A Newsletter for New England Library Association Members
Vol. 3, No. 2: February, 2007
NERTCL plans to "Leave 'em Laughing" in March
A terrific line-up of speakers is sure to "Leave 'em Laughing" – NERTCL's standalone program coming up on Friday, March 23 from 10-4 at Worcester State College Student Center.
Focusing on the humor genre in literature for children and young adults, the speakers include:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka, the author/illustrator of the award-winning Punk Farm, My Buddy Slug, and Giddy up, Cowgirl, among others. He will share his cutting edge humor so evident in his work as well as on his website (www.studiojjk.com). Jarrett is now looking forward to the Fall 2007 release of Punk Farm on Tour and his upcoming series of graphic novels.
Gail Gauthier, popular author of books for middle grade readers. She has been described by reviewers as one who "enjoys poking fun at sacred cows", which is evident in her books such as Happy Kid!, Saving the Planet & Stuff, The Hero of Ticonderoga, and Club Earth among others. Gail will present "Where Does Humor Come From and What Can a Writer Do With It!" Check out her website – www.gailgauthier.com.
Kathleen Odean, well known children's book expert and author. Kathleen brings her considerable experience as children's librarian, SLJ reviewer and chair of the 2002 Newbery Award Committee to her well-known series of Great Books for Boys, Great Books for Girls, Great Books about Things Kids Love and Great Books for Babies and Toddlers. She will present "Who Decides What's Funny? Evaluating Humor in Books." For more info see www.kathleenodean.com
All speakers will participate in a Closing Panel and a Booksigning will follow. Books will be sold from 9am-4pm.
And…watch out for the wicked humor interspersed throughout the day by stand-up comic, Dan the Librarian (yes, he really has two careers!).
Registration for the day is $45 for NELA or NERTCL members, $60 for non-members and $30 for full-time students. This includes morning coffee, pastries and a box lunch ... along with the entertaining and thought-provoking day! Registration deadline is March 12th. For more information and a registration form, please visit www.nelib.org/nertcl/.
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NETSL Spring Conference
Features Diane Dates Casey
The New England Technical Services Librarians will bring Diane Dates Casey, Dean of Library Services and Academic Computing at Governors State University, to its Spring Conference this year, to be held again at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester MA on Friday, April 13th. Professor Daniel Joudrey, from Simmons, is also featured at this year's conference, themed "Reimagining Technical Services".
Casey's keynote, titled "Something Like a Star: Charting the Path to Access", will be joined by these breakout sessions:
- "Partnership: Key to Technical Services Workflow", with Marsha Starr Paiste and Tony Kodzis, from Tisch Library, Tufts University.
- "A Human Resources Perspective on the Changes in Technical Services Librarianship", with Doborah Stansbury Sunday, Assistant Vice Provost for University Libraries, University of Connecticut.
- "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Loading Vendor Records for Electronic Resources", presented by Betsy Eggleston and Corinna Baksik of Harvard.
For registration and more information, see www.nelib.org/netsl/conference.htm.
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Intellectual Freedom Award Nominations Sought
The Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) of the New England Library Association seeks nominations for the 2007 ProQuest/SIRS Intellectual Freedom Award of New England.
This biannual award, sponsored by ProQuest/SIRS, recognizes the contribution of a group or individual who has actively promoted intellectual freedom in New England. The IFC is responsible for selecting the recipient. The person or group chosen receives a plaque commemorating the award and a check for $500.
If a winner is selected, the award will be presented during the annual New England Library Association Conference. It will only be given in a year when an appropriate recipient has been nominated.
Criteria for Selection
Any individual or organization who is actively promoting intellectual freedom in New England is eligible for the New England Library Association Intellectual Freedom Award. Current individual IFC members will not be considered for this award.
Intellectual freedom is defined by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association for Education Communications and Technology (AECT) as the freedom to express one's beliefs or ideas through any mode of communication, and the right of unrestricted access to all information and ideas regardless of the medium of communication.
The Library Bill of Rights (ALA) and the AECT Intellectual Freedom Statement offer expanded explanations of practices which are supported by these professional associations to promote intellectual freedom. These documents will be considered very carefully as decisions are made concerning the New England Library Association Intellectual Freedom Award.
Nominees for the award will be judged on the role they have played in actively promoting intellectual freedom through their efforts to protect First Amendment rights, challenge censorship, or otherwise resist abridgement of free expression and free access to ideas.
Although the committee will accept even a small paragraph as a nomination, supporting documentation is encouraged. Examples of helpful supporting documentation include:
- Newspaper articles or editorials
- Text of speeches or testimony
- Brochures of workshop or conference sessions
- Letters of recommendation
- Relevant policies or procedures
Anyone in New England may make a nomination regardless of their profession or affiliation. Please submit nominations by May 29, 2007 to:
Peter Spitzform
Collection Development Librarian
Bailey/Howe Library
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT 05405
(802) 656-2632 (phone)
(802) 656-4038 (fax)
peter.spitzform+NELAsecure+uvm.edu
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NELA Scholarships Available
NELA offers graduate study scholarships annually to residents of New England who are enrolled in an ALA-Accredited Master's in Library Science program. The program can be in New England, New York, or a 100% online program elsewhere. If you plan to work in New England after receiving your degree and would like financial assistance, please contact the Financial Aid Department at your school about the NELA scholarship.
More information is available at the NELA website, www.nelib.org/resources/scholarships.htm, or you can email educationalassistance+NELAsecure+nelib.org.
DEADLINE: Applications are due to your school by March 15, 2007.
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Around New England
The 2007 Maine Libraries Conference will be November 4-6, 2007 at the Augusta Civic Center. The theme will be "Maine Libraries Celebrate Lifelong Learning". http://mainelibraries.info
"Connecting NH Libraries" is this year's theme for the New Hampshire Library Association and the New Hampshire Educational Media Association joint conference to be held on May 17 & 18, 2007 at the Mount Washington Hotel. Featured speakers include Philip R. Craig, author of the popular Martha's Vineyard mystery series and Judy Schachner, creator of the award-winning Skippyjon Jones books. http://nhlibconf.org
The Vermont Library Association is moving forward on their proposal for state funding. Legislative Breakfasts are being scheduled in each county
in February to educate representatives and senators to the range of
library services and public demands.
A brochure has been developed by the Vermont Library Association's Government Relations committee to help explain Vermont public library needs. The document may be downloaded from www.vermontlibraries.org/fundingflyer.pdf.
Members of VLA are also meeting with the Vermont House Committee on General Operations, Housing, and Military Affairs to discuss H. 99 which calls for a special committee to "study the impact of Vermont's public libraries on their communities and the impact that the communities have on their libraries."
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Renovation Improves Customer Service at Maxwell Library
by Cynthia J.W. Svoboda
During the past two summers Bridgewater State College's Clement C. Maxwell Library has undergone two phases of a three-phase renovation project that has transformed library space and enhanced customer service. The first and second floors of the library were recently renovated and the third floor is scheduled for rejuvenation this summer. Fresh carpeting, improved lighting, updated furniture, new exhibit and display space, and warm colors have created a cheerful welcoming environment that draws users into and through the building. This redesigned space is a more attractive, navigable, and user-friendly learning area. It is a place where people want to hang out.
Pleasant color schemes, lighting, and comfy furniture have caught our users' attention, but they are not the only contributing factors that lure our students to visit the Library. Reorganizing has changed the electronic access area from cramped, tight-row-configuration work stations to multiple, dispersed pods that provide students with work space to spread out their materials. Plug and play stations and wireless connections are also available. Transformation has also added small group rooms where students can interact and focus on their work in an environment more conducive to studying. The makeover also created updated multipurpose meeting areas for the college community to gather. The refurbished Library is an active learning environment where users have an enjoyable place to gather, conduct research, teach, learn, study, and commune.
Modernizing the library also involved centralizing several services. Locating three previously dispersed departments: Circulation Services; Reference Services; and Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Services (ILL/DDS). Keeping these departments in close proximity along the corridor at the front of the building provides quick, easy access and better continuity of services. This adjacency allowed Circulation Services to become the check out center for Interlibrary Loan materials as well as the Library's own resources. Relocation of Reference Services, opposite Circulation Services, by the main exit makes it easy to locate for people entering the library. Adding four express stations next to Reference Services enables staff to assist in answering questions and provides users with quick printing and service ports. Placing reference staff office and workspaces within sight line of the Reference Desk and Circulation Services also helps provide back up coverage as needed. Nearness of service areas provides more efficiency in working together and assisting users. Another change affecting customer service involved relocated isolated printers and copy machines into a copy/printing center where public printing and copying take place in one location. Students can pick up printing jobs, photocopy materials, and conduct an on campus phone call all in one handy location. A separate collection of ERIC microfiche was integrated within the other microfilm/microfiche titles, too.
Improving customer services also involved reorganizing the entire serials collection. Historical changes had created several mini collections of periodicals. While each collection was in alphabetical order, they were separated into a pre-1985 collection, a post-1985 collection, and oversized area. Reviewing these areas for title changes and then merging the three collections greatly simplified the search process. Users no longer need to move from one area to another to view various issues from the same title.
Renovation of the first two floors of the Clement C. Maxwell Library has created a lively interactive environment with streamlined services that help guide users through the facility and toward their next phase in their life-long learning.
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FISHing for Customer Service
by Cheryl Bryan
At the recent ALA midwinter meetings in Seattle, Leslie Berger's President's program featured the FISH! customer service model. It seems a training group was in Seattle working on a film when, like many tourists, they visited Pike Place Market. They were struck by the enthusiasm in both the workers and the customers at the fish market, and an inspirational film and customer service model were born.
The film FISH! features the fish market guys talking about how they made the decision that they could show up at 5am and work with dead fish every day or they could make their market world famous. They choose world famous and decided the best way to do that was by having fun at work and creating the best experience they could for shoppers at the market. So what can Librarians learn from fishmongers?
First, the fishmongers point out that every day we all choose our attitude about work, even if there is not a choice about the work itself. Everyone can make their own decisions about this but I don't think anything we do at the library is more unpleasant than handling cold, dead fish. At the world famous Pike Place Fish Market they played a practical joke on a co-worker one day and started repeating orders and throwing the fish to the guy to ring up purchases. Now they are famous for it, and they regularly invite the customers to join in the fun. A friend of mine actually showed up at the market at 5am so she could have the experience of working for free with those world famous fish throwers. There is always a choice about the way you do the work, even when there is no choice about the work itself. We can choose the attitude we bring to our work.
How do the fishmongers choose their attitude? They play at work! And they involve the customers in their fun. Do I think the librarians went home to throw books around in their libraries – of course not! But we are in the best place in the community for people to continue their learning; can we use our creativity to make our interactions with information and our users more playful?
The third principle we can learn at the Pike Place Fish Market is "make their day". Visiting the Market that evening after the program one thing struck me – everyone was smiling as they stood around the fish stall listening, laughing at the workers' jokes, tasting and buying fish. Working in libraries we are in an excellent place to make our users' day. As the program speaker, Deena Ebbert, kept repeating, "You have what you need, what are you going to do with it?"
The fourth and final principle is "be present for your coworkers and customers". I had my own experience of this when I was wandering around trying to find a particular vendor at the Market. The fish market guy assigned to be in front of the booth (and I did recognize him from the film) said, "How you doing?" When I replied, "Confused", he gave me perfect directions to the booth on another floor of the building. Was that selling fish? No. Would I return there for any purchases of fish I did make? You bet. He was simply noticing and responding to what was going on around him – sounds simple, but how often do we miss such opportunities for positive interactions with our co-workers and our users?
So that is why over a thousand librarians sat entranced while a group of fishmongers explained their very basic tenants of customer service to us. Your goal may or may not be a world famous library, but if we all followed their excellent advice we'd enjoy our hours at work more and improve our reputation with our users.