Disability Grant Software

In April and May, at adult and youth services meetings, staff will receive orientation on the two major softwares installed on our disability computer workstations, as well as OrbiTouch orientation. ZoomText is software used to magnify computer screens as well as offer screen reading (the software reads the screen aloud to the user as well as maagnifying it). Jaws for Windows is somewhat different in purpose. It is also intended for the visually impaired, but rather than simply reading a screen aloud, it allows the visually impaired user to create documents using such applications as Word, Excel, etc.

OrbiTouch is different altogether. It is intended to be used by customers who cannot use even a large keyboard. By sliding the device (with a wrist, for example), customers may produce documents. The big track ball which also came with the workstation is exactly what it looks like--a funny shaped mouse and serves the same function for users who cannot manipulate a small mouse.

Yours truly (heaven help me!) will orient (notice I didn't say "train") staff in ZoomText and the OrbiTouch. Jaws for Windows is somewhat beyond my skill level to teach or even introduce. Teri Childers and I are working with the Cincinnati Association for the Blind to bring a teacher in to help us.

Internet Safety and the Volunteer Manual

Not that Internet safety or the volunteer manual have anything to do with each other. They don't.

MultiMedia Resources exerted superhuman efforts and created posters and bookmarks on Internet safety which are to be posted at every public workstation and webopac. Worded in a non-confrontational way, they warn the customers of possible Internet dangers. While the posters will not prevent customers from using, for example, myspace.com, inappropriately or foolishly, we will have nevertheless have warned them. It's called "intent to inform." The posters are in the branches now.

About the volunteer manual. I've knocked it down to 16 pages and the volunteer supervisor's manual to 24 pages. The revisions aren't done yet, but we're on the way. The "Forging New Links" conference that several of us attended contained many excellent volunteer ideas that I'll roll out later this year.

Poetry site

In time for National Poetry Month, the Poetry Foundation site.

TechSource: Millenials

Post about Millenials from the ALA TechSource blog.

Article: Gamer Generation

Are you ready for the Gamer Generation? At the Tech Trends meeting today, we talked about gamers and gaming in the library. This article is by the authors of Got Game that Tamar posted about. This entry in the Library Success Wiki has some interesting links to resources and library systems that host gaming programs/events.

What Tamar Learned at PLA: "The KCLS Roving Reference Model"

I am very excited about our discussion about roving reference here in CCPL. I attended a session at PLA on the topic, just to see what we could steal from their model, haha. First off, what is roving reference? It is answering questions in the stacks, being mobile and not being at a fixed point (stationary). Roving reference staff should not get involved in lengthy questions that involved using the computer or catalog, but should pass them to a reference person who is stationary, if possible, so that the roving staff person can continue to roam. When roving, that should be the staff person's primary task. You ask, but Tamar, sometimes there are no patrons needing assistance, what should we do then? Well, when that happens, there are jobs you can perform while in the stacks, that will keep you available and alert. You could do a library sweep, shelve misc items, straighten up, do displays, restock flyers, shelf-read (briefly), pull paging slips, shelve holds, and weed. In the KCLS model, staff are expected to spend 30% of their scheduled desk time doing roving reference. I think we could do even more. As a matter of fact, I spent a half-hour last night just to try out conscious roving and I really liked it. I was more aware of who was in the branch and what was going on in the branch. I took the opportunity to pick up books and straighten chairs, and found that, at the end of the night, I had less work to do to get the branch closed for the night. An added bonus was scaring the children who were hanging around the branch, because I kept popping up in the their area! It was a treat to keep them guessing as to what I was doing! I don't think you canNOT like roving reference.

Teen program idea

Looking through the PLA blog, I found what sounds like a nifty idea:

Aaron Schmidt gave out a fantastic Idea Worth Stealing: Get an experienced MySpace user to do a program for teens on "making your MySpace page really cool" and work some stealth online-safety education into that program.

What Tamar Learned at PLA: "Serving Library Patrons with Learning Differences"

Wow, if anything will make you try a little harder to seek out patrons wandering in the stacks, this will. Some of the learning differences that affect how and if our customers use the library are dyslexia, visual dyslexia, auditory dyslexia, scotopic sensitivity syndrome (eyes literally shake, blur, don't focus), and nonverbal learning disabilities (inability to process nonverbal cues). The way we as staff can see that our customers might be having difficulty is by these clues: difficulty with text-based instructions and forms, viewing the library as a text-based institution and therefore not using the library, needing assistance learning to read fluently or completing reading assignments, difficulty finding/understanding higher-level text, difficulty matching call numbers and titles to the books themselves (especially horizontal spines), not able to complete books in allowed borrowing times, unable to read reference material for long periods at a time, difficulty reading small print or unusual fonts or black on white print, prefers reading with softer lighting, difficulty taking notes from reference materials, difficulty using library matierials for written assignments or projects, difficulty remembering sequences, confusion with directionality, difficulty focusing on the screen and seeing small fonts and shapes, difficulty transcribing information to or from the computer, talks out loud while reading or finding material, asks the same question many times, becomes disoriented or cannot navigate the library, and asks to check out more than allowed number of items. Imagine having some or all of these obstacles to face each time you visit the library?!?!?! Listening to how hard it is for some people to use the library makes me want to cry, since the library has been a haven for me since I was a child. I hope and wish that each person has the same wonderful, welcoming experiences at the library that I've always had. Unfortunately for people with learning differences, that often does not occur. There is a lot we can do to make a trip to the library a less stressful event, even a joyful one! Some suggestions the speakers at this session had were: offer orientations where applications are filled out by staff and library overviews are given, put forms on the computer with audio output and word prediction software, buy more books on tape/CD, buy more VHS/DVD, collaborate with schools to support students with disabilities in homework, encourage literacy programs to provide support around workplace specific tasks (memos, timesheets), purchase books for adults who have lower reading levels, expand the closed caption collection, provide shaded grids for transcribing call numbers and titles, use pictograms for locating materials and navigating the library, display LD relevant material in easy to navigate areas of the library, display materials in front facing fashion, enlarge call numbers on spines, extend borrowing times for patrons with disabilities, allow reference materials to be saved for longer periods of time, allow disabled patrons free photocopying to enlarge and take home copies of ref materials, have materials archived electronically with alternative formats and speech output, supply "reading pens" or electronic spellers, consider lending assistive technology, provide colored overlas and supply card rulers to aid eye tracking, have non-fluorescent/adjustable lighting for reading spaces, provide portable, electronic note takers, install word prediction or abbreviation/expansion software, install Inspiration or other essay mapping software, provide voice recognition software and allocate space/time for voice recognition users, encourage use of magazines and materials with graphic/pictorial reinforcement, allowed extended computer times for disabled patrons, avoid referencing left/right, label directionality on computers and mouse pads, provide large, high contrast keyboard and number pads, display visual summaries of common tasks that require sequences (ex: saving a file, accessing e-mail), install text holders onto monitors for easy transcribing, set up personal screen profiles with larger, simpler fonts and alter screen/text color, have places and times for engaging in multi-sensory learning (ex: talk aloud spaces, discussion rooms, interactive or multimedia spaces), understand that you will have to repeat information, use concise and consistent language, stay with someone until they have actually located the wanted item (don't simply direct them), avoid using left/right or numbers when giving directions, and assist in screening for appropriate material. As you can see, there's a lot we as a library can do to make a library easier and more productive for people with LD. I'd be very willing to help implement some of these accomodations.

What Tamar Learned at PLA: "Capturing the Hearts and Minds of the Gamer Generation"

Uh-oh, bad news for libraries struggling to keep up with technology! The speaker at this session of PLA, John C. Beck, has written a book called "Got Game: How a New Generation of Gamers is Reshaping Business Forever." He says that people born in 1970 and later (that includes me!) are the Gamer Generation, a group that is more social, more competitive, and more successful than any generation since the Greatest Generation. This is also the generation considered to be Millenials, and much of what we learned about Millenials holds true for Gamers. Gamers are the generation that grew up with technology. The technology that older generations are still struggling to feel familiar and comfortable with is intregal to Gamers' lives. Basically, to attract Gamers as users, we need to have the technology, and we need to communicate with them through the technology. That means, MP3, blogs, podcasting, video games, etc. We have to be cutting-edge. This is also the generation that is the largest group since the Greatest Generation, so we need to realize that this need for technology is going to grow bigger and bigger as more and more Gamers reach adulthood. There is truly, TRULY, a generation gap out there, and it's growing. Mr. Beck's book is not in the system, I'm going to get it through MORE and pass the title on to Holly for purchase, possibly for the professional collection. This is really interesting information, especially for people in the beginning of their library career, since we'll be working with this generation for a long time!

What Tamar Learned at PLA: "Reading Maps"

I have to first totally catch Leslie M.'s interest by saying that the concept of reading maps is interestingly similar to her famous (or infamous? haha) mind maps. I have longed loved the way a mind map works, and was very interested in seeing the same concept used to make maps of books, to map the way our mind thinks of books. What is a reading map? It's simple, really...To begin a reading map, first think of a topic, a person, or a concept. The example I'll use here is: The West (as in, the western US). So, from the West, you can immediately think of Western fiction. Then list some authors: Max Brand, Louis Lamour, and Ralph Compton. You can also think of travelling to the West, so throw in travel books, like Fodor's books on Texas, New Mexico, etc. Then consider people of the Old West, like Annie Oakley, Wild Bill Hickock, and Billy the Kid. Biographies of their lives would go on the reading map. There are lots of other directions as well, for instance, country-western music, Old West movies (John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, etc), non-genre fiction set in the West (Brokeback Mountain, Larry McMurtry), juvenile/teen fiction, romance set in the West...it's really never-ending. You can lay-out your reading maps on paper in any way that makes sense to you. Also, reading maps don't have to be limited to books. They could (and I think, should) include other formats. Reading maps can be used for book displays, promotion of some new and popular title, and they can also be used on the library website. Each title could be linked to the catalog, thereby enabling the patron to put holds on things right away. Reading maps are very fluid, I think they make sense and generate excitement for readers. They also encourage readers to try something new in their reading, for instance, if they never read biographies, but they loved a Western novel, they may be willing to try a biography in order to read about the real Old West. I'm in love with this idea, and I'm going to use it for book displays at the very least. (I think most of us already have, to a certain extent.)So, here's another little bit of info I'll be bringing to the next RQT meeting. Those poor souls!

What Tamar Learned at PLA : "Developing an Online Reading Suggestion Service"

This session at PLA, on developing an online reading suggestion service, intrigues me mightily. As you probably know, I'm extremely interested in Reader's Advisory, so I couldn't resist attending several RA sessions at PLA this year. When I read the description for this session, however, I was skeptical. Here's the description: "Taking reader's advisory online can be a challenge-how to keep personal service in the virtual world? The Williamsburg Regional Library's award-winning Looking for a Good Book? service provides readers with personalized reading lists. Learn how to develop, implement, promote, and evaluate a form-based reading suggestion service." So, I read the word "form" and scoffed! How could a form be personal? But I attended the session and I must admit, they have compelling evidence. The speakers contend that there are faulty assumptions in the traditional RA model. These are, to quote their handout, that "readers will approach librarians with RA questions, [that] the library employee approached with a RA question will be the right person, [that] enough information is obtained in a typical RA interview to provide good service, [that] quality RA service is possible, given the time constraints of library encounters, [that] resources needed by advisors can be easily used in face-to-face discussions, [and that] face-to-face RA encounters are documented sufficiently to support follow up." So, WOW, they seem to think that face-to-face RA is NOT the best way to do RA! I found this shocking, to tell the truth. How can a form be more personal than a face-to-face encounter? Well, the speakers argue that there is a need for a reading suggestion service because of several reasons. They feel that: patrons don't come to the librarian for help choosing books, that librarians don't get enough practice doing RA, that face-to-face RA interviews are more threatening to library staff, that RA is not a ready reference process (ie, it takes more time than either the librarian or the patron has while at the desk), that a form would document RA in a way that face-to-face can't be documented, and finally, that patrons love this service. They even claim that a reading suggestion service reinforces the value of the library to readers, which I have been saying about RA in general for years! By this point in the presentation, I was all ears! So, the basic way this service would work is this: patrons fill out a form on the library website. This form would contain detailed RA questions, about their reading tastes and interests. The form would then go to a team of librarians, who would divvy up the forms among themselves to be analyzed. The librarian would then have several days to create a detailed reading suggestion list for the patron. These lists would ideally be better able to help the reader in their reading choices because better questions were asked and the librarian had more time to do a detailed search for good books. This makes sense to me. I have a suggestion, however, to call this online form, instead of the dreaded word form, which makes me think of taxes or applications, let's call it a "profile". People love to fill out profiles, just think of myspace.com or all of those surveys that get forwarded in emails. But people don't like to fill out forms. Anyway, that's just a little thought from me. So, there are lots of numbers, stats, and more reasons to do this that the speakers handed out. They also gave us their form to look at and use a template for our form, should we choose to try it. Can you tell that I'd like to try? Get ready, RQT, I'm coming to the next meeting with a boatload of info about RA!

What I Learned at PLA: Good to Great (how libraries can achieve greatness)

Good to Great presented by Cate McNeely of Richmond Pub. Lib, B.C. , Ironwood Branch: http://www.yourlibrary.ca/aboutus_sub.cfm?lev1=5

What is greatness? Universal use, when per capita circ is 50-100 items, all customers are valued, stereotypes of the library (and librarians) disappear, funding issues dissapate.

They use merchandising and "Powerwalls". Think Book store.
How do you achieve greatness?

1. Think like your customers: Using services at my convenience, want things quickly, needs anticipated, to feel valued, to be empowered, to be stimulated, want to have pleasurable experience. What do our desks look like? are they inviting, barrier free, hospitable??
2. Determine your function: What is your core business?
3. Set core priorities: This system address "critical mass collections" where they have enough to fill need. Big at roaving reference. Got ride of the reference desk and have stand up stations where people can stand and see what you're doing. (Since we know by OCLC study most people are doing it on their own anyway). They are opened 7 days and 5 nights/week. A "Give them what they Want" philosophy.
4. Implement

The photos of their signage was amazing! I hope that her slides are going to be available on the PLA website. Basically, if I understood her correctly, they have the regular stacks with expanded endcaps for face out display, on one floor and the other floor has the "power walls" where everything is arranged by subjects (12 nonfiction categories), just like a book store with items faced out from eye level to thigh and lower shelves had materials in order and were used to replenish faced out items.

While under construction, their circ went up 26% while 1/2 of the collection and services were unavailable.

They talked about "rapid reads". What are these?

They developed a merchandising team as well.

What I learned at PLA: Do they Hear us NOw? (on oclc report)

OCLC just published it's user study and found out some intereting things on perceptions (users have) of libraries. They polled several countries and ages 14 and up.

Results:
84% start their search w/ the Internet (this was uniform no matter what country or age)
51% of population are IMing
30% visit the library website (Which means 60-70% don't know or don't care!!)

What was interesting is that the results from a 1947-50 written survey were very similar in regards to library usage!

Google is jumping off point 62% of the time.
25% say they're using the library more, 31% using it less
62% say they'll continue to use it the same way
Over 1/2 college students use the public library. When asked where they get their info they responded: friends, electronic links
33% colege students get info from a librarian. General population is only 8%.

Products and services were most appreciated and were given a positive rating
Customer service and facilities were given a negative rating

When asked how they made decisions about whether they trust information once it was found, 86% based their response on common sense. 75% based it on the reputation of the company or source of the info.

How do they double check their info? go to another web site.

Who is a trusted source? Librarians are only 2%. 62% felt info from library was as trusty as website.

Main purpose of library? 53% said information, 31% said books.

Who's better source? For Trustworthy and accuracy=library, for reliable, cost effective, easy to use, convenient, fast= search engines.

Library's role in community: 85% place to learn, 81% said place to learn, 28$ place to meet and socialize, 80 % free info, 51% meetings/community events. Only 19% high school thing it's a place to learn.

What we can do better: diseminating worthwile info
Study can be foudn at: oclc.org on homepage.

Presenter suggested offering several different library card designs (one cutesy for kids, cool for teens, etc... She also felt that the card should be value added (like with Kroger cards) providing some extra type of service. This is from a marketing point of view.

What I Learned at PLA: You Are But IM (teens)

For teens:
You Are But IM.
Presenters included Patrick Jones, Tricia Suellentrop, and Michele Gorman (of ImaginOn of Mecklenburg County NC.)
Highly suggested reading: Connecting Young Adults and Libraries (which is in our collection)

Some of this isn't new, but serves as a good reminder:

We all need to remember that teens need to feel as if their needs are important. What may seem stupid to us, may be life and death to them.

We need to give youth MEANINGFUL opportunities to participate. There is a list of volunteer opportunities in the book.

There was mention of Keith Curry Lance on the AAYSL (I think) web page who is doing something important. Those teen librarians out there should know who he is. I don't.

Idea I had: What if we got a group of us who read YA fiction/nonfiction together who submitted new book reviews to local school newspapers?

Another idea I had: Move the batman and superman comics to the jfic section. They aren't all that YA.

The presenters felt that the following were the current best practices:

1. We need to learn their technology. (Find out what they're using and learn how it works)
2. Podcasting
3. Interactive teen library page: myowncafe.org
4. IM reference
5. My Space.com
6. e-videos (from Denver, where they have just started offering downloadable videos)
7. video games for circulation (Baker & Taylor now carrying)
8. IPOD Shuffles loaded with audio books available for circ

Programming ideas included gaming tournaments and an On the Edge book club, a book club based on controversial novels.

Presenters insisted that every YA program should have an evaluation form asking: how did you find out about the program, what did you learn, and what else do you want to know.

Outreach is important and Teen Read week is a great opportunity (3rd week in Oct)

IDEA: Put ya/graphic novel catalogs on tables in teen area w/ note to pick titles they'd like to see in the library. Important to take requests seriously.

Presenters recommended getting a list of clubs at the local schools to see if they could help create programs (e.g school chess club did chess training and tournament at library over summer)

Check out nclib.org (hennepin county pub. lib) teens online

"But WHY do we have to do Cost Benefit Analysis?"

Yes, it's the middle of the night and I'm watching Dr. Who while I post another entry in an on-going blog. At the YS meeting on Thursday, (March 23) the question was raised as to WHY we have to do still MORE cost benefit analysis. I thought I had answered that thoroughly last year, but there still seems to be some confusion about it. So I decided that it would be a good idea to go through the reasons one more time, and maybe if anyone has comments or questions they could respond to this entry and we could get some dialog going.
Last year when we completed the work on branch programming trends and benchmarks, we used cost analysis information that was several years old. In an attempt to be accurate, up to date and as fair as possible in determining costs, we made the decision to do the cost benefit analysis again this year so we could determine the base line cost of doing specific types of programs. In other words, just how much DOEs it cost to conduct a storytime for 15 children? Or a book discussion group for 12 adults?
These baselines, or benchmarks as they are more commonly called; provide us with one measurement by which we can evaluate our success or lack of success. They help us establish a baseline for job performances by the development of an "average cost per program" that we can compare an individual's or branch's programs to. This baseline can help us determine who might need additional training and what branches are doing programs more cost effectively.
These cost benefit anlysis forms, when combined with program statistics, branch activity and customer demand can help us make decisions about what areas we need to develop and what areas we need to place less emphasis on. While it would be lovely to be able to do everything we want to do anytime we want to do it; that's not possible anymore. As our funding belt gets tighter, we need to be able to establish priorities for services based on what works, and what uses our resources most efficiently.
In a perfect world, we'd pass a levy tomorrow, double our funding and be able to do anything we want to do anytime we want to do it and never pay attention to the cost or effectiveness of the program. But this isn't a perfect world, and we may be facing some tough decisions. I for one, prefer to make my decisions based on facts and concrete information and not on guesswork alone. Evaluating our services, making deliberate decisions about what works and what doesn't work; and choosing our options with this knowlege makes us stronger and helps us to control our future instead of just letting it happen to us.
Nobody likes all the paperwork that goes with service quality processes and evaluations, and that includes me. We don't ask for information that we're not going to use; and we (administration staff especially) really do try to consider everyone's workload when we request information. If there are times that you're asked to do something or fill out paperwork and you don't understand why, call us up and ask. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of what happens to the information when you give it to us, ask about that too.
If you've got questions, comments or things you'd like to talk about, comment to this posting, call me up, send me an email, drop by the office. I'll be happy to answer your questions and explain the process in more detail, I find it very interesting.

PLA

For those of us not there, there's the PLA Blog. Some photos via flickr.

Chaucer

Even Chaucer blogs.

Reference Workload Study

I just finished up putting the data together on two workload studies we've done in the past 9 months. One with all reference staff and one with volunteers (doing a fifteen minute study). The results are close enough that we can use both studies to develop a benchmark for the system. Next step is to finish doing comparison table, run the whole thing through SQuaT for comments and present the results to managers. After that, we'll update once a year. I know I'm excited.
Leslie

A "Lousy" Day

Good morning! Tomorrow I'll be off to Boston and PLA for the rest of the week, but I wanted to share that I have indeed been working on a memo about how to deal with an infestation of head lice. This memo will come out later, possibly today, but the bottom line is this: Notifying library users about head lice is treated like any other infectious complaint, such as chicken pox or conjunctivitis (pink eye). Head lice are annoying, itchy, and gross, but in fact chicken pox (to name one example) is a far greater risk to health.

Somehow when I took this job, this is not what I imagined we'd be talking about.... :-)

Liz

Food Glorious Food

Tracey got the phone call today telling us we are being chosen as one of the sites to host a new Smithsonian Exhibit on Food. Too early today to tell everything that's involved, but it's quite an honor and will make for an interesting year. I think it hits us late 2006 or in 2007. Congratulations Tracey.

Forging New Links Conference

Several of us (Laura, Teri, Tracey and I) went to Columbus for two days to the Forging New Links conference. It was all about volunteers, community service and such. Usually at these conferences, maybe one workshops out of five is any good. Not so here. All the workshops were excellent. I came away with some great ideas for homework centers, for re-working our volunteer manual, for working with our volunteer liaisons, and learned some new trends in the disabilities field. Very worthwhile conference!

Liz

March AUCT schedule

According to Julie:

On March 1 Lisa Salyers and AUCTV taped the first half hour segment that will run on public access – channel 18 – focusing on the Union Township branch of the library. The schedule for this first show is as follows through April 3:

Thursday - 8:30 PM
Friday - 1:00 AM - 4:30 AM - 6:30 AM - 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Sunday - 6:30 PM
Monday - 8:00 AM

The complete schedule for AUCTV programming can be found here.

NEH Grant

We recieved terrific news at the end of last week. The National Endowment for the Humanites called to tell me that we had recieved a planning grant we'd written to do a daycamp in Bethel on the role of the Underground Railroad in Clermont County, with an emphasis on Bethel. They not only gave it to us, they RAVED about how great it was. So now we get to do it, and if it is successful, we'll apply for another one next year to expand the camp to other branches too. Remember to contact Bethel and congratulate them.
Leslie

Board Meeting

March Board meeting was an interesting experience. We cancelled our guest speaker because we had only 3.5 firm confirmations for the meeting, and we need four to have a quorum. He's supposed to come next month and talk about the TEL Amendment. (Director at Dayton Montgomery Public Library) By then, we may not need him; but that's another story.

We are going to start a negotiation process on some property in UT, (cross your fingers, we've tried the same piece at least twice before) and in the next month Maura and I will begin researching Levy options. We now have a new Drug Safety policy in place. Overall, we'll save money on our workers comp. insurance when we complete training and etc....

Interesting mix of characters at the meeting. Marion, Lois were there representing the Long term Board Members and our two newest members, Patty and Bill were also present. All of our most verbal board members were unable to attend. The meeting ended promptly at 7:00. I wonder why .......

The Board members seem very reluctant to get invovled in the process of confirming a mission statement. That stalled out again tonight, so we'll try next month.
If you've got any questions, post them and I'll try to respond.
Leslie

Reference Survey Results

Once upon a time last fall we did a reference survey. Laura tells me that she's had a few questions about what's going to be done with the results of that survey. Currently, the results are in the hands of Liz's RQT group for consideration and discussion. It is their hope that these results can be gathered together along with the LibQual results and results of an upcoming survey of children's reference services. At that point all survey results would go into a discussion on changes to our reference services. If you would like to see the survey results, give Liz a call (at least until we get them posted to the blog.) If you'd like to weigh in with an opinion, please respond to this post and maybe we can get some discussion going.

Leslie

Tell Me What's Happening

Staff's had some questions about what's going on with various groups/processes, so voila, a brief update.

1. Mission statement is waiting for Board approval.



2. Vision statement is a work in progress. If you have any suggestions along the lines of "If I were Supreme Ruler of the Library, I would..." please send them to Leslie.



3. SWOTs are done and the results are being compiled and will be discussed at future SQuaT meetings.



4. LibQual, the online survey about the Library's services will be taking place during April. Please take the survey as well as encouraging other people in our community to take it as well. The survey will go live April 1. You can take it here



5. Focus groups will be taking place in the spring as part of the planning process for the Strategic Plan. Hopefully, they will give us further input about the services we offer and our part in the community.



6. Library Service Standards. SQuaT will be looking at service standards from other library systems and making suggestions about what standards CCPL should use.



7. The final version of the Strategic Plan won't be finished until after the Nov. election because of the TEL/TABOR amendment.

Lambda Finalists

Lambda Literary Foundation announces Lambda Award finalists.

Using Names

There were some questions raised about using names when making a post. After talking it over with Leslie & company, we've decided to just use people's first names for staff as well as for people involved with Library activities like the Friends Groups.

Peeps!

By Michael Nagrant, an essay about Peeps.

Friends - Umbrella Meeting - March 2006

Friends Umbrella Group Meeting
Milford Branch
March 2, 2006
Meeting Minutes


I. Welcome from Friends President
Phyllis welcomed everyone to the March 2006 Umbrella Group Meeting. She expressed her appreciation to everyone for coming out.

II. Treasurer’s Report
Wilson passed out the Treasurer’s Report which were specific to each individual Friends’ group and did not include the Umbrella group account. If there are any errors please report them to Wilson immediately so he can correct them. In 2005, over $21,000 was generated by Friends. We did not realize there was a Friends group at Felicity. This will be rectified in the future.

Wilson explained the differences between expenses and donations. For example, an expense is created when pizza is purchased to feed the Friends group at a book sale. A donation is created when the money goes straight to the library. If you have questions about the differentiating between an expense and account please contact him. Wilson asked for questions, there were none.

III. Minutes from Previous Meeting
Tracey, Secretary was sad to report that she has lost the minutes from the previous meeting. Phyllis was reinstalled as President, but Tracey could not remember who motioned and seconded. If any Friends members were in attendance and can help Tracey reconstruct the minutes, please contact her at 735-7188 or email at mcculltr@oplin.org.

IV. Old Business
Wilson asked the Felicity Friends members if we could accept the 2005 audit without the Felicity Friends group included. The Felicity Friends group agreed that the 2005 audit should stand.

V. New Business
A. Tel Tabor

Wilson was asked by Tracey to talk about the Tel Tabor amendment which will be up for election in November. He pointed out that if the amendment passes all government monies and expenditures therewith would be decided by county officials. The upshot of this report was that the proposed amendment would be disaster for all levels of state and local government. In a time of severe financial crisis, it is likely that the library will get even less of the shrinking resources. Wilson brought up that the Friends group are a non-profit entity and therefore as a group under the name of “Friends” could not be involved in legislation. This means that Friends can’t organize and tell people to say “no” or “yes” but they could put on a program with the pros and cons of Tel Tabor spelled out. The library is in the same position. We can inform as long as we lay out the pros and cons. But, when Friends are not on library time and employees aren’t on library time, we are allowed as private citizens to inform individuals that we come in contact with about the effects on Tel Tabor to not only libraries, but fire departments, police departments, schools, mental health agencies, etc.


B. Sale at Old Bethel Branch
Phyllis talked about the potential fundraising that could be made by each individual Friends group by participating in the sale of furniture, shelving, and other miscellaneous items at the empty Bethel Branch building on Main Street in Bethel. The sale will take place May 4,5,6,7 the same dates as the village wide yard sale. Questions arose about what kind of sale it could be, an auction or a tag sale. This matter will be decided by participating Friends groups working in conjunction with one another. There were suggestions about advertising: WOBO, community papers, flyers etc., were all means of advertising that have been implemented successfully in the past.

Phyllis asked that a committee be formed. Devona, Lynn, and Lucy all volunteered. Phyllis asked that they contact her and they will set up a meeting.

C. Book Cart Drill Team
Joann, Branch Manger of Milford and Book Cart Drill Team member, talked about the Book Cart Drill Team and their award-winning performance at the American Library Conference last year. They placed 3rd place nationally. Joann approached Friends as a possible sponsor for 2007. The conference that they will be performing at will be in Washington, D.C., and will be less costly because they will drive to the destination instead of fly. Joann presented a video of the BCDT to the group and asked that they consider sponsoring.

D. Lock Box
This was not discussed at this meeting due to time constraints.

VI. Updates from Friends Groups

NR – Friends group has purchased puppets for the children’s area mostly
through monies generated through book sale carts. They also sponsored a
Diva dress exchange and make-up evening.

OE – Owensville only has one member at this time, but they are very
successful in generating money through book sale carts.

BA – Batavia currently does not have any Friends members but money is
generated through book sale carts.

WM – Friends group has generated money through book sales and auctions.
Posters have been replaced throughout building, chairs have been purchased,
outreach carts have been purchased and also a new vacuum cleaner has been
purchased.

GO – Goshen Friends generate money through book sales but also by renting
space at Live Oaks during an annual craft sale. In turn, they rent out table
room to crafters. This has been a highly successful venture. They also
have bake sales.

MI – Milford Friends generate the bulk of their money through book sales and have purchased a trailer that is used to store books for their sales. They also
purchased two computers for public use for their branch.

AM – Amelia’s big book sale raises more money than their permanent book sale,
but those are their only two sources of money. They have purchased furniture for
adults in the library and the children's area besides supporting a number of other
programs.

FE – The Felicity Friends group generates money through book sales and also
with bake sales and recipe sales. Items are purchased for their children’s area,
programming, and other miscellaneous items.

VII. Phyllis thanked everyone for attending and reminded the group that each branch has the opportunity to host an Umbrella Group Meeting. Wilson reminded the group that food need not be provided. The Library gave each attendee a “thank you” volunteer mug, Friends pins, and tote bags to show their appreciation for all of the hard work of their Friends groups.

VIII. The meeting was adjourned by Phyllis.

Article about the TEL Amendment

Give Blackwell the business
How to defeat a dangerous amendment
By Michael Douglas, Beacon Journal associate editor

Ohioans must defeat the proposal engineered by Ken Blackwell, a constitutional amendment designed to limit severely state taxation and spending, set for the ballot in November.

How?
A band of opponents has challenged the validity of petitions collected to place the proposal on the ballot. They have filed protests in Cuyahoga, Franklin, Lorain and 12 other counties. Bill Faith, the executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, jabbed sharply: ``The petitions are just like the amendment itself, sloppy and poorly done.'' He added the obvious: ``A constitutional amendment of this importance and complexity needs to be approached with a lot more care.''

I used this space last week to describe some of the myriad ambiguities, perversities and invitations to lawsuits that reside in the proposal. Worth emphasis is the supremacy clause providing that ``in any case of conflict between any provision of this section and any other provision contained in this constitution, the provisions of this section shall control.'' What a collision that sets in motion. You may think all gas tax revenue should be plowed into roads. The amendment suggests otherwise. Similar mischief lurks for the workers' compensation system.

Not to mention the colossal headache for local governments, a Republican candidate for governor now promoting a scheme that amounts to dictating from the top, the tossing aside of home rule for chartered cities.

Wish the petition protesters well. Their success will save the state much money, fury and ruin.

Jim Petro has another idea for stopping the amendment. The attorney general and Republican rival of Blackwell in the governor's race has his own proposal to limit state taxation and spending. He wants to cap state tax revenue at 5.5 percent of the state's total personal income. Blackwell and friends argue the Petro alternative lacks bite. They are right, the plan following the path of many other states with such limitations aimed at preventing truly out-of-control spending.

Petro hasn't yet pulled the trigger. He sees his proposal as a last resort, a way to give voters a choice on Election Day, a way to escape the wreckage promised by the Blackwell squeeze. That stance helps Petro in his primary run. He can talk tough about spending. The tactic mirrors the thinking of many Republicans who contend that it will take an amendment to defeat an amendment, voters getting a chance to express their disdain without causing too much harm.

Sound excessively calculating? Another simpler course exists: Defeat the miserable thing, straight up. Pull out all the stops. Build a broad coalition. Raise big-time money. Mobilize thinking in Ohio with a fitting sense of urgency.

Oklahoma faces a similar test in November, a ballot initiative labeled ``A Taxpayer Bill of Rights.'' Opponents recently filed petition protests. Striking was the presence of business leaders at the front of the line challenging the validity of the petitions. The chief executive officer of Spirit Bank told the Tulsa World that the taxation and spending limitation would stop and even reverse economic development. He described the measure as a fraud.

These weren't executives with flawed DNA, a liberal gene surprisingly at work. They represent the foundation of communities. They understand, as one put it, that the initiative ``sounds enticing at first glance'' but then comes the wicked punch: ``It cements a state in second-class status.''

In Oklahoma, they tell the story of Colorado. The tale bears repeating again and again. A taxation and spending limitation sent the state spiraling downward by all manner of measures, support for higher education, highway maintenance, health care. Amid the deepening damage, a broad consensus formed, including the Republican father of the initiative, Bill Owens, the Colorado governor. Democrats and Republicans, suburban communities and larger cities, business leaders (the Denver Chamber of Commerce!) and assorted interest groups all called for relief. In November, Colorado voters suspended the limitation for five years.

Already, the Coalition for Ohio's Future (www.ohiosfuture.org) has more than 140 organizations on board to defeat the Blackwell amendment. They understand the proposal is worse than the Colorado version with its sloppiness, supremacy clause and hammer blow to local governments. Unfortunately, the coalition is mostly a gathering of labor groups, local officials, ministers and good-government types. When will practical-minded business leaders from both political parties join the fight, aware of the high stakes?

The past few months, it has been hard to make the circuit of a cocktail party without someone recommending The Earth is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century, the very full and passionate call of Thomas Friedman for all of us to get smart, honing our skills in the light of the increasingly stiff global competition. In almost every instance, the voice from behind the martini urges: We gotta do something.

Here is our chance. Take heart in the recent Forecast 2006 poll by Opinion Consultants and Marketing Works. Of the Ohioans surveyed, 48 percent favored a constitutional amendment to limit state and local spending, and 28 percent registered opposition. The results signal the difficult job ahead in defeating the proposal, and thus, the little time to lose. They also suggest the measure is beatable.

Republicans may balk at an effort certain to rankle Ken Blackwell if he is the party's nominee for governor. Then again, it isn't about him, is it?

Article about TEL/CAP amendments

Getting tough on government spending
Proposed government spending caps worrying economic development officers
Business First of Columbus - March 3, 2006
by Kevin Kemper
Business First

Economic development officials are sweating over two proposed amendments to Ohio's Constitution that they fear could curtail development plans and services.

Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell and state Attorney General Jim Petro are each proposing changing the state constitution so that caps could be applied on either government spending or revenue collection.

While the two Republican gubernatorial hopefuls are busy touting the benefits of their propositions as a way to pull the state out of its economic doldrums, Central Ohio officials are busy running the numbers to measure the proposals' potential effects.

They don't like what they see. "For Franklin County, $317 million in local government funds would be lost in the first year," said Kenneth Wilson, director of the county's Office of Budget and Management. "There would be a total loss of $705 million (over 10 years)."

Wilson's findings come from the results of a 2005 study by the Cleveland-based Center for Community Solutions. The study, which is being circulated around the state by the County Commissioners' Association of Ohio, measured the expected impact of the Tax Expenditure Limitation, or TEL, amendment that Blackwell argues is necessary to curb government spending.

The TEL amendment would limit state and local government spending increases to 3.5 percent a year or a rate that takes into account the changes in the Consumer Price Index and population growth.

The amendment would also forbid unfunded mandates. Petro, meanwhile, introduced a counterproposal in February. The Citizens' Amendment for Prosperity, or CAP amendment, would limit the amount of general revenue the state can take in each year to 5.5 percent of its personal income.

Wilson said his office hasn't conducted a deeper study of the CAP proposal but probably will if the plan gains wider support.

Business taking deeper look. "On the plus side, these are efforts to create a state spending constraint. Most business people favor spending constraint," said Robert H. Milbourne, CEO of the Columbus Partnership. "On the other side, is it appropriate to put (a state spending amendment) into the constitution of the state? That's a serious question."

The Columbus Partnership, a nonprofit civic organization made up of 31 CEOs, plans to examine both proposals and inform taxpayers about the analyses, Milbourne said.

The studies and information campaign will be a statewide effort, Milbourne said.
The partnership is working with two other groups on the project - the Greater Cleveland Partnership and the Columbus-based Ohio Business Roundtable, both CEO groups.

At City Hall in Columbus, there are more questions about the amendments than answers, said Mark Barbash, director of the city's Economic Development Department.

Officials are wondering whether the amendments would limit the city's ability to invest in projects that attract jobs and improve neighborhoods. Barbash thinks they might.

"These amendments are going to tie us into limitations on investment, which is not good for the community," he said. Such restrictions could prevent the city from funding projects such as the redevelopment of the Whittier peninsula and Northland Mall.

Milbourne said he worries development of Huntington Park, the baseball stadium planned for the city's Arena District, could be jeopardized.

Franklin County is planning to build a multimillion-dollar courthouse in downtown's RiverSouth area. If passed, the TEL amendment could cancel those plans, Wilson said.

"That ballpark would not count against the county's debt capacity" because it will be funded with a mix of private and state funds, Wilson said. "But the new court building would."

County commissioners are evaluating both state officials' amendments, said spokeswoman Lisa Brown, and haven't yet decided if they will take a side in the debate.

Petro's CAP plan was introduced Feb. 22 to lawmakers. Legislators must pass the amendment by three-fifths majorities in the House and Senate for the proposal to appear on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Blackwell's TEL amendment is awaiting verification of signatures from the state Board of Elections. If approved, it will be placed on the November ballot.

The Coalition for Ohio's Future last month filed challenges to signatures collected for the TEL amendment with five county boards of election, including Franklin County's.

The coalition bills itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit group of local governments, public safety professionals, educators and health-care professionals who believe the amendment would destroy Ohio's economy.

Notes from SQuaT March 2006 meeting

Focus Groups
Liz and Joann presented information about conducting focus groups.
Goal is to have the project finished by June 30.
Created a list of potential groups.

• Liz will create a letter


• Joan will create a flyer


• Liz and Tracey will create a questionnaire

SWOT

• Look at all SWOTs and identify trends


• Put your list of trends in: CCPLShare > SQuaT > SWOT Trends
  by the next SQuaT meeting

Library Standards

• Look over the standards you have and create a list of areas that you think we need to include like Personnel or Collection.


• Then include subdivisions like under Personnel Appropriate staffing levels are maintained in all public areas or Library customers receive helpful and courteous service from all library staff.
  
  Please email that to me by March 22.



• We agreed that our set of standards should have a way to measure them instead of simply checking off 'yes' or 'no'.



• We liked the layout of the KY standards for ease of use.

Our next meeting is April 12.

wondering what stuff is stuff I should post

I have lots of stuff that I'd like to blog about: when I've read a good book, can I post the title as a potential book for book discussion groups? when I've had a successful program, can I post info about it so that other programmers can try it? Maybe I'm thinking too big, too fast, in fact, I'm sure I am, but let me be the first to suggest that we have several blogs...one for each of the following: youth programming, adult programming, managers, heck, maybe departmental staff or LAs might want a blog. That way, the LAs don't have to read my ramblings when they don't have anything to do with circ work, haha. Anyway, just a thought for the future...But for now, what stuff is stuff I should post to the blog and what should I save for a meeting?

marketing idea

Speaking of marketing....we could do banners advertising one of our products (free internet access maybe) on the sides of the truck for the Opening Day parade. That's a huge, mostly new audience. Just an idea!

Notes from MAT Feb. 2006 meeting

Courtesy of Leslie:

Marketing Advisory Taskforce

Goals:

1. Develop a model for a marketing plan based on the library’s current mix of products and services that will serve as a template for future plans.

2. Implement marketing plan

3. Develop tools to evaluate plans success, and use those tools.

4. Conduct a marketing audit

5. Evaluate the library’s current promotional pieces.

Definitions:

1. Marketing: a series of activities that starts with a community analysis and ends with the development of activities relative to the community. (This is a strategic plan)

2. Promotions/PR: Communicate services to present and potential clients or customers (This is the implementation of the strategic plan.)

3. Target Market/Audience: the potential clients or customers whom we are trying to reach.

4. Product Mix: What we offer in terms of services, materials and resources. In a business market it would be what we had for sale.

5. Current Market Situation: who are our current competitors what issues do we face in the social environment and perceptions of potential customers.

6. Branding: Identification of the library. How do people see it? What do they associate with the Library (logo, color) Our recognition factor in the community.

7. Positioning: Where we need to be, and how we want people to perceive us.

8. Marketing Strategies: Plan by which we intend to promote the library.

9. “4 P’s” of Marketing: Product, Placement, Price, Promotion.

Target Audience:

1. Who do we currently reach?

Students – preschool (1), elementary (2), high school (3).
Teachers – preschool and elementary
Mobile senior adults
Homebound Senior Adults
Library Users (one time users and multiple users)
Other organizations
Girl Scouts
Information Seekers
Homeschoolers
Families (all age ranges)

2. Who do we want to reach?

Everyone – taxpayers
Potential library supporters
College students
Internet users
Recreational readers
Convert one time users to multiple users
People with disabilities
Non-mobile children
Local legislators, opinion makers and influencers
Corporations
New readers
Retail Users who use book stores and media stores
Ethnic populations

3. Who can’t we reach?

20 something’s
Users who have had a bad relationship or interaction with the library
People who don’t have time

Product Mix

1. Current Products (concrete)

Print materials: Books in different genres, reference material, informational material, children’s books, best sellers, etc.

Media: audio books, e-audio books, music (broad spectrum) movies including entertainment and informational.

Technology: computers, software, Internet access, Microsoft products adaptive technology and databases.

Meeting rooms at library

Distribution center for community information

2. Current Products ( services)

Programs: story times, crafts, investments, book clubs, anime, outreach to all ages, speaker’s bureau, homebound services, summer reading, senior programs, one to one internet training, specialized programs for teachers.

Information Services: Reference services, readers advisory services, books for babies,

Volunteer opportunities and Friends groups

Meeting space for tutors, friends, conversation, study groups, test takers, etc.

3. Dream Products:

Rated R Movies
IM reference
Library blog on homepage
Recipe database
Podcasting
Music with Parental advisories
Programming without budget parameters
AV stations in the libraries
Self check out
Circulating MP3 players, laptops,
Self Service Holds
games
Roving reference
Video game check out
CCPL 24 reference service
Cross Agency promotions
Better signage
Drive through at all locations
Drive up book drops
Larger genealogical collection
More bestsellers
Public fax
Book bags for public

Assignments for next meeting:

1. Readings in OCLC Book: be prepared to summarize what you read, think about and discuss how it relates to CCPL and discuss the implications for our task.
Introduction – All
Chapter 1 – Lisa B.
Chapter 2 – Julie and Laura
Chapter 3 – Teri and Tammy
Chapter 4 – Chris W.
Chapter 5 – Kristen and Tracey
Conclusions – All

2. Marketing Template – Read through it and bring any questions to meeting

3. Review SWOT Information

4. Facility Scan – fill one out for your assigned branch and return it prior to the meeting.

Amelia – Teri
Batavia – Laura
Bethel – Tammy
Felicity – Chris W.
Goshen – Julie
Milford – Tracey
New Richmond – Chris W.
Owensville – Lisa B.
Union Township – Kristen
Williamsburg - Tammy

Marketing the Library

We've just started working on library marketing around the Admin building. Our present discussion is on library products and services. We've spent some time brainstorming about what our current services and products are, and the list is pretty creative. I'd love some feedback from everyone else too. If you've got any, please post it so we can throw it into the mix. Also target audiences. Who is the library's target audience. Answers today ranged from Everybody to preschoolers etc..... any other suggestions?

making my presence known

Just giving this a try. -c

Washington Post Column: Why Blog

Interesting column by Frank Ahrens about why people blog.

technorati tags: blogs, blogging, bloggers

digg

Check out digg. What's digg you ask?

Digg is a technology news website that employs non-hierarchical editorial control. With digg, users submit stories for review, but rather than allowing an editor to decide which stories go on the homepage, the users do.

technorati tag: digg

What do we do with a SWOT or Two?

Several people have been asking just what we're going to do with the SWOT Analysis that everyone is working on. SWOTs are a step in a process of evalauting our current strategic plan; they help us to identify what we do well and what we need to improve on. They also let us consider which services should be continued and which ones we don't need anymore. By identifying weaknesses and threats, we can think about strategies to counteract them. SWOTS are also a step in writing a new strategic plan. We use the SWOTs to build on our successes and identify priorities for a new plan.

We are currently evaluating our existing plan and services. That process will continue through most of the summer months. The SWOT analysis will be combined with focus group discussions, and interviews of community leaders to help us understand what we do well and what the public and staff members percieve as important. The community profiles being developed will also play into this process. Staff input in this process is essential and the work you're doing lays the ground work for future plans.

We won't be writing a new strategic plan until after the November election. Until we know whether or not the TEL Amendment passes, we really can't do any planning. Most of the public libraries in Ohio are in the same position, and are also holding off planning for the future at this point. But the SWOTs are still valuable, and when we are ready to plan; we'll have a solid basis for figuring out strategies for the future.

If you have any questions about the process or comments about the SWOT, add something to the list, and I'll try to get back to you with a response.

More on TEL/TABOR

I went to an ABLE/Literacy Taskforce meeting this morning at IHOP (great pancakes and sausage!) and very briefly described TEL/TABOR. As a result, I have been asked to present a fuller discussion at our meeting in May. At Leslie's suggestion, I am also signing up to be part of the (opponent's) statewide speaker's bureau on this topic. Of course, as a public employee, I cannot openly speak against the proposed amendment; however, the training will provide me with many additional facts and presentation ideas which I will have to modify to something less partisan. The speaker's bureau training will be Wednesday, April 5, in Columbus if anyone wants to go with me.

Liz

TEL/TABOR Update

I've been doing more reading on the TEL Amendment, and it just keeps getting freakier and freakier. If you'd like to do more reading too, go to the website http://ohiosfuture.org they have a number of information pieces on the TEL/TABOR. You can also check out the Ohio Library Council's website at http://www.olc.org for a take on how it will impact public libraries. Jim Petro's website has a number of related articles and information check it out at http://jimpetro.com If you actually favor the amendment, or even if you'd like to think about the amendment supporters' side of the arguement; go to Ken Blackwell's website at http://www.kenblackwell.com and follow the links there until you find his blog and attached articles. He's sponsoring the admendment through the group Citizens for Tax Reform, and they have a website at http://cftr.org. Talk a look and let me know what you think. If you post questions to the blog, I'll try to post answers.