The PLA Blog | Official Blog of the Public Library Association
Session: The Joy of Censorship by Joe Raiola
I came into the room that was already mostly packed to capacity. The sound system was playing familiar rock and roll music. A short man in the front of the room picked up the microphone and said “You’re listening to songs banned by ClearChannel after the 9/11 attacks.” And I thought “Oh, it’s going to [...]
The “L” word (with numbers)
Maybe it’s because most of the speakers I’ve seen aren’t librarians, but I haven’t heard “Library 2.0″ uttered in any presentation I’ve attended. The closest call was at a vendor event (with yummy soft pretzels) on Thursday, where PLA President-Elect Susan Hildreth made a reference to “The 21st-Century Library.” But there’s still the “Community Building [...]
You Are But IM: Connecting Young Adults and Libraries in the 21st Century
“If you say that we need to serve teens because they’ll vote on a tax levy, you are sending a message that teens do not matter to us WHEN THEY ARE teens.” Patrick Jones, Michele Gorman, and Tricia Suellentrop, authors of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, third edition (Neal Schuman) delivered a program in grandstand [...]
Going Mobile: A Paradigm Shift in Customer Service
In this day and age, patrons are becoming increasingly savvy with mobile technologies like laptops, handheld computers, and cell phones that connect them to the Internet and, the rest of their worlds. What better way to serve patrons than to use their tools? Gregg Gronlund, Reference Department Head, and Paolo Melillo, Collection Development Assistant Manager, [...]
Teen Talk Table: we talked!
(even though our facilitator didn’t come–but we got the hand outs!!) We also got cool YALSA post-it notes, YALSA pens, a few things on YALSA events, and a glossy trifold brochure called “Competencies for Libraries Serving Youth: Young Adults Deserve the Best” (YALSA is ALA’s Young Adult division and stands for Young Adult Library Services [...]
Technological Drivers of Change for the Rest of Us
“I’m not here to celebrate these technologies, just to make you aware of them.” Dr David Liroff from WGBH began his presentation by saying, “I hope you have a chance to do the recommended reading… you’ll find it in the Sunday papers” and waving Staples and Best Buy flyers around. It’s called Marketplace intelligence – [...]
Rule #1: Do not leave your notes in your hotel room
So I’d like to tell you about “Leave No Child or Toddler behind: Summer Reading Programs and Our Youngest Patrons.” The presenters were Sharon Deeds, Dekalb Cty, GA; Deb Noggle, Allan Cty, IN; and Pamela Martin-Diaz, Allen Cty, IN. This was an amazing program. Of course, all my notes are back at my hotel room, [...]
Wake up call: what our customers are trying to tell us…if we’d only listen (second verse, same as the first)
Beth blogged on this yesterday, but they had an encore performance today, and since Beth’s battery died mid-session, I thought I’d go ahead and post my notes…Plus, I think this is a really terrific, albeit very challenging concept. Wake up call: what our customers are trying to tell us…if we’d only listen Gwen Crenshaw, Cori [...]
0% Loss, No Shelving Required: Downloadable Media in Libraries
“The more of us who participate in this service, the faster this is going to happen.” Ebook vendors are subscription databases, not downloadable media 24/7 access digital media that can be checked out and downloads to a patrosns pC palm, phone, chip in your head, whatever No one vendor can supply all of your needs [...]
Session: Productive Aging – Are Public libraries Productive Partners?
Panel discussion with Mary Catherine Bateson, James Welbourne, Gloria Cole (?) and moderator/coordinator Harriet Henderson [Diantha Schull was scheduled to attend but had food poisoning]. This was a session about how the idea of who is an older American is changing, how this population is growing, and what one library in New Haven is doing [...]
