Hey so how's it going?

Oh, Hi. How ya doing? Been up to much? Uh huh. Uh huh. mmmmm huh. Oh really? Well that sounds interesting and or horrible. Me? Well, been super busy like everyone else.

We did another podcast at work for Get Caught Reading month. It was kind of fun. And I'm proud to say I met with a group of folks and we planned a production schedule and we'll have a new podcast theme for each month for the next year!

In one dimension of my reality there's a vote coming up this Tuesday. Let me just say this -- I've experienced Forum Trolls on various forums - but I've never actually seen the breeding ground from which they came - until now. Reading the various posts - I'm torn - the forum moderator in me wants to ban the use of too large images for no dang reason - the information professional in me wants them to cite their sources - and the person who has actual experience working in the environment that so desperately needs improving in me wants to go and tell them the reality of the building & budget they all think is fine and dandy (not that we all don't love having to cross our fingers when nuking our lunches that a breaker doesn't blow or looking extra careful at the database usage to see what we can cancel without a massive stop in service should the vote go the undesired way)...but I know it wouldn't do that dimension of my reality any good for me to do any of that. And instead I silently read the troll forums.

Another dimension of my reality found me and the husband at Borders on Friday morning. We dropped the little one off at day care so we could have our 9 year anniversary date during the day. We dropped her off at 8:30 and decided to see when Borders opened and browse some books and music. We got there about 10 minutes before open and there were already folks there before us - waiting for the doors to open at 9:00. I commented to the husband how interesting that was - because if they just wanted a place to study they could have gone down the street to Belle Isle or if they wanted coffee they could just go up the street to Starbucks. But for some reason they wanted Borders. Well maybe they were having a mega sale on some sort of books. So when the doors opened husband and I walked and after the 10 or so folks before us - and they all had lined up at the coffee counter before grabbing a magazine or unloading their textbooks to study. Even those customers who looked to be around retirement age. For us we actually had in mind to purchase copies of Owly and Fables and browse the sales tables. And as I watched the folks grab their cup of over priced caffeine and then go and read one of the magazines from the magazine rack I thought to myself - if Belle Isle had a coffee bar would they had gone down there instead? I mean after all -- all they were spending money on was coffee everything else they wanted for the county/tax payers pays for just down the street.

Another dimension of my reality found me cataloging books today and there was occasion for a lot of people to be at the place of my other library. But it was strange to have visitors from New Jersey stop in and to tell me that they were impressed with our library. I thanked them, and in the back of my mind I thought they were just being kind, but when they said their synagogue library was only the size of the reading area of our temple library I can only imagine the dropped-jaw look on my face. And then I took the opportunity to tout our collection size and how our catalog is online. I mean heck why not right? Can't us Okie show them East-Coasters what it means to be intellectual and to value knowledge and what it means to invest a little into your community to preserve a cultural experience for future generations? Sure there are other libraries around my temple patrons could go to - but they wouldn't have the specialized collection, knowledge staff or convenience if they used the other libraries.

I don't know - so many dimensions of my reality focus around libraries/librarianship etc. Even the aspects where I'm the only librarian - I still function in the librarian role. This coming Tuesday I'll be attending a OSWG meeting. And I am the "librarian that uses joomla" person - in a room full of state webmasters. Kind of neat.

Anyways - enough rambling - I need to go enjoy the rest of this lovely Mother's Day. My daughter has tomatoes and bell peppers coming up in her little garden that we need to look at -- Oh and along that lines -- can anyone tell me what I'm suppose to do with 3 pumpkin plants and the pumpkins that will be attached to them after a while? We didn't realize they would grow so well.

OU is hoping to inspire 8 years in a row

Norman Transcript | Inspirational Reading

The eighth annual Books that Inspire exhibit at the University of Oklahoma opened Tuesday, honoring the University of Oklahoma Press.

"It was kind of a natural sequence, having honored Oklahoma authors (last year), to now honor OU Press -- and it's a preeminent press," said Sul H. Lee, dean of University Libraries.

Books that Inspire is an annual exhibit at Bizzell Memorial Library that features favorite books chosen by OU faculty and staff members.

The book is displayed in the library's main floor along with a photo of the participant and a statement describing the book's influence on the participant's life.

17 Tips for getting bloggers to write about you

Found via Boing Boing

Some great tips on how to get bloggers to pick up your stories - and the fact is libraries could apply some of these to their websites and sending out notices to the press. Be sure to click here to read the entire post at Information Week.

Tips include:

Have a link
Have a permanent link
Have a link for everything
Use real links
Use links that go to pages
Flash sites stink
PDFs stink
Streams stink
Put your URL on your images
Linking policies are ridiculous
Don't worry about the "Bandwidth stealing"
Offer high-res images
Forget the "copyright protection" javascript
Enough with the legal boilerplate
Let bloggers know how you'd like to be attributed
Creative Commons licensing takes the guesswork out of blogging
Finally. Send suggestions by the preferred means

Wifi hotspots nothing but telephone booths?

I found this article via DaniWeb. And it sparked the following brainstorm (which of course is a creation of my own self-diagnosed ADHD mind and it probably wrong but hey I have a few minutes so here goes)....

An executive with Ericsson says:

Hotspots at places like Starbucks are becoming the telephone boxes of the broadband era.

Which is an interesting thought - and potential Oh Noes! for libraries.

More libraries are tauting free wifi, coffee shops, meeting rooms, etc to bring in patrons who don't want to use libraries for their traditional uses. What will happen when a large number of people are equipped with a broadband mobile? What new tech perks will libraries have to offer? What's the sell of free wifi for travelers, students, business folks and lay peoples? Sure, now they can get to a library's myspace or facebook from anywhere at the touch of a screen but why come to the library? Or perhaps libraries will have to de-emphasize their in-house tech offerings and instead move to promote traditional programming and instruction instead?

Now it would be silly for a "Virtual Librarian" to play down technology in a library (after all it is the alpha and the omega) - but if your library has attached itself solely to the cart of super-in-house-tech-offerings (ebooks, databases, virtual reference, etc) be prepared for a rude awakening before your 40-something librarians retire. Because your vocal tax paying patrons, in-coming college freshman and administrators will have (if not already) a bulk of your services available at their fingertips and will wonder why they need to pay upkeep on a building. As long as you keep offering in-house specialities that can't be found anywhere else you'll be prepared for the future envisioned by the Ericsson exec.

Enid's Library Director Resigns

A follow up to the Enid library issues - from the Enid News & Eagle

...Kader’s tenure as director of the Public Library of Enid and Garfield County has been controversial and drawn an unnecessary amount of negative publicity. The director has been at odds with staff members, and there have been accusations he was derogatory with the staff, as well as having communication problems.

City administrators tried to help Kader and the staff work through their problems, but by that time, things had gone beyond reconciliation.

We need the library board, Benson and any others involved in hiring a new library director to be careful and considerate in deciding how to move the library forward. We do have issues that have to be addressed, including structural problems with the current library and the kinds of library services that should be enhanced or expanded.

We advise those involved in the hiring process to seek assistance and recommendations from the Oklahoma Municipal League or the state Department of Libraries about what qualifications are needed in today’s public library directors....

Who is the Gordon Ramsay of Libraries?

I'm not a big fan of reality shows - but I love some of the stuff on BBC America. Today I'm watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. One of the episodes on today finds him trying to help save a giant purple-ish restaurant next to a golf course. Besides the problems in the kitchen - nasty fried food with no taste or appearance - the dining room wait staff had no skills. Not only were the wait staff unable to make the connections with the customers, but they also didn't know their menu or had even tried most of the items on the menu. So Gordon swoops in with his tussled two-toned hair to straighten out the wait and kitchen staff, as well as the owners.

Gordon's approach to critiquing restaurant service from the kitchen all the way to the street perception is something every library should do for technical services processes, to the reference desk, administrative workflow, to the library web presence and all the way to the patron's impression on the street.

Does your kitchen staff (a.k.a. technical services) know how to prepare your materials so that they appeal to your customers? Do they know how to adjust their workflow to get the materials out as quickly as possible? After all if it takes 5 weeks for that hot book to hit the shelf - it may be too cold for the patrons.

Does your house wait staff (a.k.a public services) know how to properly sell your menu items -- err...materials? Are they familiar enough with them to be able to describe how that book or database will appeal to the research palette of the patron? Better yet - are they able to keep the house looking the way it should to get the patrons to come back? You can have the most brilliant material on the shelf but if the appearance of the library is lacking - people won't want to step through the door (virtual or otherwise).

Does your administrative staff understand what is going on in the kitchen and the front house? Have they visited recently -- better yet can they fill in - in a pinch - should their help be needed? If not can they accept the expertise of the full-time staff in that kitchen and house positions and take their input when making policy decisions?

The reality is most libraries aren't able to experience such a strict evaluation - either because they are limited by funds to hire consultants or if the evaluations are conducted by an in house team it is viewed with animosity by those not willing to admit there may be room for improvement. And so many libraries are left with grumblings of dissatisfaction by a few (or perhaps many) but no means of pinpointing the things that need help or even where to begin.

So what I propose is we find and crown individuals in the field who could be the Gordon Ramsays, Dr. Gillian McKeiths, Kim Woodburns and Aggie MacKenzies for the profession. Individuals who have a strong critical eye but understand the big scheme and can help libraries identify their goals, determine what they are doing to sabotage those goals, and then give suggestions on how to adjust our collective professional behaviors to better meet our goals. But these can't be people who will sit on the side lines -- they should be individuals who can swoop in and spread the ugly reality out on the table -- and ride our collective backsides until we realize change is necessary.

OK enough typing from me -- I have to watch Gordon convince this guy to change the name of his snooty restaurant - and I leave you with these words from Gordon

...maybe he was able to get away with that in the 1990s but in [the 2000s] his days are numbered...

Thoughts?

What kind of service is a library?

Ok this made me smile -





Of course if you listen to Lynn, in Duncan Oklahoma - no one would really post that phrase to a forum anyways - since libraries don't provide anything for reading.

...Public library functions reflect the change in attitude toward books. Increasingly, these facilities have become centers for family recreation night and knitting instruction courses. The focus has shifted from provision of reading sources to community service....

What? Reading can't be service to the community?

UCO 24 hour library - a success?

According to the UCO student government body it was.

"The 24-hour library was an amazing alternative. It gave students somewhere to study and hang out without having to cram local 24-hour restaurants," O'Brien said.

I don't know - part of what I loved about my undergraduate experience was studying for debate tournaments or finals at the 24 hour restaurant. Snacking on chili cheese fries and watching all the drunk cowboys/girls stumbling in around 2:00am to grab their pile o' fried goodness they called breakfast. Every once in a while we'd help the waitress, "Bee-hive Bev", pour coffee and pick up tables when she got too busy. It was a great way to build camaraderie with those outside our major. And also see a slice of life in which most of us didn't participate.

Hines was also very appreciative of the hard work the library workers and volunteers put in during the week. He said their efforts to work late in the night helped make the 24-hour library a success.

"We are very thankful for library volunteers and staff for their long hours they put in over finals week," said Hines.

As a thank you to all the library staff who helped out during the week, Hines declared January 14, 2008 as Library appreciation day at UCO.

Okay - so this part did make me laugh. Volunteers, eh? I think Hines is unaware who actually works an academic library. I can guarantee you it wasn't volunteers - but full time staff and part time students who have to secure and monitor a building during strange hours and throwing off their normal routines for a student body that believes their college education is a commercial commodity and not a life long personal growth investment.

Hines hopes to write a bill that would keep the library open even later. His plan is to extend the library hours from 11 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. He said that he wants to do this without having to use student activity fees. Passing this bill is one of Hines major goals of the semester.

Their going to pay to keep the library opened later with student activity fees? So that would be staffing, security, maintenance, electricity, etc for a 4 story building. That's a big chunk of change those kids are proposing...I sure hope UCO has super cheap credit hours because it's going to get awful expensive come tuition time with all those fees.

Actually I would be curious to see what the library door count stats said for those extended hours -- if it really matched the perception.

Book Reflection - Books on Trial

I just finished reading Books on Trial: Red Scare in the Heartland, by Shirley Wiegand and Wayne Wiegand. The book description on Amazon reads:

Between the two major red scares of the twentieth century, a police raid on a Communist Party bookstore in Oklahoma City marked an important lesson in the history of American freedom. Shirley A. Wiegand and Wayne A. Wiegand share the compelling story of this important case for the first time. They reveal how state power--with support from local media and businesses--was used to trample individuals' civil rights during an era in which citizens were gripped by fear of foreign subversion.

Richly detailed and colorfully told, Books on Trial is a sobering story of innocent people swept up in the hysteria of their times. It marks a fascinating and unnerving chapter in the history of Oklahoma and of the First Amendment.

If you have an interest in any of the things listed above I highly recommend it.

I was very interested to see all the different types of organizations which came out in support for and opposition to the defendants in the case. It seems a lot of individuals as well as groups were vocal and ranged in philosophy from the KKK to various worker's unions. But one group that was amazingly quiet during this period were librarians. And the Wiegands spelled it out that absence for those who didn't notice it, on pages 188-90:

Despite the potential impact of the cases on library services and collections, however, the nation's library community was noticeably silent. The American Library Association had approved a Library Bill of Rights in 1939, but had not yet mobilized efforts to combat censorship[...]
In the December issue of P.L.C. Bulletin (organ of the leftist Progressive Librarians Council), Ralph T. Esterquest, of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, expressed his surprise at how librarians seemed "unmoved by the fact that...fascist methods are today the official means of suppressing a free people" in Oklahoma[...]"Let us should to our readers,[...]Read-Read-Read! Fine out what the pygmy minds have forbidden you to know."

So what happened in the psyche of America's librarians that turned them into the anti-censorship-intellectual-freedom-beasts at which Esterquest hinted?

I tried to figure out an answer to this question a couple years ago when I was one of several librarians interviewed for a doctoral student's dissertation entitled, How government mandated policies affect those responsible for their implementation: the USA PATRIOT ACT and Academic Libraries. In fact prior to this reflection on the Wiegand's book I hadn't really thought about the dissertation or tried to track it down. As I told the researcher for the dissertation - there was a time when librarians, by and large, followed the loyalist line - regardless of what that line was, but my educated guess was World War II changed the hearts and minds of librarians and how they viewed their role in being vocal during times of book 'censorship', challenges and even a wider world of social injustices. After all WWII did that for a lot of people...

There are those who ask why should librarians and library groups make policies or public statements regarding topics outside the realm of librarianship or even why ALA goes full force regarding banned material. And they are good questions -- and ones I've found myself asking on occasion. I mean don't we have enough issues in libraries? Do we really need to go sticking our nose in other people's messes? Perhaps we are making up for lost time and for not speaking up in the past. Or because we are in a service field we are wanting help anyone we can in any way we can -- and at times it is just words of support.

I try very hard to keep my political/personal me away from the professional me - because I don't want to isolate anyone that I might be able to assist. However, reflecting on Books on Trial and reading through the dissertation for which I was interviewed has provided me with a resolution for this coming secular year.

I resolve to encourage friends, family and colleagues to more civic participation - regardless of what color their political affiliation (red/blue/neon green) -- because all that matters is that they participate and realize we all have a stake in it.

What do you think?

Promising professionals

As always Lifehack.org delivers on this post regarding making promises at work.

Perhaps you can work some of these into your New Year resolutions - and not just with colleagues but with your patrons as well.

Don’t forget the things that you promise to do.
You should clarify what is expected of you.
Take on less.
Use ‘As Promised’ in your communications.
If you might miss a deadline or have to stop one project to give attention to another, renegotiate.

And why are these important? Well because

Broken promises diminish the value of your word.
Broken promises decrease your ability to work for and with others.
Broken promises lessen our own self esteem.

Be sure to read the entire article for the details!

Why do employees leave?

A good post over at Library Garden about why library employees leave -- and what could it mean about your institution.

If someone leaves your system for the same job in another (i.e. lateral move), that should get you thinking.

If the average new-employee retention is less two years before they move on to another position, you definitely want to take notice.

If your system sees people leave and then watches them flourish in another position, you shouldn't brag that "they started off in this system." It should raise questions as to why your system couldn't seem to hold on to him/her.

Employee retention has always been difficult in our profession but, sometimes, we unknownngly encourage people to leave.

The list below is a compilation of reasons I've heard Librarians give for leaving their positions. If any of these sounds like a familiar complaint of former employees, you may want to consider it, especially from the employee's perspective....

The reasons listed are ones I've heard before -- of course there are a few I've heard that aren't listed. So why have you all left positions?

Random conversation in the life of married nerds...

My husband and I were driving home from services this evening. He mentioned that he had be talking in the hall, outside the library, to someone who was a lawyer. The lawyer asked my husband what he did for a living and he said he was a Neuroscientist - who studies the connection between the brain and the gut. The lawyer then proceeded to tell my husband all about his GI problems.

We laughed because that's a common occurance for him. I commented that even when I mention what he does for a living people then start to tell me about their intestinal troubles. My husband laughed and stated, "Yeah, funny when I mention you are a librarian no one says to me - Oh really? Well I love to read - or even Oh I know how to read."

So how are all your tummies out there? ;-)

Another reason for Harry Potter to be challenged

Found this via BoingBoing

The WaPo is reporting on a statement of JK Rowlings regarding a primary character in the series.

J.K. Rowling has outed one of the main characters of her best-selling Harry Potter series, telling fans in New York that the wizard Albus Dumbledore, head of Hogwarts school, is gay.

Speaking at Carnegie Hall on Friday night in her first U.S. tour in seven years, Rowling confirmed what some fans had always suspected -- that she "always thought Dumbledore was gay," reported entertainment Web site E! Online.
Rowling said Dumbledore fell in love with the charming wizard Gellert Grindelwald but when Grindelwald turned out to be more interested in the dark arts than good, Dumbledore was "terribly let down" and went on to destroy his rival.

That love, she said, was Dumbledore's "great tragedy."

"Falling in love can blind us to an extent," she said.

The audience reportedly fell silent after the admission -- then erupted into applause.

New web 2.0 video

Found this via "Self-plagiarism is style".
From the folks who brought you The Machine is Us/ing Us comes this new video



So what are some of the things featured in the video?
- de.li.cio.us
- google
- diigo for firefox
- wikipedia
- everything is miscellaneous
- digg
- netvibes

On a side note - if you enjoyed that video you may like this one found by Geeks are Sexy:

Together they should make any librarian pause and reevaluate how we handle information and patrons.

Chronicle | Young Librarians, Talkin' 'Bout Their Generation

The Chronicle has some interviews with the "younger / next / new / what-evah" generation of librarians. No Oklahoma Librarians -- but some names you might recognize none the less.

Most people are familiar with the stereotype of librarians. They are twenty- or thirtysomethings, with tattoos, cat's-eye glasses, and vintage clothes, schmoozing with famous authors, and playing DJ at parties in Brooklyn.

Wait, that's just the stereotype in The New York Times. Last summer the newspaper declared young librarians hip — and, in the minds of some librarians, actually reinforced the other stereotype: that older members of their profession are reclusive bookworms and cranky old ladies.

Whether young librarians are hip or dowdy doesn't matter. What matters is what they think about the future of the library, particularly at academic institutions.

Libraries are facing a series of immense challenges: the explosion of information, a rapidly changing technological environment, shrinking budgets, pitched battles over copyright, a new world of information literacy, and continuing deficiencies in old-fashioned literacy.

On top of it all, academic libraries face a crisis of graying leadership. Young librarians, hip or not, will eventually be the people dealing with these issues.

This month The Chronicle contacted eight librarians under 40 and asked them a series of questions about the future of their profession, including: What will happen to the book? How will battles over copyright play out? What do you love and hate about librarianship? Here is what they said:...

Motorcycle trip to Talequah public library

Trail Of Tears Motorcycle Trip is a "Chronicle of a solo motorcycle trip from Cumming Georgia to Tahlequa Oklahoma that follows the Northern route of the Trail of Tears." The writer of the blog, Dan, visited the Talequah library the other day:

I spent most of the rest of the day in the library. I could not help but notice, that a few homeless, definitely psychotic, people were spending the day in the library too. It was apparent that these folks were regulars by the way the staff interacted with them. I, on the hand, was somewhat unnerved when a man approached me and recited a mantra he must have memorized over the years explaining how grateful he was to have lived through the end of the 20th century. I quickly learned that anyone who remotely glanced at this man would be met with the same recital. The staff called him John. I watched john deliver his speech over and over again through the afternoon. I think I may have it memorized.

I wanted to ensure I established some contacts before I left. After John delivered his last speech to the woman at the reference desk, I struck up a conversation that ultimately lead to me explaining that I had ridden my motorcycle 1200 miles to research the town for a book I would like to write. As soon as I finished telling my story, I realized that I must sound as nuts as John. Thank god I showered and shaved before going to the library. I have no doubt the woman thought I was off my meds, but at least I was clean. What ever the reason, she did not dismiss me pleasantly like I watched her do to John 5 or 6 times. She gave me her email address, I’m betting it’s the same one she gives John....

I think Dan might be surprised as to the stories we do hear at the reference desk -- his seems rather tame. :-) Good luck on the book!

Centennial and Oklahoma Libraries

I was visiting the Oklahoma Centennial site and noticed there are a few festivities that are still going on that you can participate in at a library near you:

Ardmore's Eliza Cruce Hall Doll Collection
Jan 1, 2007 - Dec 31, 2007
Ardmore - Heritage Activities
Eliza Cruce Hall, a resident of Indian Territory since 1896 and the niece of Oklahoma's second governor Lee J. Cruce, generously donated her extensive and valuable doll collection to the Ardmore Public Library in 1971. The collection is listed as a must-see in many trade publications and travel guides. This rejuvenation includes creation of a color catalog with the history, photographs and descriptions of the dolls.

Ardmore's McGalliard History Collection
Jan 1, 2007 - Dec 31, 2007
Statewide - Publications/Research
The Ardmore Public Library is home to a vital collection of original photographs and documents that feature Ardmore and the unique history of the South Central Region of Oklahoma. The Mac McGalliard bequest of over 4,700 items is now housed in a vertical file with a rudimentary card catalog used as a finding aid. This project is to digitize and make electronically searchable the entire collection of one-of-a-kind artifacts, providing an invaluable tool for writers, historians, researchers and genealogists.

Centennial Walk - River Extension
Tulsa - Parks/Gardens
The Arkansas River extension will provide an extension of the current Centennial Walk route from the new arena site along Denver, to the new Central Library site and then to the new city property at the east edge of the historic Cyrus Avery Memorial Route 66 (11th Street) Bridge.

Cherokee Centennial Clock
Cherokee - Art/Landmarks
A Centennial clock in front of the library to enhance the community as the finishing touch to newly completed sidewalks and street lamps.

Colcord's Springtown School Renovation
Colcord - Historic Restorations
Restoration of the Springtown, AR. School built in the early 1900's (17 miles from Colcord, OK.) It has been purchased and will be moved to the Talbot Library/Museum property. To be restored as close as possible to its original condition. Planned uses of the building are for school displays, community functions, and educational projects.

Leaping Waters Fountain
Oklahoma City - Parks/Gardens
Located on the plaza in front of the downtown metro library, this high-tech, computer-controlled water fountain invites children to play in varied bursts and streams of water launched into a central basin.

OK Read - 100 Books for 100 Years (Oklahoma Kids Read)
Oct 1, 2006 - Oct 31, 2007
Beaver - Heritage Activities
Students at Beaver Elementary School grades 4-6 are challenged to read books, attend Library skills classes, work on a group presentation, do an individual creative project, and participate in Beaver's Cow chip parade. Students will learn about the history and symbols of Oklahoma. Students who complete the ultimate challenge of "100 Books for 100 Years" will be entitled to an all expense paid trip to the Oklahoma Centennial Parade.

Oklahoma Voices- Publications/Research
An oral history project modeled after the national StoryCorps project. Interviews of Oklahoma County community leaders and elders over 75 years of age will be interviewed. A copy will be given to the participants and a copy housed in the Oklahoma Room of the Downtown Library. Twelve libraries will be visited to collect the interviews and it is expected to collect over 250 interviews.

Uncrowned Queens
Statewide - Multi-Media
A Web-based project celebrating achievements of Oklahoma's African American women. Individuals and communities submit names of women; biographies of honorees will be archived in the Oklahoma Historical Society Research Library.

So why do I bring this up now? Well the Centennial Parade, in OKC, is this weekend - and I've heard through Oklahoma Libraries grapevine that Libraries will be representin' (in the parade). How so? you ask... Well from what I can gather -- here's a hint from the last ALA Conference

All I'm saying is -- I'm tuning in to OETA to see if Oklahoma Libraries get a little air time.

Accepting Criticism

Found this via Geeks are Sexy - How to Accept Criticism with Grace and Appreciation

When you work with the public you are use to criticism - both constructive and destructive. But this article has some good things to remember on accepting criticism:

Stop Your First Reaction
If your first reaction is to lash back at the person giving the criticism, or to become defensive, take a minute before reacting at all. Take a deep breath, and give it a little thought...

Turn a Negative Into a Positive
...find the positive in it. Sure, it may be rude and mean, but in most criticism, you can find a nugget of gold: honest feedback and a suggestion for improvement...

Thank the Critic
Even if someone is harsh and rude, thank them. They might have been having a bad day, or maybe they’re just a negative person in general. But even so, your attitude of gratitude will probably catch them off-guard...

Learn from the Criticism
After seeing criticism in a positive light, and thanking the critic, don’t just move on and go back to business as usual. Actually try to improve...

Be the Better Person
Too many times we take criticism as a personal attack, as an insult to who we are. But it’s not. Well, perhaps sometimes it is, but we don’t have to take it that way. Take it as a criticism of your actions, not your person. If you do that, you can detach yourself from the criticism emotionally and see what should be done...

My idle observation is that libraries/librarians have a hard time actively soliciting criticism to better their services, collections, collect data for increase staff, etc. With free online surveys and polls there's really no reason why libraries/librarians can't post a little something online (or make something available in print) to see what their patrons think. Yes -- there will be the occasional "U suxx0r5!" but there will also be the "I appreciate the assistance and smiling faces I see when I visit XYZ Library" responses.

I also think librarians are afraid to solicit this information because in library school they teach us the importance of customer feedback but not how to act upon it. That's where having a clear mission statement for your core service areas is vitally important. This includes dealing with both an external mission statement for the public as well as a mission statement for your staff and colleagues and what you hope to accomplish as professionals. And don't forget to revisit these mission statements regularly.

Having said all that -- what are your thoughts?

Public and misperceptions of information

Found this via Aetiology. WaPo | Persistence of Myths Could Alter Public Policy Approach

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a flier to combat myths about the flu vaccine. It recited various commonly held views and labeled them either "true" or "false." Among those identified as false were statements such as "The side effects are worse than the flu" and "Only older people need flu vaccine."

When University of Michigan social psychologist Norbert Schwarz had volunteers read the CDC flier, however, he found that within 30 minutes, older people misremembered 28 percent of the false statements as true. Three days later, they remembered 40 percent of the myths as factual.

Younger people did better at first, but three days later they made as many errors as older people did after 30 minutes. Most troubling was that people of all ages now felt that the source of their false beliefs was the respected CDC.

The psychological insights yielded by the research, which has been confirmed in a number of peer-reviewed laboratory experiments, have broad implications for public policy. The conventional response to myths and urban legends is to counter bad information with accurate information. But the new psychological studies show that denials and clarifications, for all their intuitive appeal, can paradoxically contribute to the resiliency of popular myths.

This phenomenon may help explain why large numbers of Americans incorrectly think that Saddam Hussein was directly involved in planning the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and that most of the Sept. 11 hijackers were Iraqi. While these beliefs likely arose because Bush administration officials have repeatedly tried to connect Iraq with Sept. 11, the experiments suggest that intelligence reports and other efforts to debunk this account may in fact help keep it alive....

So not to mention the implications of this at the reference desk -- but what about those FAQs or hot button issues your library PR, Managers, and Directors have to deal with on a daily basis? I mean if people misconstrue information from the CDC imagine what they do with the information from your library?!

More than coffee and wireless

Inside Higher Ed | More than coffee and wireless

For several years now, the talk about libraries as student-oriented buildings has focused on amenities to enhance the visitor’s experience. Students want their coffee and comfy couches on which to chat with their friends during study breaks. Students want to study in groups. And students want to use their laptops, so wireless is key.

None of this, to be sure, has gone away. But much of the buzz about library facilities at this year’s annual meeting of the Society for College and University Planning, in Chicago, had a different focus: adding to library buildings facilities that are explicitly academic, but that haven’t historically been seen as part of the library. Writing centers, classrooms, faculty offices and the like — these are increasingly being placed in libraries, especially those focused on undergraduates.

Some of the same motivations are involved as were evident when Starbucks started to appear in libraries: getting the students in. But the projects being discussed go beyond that to thinking about campus facilities as a means to promote an “integrated” campus (to pick up one of the theme words from the SCUP meeting). Just as student affairs professionals and academic affairs officials agree (in theory, if not always in practice) that they need to work together, so facilities planners are saying that they need to stop looking at major campus buildings — like a library — as serving one function, and to promote a broader vision.

Stephen Johnson, an architect with Pfeiffer Partners, used the plans for a library overhaul at Washington and Lee University as a case study in a session Monday. The firm has worked on a series of projects that aim to show that “there is not just latté drinking, but learning, going on in the library,” Johnson said....