Library Grace

Signing Off

2009-11-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

With great regret, I'm bring Library Grace to an end. It has been inspiring and enjoyable to comment on library management and the trends and issues in the library world. It has meant so much to communicate with a few readers and to encourage and mentor other librarians and future librarians.

Hopefully at another date I can take up Library Grace again. Until that time, I'll be writing a column for Caring Kids and Communities, a local publication in southern Orange County, California.

Wish you all well and much success and happiness in your library careers and library experiences. Libraries have been very good to me and provided a very rewarding and fulfilling career these last 32 years.

Back to School

2009-09-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

School has started. It is a little quieter in the mornings, but the library is jam packed after school. It looks like it will be a very busy school year. The usual runs on titles for reading lists is well underway. We have had one school visit and this is only the second week of the school year.

Along with the school rush goes keeping up with the book displays. It seems all our children's book displays are depleted as soon as they are stocked. We are working on ways to maintain this as it is a good indication of greater circulation.

Programming for the fall is planned and Storytimes start up again this week. We are very fortunate to be able to continue with Spanish Storytime this semester. Other programming will include monthly after school programs and a special program from the American Lung Association, Asthma 101 in October.

New this semester is the El Toro Library Teen Advisory Board. These enthusiastic teens have had their first meeting. The Board's first project is Teen Read Week coming in October, the 18th through the 24th.

It looks to be a very busy school year. The staff is excited. We have greater interest and participation from kids, teens and parents. We are looking for new ways to better serve with more programs and new materials. Special thanks to the Friends of the El Toro Library who make all this possible.

Bookless Libraries???

2009-09-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

During the last week I read a couple of articles about bookless libraries. And the prospect is a little frightening and even threatening. I consider myself old school. I love dusty books and the adventure waiting between the covers of every one. A world without books is an impossibility that I can neither imagine nor fathom.

Yes, I understand about Library 2.0 and try to learn something technical or electronic daily. Trends in society are moving to rely on technology more and more. There are so many options and choices. A book can be read in several print forms, or many electronic forms, and it can be listened to in several forms. I would not think of eliminating any of these forms, so why eliminate books?

The publishing industry is struggling. Authors are releasing their work electronically with some never making it into print form. The world is changing, but does it have to leave books behind? I read from electronic devices everyday. I would be lost without my computers at home and work. I would be just as lost without books.

Libraries have always been about change. We are continually growing and changing. Trends come and some stay, some don't. One of the best things about libraries is the way they adopt the new, then adapt it to the old.

It doesn't have to either/or when it comes to books and electronics. There is plenty of room for both. There are times we prefer to read books and other times when reading from an electronic device is preferred or more convenient. At least we have a choice. Isn't this what freedom is? Wouldn't bookless libraries take some of that freedom away?

Take care of yourself

2009-08-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

This has been a very hectic summer. We have been short staff and everyone seemed stretched to the limit. As usual, I've neglected to to make sure that I had enough time off to rest and recuperate. This is so important as a leader, a supervisor or manager, we often wear all three hats.

Your staff looks to you for direction. It is imperative that you, as their supervisor are at your best -- calm, cool and collected. It's guaranteed that if you are stressed and worn out, your staff will be too. Mistakes increase. Customer service will not be optimal. The list can go on and on.

I remember attending some leadership workshop long ago that suggested that we treat ourselves to a day trip once a month, a long weekend away from home once a few months and vacations twice a year. At the time that sounded like a lot of time off, but I have come to see that all this time off is essential to your mental health. You come back to work revitalized, refreshed and ready to clear for action. You are able to make clear decisions and find solutions to the endless little problems that pop up.

For some reason, I am always happy to give time off to staff, but neglect myself. It's common for me to step in to fill in a scheduling gap and the next thing I know I'm working six days in a row or as in this month three Saturdays in a row. I'm returning after a week off and I'm amazed in the difference in my clarity and decisiveness.

It is more than doing something nice fore yourself. As a leader you owe it to your staff to be at your best for them, to direct and shape the culture of your library. You can only do that with the proper amount of rest and relaxation. Take time to reflect on the direction you are headed, to fine tune your means of transportation there, and celebrate the accomplishments along the way.

Dog Days of Summer

2009-08-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

We are in the last stretch of the Summer Reading Program. We have doubled enrollment this year and I'm anxious to see if the number completing the Summer Reading Program has increased as well. We have completed all the special programming for this year and are still doing well with supplies and prizes.

Staff is a little weary and ready for the quieter, slower last few weeks of summer. There have been a rash of much deserved vacation requests. We are already looking in to planning programming for the fall. Storytimes will be starting up before we know it.

Overall it has been a very productive and successful summer. The Summer Reading Programs at all levels saw greater participation and excitement. We were able to provide more special programs this year through the generosity of our Friends Group. Library attendance is up, as is circulation and new library card applications. El Toro Library has been bustling with activity.

Calm in the Storm

2009-07-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

It seems that there is a short calm in the storm as we pass the halfway mark for the Summer Reading Program. The flurry of activity at the beginning as everyone rushes to register, children, teens and adults, has subsided.

The children's program, Home Run Readers, exceeded last years enrollment in the middle of the third week. We have an estimated 800-900 enrolled, the highest in seven years. Sponsors and donors have been very generous and we have plenty of incentives to encourage reading through the summer.

Both the Teen and children's programs are partnered with the Angels baseball team and the theme has been very popular. The Angels have been very generous, provide great incentives, beach mats, bobble heads, batting helmets, salsa dishes, clocks, backpacks in the shape of a catcher's chest pad, growth charts, notebooks and more. the grand prize is tickets for four to a special Home Run Readers game. One lucky winner will get to say. "Play Ball" to open the game.

Special programs have also had full attendance. We have had to turn a few kids away each week. Our community room has an occupancy of 116, so we restrict admittance to children ages 4-12. All the programs have been great and I can only praise the excellent job of our children's librarian and her volunteers.

The Teen program has also exceeded expectations. We have doubled last years enrollment with hope of reaching 100 enrolled by the close of the program. The teens have been invaluable volunteers as well. It seems that we have older, more responsible teen volunteers this year. This has helped make this year Summer Reading Program run smoothly and more efficiently.

The adult program, our third year, has tried a new approach. It's entitled Scrabble Mania and adults enrolling in the program can read to earn chances in the drawing, register for to play Scrabble for chances for the drawing or do both. This has been our most successful adult program yet. Attendance at the Scrabble games started out low, but everyone was encouraged to bring a friend and it has grown steadily with each program. The Friends of the Library purchased prizes, a Scrabble mug, Scrabble book bag, Scrabble cap, Scrabble books and the grand prize a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble. Kudos to our adult librarian and his very unique theme this year.

Opportunities with Summer Reading Programs

2009-06-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

What does the annual Summer Reading Program mean to the Library?
This is an opportunity to for programming to show what the library has. It brings non-library users in the the library for free programming. Parents often have forgotten the value of free things to do with the kids. Take this opportunity to remind them. Once in the door, we have an opportunity to show them other services and materials of interest.
This is an opportunity to win new library users through exceptional customer service. While most libraries are very busy during this time of year, we can take advantage of higher attendance to allow the public to see just what they get with their tax dollars. It is also an opportunity to work with our staffs to provide them with scripts and scenarios to use. It is vital that we, as managers, make sure our staff understands the level of customer service that we require of them.
This is an opportunity to outreach to the community, people, schools and businesses. It's an opportunity to partnership with other government agencies. It's an opportunity to create partnerships that can be useful for both parties, not just during the summer, but throughout the year.
This is an opportunity to market the library. We are able to make library services known in the community, schools and business. Everyone is for reading and giving kids a help up to better education. Just about everyone would like to be associated with these efforts. Talk about what the Friends of the Library do. Talk about what a difference the library makes not only in the community, but also in individual lives. Talk about the library to everyone and everywhere.
There are endless opportunities I won't take time to mention here. The first to come to mind are opportunities to promote reading, career opportunities, volunteer and community service opportunities, but there are many, many more. During the hustle and bustle of this busy time of the year, take time to think of all these opportunities at your finger tips and how you can take better advantage of them. Remind you staff, particularly after the most hectic days, that they make a difference each and every day. It never hurts to let the staff know that you appreciate their hard work with moral boosters. We had a staff ice cream social to kick off the Summer Reading Program and we'll have another moral booster to celebrate the end of the Summer Reading program.

Maintain a Positive Attitude

2009-06-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

With the economy in sad shape, library use has increased around the country. It's good that people are remembering and discovering the resources available at the library. With all this busy activity, heavier workload, it is easy to forget the real reason we are here in the library. We are here to serve.

Dealing with stressed and frustrated people takes patience and time. Just about every time we work through that frustration to get to the real need and hopefully meet that need, it is well worth the effort. We win another person sold on the value of the library. We get the satisfaction of a job well done. We learn new tools for our customer service tool box. Everyone gains and wins from the experience.

After attending a library customer service workshop with Susan Berk, I took time to think about what sets me off and to think of ways to respond without letting my emotions and feelings get in the way. It didn't take much time to think back about some customer encounters that I wished had gone differently. I went over the scenarios and thought of some scripts. Since that time, I had a few difficult encounters, but I was able to diffuse the situation and I went way less stress and frustrated myself.

Another thing I tell my staff is to work, really work, at maintaining a positive perspective. We are not just locating a book for someone or helping a patron set up an email account, we are making a difference. We open a new world to that someone, or a new career to the patron. There are endless possibilities in the library and we are opening up those possibilities to everyone who walks through our doors. For every difficult patron you may have, there are a hundred that walked away happy. You found the book someone was looking for. You were able to find that difficult to find statistic for someone else. You may just be the smiling face that asked someone to have a nice afternoon that turned his or her lonely day into something a less lonely.

Book Groups and Book Talks

2009-05-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

Last week we completed our annual book talk at a local retirement home. My librarians and I cover anywhere from 6 to 9 books, both fiction and non-fiction, mostly new releases. It has stretched me to look at titles and genre that I would not normally be reading. Last year I covered three fiction titles, this year I covered one fiction and two non-fiction.

The hardest part of the preparation is picking the titles. I try to pick the titles early and to read as much of the book as time allows. Background research includes the author and reviews of the book. I also look for special features of interest in the book. I reviewed Cokie Roberts new book, Ladies of Liberty. She wrote the book to record history in the words of those who lived it. She did extensive research from surviving letters from the wives of the presidents and prominent families of the period. One point of interest was a collection of recipes in the back that included home remedies, as well as, food recipes. I'm already thinking about next year's titles.

We also have a great Book Club at the El Toro Library. Brian, my adult services librarian and Mary one of our Librarian Assistants do a fantastic job. Brian has a book club wiki that allows members to keep up with the reading list and to continue the book discussion in chat format. He also puts out a monthly announcement of new titles that are soon to arrive at the library. Mary is instrumental in adding fun touches. When the Book Club read Animal,Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver, Mary made the zucchini chocolate chip cookie recipe from the book and Brian brought each member an heirloom tomato plant that he grew from seed himself.

Friends Appreciation

2009-05-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

Every library depends on its Friends group, and when you stop to think about it, we would not be able to get along without them. The Friends of the El Toro Library are a great example. They are a productive, prosperous group of hard working volunteers that provide a large percentage of our materials (books, audio books in the various forms, periodical subscriptions, and all forms of audiovisual materials include DVDs); just about all our programming, including refreshments and incentives; and manage to throw in some much-needed extras like electrical wiring to the study carrels to provide greater WiFi access.

Friends are dedicated. They are hard working. They make a huge difference to the library and the community they serve. Children's programming would be very bleak without the generous donations for the Friends. And they manage to do these superhuman feats by selling books for quarters and dollars. It is truly amazing.

Thank you just doesn't seem enough. So I have been trying to think of ways to show our appreciation for their unending generosity, dedication and hard work. I'm on a quest to find something unique and personal. The usual thank you, coffee cup or certificate just won't do. Most of them volunteer in many organization and have many cups and certificates. I'd like to do something unexpected and memorable. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Ever Expanding, Technically

2009-04-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, for the first time, we reached our WiFi capacity. The Friends of the Library had all our study carrels wired for electricity, adding 14 new locations for laptops. We expected this to happen, but it came a little sooner than expected. So I have started the wheels going to remedy this problem. We are also asking the FOL for a branch laptop and projector. This will improve programming and meetings. It seems the more we do to improve our technology services, the more we still need to do. We would be lost without the generosity of our Friends of the El Toro Library. The community would be lost.

Interviews are going very well. It seems we have more and more good to great candidates. Part of me wishes we can give every candidate a job, but we can't. It makes the decision hard. With the quality of candidates so high, any decision would be a good one.

Stats and library card applications continue to rise. I'm expecting a record Summer Reading Program this year, too.

Playing Catch Up

2009-04-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

It has been extremely busy since the first of the year. I'm anxious to see how our stats have increased. I'm told we have had a rush on new library card applications. The staff has been busy with training our new part-time Library Clerk and working with an intern. We will be interviewing for another extra help (substitute) Library Assistant next week and will interview for three open extra help Library Clerks very soon. So we have been busy with this.

We have also had some trainings on customer service for all the staff. This has meant more time on the service desks for the professionals. (This is a good thing.) I have also been training in webpage management and PowerPoint, and there are our usual monthly meetings. We had a very successful third Literary Orange at our new annual location at UC Irvine. Laguna Woods celebrated their 10th anniversary of being a city. I also manage our Laguna Woods branch and we participated two events. There have been several personnel reviews due.

All these add up to my time being stretched very thinly. It seems like I have been playing catch up too much in the last month or so. These times are good for taking a few minutes to realign your priorities. This accomplished, the backlog of reports and projects is dwindling. There is some light at the end o the tunnel.

Technology training

2009-03-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

Training with new technology is an ever ongoing process in the library. OC Public Libraries has a new website designed to allow each branch some control over the content. So I will be learning to manage a webpage. It is a little daunting, but I'll rise to the challenge. At this point I'm not sure what I'm doing, but this will pass and I look forward to the new creative venue to promote the library.

Over the next few months we will also be learning to use Training Partners. This is a means for registering and recording trainings, classes, seminars and even webinars. It not only allows us to register for County training, but also allows us to record continuing education from all resources, including college classes and seminars, workshops, and webinars both those we in which we participated or viewed.

Also on my training schedule is learning PowerPoint. Over the last year we have had several presentations at the library. I've taken two classes and really like the creativity of PowerPoint. I plan to use it for all the general staff meetings. We will be have more community service programs like selling on eBay and online job searching. With PowerPoint we can do more in house programs. Now we need to get a new laptop and projector for those upcoming presentations and programs.

The Economy and Libraries

2009-03-07T15:02:00.001-08:00

It has been extremely busy since the first of the year. Libraries across the nation have reported a sharp rise in library attendance and use of library services. Many coreelate the hard economic times and the rise in the unemployment figures to the increased demand for library services. Why rent movies when you can check them out from the library for free. Why buy books that you are unlikely to read again, when you can borrow them from the library at no or little cost. Looking for something free to do with the kids, check out what is going on at the library. Library managers are stretching their budgets and staff to cover this increased demand.

While all this is happening inside library buildings, city, county and state administrators are facing large budget deficits and demand to cut spending. This usually translate into cutting services and costing jobs. Yet in the library, we are witnessing much higher attendance, circulation and demand for services. It is hard to find a better value for our tax dollars.

Librarians are very creative, we rise to the challenge and we will weather this, too. It is time for evaluating our resources, deciding what services are important for this current situation, and making some long range plans for the coming years. All the economic indicators say this crises will not be passing by quickly. This is time to trim away the dead limbs, the outdated services and practices and really step into the 21st century. I look at this hard time as a time for transitions, a time to get fit and trim and into peak running condition.

Over the next few weeks I'm planning to spend quite a bit of time thinking. Thinking about what is really important to the people using the El Toro Library. Thinking about where we should be in five or ten years. Thinking about how this can be accomplished. Thinking about engaging the community into greater support for library services. This is the challenge.

Staying Connected @Your Library

2009-02-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

Libraries have entered the Twenty-first century and technology is at the apex. It has entered all our lives with a new impetus. Later this year all the study carrels will be wired for electricity making access WiFi easier. Last fall we implemented a Teen Twitter account to reach teens with Twitter messages about library events and new materials of interest to Teens. The Book Club has a wiki for its members to keep with the reading list and even chat. Last year we upgraded to a new digital phone system. We are expecting a new website, enabling us to be able to reach more people, quickly and timely.

We are helping people to stay connected in other ways, too. We offered programs on selling on eBay and a program on job searching online is coming in March. We had a highly successful Spanish Storytime in January. The FOL have generously contributed to the OCPL eAudiobook collections, supported Reader’s Rally and Literary Orange.

What does all this mean to you, the library user? It means that there are more options for you. The first word that pops into your mind on hearing the word library – is books. But libraries are much more than books. We see libraries becoming more of a community center than ever before. We are growing to include many new formats in addition to the printed word. All this is possible through you, the Friends of the El Toro Library, and your diligent efforts. You have made a tremendous difference, not only in our library but in the community. Thank you just doesn’t seem enough when you provide endless possibilities for so many.

With great sadness we bid farewell to Bob Geiss as he steps down as treasurer. Mary FitzGerald has been an institution with the Friends. She has been president since I came to the library in 1994. Fortunately, she will still be volunteering in the bookstore and we can look forward to seeing her each week. We also bid farewell to Irene Bauer as membership chairperson and thank her for her willingness to serve. 2009 has started as year of change and transition. But out of this change will come new growth. The library staff and I wish the very best to Mary, Bob and Irene in all they do.

Grace M. Barnes
Senior Branch Librarian
El Toro Library

This is an article I wrote for the Bookish Bull the newsletter for the Friends of the El Toro Library.

Reader's Rally at El Toro Library

2009-01-26T12:03:00.001-08:00

Reader's Rally at OC Public Libraries is in its third year. Each year it has gone through transformations and improvements. It began as an incentive for Orange County residents to visit a different branch of the OC Public libraries. With the high cost of gasoline and current economic woes, Reader's Rally has transformed into an open house at each branch. For a two week period beginning, February 1st and ending February 14th, you are encouraged to visit your local branch of OC Public Libraries. During the two weeks, anyone may participate in the trivia contest. Prizes will vary at the individual branches, some prizes are offered through the generousity of Friends of the Library Groups. We have a limited number of refrierator magnets with library information, braclet UBS drives for the drawing winners for each branch, and each branch will produce a READ Poster featuring the grand winner.

Each branch may choose a day during the two week period of Reader's Rally to have Open House Celebrations. AT El Toro we will be celebrating this on February 5th. A craft table will be available for kids through out the day. Balloons will be given out while supplies last. Between 2:00 and 4:00 pm we will have a reception in the comunity room with refreshments. And at 7:00 pm we will have a family program, featuring Abbit the Average, a comedy, magic and variety show for the whole family.

I'm aleardy making plans for next year.

Mentoring

2008-12-27T11:58:00.000-08:00

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is to give back to the profession that has been so good to me. Over the years, I've talked to several people, hired a few, who were thinking about going back to school for an MLIS. I've helped train both adult and children's librarians.

My primary advice to anyone thinking about entering this profession is to get experience in the library, any experience. The degree is very important, but library experience is just as important. Although any public service experience is valuable, library experience, especially while attending library school, is critical. It provides a means to implement and reinforce what is learned in library school. And in my opinion, the lack of library experience is the main obstacle new graduates face when entering the job market.

It is the responsibility of all librarians to help promote and develop the profession, to pass on the tools of the trade, and to share the wisdom that comes with experience. This does not mean that we need to adhere to the old ways of doing things. Just the contrary, we need to continue to develop and adapt to new ideas and perspectives. This is what keeps libraries alive. Out of these new ideas, come great revelation and change.

If you stop to think about it, the very idea of a free library was a dangerous idea. Many thought the masses would not be able to grasp the value of knowledge and books. Some thought that educating the masses would be the downfall of society. We are still here. The masses did learn the value of knowledge and books and society hasn't fallen, yet. Libraries have been instrumental in education, and are still so today. We are seeing a rise in library use as economic difficulties rise.

As a member of this profession for 32 years, I've seen the end of the card catalog, the implementation of computer into every aspect of libraries, and will probably be here for the end of the Dewey Decimal System. All these changes were or will be faced with great anxiety, but each one brought libraries to newer heights. Each has been more beneficial that we ever imagined. Libraries have always been on the cutting edge, each year brings change and growth. As a mentor it is extremely important to listen to the new ideas of the newest generation of librarians. Society and technology change, so do libraries. We as librarians need to continue to grow and change, too. Mentoring is a two way street. Both the mentor and the mentoree learn and grow from each other.

Going Green

2008-12-08T14:55:00.000-08:00

The new buzz word in libraries is "Green." With the current economic crises in the world economy, Going Green makes even more sense. It's one of the cost effective things we can do in the library, as well as, at home. I just heard on the news today that the price per pound of recycled items has dropped drastically from last year. This may be due to the greater interest in recycling and I expect will continue to drop as the amount of recyling increases.

At the El Toro Library we have recently partnered with with city of Lake Forest to recycle used batteries. The staff is collecting bottles and cans for recycling. We are looking into recycling paper. There are several options on this. I haven't explored all of them or worked out the feasiblity. Do we want to recycle office paper, cardboard, magazines and phonebooks, hardcover books or all of them or part of them? Do we go with the county waste management services, look into private services or check into local services at the college or other institutions? Can we do this for free or how much are we willing to send? There are many options when it comes to paper and I feel that the amount of waste paper generated will steadily decrease during the coming decade.

I would like to have a Green Officer at the branch. This is a voluntary position, like a safety officer, responsible for monitoring our recycling efforts and education or assisting the public in their Green efforts. This officer would be responsible for displays in the library on Going Green, recycling, and conservation. Fliers, handouts, and bookmarks on Going Green tips can be created to give away in the library that would benefit people interested in doing more at home. The scope could be enlarged to include bibliographies and webographies, and even programming and speakers.

Much can be done with Going Green and there is much yet to do. It's time that we think a little more about what we are doing and how we can be more Green doing it. All of us can start with one small thing. It the small things that add up, just like a drop in the bucket will added up to a full bucket one drop at a time.

Holiday Morale Boosters

2008-11-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

As we enter into the holiday season, it is time to think about ways to acknowledge the staff, both individually and collectively. I like to take time to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year, which has been full of major changes at the El Toro and Laguna Woods branches. Both branches have had a change of command and new direction. We have implemented a new digital phone system. We had two major renovations, the repairing of a damaged wall and a new HVAC system. By the end of the year we will have trained eight extra help staff and two new staff members at El Toro and trained three staff members in procedures at Laguna Woods. We cross trained one staff member in clerical duties. The Laguna Woods Branch has a new Friends of the Library. We implemented a rotation between the El Toro staff and Laguna Woods staff. This gives the Laguna Woods staff time to work on back up duties and projects and the El Toro staff can brush up on procedures at the Laguna Woods Branch.

Orange County is currently going through reorganization and OC Public Libraries is now part of OC Community Resources. This has not directly affected the public, but there has been a rearranging of staff between the four departments of OC Community Resources, OC Parks, OC Community Resources, OC Animal Care and OC Public Libraries. It will take some time to settle into the changes.

If I have to choose one word to sum up 2008, it would be CHANGE. Change is good. Change is necessary to life. Anything living is constantly growing and changing. Change is life. If something is not changing, it is not living. OC Public Libraries is a living, growing organization, progressive in technology and library services. But I digress. Our staff has weathered these changes and maintained a high standard of service.

So how do I acknowledge this? I usually take the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas to ponder the contributions of each staff member. I look over personnel files and make notes to be included in future personnel reviews. As we near the holiday season, I make out a Christmas or Hanukkah card with a personal note of appreciation for each person, including the library pages. These are given out at the annual Holiday Breakfast. When I can I include a gift with the card. I like to make gifts usually from one of my hobbies, cooking, gardening and sewing. Each year I can the fruits of my garden and I also enjoy making jams and jelly. But the gift can just as easily be a gift certificate or movie pass tucked into the card. The important thing is to recognize and acknowledge what each of us has contributed.

It is extremely important for team building to spend some recreational time together away from work. I try to have a holiday staff party at my home every other year. I will try to do this, unless another staff member would like to host, this year. We also have the holiday breakfast before work. And I try to include an outing either dinner or the theater or concert at some other time of the year. These are optional and not mandatory in any way. Usually if a staff member is hesitant to participate, the glowing reviews of the participating staff is encouragement for the next event.

These are little things, but they knit the staff together. I try to get staff participation in planning and executing these functions from the smallest potluck or farewell to the larger extracurricular activities. We have come together as a team this year.

Update at El Toro

2008-11-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

The last few months have been very busy with interviewing and training personnel. Two of my favorite things about my job are giving someone a job and giving someone a raise. Even interviewing and making a decision on who to hire is enjoyable. As one of the extra help coordinators, the staff at El Toro has been busy hiring and training two new extra help Library Assistants and two new extra help Library Clerks. Next month we will assist in training one more extra help Library Assistant and will be interviewing for an open regular part time Library Clerk for the El Toro Library.

It is never ending, one thing after another here. But I like it that way. We are getting ready to do more shelf reading and weeding, I have several presentations coming up, two in October and one in November. There is always something new to learn or a skill to hone. This is why I have been in this profession for nearly 32 years.

There are two committee on which I sit. The Volunteer Committee is in the process of updating the Volunteer Manual brining it into the computer age. This is a great learning experience, my first policy and procedure committee work. The other committee is the Reader's Rally Committee. Going into its third year, Reader's Rally is a system wide open house with each branch choosing a day during the two week period to hold special events. There are chances to win prizes at the branch level and countywide.

The coming months will be even busier with the holidays coming up. It is hard to believe that nearly a year has already come and gone. It has been a great year at El Toro. Many challenges have been met and conquered and I'm looking forward to what 2009 has to offer.

Staff Shelf Reading Sweepstakes Completed

2008-08-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

We completed the shelf reading in six weeks, a record. Normally it would have taken three months to completed what was done in six weeks. The incentive was a good one and inspired several of the staff to shelf read when they would have used the time on other nonessential tasks. Others were not motivated to increase their shelf reading, but all but one participated. And I feel that it was a success. I tried to motivate the staff and make an uninteresting but necessary task more appealing. It worked in most respects.

Looking back at the Fish! concepts. I chose the attitude to tackle an unpleasant task. The El Toro Library is a very busy branch. It is easy to get caught up in the pressing business of the day. We needed to let our hair down and introduce some fun in the day. I provided a game with incentive.

We played the Sweepstakes game. One staff member did 28 hours of shelf reading. Second highest amount of hours was 19. The number of hours dropped drastically after that to 12 and 9. Most of the the staff did 7-5 hours. A few did one hour and only one person did not participate.

I was present shelf reading along with the staff, putting in 6 hours. It was difficult for me to get these hours in, but I made the effort to make sure the staff realized that I was not asking them to do anything I would not do. It also showed them that I thought this was important.

To make their day, I treated the entire staff to a sandwich luncheon, with homemade lemonade and a chocolate bundt cake. I asked the other department heads to bring fruit, chips and salad. So everyone had a nice lunch. Before leaving for the day I commended the staff on a job well done and announced the winners of the Sweepstakes. The grand prize winner choose a $50 gift certificate to JoAnn's. I awarded two prizes for the most hours. Each received a coupon for a box of See's chocolate. And I surprised two of them with a third prize of a $10 gift certificate to Golden Spoon Yogurt for the next most hours. The staff was not expecting a third prize.

Results: The staff is more connected. We accomplished the task in record time. It gave staff a break from the regular routine. It added a little fun and motivation. From a supervisory and managerial perspective: It is going to be hard to be as creative for future projects, but I'm confident that this can be accomplished. It is my deepest wish to make the El Toro Library a better place to be both for patrons and staff.

Correction

2008-07-07T15:12:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Mike for the correct title of the video "Fish!". I have corrected he posting for July 3rd.

Could shelf reading ever be fun?

2008-07-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

Many people have the old stuffy misconception of what a library is. They picture a librarian named Marion with a her hair in a bun and pencil behind her ear shushing everyone. This is such and ancient concept and far from our libraries today. It is often hard to find a quiet spot to concentrate. Throughout the day there is a steady stream of people, people of all sorts with many different reasons for coming to the library.

Our goal is to have something for everyone. One of my goals is to make each person's visit more than a pleasant one. There should be fun and adventure in there, too. In order to make visitors to the library happy, we first must have happy staff. All levels of library employees should be happy to be here and happy to serve the public.

So how do we do that? Fun is a very personal thing. What is fun to one person, may not be fun at all to the next person. While pondering some ways to boost staff morale and to lighten up the atmosphere, I remembered a great video called "Fish!" about the famous Pike Place Fish Market. The staff at the market are all comedians and do all kinds of whacky and entertaining things. Fish are tossed around, fish sing, fish do amazing things. Tourists come from around the world go to see the fish antics at the market.

We can't toss around books at the library, it's too dangerous. We can't create too much of a ruckus since people are reading and studying. We can make a tedious task more fun. Everyone likes to win. How about a self reading contest complete with a great prize? Thus the Staff Shelf Reading Sweepstakes was born.

After walking through the collection, I divided the collection into small segments that could be shelf read in an hour or two. We concentrated on just non-fiction for this segment of the sweepstakes. Then I made a stack of old index cards into sweepstakes tickets by marking one segment on each ticket. The staff was told that this was entirely optional. I would like everyone to do at least one ticket, but if we all did three the job would be done. They can do as much as they want until the tickets are gone. Each person was handed a ticket and asked to shelf read that segment. When it was completed, sign it, turn it in and get another ticket. I told them that I would be spot checking. When all the tickets are in there will be a drawing for the prize. They were told that there regular duties can't be neglected, so I have offered to cover desk time up to 20 minutes to allow, especially the part time, staff to have some time to shelf read without backing up regular duties.

We are still working on this and I hope to have the non-fiction completed in a week or two. You may be asking so what is the prize? The prize is a $50 gift certificate of the winner's choice. This will be donated by me, so no funds from any agency or organization will be used. I look at it as a gift of appreciation to a staff that works hard. There will be a few surprise prizes, too, like one for the person who has shelf read the most. I may come up with others before the project is completed.

We will see if shelf reading can be fun.

Library Link of the Day

2008-06-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

After moving to South County, I learned about Library Link of the Day. It has been a great source of professional literature and interesting topics to think about. Each day I find in my email inbox an article from a worldwide professional journal or an article about libraries or of interest to librarians from another resource. They range from library architecture, to innovative services, to cutting edge technology. All are interesting and thought provoking.

Library Link of the Day can be accessed at http://www.tk421.net/librarylink or find it by googling Library Link of the Day. It just takes a few minutes out of your day and provides cutting edge information that can really vitalize service in your library.

One recent article that really hit home was and article from the May 31, 2008 Wall Street Journal, by Luc Sante called "The Book Collection the Devoured My Life." It's located at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121217626838633437.html Each of our personal book collections, our personal libraries, are a reflection of our lives and even stages in our lives. The same could be said of all library collections, as well. Each library has its own special personality. Sante mentions that book collections are living reflections of us. Check out his article, it's one of the best I've read in a long time. Check out Library Link of Day, too. It has been one of my great discoveries this year.

Juggling Pots

2008-05-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm more familiar with my new library, I have spent several weeks evaluating all the pots that I juggle through the month. Using the SWOT method, I've identified ten pots (areas of management.) At first it seemed that there were many more than ten, but after looking at each one, some could be grouped with others.

1. Customer service includes adult services, children's services, service to teens, circulation, programming and customer service development and continuing education.

2. Staff and personnel issues includes personnel reviews, meetings, communication, scheduling, safety training, hiring and training, and continuing education.

3. Outreach to our service area includes publicizing the library, outreach to the community, outreach to schools, outreach to government, use and scheduling of the community room, and outreach to organizations like Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club.

4. Friends of the Library includes meetings, maintenance of the bookstore, and working with them to promote books, reading and the library.

5. Managing our satellite branch at Laguna Woods. This is small technology branch and I have been working with the city of Laguna Woods to outreach to the community, begin to build a Friends of the Library, programming, collection development, and to begin working on a new facility that would allow the branch to grow in a separate branch that can fully serve the needs of the its community.

6. Maintaining the building and facility of the El Toro Library. This includes regular building inspections, making sure needed repairs and maintenance are completed, maintaining the landscaping, making sure the parking lot is good shape, requesting the FOL to make purchases to enhance the use of the building, and security.

7. Collection Development includes, building the collection, weeding the collection, maintaining the collection (Cleaning, mending and labeling), location and maintenance of special collections, and shelf reading.

8. Professional Development includes professional literature, keeping up with system changes and databases offer at OCPL, learning our new phone system, keeping up with other technologies as they apply to the library (Web 2.0 & Library 2.0), attending training and workshops, participation in system wide committees, working on my personnel review requirements, working on outreach, programming and publicity, and writing articles to promote the library, and eventual publishing professional papers.

9. Budgets, includes monitoring several budgets and payroll, working on ways to conserve money when needed and to spend money when there is some to spend. These budgets are materials, supplies and extra help (substitute staff.) Also included are all money handling at the branch and payroll.

10. Reports are required from various departments, some are my responsibility, but it my job to make sure these reports are completed and submitted on time. These include the Branch Managers Monthly report, mileage claim forms for the staff, monthly statistical reports, janitorial inspections, safety inspections, training log and donation log, and our new Customer Care reporting.

Literary Orange is here

2008-04-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

The second annual Litery Orange is this weekend, April 5th. This is the large author festival sponsored by the OC Public Libraries in partnership with the Univeristy of California at Irvine and the California Center for the Book. It is a great experience. This year keynote speakers are Elizabeth George and Janet Fitch. 36 authors and people in the industry will be speaking. Please check out the website by going to www.ocpl.org and click on the Literary Orange logo.

I apoolgize for the long absence. Since my last posting, I have transfered to a larger branch in the OC Public Libraries. I am back home at the El Toro Library. The El Toro library is much bigger and busier that the Mesa Verde Library. Although the library and staff are very familiar to me, it has taken some time to slip into the routine of the branch. In the next few weeks, I plan to update my personal information and post new picutres of the library.

What now?

2007-10-23T15:16:00.000-07:00

Now that the 23 Things challenge is completed and I've been bitten by the blogging bug, the question arises as to how to use my blog. There are many possiblities. There are many interests I'd like to explore.

It definitely will be library oriented, but there are so many areas of library science to choose from. Collection building has been one of my careerlong interests, library management issues for public libraries is an ongoing learning project, and there is always the day to day trials and tribulations of the exciting library environment. It is never, ever boring at the library and I can say that after 30 years in the field. I would like this blog to be useful and helpful to others. It should be worthwhile.

Currently, I'm reading and studying about blogs, Blogger and possible uses of blogs for libraries. I have discussed this with my librarians and we are planning to launch a branch blog around the first of year. Hopefully, our enthusiasm will be contaigeous and most of the staff will be interested in working on the blog in some aspect.

Current reading:

Blogging and RSS: A Librarian's Guide, by Micheal P. Sauers
Blogging in a snap, by Julie C. Meloni
The Rough Guide to Blogging, by Jonathan Yang

The Challenge Completed!

2007-10-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Thursday night I coached a staff member in starting a blog. Leticia was amazed at how easy it is to get started. We discussed establishing her profile and embellishments like photos and labels. The most fun with this exercise was seeing the enthusiasm become contaigous. Leticia is one of our bilingual staff members and she has been instrumental in extending and profecting our service to the Latino community. She is planning to use her blog to aid in this crucial area of library service. She made me very proud. #22 is completed.

The 23 Things Challenge has been very time consumming. It has opened new dialog between the professional staff. Our enthusiasm has trickled down to other staff. One Library Assistant (LA) and our Head Clerk have taken a Web.20 class provided through the training department at Orange County Public Library. Other staff have asked more questions about Web 2.0 and some of the 23 Things. I think this will be the buzz at our branch for many months. The LAs have been more curious about the Challenge and I expect most of them will be checking out the Challenge list and trying some of the 23 Things on their own.

Personally, I feel my technological knowledge had grown by leaps and bounds. There have been many, many things I have wanted to learn or explore on the computer and Internet. Committing to the Challenge has proded me to take steps in this area. I have even had my neice teach me how to text message. I don't really have a need to text message or I would have done it sooner, but it is something I needed to know and understand. I'm learing about digital photography and some of the Challenge has stirred me a little further in this area. The more I learn, the more I need to learn, the more I will continue to learn. #23 is complete.

Home Stretch

2007-10-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

Today I successfully moved my picture to the profile. This was a great accomplishment, since I have been trying to do this for three weeks. I worked with image generators a little with the same frustration. I need to find some written directions to work with. And I posted the picture of the library on GoogleMaps. So #19 is completed. The picture is not visible yet. I understand that it takes several days before it is available. I would like to get #10 completed today and maybe #22.

Finishing up

2007-10-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

Over the last few days I have worked on #19. I really liked Google.Maps. I usually use Yahoo.Maps, but since they launched a new version have really struggled with it. Google.Maps is much more user friendly, like Yahoo used to be. I have made the switch. The only thing that remains to be done on #19 is add the picture of my library. The picture is too large to insert, so I need to crop it and insert it.

#20 was fairly easy. I have viewed videos on YouTube before. There was a contest, I love my Library. I viewed the five finalists and voted. Then I spent some time locating some videos that I remembered from watching network news. They were relatively easy to find. #20 is completed.

#21 I was very surprised to see that Yahoo Podcast will be ending at the end of October. I was not able to navigate it without opening an account. I didn't see the point of opening one, so I googled podcasts. I read the Wikipedia article on podcasting. Then I googled video sharing and found the DVGuru at www.dvguru.com. There was a very good article on the ten top video sharing servers. You can go to the article for the sites at http://www.dvguru.com/2006/04/07/ten-video-sharing-services-compared/. I checked out Social and Vimeo from this list. I also found www.podcastalley.com and www.podcast.net both list podcast servers. I did a search using the tag "libraries" and found 9 entries at www.podcast.net. I checked out NPR at www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast-directory.php and www.digg.com. #21 is completed.

There are just a few more things to do. I need to move my picture to my blog profile. I need to post my library picture to Google.Maps. The pictures are too big and need to be cropped. Once I have done this it shouldn't be too big of a problem to move the picture. I'm not satisfied with #10 and want to review image generators and add a tag to my blog. I still need to complete #22 & #23. I hope to finish this up by the end of the week.

Making Progress

2007-09-26T16:37:00.000-07:00

Today I brushed up on wikis. Of all the things on the 23Things Challenge, I'm most familiar with wikis. #16 is completed, but I read through it to brush up and then proceeded to #17. I added to the InforPeople wiki under wikis. I added the part about Orange County Public Library. I still had some time to work so I went on to #18 and learned about Google docs. Earlier today I worked on publicity for the three Costa Mesa libraries to be sent to the city's Community News publication. Google. docs will be perfect for this in the future. I can start the article and use Google.doc to coordinate the whole process. This will be very useful. #17 & #18 are completed.

I will use some time later today to go back and check my accounts. This is one way I use to get familiar with accounts. It has been awhile since I checked my Fickr account or bloglines.

#15 continued

2007-09-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I continued reading "Cite and insight." I agree that there is a big difference between "We have always done it that way" and "embracing all change for the sake of change." These are the two extremes and we need to find a comfortable compromise between these two extremes. This applies to life and to libraries. Since each library has it's own personality and public to serve, we need to adapt Library 2.0 to our individual libraries. Two important questions were raised on page 15 of the article. Will our patrons feel the same way about technology as we do? is Library 2.0 feasible, technologically and financially? The term permaconnected brought to mind a picture of the movie "Matrix." This refers to people who are continually connected to technology, not necessarily connected to the machinery and has a connotation of being socially connected through technology. I had to stop at page 17.

Today, I was able to finish the article. It is really true that we tend to give more emphasis to our own areas of interest. It seems that advocates for a complete technological library in excluding the traditional library, are purporting technology because it is what they are interested in and use. They are forgetting the large percentage of the population who do not use computers whether by choice or by financial limitations. At public libraries we have a diverse, wide range of interests to serve. We all would be shocked if a library didn't have science books because the librarian never reads science, therefore felt the library didn't need science books. A very good question was raised. If all libraries were Library 2.0 would the permaconnected get superior library service and the unconnected (traditional) library user be disenfranchised? We have to remember that technology is a tool and it takes skill to use this tool.

I strongly disagree that libraries haven't changed much lately. Over my 30 year career, card catalogs were replace, PC were introduced, and the Internet was introduced. All these innovations drastically changed the role of libraries. We have grown and changed for the better with all of these, and I can't see any difference with Library 2.0.

Halfway through this article I realized that I agree Library 2.0 is just hype. It really isn't anything new -- it's all about change to better serve the public which has been ongoing since the existence of libraries. It will continue as long as libraries exist. Maybe I'm optimistic, but libraries have survive movies, radio, television, videos, DVDs and computers. We will survive Web 2.0 or Library 2.0.

"Focusing on what the user wants is fine, as long as, those wants make sense within the library context." This was a great line and I fully agree with it. Change has to be appropriate to the library. The value of the Library 2.0 banner is it awakens librarians to an new call. We need to be aware of the current trends in society. We need to learn and expand ourselves in order to reach the public we serve.

In summary, the article was very thought provoking. It was long and difficult to read, but I'm glad to have read it. I came away with three things. 1) Library 2.0 is not something new, but an new twist with technology added. 2) It is much broader that just technology. 3) We need to get out there and do something with it. #15 is completed.

Over the Hump and into the Final Stretch

2007-09-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

It has been a very busy week. On Thursday I took a look at Technorati. Today I experimented with it, opened an account and added 8 blogs to my favorites. This one should be very useful. I set up the account for professional reading blogs. So #14 is completed.

On to #15. This article was little over my head, I had to look up several terms. It was a great explanation of Web 2.0. This challenge has been very consuming and has been the subject of most of my conversation for several weeks. I really liked Stephen Fry definition that Web 2.0 is more a frame of mind or mindset than a tangible thing. I feel I have grown dramatically in my technological knowledge. The second article Cites and Insights was much more manageable. This article is about the same dilemma public libraries have face through my 30 year career as a librarian, and I'm sure was the dilemma before and will continue to be after my career ends. The essence is a balancing act between the traditional and new. We need to continue to provide what the public uses and expects from libraries and we have to experiment and expand to reach younger or more diverse communities. Libraries are like people. Each has a personality all its own. They grow and change. This is not new. We had a very similar technological leap in the late 70s and early 80s when personal computers were the cutting edge of the future for libraries. It happened again int he 90s with the Internet being introduced to libraries. This is one of the things that has made librarianship so interesting, fun and challenging. I wouldn't have changed any part of the last 30 years.

I really agree with Michael Casey's definition that L2 is a philosophy dependant on three things: willingness to change and try new things, willingness to self evaluate and adapt (my paraphrasing) and willingness to look outside our own worlds for solutions. I'm commenting as I read this article and I'll have to stop at page 9 today. I disagree that L 2.0 is disruptive or a battle, although I'll concede that to some it may be. I see it as change. Change can be difficult, but it's necessary to life. Libraries can not be everything to everyone, no one or thing can be. But we can strive to be something new and exciting to someone who hasn't discovered the joy, fun and love of knowledge that can be found in the library. We can be something new and intriguing to someone who has yet to discover us.

Exploring more deeply

2007-09-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

This morning I played around with Rollyo and created a reference search engine, then completed a few searches using the search engine. It was good and I can see great possibilities for this. It would be great for researchers and it would have a great potential for use on a narrow subject like medieval history or ornithology.

Next I checked on my Twitter account, still no responses. True I did not select many friends. Today I did a search for library, hoping to find someone I know who is also taking the 23 Thing Challenge. This was a great experience because I came up with over 260 results. Most of these were libraries, but there were a few individuals.

Something else is becoming clear to me. Quite a lot of time needs to be committed to these sites in order to understand how they work, how they can be used and special aspects and tools that are offered. I plan to go back and check on all the accounts that I've set up and take the time to explore each one in more depth. Time is the big factor and it's not always easy to give it.

It has been a little slow this morning so I presses on to #13, social bookmarking and del.icio.us. after the Gen Tech workshop I checked out del.icio.us. I liked it and thought I would revisit it later. So I went into this one with a little more knowledge. I set up an account and moved twelve items from my favorites to the account. #12 & #13 are completed.

Update on the 23 Things

2007-09-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday, I started a Twitter account and looked at image generators. I also checked my bloglines account and was unable to change my subjects. I am receiving far too many on the the account and want to narrow it some. So I emailed bloglines for help with this. They have acknowledged the email, but have not responded to my questions. I was not able to work at my computer so there was quite a bit a frustration involved that day. I could not access my Flickr account.

Today, I accessed the Twitter account and had no messages so I send out a new one and will check it again this afternoon. On Saturday I was totally lost on the image generators. I played around with them, created a nice label I would have liked to add to my blog. When I tried to download it, it sent me back to the first page. I tryied setting up an account with Homestead, thinking I would have to start all over. They wanted credit card information to continue so I got out of that one. I have not found any directions for the image generators, so I'm stuck on this one. I did play around with them, but was not able to download to my blog. #10 I'm not sure if it is completed. #9 is still in the works.

Today I looked at LibraryThing and started a library with two books in my office. After attending the Gen Tech workshop I checked out this site, but did not sign up. This could be a great tool for book groups in the library, allowing book reviews on a blog or what's hot (particularly for teens) on a website or blog. This would be something I would use when I have more time to read. I might consider this as a way to join a book group. #11 is completed.

Frustation sets in

2007-09-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

For the last few days I have been trying to add a picture to my profile. After hours of trial I was able to get it posted. After many more hours of trying to move the posted picture to my profile, I have given up in frustration.

On to the next things. Yesterday, I read the article on Flickr mashups and downloaded pictures from my digital camera for the first time. I added a few to my Flickr account. Mashups seem way beyond my capabilities at this time, but I will revisit them in a few months or next year and my opinion will likely to have changed with my level of techonological knowledge. I went on to read about RSS feeds and have set up a bloglines account. I'm not really sure how I personally could use RSS feeds. I can see where they could be great additions to a library website, they could be a great outreach to teens and young adults, and they would be time saving for avid Internet users. I consider myself a novice to technology and although I use the internet each and everyday, I don't spend much time out of the day reading news or professional materials online. I am trying to remain optimistic by telling myself that once I'm acquainted with the technology, I'll like it and use it. #5 & #7 is completed.

Today I located a few useful library related blogs and have added them to my bloglines account. I began by looking at most of the blogs on the list and chose Shifted Librarian, oss4lib and Information Research weblog. These seemed professional and academic and would be useful in keeping updated on technological issues. I choose two blogs I have already become familiar with and use regularly, Fresh Squeezed and the Gen Tech. Fresh squeezed is a blog about adult fiction put out by the adult fiction evaluator for OCPL, Wendy Crutcher. Gen Tech is a blog from the Gen Tech Workshop hosted by the Santiago Library System. I was unable to add Information Research weblog and Fresh Squeezed since they did not have RSS feeds. I find it hard to believe that the Information Research weblog didn't have a feed, but then I may have done something wrong. I'll try again at another time. I was very surprised to see that bloglines had captured so many articles already. #8 is completed.

I looked at Twitter trying to figure out what it is and what it could be used for. I will need to register an account to find out the answer to these two questions.

On my way to Web 2.0

2007-09-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was able to view my first webcast. As part of the 23 Things Challenge, I viewed the InforPeople webcast, Web 2.0; What Library Managers Need to Know. I learned about blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, podcasts and social networking. #3 is completed

Today I registered by blog with InfoPeople and explored Fickr. I set up an account in Flickr and had some difficulty figuring out how to download a picture. It was easy to locate them. Our adult librarian, Chris Edwards, who has completed the challenge, showed me how to save the pictures to my hard drive and then to my Flickr account. I will continue with this tomorrow by bringing a CD with library pictures and trying to add some of these pictures to my Flickr account. Then I'll organize them. This will be very helpful with press releases and publicity for library programing. I will also use this with two of my hobbies, photography and scrapbooking. I have recently purchases my first digital camera. I will be using Flickr. #4 is completed.

My First Blog

2007-08-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

Taking the Our 23 Web 2.0 Things Challenge has opened my eyes to a myriad of possibilities, both personal and professional. This is an exciting time to work in the library field. As I embark on this challenge, it was surprising to learn how much information in this area I had already picked up.

#1 reading the challenge, this FAQ is completed, I am still trying to get registered for an InfoPeople Web 2.0 event. Although I did attend the Generation Tech Workshop by Santiago Library System.

#2 creating and posting a blog will be completed with this.

#6 looking at library websites Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County was a clean crisp design. The RSS feeds make the site very navigable and easy to use. Ann Arbor District Library was a very different website. It has interesting use of blogs, yet everything that you would expect to see on a library website was there. Denver Public Library Podcasts is very different. Podcasts are entirely new to me. This use of them reminds me of the old dial-a-story in the 1970's. Podcasts could be a updated version of dial-a-story and would allow children to have a technological connect to the library at home. I can see this would be a great way to outreach children's programing, particularly Storytime and after school programs. What Denver did for children Seattle Public Library has done for teens with MySpace library connection. I really liked the use of book reviews for teens. We have a Mother/Daughter Book Group at Mesa Verde. Members of the group could post reviews of the books they read.

#16 learning about wikis is completed. I posted a wiki to the Literary Orange website, Orange Peel at http://libraryorangepeel.wetpaint.com/. Literary Orange is the annual author festival of Orange County Public Library. I posted the information about the C-Span Book TV Bus.