden, that is! My guess is that not only myself but all the other members of our blog team have been swallowed whole by September and all that it entails with the start of the academic year, new jobs, and new programs to plan. Not to mention that we have had a lot of good weather in NJ the last few weeks and I, for one, am taking time to enjoy it while I can. I do believe that this is officially the longest our blog has been quiet.
When Pete, Robert and I first talked about starting Library Garden we really felt that having 6-7 contributors was essential. The three of us all knew that our schedules would not allow for us to have individual blogs that we could maintain with any sort of consistency, but we felt we had a good shot if we had a team to blog with us. Our strategy has worked so far and I know that this silence on LG is just a matter of life trumping blogging for a few weeks.
Library Garden 