We-R-hot!, originally uploaded by rambleonsylvie. Rambleonsylvie writes: my library’s youth services crew is “oh so cool.” Check out all the stuff they will be doing. we bought and have loaded a video game creation program on the lab computers for them. all the events filled right up, they’ll do more, maybe year round. I can only echo her sentiment: HOT!
Categories Engaging Library Users
183 posts
By Michael Casey & Michael Stephens When did it become an acceptable customer service response to try and push out an entire age group of users? Never, but that’s happening at too many libraries. Can we remain transparent, open, and focused on the core value of access and still tell young people to find another place to be social online? MC: I still get emails from librarians who endure meetings where administrators bemoan having to accommodate teens. One even said her director thought stats showing lower senior citizen library use reflected the increased teen presence. Banning MySpace MS: My hometown […]
Ruth at Utopian Library reports on CIL: http://www.utopianlibrary.com/?page_id=319 The common message at this year’s conference, at least from where I sat in each room, is this: The library has a story to tell. The story is about community. It’s not about the library. The community and the library can engage and support each other through creative use of social software and the library’s online presence. The library’s online presence and “virtual branch” rely on precious resources: money, staff, and time. Loads of conference blogging to click through. Thanks Ruth.
Did you know ALA was publishing the “Core Competencies of Librarianship?” Brian Kenney writes: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6545430.html Although the guidelines were presented at a public meeting, I don’t think this document is widely available, but you could try searching ala.org. The document is predictably conservative—in the sense of preserving what exists—and covers what you’d imagine: the foundation of our profession, information resources, organization, technical knowledge, reference and user services, research, continuing education, and administration. Likely the intent was to give ALA’s Committee on Accreditation, which accredits master’s programs in library and information science, a little more teeth—perhaps necessary in dealing with those […]
Will Richardson ponders the future for young people: Our kids’ futures will require them to be: Networked–They’ll need an “outboard brain.” More collaborative–They are going to need to work closely with people to co-create information. More globally aware–Those collaborators may be anywhere in the world. Less dependent on paper–Right now, we are still paper training our kids. More active–In just about every sense of the word. Physically. Socially. Politically. Fluent in creating and consuming hypertext–Basic reading and writing skills will not suffice. More connected–To their communities, to their environments, to the world. Editors of information–Something we should have been teaching […]
By Michael Casey & Michael Stephens This column is directed to front-line librarians and staff, who deliver customer service and have damn good ideas for what can be done to improve things. It’s often a hurdle to get library administrators and managers to listen to your concerns and views. But there are ways. And we believe this advice holds true for everyone on the desk, from reference librarians to support staff. Be vocal but not obnoxious. You know the story probably better than anyone as to how your users perceive the library. You know how they use (or don’t use) […]
Some say that IM is on the verge of extinction and that forging into such territory for virtual reference so late in the game is a waste of a library’s energy. You can surely count me as one of those who agrees with that statement. I predict, as do many others, that virtual reference needs to fit in users’ pockets – in their cell phone. We need to look at the trends happening now (according to PEW, 2006): -47% can’t live without their cell phones -35% use SMS and 13% would like it added to their features The preceding stats […]
Great news teen librarians! Do you want to do something snazzy for Teen Tech Week this year? It’s a great way to offer programming for young people and introduce or offer access to technologies and media. Take a look at what the folks at the LibraryLoft did last year, the snazzy offerings at the Public Library of Brookline or the line up of HOT programs the Tulsa Library offered teens. According to the YALSA site, “the 2008 theme, Tune In @ Your Library, was chosen by teens from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds for its focus on music and sound. […]
By Michael Casey & Michael Stephens In our experiences at a larger public library system and in a university setting (after numerous years in a medium-sized public library), respectively, we often have had access to resources that smaller libraries/systems do not. While that sets our frame of reference, we intend to give advice aimed at libraries of all sizes. No matter the dimensions of the institution, the building blocks of transparency allow a more honest, open flow of ideas, where staff and users are valued. The “To Do” list for transparency is simple but requires commitment from administrators and staff […]
From David Isaacson in Library Journal, 11/15/2007: The good news is there is much potential for improvement. Notably, in the more than two decades since Miller’s article was published, libraries have become more attractive places to meet people, both in person and in cyberspace, whether to do research or to interact socially. Unfortunately, the 1984 reference model endures in too many libraries today: librarians passively waiting at a desk for people to approach. We must experiment more with having reference librarians roam among users, actively asking if they can help them. Some libraries already have embraced this strategy with positive […]