PLA Blog

Indeed, this was the weekend of Harry Potter. Devotees lined up at bookstores everywhere to pick up their copies at midnight. Many readers stayed up all night and then some reading the book, sometimes only stopping for food and bathroom breaks. “NO SPOILERS!” signs are popping up on blogs and discussion forums all over the web, for those who are taking the slow and scenic route, savoring every last moment of the final chapter in the story.

Public libraries were right there with the fans to celebrate the 7th canon. The Allen County Public Library coordinated a huge evening chock full of activities and music at their new library on Library Plaza, which you can read about care of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinal online (they also have a listing on their home page in the scrolling news graphics for a house elf clothing drive, which is very clever). Thanks to All Things Web 2.0 for the tip via your post! You can also peruse their entire photo set devoted to the party on Flickr.

By the looks of several Flickr photostreams, there were lots of libraries that had a really good time Friday night:

• Olds Municipal Library (Canada): Dumbledore, book reading, trivia, and more
• Kettleston Memorial Library (Alaska): potion mixing, quiz by Professor Trelawney, prophecy reading, and more
• Rancho Cucamonga Public Library (California): the “storm,” house elves, Hagrid, and more

You can also see library events on YouTube. Wellesley Free Library (Massachusetts) had quite the celebration, and you can see it all edited up quite nicely into 4m30s by video blogger Wellesley Townsman (a.k.a. Brad Reed). In a play on the epilogue of the book, you can watch Harry’s future as a library employee at the Hays Public Library (Kansas) battling the evils of vending machine vandalism and book theft.

I leave you with a video of the magical 2 minutes at the Land O’ Lakes branch of the Pasco County Libraries (Florida), when they opened the box at midnight:

Did your library have an event on Friday night? Post links to your photos, videos, articles, and more in the comments on this post! And, don’t forget a link to your library’s web site.

(I came into this program a little bit late, so I missed the introduction and the first few stories)

I had read an article about this program from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in my Literacy for Special Population course last Fall at Simmons College, so I was curious to hear more and decided to attend this Sunday morning program.

Prime Time is a family literacy program comprised of 6 to 8 week sessions with reading, discussion and storytelling at public libraries and other locations. Each session involves the reading of a few books by a professional storyteller, followed by a discussion led by a “scholar” (usually a university professor). Librarians have the opportunity to market library resources to the program participants during each session. The books are selected for their multicultural representations and the opportunities they offer for discussions of humanities topics.

The program was started in Louisiana in 1991, but has since spread across many other states thanks to grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and support from ALA. Librarians who plan to implement Prime Time at their library participate in an intense training session in New Orleans several times a year.

During the conference session, we heard stories from a number of librarians who have planned Prime Time at their libraries. Sue Warner from Kalamzoo City Public Library and other librarians from across the U.S. shared their experiences, the ways they made the program work for their community, and their passion for this wonderful program. They all emphasized that this program requires a great deal of planning and is not cheap, but that the rewards are immeasurable.

Prime Time has applied for more funding for 2008 and hopes to support more libraries in the upcoming year both through training and through funding the first series of programming. Check out the ALA site in late August/early September for more information about available grants for Prime Time. For more information about the program see their web site: http://www.leh.org/html/primetime.html

This very informative program  on Saturday morning was sponsored by Reforma, the National Association to Promote Library Services to the Spanish Speaking.

Carrie Banks, director of the Brooklyn Public Library’s Child’s Place for Children with Special Needs discussed staff training for working with Spanish speakers with disabilities.

Issues to be aware of when working with Spanish speakers with disabilities include:
- The importance of both language competency (i.e. speaking the language of the patron) and cultural competency (i.e. being familiar with the patron’s culture).
- Problematic attitudes on the part of library staff are generally related to one of the following factors: fear (of contagion, the different, or the unknown), sympathy and pity, avoidance, repulsion, or over-protection. Some of these may be uncontrollable feelings, but you must never display them outwardly.
- In the Spanish speaking communities there are additional factors that greatly affect individuals with disabilities: the idea of “aguante” (in Spanish “getting through”), the centrality and dependence on the family, and certain religious beliefs (which may view a disability as either a blessing or a curse). Also, some disabilities are culturally more acceptable than others, including physical (such as loss of limbs) or blindness, while others, such as mental or emotional disabilities, are viewed more negatively.
- Many Spanish speaking adults have physical disabilities because of work accidents; unfortunately, Spanish-speaking adults with disabilities have the highest rate of unemployment and the least success with rehabilitation, mostly due to the lack of focus on the family as part of the rehabilitation process.
- Few Spanish speaking individuals with disabilities belong to organizations or support groups because of language barriers.
- Immigration status is another big issue, as many don’t ask for help or attend meetings because of fear of deportation.
- When speaking of people with disabilities in English, the person always comes first and the disability second (for example a man with a disability, not a disabled man). In Spanish it may different, depending on the country of origin. The terms “necesidades especiales” have generally been acceptable.
- When planning service for this population, look to partner with organizations that support the Spanish speaking community, since they already have the language and cultural competences, and help them to extend their services to individuals with disabilities.
- Market your services and do outreach through nontraditional organizations, including daycare, churches, pharmacies, hospitals, detention centers and shelters.

Loida Febo Garcia from the Queens Public Library spoke on the subject of collection development for this patron population. Unfortunately, there are limited printed resources, although there are currently a number of good web sites with Spanish language information produced by different non-profit and governmental organizations.

The basic guidelines for collection development for Spanish speakers with disabilities are:
- Look for the same materials in Spanish as those published in English, making sure that there is material available for different ages
- Facilitate access to information by purchasing materials in different formats like Braille, descriptive DVD’s, etc.; these materials should mirror the books in the regular collection
- Utilize Library of Congress’s Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped to supplement collection.
Books for children with disabilities should follow the basic criteria for children’s literature, with a few additional points:
- no stereotypes
- no “special children” represented, but rather, normal children with a special trait
- no stories about overcoming disability
- disability portrayed as only one characteristic of child
- interactions between children with and without disabilities
- attempt to help change the attitudes of people without disabilities
- no sentimentality

To improve the situation and raise awareness of this patron population, librarians should push publishers to publish more and improve the choices available. One way to do this is to buy the materials that do currently exist. They also need to share information with the publishers regarding who are their users and what are their needs. Lastly, librarians should become more active and publish articles and blogs on the topic.

The last portion of the program was a presentation by students from the University of Puerto Rico’s Library and Information Science program at the Rio Piedras campus. Elizabeth Rivera and Cindy Jimenez described the Puerto Rico Assistive Technology Program’s Information Center, which although based on the University campus, provides resources and services to the general public. The goal of this center was to increase access to assistive technology, and it offers training, consultation, evaluation, and technical support to all. For more information about the center, see http://www.pratp.upr.edu

I attended the Programming Not Just for Boomers: Programming and Services program on Saturday, June 23. The program was aimed at adult programs for patrons 70+ years old.

A few highlights:
•Take an “old” idea and put a new spin on it, such as…
oBasic computer training (introduction to internet)
oHow to buy tickets online
oHow to email kids and grandkids (and set up an email account)
oTrain seniors in new technology (blogs, etc.)
oHow to use digital photography
oGaming – Wii festival and tournaments
oSocial networking (Seniornet or Eons) (http://www.seniornet.org / http://www.eons.com/)

•Other ideas:
oFilm and book discussions
oMovement: basic exercise, dance
o2nd careers, resumes for 70+ group
oFinancial security, recently retired
oFilm program, e.g. A Miss Marple film theme
oConsumer health
oLocal history
oGenealogy- create a genealogy club, teach online resources
oNostalgia programming
oOld basics: creating writing (could also use with blogs), poetry (open house program @ library)
oBiggest draw: music!
oGrandparents raising grandkids
oPrograms on coping with loss
oOther ideas: http://www.libraryolderadults.blogspot.com/

•Programs should be:
oEngaging, interactive
oAllow people to share, discuss, reminisce (they like what’s familiar)
oGet people involved, use their mental capabilities (helps keep them young)
oServe refreshments (this works with people of all ages!)

•Programming needs a gender balance (not just for women)

•Marketing
otraditional (print, papers)
oreceipt printers
oflyers, calendars, newsletters in library
ochurch bulletins
othis is the last generation that is print-oriented

Jed Moffitt of the King County LIbrary System began the PLA-sponsored Wiking the Blog and Walking the Dog with family stories that somehow led to a disclosure that the topic of social software in libraries is not so cutting-edge as it was eighteen months ago when the topic was chosen for the American Library Association Summer 2007 conference. The topic has matured a bit. He thought it was still worth discussing. The overflow crowd agreed.

At this “late date” in social software, the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County has already reached its second generation in training programs. Matt Gullett, the Emerging Technologies Librarian for PLCMC, described the library’s online tutorial series Learning 2.0. He invited all libraries to use what his library has created. PLCMC generally gave staff nine weeks to complete the tutorial in a voluntary program, but other libraries can take as long as they want. Gullett said the key is to be flexible and let staff learn at their pace.

The objectives behind the PLCMC effort are as follows, according to Gullett:

expose staff to tools
encourage them to play
empower individuals
expand their knowledge
eliminate their fears

PLCMC now has debuted its follow-up Learning 2.1, which is more self-directed learning. Gullett says that the results of staff training is a change in the work culture and the form of his library’s organization is changing. The new departments in the library are 1) community engagement, 2) library experiences, 3) organizational resources, and 4) research, innovation, and strategy.

Librarians in virtual worlds were the focus of Alliance Library System’s Tom Peters. Peters has been involved in Second Life for over a year. His avatar is based on his dog’s name (one of the references back to the title in this program).

Peters said that there are now at least 500 virtual worlds online. He said they are not games in the strictest sense of the term. They are alternate lives. Because many clients are going there, libraries should, too. Alliance Library System has created Info Island in Second Life and is providing services to participants in the virtual universe.

Peters thinks that libraries in a virtual world are great for answering reference inquiries, linking to digital collections, creating interesting exhibits, and running book discussions or other event programs. Libraries can design buildings that defy physics in their innovative service of clients in Second Life.

Transforming the online catalog for the Ann Arbor Public Library into social software is the trick for which John Blyberg won awards. With its tagging, reviews, ratings, and comments, the catalog has now become a community footprint and portal to the library. The catalog even has a tool for generating old catalog cards with comments written on them. So far the features have been most used by teens, as shown by the number of ratings for teen books.

Blyberg said the code for adding these features is free for other libraries to use, though it is not “plug and play.” He cautioned that libraries may want to find ways to “prime the pump” on the social features by getting a group of clients to use them to attract more general use.

In the little time that was left her, Meredith Farkas spoke about the use of wikis and blogs by public libraries. She found that wikis are well-designed for creating community knowledge bases. They foster contributions from individuals who join the community and are keyword searchable. She recommended that libraries go to Wiki Matrix to find comparisons of the competing software.

Farkas also showed examples of how libraries and businesses have used blogs to keep clients informed. In the case of Southwest Airlines, its public blog actually became an agent of service change, as clients expressed themselves through comments.

At the end of the formal presentation, the audience had many questions about applications of social software. The topic may not be so old-hat as Moffitt thought.

Sunday was a very busy day full of programs.

Nancy Pearl
First I arrive bright and early to see Nancy Pearl speak. It was fascinating to hear how each of her books came into being, especially her lastest book, Book Crush. She gave some suggestions of books for children and teens such as :
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz
The Paperboy by Pete Dexter
Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Lee
Each Little Bird that Sings by Deborah Wiles
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
The Great Good Thing by Rod Townley
Ragweed by Avi
The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck
Thirsty by MT Anderson
Feed by MT Anderson
Looking for Normal by Betty Monthei
Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis

Off the Chain: Reader’s Advisory for Exploding Genres
I really enjoyed this program. I won’t go into too many details because one of my fellow bloggers have done a great job detailing the program. I know that RUSA/PLA CODES will be having the handouts from their program on their websites. I found the program very interesting and has given me more authors and books to add to my list of books to read. I liked the many ways of finding out about new literature online, such as lit blogs and email lists as well as MySpace.

English Only: Censorship and its Impact on Latino Children and Young Adults in Schools and Public Libraries
I came into this program about half way through but I am glad I did. This program was given by AFL REFORMA. I missed the presentation part, but I did come in just as they started the discussion groups for different types of libraries. The public library discussion group was led by Rose Trevino. This gave people from different library systems a chance to ask questions and talk about how their library systems have their foreign languages materials placed in the collection and any programming that they have in foreign languages. Suggestions were also given on how to start a collection or to grow your current collection.

Future Friends: Marketing Reference and User Services to Generation X
This program was given by RUSA RSS. The handouts for this program will also be posted on RUSA’s blog. First the presenters went into defining Generation X and the facts about this generation. They then presented what this particular generation are looking for when it comes to services and potential segments of this generation. After defining Generation X, the presentation then went into how this would pertain to advertising to this generation and the different stages to planning advertising.
The next part of this program had St. Charles Library system in Illinois talk about their programs that they have for 20- and 30-somethings’ as well how they market those programs. They also gave examples of different programs, such as a cooking for 1 or 2 program, white elephant exchange, creating a safe online presence, a course on wine, and an history crawl of the town. Then they followed with some of the challenges that they have had with marketing as well as what they have learned.
Following this presentation was another presentation on the Young Friends of the Kansas City Public Library a.k.a BooksEnds. They went over what the group was and also how they marketed to their Generation X population.

Final Thoughts on ALA Annual Conference 2007
Unfortunately this was my last day at the conference. After attending different programs on Sunday, I took the time to go to the Library School Reunion Event at the Rennaissance Mayflower Hotel. It was great being able to see some fellow alumni from University of South Florida along with some of the professors that I had taken classes from. It was a good way to end my last day at the conference. I have had a blast at this year’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. I am looking forward to the next time I can attend an Annual Conference. I have found out a lot of useful information to take back to my library. I also have had a great time blogging about my experiences and the different programs that I have attended. So it’s been fun and I hope all those staying through Tuesday ave a great rest of conference. This is Catherine Moffatt signing off.

The world premiere screening of The Hollywood Librarian: A look at librarians through film, left me with very mixed feelings. The film does an excellent job of using clips from movies like Desk Set, The Music Man, Love Story, Party Girl, and others, to juxtapose the image of librarians in film against the realities of librarianship, including clips from an awesome black-and-white vocational film, as well as interviews with myriad librarians from all corners of librarianship, many of whom were brought on stage after the screening to be recognized. The movie obviously moved the audience and instilled a sense of vindication, with good reason, and I believe that the film does have the potential to give new and different perspective to “civilians” who don’t really understand the library world.

After the screening, writer and director Ann Seidl explained her interesting distribution method for the film. The film has been moved into the finals for an independent film festival (if you know the name of the festival, please comment here and let me know, I can’t find it), so it will get some exposure. But, rather than sell the film to a distributor, Ann would like to grant rides to show the distribution DVD, as well as a package of comprehensive marketing and discussion materials, so that interested public libraries can show screenings themselves.

What she asks in return is that libraries charge money for the screenings, with 1/3 of the fee going to her production company, 1/3 of the fee covering distribution costs, and 1/3 of the fee going to the library showing the movie. Her idea is to use the library, which, according to the movie, provides more points of service than McDonald’s, to get the word out about the movie and its message. Sign ups for this distribution program begin tomorrow at Booth #4207 in the Exhibit Hall, where you can ask questions and give your feedback about the film.

For those who missed the film, you can watch the recently-released trailer:

The Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) is pleased to announce the launch of National Reading Group Month (NRGM) in October 2007 to mark the 90th anniversary of the association’s founding. “Part of WNBA’s mission is to promote reading and the value of books, so we are proud to organize the first-ever National Reading Group Month. Reading groups inspire, transform and educate. They foster community and instill an appreciation for the written word,” says Laurie Beckelman, president of the Women’s National Book Association. “The mission of National Reading Group Month is four-fold:

To bring about public awareness of the joy of shared reading.

To provide a time for existing groups to celebrate their accomplishments and make plans for the future.

To encourage libraries, bookstores, and various organizations to host special events for reading groups.

To provide opportunities for individuals to get involved in an existing reading group or start one of their own.

Further information is available at http://wnba-books.org.

The Women’s National Book Association, which is about to celebrate its 90th anniversary, was established before women in America even had the right to vote. It is a broad-based non-profit organization with members across the country, three distinguished national awards, and a history of lively events in its eight chapter cities and elsewhere. As a national organization of women and men who work with and value books, WNBA exists to promote reading and to support the role of women in the community of the book. WNBA is non-governmental organization (NGO) affiliated with the United Nations/Department of Public Information, and a NGO partner with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and supports the Fund’s education alliance for women and girls in Afghanistan.

I received this via the Massachusetts Library Association listserv, and thought I’d share:

WGBH/Boston, a leading producer of quality children’s programming and award-winning resources for educators, is pleased to offer librarians a FREE Peep and the Big Wide World Event Kit. The kit has resources for organizing 3 different hands-on science events for preschoolers.

This free kit is available as part of the educational outreach linked to the WGBH-produced, EmmyR Award-winning series, Peep and the Big Wide World. The goal of the series and its outreach is to nurture young children’s interest in science play and discovery.

The kit includes informative Leader’s Guides that outline how to set-up and run the 3 separate events, which focus on the themes of Shadows, Structures, and Ramps. Related reproducible materials for families attending the events are also provided.

To get your free kit, contact by September 30th (one Event Kit is available per library branch while supplies last). You can also download components of the kit and other resources from the site.

For details on the television program, visit the PEEP and the Big Wide World site.

Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is popular with kids. However, there are some libraries that might still have questions on what the DDR options look like, even after attending presentations at conferences and reading posts on blogs. I recently replied to a message on this topic from one of the listservs I subscribe to (a patron wanted to donate a system, and the librarian needed to tell the patron what to buy, but didn’t know where to start), and I’ve answered this question for librarians and patrons on many an occasion, and I thought the information might be worth sharing here in a really basic HowTo format.

Here’s a really basic overview:

TV Plug-n-Play Pad
Parts you need: pads, TV.
You may have seen them in the stores, usually retailing for about $15-$40, depending on the brand. These pads are designed to just plug into a television via the RCA/Composite connectors (the yellow, white, and red things). These require no console or computer to play, you just plug them in to the TV, change the channel (usually to the same channel used for playing your VCR), and use the pad to control the game. While these pads are limited in songs and features, they are very cost effective as a starter option, especially if you’re looking at a small group or if you don’t know if the game is going to take off at your library.

DDR games for consoles
Parts you need: controller pads, game console (Xbox or Playstation), TV, game CDs compatible with the consoles.
This is the most popular and scalable option. Various flavors of DDR are available for the Xbox, Xbox360, PlayStation (PS), and PlayStation 2 (PS2), which are all considered gaming consoles. These boxes hook up to a television, and work much like a CD player with external controllers.

The pads for the console games are different, you can’t connect the plug-n-play pads to a game console. For a console configuration you need the controller pads, one for each of the two players, which come in a variety of styles, the metal kind being the most expensive but most durable, and the padded kind being less expensive but not as durable. While there are wireless pads available, there can be issues of connectivity and slight delay in registering a step.

The downside to this setup is that it can be initially expensive. A PS2 alone can run about $130, the pads can run about $30 each, and the games are about $40 brand new. On the upside is that you can use the console configuration for multiple games, so you can own the latest DDR release, and offer lots of variety. You can also move on to other games as they become popular; Guitar Hero is the latest big thing with the kids I’ve talked to, so by having the console already, you just need th Guitar Hero CD and guitar controller.

DDR on a computer
Parts you need: Spare PC or Mac laptop or computer+monitor, controller pads, game CDs compatible with the computer.
This is a pretty old school setup without much variety or longevity, but it’s still an option. In this configuration, you plug the computer-compatible controller pads into the computer, and you pop a computer-compatible version of the game CD into your computer. The game then plays on the monitor, or on a TV, with the right wires.

On the big screen
At my library, we often connect our PS2 setup to a LCD projector that is hooked up to speakers. That way, you can add volume (some projectors don’t have very loud sound) and a bigger picture that is easier for everyone to see (and it just looks cooler). We don’t have Guitar Hero yet, but I’ve seen it projected on a screen with speaker sound, and it’s *awesome*.

Was this post useful?
Do you want more posts like this? Which topics would you like to know more about? Leave a comment a let us know.