Staff Day 2009

Every year the Pioneer Library System has a day long staff development workshop. Today we are at the Moore Norman Technology Center S. Penn Campus. Our keynote speaker today will be Pat Wagner and she'll e speaking on "Do it better with less stress".

I'll blog bits of her presentation - so you can benefit from her wealth of wisdom/experience.

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9:30 am - Presentation of awards, years of service, and certifications for PLS staff. Large crew of awardees. Check out the PLS website later for specific names.

10:17 am - Pat being introduced

10:20 am - if you don't like the person you are sitting next to - now is a good time to move

10:21 am - stress comes from: changes in technology, economy (even though Oklahoma is doing pretty well) - patron's losing a lot, expectations from communities on what we do,

10:30 am - Who's good at managing workplace stress? - ppl are good @ increasing the perceived benefits for themselves & others by being more resourceful. They are perceived as flexible b/c they know how to find or create more during the challenge of change.

10:42 am - Moods & feuds are self indulgent

10:50 am - everything you do you are "auditioning" - successful negotiation is making it easy for the other person to say, Yes.

it's all about the lives of the library users we serve

11:12 am - Don't fall in to the mighty mouse syndrome

if the plan is in your head there is no plan!

11:32 am - Good communication is give and seek - give to the other person and seek from the other person.

break - good eats for lunch -

Podcasting @ the Library

Just a little note - Pioneer Library System has done their first "official" podcast. You should be able to listen to it here.

What did it take to do this?
1 librarian
1 nerdy tech librarian
1 poet
1 laptop with audacity
1 cheapo microphone (hope to upgrade that to a not so cheapo one)
1 month with a theme

So what are your podcasts?

Red Dirt Book Festival Registration Open

Registration for the Red Dirt Book Festival is now open!

The third, biennial Red Dirt Book Festival, an official Oklahoma Centennial event, will be November 2 and 3, 2007 in Shawnee, Okla. at the Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center. The mission of the Red Dirt Book Festival is to celebrate the art and craft of writing through an event that brings together Oklahoma readers, writers, illustrators, publishers, storytellers, scholars and performers.

“READ, WRITE, TALK,” continue to be the festival’s thematic strands. “Oklahoma Character,” is the unifying focus for the 2007 festival. The festival’s goal is to identify what is unique about Oklahoma character as reflected in our literature. This may include the unique character of our history, our landscape, our lifestyle and our Oklahoma “characters.” Through a series of lectures, panel presentations, and group discussions, participants focus their attention on thematic questions. Other festival attractions are a banquet and luncheons, book signings, exhibits, storytelling and performances....

Disclosure --
My coworker, Kevin, and I are the 2 person web team behind Red Dirt. We are using Joomla (which is the CMS we are going to do to redesign our work website this coming year). We've already tested some features on the Big Read and learned a lot about the software and users -- so the more folks who use the online functionality of Red Dirt the more Kevin and I get to see how the CMS holds up. So be sure to shoot any design/function commentary my way! :)

New PLS Director Announced

At a meeting held April 24 at the Newcastle Public Library, the Board of Trustees of the Pioneer Library System named Anne Masters to become the new Director, replacing Mary Sherman who retires at the end of May.
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In her 5 years with the Pioneer Library System, Masters has been responsible for developing and supervising the System Services Department which includes the Center for Readers Services, Center for Children’s Services, Literacy Services, Staff Training, and Public Information.

She and her staff have brought in more than $200,000 in grant funds for literacy support and library programming over the past 5 years.

Masters says she is committed to the mission of the Pioneer Library System: to connect you to the joy or reading and information for lifelong learning.

Big Read Oklahoma!

Everything is bigger in Oklahoma -- including Reading! Stillwater Public Library and Pioneer Library System are both recipients of the NEA's Big Read grant.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

The Big Read answers a big need. Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, found that not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but that the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young. The concerned citizen in search of good news about American literary culture would study the pages of this report in vain.

The Big Read aims to address this crisis squarely and effectively. It provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. The initiative includes innovative reading programs in selected cities and towns, comprehensive resources for discussing classic literature, an ambitious national publicity campaign...

Together Stillwater and Pioneer systems will involve 10 public libraries and their surrounding communities in book and movie discussions, reader theater and musical events, online book and Great Passage discussions, and other special activities dedicated to the John Steinbeck classic, The Grapes of Wrath.

All the communities and individuals wanting to participate in the activities (which will occur from February to the end of April 2007) are encouraged to register at the Oklahoma Big Read site, BigReadOK.com. Registering at BigReadOK.com allows you to access the discussion forums as well the opportunity to register early for the free special events at venues such as the Sooner Theatre and National Weather Center, both in Norman, as well as other locations in the 10 communities.

For those who do not want to register at the site then they still get to utilize the calendar of events, news stories, links to multimedia and educational resources, and downloadable material. More material and resources are being added daily!

If you are interested in becoming a discussion leader, hosting a book discussion, or participating in additional ways please use the contact form on the BigReadOK site and someone will get back to you!