Stone Readers: Digital Librarians in the Cemeteries

Friday 2:00pm
Stone Readers: Digital Librarians in the Cemeteries
Presenters: Jim Keenan & Kathy Meagher - Billerica Library Website (presentation on homepage - Monday)

Digital projects are a way to share unique collections while helping to physically preserve the originals.

This session discusses the Billerica Library Cemetery and Vital Records project:
How it was conceived, how it was carried out, where it is now, where it may be going next.

"Who the hell is Sheila Shea" is an actual epitaph on a gravestone in Billerica.

What can we learn in order to do our own local projects?

Origins...Greg & Kathy (local history librarian)-their ideas, trials and perils. They were trying to find a small cemetery in the woods behind some railroad tracks to catalog. They were almost hit by a train, devoured by bugs and vanquished by heat, but they finally found the cemeteries and used a digital camera to take pictures of gravestones and copied epitaphs into notebooks as exactly as possible. It was the first of many cemeteries that they would visit.

Some Terms...Digital Project - data stored in a database that people can access, Digital Object - consists of digital image and metadata, Metadata - information describing a digital object (who owned it and made it, where is it now, what size is it, etc...).

Types of Projects...projects to share widely and projects to preserve and share locally (example of archival scanning for a collection of collapsible lanterns at the highest possible resolution, without concern for sharing the images on the Internet).

In his resources links there will be information about how to build a bed for book scanning (cheaper than buying one).

Types of Digitized Materials...Books, pictures, maps, video, audio & metadata (don't need to limit your possibilities to just books).

Digital Resource Creation...Scanning originals, converting paper data into electronic data, creating objects out of composite materials, why? to share.

Creating exhibitions...Special occasion digital exhibition, "permanent" digital collections (for instance all the cemeteries, gravestones, epitaphs in Billerica with maps, metadata, etc... for research purposes), revolving collections, special purpose exhibitions.

Storytelling...to highlight features of the history of your locality and the people who lived there. An example is 1816 - the year without a summer or the Flu pandemic of 1918. Vital records can help tell the story.

Toothaker dies in prison...he had bragged about using reverse witch craft on a witch...and was later imprissoned. He was the only male healer accused of witchcraft and he was from Billerica. His family was buried in a small cemetery. Toothaker's wife Mary was later accused of witchcraft. She claimed that she made a deal with the devil to protect her from Indian raiders when she was interrogated. She was safely in prison when several homesteads near her home were attacked. Her testimony is digitized and available to read.

What you need...needs change based upon the type of project you are doing, but there will always be these four: people (interested enough to take on the project), time, software (Billerica project used Excel Spreadsheets) and hardware. You also need local support (library director, community, etc...).

Planning a project...The Cemeteries and Vital Records Project...the first surveys, there were no maps, if you find there are no existing resources, don't be afraid to be the one who creates them.

Local Involvement...the historical society, town cemetery department, boy scouts and data entry volunteers.

First Results...rough hand drawn maps and notes, photographs, transcriptions, the "archival" binders (organized information to correspond to maps).

Publicizing and Popularizing...begin telling your stories and sharing your data as quickly as you can. When people start getting excited about something they want to get involved.

Digital Commonwealth will host your collections and link to them. Digital Treasures is another resource focused on central and western MA. You can also share metadata - creating a static repository to share OAI compliant metadata.

Fundamental Checklist...Plan to start small (the journey can be the destination), Work on paper then on computers, Organize your labor, Publish early - publish often - incremental growth is good, Identify your software learning needs (spreadsheet, web page creation, database), Identify your hardware needs (scanner, camera, recorder, video, web site, server), Do It!

DIY Session 2

Friday 10:45 AM
Do-It-Yourself: Blogging for Libraries
Panel: Karen Mellor, Jennifer Varney, Maryanne

Blogging for Libraries - Karen Mellor

A blog is.... a content management system, it can be syndicated (RSS), searchable, web-based (virtually) no tech skills required, interactive, free!

Why blog? Empower your staff by allowing them to publish in real time (without webmaster/support). The power of RSS feeds, they can be aggregated. It is a marketing and public relations tool (community and funding sources can see what is happening at your library). Virtual library (24/7). You can also use one to document a project or to share/store information.

Who is blogging? Visit Blogging Libraries Wiki or LISNews 10 Library Blogs to Read in 2009. Canton Public Library, Michigan using a blog as a website. Darien Public Library is using blogs to open a dialogue with the community. Iowa City PL is using a blog for Teens (fun with media). The Librarian's Brain: Fun with WordPress.

Blog hosting services...Blogger is very, very, easy to use. WordPress offers many useful tools like categories, statistics of use, etc...

Karen demonstrated how easy and flexible it is to use Wordpress to blog. She created a blog in 2 minutes with a blog title and a first posting. Next she added a new page (useful if you are using it as a website) with information about the library's hours/information. Then she created a link for the new page of library hours/information and gave it a category (About The Library). The link to the new page appeared on the right hand side of the front page of the blog. Themes can be used to change the appearance of the blog.

There are lots of useful plug-ins, and Karen recommends using the Kismet plug-in for eliminating spam sent to your blog. She demonstrated how she is using her Delicious links to feed them directly to a blog's sidebar.

Developing Your Blog...have a purpose, content and writing guidelines, comment guidelines - Free Range Librarian, brand your blog with a catchy name, frequency of posts, transparency - authorship, institutional connection, contact information, disclaimer (Rhodarian), editorial process (group blogs), blogging etiquette (give credit where credit is due).

Writing Tips...Keep posts brief, make writing accessible, develop a personality and be consistent, check your facts (spelling and cite sources), don't delete your posts correct them, read other blogs for inspiration.

Market Your Blog...publicize within the library/community, add links to website, feature in your newsletter, add to bookmarks-flyers-signature files, use the web!

The next speaker on the panel, Jennifer Varney, introduced us to RSS...

Newsreaders will bring the stuff on the web to you. Examples include Bloglines, Google Reader, My Yahoo, and Newsgator Online.

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication", site provide a feed from their page and you can tell your newsreader to gather these feeds from the site's you want to keep up with.

RSS feeds contain site content (text, audio, video), metadata, xml.

How to use RSS: Easy!

Step1 - choose a reader (Google Reader)

Step 2 - subscribe to your favorites via Google Reader (Click on Add a Subscription: Add the URL of the feed, search for the feed, or search for topics that interest you) or find a site and subscribe via a site (Click on Add to Google Reader or copy and paste the url of the xml page into Google Reader). Be careful when subscribing to "bundles" the number of feeds can be overwhelming, you may want to subscribe to just a couple of feeds within the bundle.

Step 3 - browse and read all in one place (Google Reader)

Step 4 - organize your feeds (rename, put into folders, create folders, unsubscribe, very similar to E-mail)

Why do this? Professional development, alerting service (monitor topics of patron interest), collection development.

Tips for using RSS - review your feeds daily, file and flag for follow-up, weed, limit and organize your feeds. Offer RSS feeds on your blogs, website, catalogs, etc...

Maryanne showed how to create a Facebook page for your Library...

Have to create a profile on Facebook (but it does not have to be public to have a Facebook page).
From the Facebook homepage click on the link to creating a page for businesses. The web form is easy to fill out and once you have completed it you must either create your profile or login to your already existing profile.

Now that you have a page...upload a picture, add your basic information (year that you were founded) and detailed information (website, overview, mission statement, products you offer) you can fill in as much as you want, get the word out (suggest to friends feature, put your Facebook info. on website and blog, publicity).

Examples of how it is being used well...Belmont (NH) High - librarian is interacting with students (giving them tips, etc...), Assabet Valley HS, Northfield-Mount Hermon (private school), Beamon Memorial Public Library, West Boylston - to communicate about events, share photos, advocating for the library, WPI - Gordon Library - advertising services, meet the staff videos, etc..., Regional Library Systems - communication with librarians, job postings, etc...

Send updates to your fans...use this feature to notify your fans.

Update your Facebook and Website at the same time to keep information synchronized/current!

Public Workstation Sanity

Friday 8:30 AM
Public Workstation Sanity: Approaches to Managing Time and Patrons at Public Workstations
Panel: Jim Keenan, Bernadette, Ira

There will be a link to many resources posted on the Billerica Library Website on Monday (including contact information for panel members)!

Jim began by providing us with an overview of the issues and public workstation environment. He also mentioned that the panel is not advocating for any particular solution, but presenting a variety of solutions that may or may not work for your institution. Each community/institution has different needs.

3 Management Areas: Time, Print & Computer

Who can use the public workstations? How long can they use them? How can the library exert control during patron sessions.

Time Management Solutions: PC Reservation (Envisionware), Pharos, Patron Access Management Xerox, CASSIE, Librarica, CybraryN, Time Limit Mngr. (Open Source).

Print Management Solutions: Managing printers, print jobs, payment. Additional printing issues include coin machines and contract services.

Computer Management Solutions: Who can do what with the machines and when (can they download clients, change computer settings, etc...)? Different settings for patrons, administrators, automatic system processes.

CM Solutions - Products: SteadyState, Microsoft; DeepFreeze; Clean Slate, Fortres; Windows Policy Editor; CompuGard, Centurion; Fortres 101, Fortres; Trust-No-Exe, Beyond Logic; Userful.

Issues Mentioned:
How do we protect our computers and users (IE will save usernames/passwords for the remainder of the day when set to remember them for 0 days - Firefox has a setting that will not remember them)?

Integrating your systems: Getting everything to play nice (can't update anti-virus software at night if computers shut down). New version of Office (07) with file formats that are not backward compatible, and there are some combinations of software that do not work together (Roxio and DeepFreeze).

Pros & Cons of Open Source: It's free, tech expertise requirements, potential lack of support, possible additional system requirements (Linux instead of MS Windows).

Issues in Software Deployment: Do I have the expertise to install myself or will I need to pay for technical expertise? How much dedicated staff time? Consultants needed? Are there extra initial costs for setup?

Ira began by discussing... her experience and the evolution of computer management.

Her library took the technical experience of the library staff into account when selecting a CM Solution. Decided upon Userful and went from 5 computers in the library to 15 computers in the Reference and YA areas alone!

The Time Management has been great. They are using thin clients (5 PCs to a server), and the Linux operating system (required for Userful) and Open Office software are used on the computers.

Use notification of print costs to patrons to decrease the amount of lost fees (not using a Print Management system yet). Send messages to patrons when necessary (can send a message to teens that are being loud during busy times). Login to a webpage in the morning to manage the computers (it will show you if a computer has been dropped from the network and needs attention, usually caused by a loose cable or a similarly simple problem).

The library is allowing users to have an hour on the computers (staff can add time/decrease time as necessary). They use guest passes for people that are visiting (change the numbers periodically to avoid abuse). Some annoyance from the technically savvy people that are forced to use OpenOffice, but you can save in MS formats and OpenOffice has been accepted well by most people.

All computers can access the library catalog without the use of a library card. Computers turn on early and the anti-virus software updates automatically.

Userful trainer came and installed the system (headquartered in Alberta, Canada) and provided 2 days of training (it cost approx. $2,100), they have 4-5 servers and approx 31 public computers at a cost from Userful of approx. $33,000 for 3 years.

Problems: floppy disks not available on thin clients (purchased a USB connection-Floppy Drive to alleviate issue), Teens cannot access iTunes to download music, their older library has electrical infrastructure issues.

At Bernadette's library... she was asked to figure out how to install a print management system (OCS - Output Control Services) that had already been purchased by a library. There turned out to be issues with the system requirements not being met by some computers on their network.

Bernadette's library then installed PC Reservation on top of the print management system. Patrons were allowed to use the computers for 1-1.5 hours a day (twice per day), and the staff provided extra time to people for valid reason (completing tests, etc...).

Some nice features include being able to send messages to patrons via the system (people congregating around a computer and being loud) and PC Reservation shuts computers down at the end of the day automatically. Jim's library, Billerica, also uses PC Reservation for time management.

PC Reservation can be set to reboot after each session (this will delete usernames/passwords and help to protect patron privacy), but beware how old your machines are and how long they take to reboot.

Group Policy Editor is being used at Bernadette's library for security. Public Web Browser is another product that is similar to using the Group Policy Editor.

How the Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work

Thursday 2:00 PM
How the Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work
Presenters: Beth McNeil & Barbara Preece


Change is a commitment to work and an ongoing process (for everyone)...

The presenters created a Communication Toolbox (exercise) to help analyze self and environment, and to work towards sustainable change. Adapted from Kegan, Robert and Lahey, Lisa Laskow. How the way we talk can change the way we work: seven languages for transformation.

Think of the number of times people walked out of a meeting with completely different perspectives about the discussion and outcomes of the meeting, or about the assumptions that you have made based upon the events that transpired.

Attendees shared their New Year's Resolutions, work related resolutions, as examples of how we want to affect change. How do we stop complaining and move towards making changes and commitments?

Examples of complaints from the audience...how do we accept different work styles, bullying in the workplace, bringing personal expectations into the workplace, entrenchment among librarians that do not want to change, lack of acceptance of changing realities.

Pay attention to the complaints because they are about things we care about. Finding someone to complain to is a helpful release, but it does not create change.

Communication Toolbox Exercise...
Language of Blame...What is your complaint (i.e. I disagree with my director about the direction of reference services at the library)? Next, change your complaint into a statement of commitment (i.e. I am committed to a high level reference services.)

This first part shows what people care about most and to what they are most committed.

Language of Personal Responsibility...Current state (what is holding you back) - What I'm doing or not that prevents my commitment from being fully realized. Who - What individuals are involved in this process?

Competing Commitment (i.e. not fighting a losing battle) - I may also be committed to... Big Assumption (i.e. I cannot convince them of the legitimacy of my perspective) - I assume that if...

Often there is the "dreaded changing of the work flow", people are really afraid that if they change the work flow that the level of service will decline. They are resistant to change out of a commitment to what they perceive as already being a high level of service.

1st Action - I will test my assumption by (i.e. I will give them the responsibility, but they may not be experienced enough)...Outcome - What happened when I tested my assumption (i.e. I showed them how to do it, they are capable, and it is saving me time.).

Parable of the Abeleen Paradox... Four adults sitting on a porch in hot temps near Abeleen, TX. A married couple and their parents, a suggestion is made to drive to Abeleen for lunch, they go in a non-air conditioned car, have a terrible lunch, and return cranky. They then learn that none of them wanted to go in the first place, who should have communicated about this and why?

From the Audience...a greater commitment to continuing to try and make changes.

The World Is Not Flat: Information Literacy in 3D

Thursday 9:30 AM
The World Is Not Flat: Information Literacy in 3D
Elizabeth B. Thomsen - Presentation on her blog

Elizabeth started by bringing us to Google Maps and the website Shorpy. Google Maps has a street view feature that is available for many cities and areas. People are using it when researching to rent an apartment, taking a trip, a neighborhood, and more.

You can create your own maps, take your photographs and upload them to the map with a placemarker. It will automatically translate to Google Earth (which must be downloaded to a robust computer and the program uses significant bandwidth). Google Earth has to be installed on your computers for patrons to use it.

Elizabeth mentioned the idea of using this as a readers advisory tool, add books to places that are significant to the plot (you can view images of the areas).

We explored Google Earth's satallite imagery, even the ability to see images from the past (i.e. see pictures of Beijing as they prepared for the Olympics, New Orleans Pre- & Post-Katrina).
Change the time of day in a location to see when the sun sets. 3D building layers will show you amazing images of buildings.

Google Sketchup is the software used to create the 3D buildings... that can be found using Google Earth. An easy to use program for creating 3D objects (buildings, robots, etc...), take a look in the Google 3D Warehouse to see what people have done. You can download images and use Google Sketchup to make changes. See what a giant silo next to Fenway Park would look like, or take a look at the Boston Public Library! There are tutorials and books about how to use Google Sketchup available so that you can get started. We viewed a video tutorial created by a child and uploaded to YouTube.

Another amazing thing that can be done is take photographs to use as "skins" or surfaces for 3D models, creating very realistic 3D images. Check out Faneuil Hall in Boston on Google Earth - 3D Building Layers to get an idea of how this is being used.

Elizabeth brought us to a YouTube video of Sketchy Physics Examples. This could be a great tool for helping teach kids and adults about spatial relationships, etc... Google for Educators - Project Spectrum shows the creations of children that have Autism.

People have mapped information and history (i.e. Jack Kerouac)...

A popular theme on the web now is "old school" 3D objects - models (i.e. pinhole cameras, automobiles, etc..) in PDF Format. Low-tech magazine has a guide to things popular in the 1800's that can be created with paper as 3D objects.

3D Printers are now being used... (down t0 $5,000) by artists, jewelry makers, business - rapid proto-typing, etc... Remember how expensive scanners and printers used to be, and what they are today...

YouTube has a video of a 3D printing demonstration so that you can see how these printers work. Company called Shapeways that allows you to design a 3D object, upload it, and they will print it for you. These prices are coming into range of the average consumer. You can create 3D objects using a "wizard" type of feature to use as gifts, etc...

From the audience...how does copyright relate to this creation of 3D content? People can protect their copyright, but if you add it to the Google 3D Warehouse or Shapeways it is as though you are releasing it for public use.

Getting Beyond the Great Idea: Getting Buy-In and Doing Effective Training for New Technology

Thursday 8:30 AM
Getting Beyond the Great Idea: Getting Buy-In and Doing Effective Training for New Technology
Jenica P. Rogers-Urbanek - Blog with Presentation Link

Understanding people is the number one concern.

Jenica began by discussing the hallmarks of web 2.0 such as creativity, spontaneity, individualism and a do it yourself basis. Even though Web 2.0 projects are often individual/DIY they need a leader. A convincing plan is needed to implement 2.0 and to convince people.

Think about why are you doing the web 2.0 project? Look to your mission and goals, not at just what other people are doing "Me-Too-ism".

What is your project plan? Who do you need behind you to accomplish the web 2.0 project? You don't need everyone, just identify the necessary people. Get your ducks in a row.

Plan for success (what will you do if it wildly succeeds?), Write it down (document the process for guidance and future use), Assess the project (what is going well and what isn't? what data will you collect and analyze?), Plan for Failure (be open to criticism and be willing to make appropriate changes).

Avoid "Truthiness" (Stephen Colbert) - Don't rely on what you believe in your gut without regards for facts.

Have reasonable expectations, look for achievable goals, understand your institution and stakeholders.

Consider your stakeholders... information preferences (do they like soundbites, charts, graphs, research articles, case studies, self-guided research, conversation, seeing something in action?). What motivates your stakeholders? Maslows hierarchy of needs: physiological (ignore this one), safety (job security), belonging, esteem, self-actualization. What terrifies your stakeholders? Maslow again: physiological (ignore this one), safety (do they fear for their jobs or future or society), belonging (does your project threaten their community), esteem (is your project going to negatively impact their confidence and sense of achievement), self-actualization (does the project restrict their creativity or conflict with their personal philosophy).

Now convince them... focus on mission, goals, and your plans, offer them information in a comfortable format, address their expected motivations, address their expectations, be ready to think. Be an evangelist (but be the good kind)! And if it fails, let other people speak for you (maybe they need to hear it from somebody else).

Jump off the cliff and be ready to fail...training is your parachute. Individualized does not equal self propelled and easy does not equal intuitive. Training can lead to a soft landing, leads to confidence, and it must never stop.

Teach in multiple ways: show and tell, hands on workshops, and one on one help. Teach by example and teach it over again. Provide relevant learning experiences: teach a wiki by using it for a brainstorm project, hold a committee meeting using IM to teach Meebo, use skype the next time you need to use the phone, use a blog for an internal project. Combine training with daily tasks!

Still not learning? Encourage reluctant learners by convincing them this is a work product (not training), credit staff with success in the project when they learn something new, consider time saving - replace an existing task rather than adding a new one.

In Conclusion... Project must be relevant to mission, goals, goals are relevant to stakeholders, be sure your training your stakeholders on relevant tasks, it must make sense.

Jenica created an internal staff wiki for communication (search the wiki instead of flipping through pages of staff book!). Initially used a wiki for an evaluation of reference databases, instituted it as the committee chair, and people had to use it to make their feedback known.

Audience questions led to...observe your staff's response to training to see what queues they are giving you about their learning styles, level of acceptance, social dynamics (who has who's ear) etc... Listen to people's stories.

Focusing on the Big Picture

Wednesday 4 PM
Focusing on the Big Picture: Using community needs assessments to enhance reference services
Presenters: Heather McCann & Lana Thelen


What is a community needs assessment? It is a means to assess forms, opinions, needs of a community.

Why do it? To help determine resource allocation (what are they actually going to use? this is even more important with shrinking budgets/staff time), evaluation of program effectiveness, empowers community to play an active role.


When is a good time for a CNA?

Group discussions... The presenters had us break up into groups to discuss community assessment activities that we have engaged in at our libraries. They also asked us to identify communities/groups that our libraries serve and we would like to conduct a CNA to learn more about. I found that the person next to me was also using SurveyMonkey to create surveys and gather information from their community (Zoomerang is another web tool for creating surveys).

Before you begin...describe your community, what do you want to know, and set up a timeline for the CNA.

Strategies for collecting info...What methods will work for you and your community (time, budget, most effective for your community), interviews/focus groups, surveys (paper/electronic), community forums/public meeting. Offering an incentive for taking a survey, coming to a forum, etc... can lead to greater participation (prizes, food, etc...).

Evaluating, Implementing, and Reevaluating...analyze the data, identify themes (what keeps coming up?), assess their validity (is there bias?), write up your findings, develop an action plan, collaborate (what other organizations exist in the community that provide services or complementary programs), release it, reevaluate the results.

CNAs are labor intensive projects but they lead to more efficient budgets, use of our time and resources, and more support from the community. Share your findings with the library world and local community!

Let the community know how the information was used to improve library services (i.e. expanded the spanish language collection by %50).

In regards to public library reference services, a CNA can help determine information needs (subject areas) and types of resources that should be available (pathfinders, ready reference, etc...).

Massachusetts Experts Share Top Technology Trends

Wednesday 1:45 PM
Massachusetts Experts Share Top Technology Trends
Panel: Emily Alling, Scot Colford, Megan Davis, Vicki Wright, Rick Levine, Paige Eaton Davis, Amelia Peloquin, Bonnie Peirce, Elizabeth Thomsen, Scott Kehoe.


Emily Alling's Top Tech Trends - Helping people store information in non-traditional formats (multi-media, posters, etc...), More intuitive catalogs and interfaces (Aquabrowser) to help people find stuff, Federated Search Engines (WorldCat Local, etc...), Sustainability (Open Source Software, investing in people with tech skills, collaboration, etc...).

Scot Colford's Top Tech Trends - iPhone and portable devices, Microsoft Surface, Project Information Literacy - words flow through video in different spatial orientations as objects, words become objects, prezi.com is a way to create online presentations (get rid of powerpoint!), bumptop.com is a desktop overlay that creates a 3-D environment, IRC channel for the conference.

Megan Davis' Top Tech Trends - Mobile Content, Mobile Market, Mobile Services. 57% of mobile users (SMS or Internet), Visual Access allows you to take a picture of items/barcodes and get information (Movie Reviews and Times, Nutritional Information off a Mcdonald's wrapper, etc...), Audio Interactions (Shazam allows you to hold up your phone to a song and get artist/song name), Location (find the nearest Starbucks), Gesture Interactions instead of traditional navigation (turn the device to get landscape view, move the device to see a different view, etc...), Transcoded, Most Necessary content is what Mobile Web Pages display (Search, Library Events, Catalog, etc...), library vendors are beginning to offer mobile services, Washington DC Library - Library App, Mobile Search - offering specific relevant information, Spoken/Search, SMS/Text Search (Cha Cha, Yahoo, etc...), Libraries are texting to communicate with users, Send via Text Message.

Vicki Wright's Top Tech Trends - Instruction with multi-media because students believe that technology makes school more interesting. Using technology like online classrooms, smartboards/tablets and clickers allows for creativity, collaboration, and innovation by students. Clickers are used for quizzes and provide immediate feedback about how well the students understand the lesson. This is a fast and powerful evaluation tool for teachers!

Rick Levine's Top Tech Trends - 1-800-GOOGLE-411 to get information. Google indexing audio content with this service to create a database. Discussed the issue of proprietary rights for technology devices. Companies are restricting users to buying only their content for their devices (Amazon Kindle can only purchase Amazon books). Cloud computing - google docs allows people to access their content from anywhere.

Paige Eaton Davis' Top Tech Trends - To implement library 2.0 we need to go to where our patrons are online (Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, etc..). Library 2.0 is information becoming interactive and coming from all directions. Catalogs and websites need to be attractive, fun, friendly and engaging, we need to keep up with current web "fashion". Let users participate through tagging, ratings and reviews (Darien Public Library). Add a Meebo widget to the "not found" screen of the catalog so that people will talk to a librarian and get help. We lose patrons when they don't find what they are looking. Let people bookmark to the catalog from where they are on the web (YouTube, Facebook, etc...).

Amelia Peloquin's Top Tech Trends- Twitter is another way for library's to reach out to people where they are. It does pose boundary issues for librarians and public servants. What are librarians perspectives about these issues?

Bonnie Peirce's Top Tech Trends - What are you building? Mobile platforms are the future. Technological and cultural advances are tied together, QR codes in physical locations to use technology to learn about spaces, and free is only as good as what you follow up with. Deliver information to people where they are.

Elizabeth Thomsen's Top Tech Trends - Social networking trends like Facebook are centralizing our web experience. The worry is what will happen as we contribute to these "gated communities" rather than the open web. Blogging, 3D, ruthless self promotion and managing your personal brand, piles of information available to the public, visual interfaces - objects, visual search, geo-coding (information embedded in image files expands their usefulness).

Scott Kehoe's Blog - Scott couldn't be at the conference so here is a link to his blog.

Cultivating Creative Adult Programming

Wednesday 10:45AM
Cultivating Creative Adult Programming
Presenters: Nate Hill (Brooklyn Public Library - Bushwick Branch Library in New York, NY), Mandy McGee & Monica Harris (Oak Park Public Library in Oak Park IL)

Nate Hill started the presentation by discussing some of the programs happening at the Bushwick Branch Library. He attended a book reading at a local store and introduced himself to start a dialogue with people at the event. From his outreach effort book readings were brought to the library and a shelf of recommended reading materials was created by the attendees and library users.

Using information from their local history collection they created a website and event: "Past, Present, Future of Food: Bushwick, Brooklyn". People came to the library to share their experiences on the topic of local foods and gardening. A google groups page resulted from the event and it is a thriving venue for people to continue sharing their experiences online.

Nate found a blog entry for the business, Zappos, and discovered many great aspects that translate to libraries like providing a tour to each new patron, empowering employees to be spokespersons (at Zappos employees are required to open a Twitter account!), flattening the hierarchy, etc...

20's and 30's programming and services at the library were then discussed by, Mandy McGee... Begin by identifying why you are targeting your audience (20's & 30's coming to storytimes but not adult programs) and why they are important. Assess your audience (focus groups, surveys, drop-in forums) to gather information and use an enthusiastic staff member to lead the effort.

The OPPL decided to create a non-traditional book group based upon the need for 20's & 30's programming. They decided to hold the book discussion group out of the library to places where the audience already was gathering - local bars in the community of course! Held the book discussions after work (8pm), in a relaxed environment, access to food & drink, etc...

Two things were identified as important... size of establishment/ability to host large number of attendees (bar with a separate functions room) & choosing the best books. They picked titles that they had read and knew would be good for discussion. Simple is sometimes better, you don't necessarily have to bring in a local author or have a theme.

Started using an online social website to complement the physical meetings. GoodReads is used to take the discussion beyond the meetings, event notifications are sent through the site, and it allows people to share other reading interests, etc... Also started a blog, used Wordpress and incorporated a clean design, easy navigation, and visual appealing interface. It allows people to make comments (they are moderated), search the library catalog, etc... Some web 2.0 tools turned out to be unnecessary such as a Pro Flickr Account. It is important to not be afraid to admit when something isn't working.

Off-shoots of the book discussion program... were discussed by Teen Librarian, Monica Harris. They wanted to offer something after hours that was interesting and exotic! Decided to use National Gaming Day to create a "Hi - Lo Tech" Gaming Event incorporating Wii games, board games, DJs - Music, and 80's themed snacks. Used tournaments (Scrabble & Mario Kart) and open play for the event, other games included Big Brain Academy, Guitar Hero & Rock Band - very popular, etc... and people brought their own games. Offered some small prizes and home made trophies for the tournaments.

Local media - newspaper with a blog promoted the event. They had a volunteer with graphic design experience develop a special poster for the event. There were only 4 people from the book group that attended of about 70 attendees. This was a way to bring a different type of programming to the target audience.

The next event...was a pop culture trivia night, "Hop on Pop". Small groups of people as teams, used Google Slideshow to create the quiz, and a facilitator ran the event. There were small prizes and trophies offered at the event. Used YouTube Clips, Audio Clips, etc... to spice up the trivia.

Lessons Learned...Guitar Hero and Rock Band were very popular and future events focused on these games will be organized. Trivia Night was a lot of work but simpler options are available (using Trivia Pursuit Cards). These programs can bring staff together and allow them to incorporate their interests.

More ideas for 20's & 30's programs... speed dating in the stacks or romantic self help (apparently very popular in Australian Libraries), open mic nights (poetry), sponsor a scavenger hunt, live band karaoke, Wiimbeldon (Wii Sports - Golf), after hours board game night, financial literacy, buying your first home, resume help and entry-level job fairs, mock interview opportunity, intro. to wedding planning, sustainability and organic gardening, crafts and do-it-yourself (use websites to find ideas: i.e craftster.org), project runway competition (1 hour to construct an outfit for a model), Top Chef competition, photoshop/podcasting/e-business, interior design for small spaces, book swap, bring in a popular author, walking tour of community, and more.

Some Audience Questions...What about staffing the library for after hours events? Get board approval and it can be more expensive to meet security and staffing levels for after hours events. Sometimes people volunteer for the event and events happen infrequently to allow for extra expenditure, planning, and work that goes into events. How do you promote the events? Facebook page, blog, website, submit to local newspapers/media, postcards and flyers at popular locations in the community, etc... Are you attracting other groups than your targeting audience? Yes, but is small numbers and people have not been turned away.

Tech Services Annual Meeting

Wednesday: 9am
Technical Services Annual Meeting
Speaker: David Lee King

The general business portion of the MLA - Technical Services Section began with the approval of last year's minutes and voting on the slate. The Chair, Jennifer Forgit, Pembroke Public Library demonstrated the section's exciting new wiki for sharing information (by-laws, etc...). You can request access to the PB Works wiki by contacting Jennifer, and you can begin practicing using the wiki by navigating to the "sandbox" page.

David Lee King's Presentation -
Climbing out of the box: Mashing up our Community

What is a mashup - it is combining two things to create something new. Some non-techy examples of mashups are: Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Platypus, Smores, Spork, etc..

People are using tools such as API, RSS, XML, SOAP, by hand to create mashups. Examples of some APIs include GoogleMaps, Twitter, Flickr, Wikipedia, YouTube, etc...

Some tools that you can use to creat mashups... include Yahoo Pipes, Dapper, embedding videos in your website from YouTube, Widgetbox to create a badge. David's blog incorporates mashups like widgets (videos badge from blip.tv, Library Thing, Flickr), Google Ads, Amazon. Other mashups that he uses are Google Reader (RSS Aggregator), Netvibes (customizable personal webpage), Dropbox (virtual storage), etc...

Mashups on the web...WikiCrimes, Trulia, Flickrvision, Twitter Trends Aggregator - Twopular, Helveti-tweet, Portwiture, Amazon (book recommendations, etc...), YouTube, Wikipedia (example: several authors contributing to the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library entry),

Mashups are fun and useful... RSS feeds are bringing content from other sources to the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library's website. A Meebo widget is used for the Ask A Librarian service on the website, and they are using Google Maps to display a map of their bookmobile stops! Another cool thing that the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library is doing is combining physical displays (like Travel Books) with digital displays (online Travel Guide of recommended books, websites, etc...), to create a mashup of the real and virtual.

Today's events, library photos, and social media websites (Facebook, MySpace, YouTube Channel, etc..) are being mashed into their website. His Library made a Facebook App for their catalog, to bring a catalog search to their Facebook Page.

What are other libraries doing with mashups...Hennepin County Library is using RSS feeds in their catalog, allowing patrons to comment and contribute content to the catalog, etc... Ann Arbor District Library is allowing for tagging by patrons, RSS feeds, customers that checked out this item also checked out..., their catalog is an early version of SOPAC. Darien Library is doing many similar types of things.

Poke holes in the box with patron participation...like using patron comments on the website, David's library is allowing Teens to create content (moderated) for their website. This is being done outside of the website as well, such as at the library's social media web pages like Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube (weekly marketing video, book reviews, etc...) - a junior high student's book review/talk was viewed 1,500 times (great results to include in library statistics and reports)!

Go outside the building to market services... Traditional examples include using their book mobile to advertise, a community forum about the library's services (70 attendees at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library's forum!), librarians going to locations outside the library (coffee shops, etc...). You can also use technology creatively to monitor and respond to what people are saying about your library "vanity feeds" using RSS Feeds/Aggregator like Google Reader, Technorati, etc...

David believes the librarian is the product and we should be marketing ourselves. An example of this is letting patrons "friend" the librarian and not a brand/library on social networking sites. It is about marketing librarians and not just "the stuff" at the library!