Odds and Ends

Went and watched Coraline today with the spouse and 3 yr old. We all really enjoyed it. We haven't read the book yet - but the movie has piqued my interest so I think I may download the audio version of it from our OverDrive collection at work.

Initially I was not to sure about taking our daughter because I heard that it might be too scary. But I found a great site which helped us decide - Kids-In-Mind: Movie Ratings That Actually Work spelled out all the Sex, Violence and Language in the film and gave play-by-play spoilers so we would know if it would be too much. We also looked up other movies that she currently enjoys for comparison to see exactly how the rating system worked with what she already enjoys watching.

I liked this site because it does not throw in a bunch of self-righteous indignation regarding the films - instead it lists "just the facts" and lets us decide. A great tool for parents and reference desk librarians alike. (although as of the writing of this the site seems to be down...)

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Let's see what else - oh as many of you know I've been working with Openbiblio as a catalog for my other job. Well, it's been great - but I just don't have the time to develop it like I would like to or to learn all I need to learn. So I'm starting the slow process of migrating everything to LibraryThing - and to use that as our online public catalog.

So far it's a slow painful process. I have MARC records from our other system - many of them are skeletal. So I can't just important in ISBN for all 4,890 titles (many are too old to have ISBN and others that info was never entered into the catalog prior to my working there). So I started emailing tech support at LibraryThing a week and half ago. One person said they could upload my MARC records for me - but I've not heard anything from her since I emailed her the file. When you pay a couple thousand dollars for a database it's easy to call a vendor and demand service -- but in this case - since this was a non-profit pricing of less than $20...I really don't feel like I can just call and demand service. So I'm impatiently waiting for something to happen or someone to contact me so I can get all my titles added and can start the tagging process... The cool thing is once I get this up - I think we'll have one of the largest Jewish material collections on LibraryThing.

I really think it will be great once it's all working...but so far the tech support aspects of Librarything have been frustrating.

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Oh - I also got an email this week from Tim @ TCCL who had this to say:

I thought I'd write to tell you that based on the original program by The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenberg County, the Tulsa City-County Library System is embarking on our own "23 Things" program at http://tccllearning.blogspot.com. Sponsored by the New Technology Committee, this self-paced continuing education class will be performed over the course of 13 weeks, beginning February 2. Participating TCCL staff will work hands-on to learn about Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds, online photo & video sharing, social bookmarking, & LibraryThing just to name a few. All staff will create their own blogs, be encouraged to comment on each others blogs, and perform such tasks as embedding a video, subscribing to RSS feeds, & editing a wiki.

On top of our current email, IM & text message reference services, we're hoping that TCCL becomes a hot bed of tech-savvy librarians. Check us out!

I'll be curious to see how that goes and if there's any pre and post testing they are doing to see if it actually helped the librarians become more tech savvy.

I don't go there - Libraries & Social networks...

Holy Moly - I just realized the first posting of LibraryStories was November 17, 2003. Who would of thought there could be that much consistent Oklahoma library related news to share for so long? Sure surprised me.

Actually, I made this realization because of the post that was swirling in the primordial ooze which is my brain. I was talking with one of the students interning in my virtual branch and trying to describe to him why the first "Virtual Library Manager" in Oklahoma has not embraced a facebook, myspace, linked-in, etc pages/groups for her institution. I'm not sure if I made any sense to the Intern, or if he even cared - but I figured I would share my logic with you and see what you all thought.

I've always tried to separate the "personal" from the "professional" - and of course one way to grow as a professional is to experiment on your personal time. I promise that isn't as perverted as it sounds. I have a facebook, linked-in and even a MySpace account so I can see what is going on out there (well the MySpace account is actually to track down wayward young relatives who post really stupid things). I played with ning, second life, twitter, the defunct Google world and the defunct social site pownce. Heck I have so many other things that I still stumble upon logins that I forget I ever made. The internet is my smorgasbord and I sample it all - but I only go back for 2nds when I find stuff that really appeals to me. What's good for me personally tech wise is not necessarily good for my institution though.

When I go out and put my Friend/Colleague, Gamer or Virtual Librarian stamp on something – I’m appealing to completely different audiences and I can not treat them the same way.

Now – try to stay with me – this may get confusing – because it even is to me.

When Adri friend/colleague goes to a site I have a level of familiarity with the person to who I’m peddling the online service. So when I send an email to a colleague inviting them to join Linked-in they know it’s for professional reasons and the people they encounter through me in that environment have a certain stamp of professional approval. In that environment I am responsible for myself alone.

Things change with Adri the Gamer. In the days before my daughter became a toddler my husband and I were Gamers. Not casual gamers – we were they stay up late and kill monsters with a group for hours on end. I was the leader of a gaming group comprised of people from North America and Europe. It was craziness. But early on my group demanded a certain level of maturity of those who joined us online. Many of those who were in the group where parents or professionals and wanted a fun casual environment in which to play. So when people joined our network or interacted with people who wore our cape they expected a certain behavior. In that environment I was responsible for setting the expectations of those who chose to game with us and if people didn’t up hold our code of conduct then they weren’t allowed to participate in having fun.

Everything is different with Virtual Librarian. I never spend a significant amount of time with my patrons. The most I see of many of them are IP addresses and perhaps the occasional email address asking for assistance. Yet there is an implicit level of trust they have because I am a Librarian. And it’s that way for everyone who works in a library – and it’s a tremendous responsibility. So if I were to start creating facebook, myspace, etc pages as a librarian and encouraging patrons to participate with my institution in that venue – I’m just not lending my credibility – that trust they have of my station –only to the facebook, myspace, etc but also to the people who are my contacts/friends on those sites and that’s not a burden I want because there are too many unknowns. There is a good chance we will know nothing of the people we befriend our institutions – they may or may not be the a/s/l they purport to say.

Now I know people will say, “Yeah that’s how it is when people come to your library building” and I can say they are correct to an extent – but when they are in the building I have university or board policy to encourage a certain level of behavior – online I don’t have that. Wait, I know others are saying, “Well your patrons are already there!” and I will agree that many already are – and that’s why I’ve enabled the option for patrons to share library events and news with their friends.

Every single article on our site has a social bookmarking feature on it – so that people can import those items onto their profiles and share them with friends. It’s the modern day “word of mouth” marketing that libraries have always relied on. Plus, I truly believe people attend library events and utilize library services more by 1) finding it via a search on a major search engine 2) a trusted source referring them to the library. So why should I take my already stretched man power and have them creating multiple web presences – when we could be fine tuning the one we have to have features that work with what is out there and focusing on search engine optimization?

There is so much more I could write on this – and perhaps I will later. But for now this is good and if anyone reads it please know that these thoughts are my own and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of anyone else living or dead.

Reflections

You know the real reason I stopped blogging for several months was to give other Okie Bloggers a chance to be a nominee for the 2008 Okie Blog Awards. So if you haven't had a chance yet, go and look at the nominees and, if you are an Okie Blogger, vote.

Seriously though, just because I wasn't blogging didn't mean I wasn't tracking tons of Okie library related news. A lot of it I shared on my Google Reader page, of course not all of it is Okie library news - but some of it relates to what we do.

For instance, did you know Ginny, down at the National Weather Center in Norman - went with Evergreen as the library catalog? How fabulous is that? I mean take a look! I would be giddy to get hold of an open source catalog of this caliber to play - err I mean work with. Of course I do have our Joomla sites at work - which are fun.

I guess one thing which attributed to my hiatus from the blogosphere was the switch from Academic to Public librarianship. I've really been trying to find my footing among the personalities and I am still working at it.

Plenty of people ask about making the jump from Public to Academic and I've seen people mention the idea of a "stigma" in making a switch. Having switched from Academic to Public I've found a lot more similarities between the two than differences.

For instance - more than once at the Public Library I've had an idea shot down with "Well yes, but you think like an Academic librarian". And while at the University I would hear "Well, I don't know that's sounds too much like a Public Library thing". See - they are both afraid to try anything too outside the box! ;-) Another thing about having worked in both settings (and don't forget my specialized library too) I've realized they are the same type of work just to different extents. I know Academics do research and perform subject collection development and Public librarians do readers advisory and story time. But honestly it's the same thing - the audience just varies in age and the depth and direction of librarian/patron interaction is slightly different. Unfortunately for those who take the step between the types of librarianship - many of our colleagues don't realize the similarities between the two - because they have never spanned the gap between the types - so we will always hear remarks towards the "other".

Anywho - forgive me while I get all misty-water-colored-memories on you - but starting this year I will have been a degreed librarian for 10 years. I know I hear the "whoopty-dos" from my more seasoned colleagues - but that's precisely it! I'm 34 and still have a very long way to go before I can retire (unless my hubby finds that cure for IBS). But I'm still too young for the Boomers half of them think I'm a Millenial (it's the chubby face - hides the wrinkles). And I'm too old for the Millennials who view me -- well I don't know how they view me - either fear or confusion probably. I think worst of all - I'm not even a viable advertising demographic group! What's a Gen-Xer girl to do?

Also, I think librarianship is still strange to me because Librarian was not something I always aspired to. Rather it was a "Well, heck what do I do now? I guess I'll go to grad school" - sort of decision (a proud Gen-X decision process). Mind you it was a natural progression - I worked and volunteered in libraries my entire life - but I never saw it as anything but having fun. Work what my family did - harvest every summer Texas up to Canada. Spending time in the library was hanging out, putzing around and having fun - why would it ever be work? I mean sure - I get stressed sometimes when things go wonky. And I'll swear, spit and turn strange colors - but that's because I'm an INTJ and have issues. In the big scheme of things I get paid to do something a lot of fun and to help people have the tools necessary to better themselves. Isn't that what we all do regardless of library type?

So talk to me. What do you think? I only said I would post once a week - I never guaranteed to make sense. ;-)

OH! Also, if you live in or near Cleveland, McClain or Pottawatomie counties - think about becoming a literacy tutor.

If a librarian begins to blog again in a forest...

So, if a librarian starts to blog again after a 6 month retirement - does anyone notice?

Well - maybe if it was one of them big time important librarian bloggers - but probably not too many will notice if it was me. But I wanted to let any RSS stragglers know that I am going to slowly start blogging again.

I recently read a really good book entitled, Time Management for System Administrators, and I'm really going to try to work on my time management. With work(s), hubby, very active 3 year-old and being on various Temple committees it gets busy - but there's still thoughts I want to share - which don't necessarily get expressed via my facebook page.

I think the thing that prompted me to work a little blogging in to my schedule was this comment someone recently left on an old post.

I think it's a good idea to restrict Internet access by children at Oklahoma libraries. As a parent, I worry about my children. I do everything to control him at home. I talk to my kids about sexual predators and potential online dangers, keep computer at a public area of our house, use internet filtering software Ez Internet Timer to restrict Internet access while I’m not at home. but how I could control him at a library? My kids are clever, but so naive...

I have do agree with the poster, as a parent, I worry about my child too. In fact I worry more than I ever thought humanly possible - and I come from a very long line of worriers. However, hubby and I do everything we can to educate her and teach her responsible computing and library use (she even has her own email already). At our local public library (which is part of the Metro Library system) we make sure we are with her when she selects books to read or wants to play on the educational game computers. After all she just got her very own library card and every weekend we go and select new titles for bedtime reading - and we want her to know that with great power comes great responsibility.

Happy readings - and I'll be writing to you once a week now.

/my daughter wants me to relay to you all a happy "peace-out"

Public Library Job - El Reno

Position: Head Librarian
Salary: $36,279.36
Institution: El Reno Carnegie Library
Date posted: 11/5/2008
Closing: 11/21/2008

OPEN SENIOR MANAGEMENT POSITION
The City of El Reno is accepting resumes and applications for the position of Head Librarian starting salary $36,279.36. The Head Librarian reports to the Community Services Director of the City of El Reno. The Head Librarian performs a variety of administrative and supervisory work and complex clerical work in planning, organizing and implementing the programs and services of the library system.

Required Knowledge of:

• Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of modern library systems and programs.
  
• Thorough knowledge of library collection classification and selection techniques.
  Considerable knowledge of equipment and facilities utilized in a comprehensive library system.
  
• Considerable knowledge of community library needs and resources.
  
• Working knowledge of the principles and practices of office management, work organization and supervision.
  
• Skill in operation of listed tools and equipment.
  
• Ability to coordinate, analyze, and utilize a variety of reports and records.
  
• Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing.
  
• Ability to establish and maintain courteous and effective working relationships with other employees, supervisors, other departments, and the general public.
  
  Required Education and Experience:
  Education and Experience:
  (A) Graduation from a college or university with a bachelor's degree in library science, liberal arts, public administration or a closely related field, and
  (B) Five years of progressively responsible experience in library operations, including two years in a supervisory capacity, or
  (C) Any equivalent combination of education and experience.
  
  This position will be advertised internally and externally and will be accepted until 5 pm on November 21, 2008; to obtain an application please visit www.cityofelreno.com follow the employment link to download the application. Once you have completed the application you may mail it along with a resume to:

The City of El Reno
P. O. Drawer 700
El Reno, Ok. 73036
Attn: Catherine Wilson, Human Resources Director
The City of El Reno is an equal opportunity employer.

Job Posting - El Reno

*Disclosure - I am an employee of the El Reno Carnegie Library*

The City of El Reno is accepting applications for a Part Time Library Aid. This was advertised in the local El Reno Tribune Sunday, August 2, 2008.

Applications can obtained at the HR office at the city offices, 101 N. Choctaw, El Reno, OK 73036.

This job is not currently posted on the City's Employment Website

Job Posting - Union HS

From the State Department of Education Library Media Specialist Listserv:

"Union Public Schools has an immediate opening for a library media specialist position at Union's 8th Grade Center. Union PS is a large independent school district in Tulsa County. For more information, please contact Melissa Addison, Human Resources, at or (918) 357-6052."

Job Posting - Bluejacket Public Schools

From the State Department of Education Library Media Specialist listserv:

"Bluejacket Public Schools has an immediate opening for a half time library media specialist for a rural PK-12 school. Bluejacket is NE of Vinita in Craig County. For more information please contact the superintendent's office at (918) 784-2365."

Web Junction launches a new look

Have you been over to Web Junction lately? Me neither. At least not until today when I got an email from them informing me that they'd just updated their website. They've been working on it all summer and here's what's new:

You'll find a short video presentation on the new homepage that reviews highlights of the new platform and prompts you to sign in and update your profile. This is the first step towards taking advantage of the new features and functionalities. Some of the new features:

New course catalog offers hundreds of new courses from WebJunction, LE@D, and SkillSoft.

My WebJunction tab on the main page creates a more personalized experience. Sign in to see My WebJunction and start to collect all your bookmarks, contributions, and activities in one place.

More partners means more choices for subscribing to customized content from library service organizations.

Deeper member profile with personalized fields allows you to choose how to represent yourself to other WebJunction members. Plus, you control how much of your WebJunction profile to share.

Community ownership means you contribute too. The new platform makes it easy for anyone across the community to add content in all kinds of formats.

Friendly Terms of Use now include Creative Commons licensing and custom privacy options. When you sign in you'll be accepting our new Terms (http://webjunction.org/terms). Please take some time to review them before you get started.

I don't visit Web Junction as often as a should. I've never actually taken a course from them but I have used their forums before and accessed several of their informative articles. I would be interested in knowing if there are any libraries here in Oklahoma who have utilized their classes for staff development or training. I know that they often partner with state libraries but I wondered if any public/academic, library systems in general have used their resources independently as a way to train their staff.

Statewide My Favorite Book Contest

One of the new elements to the statewide Summer Reading Program this year is the My Favorite Book Contest. To participate, young readers come to the library and have their pictures taken with their favorite books. The contest is still ongoing and will be until SRP official ends. But several photos have already been sent in and uploaded. You gotta check these out, some of them are so creative, so adorable. Many brought in their own props and even dressed up as the character from the books they brought. I don't know about you all, but I'm anxiously awaiting additional photos, not to mention the announcement of the winner. However, with the risk of sounding cliche, regardless of who the winner is I just think this is a wonderful creative way for children/teens to get excited about books and express their tastes in reading.

Google goes lively

So Google has a virtual world now - called lively. Here's my oval room...maybe .. if this works...



and here is what I look like... (oh and you need a google account to try this)

Job Posting | Lawton

Instructor/Assistant Professor

Cameron University,
Lawton, Oklahoma

Salary: $25,000 - $49,999
Status: Full-time
Posted: 07/07/08
Deadline:


Instructor/Assistant Professor
Instructor/Assistant Professor
Cameron University Library

Cameron University Library invites applications for a twelve month, faculty-status, tenure-track ALA/MLS librarian position. The person who fills the position will provide reference and classroom instruction and help maintain the University Archives collection. He or she will participate in collection development, planning and assessment, and scholarship and service activities. Applicants should be able to demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills, knowledge of and interest in digitized and print resources, and ability and willingness to learn new skills and to work both independently and collaboratively. Reference, instruction, archival, and specialized library-related computer software experience are preferred, as is an additional advanced degree. The salary range is $40,000 to $42,000. Review begins immediately, and applications will be accepted until position is filled. Send cover letter, resume, transcripts (official or unofficial), and contact information for three references to Wensheng Wang, Search Committee, Cameron University Library, 2800 W. Gore Blvd., Lawton, OK 73505-6377.

Oklahoma Paranormal News says use your library!

Ok - this was too good not to share. Perhaps in October you can get someone from this group to come present at your libraries!

OKLAHOMA PARANORMAL HOW-TO: HISTORIC RESEARCH
It is very important to learn as much as possible about the history of a location as it is to gather data of a scientific nature. It will be necessary to verify legends, rumors, and commonly held "truths" about a location and the reasons for a possible haunting. Remember, despite common mythology, not everything is on the Internet - some old school research is required to do top quality work.

Keep a notebook for your research trips, record where you found the information (name of the library and location) and the general bibliographic information (author, title, publisher, date, and call number - in case you need to re-check it). The notebook can be a simple spiral bound school notebook or a laptop.

Libraries will generally have information related to local history (old newspapers, local history books, etc.). Some libraries now offer, with a library card, access to genealogical databases to search census records, deeds, newspapers (to a limit). The link lists all Oklahoma Public Libraries. Library cards are usually free in the location to area residents since they are funded by tax dollars (property or other tax bases). Visitors from out of town or state may need to pay to access local databases, but use of other materials is usually free to visitors. Special collections (archives) may have limitations as to use or access....

Bringing Virtual Meetings to Oklahoma (part 1 of 2)

By Sarah Clark

If you read this blog, I’m guessing that you take an interest in library events throughout the state, and are also involved in the wider library community as much as time and finances permit. When I graduated with my MLIS and became an academic librarian, I was excited about getting involved in OK-ACRL, OLA, and any other group interested in empowering and advocating for the library community in Oklahoma. However, I quickly realized that getting involved in committee work was a lot more complicated than ticking a box on a form. My first year out of library school, I briefly got involved with the Local Arrangements committee, but soon found that a trip to Oklahoma City for meetings every month wasn’t feasible considering all of the new responsibilities I had as a young librarian. After that I decided to wait until later in my career to get involved, and didn’t do much beyond attending workshops and meetings of local groups like GC-KIP.

Then, about a year ago, I got an email about a meeting of OK-ACRL’s COIL (community of Oklahoma Instruction Librarians) interest group. However, instead of meeting face-to-face at a central location like Tulsa or Oklahoma City, they were meeting virtually, via a free web conferencing service called VYEW. I was intrigued, logged in, and found that a meeting conducted via text and voice chat could be just as effective and productive as one conducted face to face—And I saved 4 hours of drive time and 7 gallons of gas! I found myself attending meetings often, and before I knew it I was elected to the COIL board as secretary. COIL meetings are best described as “hybrid”—a core group of people who could make it would typically meet in a central location equipped with internet access, and others would “dial in” via the meeting website. As an officer I travel to meetings more often than before, but I still attend virtually as often as I do in person. It also has enabled me to make meetings that I would otherwise have to skip altogether—such as the May meeting, when I was off work, packing boxes and preparing to close on our first house, and attended the meeting in my home office between last-minute calls from our builder!

While I’m not as far off the beaten track as many of my colleagues, traveling to face-to-face committee meetings is a challenge, and I simply can’t get involved in as many things as I’d like. With gas prices the way they are, it’s a struggle to justify the gas and the time off work. COIL gave me the opportunity to get involved where I was, and because of that I’ve been able to make a greater commitment to them than to any other library committee of interest group I’ve been involved with. I quickly became a big advocate of virtual meeting technologies like VYEW—it makes barriers to entry so much lower for young librarians like me who are still focused on building their careers, but also want to get involved at a higher level. That’s why I was so thrilled (and terrified) when OLA President Kathy Latrobe approached me at the OLA conference in April, and said that I had been recommended to her by my OLA Gold “mentor” Barb Phrehm as an expert on virtual meetings. Once I picked myself off the floor, I happily accepted her invitation to present a seminar on virtual meeting technologies to the OLA executive retreat at Lake Texoma in June—as long as I could bring a *real* expert with me! Dr. Latrobe agreed, and former COIL Chair Jason Dupree, who brought web conferencing to the interest group, was more than happy to join forces with me to introduce OLA’s leadership to a new way to conduct meetings. Two months later, I packed up our presentation and my anxieties and headed out of Tulsa for the long drive to the OU Biological Station at Lake Texoma. I hoped that what we had to share would revolutionize how OLA committees did their jobs—or at least revolutionize members’ gas bills!

(To be continued…)

Sarah Clark is a tightwad, a geek, a member of Generation X or Y depending on who’s counting, Access Services and Distance Learning Librarian at Rogers State University, and a contributor to Library Stories. She is married and is owned by one cat.

Quick random notes...

I'm still looking for additional Okie library lovers and librarians to help pass along Okie library news - so if you are interested drop me a line. Already had a couple of familiar and new friends come out of the shadows to offer up help - and I know they will offer some fabulous content.

A couple things to keep you partially interested in the mean time...






SPORE! Creature Creator! - imagine a teen program based on this - forget trick my book truck - try trick a better information professional ;-) (yes that's my critter I made)

We've enabled social bookmarking interface on my library's website. So now if you find an article of interest or an event you are going to attend and want to share with friends you can click a button - login to your favorite social networksite and easily share it. (Scroll to the bottom of the linked page to test it) - Why? Well because I am of the belief libraries don't need to have myspace/facebook/etc pages -- we would get our word out more if we let our patrons easily mash our libraries with their social network. So this is a first step - of many that we hope to make that will allow patrons to incorporate library events/news into their social networks without having to spread our staff time thin in trying to be everywhere at once. (Very short answer to a very complicated question)


Firefox 3 - looooovin' it


I'm going to Anaheim next week to finish up my emerging as a leader. It's been an interesting experience - and we'll be presenting our poster. So if you happen to be around the Hilton - California Pavillion C on June 27, from 3-5pm, stop by and say Hi!


Oh and I'm currently reading Little Brother - so far my recommendation is you should too.

Huzzah! The Library of Patrick Henry.

Hello. This is Benjamin Clark posting. I can usually be found over at The Exile Bibliophile, my blog about book collecting and the adventures in trying to start a book collectors group in Oklahoma City. That's not why I'm here though. I want to invite you to what is shaping up to be a very cool event.

What are you doing June 26th, 7 pm? It's a Thursday. Looking for a FREE, bookish good time to get in the mood for Independence Day?

At the Overholser Mansion, there will be a talk given by one of the leading bibliographers in the US, Dr. Kevin J. Hayes, on the Library of Patrick Henry. The Mind of a Patriot: Patrick Henry and the World of Ideas, Dr. Hayes's newest book will be out in September from the University of Virginia Press.

Dr. Hayes has published bibliographies of the personal libraries of Benjamin Franklin, William Byrd and others. Also, his literary biography is out this month from Oxford University Press: The Road to Monticello: The Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson.

The Overholser Mansion is located at 405 NW 15th St., in Oklahoma City. You can email me at benjaminlclark@gmail.com for any details you'd like. Feel free to invite anyone you think would be well behaved.

This FREE event is hosted by the Bibliophiles of Oklahoma, a club for book collectors, bibliographers, librarians, booksellers, book artists, writers, archivists and curators. All you need is a love of books.


.

Where ya been?

Oh here and there. You?

So I've been thinking. I'm swamped - and I need one of you. One of you loyal hoping readers that still have this little blog in your RSS feed reader. What do you I need you for?

To pick up the torch and carry it forth for me. I've fallen and I'm having a hard time getting out from under all the stuff that fell on top of me.

So which one of you is willing to pick up the OLA blogging torch for me?

Drop me a line and we'll chat.

-- Adri

Territory Tellers host storytelling festival - Seminole OK

Territory Tellers, Oklahoma's storytelling guild will be hosting their second annual storytelling festival in Seminole, OK. June 6-7 join tellers and listeners alike to share stories at Seminole State College. Workshops are available both Friday and Saturday for staff development credit and college credit. Friday night Ghost Tales will be held at the Mekusukey Mission Grounds
with Tim Tingle, Phillip Harjo, Elizabeth Ellis, Darla L'Allier, & Greg Rodgers at 9:30 PM;
join us and gather underneath the stars for “Whispers In The Night”. Seating will be available but feel free to bring your favorite lawn chairs or blankets.
Sponsors for this event include the Seminole Nation and Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma Arts Council, OERB, Kirkpatrick Foundation and Seminole State College. For more information go to the website, www.territorytellers.org

Job Posting | Lawton

Assistant Professor and Head of Collection Services

Cameron University,Lawton, Oklahoma
Salary: Not Specified
Status: Full-time
Posted: 05/15/08
Deadline: 06/30/08

Assistant Professor and Head of Collection Services Head, Collection Services

Cameron University LibraryLawton, Oklahoma Cameron University Library seeks a creative and service-oriented librarian to lead the Library’s Collection Management Department and participate in the Library’s information literacy program. The person who fills the position will lead the library’s acquisitions, cataloging, and serials control operations, examining current processes in light of changing patron needs and new software products, making recommendations for improvement, and implementing approved changes. He or she will work collaboratively with departmental members to set goals, design methods of achieving those goals, and evaluate progress toward meeting those goals. The Head of Collection Services maintains and improves the library’s Innovative Interfaces and Serials Solutions software access. This is a twelve month, faculty status, tenure track position.

ALA accredited MLS and additional advanced degree or substantial progress toward one. Ability to identify, analyze and solve complex problems. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to collaborate with others to establish and achieve goals. Integrated library system experience. Experience with or extensive knowledge of library technical services operations. Supervisory experience. Web page design experience.

Group library instruction teaching experience. Reference desk experience. Record of service to the profession of librarianship. Experience using integrated library system administrative modules. Experience supervising full-time professional librarians.

Salary commensurate with educational background and experience.

Submit letter of application, resume, transcripts (unofficial are acceptable at this point) and names, telephone numbers, mail and email addresses of three references.

The screen process will begin immediately and applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Send application to: Dr. Sherry Young, Search and Screening Committee (F182), Cameron University, 2800 West Gore Boulevard, Lawton, OK 73505-6377.

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.