A Newsletter for New England Library Association Members
Vol. 2, No. 3: April, 2006
The Future of Libraries: It's Up to Us
by Cheryl Bryan
The DaVinci Institute, a non-profit think tank, issued a report last fall on “The Future of Libraries”. We can agree or disagree, but they characterize the library, as we've traditionally known it, as consisting of “large collections of books and other materials, primarily funded and maintained by cities or other institutions... often used by people who choose not to, or can not afford to, purchase books for themselves.” The report goes on to point out the conclusion we often hear from those who don't use libraries, that “people who in the past visited libraries to find specific pieces of information are now able to find that information online. The vast majority of people with specific information needs no longer visit libraries.” So what are libraries to do to accommodate the changing mindset of their patrons?
While the full report (www.davinciinstitute.com/page.php?ID=120) is worthwhile reading, the institute's final four recommendations to libraries are:
- Evaluate the library experience.
- Embrace new information technologies.
- Preserve the memories of your own communities.
- Experiment with creative spaces so the future role of the library can define itself.
How do library planners take these abstract recommendations and make them part of our planning for library design and renovation, staff training and management, and services and program planning? I'd like to focus on two of the above recommendations: “evaluate the library experience” and “experiment with creative spaces so the future role of the library can define itself”.
Earlier in the report, Thomas Frey, Executive Director of the DaVinci Institute, points out that our culture is moving from a primarily product-based economy toward an increasingly experience-based economy. The easy availability of products for most Americans has led us to place a lower value on the product itself and a higher value on new, inspirational, or learning experiences. (Think of our library's moving from providing books to programming and computer instruction.) When we ask community members what they would like from their library, we often hear now that they want the library to provide a place for people to find others with similar interests. They expect to make those matches through the library's programming efforts, access to and experimentation with new technologies, and through the experiences created for them by our books, DVDs, audio books and other resources.
Let's place the library's desire to attract broad community participation in the context of the cultural trend toward an experience-based economy, mentioned previously. An excellent resource and guide to understanding this trend is James Gilmore and Joseph Pine's The Experience Economy. As they examine this growing phenomenon, Gilmore and Pine conclude that when people are time- and money-stressed, they will invest both time and money in new and inspirational experiences. This is illustrated by the popularity of adventure travel, enterprises like the Build a Bear children's parties, and the popularity of weekend seminars on all kinds of topics from fly fishing to meditation. How can we apply this knowledge to the library experience? James Gilmore advises us to “focus on the experience of the user and magnify it.” Here are some specific techniques to go about doing that:
- Surprise and delight the user. How can we engage the senses of our patrons to enhance their experience in the library? One of the libraries in our region placed an exhibit of meditation books on display in a quiet area with a temporary fountain nearby to enhance the exhibit. Think about your own building. Is there a sense of engagement – something to “delight the senses” – when entering your library? What could you do to create this?
- Find the “sweet spot” between passive and active engagement and absorption and immersion experiences. A reader snuggled in to an armchair with an engaging book can be an example of this, as is an open poetry reading where participants are encouraged to bring a favorite poem (their own or someone else's).
- Personalizing services adds value for the customer. To quote James Gilmore, “Customers don't want choices, they want what they want.” He goes on to point out that the difference between what a customer wants and what they get is the area of customer sacrifice. To create loyal customers, our job is to lessen that sacrifice where possible. Think of it this way: If Amazon can develop software that not only welcomes back users by name, but remembers their recent searches to make recommendations of new books, shouldn't we be working to provide the same level of service? Of course, libraries have a responsibility to maintain our users' confidentiality, but must that confidentiality imply anonymity? We need to personalize our services while maintaining patron confidentiality; developing this model and embracing it wholeheartedly will be one our biggest challenges in improving existing services, and offering new ones, over the next few years.
- “ing the thing”: To encourage more fun and active participation, we need to think about making our programs more engaging. Here's a way to think about that. Take those nouns that describe library activities and add “ing” to them to create more involvement. For example, people in our libraries can engage in learning, gaming, or searching. How can we expand this? Some easy directions might be discussing, sharing collections, expertise or opinions, or creating.
Now consider the report's fourth recommendation for spaces where the library can define its new and future roles. We have some wonderful examples of libraries “experimenting with creative spaces so the future role of the library can define itself”. The best place to begin defining new roles is in conversation with the community. We need to ask them what they would like to see and do in their libraries. It is important to complete a formal planning process to determine service priorities for your library before you begin to change the use of space and implement new services. We all need to use our library's resources in the most effective way possible and that begins by asking the community what their service priorities are. You can use any of a number of planning processes. PLA has endorsed the Planning for Results process and that can serve as a good starting point if you have never done any formal planning.
Most communities I have worked with endorse the idea of the library as a community commons. But when our community members begin to describe the look and feel of their envisioned library, we often discover two competing visions, two seemingly conflicting experiences. The traditionalists tell us they value the library as a place of retreat. They desire a quiet place, a comfortable armchair, in which to read. Then there are those who tell us they look to their library as a safe place to try out the latest technologies. This group wants to learn to use new media forms: downloadable books for their MP3 players, new movies on DVD, or a facility for digitizing their family memorabilia. And then, just to spice things up, we sometimes find both in the same person! Our best new libraries, like the Cerritos Library, Cerritos CA, successfully create havens for those seeking a quiet place to work, study, or read. They then provide other spaces to access new technologies, and still others for shared exploration and workgroups – all in the same floorplan. The trend toward open spaces with defined areas, allowing the space to be reconfigured to current demands and uses, is reminiscent of the simplicity of the traditional Japanese house, the shining example of using space as needed. Western architects have long marveled at the many uses the open space in a small three-room Japanese house serves for the residents and surrounding community.
Some new uses for your space might include podcasting stations, blogger stations, town band practice rooms, art studios, video and sound recording studios, dance and drama theater rehearsal space, and practice rooms.
What will your library do to create a space for the future role of the library to reveal itself?
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State Association Reports
Maine
The Maine Library Association met at the Blue Hill Public Library on Friday, March 3, 2006. One issue that stood out at the meeting was the so-called Tabor (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights). It is a proposed ballot initiative modeled after Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights that limits spending at all levels of government. In an Associated Press article on MaineToday.com, March 2, Clarke Canfield states that “supporters say TABOR would rein in government spending and ease the tax burden. Opponents say it would put state and local government in a fiscal straitjacket and not allow government to invest in the future.” That same article states further that “modeled after a Colorado law, the initiative would cap government spending – not taxes.” It continues:
Since 1992, public school spending in Colorado has dropped from 35th to 49th in the nation, said Donnie Carroll of the Southern Maine Emergency Management Services Council. Teacher pay has dropped from 30th to last nationally, while college tuition has risen 21 percent.
The story is the same for public safety, health care, elderly care and other indicators, Carroll said: "The history of TABOR in Colorado shows the devastating effects on state government."
TABOR will be an issue for MLA, as well as other organizations in the state, to watch closely.
The MLA Standards Committee has been working hard this fall to update the Maine Public Library Standards of 2000. From April through July, Deputy State Librarian, Linda Lord, will be holding input meetings throughout the state to discuss this new draft.
MLA will hold a meeting in Caribou on April 18,2006. Its purpose is to reach out to Librarians in the most northern part of the state. To date, 15 members of the Executive Council will be attending.
Lastly, MLA is encouraging individual libraries across the State of Maine to hold any kind of fundraiser, from a raffle or a week’s worth of collected fines, for the week ending April 29, 2006, to benefit libraries affected by the devastating hurricanes in the gulf region. The money raised will be divided between The Louisiana Library Association and the Mississippi Library Association Hurricane Relief funds.
Reported my NELA State Representatives Sandy Broomfield and Jen Alvino (me@nelib.org).
Massachusetts
MA Board of Library Commissioners:
Massachusetts Boardof Library Commissioner George Comeau and Director Robert Maier were among those who testified on behalf of libraries on February 23rd in Franklin, Massachusetts,before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Ways & Means Committees.
As reported by Jim O'Sullivan of the State House News Service:
A three-year plan proposed by the Board of Library Commissioners would help the 1,800 libraries in the state’s regional collaborations restore programs sacrificed during the budget crunch, said Robert Maier, the board’s director. In support of increases to six line items and a $75 million public library construction bond bill closely matched by Romney’s own capital proposal, Maier said libraries “are playing a very big role in breaking down the digital divide.”
“We need state-supported programs to link together the libraries, to make those links through infrastructure that allow us to provide the equity of access that I think we all want to provide to citizens of the Commonwealth,” Maier said.
A $75 million construction bond bill (S 1841) sponsored by Sen. Brian Joyce (D-Milton) would help pare a 25-community waiting list dependent on $68 million, with another 10 proposals still in omnibus capital improvement plan, $950 million in total bonds, designates $72 million for public library projects.
The commissioners’ $32.8 million aggregate requests for the six line items exceed Romney’s by a total of $2.6 million.
MA Library Association:
- Maryanne Lewis was selected and hired as a Legislative Consultant to help educate legislators on library issues. Maryanne is a native of Massachusetts, worked for Tip O’Neill, was a State Representative, and currently represents non-profits, some corporations and unions.
- The draft Standards for Public Library Services to Children in Massachusetts http://www.masslib.org/yss/YSS_Standards.htm are posted on the web site under the YSS area for review.
- The final total of the proceeds for the Barnes and Noble Great Bay State Fundraiser was a little over $12,000.
- Each member of MLA has been sent a joint letter from MLA and Staples Business Advantage division announcing our partnership regarding a special offer Staples is making to institutions that receive municipal, state or federal funds. Their intent is to offer lower cost supplies and services through large quantities to institutions who often have money issues.
Reported by NELA State Representative Cheryl Hansen (ma@nelib.org).
New Hampshire
Conferences:
- PLA: NHLA sponsored three buses (from Keene, Portsmouth & Central) for NHLA members to travel to PLA in Boston in March.
- READS (REference and ADult Services): “Nuts and Bolts of Running Book Groups”: READS Roundtable Discussions. 3/27, 3/29 and 3/31. Each presentation/discussion was followed by a book discussion. More info available at http://www.nh.gov/nhla/READSspring06.htm.
Executive Board:
The board is working to revamp the members’ newsletter and get it back onto a regular schedule. Also, after keeping an eye on several bills in the legislature things are moving forward. HB1120 regarding internet access in libraries has been voted “inexpedient to legislate.” HB 1236 and 1237 which could require municipalities and/or libraries to go through a rigorous notification process about what portion of association dues go towards lobbying are still in committee, but seem unlikely to be passed.
Reported by New Hampshire State Representative Lesley Kimball (nh@nelib.org).
Rhode Island
CLAN member libraries migrated from Horizon to Millennium software from Innovative Interfaces Inc., on March 27th. Training is ongoing and will continue as everyone adjusts to the new software.
The Office of Library and Information Services is currently conducting workshops to assist librarians in outreach to Hispanic/Latino communities. The librarians providing the training are recently back from The Gates Foundation in Seattle and are eager to share this information and help us improve our services.
The RILA Conference is scheduled for June 1st and 2nd at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI. Registration information will be going out in May. This should be a very exciting conference! Jessamyn West will be back this year to talk about the digital divide, and there will be programs on Anime, wikis, MyOwnCafe.org, the changing face of reader’s advisory services, and much more! For more information on the conference and other RILA happenings, please visit the bulletin at http://www.uri.edu/library/rila/bulletin/current/80.1.pdf
Reported by NELA State Representative Laura Marlane (ri@nelib.org).
Vermont
VLA Executive Board– VLA Executive Board met on Thursday (January 12) at 9:30am at the Norwich University Library. Items discussed were:
- Health Care Resolution, which was sent to the governor and legislative leadership urging adoption of legislation that provides coverage for all without regard to employment. A response was received from the Governor on January 31.
- Also discussed was a draft of a strategic plan outline that highlights the association’s mission, advocacy, education, intellectual freedom, membership, partnerships, structure and governance. More drafts are forthcoming and VLA will solicit comments at the annual meeting.
- Membership report shows 305 have joined VLA or renewed with 35 of these being new members. Apparently college libraries are problematic with some Vermont colleges not having any VLA members. The membership chair is also planning a membership brochure to be posted on the web site similar to the New Hampshire Library Association example.
- There were 213 Vt. DOL/VLA joint surveys sent out to public library directors, regarding policies on confidentiality and DOL services. February 1 was the deadline date for return.
- Nominations are now being sought for VLA offices: VP/President elect; Treasurer; and ALA Councilor.
- H719, a bill to establish a summer study committee on public libraries in Vermont, was referred to the Education Committee on January 26. The bill will document in the impact that public libraries have on their communities and consider what level of financial support is required.
Public Library Section– A program is scheduled for this spring entitled “Screening Reality,” with media expert Rob Williams. No date has been set yet.
Reported by NELA State Representative Jerry Carbone (vt@nelib.org).
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Of Interest to New England Libarians
Step Up to the Plate @ your library
For registration for Step Up to the Plate @ your library; new incentives available to libraries:
www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2006/februray/baseballreg.htm
The baseball season has had its opening day, and registration is now open for the American Library Association's 21st century literacy program that teams up libraries and baseball.
The “Step up to the Plate @ your library" program will officially launch Friday, April 28, at the St. Louis Public Library and Busch Stadium. Librarians can visit the program Web site (www.ala.org/@yourlibrary/baseball) to register for free promotional tools to help prepare for the new program. Tools include program logos in both English and Spanish and a toolkit that includes sample press materials and programming ideas.
“Step up to the Plate” is a partnership between ALA and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, The Campaign for America's Libraries newest Founding Partner. The initiative continues the program originally developed with Major League Baseball, which successfully concluded in 2005.
Preservation Workshops
The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) in Andover, Massachusetts is pleased to present the Spring 2006 Series of One-Day Preservation Workshops:
- May 3: Integrated Pest Management
- May 4: Creating and Maintaining Digital Collections
- May 10: Preservation of Scrapbooks
- May 11: Intermediate Book Repair
Workshop Location:
Northeast Document Conservation Center
100 Brickstone Square, 4th floor
Andover, MA
Time:
9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Cost:
$140.00 per workshop. Fee does not include lunch.
Registration Information, Deadlines, Workshop Details at nedcc.org/spring/wkdesc.htm
Founded in 1973, the Northeast Document Conservation Center is the largest nonprofit, regional conservation center in the United States, specializing in preservation of paper-based materials. Its services include paper, book, and photograph conservation treatment; preservation microfilming; digitization; photograph duplication; surveys and consultation; disaster assistance; and workshops and conferences. NEDCC'S Web site: www.nedcc.org.
Association of Jewish Libraries Convention
The Association of Jewish Libraries will hold its 41st Annual Convention on June 18-21, 2006, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge, MA. The esteemed writer, educator, and social activist Grace Paley, one of the country’s literary giants whose writing resonates into the 21st Century, will deliver the keynote address.
There’s never been a better time for anyone involved in Jewish literacy and librarianship to gather with professional colleagues from across North and South America, Europe, and Asia, for enlightening panels on the latest trends in the field.
Presentations will be given by: Penina Adelman, author of JGirls Guide: The Young Jewish Woman’s Handbook; the Boston-based National Jewish Women’s Archives, a number of award-winning children’s writers, and more.
The AJL convention is the exclusive professional development and networking event for librarians and educators working with Judaica and Jewish studies from synagogue religious schools, to religious and secular libraries and in colleges and universities.
Dozens of other panels and events to choose from include: the prestigious Sydney Taylor awards ceremony for outstanding Jewish children’s literature; Preserving Jewish music; Israeli literature in English; Oral history; Daily exhibition hall available with major trade and Judaica publishers; Freshman seminar on Judaica librarianship; Optional excursions to Newport, Rhode Island to the Touro Synagogue and a trip to the National Yiddish Book Center.
There are options for full or daily registration. Kosher meals will be provided by Catering by Andrew. Contact Ann Abrams aabrams@tisrael.org
For convention details: www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/conventions/convention2006.htm
An Analysis of the Reauthorization of PATRIOT Act
Dear Colleagues:
ALA has posted information for libraries about the impact of the PATRIOT Act reauthorization at: www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/civilliberties/theusapatriotact/usapatriotact.htm#reauth
* * * * * * * *
Carolyn Noah
Administrator, Central MA Regional Library System
-and-
Past President, Massachusetts Library Association
8 Flagg Road
Shrewsbury, MA USA 01545-4665
cnoah@cmrls.org
voice: 508 757-4110 x 305
fax: 508 757-4370
IM: carolynatcmrls@aol.com
Primary Sources on America's Westward Expansion
The U.S. National Archives and the Library of Congress have digitized a wealth of primary sources on America's Westward Expansion. View some of those holdings together with annotated maps, paintings of the western “wilderness” (commissioned by the U.S. government) and pictures of pioneers, Native Americans and the transcontinental railroad.
www.awesomestories.com/history/go_west/go_west_ch1.htm
The website (www.awesomestories.com) is free for all educators, schools and libraries. Simply request an academic membership with this sign-up form: www.awesomestories.com/group_signup.php
Carole Bos
Grand Valley State University
Dean's Advisory Board
Boston Public Library to Present "Damrell's Fire"
Boston Public Library – Central Library
700 Boylston Street
617-859-2270
www.bpl.org
BPL Presents the Screening of New Historical Documentary
DAMRELL’S FIRE
The story of one man's heroic crusade to stop American cities from burning down.
Day: Thursday, May 4th
Time: 6:30 PM
Place: Rabb Lecture Hall
November, 1872: a hurricane of fire rips through downtown Boston, reducing seven hundred buildings to ashes. Firefighters struggle with unruly crowds, poor water pressure, and explosions of gas and gunpowder. The conflagration threatens the people of Boston with the same fate as Chicago a year before, and no one has ever stopped a firestorm of this magnitude - no one until John Damrell.
John Damrell was the Chief of the Boston Fire Department in 1872 when the Great Fire stunned the country. His forethought and management of the blaze prevented the massive destruction and loss of life that had ravaged Chicago the previous year. But his story did not end with Boston’s firestorm. The disasters in Chicago and Boston fueled Damrell’s passionate determination to end forever the devastating urban conflagrations that threatened the very survival of cities in 19th century America. This is his story.
At the BPL screening, the director, Bruce Twickler, will introduce the film (run time: one hour) and take a behind the scenes look at “The Making of DAMRELL’S FIRE” (run time 12 min).
For more information about DAMRELL’S FIRE and Boston’s WGBH broadcast schedule, please visit: www.DamrellsFire.com
Screening is free and open to the public. Wheelchair accessible. Assistive listening devices available. To request a sign language interpreter or for other special needs, please call 617-859-2295 (V), 617-516-7055 (TTY) two weeks before the program.
Focus on Paraprofessionals: Creating Success at All Levels of the Library Profession – April 28, 2006
At this NELINET seminar, you’ll hear success stories from several libraries and library associations that have implemented programs and workplace practices that help promote and recognize the important work of library support staff. Join NELINET and learn how other libraries are addressing key management and personnel issues. For a full description: www.nelinet.net/travreg/CallEventLookup.asp?EventId=00000107
Learn how Valeria Fike, Paraprofessional of the Year 2006, has "inspired many of her colleagues to see the role of the paraprofessional is one of multifaceted possiblities combining service, personal growth, leadership and creativity."
Keynote Speaker: Valeria Fike,
Library Journals' Paraprofessional of the Year 2006,
and supervisor of reference support and College and Career Information Center services,
College of DuPage Library (CODL)Topic: Developing a 'Can-do Attitude': Motivational Tips for Paraprofessionals
"There are no clear steps for moving up in our field. You have to find opportunities. In any job, a 'can-do' attitude is the key. When something needs to be done, you volunteer to do it."
- Valeria Fike, quote from the March 1, 2006 issue of Library Journal
Addtional Speakers:
- Deborah Bockus, Access Services Manager, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Career Development and the Paralibrarian Recognition of Achievement Award
- Debbie Pennino, Technical Services, Northeastern University
- The Librarian’s Viewpoint
- Gerry Deyermond, Memorial Hall Public Library
- The Paraprofessional’s Viewpoint
- Ginger Johnston, Access Services Librarian, Castleton State College, Castleton, VT
- Managing and Training 45 Student Workers with a Staff of five Librarians
Program Costs:
NELINET Full Member: $135.00
NELINET Affiliate Member: $150.00
Non-member: $225.00
Register Online: www.nelinet.net/travreg/nelreglogin.htm
Titanic Materials Available
On the 14th of April, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank during the early morning of April 15. Help students understand what happened, with primary sources like pictures (including the iceberg involved in the collision), testimony (from survivors and rescue-crew captains), plus information on iceberg formation, maps and much more. Examine primary sources from Ireland, the UK, Canada and the US.
www.awesomestories.com/disasters/titanic/the_titanic_ch1.htm
The website www.awesomestories.com is free for all educators, schools and libraries. Simply request an academic membership with this sign-up form. www.awesomestories.com/group_signup.php