PLA Blog

After six years as a librarian at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, emphasizing outreach to public housing communities and homeless shelters, Linda Tashbook bacame a lawyer. Now, after ten years of practicing law part-time and working full-time as a law librarians, she has started “The Homeless Law Blog“which discusses legal reference questions that are likely to arise in the ordinary life of a homeless person.

Blog posts are loaded with resources and links on subjects like, legal rights when police make “homeless sweeps,” the right of the homeless during weather emergencies, rights and liabilities connected with found property, and much more.

This just in from the ALA Public Programs Office (PPO):

For the first time ever, readers around the world will be able to participate in a free, live interactive book discussion program, led by [Oprah] Winfrey and [Eckhardt] Tolle. Each weekly class will be presented as a webcast and correspond to a chapter from “A New Earth,” with the discussion focusing on the chapter’s themes. Participants will be invited to take part in the discussion by submitting questions in real-time via the Oprah.com web site.

The 10 weekly sessions will be webcast every Monday night from March 3 through May 5, at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT. To register for the class, log onto www.oprah.com/anewearth. For libraries that can’t participate in real time, archives of each session will be available for download via Oprah.com within 24 hours of the original webcast.

We’d love to hear about public library experiences with this program. You can comment on this post, or send us email and let us know what you’re up to (we’d love to see pictures!), and how it’s going.

Has your library participated in online book groups (real-time or asynchronous) before, and what has your experience been? How do Oprah’s Books play a role with your library users and your local book groups?

Monday morning I attended Social Media Breakfast 4 in Boston, the brainchild of Bryan Person, a local new media and networking rock star. Social Media Breakfasts are a chance for local media folks (fans, PR people, users, programmers, librarians, the audience is diverse) to get together over some morning nosh and talk about what’s new and hip. The last two Breakfasts have included speakers who talk briefly, and really end up being discussion facilitators, which is very cool. The first NYC Social Media Breakfast just happened in NYC last week, so if you’re interested in attending one, or *starting* one, check out the Social Media Breakfast site for details.

Monday morning’s speaker was Geoff Livingston, co-author of the book Now is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs, and contributor to the blog of the same name, carrying on the conversation started by the book. This morning’s breakfast was a discussion of the differences between audiences, communities, and stakeholders, and how using social media varies from types of user bases. Geoff posted a sort of preface to the Breakfast on his blog, which bloomed into quite a discussion online, and translated to a discussion at the event, which was very, very cool to watch.

What I realized after attending the Social Media Breakfast, as I munched on my bagel and lox, is that for quite some time the PLA Blog definitely has an Audience, a group of people consuming the content. The discussions that came from posting the Service Responses (Stakeholder-oriented feedback), and the comments we receive during conferences are the closest we’ve come to being Community. However, what hasn’t happened here is an all-out Community effect, a full-duplex give-and-take of discussion, ideas, whatever floats your boat as the reader.

So my question is this: In your opinion, what would encourage the growth of community interaction here on the PLA Blog? What would get you posting comments, submitting stories, case studies, questions, and pictures from your libraries, and just generally make the blog more interactive? Do you see this blog as a potential for Community, or is it strictly straight information for you? Is your idea of public librarian Community elsewhere?

I’m very interested in your responses to these questions, whether it’s in the form of comments here on this post, response posts on other blogs, or in email, and I’d like to try to incorporate these responses somehow in planning for the blog going forward. Let us know what you think!

ALA is encouraging public libraries to participate in the 2007-2008 Public Library Funding and Technology Access online survey. The survey provides an important opportunity for libraries to share information on computer and Internet resources and infrastructure, as well as funding, technology training and other uses of public libraries, such as providing public access technology centers in their communities. The current year’s online survey, available at http://survey.pnmi.com, will be available through Nov. 25, 2007.

“This survey is vital to all of us-data from past studies have been used in Congressional testimony, by the U.S. Census Bureau and by national and local media,” said ALA Office for Research & Statistics Director Denise M. Davis. “The success of the survey rests largely on the overall and individual state response rates. We encourage all public libraries to log on and help us create the most complete picture possible of technology in our nation’s public libraries. Our thanks also to all the libraries that already have completed the survey.”

The study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ALA, continues work begun by John Carlo Bertot and Charles R. McClure in 1994. It provides important information for policymakers, the ALA and library advocates regarding public library Internet and public computing needs and issues.

More information, including results from the 2007 study, is available online at http://www.ala.org/plinternetfunding.

The executive board of the Association of Library Trustees and Advocates (ALTA) agreed at the 2007 fall planning session to work with board members from Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA) to determine whether and how a partnership might benefit both groups and, most importantly, America’s libraries. ALTA is one of the American Library Association’s (ALA) oldest divisions with its inception in 1890. FOLUSA, a younger organization, began within ALA in 1979 and became an independent organization based in Philadelphia in 1984.
“This is a bold new step for ALTA,” said President Don Roalkvam. “Our association developed a sweeping new plan for the future last year and this potential opportunity meshes well with our vision to grow membership, create new partnerships, and strengthen our voice for advocacy.”
During the next year, members of both organizations’ boards will work together to design possible governance structures that embrace both the Trustee and the Friends sectors, determine a viable dues structure that encourages continued and growing membership, and find ways to engage corporate members to join them in advocacy.
“This is certainly an idea whose time has come,” said Emily Sheketoff, executive director of ALA’s Washington Office. Our most powerful advocates for libraries are those that support them and use them – in other words, Trustees, Friends, and the library’s corporate community.”
(more)

As the planning continues, the boards of both organizations are committed to ensuring that the distinctive and important roles both groups play in the library community are preserved and that benefits to Trustees and Friends will continue to grow. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with ALTA as interim director,” said Sally G. Reed, executive director of FOLUSA. “I honestly believe that libraries are strengthened when Trustees, Friends and members of the library corporate community join forces to enhance and preserve our libraries.”
Immediate plans are underway to work with the Public Library Association, the Library Administration and Management Association, and the Association of College and Research Libraries with the goal of bringing all trustee boards and Friends groups into the new partnership.
FOLUSA is a national organization with approximately 3,500 Friends group, Trustee, Foundation and individual members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. For more than 25 years FOLUSA has offered training, support, and idea sharing for library supporters around the country.

Bringing People Together at the Library: Rural Libraries as Place
Presented by the Rural Library Sustainability Project
October 25, 2007
11:00am PT / 2:00pm ET

More and more people are accessing information and resources from home and work computers. Does that mean the physical library will go away? NO WAY! In this session we will talk about the evolving role of the physical library space. We will highlight innovative and interesting rural library examples. Join the Rural In Focus webinar facilitator, Brenda Hough, and guest presenter Cindi Hickey, Continuing Education Librarian and WebJunction Coordinator for the State Library of Kansas. Find information on joining the webinar in addition to archives of past webinars at Rural In Focus.

The webinar is FREE, and advanced registration is not required, you can just show up the day of. Visit WebJunction for information on how to attend the webinar, and to make sure your computer is ready to help you join the conversation. While you’re there, visit the archive of webinars (scroll down a bit on the page) that you can watch at your leisure.

Registration is now open for:

Serving Diverse Populations
Prairie Area Library System
Rockford, Illinois
October 24-25, 2007

Equip yourself with the skills and knowledge librarians need to effectively serve diverse populations. At the end of the Serving Diverse Populations workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify the key issues and challenges of serving diverse populations; assess a library’s readiness to serve diverse populations; and apply intercultural communication techniques to the delivery of library services.
• Understand how diversity factors impact the delivery of library services and how cultural differences impact people’s perspectives on libraries and library service.
• Develop a culturally responsive library services plan that addresses identified community needs and develop marketing messages that connect with diverse populations.

Click here for a full class description and instructor bio.

Course Fee:

• $250 for PLA members and partners
• $300 for ALA members
• $400 for non-members

Deborah Schneider, Public Programming Coordinator with the King County Library System, is looking for your feedback on author events:

I will be meeting with a large agency in NY City in October, talking about author events in libraries. They are very interested in knowing how they can help place their authors with libraries across the US.

I would appreciate any suggestions you could send to me, things that have worked for you and things you wish the publishers and agents would do to make booking authors easier for you and your staff.

Send any comments to: dschneid at kcls dot org

You can email Deborah and/or post your comments here.

Is the fantasy genre a mystery to you? Wondering how to keep kids, especially boys, interested in reading now that the Harry Potter series is over, with no ideas on what to recommend? Love the Hogwart’s party concept, and looking for fresh ideas? A Practical Guide to Fantasy is the webinar is for you.

The webinar’s speaker, Nina Hess, is a Senior Editor at Mirrorstone, an imprint of the very famous and popular gaming company, Wizards of the Coast (publishers of Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and much more). She edits fantasy fiction for children and teens. She is also the author of A Practical Guide to Monsters, which follows the company’s New York Times bestseller, A Practical Guide to Dragons. Needless to say, she is quite the expert.

I was invited to attend a preview of the webinar, and it’s an excellent Fantasy 101 crash course. Nina talks about:

• her experiences working at Mirrorstone (where she works in a “fantasy world”),
• why fantasy is so popular with kids, especially boys, and keeps them reading,
• the different flavors of fantasy plus a little on fantasy vs. science fiction,
• how fantasy and gaming can go hand-in-hand, and how tabletop role-play can lead to more kids in the library *and* more reading,
• program ideas that incorporate fantasy and fantasy reading

This webinar is a great place to start if you’re lost in fantasy, or just need a push in the right direction. Nina also talks about the many resources offered by her company (many of them free!) to help your library begin its journey into fantasy.

The program is coming up soon, so now is the time to register!

Event details:
A Practical Guide to Fantasy
Friday, September 28, 2007
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Eastern Time [10 a.m. CT / 9 a.m. MT / 8 a.m. PT]
To Register: Send your name and contact information to . You may either email or call in your credit card information at 914-241-2117.
Cost: $50 per person
Group discounts:
10-49: $45/person
50-99: $40/person
100+: $35/person

What you’ll need: This is a Web-based seminar. Registered participants will receive participation instructions, log-on information and a toll-free number to dial in by telephone for the audio portion of the seminar upon payment of the registration fee.

How very exciting! It turns out that Sophie Brookover and Liz Burns, two of the intrepid librarians who blog over at Pop Goes the Library, are working on a book titled Pop Goes the Library: Using Pop Culture to Connect With Your Whole Community, to be published sometime in 2008.

And they need *your* feedback! Here’s why (via a quote from their post about the book):

So while we feverishly research, write, and revise the manuscript, we have a request of all of you, dear Readers & Friends of Pop: we have this survey, you see, and it would help us out tremendously if you’d be willing to answer our questions. It’s one thing for us to write about what we think makes a great marriage between pop culture & libraries; it’s quite another, more powerful thing to quote our experienced colleagues on this topic.

Please take a few minutes to help by filling out their survey. Understanding the fit of popular culture in the library is one of the many keys to staying relevant with our patron communities, so this is a very worthy cause for your time. Thanks!