For the past three years, mpow has sponsored a photography contest for teens. We had 42 entries the first year, 32 last year, and a whopping 67 entries this year! I was amazed at the talent on display by our local teens. It was incredibly difficult to choose the top three winners and honorable mentions. Let me know what you think of our choices and which ones are your favorites!
you’ll never be a truly great library director unless you know how to fix a toilet
educate yourself and set a good example
three kinds of bosses: newbie, know but don’t “have” time (most bosses), don’t know what they don’t know (think they know it all)
who’s the best boss you’ve ever had?
good bosses make you feel like they believe in you
being a boss touches every single corner of your library
you have to learn a lot of things, but the thing that matters the most is how you treat other people
bosses set the tone of the workplace and touch the lives of ppl so that they can be everything they can be
good bosses know that they have a lot to offer and a lot to learn
what’s needed to achieve and maintain greatness? three things…
commitment – need to have the right attitude, need the commitment to become a great boss.
time (1 hour a week) – how to carve out 1 hour per week: arrest the time thieves, check email only twice a day, stop polishing the pearl (not everything needs to be perfect), master the art of nonfinishing (drop the stuff that’s not worth the time, move onto to stuff that’s more productive), skip a lunch…it’s your career!
other professionals continue training, so should librarians! we need to invest in our own development on a personal level
a plan – a lot of workbooks out there that will help you put together a plan to become a good boss (cathy has a workbook coming out in summer called “be a good boss”).
write your own workbook – not that difficult to do. perform a SWOT analysis on your own leadership and design a plan based on those
mentoring is key, learning from others and sharing your wisdom and experience with others
mentoring can be spontaneous, not necessarily a formal thing
stop being a know-it-all and respect where people are at and what they want for their own work and career
admit your mistakes, just be honest, shows strength and gains respect from staff
getting out into your community to the point where your staff don’t know where you are and you lose touch with them, not a good thing!
sign that things are going well is when there is initiative and ppl are coming forward with new ideas
importance of setting clear expectations and communicating them well
if you’re going to say something that’s kind of difficult, start by saying, “i have to say something that’s kind of difficult…”
how do you discipline without creating ill feelings? set clear expectations so criticism doesn’t come as a surprise. start by saying, “look, my job is to help you succeed. we have a problem…so how can we figure out how to improve things and help you succeed?” let them contribute to the solution. let hem know you’re on their side.
how do you help your boss become a better boss if you have a bad boss? honest communication. get a new job if it doesn’t get better. don’t stay in a workplace that makes your life miserable and doesn’t allow you to be productive and grow.
Wifi was not working for me so I ended up being a “have-not” at this morning’s Top Tech Trends program. So I typed up notes and here they are! Apologies if I got anything wrong, but there were a lot of ideas being thrown around! Thanks to everyone on the panel.
libraries need a new electronic content distribution and access infrastructure
libraries operate on content and community
an organization needs to be created to develop this type of system, one that can articulate why we need to do this and to get the programmers and the legal experts to work on this
an organization that isn’t pre-existing so that it isn’t bound by anything
question from audience: what is “it” exactly?
problem: amazon and apple (itunes) have created electronic access infrastructures that are proprietary and have shut libraries out completely
Monique Sendze
smart phone and augmented reality
superimposing digital data on top of reality
libraries becoming more intelligent with sharing data with patrons
walking into a library and holding up your phone, getting information about materials (reviews, related programs, subject headings) right away
qrcodes – 2d barcodes
sacramento and contra costa libraries are on their way to using qr codes
using qr codes for readers advisory. putting on popular materials. qrcodes provide read-alikes and reviews. mobile tagging.
qrcodes out in the community to help ppl connect to the library’s materials, services, and events even when they’re not in the library building
not mainstream yet but it has a future in libraries
question: who’s going to develop those augmented reality apps?
question: how are you going to train staff on many different phones so they can help patrons? a: no different from the plethora of e-readers out there and knowing how to use those devices. a new type of librarianship where we can provide assistance with technology devices.
kate: we can’t say “no” anymore, we need to get in there and figure it out
michael: if we keep in mind our mission, we’re going to be fine because we’re going to do things to keep up with what ppl want, which includes technology
right now at least 20 different manufacturers creating e-book readers
many different operating systems and formats
different kinds of screens
like the 1990s with video, lots of different formats, manufacturers, etc.
all going to change in a few days with the ipad coming out
1984 apple changed the computer industry
ipod changed music industry
iphone changed cell phone industry
ipad is going to do the same thing to the gaming industry and the e-book industry
thinks ipad is going to be a better e-book reader because of the touch tech, color, screen, multi-touch, publishers involved (six large publishers), other features
how does this affect libraries? can your entire staff use e-books if patrons ask. huge problem.
another problem, a lot of these ppl will go around libraries now and go directly to apple
will libraries check out e-book readers and how will this happen?
michael: the ease of access to the content really made the iphone attractive
also, apple had the distribution system figured out with iphone and itunes, exact same thing is happening to the ipad
michael: don’t think about the brand (apple, netflix, etc), but think about the functionality instead. why do ppl like to use something? what do they do that makes them successful?
twitter q: how do we train our staff if we can’t afford to buy these tech gadgets? d: friends group is funding purchase of tech toys. k: patrons might have gadgets and might be willing to show staff how to use these tools
michael: makes him angry that we’re the info professionals and we have to ask patrons to use something that we can’t afford to provide. we’re the best at this, why can’t we get the things we need? we need something new.
monique: vendors should be giving us these devices
question: what about the ppl who are the have nots, the ppl who don’t have this tech.
michael: if we can’t figure out how to crack the “content” nut, we’re not going to have enough support to keep the lights on.
jessamyn west recently did a presentation on this, slides available at librarian.net
we’re usually talking about the “haves” when talking about top tech trends
to some extent, we need to make some peace with that. BUT we’re heading down a dangerous path if we completely ignore the ppl who have not
we’re getting more ppl coming online, ppl need instruction and help with technology
ppl are going to come in with their stuff and want to have content that works with what they have
libraries are safe places to learn about technology, we’re nice and not going to judge ppl about lack of knowledge or skills
monique: stats show that 40% of americans still don’t have internet in their homes, big problem. for quite some time yet, libraries are going to be that safe haven for the havenots. however, we need to be mindful that we’re not pushing away the haves and the more advanced users. perfect example: charlotte’s imagineon
dlk: find out who you’re customers are focus on serving them. don’t think of it in terms of the underserved and overserved. in topeka, “underserved” are the upper middle class who don’t live near the library. the lib has never tried serving them. that’s who the lib in topeka needs to focus on.
Natalie Merchant performed at the PLA 2010 conference this afternoon and, while she mostly performed songs from her upcoming album, she ended her session with an encore performance of “Kind and Generous.” Before she began the song, she talked about the importance of the local public library during her childhood and she dedicated the song to librarians and the work we do. At one point while she sang, she choked up a bit and said, “I never thought I’d have the chance [to thank you].” I was very touched by the moment and, from speaking to others afterwards and monitoring #pla10, I know I wasn’t alone. It was an amazing way to kick off the conference!
If you’d like to read more about the performance, please check out this nice post on the PLA blog. Here’s a short video of most of the encore performance…
Yesterday, I flew into Portland for day 1 of the 2010 PLA National Conference. This is my third time attending PLA and I’m especially excited about this one because I served on the programming committee. I hope the people who attend the conference go back to their libraries full of ideas, inspiration, and excitement about the future of libraries.
Day 1 for me started with an early morning flight to PDX and a free ride to downtown Portland on the Max light rail. After checking in, I immediately headed over to the “Changing Course: Leadership for Navigating the New Library” preconference program where I helped setup and check participants in. The nice thing is that I got to sit in on the entire program, which normally wouldn’t be possible because it’s only open to people who have been in management positions for at least five years. The program was organized by a PLA Leadership Task Force and led by Adam Goodman, who is the director of the Center for Leadership at Northwestern University. I liked his approach, which seems to be guiding individuals to identify the leadership principles important to them and their libraries. Here are some bullet points based on comments made by the participants, facilitators, and Adam:
leaders should have a versatile portfolio of abilities
ask yourself, “What’s the work that I need to be doing differently as a leader? not the library, but you personally?
libraries are conceived in an institutional context, but at the end of the day, the question is who and what is the community investing in? ppl will want to invest in ppl.
when venture capitalists look to invest, they look to invest in two things: the idea and the people
cross-cutting abilities: anticipate and lead change (know your community), and recognize and grow potential in others
KEY: importance of navigating communities, which is a learned skill
manage your hunger for change: make the right decisions for the right reasons
develop a “personal board of directors,” consisting of mentors and coaches who you like, trust, and know care about you. it’s difficult to see yourself honestly, so you need a peer and mentor network
align what you think with what you say with what you do
uncover and validate existing cultures and values when stepping into a new situation
need to create a unified vision before enacting change
open communication and involving all stakeholders is crucial
when trying to build credibility and support, common mistake is to try to hit a grand slam. better way is to do it with multiple smaller wins.
take time to get to know people before articulating a vision
listen first
ask, don’t tell
communicate your library’s story (vision) repeatedly. takes more than once
The group discussed a couple of case studies, including one called “Welcome Aboard (But Don’t Change a Thing)” written by Eric McNulty (Harvard Business Review, October 2002). I think it’s the perfect case study for any library right now because it deals with fundamental questions of how change happens, or doesn’t happen.
After the preconference, I went to a tweetup, had dinner, and visited Powell’s bookstore with @jdscott50. A good first day!
Wifi was not working for me so I ended up being a “have-not” at this morning’s Top Tech Trends program. So I typed up notes and here they are! Apologies if I got anything wrong, but there were a lot of ideas being thrown around! Thanks to everyone on the panel.
Yesterday, I flew into Portland for day 1 of the 2010 PLA National Conference. This is my third time attending PLA and I’m especially excited about this one because I served on the programming committee. I hope the people who attend the conference go back to their libraries full of ideas, inspiration, and excitement about the future of libraries.
take time to get to know people before articulating a vision
