Digital badges
Posted on: January 3, 2014
Are you considering incorporating badges into your information literacy instruction or other library initiative? This informative article by Nicole Pagowsky from the ACRL publication “Keeping up with…” can help you understand digital badges and how you might use them. The article includes a bibliography and many links to additional information and resources.
Have you used digital badges in your library? Please tell us about it!
Submitted by: Dorothy Ryan Hemmo
University of Illinois – Springfield
The Carol Stream Public Library took advantage of the buzz of the holiday season this year. Our Marketing Committee, comprised of two staff members from each department, planned a Holiday Open House for the community. The first step was to see if there was anything else going on in town on the day selected. Once it was determined that no other group was doing anything that day (Park District, Village, etc.) the planning for the Dec. 8th, first ever, Library Holiday Open House began. A variety of activities inside and outside of the Library were planned. Staff member from every department participated and made the day a great success. Activities included live reindeer, horse drawn sleigh rides, crafts, holiday movies, Victorian carolers, bell quartet, refreshments (provided and hosted by the Friends group), and of course Santa and his elves. The Park District granted us permission to use the adjacent park for our sleigh rides and the Village provided us with an awesome Santa throne and barricades and cones for the sleigh ride route. In addition, both government entities provided publicity on their electronic signs located throughout the community. The Village posted info in their electronic newsletter and on their Facebook page. Village Trustees also posted the event on their personal Facebook pages.The Open House was an opportunity to appeal to our non-users and lapsed users. Using the grocery store trick of putting the milk in the back of the store, our refreshments were in the back of the Library. Attendees needed to walk through the library to get their treats. Staff put up displays of Library materials throughout the Library using props and lights to showcase and highlight our materials and services. Over 1100 people attended the event which ran for three hours. The Mayor and many local Trustees from the Village, Park District and more were in attendance. Patrons posted their pictures on their Facebook pages with Santa at the Library within hours of the event. The goodwill we created in the community cannot be measured. We were able to take advantage of the good cheer of the holiday season and create a community gathering place. Please visit our Facebook page to few the photos https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carol-Stream-Public-Library/274299845202.
Susan Westgate, Carol Stream Public Library
Proud to be a librarian
Posted on: October 22, 2013
- In: CONFERENCES | MARKETING | PUBLICITY | WELCOME
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I want to know some of your best practices in community engagement. Following up on Hilary’s last post, share what has inspired you, but also share what you have done to inspire others outside the library field. When was the last time you changed a library stereotype? Do you participate in the community outside your role as librarian? My library is in a very small community, so I am involved in just about everything, from being secretary of the business association to playing in the pool league. Everywhere I go I am conscious of how I am portraying librarianship, because the town is small enough that a lot of people know who I am. For me, it is important to represent the library no matter what I’m doing. I try to market the library to the people that may have never met a librarian before. The owner of the gym now knows that he can learn computer skills for free at the library, the guy playing pool at the bar knows he can order geometry books through interlibrary loan to improve his bank shots, and the kids watching the homecoming parade know that librarians don’t just sit behind a desk. (Sometimes they dress up like princesses).
I’m curious about how librarians in larger communities get involved. Our field always talks about how to get the non-users into the library, but what are you doing to show them what the library can do for them personally? One of the sessions at ILA talked about conducting phone interviews or surveys of non-users to find out why they don’t come to the library. That is a great idea, of course, but to borrow a phrase from Dawn Mushill, we should be “library ambassadors” all the time. Get out there and tell people what they’re missing by not coming to the library. Write an article for the newspaper, tell your yoga class about the new book club, and make sure your waitress knows she can bring her kids to story time. Stop expecting new patrons to come to you. Go find them!
Rylie Carter
Hinckley Public Library District
Getting Inspiration
Posted on: September 30, 2013
While many of us dutifully read our library blogs and journals, we are often talking to ourselves. What has inspired you lately outside of our own profession? Have you gotten a great programming idea from a sports team? How about picking up on promotional tactics at the grocery store? Or thinking about a new library layout based on a well-designed web site?
Do you actively expose yourself to ideas outside of our field? Are you reading publications other than those in your subject areas? Are you attending classes or events on topics you know nothing about?
Has inspiration ever hit you as you go about your daily life? What were the circumstances? Have you found a way to increase the odds of adding new and creative ideas to your repertoire?
Even more difficult than generating lots of shiny and new creative ideas is the daily work of continuing to improve current offerings. How do you keep some of your most basic library offerings fresh and relevant? Academic librarians: Are you continuing to tweak your information literacy sessions each quarter? Public librarians: Are you reassessing summer reading programs each year? Special librarians: Are you ensuring you are continuing to meet the information needs of your patrons?
Your fellow Illinois librarians want to learn from you. Share the most off-the-wall thing that has inspired you, and how you translated that initial spark into a successful service or offering for your patrons.
Hilary Meyer
Chicago, IL
Staying Motivated
Posted on: September 27, 2013
- In: AWARDS | Managing
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I ran across an interesting article this month that discussed recognition in librarianship–Micah Vandegrift’s “Rewards and Recognition in Librarianship,” which led me to Valerie Forrestal’s “The In Crowd, or Fear and Loathing in Library Land,” also published this month.
Though many of us consider the library profession a calling, it can be difficult to maintain a high level of enthusiasm and passion year after year strictly from internal motivation alone. What motivates you to do your best work? How have you been recognized, or recognized colleagues or staff, in a meaningful way? Good performance reviews, raises, and promotions are all wonderful, but what about public recognition within the library and beyond? What kinds of things does your library do that you particularly appreciate? Are teams recognized as well as individuals?
I’d love to hear from librarians of all types, including those in management.
Hilary Meyer
Chicago, IL
Like many libraries now, we’ve invested in a number of online learning tools: Mango Languages, Atomic Training, Lynda.com, Testing & Education Reference Center, Learn4Life, Tutor.com etc. You may have things like Universal Class, Learning Express Library, Brainfuse, etc.
Like many libraries, we put these under the Research > Databases section of our site, under a tidy little category called “Online Learning.” Fair enough, I suppose.
But they’re really not of a sort with the Ebscos and Morningstars of the online world, are they? They’re not really research. They are explicitly skill-building tools and I expect most of our customers either won’t look for or discover them under “Research.” In the long run, I’ll be looking for a way to improve their visibility on our site, but I’d like some comments about your own libraries’ practices in presenting this new breed of online product. Does the “Research” option work for you? If not, what top-level menu category do you put it under? Do you perhaps have a top-level menu entry just for those products?
Also, are there any libraries (Illinois or elsewhere) you think are doing a great job of highlighting those products on their sites?
When I asked a similar question on the Dig_Ref listserv back in 2012, it was suggested that I take a look at two particular sites:
- Atlanta-Fulton PL: Note the eCampus link mid-homepage.
- Scottsdale PL: Note the Research & Learning menu item, although they don’t have a specific catch-all category within the R&L categories.
Also, it’s easy to just say we should put our online learning tools front and center on homepage, but clearly, lots of products and services fight for that visibility. How do you fit online learning into your website priorities?
Also, I see this through the lens of a public librarian. How do academic/special/school libraries deal with these products?
I look forward to the discussion!
–Bill Pardue / bpardue@ahml.info
Arlington Heights Memorial Library / ILA Best Practices Committee
Like lots of public library staff, the we at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library like to make book/DVD/CD recommendations as part of a “Staff Choices” blog. We’re on the way to opening that up to quite a few more staff members, so we thought we should try to have some consistency in our entries, while still allowing for posters’ personal perspectives to shine.
Our main concern is that we wanted the posts to be fun and engaging, not merely plot summaries followed by read-alikes, etc. Still, we need to balance that sense of personality and fun with a degree of professionalism. With that in mind, we came up with the following blogging guidelines (which are posted on or staff wiki).
Do you have something similar at your own library? How do you approach shared blogging?
“Staff Choices” Blogging at AHML
The Staff Choices blog is a dynamic virtual destination designed to help customers discover, learn about, and engage around books, movies, TV shows, music, and games. A variety of bloggers will lend their unique voices to describe materials in ways which identify the library as a credible source, invite engagement, and ultimately promote circulation. While there is a focus on popular materials and current topics, bloggers may also introduce lesser known items which may attract community interest.
- Focus on books, movies, TV shows, music, games, and other popular materials in our collection. Topics should be of interest to you and your potential audience.
- Be positive, friendly, and conversational. Write as if you’re talking with a friend without being too personal. Express honest opinions without bashing a book or author. Humor is always good!
- Political and religious viewpoints of your own should not be expressed (no agendas) and posts should be free of any potentially offensive stereotypes (racial, ethnic, sexual). Stay clear of endorsing or taking a stance on controversial topics, but you can state the facts in order to tell people about an item.
- Capture the reader’s interest immediately with the title of the post (not necessarily the title of an item) and your first line.
- Be as concise as possible. Keep your blog post under 400 words. Bulleted lists help break up long paragraphs and make it easier for readers to see a lot of information at a glance.
- Make links meaningful. Do not use “click here” or use an entire URL as your link text. Link to specific items and searches in the catalog.
- Add images and videos when appropriate. Include one cover image, even if mentioning several items.
- Choose at least one “blog term” to help organize your posts and make them findable by readers.
- Use bold and italics sparingly; do not use underlining for emphasis. Do not capitalize “library” unless starting a sentence with it.
- Proofread before you publish. Make sure your post is grammatically correct and free of typos.
–Bill Pardue
Arlington Heights Memorial Library
bpardue@ahml.info
Rethinking Conferences
Posted on: January 22, 2013
Last month I attended the second incarnation of the Chicagoland Library Unconference, aptly named Chicagoland Library Unconference #2, at the RAILS Wheeling Building. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I hadn’t attended the first (un)conference, and the notion of describing something that is what it is not was intriguing, but also a bit Magritte-esque.
The day began with a panel discussion (innovators from other industries to inspire us) but quickly evolved into an action-packed hands-on workshop. We were divided into teams and given the task of defining a big problem facing libraries today, and devising an innovative solution.
Teams then pitched their ideas to the group at large and were peppered with tough questions from the audience. As described by the Unconference organizers, the experience was similar to an episode of ABC’s Shark Tank, as fellow attendees eagerly, and quite effectively, took on various roles (library board members, members of the public, fellow librarians, teachers, parents, corporate partners, etc.) while challenging the teams’ ideas.
In addition to leaving with some good ideas, the experience was educational in two distinct ways:
1. The ideas themselves are only part of the story. It is vital to quickly and effectively communicate and sell your idea to a diverse audience, and to be prepared for inevitable critiques.
2. The “unconference” was a great way to flip a traditional idea on its head. Instead of passively watching standard panel discussions and keynote speakers, attendees better accomplished traditional conference goals of meeting new people and learning about cutting edge ideas in our industry through active learning, participation, and content creation.
What examples have you seen of flipping a traditional idea on its head? What works, and why? What else can we take a second look at that has just “always been done that way”?
Hilary Meyer
Chicago, IL
Last week I had the opportunity to visit one of the companies that we purchase a limited number of books from each year. It was a really fascinating experience. The owner of the company as well as the regional manager and the vice president of sales met our group of twenty library staff members then proceeded to spend the next four hours with us. They gave us a tour of their facility, answered a myriad of questions and gave us time to wander around the warehouse. It was a librarian’s dream come true. This local company has always been family owned, has several green initiatives in effect and places customer service as one of their highest priorities. In addition, they highly value children’s literacy and donate as much as possible to children who may otherwise never own a book. Sounds like the perfect company, we should use them for everything, right? Well, the thing is, their materials are more costly than those we get from the big book jobbers. And that is where the conundrum lies.
In this age where our time is at a premium, more and more demands are being placed on us, and our budgets may not be as big as they used to be, where does the personal touch come in? Are we willing to sacrifice excellent customer service from a company where a live person always answers the phone for a 40% discount somewhere else? Do we stop seeing book representatives for the simplicity of standing orders and the ease of a selection process that only requires a computer and can be done at any time of the day or night? And conversely, should we still value that face to face time with representatives even if they no longer have the love or interest in their products but are just trying to reach their quota?
As we being this new year, is the personal touch still important?
Is providing genealogy help @ your library becoming a service priority? Here are some successful services and programs the Algonquin Area Public Library is providing to support residents looking to “discover their roots.”
Laying the groundwork for successful genealogy programming starts with identifying someone who has been doing their own family research, is “genealogy friendly” and willing to share their expertise with the public. Start by asking your own staff; call another library, a local historical or genealogical society from the surrounding community for free or inexpensive speakers. Reference librarians Virginia Freyre and Kristen McCallum are our resident experts and teachers. They have created a first class genealogy collection and program repertoire over the last 8 years of books, classes, workshops, brochures, speakers, online resources, a web page and half hour consultations for the “Clueless about Genealogy!” We are close to becoming an affiliate Family History Center (LDS) to process patron requests for microfilm from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
Our beginner classes are traditionally scheduled early in the year. The original Genealogy 101 class covered the basics of where to start, searching census records, locating vital records, military records and immigration and naturalization resources. Students loved the notebook we provided with handouts on each topic presented. The wealth of information presented is often overwhelming to beginners so Kristen and Virginia redesigned their class. The original 101 class was expanded to a 3 week session limited to 30 students titled Genealogy Bootcamp. They discovered that step by step instruction, building on the previous week’s lesson, by using case studies, assigning homework, and giving quizzes helped the new “recruits” increase their understanding of the research process. Information was provided about other genealogical programs, workshops, and conferences and attendance was encouraged for additional learning opportunities.
Our most popular program always filled to capacity is our After-Hours Genealogy Workshop. For the last 5 years, in April and November on a Friday night from 4:30-10:30pm Kristen and Virginia provide genealogy enthusiasts independent research time on our computers, technical and research assistance and occasional “expert” volunteers from the local genealogical society. The evening begins with a short presentation on a general topic of interest, snacks and drinks are provided, use of our computers, access to Ancestry and other databases, and unlimited free printing. October and November is a good time to schedule an after hours program to take advantage of the State of Illinois’s free trial access to electronic resources during their annual Try-it Illinois.
Two years ago they created the monthly Genealogical Lecture Series by choosing a regular day and time, ours is 3rd Tuesdays at 7pm (excluding July, August and December), to increase appeal to novices, seasoned researchers and increase attendance. We continue to schedule a variety of topics and speakers; Ethnic research strategies (Polish, German, Irish, English, Scottish, Swedish, etc.), Genealogy computer program comparisons of Family Tree Maker & Roots Magic, Online resource demonstration and instruction for Ancestry and Heritage Quest, FamilySearch.org Experts (LDS), Immigration & Naturalization, Marriage Records, Collateral Relations, Cemetery Research, Writing Your Family History, Old Photograph identification and restoration and Local History.
Contact Vicky Tobias at the Algonquin Area Public Library for more information.
ILA Best Practices 