Digital Footprint Webinar

I just watched an informative webinar and found a great resource for more library education. Win Win.  The webinar was Your Digital Footprint.  Brought to us by the Nebraska Library Commission.  The link takes you to their list of offerings, including their archive of recorded webinars. The Nebraska Library Commission sponsors NCompass broadcasts live every Wednesday at 10 AM Central Time with topics of interest to librarians.  I will be back.
Today's webinar discussed the digital footprint we all leave behind on the Internet and offered strategies we can use to minimize our footprint and keep our data secure.  The webinar also offered strategies for presenting this information to library patrons young and old.

Book Review Friday: When Books Went to War

When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II

By Molly Guptill Manning

At the beginning of World War II the Nazis burned millions of books. In response, as the United States mobilized for war, American librarians organized the Victory Book Campaign and collected 20 million hardcover books to donate to the armed forces.  But hardcover books weren’t practical for troops in combat and 20 million wasn’t nearly enough.  This is the story of how the War Department and the publishing industry got together to create the Armed Services Editions of over 1000 popular titles. These lightweight paperbacks were portable, inexpensive, and great for morale. By the end of the war over 120 million ASEs were published and distributed to troops around the world.  ASEs were carried into every theatre of the war, they were shared and they were treasured. 

This was a fascinating glimpse into U S History, the history of World War II and the history of the American love of reading. This is a great story for history buffs or anyone who loves books and reading.

Book Review Friday: Curiosity Thrilled the Cat

Okay, I know it's Saturday, but I'm posting it anyway.
Happy New Year!!

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat

By Sofie Kelly

Published February 2011

First in the Magical Cats Mystery Series.

 

Kathleen Paulson decides to do something spontaneous, so she leaves her home and job in Boston and signs on as head librarian overseeing the renovating and refurbishing of the Mayville Heights Public Library in Minnesota.  Exploring the town one afternoon, Kathleen comes across an abandoned mansion that has become home to a colony of feral cats and two adorable kittens follow her home.  Hercules and Owen soon become part of Kathleen’s new family and when she becomes a person of interest in a local murder; her two feline friends prove there’s more to cats than meets the eye.

 Engaging and cozy with just a touch of magic, Sophie Kelly’s Curiosity Thrilled the Cat was a fun way to while away an afternoon or two. The mystery was intriguing and kept me guessing.  The cats were adorable.  Granted, you have to suspend disbelief to imagine a cat walking through solid objects, but anyone who’s ever owned a cat will know it’s not as farfetched as it sounds.  Mayville Heights is peopled with interesting characters you’ll want to get to know better.  Main character, and librarian, Kathleen Paulson is a like-able, strong willed animal lover, who’s only a little concerned about what the neighbors will say if they hear her talking to her cats.

 

If you liked Curiosity Thrilled the Cat, you might like these:

The Magical Cats Mystery Series by Sofie Kelly
Curiosity Thrilled the Cat

Sleight of Paw
Copycat Killing
Cat Trick
Final Catcall
A Midwinter’s Tail

Other Cat Mystery Series

The Mrs. Murphy Mysteries by Rita Mae Brown
The Midnight Louie Mysteries by Carole Nelson Douglas
The Cat in the Stacks Series by Miranda James
The Joe Grey Mystery Series by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Other Librarian Mystery Series

The Ophelia & Abby Mysteries by Shirley Damsgaard
The Cat in the Stacks Series by Miranda James
The Karen Nash Mysteries by Mary Lou Kerwin
The Murder by the Month Mysteries by Jess Lourey

 

 

This Does Not Define You

 This does not define you. You are more than the grade on a civil service exam. You are a strong, talented, highly educated librarian. You work hard to stay on top of your profession while going to school, working two jobs, raising a family, or maybe still living at home. Every day at the desk adds to the sum total of your experience and knowledge.  Each and every day you become a better, more experienced professional.

You may be an expert in technology, reader’s advisory, or story time. You may struggle to keep up with Live-brary’s never-ending updates. But that does not define you. Your willingness, your dedication, and your determination to succeed will help you leave a mark in the library world regardless of your place on the list or your annual salary.

Wherever you are in your career, you are a valuable member of this profession. We all want to grab that brass ring, to score a 100 and snag a full-time job. Don’t make it your whole world. You’re doing good work. And if no one else has told you that lately, they should have, because it’s true.

So when you sit down to take that test tomorrow, take a deep breath and relax. Do your best and leave the rest to the universe (however you define it). You are more than a grade. You are more than a library professional. You are a valuable, capable, loveable, worthwhile individual.

Good luck, my dear colleagues.  I’ll see you on the other side.

Don't hate me because I'm weeding

Weeding ... deselection ... taking out the trash ... whatever you want to call it, some love it, some hate it, but it's a necessary function in the library.  Sometimes we get rid of materials because they're damaged, old, or falling apart.  Sometimes we get rid of things because they've become outdated.  And sometimes we get rid of materials because the shelves are full and we need to make room for new things.

A library is not a warehouse.  We can't keep everything.  Even the Library of Congress is having trouble keeping "everything." It just can't be done.  Careful weeding and maintenance of a library's collection keeps it current and relevant for the community it serves.  So librarians use their training, their experience, and their knowledge of their collections and their communities to keep the stacks filled with things that will be used.  There's no room on the shelves for books, movies, or music that just don't circulate.

So don't hate me because I'm weeding the collection, I'm making room for the good things to come.  And hey, I'm just doing my job.

Too Funny

I found this link care of Becky at RA for All.  Fake Library Stats is the funniest thing I've seen in ages.  I wish I'd thought of it, but baring that, I'm glad someone did.  'Cause this is what life is like at the library and we could all use a good laugh.

Continuing Education for Librarians

I saw a conversation on LinkedIn ... someone was asking for info on MOOCs and other continuing ed opportunities for librarians.  Continuously  trying to rack up CEUs and stay relevant/on top of things while working and having a life can be exhausting. So here is a link to a library science list of free on-line course for librarians.  They cover everything from cataloging to Web 2.0.  I'm sure there's more stuff out there. I'll post them on my libraries & librarians page as I find them.

Overdue?

 

 Some libraries have stopped charging overdue fines.  Others offer amnesty days where all fines are forgiven provided long lost materials are returned.  Other libraries have gotten creative and offered to removed or reduce library fines in exchange for donations to the library's canned goods drive.   And still other libraries have resorted to the courts to enforce their return and overdue policies.  Check out this story of a man in Texas who was arrested and had to post $200 bond because of an overdue book.

At my library we charge 2 cents per day for books with a maximum of $1 each.  Videos are $1 a day with a maximum of $3.  It doesn't sound like much, but if you take out 10 DVDs at a time and keep 'em out 3 extra days, that's a $30 fine. If the items are more than five weeks late, we send the patron a bill for the replacement costs. And after more than $5 of fines are recorded on the library card, it won't work for computer log ins, checkouts, renewals, or reserves.  But I'm fairly certain we've never called the police.

So where do you stand on overdue books?

The Digital Shift Experience

 

 I attended an online conference on Wednesday hosted by Library Journal and School Library Journal.  The Digital Shift: Reinventing Libraries.  It was great!  Perhaps a slight misnomer, though 'cause no one was talking about reinventing the library, just helping it continue its evolution.

The keynote panel spoke about the changes they envision libraries and librarians need to make to stay viable.  They talked about makerspaces, production, learning and creation.  They suggested that libraries become platforms for life-long learning.  Places where patrons of all ages and stations in life can come to learn and connect.

In a discussion of critical skills librarians should be learning the panel suggested: problem solving, critical thinking, a willingness to fail, organizational and creative thinking, leadership, relationship building, grit, perseverance, flexibility, and a deep knowledge of how people learn.  There was a lot of emphasis on the role of librarians as educators and teachers.

Other presentations I attended included makerspaces, testing & workforce development (badging), and connected learning.

I came away with lots of ideas and plenty of handouts and brochures from vendors to browse through.  All in all a great experience.