Goodbyes

Well, I had my last shift at the library, and it was kind of fun to see how much I've learned. I was helping people with technology questions like a rock star. I knew where to go to get someone's hold on the shelf before 5:00. I directed a patron to NoveList, and I think she's going to have a good time finding more paranormal romances now that she's read through her favorite author's complete works. I directed patrons to the program room, checked to see where one patron was on the holds list for the newest Grisham, and knew not to run to the recently returned shelf for something that was returned two days ago.

Other things I've learned:

• The majority of the librarians I worked with were lovely, creative, fascinating and helpful people. I loved getting to know them, putting books they recommend on my list, and talking to them about our mixed feelings about Oprah's book club. I hope that in the future I can work in another place with that same sense of camaraderie. 
• I know a lot more about technology and information than I think I do. 
• There are tons of things I don't know. 
• Most of the time, finding the answer is just a matter of figuring out how to search for it, even if I have no idea whether the answer exists. It's okay to ask more experienced librarians when I have questions, but if they're busy, I can find it if I ask the right questions. 
• 90% of the time, it's easier to help someone with a technology question if I just get up and help them. They don't want to inconvenience me, but I can almost always help them better if I can see what they're talking about (especially if they don't know what they're talking about).

Unexpected outcomes:

• My parallel parking skills have greatly improved, thanks to Bloomington downtown parking. 

Goodbye, MCPL. I will miss you greatly.

Dempsey, B. (2009). One Book, One Community, One Great Idea. Library Journal Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/communitypublicservices/855557-276/story.csp, December 7, 2010.

This article in Library Journal caught my attention since we just recently closed our vote for the next "One Book, One Bloomington," book. Since librarians in Seattle started their community read project, the idea has become a phenomenon. The article suggests that the program works so well because it can be geared toward any community, from the programs to the books to the specific groups targeted. In Philadelphia, a group started a "One Book, One Jewish Community," and started a program around Jewish people in the area reading Jewish authors. Librarians can easily adapt the program to the size of their community and the resources available at their library.

The article mentions great online resources for inspiration planning these activities, and indicates that the most important aspect of them is the experiences it gives the members of the community who come together to rediscover or discovery good books together. Different kinds of books can work - classics, slightly obscure titles, but the book should be something the reader can take seriously, and it should be discussable. Once the book has been chosen, it's the library's job to  build enthusiasm and get participation - because without it, the project will flop.

Though the evidence is anecdotal, there is reason to believe that programs like this bring people to the library and help build enthusiasm for it. In a time where we really need to make ourselves relevant, bringing the community together behind you seems like one of the best things you could possibly do.

Martell, C. (2010). Theft and Its Effects on Our Neighborhood Libraries. Public Library Quarterly, 29(1), 30-38. doi:10.1080/01616840903562943.

This was a fascinating article about the books that are most often stolen  in public libraries, which caught my attention after my experiences here with rap music (we keep it in a back room because so much of it has been stolen) and urban fiction. According to Martell, the most commonly stolen books have varied in studies, but include test prep books, the Bible, and books about witchcraft, dreams, and astrology.

The survey focused on the theft of the ASVAB test prep book in the Sacramento area. They found that of the $10,000 or so spent on these prep materials, only about $1,500 of materials remained in the system. Out of curiosity, the librarian also examined the availability of books by the author Zane (another one we can't keep on the shelf), and $6,000 out of $8,000  worth of her materials had also walked off the shelves.

 Martell discusses the frustration about knowing what to do in this case. It seems silly to keep buying materials that can't be kept on the shelf, but at the same time, these items do circulate and people want to have access to them. It's frustrating to our patrons and to us when we can't offer materials like test preparation books to our patrons. She suggests that the best methods for combating this involve informing people quickly about overdue books in high-risk categories and providing other incentives to get the books back. However, this assumes the book has been checked out and then not returned, which certainly isn't always the case with many of our thefts. The most interesting recommendation was to purchase electronic versions of high risk items in order to avoid theft, which seems like it could be the best course of action for some items.

Technology is Not the Enemy

The other day a patron was looking for a book and couldn't find it in the catalog. He told us that we missed the old card catalogs, because "these computers make a lot of mistakes." We nodded politely to him, but secretly I was laughing to myself. Yes, sir, card catalogs were much more accurate than this pesky computers. They never lost records because a card got lost or misplaced or a patron just took it with them. Nope. When you needed to know where a book was, the card catalog knew, by golly.

I understand where these patrons are coming from. I know that computers can be scary, and that it's frustrating when the computer catalog doesn't find what you want. We've had some problems with some of our computers not displaying the call numbers, and that drives the patrons crazy. Card catalogs would never refuse to display call numbers!

But on the other hand . . . most of the inaccuracies are human error, just as they were in the old card catalogs. The difference is that one way or another, eventually you can find the record on a computer - or sometimes, if it's appropriate for the need of the patron, you can find the record at another library, via OCLC and WorldCat. In seconds, I can tell the patron if their rare book is available for Interlibrary Loan, because I can see exactly which libraries have it.

And then there's the part where they can access the OPAC from home. It's not a perfect system - the other day a guy came in and said there were supposed to be two copies of a book available, and we couldn't find either because they were probably out being used by other students who waited to write their report until the last day. But lots of people can browse our catalog before coming in to the library, and they can browse if by whatever keywords they want to use. Try doing that with a card catalog.

O'Gorman, J., & Trott, B. (2009). What Will Become of Reference in Academic and Public Libraries?. Journal of Library Administration, 49(4), 327-339. doi:10.1080/01930820902832421.

O'Gorman and Trott discuss the future of reference in a world where people increasingly rely on the internet to answer their questions. This was especially interesting to me because I know that many of the ready reference questions I get are from people who don't know how to use the internet (generally older people) and it seems like the day could be fast-approaching when most people can find the answers to those questions on their own.

The article suggests that the problem for users who can't find the answers they need is that they aren't focusing their searches, and that the future role for reference librarians will be to teach people how to use their online resources more effectively. This may particularly apply to older patrons who are frustrated with the new, online versions of things. One of the things that the article emphasizes is the need for the library to be flexible - offering the fast, self-service options, but also offering the individualized, in-person attention that some users need. Libraries should promote their services and find ways to let people know what's available to them. The authors suggest that the walk-up reference model may have had its day, and it might be time to offer other services, like reference by appointment. They should be providing a "human context for information."

The article goes on to discuss the future of the reference desk itself, and the changing nature of reference questions: the desk itself could be a barrier, the staffing of the desk is changing, and the questions might be fewer but more in-depth, since ready reference questions can be answered by most with a quick google search. Readers' Advisory is still an important part of library services and is expanding. Reference collections are changing or becoming digitized. The important thing will be for librarians to be willing to change with the times.

Informal Professional Development

I often find that when I'm at the desk and things are slow, there isn't much for me to do except peruse Library Journal or NoveList and try to pick up a few things. However, I find that sometimes my time is better spent when I get the librarians to talk to me.

Some of them recommend books and I get to see their automatic Readers' Advisor kick into action when I ask them for recommendations. I have lists of books that I can't wait to dig up once I graduate. Some of them give me great advice when I ask questions about dealing with specific kinds of questions or specific kinds of patrons. I have so much respect for the librarians I work with. I've been trying all semester to take every opportunity to ask them about things, especially when I don't feel satisfied with the interaction I had with a patron and want to know what I could do better next time. They always direct me to new resources - even if it's just a folder of forms I didn't know about.

I think one of those most valuable things about an experience like this is getting to see how people who have been doing this for a long time do things. True, I may know more about computers than some of them - but I had no idea how to help someone find divorce papers without accidentally giving legal advice. I've loved learning from these people and I'll be sad to leave them when I move after graduation.

Collection Evaluation

For the past few weeks, I've been working on a collection evaluation project for the library's music collection. The project is now drawing to a close, and I'm pretty pleased. MCPL's collection is certainly a good one, but there are also holes according to some of the lists and books I worked with to create my checklist.

I used a combination of three different lists to create my checklist, and I kept track of overlap between the lists. The same artists popped up over and over again, but it wasn't always the same album. I kept track of whether the library had the album, whether we had other albums by the artists, whether I thought we needed to add the album to the collection if we didn't have it, and whether the album was readily available on CD. The final list gives the collection development librarians a place to start that isn't Billboard, so I feel satisfied.

I do wonder what the future of CD collections will be. Several of the albums I found were available as MP3s, but not as CDs. The library books provides audiobooks, but I'm not sure what the best method of sharing MP3 music will be for the library beyond the streaming services I saw at my undergraduate university. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this superb collection when CD players aren't as present as they are now (which is already less than they used to be).