Toughing It out in a Tight Market Personal Branding: Make Your Mark

PAC MAN John Chrastka n MIDWINTER Must-Dos n PLUG IN Local Music

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012

THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

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Untitled-1 1 8/7/2012 2:35:18 PM CONTENTS American Libraries | November/December 2012

Features 38 34 personal branding for librarians Distinguishing yourself from the professional herd BY karen g. schneider

writing for civilians 38 When we write for the publications our users read, we build visibility—and support—in our communities BY Laurie l. putnam

Terror has not withdrawn 42 Daily life for librarians in Iraq BY Leonard kniffel

live at your library! 46 How to plug into your local music scene and charge up your communities 50 42 BY matthew moyer and andrew coulon

marketing your library 50 An interview with Terry Kendrick, guru of strategic marketing in libraries BY ned potter 34

Cover Story 30 Toughing it out in a tight job market Hands-on advice to help you stand out during a job search BY janice arenofsky

Maneuver your way toward a better career. Cover design by Kirstin Krutsch CONTENTS American Libraries | november/december 2012 | Volume 43 #11/12 | ISSN 0002-9769

Departments

Information Technology 27 dispatches from the field social Media? by david lee king 28 another story The Wheel Turns Again By Joseph Janes 29 in Practice The DIY Patron by Meredith Farkas

People 54 Currents

46 Professional Development 56 youth Matters connect Guys with Authors By Abby johnson Updates and Trends 57 outside/in unforgettable Passwords 10 ALA By david lee king and michael porter 16 Perspectives 58 librarian’s Library 24 Newsmaker: John Chrastka making Sure Libraries “Measure Up” By karen muller Special News Reports 59 rousing Reads The Wild and Poetic Life of Westerns By Bill Ott 14 midwinter must-dos 60 solutions and Services

Opinion and Commentary 4 from the editor 30 Gauging Your Interest By laurie D. borman 6 president’s Message We Are ALA By maureen sullivan 7 treasurer’s Message background on our Budget By james neal 8 reader forum 18 Letters and Comments 25 noted and quoted 26 on My Mind 11 creating a New Tradition By Daria d’arienzo 64 will’s World Trust in Your Trustees By Will Manley

Jobs 62 career Leads from joblist 14 Your #1 Source for Job Openings

CQ Researcher delivers in-depth, balanced, authoritative analysis of vital social, political and economic issues.

Scan for the sample report and see why CQ Researcher has been THE choice of students and librarians for 90 years!

Researcher CQ Published by CQ Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc.

New Releases from SAGE and CQ Press Reference in 2013 Available on

Guide to the White House Staff The Supreme Court and the Encyclopedia of Philosophy and EDITOR: Presidency the Social Sciences Shirley Anne Warshaw EDITOR: TWO-VOLUME SET Julie Novkov EDITORS: ISBN: 978-1-6042-6604-7 Byron Kaldis, Hellenic Open University, Greece EISBN: 978-1-4522-3433-5 ISBN: 978-0-8728-9525-6 Price: $175.00 • E-Price: $219.00 EISBN: 978-1-4522-3418-2 ISBN: 978-1-4129-8689-2 February 2013 • 448 pages Price: $135.00 • E-Price: $169.00 EISBN: 978-1-4522-7605-2 March 2013 • 512 pages Price: $375.00 • E-Price: $438.00 March 2013 • 1144 pages

All titles available in print or online. For a trial to SAGE Reference or consortia pricing, contact [email protected] or call 800.818.7243. 4 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 FROM THE EDITOR |Masthead Oscoda, Michigan.Oscoda, Congratulations, Stephanie! Mallak districtlibrary directorof Olson, Iosco-Arenac DistrictLibraryin tions, TechSource, Neal-Schuman, Chandos, orFacet books?Stephanie was theluckywinnerof the$500giftcertificate, goodtowardanyALAEdi- oremail—we’re bysocialmedia, phone, inachat, ready. Oh, and who .org/archives) willscaletofit yourtabletorsmartphone. right fromourFacebook pageorfrom AmericanLibrariesMagazine ered there,too.Ourdigitaleditionsanduploads(whichyou canlaunch way toviewourcontentonyoursmartphone,well,we’ve gotyoucov- AmericanLibrariesLive.org. Seethefulllineupofexpert tosolveproblemsonthespot. showson the sessionsfeature too.It’s alivechat, like havingyourownpersonal Gotquestions?Askaway,to watchpresentersliveonscreen. because and otherexperts.Thisisnotawebinarwithvoice-oversbut achance libraries, andwillbehostedbyMarshall Breeding,Warren Graham, library job,diggingintodatabases,andtherealdealabout Speed.” Topics for othershowsincludestrategiesfor landingyourideal LibrariesLive.org) inyourlibrary, athome,orwhilesippingcoffee at streaming videobroadcastthatyoucanviewfor free(atAmerican ed infographics, andsidebars.We hopeyou’ll like whatyousee. launch in2013. In watchfor theinterim, subtlechangestofeatures, add- withaplanned todevelop this newlookwithyourinput, Chris Keech, headedbyKirstinKrutschand signed upwithanewdesignteamatALA, the lookandcontentof themagazineaswellouronlinesite.We’ve We’llbook. belookingatallthedataandplantomake improvementsto LibrariesMagazine.org, Twitter and Face (@AmLibraries),Pinterest, - American —AL Direct, the mediastreamsofLibraries American you responded.Thankfortakingtimetoprovidefeedback. that likelycametoyouthiselectionseason,morethan4,000of and pollsrequests all theothersurveys a survey.Anddespite A However online,onyoursmart- youwant toencounterus—inprint, If you’re wonderingwhetherwe’re developingamobileapporwant we’reStarting thismonth, a Live, Libraries alsolaunchingAmerican We all wanttoknowwhatyouthinkaboutthemagazine,andindeed, sent you Libraries ago, few weeks by D. Laurie Borman Gauging Your Interest American LIVE with alivechat. streaming videobroadcast American LibrariesLive,a In November, wewilllaunch “Library 2017:Tech atWarp libraries inthenear author Jason Griffey talkingabout time—features ALATechSource November Central 16,at1p.m. The firstprogram—on Friday, your favoriteWi-Fi-enabled café. z future in ebooks for

design andproduction Advertising andMarketingSpecialist Senior Editor, AmericanLibrariesDirect Senior Editor Managing Editor Editor andPublisher online career classifiedads: JobLIST.ala.org local 312-944-6780•fax312-440-0901 toll free 800-545-2433plus extension email americanlibraries americanlibrariesmagazine.org 50 E.Huron St.,Chicago, IL60611 THE MAGAZINEOFAMERICANLIBRARY ASSOCIATION reproduced fornoncommercial educational purposes. maybe can LibraryAssociation.Materialsinthisjournal ALA, 50E.Huron St.,Chicago,IL60611.©2012Ameri- changes toAmericanLibraries,c/oMembershipRecords, offices. POSTMASTER:Personalmembers: Send address postage paidatChicago,Illinois,andadditional mailing Library Association(ALA).PrintedinU.S.A.Periodicals yearly withoccasionalsupplementsbytheAmerican American Libraries(ISSN0002-9769)ispublished6times published Perkins, 800-545-2433x4286. with 40%discountforfiveormore; contactCharisse Customer Service.Allowsixweeks.Singleissues$7.50, visit ala.org. Claimmissingissues:ALAMemberand 800-545-2433 x5108,emailmembership price forindividualsincludedinALAmembershipdues. U.S., Canada,andMexico;foreign: $60.Subscription Libraries andotherinstitutions:$45/year, 6issues, subscribe JSTOR. H. W. Access,and LexisNexis,Information Wilson, Available fulltextfrom ProQuest, EBSCOPublishing, 1996–2010 indexatamericanlibrariesmagazine.org. indexed ment. ALAreserves therighttorefuse advertising. Acceptance ofadvertisingdoesnotconstituteendorse- advertising representative Editorial policy:ALAPolicyManual,section10.2 SianBrannon,MollyKrichten Interns David Tyckoson, SusanM.Weaver; Brenda Pruitt-Annisette,SarahRosenblum, Chair advisory committee Director membership development Manley,King, Will Karen Muller, BillOtt,MichaelPorter Meredith Farkas,JosephJanes,AbbyJohnson,DavidLee columnists Reprints Rights, Permissions, Marketing Director Associate ExecutiveDirector publishing department Senior Production Editor Managing Editor, ALAProduction Services Paul Signorelli, BrianCoutts,Luren Dickinson, George M.Eberhart•[email protected] •x4212 Beverly Goldberg •[email protected] •x4217 Doug Lewis•[email protected] •770-333-1281 Sanhita SinhaRoy•[email protected] •x4219 Laurie D. Borman •[email protected] Laurie D.Borman

Katie Bane•[email protected] •x5105 @ ala.org Mary JoBolduc•x5416

Donald Chatham

@ ala.org, or Ron Jankowski Kirstin Krutsch Mary Mackay

Chris Keech

PB americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 9 by Books on Tape 9 by Blackstone Audio 9 by Recorded Books 9 by Zondervan 9 by Recorded Books www.recordedbooks.com/oneclickdigital For more call1-877-828-2833 or visitusat information YOUR FAVORITE PUBLISHERSANDRECORDEDBOOKSEXCLUSIVES. MORE THAN25,000e 100% oftheNewYork Timesbest-sellers Best SelectioninQualityeAudio compatible withALLApple The onlyplatformwhere alltitlesare 40% ofNewYork Timesbest-sellers available tolibrariesineAudioand purchase forsubscribersand Titles availableforindividual multi-access titlesanywhere Your Source forthe AUDIO TITLES,INCLUDING BEST-SELLERS FROM eBooks comingsoon! Live technicalsupport available ineContent non-subscribers alike Largest collectionof for patrons ® devices

9 by Recorded Books 9 by Books on Tape 9 by Macmillan Audio 9 by Recorded Books 9 by Macmillan Audio ALA | President’s Message We Are ALA

Reimagining our Association for the future by Maureen Sullivan

recently learned that an- ALA offers many opportunities social media to do so. The process other national library and resources to our members, and will be designed to be as transparent association has adopted yet I consistently hear about the and inclusive as possible. I want to the slogan “I am (my frustrations of “getting involved in elicit the best ideas from our mem- Inational library association)” as ALA” and “from where will the next bership, staff, chapters, and organi- a means to engage its members. generation of leaders come?” I be- zational units. My immediate reaction was to lieve it is time to This work will be think of ALA and how, if we were to ask, “If ALA did not ALA must strive a major change ef- follow suit, I would want our slogan exist today, what fort for the Associ- to be the best to be “We are ALA.” We, the mem- would we create?” ation. To achieve a bers of ALA, our libraries, our com- To begin this professional sustainable and munities, and even the larger world work, I asked the association it more nimble orga- face many challenges as we increas- Executive Board nization, we need to can be. I believe it is ingly work in a global society that is and division lead- build on our cur- rapidly becoming a digital universe. ership to work time to ask, “If ALA did rent strengths, al- In this ever-changing and fast- within an apprecia- not exist today, what low for discussion paced context, ALA must strive to be tive inquiry frame- of different per- would we create?” the best professional association it work to address spectives and can be. To do this requires a collab- these questions: options; listen to the many different orative effort to reimagine our n What are the collective voices within ALA; focus on imagin- Association for the 21st century. strengths of ALA? ing a future Association that at- n In our current context, where tracts, engages, and retains Rethink and redesign are there opportunities for ALA? members; and offer a series of ways A recent book, The Race for Relevance, n What are our aspirations for for individuals to contribute. The calls for every association to rethink the future? What do we want the process needs to be iterative, one in and redesign itself to meet the needs future ALA to be? which we stop to assess progress at and expectations of its current and n What results do we want to every stage and judge what needs to future membership. The authors, accomplish in the next few years? happen in the next stage to ensure Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, What will this Association be? eventual success. make a compelling case for recogniz- I began the formal effort to re- I am committed to doing all I can ing that the traditional association think ALA with these sessions be- to lead this work to a successful model is not what is needed today. cause the fall meetings presented a conclusion. I hope you will partici- november/december 2012

| Professionals who join and stay with significant opportunity to engage pate and help create the best future

associations today want value for the governance bodies of ALA and for our Association. I welcome your their investment; meaningful en- its divisions early in the process. ideas. Please send them to me at gagement; easy paths to active con- The results of our conversations will [email protected]. z tribution; resources that are directly be disseminated and will serve to relevant to improving their practice; jump-start further discussion MAUREEN SULLIVAN is an organization development consultant to libraries and appreciation and use of their knowl- among the broader membership. We professor of practice in the Managerial edge, expertise, and talents; and op- will develop structured opportuni- Leadership in the Information Professions doctoral program of the Graduate School of portunities to contribute when they ties for meaningful discussion and Library and Information Science at Simmons

americanlibrariesmagazine.org are ready. will make use of ALA Connect and College in Boston. Email: [email protected].

6 Treasurer’s Message | ALA Background on Our Budget

Reinvigorating support for service imperatives by James Neal

he past year has been ties will advance There are a launched this fall. challenging for ALA, further and the The goal is to im- reflecting both the dif- global markets for number of prove ALA’s long- ficult economic condi- ALA products and important term financial Ttions affecting libraries across services will im- health by encour- initiatives the US and our continuing focus prove. Programmat- aging members on a strong Association that ically, the FY2013 that are designed and supporters to serves its members and sup- budget reflects very to strengthen ALA’s include the Asso- ports the work of libraries and little growth. There capacity to better serve ciation and its di- the needs of their users. will be a 1% increase visions, offices, ALA is ending FY2012 with a defi- in staff salaries, and its members, libraries, and round tables in cit. This reflects lower-than- $100,000 has been and the public. their personal es- expected revenue from conference allocated to support tate plans. Our exhibits and registration at Annual. the Digital Content and Libraries ini- goal is to achieve $15 million in It is also a product of delays in the tiative. It is important to note that be- commitments by 2015. We are mak- final approval by the Library of Con- tween 2008 and 2010, the ALA ing excellent progress. gress in the rollout of Resource De- general fund was reduced by $4 mil- Lastly, we will be discussing over scription and Access (RDA), and lion and 30 positions were lost. the next couple of months a new ap- libraries’ temporary reluctance to There are also a number of impor- proach to ALA dues. The strategy, invest in this successor to AACR2. tant initiatives that are designed to which ACRL and PLA have already ALA management and staff have strengthen ALA’s capacity to better implemented, would tie dues to the been able to reduce expenditures to serve members, libraries, and the annual consumer price index. Thus, partially offset these shortfalls, but public. The first is the successful dues would gradually keep pace with we are ending the year with a deficit completion in FY2012 of a three-year inflation, and larger dues increases in the general fund (the administra- Spectrum fundraising campaign, every couple of years would no lon- tive and program offices, conference which raised more than $1.26 mil- ger be required. services, publishing, and member- lion. This will provide nearly 250 All these developments help to ship). As was the case last year, this scholarships over the next five advance an ALA that is financially deficit will be covered by the Asso- years. Thanks to all who donated! stronger and positioned to better ciation’s reserve fund, which we The second is the acquisition of serve its members. While my focus have built up over the last decade to Neal-Schuman Publishers as a new as ALA treasurer has been on the

provide such rainy-day assistance. ALA imprint. Its positive financial fiscal and budget aspects of the november/december 2012

The outlook for the FY2013 budget impact on our publishing program Association, all of us who serve as | is stronger. Historically, both our will increase over the next several elected officers know that our goals Midwinter and Annual Conference years. As the leading imprint in are to help libraries of all types work sites, Seattle and Chicago, have been library and information science effectively for their users and to ad- very robust in attendance and vendor textbooks and practical professional vance support for library workers in support. RDA will be moving forward, publications, Neal-Schuman is a their many service settings. z and the new publishing imprints of perfect fit with ALA’s expanding on- Neal-Schuman and Huron Street line continuing education initiative. ALA Treasurer james neal is vice president Press will be fully implemented. The third is the “Fifteen by Fif- for information services and university librarian at Columbia University in New York City. ALA’s continuing education capabili- teen” planned giving campaign americanlibrariesmagazine.org

7 When Ireada library ebook,Iwill library on me.“ page thatsimply add anotetoeach 8 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 says “Stopspying ebook datacapture policy. will alsoaskGoogletoexplainits policy hassometeeth(actually, alot).I Nook e-reader unlessB&N’s privacy ebook salesstaff thatIwillnotbuya also explaintomylocalBarnes&Noble offerings fitinwiththosepolicies.Iwill privacy policiesandhowtheirebook to findoutallthedetailsoftheir library withwhichIhaveacard contacting eachpublicandacademic an overlycrowded room. Iwillbe over myshoulderasIread makesfor other interested partiesare looking knowing thatpublishers,authors,and Big Brother wasarankamateur. what thosenotessay. Bycomparison, certain sections,theyknowit.Ifyou one sitting,theyknowit.Ifyoureread ebook usagewithauthorsandothers. narily detailedinformationonreaders’ publishers ofebooksshare extraordi- 29 (“Your EbookIsReading You”) that Journal. Thenewspaperreported June and expandedonbytheWall Street Rights,” p.60–61)hasbeenconfirmed its users’data(“EbooksandUsers’ article onAmazon’s e-reader capturing The informationinyourMay/June Seeking aNo-SpyZone Enabled Comment OPINION | I don’t knowaboutyou,but If youread abookcover-to-cover in Send [email protected]; fax312-440-0901; orAmericanLibraries,ReaderForum,50 E.Huron St.,Chicago,IL 60611-2795. The editorswelcome lettersaboutrecent contents andmattersofgeneralinterest. Lettersshouldbelimited to300words. Reader Forum and theyknow they knowit, those books, associated with electronic notes you create they knowit.If find yourbooks, search termsto use certain Folly” articlegivesmehope! Boo GoestotheLibrary?).AL’s “Forbes to theLibraryofCongress? HoneyBoo Librarians ofOrangeCounty?SayYes libraries togettheword out(TheReal the creation ofareality TVseriesabout a more dynamic,impactfulmessage. the Page2.0,whichcanhelpuscreate the PublicLibraryAssociation’s Turning Information Policy&AccessCenteror that oftheUniversityMaryland’s ing tofindoutaboutinitiativeslike unique role incommunities.Itisexcit- our ownlanguagetocelebrate heartily agree thatweneedtodevelop (“Forbes Folly,” Sept./Oct.,p.30–33).I of theirvaluetotherest ofsociety libraries inarticulatingthemessage of summarizingtheissuesfacedby Lindsay C.Savindidanexcellentjob John CarloBertot,PaulT. Jaeger, and The FollyofForbes spying onme.” each pagethatsimplysays,“Stop ebook, Iwillbesure toaddanote their ebooks,whenIread alibrary protect theprivacyofpatrons whoread always aninteresting topicbut,as of aworkcreated foranemployeris The issueofwhoownsthecopyright July 2: and Teachers, inaNutshell,”ALOnline, In response to“CopyrightforLibrarians Copyright Conundrum Perhaps wewon’t needtoresort to Until Ihearthatlibrariesactually East Aurora, NewYork Topanga, California Maureen Roy Jan Siebold librarian? That’s abitmuch. paper created byahighschool created bya4th-gradeteacher?A in certaincases,butlessonplans ownership ofworks(ortransferthereof) understand theneedforlegitimate clock, anddocumentitwell).Ido (e.g., create worksathomeoroff the out workarounds forthosesituations copyright process. creator seemstobecutoutofthe employer’s property. Inessence,the librarian/researcher istacitlythe work, ifwhatwasproduced bythe employee whogivesuprightstothe published, itistechnicallythe employer resources. Ifsaidworkis who creates aworkonthejobusing researcher couldalsobealibrarian always, unclear. Forexample,a reporting. another credible source, ispoor whether from thestudyathandor concrete supportforthestatement, low-income earnerswithoutproviding population asbeingmadeupof the libraryisimportanttothem.” $30,000 peryear)are more likelytosay with ahouseholdincomeoflessthan library cards (e.g.,Hispanicsorthose demographic groups lesslikelytohave reads, “Paradoxically, someofthe its claimsappeartobeunfounded.It Aug., p.12)struckmeasconfusingand Gap onEbooksinLibraries”(AL,July/ A sentencein“Study:PublicAwareness An Awareness Gap Employees mightdowelltofigure To singleoutanyentire ethnic Oxford, Mississippi Don Mutchler $25 million. Public Library’s budgetby more than efforts havestrengthened SaintPaul Friends’ lobbyingandotheradvocacy firsthand. Inthepasttwodecades, fruits ofeffective advocacyefforts Paul PublicLibrary, where I’veseenthe now workfortheFriendsofSaint researcher inmyownconsultingfirm.I libraries, aswellservedprincipal worked inspecial,school,andpublic those three-plus decades,Ihave another (more lucrative?)profession. In regretted itorwishedIhadpursued ago andhaveneverforamoment anyone getstartedorbetter. thinking “AdvocacyUniversity”)tohelp has great resources onitswebsite(I’m library andwanttoseeitthrive.ALA world, aswellthosewholovetheir responsibility ofeveryoneinthelibrary view oflibraries.Advocacyisthe changing policymakers’andothers’ effective advocacyisthekeyto in today’s digitalworld. emerging—and critical—roles theyplay libraries’ societalvalueandthevibrant, stubborn, outdatedperceptions of squarely onthedisconnectbetween in theUS.Theyalsoputtheirfingers libraries, particularlypublic ous jobofarticulatingthenewrole of Sept./Oct., p.30–33)didamarvel- The authorsof“ForbesFolly”(AL, Advocacy byAll,forAll to belesslikelyhavelibrarycards. wondering whyHispanicsare believed important tothem. highest reported levelsofsayingthelibraryis of librarycard ownershipandamongthe groups haveamongthelowestreported level library-users showsthesetwodemographic libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/06/22/part-3- (of allracesandethnicities).Thedataat all incomeranges)andlow-incomepeople two different demographics:Hispanics(of Author LarraClarkreplies: Iwasreferring to Surely manyreaders joinmein I received myMLSdegree 35years The authorsare quiterightthat Pasadena, California Rose Medlock See morecomments at americanlibrariesmagazine.org matters alot. realize thatyourMLS our civicfreedom anddiscourse—and nity thatthelibraryisfoundationalto raising awareness inyourowncommu- Visit ALAorPLA’s websitesandstart then lamentthatnoonecanseethem. show. We can’t sitonourdegrees and become aninformationspecialist). effort earningamaster’s degree to spent considerabletime,money, and library professional (someonewho libraries—and whoweloveforit!)anda volunteer (i.e.,someonewholoves seldom differentiate betweena Patrons (andevenlibrarystakeholders) than part-timebookstore clerks. librarians are perceived nodifferently special library, Ihavecertainlyfeltthat hear. library.” Simplyput—andpainfulto librarian isapersonwhoworksin average American,a Manley wrote, “To the read theentire issue. me thatitcolored howI struck suchachord with the Master’s,” p.96) column (“TheMatterof Will Manley’s May/June Painful Perception Today, enrollment isupto218,anda systems, andevenonourownstaff. teens, thecommunity, other library breadth itsimpactwouldhaveon tered, wedidn’t imaginethedepthand January to50teenswhohadregis- YOUmedia Miami.Whenitopenedin Oct., p.20–23),I’dliketotellyouabout After reading “GeekOut”(AL,Sept./ Geek OutatMiami-Dade If St.Paulcandoit,otherstoo. People don’t knowwhatwedon’t Whether inapublic,academic,or St. Paul,Minnesota Susan Dowd Stacey BelindaBleistein Waterbury, Connecticut Start raising your community MLS mattersalot. realize thatyour discourse—and civic freedomand awareness in that the library is that thelibrary foundational toour

visit YOUmediaMiami! and poetry, andmovies. fashion, therecording industry, books ogy. Teens havealsostartedclubson subject area withYOUmedia’s technol- teens candigdeeperintoaparticular possibilities. Atin-houseworkshops, firsthand aboutinternshipsandjob to networkwithexpertsandlearn directly toteens—auniqueopportunity many ofwhomare latchkeykids, programming toattracturbanteens, but adjustedouroutreach and week. We drew uponChicago’s model, core group visitsasoftenfivetimesa high schoolisbuiltashame. public librarytosavemoneyuntil the many publicservices,andtoclosea community are oflowincome.We lack p. 26–27). (“Rocking theJoint,”AL,Sept./Oct., saved havemadesomeofficialshappy since August2011.I’msure thecosts of theYards branchhasbeenclosed because ChicagoPublicLibrary’s Back educational resources formychildren I’m aconcernedparent leftwithout Back oftheBurner? We inviteyoutocome downand The majorityoftheresidents inour Miami-Dade (Fla.)PublicLibrarySystem come tospeak industry professionals ment andmultimedia at whichentertain- ‘outside workshops’ curriculum isthe successful partsofthe technology. or exposure to access totheinternet have limitedorno 20% oftheseteens keeping inmindthat Josefina Marquez-Rosas One ofthemost public affairs officer Victoria Galan Victoria Chicago

9 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 10 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 “Publishers, libraries,andother A Update | Update in Library and Information Science from from Science Information and Library in aPhD (1975); and University Duquesne from certification library aschool (1965); Denver of University the from anship librari in MA an (1964); University Brown Association. Texas Library the of 1997–1998 also was president Immroth 1982 1990. to from directors of board its on was and Children to Service Library for Association the of 1990) (1989– 1971. president since was She Association. American Library the of 2014–2015 presidency the seeking are campus, Allegheny Greater State’s Penn at librarian Young, head Louise School of Information, and Courtney B Presidency ALA 2014-2015 YoungImmroth, Seek Publishers TalkALA, Ebooks President MaureenSullivan imprints’ ebookstolibraries. industry regardingtherefusal released anopenlettertothe of Simon&Schuster,Macmil- ers (AAP)inNewYorkCity,ALA continue tolockoutlibraries.” entitites haveworkedtogether lan, andPenguintoselltheir libraries nowoffer add upthatanypublisherwould for centuries,” she wrote. “Given for centuries,”she the number of fiveyearsago—andthat publishers, itsimplydoesnot the obviousvalueoflibrariesto She holds a BA in Spanish from from Spanish in a BA holds She Immroth has been member an ALA Sullivan notedthat76%of public at the University of Texas at Austin Texas Austin of at University the at professor Froling Immroth, arbara with theAssociation of AmericanPublish- September 27meeting few daysbeforeher AL ebooks—double A

- American Libraries’American E-Contentblog, election begins March 19. March begins election for the 2013 mailing Ballot audience. the a statement and answer questionsfrom make to opportunity an have will Each Seattle. in Meeting Midwinter ALA the candidates’ forum on January 26 during (1997). College Simmons from MLS an (1996) and Wooster of College the councilor-at-large since 2008. a been has and (2009–2012) Board Executive ALA the on serving included of that committee. Her have activities chair 2001–2002 was and 2002 1999 to Electronic Publishing Committee from the Michigan Association’s Library of amember was She 2002. since (1980). Pittsburgh of University the 39% of librariescirculate remain inbusinessandwantto ing theneedfor publisherstowork went ontostatethatALAdoesn’t with librarianstomake ebooks continue beingtheircustomers.She common groundduringapresenta- and severalvisitswithindividual accept thepropositionthatanebook available to Sullivan saidsheandanALAdele- publishing houseswith“a hopeful that librarianswantpublishersto prices andterms.Sullivanstressed price isjustifiableorfair. price thatisamultipleof theprint tion tomembersof AAP, emphasiz- gation cameawayfromthatmeeting Immroth and Young will engage in a a in engage Young will and Immroth from English in aBA received She member ALA an been Young has In asubsequentreportpostedto She reinforced hercalltofind libraries atreasonable e-readers. the BudgetAnalysisandReview Board andwasamemberchair of zalez hasservedontheExecutive MLS fromWayne StateUniversity. the University of Michigan andan dent andholdsaBA andMAfrom BohrerwasPLA presi- Committee. member of ALA’s Finance andAudit anda Analysis ReviewCommittee well aschairof theALABudgetand Bohrer hasservedasamember the three-yeartermof 2013–2016. candidates for treasurerof ALAfor Passaic (N.J.) PublicLibrary, arethe Gonzalez, executivedirectorof the Public Library, andMario M. West Bloomfield Township (Mich.) Clara Nalli Bohrer, directorof the Treasurerfor ALA Bohrer, Run Gonzalez Penguin, Scholastic,Harper Rosen, Collins, RandomHouse, andHa- issues surrounding will continuetopursueourstrategy of ebooksratherthandwellingon cus onfindingeffective waystore- cordial, andproductivediscussions.” of heightenedadvocacyandpub- ebooks,” shewroteOctober 2.“We our libraries’ virtualshelveswith SullivansaidsheandanALA chette, lisher engagement.” solve thepricingandlicensing thought-provoking,series of frank, feeling” afterhaving“experienced a delegation hadgooddiscussionson past policiesandpractices. possible waystomake progress. “Of course,thisalonewillnotfill An ALAmembersince1985, Gon- A memberof ALAsince1978, In meetingwithexecutivesat Both sidesagreedtheyshouldfo- Continued onp. 12 library lending LaPlume, Pennsylvania; andtheTrejo Foster Foundation inTucson. the boardsof theAmericanLibraryin Paris; KeystoneCollegein tional LibraryCouncil;Johns Hopkins Undergraduate University; and Johns Hopkins Medical SchoolandJohns Hopkins Hospital; theNa - ies. Sheisamemberof theboardof advisorsand thedean’s councilat was thefounding editorof BottomLine:AFinancial Magazine forLibrar- Shera Awardfor OutstandingResearch(1989). guished Alumna AwardfromRutgersUniversity (1994),andtheALAJesse Service (1997),New Jersey LibraryLeadership Award(1995),Distin- ity Award(1998),RutgersPresidentialfor DistinguishedPublic of the20th Century. Otherawards shehasreceivedincludetheALAEqual- (now United for LibraryAdvocates Libraries)asoneof theExtraordinary 2000 wasnamedbyALA’s Associationfor LibraryTrustees andAdvocates honor bestowedbyALAfor distinguishedservicetotheprofession, andin thehighest Graduate School.In Award, 2006,shereceivedtheLippincott received theDistinguishedAlumni AwardfromRutgersUniversity’s Spectrum ScholarshipProgramhaseducatedmorethan800students. Asofence andhelpsfundtheirgraduateeducation. fall2012,the sented ethnicpopulationstoprogramsof libraryandinformation sci- Elizabeth Martinez. Theinitiativerecruitsmembersof underrepre- Scholarship Programinpartnershipwiththen-ALA ExecutiveDirector divide andlibraries’ ShedevelopedtheSpectrum roleinclosingit. access for all. emphasis of ALAandthefieldondiversity, leadership,and innovation, educator, Her advocate,andphilanthropist. efforts haveincreasedthe ment inthefield of libraryandinformation scienceasapractitioner, contributions of lastingimportancetolibrariesandlibrarianship. Dallas. ALA’s highesthonor, Honorary Membership recognizesoutstanding B Turock istheauthorof morethan90 publications andreports Turock istherecipientof numerous awardsandhonors.In 2011,she TurockDuring hertermaspresident, onthedigital focused attention Turock wasrecognizedfor heroutstandingcommitmentandachieve- cil toHonorary Membership atthe2012Midwinter Meeting in waselectedbytheALACoun- versity and1995–1996ALApresident, J.etty Turock (right),professor anddeanemeritusatRutgersUni- Nov. 3:InternationalGames Nov. 2–4:YALSA 2012 Nov.: Picture BookMonth, ALA Events Apr. 20–27:MoneySmart Apr. 18:CelebrateTeen Lit- Apr. 17:NationalBookmobile Apr. 16:NationalLibraryWork- Apr. 14–20:NationalLibrary Apr.: SchoolLibraryMonth, Mar. 16:Freedom ofInforma- Mar. 4–10:Teen Tech Week, Feb. 6:DigitalLearningDay, Jan. 25–29:ALAMidwinter 2013 Calendar .ala.org. Day @yourlibrary, ngd .com. yalitsymposium12.ning Symposium, St.Louis, Young AdultLiterature picturebookmonth.com. .org. Week, moneysmartweek erature Day, ala.org/yalsa. Day, ala.org/bookmobiles. ers Day, ala-apa.org/nlwd. Week, ala.org/nlw. ala.org/aasl/slm. tion Day. teentechweek.ning.com. digitallearningday.org. Meeting, alamidwinter.org.

11 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 12 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 instructions; apply byMarch 1,2013. scholarships for anapplication and per studentyear. typically rangefrom$1,500to$7,000 do nothaveanMLS.Scholarships are alreadyemployedinlibraries but with disabilities,andfor peoplewho also availablefor minorities,persons Scholarshipsare library automation. federal and librarianship,newmedia, librarianship, youth for students interestedin ALA hasmorethan$300,000 available for Future Librarians Available Scholarships and conservativethinking. the conventionalcategoriesof liberal political worldviewthatbreakswith a compellingportraitof thisnew ments tohealthcare.Johnson paints to classrooms,fromprotestmove- everything fromlocalgovernments change isontherise,transforming the casethatanewmodelof political Age (RiverheadBooks,2012),makes The CaseforProgressinaNetworked son’s Future Perfect: mostrecentbook, Midwinter Meeting John inSeattle. - Auditorium Speakers atthe2013ALA and bigideas,willbeoneof several for multidisciplinarystorytelling Steven Johnson, anauthoracclaimed Lineup Midwinter Steven Johnson Joins in Seattle. during theALAMidwinter Meeting in acandidates’ forum onJanuary 26 Institute.at Pratt of LibraryandInformation Science an MLISfromtheGraduateSchool City Collegeof New York andholds in Spanishandpsychologyfromthe Board of Directors.He receivedaBA 1996. GonzalezhasbeenonPLA’s has beenacouncilor-at-largesince and nance andAuditCommittee, amemberof theFiCommittee, - Continued fromp.10 Update | Update See ala.org/educationcareers/ Bohrer andGonzalezwillengage AL librarianship, librarianship, A children’s ext. 4255, [email protected]. ext. at800-545-2433nancial Analyst, ALASeniorFicall KeithBrown, - of theALAEndowmentTrustees, qualifications andresponsibilities tional information regardingthe cations isDecember15. For addi- Florida. ALA AnnualConference inOrlando, pire attheconclusionof the2016 nual Conference inChicagoandex- the conclusionof the2013ALAAn- year termthatwillofficially begin at Chicago. Meeting, tobeheldApril19–21in tive Boardatits2013ALASpring will beelectedbytheALAExecu- dowment Trustees. Thecandidate cepted for thepositionof ALAEn- Nominations arenowbeingac- Trustee Candidates Endowment Seeks ALA theharwoodinstitute.org. strategies. innovative community-engagement munity andcollaborativelycreate tion materialsfor thelibrarycom- goal istocreatecorecommunica- whose initialmanage theproject, nity engagementandinnovation. communities byadvancingcommu- form theroleof librariesintheir a sustainablenationalplantotrans- forming Communities,” todevelop Promiseof LibrariesTrans“The - phase of amultiphaseinitiative, for PublicInnovation onthefirst partner withtheHarwood Institute Services (IMLS)willenableALAto Institute of Museum andLibrary Librarian ProgramGrantfromthe The 2012LauraBush21stCentury grant ALAannouncedOctober9. activities fundedbya$250,837 efit fromprofessional development More than350librarianswillben- Project Transforming Grant AdvancesIMLS The deadlinefor receivingappli- This isapositionwiththree- For moreinformation, visit ALA’s PublicProgramsOfficewill

Free webinars within theprofession today. vides afullerpicture of diversity female andwhite,thisnewdatapro- librarians remainpredominantly school libraries.Whilecredentialed nation’s public,academic,and ing ascredentialedlibrarians inthe racial andethnicminoritieswork- in 2009–2010, inthepercentageof from11%in2000to12%small gain, munity Surveyanalysesrevealsa ability inthelibraryprofession. study of gender, race,age,anddis- “Diversity Counts,” acomprehensive ALA hasreleasednewdatatoupdate Counts” “Diversity New Data Updates have implementedamakerspace. from three different librariesthat staff, administrators,andpatrons Boing. Itwillfeature apanelof ALA TechSource andLibraryBoing three timesandiscosponsored by 60-minute webinarwillbeoffered Wave ofLibraryService.”The webinar “Makerspaces:ANew libraries are fostering—inthefree collaborate” movementthat the new“create, invent,and Learn aboutmakerspaces— December 3,2p.m.Eastern November 19,2p.m.Eastern Webinar Schdule: started. Signupatgoo.gl/oZYUR. this webinarfortipsonhowtoget makerspace inyourlibrary, attend If youare thinkingaboutcreating a January 7,2013,2p.m.Eastern The 2009–2010AmericanCom- (Cleveland PublicLibrary) (Carnegie LibraryinPittsburgh) (Detroit PublicLibrary)

joinnow for details. membership. Visit ala.org/aasl/ counted rateof $25for division allows thoseeligibletopayadis - per yearornotcurrentlyemployed, librarians earninglessthan$25,000 The newcategory, whichincludes category toitsmembershiprates. a nonsalaried/unemployeddues tors hasapprovedtheadditionof Librarians’ (AASL)boardof direc- The AmericanAssociationof School Members Nonsalaried Lowers for Dues AASL .org/united inearly2013. ies willbe January 2013, andthefirst10librar- for budgets. Theopportunitytoapply increase, orsavethreatenedlibrary for advocacycampaignstorestore, develop individualizedblueprints library directors,andtrustees help Friends of theLibrarygroups, tions overthecourseof twoyearsto send expertadvocatesto20loca- Citizens-Save-Libraries grantswill ies withtroubledbudgets.The advocacy atthelocallevelfor librar- Foundation tosupportlibrary $75,000 fromtheNeal-Schuman United for Librarieshasreceived Split $75,000 Grant 20 Friends Groups to around theworld. games atmorethan1,400 libraries more than27,700 peopleplayed annual initiative’s fifthyear. In 2011, programs andservices,markingthe the worldwillshowcasegaming ies. Nearly 2,000 librariesaround reconnect throughtheirlibrar- playing games—tohelpcommunities of games—includingboardandrole ational, andsocialvalueof alltypes is usingtheeducational,recre- tional GamesDay@yourlibrary” On November 3, ALA’s “Interna - YearDay Fifth in Its Games International For applicationdetails,visitala expert consultationwillbeginin selected inApril.

(Penguin); Across theUniverse byBethRevis Goodbye bySarahDessen(Penguin); (Quirk Books);WhatHappened to liar ChildrenbyRansomRiggs guin); (Penguin); The Fault inOurStarsbyJohn Green tween August15andSeptember15. and for teens,tookplaceonlinebe- for createdentirely by the booklist, Votingvote, sponsoredbyYALSA. book intheannualTeens’ Top Ten (HarperCollins) astheirfavorite chose Teen readers acrossthecountry of Teens’ Top Ten Divergent 2009–2010 YALSA president. ( a Teen LibraryServicesAdvocate Authorof columnist. BeingLibraries consultant andoccasionalAmerican quarterly journal.Braunisalibrary Library Services( member editorof Young Adult Linda W. Braunhasbeennamedthe Editor of YALS YALSA New Appoints org/aasl/filtering-schools. tion Act. by theChildren’s Internet Protec- beyond therequirementssetforth suggests thatmanyschoolsaregoing in thesupplementalquestionsalso place intheirschool.Datacollected that schoolordistrictfiltersarein 4,299 surveyrespondentsreported overwhelming majority, 98%,of the most schoolsacrossthecountry. An ing toolscontinuestobeanissuein academically usefulsocialnetwork- legitimate, educationalwebsitesand thefiltering ofconducted byAASL, According toresultsof asurvey Survey Says AASL Filtering Still anIssue, Neal-Schuman, 2012),Braunwas Completing thetop10listwere: Visit yalsa.ala.org/yals. For moreinformation, visitala. Divergent byVeronica Roth Miss Peregrine’s Home forPecu- Legend by Marie Lu (Pen- Cinder byMarissa Meyer Leads List Leads List YALS), YALSA’s

alapresintlibraryaward. visitala.org/irrt/ mit anomination, IFLA affiliation. ALA memberorsomeonewithan be nominatedbyDecember1an must tional librarianship.Projects innovative contributionstointerna- Citations recognize ians Reception. Conference’s International Librar- awarded eachyearattheALAAnnual national RelationsRoundTable and Projects, sponsoredbyALA’s Inter - Innovative International Library ALA PresidentialCitationfor the Nominations arebeingsoughtfor Presidential Citations forNominations Open more information. Cabot (Scholastic). (Penguin); andAbandonbyMeg Where SheWent byGayleForman Maggie Stiefvater(Scholastic); (Macmillan); For moreinformation andtosub- Visit for ala.org/teenstopten Perfect Prices. Patron Scanners. Is InDemand On-Demand www.thecrowleycompany.com by Racesby The Scorpio 240.215.0224 BOOTH 1926 z

13 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 14 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 ALA |MidwinterMust-Dos keep youbusyduringthemeeting A glimpseatsomeofthemanyeventsandactivitiesthatare sure to Must-Dos Midwinter and beerafter2p.m. Olive Way, whichserveswine might wanttotry:1500E. 20,000 locationsworldwide. find atanyoftheirnearly but thecoffee iswhatyou’d It retains theoriginallook, moved here fiveyearslater.) ern, launchingin1971,but store wasfirstat2000 West- 1912 PikePlaceMarket.(The store, openedin1976at Visit theoriginalStarbucks … andWine The firstStarbucks Another Starbucksyou conversations. impromptu sessionsandfollow-up Wi-Fi-enabled gatheringplacefor ter related. about anythinglibraryorMidwin- togetherto talkgets attendees and network. sations intoopportunitiestolearn ary 25)folds unstructuredconver- sessions. house innovationsin30-minute specialists describetheirlatestin- garnered ravereviews. Transforming Communities” David Lankes’s “EmpoweringVoices, at Midwinter 2012,duringwhich conversations. Thisseriesdebuted facilitatedafternoon at in-depth, going transformation for thefuture are buildingcommunityandunder- ing materialsfor children and books, videos,andotheroutstand - Youth the internationallyrecognized over innumerable titlestobringyou members spendmonthsporing Each yeardozensof committee YMAs! OMG! Honors Awards and tions: ing Midwinter? Considertheseop- Want toengagewithcolleaguesdur- Starts Here . Here Starts Conversation The n n n n n

Hear andsharehowlibraries Networking Uncommons isa Library Unconference (Janu- ALA Masters Series:Library Library Camp(January 28) Media Awards,whichhonor may prefer theannualGalaAuthor sandwiches aremoreyourpace,you yoga instructors.If teaand finger 60-minute sessionledbycertified at ference food? Get adoseof wellness Jet-lagged andeatingtoomuchcon- Special Ticketed Events Now Register Books list. the releaseof the2013Notable ception (January 27)inhonorof ter BookandMedia Awardsre- check out adult literature,youmaywantto For thoselookingfor thebestin Adult Lit January 28. medals thatwillbeannounced Printz areamongtheawardsand King,Newbery, Scott Coretta and teens. TheprestigiousCaldecott, Think Fit Yoga (January 27),a Rush ishere too. library oftheKlondikeGold the 1889CadillacHotel.The national parks.It’s located in Oregon, andWashington port forCalifornia,Nevada, South, whichprovides sup- library at319SecondAve. Consider asidetriptothe Fan ofthenationalparks? Regional Librar P acific West RUSA’s popularMidwin-

Seattle Space Needle photo: cdrin/Shutterstock.com Seattle Space Needle photo: cdrin/Shutterstock.com has showcased suchauthorsasTracy Innoon event. theforum thepast, moderates thispopularFriday after- books editoratBooklist,asheagain Joinjust that. BradHooper, adult 25) offers achancetodo attendees Booklist authors upclose—andtheERT/ tohearandseefavorite is getting One of the highlightsatMidwinter Readings and B alamidwinter.org/ticketed-events. professional visit development, Institutes beingoffered for For information aboutthevarious Development Professional for ings (hostedbyUnited thors andbooksign- bestselling au- which features (January 28), Tea ook Signings Signings ook Libraries). event The ExibitHall the way. events tojoinalong finding somelively products, andbooks, about newtechnology, booths forthelatestinformation Thousands ofpeopleweavethrough vendor AuthorForum (January

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15 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 16 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 card doubleasvoterID? Can thisphotolibrary A 2012 Election How LibrariesCountinthe Memphis CommercialAppealreportedOctober 12,willar- the atthestate leveland, continued pursuing thematter against Wharton’s thecityof interpretation, Memphis though USDistrictJudge AletaTrauger ruledJuly 31 as validvoterIDinthecounty’s August2primary. Al- court haltedenforcement of thenew October 2,thedaybefore astate Pennsylvania,Gibsonia, tookplace Northern Tier RegionalLibraryin requirements. Avoterclinicatthe recently enactedtoclarifythenew in stateswherevoterIDlawswere striction of lawfulaccesstovoting.” any otherlawsresultinginthere- cutstoearly voting,and registration, voter IDlaws,restrictionson passed aresolutionthat“opposes the Association’s governingCouncil at theALAAnnualConference, when best toprotectvoterrightsandelectionintegrity. also beendrawnintothenationaldebateoverhow est roleyetinsuchefforts.Consequently,theyhave election year,librariesmaybeplayingtheirlarg- and ElectionDaypolls.Inthisparticularlyspirited Trends | Trends Libraries steppedintothebreach The stagewassetthispastsummer utes permit,bevenuesforearlyvoting voter registrationdrivesand,aslocalstat- libraries areperfectlypositionedtohost s iconsofcivicengagementinAmerica, Perspectives photo IDlibrarycardcoulduse it dents whohadoptedtoobtain a ly July thatShelbyCountyresi- C.Wharton Jr. declaredinear- A. law. Memphis Mayor of Tennessee’s year-oldvoterID embroiled intheimplementation Center continuestofinditself Public LibraryandInformation phis (Tenn.) tion. 2012 elec- law for the ButMem- out-the-vote drives. for third-partyget- providing space briefly stopped events thatit voter registration with requestsfor was soinundated (Va.) PublicLibrary Loudoun County Charlotte, split $94,488 —BeverlyGoldberg inrent. Charlotte, CML anditsprivatepartner,tion. theChildren’s Theatreof broadcast theweekof theDemocratic National Conven- Comedy Central’s DailyShow, which usedthespaceto 570-seat children’s theaterinitsImaginon Libraryto fever. (N.C.) Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraryleased the the board’s September19votetorescind theban. Nancy Nuell saidintheSeptember24 LeesburgToday of we’re notgoing toallowvoterregistration,” boardchair reversed course.“It wasn’t tosay anydeliberateattempt in mid-September. Severaldayslater, thelibraryboard providing spacefor third-partyget-out-the-votedrives trator Tim Hemstreat decidedthelibraryshouldstop space for Leagueissueforums andcandidatedebates,” “In manycases,librarieshavealsograciouslyprovided ers’ Vote411.org resourcefor voter-educationmaterials. such nonpartisanwebsitesastheLeagueof Women Vot- prised of offering topicalreadingmaterialsandlinkingto before earlyvotingwasscheduledtobegininthatstate. Tennessee Courtof AppealsonOctober14—a few days gue thevalidityof photolibrarycardsasvoterIDtothe At leastonelibraryprofited monetarily fromelection For mostlibraries,votereducationefforts werecom- Liu andLoudounCountyAdminis- tration eventsthatDirectorChang quests toaccommodatevoterregis- Library wassoinundatedwithre- cated electorate.” certainlyimportant fortion, anedu- dedicated tofreedomof informa- San AntonioExpress-News. “We are guest editorialintheSeptember23 board chairJean Bradywroteina sense,” SanAntonioPublic Library September 25. National Voter RegistrationDay, held drives, particularlyonthefirst-ever available for voterregistration dreds of librariesalsomadespace Sheaddedthathun- can Libraries. elections for theLeague,told Jeanette Senecal, seniordirectorof Loudoun County(Va.) Public “If thismakes youthinkaboutit, - Ameri B a commonone throughout thecon- generationof librarianswas the next cruit themintotheprofession. with studentsatayoungerage to re- librarians of colorneedtoengage American LibraryAssociation said Offord Jr. of theBlackCaucus of the whomoderatedtheevent. van, with ALAPresidentMaureen Sulli- andleadership munity engagement, Latinos—discussed diversity, com- Americans, Chineseand American Indians, Asian/Pacific representing AfricanAmericans, the fiveethniccaucusassociations— leadersofAt theplenarysession, Engagement Librarians of Color in Kansas City Meet stint asaBlackPanther inhisyouth. closing sessionanddiscussedhis activist Jamal Joseph spoke atthe in thelivesof Authorand children. conveyed theimportanceof libraries ing upintheSouthBronxand whereshetold oferal session, grow- keynote speaker attheopeninggen- ing Maria wasthe onSesameStreet, Sonia Manzano, bestknownfor play- Stories, EmbracingCommunities.” “Gathering at the Waters: Celebrating las, in2006—centeredonthetheme Kansas City, Missouri. itors gatheredSeptember19–23in more than800librariansandexhib- Librarians of Color(JCLC), where ond nationalJoint Conference of profession betterreflectthem. diverse communitiesandhavethe fold: Addresstheneedsofthese the goaloflibrarianswillbetwo- to thesechangingdemographics, This ideaof providingsupportfor JeromeDuring theconversation, The conference—last heldinDal- That wasthemessageatsec- US population.Andtoadapt comprise amajorityofthe y 2015,peopleofcolorwill Things Digital,” sponsoredbytheIn - At theall-conference program “All divide Digital and Junot Díaz. Cisneros ing worksbyauthorsSandra excerpts frombannedtexts, includ artists, students,andresidentsread Read Foundation. Local educators, by Reforma andALA’s Freedom to dom of Speech” sponsored read-out, people gatheredfor the“50for Free- Mar./Apr., p.13),morethan100 Mexican-American studies(AL, Unified SchoolDistrict’s banon and toprotestagainstTucson (Ariz.) Month, September 15–October15, To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Book trafficking library isopentoall,” Gitner said. services. “We mustshowthatthe multilingual patrons,andpromote lections, developprogrammingfor local demographicshifts,buildcol- Library, focused onwaystoidentify Americans ProgramatQueens(N.Y.) librariansatthe NewSze Chan, Communities,” Fred GitnerandWai ServeYourData toBetter Immigrant Newcomers! Using Demographic sage of embracingdiversepatrons. ference. Alsoprevalentwasthemes- A handfulofbannedtextsondisplayatthe“50forFreedom ofSpeech”gathering. At aprogramcalled“Welcome, - | Trends Perspectives | —Sanhita SinhaRoy infrastructure.” villageneedstoprovidethe “The a villagetoraisefamily,” saidGant. souri, andKansasCity, Kansas. neighborhoods inKansasCity, Mis- pected tobringbroadbandaccess Google Fiber whichisex- project, underserved areas.Gantalsocitedthe after firstbeingestablishedintheir will runbetweenthetwoIllinoiscities (UC2B), a Urbana-Champaign BigBroadband in partfor C2C.)Anotherprojectis to developdigitalliteracyeducation, tion recentlyreceivedanIMLSgrant ties. (ALA’s Public communi libraries tounderserved free digitalliteracytrainingfrom and discounted high-speedinternet, which willoffer low-costcomputers, project isConnect2Compete(C2C)— to expand digital access. Onesuch throughout thecountrywhoseaimis detailedvariousprojects Champaign, University of IllinoisatUrbana- ciate professor attheiSchoolof the icans stillhavenobroadbandaccess. logical advances,one-thirdof Amer- reminded thatdespiterapidtechno- vices (IMLS),conference-goers were stitute of Museum andLibrarySer- “We often talkabouthowittakes Panelist Jon aresearchasso- Gant, fiber-optic networkthat Library Associa- -

17 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 18 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 O cises, anddemonstrations, whichwereheld in20 schedule expanded to80continuousfreeclasses, exer- five hours thefor free.Butasnewideas rolled in, 1,000teractive learning,anditattracted people. an experimentinhigh-intensity community-basedin- to winatScrabbleorhowraisechickens? perfect omeletsorhowtostartkayaking?How menco dancingormagictricks?Howtocook wondering, “WhatshouldIlearnnext?”Fla- their handsrusheddownhallwaysandupstairs, Grill mastersshowpatrons howtocookuptheperfectbarbecue. Learning Gets Interactive Barbecue? Flamenco Dancing? Trends | Trends The originalplanwastoteach people50thingsin The daywaspartof thelibrary’s first How-To Festival, hundreds ofpeoplewithschedulesin ville (Ky.)FreePublicLibrary(LFPL), n asunnyspringSaturdayattheLouis- Perspectives nient todoso? what ifthelibrary madeiteasy, free,andconve- fun, love tolearnnewthingsbutnever haveenoughtime, conversationayearearlier:If people of out a“whatif” paced world—andhaveagreat timeintheprocess. people cometogethertolearn newthingsinafast- er: itsevolvingroleasacommunitycrossroads,where ness leaders. practitioners tolocalchefsdanceinstructorsandbusi- contributed theirexpertiseandenthusiasm—fromtaichi to3p.m. from 10a.m. rooms andotherspotsthroughouttheMain Library, It wasastart-from-scratchundertakingthat grew For thefestival alsocelebratedsomethinglarg- LFPL, More than100individualsandcommunitygroups

Photo: Louisville (Ky.) Free Public Library Photo: Louisville (Ky.) Free Public Library manage themany locations. and emailaddresses, andthenrecruitedstaff tostage- made carefullistsof presenterneeds, contactnumbers, two forms: A bytimeandroom. For thepublic,scheduleswere postedandpublishedin schedule with30to50minutes for each size tocrowdsize.Thefinalsteps includedadetailed helped peoplenavigate. Detailed signsthroughoutthelibrary so peopledidn’t havetoleavefor lunch. perspective. Thelibraryinvitedfood trucks and toothpicks. chairs, andsuppliessuchassamplecups the grillsandinour“kitchen,” rentaltents, cluded thefood thatneededtobecooked at tocalligraphyfrostedcupcakes. knitting ples, recipes,handouts,andprojects—from Peoplethat werehands-on. leftwithsam- were encouragedtobringpropsandcreateexperiences skates, jugglers,andyo-yotrickperformers. Presenters throughout thedaywereroller-derbymemberson and providedsamplesallday. Weaving aroundindoors team of competitivebarbecueguyscooked, gavepointers, sary for the“dance studio.” kitchen.” Abook-sortingareahadthehardfloorneces- stage” inthelargestlobby. Astaffloungebecame“the tively aspossible. areas festive andappealingwhileusingthemasproduc- and key spaces.Thinkabouthowyoucanmake these as presenters.Getontheirschedulesearly. tech know-how, andgardening). might wanttodevelop(for example,cooking,bicycling, community interests,livelypresenters,andthemesyou Festival, basedonourexperience: Here aresometipsonhowtoputyourownHow-To started Getting building anditsgrounds),withsomanypresenters. such alargescale,insomanylocations(withinone and facilitiesstaff. about 35andincludedsupervisors,runners,ITexperts, thecircleofrolled around, helpershadwidenedto feat withabudgetof lessthan$1,200. Whenfestival day n A smallteamof threestaffmemberscarried off this n n n n n n n The biggestchallengewasimaginingsomethingon

Look for greatsightsandsmells:Atoneentrancea Consider your budget. ForConsider yourbudget. us,costsin- It wasaguessing gametomatchroom Imagine thedayfromanattendee’s Get creativewithspace:LFPLcreateda“center Imagine thelibrarythatday—itsmainentrances Quickly contactthefolks youmostwanttorecruit FirstStart planningsixmonthsout. thinkabout Every presenter receiveda logistics coordinator presentation. business leaders. instructors and local chefstodance chi practitionersto expertise—from tai contributed their community groups individuals and More than100 tions, andthecompleteschedule. confirm telephone callinthethreeweeksbefore thebigdayto could forward themtofriendsandgroups.Asheorshe emailed flierstoeveryparticipantsothatthey, too, only putuppostersandissuednewsreleases,butitalso Visit www.LFPL.org/how-to for moreinformation. val 2.0 witharoster of mostly brand-newpresentations. pose wonderfully.” behaved. Professional dogtrainersgivetipsonhowtokeepFidowell Planning isalreadyunderway tocreateHow-To Festi- n

To getthewordouttopublic,librarynot details andwasemailedmaps,parkingdirec- signed byLFPLDirectorCraigButhod. library totebagandathank-younote checked eachpresenterreceiveda in, event embodiedandfulfilledthatpur- the peoplewholivethere,andthis community istoexpandtheworldof “I director thisbig-picturecompliment: Louisville. Onevisitoremailedour son atlibrarylocationsthroughout Twitter, snailmail,email,andinper- sentfeedback viaFacebook,Attendees up Following | Trends Perspectives | really believealibrary’s roleinthe Louisville (Ky.) Free Public Library dcto manager education —Judy Rosenfield

19 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 20 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 learn digitalskills. local librariesto turning totheir are increasingly new immigrants Refugees andother W resources totheseuniquegroups. found innovativewaystoprovide and oneinMinnesota,thathave two librarysystems,oneinIdaho meet theironlineneeds.Hereare mer neighborsfromtheirhomes and proximitytofamiliesfor- cities becauseofjobopportunities migrants nowdrawntomid-size there aremanypocketsofim- always drawnnewimmigrants, and one-on-one coaching sessions in and one-on-one coachingsessionsin ers. Thetrainersnowoffer workshops to transfer digitalliteracyskillstooth - 12 newAmericanstouselibrary tools Commerce), commissionstaff trained gram of theUSDepartmentof band Technology OpportunitiesPro- project grant(fundedbytheBroad- others intheirlanguagegroups. teachdigitalliteracyto to, inturn, that trainsforeign languagespeakers for Refugees, developedaprogram in partnershipwiththeIdaho Office The Idaho Commissionfor Libraries, guage whoneeddigitalliteracyskills. andotherforeign Russian, lan- en, but bothhavespeakers of Hindi, Kar- seem like majorcitiesfor immigrants Boise andTwin Falls, Idaho, maynot Trainer” program Idaho’s “Train the Gap Literacy New Americans andthe Digital Trends | Trends With an“Online @yourlibrary” and LosAngeleshave like NewYork,Miami, hile majorurbancenters Perspectives to helpthem the challenge ies takeup librar- local skills, and digital literacy significant US without come tothe abroad. Some

those beingcoached willlearnabout labs for trainingsessions. meeting roomsandlaptopcomputer the trainershavebeenreserving Inand wirelessinternet. somecases, public computers,librarymaterials, libraries tointroducetrainees gees inBoiseandTwin Falls. reaching914sions wereheld, refu- time, 212coachingandtrainingses- exceeded allexpectations.In that training, therefugeetrainershave months. Just threemonthsinto of teaching 200individualsoversix Partners setoutwiththemodestgoal trainers, anddeliverthesessions. clarify goals,developtheguides,find the internet. services, usingacomputer, andusing information, family andhealth ing ajob,education, guides addressingthefollowing: find- were organizedintodigitalliteracy other freeonlineresources.Thetools and “Online @yourlibrary”project, wide databaseprogram(LiLI.org), the tools availablethroughIdaho’s state- together acollectionof digitalliteracy community. tools neededtohelptherefugee library resourcesandotheronline these 12trainerslearnedabout Commission for Libraries. sichini, consultantfor theIdaho how isveryimportant,” saidGinaPer - wheretechnologyknow- America, school, andliveinour21st-century their families,helpkidswith to applyfor jobs,findinformation for theskillstheyneed viduals aregetting nities usinglibraryresources.“Indi- library facilitiesandintheircommu- Persichini saidshe hopedthat Trainers havebeenusingpublic Staff spentonlythreemonthsto Commission staffmemberspulled Over aseriesof threeafternoons, access to e-government e-government cess,” shesaid. antly surprisedbyitsimmediatesuc- highlight librariesandwerepleas- “We hopedthatourprojectwould library for 71%of thosesessions. buttheyalsousedapublic trained, far exceedthenumber of individuals coffee shop). Not onlydidtrainers place outsidethelibrary, suchasina in libraries(somewereexpectedtake of thecoachingsessionstakingplace nectivity. Shesetatargetof just25% the libraryasaplacefor onlinecon- 100-year history of reaching outto paid off, becausehe found anewjob.” doing thisonhisown,” “It shesaid. “Veryhim tosignout. quicklyhewas in andoutof it;thenshereminded uphisaccountandhowtoget setting for FLC. Shesaidtheyfirstpracticed said Nancy Thornbury, coordinator great toseehimgrowwithhisskills,” fits andapply for jobsonline.“It was order toaccessunemploymentbene- computer muchbutneededtolearnin ing thesummer. He hadn’t useda Jamaican losthisjobdur- immigrant, was exploringonlineonhisown. keyboarding skills,andsoontheuncle helped himpracticebasicmouseand use acomputertoo.Staffmembers decided thathe’d like tolearnhow ing siteattheFranklin branch and his nephewusingasocialnetwork- English classoneday, he watched never usedacomputerbefore. After The unclehad County Librarysystem. Minneapolis, apartof theHennepin Franklin LearningCenter (FLC)in started learningEnglishtogetherat 60s andanephewinhisearly20s, Two Somalirefugees,an uncleinhis reaches out library Minnesota The Franklin branchhasanearly a69-year-oldAnother FLCpatron, quoted a2012Cityof Minneapolis use themouse,” saidWronka. She basic digitalliteracyskills,like howto see peoplewhodon’t havethemost bridge culturalanddigitalgaps.“We local refugeecommunitiestohelp recruits libraryvolunteersfromthe at Hennepin CountyLibrary, saidshe services anddigitalliteracy only bycomputer. ning in2014, GEDtestswillbegiven begin- after itwasannouncedthat, though—especially teaching mission, TheGEDremainspartoflia. the manyoflish, whomarefromSoma- serves thoseseekingtolearnEng- for Today theGEDtest. itprimarily assist US-bornadultsinpreparing The FLCopenedin1988primarilyto Yiddish, andotherforeign languages. lection wasinNorwegian, Swedish, 1914, one-thirdof thelibrary’s col- new Americans.Whenitopenedin Gretchen Wronka, multicultural In New York apremiumreductionmaybeavailable. Employees InsuranceCompany, markofGovernment GEICOisaregisteredservice Washington, D.C. 20076; a BerkshireHathawayInc. subsidiary. ©2012GEICO Some discounts, coverages, paymentplansandfeaturesarenotavailableinallstates orallGEICOcompanies. Discountamountvariesin somestates. Onegroupdiscountapplicableperpolicy. Coverageisindividual. FORTUNATELY, YOU COULD M ention your It forever takes to vacation earn time. librarian librarian ALA membershiptosee how much you couldsave. 1-800-368-2734 geico.com/disc/ala from onegearedtothemainstream,” centered computerclassisdifferent of learningwithinanimmigrant- Hmong people],”pace “The Leesaid. computerissonew[tomost es. “The community’s digitalliteracychalleng- until the1950s,whichaddstothis exclusively anorallanguage severaldialects,Hmongin wasalmost andVietnam.Laos, Thailand, Spoken Hmong immigrantsfromChina, progress. ChalengLeeworkswiththe recruit volunteers,andmonitor immigrant groupstoassessneeds, staff outreachliaisonsworkwithin in thecommunity.” have ahuge,hugedigitalliteracygap technology disparity“washorrific. We neighborhoods inparticular—the areas—and immigrantcommunity which found thatinlow-income 8,000 Minneapolis-area residents, Community Technology surveyof Get a free quote. afree Get Hennepin County’s threefull-time SAVE WITHGEICO

’S SPECIAL’S DISCOUNT. nepin County. work withallpopulationsinHen- will behelpingmake policyand into alibrarysystempositionand One liaisonwasrecentlypromoted circled backtothelibraryitself. ty partnering,” hesaid. Islanders. “We doalotof communi- ects thataffect Asianand Pacific tees workingoncollaborativeproj- several statewideadvisorycommit- He alsorepresentsthelibraryon residents abouttheirlibraryneeds. events, solicitinginputfromlocal meetings andothercommunity schoolparent Leeattends rolled, school aswellaftertheyareen- they helppreparetheirchildrenfor key resourcefor Hmong familiesas learning level. have theflexibilitytoadapteach notingthatclassesneedto he added, The successof theprogramhas To helppromotethelibraryasa z

21 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 22 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 T Libraries of Future Explores Conference search andsearch Statistics; Re for ALA’s Office of director Rosa, Kathy by presented System; Library (S.C.) County Florence at manager service information Carroll, B. Aubrey by presented Library,” the Model for Successful Financial Literacy Programming at at library20.com: available are and archived been have which ments. mobile and geosocial information environ delivery methods, user-centered access, and organizing and creating information, changing evolving professional roles in today’s world, to spaces learning virtual and physical from ranged Topics globe. the across from addresses 11 keynote through October 5, featured 150 presentation sessions and Trends | Trends “Restoring Contemplation—Why We Should and How on E-Trends of Influence “The “Collaboration, Innovation, A Education: event, the at sessions five offered ALA Libraries” free conference, which ran from October 3 3 October from ran which conference, free Libraries” he 40 continuous 2.012, hours of Library the “Future of Perspectives Library Management,” Management,” Library - learning, andmore. on ebooks, access, on ebooks,access, three days of talks three daysoftalks all over the world all overtheworld Librarians from Librarians from participated in participated in -

hope.” some and thought— for food of “Lots libraries, public for models ebook Zealand and Argentina, participated in the online chats. New as away far as others and areas urban and rural from students college US as well as libraries, public and school, new librarianship worldview. Librarians in special, academic, Larra and analyst, research Internet Pew Zickuhr, Kathryn by presented Project?” Internet Pew the from Data E-Reading Mannisto; L. Jessie by presented Help,” Can Libraries As participant Kerryn Whiteside noted in a chat about about achat in noted Whiteside Kerryn participant As Nonuser!) (and User New from Learn Libraries Can “What can use to assist students’ research to the the to research students’ assist to use can from great websites that school librarians everything offered which sessions, the of to Information at ALA’s OITP. at Information to Access Public on Program the of director Libraries,” presented by Carrie Russell, and (OITP); Policy nology Tech Information for ALA’s Office of Clark American Libraries “Ebook Business Models for Public listened in on several —Laurie D. Borman —Laurie - scholars.—New York DailyNews,Sept. 7. launched withthesupportofsome India’s leadingwritersand without airconditioning.Acampaign tosavethelibraryhasbeen caked indust,andtheirpagesare slowlydisintegratinginrooms quarian books.Buttodaythebuilding isdilapidated,itsbooksare Library housesoneofthecountry’s finest collectionsofrare anti- funding waswithdrawn.OldDelhi’s Hardayal MunicipalPublic One ofIndia’s oldestlibrariesisfacingclosure aftergovernment INDIA restoration iscompletedin2014.—BalkanInsight,Oct.4. phase ofitsreconstruction. Thecollectionswillreturn whenthe furbishment ofitsfaçadeOctober3,markingtheendthird regained someofitsformergloryasworkerscompletedthere- the BosnianWar, theformerNationalLibrarybuildinginSarajevo Twenty yearsafteritwasburneddownbySerbianshellingduring BOSNIA ANDHERZeGOVINA Nyheter, Sept.25. by BelgianartistGeorges Remi.—TheLocal,Sept.25;Dagens stereotyping ofAfricans,Arabs,andTurks. Tintinwascreated to remove Tintincomicsfrom itsshelvesbecause oftheirracial in whichArtisticDirector BehrangMirisaidthelibraryplanned pened “toofast.”Thereversal comesafteranewspaperreport Tintin comicbooksfrom theshelves, sayingthemovehap- library inStockholmhavereversed theirdecisiontoremove Following astormofmediacriticism,officialsattheKulturhuset SWEDEN Sport, Sept.26. as theservicegrows.—UK DepartmentforCulture, Media,and sure thatlibraries,readers, authors,andpublisherscanallbenefit of Forward Publishing,to leadareview ofe-lendingtohelpen- on loantothepublic.Vaizey hasaskedWilliamSieghart,founder he launchedareview ofthe bestwaystomakeebooksavailable across England,Culture MinisterEdVaizey saidSeptember26as A clearstrategyisneededifmore librariesare toadopte-lending UNITED KINGDOM 4 2 1 3 Gl obal Reach 1 2 3 scores.—Softlink. on NationalAssessmentProgram funding andstaffingplacedhigherthan thenationalaverage attending schoolsthatreceived above-averagelevelsoflibrary library resource levels.TheApril2012surveyfoundthatstudents have revealed apositivelinkbetweenliteracyresults andschool Findings from Softlink’s annualAustralianSchoolLibrarySurvey AUSTRALIA Net, Sept.21,23. libraries simplybecausetheylackthefunding.—NewsVietNam- showed thatschoolsdonotpaymuchattentiontoupgrading universities specializinginsocialsciencetraininglate2011 attract youngreaders. Asurveyconductedatthethree biggest with shortagesinnewbooksandperiodicals,theycannolonger have strainedthesystem.Mostlibrariansare concernedthat, demic libraries,butalackoffundingandpoormanagement Ho ChiMinhCityhas24publiclibrarydistrictsandmanyaca- VIETNAM libraries.—Yonhap NewsAgency, Sept.24. formats, includingaudioandBraillebooks,onbehalfoftheother The librarywillalsocollect,produce, anddistributealternative sent 38smallerlibrariesforpeoplewithdisabilitiesaround Korea. tional LibraryitselfinsouthernSeoul,thenewfacilitywillrepre- country’s 250,000peoplewithdisabilities.LocatedwithintheNa- A newlibraryopenedonSeptember24thatwillbetterservethe SOUTH KOREA —Christian ScienceMonitor, Sept.25. string ofsmall,uninhabitedislandsoff China’s easterncoast. to theSenkakuIslands,knownasDiaoyuIslandsinChina,a a territorialdispute.OnSeptember14,Japanrenewed itsclaims nese contentastensionsescalatebetweenthetwocountriesover pressuring Chinesepublishers nottotranslateandpublishJapa- been removed from bookshopsinBeijing,andauthoritiesare Books byJapaneseauthorsandtitlesontopicshave CHINA 5 7 8 6 4 –Literacy andNumeracytest 5 7 6 8

23 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 24 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 TRENDS | TRENDS scripts, web-quality video and audio scripts, web-quality videoandaudio phone anddoor-to-doorcanvassing email, andsurface-mailtemplates, library campaigns.We planonprint, campaign toolswewillcreatefor the new, free,andfullycustomizable one thatisonthe2013ballotthrough support initsfirstyear? expect Every How manylibrarycampaignsdoyou JOHN CHRASTKA: as forminganationallibraryPAC? take onsuchanambitiousendeavor AMERICAN LIBRARIES:Whydidyou position tomake ithappen. as apoliticaljunkie,Iamingood advocacy ecosystempersonally, and a former ALAstaffer whoknowsthe From myyearsasalibrarytrustee, cal librarywhenitisontheballot. needs anationalPAC tosupportalo- thelibrarycommunity regulation, Undercampaign. currentlawand tax moneytofundaget-out-the-vote and thelocallibraryitself—cannotuse Gates Foundation. State libraries— Libraries Council,OCLC,andthe theUrban associations suchasALA, litical speechby501(c)(3)groupsand because of IRSregulationsaboutpo- dressed byaPAC. Thegaphappens library advocacythatcanonlybead- J with ballot initiativespassedin2013andbeyond.Chrastkadiscussedhisvision to helppublic,school,andacademiclibrariesget political actioncommittee(PAC), EveryLibrary.org, fashion, Chrastkahaslaunchedanationallibrary six years).Andnow, incharacteristicallymaverick Berwyn (Ill.)PublicLibrary(where hehasservedfor agency. First,hewasalready ontheboard ofthe ALA todevotemore timetohisstart-upconsulting library advocacybehindwhenheresigned from NEWSMAKER: development from 2003to2011,didn’t leave ohn Chrastka,ALA’s director ofmembership AL SeniorEditorBeverly Library will be able to Library willbeableto Interview There is a gap in There isagapin Every single Every single Goldberg onOctober5. J ohn mentation andanalytics. build funding,we’ll addvoter seg- banks for certaincampaigns.Aswe rally volunteerstohelpstaffphone signs andbillboards.We alsoplanto files, andhigh-resolutionart yard for endum for anewlibrarydistrict. first timeinalongtime.(3)Arefer - asking for aconstructionbondfor the ous ballotmeasurefail.(2)Alibrary in 2013:(1)Alibrarythathadaprevi- three I’d like toseeusfocus monieson coming intoadistrict independentof Insucceed. everycase,wewillnotbe the politicalconsultingtheyneed to or PAC with thefundstheywantand port thelocallibraryballotcommittee EveryLibrary totryfirst? What wouldbeagoodtestcasefor ed before? Has anythinglikethisbeenattempt- terest? EveryLibrary asanoutsidespecialin- authoritiesmisconstruing governing aboutlocal Do youhaveanyconcerns national projects. wasn’t encroachingonanyexisting years of libraryPACs tomake sureI white papercoveringthelast10 EveryLibrary, Icommissioned a EveryLibrary willworktosup- Chrastka When Istartedplanning There are There are able tohelpfillinthosegaps. EveryLibrary willbehits theballot. public moneystopsonceameasure campaign planning,butbystatute dations] trainstrusteesoneffective ees, Advocates,Friends, andFoun- ALA’s Associationfor LibraryTrust- Unitedcan. for Libraries[formerly say “Vote yesonMeasure L” like we Washington Office,butneithercan succeed andIfullysupportthe ALA’s Office forLibraryAdvocacy are personaldonors.Iwanttosee and-tumble politics. and-tumble politics. ing, andcollections.It’s notrough- a librarywiththerightfunding,staff- off whenalocalcommunity has better ents; andhow, asacountry, weare local businesses,educators,andpar- about howlibrariansarepartnersfor build communitiesandchangelives; local governmentabouthowlibraries however, notbeshyabouttalkingto Wethe locallibrarycommittee. will, effectiveness? How willyoumeasure EveryLibrary’s a nationwidelibraryPAC? from ALAleadershiptoyourvisionof What kindofreaction hasthere been ties wehavehelped. for politicalactioninthecommuni- is aneworenergizedinfrastructure Bywhethertherenational support. failed totryagainnowthatthereis libraries whosepreviousmeasures Bywhether we’veumn. inspired library measurestothe“win” col- whether wehelpedmovemore Chrastka, visitamericanlibrariesmagazine.org. To read the extendedinterviewwithJohn Fundamentally, by z Several Noted and Quoted | OPINION What They Said

“In this difficult economic climate, pub- I felt a mingled sense of security and “But I love libraries. lic libraries fill a critical need in the stimulation—a rightness of some sort. community. For years, we’ve had I felt that I had found my intellectual Bastions of truth in a library users who expressed interest in home and began to relax in ways that world full of lies.” a way to show their support for had not been possible on the ranch, Abby, a character in With Her Eyes Wide libraries of all kinds—public, academic, even after I got old enough not to Open by Seth Harper (lulu.com, 2012). and special libraries. This new license have to worry about the poultry.” plate is a great way to do that.” LARRY MCMURTRY, Walter Benjamin at the In the Name of the Bodleian and Other LINDA KOMPANIK, chair of the Kentucky Dairy Queen: Reflections at Sixty and Be- Essays (London, 1906). Library Association’s Library Awareness yond (Simon & Schuster, 1999), p. 66–67. Committee and director of Logan County “The archives decision is one of the Public Library, on spearheading the effort “We need to replace the dusty shelves toughest decisions I’ve had to make. to get the state to issue “Support Ken- and crusty books with more desks, But it was the least impactful to tucky’s Libraries” license plates. conference rooms, and computer ter- Georgians.” minals. Computers are the new gate- Georgia Secretary of State BRIAN KEMP, “The truth is, I don’t know why brick-and- ways to the vast sea of human speaking at a meeting of the Athens– mortar libraries still serve a purpose. I knowledge, and the library’s floor plan Clarke County Republican Party in defense could have checked out the ebook ver- should reflect that fact. Keep the of his decision to cut costs by limiting pub- sion, but instead, sitting somewhere in books, but store them in an off-site lic access to the state archives to Satur- the mid-800s of nonfiction, I have found depository.” days, effective November 1, in “Kemp a perfect location, just light enough to Recent Harvard graduate GEORGE HAGE- Doubles Down on Archives’ Lockdown read but shielded from passersby. Turn- MAN in an op-ed, “Seattle’s Libraries Being Best Cut to Make,” Athens (Ga.) ing the thick, dinner-stained pages of Need a Makeover for the Digital World,” Banner-Herald, Oct. 8. Ramona the Pest, the dust jacket crin- in the Seattle Times, Aug. 27. kles, and within a single chapter I am 8 “If librarians were honest / they would again. This is my third place; my place “Here’s the thing about librarians: They say / No one spends time here without between work and home where I be- are the only people I know who are in- being changed.” A poem by JOSEPH long. And sitting here is why I continue credibly excited TO DO YOUR WORK MILLS titled “If Librarians Were Honest,” to fight for public libraries.” FOR YOU.” published in the collection Sending CHELS KNORR, “Why Do We Still Need JUSTIN REICH, “Librarians Are Completely Christmas Cards to Huck and Hamlet Public Libraries?” Thought Catalog, Awesome,” Education Week: EdTech (Press 53, 2012). Sept. 30. Researcher, Aug. 16. “In today’s world of cynicism and mate- “ ‘She’s a librarian,’ Sim said. ‘They’re “[T]he dispositions of mind displayed by rialism, I don’t hear much about invest- not teachers; don’t give you half as these librarians are wide as the poles ing in the future or making sure november/december 2012

much hassle. If there’s a fire in the asunder. Some of them babble like ba- children are literate and well-educated |

school and I’ve got to choose who I’m bies, others are evidently austere as an expression of patriotism. Our gonna save—a teacher or a librarian— scholars; some are gravely bent on the children will compete for jobs with the teacher’s gonna burn every time.’ ” best methods of classifying catalogues, people whose communities provided KEITH GRAY, Ostrich Boys (Random House economizing space, and sorting borrow- the educational support available from Books for Young Readers, 2010), p. 24. ers’ cards; others, scorning such me- an adequate library.” chanical details, bid us regard libraries, RON MITCHELL, “Funding the Library Is “I will only record now that every time I and consequently librarians, as the pri- Also a Form of Patriotism,” in a letter stepped into the Rice library [Rice Insti- mary factors in human evolution.” to the editor in the Casper (Wyo.) Star- z tute, later Rice University, in Houston] AUGUSTINE BIRRELL, “Librarians at Play,” Tribune, Sept. 22. americanlibrariesmagazine.org

25 OPINIon | On My Mind Creating a New Tradition

A tag sale yields goodwill along with revenue by Daria D’Arienzo

alf a dozen tween series of “clean outs” with family and modestly priced. The library girls are crowded and friends who were unsure what was open four days a week, and we around several to do with the still-useful items they added more products each day, lur- large tables stacked were discarding, I wondered if ing shoppers to return to see what withH odds and ends in the win- Meekins Library could combine re- new items were for sale. dows of the Meekins Library cycling and fundraising in a season- By year three the Meekins Market in the center of the small town al tag sale (combined with a had become established, and it fur- of Williamsburg, Massachu- community food and clothing ther blossomed in year four. People setts (population 2,500). drive). It would all be sponsored by of all ages stopped by regularly. Our Two girls kneeling on the floor the Friends of the Williamsburg earnings grew too: Between years are pulling things out from under an Libraries and held in November and one and two, they quadrupled. And old oak table that has been part of December—holiday season, when between years two and three, they the library furnishings since 1897. everyone has less free cash yet wants doubled. In year four we grew mod- Two more girls are peering over a to find the perfect present for their estly, just topping the third year’s friend’s shoulders, mother or sister or earnings. We’re constantly remind- excited with each People have grandparent or ed that community members have surprise emerging friend or classmate embraced the market because mer- from the boxes. not only or colleague. chandise comes to us, unsolicited, Others stand peer- exchanged The first year we all year long. ing into baskets on objects but started small: one another table. table with a few Sparking joy Each girl has a also the stories that go items donated by Now approaching year five, the whimsical polar with them. library volunteers Meekins Market is an annual event, fleece scarf draped and Friends. Most of eagerly awaited and thoroughly around her neck and they are com- the items were geared to be afford- enjoyed. People have not only ex- paring patterns and laughing. But, able for schoolchildren, who could changed objects but also the stories what are they really doing? shop for gifts for their siblings and that go with them—like the small They’re supporting their local classmates. Featured merchandise perfume bottle one grandmother public library. included books for all ages. had collected that became a present Meekins Market, our small One table turned into three, and for a local volunteer’s sweetheart. library’s holiday tag sale, is part of we made a respectable amount of Libraries like Meekins are the the newest recycling activity in our money and created goodwill all hearts of their communities—far more november/december 2012

| community. As a fundraiser and around. The Meekins Market’s ini- than the sum of its librarians, volun-

“Friend-raiser,” the Meekins Market tial success gave us hope to extend it teers, patrons, building, collections, offers a fun way for area residents to for another year. events, and regional infrastructure. shop while raising much-needed In its second year, the Meekins What started as a spark of imagina- revenue for the library. Market lasted for five weeks. Build- tion is now a joyful—and lucrative— The Meekins Market started as an ing on our first year’s experience, tradition in our community. z experiment. In recent years our ser- we had a better idea of the kinds of vices have been in greater demand, merchandise our community mem- DARIA D’ARIENZO is archivist of the Meekins but financial resources have not bers sought—almost anything use- Library in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, and founder of the Meekins Market. americanlibrariesmagazine.org kept pace. Having been through a ful, decorative, in good condition,

26 Social Media? Social Using onlinetoolstoimprove service organization—to usethesetools. libraries—or practicallyanyother an informal focus group.Once you’re your library. Use thisinformation as saying andhowtheyinteractwith helps youlearnwhatcustomers are be notified. new searchresultappears,you will those alertsviaemailorRSS.Whena (google.com/alerts) andsubscribeto similar searchesinGoogleAlerts Youtalking aboutyou. cansetup “library” inyourvicinity, theymaybe or city. Whensomeoneusestheword “library” andthenameof yourtown advanced Twitter searchfor theword er of setupandsave an choice). Next, visit thatsearchinyourTwitter read- you’lltweet, seeit(assuming youre- someone usesthosekeywords ina Now,Save thatsearch. whenever Shawnee CountyPublicLibrary). and “topekalibrary”for Topeka and name (for example,“topekalibrary” a searchinTwitter for yourlibrary’s Foreasy toestablish. starters, create your community. Listening toolsare services, and your about you, tomers aresaying hear whatcus- tools toseeand set uplistening library starts“talkingback”online, BeforeListening comesfirst. your Listening A Using Twitter andGoogleAlerts see manyreasonsfor Indeed, theyare.I cial mediaworthit? re effortstouseso- Social mediais a reason. called “social”for Twitter. Afterseeingthe posts,peo- the eventonFlickr, Facebook, and to Facebook Events.Sharephotosof short YouTube Addit videoaboutit. Tweetit viasocialmedia. make it, a Have afuneventcoming up?Share Have anewservice atthelibrary? stuff new Sharing cause youalsofollow theirfriend. through yourlisteningtoolsorbe- Youvia socialmedia. mayseethem customers directedtotheirfriends questions. Thesearequestionsyour tions byansweringtheirindirect want toexceedcustomerexpecta- You’llanswer thequestion. also Yourmedia. role,obviously, isto are asked byacustomerviasocial Direct questionsrect andindirect. You’ll seetwotypesof questions:di- Answer questionsastheyarise. Answering providing interestinginformation. library needstofollow throughby customers. Thisishuge.If people your organizationdirectaccessto acts of friendingandfollowing gives Using socialmediatoolsthroughthe Theyenablecommunication. reason. Social mediaiscalled“social” for a Communicating answering questionsthatpopup. comfortable start withsocialmedia, Dispatches from theField| TECHNOLOGY dated. Yourdated. want tostayup- organization and they like your it’syou, because choose tofollow personality and staff Sharing vite peopletouseit. what you’re doingandwhy—andin- time.Ifnext it’s aservice,share ple whomissedtheeventmaycome Reports. Aug./Sept. 2012issue ofLibraryTechnology Face2Face. Thisarticleisexcerptedfrom the Libraries columnOutside/Inandisauthor of Public Library. HecowritestheAmerican for theTopeka andShawneeCounty(Kans.) DAVID LEEKINGisdigitalservicesdirector seem activeandworthfollowing. italsomakesjob atit, thelibrary following. Assuming youdoagood media accountseemaliveandworth bother? Responsesmake yoursocial Why one toaskanotherquestion. response doesnotencouragesome- asking aquestionandreceivingno tomers. Everyonewouldagreethat that someoneisinteractingwithcus- ipates insocialnetworks,itshows When anorganizationactivelypartic- “alive”Being online nizational socialmediaaccount. poseful mannerwhenusinganorga- on howtointeractinapositive,pur- while otherswillneedsometraining line inanorganizationalsetting, be comfortable beingthemselveson- this ideaistraining.Somestaffwill people like Theothersideof that. and theremakes youseemreal,and personalityhere cause sharingalittle Andthat’ssocial media. okay, be- quirks andall.Thisholdstruewith tomers, theirpersonalitiescomeout, tions. Whenrealpeopletalktocus- It takes realpeopletoanswerques- by DavidLeeKing z

27 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 28 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 The Wheel Turns Wheel The Again Another milestone,measured inquarterturns circularity, associatedwithit. there’s asenseof of completion, It’son. aniceroundnumber, and andso 100most, this, 100bestthat, were alsonumerous lists:100top than Ibelieved. then it’s job doingamuchbetter ing relationshipwithcataloging, have hadnothingmorethanapass- even thoughoverthedecadesI cause it“knows” I’m alibrarian, field. If Googleretrievedthatbe- the MARC21format for the100 position— pointless), andthenin10th 100.com (whichseemsrather a searchenginebafflinglycalled Z100 radiostationinNew York and closely bythe It wasfollowed was Wikipedia. entry, naturally, “100.” Thefirst so Igoogled it onemoretry, obligated togive course, Ifelt times. Goodpened. “50” and“75”seeing whathap- respectively, googlingthe numbers theinternetdomyworkby,letting neered thegroundbreakingideaof (Aug. 2009, p.36)columns, Ipio- 50th (Feb. 2007, p.27)and75th todo)mayrecallthatfor mybetter A TECHNOLOGY |AnotherStory Interspersed through theresults Well, of seriously—a listingfor memories (ornothing my 100thcolumn. nd hereweare,at Readers withlong what couldbe. has been,whatis,and double circle givesmea chance toreflect onwhat year anniversary My 100thcolumn of writingit;this comes atmy10- American Libraries The editorsatAmerican So, amIdonehere? No suchluck. forward Going drinks areonmeatMidwinter. plore. Heartfelt thanks,Karen— and wehaduntroddenground toex- was young,thewebanovelty, over manyyearswhentheinternet did acharacteristicallysplendidjob Karen originatedthiscolumn and ing appearsinthisissue,p.34–37). (whose feature onpersonalbrand- predecessor, KarenSchneider knowledge andthankmyfriend AsIdo,it’sfield. toac- onlyfitting and gratitude,Iherebyretirethat know now, there’s noway back. butcertainly notfingers crossed, Not yetoutdatedorananachronism, Librarian isnolongernecessary. sion thatacolumn calledInternet be, andI’vearrivedattheconclu- whatis,and couldhas been, me anopportunitytoreflectonwhat ing it;thisdoublecirclehasgiven top of my10-yearanniversarywrit- This 100thcolumn comessmackon circle Double Thus, withprofound fondness internet. And, we And, internet. more withoutthe librarian any- can’t reallybea Rubicon andyou we’d crossedthe 2005, p.62)that years ago(Nov. saying seven was comfortable territory either. I groundbreaking

that’s anotherstory. some of thoseotherstories…but dents. Sonow, happyme,Igettotell I alsosayitallthetime;askmystu- one didtoo.Soonitbecameathing. just sortof andthenthesecond fit, off Thefirsttime every column. it ry” taglinewithwhichI’vesigned fell into the“butthat’s anothersto- As for that newtitle:Icompletely won’tSome things change next roundof thisadventure. next and Ican’t waittoembarkonthe been verygoodfor meandtome, has Libraries, andAmerican column, tinue, Ihope,goingforward. This about them—allof whichwillcon- been verykindintheircomments andpeoplehavegenerallywith, columns, eventheonesIstruggled an educator, Iguess. the way. Anoccupational hazardfor there havebeenafew of thosealong specific ideasortechniques,though ing aboutthingsthanproviding and providinganotherwayof think- more timehereaskingquestions Ifeelabout. asthoughI’vespent other thingstosay, andask think, ternet; thereare,however, lotsof write nothingfurtheraboutthein- ritory inwhichtoplay. chance for metohaveabroaderter- lege of a launchinganewcolumn, have agreedtoallowmetheprivi- Seattle. School oftheUniversity ofWashington in chair oftheMLISprogram attheInformation Joseph Janes I havetrulylovedwritingthese This won’t necessarilymeanI is associateprofessor and z by JosephJanes The DIYThe Patron Rethinking howwehelpthosewhodon’t ask es arebasedupon amodelthatno mindset spoke tome. our servicesinlightof theDIY of whatwedo,theideaof rethinking services shouldstillbeatthe heart that reference andinstructional toward irrelevance.WhileIbelieve is misguidedandmaybemovingus place onmediatedmodelsof service that theemphasislibrariansstill ACRLog arguing (bit.ly/rq0oHS) thought-provoking guestpostat tional University inMiami, wrotea cess librarianatFloridaInterna- They’llgoelsewhere. desk. theywon’tstand, gotothereference about thelibrarytheydon’t under- selves. Andwhenthere’s something want tofigurethingsout for them- using reference services. ability is the only reason people aren’t friendly, butIdon’t think approach- of makingthelibrarymoreuser- Istillbelieve inthevalue understand. places withlotsof rulestheydon’t and manypeopleseelibrariesas erable researchonlibraryanxiety, more approachable.There’s consid- my desiretomake thereference desk a waytofigureitoutmyself. understand something,I’dfind talking toalibrarian.IfIdidn’t undergraduate thesiswithout asking forhelp.Iwroteanentire L Kim isright:Many libraryservic- Last year, digitalac- BohyunKim, Like me,manypeoplesimply For years,myexperiencesfueled I havealwaysavoided libraries asachild.Yet was afrequentuserof ike manylibrarians,I haviors—through methodssuchas our users’ information-seeking be- Thisrequiresunderstandinglost. the librarywherepatronsoften get making mapsavailableinareas of link to)acomplicateddatabase or how-to tutorialwithin(orbeside a ly—whether thatmeansprovidinga help shouldbeavailableseamless- lem withtheirinformation seeking, workflows. Whentheyhaveaprob- embedding helpintotheirresearch can empowertheseDIY patronsby tutorial onthis”? think “Iwonderifthelibraryhasa searching adatabase,howmany trons arehavingdifficulty als” pageandcallitaday. Whenpa- put learningobjectsona“Tutori- created tutorials,butmostsimply friendly. Somanylibraries have tems thatarefrequentlynotuser- points of needinusinglibrarysys- how wecansupportDIYers attheir focus oninstructionbuttolookat scarcity. information environment of are basedonan ence services Yet ourrefer- for eachsearch. cost usdearly databases that information and valuable bitsof gatekeepers of are nolonger information abundance,librarians longer exists.In anenvironmentof We needtothinkabouthowwe This isnotacalltodecreaseour help intotheirworkflows. this?” We needtoembed the libraryhasatutorialon many think,“Iwonderif When patrons are having difficulty database, how searching a In Practice|TECHNOLOGY successful information seeker. their useaprerequisitefor beinga vices arevaluable,butwecan’t make desk oraworkshop.In-person ser- without comingtothereference enable themtouseourresources ing populationof DIYers, wemust dent havingtoaskfor help. erence interviewwithoutthestu- Itproblem. willbelike havingaref- content theyneedtosolvetheir find thesmallpiece of instructional a systemthatwillhelpusersquickly University library, we’re developing answer. AtPortland (Oreg.)State tutorial aboutpeerreviewtofindthe doesn’t wanttogothroughalong mine whetheranarticleisscholarly for information onhowtodeter- Apatron lookingon howweteach. search, andusabilitytesting— search, web analytics,ethnographicre- gmail.com. Contact heratlibrarysuccess@ Practices Wiki. Be Free andcreated LibrarySuccess:ABest Science. SheblogsatInformationWants to University SchoolofLibraryandInformation She isalsopart-timefacultyatSanJosé State services atPortland(Oreg.) StateUniversity. MEREDITH FARKAS isheadofinstructional If wewanttoappealthegrow- designed based which isoften tional content, online instruc- how wecreate need torethink and website. library’s walls help beyondthe about embedding and thinking by Meredith Farkas Libraries also

29 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 Toughing By Janice Arenofsky It Out In a Tight Job Market

Hands-on advice to help you stand out during a job search might consideracareer in thefastfoodindustry. job searchers, itdoeshavelimitations— While compromise usuallyeasesthewayfor Brand sought-after locationsandsubject-expert applicants. wherethereislesscompetitionbecauseofwest, fewer instance, consideracademiclibrary positions in the Mid- ary, For and/orgeographiclocation. workenvironment, level positionsduetobudgetaryproblems.” Connolly, “although some libraries are not filling entry- will be a trickle-down effect favoring promotions,” said This trendshouldpeakbetween2015and2019. “There level librarypositionsasdirectoranddepartmenthead. the firstwave of babyboomersisretiringfromsuchtop- ians can anticipate a relativelystrong job market because worse.” In accordingtoConnolly, fact, experiencedlibrar- “We maybetreading water, butatleastit’s notgetting information. Themarket isbacktopre-2008,hesaid. ALA’s JobLIST, aresourcefor careeradviceandjobsearch Y So theadvicefor jobsearchersiscompromise—insal- But don’t despair, saidDavidConnolly, whocompiles If notforsheerstubbornnessandhard-won self-respect, you professionals—pursuing a libraryjobinadowneconomy. ou’re allalone—withthousands ofotherinformation experience inpublic, academic,school,or If yourrésumé includessalaried orvolunteer value” your “Prove technology,track record, andteamwork. ence onFacebook, LinkedIn, andTwitter.) or contributetodiscussions.” (ALA’s JobLIST hasapres- suggests Connolly. “OrgoonLinkedIn orTwitter andstart be asprofessional aspossible. negatively. Butdon’t censoryourselfunduly;thegoalisto beatthemtoitanddeletewhatreflectsonyou tation, employers willgoogleyournameasaquickcheckonrepu- rity thatalsounderscoresyourstrengthsandgoals.Because Communicate apersonalmessageof honestyandinteg- 34–37.) knowledge. (See“Personal Brandingfor Librarians,” page ing whatyoustandfor—your skills,accomplishments,and unlike Brandpromotion means market brand promotion. - First, however, enhanceyourimageinthreekey areas: “Add yourcomments toasuccessful,well-readblog,” Start by becoming active on social media sites and forums.

31 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 32 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 learn about the staff’s digitalproficiencies. Thenstudylearn aboutthestaff’s library environmentsimilarto that of youridealjoband and discussiongroupsyouparticipatein. work-related photos online. List socialmedia sites,blogs, blog, orwebsite.Film a YouTube videoorpostdigital e-resources youmayhave.Createapersonal computer languages,orweb design, employers. Demonstrateanyknowledgeof Technology know-howisadefiniteplus for Rev up your inner geek lished inafew professional journals. as partof Andwhileyou’re thecurriculum. getpub- atit, Makeprogram. sure to get an internshiporfieldexperience delphia offers anonlinepost-master’s digitallibraries vanced Study. For instance, DrexelUniversity inPhila- library scienceprogramoffering theCertificate ofAd- years? Update yourskillswithanonlineorin-person treasure. at all,youwillbeminingthoseprojectsfor business, hospital,orlawfirm. In notime information databasefor amedium-size munity nonprofit. Or organize an temple,hobbyclub,orcom- your church, creativity and set up a library collection at empty? That’s toward easy—fill ’er up!Demonstrate your library environment],” hesaid. résumé, neglectingtotranslatetheexperience [tothe “Sometimesyoucanmisstatesomethingonyourvision. orsuper- such ascustomerservice,projectmanagement, results. Also, make certain you spotlight transferable skills your value.” Highlight specificprojects,activities,and job descriptions: Document your contributions and prove your accomplishments,” saidConnolly. “Don’t just give special libraries,take abow. Thenworkon“quantifying n n n computer languages n n Not surehowcomputerliterateyouneedtobe?Visit a Been away from libraries more than two yourgasmeterstillveersBut whatifafterallthat,

A flexible,winning personality Subject expertise/master’s degree Visibility inthecommunity Knowledge ofHTMLandother MLIS/MLS degree IF YOU’VE GOT IT, FLAUNT IT

conferences. on toemaillistsand move media sitesand start withsocial When networking, e-portfolio, appreciate, remember, andrewardyou. The moreyouprovidesolutions,thepeoplewill ties orcementingrelationshipsthatultimatelybearfruit. poster sessions.Thesecanleadtopublishingopportuni- share. Lookfor opportunitiestopresentatconference workshop orgivealecture.Showcaseyourtalentsand reasonable goalof exchangingbusinesscardswith“X” work thereceptionareaandchatwitheveryone.Seta Volunteer work. mittee tohelpoutduringaconference— state/national libraryconferences, andcom- sites, thenmoveontoemaildiscussionlists, Startwithsocialmedia network. network, You’ve hearditbefore, andit’s true:Network, Teamwork employer’s] attention,” saidConnolly. “It’s “A isthefirst thingthatgets[an coverletter tell and Show for busyparentsthatyoucompiled? on Microsoft Publisher?What aboutthosereadinglists memory. youspunout Rememberthatfirstnewsletter talent for innovationandself-starting?Drawonyour fairservice. tain acustomerorpatronreceivedprompt, miletolocateadocument ormadecer- gone theextra well of your colleagues? cooperative? Doyoupitchinandhelp?speak strengths tothisposition. ideal jobandlistenastheytieyourabilities tors) whocanvouchfor yourcompetence.Discuss budgeting, etc.)aspossible. keeping accuraterecords,evaluatingjobperformances, if you’re feeling Try discouraged. thesetips: canbedifficult flexibility—exhibiting anupbeatattitude confidence,andsuch asenthusiasm, emphasizes projectingpositiveattitudes— Although muchof thejobhuntingliterature onPile the positives ortaketo teachyou, somecourses. askafriendorfamilymemberthese skillsonyourown, 5. Learnonthefly. Not yetconvinced of yourinnate 4. Servicewithasmile:Note thetimeswhenyouhave 3. Don’t Areyou in. discounttheimportanceof fitting 2. Contactthreepeople(pastsupervisors,instruc- 1. Listasmanyof yourtransferable skills(suchas that six-secondglanceatyourrésumé.” one whovetsyouwillhelpgetmorethan six yearsagothroughnetworking.“Some- Connolly, whonoteshegothiscurrentjob oradescriptionof yourskills,”letter said notes oremails. “It’s as critical as a cover number of contacts,andfollow upwithshort If youhaveaspecialty, offer todo a Industries like business,publishing,and governmentalso in government andcollege-sponsoredenvironments. butlookbeyondtheiruseorganizing, andanalyzingdata, Standard libraryskillsinvolve gathering, put you on the inside track to a job offer. Widening yourdefinition of “library”may itIf looks likeaduck … different anyway.” demeanor. Oftenemployersarelookingfor something for what youmaybelievetobea‘traditional’librarian the people already onstaff. So don’t put on a front and go fit—someone whowillfitintotheirworkcultureandwith “Today,added Calvin. moreemployersarehiringfor respectability andresponsibility. regarding libraryissues.Aboveall,projectaquietairof like. And make sureyoucanaskoneortwogoodquestions library provides and what its patron demographic looks argumentative collegestudents.Know what servicesthe such ashowyouwouldhandleaniratepatronordealwith tive professional andrehearseanswerstotypicalquestions, Preparation is vital. Choose clothes that scream conserva- apt toconsiderdressanddemeanorasdealbreakers. in thehiringprocess.Atthisstage,employersaremore screened out. inquiries, take thesedirectionsseriouslyoryoumaybe posting asksfor threecopiesof arésumé andnotelephone source DevelopmentandRecruitment. programofficerCalvin, forALA’s Office for HumanRe- several timesatdifferent times of theday,” saidBeatrice itwouldbe agoodideatovisitthelibraryeasily visit, can slantyourrésumé appropriately. help youunderstandtheworkclimateorcultureso out websitestheprospectiveemployerhosts.Thiswill digital contentcuratorwithteachingskills.Also,check instruction atacommunitycollege,consideryourself Forand cooperation. instance,ifyouassistedwithlibrary showcase thevariousskillsandknowledgejobcallsfor. the jobdescriptioncarefullyanduseyourpastprojectsto that importantfirstcut. To produceatargetedrésumé, read proofread well-executed, résumé,a solid, youcanmake traditional,” “For hesaid. example,don’t openwith ajoke.” thatlandedpeopleactualjobs.“Sticktothe cover letters tofindexamples of successfulopencoverletters.com Instead,said. jump-start your brain at a site like thepresspumpedlook like out,” justanotherletter he compelling story.” Avoiduniversalguidelinesor “itwill an opportunitytogobeyondthebulletpointsandtella At thesametime,“letyourrealpersonalityshine,” The telephoneorin-personinterviewisthefinalstep Make suretofollow If instructions,sheadvised. ajob “If anapplicantisapplying for apositionwherehecan Employers alsolookfor soft skillssuchasleadership By putting together an attention-getting and cover letter fit offers roomtogrow. butthebest challenge. Remember:Agoodfitisimportant, ket into abrightfuture.Aimfor jobsthatinterestand resilienceandresolutioncanturnaweakjobmar- back, puter databasemanagersandinformation organizers. few yearsbecauseofgrow overthenext theneedfor com- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, corporate positions will Accordingto the latestdata fromthedentials youneed. Youryour list. skillsandbackgroundmaybeallthecre- “researchers,” “database specialists,” or“webdevelopers.” director,” “information director,” “literaturescientist,” ings mayusesuchdescriptorsas“knowledgeservices practiced ataccessingandstoringinformation. Job post- but they want peopleuse typical library science jargon, embrace theseskills.Human resourcespeoplemaynot Although theeconomymaytake afew yearstobounce Do notautomaticallyeliminatethesepositionsfrom Opencoverletters.com Hiringlibrarians.com LISjobs.com LIScareer.com G. KimDority(LibrariesUnlimited,2006) Librarians andOtherInformationProfessionals by Rethinking InformationWork: ACareer Guide for INALJ.com (INeedaLibraryJob) Richard A.Murray(LibrariesUnlimited,2012) Science StudentsbyPriscillaK.Shontzand What DoEmployersWant? AGuideforLibrary and Recruitment(HRDR) ALA’s OfficeforHumanResource Development ALA JobLIST American Forests, andHerizons. including Preservation, Newsweek,ExperienceLife, writer andformerlibrarianwhohaswritten formagazines JANICE ARENOFSKYisaPhoenix-basedfreelance TOOLS FOR THE HUNT z

33 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 34 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 Personal Personal Branding for Librarians from the professional herd professional the from Distinguishing yourself By Karen G.Schneider

Personal Personal Branding for Librarians from the professional herd professional the from Distinguishing yourself By Karen G.Schneider

as weappeartofellowlibrariansandothers. notoriously preoccupied asweare withourprofessional image,both Unsurprisingly, personalbrandinghasalsocaughtonwithlibrarians, istobebelieved. classic ThinkandGrow Rich,ifWikipedia T to thejobmarket. andemphasize theuniqueskillsshe brings employability to honehowshewasseenby otherstomaximizeher Skype. Her pathto employmentbeganwithherdecision stand out” among oceans of applicants, as she told me via and decidedshe“needed todosomethingmake myself a gloomyjobmarket. Sheknewcompetitionwouldbestiff tentional thanavoidinglampshade-on-the-headphotos. notes thatpersonalbrandingismoreproactiveandin- ployed asatechnologistattheebookinitiativeUnglue.It, But brandingproponentAndromedaYelton, nowem- book youwouldn’t wantpotentialfutureemployerstosee. more than notuploadinganythingtoFaceto meanlittle - Work Groups). companion Task Force onSuccinctTitles for Functional June 1989, p. 487)(whichcouldhaveprofited from a the Image of theLibrarian/Information Professional (AL, tial Inter-Association Task Force for the Enhancement of president Joe evenestablishedaPresiden- AnnClifton, under theleadershipofLibraries Association, then- by Virginia McNeil Speiden).In thelate1980s,Special asSeeninEightLibraryCareerNovelsImage oftheLibrarian EdwardsandThe ary SchoolAdministrationbyRobertL. asReflectedthe HighSchoolLibrarian onSecond- in Textbooks 50 years, including two as far back as 1961 (The Image of on thetopicof thelibraryprofession’s imageinthelast a dozen doctoral dissertations that have been published June/July 2007, p.152),and WorldCat retrievedmorethan “image” articlesinthe library pressbackto1949(AL, In 2010, Yelton wasafreshly mintedlibrarianentering Personal branding is sometimes vastly oversimplified columnist Will Libraries ManleyAmerican hastraced traceable asfarback1937andNapoleonHill’s self-help been ahottopicforsometimewiththepublicatlarge, he trend ofestablishingandmaintainingapersonalbrandhas

yond jobhunting toconcernssuchas“how tointeract Kimnoted that these challenges went be- library world. atoeholdinthe challenges newlibrarianshave getting Association of CollegeandResearchLibraries aboutthe the New Members RoundTable discussiongroupof ALA’s Midwinter 2011. She was motivated by conversations in well-ratedpanelonpersonalbrandingatALAtended, branding, Kim organized and moderated a heavily at- confusion for newlibrarians. opportunities for socialnetworkingonlyexacerbatethe of that information ourselves.” Kimaddsthatthemany we like it ornot” andinvolves“consciously takingcharge us onlinewillinevitablyrepresenttootherswhether about …acknowledgingthefactthatinformation about Yelton. From Kim’s pointof view, “personal brandingis national University Medical Library in Miami, agrees with believes, becauseof thepersonalbrandsheestablished. position sheultimatelylandedisagoodfitinpart, Yelton and mybrandiscenteredontheevidenceof that.” The want peopletotake mywordfor itwhenIsaycandothings, other evidenceof “Idon’t hertechnicalskills.Sheadded, ing code that runs on the web somewhere”), blogging, and evidence-based branding (which in her case meant “writ- and fine-tunehowshepresentedherselftothejobmarket. road testhercapabilities,identifyandaddressanygaps, know howto do?” Thispersonalinventoryallowedherto evidence outthere?How can I learn howto do things I should doIwantpeopletobelievecando?How canIget “What To helplibrarians sortthroughthequestionsabout digital access librarian at Florida InterBohyun Kim, - A software programmer, Yelton focused on what she calls Yelton beganherbrandingexperiencebyaskingherself,

35 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 36 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 sometimes morethanoncein a interests andopportunities— only tobesurprisedearlyonbynew particular professional direction, certain thattheyareheadedina ians graduatefromlibraryschool should alsotake notethatmanylibrar- she hadfiveyearsago. thoughts” want tobetieddownbytheprofessional is notactuallyhelpfultopeople.” Sheaddsthatshe “wouldn’t fore”—Sheehan saysbranding“implies astaticnature that able world—“No onehadtoevermanagethisstuff be google a While notingthevalueof managingyourimagein questions theabilityordesirabilityof brandstoevolve. But blogger Kate Sheehan, at Loose Cannon Librarian, an evolvingrelationship.”says that“yourpersonalbrandis echoing thegeneraladviceof mostbrandingconsultants— personally,her pinkhair(though, Ihopenotfor awhile). with thepinkandredhearts,herdinosaurearrings, tion somedaywhereshewillfeel outof placeinherdress robe mayevolveaswell,andshefindherselfinaposi- the clothesslowlymigratedtobackof hercloset. her inTalbots suits.Buthercoworkers laughedather, and to alibraryonthetonierUpper EastSide,herauntrefitted Aftershewas reassigned has becomeherdefacto brand. during whichsheworedramaticallydarkclothing.Her style ous child”andateenagerwhowentthroughGothstage, ruminated thatshemaybereactingtohavingbeena“seri- helps her“breaktheicewith2-year-olds.” Abramsalso She isachildren’s andhercolorful,funclothing librarian, blogged andTumblr’ed aroundtheweb. “likeit, anexplodedcrayon.” Her uniquestylegetsher unusualfabricsandprints,appearing,assheputsbright, York City, has startling pink hair and garbs herself in Ingridshe isbrand-driven. Abrams,alibrarianinNew Not everyonewhoappearstohaveabrandagrees heor look crayon” “exploded The into aprofession youhaven’t broken intoyet. tion asaform of self-mentoring,awaytogroomyourself back toothers.In thissense,personalbrandingcan func- ticipate professionally, howtostartablog,andgive with the profession in general”—including how to par- New librariansseekingaclearpersonalbrand Branding hasalsoreceiveditsshareof criticism. Abrams alsonotedthatashercareerevolves,ward- But Abramssaysherprimarymotivationisclientele: Yelton— - - to manywomeninlibrarianship—butdon’t buildahugeshiny able. Don’t betimidaboutyourcapabilities—afailingcommon the endsuchamovewillmake youandeveryoneelsemiser- whichisnot);in which isgoodfor butahugemismatch, you, into ajobyou’re notqualified for (notsimplyacareerstretch, good interviewingskills,itispossibletoglib-talkyourway Withis one gargantuan chimera. theright references and you createanimage,needtobeabledeliveronit. toabrand“ispromise toacustomer.”keters attach If spoke Anoft-cited with. aphorismisthattheimagemar- Authenticity wasanotherconcernraisedbyeveryoneI promise your Keeping have alotmoretime,money, andincentivethananyof usdo.” Mostrand. celebritiescan’t controltheirownimage,andthey people, Ithinktryingtocontrolourownimageisafool’s er- also questionspersonalbranding,arguing,“For most Pipe, one of theauthorsatblogIn theLibrarywithLead you’re doing,andwhy. stepbackandassesswhatsomeone tellsyoutobrand, trying toimitatebusinesses?”If you’re brandingbecause products.” arewe Sheehanconcludedbyasking,“Why learning youcan’t controlhowpeopleperceivetheir “actualobserved thatinthecommercialworld, brands are ability tocontrolhowtheyareperceivedbyothers.She course notoncebutseveraltimesoverthepasttwodecades. for meinpractice—itwouldhavebeenmuchhardertochange librarian” brand—a great career path in theory, a poor match IfGoodwill box.) Ihadoverinvestedinmy“children’s sewn thelastsemesterof libraryschoolwentintothe (Withintion. ayear, thecorduroyanddenimjumpers Ihad along apathlooselydefinedbytechnologyandadministra- lasted exactlysixmonthsbefore Ifound myselfbumping career. Istartedoutasachildren’s arole that librarian, As anemployer, Iamalltooawarethatthehiringprocess despitehisownprofessional Bonfield, Brett visibilityas Sheehan alsoarguesthatpeoplemayoverestimatetheir brand based on skill sets you will never have or brand basedonskillsetsyouwillneverhaveor someone youwillneverbe.That’s notaper- sonal brand:It’s aPotemkin village.As Abrams said, “IfAbrams said, youarehiredassomeone else, do you really want to spend five years else, doyoureallywanttospendfiveyears pretending to be someone else? And pretending tobesomeoneelse?And how unhappy is that going tomake you? Be yourself, and they will love you? Beyourself,andtheywilllove find someplacewheretheywill. you asare.” Andiftheydon’t, quiet example,low-key strategy, vocementoring. andsotto profession, andquiteafew of through themleadfrombehind, blessed withanabundanceof tremendouslibrariansinour who dotheir“moving andshaking”belowtheradar. We are job. Buttherearealsomanypowerful,effective librarians persona inawaydesignedtohelphermatchupwiththeright focused candidatewho,like Yelton, isframingherpublic reasons. Astrongpersonalbrandcanbeasignof apoised, distinctive, highlypublicpersonalbrandsfor anynumber of Additionally, manywonderful jobcandidatesdon’t have field? n would theysay? n n n googled me? n Five QuestionstoAskYourself make myself stand out in a crowded howcanImakemyselfstandoutinacrowded ifIaskedmyfriendstodescribeme,what Personal Brand What’s mypersonalmantra? What kindofjobamIlookingfor? What wouldanemployerlearnifheorshe Est ablishing branding willendure. and fascinated by our own image—personalperturbed, because wearelibrarians—simultaneouslypreoccupied, mandatory, andnotagoodfit for everyone.Regardless, It’sBarnum &Baileyhucksterism. valuablebuthardly sand suckingatourfeet. method for assertingcontrolevenwhilewefeel thequick- fiscal and technological upheavals of the last decade—a branding isacollectiveresponsetotheoverwhelming It’s possiblethatonamoresymbolicplane,personal thinking shehasfullcontroloverhowtheworldseesher. can alsomaskincompetenceormisleadalibrarianinto up onprofessional moresandvalues.Personal branding out inaseaof applicantsandprovidenewlibrariansaleg is nuanced and ambiguous. It can help job hunters stand Personal branding is half crucial life skills and half In like theend, manythingsinlife, personalbranding . Free RangeLibrarian.Follow heronTwitter @kgs. andblogsat Names UniversityinOakland,California, karen g.schneiderisauniversitylibrarianatHoly z

37 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 Writing FOR

CiviliansWhen we write for the publications our users read, we build visibility—and support—in our communities By Laurie L. Putnam we’re heredoinggoodthings. library supporters. We needto keep reminding themthat tion.” Many peoplenevercometothelibrary, evenifthey’re the locallibrarianandbuildcredibility for thelibrary; support.” Publishing locally can help put a human face on life of thecommunity; more often and more loudly. We have to be present in the public libraries.” Thismeanswehavetotalkaboutlibraries and support: ing pointsaboutfactorsthatinfluencelibraryperceptions A CommunityAwarenessCampaignmadeseveralinterest- boosted bytalkingwithourcommunities. be fixedbylibrarianstalkingtoeachother.” Butitcanbe persistent lossof publicmindshareandsupportcannot ten in director of theDouglasCounty(Colo.)Libraries,haswrit- As Jameswhat we do, to explain why it matters. LaRue, relevance of libraries,weneedtobevisible,tellpeople When budgetsaretightandmanyaroundusquestionthe visibility with starts Support toour communities. for publicationsthatmatter increase thevisibilityandinfluence of librariesbywriting users, potentialandfunders.Let’s lookathowwecan stories of libraryresources,services,andneedswithour munity publicationsoffer endlessopportunitiestoshare library consultantJoan Frye Williams Com- callsthem. with people outside of the library world—“civilians,” as These daysit’s moreimportantthanevertocommunicate L industry magazines. intranets, facultynewslettersand local newspapersandcompany our usersandsupportersread: words weproduce forpublications significantly whenweconsiderthe much. Thevolumedrops But forourcommunities?Notso newsletters, andscholarlyjournals. clamoring tofillblogs,association n n n There’s evidence.OCLC’s 2008report GeektheLibrary:

“Library supportisonlymarginally relatedtovisita- “Perceptions of thelibrarian isalot thatpeopledon’t“There knowabouttheir (j.mp/KeepingMsgSimple), Libraries “Our American librarians, we speak volumes, librarians, wespeakvolumes, Many ofusdo.Forourfellow ove towriteaboutlibraries? are highlyrelatedto more rewardingitcanbewhenworks.” of stuffinourprofession: Themoreintimidatingitis,the library causeingeneral,” saidPotter. “Ithinkit’s like alot lot outof theexperience,andof coursethey’vehelpedthe a“Everyone I know who has done it seems to have gotten derstand ourpointof view. Therewardscanberich. be heardbythosewhomaynotknowwhatwedoorun- theirvoices articles tocivilianpublications,andletting audiences,submitting writers arefocusing onexternal nitely beenanimprovementrecently.” More librarian- “There’sescaping intothebiggerworldbeyond, defi- ber,” wherewordsandideasbouncearoundamonglibrarians. mainstream media—tobreakoutof thelibrary“echo cham- encourages librarianstoreachoutnonlibrariansandthe (whose article“Marketing Your Library”beginsonpage50) academic librarianattheUK’s University of York, Potter genealogy club newsletter, occasional guest posts ona larly. Librarystaffcan writeasinglearticleinthelocal reach outtousersthroughthepublicationstheyseeregu- and howcanwebemorepresentinthoseplaces?We can Beyond books,whatarepeopleinourcommunitiesreading, to out Reaching users There’s goodnews,Potter told Ned Potter hasbeentalkingaboutthisfor awhilenow. An conversation” through op-edcommentaries. nars andresources thataimto“expandournational The OpEdProject (theopedproject.org) offers semi- about libraries. a contestthatchallengesustowrite forthepublic The Great LibrarianWrite-Out (j.mp/WriteOut) is posing acolumn. useful examplesforanylibrarianthinkingofpro- lished inSanFranciscoarea newspapers,provide Winkelstein (j.mp/JulieWinkelstein),originallypub- Collected “AttheLibrary”columnsbyJulie the rest oftheworld. Woods, encourageslibrarianstotalkmore with presentation bylibrariansNedPotterandLaura “Escaping theEchoChamber”(bit.ly/WcKiQ4),a an accountandaddtoourcollectiveknowledge. librarians canapproach. Browse forideas,orcreate wiki (bit.ly/WcJQBp)profiles civilianpublications The LibraryandInformationSciencePublications Resour AL. When it comestoideas ces

39 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 40 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 recommends looking atwhatlocalpoliticians andtheir and vitalcontributorsinthecommunity. experts in informationin education, and literacy issues, libraries and position ourselves as leaders—collaborators present inthosepublications, wecanbuildawarenessof ernments, universities,and companies.Whenwe’re magazines, and websites that serve our gov- newsletters, these groups has its own inner circle of publications: the parent organizationsandlocalpoliticalentities.Eachof read bylibraryfundersandinfluencers,especiallyour Visibility can alsobegeneratedthroughthepublications with influencers awareness Raising issues. It gives usvisibility—andvisibilityiswhatwewant.” staff andcreatescommunityawareness of criticallibrary is like. Writing alibrarycolumn personalizes thelibrary general, anditgavepeopleanideaof whatonelibrarian to my libraryandtolibrariesin column drewattention andsharedwithme,” questioned, rected, “The shesaid. readershavethanked, cor- conversations, andletters, in hercommunity. emails,telephonemessages, “Through andWinkelsteinbrought feedback, becameafamiliarface munity withherreaders’ interestsatheart. public librarianasanapproachablememberof thecom- Winkelstein gave readersa glimpse into the daily life of a broader issuesof budgets,diversity, andcensorship. activities; personalexperienceswithliterature;and columns followed—columns that told stories of local library of Andthatwasit!”Hundreds samples,sheagreed. of Afterreadingacouplelocal paperandproposedtheidea. manager, Winkelstein toldAL,“Iemailedtheeditorof the columnist. her timeasa system during eda County(Calif.)Library a children’s librarianattheAlbanybranchof theAlam- sciences attheUniversity of Tennessee, Winkelstein was Area newspapers.Now adoctoralstudentininformation five San Francisco Bay appeared inasmany topicsthat library-related on a weeklynewspaper authored Atthe Library, years, Julie Winkelstein Forpact. nearlysix forts withhighim can belong-termef- community newspaper. lar column inastudentor faculty blog,orevenaregu- For publiclibraries, consultantandeducator KenHaycock NearlyReaders responded. every 600-word column How didshegetstarted?With thesupportof herbranch Regular columns column column - libraries andpositionourselvesasleaders: When wedothat,buildawareness of information andliteracyissues,vital information visibility?Try approaching publications read bylibraryfundersandinfluencers. collaborators ineducation,experts contributors inthecommunity. How canlibrariansgenerate readers, butitwon’t beherlast. 2012 issueof MunicipalWorld. It’s herfirstarticle for lay nities ThriveinaChangingWorld,” appearedintheJuly overall communitywell-being,” shetoldAL. of howlibrariescontributetomunicipalprioritiesand understanding public librariesandcontributetoabetter to tryinfluenceandexpandwhattheybelieveabout municipal administratorsandelectedofficials. “Iwanted the editor’s needsandresonatedwiththetargetaudience: right vehicle,andpresentingherideainawaythatmet The key? Beingclearaboutherobjective,choosingthe and foundpitched herstoryidea, theeditorsupportive. Service. Madziak approachedtheeditorataconference, Madziak, aconsultantwiththeSouthernOntarioLibrary article abouttheroleof publiclibrariesbyAnneMarie their future.” Librariescan too. front andcenterwiththosewhomake decisionsaffecting are manage toensurethattheircelebrationsandconcerns their ownassociationsandpublicationstoo,butthey still have from thesepublications.“Othermunicipaldepartments diet.” Yet mation articles about libraries are noticeably absent infor regular ensure thatfundersseethemaspartof their Haycock wroteinhisLibraryLeadershipblog.“We needto Meetings. “Iwouldlovetoseethe contestfloodedwith publication between the2012and2013ALA Midwinter ticles mustbepublishedin a print-basednonlibrary sions arewelcomed(j.mp/WriteOut); tobeeligible,ar- and Sweeneyhopestomake Submis- itanannual event. contest anddonated$250inseed moneyfor theaward. manager of theEastPalo Alto(Calif.)Library, initiatedthe winner’s purseiscurrently$800. Patrick Sweeney, branch article publishedinanonlibrarymagazineorjournal.The ian Write-Out willselecttheyear’s bestlibrary-related with prizemoney. In January, organizers of theGreatLibrar- Ready totry?Here’s complete incentive:acontest, anextra Give atry it Madziak’s article, “Public Libraries: Helping Commu- Case inpoint:MunicipalWorld recentlypublishedan The GreatLibrarianWrite-Out isnowinitssecondyear,

every day to advance a municipal agenda,” agenda,” every day to advance a municipal stories to tell abouttell to stories what we do senior staff read—magazines “We have so many great lication.”) like Write for aCivilianPub- and see the sidebar “How to odicals. (To learnhow, Canada—and trying to ticles inthoseperi- strategically placear intheUS Governing Municipal World in - - users, supporters,andinfluencerslook for news. stories weneedtotell,loudlyandclearly, intheplacesour munity bethebestitcanbe,” saidMadziak. Thosearethe wonderful thingsinthecommunity, helpingthecom- Every day. In everylibrary. and surroundedbystoriesof howlibrariestouchusers. issues, infusedwithideasaboutprogramsandservices, We liveandbreathe libraries. We’re experts in information better get just stories The to remindthepubliciswhatthisprojectallabout.” public howgreatlibrariesare,andremindinglibrarians entries,” SweeneytoldAL.“It’s timefor ustoremindthe “There isnoshortageof examplesof“There librariesdoing How toWriteforaCivilianPublication M the publication.Try toseeyourproposal through the relevant. Thenimaginehowyourstorywouldfitinto guidelines. Ifyoudon’t findguidelines,querytheeditor. covered librariesinthepast.Reviewsubmission issues andseehow—orwhether—thepublicationhas munity leaders.” libraries, thatmeansourmunicipalleadersandcom- library consultantAnneMarieMadziak.“Inpublic practices ofthoseweare tryingtoinfluence,”said about thereading habitsandinformation-gathering find outwhatthey read. “We havetolearn think officials? Your schoolfaculty oradministration?)and you wanttoreach (Your localpublic?Your government by theusersandinfluencersinyourcommunity. you think.To getstarted, looktothepublicationsread York Times,buteditorsmaybemore approachable than butions. Your firststory probably won’t runintheNew letters, are eagertoacceptrelevant, well-writtencontri- noncommercial publications,likeschoolandclubnews- Focus yourproposal. Pickatopicthat’s timelyand Get toknowyourtargetpublication.Readback Choose therightpublication.Identifyaudience ers, eveniftheydon’t advertiseit.Andmany any commercial publicationsdependonfreelanc- get stronger. Andthestoriesjustgetbetter. The word spreads. Our voicescommunity engagement. newstoriesspringfromourunderstanding andsupport, While our wordsare hard at work building community ing, strengtheningthecommunityinimportantways.” Madziak, “weneedtobeouttherecollaborating,connect- up. Thenrevise. honest reaction andlistentothequestionsthatcome who represents yourparticulartarget audience.Getan to read it,oryourneighbor—or, betteryet, someone funders andothertarget audiences,”saidMadziak. need togetverygoodatspeakingthelanguageofour when you’re writingforlaypeople.“Aslibrarians,we even ifit’s anacademictopic.” an urge toshare ratherthanlecture. Makeitpersonal— columnist JulieWinkelstein,“Ithinkitshouldcomefrom “Whatever youchoosetowriteabout,”saidlibrary imagine talkingwithoneofyourreaders overcoffee. about? That’s howyouneedtofocusthearticle.” newspaper orthatmagazinejournalreally care librarian NedPotter. “Whatdothereaders ofthis of thepublicationanditsreadership,” saidacademic “It’s allaboutempathy—puttingyourselfintheshoes the publication’s readers andwritewiththeminmind. samples. editor’s eyes.Ifyou’re proposing acolumn,writesome That’s wherethenarrativebegins,ends—andcontinues. “At thesametimethatwe’re tellingthesestories,” added Test yourdraftonanonlibrarian.Askmother Skip thejargon.Don’t talkaboutOPACs andILLs Keep thetoneconversational.Whenyouwrite, Know youraudience.Findoutwhatyoucanabout LAURIE L.PUTNAM (nextlibraries.org). can bereached viaTwitter (@NextLibraries)ortheweb the Profession” classwritesanarticleforcivilians.She Information Science.Everystudentinher“Publishingfor and SanJoséStateUniversity’s SchoolofLibraryand to librariansthrough California’s Infopeopleprogram

teaches communicationskills z

41 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 42 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 By Leonard Kniffel Daily Life for Librarians in Iraq Withdrawn Has N t r Terr institutions hasjust struggle torebuild war hasofficially and educational nation’s cultural Although the the war-torn ended, the begun The Generation Libraryin Baghdad Photos courtesy Saad Eskander trapped, unable toevacuateourbuilding fortrapped, more than twice viciouslyby terrorists in 2011. attacked We were Thearmyheadquarterswasor sistershavebeeninjured. fect thelivesof someof mystaff…theirsons,brothers, National Library,” alsoaf- saidEskander.attacks “These traffic andevenblockingthe mainroadthatleadstothe September 14 New York. Times accordingtothemostly civilianpilgrims,reportedkilled, June withsome 200 people, was the deadliest month, which have increased steadily in 2012. insurgent attacks, its 490employeeshavebeenparticularlyvulnerableto the Iraqi army, theIraq National LibraryandArchives but thewarisfarfromover. civilian numbers available.USinvolvementhasended, Iraqis althoughtherearenofirm diedintheconflict, wounded or maimed in Tens action. of thousands of lives of 4,287servicemembers,withanother30,182 Thewarcostthesequently determinedtobenonexistent. rid Iraq of weaponsof whichweresub- massdestruction, an invasionlaunchedbytheUnited Statesostensiblyto Iraq onDecember15, 2011.It wastheinauspiciousendof “The continuous terrorist attacks often resultinsnarled continuousterroristattacks “The Located acrosstheroadfrommainheadquartersof The Americanmilitaryformally endeditsmissionin of ourlives.” are alwaysthere; theyare part destruction, andblindhatred atrocities, indiscriminate poor,” hesaid.“Senseless population, especiallyforthe overwhelming majorityofthe has notchangedforthe troop withdrawallastyear, “life of Iraq.SincetheAmerican followed the2003USinvasion almost adecadeofwarthat Library andArchives, after director oftheIraqNational does not,”saidSaadEskander, normal andwhatsituation what situationconstitutes “We forgot alongtimeago concentrated on how to assemble and operate the scanning concentrated on how to assemble and operate thescanning was usedtodigitize newspapersandjournals. LCtraining the World Digital Library, andthatmoney Deebnoted, 1925. It’s uniqueand nowavailableonlineatwdl.org.” woman’s journaleverpublishedinIraq, 1923to Layla, cussed,” saidDeeb, “one of whichwas digitizingthefirst working onprojectsthatSaadEskanderandIhaddis- made tothewarrecoveryeffort in“Theystarted Iraq. the mostimportantcontributionsLibraryof Congress ThiswasoneofDigital LibraryProjectwasestablished. from Iraq cametoLCfor training in 2006oncetheWorld ern Divisionof theLibraryof Congress,saidthatlibrarians report orconfirmthisprojectthroughitssources. Unfortunately, ings andthatdoublenumber areplannedfor 2013. dinars ($18.9 millionUS)hadbeenallocatedfor thebuild - Iraq.” Theoptimisticannouncement said that22billion and promotetheconceptof thenewdemocraticsystemin free services to students and researchers and seek to explain libraries areplannedthroughouttheprovinces“toprovide Resolution 1723”)that21newIraqi government-sponsored Central Command in support of UNSecurity Council through Mawtani.com (awebsite“sponsored bytheUS Government officials madeaboldannouncementinApril help?Outside with provincialculturalandeducationalinstitutions.” sentatives ineveryprovincewhosetaskistoworkclosely built agoodreputationthroughoutIraq. We haverepre- ally, othereducationalor culturalorganizations.We have institution thatis“always uncondition- willingtoassist, satisfy aminimum of theirdemands.” different partiesdonotagreeonacompromisethatwill one another. Anewcivilwarisaroundthecornerif ers havebeenbusymobilizingtheircommunitiesagainst forces,” saidEskander. “Unfortunately, ourpoliticallead- have increasedconsiderablysincethewithdrawalof US “Ethnic, religious,andevenregional divisions that nation. sible topredicttheimpactonlibrariesandeducationin bycarbombs.”attacked asthelibrarymightbereports thataskustobevigilant, said Eskander. “From timetotime,Ireceiveintelligence “Luckily,were smashed. nooneonmystaffwas harmed,” fered some material damage—ceilings, windows, and doors people werekilledJune 4. Shiite religiousfoundation’s headquarters,where25 thisyear,near thelibrarywerealsoattacked suchasthe four hours.” AccordingtoEskander, otherinstitutions Google contributed$3million tothedevelopmentof Mary-Jane Deeb,chiefof theAfricanandMiddle East- Eskander maintainsthatthelibraryisonly Iraqis faceanacutepoliticalcrisis,makingitimpos - thelibrary As hassuf- a result of thesenearby attacks, was unable to verify this wasunabletoverifythis Libraries American national

43 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 44 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 special website,” saidEskander. a via and periodicals, aswellmusicandfilmcollections digitized historicalrecords,maps, photographs,rarebooks, readers, insideandoutsideIraq, free-of-charge accessto Theaimis“toprovide all rooms, andalargereadingroom. digital archive,aswellatheater, ITtraining restaurant, digitalsoundandfilmlibraries, department, a pected totake twoyears.It willhousetheIT story facility by a Swedish firm is ex- this year. Construction of the five- Library building is scheduledto begin cially traditionalIraqi music. intangible culturalheritage,espe- preserve partof thenation’s Library andArchivescan project sotheNational the largerDigitalLibrary a digitalsoundarchiveaspartof training wastoenablestaffsetup for theStudyof Iraq. Theaimof the Council and the British Institutions The projectwasfundedbytheBritish and digitizationof audiomaterials. a three-monthtrainingcourseonsoundrestoration traveled totheBritishLibrary, wheretheytookpartin challenges inIraq, theywereabletowork.” are verysensitive,anddespitethemanyenvironmental ty Dumpty togetheragain,” machines “These Deebsaid. Hump librarians whoweretrainedthenknewhowtoput Library of Congresssentthescannersinpieces. The the the trainees returned to Baghdad, “When equipment. The constructionof theDigital In late2011,twomembersof theNational Library staff generation growing up in Iraqthatwillrequire the yearslosttowar.” the worldcommunity them tocatchupfor resources toenable “You haveayoung The BibliographyDepartmentatIraq’s NationalLibraryandArchives inBaghdad to provide the - in 2008,Khalili added. Association of American Publishersdonated1,200 titles library, which“unfortunately hasnotyethappened.” The medical booksandjournals, hoping tostartamedical National Institutes of Health sentsome$27millionin preparation for ademocraticIraq. He notedthatthe spreading humanistic andtolerantculturalvalues.Our war againstterrorismbythemereuseof force, notthrough Eskander. “Policymakers stillthinkthatthey willwinthe been functioningthroughoutthecourseof thewar, said Primary, intermediate,and highschoollibrarieshavenot of collections state The experience proves that progressive culture is vital to the tions thathavegonetoIraq librariessince2008in winning of thewaragainstterrorism.” Libraries, said itisimportanttoacknowledgethemanydona- archives, andmuseums havearoletoplayinthe attaché attheIraqiattaché EmbassyinWashington, D.C., young democracy, orin acountry grating rapidly.” where itssocialfabricisdisinte- clear-cut andinclusivenational regional, andethnicboundaries.A an identitytranscendsreligious, formation of true nationalidentity; library canplayinanemerging identity iswhatIraq hasbeenlack- Abdul Hadi AlKhalili,cultural ing sincetheBritishleftitsmark is attached totherolethat the is attached on thecountryafterWorld fortunately, no importance War I, “Un Eskandersaid. - children were either notsenttoschoolorwere ableto pens inwars.” catch upfor theyearsthatwerelostto thewar;thishap- community toprovidetheresources toenablethem ing upthatwillrequireIraq andtherestof theworld training,” saidDeeb.“You haveayounggeneration grow- is an ongoing need for books, for“There databases, for “An need” ongoing or late2013, ifIamaround.” he said. “I hope Icanimplementthisnewprojectinmid storage building tomeetourneedfor morestoragespace,” to the ministry. aimistoconstructanew “The project sons Eskanderhasproposedanotherconstruction stacks areburstingattheseams,whichisoneof therea- Thenew mapshavebeenaddedtothemapcollection. which nownumbers around20,000 items,anddozensof Moreover, thelibraryhasdoubleditsphotocollection, and French.tion includes publications in Arabic, English, Baath Party’s trainingschool,” Thecollec- Eskandersaid. Iraqi politicalpartiestohandoverusthelibraryof the year aloneithasacquired100,000 books. 2012, withthearchivalcollectionsgrowingby25%;this in thesizeof thecollectionbetweenearly2004andmid- terror andturmoil,thelibraryalsoboastsa35%increase national budgethasbeengoingupannually. Yet amidthe items for salaries,hasbeencutby40%,eventhoughthe Library’s withtheexceptionof operatingbudget, theline der isalsoamemberof thatnegotiationteam. Eskan- team thatwillnegotiatewiththeUSgovernment. Ministers. hasformed athree-member Thecommittee tiquities, andtheGeneralSecretariatof theCouncilof (including Eskander),theMinistry of Tourism andAn- include representativesfromtheMinistry of Culture by thedeputyministerof foreign affairs,anditsmembers isheaded Thecommittee seized bytheUSgovernment. to look into the issue ofmental committee the records reconstruction. up-to-date scientificdataandcontributetotheirnation’s tific community, butnowthroughtheIVSL theycanaccess dured decadesof isolationfromtheinternationalscien- been handedovertoIraq.” organizations, havesetthisupintheUS,andithasnow partment andtheDefense alongwithother Department, Digital LibraryProject,” USStateDe- “The Khalilisaid. in the Iraq Virtual Science Library (IVSL), part of the World medical andgeneral,Ithinkwegotsomeimprovement “I wasinvolvedwithlibrariesinIraq myself, both Because of a decade’s the security situation, worth of isduetothefactImanagedpersuadesome “This Unfortunately, saidEskander, since2009theNational The Iraqi governmentrecentlyformed anintergovern- Iraqi scientists,researchers,andengineershave en- agree toaminimum of compromise.” Security andstabilitycanbeestablishedonlyifallparties “It isthebasis withoutwhichnothingelseispossible. the country. Iraqis sothattheycanfindemploymentandhelprebuild should focus ontheeducationandtrainingof young catch-up, andeveryonehastohelpthem.” onlysporadically,attend “so shesaid, theyneedto play “That to me is critical for the future of“That Iraq,” she said. Deeb believestheUnited StatesandtheUnited Nations www.polishson.com. reached [email protected] oronhiswebsite, Editions/Skyhorse Publishing,2011).He canbe Stars: ACelebrationofBooksandLibraries (ALA Libraries. Hismostrecent bookisReadingwiththe Chicago. Heisformereditorandpublisher ofAmerican LEONARD KNIFFELisawriterandlibrarianlivingin Inside theNationalLibraryandArchives z The mainreading room

45 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 46 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 How to plug into your local music scene LIVE

and charge up your communities I libraries intothelocal creative “scene.” plus forlibrariesin termsofeconomics,partnerships, and plugging for localcontent,particularly localmusic.Thesecollections are a libraries tojointhat movementandprovide spaceintheircollections handicrafts, locallycreated products. Nowisthebesttimefor movement. Peoplewantlocallygrown food,locallymade t’s hard tomisstheever-growing enthusiasm forthe“buylocal”

By MatthewMoyerandAndrewCoulon at library canoffer trulyunique contentthatreachesbeyond That’s evenmorereasontopromote theideaof local,asthe sic, whichisreadilyavailableboth digitallyandontheradio. charts, itmaybemuchharder to comebythanTop 40mu- separatedfrompopularmusic. gether inonecentrallocation, exposure, theideallocalcollection wouldbedisplayedto- Forcity—as wellascurrentactsplayingaroundtown. maximum torical content—thatis,olderactsthathaveplayedinyour digital format. Alocalmusiccollection shouldincludehis- andvinylarestillwidely circulatedonthelocallevel. settes for inclusion and consider adding “outdated” formats; cas- dards. That’s finetoo.Beopen-mindedwhenreviewingalbums production valueswon’t alwaysliveuptoAbbeyRoadstan- for That’s thecollection. mitted fine. Understand toothat accept thatyou’re notgoingtoloveeverysinglealbum sub- get-go topreventhurtfeelings orunnecessaryconflicts.Also, even start accepting music. Best to be consistent from the velopment statementapprovedandreadytogobefore you lections andself-producedmaterial.Have acollectionde- unique eventualitiesthatoccurwhendealingwithnewcol- item listsavailablethroughtheOPAC. record isallthat’s neededtogeneratereportsandmake sic. For overworked catalogers,a“local”noteintheMARC users withsomespecialmechanismfor findingthatmu- music withinthelibrary’s collectionandprovidinglibrary dure. It canbeassimpleincludinglocallyproduced to bea radical departure from standard operating proce- At itscore,creatingalocalmusiccollectiondoesn’t have Make space and time material duringtoughbudgetarytimes. locally andcanmeanasteadystreamof newandoften free cool pointsfor thelibrary. It allowslibrarians to“shop” community apersonalstake inthatcollectionandgenerates the community, andthepublic gainsaccesstonewcontent. library gainsmaterials,musiciansgainanotheroutletto the Asaresult, ing, andarchivingqualitylocalcontent. bandsaswell. include manyup-and-comingSeattle Turneramong others.And, therange of noted, artists such asindie,hip-hop,reggae,roots,country, andLatin, live in-studio performances include a variety of genres Turner saidafterthelaunch. our musiccollection,” CityLibrarianMarcellus Seattle users. “We seetheKEXPofferings asanaddedbonusto es bybothlocalandnationalactsavailablefor library archiveofstation to make live performanc its extensive - with theUniversity of Washington’s acclaimedKEXPradio Just PublicLibrary, lookatSeattle whichinJuly partnered Because localmusicisn’t dependent onwhat’s hotonthe and/or Recordings canbeoncompactdisc,vinyl,cassette, Of course, it’s bestto be as prepared as possible for the What’s more,alocalmusiccollectiongivesthe Public librariescanplayaroleindistributing,promot- The radiostation’s collectionof approximately3,200 Favorable wordof mouthcangoalongway. on thelibrary’s website,viapodcasting, orsimilaravenues. sider makingsamplesof thismusicavailableonline,either local press,andothertastemakers toyourcause.Con- are alsokey: Convertlocalbloggers,radiopersonalities, as wellold-fashionedfliers.One-on-oneinteractions musicians tocontribute.To dothis,usesocialnetworking encouragemore inturn, will buildtheaudienceand, out musicfromthelibrary. music andrenewed interest from the public for checking through thecatalog.Theresulthasbeenaninflux of new loging procedurestomake localmusicmoreaccessible donations frommusiciansandlabels.We modifiedcata- Jacksonville PublicLibrary, (Fla.) westartedbysoliciting increases, youmaybeabletoadvocatefor funding.At a small cache of As use donations to launch the collection. by purchasingrestrictions,thenconsiderbeginningwith partner. community soyourlibrarywillbeseenasaworthwhile tionship, be sure to maintain good relations with the As youpitchthemutuallybeneficialnature of thisrela- ers, labelheads,DJs, writers)canbeagreatsourceaswell. and showpromoters.Localexpertsinthefield(promot- Work toestablishdirectcontactwithmusicians,labels, you justhavetohitthebricksandstartgoinglocalshows. ing andcollaboratingwithlocalperformers isn’t hard; limit yoursearchteamtocredentialedlibrarians.Engag- building theactualcollection? lection anda system for how do yougoabout cataloging it, Once you’ve narroweddownaphysicalspacefor thecol- come they will and it Build Associate Josh Jubinsky created a concert series called cially meantfor children andteens.For Library children, from rocktoclassicalhip-hop, includingeventsspe- had manylocalmusiciansgive freeconcertsinthelibrary, live inacitywiththrivinglocal musicscene,wehave local musicianssince2005. Becausewearefortunate to library website. the libraryorpromotelocalmusiciansandalbums onthe But whystopthere?You canalsohostconcert eventsin band the Introducing far astoaddthegenredesignation“localartist” toitsCDs. their collections,andKalamazooevengoesso both circulatelocalmusicCDsaspartof Library andRockford (Ill.)PublicLibrary to avarietyof stylesandgenres. market saturationandexposespatrons Third, boostusagewithmarketing.Third, Effective publicity if youSecond, are concerned about costs or constrained First, getoutthereandmeetmusicians—anddo not At Jacksonville Public Library, we’ve partneredwith The Kalamazoo (Mich.) Public

47 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 48 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 the 21stcentury. BothcohostWJCTradio’s weeklyLost intheStacks. Library. He hasworkedtoreimagine libraryservicesandmarketingfor intellectual, artistic,andculturalsoulof thecommunity. will take pride in their library as it comes to represent the localauthors,musicians,andartists ing tothecollection, the community. But what’s by contribut- more important, which servestoreemphasizethelibrary’s commitmentto are simplycreatingaspacefor homegrownmaterials, Bydevelopinglocalcollections,libraries is alocaltouch. nections. Butwhattheylack—andlibrariescanprovide— others—have becometheprimarysourcefor thosecon- Spotify,content providers—suchasGoogle,Amazon, and or recordedmusic.More internet-based andmore,though, whether that means connecting people with books, films, port for yourlibrarywithinthecommunity. and interactwiththeirlocalmusicscene;(5)buildsup- (4) energizemorepeopletoplaymusicanddirectlysupport enduring tiestothelocalmusicscene;(3)foster thisscene; a continuoussourcefor newmaterials;(2)buildstrongand youwill(1)have By havingastronglocalmusiccollection, mutually beneficial for boththelibraryandcommunity. The long-termgoalsof alocalmusiccollectionshouldbe Fast-forward mately 1,100digitalalbums sinceearlyJune. the library’s website.Users downloadingapproxi- loveit, rights todistributedigitalcopiesof theiralbums through from awideswathof genres—toobtaintemporarylicensing a worldof downloads.” Thelibrarypayslocalmusicians— “As a library, we’d been giving some thought to our place in itlooked likeback, CDsmightbecomeobsolete,” hesaid. explained thedigitalshiftasastrategicmove:“A few years service calledtheLocalMusic LibrarianJohn Project. Hiett when itlaunchedahomegrowndigitalmusicdownload acts moreexposureandaplacetohonetheircraft. in amonthlyconcertseriesheldthelibrary, whichgive librarians circulatelocalmusicandinviteartiststoperform collaborations asthelibrary’s localmusiccollectiongrows. musicians andDJs andweanticipatefurther ontheprogram, music fromthelibrary’s We collection. havefeatured local to createLost in the Stacks, aweeklyprogramthatpromotes of theBandseventeverysummer.Battle that makes kidsgetupandmove.For teens,wehostaTeen Music Clubthatfeatures localbandsperforming music Libraries haveaknackfor makingconnections, Iowa CityPublicLibrarymadeabigsplashthissummer And we’re notalone.AtFerndale (Mich.) PublicLibrary, We have also partnered with our public radio station WJCT specialist attheJacksonville (Fla.)Public ANDREW COULONisane-library and starteditsMusicAdvisoryService. helped buildthelibrary’s zinecollection media,he advocate foralternative Library’s MainLibrary. Anoutspoken librarian attheJacksonville(Fla.)Public MATTHEW MOYERisapopularmedia z Paten LockeperformingatJPL’s MainLibraryinJuly2011. and eventhejazz-thrashorchestra Trapbomb. himself orinanynumberofadhoc duos,trios, Weasel intoaformidablewallofnoiseeitherby tive influencesofAlbert Ayler andScreeching Free-jazz skronkmeister Williamsmeldshisforma- weirdos, andrunningweeklyclubnights. Records, animportantoutletforscores oflocal around thecountrywithrunningInfintesmal manage tomixbeingconstantlyontheroad for Portishead,sokeepaneyeout. He’s giggedinBahrainanddidaDJspotopening commanding solotracksandfrequent DJgigs. honoring rap’s pastandlookingtoitsfuture with hop royalty), Lockenowfollowshisownmuse, and alsooncepartofAsamov(Jacksonvillehip- aged abit. fans viaareissue ofthatalbum,hismusichasn’t Recently rediscovered byanewgenerationof and Dreams albumandthendisappeared. songwriter whocutthelost,hazyclassic Paste, of nationaltractionviafavorablementionsin member ofAsamov, Evansisgainingagooddeal in hisrhymesandself-produced beats.Aformer afraid toshoutoutcomicbooksandB-movies cise viciousness. drummer, andarepertoire ofear-bleedingly pre- with pop-art-influencedstageoutfits,astanding always playingoutandneverfailingtoimpress 2416 are oneofthehardest-gigging localacts, punks withaserioustasteforthesurreal, the L Jamison Williams.Punkwithasaxophone? Memphibians. Paten Locke(pictured). Robert LesterFolsom. Willie EvansJr. The 2416. nered withourpubliclibrary: ocal artistsinJacksonvillewhohavepart- URB, andSpin. I’M YOUR FAN Hard-charging Jacksonvillenoise- These indieoddballssomehow Affable, laid-back Cult 1970ssinger- Formerly DJTherapy Evans isnot Music

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eeedbZaQ][W\T].dbZaQ][&·"$&·&&#% 50 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 T East Anglia intheUK. in marketingatthe Universityof perspective tothe table,lecturing He alsobringsanonlibrary fewer than26countries abroad. libraries allovertheUKandinno runs workshopsonmarketing read, andhewrites,speaks, Plans ThatReallyWork isamust- Developing StrategicMarketing libraries. Hisbook strategic marketingin erry Kendrickistheguruof Library Marketing your ket your libraryisin? ket standing your ownlibraryorunderstanding themar- Is thefirststepto creatingamarketingstrategyunder- marketing driven—isthatitdoesmake areal difference. America—in Canadainparticular, wherethey’re more that marketing makes a difference? What I see in North out thecoherenceof amarketing Is plan. thereevidence because it’s beendoneasaseriesof one-off activitieswith- initiative, andthenthey’re quiteoften disappointedby it libraries feel theneedtomarket whatthey’vedoneasan initiatives, soveryfew useafullmarketing Many approach. if theygetachanceoncethey’vedoneeverythingelse? keting apriorityversuslibrariesthatjustdomarketing the differences between making mar - thought? As in, What are the consequences of marketingas an after- resources thataren’t alwaysreadilyavailable. so wellboughtinto,becauseit’s hardanditrequiresalotof marketing planningpartwithinthoseprogramsisn’t always doing tacticalprograms.Theproblemisthatthestrategic documents, andIthinkthey’re actuallyquitereasonableat Ithinklibraries areverygoodatwritingstrategy respected, TERRY KENDRICK: isverywell Ido.thinkstrategysetting undervalued inlibrariesgenerally? NED POTTER: Doyouthinkthatstrategicmarketingis recent bookTheLibraryMarketing Toolkit (Facet, 2012). I talked tohimaboutallthingsmarketing strategyfor my Many librariesaredrivenbyaseriesof pump-priming Terry Kendrick,guruofstrategic By NedPotter marketing inlibraries An interviewwith that iskey isthatnoteveryone perceivesthesamevalue of moneybeingspent(for exampleondatabases). toapile becausesuddenlyyoudrawattention up tobecut, from usingthatresource,you’re yourself actuallysetting to theresourcewithoutexplaining theoutcomesthatcome appears whentheresourceisin use.If youdrawattention valuein theresource;valueonly when thereislittle There’s nopointinhaving(andtalkingabout)resources on duringtheirbusydays,andhowithelpsthemgetthere. in thewaytheylivetheirlives,journeysthatthey’re library shouldbelookingatthevalueitcanoffer itsusers orshouldeverythingbe“onboard, spec”? Are any aspects of marketingstrategytrue across the their users,whatthey’re doingintheirlives. ously. Librariesdon’t alwaysunderstandthelife cycleof to different usergroupswithdifferent lifestyles simultane- to do.Goodmarketers candealwiththat;theymarket in thewayyoumarket yourservice,whichisverydifficult sothere’llmight notbequiteasrelaxed, beatensionthere Thetroubleisothers’the librarytoberelaxed. lifestyles a lifestyle for youmightwant that, instance,isfairlyrelaxed, always thecasethatalibraryfitscloselytothat. If youhave lifestyles, andtheylivetheirlivesinparticularways.It’s not whose opinions we value. People tend to have tribes and we’re seenthere,thenwe’re seenas“okay” bythepeople we’ve gottofeel We’ve goodaboutthem. gottofeel thatif into theuser’s lifestyle. Tell meabouttheimportanceof thelibrary brandfitting they’re in fact, relevant to that process when, very important. should beusedaspartof themarketing planareseenasir- ing marketing withthestrategicplanning,numbers that Andbecause there’scause discord. notacultureof connect- to thinkyourwaythroughsomethingishardwork;itcan good at rather thanthehardersideof thethinking.They’re very intimidating. Theywanttodothepromotionalsideof things libraries aren’t used to planning like that—they find that quite measures inthatorganization. database hits—whateveritisthatdrivingtheperformance from? Whichuserswillgiveusissues,visits,enquiries, the marketing: Whereinthemarket willthat30%come number of years, that’ll“X” certainly focus your mind on immediately. If yousaywanttogrow30%over thenext somenumberslook like—putting onthatwillfocus themind either.matter It’s very important to know what you want to be, themarket doesn’t andyourcapabilitiesdon’t matter what your ambition is. If you don’t know what you want to The firststepincreatinganymarketing planisknowing All librariesneed tolookattheirvalue.Theother thing There are a few key concepts. One of them is that every For mostof thethingswewanttobeassociatedwith, There isadifficultyinusing numbers, though: Perhaps doing things, anditfeels goodtodosomething,but better. An easy and quick way of doing this is to put pictures than thelibrary? Can wemakemoreof marketingthe librariansrather Butwhoelseisthere?Whoareourrivals? make itattractive. we’rethat, likely tothinkthatjustmarketing somethingwill like comparedwithcompeting offers. looks If wedon’t know Why bother?It’s importanttounderstandwhatouroffer or astrongcompetitormaybedoingnothing,asin: thing, be afriendtheyknowwhocanhelpthemwiththesame other wayslike Google.Sometimesit’s lessobvious:It may things peoplewillhave.Sometimesthere’ll beobvious them thataresimilar, whatotherwaysof achievingthesame will beintheirminds,whatotheroffers arebeingmadeto an offer toyourpatronsthatyouunderstandwhatotherthings It’sservice thatpeoplewant. reallyimportantwhenyoumake unlikely thesedaysthatwe’ll be theonlypeopleoffering the Understanding themarketisakeypartof theprocess. on,” “Let’s not, openthislovelymessagefromthelibrary.” received amessage,theymadeanoffer theydidn’t deliver from thelibrary, theirfirst thoughtwillbe,“LasttimeI promises itcan’t deliver.timetheyreceiveamessage Sonext something thatsendsyouirrelevantmessagesormakes ity you’ve justdone;itpositivelyreinforces thelibraryas a poorresponse.Thatdoesmorethanjustnegatetheactiv- to claimthe“offer” we’re andthey’re givingthem, metwith marketing thatissuccessful,peoplerespondandcomein best whenit’s for anorientation thelibraryasawhole. have tobecalledmarketing specialists.Marketing works important thatsomebodyisoverseeingthis.Theydon’t to aparticularusergroupoverperiodof time.It’s really tend tobedisappointingintheirrateof response. given thatweknowone-off marketing activitieswill activities and find synergies to buildparticularly on, to havesomebodywhoseresponsibilityitislookatthe It’sthat areunconnected. structurally, really important, service planning),quiteoften lotsof activitieswillhappen How doweensuremarketingisongoing? business andactivityarethesegments. an overarchingstrategyfor thelibrary. Whatbringsinthe driven bysegmentsratherthanthelibraryasawhole,with core of what marketing Your is about. planning should be tothelibrary,value eachsegmentattaches you’ve gotthe good lookingfor theonetrueway, butifyoulookatthe ratherthanthesimilarities.It’sferences thatmatter no it’s key toundertake becauseit’s segmentation, thedif- in libraryservices.Sofor everylibrarydoingmarketing, The morewecan make theservicelookpersonal, Yes, anyactivitiesalibrarydoesorserviceitoffers, it’s The worstthingthatcanhappeniswesendoutsome Real resultscomefromacertainamountof “touches” As librariesfollow certaininitiatives(ratherthanwhole-

51 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 52 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 video aboutitonYouTube: bit.ly/troyvid. which savedthelibraryfrom closure. Watch the tive) reverse-psychology book-burningcampaign, been itsincredibly brave(andfabulouslyeffec- Its mosteye-catchinginitiativehas undoubtedly ahead ofIkea,Unilever, andAmericanExpress. advertisers intheUS,justbehindMicrosoft and in amarketing-industrypollofmosteffective Troy (Mich.)PublicLibraryrecently cameinfifth suring behavioralchange(outcomes). about goingbeyondcounting(outputs)tomea- staff membersprovide acasestudyinthebook groups, andmovedforward from there. Library then rebranded itsservicestoappealdifferent ing. Itstartedbysegmentingusersbehavior, library thathasbrilliantlyoverhauleditsmarket- (columbus Columbus (Ohio)Metropolitan Library calgarypubliclibrary.com/about-us/marketing. perceptions, anditreally worked.Seemore at washed ontolocalpavement.Itaimedtochange on coffee cups,ingrocery stores, andevenjet- Into” campaignhasbeenplastered everywhere: tremely effective. Itsfantastic“EverythingYou’re old-fashioned advertisingcampaignscanbeex- proves thatevenintheageofsocialmedia,good Calgary PublicLibraryin how thelibrarydidit. Toolkit, NYPLprovides acasestudytotellyou leader ofthepackonthatplatform,andin 200,000 followersonTwitter (@NYPL),it’s the Foursquare, andYouTube. Withwellmore than blogs andFacebook,butalsothelikesofTumblr, use notjustofallthetoolsyou’dexpect,suchas its socialmedia.Staff membersmakeexcellent cessful exampleofalibraryabsolutelyowning New York PublicLibrary issurely themostsuc- Toolkit. Marketing library websiteasacasestudyinTheLibrary Libraries, provides seventipsforanawesome Lee King,whoisalsoacolumnistforAmerican reading thispage.DigitalBranchManagerDavid tscpl.org andhavealookassoonyoufinish stylish, inawayweshouldallaspire to.Goto should be:dynamic,informative,varied,and view, itswebsiteiseverythingalibrary Library isthekingofdigitalbranch.Inmy Topeka andShawneeCounty(Kans.)Public Guide toLibraiesDongGre Ned Potter’s library.org) isagreat exampleofa Marketing Wor Alberta, Canada,

biting thebulletonmarketing isgoingtofinallycostus. ful becauseitcouldbethatthelast30yearsof librariesnot bigger ishappening,notjustinlibraries.We have tobecare- libraries arebeingcutallover. It feels asthoughsomething make is actuallytherefor theadvocacytowork. a marketing plandoesismake suretheoffer thatadvocates marketing, they’vegottobebedfellows, haven’t they?What Advocacyandeverything, buttheprioritieshaveshifted. abigdocument outlining Six monthslaterthey’vewritten Buttheygo away,want todoit. anditjustdoesn’t happen. Soyouneedthequick winstohelpgetyouthere. them. long-term view, butittakes alotof nervetojustwaitfor for threetofiveyears.Therearealot of benefitsinthe one wantstoworkhardonsomethingthatwon’t bearfruit show themquickwins,becauseinthesedifficulttimesno for marketing youhaveto withinyourorganization, thirsty horse thirsty, thentake ittothewater. To make people but youcan’t Therealtrickis to make make the itdrink. There’s aphraseabouthowyoucanleadhorsetowater marketing; those people need to see those quick wins. and everyoneknowsnothingsucceedslike success. manageable andshouldhaveimpactrelativelyquickly, a wholemarketing planningcycle.It shouldbemore what theiroutcomesare.Thentake thatsegmentthrough in termsof whattheyvalue,howuseyourresources, it’s besttochooseonegroupof peopleyoufullyunderstand won’t So haveenoughresourcestofullyimplementthem. set of offers youhaveareeithernotstrong enough oryou look atthewholeserviceonce,you’ll probablyfindthe activities willtake quiteawhiletobuildup.If youtryand the key areasof segmentationandvalue.Many marketing Any tipsfor quickwinsinlibrarymarketing? themselves. It’s thepeoplewhoaddvaluetoinformation. deliver theservicethan it istopromotetheproducts high-quality skills,it’s to promote the people who better ferent fromaninformation resource.Providedwehave different—people haveskills,whichiswhatmakes usdif- Servicesareare thesamewhereveryougetthemfrom. Productsand they depend on howwell people respond. Servicesarecreatedbypeople,a service,notproduct. understand thereluctancetodothis,butweare,afterall, of librariansonlineandonpromotionalactivity. Ican information about his bookatlibrarymarketingtoolkit.com. the BodleianLibrary attheUniversityofOxford. You canfindmore It’s animportanttimebecauseifyoulookaroundtheworld, People alwaysbuyintomarketing libraries;theyreally People don’t wanttonecessarilydoalargeamountof Some of thequickwinsinmarketing arebasedaround clients rangingfrom theLatvianMinistryofCulture to services, havingprovided marketingexpertisefor on thesubjectofmarketinglibraries and information alastore.ala.org. Potterregularly speaksandwrites Marketing Toolkit (Facet,2012),whichisavailable at ThisinterviewappearsinhisLibrary marketing interns. University ofYork, UK,where healsomanagesthe NED POTTERisanacademicliaisonlibrarianatthe z

Photo: Paul Shields

People | Announcements Currents

n In late July Jon Mark Public Library. Bolthouse was named di- n Mónica Colón-Aguirre rector of the Fond du Lac has joined the full-time (Wis.) Public Library. faculty of the Graduate

n July 2 Sharon Bostick School of Library and In- Mónica Colón-Aguirre Nicolle Davies Rosemary Magee Eloise May began serving as dean of formation Science at libraries for the Illinois Simmons College in Bos- Fecho became manager of n In August Elizabeth Institute of Technology in ton as assistant professor. Montgomery County– Kalen became children’s Chicago. n September 1 George Norristown (Pa.) Public librarian at Mendocino n In July Kristen Bullard Conwell retired as direc- Library’s Conshohocken County (Calif.) Library became librarian for the tor of the Hamilton Town- branch. District. Smithsonian Libraries’ ship (N.J.) Free Public n Annaliese Fidgeon is n Rosemary Magee re- National Museum of Natu- Library. now digital learning ini- cently became director ral History Library in n September 1 Nicolle tiatives librarian for the of the Manuscript, Ar- Washington, D.C. Davies became executive Delmar T. Oviatt Library chives, and Rare Book n Kevin Butterfield re- director of the Arapahoe at California State Univer- Library at Emory Univer- cently became university Library District in Engle- sity, Northridge. sity in Atlanta. librarian for Boatwright wood, Colorado. n In early September n August 1 Chris Markley Memorial Library at the n August 8 Sai Deng be- Juana Flores was wel- became librarian/archives University of Richmond in came cataloging/metadata comed to the Carroll Gar- supervisor of Johnston Virginia. librarian for the Universi- dens Library in Brooklyn, County (N.C.) Public n In August Meghan ty of Central Florida New York, as children’s Libraries’ Selma branch. Casey became social me- Libraries in Orlando. librarian. n September 1 NoahJon dia librarian at Mendoci- n August 4 Heidi Dowd- n August 15 Brianne Marshall became elemen- no County (Calif.) Library ing became digitization Hagen began serving as tary librarian at the Amer- District. librarian at Nazarbayev metadata librarian at Hope ican International School n October 8 Jessica University Library in College’s Van Wylen Library of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Chamberlain became di- Astana, Kazakhstan. in Holland, Michigan. n Eloise May has retired rector of Norfolk (Neb.) n In late August Rachel n Michelle Halpern re- as executive director of cently became liaison of Arapahoe Library District youth services for West- in Englewood, Colorado. chester Library System in n August 24 Christine Tarrytown, New York. McDonald retired as di- cited n In July Marisa Hicking rector of Crandall Public joined Avon (Conn.) Free Library in Glens Falls, Public Library as teen New York. librarian. n Heather McEntee is november/december 2012 n Emma Bradford Perry, dean of libraries

n | at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Lou- Julie Holden recently be- now director of Bossier isiana, was recently honored by CNN anchor came information services Parish (La.) Libraries. Soledad O’Brien for her mentorship of SU and emerging technologies n August 27 Timothy Mc- honor student and Soledad scholar Tyreiron librarian at the Cranston Geary became head of Segue during the annual New Orleans in the (R.I.) Public Library. library systems for the Hamptons benefit gala in New York City. n August 31 Susan Irving University of North Caro- Perry was honored for being a role model retired as manager of lina at Chapel Hill. for Segue and the foundation. Louisville (Ky.) Free Pub- n August 30 Val More- lic Library’s St. Matthews– house retired as librarian

americanlibrariesmagazine.org Eline Memorial branch. of the Cantor Ted Cotler

54 People | Announcements

Library of Temple Isaiah obituaries in Lafayette, California. n Patrick Morgan is now research and instruction n Clara Stanton Jones, 99, the first cancer. He served as executive direc- librarian at Hope College’s woman as well as the first African tor of Library and Community Servic- Van Wylen Library in Hol- American to direct the Detroit Public es at Florida Gateway College in Lake land, Michigan. Library, died September 30. In 1972 City. Morris received the Florida n Christina Morrison she established TIP (The Information Library Association’s 2012 Librarian recently became advance- Place), a community and information of the Year award and was formerly ment associate for Smith- referral system that became a model the cochair of the statewide Task sonian Libraries in for other libraries nationwide. Jones, Force on the Future of Academic Washington, D.C. who was 1976–1977 ALA president, Libraries in Florida. n August 27 Mandie retired from DPL in 1978. n Emily Muller, 93, one-time librar- Roberts became director n David Lane, 61, biological sciences ian for the Westport (Conn.) Public of Spencer (Iowa) Public librarian and associate professor at Library, died September 2. She began Library. the University of New Hampshire in her career as a librarian in a high n Vincent Robles has re- Durham for 27 years, died August 25. school for Army dependents in Ger- tired as reference librarian n Jay Lucker, 82, former director of many and later became librarian of from El Camino Commu- the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- the Wilton (Conn.) High School. nity College Library in nology Libraries in Cambridge, died n Alice H. Scott, 77, who retired as Torrance, California. September 2. While at MIT, he oversaw deputy commissioner of Chicago n August 27 Mary Schoe- the renovation and expansion of the Public Library in 1998, died August del began serving as di- Rotch Library of Architecture and 28. The Chicago Public Library hon- rector of John Graham Planning. A nationally renowned ored her with its Trailblazer Award in Public Library in library building and planning consul- 2004 for spearheading the creation of Newville, Pennsylvania. tant to numerous libraries, universi- the African American Service Com- n September 4 Scott ties, and museums, Lucker continued mission of Chicago for Ethnic Cele- Staub became executive to consult after his retirement in 1995. brations. director of the Friends of n Laura Phillips Mackay, 92, died Au- n June Smeck Smith, 95, chair of the the San Francisco Public gust 25 after a brief illness. She became Library Science Department at the Library. the librarian for the Baltimore newspa- College of St. Catherine (now St. n Effective December 31, per the AFRO in 1966 and developed what Catherine University) in St. Paul, David Tate will retire as came to be known as the AFRO Archives. Minnesota, until her retirement in director of Van Buren Dis- n Jim Morris, 62, died July 25 after a 1975, died July 8. She joined the staff trict Library in Decatur, nine-month battle with pancreatic as readers’ advisory librarian in 1956. Michigan. n Chanda Temple was recently appointed direc- Research Collections at Schools’ Frank M. Kearns to senior production editor of public relations at the University of Minne- Primary School. tor of ALA Production Birmingham (Ala.) Public sota Libraries in Minne- Services. n Library. apolis. At ALA In September Elliot november/december 2012

n November 1 Lisa Von n September 4 Tena Wil- n In September Andrea Mandel left ALA as pro- |

Drasek became curator of son became executive di- Hill became an indepen- gram coordinator for the the Children’s Literature rector of the Stark County dent contractor for the Office for Literacy and (Ohio) District Library. Association of Specialized Outreach Services. n September 4 Amber and Cooperative Library n In August Melissa Wyzik became library me- Agencies. Wood joined ALA as mar- dia specialist for the n In August Kirstin keting and sales manager Granby (Conn.) Public Krutsch was promoted for Digital Reference.

Jim Morris David Tate Send notices and color photographs for Currents to Mikayla Reising, [email protected]. americanlibrariesmagazine.org

55 Professional Development | Youth Matters Connect Guys with Authors

Virtual chats make writers real and relevant to boys by Abby Johnson

t was a sunny June after- readers, and this is where Hankins’s had already been thinking about pos- noon, perfect for playing expertise really helped. We decided sible authors for next summer, and baseball, taking a dip in on Phil Bildner (author of the Slug- we’re eager to continue to offer this the local pool—or having a gers series about baseball and other program to our patrons. Ivirtual chat with a favorite author sports books), and Scott Seegert and over Skype about what you’ve been John Martin (cocreators of the Vor- Think local, phone global reading. That was the message dak the Incomprehensible books). But what if you don’t have a Paul Han- the New Albany–Floyd County Since Hankins had already estab- kins in your community? First ask (Ind.) Public Library set out to lished relationships with all three, yourself, “Am I sure about that?” I impart this summer through our they did the Skype chats for free. knew Hankins from his frequent trips first “Guys Read” program series, Both kids and authors had a blast to our library, but it was in connecting which was designed to attract boys at these programs, and we were lucky with him on Twitter and Facebook to the library and get them excited to “host” authors who went the extra that I got to know him well enough to about books. We sought to make mile by recommending great books ask him to work with us. If you’re not that virtual guy-to-author con- to our young patrons. Most of the putting yourself out there to connect nection with the help of local high youngsters had read our guests’ with people in your community who school teacher and Twitter legend books beforehand and were full of can be valuable resources, you may Paul Hankins (@PaulWHankins). questions. Even those who hadn’t never know about the reading advo- A voracious user of our library, read the books left excited by authors cates in your midst. Seek them out and Hankins quickly jumped at the chance who encouraged them to write and to don’t be afraid to ask for their help. to give something read what they If it turns out that you just don’t back. He turned out Both kids and like. The young- have your own version of Hankins, to be the perfect sters quickly you can still offer Skype chats at authors had a partner for this grabbed copies your library. Carefully choose books project: a passion- blast at our Skype of books the au- and authors likely to appeal to your ate reader and, as a programs. We thors had rec- male audience. (If you’re not sure, teacher and father ommended and ask some guys.) Then, check out the were lucky to “host” authors of two, someone books I featured Skype an Author Network, which who’s comfortable who went the extra mile, on display. I lists potential guests, many of whom with kids. recommending great books. chose books by will offer brief “meet ’n’ greet” chats He suggested the Skype-chat for free. Just make sure to check arranging Skype chats with some authors and readalikes so the kids with them before you purchase november/december 2012

guy-friendly authors—an approach would have plenty of choices. books or supplies for your program. |

he has had success with in his high It was inspiring to see our guy au- Connecting boys with books is a school classroom for many years. By thors and Hankins connect with our perennial hot topic, and a program reaching out, he has developed per- young male readers and how serious- like this may be just what you need sonal relationships with many au- ly the youngsters took those book to inspire the young male readers thors through Twitter, by attending recommendations. When you solicit you serve. z conferences, and via his classroom reading role models, you just might writing project rawinkonline.com. be creating long-term partners for ABBY JOHNSON is children’s services/ Our first step was to approach au- your library. After the success of outreach manager at New Albany–Floyd County (Ind.) Public Library. Find her on the thors who would appeal to our male these programs, Hankins told me he web at abbythelibrarian.com. americanlibrariesmagazine.org

56 Outside/In | Professional Development Unforgettable Passwords

In the age of faster processing speeds, online by David Lee King and Michael Porter security demands greater user vigilance

ow many passwords passwords. Via How can .com/184773/geek- do you have? Michael Facebook, librar- to-live—choose- you keep has 221; David has 210. ian Jim Peterson and-remember- Some are for social said he writes your pass- great-passwords). mediaH accounts like Facebook and them down im- words Twitter, while others are for ser- mediately and re- Use an app safe? Here are some tips. vices used occasionally, such as fers to them until A variety of software SoundCloud (a place to store and they’re committed to memory. Via tools can also help. For example, a share audio files) or Tripit (a travel Twitter, librarian Vassiliki Veros simple spreadsheet is a pretty handy app). The rest are for services and similarly wrote, “I memorize them, tool, and it’s what David’s IT depart- tools we have tried out but haven’t but they’re all around the same ment uses to store passwords. used lately, such as Second Life. theme. Husband uses same theme, so They’re on one or two password- There are “real life” passwords, we know each other’s in case of mis- protected spreadsheets, with a too. David has a federal student adventure.” printout stored in a safe. aid password for his oldest daugh- Some people create a formula that Other people use browser-based ter. Both of us have travel-related helps them create unique, strong password storage. Most modern passwords (i.e., mileage and passwords that are also easy to re- browsers like Google Chrome, awards programs), not to mention member. Librarian Toby Greenwalt Firefox, and newer versions of credit card and bank passwords. tweeted that he uses a formula that Internet Explorer remember pass- David’s church even has a pass- employs “a consistent alphanumeric words, and Keychain Access for word for its online member forum. phrase and plugs in a mnemonic Macs is connected to Safari. Both Regardless of the number of that uses the name of the site.” For work well for password storage. passwords you may have, we all example, he wrote, “if my phrase is There are also some helpful soft- know they can be difficult to keep ‘mypassword,’ I’d throw in a number ware tools created for storing user- track of. And now, there’s an even or two and either ‘tw’ or ‘wt,’ mak- names and passwords. Here’s a list greater concern about security being mYp2ssTww0rd.” of apps people have mentioned: cause of improved computer pro- Comedian and consultant Adam n 1Password (agilebits.com/ cessing speeds, which enable St. John Lawrence explained via onepassword) hacking programs to identify valid Twitter that he uses a standard stem n Lastpass (lastpass.com) password combinations with rapid and then adds some “slightly cryp- n KeePass (keepass.info) ease. So, how can you keep your tified elements” based on the ser- n Roboform (roboform.com) passwords safe and memorable? vice he is using. For Facebook, he We all need to remember our november/december 2012

Here are some tips. may create pa55r00t-613, in which passwords. Whatever way—or ways— |

‘pa55r00t’ is the stem and the re- you choose to do so, make sure to Mnemonically yours maining numbers correspond to manage those usernames and pass- David asked his Twitter and Face- letters: six equals “F,” one equals words so you don’t forget them. z book contacts; some said they simply “A,” etc. write them down in a notebook or on Want to know more about formu- DAVID LEE KING is digital services director a piece of scrap paper. Not the most la-based passwords? Check out for Topeka and Shawnee County (Kans.) Public Library. MICHAEL PORTER is currently leading secure, but it works for some people. “Geek to Live: Choose (and Remem- the effort of the e-content–centric nonprofit Many have a knack for remember- ber) Great Passwords,” by Gina Tra- Library Renewal and has worked for more than 20 years as a librarian, presenter, and

ing things and use this ability to track pani on Lifehacker (lifehacker consultant for libraries. americanlibrariesmagazine.org

57 Professional DEVELOPMENT | Books Librarian’s Library

Making Sure Libraries “Measure Up” by Karen Muller

imes are tough for Just Plain Data When times get libraries, and when Analysis: Find- times get tough, man- ing, Presenting, tough, managers agers—whether college and Interpreting start asking about Tadministrators, a principal, a Social Science the viability of board of trustees, or even vot- Data by Gary M. ers—start asking about the vi- Klass is an ex- programs. Understanding ability of programs and the ploration of the how to measure them is key. measurable benefits of those types of quanti- programs. That’s why under- tative research building level to develop arguments standing how to measure your (which is rooted in data and statisti- for the efficacy of your program. library’s activities—and therefore cal analysis) that can be used to Andrews, who is on the faculty at the proving their value—is critical in draw conclusions about such social University of North Carolina at today’s economic environment. science issues as crime rates and Greensboro, looks at possible ques- measuring educational achieve- tions one might have, then walks In Using Qual- ment. Klass uses examples of statis- readers through the local, state, and itative Methods tical claims to demonstrate how national resources that could help in Action Re- changing the time frame for data benchmark performance, demon- search: How collection or looking at different strate meeting standards, and advo- Librarians Can correlations can result in varying or cate for support. Get to the Why misleading statements. He also has Indexed. AASL, 2012. 88 p. $36. 978-0-8389-8617-2 of Data, edi- chapters to how to tabulate and dis- (Also available as an ebook.) tors Douglas play numbers and how to use graph- Cook and ical presentation effectively. Danny P. Wallace Lesley Farmer Indexed. Rowman & Littlefield, 2012. 202 p. and Connie Van provide an array of examples that $24.95. pbk. 978-1-4422-1508-5 Fleet’s Knowl- use qualitative research (which ana- edge into Action: lyzes observed behaviors or transac- Sandra D. An- Research and tions or a group under study) to drews’s Power of Evaluation in understand what does and doesn’t Data: An Intro- Library and In- work with a library instruction production to Using formation Science gram. They also look at changes a Local, State, and provides re- november/december 2012

| library may need to implement in National Data to search methods and principles

order to better meet the needs of Support School meant to help students and practi- students; how to evaluate and im- Library Programs tioners understand how to conduct prove reference interviews; and couples a practi- research and/or use the research of what to do to improve collection de- cal guide to others. While the main portion of velopment processes. Such qualita- sources of good statistical surveys Knowledge into Action covers re- tive methods can help explain why a with discussions of how to use in- search methods, the authors have program is valuable. formation in statistical reports. The also included a discussion of ethics Indexed. ACRL, 2011. 264 p. $60. 978-0-8389- purpose is to learn how best to use and politics with regard to research, 8576-2

americanlibrariesmagazine.org data at your own school district and as well as a brief chapter of pointers

58 to measurecustomerloyalty. provements. Theyalsolookto ways for continuousservice-qualityim- group interviews,asawaytoplan tion methodsassurveysandfocus- opinions, usingsuchdata-collec- centered waystomeasurepatron The authorsgivesimple,customer- the libraryissueof servicequality. plying researchandassessmentto Altman provideanexampleof ap- organizational culture. how tomake suchresearchpartof Theauthorsalsoprovide tipson tion. analysis,and presenta- collection, development of procedures,anddata search study—reflectiveinquiry, ponents of anevaluationandre- Nitecki exploretheindividualcom- andDanuta A. Robert E.Dugan, sessments. CoauthorsPeter Hernon, use theresultingevaluationandas- management specialist fortheALALibrary. karen mullerislibrarianandknowledge 2010.215p.Indexed. ALA, $65.978-0-8389-1021-4 $60. 978-1-59884-573-0 Indexed. LibrariesUnlimted,2011.305p. 978-1-59884-975-2 (Alsoa Indexed. LibrariesUnlimted,2012.388p. published research. on howtoevaluatethequalityof v ble asanebook.) aila to helppeople tends thatfocus services butex- about library doing research on the“how”of not onlyfocuses sessment Research uation andAs- Engaging inEval- non andEllen thors Peter Her- Customers, au- tions ofLibrary ing theExpecta- Quality: Satisfy- sessing Service edition of As- In thesecond $55. $55.

z Measure. sor mighthavecalledaWestern versionofShakespeare’s Measure for with thehumansideofstory, producing whatmy Englishprofes- western vistasthatJohnFord’s filmversionsupplies,butitdoesbetter mind she’s beendefiledbeyond repair). Thenovellacksthesweeping wards vowstofindthegirl—notsaveherbutkill(sinceinhis Comanche warriors,whohavetakenhisniece,Debbie,hostage, Ed- returns hometofindhisbrother’s familyhas beenslaughtered by many morality-drivenactions,itismisguidedandtragic.When Edwards Searchers verydefinitelyactsoutofamoralimperative;butlikeso the bestWesterns balancetheirwaytogreatness. portrayal ofanarchetypal existentialmoment?Onthatslipperyslope, perative butbecausecontextdriveshimtoit.Anarrativeclichéorthe stances beyondhiscontrol andtakesactionnotoutofanymoralim- despise him.ItisaclassicWestern situation:Amanresponds tocircum- laws, forcing Russell(reviled asa“half-breed”) tosavethebigotswho white people—astage,that,naturally, comesunderattack from out- by Apachesbutisnowridingastagecoachonthewaytonewlifewith Russell (playedbyPaulNewmaninthe1967movieversion)wasraised standing Westerns before heturnedtothemean streets). Hero John (it’s nosurprisethatcrime-fictionmasterLeonard wrote severalout- arguably poeticWesterns totry. StartwithElmore Leonard’s Hombre the reverberations havethepowerofmyth. the imagestrikesdeep(andoftensubconsciously)intoourimaginations, Westerns (andbadpoems, forthatmatter),butwhentheywork, scend quicklyintocliché,ofcourse,whichiswhythere are somanybad empty street; theswingingdoorsofasaloon.Suchtableauxcande- and amanonhorseridingslowlyintotheframe;gunfightdusty, tells thestoryinamoment:homesteader’s houseonan empty plain, frontier, andtheplaceofpeopleinit,intoaniconictableauthat ages), soaWestern translates awelterofconflictingnotionsaboutthe a poemdistillsanideaoremotionintoimage(orseriesofim- I’ve cometoappreciate thepoetryofWesterns. Inthesamewaythat High NoonpossiblyhavetodowithColeridge?Andyet,overtheyears, understand poetryshouldread orwatchWesterns. Huh?Whatcould a professor whomadethepeculiarclaimthatanyonewantsto plains drifterisanother’s privateeyewalkingthemeanstreets. enjoys crimefictionshouldalsobe reading Westerns. Onegenre’s high- tion alsoworksforhard-boiled crimenovels,whichiswhyanyonewho ing themwithgraceunderpressure. Exceptforthesetting,thatdefini- are goodatdoingthethingsthatmustbedoneanddo- West, featuringhard-drinking, ruggedindividualistswho bie Westerns—but thereal thing:novelssetintheOld are populartoday—thecowboyromances andthezom- nations, andthereverberations havethepowerofmyth. W Unlike Leonard’s John Russell,AmosEdwards inAlanLeMay’sThe I’m sensingyouanti-Western typesaren’t convinced.Sohere are two Many decadesagoItookaclassinEnglishRomanticpoetryfrom I’m hookedonWesterns. Notthegenre-blends that deep—and oftensubconsciously—intoourimagi- hen aWestern isdonewell,itsimagescanstrike The wildandpoeticlifeofweserns Bill Ottistheeditorandpublisher ofALA’s Booklist. ROUSING READS

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61 americanlibrariesmagazine.org | november/december 2012 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | Classifieds

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation American Libraries was published bimonthly by the American Library Career Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Periodicals-class postage paid at Chicago, Ill., and additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. As a nonprofit organization authorized to mail at special rates (Section 448.31 Postal Manual), the purpose, function, and nonprofit status for federal income tax purposes Leads have not changed during the preceding 12 months. Extent and nature of circulation: “Average” figures denote the number of copies printed each issue during the preceding 12 months. “Actual” figures denote number of copies of single issues from published nearest to filing date, the July/August 2012 issue. Total number of copies (net press run): Average 62,652; Actual 61,320 Paid or requested outside-county mail subscriptions: Average 54,938; Actual 54,620 Paid in-county subscriptions: joblist.ala.org None Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, and counter sales: Average Your #1 source for job 2,037; Actual 2,068 openings in Library and Other classes mailed through the USPS: None Information Science and Total paid and/or requested circulation: Average 56,975; Actual 56,688 Technology Free distribution by mail outside-county: None; In-county: None Other classes mailed through the USPS: Average 44; Actual 39 Free distribution outside the mail: Average 1,201; Actual 812 TWO ASSISTANT PROFESSOR POSI- Total free distribution: Average 1,245; Actual 851 TIONS UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE SCHOOL OF INFORMATION SCIENCES Total distribution: Average 58,220; Actual 57,539 Education and experience in one or Copies not distributed (office use, leftovers, spoiled):Average 4,432; more of the following areas: 1. Archives: Actual 3,781 archival studies or digital curation and one or more of scientific and technical in- Total: Average 62,652; Actual 61,320 formation; special libraries; competitive/ Percent paid and/or requested circulation: Average 97.86%; Actual 98.52% business intelligence/knowledge management 2. IT: Information Technology, Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (PS form 3526) for 2012 filed with United IT Networking, Data Repositories, STEM States Postal Service in Chicago, Sept. 14, 2012. informatics, bio informatics, health/science informatics. •Both are nine-month, tenure-track •Both require doctorate by time of appointment •Both include standard faculty responsibilities The date of appointment is either January 2013 or August 2013. There is no applica- tion deadline. The review process began September 1 and will continue until the position is filled. Salary commensurate with experience. For more information visit: www.sis.utk.edu or contact Van- dana Singh, [email protected] or Suzie Allard, [email protected]. The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without november/december 2012 regard to race, color, national origin,

| religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered Contact Email [email protected] or call 800-545-2433, Katie Bane, ext. 5105. Career Leads, veteran status. American Libraries, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; fax 312-337-6787. americanlibrariesmagazine.org

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ALAUntitled-21 Ad full 5 1 v1.indd 1 8/10/2012 3:49:08 PM COMMENTARY | Will’s World Trust in Your Trustees

Politicians prefer your board’s views on by Will Manley library needs over yours

t frustrates me profoundly to trustees? If you an- Trustees feel. Point two: When have someone in the library swered (a) hire and library directors go profession approach me at a fire the director, (b) are better hat in hand to the city conference to challenge my make library policy, fundraisers. council to ask for de- credibilityI as a speaker—usually and (c) secure library partmental budget in view of the fact that I’m retired, funding, you are cor- hikes, what do council out of touch, and behind the times. rect. Everything else they do, from members see? They see special in- In other words, I’m no longer ac- attending meetings to approving terest professionals who want to tively involved in library matters. minutes, is strictly secondary. feather their tribal nests. My defense is immediate. I explain Of their three main duties, secur- But when library trustees do it, that while I may be retired from the ing funding is by far the most criti- councilpeople see constituents: administrative wars, I now play an cal. Trustees can be much more bankers, salesmen, nurses, plumb- even more important library role: I effective fundraisers than librar- ers, and homemakers. They see am a trustee. Inevitably the response ians, precisely because they are out- their next door neighbor, their is both derisive and dismissive: side the library tribe. They don’t child’s soccer coach, a congregant “Trustees aren’t really a part of our know the secret library handshake, from their church, a high school profession, are they?” the litany of obscure library acro- classmate. They see registered vot- While that rejoinder really bugs nyms, or the meaning of the terms ers—the folks who will determine me, I have to grudgingly admit that it “autoregressive bibliographical in- whether they get reelected. And does carry a certain element of truth. terface,” “triangulated title access,” don’t kid yourself: Getting reelected Quite frankly, trustees do not belong or “multipolycentric reference con- is job one for every politician. to the library “tribe.” But that is pre- trol.” Heck, most of them haven’t a Many years ago, I became director cisely why they are the most important clue what OCLC stands for. of a good-size library, filling a players in the public library arena. Does that make them aliens from months-long vacancy. Before I was Here’s a quiz: What are the three outer space? No, that puts them on the hired, the board was forced to get main duties of a library board of same level as the local politicians very involved in the library budget who control the process, and my first week as direc- library purse strings. tor happened to be budget week. The Point one: Local pol- entire board of trustees appeared be- iticians hate to be fore the city council to plead for three talked down to by new librarian positions. The next professionals. It week was election week. The board november/december 2012

| doesn’t matter if it’s was unsuccessful in getting the three

the police chief, city positions—the council granted it five. engineer, or library After the meeting, the police chief director. Every pro- came up to me and asked, “How do I fession has its mum- get one of those boards of trustees?” z bo jumbo jargon that makes laypeople feel WILL MANLEY has furnished provocative stupid and out of the commentary on librarianship for more than “I am not out of touch! Now, where do you 30 years and has written nine books on the keep the record albums?” loop—something lo- lighter side of library science. Write him at [email protected]. americanlibrariesmagazine.org cal politicians hate to

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