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Public Library Association Volume 47 • Number 2 • march/april 2008 ISSN 0163-5506

Departments

4 News from PLA kathleen hughes

5 On the Agenda

7 From the President jan sanders FEATURES 13 Tales from the Front 42 Folksonomies jennifer t. ries-taggart Path to a Better Way? 16 Perspectives sharon l. cosentino This article provides practical tips for librarians using social book- nanci milone hill marking sites and details how the folksonomic site Library Thing may be a great enriching feature to OPACs, mixing grassroots cat- 25 Book Talk egories with Library of Congress Subject Headings. brendan dowling

29 Internet Spotlight 50 GLBT Programming at the Dallas Public michael porter and Library david lee king Lessons Learned catherine ritchie, david fettke, and dale mcneill 33 Bringing in the Money In 2005, a systemwide committee composed of Dallas Public Library lee price employees began a yearly programming series targeted toward the city’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. The author 40 Passing Notes describes the committee’s genesis and the challenges it faced. michael garrett farrelly

55 Open Access and Science 72 By The Book New Paths for Public Libraries julie elliott nadine dalton speidel Details the open access movement in libraries, a movement that 78 New Product News advocates for the availability of information, especially scholarly vicki nesting information in the form of research articles and journals, to anyone in need, with minimal restriction. Extras

64 What Do I Hear? 2 Editor’s Note eBay’s Utility in a Library 2 Readers Respond joseph r. zumalt and alison (scott) konieczny 10 Verso—Keeping It Weird— The online auction site eBay can be useful to libraries in many ways. A City, A State of Mind . . . The author provides easy-to-use strategies and tips for using eBay in A Library Program? the library. 41 Index to Advertisers

cover and table of contents images by jim lange design. EDITORIAL EDITOR: Kathleen M. Hughes Editor’s Note CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Julie Elliott, Michael Garrett Farrelly, Nann Blaine Hilyard, Nanci Milone-Hill, David Lee King, Vicki Dear readers: Nesting, Michael Porter, Lee Price, Jennifer T. Ries-Taggart ADVISORY COMMITTEE I hope you were able to attend the recent PLA conference, Marilyn Boria, Elmhurst, IL; Bessie Condos, Sacramento, CA; Sally Decker Smith, Wheeling, IL; Luren E. Dickinson, Shaker which by most accounts was an excellent learning experi- Heights, OH; Patricia Linville, Seward, AK; Nanci Milone Hill, ence, leaving attendees excited and rejuvenated. If you were Methuen, MA. not able to make it, check out the PLA blog (www.plablog EX OFFICIO: Susan Hildreth, State Library of California, 914 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814; [email protected]. .org) to read comprehensive coverage of many of the diverse PLA PRESIDENT: Jan Sanders, Pasadena Public Library, 285 E. programs and events that took place during the event. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91101; [email protected]. This issue of Public Libraries also offers a diversity of PUBLIC LIBRARIES (ISSN 0163-5506) is published bimonthly at 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. It is the official publication of articles, from a discussion of folksonomies to the open the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library access movement in libraries, from lessons learned in GLBT Association. Subscription price: to members of PLA, $25 a year, included in membership dues; to nonmembers: U.S. $50; Canada programming to using eBay in the library, you’ll find a nice $60; all other countries $60. Single copies, $10. Periodicals postage mix of library learning. You also won’t want to miss Brendan paid at Chicago, IL, and at additional mailing offices. Dowling’s interview with up-and-coming YA author Abby POSTMASTER: send address changes to Public Libraries, Sher (Book Talk) and Alison Kastner’s “weird” contribution 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. to our Verso column. SUBSCRIPTIONS Have you been thinking about writing an article for PL? Nonmember subscriptions, orders, changes of address, and We’d love to hear what your library is up to. Feel free to con- inquiries should be sent to Public Libraries, Sub­scription tact me at [email protected] with questions or comments. I Department, American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; 1-800-545-2433, press 5; fax: (312) 944-2641; look forward to hearing about your library! [email protected]. advertising Kathleen M. Hughes Doug Lewis, Jordan Gareth Inc., 4920 Hwy 9, #141, Alpharetta, Editor GA 30004; (770) 333-1281, fax: (404) 806-7745; doug@ jordangareth.com; Territory: FL, MS, AL, GA, NC, SC, KY, TN, VA, WV, MD, DE, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA, NH, VT, and ME. Dave Adrian, Kathleen is reading Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad David M. Adrian & Associates, 7251 Jameson Place, Canoga Park, of Gram Parsons and His Cosmic American Music CA 91303; (818) 888-5288, fax: (818) 888-0547; dmadrian@aol. by com; Territory: PA, OH, MI, IN, IL, WI, MN, IA, MO, AR, LA, TX, David Meyer. OK, KS, NE, SD, ND, MT, WY, CO, NM, AZ, UT, ID, WA, OR, NV, CA, HI, AK, and all international countries. PRODUCTION ALA PRODUCTION SERVICES: Troy D. Linker, Karen Sheets, Chris Keech, and Tim Clifford. MANUSCRIPTS Readers Respond Unless otherwise noted, all submissions should be sent to Kathleen Hughes, Public Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; [email protected]. See www.pla.org for sub- mission instructions. Kudos on YA-Themed Issue INDEXING/ABSTRACTING My compliments on the January/February theme issue of Public Public Libraries is indexed in Library Literature and Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE), in addition to a num- Libraries on young adult services in public libraries. It is really ber of online services. Contents are abstracted­ in Library and superb, and will become a staple of my YA services class at Queens Information Science Abstracts. College’s GSLIS for some time to come. Those of us who have MICROFILM COPIES labored in the trenches of the profession on behalf of teens for Microfilm copies are available from University Microfilms,­ 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103. years (over 30 in my case), often in opposition to our own col- The paper used in this publication meets the minimum leagues’ myopia, are ecstatic to see others share and extend our requirements of American National Standard for Information commitment to this important developmental/age group. It has Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. long been my not-so-humble opinion that YA librarians (or those ©2008 by the American Library Association often serving YAs without the title) are among the most creative All materials in this journal are subject to copyright by the in the profession, and this issue underscores that reality. While I American Library Association and may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advance- can’t afford to retire yet, I can start resting in peace ahead of time, ment granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision thanks to initiatives like this one. Thanks to you and all the authors Act of 1976. For other reprinting, photocopying, or translating, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions, 50 for a job well done.—Mary K. Chelton (world’s oldest living YA E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. librarian), GSLIS/Queens College, CUNY

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news from pla

News from PLA

PLA 12th National Con- of more than seven hundred attend- Author’s Studio,” an author interview ference Draws Thou- ees. The Frommers also shared vari- program, which featured romance ous tips and recommendations for novelist Connie Brockway and mys- sands to Minneapolis traveling overseas and within the tery writer Laura Lippman and was Nearly 10,000 library staff, support- U.S. on a budget. In front of a packed led by Booklist’s Donna Seaman. ers, exhibitors, authors, and guests ballroom, children’s author luncheon descended on the Minneapolis keynote speakers, award-winning Convention Center from March author Pat Mora and illustrator Raúl 25–29 for PLA 2008. The confer- PLA 2008 Hosts Turning the Colón (collaborators on children’s ence offered attendees a variety of Page Event for PLA Members favorites Doña Flor and Tomás and programming focused on key issues Turning the Page: Building Your the Library Lady), discussed the such as technology; serving adults, Library Community prepares librar- inspirations behind their work as youth and new Americans; gaming ies with the skills, confidence, and well as the importance of librarians’ in libraries; library design; and col- resources needed to create commu- optimistic nature. Other confer- lection development. nity partnerships, build alliances with ence speakers included: novelist A series of preconferences were local and regional decision-makers, Louise Erdrich; best-selling author held before the conference, and and ultimately increase library fund- Jacqueline Winspear; actor, screen- included a luncheon hosted by ing. This event, generally offered only writer and audiobook narrator Scott author Meg Cabot, best known for to Opportunity Online hardware Brick; and Books on Tape Executive The Princess Diaries series. Other grantees, was available free of charge Producer Dan Musselman. preconference speakers included to PLA members who attended PLA author and Librarian Action Figure 2008 in Minneapolis, thanks to the model Nancy Pearl in “Book Buzz,” Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. where she lead a lively discussion Virtual Conference Attracts Nearly two hundred members on some of the best upcoming Librarians Unable to Travel attended the two-day learning event, books with publisher representa- New to the conference this year which took place on Tuesday, March tives from HarperCollins, Macmillan, was the PLA Virtual Conference. 25 and Wednesday, March 26. Visit Hachette, Milkweed Editions (a Those who were not able to attend www.SustainingLibraries.org for more information. local Minneapolis publisher), and the conference in Minnesota had Random House. an opportunity to join their col- The opening general session fea- leagues through the Web. Nearly tured philanthropist and author John two hundred online subscribers 3M Leadership Institute Wood, founder and CEO of Room participated in such activities as live, Preconference Offered to to Read, a nonprofit organization interactive webcasts and workshops, PLA Members dedicated to helping children in the online poster sessions, access to Approximately eighty PLA members developing world through the power handouts and other presentation were selected to attend a leadership of education. Wood discussed the materials, and both general and institute hosted by 3M on Tuesday, inspiration for his organization and subject-focused discussion boards. March 25 preceding the PLA 12th his grand vision to provide educa- Each day featured five live programs, National Conference in Minneapolis. tional access to ten million children chosen from the selections available The event, which took place at 3M’s in the developing world through his to in-person conference attendees. famed Innovation Center, gave inspirational and novel approach to In addition, the virtual conference attendees the opportunity to learn nonprofit management. Best-selling featured special events, such as “A about developing leadership skills travel experts and authors Arthur Conversation with Nancy Pearl,” an and fostering change within their Frommer and daughter Pauline interactive question-and-answer libraries. All costs to attend the lead- Frommer spoke to a luncheon crowd session with Pearl, and “Inside the ership institute were covered by 3M.

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The conference also offered 2008 PLDS Order Forms access to hundreds of exhibiting Available Online On the Agenda companies including top book pub- The Public Library Data Service lishers, who showcased the latest (PLDS) Statistical Report, a project of ALA Annual Conference in products and services for public PLA, is designed to meet the needs June 26–July 2, 2008 libraries and their users. of public library administrators and Anaheim, California Comedian and author Paula others for timely and effective library- Poundstone brought the conference ALA Midwinter Meeting specific data that illuminates and January 23–28, 2009 to a close on Saturday, March 29. For supports a wide variety of manage- more information on PLA 2008, visit ment decisions. Published annually, Denver, Colorado www.placonference.org or visit www the PLDS report presents exclusive, PLA Spring Symposium .plablog.org to read comprehensive timely data from more than eight reports of programs, author events, April 2–4, 2009 hundred public libraries across the Nashville, Tennessee social events, and more. United States and Canada on financ- es, library resources, annual use fig- ures, and technology. In addition to management of technology, planning Jamie Lee Curtis to these valuable topics, each year’s edi- and management of buildings, mar- Keynote PLA President’s tion contains a special survey high- keting, current issues, fund-raising, lighting statistics on one service area Program at ALA Annual politics and networking, and serving Conference or topic. The 2008 PLDS report will be available at ALA’s Annual Conference diverse populations. Seven courses PLA is pleased to announce that are scheduled for the remainder of actor and author Jamie Lee Curtis in Anaheim. Order forms are avail- able on pages 48 and 49 of this issue 2008 in locations around the country. will present the keynote address New courses are being scheduled reg- at the PLA President’s Program of PL and also are online at www.pla .org for both the 2008 print version ularly. Visit www.pla.org for complete and Awards Presentation at the and the PLDS database. CPLA information. American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Anaheim, California. The program will take PLA Announces Dates place on Monday, June 30 from 5 CPLA Courses Sched- to 6:30 p.m. Curtis is the author of uled Throughout 2008 for 2009 Spring Sympo- several children’s books, including The Certified Public Library sium and 2010 National Is There Really a Human Race?, It’s Administrator (CPLA) program is Conference Hard to Be Five, I’m Gonna Like Me, a voluntary post-MLS certification The PLA Spring Symposium will be Where Do Balloons Go?, Today I Feel program for public librarians with held April 2–4, 2009 in Nashville, Silly and Other Moods That Make My three or more years of supervisory Tennessee at the Renaissance Day, Tell Me Again About the Night experience. However, librarians do Nashville Hotel. The symposium will I Was Born, and When I Was Little: not have to be enrolled in the certi- feature intensive day-and-a-half long A Four-Year-Old’s Memoir of Her fication program to take advantage workshops focused on subjects per- Youth. of CPLA courses. This series of con- tinent to public libraries and public PLA is pleased to present tinuing education programs meets librarians, as well as an opening Curtis through the support of both the requirements for CPLA cer- general session, an author luncheon, HarperCollins Children’s Books tification and the needs of librarians and area library tours. Registration and as part of the ALA Auditorium wanting to enhance their managerial and housing will open in early Speakers Series. A gala, music-filled skills. The nine PLA-sponsored CPLA September 2008. Stay tuned to www reception will follow her talk and courses are designed to give public .pla.org for more information. the awards presentation. For more librarians a solid foundation and PLA 2010, the 13th National information on the PLA President’s working knowledge of core functions Conference, will be held in Portland, Program, contact the PLA office at performed at the administrator-level, Oregon, March 23–27, 2010. Visit the (800) 545-2433, ext. 5PLA, or visit and include workshops focused on PLA website periodically for addi- PLA’s website at www.pla.org. strategic HR, budget and finance, tional information.

5 march/april 2008

from the president

Vanishing Librarians JAN SANDERS is Director of the Pasadena (Calif.) Public Library; jsanders@ cityofpasadena.net. Revisited appy spring! It’s late enough that even those of you in the icebound Jan is reading Love north and east should be seeing a few signs of the thaw. Here’s to Medicine by Louise Erdrich spotting that robin and crocus leaf real soon! and Easter Island by H Recently, I was catching up on some professional reading and came upon Jennifer Vanderbes. a treatise from the ever-opinionated John (“LJ”) Berry. His remarks, pub- lished in the February 15, 2008, Library Journal are titled, “The Vanishing Librarians.” He opines that librarians are quickly becoming a dying breed, that personal service and one-on-one conversations are being replaced by self-serve desks and automated responses. Further, he states that OCLC has taken over the cataloging function, and that a small in-house selection team or (horrors!) vendors are actually selecting the bulk of titles to be added to local collections. To come full circle he states that since libraries need fewer and fewer professional librarians on staff, management itself can now pass to non-professional librarians serving as CEOs. (Witness both Kansas City Public Library and Memphis Public Library and Information Center.) While I am not so naïve as to assume that I might change the mind of the illustrious Mr. Berry, I would offer the following for consideration. First, let me say that I am a product of a very strong public-library-focused graduate program at Indiana University. In addition, I defined myself as a professional early on in the game and have spent decades supporting the profession and its attendant organizations, both state and national. I believe that our work is a profession and that it requires specialized knowledge and understanding. However, do the changes Berry notes signal the death of that professionalism? I don’t think so. One of the reasons users love their libraries (especially their branch librar- ies) is the personal contact and familiarity they feel when they enter. How can we promote that? Even enrich it? Many library leaders have turned to a reduction of rote tasks to lighten work loads and free up face time with cus- tomers. Installing self-serve checkout stations, automated computer reserva- tion systems, and headset telephone devices that operate wirelessly and thus prevent staff being tethered to a service desk—all these create the freedom for personal attention and response. Surely the ability to work one-on-one with our users makes us better librarians, not weaker ones. When you talk about professional duties, the most visceral response often is elicited by any change to the holy ground of book selection. Librarians have traditionally and faithfully evaluated their communities, defined needs and levels of interest, and been able to secure the titles and subjects needed.

7 march/april 2008 from the president

Ours is a very incestuous profes- sion: directors know each other, share insights and opinions, and sometimes even suggest the right fit for a job. Sometimes those who lead library boards or municipalities feel a stronger business approach is needed, or someone with political ties that serve a different clientele, or whatever. Does filling a library executive director’s job with those qualifications make that leader any less viable to the community being served? I’m not sure it does. What I do know is that a tradition- ally trained professional librarian has a broader understanding of our issues, concerns, and possible solu- tions. Such a person also has (one would suppose) a strong background in library trends and best practices. Would such a person be a solid, strong choice as library leader? Of course. Is such a person the only choice? Probably not. Now, maybe it’s time for directors to take a look at library leadership and determine if our own vision is becoming a bit too myopic. Food for thought. At the end of the day, I am not threatened or frightened by current We’re good at that. We’ve been ness today. Not historically, today. directions and alterations within the trained to do it well. But, like many Skimming off the listings of must- profession. For years we’ve asked our efforts, book selection often falls haves does not, in my opinion, users to adapt to changing formats under the 20/80 rule: 20 percent of weaken the work of the selector; it and methods of delivery. We’ve asked the result demanding 80 percent of merely gives time and space for real staff to alter the way they perform the effort. That is to say, many of our concentration and evaluation. for greater effectiveness and effi- purchases are relatively standard- And what of the most egregious ciency. Certainly libraries as institu- issue: bestsellers, known authors, crime—hiring a non-librarian as tions have evolved and reinvented continuations or series, local writ- executive director? Troublesome? themselves throughout the last fifty ers, and the like. These additions Yes. Fatal? Probably not. We all know years. The challenge is for us as a need no deliberation, users expect to that every library needs different group to meet the changes imposed find them on our shelves, and we’re leadership styles and skills depen- upon us, fashion them to meet our happy to fill that expectation. Why dent on its current development strategic goals, and thus enhance— not, then, follow the successful lead path. Some directors are fundraisers not undermine—the qualities that of our friends in the bookstores and and builders, some strong on plan- we believe make us the professionals set up templates for buying these ning and staff development, some we are. titles? Let the professional selec- good at maintenance and solidar- tors spend their calories evaluating ity. I’ve watched for years as large the total scope of the collection institutions traded one library leader and determining its appropriate- for another as their needs changed.

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alison kastner ([email protected]) is a Librarian in the Popular Keeping It Library at the Central Branch of Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon. She is reading Weird Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje. A City, A State of Mind . . . A Library Program?

People who move to Portland, Oregon, inevitably fall in love with the place. Though frequent rain is not one of its most endearing qualities, it might well be the reason why there are vibrant subcultures happily growing like mold in the grey corners of the city. Two librarians created a library program based on the quirkiness of their city.

ow weird is your community? I was on my typical commute from home to my library job in downtown Portland, passing the usual Hsuspects—on the Broadway Bridge I paused for a coffee with Shift to Bikes, a group that provides breakfast for bike commuters; I passed the Elvis impersonator who busks on the corner across from Powell’s City of Books; I listened briefly to the group of men who sing gospel music kitty-corner to the library. At the reference desk I noticed that the School and Community Resource Action Project (SCRAP) was gathering in our meeting room—they focus on recycling paper waste materials for art education. Later in the day a patron asked to see our zine collection, which reminded me of the Independent Publishing Resource Center, an organization that helps people publish their creative work. Back at home reading the paper, I noticed that the Sacred Harp Singers were inviting people to sing with them at the pub around the corner. It suddenly occurred to me that the whole of Portland should be a library program. With so many interesting and odd organizations, why not a whole day of showcasing them? Our library’s strategic plan emphasizes outreach to the community, the library as a meeting place, and educational opportunities for everyone. A day of highlighting local organizations would fulfill all these goals. And then there was the added plus of not having to pay a lot of money for the pro- gram. We would invite groups to come and talk about what they do and why. People would learn about their community and perhaps join these organiza- Speaking of Portland . . . tions. As my colleague Stephanie Miller and I solidified the plan, we decided to emphasize hands-on activities. We really didn’t want the kind of event PLA’s next national con- where exhibitors sit all day, bored out of their minds, waiting for someone ference, PLA 2010, will be to ask a question. We also didn’t want to confine the activities to our meet- held in Portland, Oregon, ing room, away from the life of the library. Instead we wanted to hold it on from March 23–27, 2010. all three public floors. Ideally, we’d put groups near the sections where they would be shelved if they were books. Visit www.pla.org for PLA We decided early on to focus on nonprofits and to avoid organizations 2010 updates. with religious or political affiliations—we couldn’t afford to leave anyone out

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if we opened that door. We planned of our Library Foundation, we were for a couple of crowd-drawing events able to hire a couple of big acts to to ensure that people would enjoy perform during the day to keep up themselves and stick around to the momentum: the band Sneakin’ visit the tables. As an added bonus, Out would provide their eclectic Stephanie came up with the idea of mix of heavy metal and pop tunes giving away reusable book/grocery performed on mandolin, bass, glock- bags printed with the library’s logo enspiel, and typewriter; the Portland The Urban Berbers troupe. and “Keep Portland Weird.” Reusable Ukulele Association would give bags are all the rage in green mass ukulele lessons to all comers. Portland. There would also be yoga instruction So we had a plan—now to find the and a demonstration by the Urban participants. Luckily, one barely has Berbers, a belly-dancing troupe. to scratch the surface of Portland to We were content with the lineup, get to the “weird.” Our original list but not everything was to go so included The Zoobombers—a group smoothly. Problem number one: of guerrilla bikers who head up to As it turns out, the slogan “Keep the zoo five hundred feet above the Portland Weird” is actually owned city, only to “bomb” down the hill at by Music Millennium, a local music top speed. We have a local chapter of store. They got the idea from Austin, the Cacophony Society, a group ded- Texas. “Keep Austin Weird” began as icated to Dadaistic events, because a way to encourage people to shop The Regency Society in full costume. . . . well . . . just because. They locally. Music Millennium thought are best known in Portland for the idea would work well in Portland SantaCon, in which Santa-clad and produced t-shirts and bum- members go on an extended per stickers, many of which can be pub crawl. Portland’s Bicycle seen on cars in the city. The name Transportation Alliance not only seemed ideal for our festival, and advocates for bike commuters, but our research showed that the trade- also hosts the World Naked Bike mark had expired. Reasoning that Ride each year. And then there’s the slogan had entered the Portland the Oregon Friends of Jung, the lexicon, we plowed ahead. To our Dixieland Jazz Society (devoted to surprise we got a letter from Music the preservation of traditional jazz), Millennium a week before the festi- the Portland Ukulele Association, val asking us to describe the event. Portland Area Robotics Society. the Ocean Paddling Society, the Apparently, the copyright was still Old Library Studio (helping kids to active on the state level. When the compose, record, and produce their owners understood the spirit of the own music), the Carnivorous Plant festival, they graciously granted us Society, and so on. The only real a one-time use of the phrase “Keep issue would be to narrow down the Portland Weird” for one dollar. field to fit them all in. Problem number two: We didn’t We compiled our list and sent have a lot of money for newspaper out invitations to the party. The ads. We decided to rely on posting responses were enthusiastic. Soon to blogs, craigslist, and promoting we had a lineup that included the event on our library website. We robots, self-proclaimed computer hoped that the catchiness of the title geeks, urban chicken keepers, wild- and the appeal of our participants Musical acts filled much of the schedule. food foragers, calligraphers, and zin- would generate publicity. The bet esters. Due to the generous support paid off. The Oregonian published

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a lengthy story about the upcom- all they liked as long as they complied the Ghost of Tom?” Kids crowded ing festival titled “Keep Portland with our rules of behavior. Come to around the talking robots, and many Weird? That’s the Slogan—Don’t think of it, that might have been the people walked away with a sample Wear it Out” that gave us some determining factor in their absence. of their names written in calligraphy. much needed public relations.1 We The City Repair Project, a grass- Stephanie and I were both exhausted tried to forgive them for indulging in roots initiative to make Portland and pleased, but we did manage to predictable stereotyping when the more livable, wanted to hand out stay up for the segment about the fes- author wrote, “‘Keep Portland Weird’ free tea and asked to be near a bath- tival on the 11 o’clock news—a time will hit what may be the ultimate room where they could wash mugs. when most “mainstream” librarians in mainstream: The Multnomah As a large urban library, we cringed are safely tucked away in bed. County Library is holding a festival at the thought of someone washing Portland likes to wear its weird- to celebrate the concept.”2 Later, dishes in our public restrooms—we ness on its sleeve, but perhaps just to rub it in a bit, she posed the provided paper cups instead. They your own community is hiding a question, “Should ‘Keep Portland opted not to give out the tea rather wealth of weirdness that is wait- Weird’ backers really be celebrat- than commit the sin of using dis- ing to be tapped. Now that we’ve ing the fact that the phrase is now posable containers. And we weren’t recovered somewhat from the event, so mainstream it’s being embraced aware until they were waving in the we’re thinking about another one. by librarians? If everyone is weird, air that the Urban Berbers, the belly- After all, we’ve barely scratched the is anyone?”3 Although we weren’t dancing troupe, uses swords in one surface. What about the Barefoot that keen on being thought of as of their dances. Luckily the audience Hikers? PDX Dorkbot? The American the “ultimate in mainstream,” we left with all body parts intact. Society of Bookplate Collectors decided to embrace the “all publicity Looking around on the day and Designers? The Portland Cello is good publicity” philosophy. of the event, we were thrilled Project? The Church of Craft? Well, There were a few other hiccups: with the response to the festival. you get the picture. The Cacophony Society, the organi- Approximately seven hundred people zation given to random acts of odd- learned how to find fiddleheads in ness, decided at the last minute not the wild. They learned about keeping References to come. In some ways it was a bit of chickens in the city. They admired 1. Anna Griffin, “Keep Portland a relief, given that we weren’t quite the costumes of the Regency society Weird? That’s the Slogan—Don’t sure what they planned to do, other ladies, who gave away free fans. Quite Wear it Out,” Oregonian, Oct. 14, than their stated intention of “mess- a few brought their own ukes to the 2007, sec. A, 1. ing with people.” We had given them ukulele lessons, which ended with a 2. Ibid., 1. the green light to mess with people rousing rendition of “Have You Seen 3. Ibid., 15.

Winners of PLA Feature Article Contest Announced

PLA is pleased to announce the 2008 winners of its annual feature article contest, which awards cash prizes for articles written by public librarians and published in Public Libraries the previous year. The $500 first prize award goes to Barbara Pitney, reference services coordinator for the King County (Wash.) Library System and Nancy Slote, branch library manager at the Seattle Public Library for their article “Going Mobile—The KCLS Roving Reference Model,” which was published in the January/February 2007 issue. The $300 second prize goes to Rose M. Frase, assistant library manager at the Perry Hall Branch, and Barbara Salit-Mischel, library manager at the Reistertown Branch, of the Baltimore County (Md.) Public Library for their article, “Right-Sizing the Reference Collection,” also published in the January/February 2007 issue. Public Libraries Advisory Committee members select the winners. The prizes will be awarded during the PLA President’s Program at the 2008 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California. Public librarians interest- ed in being considered for the 2009 awards should visit www.ala.org/ala/pla/plapubs/publiclibraries/contest .htm for submission guidelines, or e-mail Kathleen Hughes at [email protected] for more information.

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“Tales from the Front” is a collection of news items and innovative ideas from libraries nationwide. Send submissions to the contributing editor.

West Oakland Library Shuttle transported to WOB/OPL on special Is Launched buses. Oakland Librarian Catherine Francioch states, “The program has Contributing Editor a ripple effect. Once the children JENNIFER RIES-TAGGART Children in West Oakland, California, come to the library, we see them is Executive Director, are riding a free shuttle to the library. returning with their siblings, par- Brighton Memorial Library, The West Oakland Library Shuttle ents, and grandparents.” 2300 Elmwood Ave., Program, initiated in September When the children are at the Rochester, NY 14618; 2007, transports preschool and kin- library, the librarian and her assis- [email protected]. dergarten students, teachers, and parents from their schools and pre- tant conduct special story times to expose them to the joy of books and Jennifer is reading The Secret schools to the West Oakland Branch reading. During their visits the chil- of Lost Things by Sheridan of the Oakland Public Library (WOB/ dren also learn how to use the library Hay, The Camel Bookmobile by OPL). Without the program, the chil- and discover the other resources Masha Hamilton, The Yellow dren would have to pay bus fare or it has to offer. Francioch states, Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins walk up to a mile to reach the near- “Studies have shown that being Gilman, April in Paris: A Novel est public library. exposed to the library at a young age by Michael Wallner, and Where The West Oakland Library Shuttle helps ensure the children’s future the Blind Horse Sings by Kathy is funded by the Metropolitan success. The program is an ideal Stevens and Elizabeth Marshall Transportation Commission through partnership between transportation Thomas. their Lifeline Transportation Program (LTP). LTP is designed agencies and educators.” to improve transportation for The West Oakland Library Shuttle low-income people in the San is the successor to a previous grant- Francisco Bay Area. Alameda County funded effort that the library insti- Congestion Management Agency tuted several years ago. For more Executive Director Dennis Fay information, contact Catherine states, “The flexibility of the Lifeline Francioch at (510) 238–7352. Transportation Program makes it possible to address the transporta- tion needs of low-income residents Immigrants Start a New in innovative ways. We are pleased Chapter to fund the West Oakland Library Shuttle Program to provide a critical The Lexington (Ky.) Public Library transportation link between Oakland has embarked on a two-year project residents and the library.” to help recent immigrants become The $150,000 program is engaged citizens. The project is expected to transport more than funded by a $50,000 American 1,500 children, parents, and school- Dream Fund grant from the John S. teachers to the library over three and James L. Knight Foundation and years. The students will be picked will involve programs both at the up by bus from two elementary library’s Village Branch and through- schools and eight preschools and out the community.

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“Starting a New Chapter” focuses one dollar, these titles may be rent- times, and activities. For more infor- on four areas of improvement: infor- ed for one week. There will be no mation, contact Jackie Powers, direc- mation services, improved coor- reserves and no renewals on these tor of public information, at (303) dination of services, a new mobile selected titles. Only two Bestseller 275-2203 or e-mail jpowers@ computer lab, and youth develop- Express books may be checked out jefferson.lib.co.us. ment. The project will address these at a time per customer. Customers areas by way of: willing to wait can still follow the usual procedures to reserve their Volunteer Speed Matching at ● monthly sessions on a variety copy. the Library of topics in an effort to connect For more information, call the immigrants to services available Des Moines Public Library at (515) In order to help nonprofits rethink to them; 283–4152 or visit www.desmoines their volunteer offerings to attract ● eight new laptop computers that library.com. baby boomers, the Northland (Pa.) will allow the Village Branch to Public Library hosted a Volunteer expand training. Classes will Speed Matching event. They decid- focus on studying for the GED, Project Backpack ed that a speed match event would acquiring American citizenship, be a fun way to help match local computer skills, and English as a Knott’s Kids Project Bookpack, one nonprofits in need of volunteers Second Language; and of Jefferson County (Colo.) Public with community members looking ● ten sessions presented to youth Library’s children’s literacy programs for meaningful volunteer opportu- using Aikido to teach self- funded by the Jefferson County nities. confidence, virtue, and health. Library Foundation (JCLF), pro- The event was scheduled on a Each session will last eight weeks. vides books to dozens of children Friday night in the summer (when who might not otherwise have the the library was closed to the pub- A part-time community services opportunity to enjoy them. Project lic) and was advertised as a wine coordinator will be hired to man- Bookpack brings books to children and cheese social (a special occa- age Starting a New Chapter. For in care centers such as safe houses, sion permit was requested from more information, contact Doug transitional housing, and specialized the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Tattershall, marketing department, daycare. Board). at (859) 231-5515. “Most of us take a book for After enjoying late afternoon The Knight Foundation promotes granted; we can check one out at the snacks and wine, interested boomer excellence in journalism worldwide library or buy one,” said John Walsh, volunteers spent about five minutes and invests in the vitality of twenty- director of JCLF. “Some kids in our in a speed interview talking with up six U.S. communities. The Knight community don’t have that luxury. to sixteen various agencies to learn Foundation is the American Dream Project Bookpack, a joint partner- more about volunteer opportunities Fund’s sole contributor. For more ship between the library and Library at each organization. information, contact Larry Meyer, Foundation, makes books available Twenty-seven people showed vice president of communications, at to these children so they can also up for the event, and the responses (305) 908-2610. experience the joy of reading a from agencies and attendees were good book.” overwhelmingly positive. The time- Currently there are eight back- keeper rang a bell to start the first Read a Bestseller without the packs in circulation and each holds session. After three minutes, the bell Wait! twenty books. Project Bookpack vis- would ring again and it would be its schools and programs with higher time to move on to another agency. Several best-selling titles have been percentages of children who qualify The bell continued to ring at three- selected and offered at all six loca- for free or reduced lunches. minute intervals until the event was tions of the Des Moines (Iowa) Knotts’s Kids Project Bookpack over an hour and a half later. At the Public Library as part of the library’s expands the curiosity of children end of the event, there were twenty- Bestseller Express program. For just ages 6–12 through books, story five potential volunteers

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out the world information, a story, and artwork.” shared the We Share a Story participants read same story on the award-winning folktale, Head, the same day Body, Legs: A Story from Liberia, by during the fall Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret Lippert. 2007 We Share The tale is a delightful story about a Story pro- cultural diversity and highlights gram. uniqueness and the importance of Pierce cooperation. County Following the worldwide read- (Wash.) Library ing, the students did an art project, System (PCLS), decorating paper body parts—head, in coop- body, and legs. The children then eration with separated the body parts and mailed Bellingham them to PCLS. Public Library, Teen volunteers will sort the sponsored this paper body parts and then mail parts celebration of from one part of the world back to reading and another by spring 2008. Thus, kids worldwide in England may receive paper heads community. from children in Morocco, paper On November bodies from kids in Brazil, and paper 13, 2007, legs from kids in Pierce County. Then students in the students will fit the new body kindergarten parts into a whole body. through sixth Participating classrooms grade in class- are located in Australia, Brazil, For more information, contact rooms worldwide shared a story and Cambodia, Chile, Denmark, Mary Lee Resnick, Northland Public participated in an international art England, Ethiopia, Germany, Hong Library, at (412) 366–8100, ext. 113, project. Kong, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, or e-mail [email protected]. “The concept is to connect chil- Morocco, Nepal, the Netherlands, dren throughout the world with a Norway, Republic of Korea, common bond,” said Judy Nelson, Russia, Rwanda, the United States Pierce County Library System youth services coordinator for PCLS. (Washington State), Venezuela, and Shares Story with Kids “Whether a child is sitting in a dirt- Zambia. Worldwide floor classroom in Liberia sharing For more information, contact one copy of the book or in a desk in Mary Getchell, PCLS communica- From Kenya, Japan, and Chile to a school in Pierce County with cop- tions director, at (253) 536-6500, Graham, Parkland, and Bellingham in ies of the book for each student— ext. 136, or e-mail mgetchell@ Washington State, children through- all the kids will connect to share piercountylibrary.org.

15 march/april 2008 perspectives

“Perspectives” offers varied viewpoints on subjects of interest to the public library profession.

Nanci Milone Hill is the Head of Reference and Information Services at the To MLS or Not Nevins Memorial Library in Methuen, Mass.

Nanci is reading The Double to MLS? Bind by Chris Bohjalian, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi That Is the Question Picoult, and listening to Drums of Autumn by Diana here has been much debate among those in our profession about Gabaldon. the need for an MLS degree. Some question whether or not library T schools are doing enough to prepare students for the challenges they will face and the roles they will fill as they enter the workforce. Many ques- tion whether or not enough technology is being taught to students. Many of these same people question whether or not actual experience working in a library may perhaps better prepare one to work in the field. Others stand by the importance of the degree, noting that while hands-on experience may be gained on the job, it is only in library school that one learns the cornerstones of belief that public library services are based upon. Still others question the cost of earning an MLS degree given the salary those librarians will be receiv- ing for their efforts. And there are those who still yet argue that the cost of the degree makes it virtually impossible for us to attract diversity into the field. Take a look at what some of your peers have had to say on the subject, and then decide for yourself.

Library Schools Need to Beef Up Offerings

Ji l l Mc c o n n e l l , MLS, Ass i s t a n t Re fe r e n c e Li b rar i a n , La u r i An n We s t Me m o r i a l Li b rar y, Pi t t s b u r g h ; m c c o n n e l l j @e i n e t w o r k .n e t

Considering I’m still paying on the loan that helped me get my MLS seven years ago, I’m reluctant to say that having an MLS isn’t necessary. After some thought, though, I have to admit that I don’t think it is in many cases. There are many people working in libraries of all sizes that do not have this degree and yet are very successful at serving the needs of their constituents. Library schools often miss the boat when it comes to course offerings, so an MLS graduate doesn’t necessarily have the skills and knowledge that it takes to perform well in an actual library setting. With the exception of systems librarians, the MLS degree is often superfluous in the day-to-day activities of a public services or technical services librarian.

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Having the MLS is not tanta- material that is actually applicable Having been a librarian for more mount to being a good librarian. to working with the public on a than thirty years, I am looking at There are several members on staff daily basis in a library. passing on my love for the library at my library that do not have the I am glad to see my alma mater and its patrons to a younger genera- MLS degree but who are very good step it up a bit as far as information tion. What do libraries need in this at what they do. One staff member systems courses are concerned. I do new era of podcasts, vodcasts (video is a cataloger while the other two are think having an MLS degree in this podcasts), and avatars? department heads. And then there’s area is important. All of the behind- The public will not see us as the staff member with the MLS who the-scenes work that goes on in important when they look at cut- can’t even figure out how to use the libraries requires a lot of technical ting their tax dollars, if we don’t copier half the time. So, an MLS knowledge and ability. An advanced stay abreast of their needs. Library does not a good librarian make, in degree in this subject area is neces- schools are the only place where this my opinion. Instead, a good librar- sary so that libraries can remain on total knowledge can be attained. ian is one who possesses a certain the cutting edge and provide their I look at the new librarians and type of personality. He or she is customers with the information know that they will not only come friendly, intelligent, curious, tena- they need in whatever format they out knowing the jargon of the day, cious, knowledgeable, and creative. need it. That’s probably why the but also the meaning of making the No amount of education is going to MLS has often been upgraded to libraries 24/7 operations. instill these qualities in a person; he the MLIS with the emphasis now on It is invaluable for patrons to or she must be born with them. the Information part of the degree learn that they can access magazine Another reason why I don’t think program, whereas other areas of the articles, consumer needs, profes- having the MLS is necessary is the profession have been glossed over. sional needs, and books from their fact that much of what I do on a Having said all of that, I don’t home computers. These are avail- daily basis wasn’t even taught at my regret spending the time and money able because a librarian knew the library school. Courses in public it took to get my MLS. I have enjoyed electronic resource needed and how administration, marketing, public every single one of the positions I to use it. The library goes out and relations, and Web publishing would have held in libraries since receiving teaches how to download E-books, have been extremely helpful to me my degree. I would not have even videos, and music—the new col- in the various positions I have held been considered for those positions lection that is added to the limited in public and academic libraries. without it. For those who ask me space a building might offer. We have Instead of being properly trained what it takes to be a librarian, I tell homework help as well as tutors and educated in these areas, I’ve them you have to have a master’s meeting in our libraries. We work had to learn on my own by trial and degree in library science. Those with the schools to provide supple- error, which can be costly in both people are always at least a little bit mental reading for the programs, impressed, and I am reminded about time and money. and some of us are fortunate to have how proud I am to be a professional It’s been a while since I have school systems that make sure a librarian who has the right to add taken any library classes, so copy of each textbook is available at MLS after her name. I thought I’d check to see if the local libraries for the many who I’m way off base on this point. sometimes are challenged. The new Unfortunately, a quick peek at my generation is computer savvy and alma mater’s current course catalog What Is the Importance of the looks to the computer for answers. confirms my fears that things really MLS Degree in Today’s Public Who would know what is available haven’t changed all that much. It Library World? and what is good but a librarian who lists one class in Web publishing is constantly keeping up with what Bar b ara Ad r i a n o p o l i , Di r e c t o r , Bra n c h e s a n d and none in any of the other areas. Ex t e n s i o n Se r v i c e s , Sc h a u m b u r g (Il l .) To w n s h i p is new and the best for patrons? You I can’t speak for all MLS programs, Di s t r i c t Li b rar y ; b ar b h a @s t d l .o r g don’t get this from a bachelor of but it appears that at least one arts degree, or a master’s in another school is more concerned with I have thought about this question field. The total knowledge of what foundations of librarianship and now for some time. Actually, it has is available on the Web, electronic information systems than course even haunted my sleep patterns. resources, blogs, downloadable

17 march/april 2008 perspectives

materials, and books, or where to ging insistence from the director and book? Isn’t ignoring a wide swath of go for the information, is really only management that I get my piece of our own workforce censorship in its focused upon in an MLS degree. paper making me a bona fide librari- own right? What about folks that get We know that each generation an before taking part in any decision the diploma but who then sit on it, brings new needs and often obtains making or collaborative work. To this never to read professionally again? information differently. Instead of day, I use librarian to refer to some- Putting stock solely in a piece records, you download; instead of one who meets my personal mark of paper is astounding to me in a reading a book, many like to down- and degreed librarian to differentiate profession whose core values seem load and then listen while running the country club of the laureated. to indicate that anyone can learn off to the gym or traveling to and The quality of the degree itself anything at any time through their from work. The generation and is only an approximation of the public library. I am devastated, but socioeconomic gap that is getting combined effort the school and unsurprised, when I visit libraries wider even in this country can only the student put into it. So, to para- of any sort and more often than not be bridged by libraries offering com- phrase, library degrees are all equal, witness the ravaged, old, mangy, puters, discussion rooms, homework but some are more equal than oth- professional collection. Why do we help, and all of the resources many ers. This was my thinking when I bar access to the treasures of our would be without except for us. snubbed the local, barely accredited own field? It was quite the golden The library is there to offer this new library school for a shot at distance ticket at $27,000 or so (though of world. It cannot be dated. There are education through one of the top- course worth every cent for my par- still ink print readers and parents ranked library schools. It was also ticular school). At least very mod- who love curling up on a big chair my thinking that I could at least cut est progress is being made toward and reading a book to the young. We someone a bit of slack for the snob- providing meaningful assistance. At can attract these patrons with invit- bery of shunning high school gradu- the time I went, I was quick to point ing places to come—a parent sitting ates in favor of bachelors of the arts out I could have applied for full rides down next to the “hungry caterpil- since their training took four years in classical philology, but that noth- lar” reading the story to her child to complete. I never could reconcile ing substantial was out there for can’t be beat for a total experience! why a degree one can (and I did) LIS. Thank goodness for the Library The MLS degree offers the tech- earn in one year’s time would make Services and Technology Act. nology and the resources, as well as such a difference. We aren’t talking I have to cede that most library the love of the book to its graduates. 120 credits—we’re talking thirty- schools impart an acceptable They offer a total package wrapped five to forty. Folks that complete a minimum standard skill set. I am in the ribbons of freedom, equal run of four basic library techniques stubborn, and I had done a lot of access, and privacy. We can’t reject training courses run small libraries research before applying, so library these qualities and pay for less. in Massachusetts, and frankly, the school did not change my field When you pay for less, you get less. ones I’ve witnessed do a fine job of philosophy. I did learn a lot more, it. Yet some of the best and bright- but I believe strongly that if I had est of this lot feel deeply ashamed caved and gone to the local school, A Library Degree Does Not that they didn’t run the marathon. I wouldn’t have learnt much more Competency Warrant In the golden days, one could take than I already knew when I got a test to become a certified librar- there. Since students and schools BWS Jo h n s o n , Al b a n y, Ne w Yo r k ; m h e l ma n @ ian. Someone with an arts or science vary widely, the MLS was not a big i l l i n o i sa l u m n i .o r g education most likely has enough factor for me when it came time to in terms of information literacy hire someone. It is more important I suppose I never took the parapro- to research at will. Anyone with to find an employee who interacts fessional chip off of my shoulder. I research skills, regardless of what ilk appropriately with patrons and is was perfectly miserable in my library of diploma they have, ought to be willing to learn new things, than assistantship, but so was everyone welcome in our profession. where they had been in life or if they else in that hellish work environ- At some point in time, doesn’t could afford to pay the gatekeeper. ment regardless of educational cre- tacit experience gleaned from pro- This obsession with the MLS dentials. Most of what took me from viding excellent service in a library has another deep problem. I truly gruntled to disgruntled was the nag- trump explicit time bent over a believe that it, more than any other

  18 “” perspectives

The importance of the MLS or any of its iterations in today’s public library world is to make sure our degreed librarians have a basic understanding of the theoretical underpinnings, history, and basic tools of our profession. thing, contributes to how very white Yes, But the satisfaction of knowing that you our field is. It disturbs me to think are making a difference in people’s that we’re adding another hurdle to Jo h n C. Sa n d s t r o m , Ma n a g e r , Co l l e c t i o n lives can be worth it all. diversity in advocating so heavily for De v e l o pm e n t a n d Ac q u i s t i o n s , El Pas o (Te x .) Do students come out of library the importance of the library school Pu b l i c Li b rar y, jsa n d 713@y a h o o .c o m school with the knowledge required degree. to do the job? I did not. Most of the At the end of all of this fuss, surely What is the importance of the MLS new MLS librarians I have worked that extra hoop would be worth a degree in today’s public library with did not. But then, neither do little jingle in the pocket, yes? No. At world? a lot of professions. If medical doc- today’s costs, it’s ludicrous to go back The importance of the MLS or tors got out of school with all the to school late in one’s life to speak any of its iterations in today’s pub- knowledge required, why would they nicely to someone else’s insecurity lic library world is to make sure have internships and residencies? If in their own knowledge. After all, if our degreed librarians have a basic accountants got out of school with you’re so sure that your degree means understanding of the theoretical all the knowledge required, why that much, you won’t harass other underpinnings, history, and basic are there additional certifications folks that don’t have one, will you? tools of our profession. The process they need to get? I believe that the I’m only thirty, I’m assertive, I of getting an MLS is where we learn goal of an MLS, like most advanced chose this field. I could afford the the importance of serving all parts degrees, is not to make sure you have toll it took on my bank account. of society, from the homeless man all the knowledge required to do the I could afford the privilege of not whom no one wants to be around job, but to make sure you have the giving a whit about my salary. I to the finest scions of high society. knowledge of the tools needed to might even go on to a Ph.D. if some It is where we learn the ins and outs learn the job quickly and efficiently. school out there is silly enough to of, as well as the importance of, So the question I would ask is, take me on. I well realize how easy reference interviews and provid- “Do students come out of library I’ve got it. The sad truth of the mat- ing a variety of access points in our school with the basic knowledge to ter is that the math in books like cataloging. It also gives us a common be able to learn the job?” Most of the Tamara Draut’s Strapped (Anchor, vocabulary to further develop and time the answer is yes, but there are 2007), Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bait and serve our profession. exceptions. Who has not run into the Switch (Metropolitan, 2005), and Is it worth the expense to earn the newly degreed librarian and found Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever’s degree? out they got through school without Women Don’t Ask (Princeton, 2003) Yes! If you really want to under- ever learning how to catalog a book, lead to a depressing conclusion that stand what it means to be a librarian, without having knowledge of how to the fight is upstream to make that if you truly want to have the best use the Library of Congress Subject piece of paper pay for itself, particu- tools at your disposal to serve the Headings, or without being able to larly if one is no longer in the prime public, if you want to be a leader construct a basic Boolean search of one’s life. in a dynamic and rapidly changing statement? These and other gaps are Until all of the library school gates field, you need to have the basic of concern. are open to all and the Council on understanding that only comes with Are there important subjects that Accreditation abandons the political having your MLS. That said, will are not being covered in degree pro- machinations that point to wide dis- you ever get rich being a librarian? grams? There are three areas that I parities in the quality of education, You probably will not. Will you ever believe need additional coverage in I’ll continue my tirade about the be paid what your degree is worth? degree programs. These are: hypocrisy of the degree. Maybe—we are working on it. But

19 march/april 2008 perspectives

● Collection Management—The Should an internship be a Caught in the Middle new librarians I have been required part of the MLS degree working with seem to have a program? If you are not currently Jo a n Ne s l u n d , El l e n s b u r g (Was h .) Pu b l i c Li b rar y ; woeful lack of knowledge not working in a library, then yes, an n e s l u n d j @e l l e n s b u r g l i b rar y.o r g only about how to decide what to internship should be a required part purchase for a collection, but also of the MLS degree program. Not a A decade ago, I gave some very seri- how to judge whether the existing capstone project, but a full intern- ous thought to getting my MLS. As a collection is a “good” one and ship where you go into a library and hardworking paraprofessional, I had how to keep a good collection in spend time working in all the depart- miraculously worked my way up the good shape (i.e., weeding). ments, professional and nonprofes- library ladder and was now serving as ● Library Administration—Twenty- sional. If you are currently working the head of reference and computer plus years ago I got my MLIS in a library, hopefully you got this support at my small public library. with one course in basic library introduction as part of your orienta- My director, once she had decided to administration, which had tion. As a public librarian, the new split the children’s department and virtually nothing to do with MLS holders need to be able to work the reference department, knew that how to run a library. The new circulation, reference, technical ser- the budget could not support another librarians I am interviewing today vices, and administration. They need MLS employee in the library, so she have the same problem. It is my to be familiar with all parts of the chose me to head up the area. I will belief that anyone getting an MLS library, the good, the bad, and the never forget the day that she looked should be able to read a budget ugly. Getting your degree and dis- at me, placed a packet of information report; develop a budget; write, covering that you are not interested in my hands and said, “You are now understand, and apply library in the day-to-day work of being a the head of reference.” policies; handle an upset patron; public librarian is a guaranteed way I was so excited and pleased. I and train someone else to do to regret how you spent your money have a tendency to take everything the same. I made some major and time. very seriously, so I took it upon mistakes in my first positions Is the MLS really necessary at all? myself to study everything I could because I didn’t have these skills In public libraries, you can become about public library reference skills and it was assumed I did. accomplished in almost any facet and work. At the time, I had a habit ● Library Law—A good of library work without having a of staying on the computer late at introductory course and overview degree. But to understand how each night so I devoted two hours of my of library law would be very part of the library fits together into time each night in reading, perusing, helpful as both continuing a greater whole and how that whole and studying all that I could about education and as a foundation fits into the community at large the skills of information technology course for a degree. Not a course needs the breadth of background in public libraries. I jumped into the that is state specific, but one that that (hopefully) comes with hav- job with enthusiasm and a willing- goes over the fundamentals of ing an MLS. I will not say that it is ness to learn it all. different library funding models absolutely required. We all know Along with the position came a and governance, privacy law the paraprofessional that has the small computer lab and the begin- and how it applies to libraries, best grasp of the big picture as well nings of our website. These, too, were copyright law and how it can as the professional librarians who absorbed with focus and enthusiasm. affect libraries, what the federal are so narrow they cannot function The structure for my own teaching government can ask you to do outside of their specialties. But in came mostly from informational and and what warrants they need to general, having an MLS will give library electronic discussion groups provide before you do it. Those you the needed background knowl- and library websites. I became a site types of issues were not covered edge that nonprofessionals have to guru and developed a vast set of orga- at all in my degree program and develop on the job over many years nized bookmarks. I viewed this pro- don’t seem to be covered well with of experience. motion as a huge gift and wanted to the new librarians I have been prove that I, a parapro, could do the interviewing. job as well as a staff member with an MLS degree.

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We all know the professional librarians who are so narrow they cannot function outside of their specialties. But in general, having an MLS will give you the needed background knowledge that nonprofessionals have to develop on the job.

My current director was support- is complex, I teach Internet and The future holds so much for ive of my learning and encouraged computer classes on Saturdays and a libraries and librarians. Unfortunate- me to represent the library on many few evenings, and the ever-changing ly, most who aspire to the experi- statewide library projects and com- reference work has now turned into ence still have to get that piece of mittees. I helped develop a state- mostly Internet and computer how- paper that says they are qualified to wide public library portal, served to’s with a smattering of “true refer- do the job as a professional librar- on committees that developed both ence questions” in between. ian. Library and Information schools Washington State’s Consumer Find It Since my decision to not pur- today are progressive and cutting page (http://finditconsumer.wa.gov) sue the MLS degree, the University edge. Students are encouraged to do and the Washington State Library’s of Washington (UW) invited Mike exactly what I did in my learning—get digital reference consortium, Eisenburg to head up what is now out there in the real environment and which has now migrated to OCLC’s UW’s “I” (Information) School. This read, learn, and ask questions. As I Question Point service. program is progressive and just what serve on statewide committees today, It was at this point that I decided I was looking for at the time. Mike I do so right along with “I” School that I would investigate an MLS and Joe Jaynes have created a hands- students. degree. I was learning so much and on, in-depth program for students The library of today is very dif- wanted to learn more. Unfortunately, seeking an advanced degree. As I ferent than it was ten years ago. I I soon discovered that because of my approach my fifties, the economics encourage all I meet to look into home schooling, I had learned too of the MLS program has changed. libraries as a career. I am pleased to much. I was way ahead of the game My children are now grown and I be able to share my story and say to in what MLS schools were teaching. I have other fish to fry, as they say, others that “you can do it without was on committees with the some of if I choose to leave my job here. an MLS.” the top people in my state. I was on Economically I don’t believe I could the cutting edge of libraries, comput- pay off the cost of the MLS before I ers, and the “information highway.” retire. A Library without An MLS at that time would have Here I am several years later, still Librarians—Hard to Imagine been nothing more than a member- staffing the reference desk, running ship card into an industry that I was the computer lab, teaching classes Su sa n St r u n k , Di r e c t o r , Pa l a t i n e (Il l .) Pu b l i c already very involved with. My hus- on the Internet and computers, and Li b rar y Di s t r i c t ; ss t r u n k @pa l a t i n e l i b rar y.o r g band was not excited to move at that learning all that I can about librar- point in our lives, we had two chil- ies and reference. I imagine that I While there are plenty of really good dren at home and our lives were (and will continue to do so as long as I library employees without an MLS are) very happy. I made the decision can still work a computer. I love this serving patrons in exceptional ways, to not get the MLS and to continue work; this work is my life. I do not it’s hard for me to imagine a library on with my career as a paraprofes- have my MLS but I challenge any- with no mastered librarians. It is sional in my public library. one with one to find fault with my true that the roles of professionals In retrospect, all of this learn- work. Library work is fun and always and paraprofessionals in libraries ing and experience has served me changing. Without an MLS, I find have changed and in fact continue very well. I feel very competent in that I do not have some of that old- to evolve. We’ve seen this evolution my job, which is much as it was ten school thinking that I see in some in other professional fields such as years ago, only greatly expanded. librarians. I am open to change, I medicine, psychiatry, and law, so Our computer lab now has nine- seek change, and I love to try some- it shouldn’t surprise us that librar- teen computers in it, our website thing new. ians would need to adapt in order to

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meet the changing needs of the com- my advisor after signing on for library the wealth of passion we experience munities served, be they working in school, I asked about the option of in libraries around the world! academic, public, or private libraries. a practicum and how that might Passion alone won’t do the trick Still, libraries without degreed librar- work. The professor told me very few though, so library schools need to ians? I don’t think so! students took that option as most make sure that in addition to stan- I once argued that paraprofes- were already working in a library dard core courses, they are offering sional job descriptions should at some point prior to completion opportunities for MLS students to include the requirement of a bach- of the degree. While I firmly stated, experience coursework in planning, elor’s degree because candidates for “That’s not for me,” sure enough, as analyzing, buildings and mainte- those associate positions who pos- my course options dwindled to one nance, organizational management, sessed the degree were more likely per semester, I found myself working and human resources manage- to come prepared with the kinds of nearly two years before earning the ment. Librarians are likely to be experience and knowledge necessary MLS. There’s no doubt in my mind supervisors and project managers to perform competently in that job. that being able to apply what I had in today’s libraries and so will need So, too, would I argue that a candi- learned and was learning afforded to be prepared beyond the basic date with an MLS degree is going to me the opportunity to be very well services. Library schools might come in prepared with the baseline prepared for my first job as a librar- look to the Certified Public Library of knowledge (and with any luck, ian, and in fact, my first professional Administrator program now offered experience) to effectively perform in job was as a supervisor in a children’s by ALA for a glimpse of what librar- the role of leader, coordinator, ana- department. The MLS job candidate ians turned administrators, manag- lyst, trainer, planner, and informa- with work experience virtually always ers, and supervisors will need in the tion provider required of those filling presents better on paper and in an way of extended knowledge. librarian roles of any sort. interview than those candidates with- The librarian who holds an MLS I believe a number of supervi- out experience. There’s a reason why degree and works in libraries is like sors would agree with me. Over the job ads will often say the successful the conductor of an orchestra who years, when discussing the roles of candidate must have a “working” must know how to read music, play professionals and paraprofession- knowledge of various elements of the the instruments, what beat and als, I’ve had many a department job. So, absent some work experience, tempo is appropriate for the piece head express, “Give me an MLS I definitely feel it’s worth the time and at any given time, and how the anytime” or “I’ll take a librarian right investment to include an internship appropriately played music sounds. out of school” as we were discuss- in one’s degree program. Like the conductor, the librarian, no ing how best to fill an upcoming Speaking of investment, only the matter what role he or she plays, but or existing vacancy. The overarch- potential MLS candidate alone can especially when in the role of super- ing reason would always be that in determine if the expense incurred visor or director, must have a broad their experience, the MLS graduate, earning the degree is worth it. Since understanding of how libraries work, all other abilities and skills aside, we all have our own value systems, what makes them work, what good would essentially always show up for it would seem that, as with any deci- service looks like, and what excep- the new job knowing the basics of sion, one must weigh the pros and tional library service can mean in provision and assessment of library cons. The ability to foot the bill for the lives of those who live within the service. A shorter learning curve an advanced degree, the need or service area. means consistently better service for desire to secure a full-time posi- I suppose one might argue that a patrons, not to mention an easier tion, the odds of getting a full-time library could be run without librar- time for the trainer! position upon graduation, and the ians and that good service could be When a candidate with a newly passion one feels for serving in the provided with not so much as one earned MLS is hired, there’s no ques- field of librarianship are a few of the MLS on staff and that persons with- tion that any type of experience considerations. As we well know, out an MLS could be trained to run including a practicum or internship sometimes the passion for working the library in a perfectly fine man- enhances the ability to perform up in a library setting trumps the pos- ner, but given the number of out- to par quickly. When I first met with sible negatives. Thank goodness for standing MLS librarians I’ve had the

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The librarian who holds an MLS degree is like the conductor of an orchestra who must know how to read music, play the instruments, what beat and tempo is appropriate for the piece, and how the appropriately played music sounds. pleasure of calling my colleagues, I component, in my opinion, is infor- will become less focused on collect- just don’t think I’d be willing to risk mation technology. ing and organizing tangible objects the stewardship of library service in Currently, I am employed as and more focused on pointing to my community knowing the level Continuing Education Coordinator at information resources that reside of service the mastered librarian is the New Mexico State Library. I work outside of the library. capable of providing. with approximately ninety public Librarians today and in the libraries throughout the state. Most of future must understand the entire the library directors and staff I work information ecology: the sources of Yes, No, Maybe, MLS Yes with do not possess an MLS degree. information, the different media of My job is to assist them where they information, methods of informa- Ro b e r t Fo rma n , MSLS, MBA, Co n t i n u i n g need help, and through educational tion transmission, findability, infor- Ed u c a t i o n Co o r d i n a t o r , Ne w Me x i c o State Li b rar y ; programming, fill in the knowledge mation architecture, information r o b e r t .f o rma n @state.n m .u s gaps in terms of their understand- systems, and telecommunications. ing of library services and informa- They also need to know about tele- I am fortunate to have earned both tion systems. Mostly I find these communications law, intellectual an MLS and an MBA. I completed individuals to be highly competent. freedom and censorship, copy and my MLS in the 1990s and completed Experience counts for a lot! But I also intellectual property rights law. the MBA in 2005. Part of the reason I understand that the MLS provides a And there is the cultural compo- went back to school to get a second broader view and context for under- nent that libraries represent: libraries master’s degree was because my standing library services. The MLS as information commons and librar- career in libraries was not advanc- is not essential if you want to work ians as advocates for free and open ing as I had planned. I hoped that an in a library. But if you want a career access to information resources and additional degree would put me in a in libraries you need an advanced information literacy. I think MLS position to achieve my career goals, degree, preferably an MLS. Many programs are very good at teaching and so far, I think that strategy is employers require an MLS. In a bigger about library culture. working. An MLS is important but it public library or library system, only The MLS degree may prepare may not be enough. those individuals who have earned an you to work in a library environ- One thing that strikes me in MLS will advance to the better jobs ment, but I don’t believe it is prepar- terms of comparing both educa- and management positions. Without ing students to be competitive in a tional experiences is that the MBA the MLS you will be forever stuck in global economy. If I had to do it over program was ten times more rigor- paraprofessional purgatory. again, I wouldn’t. If I were advising ous. The MLS program is one that is But MLS programs need to someone today, I would recommend ALA-accredited and well respected, move into the twenty-first century. an advanced degree in computer but in retrospect, the rigor just was Subjects such as cataloging and science, business, or law over an not there. I can’t speak to other MLS reference services are increasingly MLS. And if you are really set on a programs, but my impression is that becoming less relevant. Reference career as a librarian, an MLS plus an if these schools want to turn out transactions are down because peo- additional advanced degree may be individuals who can compete in the ple are finding information for them- necessary. broader market place, they are going selves on the Web. And the library to have to create curriculums that catalog no longer reflects the real are much more demanding. The key information environment. Libraries

23 march/april 2008 ddc_ad-mmis_FINAL - PublicLibraries.qxd 7/31/2007 3:37 PM Page 1

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It’s a big world.We’ve organized it. The Dewey Decimal Classification is published by OCLC Online Computer Library Center. www.oclc.org book talk

Brendan Dowling ([email protected]) is “Book Talk” provides authors’ perspectives on libraries, books, a freelance writer in technology, and information. If you have any suggestions of authors Chicago. He is reading you would like to see featured in Book Talk, or if you are interested in A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell. volunteering to be an author-interviewer, contact Kathleen Hughes, Editor of Public Libraries, at the Public Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; [email protected]. Sitting Down and Spilling My Guts Out An Interview with Abby Sher

bby Sher is a writer and performer in Brooklyn, New York. She started out her career at Chicago’s famed Second City theatre, perform- A ing and writing four revues there. She has written and performed for NPR’s Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me and appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and HBO’s Sketchpad. Her first young adult book, Kissing Snowflakes, was published in November 2007 by Scholastic and her next book, a memoir, will be published by Scribner in 2009. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Redbook, Heeb, and Every Day with Rachel Ray, among others. For more information, please visit Sher’s website, www .abbysher.com.

Public Libraries: You had a pretty long career as a performer before you were published. How did you come to writing?

Abby Sher: That is a mystery to me as well. I come from a writing family. My mom was a writer and an editor. So I just grew up in a household where for Hanukkah or birthdays I would get journals, and I totally resented it at the time, of course. So I think from an early age I was into diary writing, at least, or journaling. In high school creative writing was always my favorite class. I got into performing arts in high school also and then in college I was kind of straddling the line between them both. I went to the University of Chicago and there’s not really a theater major or theater department there. So I got something nebulous called the humanities degree, which I guess makes me human. But mostly I studied writing and literature. I was also really into languages and I studied Russian. So all that to say I guess it was innate in

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me that writing was a practice that I herself and Scholastic had brought pretty fluffy. I have a great editor but would always enjoy, just sitting down her on board to head up their young she definitely had to tell me to be and spilling my guts out. adult department. She had read fluffier a couple of times. She was At Second City and doing improv my piece in the paper and she said, like, “Remember this is silly, this is it was a great challenge. I think I “Abby, I think you have a young fun.” So I’m definitely looking for- really tried to force myself to be this adult voice.” And I was like, “really?” ward to that. comedic writer and whenever I did So I wrote her all these ideas and I just sold my memoir to Scribner. that it backfired horribly. I never once again they were very dark, very I’m working on a very heavy book brought in a script where people “Girl-thinks-she-is-a-lesbian-and- and there’s nothing young adult were like “Ha!” They were like “Wow! wants-to-kill-herself-mom-is-dying- about it. Which I always wanted to This is disturbing.” So I never wrote of-cancer.” I was like, “I am going to do so I couldn’t be more grateful or the kind of writing I thought I was tackle every single problem a young thrilled but there are definitely days supposed to be doing. So I think adult can have in one sitting and be where I’m like, “Oh it would be really improv helped me in the way that hilariously funny, too.” So I brought nice to be on the bunny slope I didn’t have to write it down. So it them to her and she was like, “Uh, right now.” could be funny in the moment and if not so much.” So we called it a day I remembered it and wanted to take and we sat down and had coffee. PL: Even though you describe your it somewhere else that’s great. But I Later on we met again just to book as fluffy, there are still darker was never one to sit down and write check in with each other and she elements in it. Sam, the main char- scenes like some of the greats there. said, “I wish I had one more win- acter, often lets her anger get the I moved away from Chicago, ter romance this year.” And it was best of her and can be pretty unfor- and again I was like, “I must belong kind of like her checking her to-do giving of others. Did you want to somewhere on staff as a writer” but list and then she was going to leave portray a more realistic version of I couldn’t get my packets to work the office and I said, “I’ll do it!” And female adolescence? anywhere. And the one thing that she said, “You know what? Can I get soothed me was that I still enjoyed back to you on that?” And it was that AS: Yeah, definitely. One of the big- writing serious stuff. So I started simple. It was definitely not what I gest problems I had was with the submitting some things to be pub- thought my first novel would be. And cover. I’ve gotten such good feed- lished in magazines and newspapers now I’m working on something com- back on it and it was just so funny and it kind of blossomed from there. pletely different and while I love it to me. When I first saw it, I said, I’m like, “Oh young adult world —it’s “She’s not that pretty. You can’t make PL: So how did you come to writing so much fun.” her that pretty!” And they were like, a YA book as your first novel? “Abby, we have to sell books, I’m PL: Would you be interested in writ- sorry.” And I said, “But the point AS: This is also a great lesson in just ing another YA book? is she has flat hair and she doesn’t not knowing what’s next for you. I wear things that are pink.” I say it wrote a piece about having an affair AS: Oh definitely. I would definitely very clearly in the first page! I’m with an older man, actually, nothing do that in the future. I actually have still learning to speak up for myself young adult about it or nothing P.C. a little community online of young and it was a great lesson. I really about it, that’s for sure. And it got adult-ers. I have this MySpace page wanted her to have some girly fun, published in The New York Times’ (www.myspace.com/dearsnabby) but I also know that I got turned off “Modern Love Poems” in 2006. And where they write in about books by that stuff at that age because I a friend of mine who I had grown up and I ask them questions and that’s wanted somebody who thought ugly with—I hadn’t really been in con- been really fun. And I’ve been doing thoughts like I did. tact with her but I had heard about some talks at schools, which I love. her through the grapevine, and she So I definitely want to write another PL: Your book nicely captures the was working for Scholastic. She had one. I also feel more freedom now transient nature of teenage relation- made her big break in editing, being because Scholastic trusts me now so ships, where Sam has these per- Meg Cabot’s editor for The Princess I can sort of venture out into more haps life-changing encounters with Diaries, so she had made a name for darker territories. I mean, my book’s people she might never see again.

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She has her first real love interest with Eric, but we’re left not knowing if they’ll ever see each other again. At the same time, she has had a major break with her lifelong best friend, Phoebe, and the reader doesn’t really know whether that will be reconciled.

AS: I definitely wanted it open- ended, mainly because I couldn’t resolve it for myself. I’m still having fights with my teenage friends. They just don’t end that quickly. As far as the Phoebe thing, I think what I really want to write about next is girlfriend friendships and how really hard they are, even when you’re older. But writ- ing Kissing Snowflakes reminded me of how troublesome [relationships] are around that age, so I felt that was super important that that didn’t end Abby Sher too resolutely. As far as the Eric thing, I definitely wanted there to be hope about it. It’s funny because since nonsensical to me. It takes a lot out that they would see each other but then that’s the one thing that could of me to write but I really love writing realistically he lives up in a lodge in deter a book club from [choosing] it it and I feel like I get to make sense Vermont. So is it totally going to hap- or a certain library from carrying it, out of some things that never made pen? I have no idea. if they think the kids are too young sense to me before. And that again to [read about] that. That doesn’t was a really wonderful process— PL: Alcohol use and abuse seems bother me. I think that kids are selling it was a really wonderful pro- to be an underlying theme of the exposed to alcohol and I know that’s cess, I have a great agent who totally book as well, with Sam using a fake how I grew up. My mom was very believes in me. It was a very different ID, dealing with a friend’s mother’s much, “I want to give you your first process than the young adult book death in a drunk driving accident, drink. I don’t want you to have a bad because [that] was assigned to me and even having monitored drinking experience. I know someone’s going basically and this one I had to sell. So with adults. Did you want to show to offer it to you so why not [have] I had to do a long proposal and map the different ways alcohol affects it be me?” out exactly what was going to hap- teenager’s lives? pen. And proposals are pretty intense PL: Can you talk about the memoir on that sort of thing—they’re sixty AS: I think it was pretty unintention- you’re writing? pages and really mapping out exactly al. The thing is, I had a very nerdy what you want to say. childhood so I didn’t take my first AS: It’s really exciting. I had a pretty drink until I was twenty, I would say. serious illness as a kid—I guess I’m PL: Are you still performing on Wait! And I’ve run the gamut from over- still struggling with it sometimes. The Wait! Don’t Tell Me? drinking to underdrinking, whatever book’s about how it helped me in the you want to say. I felt that it was end through a lot of trauma in my AS: I’m not unfortunately. They important that she be exposed to it life, namely losing both my parents cancelled that segment. Before I left because I felt it would be a check- and some aunts and uncles, and how Chicago actually they did some sort out for a lot of girls if Sam wasn’t this psychological disorder brought of audience poll and not enough thinking about it or doing something some order to something that was people understood what we were

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doing, and we were like, “What don’t send things in and not worry about PL: What roles have libraries played you get?” We would take the week’s rejection. I find writing rejections in your life? news and we would write scenes completely different than perform- that would satirize the big news- ing rejections also. I don’t know why. AS: They’ve offered refuge and makers, and people would have to Somehow I feel much better with delight. It’s funny, the first perfor- guess what the scene was we were writing rejections, so far. So far— mance I ever did was in a library. In reenacting. But I think it was a little that’s my caveat. I’m like, “Well at sixth grade we did a performance too much brainpower for the radio, least they read it.” Sometimes I think of Alan and Naomi, a sweet book so they were like, “Ixnay on the its- you go into an audition and you’re about these two kids who grew up kays” so we were out of their seats. like, “They just saw that I had brown during the Holocaust. I was nurse But that was actually really helpful hair and decided they didn’t like me! number five or whatever and it was to learn how to spit something out Wait, give me another chance!” If the most nerve-wracking experience without getting too attached to it. you write something and you feel it’s of my whole life and I loved it. Our ready to send then it’s their decision librarian directed the whole thing PL: How has being a performer influ- if they want it or not. So in that way I and guided us through it, and I think enced your writing, and vice versa? think performing has helped me, just that experience helped me assume to take myself less seriously. that the library was a safe space and AS: I think that’s the biggest thing, Also, I think it really helps me in a creative space. And even if I don’t I can’t take myself too seriously. I that I do a lot of muttering when I use them that much— I’m kind of gotta put it out there. I think when write. I say what I’m writing out loud ashamed I don’t use the libraries of I spend time away from the stage without really knowing it. So in that New York more often than I do—I’m that’s when I get into, “Oh, I better way things have to make sense in so proud of my library card. I put edit this really beautifully before I a sort of monologue. And that just them in the most prominent spot hand it in.” And while it’s good to helps me. Even if a word has too in my wallet so that when I open up edit your stuff, you just can’t make many syllables for me I think I pick my wallet everyone sees I’m a library everything so precious—that’s the up on it more frequently because I member. I don’t know what that’s gift of improv all over again. It also say it out loud. about, but it’s hilarious to me. makes me yearn for deadlines, to

ALA Cultural Communities Fund in Home Stretch to Raise Matching Funds

Since 2003, the ALA Public Programs Office has worked toward building the nation’s first and only endowment to support libraries in establishing and expanding cultural and community programming. This endowment— the ALA Cultural Communities Fund 9CCF—will support public, academic, school, and special libraries as they conduct top-notch humanities programs. Begun with a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the fund now totals more than $1 million, contributed by an impressive list of indi- vidual and corporate supporters. The fund is in the final phase of raising matching funds for the NEH challenge, but needs pledges of $310,000 by July 31, 2008. Member support is urgently needed to take full advantage of this opportunity to leverage funds from NEH. Funding from CCF will support the creation of annual professional development opportunities for librar- ians, turnkey national model programs, and a wealth of program planning and presenting resources designed to build and enhance programming capacity at the local level. These activities will strengthen the ability of libraries and librarians to respond to community needs for cultural programming. For more information or to make a contribution, visit www.ala.org/ccf.

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“Internet Spotlight” explores Internet and Web topics relevant to librar- ians in the public library sector. Your input is welcome. Can We Help Michael Porter is Community Product Manager at Webjunction .org; michael.libraryman@ You? gmail.com. Michael is ibrarians rock! Skeptical? Then check out ReadWriteWeb’s “Threatened reading requirements, test by the Internet? Music Biz Should Rock Like Librarians.” What else can cases, and code by a bunch L you learn on ReadWriteWeb (a widely read blog focusing on emerging of people at Webjunction. tech trends and analysis)? Would you believe “Sexy Librarians of the Future Will Help You Upload Your Videos to YouTube?” Really—I jest not. David Lee King is Digital The same month both ReadWriteWeb articles were posted, the Pew Branch and Services Internet & American Life Project released “Information Searches that Solve Manager, Topeka & Problems: How People Use the Internet, Libraries, and Government Agencies Shawnee County (Kans.) When They Need Help.” Fast forward to January of this year and the release Public Library; davidlee of “Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future” by the Joint [email protected]. David is Information Systems Committee at University College London. reading The Last Coin by Yet in spite of the great press, we learned from the statistics in these arti- James P. Blaylock. cles that our communities may not be turning to us for search help as much as we would like. Are you ready for some stats? Hold on, here we go! If you have feedback about this article, would like to suggest a topic for future Come Visit Any Time Internet Spotlight articles, The Pew Internet & American Life Project’s “Information Searches that Solve have an interesting Internet Problems” provides some interesting quotes to start us off. “Faced with a resource to share, or if problem in the past two years that they needed to address, about one in you just want to say hello, eight adults (13 percent) say they turned to their local public library for help please feel free to e-mail and information.”1 Thirteen percent, or one in eight, doesn’t seem like a very the editors. high number to me, especially when you see where those other seven adults did turn: the Internet, TV, and radio all rank higher than librarians. The second quote (also from the Pew report) focuses on the number of adults visiting a public library. “Major finding: 53 percent of American adults report going to a local public library in the past 12 months.”2 The report doesn’t specify frequency, just that a visit occurred some time in the past year (maybe they visited once to pick up a tax form). So while this report does show a slim majority of American adults visit- ing the library, it also indicates that they visit for some other reason than using library services to help answer some of life’s burning questions. The study included dilemmas like: “Needed information about property taxes or income taxes” and “Made a decision about schooling, paying for education, or getting training for yourself or for a child.”3

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What do you make of this stat? article. It had two points: first, that ● “Young scholars are using tools “Eighty-four percent of respondents semantic search engines will be bet- that require little skill: they appear use search engines to begin an infor- ter (once they’re built) than current satisfied with a very simple or mation search . . . 1 percent begin search engines; and second, that basic form of searching”; and 4 the search on a library website.” It current search engines don’t do a ● “Users make very little use makes a lot of sense that the major- great job of searching. of advanced search facilities, ity of an individual’s searches would I agree with the first point: Future assuming that search engines be done from the patron’s home searching (and many other Web- ‘understand’ their queries.” 8 or work computer. They might not related things) will probably be think of the library website as a first improved by the semantic Web. But The researchers discovered that point of origin for searching and I only halfheartedly agree with the the younger generation is decidedly other information needs. However, second point. Why? Because most of not expert at searching: “[this] is a what might we do to encourage and the searching world simply doesn’t dangerous myth. Digital literacies promote searches that begin at the know how to search properly with a and information literacies do not library’s website? As we begin to cre- search engine. go hand in hand. A careful look at ate useful, original content, we could For example, take the first search: the literature over the past 25 years probably boost that paltry 1 percent. What are movie spears made out of? finds no improvement (or deteriora- The search typed in this way finds tion) in young people’s information loads of links on Britney Spears—not skills.”9 Although tech savvy, the We Know What You the desired information on Zulu Google Generation still needs to Mean spears carried as movie props. But if learn strong research skills—just as Bad news: We’re number eight in the the search string is tweaked to zulu their parents and grandparents did. “gathering information” chain for extras spears, relevant information is Librarians are in a prime position to adult library users (at least, the ones found in the first ten search results teach those skills. with those burning life questions). in Google. The other two searches Good news: Librarians are change could also be easily improved. agents. As some of the previously Another recently released study You’re Welcome—That’s mentioned articles state, we are examines the “Google Generation” Why We’re Here growing and changing with technol- of users, who tend to be thought I think perceptions of libraries and ogy. We really do have a lot to offer of by many as digital natives who librarians are starting to change. our searching patrons. somehow inherently understand Listen to this: For starters, we can help bet- digital content, including searching ter phrase searches. Look at this the Web. The researchers examined, The librarian of the future will list of Google searches found in yet among other things, “whether or help a growing number of citizen another ReadWriteWeb article: not as a result of the digital transi- media producers to classify their tion and resources being created online media and get it connected ● What are movie spears made out digitally, young people, the ‘Google to other related content . . . of? (looking for information on Generation,’ are searching for and Imagine a future when you go Zulu spears used as movie props); researching content in new ways to the library with a 5 minute ● Car hit by bicycle (looking for and if so, how this will shape the video you’ve just made about last articles on bicycles hitting cars); way they research and search in the night’s Presidential debates and and future.”6 that librarian says to you: You ● Famous science fiction writers Who do the researchers include in should upload it to YouTube and other than Isaac Asimov (looking the Google Generation? “The ‘Google tag it with these four tags—two for a list of sci fi authors).5 Generation’ is a popular phrase broad and two more specific to that refers to a generation of young existing communities of interest Now, we all know those are poorly people, born after 1993, that is grow- on YouTube and the topic of your constructed searches. Creating a ing up in a world dominated by the video. Then you should embed proper search string for Google was Internet.”7 And what did they dis- that video in a blog post along actually not the main point of this cover about the Google Generation?: with some text introducing it and

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linking to some of your favorite for demand to pick up as the Web as a good place to start a search posts by other people who have continues to evolve. Librarians are or to get ready help when needed? also written today about the already uniquely trained to navigate You probably already teach search Presidential debates. Make sure to an information- and content-based engine classes—does your com- send trackbacks to those posts!10 society. We’ve been doing just that munity know about them? If not, with a variety of content formats for do you have a plan to restructure Gurus of the emerging Web world as long as libraries have existed— your website to make it more useful are starting to recognize that librar- and the Web is simply the newest to your community? Do you have a ians actually understand how to container for content. plan to reach outside of your physi- navigate in a world of information. Surprisingly, even Web-savvy cal library walls and demonstrate Information creation, sharing, and people need our help. Librarians your library’s wealth of knowledge, discoverability are what we’ve always have the essential skills to help guide both traditional and cutting-edge, to done, and will continue to do in a our more savvy users through this your potential-but-not-yet patrons? 2.0 world (Okay—it’s also sorta cool new world, so to speak. We not only Librarians—get out there and start they’re calling us “sexy”—but that’s have the skills needed to improve changing those statistics! another article entirely). their searches—but also to improve Another recent ReadWriteWeb their questions. Stephen Abram post mentions the recent Pew report: says: “Recognize that librarians’ and References According to the newest study library workers’ key contributions 1. Leigh Estabrook and Lee Rainie, from the Pew Internet & American aren’t merely collecting, organizing, “Information Searches that Life Center—the youngest, most and delivering the information—it’s Solve Problems: How People affluent, and most Internet- improving the quality of the ques- Use the Internet, Libraries, and connected adults in the U.S. tion.”12 This question-improvement Government Agencies When are also the most likely to visit a applies to simple and silly ques- They Need Help,” Pew Internet & physical library. It wasn’t that way tions—like Zulu spears—but also to American Life Project, December just 10 years ago. How many other important life questions. 30, 2007, www.pewinternet.org/ legacy industries can you think of Helping our patrons in this way pdfs/Pew_UI_LibrariesReport today that can say their strongest may require us to work in a new way. .pdf (accessed Jan. 18, 2008): vi. growth is among young, affluent, Traditionally, librarians have stayed 2. Ibid., vii. power-Internet users? Something in their respective reference chairs, 3. Ibid., 12. is going very right in library land. waiting for patrons to come visit us, 4. OCLC, “Perceptions of Libraries The music business ought to pay preferably at the service desk, to ask and Information Resources: Part close attention to what’s going on those burning questions. And then 1: Libraries and Information there.”11 we happily respond. This traditional Sources—Use, Familiarity and service model has somehow resulted Favorability,” www.oclc.org/ Sometimes, perception is every- in adults who don’t think of using a reports/pdfs/Percept_pt1.pdf thing. And thankfully, library percep- library when they search for infor- (accessed Jan. 18, 2008): 1. tions seem to be changing for the mation on the Web. Abram suggests: 5. Nitin Karandikar, better. “Our communities are changing. “Deconstructing Real Google It’s not just understanding standard Searches: Why Powerset census data on ethnicity, incomes, Matters,” ReadWriteWeb, www Come Again Soon— and homes with children. It’s about .readwriteweb.com/archives/ We’ll Be Here to Help changing consumer values, and deconstructing_real_google Where does this leave us? I’d say libraries are a consumer service at _searches.php (accessed Jan. 18, we’re set to succeed in a very real their core.”13 2008). way! Our expert search and infor- With that in mind, maybe it’s time 6. Joint Information Systems mation-related skills are currently to rethink what your library is doing Committee, “Google in high demand by our “regulars”— to serve both adults and the Google Generation,” www.jisc.ac.uk/ those patrons who already know Generation. Is your website rich whatwedo/programmes/ what we do. The potential is there with original content and structured resourcediscovery/googlegen

31 march/april 2008 internet spotlight

.aspx (accessed Jan. 18, 2008). Librarians of the Future Will (accessed Jan. 18, 2008). 7. Joint Information Systems Help You Upload Your Videos to 12. Stephen Abram, “The Google Committee, “Information YouTube,” ReadWriteWeb, www Opportunity: Google’s New Behaviour of the Researcher .readwriteweb.com/archives/ Initiatives are Rocking our of the Future,” www.jisc sexy_librarians_of_the_future World. Here’s How to Rock .ac.uk/media/documents/ .php (accessed Jan. 18, 2008). Back,” Library Journal 130, no. 2, programmes/reppres/gg_final 11. Marshall Kirkpatrick, www.libraryjournal.com/article/ _keynote_11012008.pdf “Threatened by the Internet? CA498846.html (accessed Jan. (accessed Jan. 18, 2008): 7. Music Biz Should Rock Like 16, 2008). 8. Ibid., 14. Librarians,” ReadWriteWeb, 13. Ibid. 9. Ibid., 20. www.readwriteweb.com/ 10. Marshall Kirkpatrick, “Sexy archives/libraries-rock.php

PLA Programs at ALA Annual Conference

PLA is hosting the following programs during the upcoming 2008 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California (June 26–July 2). Check www.pla.org for program descriptions, updates, changes, and room locations.

Saturday, June 28 Libraries Prosper with Passion, Teens in Your Branch Library: PLA 101: ALA Annual Conference Purpose & Persuasion! A Toolkit From Trauma to Triumph? for First-Time Attendees for Success 1:30–3:30 p.m. 8–9 a.m. 1:30–3:30 p.m. Uncover the World: Programming How Branding Can Increase the Why Public Libraries Close Your Way through Dewey Relevance of Your Library 1:30–3:30 p.m. 1:30–3:30 p.m. 10:30 a.m.–Noon Digital Storytelling: Where Adult Learners: Helping Libraries Not Evolutionary—Revolutionary! Outreach, Local History, Make MAGIC! Library Reorganization Project, Programming, and Technology 1:30–5:30 p.m. 2010-Style Collide Early Literacy Training for Child 10:30 a.m.–Noon 1:30–3:30 p.m. Care Providers: A Proven Program Healthy and Secure Computing in What the User Expects and How for Success a Library 2.0 World to Get There 4–5:30 p.m. 10:30 a.m.–Noon 1:30–5:30 p.m. Dewey or Don’t We? Teen Parents Raising Readers: 10:30 a.m.–Noon Teen Staff Making It Happen Monday, June 30 Library Fundraising on Steroids! 1:30–5:30 p.m. Read Between the Lions: Public Going Beyond the Used Book Television and Public Libraries Sale . . . Join Forces to Improve Literacy 10:30 a.m.–Noon Sunday, June 29 10:30 a.m.–Noon Stretching Existing Staff: New Selling Your Story: How to Use the Reach Out and Touch Someone: Service Delivery Models PLA Service Responses to Market Public and School Libraries 10:30 a.m.–Noon Your Library Collaborate for Student Success Public Programs in a Shoebox: 1:30–3:30 p.m. 10:30 a.m.–Noon What If You Don’t Have a Get the Word Out: How to Do It, PACs in the Library 2.0 World Community Room? Marketing for Small and Rural 10:30 a.m.–Noon 10:30 a.m.–Noon Libraries 1:30–3:30 p.m.

  32 bringing in the money

“Bringing in the Money” presents fund-raising strategies for public librar- ies. Many librarians are turning to alternative funding sources to supple- ment shrinking budgets. Fund-raising efforts not only boost finances, but also leverage community support and build collaborative strategies.

Contributing Editor lee price is the Director of Development at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts Marian, the in Philadelphia. In that position, and in his previ- ous work as a fund-raising consultant, he has helped Fund-raising to raise millions of dollars for a wide variety of cultural organizations, including many libraries and archives. Librarian Please direct all correspon- dence about the column to he character of Professor Harold Hill isn’t the only savvy salesman in him at leeaprice@comcast Meredith Willson’s wonderful Tony Award–winning musical, The Music .net. TMan. If you carefully follow the back story to the play, you’ll notice that Marian Paroo (yes, the notorious Marian the Librarian) once made a major Lee is reading The Code sales pitch herself. Approximately four years before Professor Hill arrived of the Woosters by P. G. in River City, Marian apparently ventured into a specialized subset of fund- Wodehouse and The Future raising known as major donor cultivation. of the Past by Alexander In order to take a closer look at Marian’s major donor request, I drew up Stille. a case study, based on the commonly accepted Harvard Business School model. Then I asked a panel of four fund-raising experts to answer a series of questions. Participating on the panel were:

● Rob Lavery, CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive), is the Resource Development Consultant at Southern Ontario Library Service. For nearly ten years, he has assisted public libraries in the region with funding campaigns and capital projects, providing training and customized assistance in all aspects of fund-raising. Rob also teaches volunteer program management online through Georgian College, and conducts classroom sessions in fund-raising for Humber College and the University of Guelph. ● Peter Pearson is president of the Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library in Minnesota. The Friends is a unique organization in that it represents the merger of a traditional Friends group with a Library Foundation. It has endowment funds of approximately $14 million and a professional staff of eleven. It leads all fund-raising activities for the St. Paul Public Library; it conducts annual advocacy campaigns for strong public funding of the library; and it manages most of the library’s adult cultural programming. ● Susan Mathisen is a fund-raising consultant who helps museums, historic houses and sites, libraries, archives, and historical societies raise support

33 march/april 2008 bringing in the money

for their conservation and that stops in the town, are careful to beyond music education for youth. preservation projects. In addition mention the no-smoking restriction She believes that the town should to working as a conservator in to people disembarking at River City. establish a public library for the several museums and regional Recently, cars have arrived in purpose of improving River City’s centers, she has also worked in River City, but only the richest citi- cultural level. development for organizations zens have them. Horses are still the In order to achieve her goal of such as the Conservation Center primary means of transportation, starting a public library, Marian of New York University and the although most people live near the has engaged in discussions with American Academy in Rome. town and can easily walk wherever the mayor and the Ladies Auxiliary ● Shirley Trauger is a vice president they need to go. Every now and then, Committee (LAC). Mayor George of Schultz and Williams, a the Wells Fargo Wagon pulls into Shinn is mildly supportive of the consulting firm that provides town, and everyone comes out to see idea, but cannot promise any fund- fund-raising, direct mail, what it is delivering. ing to purchase a property, build marketing, and management The people of River City are the library, buy the books, or hire a planning services to the nonprofit known for their stubborn attitudes. staff. LAC, led by Eulalie Mackechnie world. The firm’s clients have They are often described as contrary, Shinn, the mayor’s wife, is concerned included the Lower Merion (Pa.) and even as having a chip on their that a library might advocate the Library System, Tredyffrin (Pa.) shoulders. Door-to-door soliciting reading of dirty books by authors Public Library, the Rosenbach without a license is illegal. Most such as Chaucer, Rabelais, and Museum and Library, and the East traveling salesmen, at least those Balzac, and smutty books like the Hampton (N.Y.) Library. who know the territory, choose not Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. to come to River City, where it is Marian’s recently deceased father So, without further ado, and rumored that the citizens are still was best friends with Mr. Madison, with great respect for the work of open to the idea of tarring and feath- who is widely considered to be the Meredith Willson, I offer: ering anyone who appears to be richest man in town. Through her attempting to cheat them. father, Marian is well acquainted Children are educated in several with Mr. Madison. He has always The Music Man Case small buildings located along the treated her with kindness and Study outskirts of the town, but there is respect, although they have rarely talk of trying to raise funds to build a talked on matters of substance. She The Trouble in River City large schoolhouse. Education is very is aware that her father often dis- In 1908, River City is a small Iowa basic, consisting of reading, writing, cussed the needs of River City with town, located near the Mississippi arithmetic, and little else. There is Mr. Madison, and that they both River and the Illinois border. It has no music education, and no town believed the town would greatly ben- a thriving main street lined with marching band. efit from a park, a high school, and a popular stores, such as the Candy But there is trouble, right there in library. Kitchen, Ewart Dunlop’s grocery River City, because there is no public Although Mr. Madison was friends store, and the Pleez-All Billiard library for its citizens. with Marian’s father, relationships Parlor. Most of the streets are still between Mr. Madison and other dirt, but the roads in the very center town leaders are strained. He is a of town have recently been paved. Marian Paroo’s Vision gentleman in his late fifties, never There is a very pleasant town square, for River City married, and with no children. He with city hall on one side and the Marian Paroo’s family moved to lives comfortably but frugally in an church on the other. River City when she was in her late average-size Victorian house and The town is exceptionally clean teens. Now in her mid-twenties, she does not employ any servants. It is and colorful, and the people all lives just a couple of blocks from the generally assumed around town that appear relatively prosperous. There center of town with her mother and he made a fortune in the railroad is no smoking because cigarettes are her much younger brother Winthrop. business and is hoarding the money. illegal in the state. Railroad conduc- Marian offers piano lessons at her Some people in town have taken to tors, working on the Rock Island line house, but she has ambitions that go calling him “old miser Madison.”

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Based on conversations between be more enthusiasm for building a helping to raise the money needed her father and Mr. Madison, Marian combined school and library rather from others. believes that Mr. Madison is indeed than a library alone. This is called quite wealthy, but she feels that he is building a case for fund-raising. Rob Lavery: I think there are a few also very civic-minded. She deeply Of course she should consider Mr. places Marian can look for fund- resents it when she hears him called Madison a potential major donor. ing. In my experience with libraries, “old miser Madison,” as she doesn’t He has the resources to support her I would say most individual donors feel this reflects his true character project at a high level, he is fond of are looking for a municipal commit- at all. Marian and her family, and he has ment first before they agree to their already realized—through conversa- own leadership gift. So I would advise tions with Marian’s father—how ben- Marian to meet with the mayor about Questions eficial a library and school would the new library and convince him be to the townspeople. In other that the project will not fly without Where should Marian Paroo look words, his interest has already a significant contribution from the for funding to launch her River been cultivated. municipality up front—that the com- City library project? Should she munity is looking for leadership from consider Mr. Madison to be a po- Peter Pearson: Most public library the town for this project. Once she tential major donor? buildings are constructed with the has confirmed participation from majority of funding coming from the the town, Marian can then speak to Shirley Trauger: Before Marian municipality and “enhancement” Mr. Madison and LAC. Mr. Madison Paroo starts asking for funding for funding coming from the private should certainly be considered a a library, she should look hard at sector. This building project will very potential major donor to the funding River City and find out what its likely not have that public/private campaign. He has many characteris- citizens feel it needs to thrive as a mix; it will be built with all private tics of a major gift donor and would twentieth-century town. She will funding. Therefore it will be neces- likely rate quite high in his linkage to want as many funders as possible to sary to get as broad a cross section the project, interest in the communi- get excited about her library project. of the community to be donors as ty, and ability to make an investment. Clearly the townspeople have a lot possible. Marian will need to build a And it appears that the members of of civic pride and want River City case for the new library with exten- LAC have a zeal for the issues, which, to continue to be better than all the sive community input. In addition, properly channeled, could result in a neighboring towns. The Rock Island Marian will probably want to create financial commitment. Line and Wells Fargo, as well as local a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to businesses, can also benefit as River accept contributions for the library. Susan Mathisen: Marian has a good City becomes more attractive to the Most major donors will not want to deal going against her. First, there farmers who live around it as well as write their check to a government appears to be no dedication to edu- potential new residents. entity. They will have more comfort cation within the community, as Appealing to all these different in contributing to a nonprofit whose is evident by the basic curriculum, motivations—pride, snobbery, self- sole purpose is to build and support the location of the school buildings interest, among others—Marian the library. on the outskirts of town, and even could continue to find partners Mr. Madison should clearly be though it’s been discussed, no one to fund and advocate for town cultivated as a major donor to the has championed the cause to build improvement. In listening carefully library campaign. Marian will want a proper school. It’s almost as if they to their responses to her idea, she to conduct a feasibility study of the do not want education to be an inte- could find that the first priority of project before soliciting contribu- gral part of the community. thoughtful citizens might be a real tions. Mr. Madison should be one of In addition, she doesn’t have the schoolhouse, and that her library the individuals invited to participate full support of those she will need project might be more attractive— in the feasibility study interviews. to help her in her cause: the mayor and more useful—if more River City- This will allow him to critique the and LAC. ites could first read books beyond project and get better buy-in. He So, before she can really start a McGuffey’s First Reader. There may may even indicate an interest in campaign for funding, she needs to

35 march/april 2008 bringing in the money

get the community behind the proj- there is no library available, her best civic-mindedness, and his legacy to ect. She can do this through a variety way to do this is to take the knowl- River City. of cultivation efforts—teas, dinners, edge she does have and discuss the and so on, in which she discusses a project with the donor. From the dis- PP: Before Mr. Madison is asked to plan for the library, why it is impor- cussions with her father, she knows make a contribution, Marian needs tant for River City, and how the town he has an interest in the needs of to cultivate the relationship a bit would eventually benefit. This will the community, so she is not too off more. Even though he has spoken not be an easy task, given the stub- course in approaching him. She can about the library in past conversa- bornness of the townsfolk and the do this through several conversa- tions with Marian and her father, probability that they will be hesitant tions (or cultivation meetings) not Marian will want to engage him in to agree to anything they perceive unlike those she would have had additional conversations to share her as change. But by showing that the with other community leaders. In vision for a River City library and to effects of the project are positive her presentation, she should clearly find out what parts of a library Mr. ones, she can create an air of excite- describe the project, staying positive, Madison may feel passionate about. ment around the project that will yet looking for clues in particular An additional step is to ask Mr. help her get the community behind aspects that seem to interest or con- Madison to participate in a feasibility her. No doubt the mayor and LAC cern Mr. Madison. At the appropriate study interview. This will allow him will follow suit. time, she should ask him to consider to react to the plans for the library Once she has town support, a gift of a certain amount. The key and to feel as though he has had a she’ll have a better chance of raising at this point is to sit back and get a hand in shaping the final building the needed funds and use a vari- reaction, which, if she has presented project. ety of techniques to do so. She can the library properly, will be positive. Many requests for major gifts approach the many prosperous busi- But she should keep in mind that if are made by more than one per- ness owners in town, offering them she gets a “no,” it may not be a good son—often a volunteer and staff publicity as supporters of the library. time for Mr. Madison to consider a person. With no staff in this situa- Schoolchildren can help, through gift, and she should continue to keep tion, Marian will want to be sure to drives that can help raise funds for him abreast of the project so that she bring another individual whom Mr. books or bricks and mortar. She can will be on his mind when he is ready Madison knows and respects. Both also appeal to the richest citizens in to give a gift. In all cases, she should Marian and the other individual she town, offering naming opportunities conclude the meeting with a thank brings to the appointment with Mr. and such. you and follow-up note. Madison need to be contributors As for Mr. Madison, he should be to the project before they ask Mr. solicited at some point, but given RL: In fund-raising we say, “If you Madison to contribute. Possible can- his strained relationships with those want money, ask for advice, if you didates would be Marian’s mother or whose help Marian needs most, hav- want advice, ask for money.” So I a business colleague of Mr. Madison. ing him as the lead gift may cost her would suggest to Marian that if her that support. hope is to get a leadership gift from ST: Marian could ask Mr. Madison if Mr. Madison, then she should con- he would help her raise the dollars If Mr. Madison is targeted as a sider her first meeting with him as needed for the project by making potential major donor, how should an information-and-advice meeting. a matching gift of half of the funds Marian go about making the re- She should present the idea of the needed. She might suggest that his quest for support? library to him and then wait to hear gift challenge the town and the com- what his thoughts are. Does he have munity to contribute the other half. SM: Because he is reputed to be the any issues or concerns? Are there any She should offer the possibility that richest man in town, he should be areas of particular interest for him? Mr. Madison be an “anonymous solicited. But Marian should deter- Once he sounds engaged in the proj- benefactor” if he wishes, but also mine first what his giving capacity is ect, Marian can thank him for his state her admiration for his quiet and how interested he is in the proj- thoughts and ask for a second meet- good citizenship and her hope that ect. She could do this through a bit ing. It’s at subsequent meetings that his contributions be more widely of prospect research. However, since Marian can speak to Mr. Madison’s recognized, perhaps by putting his

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name on the library or some other Kentucky and Illinois. According to instincts and a passion for the library part of the project. this think system, all a student has to project. I would love to have her as do in order to play the Minuet in G is a volunteer on my library capital to think the Minuet in G. campaign! Her passion and commit- A New Paradigm While Marian is dubious about ment trump any formal fund-raising Marian Paroo is concerned that she this system being appropriate in training I could offer. Just a little may lack the academic credentials teaching the flugelhorn, she won- bit of rehearsal for the actual meet- necessary to succeed as a librarian ders if it could be applied to her first ing, and I’d send her off. Too much and fund-raiser. She wonders if she attempt at fund-raising. Perhaps all time is wasted developing plans and should go back to school for addi- she has to do is think the request— materials so that canvassers have tional training in either library sci- fully imagine it in her head—and something in their briefcase—and ence or fund-raising, but is unsure if then she will be able to successfully frankly, they are just stalling in mak- major donor solicitation is a science make the request. ing their calls! or an art—or if it can really be taught at all. ST: No. Anyone with enough motiva- While pondering just how to go Questions tional skills to get a fourth-grade boy about making the request to Mr. to the point that he can play a half- Madison, Marian hears rumors of Should Marian delay making the way decent version of Für Elise can a new approach that she thinks request until she has received raise money for a project she deeply might offer a model for her. Through some kind of formal training in believes in. her music-teaching connections, major donor fund-raising? she learns of a new “think system,” SM: Marian seems to have a good which is apparently being used to RL: No, I don’t think Marian needs deal of confidence, given she thinks teach band music in communities in formal training. She has good natural training in one field can help her be

Public Librarians—What’s Next? Certification!

If you have:

l an MSLS degree (ALA-accredited, NCATE-accredited, or accredited by the national body of another country) l at least 3 years supervisory experience ® Move your career to the next level! Certified Public Library Administrator Candidates gain skills in:

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37 march/april 2008 bringing in the money

successful in another. While experi- asking. Although Marian is going consider accepting a gift toward the ence is often transferable, there is in by herself, it will behoove her to library on the condition that books still a good deal to be learned. It know exactly what she is going to by these authors be permanently would be helpful if Marian could say, think of any questions he may excluded from the collection. get a bit of training, but her reality ask and have answers prepared, is that there are no resources from and know how much she is request- which she could receive this training. ing. Being rehearsed will give her Questions Therefore, she should forge ahead, confidence and that will no doubt realizing that mistakes will be made impress Mr. Madison. Should Marian agree to this along the way, but she will learn condition? from these mistakes, and those les- RL: A positive attitude is a key com- sons will help her be more successful ponent for any level of asking. And PP: Marian should not agree to a in the future. rehearsing the scenario prior to the condition of censorship with Mr. actual meeting is important too. Madison’s contribution. PP: Marian may not need course If she can anticipate any negative work in major fund-raising, but she responses from Mr. Madison and RL: Well, if Mr. Madison is truly only should certainly seek out the assis- work these out beforehand, she will looking for Marian’s advice, then I tance of a seasoned fund-raising manage the meeting with aplomb. think that she could have a rational professional. I’m sure Mr. Madison will be won discussion on the topic to explore over by her enthusiasm and passion options. She doesn’t need to agree Do you think Marian should follow for the project. outright without discussion on some a variation on this think system in compromise positions. preparing to make her request? ST: While “thinking don’t make it so,” it is as important for Marian SM: Any time a donor expresses PP: The think method would not to rehearse asking Mr. Madison to concern or offers up a condition, it be terribly effective in this instance. support the library project as it is to needs to be dealt with accordingly. Instead, Marian needs to be articu- practice, practice, practice the piano. Ignoring it will just show the donor late, passionate, and well prepared Fully imagining her request—and that you have not listened to him for explaining the benefits, costs, then asking her mother or brother to and don’t care about what he cares and operational expenses after the pretend that they are Mr. Madison about. But one doesn’t need to give building is built. while Marian rehearses her conver- an answer there and then, particu- sation—will be very helpful to her. larly when it has to do with policy (in SM: I have two reactions: (1) If all this case, acquisitions policy), as that we have to do is imagine ourselves often has to be discussed with board getting a gift, our jobs would be a lot Marian’s Dilemma members. If you don’t know, admit easier; (2) It’s a philosophy akin to Marian fearlessly makes the request, it, but let the donor know you’ll look the little engine that could—“I think following her basic belief that “No into it and get back to him. And don’t I can successfully make the request, matter who one is, or what one is forget to do just as you promised! I think I can successfully make the working for, one can do anything if request.” one puts one’s mind to it.” What are Marian’s options at this But by fully imagining the request Mr. Madison asks for time to point? in her head, Marian is doing some- consider her request, but asks for thing many of us do before we go her advice on one thing. Apparently, SM: The first thing Marian should into a donor meeting—rehearse. members of LAC have already spo- do is thank him for considering This is key, particularly when one ken to him on the subject of a library her request, and then ask when he is bringing in a board member to and have strongly asserted their thinks he may have an answer for the meeting as well. It creates a opinion that their town should be her. If he is unsure, then she can sug- united front, but more importantly, free of books by such smut peddlers gest a date. If he agrees, she should it establishes who will be doing the as Chaucer, Rabelais, and especially contact him on that date to see if he talking and who will be doing the Balzac. He asks Marian if she would has made up his mind.

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If he says yes, she should follow human. If Mr. up the second conversation with a Madison agrees to letter that acknowledges the gift and support Marian’s states the amount. If he says no, she position, together should continue cultivating him with they might create the hopes he may make a gift in the a more tolerant future. and deeply cul- tural environment PP: One option would be for Marian in River City. That to suggest that such decisions would may be exactly be made by a duly appointed library what LAC fears, or board with broad representation they may really be from the community rather than by afraid of exposing a LAC with little or no knowledge of their children pre- library issues. maturely to the evils of the world. RL: Ultimately, funding should be Marian could offer independent of collection policy. But to make authors the reality is that many funders have like these avail- specific funding interests, and often able in an adults- they have an impact on collections. only section of the Public libraries take their role as the library. If Marian repository of all information very has built a good seriously, but also, they must live in partnership with the real world and reflect commu- these ladies, they nity standards. Many libraries have should now trust learned to compromise on access her to do what is issues resulting in happy funders in the best interest of River City. and even Balzac. Although there and patrons. Marian could suggest was a considerable amount of whis- limited or restricted access to con- pering regarding the nature of this troversial texts, or active supervision Conclusion scandalous bequest, Marian got her and monitoring of use. But I’m not In the end, Marian Paroo received library. a librarian—and I willingly leave the the contribution that she wanted In later years, Marian married procedural aspects to them! from Mr. Madison, made in the form the respected music philosopher of a planned-giving bequest. There Professor Harold Hill. Thanks to ST: Anyone as wise and thoughtful as was one curious proviso attached. In their work, River City became known Mr. Madison seems to be, must him- his will, Mr. Madison bequeathed a throughout the Midwest as an artis- self be a reader of books that include building to River City to be used as tic and cultural haven, noted for its such authors. Marian could express the site for a public library, and he fine library, marching band, and bar- her strong opinion about the value left a large collection of new books ber shop quartets. of such widely regarded masters of designated for the library to Marian literature and their ability to reflect— herself. The collection conspicuously and reflect on—the foibles of being included titles by Chaucer, Rabelais,

39 march/april 2008 passing notes

“Passing Notes” focuses on young adult service issues, including pro- gramming, collection development, and creating stronger connections with young adult patrons. The column will address these topics with a humorous bent and an awareness that the key to working with young adults is constant reinvention.

Contributing Editor MICHAEL GARRETT FARRELLY is a Youth Services Librarian and graphic novelist living in Chicago; michaelfarrelly@ Guitar Hero hotmail.com.

Michael is reading The Stories of Vladimir Nabakov and Rock Band by Vladimir Nabakov, DMZ: Friendly Fire by Brian Games that are Fun and Educational Wood, Casanova: Luxuria by Matt Fraction, and recently attended a rock show. This is a bit out of character for me. I tend The Homecoming by Ray to have very odd taste in music, leaning more towards electronic than Bradbury and Dave McKean. Ifolks with guitars and drums “rocking out,” but I went all the same. The band was dressed in silver spandex and matching T-shirts that read “Satan’s Devils.” They preened, did some call and response with the audience (a well- lubricated audience filled the tavern, so this went on for a bit), and then the band finally started to “kick out the jams.” This is a column so I can’t adequately describe what it sounded liked, but I’ll endeavor. Click-click-click. Tappa-tappa-tappa. Click-click-click. Tappa-tappa-tappa. Yes, this was a Guitar Hero rock concert. If you’re not familiar with Guitar Hero or Rock Band, let me fill you in. They are both games for next-generation video game consoles (XBox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Playstation 3) where the goal is to match your button mashing to the beat and rhythm of the music. They feature actual record- ings from artists like KISS, Blue Oyster Cult, and Ozzy Osbourne. They come packaged with small plastic guitars featuring colored buttons in place of strings. Rock Band also comes with a drum kit, though the drums are actually flat plastic pads, not unlike rehearsal pads for “real” drumming. I put “real” in quotes there for a good reason, and, no, snarkiness is not the reason. These games blur the line between reality and gaming in a com- pletely original way. A friend of mine who has been drumming since grade school played Rock Band and said that the drumming in game was nearly identical to the skill set he uses in “real” bands. While the guitar controller might not teach chords, it does develop dexterity in the fingers, rhythm, and an ear for the beat. All vital skills when learning a musical instrument. I’ll confess, at first I was very dubious of these games. I decided a couple years back to learn guitar after spending most of my childhood musical endeavors in choir and toiling away with the dreaded hand bells. I wanted to learn simply for my own pleasure. No delusions of rock stardom danced

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in my head. It was arduous, and it ing curve. Seeing an F chord or a B stores offer trade-in credit. Running took months for me to stop letting minor or—my nemesis—the C chord a drive where you collect old video my pinky finger get in the way of a for the first time can throw a wrench games from patrons to offset the proper G chord, but now I have a in the most excited student’s plans. cost could work. If purchasing is out small and growing number of songs Games allow that passion to con- of the question, consider reaching under my belt. The sense of accom- tinue without the frustration. out to the community to work out a plishment and satisfaction is almost It’s very rare for me to make flat lending program with patrons. The embarrassing. statements. Such pronouncements return on investment of time and But what if I’d been slapping are often one-size-fits some at best, money will be staggering. the colored buttons of Guitar Hero but here goes nothing. Every library I rarely recommend purchasing instead of wading in the fetid waters within the sound of this column expensive capital items for librar- of “Margaritaville”? Would I be any needs to have these games on hand. ies. The cash crunch is always there, better off? I sneered at the games Libraries need to host game nights, staffing cuts loom, and hiring freezes as a waste of time. Then I came to a jam sessions, and just open up the make us shiver. Consider this: How very simple realization. These games doors and let the kids play. Games many times have you read the same, weren’t for the dedicated student of that inspire are as vital to young tired story about how video games chord charts and guitar tuning, they adults as any book, magazine, or are to blame for violence, crassness, were meant to be points of inspira- website. The Millennial Generation and the general downfall of society? tion. They were meant to fire young views video games as simply another How often are games and game mak- people’s passion for rock and roll, form of media to be consumed. In ers excoriated as villains, like the that most simple and youthful of providing a full spectrum of services comic book creators of old? What musical styles. They were fun as all to young adults, libraries would be better way to shake the cobwebs off get out, but the teachable aspects of remiss in avoiding this opportunity these irksome assumptions than to it were best directed at young adults. to bring music, in a simple way. show the power of the new medium? Every teacher will tell you that if The games can be expensive Even more broadly, when games you can make learning fun you’ve (Guitar Hero and its sequels average come along that inspire players to achieved something wonderful. about $100 with the controller, Rock learn, to be curious about playing These games make music into Band about $150) and game con- music, and perhaps find a voice, a game. They create a sense of soles range from $250 for the Wii to isn’t it part of our duty as librarians achievement, of curiosity and excite- $400 for the PS3, but there are ways to find a way to give young people a ment about one of the most basic to mitigate the cost. Buying used chance to experience them? forms of expression. They also take games and controllers can cut those some of the sting out of the learn- prices nearly in half. Many game

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41 march/april 2008  Folksonomies PATH To a Better Way?

SHARON L. COSENTINO ([email protected]) is a full- time secretary and a part-time MLS student at the University at Buffalo. She is reading Information Literacy Instruction: Theory and Practice by Esther S. Grassian and Joan R. Kaplowitz.

n elderly library patron attempting to help his young granddaughter do a report on Native Americans is befuddled when he cannot find any listing for American Indians in his library Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). A twenty-three-year-old patron searches in vain for any information on his favorite indie rock stars. Imagine a breakthrough in which OPACs could be enhanced by subject headings selected by the people themselves. What if one’s unwieldy bookmarks/favorites feature in his browser couldA be reorganized with his own custom-made subject headings of his favorite websites? What if all inter- ested online users could also tag their favorites, using specialized software to pool all these favorites together? Now a participant could access any other participant’s tagged favorites file. This world is already bursting upon us with the rapid growth of online folksonomies. Since connecting users with information is at the very heart of the library profession, librarians are left asking, “Are folksonomies, indeed, a path to a better way?” According to Dye, the term folksonomy “was coined in 2005 when information architect Thomas Vander Wal mashed up the words taxonomy and folk to name the growing phenomenon of users generating metadata by tagging pieces of digital information with their own searchable keywords.”1 How do folksonomies work? Dye goes on to state that “the process is simple enough: users assign a name, or tag, to any image, article, blog, bookmark, or URL. Later, when they want to recall this content, they can search for its tag and find exactly what they’re looking for.”2 The social bookmarking software then organizes those tags to be accessible by all participants. Users will not only find many Web resources through these tags, they will also find a community of users with similar interests. Why are proponents of social tagging so excited over this phenomenon? Many times users cannot relate to the subject headings assigned by the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) on OPACs. Social tagging gives the people the power to use categories that are meaningful to them. Researching becomes more accu- rate, and social taggers can tap into the findings of others by sharing their tags.

Exploration In a library studies graduate class project, I joined my teammates Ebony and Heather in posting twenty-five images each on the Flickr website (www.flickr.com). We were to apply tags to our personal collections, then apply tags to each of our teammates’ collections. I displayed slides of Africa taken by my father, Dr. Robert L. Shrigley, when our whole family spent two years of my childhood in Kano, Nigeria. Ebony provided a photo

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gallery of her favorite current tennis stars, and revealed that only the 150 most popular tags from all Heather posted images of her two-year-old daughter three of us were floating in this cloud, and all capital Natalie. letters had been replaced with small letters. Multiple- One unusual aspect of our team was that Ebony word tags were put together in one long tag, such as is originally from Nigeria. Since Heather had never “oldcityofkano.” Not surprisingly, the four largest tags set foot in that country, Ebony represented the Flickr are the four tags I used in all my images: Africa, dlis- community members with intimate knowledge of 571abbas, lis571, and Nigeria. Nigerian culture, while Heather represented those How did my teammates tag my images? Like me, who needed to research that culture. For example, they also tried to supply the descriptors I had missed. my father took many pictures of Nigerian Muslims They added some great terms I had not even thought practicing their religious rituals. Ebony already of, such as “changing color” for my chameleon slide understood these Islamic practices, while Heather and “playmates” for the preteen Fulani cow herders. periodically referred to Islamic websites to broaden Yet to my surprise they did not limit themselves her understanding. to objective tags. Roughly one-third of their tags Agreeing ahead of time to emphasize originality, resulted from their subjective analysis of the images. we strenuously avoided copying each other’s tags. Within this subjective category, about half dealt with This suited my purposes well, for a greater number my teammates’ interpretation of the main characters’ of distinct tags meant increased findability of our attitudes. For example, they had attached the word images by the whole Flickr community. “humility” to two images: one of Sule, a Muslim holy When tagging my own site, I created either five man, as he bowed toward Mecca, and the second of or six descriptors from my own mental vocabulary. the image of hundreds of Muslims bowing toward Five tags were required and, to my mind, that meant Mecca. six would be even better. I resisted going beyond six The other half of these subjective tags came from due to time pressures and not wanting to make my their own emotional reactions to the slides. Heather teammates feel like they had to do the same. Also, had tagged my slide of an uninhabited African vil- using single-word tags seemed more concise to me. lage surrounded by a bamboo wall as “freedom.” She Yet, when I did use multiple-word tags, such as my later told me this image evoked within her feelings of “mother and child” tag for one of my father’s images, the liberty she associates with returning to a simpler, Flickr readily accommodated it. more back-to-nature lifestyle. What did I learn from my tagging these three When Heather tagged my images she tried to ana- photo galleries? First of all, while I had no trouble lyze what was going on in my scenes without relying understanding my slides, I obviously lacked my too heavily on my title or description. This is why teammates’ familiarity with their subjects. I could she checked instructional Islamic websites. She also specifically tag the image of the Nigerian woman did not tag to increase findability for the entire Flickr balancing the gourd on her head as that of a Fulani community, but just to be original. woman carrying cow’s milk in a calabash gourd, but Ebony would read my titles and descriptions and I could not name even one of Ebony’s tennis stars. try to pick descriptors consistent with my wording. Thus, I had to depend on my partners’ title and She did not refer to outside sources, possibly because description cues. she was from Nigeria. She also was not thinking in Secondly, my mission of increasing findability for terms of assigning descriptors for other Flickr mem- the entire Flickr community consumed my tagging bers to find. choices. Filling in the missing logical word choices One aspect of Ebony’s distinctive tagging style (according to my mental check list) guided my selec- for her tennis stars was her omission of their given tion. names. Instead she used their nicknames. Perhaps Thirdly, I had assumed that findability is enhanced she assumed everyone (myself excluded) already by tagging only what one actually sees in the slides— knew their real names or just thought their nick- what I had dubbed as “objective tagging.” Words that names were more colorful. At any rate, driven in my captured the emotions of the slides’ subjects or my mission to increase findability, I had every star tagged emotional response to the slides were off limits for with his or her given name. One interesting aspect to my purposes. her style was Ebony’s rating of certain male athletes Flickr provides a useful tool called a tag cloud, as “hunkamania” or “hottie.” I checked the whole in which the more popular tags are displayed as Flickr site and found that hunkamania was used larger in size. My research of my own Flickr tag cloud ten times versus the 9,995 appearances of hottie.

43 march/april 2008  folksonomies

Apparently, at this point in time, hunkamania accom- -bookmarking-services. Be sure to look for an export panies male images while hottie is a unisex tag. feature. If your software ever faces extinction, you Ebony’s use of these two terms poses the fascinat- must be able to export all of your hard work to anoth- ing question of the evolution of slang terminology. er site. For the purposes of this paper, I will specify While hottie is riding high on the crest of popularity del.icio.us, as it is by far the most popular social right now, it would be an intriguing study to track bookmarking site. just where hottie and hunkamania might rank five Use your software’s plug-in (or tag). Drag it to your years from now. toolbar and click on it whenever you find a good The 9,955 hottie tags taught me one valuable les- website. A form will pop up, easily allowing you to son: Subjective tagging is really popular on Flickr. type in information such as notes about the site and Heather’s distinctive subjective tagging style con- descriptor tags. Then just click the Save button, and it sisted of analyzing her daughter’s facial expressions is now part of your collection. and body language to assign a phrase that captured Before you begin any tagging, think through a per- Natalie’s thoughts. In one slide, Natalie displays a sonal plan as to how you will tag your sites and con- lowered brow and heavy eyelids. Her mother tagged sistently stick to that plan! You do not want to return that image with, “It wasn’t me.” Upon checking for all several months later and have to re-do all your tags. “it wasn’t me” tags on Flickr, I found forty-three addi- Pick your tag words carefully. Select a set of key- tional images with that designation. My favorite was words you will readily recall and can use over and that of a baby in a high chair, wearing a bib embroi- over. If you wish to share your websites with others, dered “It wasn’t me!” include some of the tags that del.icio.us specifies as popular tags. Use five or six tag words per site, generally nouns. Assessment of Experiment As mentioned by Chanchal Gupta, if you restrict Flickr participants apply tags to accomplish different yourself to one tag, you may find yourself wading purposes. Some community members assign tags for through myriad sites trying to find that one special their own personal findability, while other members tag for that one particular site a year later.4 focus on increasing findability for all Flickr partici- John D’Agostino believes that when picking your pants. tags you “focus on main issue of the bookmark with- Our Flickr experiment also indicates that, at times, out going into too much detail.”5 He also tries “not some users avoid emotional responses and employ to overlap tags which have the same meaning.”6 For objective tags. When several persons objectively tag example, he avoids what some users do when they the same image, their pooled efforts can produce useful synonyms that the owner of the images never tag sites with these three tags: “web,” “development,” 7 thought to use. and then “webdev.” Sometimes users prefer the emotional connota- Would you like to record when you first found each tions of subjective tagging. These types of tags give a site? If so, Chris Rippel, head of the continuing educa- fascinating glimpse into what others are thinking, as tion department at Central Kansas Library System, well as the current use of slang terminology. Seeing suggests adding a year/month date tag to each link. If the implications for public-oriented information pro- you found your link in July 2007, merely add the tag 8 fessionals, Etches-Johnson observes, “one glance at “2007July” as another descriptor. the ‘popular tags’ list on del.icio.us gives you immedi- Decide how you will put together two-word tags. ate insight into what users are searching for. What if First, study your software’s rules concerning such we had the ability to gain this sort of insight into our tags. In the case of del.icio.us, spaces are not per- library users’ behaviors and preferences?”3 mitted and two words must be combined into one. Suppose you wished to tag all sites offering jobs in libraries. Some users would tag this as “jobslibraries,” Tips for Tagging all in the lower case. Others might like to try camel- Are there any best practices in how to actually tag ing. Cameling means to display significant letters in websites? First, evaluate all available social book- upper case, in order to better catch the user’s eye. In marking software to make the right choice for you. this example, the user would tag these job sites as Check the information provided at www.readwrite “JobsLibraries.” The beauty of cameling in del.icio.us web.com/archives/social_bookmarking_faceoff is that it will retrieve both the “jobslibraries” and the .php and www.h3rald.com/articles/view/social “JobsLibraries” sites.

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Ben Hockenberry, a cataloging vendor employee One note of caution about using bookmarklets: and 2007 MLS graduate, adds prefixes to his tags in read the site first to see what browsers are compatible del.icio.us.9 He prefixes the tag with “in:” or “lang:” to with the bookmarklets. For example, the bookmark- distinguish between different words. lets from the bookmarklets.com site specifies Internet Explore early how your software organizes tags into Explorer 4, and may not work with the latest brows- hierarchical layers. Del.icio.us presently offers only ers. Steve Kangas, the author of bookmarklets.com, is two layers. One layer is the name of the bundle itself planning to update his site to accommodate current and the other is the name of the tag contained within browsers.12 that bundle. Rippel has developed one trick he uses within this framework—that of collecting computer training tutorial sites in his del.icio.us account.10 One Practical Uses for Social of his bundles is called “Hardware” and another is Bookmarking in Libraries called “Software.” “Explanations” is a tag that could Just how can librarians make social bookmarking belong in either bundle. So Rippel tags the hardware work for them and their users? Samantha Hines, explanations as “hExplanations” and the software social sciences librarian at the University of Montana, explanations as “sExplanations” (see table 1). uses her del.icio.us account to collect resources she Despite del.icio.us’s restriction of two layers, will present at conferences.13 She knows she can Rippel has also devised a way to produce a third always update her file with additional resources later 11 layer. Within his collection of computer training and as long as she has a computer with Web access, tutorials, Rippel has named one bundle “Hardware.” she can access her del.icio.us account. The second layer is the tag “Mouse.” He has devised a Sandra Ley, assistant librarian at Arizona State third layer by combining the broad “Mouse” tag with University’s Fletcher Library, uses her del.icio.us another tag that narrows the meaning. This last tag account to collect resources for her own professional can be either “Buying,” “Repairing,” or “Training” development, making sure to collect any appropriate (see table 2). YouTube videos.14 Bookmarklets are great time-saving, free devices Librarians sharing the same specialty can share for information professionals as they build up their their favorite tags with their colleagues. For example, personal accounts of websites. They are available at Bonnie McKewon, director of Northwest Iowa Library both www.bookmarklets.com and www.squarefree Services in Sioux City, is excited to think about her .com/bookmarklets. Bookmarklets contain a formula back-up reference team using del.icio.us to bookmark written in Javascript. Each bookmarklet performs a their favorite websites for reference work.15 unique function to a website and can be installed on Images once difficult to locate are now locat- your link bar or tool bar. able, thanks to programs like Flickr. Darlene Fichter Would you like to get rid of those annoying, hard- states that “tags are useful for objects that have no to-read background colors on some of your selected other metadata—photos, music, videos, schematics, websites? The squarefree.com site offers a “zap” diagrams, slides, charts, and graphs. . . . For public bookmarklet that will do just that. No matter what libraries this might mean a collection of local history the original color, using this bookmarklet will change photographs that aren’t labeled at all.”16 the text to black on a white background. How could a young adult (YA) librarian help teen- The bookmarklets.com site offers a bookmarklet agers research the civil rights movement? Stephanie called More Info About that allows you to surf with- Sweeney, librarian at Garden Spot High School in out clicking on links. Suppose you find a word or New Holland, Pennsylvania, tags useful sites for such phrase that interests you, but no link is attached. By students by adding her special tag “gardenspot.”17 just dragging across this word or phrase, the book- They can easily access her choice civil rights move- marklet will quickly feed it into a search engine for ment sites at www.del.icio.us/gardenspot. you, saving you steps.

Table 2. Del.icio.us Triple Layers Table 1. Del.icio.us Double Layers Layer 1: HARDWARE

Layer 1: HARDWARE Layer 1: SOFTWARE Layer 2: Mouse

Layer 2: hExplanations Layer 2: sExplanations Layer 3: MouseBuying or MouseReparing or MouseTraining

45 march/april 2008  folksonomies

YA librarians should also encourage their teen whet their appetites, and a well-done, homegrown users to download pictures from Flickr to add to video clip of Myers’s book Monster. One cautionary their reports.18 note about using Pageflakes: the site requires heavy Lisa Holmes, children’s library assistant at use of Web resources. Be sure to get clearance from the Central City Library’s Centre for the Child in your library’s information technology person before Christchurch, New Zealand, uses del.icio.us to com- using Pageflakes. pose her own collection of resources for her story- times and for class visits from the local school.19 Suppose many of your adults love to explore Enhancing OPACs with genealogy sites. Why not post a link on your library’s Social Tagging website to a list of genealogy sites in del.icio.us? As recently as 2001, catalogers such as Wendy Tan The Stony Brook University Health Sciences Library were wrestling with the inherent difficulties of trying (www.hsclib.sunysb.edu) has a link to del.icio.us to catalog ever-changing websites.23 Perhaps instead under the Research Assistance category on the home of trying to catalog websites, we should concentrate page. At the present time, this link (http://del.icio.us/ on enhancing presently existing OPACs by linking healthscienceslibrary) takes the user directly to 104 them to social bookmarking sites. websites for their student patrons. Fichter reports that the library at the University Flickr can also add to your library’s Web presence. of Pennsylvania has already set up PennTags (http:// La Grange Park (Ill.) Public Library (LGPPL) has a tags.library.upenn.edu).24 PennTags allows commu- great picture gallery set up on Flickr at www.flickr nity members to add entries. Etches-Johnson reports .com/search/?q=LaGrange+Park+Library. Presently, that “some libraries are already using social book- you will see photos of summer reading programs, marking tools to provide Web-based subject bibliog- princess tea ceremonies, or knit-a-thons. According raphies for their users,” and she quotes the Thomas to Schmidt, when LGPPL was experiencing construc- Ford Memorial Library as an example (www.ford tion, photos were uploaded to Flickr to allow all library.org/referenceresearchcenter/topicguides).25 interested users to follow the progress.20 LibraryThing (www.librarything.com) can be a As a cataloger, Hockenberry compiles link lists wonderful addition to your OPAC. LibraryThing is a using keywords such as “cataloging+marc+standards” folksonomic type of software that enables members and gives the URL for his tag to trainees to guide to build personal catalogs of their favorite books. The them to best practices for the job.21 As of this writ- start of my collection is available at www.librarything ing, the previously quoted tag will net you 118 choice .com/catalog/cosentin. LibraryThing also allows cataloging sites on del.icio.us. members to write reviews of their own favorite books Darren Chase has uploaded a gallery of pictures and see the reviews others gave those same titles. To from the Stony Brook University Health Sciences find fresh reading material, you can see the names Library in New York on Flickr at www.flickr.com/ of books similar to yours that have been submitted photos/hslibrary.22 Be sure to check out the beautiful by fellow members. At the “Tag-Info” section, you orchids that grace the facility. can view what the entire LibraryThing community is Have you discovered Pageflakes (www.pageflakes reading on one particular subject. For instance, for .com) yet? This efficient site serves as a one-stop my tag “animals,” Tag-Info tells me which users use location for your frequently accessed websites. Each that tag, which books were most often tagged with flake, or box, houses a website such as your favorite “animals,” and the last ten books tagged “animals.” news service, Flickr photos, local events, weather, a Libraries such as Bedford (Tex.) Public Library podcast feed, movie listing, e-mail carrier, videos, (www.bedfordlibrary.org) have added LibraryThing and so forth. to their OPAC. LibraryThing enhances OPAC by add- Pageflakes serves as a great place to display your ing user-friendly genres that LCSH does not recog- pick of social bookmarking resources. For example, nize, such as “cozy mysteries.” If you click on the suppose you are presenting a booktalk on author LibraryThing link, it will bring you to the Thingology Walter Dean Myers. After finishing your booktalk, tell Blog. Clicking on the “cozy mysteries” link brings the teens to view your Pageflake public pagecast (view up a tag cloud as well as dozens upon dozens of mine at www.pageflakes.com/cosentin/12771379), books similar to the listed OPAC novel, which is Abby and they can tune into Flickr photos of Myers, his Cooper, Psychic Eye (Psychic Eye Mysteries, Book One), interview with First Book, del.icio.us tags to the best by Victoria Laurie. What a great idea for patrons Myers websites, two additional written booktalks to hunting for new authors in their favorite genre!

  46 folksonomies 

Has your library incorporated LibraryThing to meet 6. Ibid. the informational needs of, say, your users wishing to 7. Ibid. start their own small business? Ed Rossman, adult ser- 8. Chris Rippel, personal communication with the vices librarian at Shaker Heights (Ohio) Public Library author, July 9, 2007. (www.shakerlibrary.org), is working on showing Score 9. Ben Hockenberry, personal communication with business counselors how to use LibraryThing.26 First, the author, July 30, 2007. the patrons are shown the library’s OPAC of small 10. Rippel, personal communication with the author, business resources. The Score counselors develop July 9, 2007. their own LibraryThing accounts of best resources. 11. Ibid. The counselors and patrons would all use a shared 12. Steve Kangas, author of bookmarklets.com, tag, like “score_shpl,” to give everyone access to the personal communication with the author, July 30, LibraryThing resources. Rossman is also making plans 2007. to ask local churches and Bible study groups for their 13. Samantha Hines, personal communication with favorite books on LibraryThing, hoping to add those author, Aug. 2. 2007. resources to the library’s religious studies collection. 14. Sandra Ley, personal communication with author, July 31, 2007. 15. Bonnie McKewon, personal communication with Conclusion the author, July 9, 2007. Librarians and other information professionals have 16. Darlene Fichter, “Intranet Applications for reason to be eagerly watching the developments of Tagging and Folksonomies,” Online 30, no. 3 social tagging within the online folksonomy commu- (2006): 43–45. nities. By all means, social tagging of library collec- 17. Stephanie Sweeney, personal communication tions must be encouraged to continue. More libraries with the author, July 8, 2007. should add LibraryThing and the next generation 18. Phyllis Snipes, “Folksonomy versus Minnie Earl of folksonomic sites to their OPACs. Above all else, and Melville,” Library Media Connection 25, no. 7 for our own information needs and certainly for the (Apr./May 2007): 54–56. needs of our users, librarians must become skilled 19. Lisa Holmes, personal communication with the users of social-tagging software sites. Then maybe, author, July 8, 2007. sometime in the near future, no library patron will be 20. Aaron Schmidt, “Product Pipeline,” Library left to vainly scour the stacks for the elusive Native Journal 130 (Summer 2005): 16–17. American or any favorite indie rock star. That would 21. Hockenberry, personal communication with the indeed be a goal worth shooting for. author, July 31, 2007. 22. Darren Chase, “Transforming Sharing with Instant Messaging, Wikis, Interactive Maps, and References Flickr,” Computers in Libraries 27, no. 1 (2007): 1. Jessica Dye, “Folksonomy: A Game of High-Tech 6–8, 52–54, 56. (and High-Stakes) Tag,” EContent 29, no. 3 (2006): 23. Wendy Tan, “Cataloging Websites for a Library 38–43. Online Catalog,” Journal of Educational Media & 2. Ibid. Library Sciences 39, no. 2 (2001): 98–105. 3. Amanda Etches-Johnson, “The Brave New World 24. Darlene Fichter, “Learning from Others,” http:// of Social Bookmarking: Everything You Always tags.library.upenn.edu (accessed Oct. 23, 2006). Wanted to Know but Were Too Afraid to Ask,” 25. Amanda Etches-Johnson, “The Brave New World Feliciter 52, no. 2 (2006): 56–58. of Social Bookmarking: Everything You Always 4. Chanchal Gupta, in Robert Andrews, “Tips Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask,” Feliciter from Top Taggers,” www.wired.com/science/ no. 2, www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/talk/brave discoveries/news/2005/10/69084 (accessed July _new_world.pdf (accessed Apr. 1, 2008). 30, 2007). 26. Ed Rossman, personal communication with the 5. John D’Agostino, in Robert Andrews, “Tips author, July 8, 2007. from Top Taggers,” www.wired.com/science/ discoveries/news/2005/10/69084 (accessed July 30, 2007).

47 march/april 2008 DATABASE

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  48 PRINT VERSION

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49 march/april 2008  GLBT Programming at the Dallas Public Library Lessons Learned

Catherine Ritchie ([email protected]) is Theatre Librarian, Fine Arts Division, Dallas Public Library. She is reading The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray and Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.

david fettke ([email protected]) is Assistant Manager, Humanities Division, Dallas Public Library. He is reading The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope.

dale mcneilL ([email protected]) is Director, Community Library Services Department, Queens (N.Y.) Library. He is rereading Blue Belle by Andrew Vachss.

n late summer 2004, a casual suggestion from a librarian to an administrator led a group of Dallas Public Library (DPL) employees to create the first-ever series of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) author presentations in the library’s history. While DPL’s clientele consists of many distinct populations, represented by special events and activities on a regular basis, no programming specifi- cally targeted to the GLBT community had ever been attempted. But thanks to some highly motivated employees, DPL would tackle the project from the ground up. IWith the initial guidance of the library’s central administrator, an ad hoc committee was formed consisting of six librarians and assistant managers from several central library divisions and DPL branches, all of whom had previously demonstrated or expressed interest in GLBT literature and programming. Beginning in the summer of 2004, we met monthly to brainstorm ideas for programs and other special projects that would be of high interest to the GLBT patrons we all serve.

Planning Our First Series We soon decided that a series of three public programs featuring GLBT authors discussing their work and lives would be a viable and visible manifestation of our intent. Author schedules permitting, these programs would be held monthly on Saturday afternoons during the fall of 2005. The venue would be DPL’s Oak Lawn Branch Library, located in a neighborhood that is home to numerous GLBT-related businesses and activities.

  50 GLBT programming at the dallas public library 

But which writers should be invited? The first per- committee, our new leader now also assumed the son chosen by the committee was the award-winning role of treasurer and financial point person. young-adult author Julie Anne Peters. One of the committee members had interviewed her for publi- cation earlier that year, and had also highly recom- Publicity and Record Keeping mended her novels to several others in the group. In the realm of publicity, we utilized the staff of DPL’s After further discussions, we invited comic-strip central design and exhibits division. They created artist Alison Bechdel and poet/memoirist Mark Doty 8.5" x 11" multicolor posters and flyers, featuring to round out our series. We wanted authors who photographs of each author, brief descriptions of his would appeal not only to GLBT patrons, but to a or her work, and standard biographical information. general audience as well. Author negotiations proved Our hope was that the flyers would be displayed in interesting, diverse, and, ultimately, successful. All the windows of area businesses. Information about three writers were honored to be part of our fledgling the event and authors was included in the local series, although speaker fees and expense reimburse- GLBT weekly newspaper, and since the series would ment requests differed markedly among them. begin during Dallas’s annual pride weekend in mid- September, we purchased advertising space in the Pride Guide, a full-color magazine promoting the Money Matters weekend’s events. As for funding, in addition to $3,000 of seed money The library’s design staff did an excellent job creat- committed to our project by DPL’s multicultural ing our materials, spotlighting the theme “Check Out administrator, we also planned to secure support from the Oak Lawn Library,” complete with rainbow color several large corporate entities and other GLBT-related motif, at no direct cost to us. However, we underesti- businesses within the Oak Lawn neighborhood. mated the many hours that would be required from In our enthusiasm to bring our chosen authors to each committee member and from DPL support-ser- Dallas, the committee, perhaps naively, assumed that vices staff toward making our author series a reality. said businesses would readily offer substantial finan- As a result, we resolved to be more cognizant of the cial support—or perhaps even underwrite the cost staff-time factor in the future. of one entire program. We contacted our most likely Meanwhile, we were able to negotiate discounted revenue sources by mail and telephone, and while hotel room rates for our visiting authors at hotels waiting their (inevitable, we thought) checks and that were in walking distance of the library and other pledges, assembled lists of other entities to approach GLBT-oriented attractions in the neighborhood. as backup. Our treasurer devised a budget structure for the Unfortunately, the presumed major donors chose series consisting of five major categories: Expenses, not to contribute to our project, which left us keenly Donations, Funds Earmarked, Funds Not Earmarked, disappointed though still confident that we could and Remaining Funds Needed. We eventually deter- easily raise the money among other local businesses. mined that our earmarked categories were actually However, we soon realized that we should have difficult to track and thus not very useful. So, our five begun our fund-raising efforts immediately and not budget lines became three: Expenses, Donations, and depended so heavily on only a few key sponsors. Remaining Funds Needed with the latter delineated Perhaps regrettably, our authors’ signed contracts in date order. were finalized before all of the necessary monies were actually in place. We thus began our major fund-raising thrust less than six months prior to our Our Debut first event, with many dollars yet to be raised. The September debut of our series was now only As fund-raising began to assume a more omi- weeks away, but we still needed additional funding. nous role in our planning, we simultaneously faced Committee members then made personal cold calls changes in our committee’s membership, as sev- to potential neighborhood business sponsors with eral people left the group for various reasons. Our limited success, although several valuable contacts first unofficial chairperson relinquished the group’s were established that we hoped would prove fruitful leadership to an assistant manager at DPL’s central for the following year. library, while still remaining a vital member of the As September drew near, smaller details loomed team. Along with coordinating the overall work of the larger, such as airport logistics, post-program din-

51 march/april 2008  GLBT programming at the dallas public library

ner plans, accommodating our speakers’ audio- forty-five people joined us for Doty’s appearance. The visual needs, collecting goodie-bag gift items for the scheduling of this particular program free of conflict authors, and much more. To our immense relief and with any other major GLBT event in the Oak Lawn gratification, Julie Anne Peters’ September appear- area and combined with our targeted publicity blitz ance went splendidly, and she proved to be a delight- obviously produced results. We on the committee ful guest and speaker. There were approximately had learned a valuable programming lesson for the fifteen people in our audience that day. While we had future. certainly hoped for a larger turnout, those attending shared enthusiastic reactions on short surveys that we had distributed. On to 2006 Our first order of 2006 business was devising a mis- sion statement: Our Concerns Continue The GLBT Adult Programming Committee of Thanks to some budget juggling, we had sufficient the Dallas Public Library strives to enhance the funds to pay Bechdel, our next speaker, but the com- quality of life for the GLBT population of Dallas mittee was still in the financial hole for our third and by providing cultural and educational programs final author, Doty. We quickly compiled a list of Oak that enlighten, inspire, and foster a sense of Lawn–area businesses that had previously advertised community. It also aims to highlight the role the in Dallas’s weekly GLBT newspaper and made a new Dallas Public Library can play in this endeavor, round of telephone cold calls. At this point, however, by sponsoring events relevant to the GLBT the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was an over- community and encouraging those attending to whelming fact of life in Dallas. Thousands of evacu- use library resources in order to strengthen the ees were now calling our city home, thus stretching a community. typical business’s charitable-contributions capability to the maximum. We therefore had minimal success For the sake of finances and audience appeal, this on this occasion but were learning much about fund- year, we would offer programming featuring speak- raising on a daily basis. ers from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and dealing with Bechdel’s appearance in October, her first time topics of more current interest to the GLBT popula- ever in Dallas, was another logistical success. tion. We would thus mount a speaker series not nec- Unfortunately, despite her high name recognition essarily focused on literary authors. within the GLBT community, and even though we Our speakers for fall 2006 included a local repre- distributed flyers to several lesbian book-discussion sentative from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against groups in the area, only ten persons attended her Defamation (GLAAD) in a workshop on effectively presentation. Was the day’s beautiful weather a fac- dealing with the media regarding GLBT issues; and tor? Was Saturday afternoon perhaps not the best the North Texas chapter of Immigration Equality, time for such events? Was there some other publicity discussing immigration issues affecting the GLBT venue we should have tapped? Our group obviously community. Our only out-of-town presenter was had serious issues to consider in planning for 2006, award-winning gay poet/physician Rafael Campo. along with immediate concerns regarding an audi- In addition, thanks to our committee’s initia- ence for our final speaker. tive, DPL became one of only six American cities chosen to host the San Francisco Public Library’s GLBT historical traveling exhibit “Out at the Library: Our First Series Concludes Celebrating the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian For Doty, our November speaker, we would target our Center.” The materials would be on display at DPL’s publicity efforts more precisely. To that end, a com- Oak Lawn Branch Library from February through mittee member e-mailed an online invitation for the April 2007. Our committee would take full advan- event to various writing groups and relevant orga- tage of Dallas’s prestigious selection for this exhibit nizations, plus area university English departments. by arranging a preopening reception in late January Since Doty’s work appeals to a broad spectrum of 2007, with invited guests and likely media coverage. readers, we felt justified in expanding our efforts Because our local speakers would be appearing beyond the immediate Oak Lawn neighborhood. free of charge, Campo’s program would be our major Our additional public relations efforts, plus for- single expense for 2006. Our designated multicul- tuitous timing, were greatly successful, as nearly tural DPL funds would cover his costs, though we

  52 GLBT programming at the dallas public“” library 

lways consider approaching businesses, individuals, foundations, grant-bestowing groups, and nationally based nonprofit organizations interested in serving the same targetA audience that you are aiming for. would continue fund-raising within the community. What Did We Learn? In comparison to the previous year, our financial So what have we learned during these eventful, burden was noticeably lighter. Unfortunately, our fulfilling years of thinking, planning, calculating, solicitation letter, sent to all previous and hoped-for anguishing, and building camaraderie? What ques- sponsors with follow-up phone calls shortly there- tions should be uppermost for any library group after, did not raise an appreciable amount although wanting to produce a similarly targeted series of pro- several of our 2005 contributors did once again grams? Here are some thoughts and suggestions: respond favorably.

Our 2006 publicity efforts replicated those from ● It’s never too early to start fund-raising. Start 2005 (glossy posters and flyers for distribution thinking about it immediately, the very first day throughout the library and surrounding community), you create your brilliant programming concept. plus targeted e-mail announcements distributed ● If you have ideas for a program series, formulate through appropriate channels. For reasons of cost, its tentative budget, and then either raise the we decided to forgo advertising in Dallas’s weekly needed money to meet that budget or secure GLBT newspaper or the annual Pride Guide. your available money in place first. Then plan A total of forty people attended our three 2006 your programs to accommodate what you have programs, a small, but enthusiastic group. Twenty- accumulated. five people, including several Dallas city council ● Think about other fund-raising your library may members, joined us for the “Out at the Library” be doing. In effect, synchronize your begging opening reception in January 2007. The exhibit drew so that you and another library department, or steady crowds of appreciative visitors over the next county department, or unit of your supporting several months. organization, are not asking the same potential sponsors for precious limited dollars. ● Always consider approaching businesses, 2007 individuals, foundations, grant-bestowing groups, Our 2007 programming took another turn as we pre- and nationally based nonprofit organizations sented a Q Pride Film Series at DPL’s central library interested in serving the same target audience that in downtown Dallas on six Saturday afternoons from you are aiming for. September through November. Since DPL owns a ● Schedule with care! We now believe that a crucial license allowing staff members to show movies from reason why our first two 2005 events did not draw its own collection, expenses incurred were solely for sizeable audiences was the fact that each took refreshments and payment to a local film critic for place during a period of mega-activity in the Oak commentary at each showing. Our features included Lawn neighborhood. Peters appeared during Rent, In & Out, Philadelphia, and Too Wong Foo, Dallas’s annual pride weekend, and Bechdel Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, with Greta joined us hours before the yearly neighborhood Garbo’s classic Queen Christina for a little historical Halloween party and parade would begin. Access perspective. to parking was slim to none on those particular Since our film license does not allow us to adver- Saturdays, and overall activity overload was likely tise the titles of our scheduled movies in any venue a deterrent as well. By contrast, Doty’s appearance outside the DPL system, our 2007 publicity efforts took place during a free weekend, with obvious were somewhat circumscribed, though we did use positive results. posters and flyers along with information on the ● We underestimated the many hours that would library’s website. be required from both committee members and

53 march/april 2008  GLBT programming at the dallas public library

DPL support staff in order to bring this project to ers, public relations mavens, party planners, and life. Therefore, any library team wishing to tackle hotel/conference negotiators. To be sure, we have something similar should be prepared for major faced miscalculations and disappointments along the time expenditures along the way for all personnel way, but dedication to our overall vision and to each involved. other as colleagues-in-arms has never wavered. We ● Out-of-pocket expenses—from last-minute began this undertaking as a committee and became color copies at Kinko’s to gasoline for airport a team. We look forward to the years ahead, solid in chauffeuring—should also be tallied so you will our resolve to continue bringing enlightening, enter- have a more accurate overview of the projects’ taining programs to our special audiences. And to costs. all of you, we say, go forth and multiply. Your librar- ies and the people you serve will be better for your efforts. Summing Up Over the last three years, each of us has learned and grown tremendously in our roles as money manag-

Penguin Commemorates the Centennial of Ian Fleming’s Birth

May 28, 2008 marks the 100-year anniversary of the birth of author Ian Fleming, best known for creating the world’s most-loved secret agent, James Bond. It was in March 1952 that Fleming completed Casino Royale, the novel that introduced his immortal character, the elegant, amorous, and indestructible Agent 007. More than a half-century after his literary debut, the world’s sexiest crime fighter continues to thrill new generations of readers with his heart- stopping adventures. In 2002, Penguin Books started bringing trade paperbacks of all fourteen James Bond books back into print. In order of their original publication, here are the Ian Fleming works featuring James Bond:

● Casino Royale, 1951 ● Live and Let Die, 1954 ● Moonraker, 1955 ● Diamonds Are Forever, 1956 ● From Russia, with Love, 1957 ● Doctor No, 1958 ● Goldfinger, 1959 ● For Your Eyes Only, 1960 (short stories, including Quantum of Solace) ● ThunderbalI, 1961 ● The Spy Who Loved Me, 1962 ● On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1963 ● You Only Live Twice, 1964 ● The Man with the Golden Gun, 1965 ● Octopussy, 1966 (short stories)

An all-new Bond novel, Devil May Care (Doubleday, May 2008) by Sebastian Faulks, and a new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace (MGM, November 2008), will be released to celebrate the Ian Fleming centennial. For more information about the centennial anniversary of Fleming’s birth, please visit www .ianflemingcentenary.com. For Penguin Books, visit www.uspenguingroup.com.

  54  Open Access and

Science New Paths for Public Libraries

NADINE DALTON SPEIDEL (nspeidel@cuyahogalibrary .org) has sixteen years of experience as a paraprofessional in public libraries and recently obtained an MLS degree. She is reading Dismantling the Public Sphere: Situating and Sustaining Librarianship in the Age of the New Public Philosophy by John E. Buschman, Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber, and Your Home A Living Canvas by Curtis L. Heuser.

ising costs of serials created a war in libraries and the publishing world in the last decade. Our brothers and sisters in academic libraries fought for freedom of information, and the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) was born. In the face of continuing price battles, developments favoring free flow of information continue to occur. One such development is the open access (OA) movement. In a nutshell, OA holds dear the availability of information, oftentimes scholarly information in the form of research articles and journals, toR anyone in need, with minimal restriction. A webliography concerning OA can be found at www.escholarly- pub.com/cwb/oaw.htm. Pursuing some of the links listed there will illustrate the history of the movement, the ongoing debates, directories of OA repositories and e-journals, and guidelines for OA publishing, including a thorough discussion of copyright in this new world. Open access (OA) is an attempt to keep information available to the public. Many governments, interna- tional agencies, museums and other cultural organizations, as well as universities and educators support OA and understand its importance to the global community. Public libraries are in line with this goal of freedom of information to their citizenry, and yet, scant discussion has occurred in the public libraries community with regard to understanding the OA movement, furthering the cause, or utilization of OA materials for the general public. Typically, the OA information in question will be available in digital form. Protocols are followed, such as Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) to ensure interoperability, or the ability of various computer systems to exchange information in a meaningful way. Metadata, or simply data about data, helps with storage and retrieval of information by describing a digital object, stating its creator, size, content, quality, condition, and more. This process is somewhat akin to good old-fashioned cataloging. One of the most popular formats for metadata is the Dublin Core (DC), which utilizes “title,” “creator,” “subject,” “description,” “publisher,” “contributor,” “date,” “type,” “format,” “identifier,” “source,” “language,” “relation,” “coverage,” and “rights” as elements for resource description (see http://dublincore.org).1 A few public libraries have begun to publish digital collections or digital libraries of local value. For exam- ple, some libraries work closely with their local historical society, which may have a collection of documents relating to local historic events. Or perhaps a collection of historic postcards exists that illustrates historic changes in landscape and architecture of the community through the years. These can be nice additions to a library’s complete digital collection. However, it is highly recommended that creators of digital librar- ies use some sort of metadata and also attempt to house material in an OA repository so that the metadata

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can be harvested and the rest of the world can find tent editing, marketing, sales, customer service, and it. Depending on the collection, other options for archiving. One overlooked point surrounds customer metadata besides DC may be implemented. Visual service—with the advent of global information shar- Resources Association (VRA) has produced the VRA ing, and the need for information technology (IT) Core for materials relating to cultural heritage, as well troubleshooting, customer service has become a 24/7 as Cataloging Cultural Objects (CCO). These types of responsibility, creating a need for more staff with collections may be heavily graphic or visual in nature expertise. Libraries are responsible for acquisition, (see www.vraweb.org for more detail). Thesauri that storage, user support, and preservation. Morris even have grown up around the OA movement are also factors in searching and reading as costs. Some cost available. Woll details a method for thesauri use highlights include: research costs of up to $50,000 per and correctly states that use of such tools will bet- article (science uses expensive equipment), eighty ter enable the average digital library user to navigate to one hundred hours in writing time, direct costs through the material.2 between $1,425 and $2,750, overhead of 35 percent, and taxes (an often forgotten part of cost analysis).4 Publishers use any profit made to reinvest, sup- Costs, Quality, and Copyright port learned societies, and reward shareholders. One The most current debate in the OA movement relates of the biggest variables in cost analysis is preserva- to costs and means of support. Two trends have tion. Estimates for electronic storage and migration developed. One, referred to as the green road, cham- to new formats are wide ranging. Is OA an answer to pions self-archiving and placing information in an costing problems in publishing? Some say that pay- institutional archive or other central repository after ment is merely switched from the reader (subscrip- publishing in a subscription journal. The second tions) to the author (author-pays model). Morris method, gold road, posits that authors would publish believes that the bulk of costs are unchanged, but their work in an OA venue right from the start. The this model merely alters the source of the funds. latest argument in these two scenarios is whether Most disturbingly, she posits that as acquisition costs or not the author should pay a fee, usually several disappear, the costs of managing access will become thousand U.S. dollars, to be archived in an OA venue. more than libraries can afford.5 Also, with the author- Traditional academic research and subscription jour- pays model, the academic world might be forced nal publishing involves monies from member orga- into covering much of the costs. Chang performed a nization subscriptions and research grants, among SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportuni- others. OA has pursued other means of funding. ties, threats) on three OA venues (BioMed Central, However, is it a valid notion to expect the author to Public Library of Science, and Medknow Publishers) incur an additional fee? Freedom of information is an and found that with lower operating costs, improved altruistic thought, but can we ever hope to provide impact (research is more visible), barrier-free schol- access without any funding? Can OA ultimately be arly communication, and business involvement (e.g., self-supporting and sustainable? Can OA transform Google Scholar) leveraged against costs to the author, subscription journal publishing? lack of indexing services, and low business benefit, OA is a relatively new construct, and serious in- OA is a financially viable method for dissemination of depth study of business models, support for infor- scholarly information.6 mation flow, and utility as a method of publishing But what about quality in research and publish- have not been completed as of yet. One recent article ing? In Morris’s mind, a steady 3 percent increase in focuses on science, medical, and technological research funding has created more research output, (SMT) information, and provides a good conceptual and this increase has not been matched by library model for analysis of OA as a sustainable publishing acquisition budgets.7 Also, submission of a poor venue. Sally Morris situates publishing within the research article costs the system much more than total costs of research and breaks every step down for a good article. When do we throw in the towel on by costs.3 She reminds us that the scholarly commu- poor research, and how much will we have spent by nity assumes costs for editing and refereeing. When then? Are we really researching meaningful topics, taking into account honorariums paid for editing, or has an increase in funding, combined with stiff payment to journal editors, expenses for meeting tenure requirements for publishing, created an infor- attendance, and the like, Morris claims that this cost mation glut? The impact to science from finance in can often surpass fees for books. Publishers take on the context of an OA paradigm remains to be seen. costs for creating journals in print and online, con- Public libraries would do well to follow this debate

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so as to anticipate their future place in the information world, budget for their future roles, and keep abreast of the latest OA sources in order to help the customer of the public library find the information they need. Copyright proves to be another point of conflict for the OA movement. Copyright is a blossoming area of the law in our time of digitization and the Internet. Legalities surrounding data- bases, fair use, and more have created the need for legal counsel and legal staff in libraries and schools. The origi- nal Copyright Act of 1790 was intended to foster advancement of research by making scientific discovery profitable and letting others build upon research data. Until recently, this raw data had never been protected by copyright; only the interpretation of the data was bound by law. Currently, some in the publishing industry, research universi- ties, and governments want to control profits from research by controlling access to raw data. The 1996 European Union Directive 69/9 gave legal protec- tion to collections of data, including data collected in electronic databases. They consider them one-of-a-kind data and allow the database owner intellec- tual property rights over it, and permission to charge to all via the Internet that have minimal intellectual for access to the data, as well as the interpretation property restrictions and negligible-to-no cost. This of the data. One draft of the Digital Millennium relative freedom encourages collaboration and user- Copyright Act of 1998 in the United States had a com- generated software packages. An example of open ponent that addressed this issue in a similar fashion, source would be the OpenOffice (www.openoffice but it was not approved.8 Clearly, this is another issue .org) suite, which provides word processing, spread- about which the public library employee must be sheet capability, and more; or Audacity (http:// kept abreast. Public librarians would want to retain audacity.sourceforge.net), an open-source software original raw data and all interpretations of them for for sound-clip editing. Open standards are the basis their customers, all at the lowest possible cost to the for open source. They are computer standards, free library and the customer. Also, any libraries publish- to all, that can be used to develop software. HTML or ing digital information, such as the local history doc- CSS can be examples of open standard (see www uments mentioned previously, may want to provide .w3.org/Style/CSS or www.w3.org/MarkUp for more any copyright information necessary. Fortunately, information). Open standards, open source, and more and more scientists are publishing in an OA OA can address the need for long-term access to venue. This will affect the development of OA in information. When libraries shifted emphasis from general, and have an impact on copyright law nation- ownership to access by purchasing online journals ally and internationally. For now, all we can do is be and indexes through subscription databases, they informed and guide our customers carefully. found that long-term access was suddenly lacking. It Related to the OA movement, but not the same, became difficult to find articles that were more than are open source and open standards. Open source a few years old. The move toward an OA model will is generally defined as software programs available increase possibilities for long-term availability by

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providing more free copies and creating an environ- access to information and knowledge will have the ment where technological obsolescence is less of a best opportunities to improve their quality of life.”12 threat due to more ease in migration to newer plat- The librarian in Brazil and the American woman with forms (see www.lockss.org/lockss/Home for more sick children know this well. Sick people are part detail). of the public; high school and college students are Due to the relative newness of the OA movement, part of the public; small children who grow up to be it is still difficult, at this point, to discern hyperbole scientists are part of the public; immigrants are part from truth about its usefulness as a method of infor- of the public. How can public libraries address the mation dissemination. Most of the articles written numerous and varied needs of this heterogeneous about the OA process focus on financing and praise group of customers? We can try to understand and for technology. Also, the bulk of the articles are affect the changing information landscape while written by or for academic librarians or publishers, returning to our roots, use core values and tools that making for a narrow and untested collection of OA have withstood the test of time, and lead our custom- information. A quick search of the literature land- ers through the glut of information available to them scape was unable to procure any articles relating to to quality, including OA sources. the theory of OA as it pertains to public libraries, in spite of the fact that public libraries face the same problems that academic libraries face. They, too, are Pathfinders: Matching Customers expected to pay a high price for subscriptions. They, to Sources too, worry about archiving of digital materials. They, OA sources are rarely indexed in traditional com- too, see a yearly reduction in budget due to societal mercial indexing services and they are not well mar- and economic influences. And they, too, need to keted.13 Therefore, the savvy public librarian needs address customer needs in the most efficient ways to build an arsenal of leads to OA repositories for possible. OA, on the surface, seems like a great way the customer. One forgotten library tool, the path- to reach these goals. Yet, when it comes to OA, public finder, can aid in leading the customer to valued OA libraries remain mostly silent with the exception of a information. Indeed, the webliography mentioned few articles rating the quality of OA sources.9 previously serves a similar function to the print pathfinder in that they both lead the customer to the appropriate information and supply enough leads to Science and the Public let the customer follow a path relevant to their needs. As a customer and a member of the general public, Contemporary pathfinders should be a composite Terry reports firsthand on the difficulties she has had of print materials, websites, appropriate database with medical information in particular.10 Nowhere listings with quick tips on how to use the databases is the debate about access to information more themselves, as well as directives to OA materials. predominant than when it concerns science and They can be printed or digital, but when they are medicine. She claims that despite her children fac- digital, it is recommended that the pathfinder be for- ing a genetic disease (pseudoxanthoma elasticum), matted for printing and that the length, when print- the most disturbing obstacle they as a family faced ed, should be no more than two pages, for ease of use was the “wall around published scientific research.”11 by the customer. Samples of contemporary pathfind- She describes episodes of doing research that rang ers that utilize Internet sources are available.14 An true such as honing down a morass of information in expansion of this method, which would include OA PubMed to a manageable range of one dozen articles, sources, will help customers get the information they only to start clicking on titles and finding that there need as well as increase public awareness of and sup- was a charge of $25 to $40 per article for those that port for the OA movement. Perhaps increasing public she really needed. If we look past the veneer of free- awareness of the whole process of publishing will dom of information, we find even in OA databases help to ultimately restructure the way information is and repositories that a haves and have-nots caste produced and provided. system is in place. This system remains, whether Relevance, accessibility, and reliability are impor- OA follows the green road or the gold road. A sense tant criteria, particularly for SMT literature. Smart of urgency about this caste system can be found pathfinders will account for these variables. A sound in articles coming from other countries. A recently understanding of user needs also factors into cre- published article from a Brazilian librarian reminds ation of a pathfinder. OA gateways are still in the us that in a “globalized world only those people with formative process and at this point, no one database

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recently published article from a Brazilian librarian reminds us that in a “globalized world only those people with access to information and knowledge will have the best opportunities toA improve their quality of life.”

or website will serve all SMT research-related needs. the schema learning framework, which describes Also, individuals in the general public will not be how individuals process new information into previ- familiar with the specialized vocabularies of SMT ous knowledge and experiences. Almost half of the information and may need help translating their people studied had some recall of science material. needs into scientific language (we are all familiar Accurate recall was higher and more stories were with MeSH headings, for example, and know that recalled with topics in which there was some previ- customers wanting to treat a bloody nose may need ous knowledge (teen behavioral stories, for example), to use the heading “epistaxis” at some point). and lower with newer topics (neuroscience, genetics). Starting at the beginning, where the customer is Stories covered on local news stations reached the at present, is the best course of action. And where is biggest audience. Attention, interest, experience, and the starting point for SMT where the public is con- education level affected recall. When visual images cerned? Borchelt summarizes it as follows: to illustrate a concept were used (instead of a talk- ing head), retention of information was significantly More than 70 percent of Americans know, for greater among less-educated people. example, that oxygen comes from plants, that Combining this information with findings by the continents are moving and have done so for McInerney, Bird, and Nucci and Brossard and millions of years, that light travels faster than Shanahan, librarians can begin to think about ways sound, and that the Earth goes around the Sun. to get science information across to a general pub- However, one-half or fewer of Americans know lic.19 McInerney, Bird, and Nucci illustrate that lan- that the earliest humans did not live at the same guage formation around newer science topics can time as dinosaurs, that it takes the Earth one year cause some confusion (that is, Frankenfood), and to go around the Sun, that electrons are smaller that the lay press does not follow scientific pub- than atoms, or that antibiotics do not kill viruses.15 lishing when highlighting topics.20 Brossard and People learn about science in any number of Shanahan further explore the idea of a “civically liter- ways, many of which do not jibe with an academic ate” science vocabulary framed by science informa- focus. Public libraries are composed of a broader tion as presented in American media.21 These studies audience than one would find in an academic or allow a librarian to extrapolate methods for helping research-oriented culture such as the science com- the public with science. Perhaps a partnership of the munity. Children, teens, and adult learners at all local library and the local news station could produce levels of information literacy must be served. One short television segments capable of reshaping a cus- segment, the adult learner, was studied recently by tomer’s vocabulary (for example, Frankenfood) into Miller et al.16 Although most American adults have something more usable (like genetic modification) an interest in science and technology, fewer than in an information-literate society. A visual pathfinder one in five is able to read and understand the sci- might be created. Start with words they know, and ence portion of The New York Times.17 Pew Research slowly build. Perhaps librarians can be more sensitive Center found that a growing interest in health stories to the need for graphic imagery when working with in local media surpasses the audience for national a less-educated public. These television segments or international news.18 Given this, ScienCentral and might have a simple graphic relating to finding more the National Science Foundation chose to track the information in the library, which might encourage impact of science news stories. Nineteen news stories potential customers. Information on adult learning relating to a variety of topics were offered to ABC and should be applied. For example, the television seg- NBC television stations and affiliates. Retention of ments should always relate to something practical stories by viewers was measured and filtered through that the customer might be working on, should start

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with familiar language and knowledge, and then help shape change in the industry, band together for try to stretch a bit into uncharted information. OA the good of the globalized world, and make OA into material can be highlighted and simple televised something great. directives might be offered pertaining to finding OA sources on one’s home computer or when visiting the public library. Public library customers already have References an interest in science. We librarians can build on that 1. Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, http:// interest and help create a more science-savvy public. dublincore.org (accessed Jan. 5, 2007). Self-confidence stemming from increased mastery 2. Johanna Woll, “User Access to Digital Image of expert scientific language will empower citizens Collections of Cultural Heritage Materials: The to utilize as well as have an impact upon science and Thesaurus as User Pass-Key,” Art Documentation science policy in their own interest. 24, no. 2 (2005): 19–28. 3. Sally Morris, “The True Costs of Scholarly Publishing,” Learned Publishing 18, no. 2 (2005): Public Libraries and the 115–26. Global Agenda 4. Ibid. Global issues regarding the flow of information are 5. Ibid. many, but the focus here has primarily been on tools 6. Chen Chi Chang, “Business Models for Open and resources based in the United States that utilize Access Journals Publishing,” Online Information English as their primary language. Public libraries Review 30, no. 6 (2005): 699–713. may serve customers who have come from a coun- 7. Morris, “The True Costs of Scholarly Publishing.” try wherein information does not flow freely. These 8. Association of Research Libraries, “Timeline: A customers may not even be aware that such infor- History of Copyright in the United States,” www mation exists. Even within our own country, the line .arl.org/info/frn/copy/timeline.html (accessed demarcating what is available to the public continues Jan. 5, 2007). to shift. On the one hand, the National Institutes 9. Peter Jasco, “Open Access Ready Reference of Public Health have mandated that research sup- Suites,” Online Information Review 30, no. 6 ported by federal grant money must be made avail- (2006): 737–43. able to the public. On the other hand, the National 10. Sharon Terry, “Scholarly Communication in Science Advisory Board released documentation for the Public Interest—Open Access,” College & Biosecurity Guidelines that attempts to restrict “sen- Research Libraries News 66, no. 7 (2005), www.ala sitive” information due to the threat of bioterrorism. .org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2005/ In addition to lack of awareness regarding source julyaugust05/publicinterest.htm (accessed Jan. material, librarians serving customers who may 5, 2007). have recently come to America may need to build 11. Ibid. upon OA sources from other countries and in other 12. Emir Jose Suaiden, “The Social Impact of Public languages. In the field of SMT, this may be more dif- Libraries,” Library Review 52, no. 8 (2002): ficult, given that English is the international language 379–97. of science.22 Indeed, public libraries are oftentimes 13. Bo-Christer Björk, “Open Access to Scientific still attempting to level the technological playing Publications: An Analysis of Barriers to Change,” field and serve many customers who have not used Information Research 9, no. 2 (2004), http:// a computer before, or assist those who are not profi- informationr.net/ir/9-2/paper170.html (accessed cient in computer skills, let alone providing language Jan. 5, 2007). choices for information sources. Governmental 14. A. Paula Wilson, 100 Ready-to-Use Pathfinders for and political restrictions on information flow, and the Web (New York: Neal-Schuman Pubs., 2005). foreign-language OA materials are beyond the scope 15. Rick E. Borchelt, “Communicating the Future: of this article, but public library staff would do well Report of the Research Roadmap Panel to be aware of these dilemmas and address customer for Public Communication of Science and needs as best they can. Language, libraries, and the Technology in the Twenty-First Century,” Science global community are areas full of possibility for Communication 23, no. 2 (2001): 194–211. further research. OA has given us a glimmer of a dif- 16. Jon D. Miller et al., “Adult Science Learning ferent and more egalitarian information terrain. It is from Local Television Newscasts,” Science up to all of us—librarians, educators, publishers—to Communication 28, no. 2 (2006): 216–42.

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17. Ibid. Michigan’s Digital Library Production Service, a 18. Pew Research Center for the People and the Press union catalog of digital resources (www.oaister (2004), http://people-press.org/reports/index .org) .php?Date=2004 (accessed Jan. 11, 2007). ● Citebase, a citation index (www.citebase.org) 19. Claire McInerney, Nora Bird, and Mary Nucci, ● CiteSeer, a scientific literature digital library “The Flow of Scientific Knowledge from Lab to hosted by Penn State (http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu) the Lay Public,” Science Communication 26, no. ● Open J-Gate, an electronic gateway to global OA 1 (2004): 44–74; Dominique Brossard and James sources, from Informatics India Limited (www Shanahan, “Do They Know What They Read?” .openj-gate.org) Science Communication 28, no. 1 (2006): 47–63. ● Open Access News, an online blog and newsletter 20. McInerney, Bird, and Nucci, “The Flow of from Peter Suber (www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/ Scientific Knowledge.” fosblog.html) 21. Brossard and Shanahan, “Do They Know What ● A resource page from Alliance for Innovation in They Read?” Science and Technology Information, a nonprofit 22. C. Tardy, “The Role of English in Scientific agency that supports OA (www.aisti.org/home/ Communication: Lingua Franca or pages/resources) Tyrannosaurus Rex?” Journal of English for ● International Network for the Availability of Academic Purposes 3, no. 3 (2003): 247–69. Scientific Publications, a directory of free and OA online resources (www.inasp.info/peri/free.shtml) ● Medknow, another OA site from India that has its Additional Resources roots in publishing (www.medknow.com) Grogg, Jill E. “Linking Users to Open Access,” Searcher ● BioMedCentral, an OA site from the United 13, no. 4 (2005): 52–56. Kingdom, focusing on biology and medicine Ho, Adrian K., and Charles W. Bailey. “Open Access (www.biomedcentral.com) Webliography,” www.escholarlypub.com/cwb/ ● Public Library of Science, a nonprofit group of oaw.htm (accessed Jan. 5, 2007). scientists and physicians supporting OA (www Jantz, Ronald, and Michael J. Giarlo. “Digital .plos.org) Preservation: Architecture and Technology for ● Google Patents, an attempt by the big guys to Trusted Digital Repositories,” D-Lib Magazine make patent searching easier (www.google.com/ 11, no. 6 (2005): 1–18; www.dlib.org/dlib/june05/ patents) jantz/06jantz.html (accessed Mar. 16, 2007). ● ArXiv, an OA site with a strong focus on hard Rhyno, Art. Using Open Source Systems for Digital sciences, produced by Cornell University Library Libraries (Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, (www.arxiv.org) 2003). ● E-Prints, providing OA and the tools for creating it Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources (www.eprints.org) Coalition, SPARC (2007), www.arl.org/sparc ● Directory of Open Access Journals, quoted as the (accessed Jan. 5, 2007). most important directory of OA journals (www .doaj.org) ● HighWire Press, a pioneer in the field from Appendix A: Toolkit for Librarians Stanford University (http://highwire.stanford.edu) A toolkit for librarians and other interested in OA in ● Cogprints, an archive for the study of psychology, general, and OA as relating to SMT, can be comprised neuroscience, philosophy, and computing (www of the following sources: .cogprints.org) ● Digital Library of Information Science and

● PubMed Central, a Free Archive of Life Sciences Technology, OA for library studies (http://dlist.sir Journals, developed and managed by the .arizona.edu) National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Biotechnology Information (www.pubmedcentral This group of tools is by no means complete; .nih.gov) rather, it is meant to give a sample of various start- ● Health Internetwork Access to Research Initiative, ing points for further exploration by public librarians organized by the World Health Organization (www and to provide quick resources for customers. These .who.int/hinari/en) websites can be incorporated into pathfinders as is ● Oaister (find the pearls), created by University of appropriate to the topic (see appendix B). Or, they

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can support library staff with further research into Auto Repair Famous Names: Chilton, the field of OA itself. Motor, Haynes Motor Literature for Gear Heads (www.motolit.com) Old Iron Online: The Old Car Manual Project (www Appendix B: Sample Pathfinder .tocmp.com) A sample pathfinder for auto repair, a nonthreaten- AllData: Database for automobile repair. Simply go ing science topic, is presented below. Only one OA to the catalog, click on “databases,” and enter the source is listed, but it is enough to generate inter- AllData site. Choose the year, make, model, and est and open up the field to customers. Creating engine of the car you are repairing, and then choose pathfinders in medicine, health, astronomy, physics, the part of the car to be repaired. Diagrams included. psychology, library science, or computers is easily Printers attached, for your convenience. done by using the websites listed in appendix A. Why Chilton’s Auto Repair Reference Center: Another not try your hand at creating a pathfinder for a topic database, follow along, as above. requested at your public library? 629.453 C49: Some books discuss the part to be Fixing Your Car? Get Your Bearings repaired— How Car Engines Work: www.howstuffworks.com/ Weiss, John. (1995) Chilton’s Guide to Fuel Injection. engine.html Pennsylvania: Chilton Bk. Co. Colorado State University Engines: www.engr Browse books or the library catalog for emissions, .colostate.edu/~allan/engines.html wiring diagrams, brakes, steering, engine controls, Car Care Guide: www.carcare.org and more.

621.43 St72i2: browse this area of the numbered 629.2872205 M857: Some are compendiums of cars books for more on engines— for a number of years— Stone, Richard. (1992) Introduction to Internal Motor Import Car Repair Manual 1995–97. New York: Combustion Engines. Pennsylvania: Society of Motor. Automotive Engineers. 629.4874 C4391: Chilton’s Truck, Van, and SUV Repair Manual (2003) Pennsylvania: Chilton Bk. Co. 621.434 Ol6i: don’t be afraid to try something easy— Olney, Ross Robert. (1982) The Internal Combustion BUI 1997/2000: What’s this? All of a sudden, the Engine. New York: J. B. Lippincott. numbers on the books look funny, but don’t panic, 629.287 Er47a3: browse here, too, for repair guides— it’s simple. The first three letters are the make (BUI Erjavec, Jack. (2002) Automotive Technology: A for Buick, JEE for Jeep, HON for Honda, and so on), Systems Approach. New York: Delmar. numbers correspond to the years covered. Models listed in title. 629.203 G628d2: Doughten, Bob. (2000) Chilton’s Century/Lumina/ Goodsell, Don. (1995) Dictionary of Automotive Grand Prix/Intrigue 1977–2000 Repair Manual; Covers Engineering. Pennsylvania: Society of Automotive All U.S. and Canadian Models. Haynes Pub. Group. Engineers. Manufacturers publish repair guides, too. They fol- Too much tech speak? Trouble with English? Try tak- low the same arrangement in the library (OLD for ing home a DVD or video, setting your player for the Oldsmobile) and will list themselves as the publisher. preferred language, and following along. Decided Not to Do It Yourself? 629.2872 Se48: Self-Defense for Car Expense (video) 629.287 N515: Nichols’ Chilton Labor Guide Manual 629.28722 G591: Good Car Bad Car (video) 2000: 1981–2000 Domestic Cars, Light Trucks, Vans 629.43 B48: Big Auto Plant (video) and SUVs; 1981–1999 Import Cars, Light Trucks, Vans and SUVs. Nichols Publishing. Or choose one of the repair guides in your language: 629.2872 M319: Freeman, Kerry A. (1992) Manual CHE 1929-59: Parts and Accessories Catalog for 1987–1991 de Reparación e Mantenimiento: Chevrolet Models 1929–1959. General Motors. Automóviles et Camiones. Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Company.

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Problems with car repair or dealer? Contact the State 600 L267n2: Langone, John. (2004) The New How Attorney General (www.ag.state.oh.us) Things Work: From Lawn Mowers to Surgical Robots and Everything in Between. Washington D.C.: Gonna Be an Expert? National Geographic. 629.287 Au82: Automobile Parts Specialist Exam. (2002) New York: Delmar. Don’t Forget the Magazines Popular Mechanics; Autoparts Report; Motor Trend; 629.2 H719: Hollander Interchange Manual. (2006) Car and Driver; Hot Rod Minnesota: ADP Parts Services. Community Resources 629.2504 Sm18: Small Block Chevy Engine Buildups: The telephone book is a great way to find people How to Build Horsepower for Maximum Street Racing who can help. Also try the database Associations Performance. (2003) New York: HP Bks. Unlimited. Go to the databases on the catalog, click on Associations Unlimited, and enter “corvette” in 629.222027 C2802: Catalog of American Car ID the spot under “association name.” National and Numbers, 1960–69. (1991) Ohio: Amos Pr. regional associations are listed. Try your make and model and see what shows up! Dictionary of Open Access Journals (www.doaj.org) is getting scientific information out there for free; just Keywords enter your subject (such as “combustion,” “radial Automobiles, maintenance and repair; Chilton’s auto loads”) in the search field. Articles are full text from repair manuals; Internal combustion engines; auto- reliable journals. mobile repair shops; emissions; wiring diagrams; General Motors; automobiles, parts; Buick Century More of a Generalist? automobile; automobile mechanics, certification; 530 W152: Walker, Jearl. (2006) Flying Circus of Honda; brakes Physics. New York: Wiley.

500 R933s: Rutherford, F. James. (1991) Science for All Americans. New York: Oxford Univ. Pr.

ALA Releases Groundbreaking Study on Library Service to New Americans

About 21 million people in the United States speak limited or no English, 50 percent more than a decade ago. As our country’s demographics continue to change, U.S. public libraries continue their efforts to meet the demand for service to non-English users. In March, the American Library Association (ALA) released “Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries,” an unprecedented study on the range of specialized library services for non-English speakers. “Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries,” is the first national study to consider the range of library services and programs developed for non-English speakers, including effectiveness of services, barriers to library use, most frequently used services, and most successful library programs by language served. The study also analyzed library service area populations and patron proximity to local libraries that offer specialized services. “Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries,” was conducted by the ALA’s Office for Research and Statistics. Completed in spring 2007, the study was made possible through funding from the 2006 World Book–ALA Goal Grant. Dr. Christie Koontz and Dean Jue of Florida State University con- ducted the research for the ALA. The ALA Offices for Literacy and Outreach Services, Public Programs, and Diversity provided additional support. Bilingual spokespersons are available for interviews. Interested media should contact Macey Morales, ALA Media Relations, at (312) 280–4393 or [email protected]. For more information, or to view the complete report, please visit www.ala.org/nonenglishspeakers.

63 march/april 2008  What Do I Hear? eBay’s Utility in a Library

JOSEPH R. ZUMALT ([email protected]) is Interim Head of City Planning and Landscape Architecture Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is read- ing Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition by Dennis N. T. Perkins, Margaret P. Holtman, Paul R. Kessler, and Catherine McCarthy.

ALISON (SCOTT) KONIECZNY ([email protected]) is Health Sciences Librarian at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. She is reading Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

Bay is a veritable treasure trove for collectors, bargain-hunters, and the like. This well-known site also holds a treasure of resources that libraries may wish to employ. EBay may function as an acquisition tool, reference tool, or a vehicle for promoting the library. The usefulness of eBay for buying and selling books is obvious; however, its utility as a reference tool and as a library promo- tion tool is less evident. For reference work, some patron inquiries require creative searching to find an answer, and there are certain types of inquiries that lend themselves well to information Egathering in eBay. The strength of eBay as a library promotion tool lies in its immense popularity. By offering hands-on eBay training classes, libraries can reach out to community members interested in using this online auction site, possibly providing some with their first introduction to the Web.

A Short Primer on Online Auctions Sites Like eBay In order to truly understand how best to take advantage of eBay for library collection development and main- tenance, a basic understanding of how online auctions work is needed. The English auction, the auction type used by eBay and similar to what is seen in auction houses around the world, is an ascending-bid auction (bidding continues upward until only one bidder remains). The traditional process requires all the bidders to be in the same room at the same time, but with the wonders of modern technology, computer-assisted asyn- chronous bidding is now possible. Rather than having bidders remain present for the length of the auction, on eBay and other online auction sites, further bidding is done by the computer system. This process works by allowing a person to make a maximum bid (for example, $100) on an item, as well as a minimum bid (for example, $5). The system will bid the minimum $5 for the person. As another bidder bids $6, the system now automatically enters in a higher bid on behalf of the first bidder (in this case $7) and the system will inform

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the new bidder that he has been outbid by the first few notable exceptions, have been slow to partici- bidder and gives him the opportunity to bid again. pate in them. Although there may be valid reasons New bidders will now have to bid higher than the for not participating in online auctions, there are newly established bid of $7. This process goes on some real advantages to making use of this exciting until the end of the auction. If the original maximum environment. An early case study presenting a library bid is exceeded, then an e-mail alert will be sent to director’s use of eBay for collection development was the person who placed the original maximum bid, found in Library Journal’s long-running series “How offering him or her a chance to make a higher bid. Do You Manage?”1 In this article titled “Director, Do While bidders may start with a sizable opening Thy Bidding,” the use of eBay by a library director bid, many prefer to follow the bidding more closely to replace lost, stolen, and badly damaged books and hope to get a bargain by sniping. Sniping is the that were needed in the library’s reference collection strategy many bidders employ by waiting until very is discussed. Most of the books were out-of-print late in the auction, usually in the last few seconds, and difficult to find. By utilizing eBay, the library hoping to place a winning bid without other bidders director was able to acquire these valuable refer- having time to respond to that bid. This is such a ence resources at a fraction of the cost that would common strategy that there are a number of special have been paid to a book dealer. Also, the direc- programs (for example, AuctionStealer, BidNapper) tor generated funds through eBay to purchase the set up to do just that and relieve the bidder of replacement books by selling weeded items from the the obligation to place the bid at the last possible collection that had been removed from the shelves moment. because they were no longer circulating. The article Many busy people like the immediate gratification goes on to discuss the pros and cons of such transac- of paying for an item in a store over the vagaries of tions and the morality of libraries using eBay. From bargain hunting on a days-long auction that might this article, it is obvious that eBay can be a valuable not be won. In an attempt to cater to these custom- resource for obtaining books to enhance libraries’ ers, eBay has developed a couple of methods: Buy- collections and improve the information resources It-Now prices are available through some auction available to library patrons. listings that allow the buyer to purchase an item at a set price. Items can also be purchased through eBay Stores without going through the bidding process. eBay as a Collection Maintenance For example, a book may be on sale in an eBay Store Tool in Libraries for $20. The same title may also have an auction list- The library literature actually has several examples ing that may go for more or less than $20. Some will of librarians taking the initiative to use eBay to find it better to pay a premium to get a book than to assist in collection maintenance within their librar- hope that they can get a bargain through an auction. ies. Library book sales, often run by Friends of the Library organizations, have frequently been a great place for library patrons to pick up weeded library eBay as an Acquisition Tool materials at a steep discount. Many used-book sell- Online commerce has increasingly changed the ers have earned a tidy profit by purchasing select, dynamics of buying and selling items of all types. discarded library books and reselling them at a The exponential growth of online resources has cre- profit. An early example of a library using eBay to ated possibilities for buying and selling that simply attempt to sell weeded library books at a premium did not exist a few years ago. Libraries have typically can be found in Kathleen Baxter’s “Your Discards established relationships with vendors or book- May Be Somebody’s Treasure.”2 At Anoka County jobbers to help with purchasing. Vendors and book- Library, a suburban system in the Minneapolis-St. jobbers offer expertise and volume discounts that are Paul area, Baxter began selling weeded books on an undeniable asset for libraries. However, much as eBay. Using the user ID ACLBOSS (Anoka County Google and other popular search engines have cut Library Books Online Sales Service), this system has into the market of customers at the reference desk by sold nearly two hundred books on eBay. Without allowing searching by the end-user, online auction a supply of volunteers to take care of this, staff sites have provided alternatives to the typical “library members did the actual work. Unfortunately, the middlemen” for acquiring books. service has been discontinued because library staff While online auction services have been serving no longer has the time to devote to it. Another customers for more than ten years, libraries, with a library that had early experience in selling weeded

65 march/april 2008  What do I hear?

books on eBay was the Los Gatos (Calif.) Public With the ability to find multiple sales for most items, Library (LGPL). The author, part of both the library customers feel more confident that they are not over- board and the Friends of the LGPL, conceded that paying for a book. it is a project best suited to volunteers rather than With the possibilities of purchasing books at dis- library staff because it is time consuming, requiring counted prices through online auctions as well as approximately 65.5 minutes per book. The online through the more traditional route of library vendors auctions generated $6,700 for 167 books, netting the or book-jobbers, how can a library decide when to library approximately $40 per book.3 use eBay or other online auction services to buy or sell books? Beyond making sure that proper poli- cies, procedures, and ethical considerations are eBay as a Collection Development taken into account, there are certain criteria that can Tool in Libraries be examined to help determine if eBay use is right Selling discarded library books on eBay has been for the library. When considering purchasing items used as an alternative to the annual library book on eBay, library personnel should search for alter- sale at several libraries. However, when it comes to nate suppliers of items to determine if purchasing purchasing books, librarians and library staff are through this route will truly yield a bargain. When more accustomed to the traditional route of buying considering selling items on eBay, there are multiple books through vendors who make it easy to pur- considerations, including the presence or absence chase a large number of books at a known discount. of a substantial pool of potential buyers, the market- A multitude of online booksellers, including eBay, value of the items to be sold, and adequate staffing create a new avenue for libraries to add to their col- and knowledge base to perform the necessary duties lections. The Web gives library staff the opportunity for eBay transactions. If, for example, a library has to buy books (possibly at large discounts) and may some finer volumes that are being sold because they give them access to materials that are in short sup- have been deselected or were donated for a book ply. A great example of a library taking an active role sale, they may wish to consider using eBay provided in using eBay to add materials to their collection is that: (1) these books may have an opportunity to Western Oregon University (WOU).4 WOU’s archivist, bring a higher price online than at an annual book with the support of the library director, has used eBay sale, (2) there is a much smaller number of potential not only to inexpensively replace the occasional lost buyers at the local book sale, or (3) local buyers may reference books, which are hard to replace through not be aware of the true market value of these books. regular channels, but also to add to their archives. To ultimately have a successful auction, with a posi- Between July 2004 and June 2005, carefully crafted tive cost/benefit ratio, the library needs to have a searches on eBay by the archivist and director yielded staff (be they paid or volunteer) that has the neces- three hundred hits. Of the one hundred unique items sary skills and experience to process these volumes. that these searches found, WOU actually purchased Selection of these materials, creating the listing about one-third of them. online, responding to bidder inquiries, and process- Mutter, Milliot, and Holt wrote a very illuminating ing the final sale (including arranging payment and article explaining the revolution brought about by the mailing of the volume) can be a detail-oriented Web and the ability to sell books online. It is written process that not all staff may be adept at. With an from the publisher’s point of view and explains how average time of 65.5 minutes processing time per the traditional sale of new books can be adversely book to sell on eBay, potential benefits to the library affected by the easy availability of used books. It is “a can hinge on the efficiency of those processing the 6 more perfect market in the classical economic sense, materials. where every buyer is exposed to every seller and vice versa.”5 No longer will buyers be bound by working exclusively with local booksellers. This is especially eBay as a Reference Tool in Libraries true regarding used textbooks, creating a real prob- The eBay auction site can be a valuable information lem for the trade-book world. According to this arti- resource and sometimes the site of choice for quickly cle, used books may someday make up to 20 percent answering reference questions at the library. The of the market. An interesting observation made by primary reference-related applications where eBay the authors is that this change will depend on altera- may be most appropriate are those related to product tions in consumers’ habits on selling their books, not identification and those aimed at determining mar- on buying them online, which has already happened. ket value of specific items or item types. Of course,

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ost of the books were out-of-print and difficult to find. By utilizing eBay, the library director was able to acquire these valuable reference resources at a fraction of the cost Mthat would have been paid to a book dealer.

with creativity, many additional reference applica- phrase “Case tractor repair manual” brought up mul- tions for eBay may be discovered. tiple hits for the needed repair manual with a title One librarian, Nisa Asokan, who is employed by a that could easily be searched in the OPAC. In this newspaper, has used eBay for identifying particular instance, there was no ISBN for the publication; how- magazine issues.7 Asokan suggests that eBay is often ever, this information might also be located through very useful for finding particular magazine issues an eBay search and easily applied to an OPAC search. (much more useful than a library catalog record) There are a couple of ways that the fair market when only the magazine title and what is on the value of products can be found through eBay. One cover are known. For example, searching eBay for way of determining the going rate for a particular “Rolling Stones magazine Beatles” quickly brought item or item type is by searching eBay’s completed up multiple hits of issues with the entire band or listings (information on this search strategy is avail- individual band members on the cover of the maga- able at http://pages.ebay.com/completedlistings). zine, including pictures of the magazines, issue num- Searching only completed listings is easily accom- bers, and publication dates. Asokan also reports that plished by selecting the eBay Advanced Search and eBay is quite useful as an image archive and is some- clicking on the check box beneath the search box times more successful at retrieving relevant images that reads “completed listings only.” Because some than Google’s image directory.8 completed auctions may skew toward a high or low Personal experience in the library setting has price, the median or average price should be sought also demonstrated the utility of eBay as a reference and utilized as an indicator of the fair market value. resource. Google is a frequently used search engine For example, if attempting to determine the value of in the library setting and in general. When trying a used set of the Great Books of the Western World to answer a query through Google, eBay is often a (first published in fifty-four volumes in 1952 by the highly ranked site. On two occasions, eBay has been Encyclopaedia Britannica and expanded in 1994 to very effective at answering reference questions. In sixty volumes), one may wish to monitor sales in the both instances, Google was consulted before pro- completed listings, and probably look for a narrow ceeding to eBay for answers and in one instance range of prices. A helpful feature built into the system Google led to the answer on eBay. To answer one is the ability to re-sort by a number of parameters, query, eBay was used as an image archive, as sug- including price. Sometimes there will be a set that gested by Asokan. A patron had bought an old farm was sold at a bargain price, and other times sellers implement and knew only that it had something will list them so high that the set will not sell. Usually to do with corn and was likely manufactured by a the set will be listed a second time at a more reason- specific company. She was not only curious about able price if the initial auction was unsuccessful. what exactly she had purchased, but also interested The older fifty-four–volume set of the Great Books of in the item’s potential value. A search of eBay using the Western World regularly goes for about $200 and keywords such as “farm,” “corn,” and “implement” the current sixty-volume set, which retails for $995, brought up a picture that looked very much like the can often be purchased used for about $350. If $350 picture provided by the library patron. The patron appears to be the average going rate for the current- was pleased with the available information, as well but-used set, then that price may be considered the as the information regarding the price the item had fair market value. fetched. On another occasion, a patron wished to Another route that can be used to determine obtain a repair manual for a particular model Case product value is through a pay service offered by tractor. Searching the OPAC for this manual proved eBay, called Market Research. Market Research offers fruitless; however, a search of eBay using the search information beyond average prices fetched for items,

67 march/april 2008  What do I hear?

including popular searches for items within certain iMediaConnection.com, an average visit to eBay is categories, market trends, and so on. The Market lengthy, at forty minutes and twenty-three seconds; Research option has a modest cost ($9.99 per month there is a large time gap to the nearest competi- for the Basic version and $24.99 per month for the tor, Amazon, at fourteen minutes and twenty-three Pro version) but is more likely a tool for individual seconds.12 It was also ranked as “qualitatively, the sellers and buyers, rather than libraries, to purchase. single best Internet site” by Tech Directions based A tool that unfortunately seems not to have on such factors as “usefulness, content, and ease of received much maintenance by eBay is the eBay use,” according to columnist Reid Goldsborough.13 Community Library (available at http://pages.ebay A July 2005 survey by AC Nielsen indicated that the .com/community/library). This little known eBay site number of individuals in the United States making has a modest collection of information on items in full- or part-time livings by selling on eBay exceeded different categories, including antiques, coins, com- 700,000, and many hundreds of thousands more are puters, stamps, and more. Although the resources supplementing their income by selling on Ebay.14 The available from the eBay library do not provide precise number of worldwide registered eBay users exceeded product value information, they do provide informa- 221 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.15 Based on tion regarding factors that will influence the value of these statistics, it would appear that eBay would have the items, as well as tips for locating and selling items a significant community draw, as well as a number of of particular types. items that might be of interest to libraries wanting to As an example of the creative researching possible add to their collections, and a number of buyers who using eBay, one need only follow the lead of a savvy would be interested in buying items weeded from lawyer who utilized eBay to purchase evidentiary libraries’ collections. items to be used in litigation. A brief communica- Some libraries may be reluctant to use eBay as a tion by Brenda Jeffreys in the National Law Journal library promotion tool since it is an obvious commer- reported on W. Mark Lanier’s use of eBay to acquire cial website. However, this website is extremely pop- evidence and pertinent information for asbestos- ular, and advertising eBay classes or resources may related lawsuits.9 By typing in the keyword “asbes- encourage library patronage. Indeed, by searching tos,” Lanier was able to purchase many items (some Google for “eBay classes” and restricting the domain fairly commonplace household items) known to con- to organizations or educational institutions, a pleth- tain asbestos. However, his most significant find was ora of eBay class offerings (past and future) could be an unpublished corporate draft report that indicated found. Class providers were from a multitude of dif- the company had knowledge about the potential ferent institutions or organizations, including librar- health hazards of asbestos, an admission contra- ies, parks and recreation groups, computer groups, dicting the published report. This was undoubtedly senior groups, colleges and universities, continuing weighty evidence for Lanier’s asbestos cases. If this education providers, and many more. The first result article recounting Lanier’s use of eBay receives atten- returned when searching for eBay classes restricted tion from the legal community, it could encourage to the educational domain illustrated well their further use of this website for evidence gathering and potential popularity. An announcement from Adams legal learning purposes. State College in Colorado reads, “Due to the success of the first eBay workshop, ASC’s Business Support Center is again hosting two classes that will teach the eBay as a Tool for Library Promotion keys to selling on the eBay online auction site.”16 It is To get an idea of the potential impact of eBay, espe- noteworthy that even though there was a registration cially as it pertains to community draw and library fee, the eBay classes offered by Adams State College promotion, some basic facts about this online were very popular. And classes without a monetary auction site may be helpful. It is the most popular fee may provide an even greater community draw. online auction site, dominating an impressive 90 These initiatives to teach eBay provided some percent of the online auction market.10 According to individuals with the opportunity to use the Internet the Nielsen//NetRatings, eBay was the most often for the first time. A course that was offered at utilized search term in November of 2005 and was Westchester Community College in New York on eBay ranked amongst the top ten websites during the use was taught in three separate sessions, allowing same month.11 Even though there are other websites time to advance from the basics of Internet use and that are more heavily trafficked, people spend a lot eBay use to more advanced skills, such as posting of time on eBay. According to statistics gathered by items for auction.17 By inspiring individuals to use

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the Internet, eBay is spurring the learning of a very ters throughout the nation. This partnership allows valuable information resource. senior citizens access to computers through various One group in particular that eBay has targeted for SeniorNet centers in the United States. The goal of the eBay classes is seniors. The idea is to teach them how program is to provide computer and Internet training to be effective on eBay’s site and decrease the digital to at least one million senior citizens within a five-year divide for seniors, a major eBay user group. It is inter- time period. In support of this program, eBay is pro- esting to note that there was a 54 percent growth in viding significant funding, training of educational spe- the use of eBay by individuals fifty-five and older dur- cialists, building new computer training centers, and ing the period of April 2003 to April 2004.18 During the adding courses to the current SeniorNet curricula that same period, seniors were also the fastest growing user will help enhance knowledge of e-commerce.20 group of the Internet.19 To help encourage the use of If a library is having moral issues with using a computers and the Internet, eBay initiated the Digital popular commercial website for library promotion, Opportunity Program for Seniors. To help ensure the perhaps focusing on the learning opportunities that success of the program, it partnered with SeniorNet, eBay can afford will lessen these ethical concerns. a nonprofit group that provides computer training Valuable skill development can occur by utilizing to older Americans and has numerous learning cen- eBay. A lengthy dissertation by Lillard about infor-

Learning More about eBay and Optimizing Performance on eBay

Whether you want to learn more about eBay to prepare to provide eBay classes, or because you want to develop a collection to aid patrons with using eBay, there are many information resources to be found. There is much information on the eBay website alone available to help you with searching for, buying, or selling an item. The eBay Learning Center, available at http://pages.ebay.com/education/?ssPage Name=home:f:f:US, is a particularly useful starting point within eBay’s numerous websites to learn the basics about using eBay. If you would like to build a collection of library books on eBay, there are many to be found. Some are more oriented toward “power sellers” who want to learn about “killer apps,” while others are more for the beginning eBay user or those who are merely interested in company history and company informa- tion. Some recent books available on eBay include:

● Angela C. Adams, The eBay Success Chronicles: Secrets and Techniques eBay Powersellers Use Every Day to Make Millions (Ocala, Fla.: Atlantic Pub. Group, 2007). ● Marsha Collier, eBay for Dummies (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2007). ● Clifford R. Ennico, The eBay Seller’s Tax and Legal Answer Book: Everything You Need to Know to Keep the Government Off Your Back and Out of Your Wallet (New York: AMACOM, 2007). ● Greg Holden, 1000 Best eBay Powerseller Secrets (Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks, 2007). ● Amy Joyner, The eBay Billionaire’s Club: Exclusive Secrets for Building an Even Bigger and More Profitable Online Business (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2007). ● Amy Joyner and Literary Productions, The Online Millionaire: Strategies for Building a Web-Based Empire on eBay and Beyond (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2007). ● Jacquelyn Lynn, Entrepreneur Magazine’s Start Your Own Business on eBay: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Success (Irvine, Calif.: Entrepreneur Pr., 2007). ● Ron Mansfield, Launching a Successful eBay Store (Indianapolis: Que, 2007). ● J. S. McDougall, Expand Your Business on eBay (Irvine, Calif.: Entrepreneur Pr., 2007). ● Michael Miller, Making a Living from Your eBay Business (Indianapolis: Que, 2007). ● Dennis L Prince, How to Sell Anything on eBay—and Make a Fortune! (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007). ● Brad Schepp and Debra Schepp, eBay Powerseller Million Dollar Ideas: Innovative Ways to Make Your eBay Sales Soar (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007). ● Joseph T Sinclair, eBay Business the Smart Way: Maximize Your Profits on the Web’s #1 Auction Site (New York: American Management Assoc., 2007). ● Jennifer Viegas, Pierre Omidyar: The Founder of eBay (New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2007).

69 march/april 2008  What do I hear?

It appears that eBay is acting as an impetus for learning and eBay users are following familiar learn- ing patterns. Information searching and posting skills can also be encouraged by eBay. Search skills are at the heart of successful Internet use, and while eBay’s search system does not operate exactly the same way as some search engines, the search skills used to find items on eBay can be readily applied when seeking information through Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com, and other search engines. Incidentally, eBay has recently teamed up with Google in an effort to improve searches for items, with Google providing related search links for product searches on eBay.24 This partnering may make searching on eBay more easily generalizable to standard search engine queries. mation use online by eBay entrepreneurs found that References eBay promotes learning in many different areas, 1. Michael Rogers, Yolanda L. Gilmore, and Teri B. including: computer literacy, writing, advertising Weil, “How Do You Manage? Director, Do Thy skills, technical skills, basics about accounting/ Bidding,” Library Journal 126, no. 6 (Apr. 2001): 74. monetary business transactions, HTML skills, value 2. Kathleen Baxter, “Your Discards May Be assessment, digital camera use, and the ability to Somebody’s Treasure (Libraries Can Turn Old upload and manipulate photographs.21 By survey- Books into Profit with Online Auctions),” Library ing eBay users about initial problems encountered Journal 125, no. 6 (Apr. 2000): 62. when first starting to work on this site and later after 3. Dale S. Hill, “Selling Withdrawn and Gift more experience had been obtained, Lillard found Books on eBay: Does It Make Sense?” Journal that the initial problems encountered primarily were of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery, and technical difficulties, and these concerns were later Information Supply 14, no. 2 (2003): 37–40. replaced by practical concerns about consumers, 4. Camila Gabaldon, “Building Library Collections, such as payment issues. This progression from hav- the eBay Way,” E-JASL: The Electronic Journal ing many technical concerns to primarily concerns of Academic and Special Librarianship 6, no. 3 about consumers indicates that eBay is encouraging (Winter 2005), http://southernlibrarianship the development of technical skills. .icaap.org/content/v06n03/gabaldon_c01.htm A dissertation by Ghostbear also indicates that (accessed Feb. 22, 2008). eBay is encouraging much “informal learning.”22 A 5. John Mutter, Jim Milliot, and Karen Holt, “What discussion of the principles of andragogy, or how Price Used Books?” Publishers Weekly 251, no. 39 adults learn, indicates that adult learning on eBay (Sept. 27, 2004): 31–34. follows these basic andragogical assumptions: 6. Hill, “Selling Withdrawn and Gift Books on eBay.” 7. Nisa Asokan, “Reference Gymnastics: A Sampler ● adults must need to know why they are learning of Creative Search Methods for Librarians on a something before participating in optional Tight Deadline,” Searcher 11, no. 5 (May 2003): learning activities; 16–17. ● learning will move from dependency to self- 8. Ibid. direction as adults become more adept and focus 9. Brenda Sapino Jeffreys, “Where to Go for more on personal interests in developing skills; Asbestos Evidence? eBay, of Course; Attorney ● personal experience plays a large role in adult Bids for Items, Finds ‘Legendary Report’,” learning as this is the foundation that adults will National Law Journal 25, no. 21 (Jan. 2003): A6. build from and this foundation impacts learning 10. Michael V. Copeland, “E-commerce: The Big processes, perceptions, and so on; and Guns’ Next Target: eBay (Future of Electronic ● adults must be ready to learn and find that the Commerce),” Business 2.0 7, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. topic has pertinence to them.23 2006): 21–22.

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11. Nielsen//NetRatings, “Top Search Terms Reveal 16. Julie Waechter, eBay Classes Are Back (Alamosa, Web Users Rely on Search Engines to Navigate Colo.: Adams State College, 2006), www2.adams Their Way to Common Web Sites, According to .edu/news/oct0609/oct0609.php (accessed Feb. Nielsen//Netratings,” www.nielsen-netratings 22, 2008). .com/pr/pr_060118.pdf (accessed Feb. 22, 2008); 17. Jennifer Saranow, “Online Deaccessioning: and “Nielsen//Netratings Reports the Fastest Classes Help Retirees Master eBay,” Wall Street Growing Web Sites Year-Over-Year Among Top Journal (Jun. 28, 2004): B1. Internet Properties: Apple, Google, and Amazon 18. Ibid. Take the Lead,” www.nielsen-netratings.com/pr/ 19. Ibid. pr_051220.pdf (accessed Feb. 22, 2008). 20. eBay Inc., “eBay Leads Effort to Bridge Digital 12. Nielsen//NetRatings, “eBay Has It,” iMedia Divide for Seniors,” http://investor.ebay.com/ Communications, www.imediaconnection.com/ releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=26941 (accessed content/7739.asp (accessed Feb. 22, 2008). Feb. 22, 2008). 13. Reid Goldsborough “It’s Going, Going, Gone . . . 21. Linda L. Lillard, “Information Seeking in Context: On the Internet,” Tech Directions 60, no. 4 (Nov. An Exploratory Study of Information Use Online 2000): 14. by eBay Entrepreneurs” (Ph.D. diss., Emporia 14. eBay Inc., “New Study Reveals 724,000 Americans State Univ., 2002). Rely on eBay Sales for Income,” http://investor 22. Anne Ashby Ghostbear, “Adult Learning on the .ebay.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=170073 Internet: Engaging the eBay Auction Process” (accessed Feb. 22, 2008). (Ph.D. diss., Oklahoma State Univ., 2001). 15. eBay Inc., “eBay Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter 23. Ibid. and Full Year 2006 Financial Results,” http:// 24. Larissa Bannister, “Google Targets eBay investor.ebay.com/news/EBAY0719-204302.pdf Customers with Ads,” Campaign no. 35 (Sept. 1, (accessed Feb. 22, 2008). 2006): 6.

Get Connected: Tech Programs for Teens by RoseMary Honnold is chock-full of innovative ideas, cutting-edge tech programs, and YALSA’s creative ideas for celebrating Get in Teen Tech Week! Visit www.neal-schuman. com or call 1-866-NS-BOOKS. Get Connected: Tech Programs for Teens. (Neal- the loop Schuman, 2007) 1-55570-613-4. ISBN-13: 978-1-55570-613-5. 6 x 9. 166p. $45.00. with Best Books for Young Adults is back! Teen services librarians, along with parents and English teachers, will welcome this fully updated third edition, the most comprehensive and eff ective reference for great reading for young adults. Edited by Holly Koelling. Available at the ALA Store, www.alastore.ala.org. Best Books for Young Adults. (ALA Editions, 2007) 0-8389-3569-9. ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-3569-9. 7 x 10. 376p. $42.00 (ALA Members: $37.80). publications Stay current with the latest in teen services by subscribing to Young Adult Library Services, YALSA’s quarterly journal. Visit www.ala.org/ ala/yalsa/yalsapubs/publications.cfm or call 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5. ISSN 1541-4302, $50.00 (U.S.).

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“By the Book” reviews professional development materials of potential interest to public librarians, trustees, and others involved in library ser- vice. Public Library Association policy dictates that PLA publications not be reviewed in this column. Notice of new publications from PLA will generally be found in the “News from PLA” section of Public Libraries. A description of books written by the editors or contributing editors of If you are interested in Public Libraries may appear in this column but no evaluative review will reviewing or submitting be included for these titles. materials for “By the Book,” contact the contributing editor, Julie Elliott, Assistant Librarian, Reference/Coordinator The Author Event Primer: The importance of giving the of Public Relations How to Plan, Execute and event an “imaginative twist” (45) is and Outreach, Indiana Enjoy Author Events remarked. Events need to be fun and University South Bend, creative, as some inspiring examples 1700 Mishawaka Ave., P. O. By Chapple Langemack. Westport, demonstrate: projects like Seattle Box 7111, South Bend, IN Conn: Libraries Unlimited, 2007. Reads, the interdisciplinary approach 46634-7111; jmfelli@iusb 188p. $35 (ISBN-10: 1-59158-302-0) to one single book in school classes, .edu. LC 2006032405. and In Their Own Words, the space This volume is a very practi- on the KCLS website with audio Julie is reading Pictures at a cal one. It reminds the librarian recordings of local authors, but also Revolution by Mark Harris. involved in an author event of all more courageous experiments like a the things to do, even the smallest, singles evening event or a cooks-and- to assure its success: from book dis- books program. plays and promotional bookmarks Outreach is basic and conse- to the reservation of parking places, quently is a crucial part of the book. from fees to thank you cards and That means relationships with local gifts. Langemack, senior managing bookstores, schools, museums, and librarian at the Bellevue Regional with the rest of the community, Library for the King County Library but Langemack also considers the System (KCLS) near Seattle, gives a internal role of the library book club lot of tips using an enjoyable writ- and the staff. The last chapter is ing style. dedicated to the writers who wish to The scope of the book is com- present their books in a library. This plete, covering everything from the part is the one where collection- big festival to the flop when only six development processes are men- people showed up. Authors include tioned, regarding the selection of poets and self-published authors, as authors. well as major authors. Whatever the Langemack has written the book dimension of the event, this book while always keeping the writers’ warns the librarian that time, energy, needs and habits in mind. For this and staff are required. Many useful reason and more it is a must-have samples, checklists, and case studies for active public librarians.—Corrado are interspersed throughout Di Tillio, Head Librarian, Biblioteca the pages. Raffaello, Rome, Italy

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Casanova Was a Librarian: graduated.” Sharp’s words are more ports the broader goals and mission A Light-Hearted Look at the than a century old and have endured of the library. Library staff is key Profession remarkable technological advance to successfully supporting IT ser- and societal change. Yet these state- vices. Methods for assessing staff IT By Kathleen Low. Jefferson, N.C.: ments remain as relevant today as abilities, setting minimum skill level McFarland & Company, 2007. 176p. they were in 1898, truly embody- requirements, and providing train- $45 (ISBN-13: 978-0-7864-2981-3). LC ing the function of libraries and the ing are discussed. The appendixes 2007005755. spirit of the profession. include resources, worksheets, job Casanova Was a Librarian: A Casanova Was a Librarian won’t descriptions, and publication sam- Light-Hearted Look at the Profession make you a better cataloger or more ples. A Web page companion with does not impart any earth-shattering efficient budgeter. But it will give additional worksheets and updates revelations about librarianship, yet you reason to laugh, or at the very is available at www.ala.org/editions/ it is tremendous fun! This book pres- least, smile. And as public librarians, extras/Bolan09205. This guide is a ents a cursory overview of myriad we can all recognize the importance concise tool for small public libraries topics ranging from the prim and of that.—Adrianne Leonardelli, aiming to improve their technology proper (library history) to the outra- Reference Librarian, Forsyth County infrastructure.—Ernie Cox, Librarian, geous (kinky librarians). If you want (N.C.) Public Library St. Timothy’s School, Raleigh, North an entertaining read about all things Carolina library, then look no further. Casanova begins with brief bio- Technology Made Simple graphical sketches of well-known Consider the Source librarians, such as Laura Bush, By Kimberly Bolan and Robert Madeleine L’Engle, and the book’s Cullin. Chicago: ALA, 2006. 250p. By James F. Broderick and Darren namesake, Giacomo Casanova. $40 (ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-0920-1; W. Miller. Medford, N.J.: CyberAge Librarians will recognize most of ISBN-10: 0-83890-920-5). LC Books, 2007. 472p. $24.95 (ISBN-13: these names from their formal edu- 2006013191. 978-0-910965-77-4). LC 2007012463. cation. Nevertheless, as librarians Computer networks, printers, The shift from an analog world to it is important to reflect upon the copiers, databases, wikis, Wi-Fi, self- a digital world has forever altered the extraordinary and accomplished check machines, websites, games, information landscape. The medium individuals who comprise our PC reservations systems, blogs, RSS that news junkies get their fix from profession. feeds, IM, and MP3 players—a diz- in the twenty-first century is the Casanova also includes select zying number of information tech- Internet, no doubt. RSS, blogs, and writings from library publications nology services and resources exist. newsreaders (for example, Bloglines of the 1800s and early 1900s. My How should small and medium-size and Google Reader) are the feed- personal favorite is an essay titled public libraries decide what to do ing trough for journalists, students, “Librarianship as a Profession” by with all these options? Technology newshounds, researchers, and other Katharine L. Sharp. It originally Made Simple guides non-technical information addicts as well as seri- appeared in the publication Public public librarians through these ous Internet users. Yet far too many Libraries: A Monthly Review of complex questions using clear and information silos exist on the Web, Library Matters and Methods in May accessible language. The basics of and how does the critical thinker 1898. In this piece, Sharp states that technology systems, applications, evaluate the top sources? Trust com- librarians “must be a combined and services are explained within petent others to do the job. edition of the encyclopedia, the the context of comprehensive infor- Consider the Source is a collection dictionary, the dictionary of phrase mation technology (IT) planning. of one hundred no-holds-barred and fable, the universal history, the Bolan and Cullin suggest the use reviews of news and information bibliographic manual, and general of a planning cycle comprised of sites on the Web—compiled by biography.” She goes on to say “the assessment, planning, implementa- Broderick, an author and journal- library is a laboratory, a workshop, tion, and continuous evaluation. ism professor, and Miller, a veteran a school, a university of the people, The emphasis is on IT planning reporter. Not only does the book from which the students are never and implementation which sup- cover prominent U.S. sources

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(for example, Christian Science Blogging and RSS: feeds are covered in chapter five. Monitor, Washington Post, National A Librarian’s Guide Chapter six defines and differ- Geographic), but it also highlights entiates different types of news- international ones (BBC, Al Jazeera, By Michael P. Sauers, Medford, N.J.: feed aggregators. The author also and so on). Also included are infor- Information Today, 2006. 288p. includes noteworthy feeds in chapter mation-rich organizations such as $29.50 (ISBN-10: 1-57387-268-7). seven, such as the Kansas City Public the American Association of Retired LC 2006026421. Library (www.kclibrary.org/guides), Persons, Amnesty International, the Sauers states in his introduc- Hennepin County Library (www Federal Bureau of Investigation, and tion that 2004 was “the year of the .hclib.org/pub/search/RSS.cfm), others. blog.” As a result of the blog boom, Amazon.com Syndicated Content Each entry follows a template: Sauers responded by writing a book (www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ “Overview,” “What You’ll Find There,” in a conversational tone so anyone subst/xs/syndicate.html), BCR “Why You Should Visit,” “Keep This interested in blogs and feeds could Online (www.bcr.org/rss), and OCLC in Mind,” and “Off the Record.” Next, comprehend. More importantly, the (www.oclc.org/rss). For the more the authors use a five-point rating book was written in a manner that adventurous, chapter eight teaches system to assess each site, and biases held the interest of three types of the reader how to create a feed. and slants are clearly highlighted audiences: the new, the expert, and The book includes appendices, (think in terms of The Onion, The anyone in-between. articles, glossary, an index, and a Drudge Report, and Michael Moore). The earliest chapters provide a recommended reading list. Overall, What’s more, droll factoids are history and answer questions that Sauers has produced an important sprinkled gingerly throughout. For the reader may have about blogs. tool guide for the twenty-first- instance, did you know that Wired Sauers covers the blog basics such century cybrarian. A must-have on pioneered the standard practice of as the definition of a blog, types of the professional library shelf.—Lori including the e-mail addresses of its blogs, the blog effect, why people Sigety, Branch Manager, LaSalle writers on its Web pages? The appen- blog, and the difference between a Branch Library, St. Joseph County dix even includes all of the reviewed librarian’s blog, a library blog, a mis- Public Library, South Bend, Indiana sites in rank order for quick access to cellaneous blog, a personal blog, resources organized by quality. and a professional blog. One criticism and caveat: A book Chapters three and four introduce Constraining Public that contains a list of URLs and the bloggers and show the reader Libraries: The World Trade screenshots is a static document how to create blogs. Sauers enlists Organization’s General . . . and one that will quickly become the help of other library profession- Agreement on Trade in obsolete. To their credit, the authors als who author library blogs such Services had enough wisdom and foresight to as Christie Brandau (www.ksstate create an online counterpart to their librarian.blogspot.com), Steven M. By Samuel E. Trosow and Kirsti text, The Reporters Well (www.the Cohen (www.librarystuff.net), Karen Nilsen. Lanham, Md.: Neal- reporterswell.com). Overall, Consider Coombs (www.librarywebchic.net), Schuman, 2006. 272p. $65 (ISBN-10: the Source is an eye-catching, infor- Walt Crawford (walt.lishost 0-8108-5237-3). LC: 20063653. mative, and entertaining read. It is .org), Lorcan Dempsey (orweblog This book is a valuable resource recommended for librarians and .oclc.org), Sarah Houghton (librarian in informing libraries about the libraries of all sizes as well as inde- inblack.net), Jenny Levine (www World Trade Organization (WTO) pendent information professionals. .theshiftedlibrarian.com), Andrea and General Agreement on Trade in Update those bookmarks, del.icio.us Mercado (www.librarytechtonics Services (GATS) demonstrating why links, and feedreaders after perusing .info), Aaron Schmidt (www.walking libraries and library boards should this resource, then cultivate those paper.org), Michael Stephens (www be aware of what they are and why pearls!—C. Brian Smith, Reference/ .tametheweb.com), and Jessamyn it is more important than ever that Resources Librarian, Arlington West (www.librarian.net). libraries conduct advocacy. The Heights (Ill.) Memorial Library The latter chapters address RSS book reviews the background and (Really Simple Syndication) and structure of the WTO framework, feeds. Identifying RSS and using the requirements of the GATS agree-

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ment, and the commercialization is highly recommended for public a section of craft patterns, although and privatization of public library and academic libraries.—Susan a bit rudimentary. An index is services. The authors also did an McClellan, Community Outreach included. excellent job of discussing how to Coordinator Librarian, Shaler North This book would make a great avoid the negative impact of trade Hills Library, Glenshaw, Pennsylvania resource for those who are new to in services, advocacy for libraries, the art of storytime presentation, and the International Trade Policy as including new librarians or even information policy. Libraries need to Storytimes . . . Plus! new parents. The topics are kept be aware that privatization and com- simple and often include typically mercialization put all libraries at risk By Kay Lincycomb. New York: Neal- themed book choices. Interestingly, for trade threats. Schuman, 2007. 201p. $45 (ISBN-10: Lincycomb includes many holiday One of the most common forms 1-55570-583-9). LC 200620636. references which may be helpful of privatization is outsourcing and Storytimes . . . Plus! is a collection to home school teachers or private while libraries branch out to offer of thirty-five themed storytime scripts school media specialists who can new services, the same is occur- with extra (plus!) supplemental activi- freely include holidays in their pro- ring in the private sector as it also ties that can be used to fit a particular grams. Public libraries may wish to identifies new market services thus storytime. Lincycomb has worked as include this title as a reference addi- creating a competition of services. a children’s librarian in both a school tion, rather than part of the profes- Commercialization includes librar- and public library setting, giving her sional collection.—Lisa Erickson, ies as a place to sell products and ample experience to collect storytime Youth Librarian, Fort Worth (Tex.) services, and as a place for receiving ideas such as “Plenty of Pockets” and Public Library small payments for particular “Spaghetti Day.” services. Each program script includes The variety of traditional (free) a brief table of contents, listing and non-traditional (with new rhymes and songs, books and crafts American Reference Books technologies) services libraries that complete the storytime presen- Annual, 2007 Edition, offer demonstrate that libraries tation. The “plus” activities include Volume 38 cannot rely on the GATS exemp- games, longer projects (think learn- tion for services that are provided. ing stations and centers, and so on), Ed. Shannon Graff Hysell. Westport, Recommendations to libraries to more read-aloud suggestions such Conn: Libraries Unlimited, 2007. continue to offer the highest-quality as additional poems or books, snack 704p. $125 (ISBN-10: 1-5915-8525-2). services so customers require access ideas, and other tips. After the table The 2007 edition of the American discourage the trend toward privati- of contents, the words to the rhymes Reference Books Annual (ARBA) zation in libraries and commercial- and songs are listed, as are brief syn- proves to be an invaluable resource ization, and libraries must continue opses of the books recommended. for public libraries. The most to advocate for funding. Generally Lincycomb provides only recent edition of ARBA, volume The authors recommend that one set of craft instructions—and 38 in the annual series, contains effective advocacy requires educa- often these crafts require more time reviews of more than 1,300 English- tion beginning with the trustees and and space than would be available language titles. These include books, library boards. International trade in a public library storytime setting. CD-ROMs and websites that were agreements should also be viewed in The plus section also includes brief published or updated in the United a broader context. The last point is descriptions of activities. The plus States and Canada during 2005 and that library associations should view inclusions also seem more appropri- 2006, including those from 2007 that the importance of coalition building ate for a school setting. were received in time to be evalu- in order to gain a stronger response There are additional resources ated. With an advisory board and and create a more powerful impact. at the back of the book including more than 400 critics with back- This book is a valuable resource step-by-step directions and scripts grounds in academia and myriad for library and information science, for stories and reader’s theater-type public and school libraries, ARBA’s government officials, educators, activities. A bibliography of selected reviews are highly comprehensive and those in political science and books is also provided, along with and can include frank criticism, a

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helpful assessment to a library selec- Gotcha for Guys! Nonfiction second section, Not to Be Missed, tor or reference librarian. Books to Get Boys Excited contains a list of annotated titles The 2007 annual includes 37 about Reading that have traditionally been well chapters, each encompassing a vast received by young male audiences. array of topics. There are four key By Kathleen A. Baxter and Marcia The last section of each chapter, sections—General Reference Works, Agness Kochel. Westport, Conn.: Worth Reading, contains a longer list Social Sciences, Humanities, and Libraries Unlimited, 2007. 269p. of titles, not annotated, that Baxter Science and Technology. General $35 (ISBN-10: 1-5915-8311-X) LC and Kochtel may not have person- Reference Works is subdivided by 200630667. ally seen or used, but have received form, such as almanacs and ency- It has recently been lamented favorable reviews in School Library clopedias. The latter three sections that not enough attention is given Journal, Horn Book, or Booklist. are broken down alphabetically, to boys when it comes to promoting Especially handy is the inclusion first by subtopic and then, if neces- reading instruction and enjoyment. of recommended grade levels for sary due to the volume of materials According to children’s author John each title provided. This convenient critiqued, by form. For example, Sciezska’s literacy initiative, Guys implement should be useful to both within the “Political Science” chapter Read, boys regularly perform worse new and veteran librarians who are is the narrower “Public Policy and than girls in reading exams and high planning school visits and story- Administration” category, where school males are more likely to be times. Two indexes are included— titles are separated into forms such special education students. title and author/illustrator. as dictionaries and handbooks to With these sobering facts in mind, This compendium of entertain- distinguish among the amount of Baxter’s fourth and newest Gotcha ing and educational nonfiction titles works examined. In the shorter “Fine book is a welcome addition to a pub- is catered to boys, but many girls Arts” chapter, the reader will come lic library’s collection. Practical and will find the suggestions appealing across coverage of the more focused informative, Gotcha for Guys! aims to as well.—Rebecca Kennedy, Adult topics of architecture and photogra- assist the public or school librarian Services Librarian, Chicago Public phy in which there is no breakdown in fostering interest and excitement Library by form since there were not many in reading among boys from kin- titles to note. dergarten age through high school. A review generally contains a A consultant and former children’s Something to Talk About: description of the arrangement, librarian herself, Baxter has written Creative Booktalking for scope, and content of a work. three previous titles, all focused on Adults Sometimes the reviewer will provide nonfiction book talks. Her enthusi- suggestions for alternative or supple- asm in this particular work is evident By Ann-Marie Cyr and Kellie M. mentary titles, or will recommend and infectious. Gillespie. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow the types of libraries best suited for The book is organized into ten Press, 2006. 123p. $35 (ISBN-10: the item. Since numerous works may chapters, each one covering sug- 0-8108-5436-8) LC 200610495. fall under several subjects, there are gested titles within a given subject Booktalks are often performed by author/title and subject indexes to that have been proven engaging to children’s and school librarians to assist in searching for certain works. males. These topics include pirates, promote worthy titles and cultivate If a title was reviewed in a major skyscrapers, insects, and bathroom excitement for literature. However, library journal, there is a citation humor, with chapter titles such as adults often crave direction as well provided to direct the reader to “Disasters and Unsolved Mysteries,” when it comes to reading. that review. “Prehistoric Creatures,” and “All There are numerous professional The 2007 edition of ARBA is an Things Gross.” Within each chap- works about booktalking to children, essential resource guide for medium ter are three subsections. New and but not so many geared toward to large public libraries who wish to Notable contains booktalks for speaking to mature audiences. keep current with reference titles.— recent titles, including useful facts to Something to Talk About purports to Rebecca Kennedy, Adult Services share with the audience that provide be the first book that focuses solely Librarian, Chicago Public Library historical or situational context to on doing adult booktalks. It does an the book covered in question. The excellent job of demonstrating the

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mechanics behind a booktalk pro- for crafting a successful speech. The for the librarian. A standard index is gram, as well as furnishing practical seventh and last chapter comprises a included, as well as a briefly anno- tips and detailed checklists available generous collection of nearly ninety tated list of materials for further for the librarian’s own personal use. tried-and-true titles, divided by related reading. The book is organized into two genre, each accompanied by a sam- Both new and seasoned librar- principal sections. The first six chap- ple booktalk. The booktalks featured ians will greatly benefit from this ters are devoted to the development have been used in the field by the focused and clear-cut professional of a booktalk. Each chapter covers authors, who are both experienced work that is catered to better serving a particular phase of program plan- public librarians. their adult patrons. Booktalks are ning, from the initial step of choos- The work unfolds slowly, with- generally inexpensive programs for ing the books to publicizing the out intimidating a librarian new a budget-conscious public library actual event. Interspersed through- to the task of booktalking. Steps to to execute, and Something to Talk out the work are informational boxes producing an effective booktalk are About provides a plethora of ideas that provide ideas and information revealed at a comfortable pace and on how to either improve or get that supplement the text in a specific in straightforward language. This started.—Rebecca Kennedy, Adult chapter, such as a sample script for a title also serves to a degree as a basic Services Librarian, Chicago Public sci-fi booktalk and a list of guidelines how-to guide on public speaking Library

“Collaboration in the Digital Age” Set for June 24–25 in Denver, Colorado

It is clear that Americans are increasingly using the Internet to connect to museum and library resources. A recent IMLS study reports that in 2006, 310 million of the 1.2 billion adult visits to museums were made online and 560 million of the 1.3 billion adult visits to libraries were made online. Yet the Health Heritage Index found that 60 percent of collecting institutions do not include digital preservation in their mission. Digitizing special library and museum collections has many advantages—better collection management, less wear and tear on objects, and greater public access, to name a few. But the challenges are also formi- dable, and include cost, prioritization, and, of course, preserving digital collections. Where to begin? To answer some of these questions, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is sponsoring the forum, “Collaboration in the Digital Age.” This program—organized in cooperation with Heritage Preservation, the Denver Public Library, the Colorado Historical Society, and the Denver Art Museum—is part of Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, an IMLS initiative to save endangered collections in the nation’s museums and libraries. Scheduled for June 24 and 25 in Denver, this is the second in a series of four national conservation forums that are part of the Connecting to Collections initiative. “Collaboration in the Digital Age” responds to the needs of museums and libraries by helping them think strategically and collaboratively about digitization and digital preservation. Speakers will review the funda- mentals of digital content creation and preservation, emphasizing practical approaches to planning digital projects, increasing access to collections, enabling digital resources to serve multiple purposes, and protecting digital investments. Francie Alexander, senior vice president of Scholastic Education and chief academic officer of Scholastic Inc., will be the first of many speakers, including leaders in the digital collections field and other distin- guished professionals from across the nation. Elizabeth Broun, the Margaret and Terry Stent director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, will deliver the keynote address. The forum is open and free of charge to staff and board members of museums, libraries, and archives, as well as to conservation professionals, representatives of government, funders, and the media. Advance online registration is required by May 23. There will be no on-site registration. Program and logistical information and online registration are available at www.imls.gov/collections/tour.

77 march/april 2008 new product news

The following are extracted from press releases and vendor announce- ments and are intended for reader information only. The appearance of such notices herein does not constitute an evaluation or an endorse- ment of the products or services by the Public Library Association or the editors of this magazine.

The contributing editor of this column is Vicki Graphic Novels Core Pearl’s Picks Now Available Nesting, Assistant Collection: A Selection Guide from EBSCO Publishing and Director at the St. Charles NoveList Parish Library, Louisiana. www.hwwilson.com Submissions may be sent www.ebscohost.com/novelist to her at 21 River Park H. W. Wilson’s new Graphic Novels Dr., Hahnville, LA 70057; Core Collection: A Selection Guide NoveList announced an exclusive [email protected]. is designed to help librarians arrangement with Nancy Pearl to choose age-appropriate works in add Pearl’s Picks to its suite of read- Vicki is reading The Scroll this increasingly popular literary ers’ advisory and library solutions. of Seduction by Gioconda form. This WilsonWeb selection Pearl’s Picks is a compilation of sug- Belli, Portrait of an Unknown guide highlights approximately two gested reading and annotations from Woman by Vanora Bennett, thousand recommended titles with the most widely acclaimed librarian The Shadow of the Wind descriptive and evaluative annota- of our time, delivered to libraries by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and tions (plus cover art), searchable every month. Thunder Bay by William Kent by author, title, subject, genre, and Pearl is heard regularly on Krueger. grade level. National Public Radio and is the The latest release in Wilson’s Core author of the Book Lust series. Collections series of selection guides, According to The New York Times, Graphic Novels Core Collection, Pearl is “the talk of library circles,” provides assistance with collection and her richly diverse book sugges- development, readers’ advisory, and tions provide a great reading experi- curriculum support. Strict standards ence of both fiction and nonfiction are applied for rating materials by titles for readers of all ages. age appropriateness. Descriptive and Pearl’s suggestions provide mar- evaluative annotations offer insight quee content that can enliven a into both quality and content, and library’s website and keep visitors automatic links to cover-art give regularly coming back for more of librarians a first-person “feel” for this monthly reader-oriented fea- the work. ture. Pearl’s Picks can be integrated Like the other Wilson Core into a website’s look and feel so that Collections, Graphic Novels Core libraries can determine how best to Collection allows users to narrow any feature these suggestions on their search to Short List (most recom- websites. mended) titles. Limiters for fiction, Pearl’s Picks includes a mix of nonfiction, or biography reflect the titles that are readily available and growing diversity of subjects treated titles that are most likely already in in graphic novel format. library collections. The service allows

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libraries to tout new books as well as The ADX-II features include: Unlike traditional antibacterial remind patrons of worthwhile books products, the Silver Seal antibacterial already on their shelves. Libraries ● totally secure, locked storage plastic utilizes all natural, pure silver receive a list of titles to be included of DVDs and CDs with discs ions that are embedded in the plastic in the monthly Pearl’s Picks thirty dispensed to patrons only after to create a safe and effective anti- days in advance, so they can obtain proper check out; bacterial solution. Silver is a natural any titles that might be missing. ● a central dispensing unit version antibiotic product and its proper- of ADX-II designed for libraries ties have been incorporated into the with larger collections or multiple Silver Seal product line using the lat- AllCIRC Automated CD/DVD self-checkout stations; est nanotechnologies. Silver ions are Vault ● multipart sets dispensed as easily infused in the plastic used to create as single discs; the Silver Seal product line. When www.allCIRC.com ● continued deactivation of security these ions are exposed to moisture strips and RFID security bits at in the air, they create an antimicro- AllCIRC is an automated vault for the Apex XpressCheck station for bial shield on the product that resists CD/DVD collections with a built-in those materials not secured in the bacteria. patron self-checkout system. It was ADX-II unit; and designed specifically for libraries to ● fast-loading of CDs without a provide media protection with full single keystroke—simply scan the Media Bank Offers Secure self service. item’s bar code or RFID tag and Access to CDs and DVDs AllCIRC is an advanced second- insert the disc(s) into the slot. generation system built on expe- www.libramation.com rience and technology of the Intelligent Media Manager (IMM) Seal Shield Launches Libramation’s Media Bank offers an product line. In addition to being the Antibacterial, Dishwasher- efficient and secure solution to pro- gatekeeper of your media collection, Safe Keyboard and Mouse vide patrons with 24-hour access to allCIRC now incorporates a com- your CD and DVD media collection. plete FlashScan patron self-checkout www.sealshield.com/products.htm The introduction of the Media solution for a universal all-in-one Bank CD/DVD self-charge unit patron self-service station. Seal Shield Corporation announced allows patrons to browse the library’s the Silver Seal family of antibacte- media collection, select the items rial products for infection control. of their choice, check out their Apex DiscXpressII Storage for Notably, Seal Shield introduced the selections, and receive a receipt. A CD/DVD Collections Silver Seal Antibacterial washable customized graphic user interface keyboard and mouse. According to guides their search and provides www.integratedtek.com the company, the Silver Seal key- step-by-step checkout instructions. board and mouse are the first ever The item can also be returned at Integrated Technology Group recent- antibacterial keyboard and mouse this kiosk. ly introduced the Apex DiscXpressII to be fully submersible and dish- (ADX-II), a sleek compact unit that washer safe. holds sixteen hundred discs. An Recent studies have shown the Comprehensive Courier available random storage system computer keyboard and mouse Management System increases effective capacity to two to be a major source of cross con- Developed for the Library thousand discs or more. The ADX-II tamination infections. A study Market dispenser may be connected to one reported at the American Society or more Apex XpressCheck self- for Microbiology found that the www.quipugroup.com service kiosks to allow for self-check “superbug” Methicillin-resistant out of all library materials at a single Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can The partners of Quipu Group station within the same transaction, survive on computer keyboards for announced the general release of using an identical process. up to six weeks. Library2Library, a highly scalable

79 march/april 2008 new product news

courier management and materials ists. Profiles are searchable by name, torical databases, has announced the transportation system designed spe- political office, gender, political availability of Part III of The Liberator cifically for libraries. Library2Library party, religion, birth place and date, and Part XII of African-American is a knowledgebase, allowing staff to and contact address. Newspapers: The 19th Century, two keep, update, and access all courier The launch of Who’s Who in of its premier collections. information in one place. American Politics online marks the William Lloyd Garrison was There are a number of benefits for completion of an effort by Marquis a journalistic crusader advocat- courier managers in Library2Library. to digitize all of its active Who’s Who ing the immediate emancipation An operator can access all the func- print titles. The complete Marquis of all slaves. He gained a national tions of the application through a Who’s Who database now offers pro- reputation for being one of the most single interface, and managers can files of nearly 1.4 million of the most radical of American abolitionists. quickly get the information they notable executives, scientists, educa- He founded the most influential need from the full report suite. tors, athletes, entertainers, political newspaper in the antebellum anti- Inquiries on routes, delivery sched- figures, and other industry leaders. slavery crusade, The Liberator, which ules, and billing can be viewed was published from January 1831 online or downloaded into Excel, through December 1865. and reports are highly customizable Freedom of Expression: With the addition of Part XII of to each courier systems’ needs. Resistance and Repression African-American Newspapers: Library2Library includes a in the Age of Intellectual The 19th Century, the twelve parts trouble-ticket system, routing-slip Property of this collection will provide more creation, lost and damaged item than 120,000 articles. Newspapers management, multilevel logins, and www.mediaed.org included in this database are being courier route and schedule manage- made available in chronological ment. Courier systems may purchase This provocative and amusing docu- order, with the addition of some ten individual modules or may choose mentary explores the battles being thousand articles each year. Titles to do a full implementation of waged in courts, classrooms, muse- include: Library2Library. ums, film studios, and the Internet over control of our cultural commons. 1. Freedom’s Journal, 1827–1830. Based on Kembrew McLeod’s New York, N.Y. Marquis Who’s Who Adds award-winning book of the same 2. The Colored American, Who’s Who in American title, Freedom of Expression: 1837–1841. New York, N.Y. Politics to Its Online Database Resistance and Repression in the 3. The North Star, 1847–1851. Age of Intellectual Property charts Rochester, N.Y. www.marquiswhoswho.com the many successful attempts to 4. Frederick Douglass’ Paper, push back this assault by overzeal- 1851–1859. Rochester, N.Y. Marquis Who’s Who announced the ous copyright holders. Freedom of (completed through 1855) addition of Who’s Who in American Expression could be a valuable tool 5. The National Era, 1847–1860. Politics to its online database. Now for educators, activists, filmmakers, Washington, D.C. available to subscribers as a fully students, artists, and librarians. 6. Provincial Freeman, 1854–1857. searchable online database, Who’s Toronto, Canada Who in American Politics provides 7. The Christian Recorder, critical biographical information on Accessible Archives Expands 1861–1902. Philadelphia approximately 36,000 key players in Coverage of The Liberator and (through 1902; 1892 is the political arena. African-American Newspapers unavailable) It includes every cabinet member, governor, state legislator, member of www.accessible.com congress, and Supreme Court justice, as well as ambassadors, advisors, Accessible Archives, a publisher of party officials, and political journal- electronic full-text searchable his-

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Integrated Technology Group AV Xpress™—Without any staff assistance, Self-Checkout patron can unlock an AV security case following RFID successful self-checkout of item. Currently supports Automated Materials Handling (AMH) Kwik Case®, SecureCase™, and One-Time™ cases. RedTag™ cases coming soon.

DiscXpressII™—Patron uses empty case during self-checkout; once completed, DiscXpressII dispenses CDs & DVDs from secured storage. www.integratedtek.com Integrates with a standard Apex XpressCheck self- [email protected] service kiosk so that all library materials may be 877.207.3127 checked out in a single transaction. Always FXei\VXAt Your www.titletales.com Phone: 800.888.4478 Fax: 800.888.6319

BWI Knight_PubLib.indd 1 2/14/08 10:43:26 AM