Trivia Night, Yahoo!

Yup, that's me, I won! (Ok, my team won!) What a great MLA day--lots of interesting speakers, great prizes, and really fun trivia. A big thank you to OverDrive Digital Media Services for not only providing the open bar during the trivia contest, but also for being great teammates! That's right, our crazy team was made up of three people from Overdrive, an academic librarian, a few public librarians, the Director of MBLC and past MLA president, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Center for the Book, and a regional representative! Talk about teamwork, really.

And, an fyi, Princess Di was killed in 1997, not 1998! (With all the talk of wiki's, I had to use this citation.)

I am a librarian, after all, and had to look it up.

Thanks to everyone for making this a fun time and for welcoming me to my first MLA conference. Sign me up for next year!

Library 2.0 - Amy Benson

Again, folks have beat me to posting notes from the session, but I think I'll weigh in as a heavy user of many of the technologies that Amy described...

Love:

Wikis ... have our library procedure manual on a wiki. When I present at a conference with a group, up goes the wiki. Faculty are totally excited about wikis. I'm a big fan of PBwiki. Simple, fast and incredibly easy to use. And the PBwiki people want to work with us!! You should try it. I also use it to plan vacations when travelling with a group.

Blogs ... For a long time didn't understand the advantages of blogging. I don't have any interest in maintaining a personal blog - why would I put my personal life out there for the world? But then, the marketing possibilities of blogging for our library dawned on me. (I maintain our library's webpage - http://library.mwcc.edu and use Dreamweaver/HTML for that - that's snap ... Why blog??) AHHH ... other people can contribute easily to a blog - much easier than them sending me content and me having to be at my desk to post it. I have a business background (MBA) so I know my job is really something like 75% sales, so anything I can do to open up new communication channels with our users and make my job easier - it's all good!!

RSS feeds - our blog is available as a feed - that's a no brainer

IM - Been using it for 6 years+ for virtual reference. Hope to transition to Meebo this summer. This is another no brainer

YouTube - use video in our library instruction program as much as possible knowing it appeals to millenials who are the bulk of our students (love the wikiality video - have been using it for a year or so - thank goodness Comedy Central put up a legit copy)

Library ELF - use it personally, and have promoted it via our blog

Sitting the fence on :

Second life and MySpace - waiting and seeing how we fit in

Lukewarm on :

Podcasting - I'm 99% sure it's the last thing our students want to be listening to on their MP3 players in their free time. It's hard enough to get them to do their homework or anything outside of class!

I'm extremly enthused about technologies that make our jobs easier and are educationally sound. If it makes life easier and helps them learn - let's go for it! If you want to talk to me about how I use any of these technologies, feel free to email me at hmccann@mwcc.mass.edu

Care and feeding of book discussion groups

Several people have posted their notes about Nancy Pearl's Thursday morning session so I'm not sure I'll post my notes where others did a very thorough job. I will say this though - Nancy would do a huge favor to recipients of the "Let's Talk About It"/Nextbook grants - http://nextbook.org/ala/index.html by becoming part of the training offered. We had this exciting series at our library last fall and more specifically the Heart's Desire theme. I went for a one day training workshop that gave a lovely overview of the series and some fabulous marketing advice, but this kind of nitty gritty about how to run a book discussion was somewhat absent. I guess I'm just very relieved to hear what we experienced, in terms of one person often dominating the discussion, and also the whole dichotomy discussion at the outset of each evening ("I loved it .../ I hated it ...") seems to happen to everyone.

I also appreciated her encouraging us not to take a lack of success personally - after our successful series last fall, I'm very interested in starting up another book series, but nervous that it might not fly. We've discussed somehow teaming up with a public library in our area which would be great, where public libraries have much more experience in this area I think.
Any takers??

Social Networking: MySpace and Beyond, Linda Braun

The room was so full they ran out of handouts (Linda’s a great presenter, so I’m not surprised). Her presentation talked about online social networking in general, with a focus on MySpace—its uses, and concerns about its use.

All her links are can be found at
http://del.icio.us/mla_social

She started by using Justin.tv as an example of social networking; while you are *watching* Justin you can *talk* about Justin!

Linda surveyed her vast crowd:
Most have used social networking online
Only a few have participated regularly in a social network
A dozen or so of us have MySpace accounts; a few libraries have accounts (generally to reach teens)

What exactly IS social networking? Legislation to block it from schools and public libraries often doesn’t define it, but it can encompass a wide variety of online spaces: from amazon.com, to twitter, to blogs, RSS, YouTube, MySpace

Social networking characteristics: a site requiring registration, communication, making connections online.

“Making choices” is the key to using social networking; we need to help teens and other patrons with this. I.e., the issue is not the scary stuff, but how we manage the scary stuff. Adults are worried about safety; kids tell us about how they safeguard their personal information.

Instead of having a workshop on keeping kids safe, Linda suggested having a presentation where TEENS demonstrate how they use MySpace and how they keep themselves safe. Even if kids don’t know how to stay safe, they *think* they do. Better to empower kids in this process.

Linda suggested four recent books on the topic to look at (I’ll be requesting that our library order the three we don’t have):

MySpace Unraveled: What it is and how to use it safely. Larry Magid,Anne Collier

Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens. Helping Young People Learn To Use the Internet Safely and Responsibly. Nancy E. Willard

Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress. Nancy E. Willard

Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online. Anastasia Goodstein


MySpace pages can be customized (and changed, depending on mood, etc.)—this gives teenagers the chance to explore and let other people know what they’re up to (videos watched, recent music listened to, etc.).

You can vary the amount of information you provide: birthday, occupation, marital status, etc. Not all this information has to be included.

Friends in MySpace are like any others: a window to who you are. You can refuse to accept people as friends, make people special friends, only allow comments if you approve them first. You can keep up with friends by seeing what has been changed on their MySpace page. Bulletins—things friends have added—are a way a library with a MySpace page could keep in touch with customers, advertise events, etc. (My son uses his MySpace page primarily as a way to get bulletins from bands he likes.)

Non-members can view, but not “friend” people, or make comments.

Ads appear at the top of a MySpace page—research shows that teenagers don’t notice ads.
But this could be a problem for trustees if a library has a page.
How will the library select friends if they have a MySpace page?

Linda showed us the Hennepin County Library MySpace page, which is used as their website for teens—teens can search the catalog from the MySpace page—they get a large number of hits per day via MySpace. It provides an interactive place to find out about the library—information on new cds in the library, etc.

It’s a good idea for libraries to have MySpace and Facebook pages; maybe we don’t need a YA page on the library website at all. Facebook and MySpace pages can be connected.

Teenagers are more likely to connect via IM, or MySpace, rather than email.

Students going to college can connect with students already there before they go.

The biggest danger is the sense of invisibility; kids need to know they are NOT invisible on the web, and if parents can find them, other people can, too. (I know my son was surprised at how quickly I could find him, and his friends.)

There are many similar sites in addition to MySpace and Facebook, e.g. Eldersvoice, social networking for seniors.

Ways to track DOPA (Deleting Online Predators Act) legistlation:
DOPAwatch
http://www.opencongress.org/

Meet the Youth Consultants

Due to technology crankiness, this is a placeholder until I can re-create the blog post for this session. I promise, it will be here with all links, hopefully later tonight.

...grrrrr.....

Saving Our Libraries

Library closure…

Don’t think it can happen to your small town library?

Don’t be so sure!

Libraries must be prepared because closure sometimes comes without notice. Library funding has been cut drastically within the last four years according to the ALA.

So what can you do if your library does close? The town of Hamden experienced a closure from June 2005 till June 2006. Community members held book swaps to demonstrate the community’s need for books. While they attempted to talk to town officials, that got them nowhere. They decided to hold an advertising campaign to keep the library on everyone’s minds; put out newsletters, hold events, plan fund raisers. Look into the possibility for partial corporate financing. Use your local cultural councils to help with funding. Maybe you can charge dues from your member. Or buy promotional items and give them away, it will pay off in the future.

Think out side the box!

Dracut library closed in 1992. The town experienced financial problems. The library was only given a month to attempt to stop the closure. The director was assured that the library would never close. They were wrong. The library closed. The doors were locked. The public were shocked. The act of actually closing the library had never been done before… Ultimately, it was a good thing. It woke up the community. They realized how necessary a library is for a community. Within six months enough money had been raised to reopen the library as a private entity (while they did not stay private very long). In 2002, another referendum went on the ballot. This one was to build a brand new library. And it passed at almost one hundred percent! The community refuses to have such a thing happen again. It seems like you don’t know what you have until you lose it.

How might we prevent this?

• Develop a “Friends of the Library” committee
• Pay attention to the children programming and have your cameras ready.
• Stay involved politically but stay neutral
• Establish relationships with the community
• As a librarian do not take what happens personally...it is not about the library but about money
  

Exhibits Late Afternoon

I've been on the vendor side of the Exhibits so I talked to a few people in the Hall today about their feet. You may not realize that if you engage a vendor in a meaningful sincere conversation about their products, standing on their feet for three days will not be for naught.

Now feet may not be your idea of a meaningful conversation and you may want to pack every minute of your time away from the library with scholarly pursuits, but try not to create a swish of wind as you pass vendors, nor do you want to keep your nose excessively high or low. Many vendors are librarians, and many have contributed much to our profession and/or lessen our workload, so give 'em one of those library smiles you reserve for the Board of Trustee members.

I'm not suggesting this as a humanitarian effort, but if you are curious about a product take the time to ask your questions. The vendors will be much more likely to support the MLA conference next year if they were engaged. I'll share some things I found in the exhibit hall tomorrow, but until then, just a gentle reminder that collecting a few freebies, eating a few goodies, gulping a little caffeine, chatting with a former colleague are all parts of the exhibit hall experience, just not the only ones.

Launching Library 2.0: Working in the New Web World

Speaker Amy Benson of Nelinet

Program will be posted on the NELA - yup NELA website
http://nelib.org/

Amy is a smart, funny, entertaining speaker. She's talking about the upsurge in wireless devices - phones, computers, etc.

Access is in real time with all these approaches. You can customize your world on the web. Software is handled by the web site -not the user.

web 1.0 vs. web 2.0
Britannica online --- Wikipedia
Personal web sites -- blogging
content managmement systems - -- wikis
directories -- tagging
Ofoto - Flickr

3 aspects of web 2.0 - self service, community and trust
Self service: eliminate barriers, reduce complexity, customization, anywhere anytime, user drives the process.
example - itunes, you do it yourself, portable, whenever you want, makes suggestions to you

Community: sharing, collaboration, content, reputation, rise of the professional amateru, virtual worlds.
>>Users contributions
availability of free tools: blogger, PB wiki, Audacity, Slideshare.
Popular sites thrive on users contributions and promoting contents - check out the ok go treadmill video on youtube if you haven't seen it.

Tags and tagging
Keywords associated with whatever you're trying to describe
Uusally chosen by the author/creator of the item
Pew Internet - 28% if Americans have usd the internet to tag content
Talked about tag clouds

Stephen Colbert - Trust 2.0. Colbert encouraged all his watchers to go to the wikipedia and say that the elephant population in Africa has tripled. Brought down the wikipedia. POint was that with the wikipedia, is something necessarily true just because you read it in there.

Exhortation to make sure you trust the web content on all things.

Expectations 2.0
Library user expectations are based on experiences and technology avilable on the commercial web.
We;redealing with a social phenomenon - not just technology - Good point
Library 2.0 is new model for library service
Chance to rethink and retool what we do and who we are

Examples of Library 2.0

WPI library - IM reference 24/7

Darien Library in CT - has 10 blogs for differnt areas in the library. They're customizing info to the user. Blog format allows commnet and creates a community.

Memorial Hall library - poetry on ine

Butler University WikiRef. Reference resources in the wiki and people can comment on the use of the sources. Everyone on the reference desk can see the comments.

RSS
Does the library have info it wants to put out to people regularly? Use RSS!
Examples -- Univ. of Nevada - new books alert RSS
Nelinet offers an RSS feed for upcoming events and workshops

MySpace - social networks, make connections with people who share similar interests, keep in touch with friends, libraries can have a presence where the young people who hang out.
Boston Region has a myspace page. One of its friends is the library in Second Life!

Second Life for Libraries. Includes an Information Center. You can staff the reference desk! There are virtual book discussion groups. Interesting way of bringing people together.

OPAC 2.0

our opacs are out of date re: web 2.0. They contain valuable data. But don't work he way web 2.0 things do work

Google John Blyberg: ILS Customer Bill of Rights - everything that should come with an ILS now

Examples of new approaches to library opacs:

OCLC's Fiction Finder uses tagging and creates clouds that will lead uer from one title to another.

Cupid from the university of Rochester. Search on for instance, Tale of two cities and get only one hit. Click on it and it opens up more records with more choices for different formats. The detailed records connect with a map of the stacks that tell user where the book is shelved,

Ann Arbor district library - tags in the opac. Users can log in and add tags. Amy likes the use of LCSH along with tags.

Plymouth State University . Bib records can be found by Google. Essentially each bib record is a blog!

OCLC's Worldcat.org - World cat available to anyone.

Boob burro - Little program that people add to their opac that take you out to the internet.
Library lookup - another connecting tool.

A Mashup - Lewis and Clark Library System, A mashup takes info from different resources and puts them together.

TRUST in the library world
Traditionally libraries have been wary of maintaining and make use of patron data. However, users are enthusiastic about contributing content. We need to find ways to make use of it.

Challenge - find balance betwen personalization and privacy

Library ELF manages patron info - when holds are available, when books are overdue, etc.

To end:
Library 2.0 is a means to an end. How can you integrate your services using these kinds of technologie. Imagine the possibilities.

Libraris as places and humans who use them - the perfect MASHUP!

Launching Library 2.0: Working in the New Web World

Presenter Amy Benson - who works at NELINET doing training and consulting.

Just a side note - everything is 2.o now - even Barbie (of whom I am not a fan for many reasons, and now I've got one more to add to the list!)

Although I've been attending workshop sessions on Web 2.0 and Library 2.o for quite a while now, I'm still interested in what exactly is happening in and around libraries and how they are using it. Apparently, there are plenty of other librarians in the same boat because this session has filled the room once again.

I will focus not on what it is, but how it's being used by libraries and my reflections or ideas about what can be done. It's sort of a cycle. Groups, software, users drive the technology and use it.

"Viral Momentum" - technology-assisted word of mouth spreading information much faster than typical word of mouth method.

The 3 hallmarks of Web 2.0:

• Self Service
  
• Community - example: OK Go - Here It Goes Again: music video on YouTube.
  
• Trust
  

Blogs - Memorial Hall Library has an online teen poetry contest.
Wiki's - Butler University has added a wiki for their reference collection where people can annotate each reference source.
RSS (Real Simple Syndication) - allows you to push/send out information to users, alert services about new events or materials: University of Nevada has alert lists for different genres of new books.

OPAC 2.0: John Blyberg wrote an ILS Customer Bill of Rights This is something I've also been hearing about quite a bit. The fact is, we need to start demanding certain functions from our vendors for ILS's. These libraries are doing things with their OPAC's that make them interactive

• FictionFinder (from OCLC): not just a MARC record, but a full description.
• University of Rochester has one called CUPID (sp?)
• Plymouth State Library

Book Burro - a Mozilla Firefox extension. You find the book you want and it will find you the one with the lowest price and if your library has it.

Library LookUp - a bookmarklet that allows users to go straight to your library catalog and a book's record specifically.

Library ELF - allows patrons to receive reminders about books and when they are due.

The whole presentation will be posted on the NELA website.

Wait, you want to look OLDER?

If I had to pay for this conference out of my pocket, my 45 minutes with the career center would have been worth every penny.

My dilemma: I have positioned myself to move foward in my career, and my goal is to be a director of a small public library (next step). However, I look A LOT younger than I am. At least a decade. Which is lovely for my social life, but doesn't do much for my career at the initial meeting. TEN YEARS of potential experience in the workforce is automatically deducted because my family has good skin genes.

Well, Kelly Jo Woodside, from the Simmons College Career Library, and I brainstormed some ideas about how to look, gasp, older. It was pretty funny, actually, and random googling brought up two things--tailored suit and more makeup. This was actually to just look professsional in general, but perhaps it will help. Off to the makeup counter I go!

Then I had a mock interview with a representative from the BPL. I'll get to the details on the interview itself in a moment, but when asked about my lovely youthful appearance, the interviewer remarked that it's a "complete package," that my experience and ability to articulate will overcome my youthful appearance.

But the interview--wow! Many standard questions were asked, but the discussion after the interview was amazing. She broke down many of my answers and told me where I could make a stronger statement and which comments to avoid. She let me know where my strengths came across, and also gave me very helpful information about three areas that I need to develop before I interview for a directorship.

Also, we discussed some personnel issues in general, and I got some great resources and leads from her to further my own education in this area.

Go, Career Services, Go, Go!

Gimme Shelter

The Gimme Shelter Workshop is an area of interest to me, since I heard about WPL and the issue of homelessness and the lawsuit last summer. It will be interesting to hear from the people who were involved. I do not work in an urban setting, but am curious to know what the complex issues are, and what are possible solutions for serving "all the people".

Shelly Q felt that this was an timely issue, questions had been raised, so she wanted to address this in a workshop.

The panelists are:
Jim Greene, Commissioner, City of Boston Emergency Shelter Commission
Penny Johnson, Director of WPL
Mary Frances O'Brian, BPL

Jim is speaking first, summarizing the subject of homelessness since the '80's, nationally and regionally.

Libraries are a refuge, they are safe, quieter than shelters. Books are a source of comfort to them.

He quotes Carl Sagan, Hubert Humphrey and LadyBird Johnson, John Steinbeck, Norman Mailer, Estger Hautzig of the Endless Steppe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ross MacDonald, Paul Simon, Andrew Carnegie
with some great quotes about books, libraries, homelessness.


Library is not a luxury, but a necessity.
He compares shelters to libraries and speaks about lack of government advocacy for the homeless.

Here's some tips:

DO
document problem behaviors of special patrons who become problem patrons
share your concerns to supervisors and security staff
enforce rules firly and consistently
be alert to signs of agitation, illness, etc.
Refer suspected illicity activity to securty staff
Trust your gut - if you think something may be out of sorts, it probably is
Assess. Discuss, Consult, Plan
Know your local Outreach providers
plan intervestion with DMH workers if possible, and the police


DO NOT
not enforce the rules
look the other way because you believe the person to be homeless
diagnose
get in over your head with special patrons
establish personal or non-library related rapport

Easier to stop at the threshold, than trying to get out later.

He suggests we visit a homeless shelter to get a better sense of why our library is so inviting.

He talked about people who were chronically homeless; people without shelter year-round.
He talked about their resourcefullness, independence and resilency, and challenged us to look at these as strenghts rather than weaknesses.

Of 243 people defined as chronically homeless most found resources to get them off the street.
Caveat; these folks still love the library. The library is an important resource for them.

He also spoke about youth at risk, and gave a plea for partnerships, and acknowledged our support.

He took 40 min. of the presentation.
Then he turned this over to MF O'Brian.
She spoke about the challenges to urban libraries:

"Free to All" remaining true to this statement.
Large urban libraries are especially challenged.
There is constant tension or balance between patron populations.
Anyone who resides in the Commonwealth can get a BPL card.
They need to verify MA address.
Is there a means of communication with the patron?
Anyone can register for a courtesy card.
Limit service if overdues.
Fallen library patrons, afraid that they would be charged hundreds of dollars for overdues, now have an amnesty program to negotiate a new slate.
Public perception is that we allow too many different populations in our libraries.
Policies should be administered fairly and consistently.
We owe people honesty, dignity, respect, fairness, choices, windows of opportunity.
We are all but a step away from homelessness...it can happen easily.
The well prepared staff is more effective.

This was a fascinating workshop.

Social Networking – Myspace and beyond

Definition – talking to other people by computer that requires a registration.

Why?

All ages use social networking but teenagers are major users.

Are we all smart when social networking? As librarians we need to help teen to make choices

Why teens have personal myspace accounts

• To feel connected
• The act of setting it up
• To feel cool and like their friends
• Can be altered for their mood – how they want people to see them – identity issues

• Gives teens the chance to let other people know what interests them
• Teenagers are smart when setting up their accounts
• Can share favorite music, movies, books
• Friends can make comments about your favorite things

Myspace and related resources

Del.icio.us is a social networking that allows for book marking. Building a community who are saving links, you can see who have saved each link.

http://del.icio.us/mla_social

Myspace in libraries

• Have teenagers teach a myspace workshop
• When they prepare, librarians work with the teenagers to guide their presentation
• Decide on who a library will select for friends
• Discuss contradictions with advertising and library ideals on myspace
• Some libraries can search catalog from their myspace page
• Use bulletins to seek opinions of patrons about your products

http://www.myspace.com/

http://teens.denverlibrary.org/

Here is a library that connects their patrons through their myspace.

http://www.facebook.com/

Facebook is more professional. Many teens will have both. College students use them to connect with friends at school who share similar interests.

These are not the only 2 sites. Know they exist and know what they do. It is you responsibility to educate yourself on social networking site…it is where your teenage patrons ar



Legally and Copyright

Yes, teens putting this information out there might be scary but making these social networking sites illegal in the library would be even scarier. It would make the teens hide their habits. And we could lose the opportunity to make important connections with this generation.

What legally is a librarian supposed to do if they discover an 11 year old on myspace in the library? It is up to the parents to decide. The librarian should just contact the parent.

There is a bill in congress right now that discusses the limiting of social networking. Keep a watch on this bill at http://www.opencongress.org/ . However, social networking has not been completely defined. Without a true definition these bills may lack backbone.

Perspectives on Liberty: A Chilling Effect

Perspectives on Liberty from a lawyer (Bill Newman), a librarian (Peter Chase), and a journalist (Rob Weisman).

I can see one of my fellow bloggers blogging away furiously in front of me (hi Jenn!), so instead of providing a play-by-play, I thought I'd share a few selected quotes from this session.

"There were many minor acts of courage" - Peter Chase

"The government is winning" - Bill Newman

"So far, we can still get companies to talk to us...I think there's a potential for this Judith Miller case to have a more chilling effect." - Rob Weisman

"What's the impact of not only betraying the source, but putting a chilling effect on other people that would talk with you?" - Rob Weisman

"Patrons are aware that it's quite possible that people are snooping into their records" - Peter Chase

"I hope that you will remember that people trust you with that information" - Peter Chase

"In first amendment parlance, we're talking about a chilling effect" - Bill Newman

"I think there is cause for optimism that Congress is following the people" - Bill Newman

---------------------------

That's all from me; this blogger heads home this afternoon.

My first conference was a great experience. I learned a lot and met some wonderful local librarians. Many thanks to Beth Gallaway for the opportunity to blog (blog-ortunity?), and especially to the MLA for generously awarding me a scholarship to attend.

Girls + Comics

Three esteemed comic book creators spoke about the relationship of girls and comics and the roles of girls in comics, pointing out the writing to a specific audience or demographic is hard and limited. They try to write what they like and tell a good story, and are fortunate that their work is widely read.

They are seeing more girls at conventions, and think the Internet has been a great gender equalizer. It's important to note that there are more women in editing and creating imprints within larger publishing houses.

As far as images of women in comics, we should bear in mind there is pinup art glorifying the female figure dating back to Egyptian hieroglyphics in the pyramids. The saving grace is the intent and how the image is being channeled - to glorify or demonize, worship or objectify, for gratuitous purposes or to add to the story.

Librarians were encouraged to give feedback to the comic books/graphic novels publishers. More stuff for kids is an oft-repeated request of late. If the company recognizes there is a market, they will make the effort.

Girls and comics

Robin Brenner, moderator, is asking the panel to talk about how they got into comic book writing/illustrating and what inspires them.

Bettina Kurkoski, the creator/writer/artist of My Cat Loki is speaking ab out how she got into comics little by little over the years and eventually has found Manga. Her inspiration comes the real world, cats, and her wild and crazy dreams

Terry Moore is responsible for titles such as Birds of Prey for DC Comics, Wildstorm's Gen 13, Ultimate Team-Up for Marvel, Darkness-Vampirella for Top Cow, and most recently, Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror for Bongo Comics. He jumbled up all his characters adn threw them into a pot and mixed them up and got his idea for Stangers in Paradise. Also, he reports his view that men and women are 2 different species that are tyring to co-exist on the same planet. He says that in the midst of this chaos, you look for tranquility, love, partnerships. The goal of his series is to leave something of lasting worth in libraries.

Gail Simone is a former hairdresser who has in the last five years become arguably the busiest and highest profile female writer in the comic book industry. She has written comics exclusively for DC Comics, with such high-level titles as Justice League, Birds of Prey, Rose and Thorn, Legion of Superheroes, Teen Titans, Villains United, and their flagship title, Action Comics featuring Superman, among others. In addition, she has written for animation as well, for the critically acclaimed series Justice League Unlimited. She's been an avid reader her whole life and loves comic books as much as any other book. She started with a few parody pieces related to books and comics which lead to a weekly column about comics. Her first work was with Bongo doing Simpsons comics.

Next question - We are growing aware of the role of strong female lead characters. Important to target girls reading comics. How do you reach this audience?

Terry - he was looking for book to read and so he wrote it. He can't explain his demographic - lots of differnt types of people read his work. His writing is really promoted by word of mouth. He is very popular on college campuses and word spreads even tho there was no advertising, no bookstore support. The first ones have sold over 1 million copies and translated into 10 languages all with word of mouth promotion.

Gail - when she sits down to write, she does not aim to appeal only to young women. She tries to appeal to a broad demographic. She thinks that the Internet has leveled the field for girls because comic book stores used to be kind of hard to go into for a girl; it was a male domain. It has become easier for girls to be enthusiastic for comics now - mostly because of the Internet.

Bettina also does not aim only to appeal to young women. She writes whatever she pleases! She has been surprised actually how many boys are enthusiastic readers of her stories.

People seem to think of Manga as a girls' medium although there are certainly enough boys interested.

Question: What do you think about the representation of women in comics - like the pinup kind of pictures of women.

Bettina: She kind of likes the old WW2 representations, however, she feels that today, some of the representations have become tasteless, over the top.

Terry: Earliest pinups were in the pyramids! There has been 'pinup' art over the centuries as a represdentation of popular culture. Downside of course is the putting down of certain types of people. What is the intent of the drawings - that is what is important to remember.

Gail: so much diversity. What one person thinks is pinup art someone else will think is beautiful art. She objects to pornagraphic pictures drawn in the playboy pinup style. She tries to get as much male nudity in as she can!

Question: Do you think that men and women get typecast into what kind of work they should produce? Should men write for men, etc?

Gail: Might have been true at one point in time, but it is really changing now. There's so much varietyt today that you can't fit people into slots.

Terry: The writer needs to be able to write about all the characters. If you're a good writer, you should be able to write about different types of people.

Bettina: She does whatever comes her way. She will pitch an idea to a publisher and if it's accepted, she goes ahead with it. Tries to figure out what the company is looking for and keep it within her own interested. The only thing she tries to figure out demographically is by age.

Question: What can you recommend for people who want to write comics

Bettina: Drawing, anatomy classes. Work on a web comic to experiment. Lots and lots of practice. Look into the Rising Stars of Manga competition. If you want to do it - just do it.

Terry: You do best what you do most! If you want to write, do it every day. Draw? do it every day. He didn't do anything with his writing and art til he was 36 when he decided to show it around. The librarian industry is where people look for book information. Libraries have helped him lots.

Gail says that you put so much of yourswelf into writing it's scary to put it out there. You must let everyone else read it. Then listen for their reactions. If everyone says kind of the same thing, you can probably realize that there is something that needs to be fixed. You improve constantly with practice. Really practice, really listen.

Gail asks a question of the audience. What can the major comic book companies do for you?

Answer. Lots of librarians don't have any idea of where to start with buying these because not everyone has an interest in comics or manga. It's difficult to find comics for young children also. Gail says that there is not a lot of direct distribution, esp. to young children.
Comment - ask the comic book companies to assign a library liasion to handle library sales. Also, comic book companies all go to ALA. When you're there, make sure you give them comments about how they can help you. DC seems to be the best at working with libraries.


Questions from the audience.

Terry's name is gender neutral. Do people think a woman has written his books because they're about women. People are sometimes surprised when they meet him. He kept his gender secret for a while at the beginning of his career.


Do you have a preference - should people call your work graphic novel or comic book or sequential art. Gail doesn't care what is used. Terry says whaever describes it best.

Do you think women in refrigerators is a problem?
Gail: Women in refrigertors was a web site - time in which women were raped, degraded, etc. And people were asking why aren't there more strong women in comics. She thinks that that kind of thing is passing by a little. Now there are more examles of 'men in refrigerators'.

Terry has been talking to DC comics about supergirl. She should be the no. 1 female hero/myth character in the US. If superman is no. 1, why is not supergirl no. 1

There are copies of panel's books for sale outside the room