Today I have a day off work. We are celebrating Martin Luther King's Birthday. It feels very special and significant because of the inauguration of Barack Obama tomorrow. Yesterday I went with Judy to Washington to listen to Barack speak and watch the concert. We parked at Judys brother's home and got a lift downtown with her nephew. Judy, her brother Danny, sister-in-law Julia, their friend Susan, and I waited in line for and hour and three quarters to get into the park through the security entrance. Even though it was freezing cold and I started to worry about frostbite to my feet- there was a great atmosphere. People are so excited about idealism returning to America. People around us in line had come from as far as Maine and North Carolina - travelling from before dawn. The volunteers helping with the lines had little or no communication each other or with the security personnel ( from what I could see) and as we approached the 19th street entrance it was closed (reportedly by the decision of the secret service). The line proceeded and merged with the 17th street entrance and just as we reached that entrance it also was closed. So at that point we gave up and headed back home to watch it at Danny's on their big screen TV. Danny had recorded it and although we weren't immersed in the wonderful crowd atmosphere- the upside was we were warm, comfortable sipping on red wine (tea for me) and 3 gorgeous cheeses and crackers. Even though we couldn't get in to the actual concert it really felt good to have joined the crowd and had a touch of the wonderful atmosphere. It was also nice to be able to share it with Judys mother who hadn't felt up to heading downtown. It was a really great emotional day.
Today I have my first snow here. It is beautiful!
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Monday, 5 January 2009
I got help from my new friends here looking for a car. I had wanted something with good gas millage, because my commute is about 45 minutes. However Lisa talked me into a small Suburu all wheel drive. She said because I don't have experience with driving in the snow that AWD would be safer for me. The petrol here is $1.45 a gallon - which is .40 cents a litre. So I am spending much less on petrol here anyway. I have also invested in a GPS because it was really nerve wracking driving home in the dark here- cause the roads are not lit. The first day I was driving home from work I pulled over to check the map and I hit a curb- which dented the rim and nicked tire ( ruined both it turned out). I thought I was in the middle of nowhere but there was a housing development- thus curbs.
So despite the expense I have decided to get comprehensive insurance. My car coverage is about $1,800 per year because they do not recognise my previous driving/insurance record in Australia. I decided I need to view it as an expense of the trip and mentally deduct it from my salary here. That helps me swallow it! My new workmates are great- they recommended a mechanic near work and drove down with me to drop the car off.
The work at my new branch is starting off very much lighter than Werribee. There is a lot more money allocated to personnel, and it looks like less of the budget focused on fittings and collections. One thing that is really great is their resource story boxes. Each season (Spring ,Summer ect) the 3 of us in our department make up 2 preschool and 2 baby storytime boxes. Each box has about 10-12 books on a theme, songs, a CD (like Alison makes up- burned from favourites) rhymes, about 6 felt board sets, and 1 or 2 puppets. They have about 30 great Folkmanis puppets at each branch. Each box then rotates to the different branches. It is really easy to do storytime with so many great books , props and ideas! They also run about 7 storytimes a week ( we each do about 2 and one on Saturday) and one of my colleagues also does science activities for homeschoolers a couple of times a month. Because we do so many there is never more than 25 people attending. We will probably look at changing the programing a bit because some of the sessions are really under attended. I really don't think there is a demand for 2 back to back storytime sessions in the mornings which is what they have been doing. I would like to see what we could develop for youth. They have Wii games so I will be interested to see how well attended those are! Next week they are running a session with young adults to get input for the Cd collection.
So far I have found some of the things we seem to do better (collections, cataloguing) and some of the things they do better here (programs, programming resources). Next week I am going to the monthly childrens meeting with all the branches. I am going to request permission to post things on the wiki. One easy thing I thought I could do is take a photo of the story box contents every week!
I went up to my brothers for Christmas and got the snow I wished for. I must say I am not so keen to drive in it down here in Maryland - so thankfully we haven't had much so far! New Years eve I spent with my friends Judy Lisa, Cindy and their partners. Judy is the woman I live with, Lisa is her best friend who helped me get this job and Cindy was the branch manager who selected me after the interview. Lisa has subsequently been promoted to assistant library director and Cindy transfered to branch manager of Lisas old branch. I really like my new branch manager too.
Last night Judy had a dinner party for some of her family so it was great to meet them. Lisa has fireplaces in the kitchen , dining room and lounge room- so we spend alot of time feeding and enjoying the fire.
So despite the expense I have decided to get comprehensive insurance. My car coverage is about $1,800 per year because they do not recognise my previous driving/insurance record in Australia. I decided I need to view it as an expense of the trip and mentally deduct it from my salary here. That helps me swallow it! My new workmates are great- they recommended a mechanic near work and drove down with me to drop the car off.
The work at my new branch is starting off very much lighter than Werribee. There is a lot more money allocated to personnel, and it looks like less of the budget focused on fittings and collections. One thing that is really great is their resource story boxes. Each season (Spring ,Summer ect) the 3 of us in our department make up 2 preschool and 2 baby storytime boxes. Each box has about 10-12 books on a theme, songs, a CD (like Alison makes up- burned from favourites) rhymes, about 6 felt board sets, and 1 or 2 puppets. They have about 30 great Folkmanis puppets at each branch. Each box then rotates to the different branches. It is really easy to do storytime with so many great books , props and ideas! They also run about 7 storytimes a week ( we each do about 2 and one on Saturday) and one of my colleagues also does science activities for homeschoolers a couple of times a month. Because we do so many there is never more than 25 people attending. We will probably look at changing the programing a bit because some of the sessions are really under attended. I really don't think there is a demand for 2 back to back storytime sessions in the mornings which is what they have been doing. I would like to see what we could develop for youth. They have Wii games so I will be interested to see how well attended those are! Next week they are running a session with young adults to get input for the Cd collection.
So far I have found some of the things we seem to do better (collections, cataloguing) and some of the things they do better here (programs, programming resources). Next week I am going to the monthly childrens meeting with all the branches. I am going to request permission to post things on the wiki. One easy thing I thought I could do is take a photo of the story box contents every week!
I went up to my brothers for Christmas and got the snow I wished for. I must say I am not so keen to drive in it down here in Maryland - so thankfully we haven't had much so far! New Years eve I spent with my friends Judy Lisa, Cindy and their partners. Judy is the woman I live with, Lisa is her best friend who helped me get this job and Cindy was the branch manager who selected me after the interview. Lisa has subsequently been promoted to assistant library director and Cindy transfered to branch manager of Lisas old branch. I really like my new branch manager too.
Last night Judy had a dinner party for some of her family so it was great to meet them. Lisa has fireplaces in the kitchen , dining room and lounge room- so we spend alot of time feeding and enjoying the fire.
Sunday, 16 March 2008
More Baltimore
Finally I am making time to record the notes from my visit here.
One of the most memorable and helpful experiences I had was observing a marketing meeting at BCPL. It was really inspiring to observe the range ideas for promoting reading.
One of the most memorable and helpful experiences I had was observing a marketing meeting at BCPL. It was really inspiring to observe the range ideas for promoting reading.
- Staff recommendation bookmarks inserted into displayed books with the specific staff member's name attached. Slips are collected as the books are issued. Each slip collected goes in the drawing for a prize (examples of prizes include an extra long lunch break)
- Librarything- staff add items they really love
Baltimore County Public Library
I can not believe the generosity shown to me by Baltimore! I have not only gathered some great ideas- but I have made some wonderful friendships. Assistant Library Director Deborah Wheeler picked me up at the downtown Youth Hostel where I was staying every day I was there. I had not realized but this library system covers 600 square miles! Debbie chauffeur me many miles over the course of a whole week I spent with them. I shared many great meals and warm moments with some wonderful people. Hopefully some of my new friends will make it to Australia one day.
Highlights from New York, Connecticut and New Jersey
I have see many great libraries and been received with such generosity. Unfortunately I really had limited time or access to the internet to report in detail on each of them. I did take lots and lots of photos though!
Middle Country Public Library in Long Island stands out (among other things) for its great partnerships. Check out Family Place Libraries
Darien Public Library is just a beautiful library as you can see from the photos. I especially liked the periodical room- which has great display for magazines and newspapers. They are building a new branch so it was interesting to see that they are incorporating a bookstore model for the ground floor- with a cafe, seating tables and lots of display for new and popular items. I had a great talk with their web page designer. He was previously involved in designing the award winning site for Ann Arbour Public Library- using an open source content management system. He recommended a couple of systems for me to look at.
Louise Berry (Library Director) was so welcoming and helpful. I was able to attend an evening program : Meet the Author: Lee Siegel, author of "Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob." I met Louise's husband John Berry a former editor for Library Journal ( I feel like I am touching base with all the celebrities of the library world). They very kindly dropped me at the train station at the end of the night so that I could return to NYC. I don't have access to the detailed notes I took today so I will add more details later.
From Darien I was given the lead to check out Princeton Public library
Once again Princeton was gorgeous! Check out the photos- especially the fireplace. Although it was going while I was there- they do regularly have it going when it is cold. It is gas but looks like log burning.
Montclair Public Library was also a lovely branch and I could see many of the design features were similar to Princeton.
I went there with my 7 year old nephew and I was so proud of the way he found his way around.
While I was busy taking photos, he had found a recommended book list on the children's information desk, looked up a title and gone to the book summary. Its amazing to see how young some kids can take advantage of resources.
Middle Country Public Library in Long Island stands out (among other things) for its great partnerships. Check out Family Place Libraries
Darien Public Library is just a beautiful library as you can see from the photos. I especially liked the periodical room- which has great display for magazines and newspapers. They are building a new branch so it was interesting to see that they are incorporating a bookstore model for the ground floor- with a cafe, seating tables and lots of display for new and popular items. I had a great talk with their web page designer. He was previously involved in designing the award winning site for Ann Arbour Public Library- using an open source content management system. He recommended a couple of systems for me to look at.
Louise Berry (Library Director) was so welcoming and helpful. I was able to attend an evening program : Meet the Author: Lee Siegel, author of "Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob." I met Louise's husband John Berry a former editor for Library Journal ( I feel like I am touching base with all the celebrities of the library world). They very kindly dropped me at the train station at the end of the night so that I could return to NYC. I don't have access to the detailed notes I took today so I will add more details later.
From Darien I was given the lead to check out Princeton Public library
Once again Princeton was gorgeous! Check out the photos- especially the fireplace. Although it was going while I was there- they do regularly have it going when it is cold. It is gas but looks like log burning.
Montclair Public Library was also a lovely branch and I could see many of the design features were similar to Princeton.
I went there with my 7 year old nephew and I was so proud of the way he found his way around.
While I was busy taking photos, he had found a recommended book list on the children's information desk, looked up a title and gone to the book summary. Its amazing to see how young some kids can take advantage of resources.
Sunday, 2 March 2008
New York Public Library
I didn't set up anything formal with NYPL. But dropped in on a few recommended branches (thank you to Roger at Hudson Park Branch).
Bloomingdales 100th Street Branch had a beautiful recently renovated upstairs space for children . Nice lighting and colours, Low shelving. and interesting foam seating made this an attractive space. Interestingly the librarian warned me that the foam seating was a little too fun. After school kids like to throw it around , stack it up and jump on it - so sometimes it has to be put away. Reminded me of our beautiful seating at Hoppers Crossing for the kids- we have to put it away at story time.
Mullberry Street Branch in Chinatown was easily my favorite space. It was newly renovated. I took lots of photos. I sat in on Rhyme time. Most libraries I have visited have a seperate space for programs . They run 2 1/2 hr sessions of about 20 participants back to back. Seating is set in a semi-circle. A table at the back has a selection of board books for participants to use. After the session they have some toys available for a short play session. I also loved her use of bubbles to start and finish the session.
Donnell Branch (across from MOMA) has a teachers resources collection as part of its childrens section. Rebecca Schosha (Childrens Librarian) recomended this as quite sucessful. I guess our equiviant is our Parenting Resources section. We discussed different branches and renovations to Childrens areas. Her view is that a minamalist approach is the most flexible and adaptable and stands the test of time. Lots of light wood with red highlights is a strong high quality look. I agree.
An interesting aspect of service at NYPL is that pubic internet access is limited to one session per day at any branch. I tried to book a second session at another branch and I was barred. Sessions are 15 , 30 or 45 minute. They do have wireless however if you had your own computer. I was envious of my French room-mates who went out and got themselves a $520 laptop to use at the Youth Hostel. I guess I have gotten a bit addicted to my internet!
Bloomingdales 100th Street Branch had a beautiful recently renovated upstairs space for children . Nice lighting and colours, Low shelving. and interesting foam seating made this an attractive space. Interestingly the librarian warned me that the foam seating was a little too fun. After school kids like to throw it around , stack it up and jump on it - so sometimes it has to be put away. Reminded me of our beautiful seating at Hoppers Crossing for the kids- we have to put it away at story time.
Mullberry Street Branch in Chinatown was easily my favorite space. It was newly renovated. I took lots of photos. I sat in on Rhyme time. Most libraries I have visited have a seperate space for programs . They run 2 1/2 hr sessions of about 20 participants back to back. Seating is set in a semi-circle. A table at the back has a selection of board books for participants to use. After the session they have some toys available for a short play session. I also loved her use of bubbles to start and finish the session.
Donnell Branch (across from MOMA) has a teachers resources collection as part of its childrens section. Rebecca Schosha (Childrens Librarian) recomended this as quite sucessful. I guess our equiviant is our Parenting Resources section. We discussed different branches and renovations to Childrens areas. Her view is that a minamalist approach is the most flexible and adaptable and stands the test of time. Lots of light wood with red highlights is a strong high quality look. I agree.
An interesting aspect of service at NYPL is that pubic internet access is limited to one session per day at any branch. I tried to book a second session at another branch and I was barred. Sessions are 15 , 30 or 45 minute. They do have wireless however if you had your own computer. I was envious of my French room-mates who went out and got themselves a $520 laptop to use at the Youth Hostel. I guess I have gotten a bit addicted to my internet!
Queens Public Library
Queens really put out the welcome mat for me- I was overwhelmed by their generosity! Carol Sheffer (ADM) Kathy Degyanski (Programs Co-ordinator) and Rosanne Cerny (Children's Services) gave me an overview of Queens Library). The also sent me the powerpoint presentation afterwards- so I have notes.
I believe that the circulation statistics for Queens are the highest in the country. Over 47% of Queens population is foreign born. They are driven by customer needs focus and emphasise service quality and innovation. Programs such as" New Americans Program" are designed to assist new (and not so new) arrivals in the aquisition of education and coping skills neccessary for adaption to a new country. In addition to providing programs themselves they work in partnership to host other agencies and provide referrals to other agencies.
Another need in this community is after-school activities. "BOOST-Best out of School Time" is a program which commits the library as an.."active community partner in the education of youth." The quality of this commitment was challenged by a massive funding cuts following 9/11. The library made the decision that the reliance of the community on the afternoon activities for young people meant that it was not an option to respond to the cuts by reducing days of service. They made cutbacks in other areas to ensure that young people could continue to access the library 6 days per week.
Another standard that reflects community access priority is that no one in Queens should be more than a mile (or a 20 minute walk) from a local branch. There are 62 community branches.
They also have a fantastic use of partnerships and volunteerism. They have 800 volunteers to a ratio of 1200 full time workers and 600 part-time workers. Volunteers and partners are critical to the success of the 22,000 free educational, cultural and literary programs they run each year.
This is something I think that we could definitely take on board at Wyndham. An example is getting youth to plan and implement afterschool activities for children. At Flushing I observed teens playing board games with young children. What a great alternative to shelving for them!
At Flushing they were also running an afterschool gaming session. They had Xbox and Playstation as well as chess and board games. The librarian had a spreadsheet with 10 minute slots for 2- 4 players (depending on the game) and kids signed up for a slot. This seemed to work very well to enforce fair turn taking.
At Queens Central Ken Kugler and Christian gave me some leads for setting up anime clubs :
www.operationanime.com and recommended reading faq on the website : http://www.operationanime.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.faq.
This company is called Funimation. You can also Google for other companies that do this if you want to show lots of Anime you can sign up for multiple companies.
Also an article from VOYA about how to bring anime to the library:
http://pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA200504AnimetedLibrary.pdf
Christian said popular Manga programs can be very simple. Just provideing a meeting place for fans to share entusiasms. A few books on drawing manga and pencils and paper can work well. Ken also gave me an example of computer generated reediting of manga script. See:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kingdom+hearts+blah&search_type=
I will definitely be following up on this as it would be very popular at Hoppers Crossing and maybe it could be used to draw youth to Werribee. Another great program they run is "Read off your Fines" Borrowing privileges are terminated when fines exceed $10. Kids are given the opportunity to re activate their card by paying it off with "Library Currency" issued $1 per 1/2 hour of reading in the library. The Children's and Youth section have librarians on desk to oversee this. The idea originated in Columbus Ohio PL. Many youth are drawn to the library for internet usage. Only49% have access from home.
Check out the Exit Project video produced by the library on youtube.
Another great idea is the use on video conferencing to produce programs. Requirements:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/
I believe that the circulation statistics for Queens are the highest in the country. Over 47% of Queens population is foreign born. They are driven by customer needs focus and emphasise service quality and innovation. Programs such as" New Americans Program" are designed to assist new (and not so new) arrivals in the aquisition of education and coping skills neccessary for adaption to a new country. In addition to providing programs themselves they work in partnership to host other agencies and provide referrals to other agencies.
Another need in this community is after-school activities. "BOOST-Best out of School Time" is a program which commits the library as an.."active community partner in the education of youth." The quality of this commitment was challenged by a massive funding cuts following 9/11. The library made the decision that the reliance of the community on the afternoon activities for young people meant that it was not an option to respond to the cuts by reducing days of service. They made cutbacks in other areas to ensure that young people could continue to access the library 6 days per week.
Another standard that reflects community access priority is that no one in Queens should be more than a mile (or a 20 minute walk) from a local branch. There are 62 community branches.
They also have a fantastic use of partnerships and volunteerism. They have 800 volunteers to a ratio of 1200 full time workers and 600 part-time workers. Volunteers and partners are critical to the success of the 22,000 free educational, cultural and literary programs they run each year.
This is something I think that we could definitely take on board at Wyndham. An example is getting youth to plan and implement afterschool activities for children. At Flushing I observed teens playing board games with young children. What a great alternative to shelving for them!
At Flushing they were also running an afterschool gaming session. They had Xbox and Playstation as well as chess and board games. The librarian had a spreadsheet with 10 minute slots for 2- 4 players (depending on the game) and kids signed up for a slot. This seemed to work very well to enforce fair turn taking.
At Queens Central Ken Kugler and Christian gave me some leads for setting up anime clubs :
www.operationanime.com and recommended reading faq on the website : http://www.operationanime.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.faq.
This company is called Funimation. You can also Google for other companies that do this if you want to show lots of Anime you can sign up for multiple companies.
Also an article from VOYA about how to bring anime to the library:
http://pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA200504AnimetedLibrary.pdf
Christian said popular Manga programs can be very simple. Just provideing a meeting place for fans to share entusiasms. A few books on drawing manga and pencils and paper can work well. Ken also gave me an example of computer generated reediting of manga script. See:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kingdom+hearts+blah&search_type=
I will definitely be following up on this as it would be very popular at Hoppers Crossing and maybe it could be used to draw youth to Werribee. Another great program they run is "Read off your Fines" Borrowing privileges are terminated when fines exceed $10. Kids are given the opportunity to re activate their card by paying it off with "Library Currency" issued $1 per 1/2 hour of reading in the library. The Children's and Youth section have librarians on desk to oversee this. The idea originated in Columbus Ohio PL. Many youth are drawn to the library for internet usage. Only49% have access from home.
Check out the Exit Project video produced by the library on youtube.
Another great idea is the use on video conferencing to produce programs. Requirements:
- T1 or better Broadband
- Projecor
- Space
- Parterships such as Melbourne Zoo which provided a program to Queens
- Another great program they ran was with Cleveland Institute of Music- Dalcroze Eurhythmics
- Banks (programs on financil planning, careers, budgeting
- Health Services
- Arts
- Museums
http://www.exploratorium.edu/
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