LETTER oF THE LAA Issue 155
ALC 2007
Inside: Edmonton Public Library Wins LAA Award of Excellence Harry's Arrival Doesn't Have to End the Fun Spruce Grove Public Library Opens in New Facility "Good Medicine" Tour was a Dream Come True for Peace Library System What Boomers Want: They're changing old age and library service with it
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 80 Baker Cres. NW, Calgary, AB T2L 1R4 Phone: 403/284-5818 FAX: 403/282-6646 http://www.laa.ca
ISSUE NUMBER 155 SUMMER 2007 ISSN 0705-4890
People ...... 1
From the President's Desk ...... 2
From the Executive Director ...... 3
ALC Action ...... 4
Association News LAA Continuing Education Grant Deadline Sept. 15 ...... 6 Call for Proposals for ALC 2008 ...... 6 Edmonton Public Library Wins LAA Award of Excellence ...... 7 LAA Annual General Meeting ...... 9
Around the Province EPL and Transit Join Forces to "Catch" People Reading ...... 10 Rocky Public Library Offers Books to Go! Program ...... 11 Harry's Arrival Doesn't Have to End the Fun ...... 12 AALT Presents Awards at Annual Conference ...... 13 Spruce Grove Public Library Opens in New Facility ...... 14 Innovative Partnership Brings a New Service to Alberta ...... 15 Grande Prairie Writers Find Their Dreams ...... 16 Chinook Arch Celebrates 15 Years of Municipal Cooperation ...... 16 Calgary Public Library Honours Volunteers ...... 17 Drayton Valley Municipal Library Celebrates its 50th Anniversary ...... 18 Beaumont Library News ...... 19 News from the School ...... 20 "Good Medicine" Tour was a Dream Come True for Peace Library System ...... 21
Across Canada & Beyond Top 10 Reasons Why Canadian Public Libraries Implement RFID...... 22 In Case of a Reading Emergency, Pop the Trunk ...... 24 What Boomers Want: They're changing old age and library service with it ...... 26
What's In An Acronym ...... 30
Forthcoming Events...... 31
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 PEOPLE
At the Annual General Meeting of the Alberta Association of Library Technicians (AALT) on May 26, 2007, a new Board of Directors was elected: President: Tamara Abrams, President-Elect: Currently vacant, Member-at-Large: Anne Marie Gaszi, Conference Co-Chairs: Leanne Gosse and Judy Richardson, Journal Co-Editors: Blanka Kaiser and Sylvia Smith, Marketing Chair: Carol Fowler, Membership: Laura Sommerville, Secretary: Lynda Shurko, Treasurer: Anne Marie Gaszi, Web Team: Marnie McFarlane.
SLIS is delighted to make the official announcement that Ann Curry will begin a five-year term as Director of SLIS in January 2008. Dr. Curry will come to us from the School of Library and Archival Studies at the University of British Columbia, where she is presently Professor and Chair of the Doctoral Studies Program. Dr. Curry is an award- winning teacher, a productive researcher, and an actively contributing member of both the professional and the scholarly LIS communities.
Peggy Sue Ewanyshyn, who is currently completing her MLIS degree, has been awarded an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to follow the international Master in Digital Library Learning (DILL) offered in cooperation by Oslo University College in Norway, Tallinn University in Estonia, and Parma University in Italy for 2007-2009. The scholarship is 21,000 Euro per academic year for two years. Peggy Sue was the recipient of an LAA Continuing Education grant last year.
Julia Reinhart has been appointed as Assistant Director of the Shortgrass Library System, effective July 1, 2007. She joins the leadership team of Bob Batchelder, Assistant Director, and Harold Storlien, C.E.O. Julia has worked in the Alberta Library Community for almost six (6) years, first as Head Librarian at the Brooks Public Library and then as Public Services Librarian for SLS. Before moving to Alberta, she completed her B.A. at the University of Guelph and her M.L.I.S. at the University of Western Ontario. She put herself through university by working as a library clerk at the Guelph Public Library, and when she graduated from Western she worked at the D.B. Weldon Library after which she managed two school libraries for the London District Catholic School Board for a period of four years. Julia is currently Chair of the APLEN Technology Training Committee, sits on the TAL Licensing Services Committee, and has been a member of the APLEN Standing Committee, TAL Advocacy Committee and the Standards for System Libraries Committee.
Cover photos 1
1. Karen Labuik, Marigold Library System, left, with author Catherine Ford. 5
2. Nicholas Basbanes gave a rousing author talk about book collecting.
3. There were plenty of elk around the Lodge to keep us on our toes. 2
4. Keynote speaker Tod Mafin with ALC LAA co- chair Marianne Graff. 4 5. Peter Crerar, Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Strategic Services, Alberta Municipal Affairs and Housing, left; keynote speaker Silken Laumann; and Punch Jackson, Director, Libraries, Community and Voluntary Sector Services, Alberta Municipal Affairs and Housing. 3
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 1 FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
Della Paradis
In the weeks following the Jasper conference, optimism is evident among LAA members. Optimism that a shift in focus could be coming and we will see much needed change in our libraries. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ray Danyluk, charged the community with articulating a vision for libraries in Alberta. Not any vision, but a real vision; one that expresses impact on our communities; one that is sellable; and inspires stakeholders to take action. This, all on a timeline that allows documents to be compiled, vetted and launched in October. The former Department of Alberta Community Development has taken the lead in organizing focus groups and ensuring the urgency and opportunity within this initiative is not lost. As always, we’re grateful to the leadership demonstrated by the Department.
We trust that enough vision exists within the community that a unifying focus can be pulled together. The proof is in the forthcoming document which we keenly await. Certainly, the focus group discussion LAA participated in touched on but sometimes slid sideways on what the vision is. The vision for Alberta libraries cannot be about the library; the vision must focus on social impact. The library is just the ‘how’ we’re going to make the change in the world. Therefore, an impact-filled, sellable vision for libraries cannot be a things like ‘a one stop source for information’ or ‘to increase the profile of the library’ or even ‘one card, one catalogue, one collection’. All of that is good but it is about the library and not about impact. Until we discipline ourselves to focus and talk about social impact, we will continue to ‘get what we always got’. No one gets tingly about a “vision” that does not express the ‘why’ or the point of our activities.
It takes courage to have a real vision that expresses impact and then to hold ourselves accountable for it. Without that courage, clarity and accountability, how can we expect the support necessary to move forward? A meaningful vision for Alberta’s libraries could relate to literacy levels, high school dropout rates, the economy or some other widely accepted social issue. Then we must make the value of the library bloody obvious – how much in tangible, quantifiable measures do we impact the social issue? It’s scary to hold your feet to the fire but we do not have the right to complain about not being “on the radar screen” when the social impact of the library isn’t obvious.
Imagine the difference a unifying vision could make to our advocacy efforts. Advocacy continues to be a struggle in the library community because there is no coherent, cohesive rallying cry that people can get behind. A vision expressing social impact is needed to spur people on. We look forward to the unveiling this fall.
A new LAA Board was formed at the AGM in Jasper. Right to left, Anne Carr-Wiggin, Past President; Wendy Grønnestad-Damur, Director; Sona Kothari, Director; Christine Sheppard, Executive Director; Marianne Graff, 2nd Vice President; and Della Paradis, President. Missing: Karla Palichuk, 1st Vice President; Melanie Johnson, Treasurer; Virginia Clevette, Director; and Tim Janewski, Director.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 2 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Christine Sheppard
Exciting times lay ahead for LAA as we prepare to automate our membership and conference transactions. We are working on our website to make it easier to navigate and to enable us to keep it current and interesting.
Part of the website restructuring will include an automated option for membership renewal and conference registration. Our new structure will allow members to update their membership information, keeping the membership directory current throughout the year. We are also explor- ing options for an evergreen membership -- your membership would expire a year after you join -- and will keep you posted on our progress. We expect these changes to be in place by November of this year, just in time for membership renewals. We hope this will make your renewal faster and easier.
Alberta Library Conference 2007 was a major success with over 800 participants. Silken Laumann gave a moving and motivating keynote address and allowed me to wear her bronze medal -- the closest I'll ever get to Olympic glory! Silken talked about overcoming the tragedy of her rowing accident and the motivation it took to win the medal just weeks later. She said that when things don't go our way, that's not what does the damage. It's the fear that our idea wasn't good that keeps us from trying again.
Tod Mafin, our second keynote speaker, kept the crowd in stitches as he talked about our dependence on technology. He said that we aren't human beings anymore, we're "human doings". He talked about workplace stress being the number one cause of long-term disability claims in this country and we're doing to ourselves. Tod says that multitasking is a myth and I agree.
Conference evaluations were discussed at the recent ALC 2008 Planning Committee meeting on July 14. You told us loud and clear what you loved: the keynotes, the sessions, the Lodge, the service and the social events. You told us what you didn't like: the keynotes, the sessions, the Lodge, the service and the social events.
Some of you noted problems with the food and service at Jasper Park Lodge, particularly the quantity of food at the buffets and the price of meal tickets for delegates not staying on site. We take your comments seriously and will work with the Lodge to bring about a solution to these challenges. We have forwarded your comments to the Lodge so that they can prepare some solutions before we meet with them to negotiate our contract for 2008.
I'm happy to report that our new reservations cancellation policy resulted in an additional 45 rooms that were available to conference delegates. I know that some of you were unable to get rooms in the Lodge and had to stay downtown. LAA believes that part of the success of our conference is directly related to the location. Many of you told us not to change it! So book early.
We are very excited to announce that our keynote speaker for ALC 2008 is John Wood. John is the Founder and CEO of Room to Read. He started Room to Read after a fast-paced and distinguished career with Microsoft from 1991 to 1999, where he was in charge of marketing and business development teams throughout Asia. Becoming aware of the world’s staggering literacy problem, Wood became fiercely dedicated to finding a solution. Room to Read was founded on the belief that ‘World Change Starts with Educated Children’ – and that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Through partnerships with local communities, Room to Read works to create educational opportunities and establish educational infrastructure. By partnering with local communities, Room to Read has opened a network of over 3,600 libraries with more than 2.5 million books distributed. They support over 2,300 girls with long-term scholarships and sponsored the opening of more than 280 schools with the goal of helping at least 10 million children gain the lifelong gift of education by the year 2020. The organization currently operates in eight countries in Asia and Africa, ranging from Cambodia to Nepal to South Africa and Zambia.
We know that John will inspire and enlighten us.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 3 ALC Action ...
Welcome to Jasper Park Lodge! Jerry Lupul, ATM Agencies, chats with potential customers.
Nora Robinson, back, and Sheryl Pelletier, right, chat with Brandi Mah at the LAA Store.
Minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ray Danyluk, visits the exhibits. The Minister told us during his luncheon address, "I am passionate about libraries!"
Andy Becker, left, and Salvy Trojman, centre, from Thomson Gale, share wisdom with Mike Burris, Executive Director of BCLA.
Frank Webb, trustee from Sylvan Lake Library, visits the Spectrum booth.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 4 Bernadette McCormack from Hummingbird Studio was a new exhibitor this year. We hope she comes back! ALC co-chair Marianne Graff and Louise Frolek, both from Yellowhead Regional Library, pose with Silken Laumann's bronze medal.
Richard Harvey, from Metrovino in Calgary, treated 75 lucky people to a cham- pagne tasting, including this stunning Cattier Champagne Rosé Brut from France.
See you next year ...
The gang from TAL took best group prize for their Saturday night costumes. Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 5 ASSOCIATION NEWS
LAA Continuing Education Grant Deadline Sept. 15
Virginia Clevette Continuing Education Committee Chair
You are invited to submit applications for LAA Continuing Education Grants. The next deadline is September 15th, 2007. Grants provide financial support for continuing education activities in order to advance library service in the province of Alberta. Preference will be given to those activities carried out in Alberta. Individual awards will not exceed $500. Applicants who have not been awarded previous LAA assistance will be given first consideration.
Applications will be considered in the following three categories: • Category 1: Subsidy to enhance library experience • Category 2: Subsidy to pursue further formal library training • Category 3: Subsidy to attend conferences, workshops and seminars
For more information and links to forms, please see http://www.laa.ca/continuing_education/education_grants.cfm
Mail your application to LAA Continuing Education Committee, 80 Baker Cres. NW, Calgary, AB T2L 1R4 Applications must be received by the deadline of September 15th, 2007.
Call for Proposals for ALC 2008
The Alberta Library Conference (ALC) 2008 Planning Committee invites proposals for sessions for next year’s conference in Jasper, Alberta, April 24-27, 2008. The ALC 2008 theme is: Reach Out: Step Away from the Desk
Libraries and Library Boards are changing traditional service delivery in many ways. We are reaching out to our communities, bringing the library to more people, of all ages and cultures, outside the library walls. People in the community are using their library online without ever coming to the Circulation Desk. Reference librarians are leaving the Reference Desk to bring information to students wherever they are, across campus or via social software. Library Boards are taking up the challenge of creating partnerships, and planning to meet the needs of the younger generation and the growing population of the elderly in innovative ways. Our theme this year celebrates these developments and aims to support library staff and trustees in their activities to expand and enhance library service.
Sessions may be of general interest to the library community in Alberta or directed towards the membership of the co-sponsoring organizations: the Alberta Library Trustees Association or the Library Association of Alberta. The committee aims to provide a range of sessions. Proposals of interest to staff and trustees from libraries of all types and sizes are welcome. Please include with your proposal: • the session title/proposed topic • a brief abstract • the target audience • a brief summary of the speaker’s experience with the topic • expected remuneration
Proposals for pre-conference full or half day sessions are also welcome.
We are interested in receiving proposals from trustees for sessions that would provide education and training for Library Board members. Please share this call for sessions with your Board and with colleagues in your organization. Please email session proposals by August 15th, 2007 to Joan MacDonald at [email protected]
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 6 Edmonton Public Library Wins LAA Award of Excellence
Kathleen Pine, Manager Children’s Division, Stanley A. Milner Library
The Edmonton Public Library has won the Library Association of Alberta Award of Ex- cellence for its teen services. This award recognizes EPL’s commitment to bringing teens into the library by enhancing its activi- ties, collections and services for young peo- ple.
Starting with its Year of the Teen, held in 2005, EPL has carried through with teen initiatives in several areas. Branches set up designated areas with “teen friendly” furni- ture to make them feel welcome. A special position was created so that a teen-services librarian could be hired to act as a system- Kathleen Pine and Wendy Grønnestad-Damur accept the Award wide resource person. She helped branches of Excellence on Behalf of Edmonton Public Library. to set up teen advisory groups which have been quite active across the system. These teen volunteers help library staff plan activities, and make recommendations about what music, movies, books and magazines the Library should add to its collection.
EPL went a step further by creating a special, new collection of music CDs and movie DVDs called Flicks & Tunes To Go, especially targeted to its teen customers. Most of these titles were suggested by teen advisory group volunteers. Non-fiction collections of interest to teens were gathered and displayed together in many locations to make it easier for young people to find such material. Sample topics include Do It Yourself, Urban Legends, Resumé Writing and Sex Education. Many teens like graphic novels, so the Library’s graphic-novel budget was increased to meet this demand. Library statistics show that these efforts have paid off – circulation of young adult materials was 225,816 in 2004; in 2006 that number jumped to 491,624.
EPL is especially proud of one of its most popular teen programs, the Teen Gamers Palace, in which youth between the ages of 12 and 17 were invited to selected branches to “take over the library” for an evening.
Held on several evenings in 2005 and 2006, the program started as a pilot project in partnership with Child Friendly Edmonton. Child Friendly Edmonton, a City of Edmonton initiative, wanted to give youth in lower-income areas a fun and safe place to spend a Friday evening, and EPL was looking for ways to bring in teens so they could get to know their library. Child Friendly Edmonton provided funding and EPL took care of the rest.
Under the supervision of library staff, the teens ate pizza, used library computers, played Dance Dance Revolution and other PS2 games, listened to music and sang Karaoke. Traditional board games such as Twister were also popular. Gamers Palace was held after regular hours so that the young people could have the place to themselves. Attendance ranged from about 25 to 85 at the various events.
“I never saw the library look so cool,” was a comment from one youth, and similar sentiments were expressed by many others.
Teen programming in general has increased at the Edmonton Public Library on an ongoing basis. The Library held 93 teen programs in 2005 which were attended by 1,095 teens. In 2006, the number of programs offered increased substantially, and overall attendance was up by 55 per cent.
Branches across the system are offering a wide variety of events. Themes or topics have included urban legends, murder mysteries, duct-tape crafts and a teen book club. The Teen Survivor online reading club runs throughout
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 7 the summer. In this innovative program, teens are invited to read from a list of book titles and vote off two books a week until only the “survivor” remains. Participants can win all sorts of prizes, including iPods. Several libraries all over Canada have now started similar summer reading programs, modelled after EPL’s.
Some branches have had video-game tournaments. Other events have included a fashion show at West Edmonton Mall, the Banned Books Café (an annual public forum organized by the Stanley A. Milner Library’s Teen Advisory Board to mark Freedom to Read Week) and Open Mic for Teens.
In another campaign to raise its profile with teens, the Library ran a promotion last September called “Back to Cool,” in partnership with 91.7 The Bounce. EPL designed and hosted a successful contest on the Library website, www.epl.ca, which The Bounce promoted on air – bringing the added benefit of increasing many teens’ awareness of the EPL website and the services and resources offered there. Five Back to Cool winners were chosen. Each received a pair of tickets to last October’s Black Eyed Peas concert, plus a lunch-hour pizza party for their entire school.
EPL had a booth at all five parties, and staff mingled with hundreds of students and handed out promotional items. The highlight for the students was a draw the Library held at each party to give away an iPod.
EPL has worked hard over the last two years to make its libraries welcoming and responsive to youths. The Library is very pleased with the progress it has made and looks forward to many more years of excellent service to our teen customers.
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Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 8 LAA Annual General Meeting
LAA President Anne Carr-Wiggin, right, thanked outgoing Board members Judy Moore, left, and Debbie Feisst, for their many contributions to the Association. Judy served at 1st Vice Presi- dent, President and Past Presi- dent from 2004 to 2007. Debbie was a Director on the Board and chaired the Continuing Education Committee. Absent from the meeting were outgoing Treasurer Rachel Sarjeant-Jenkins, who served two terms from 2003 to 2007, and Director Myra Skaronski who served as Chair of the Member Services Committee.
The recipients of the 2007 Student Awards were, left to right, Michelle Cunningham, SAIT, Sarah Polkinghorne, SLIS, and Judy Prowse, GMC. The fourth Award went to Soleil Surette, SLIS, who was unable to attend the confer- ence. The students are chosen by their respective schools and each receive $200, waived conference registration and a travel allowance to attend the conference.
Outgoing President Anne Carr- Wiggin, left, handed over the traditional gavel to incoming President Della Paradis.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 9 AROUND THE PROVINCE
EPL and Transit Join Forces to “Catch” People Reading Sarah Jackson
They were dressed in black and jumped on buses and Edmonton’s Light Rapid Transit trains with one mission – to catch people… READING!
From October 2006 to June 2007, the Edmonton Public Library and the Edmonton Transit System joined forces to raise public awareness about the importance of adult literacy and the benefit it brings to the community, with a unique promotional campaign called Get Caught Reading.
Once a month, a “Reading Reconnaissance Team” of library and transit staff members – accompanied by Transit’s enormous mascot named Captain Commute – ventured forth to look for passengers they could “catch” reading on buses, the LRT and at transit centres. The choice of reading material didn’t matter. The “culprits” were rewarded with books and prizes as long as they were reading something, whether it was a novel, textbook, newspaper or magazine. The passengers were also invited to join the “I Got Caught Reading” online club hosted on the EPL website where there were contests, book lists, information about Library and Transit events, and special offers for those who signed up. This was the second successful year of a partnership that has been struck between EPL and Edmonton Transit called Read ‘n Ride.
“After last year’s great success, we were very excited to team up with Edmonton Transit again. Our partner- ship allows us to reach the large numbers of people who use the time offered during their commute to read,” said Linda Cook, Director of the Edmonton Public Library. The Reading Reconnaissance Team from the Edmonton Public Library and the Edmonton Transit System gets an “The Reading Reconnaissance Team allowed EPL early start to “catch” transit riders reading. From left to right: staff to be out in the community that they serve, to Pat Jobb, EPL Associate Director of Public Services; Sarah meet customers and potential users of the Library,” Jackson, EPL Special Events Co-ordinator; Sherryl Cook added. Petterson, EPL Manager of Marketing and Communica- tions; Edmonton Transit mascot ‘Captain Commute’; “Whenever you get on a bus or LRT, look around and Margaret Dorey, Accessible Transit Coordinator, Edmon- see how many people have taken this opportunity to ton Transit System. grab a few extra minutes with their favourite book,” said Margaret Dorey, Accessible Transit Coordinator, Community Relations, Edmonton Transit System.
“Transit riders gain invaluable relaxation by beating the frustrations of driving through traffic and letting ETS take them to their destination. We couldn’t think of a better way to start or end your day.”
When the Reading Reconnaissance Team first began its missions, boarding buses armed with bullhorns and an imposing-looking Captain Commute, some passengers were startled. They would shove their papers and books under the seats as if they shouldn’t be reading. But once the team reassured them they were being rewarded, they were put at ease.
However by June, many transit users were familiar with the program, having learned about it from media coverage and the Library and Transit websites. Passengers would dig through their bags and purses for their reading material as the Reconnaissance Team approached so they could qualify for the gift packages.
This year’s campaign has drawn to a close, but the Edmonton Public Library and Edmonton Transit are already looking forward to teaming up again in the fall with another Read ‘n Ride program, building on the success of the first two years.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 10 Rocky Public Library Offers Books to Go! Program Karen Paquette, Library Manager Rocky Mountain House Public Library
The Books to Go! Program at the Rocky Mountain House Public Library is an outreach program that provides a “mini” library of picture books to day homes and daycare facilities in the community. The goal of the Books to Go! Program is to nurture and support early reading habits and to encourage families to use the library by making library services more accessible.
Libraries traditionally support early literacy initiatives through story time programs for babies, toddlers and preschool age children and these sessions are well attended by patrons who are already library users. Libraries also traditionally offer support to other agencies by offering free meeting room space for community based literacy programs that have the potential to bring non-library users into the library. Outreach programs, like the Books to Go! Program, take the next step in connecting with families who are unable to benefit from traditional library service.
A love of reading and the inclination to become a lifelong library user is formed in the preschool years. Research shows the need for children aged 0 to 6 years to have sustained stimulation and attention if they are to achieve their fullest potential as adults. Children who have been immersed in literacy experiences that are fun, exciting and enjoyable are more likely to read later because they associate reading and writing with pleasurable experiences. The family unit provides the strongest influence in the process of becoming literate. Parents and caregivers must provide literacy experiences on a daily basis in order to lay the foundation for life long learning and success in school. Early literacy programs that support the family are essential.
Libraries play an important role in supporting early literacy, especially for those parents who have not used books and language-related activities with very young children. Libraries can offer support to families by raising awareness of the services provided at the public library and by providing easy access to materials and resources.
The purpose of the Books to Go! Program is to enhance early literacy, to provide access to library services and to encourage families to become library users. There are 3 parts to the Books to Go! Program:
1) A year-round lending library providing a bookshelf and books for family day homes and daycare facilities in the community. The caregivers are encouraged to visit the public library periodically to return the bag of books and get a new one. 2) Pamphlets and information on early literacy for parents. 3) A visit by the librarians to each day home or day care to offer a half-hour story time program (stories, songs, puppets, games and crafts). When they visit, the librarians will also bring a “Stories to Go” bag that contains a flannel board story, book list, craft ideas, etc.
At the launch of the program at the library, the caregivers in attendance were given an overview of the program. They were excited and pleased with the concept. Sixteen bookshelves loaded with quality children’s picture books were distributed. Since then, there has been a steady stream of caregivers coming to the library on a regular basis to exchange their books for new ones. The overall response has been very positive.
The success of the Books to Go! Program relies on partnering with service agencies in the community. By working together, we have been able to put reading materials in the hands of children. The program provides a way for families and the library to work together in creating a strong link with the public library.
The Rocky Mountain House Public Library used funding from the Clearwater Regional FCSS along with funds from the Provincial Service Grant and an anonymous donation to create the Books to Go! Program. The program is modelled after Library Links for Life, developed at the Kitchener Public Library in Ontario.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 11 Harry's Arrival Doesn't Have to End the Fun
Kathleen Troppmann, Chair LAA Children and Teen Services Interest Group
While some people enjoyed Waiting for Godot most people were less enthusiastic about waiting for Harry. Potter that is. On July 21, we all found out what really happened to Harry and his friends. According to Amazon.ca, Amazon pre-sold over 1.2 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows worldwide. Libraries everywhere ordered multiple copies the holds are piling up, but what do we do until we can get our hands on a copy? Luckily the movie version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out July 11th, but that can only hold you for so long. There was much speculation about the potential outcomes, spinning off books and websites that tried to predict the conclusion. Here are some of them.
Websites to visit www.jkrowling.com This is J.K Rowling’s official site. Take some time to wander around and find out more about the author, the books and have some fun. If you spend some time digging around the site you will find lots of extra content and easter eggs. There is even a room with a locked door that needs to be opened. I haven’t figured it out yet but I’m sure the kids have! www.harrypotter.warnerbros.com This is the official Warner Brothers site for the Harry Potter movies. They have fun downloads and a great design site for making your own Death Eater mask. There are also online games, news, and character bios. http://scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/ Scholastic books is the official publisher of Harry Potter in the United States. Their site has games, discussion guides, pronunciation guides, activities, and a discussion board. www.mugglenet.com www.the-leakycauldron.net www.potterish.com These are some very popular fan sites dedicated to all things Harry. If you don’t get your fill from these, check out the links page on mugglenet.com or the links page on jkrowling.com.
Books to try
Is Albus Dumbledore really dead? Who will end up with whom? Where are all the horcruxes? Is Snape good or evil? And, most importantly, will Harry survive the final battle with Lord Voldemort? Check out these titles for all the background, theories and literary dissection.
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A Treasury of Myths Legends and Fascinating Facts David Colbert Colbert explains all the myths and legends that appear in the background of Harry Potter. Covering a wide geographic area and time span, you are introduced to other wizards such as Circe and Merlin, as well as alchemists of the Middle Ages. There is also information about the fantastical creatures Harry encounters such as the hippogriff and phoenix.
The End of Harry Potter? David Langford Using his deep knowledge of the Harry Potter universe, Langford digs through the rumours spawned by the slightest hint from Rowling to come up with his own theories about what will happen at the end of the Harry Potter series. This book is a great way to refresh yourself on the first six books while waiting impatiently for the last one.
MuggleNet.com’s What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7? Ben Schoen Written by the experts at MuggleNet.com, this book gives bold predictions backed up by extensive fact-finding. They use their background knowledge of the last six books as well as the accumulated wisdom of MuggleNet fans
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 12 and interviews with J.K. Rowling to present their findings. Maybe by the time you get to their predictions you will already know the truth.
If pondering Harry’s fate doesn’t satisfy, you should check out one of the many Harry “Readalike” lists. Just search ‘Harry Potter readalikes’ in Google and you’ll be overwhelmed. It is interesting to note that the readalikes for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince don’t closely resemble the lists that were produced in 1997. Harry at eleven is quite different from Harry at seventeen. Harry is firmly in Young Adult territory with girlfriends (ick! say the eleven year olds), misunderstandings with friends and emotional outbursts. The dark side of wizardry is much stronger and darker at the end of the series. While some younger children can handle the scary bits, some would rather stay safely with young Harry.
So what do librarians suggest to older Harry Potter fans? It really depends on what part of the Harry Potter phenomenon appeals to them the most. If they like the magic and wizardry, try Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series, beginning with So You Want to be a Wizard. With eight books in the series, Duane’s books can keep voracious readers busy for a week. If teen readers enjoy the epic battle of good and evil Susan Cooper’s classic The Dark is Rising might appeal as would Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. Both series involve children in a battle for good versus the overpowering forces of evil. Of course, the Narnia series and The Lord of the Rings are perfect suggestions, but the popularity of recent movie versions means they may already been devoured by strong readers. If teen readers want more humour you might suggest Robert Asprin’s Myth Series. The puns are awful, but the language is brilliant and even reluctant readers will get a laugh. As for the romance aspect, there are more than enough tragic romance novels in any young adult collection to satisfy, but finding the right mix of magic and romance can be difficult. Start with Bras and Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski.
AALT Presents Awards At Annual Conference At the 33rd AALT Conference held at the Delta Edmonton South in Edmonton, Alberta, on May 24 – 27, 2007, the Student Bursary Awards, the Dewey Award, Bernice Neufeld Special Service awards, Advocacy Award, Library Technician Award of Excellence, and an Honorary Membership were presented. In recognition of academic achievement and potential contributions to the library technician profession, outgoing AALT President and Chair of the Awards Committee, Marcia Wong presented the AALT Student Bursary Awards to Grant MacEwan student Marilyn Doyle and SAIT student Kerry Van Leeuwen. The Dewey Award this year, which recognizes the efforts of a Board member who has gone above and beyond the call of duty, was presented to Lynda Shurko. Lynda was the Programs North Director as well as the Acting Secretary for the entire term. She also worked closely with the Membership Committee.
The Bernice Neufeld Special Service awards, which were renamed in 2006 in recognition of the drive, dedication and perseverance of Bernice Neufeld in the creation of AALT, were presented to Margaret Clarke for her contributions to the Programs North and Conference committees as well as her willingness to assist the Board in various projects; Carol Fowler for her work on the AALT website, particularly the AALT Job Boards; Dianne Guidera for work on the AALT job profiles video, grant applications, conference website and a number of Board tasks; Marnie McFarland, the new AALT Web Site Director who has been invaluable in terms of the AALT Link Library, and finally, to Jenna Innes, Blanka Kaiser, and Conchita Rico for their enthusiastic and valuable contributions to the AALT Conference Committee, which helped to make the conference that much more successful! Jenna Innes is the recipient of the 2007 Alberta Association of Library Technicians (AALT) Advocacy Award. This award may be given annually by AALT to recognize the efforts of an individual who has had a positive influence on Library Technicians and Library Operation Assistants in Alberta.
Eileen Davis, Library Technician and Cataloguing Manager at the Shortgrass Library System, is the recipient of the 2007 Library Technician Award of Excellence. This award was created to recognize the efforts of a library technician who has made a major contribution to the library field in Alberta. To finish off the Awards presentations, Marcia Wong presented long time AALT volunteer and Board member, Lynda Shurko with an Honorary Membership in recognition of her many years of dedicated service to the association. Lynda has been an active AALT member for 30 years.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 13 Spruce Grove Public Library Opens in New Facility
Spruce Grove Library Staff
It’s been a long road for the Spruce Grove Public Library to find a permanent home. The Spruce Grove Community Library opened its doors to the public for the first time on June 23, 1961. Since then, it’s been shuffled around town five times, most recently occupying the Saan store location in King Street Mall, a “temporary” location for 16 years!
On February 20, 2007, we ushered in a new era in our history when we opened the doors to our new, permanent home in the Melcor Cultural Centre, located on the southeast corner of the new King Street Plaza. We’ve expanded from 10,000 to 18,000 sq. ft., with a future option on an additional 9000 sq. ft., giving us room to grow. Step into the new Spruce Grove Public Library and you may think you’ve walked into a high-end bookstore. With a beautiful com- bination of natural light provided by the skylights and well-designed artificial lighting, accompanied by the architectural features and inviting décor, the space is very welcoming.
The Melcor Cultural Centre is home to both the Spruce Grove Public Library and the Art Gallery. The library boasts a separate Children’s Library, a dedicated program room and a separate program room for program preparation. A water feature is the focal point of our donor wall, known as the Library Legacy wall and our cozy fireplace corner, with comfortable furniture is a lovely place to curl up with a good read. Other new features include all new shelving with wood panel ends, public meeting rooms, the Teen corner, a separate circulation workroom, public washrooms and adequate storage space.
It is only through the generosity of our community that we have been able to add all of the special features to the new library. Donations from the Spruce Grove Rotary Club and McDonald’s provided significant contributions to the Children’s area, Beaverbrook Developments sponsored the Non-Fiction section and a number of other companies and individuals stepped for- ward with donations that allowed us to build a Capital Campaign fund and furnish the new facility.
For our first year of operation in the new space, the City of Spruce Grove generously provided $70,000.00 to boost our collection, as well as contributing to the purchase of an RFID system from 3M. We were able to convert the majority our collection over to RFID in less than a month and we went operational in May 2007. We are proud to be the first library in Canada to have an RFID book return, called a “Smart Chute”. Staff were thrilled the first time they went to check in books and the books were already checked in! On May 3 of 2007, the City hosted the Grand Opening of the Melcor Cultural Centre. It was a lovely evening, complete with a champagne reception and ribbon cutting ceremony. In spite of the cold, rainy weather, over 400 people attended the event and enjoyed tours of the new library, children’s crafts and live entertainment.
We love to give tours, so if you’re in the area stop in and say hi or call ahead and we’ll set some time aside to give you the behind the scenes tour of our new home!
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 14 To the Library Community of Alberta, Summer always marks a new year for students and this June is no different. As some of the students in the MLIS program graduate and start their professional careers others are trying out new library positions for the first time, or are returning to their favourite summer jobs. As a milestone in all of our experiences, the summer is a good time for reflection about the past (school) year. Regardless of what studies have been completed and what credits still need to be filled there is a general recognition that the information gathered during the past twelve months was enhanced by the contributions of the library community of Alberta.
At every level you have supported our entrance into the profession. Your continued support of the partners’ week job shadowing experience in November and January has provided invaluable exposure to a wealth of employment options. Your participation in Professional Development Day in early February contributes immensely to the forum in which we can learn from your expertise. In addition to these commitments, many of you have also visited us in the classroom, providing important workplace insights as guest lecturers or instructors. Your contributions to our growth as librarians take place on a regular basis at reference desks, in classrooms and at social events. You have made countless contributions, sometimes without even knowing it, and for that we are grateful.
On behalf of the current and graduating students of SLIS, the Library and Information Studies Students’ Association would like to thank you, the library community of Alberta, for your continuing contributions to our educational and professional development. We look forward to the year ahead, to meeting you in new places and sharing information in new ways. We are delighted to be a part of this community and look forward to encountering you again, as students and as colleagues.
Sincerely, The Library and Information Studies Students’ Association (LISSA) On behalf of the current and graduating students of the School of Library and Information Studies, U of A Innovative Partnership Brings a New Service to Alberta
Laura Godfrey, Librarian Learning Links Resource Centre
The Calgary Learning Centre and Literacy Alberta launched a new resource centre named LearningLinks Resource Centre for professionals and families looking for information on literacy, learning difficulties and attention issues.
In this joint venture the two organizations have combined their individual library and resource collections to form one impressive collection located at the Calgary Learning Centre.
Literacy Alberta and the Calgary Learning Centre are confident that the combined operation of LearningLinks will: • Contribute to the creation of a learning culture of learning. • Become a centre of activity, giving the community greater capacity to support persons with literacy and learning difficulties. • Ensure greater access to information by a wider audience across Alberta. • Provide the transfer of knowledge to individuals across the province. • Provide a broader base of resources for patrons. • Enable a greater opportunity to expand the collection.
LearningLinks contains one of the largest collections of resources on literacy, learning disabilities and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in western Canada.
Literacy Alberta and the Calgary Learning Centre celebrated the launch of LearningLinks and their innovative partnership on Thursday May 31, 2007.
Visit www.calgarylearningcentre.com. Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 15 Grande Prairie Writers Find Their Dreams
The winning entries have been decided in the Grande Prairie Public Li- brary’s 19th Annual Clem and Muriel Collins Writing Contest. This year’s theme was “Dreams”.
”Each year we’re so impressed with the quality of writing submitted to this contest,” says Laura Reilly, Children and Youth Services Librarian. The theme of “Dreams” seemed to spark added creativity in the writers. “There were so many wonderful interpretations of a dream,” says Reilly.
The writing contest is sponsored by long time Grande Prairie resident Clem Collins in memory of his wife Muriel. It is open to writers in Grande Prairie and area and has categories ranging from Grades 1 - 3 to Adult. “This contest would not be possible without the continued support of Mr. Collins,” says Reilly.
Thirteen judges from the community volunteered to judge the many entries. This is the first year that the entries will be professionally published by the Grande Prairie Public Library. “We hope that the prospect of being pub- lished might encourage more writers to become involved,” adds Reilly.
The 21 winning writers have been honoured at an awards evening held in June at the Grande Prairie Public Library. To purchase a copy of Dreams for your Library, please contact Laura Reilly at (780) 532-3580 ext 227 or by email at [email protected].
Chinook Arch Celebrates 15 Years of Municipal Cooperation
Chinook Arch Regional Library System celebrated fifteen years of service to southwest Alberta with the help of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on Thursday, June 21. The System, a partnership of member municipalities, was created in 1992 by 22 member municipalities in the region to maximize library resource sharing and services to the public. In 2007, 39 municipalities are now participating in the regional library service which serves 168,990 people.
Chinook Arch works with 33 libraries in the region to facilitate: sharing of more than 750,000 books and other library materials; 24/7 access to online library resources; worldwide interlibrary loan service; access to collections of foreign language materials, talking books, audio-visual materials and large print books; and reading programs like the teen online reading club.
Chinook Arch celebrated the achievements of the System and the southwest Alberta people who were instrumental in the development of enhanced library services for the region at an informal supper on Thursday, June 21, 2007. “We are eager to recognize the great work done by so many staff and board members over the years to make Chinook Arch the great system and resource it is to libraries in the southwest” said Doug Cooper, Chair of Chinook Arch Library Board. “All involved really have done an amazing job in not only creating a great system, but also in keeping it vibrant and progressive.”
Member library boards and councils and other elected officials were invited to help celebrate. The Hon. Ray Danyluk, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, was the guest speaker at the celebrations at System Headquarters.
Chinook Arch Regional Library System assists a network of cooperating libraries in southwest Alberta to provide cost-effective, convenient access to information and library resources.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 16 Calgary Public Library Honours Volunteers
Ellen Humphrey Calgary Public Library
Volunteers Applauded Friday, April 20th was the night Calgary Public Library honoured the very best of its more than 1,300 volunteers. The event was attended by hundreds of volunteers, staff and Board members who came to pay tribute to their remarkable contributions. Over the course of the last year, CPL volunteers contributed over 25,000 hours in 17 different programs. Inspiring speeches from volunteers recognized for their extra efforts made CPL proud that they chose the Library as the vehicle for their community commitment.
Also in line for kudos were some of CPL’s partners, including the Family History Society, who provide expert genealogy volunteers, and the Pet Access League Society (PALS), who brighten everyone’s day when they let the dogs out in Library locations to listen to children who are struggling readers.
Some of our award winning volunteers, including Janet Cable, John Dutton Volunteer of the Year (middle row, centre).
Dazzling and Roving CPL’s Librarians began rolling out the Library’s new Signature Service initiative in May. CPL already has high marks for its service, but the desire to constantly improve is one of the things that characterizes the system. Training in Signature Service is designed to put some more tools in the hands of Customer Service staff, to help us move from excellent to exceptional service for every customer, every time. It consists of two elements: Dazzling Service means making every customer feel special; Roving Reference means taking service to the customers, where they are. The staff are also sporting “Ask Me” buttons to encourage customers not to be shy!
The Golden Age of Dating In May, the Calgary Public Library’s Crowfoot branch delivered a new program – Dating for Seniors. This program was initiated by a staff member after she saw a trailer for a movie which explored dating and sexual practices for seniors. She wondered how we might do a PG rated version at CPL, and a new program was born! The program was primarily informational and covered basic tips for using the Internet to find other seniors to spend time with or even to meet for possible dating opportunities. The presenter was Christine Hart, President of Six Minute Dates, a dating service that allows individuals to meet at organized functions or online. With an audience of 23, including 8 nattily dressed older gentlemen, the program will run again in the spring of 2008.
It’s a Crime…is a Winner! The American Library Association has chosen CPL’s It’s a Crime Not to Read as winner of the 2007 Marshall Cavendish Excellence in Library Programming Award, the first Canadian Library to be so recognized. The program, delivered in partnership with Calgary Police Service and schools in both Boards of Education, involves monthly visits by CPL staff and a police officer to schools in high needs areas. The Officer reads aloud to Grade 2 and 3 students, fostering a love of reading and positive community relationships. Gerry Meek, Director, and Judith Umbach, CPL Board Chair, attended the ALA Conference in Washington DC in June where they proudly accepted the citation and $2,000 Award.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 17 Drayton Valley Municipal Library Celebrates its 50th Anniversary
Jennifer Cameron Training & Development Librarian Yellowhead Regional Library
In June of 2007, the Drayton Valley Municipal Library celebrated its 50th Anniversary. It is a significant milestone in the history of an organization that, from its very humble beginnings as a volunteer project by the Women’s Institute, continues growing and serving the community. It is a time for reflection on those individual and organizations that have played a role in its growth; a time to savour the successes and a time to plan for the future.
Starting out as a volunteer project of the Women’s Institute in June 1957 the Community Library was located in a vacant classroom. In 1959 the library relocated to the Town Administration building and gained municipal status in 1965. Now called the Drayton Valley Municipal Library, we joined the Yellowhead Regional Library system in 1977. The Library rapidly outgrew this facility and moved twice more. Today we are in the Drayton Valley Civic Centre that houses the Administrative offices of the Town, the Library and the Fire Hall.
The Library boasts a very bright, spacious and modern interior accentuated by a highly vaulted ceiling, large windows, wide aisles, modern furniture and a fine circulation desk. The bright, bold colors add an air of vibrancy to the interior and this includes the bright red reading tub that is an ever popular feature in the Children’s section. People who have visited have always been struck by the spaciousness of the high ceiling!
Putting Drayton Valley Library on the Map: Along the way we have scored many firsts; the first Library in Alberta to offer the services of an in-house Bookshop; the first rural Library to offer Internet access and first in Canada to be an Internet Service Provider (ISP) generating revenue for the Library. We won the provincial “Creative Librarianship Award” in 1994 for our marketing efforts. In 1999, the Library also received the Library Association of Alberta (LAA) Award of Excellence in Library Service for the “Battle of the Books” children’s program!
In September 2005 we joined an elite few Libraries in Alberta and eliminated library membership fees for residents of the Town and Brazeau County to commemorate the Centennial year of the Province and to honor the late Governor General, Lois Hole who had always been an ardent supporter of libraries and an advocate of free library service.
Our Library is the largest public library within the Brazeau County. We provide a comprehensive range of modern library services to the residents of the County and the Town.
Additional Services and Programs: Our flagship program that we are all proud of is the annual Battle of the Books, a true partnership program with the local elementary schools.
Battle of the Books was introduced in 1996 to expose young kids to the library, books and reading through a quiz. Schools form teams of four in either grade 3/4 or 5/6. The teams are given blocks of books to be read by team members. Much like many TV quiz shows, they have to hit the button when they know the answer. Very exciting for the students themselves and the audience as well. All of the schools including Wildrose Home Educators participate.
The Library has expanded its role over the years and continues to offer an ever expanding range of services to the public and, therefore, aptly lays claim to the byline of “More than just books…”
For the future, Drayton Valley Municipal Library is set on course not only to provide the best in service, material and technology but to also remain at the forefront in the delivery of innovative information services. We are currently planning the building of a branch library in partnership with the Catholic school division at their new school located adjacent to the recreation complex. We are also looking forward to more exciting time in the near future when we start planning the expansion of the Main Library.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 18 Beaumont Library News Marybeth Zelent
Beaumont Library has been awarded $10,000.00 from Landmark Group of Builders to build a glassed-in quiet area in the library. John Schenk from Landmark presented the cheque to librarian Val McGillivray on May 23rd with about 50 people present, including Beaumont’s Mayor Camille Berube and several members of the library board. The glassed-in quiet area will be dedicated at the end of September upon completion.
The 4th Annual Friends of the Beaumont Library Fun Run & Walk for Literacy drew 200 participants in the 4km walk, run & 8 km run on May 27th. Many families participated, kids rode their bikes or were pushed in strollers. The Fun Run & Walk for Literacy was so much fun but more importantly than that we raised enough money to facilitate the Summer Reading Buddies Program again this year. This is a free program that enables children to maintain or improve their reading skills over the summer months. We pair young readers with older students.
The preschool storytime children had a wild rodeo after making hobby horses from socks, wool and a pool noodle. The children came dressed as cowboys and cowgirls and we played Go, Go, Go Whoa! and had a barrel race! The preschool storytime children also had a Name the Goat contest. We had 3 baby goats come to the library to visit the children. They each entered a name or names for the goats. The winners will receive a certificate and book.
The Beaumont Library is trying something new. Banana Bunch is a fun filled program for Dayhome providers. We get to read, sing, play musical instruments and make crafts together. This program has been very well received.
The last Jr. Girls Book Club before the summer brought 37 girls out to make denim book bags and watch the movie “Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants”. Each girl brought an old pair of jeans that were cut off and sewn along the bottom (under the zipper) They decorated their book bags with fabric paint and glue on jewels. Some even cut a fringe. Then they used an old tie or scarf as a handle. I think we’ve started a new fad, watch for these funky cool book bags. Legacy Library Services Library Supplies • Archival • Kids’ Stuff Your best source for knowledgeable service and a wide range of quality products ... AUTOMATION – bar code labels, bar code scanners, portable data collection, receipt printers, tech support, software recommendations, supplies and more
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Welcome to our news from the School of Library & Information Studies (SLIS), University of Alberta. We encourage feedback from the community, and invite you to learn more about us by visiting our web page (www.slis.ualberta.ca).
At the Spring 2007 Convocation, SLIS congratulated 27 newly-minted MLIS graduates; best wishes to all of you, and to your families and friends who supported you throughout your studies. The MLIS program is a challenging one, and each of these graduates deserves to feel very proud of this accomplishment. Many of these graduates have already secured interesting professional positions—here is a sampling:
· Paula Aurini-Onderwater is an Archivist with the City of Edmonton Archives · Elena Doebele is Community Outreach Librarian at the Village Square Branch of Calgary Public Library · Delia Filipescu is this year’s Edmonton Public Library Intern – her job title is “Multicultural Community Development Intern” · Tamara Guillaume is Head Librarian, Whitecourt Public Library · Alison Henry has obtained a 2-year academic library internship with the University of Alberta Libraries · Brettany Johnson is working as an Information Specialist at the Centre for Health Evidence, University of Alberta · Jay Jorgensen is working as a Prospect Research Analyst with Advancement Research and Prospect Management in the Office of External Relations, University of Alberta · James MacDonald is the Training and Development Librarian at Northern Lights Library System · David Newman is a reference librarian at LDS Business College in his hometown of Salt Lake City, UT · Heather Simpson is Development Coordinator with North Lights Health Region, based in High Level, Alberta · Doug Whistance-Smith is a Research Assistant with the School of Public Health in the Department of Public Health
Special congratulations to Donna Riehl, who was presented with our Sarah Rebecca Reed Medal in Library and Information Studies at the pre-convocation lunch for graduating students and their guests, held on June 5. This medal is the School’s highest and most prestigious academic honour. It recognizes Donna’s outstanding performance in the program, as well as professional potential. This honour is accompanied by one year memberships in the Canadian Library Association and the Library Association of Alberta.
Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world. ~Ada Louise Huxtable
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 20 “Good Medicine” Tour was a Dream Come True for Peace Library System
Mary-Ann Thurber Communications Coordinator Peace Library System
Five days, 2,000 kilometres, over 350 chil- dren and lots of “good medicine”. Those are the bare facts about Peace Library System’s inaugural First Nations author tour but there is more to the story than that.
Peace Library System has been offering annual author visits to its member libraries since it began service in 1986. Libraries have played host to many talented authors over the years but there was always a sense that one important audience was not having its needs met: the Aboriginal people of north- western Alberta. Thanks to the Government of Alberta’s Public Library Service Grant, the Author Richard Van Camp, left, and artist George Littlechild with the Peace Library System was finally able to Peace Library System van in High Level. make a dream come true and arrange a tour of First Nations authors specifically targeted to First Nations and Métis people.
From May 28 to June 1, writer Richard Van Camp, a member of the Dogrib nation in the Northwest Territories, and writer/illustrator George Littlechild, a member of the Cree nation originally from Hobbema, visited nine communities from Calling Lake to Rainbow Lake, a distance of over 900 kilometres. The tour was designed to visit as many Peace Library System member libraries as possible, especially those that have a significant population of Métis or First Nations people living in the area.
The two artists were very excited about the tour especially for the chance to spread “good medicine” as Richard often said. During each stop on the tour, the presenters spent up to two hours in each community so that all audience members had the opportunity to visit with each presenter.
In his presentations, Richard discussed his two children’s picture books, What’s the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses? and A Man Called Raven, and shared stories of his Dene culture. He also touched on themes of bullying and told a story of when the two bullies that used to attack him the most as a child recently told him they now read his books to their children. George, who Artist George Littlechild helps a budding young illustrated Richard’s two picture books and is a nationally re- artist with his drawing nowned artist, worked with the children to improve their drawing skills while sharing with them the struggles he went through to become an artist. Raised as a foster child, George says he was fortunate that he had a foster mother who recognized his talents and sent him to drawing lessons.
For the communities hosting the visiting authors, the tour was exciting and educational but it was also an important chance for audience members to visit with two First Nations artists who have found ways to share their cultural experiences with the world and to celebrate their Aboriginal culture in words and pictures.
The Peace Library System is grateful to the Government of Alberta for the Public Library Service Grant which helped fund this very important author tour.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 21 ACROSS CANADA & BEYOND
Top 10 Reasons Why Canadian Public Libraries Implement RFID Jeff Narver 3M Canada
Technology seems to be changing our world – seemingly on the hour – and libraries and their needs are no exception.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) may not be the right tool for every library, and keeping up technologically with the Joneses may not be necessary or possible.
RFID can be an expensive and, if it’s not thoroughly integrated into existing library processes, confusing to staff and customers.
Why then, are more and more Canadian public libraries planning and implementing RFID? A systems librarian at one library, that has been using RFID for almost 4 years, suggested that there are only two reasons for a library to go RFID: if the library’s annual circulation is more than 700,000, or if they have the budget to implement it.
Most libraries that are discussing or implementing RFID have more than one motivator which, they believe, enhance the library experience for their staff and customers.
During my planning meetings with librarians and library staff, I’ve collected a list of their ten most common RFID objectives.
1) Enhancing the library mission: some libraries view RFID as an opportunity to enhance other, possibly neglected, parts of their mission by automating elements of their circulation activities and redeploying personnel. Library outreach programs such as language training, children’s programming and services for new Canadians can benefit from the energies of qualified and interested staff redeployed from a more automated circulation system.
2) Reducing repetitive stress injury: many librarians believe that RFID reduces elements of the circulation activities which may have contributed to repetitive stress complaints. Repetitive stress injury was a special concern in libraries which had to de-sensitize and re-sensitize their materials during circulation and open DVD and video cases to check contents. If RFID reduces item handling, then it should also reduce library repetitive stress problems.
3) Increasing the speed of circulation: RFID has been shown to reduce circulation congestion at both self-check stations, and at the circulation desk, by allowing for stacks of items to be checked out simultaneously. Many librarians believe that reducing circulation waits translates into better customer satisfaction.
4) Using windfall budgets: “We’ve got the money lets do it!” This doesn’t happen very often – lucky you if it does - but there have been a number of libraries that were able to skip a generation of technologies and go right to RFID.
5) Saving money: a return on investment calculation for RFID, dependent on some variables, shows an investment payback period of three to seven years. Libraries that have conducted a full ROI calculation believe that they can enjoy significant hard and soft savings into the future.
6) Management of future growth: the productivity gains of RFID may not be a current requirement, but in rapidly growing communities, library directors and boards are concerned about being able to offer the current level of services in the future. Increasing populations means increasing circulation, demands on, and the stretching of library services. Some libraries see a staged RFID implementation as a solution to future library resourcing problems.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 22 7) Producing shelf management gains: the speed and agility that RFID can provide to shelf management activities is a motivator for many libraries. Many libraries anticipate a faster more efficient process of searching for holds, and lost items, and conducting shelf order or weeding. A hand held RFID reader can make these processes faster and more efficient. As a bonus, many libraries find thousands of dollars worth of “lost” items when they first implement an RFID shelf management program.
8) Increasing speed to shelf: RFID can greatly enhance the speed of items getting back on the shelves and borrowed again. The use of automated sortation and conveying systems in combination with a real time ILS update mean library staff can more easily find a book that has been returned but not shelved. Some librarians believe that speed to shelf is important for customers looking for the latest best seller, but it can also increase annual circulation. In the end, it can positively impact the funding formulas of many public libraries.
9) Designing a new library: the very best time to discuss RFID is when a new library is being designed and constructed, or an existing building is renovated. The architect can, more easily, accommodate sortation and other equipment in the planning stage, and an RFID investment seems less significant when rolled into a capital building or renovation budget.
10) Creating a destination library: most libraries wouldn’t specifically identify the creation of a destination library as part of their RFID decision. However, by going to RFID, a library will be on the leading edge of a new technology and should enhance their customer experience. Early adopter libraries may also find that an increasing number of their visitors are librarians and staff from other libraries looking for more information about RFID.
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Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 23 In Case of a Reading Emergency, Pop the Trunk
Brian Doyle, Editor Portland Magazine, University of Portland
While rummaging in my car the other day I discovered Eudora Welty and James Herriot pressed together intimately in the trunk, which I bet is a sentence never written before.
My first thought, of course, after finding them face to face, was who would win a fistfight between Eudora Welty and James Herriot’s wife, Joan — the American being one of those sinewy wiry country types and the Englishwoman being a strapping beefeater.
My next thought was I wonder if anyone other than me carries books in their cars in case of reading emergencies and unforeseen opportunities. So I took it upon myself to ask, being a responsible literary citizen, and the answer turns out to be pretty much yes. Which is really interesting, as is the vast list of books themselves.
They included dictionaries, novels, atlases, cookbooks, phone directories, comic books, histories, biographies, audio-books, manuals of all sorts, Bibles, wine-tasting notes, books of knitting patterns, books of sheet music, books about breastfeeding and a handbook on vipassana meditative practice.
A naturalist in Hawaii had two notebooks of her own research into how one in five albatrosses is gay and only female frigate birds are thieves. A man in Vermont had a scuba diving manual. A novelist had Evelyn Waugh and The Rules of Golf. A chancellor had comic books. Zane Kesey had a copy of his dad’s glorious novel Sometimes a Great Notion. A dentist had books about railroads and circuses. A publisher had 20 copies of one of the books he had published. A doctor had only books by doctors. A great novelist had 40 pounds of string quartet music. A bookseller had exclusively books by Sherman Alexie.
A woman in Alaska had every single book she owned because she was moving from one apartment to another. A winery owner had wine-tasting notes which he noticed were all garbled at the end. A poet had a book about Athanasius Kircher and photocopies of every poem written by William Stafford between 1937 and 1948. A baseball maniac had David Shields’ oddly hilarious Baseball Is Just Baseball, the gnomic sayings of Mariners’ outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. A friend in Australia had The Story of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which she discovered belonged to one of her husbands. A fine novelist had James Welch, Flannery O’Connor and copies of two of his own books to give away on the spur of the moment.
The greatest travel writer in the world, Jan Morris, had dictionaries in French, Spanish, German and Italian. The great novelist Tony Hillerman had Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. One woman in London had books about Margaret Thatcher and rats, a fascinating juxtaposition, and another had Baby’s First Catholic Bible and Salmon Fishing on the Yemen, another interesting juxtaposition.
One priest carried a manual on how to preside over last rites, and another priest had books about how to preside over weddings and how to grow camellias. A friend in Canada had books about tractors and sake. Another friend in Canada had Nietzche’s Ecce Homo. Another friend had a book by H.P. Lovecraft and a book about learning Latin. A friend in Belize had a novel in Belizean English, as he said, which began with a man being tied to a pole on the beach.
A great poet had Junior the Spoiled Cat and Teddy Bear of Bumpkin Hollow in her car, maybe for her grandchildren but maybe not. A young father of triplets had three copies of Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt, which has sold 6 million copies since it was first published in 1940. A historian in Texas had a book on the history of zero and another book about the square root of negative 1, which makes you wonder about historians and Texas.
A friend in California had books on alcoholism and Lutheranism. A friend in Oregon has Backpacking With Mule or Burro, which he liked especially, he said, because it had a chapter on how to persuade your wife to backpack
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 24 with a mule or burro. A friend in Ohio had Dr. Seuss and a book about dismembering deer. A woman in Louisiana had Batman comics and Hiking With Jesus. Another woman in Louisiana had a copy of The Encyclopedia of U.S. Army Patches, Flashes, and Ovals — “don’t even ask,” she said, so I didn’t.
Among the authors represented in cars are the greats (Borges, Chekhov, Agatha Christie, Beverly Cleary, Don DeLillo, Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Maugham, Thurber, Yeats), the very goods (Richard Flanagan, Joseph Mitchell, Philip Roth, J.K. Rowling, George Saunders, Colm Toibin and the late Kurt Vonnegut Jr.); the goods (Eggers, Kerouac, Kingsolver, Lamott, Quindlen); and many whom I am not qualified to qualify, like Margaret Mitchell and Brian Jacques and Julia Child and Georges Simenon.
You could get into endless roaring pub arguments here, asking dangerous questions like, is Gone With the Wind the most popular bad book ever written? And if millions of people flip through Julia Child every day, does that make her a great writer? And are Brian Jacques and writers like him who wake up millions of kids to stories really the most influential and cool writers ever, far more than people like James Joyce? And is Georges Simenon a great writer for having created a vast saga of French life and character or was he, like G.K. Chesterton and Thomas Merton, one of those poor scribblers who never had an unpublished thought? But I am not going to ask those questions publicly, not me.
In the end the best-represented author in cars was Theodor Seuss Geisel, whose books far outnumbered those of any other author in the cars of the people I spoke to, although to be honest most of the people I spoke to were parents who either had kids young enough to relish the good doctor, or they, the parents, had never actually cleaned the Dr. Seuss books out of the car after their kids went off to college or to join the circus in Samoa or whatever.
It cheers me up to think of all those Dr. Seuss books in all those cars; somehow the world doesn’t seem quite so bruised and brooding once you know that in a reading emergency you can reach under your seat and pull out David Donald Doo or the Katzes from Blooie to Prooie, not to mention Sally Spingel Spungel Sporn. And right there, with the wild music of one of the greatest of American writers in our ears, let us drive on into the rest of the day.
Pretty much every other person I talked to had overdue library books (one man had more than 60) in the car. Pretty much everyone with overdue library books thanked me for making them remember their overdue library books, which they were absolutely going to return posthaste, but I bet they didn’t.
Eleven people had Bibles of various translations, one man had a Gideon Bible he claimed to have borrowed from a motel, one woman had a Tao Te Ching, and one man, not a priest, carried an Italian-language Catholic missal; interestingly not one person had a “Book of Mormon,” which Mark Twain, bless his testy heart, memorably called pretentious, sleepy, insipid, tedious, a mess, a mongrel and chloroform in print, among other compliments.
But then no one had a Quran either, or a psalm book, or a memoir of seven-fingered circus performers in Samoa, so there you go.
Contact Us at LAA President: Della Paradis [email protected] Wendy Grønnestad-Damur Past President: Anne Carr-Wiggin [email protected] [email protected] Tim Janewski [email protected] 1st VP: Karla Palichuk [email protected] Sona Kothari [email protected] 2nd VP: Marianne Graff [email protected] Treasurer: Melanie Johnson [email protected] Executive Director/Newsletter Editor: Christine Sheppard 403.284.5818 Directors: [email protected] Virginia Clevette [email protected] For full contact information, visit www.laa.ca
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 25 What Boomers Want They’re changing old age and library service with it
Beth Dempsey
When my editor called to talk about a new series written from the vantage point of the patron, I was particularly intrigued to write about boomers, my generation. We hashed out a list of potential patron markets, and I read them to her: “an article on boomers, another on seniors....” She interjected, “That’s one.” I was stopped dead. Seniors are old; I’m a boomer. Since when does boomer equal senior? Frankly, that might have been my wake-up call.
I am not alone. Media reports on boomers’ march into their senior years carry a consistent theme: “Guess what, they don’t know they’re old.” Entrepreneur Magazine cites a survey from the Boomer Project (www.boomerproject.com) that found that the average 54-year-old considered himself 41. Further testing showed a psychological age of 39. Rather than believe our years are advancing, we boomers simply redefine: 60 is the new 30. Boomers are changing old age. It’s what we do. The baby boom generation—those born during the post–World War II years 1946 through 1964—has a track record of rebellion that has caused startling cultural and social transformations, including rock’n’roll, the peace movement, civil rights, and agendas we can be less proud of. Consider “Greed is good,” a phrase that caught hold when boomers entered their peak earning years.
Reports indicate that my generation is again poised to create a social change. We are charting a new path. We don’t want to retire, but we envision an entirely new way of working. We embrace fitness and activity, but we have poorer health than the generation before us. Our divorce rate puts a staggering number of women at risk of poverty as we age. Despite our Peter Pan outlook, we are counting down. Eric*, a 61-year-old grandfather who provides primary care for his grandchildren, is a good example. Last year, he spent the summer on a cross-country trip. “I wanted to go to the places I always wanted to see while I was still able to do it,” he says. “I don’t know how many years I have left where I’ll be this active.”
Boomers have needs for information, expert advice, and planning. But are we turning to the library as a resource for this dramatic change in our lives? If not, what can librarians do to affect that?
A potential boom market By tapping into baby boomers, libraries are reaching not only a large market (there are now more people over 50 than under) but one that is a bellwether for future generations. For instance, Generation Xers are already showing signs that they’ve adopted the boomers’ outlook on old age. Developing new outreach and new ways of looking at services to boomers could establish library programming for generations to come.
Boomers may also be the library’s prime target for fundraising, with the highest net worth of any age group, and, unlike our Depression-era parents, willing to spend—maybe on the library if we’re engaged.
Engagement means a set of services, says Amy Ryan, director of the Hennepin County Library (HCL) in suburban Minneapolis, which launched a program for seniors called 55+. “It’s about programs, yes, but it’s also about volunteerism and partnerships with other organizations.” What libraries can provide and expect back from older patrons is likely more than they’ve imagined, especially when it comes to boomers.
A desire to contribute While boomers may vary from community to community, there are high-interest areas that transcend location (even national boundaries; research from Statistics Canada, for instance, parallels findings from studies in the United States). Boomers need help plotting next careers or active retirement. We want resources for health and fitness. And we share with previous generations an interest in tracing our roots.
That urge to play a fulfilling role in the world extends to how boomers approach volunteer opportunities. Margaret Gillespie, coordinating librarian for partnerships and communication and project manager for HCL’s 55+, says boomers “want to share their knowledge and their skills. They don’t want a job-defined task. They want a project with a beginning, a middle, and an end.”
Research supports her assertion. In The New Retirement Study: A Perspective from Individuals and Employers, published by Merrill Lynch in 2006 (tinyurl.com/24ee88), boomers’ top picks for next careers were “consultant” and “teacher,” roles that libraries can put to use to fill gaps and launch new programs. Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 26 HCL has developed all-new volunteer positions—running conversation circles, teaching computer classes, leading book talks. These trade on boomers’ skills and involves us in the library, creating new advocates. HCL both taps people who have connections in the community and also actively markets the opportunities to draw in workers who may be under their radar. Old Bridge Public Library, NJ, which opened its Senior Spaces in June, also uses boomers to teach classes and workshops. “The employee pool is going to dwindle,” says assistant director Allan Kleiman. “We need to get [boomers] involved.”
Next career planning “I might sell my business, but I’m not going to retire,” says Carol, 56, a bootstrap entrepreneur who owns and operates a string of highly rated daycare centers in a metropolitan suburb. Married young, she left college before graduation, aiming for a career as a stay-at-home mom, but divorce changed her plans. She worked a series of minimum wage jobs before finding a talent for working with children. Starting with a small center in her home, she worked hard to build a successful business that will fund her retirement. “I have to stay busy. I might teach or do more writing. That’s the thing about baby boomers—we’re all Type A’s.”
The Merrill Lynch survey reveals that most boomers envision working throughout retirement. It adds a new wrinkle to retirement planning, which may be more aptly described as “Next Career Planning.” Merrill Lynch’s research identifies the new retirement as “cyclical”—a blend of work that can take boomers in and out of new careers balanced with free time, continued learning, volunteerism, and travel.
Not all boomers, however, can opt for retirement. Educated at a small rural college, Gary, 52, spent 26 years as an accountant for a mid-sized publisher. When the company was purchased, his department closed. He spent more than two years looking for a new job. The drain on his savings from extended unemployment means he must continue working.
Service to boomers in retirement planning certainly means help in second careers. It may mean beefing up support for small businesses and workshops that assist boomers in plotting the steps to our ideal lifestyle or recovering from a sudden life change (taught by boomers who have mastered it). It also means addressing the library as place. Hennepin’s Gillespie says that part of its 55+ program is seeing the library as “the new office.” The library offers a change of pace from a home workplace, one with social interaction and reliable online access (though Gillespie is quick to point out this is secondary: “They want to get out of the house, and the library offers a place to work”).
Bridging the business disconnect Retirement planning may also extend to the business community at large. In Merrill Lynch’s study, only 24 percent of businesses feel they’re “on track” in preparation for the impending “brain drain” that will occur when boomers retire. Boomers say they want to continue to work, just not in a traditional sense—we want to redefine our roles. The gap between the two groups begs for a creative response, one that could position the library as a catalyst for a healthier business climate.
By working in partnership with such groups as the Chamber of Commerce, Councils on Aging, and local researchers, libraries can be the lever for communitywide initiatives that help businesses retain the wisdom of their older workers and help boomers achieve retirement goals. Consider the models built by such libraries as Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL) in addressing early literacy in their communities. BCPL launched an action committee that mobilized multiple community groups, each bringing a particular expertise, to address a countywide problem. What does the library bring to the picture? Research skills, workshop space, special programming aimed directly at the issue, and organizational skills to keep the project on track.
Where to start? With the groups most affected. Host a round table with HR executives, CEOs, boomers, and library staff to discuss issues and needs. This may even inspire an advisory panel that could identify partners and potential strategies.
A safety net for single women The divorce rate among boomers is dramatically higher than our predecessors, and its financial impact primarily affects women. Single women have the greatest risk for poverty in their senior years, particularly women of color. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the proportion of African American women who will be unmarried when they reach age 62 will increase from about five percent of Depression-era women to about 18 percent for boomers.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 27 Successful library intervention and outreach to single boomer women may spare them from impoverished senior years. These women need support in financial planning, but, more important, they need access to job training that lands steady jobs while they’re young enough to work. The Urban Libraries Council’s 2007 report Making Cities Stronger: Public Library Contributions to Local Economic Development (tinyurl.com/27xp4a) cites the library’s impact in building work force participation, with technology training, job information centers, résumé writing assistance, and, quite simply, Internet access for online job applications. The report notes strategies for effective work force development, including building connections to all types of employment agencies and to area employers. Most important, it advises, “Know your customers.” In the case of boomer women at risk of poverty, “knowing the customer” means connecting with the right organizations—churches, social service agencies, and small neighborhood businesses such as beauty shops and nail salons—places where women congregate. Building strong partnerships with these groups will help identify women at risk (women with the highest risk have had bouts of poverty throughout their lives) and provide a link so the library’s services can be marketed to them.
Sound body Some predict that boomers will live an average of seven years longer than their parents. Other research contends boomers could be the first to have shorter life spans than the previous generation. The group has increasing rates of cancer and obesity. Nonetheless, boomers say we’ll use any “longevity bonus” to keep old age at bay, staying younger longer—and that may take some work. Libraries are equipped with information that can help boomers fill the gap between goal and reality. But is stocking and providing access to information enough?
Carol has chronic health issues, including a mild form of multiple sclerosis and a heart problem. She stays on top of new data on treatment for both, but when asked if she uses the library for research, she says, “I don’t ever really use the library because I get better information on the Internet. When I want to do research, I want to do it whenever...midnight, in my pajamas, and I want it instantly.”
Libraries can meet every one of her demands—instant, 24/7 access from home—and deliver a higher quality information product, but they need to reach her. When asked what would bring her into the library, Carol is quick with a list of workshops: organic gardening, healthy living, wine classes. Launching such value-added projects gives libraries opportunities to introduce their resources in a new context. Partnerships with other community groups to pull off comprehensive, quality programming can bring both expertise and another outlet for marketing.
Sound mind Part of the boomers’ strategy to remain young is keeping our minds active. Both HCL and Old Bridge identify a new “urbanism,” with demand for lectures on current events, the arts, and other cultural trends.
“Genealogy is still really hot, even with boomers,” says Gillespie. Libraries have a clear competitive edge in resources and reputation as experts in this area. With boomers, there’s an additional opportunity for creative outreach because we’re tech-savvy. Old Bridge is experimenting with blogging life stories and introducing such new Internet sites as cranky.com and eons.com, both designed specifically for boomers.
Eric is particularly concerned with mental agility. He retired six years ago to raise his grandchildren after the sudden death of his daughter-in-law. His father suffers from dementia, and Eric struggles with the notion that it may be an inherited trait. Having young children at home makes him particularly aware of his time left as a “young” man. He works puzzles daily to exercise his brain. When asked if the library could help him, he responds with ideas for classes that would give him opportunities to talk with geriatricians and other experts. Eric’s situation points to another boomer reality: with longer life spans, this is a sandwich generation that often balances the simultaneous needs of children and aging parents.
Listen to me We boomers are a demanding bunch, spending our lives as media darlings whose life passages are carefully documented. The result is a wealth of information—studies, research, and analysis—that forms an exceptional framework for needs but can’t replace information and ideas gleaned directly from area boomers. HCL has an advisory board with geriatricians and community partners, but it also gathers groups of boomers to talk with and, as a result, has created programs geared directly to their community.
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 28 Not all libraries are hitting these high notes, however. “I don’t think the library has ever done anything to attract my generation,” Carol says. “I think they’re more interested in getting kids in.” Nevertheless, she encourages use of the library to the parents of the children with whom she works. This means she’s sold on the brand for at least one age group, making her a target for expansion of the brand to serve her needs. A role in an advisory group could turn her into an active library advocate for her generation.
Carol has other traits that would make her an asset on an advisory board for her local library. She has powerful community connections—an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, she also sits on the board of the county’s daycare council. She’s outspoken and has ideas—she’s an important opinion leader and an energetic idea machine.
The clock is ticking Leading-edge boomers have just turned 60. The youngest of this generation will be hitting 65 around 2030, so, according to Old Bridge’s Kleiman, librarians have some time to experiment and see what works with this group. That’s not to say that services to boomers can wait for a strategic plan for the future. The time to act is now. The boomer market is a booming market—vast, with information needs that impact entire communities.
“Why isn’t the library community up off its tush about this? We can’t wait. We’ll lose [boomers] to Barnes & Noble,” says Kleiman. He feels libraries can be “ageist,” spending energy dividing children’s services into age-appropriate segments while adult services are clumped as “18 until death.” Old Bridge’s new Senior Spaces takes a cue from the children’s services approach and divides a dedicated space for seniors into three areas: boomers, newly retired, and older seniors. The division allows the library to serve the individual needs of these very different groups.
More innovation is on the way: Americans for Libraries Council (ALC) is training 20 “Lifelong Access Fellows” to develop and inspire more outreach to boomers. ALC says the fellows “will lead the nation’s libraries in enhancing services for older adults with opportunities for active learning, creative exploration, and meaningful civic engagement.” The outreach is timely, says Carol: “They need to get us while we think we’re still young.”
Boomers at a Glance What boomers need • Help plotting retirement that includes work (maybe an entirely new career), volunteerism, leisure, travel, and continued learning Retirement extends to the business community at large—businesses need help preparing for the “brain drain” that occurs when boomers retire Financial planning and job training for women at risk of poverty • Healthy living and fitness workshops • Arts, culture, lectures, and programs for mental agility • Genealogy and support in capturing life stories
What boomers bring to the library • Deep pockets for fundraising—it’s the age group with the highest net worth • Volunteers with knowledge and skills to share (no book shelvers here) • Numbers—it’s a huge market that imprints its behavior on Generation X
Where to start • Assemble focus groups and advisory boards with connected, opinionated boomers in your community • Do your homework Research on boomers abounds • identify community partners that can bring expertise and new outlets for marketing library programs to boomers • Consider mobilizing a communitywide outreach effort with the library in the coordinating role Beth Dempsey ([email protected]) is principal of Dempsey Communications Group, a firm specializing in strategic communications for knowledge organizations. The author thanks Mary Storch, Novi Public Library, MI, for research support. *Note: Names of boomers quoted have been changed at their request. This article first appeared in Library Journal, 7/15/2007. Reprinted with permission. Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 29 WHAT'S IN AN ACRONYM
The following acronyms appear in this issue or are commonly used in the library community. AACL Alberta Association of College Librarians AALT Alberta Association of Library Technicians ALA American Library Association ALC Alberta Library Conference ALTA Alberta Library Trustees Association APLEN Alberta Public Library Electronic Network ARMA Association of Records Managers and Administrators ASLC Alberta School Libraries Council BCLA British Columbia Library Association BCPL Baltimore County Public Library BPA Book Publishers Association of Alberta CACUL Canadian Association of College and University Libraries CARLS Chinook Arch Regional Library System CFEP Community Facility Enhancement Program CLA Canadian Library Association CPL Calgary Public Library EPL Edmonton Public Library FLA Foothills Library Association GELA Greater Edmonton Library Association GMC Grant MacEwan College HCL Hennepin County Library IART Is anyone reading this? IFLA International Federation of Library Associations JPL Jasper Park Lodge LAA Library Association of Alberta LISSA Library and Information Studies Students' Association NAIT Northern Alberta Institute of Technology NLLS Northern Lights Library System PLA Public Libraries Association PNLA Pacific Northwest Library Association RFID Radio Frequency Identification RFS Reading for the Summer SAIT Southern Alberta Institute of Technology SLA Saskatchewan Library Association SLIS School of Library and Information Studies (U of A) TAL The Alberta Library TRAC The Regional Automation Consortium U of A University of Alberta U of C University of Calgary U of T University of Toronto YABS Young Alberta Book Society YRCA Young Reader's Choice Awards YRL Yellowhead Regional Library
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 30 FORTHCOMING EVENTS
2007
Aug. 8-11 PNLA Annual Conference. "The Boom to the Echo: The Multigenerational Impact on Libraries". Delta Edmonton South, Edmonton, AB. For information, visit www.pnla.org
Sept. 20-22 Northern Lights Library System Annual Conference. "History of Libraries: Past, Present and Future." NLLS Headquarters, Elk Point, AB. Keynote speakers: Linda C. Cook, Director of Edmonton Public Library and past-president (2007-2007) of CLA on Thursday, September 20th , author Lanny Boutin and Rick Boychuk, Editor of Canadian Geographic on Friday September 21st , as well as the Honourable Ray Danyluk, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, on Saturday, September 22nd. The last day to register is September 7th. To download the full conference brochure and access print / online registration forms please visit: www.nlls.ab.ca/conference2007.htm
Sept. 27-28 Peace Library System’s Rural Libraries Conference. Grande Prairie, AB. Workshops for school and public librarians as well as library trustees. The two day event welcomes over 130 librarians from around Alberta, parts of northern B.C. and the Northwest Territories. Workshop offerings at this year’s conference include: Good Boards Make Good Managers, Fun Ways to Teach School Library Skills, Succession Planning, Security in the Library, Providing Great Customer Service and Searching EBSCO Databases. Visit the Peace Library System’s website at www.peacelibrarysystem.ab.ca for more information.
October Canadian Library Month. For information, visit www.cla.ca.
Oct. 17-19 Netspeed. Carriage House Inn, Calgary, AB. To assist library staff and trustees in keeping pace with evolving technologies, The Alberta Library hosts an annual library technology conference called Netspeed. Netspeed is a conference for librarians, technical staff and trustees to explore new technologies in a highly connected world. For information, visit www.thealbertalibrary.ab.ca.
2008
March 25-29 12th PLA National Conference. Minneapolis, MN. The biennial National Conference is the premier event for the public libraries, drawing librarians, library support staff, trustees, Friends, and library vendors from across the country and around the world. For information, visit www.placonference.org.
April 24-27 Alberta Library Conference. "Reach Out: Step Away from the Desk." Jasper, AB. For information, visit www.albertalibraryconference.com.
May 1-4 Alberta Association of Library Technicians Annual Conference. Red Deer Lodge, Red Deer, AB. For information, visit www.aalt.org.
May 21-24 CLA Annual Conference. Vancouver, BC. For information, visit www.cla.ca.
June 26-July 2 ALA Annual Conference. Anaheim, CA. For information, visit www.ala.org/annual.
Aug. 10-15 74th IFLA Conference. World Library and Information Congress. "Libraries without Borders: Navigating Towards Global Understanding". Quebec City. For information, visit www.ifla.org
Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 31 LETTER OF THE LAA EDITORIAL POLICY EXCERPTS The Letter of the LAA is the official newsletter of the Library Association of Alberta and is distributed by the 15th of January, April, July and October. Its purpose is to serve as a publicity and informational tool; as a forum for provincial library issues; as an information link between associations and types of libraries; and to report on the activities of the Board of Directors.
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Letter of the LAA Summer 2007 32 2007 Alberta Book Publishing Awards ( Educational Book Trade Non-Fiction Book Thomson Duval Red Deer Press Our Alberta, Books 1 &2 The Unmentionable History of the West by Marcia Tyerman, Trudie BonBernard by Nancy Millar and Phyllis Cardinal ISBN 978-0-88995-374-1 ISBN 978-0-17632-405-6 PB $22.95 HC $46.25 Trade Fiction Book Children’s Book Frontenac House Red Deer Press Pearl On Thin Ice by Nancy Jo Cullen by Jamie Bastedo ISBN 1-897181-03-5 ISBN 0-88995-337-6 PB $15.95 PB $14.95
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