Library 101

Be sure to check out all the related essays (one by me) and resources at http://www.libraryman.com/library101/

JISC – Libraries of the Future

Via Connie Crosby

Cory Doctorow interview on librarianship and media

Louisville Free Public Library needs your help

Reprinted from See Also…

Louisville Free Public Library needs your help
Wed 5 Aug 2009, 12:05 am

You may recall that back in May, I asked you to join me in buying books for the Louisville Free Public Libary (LFPL) as part of the “Libraries are Free But Books Aren’t” drive. It wasn’t that LFPL was terribly needy, it was just a way to help out a library by buying a bunch of book that they really wanted.

Now LFPL is in need. On Tuesday, Louisville was hit with a really ridiculous amount of rain. The Main Library was hit especially hard. I got most of my news about the flood from Greg Schwartz’s Twitter posts and Twitpics.

Photo from LouisvilleKy.gov. Click photo for full-size.

So a lot of those books we sent them in the spring are now covered in water and sewage. And so are the bookmobiles. And the mechanical equipment for HVAC. And the data center. And $50,000 worth of new computers. The initial estimate is $1 million in damage, but they must just be guessing at this point.

So it’s time to help them out again.

I have set up the email LSW.LFPL@google.com and linked it to my PayPal account. I intend to collect money at that address until September 1, at which point I’ll send a check in the name of the Library Society of the World to the LFPL Foundation. You can just send money to that email address using PayPal, or use the button below:

If you’d rather send a check, send it to the Library Society of the World Clubhouse, PO Box 7893, Colorado Springs CO 80933. Make the check payable to Steve Lawson.

Don’t worry about how much you can afford to donate. My own contribution will be small-ish, between $20 and $50.

But there are about 300 members of the LSW room on FriendFeed. There are close to 1,000 members of the LSW group on Linkedin. I would like to think we can raise at least $5,000 for LFPL by September 1. That’s only $17 per FriendFeed member, or $5 per Linkedin member.

For this to work, you have to trust me. I promise that every dime that comes through PayPal or check will go to LFPL. (PayPal takes a small cut if your donation is charged to your credit card (rather than your bank account) and if you don’t choose the option to pay those fees yourself, so it’s possible that I won’t get the full amount of your donation. I’ll only be able to donate the money I actually receive after PayPal fees.)

On September 1, I’ll total up what we have raised and send it to the library. If you would rather give money yourself instead of sending it to me, here is the address and phone number given in the Louisville Courier-Journal:

The Library Foundation
Attn: Flood
301 York St.
Louisville, KY 40203
(502) 574-1709

Five thousand dollars or more for Louisville Free Public Library by September 1. Think we can do it? I’ll keep you posted.

Libraries featured on the Today show

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

via Libraries & Life

NBC Nightly News: Libraries offer free relief from tough times

Thanks dad

Now there's an idea

For a few years now I've been on the record as believing that before we completely ditch Dewey or another standard library organizational scheme maybe we should try something a little more simple. For example, just putting up better signage in the library. And, now I've got a patron who, knowingly or not, is on my side. VCU Libraries Library Suggestion Blog recently posted the following suggestion:

For students browsing for books, I suggest the library put up book categories/subject titles on the ends of each bookcase, below the call numbers. This can make it significantly easier to find where we are when looking for books in the library -- after all, we process words much faster than alphanumeric call numbers. Thank you!
From: an undergraduate student

Since it's so short I'll repost the complete response here:

Patricia Selinger, Head, Preservation Department, VCU Libraries, responds...
Thank you for this great suggestion! The Preservation Department is responsible for maintaining the call number guides throughout the stacks. With our stacks overcrowded, we shift collections regularly to make room for new materials. The call number guides become obsolete quickly in this environment. We haven't had subject guides before but we are looking at solutions that will help students browse by subject. Look for posters in the near future.

In other words, here's a patron who thinks that just putting a bunch of numbers at the end of an aisle isn't very useful and instead suggests that we use actual words instead, or at least in addition to the numbers. Hey, I bet if you did that, your collection would be instantly more "browseable" without moving, recataloging, and relabeling everything.

But, I still have a question: Admitting that this is based on an assumption on my part but why the heck is the "preservation department" in charge of signage. My assumption is that this department doesn't exactly interact with the library's users with any regularity. Shouldn't those in charge of the signage actually know how the collection is being used via direct observation? Besides, what does directional signage have to do with preservation of the collection anyway? (Maybe you can preserve the collection by making sure no one can find what they're looking for. No use = long-term preservation? ;-)

The Read Menace

Response to a book challenge

I know Jamie LaRue and have respected him for years now. On Monday he posted his response to a recent book challenge in his library district. Here's the intro:

Recently, a library patron challenged (urged a reconsideration of the ownership or placement of) a book called "Uncle Bobby's Wedding." Honestly, I hadn't even heard of it until that complaint. But I did read the book, and responded to the patron, who challenged the item through email and requested that I respond online (not via snail-mail) about her concerns.
I suspect the book will get a lot of challenges in 2008-2009. So I offer my response, purging the patron's name, for other librarians.

The rest of the post is his response and I'm officially declaring it required reading for everyone reading this blog. So please take five minutes and read his post titled Uncle Bobby's Wedding.

Small rural libraries and technology

Recently I was speaking with someone about a forthcoming open position which would be dealing with many small rural libraries. The person was saying that they had mentioned to a board member that would be hiring someone that they should be sure to look for someone more technology oriented/comfortable than the person leaving the position. The board member responded something to the effect of "sure, but we need someone who can focus on the needs of small rural libraries."

Do you see a disconnect here? This conversation to me implies that someone in the position of hiring the next library leader in that area believes that the "needs of small rural libraries" and technology are mutually exclusive. Well, they're not. How about this for an idea: look to hire someone that understands the needs of small rural libraries and has a basic yet solid grasp of technology. Better yet, someone who can understand how technology can help small rural libraries. Just an idea.

Looking for new signs for your library

Someone recently said to me that they wished that in their library they could just put up a sign that said "Go ahead and use your cell phone, just don't be an asshat." Well, these signs from ..@the library.. aren't exactly that but they're close.

Hire a librarian?

On Tuesday I was visiting the Morton-James Public Library in Nebraska City, NE and noticed this sign (right) in the computer lab. I asked about it and it turns out that they do offer the service of a librarian to "do the work for you" at the rate of $5 per 1/2 hour. They don't get many takers but there have been a few. Mainly they've found that it actually encourages people to learn how to do it for themselves instead of just expecting the staff to do it for them. (They do also offer free one-on-one computer classes.) Shelly from BCR has already left her opinion in flickr, what do you think?

Library break-ins "solved" by Internet filters

I'd decided not to blog about this unique library filtering saga until the story was resolved. Well, it was resolved last week exactly as I predicted. Here's the salient points:

• Library board doesn't install filters. It's been this way for years with no significant complaints.
• Library experiences a series of break-ins.
• Turns out teen boys were breaking into the library to look at porn on the library computers.
• City shuts off library's Internet access.
• Board meets. Agrees to "solve" problem by installing filters on the computers.
• Library gets Internet access back.

There's no two ways about this one folks, the library board caved into the pressure. Ultimately I believe the actual problem, teens committing a crime by breaking into the library, wasn't actually addressed. No article I read about this story mentioned that maybe the building's security needed to be improved. Really, the old library non-filtering policy wasn't the issue since the boys obviously felt the need to break in after hours to view porn. I'm sure that if they felt that they could get away with looking at porn during normal library hours, they would have done so instead of taking the risks involved in the crime they ended up committing.

I've learned something new as a result of this story. It turns out that break-ins can be stopped by porn filters. Go figure.

Nebraska Library Map - Attempt #1

Here's my first attempt. A bunch didn't make it through the Geocoding process, I'm not sure I like the paged interface with this system and I didn't realize the import process would put everything in reverse alphabetical order but, it did work more or less.