NJLA Blog -- The Official Weblog of the New Jersey Library Association: Conference 2006 Archives

Category: Conference 2006

May 4, 2006

Garden State Book Awards Luncheon

Paul Zelinksy's Illustrations
Originally uploaded by NJLA: New Jersey Library Association.

Really, this post should be titled "Paul Zelinsky: Best Speaker Ever".

Mr. Zelinsky, a Caldecott Medal winner and three-time Caldecott Honor winner, gave a talk on the subject of how changes in technology have changed the way he illustrates books.

Liberally peppered with self-deprecating humor and full of beautiful slides of the many iterations of artwork from draft to published book, this was one of the best lectures I have ever attended on any topic.

Technological advances have helped Mr. Zelinsky refine and improve the process of illustrating books, but just as these new tools have added layers of depth and sophistication to his work, they've also added layers of complication to the process.

For his first books, published in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mr. Zelinsky would painstakingly match up his watercolor and gouache illustrations with Pantone color sheets so that the printers could get the mixes of red, blue, and yellow correct.

Eventually, he moved on to photocopying his pencil drawings and using them as underdrawings for tweaks and changes over the course of drafting and perfecting the illustrations.

Soon, he purchased a scanner, and would scan the hand-drawn illustrations into Photoshop and manipulate them to get the color exactly right or change the size of certain elements, and then print them out on large sheets of watercolor paper to add to them.

The illustrations I photographed for this post are examples of the work Mr. Zelinsky created for the triumphant and giddily worded book Doodler Doodling -- it's worth noting that the reader reading and the flyer flying were both drawn live, while Mr. Zelinsky held a microphone in one hand, speaking all the while.

In spite of the complications arising from using increasingly sophisticated technology to create his artwork, sketching and perfecting the artwork digitally is very useful for correcting errors, like the time Mr. Zelinsky miscalculated the position of the book's gutter or left a distinguishing feature of a character out of a handful of illustrations.

Selected bibliography:
The Shivers In The Fridge, forthcoming October 2006
Doodler Doodling
Knick Knack Paddywhack
Awful Ogre's Awful Day
Rapunzel
The Wheels on the Bus
Rumplestiltskin

More photos from the GSBA Luncheon are available at NJLA's Flickr Photostream.

Posted by at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

Garden State Book Awards Luncheon

Paul Zelinksy's Illustrations
Originally uploaded by NJLA: New Jersey Library Association.

Posted by at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

Print vs. Online Resources

Many thanks to Lisa Coats of the Burlington County Library System for her notes on this session!

At this session, there were three panelists who spoke on various aspects of the future of online reference resources.

David Lisa, Director of West Long Branch Public Library (http://www.wlbpl.org/), detailed the trends explaining that reference resources are increasingly being delivered electronically. He says that electronic versions of popular reference sources are often cheaper, easier to update, and can be more effectively accessed by customers. Remote access is also a plus since a patron can use these resources any time of day or night, not just during library hours. He referenced Q and A NJ (http://www.qandanj.org/), a virtual tool that brings reference services directly to the customer via a live chat session, and said that this sort of resource will prove to be more popular in the future.

Jennifer Druce of Camden County Library System (http://www.camden.lib.nj.us/) spoke to the cost effectiveness of electronic resources. She asked some very good questions about what users want and need, implying that we should be listening to them to help guide us in our reference choices. She pointed out that often distributors do not even offer the print versions of sources anymore (asking: are print directories dead??), but stresses that it is important to make sure the electronic versions are stable before tossing the print out. Also, does the library have room for all those volumes in print? Space considerations may move us toward electronic resources, as well.

Karen Parry of the East Brunswick Public Library (http://www.ebpl.org/) said that we need to say good bye to print! Our users are changing constantly, and since good service is in the eye of the customer, and that they are requesting the quick access that electronic sources can provide, we must abide. She says that even older patrons want to learn how to use these online sources. Parry suggests we also move off the desk and help customers in the stacks and at the computers, a theme that was echoed in several other sessions this NJLA: Off the desk, out into the library, and definitely on the computer!

Posted by at 12:39 PM | Comments (0)

Bloggers' Lunch

Bloggers' Lunch
Originally uploaded by NJLA: New Jersey Library Association.

A bunch of NJ library people bloggers met for an informal lunch at the conference. We all discussed the types of blogging we do, the software we use, the amount of time we commit to blogging (both personally & professionally), the topics we cover.

Eventually, of course, conversations took a turn towards non-blogging topics, but the experience as a whole was so pleasant and interesting that there is now a plan afoot to propose a blogger's discussion group as a conference session next year, and possibly to establish a bloggers' roundtable within NJLA.

More NJ Blogger Luncheon photos are available via NJLA's Flickr photostream.

Posted by at 12:37 PM | Comments (0)

May 2, 2006

Advocating for LGBTI Programs At Your Library

Co-presenters Corrine O'Hara of HiTOPS, and Carol Watchler of GLSEN facilitated an excellent discussion of ways (large & small!) in which library staff can support and provide a safe space for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and intersexed teens.

According to one of the many information-packed handouts from the program (which I hope will be posted online soon) HiTOPS is "a peer health education/support organization in the Princeton area." GLSE, or the "Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network is a national organization working for a future in which every child learns to respect all people regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Their site has a detailed annotated bibliography of up-to-the-moment library resources."

Corinne O'Hara explained that HiTOPS runs a teen health clinic, and that in her role there, she trains high school seniors to be peer educators in health and human sexuality. HiTOPS also runs support programs for sexual assault victims, and its 1st and 3rd program (so called because it meets on the first and third Saturdays of each month) is a comprehensive community program designed to jumpstart Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) at high schools.

Carol Watchler explained that GLSEN's goal is to make K-12 schools safe for all students regardless of gender or sexual identity. GLSEN chapters in North and Central NJ collaborate often with HiTOPS. One of GLSEN's main projects right now is public policy work at the municipal, county, and state levels, helping to develop anti-bullying legislation and legislation against race, gender, and national origin bias.

For those of us interested in co-supporting a GSA at the schools where you work or collaborate with, it's important to note the following:

1) Sometimes GSAs will not be terribly active, but that doesn't mean they aren't needed. Often, the students who might want to join can't, because they're out to their parents, but nobody else, or they're out to some friends, but not the whole school. Both Carol and Corinne have been told by these teens that just knowing that a GSA exists (even if it's dormant) makes these teens feel better about their school and safer while they're there.

2) The teenage years are all about finding out who you are, and learning to be comfortable in your own skin. GSAs help LGBTI and questioning teens by providing a space for them to develop relationships with their peers and friends.

3) Offer to host the GSA at your public or school library. This way, interested students can go to the library, and possibly, maybe, just happen to drop in on the GSA meeting.

A viable alternative to a GSA is a Diversity Club -- this would be an umbrella club for all different sorts of kids with all different sorts of differences -- multiracial kids, immigrant kids, kids with disabilities, and LGBTI kids, too.

Diversity Clubs also appeal to all teens who are interested in human rights in general, and to those who have family members or friends who are LGBTI or questioning.

The group also discussed how librarians can help LGBTI and questioning teens see themselves reflected in the society around them:

1) Booklists and book displays of LGBTIQ literature
2) Create a bulletin board of names of famous LGBTI people, asking "What do all of these people have in common?" -- leave the bulletin board up for a week or so, and then provide the answer.
3) Post Safe Zone stickers (available through HiTOPS, these stickers show the pink triangle surrounded by a green circle) in your Teen Section.
4) Challenge homophobic language when you hear it.
5) Call for faculty and staff training in LGBT youth issues.

Posted by at 7:10 PM | Comments (0)

Presentations from the Conference

I imagine some of you wished you could be in two places at the same time during this year's conference. I know I did. There were so many great presentations but how was one to see-them-all?

Here is the next best thing: Many of our presenters have shared their presentations online at the NJLA site. All presentations have been converted to pdf. So far, the following are available:

Emerging Technologies for Library Managers (Tuesday, April 25)
John Iliff, PALINET

Technology Innovations Forum (Tuesday, April 25) Four presentations:

Integrating the Library Website within the College Website
Cumberland County College, Vineland, NJ

WMS: Democratizing Data
Workflow Management System for Rucore, Rutgers Community Repository

Information Literacy Outcomes Assessment, County College of Morris

Library Outreach and the Course Management System: Using RSS Feeds to Advertise New Library Holding [The College of New Jersey]

Developing a Compensation Plan for you Library (Tuesday, April 25) by Paula Singer, The Singer Group, Inc.

Build it Right: User Centered Design for Library Web Sites (Pre-conference) by Jerilyn Veldof

Digital Audiobooks @ Your Library (Tuesday, April 25) [The NetLibrary/Recorded Books Model, Bob Wetherall & Michael J. Ciccone, Head of Acquisitions Branch Libraries of The New York Public Library]

Feeding the World Information: RSS, Podcasts and More (Tuesday, April 25)[Blogs & RSS Basics, Sophie Brookover, Camden County Library & Barebones Podcasting, John Iliff]

Please check back as more are added. If you would like your presentation posted, email it to the NJLA webmaster.

Posted by Ranjna Das at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)

May 1, 2006

What’s Hot, What’s Not: Publishing Trends from Industry Insiders

With thanks to Heather Craven, Nutley Public Library, for her notes!

 Readers are becoming more savvy, books are in the news, cable TV has increased promotion of books, circulation is on the rise. Readers seek smart, sophisticated, but still accessible reading.
 Chick lit and lad lit are declining. The hip, fresh books that made the trend popular are being followed by derivative, formulaic, less interesting books. It’s not known what will replace this genre for women in their 20s and 30s; possibly memoirs with a chicklit feel.
 Some up-and-coming genres: erotica (steamy sexy romances for female audience), “fratire” (non-fiction humor for men, often based on websites), urban fantasy, narrative non-fiction exploring subcultures (ex. Eat This Book, about competitive eating), food and fashion narrative.
 Publishers are seeking ways to draw attention to books. Media attention has been largely scandal-driven.
 Publishers like to release their biggest titles in the fall. This summer and fall will see many books by brand name authors, several rock memoirs, and several political books – more serious political and economic books are becoming popular. There is no one big blockbuster book predicted for this fall, so there may be room for some new authors to emerge.
 Current trends for children’s and YA publishing:
 The Harry Effect – fantasy genre, high page counts, adult crossover interest, series, release date events.
 Graphic novels and manga, esp. for girls.
 Edgy content for older teens.
 Paper Engineering (artistic pop-up book, like those by Robert Sabuda).
 Fairy and pirate themes.
 New takes on old classics.
 Interactive websites for authors.

Posted by at 4:11 PM | Comments (0)

College & University Section Luncheon

With thanks to Heather Craven, Nutley Public Library, for her notes!

ACRL-NJ Chapter awards were presented, and incoming Chapter President Nicole Cooke was welcomed. Pam Snelson of Franklin and Marshall College spoke on Ammunition for Advocacy. She spoke on the importance of advocating for library services from the point of view of those who determine library funding. For example, a provost at one college might be most interested in how the library contributes to retention rates, while another might be more interested in knowing that the library fosters diversity by being a welcoming space for minority students. Snelson stressed that library advocates must find out the core values of stakeholders (usually provosts for academic libraries) and tailor messages to those values.

Posted by at 4:09 PM | Comments (0)

Web Usability: User-Centered Design in Libraries

With thanks to Heather Craven, of the Nutley Public Library, for her notes:

Presenter David Lindahl, of the University of Rochester, described how to develop and maintain a user-friendly website. (He noted that this method took several years to implement at U of Rochester!)

1. Start with “key tasks” – ask users what they want to do/accomplish at the library’s website (find a book, check library hours, find an article?)
2. Dedicate ongoing staff time to user testing. Staff will need training or research to learn to do this. User testing must be regular and ongoing.
3. Do not have web design determined by committee! Design committees result in websites determined by conflicting staff agendas rather than by user needs. Assign or hire one person to be the designer. Make sure the designer has training and ongoing dedicated time.
4. Assign staff groups to give content to the designer. Groups should be determined by key task, not by library department.
5. The designer should develop prototype designs, have them tested by users, and re-design. Expect to go through many prototypes before publishing, and then to tweak on an ongoing basis.

Posted by at 4:06 PM | Comments (0)

Conflict Resolution

With thanks to Heather Craven, Nutley Public Library for her notes!

 The key to resolving conflict is focusing on a positive outcome that accommodates the interests of everyone involved. Focus on underlying interests, not surface positions.
 Negative behaviors can be addictive! Watch your behavior for patterns such as repeating old stories, ignoring or discounting positive changes, assuming the worst about people you don’t like, or insisting on winning/being right.
 Use “words that work.” Focus on the other person, their desired outcome and what CAN be done to achieve that outcome. Replace negative language – “ We can’t do that” – with positive language – “What I can do is. . .”
 Give criticism in private, keep it specific, and solicit the other person’s perception of the situation. Accept criticism by separating the message from the way the message is delivered, asking for clarification, and setting specific criteria for resolving the problem.

Posted by at 4:04 PM | Comments (1)

NJLA Podcasts Posted!

The NJLA Podcast recordings are almost all posted.

Subscribe to the podcast! (Copy link and add to iTunes, Juice or other podcast tool.)

You can refresh what you learned about podcasting and get more info on how to subscribe to the NJLA podcast at the IT Section's Links of Interest page. Remember that most podcasts are ongoing, which is why you 'subscribe' to them. At this time, the NJLA podcast was created just for use during the 2006 conference, but who knows? Maybe we'll keep posting more!

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who recorded a podcast! It was a blast!

Joan Bernstein at New Leaders: http://www.oceancountylibrary.org/podcast/leaders/bernstein.mp3

Posted by Jessica Adler at 12:16 PM | Comments (1)

Burlington County's Bookmobile

Burlington County's Bookmobile!
Originally uploaded by NJLA: New Jersey Library Association.

She's a beauty, eh? One of the highlights of the conference was seeing two libraries' bookmobiles in action.

Burlington County's bookmobile is a converted bus, complete with wheelchair access. The bookmobile houses books, movies on VHS & DVD, and CDs, and makes the rounds of a host of communities in the County.

Monroe Township Library's bookmobile is a bit smaller than BCLS's, and has room only for books, although the bookmobile staff do deliver requested items of all kinds to its users on their bi-weekly rounds of the more rural areas and retirement communities in the Township.

You can see more photos of the Bookmobiles and other wonders of the NJLA conference at NJLA's Flickr account.

Posted by at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

Documenting Their Lives: LGBTIQ Identities

This program featured compelling and thought-provoking clips from two documentaries about LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersexed, and questioning) teens and families.

The first was a trailer for a forthcoming documentary by Chas Bennett called The Sakia Gunn Project, about a Newark teen who was stalked and murdered in 2003 for being an out African-American lesbian. In spite of the unusual circumstances surrounding her death, Sakia's murder received a tiny fraction of the media coverage accorded to Matthew Shepard's murder in 1998.

Although The Sakia Gunn Project is about Sakia, her family and friends, it also encompasses issues such as segregation within the gay community, poverty, gender bias, race and ethnicity, all of which Bennett and several of his subjects view as contributing factors to the lack of media coverage of Sakia's murder.

The second film showcased was No Dumb Questions, about the responses and reactions three girls have when their Uncle Bill comes out to the family as a transgendered person on the cusp of sexual-reassignment surgery. Each of the girls, ages 11, 8, and 5, responded differently, and were full of wonderful questions about their soon-to-be Aunt Barbara: How would they feel when she came to their house? Would they still feel the same about her as they had about Uncle Bill? Would they be "freaked out", as the oldest girl put it? How would Uncle Bill get rid of his beard and all the hair on his arms, one of them wondered.

The parents handled all questions with aplomb and truly admirable skill. They provided a space for their children to ask any question, and they answered them honestly and openly.

The Sakia Gunn Project is still in editing, but Mr. Bennett hopes to release it by May 2007. You can track his progress at The Sakia Gunn Film Project online. No Dumb Questions is available on VHS from NoDumbQuestions.com.

The LGBTI Roundtable prepared many excellent handouts, included a transgender filmography, a webliography of transgender-related websites, a booklist of transgender nonfiction, and perhaps most useful of all on a daily basis, a glossary of LGBTI terms. I'll post again when they are available at njla.org.

Posted by at 9:41 AM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2006

How DO They Do It All? Tips from Effective Library Leaders

Many thanks to Pete Bromberg for allowing us to lift this post wholesale from the excellent collaborative blog, Library Garden.

A big thanks to Kathy Schalk-Greene, Mount Laurel Library for organizing this program, inviting me to be on it, moderating it, and sharing her great notes with us! -Pete

Notes from: "How DO They Do It All? Tips from Effective Library Leaders"
NJLA Conference, April 25, 2006 Sponsored by the NJLA Member Services Committee
A 50 minute program...

Speakers:

Peter Bromberg is the Program Development Coordinator for the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative in Gibbsboro, NJ.

Leslie Burger (lburger@princetonlibrary.org) has directed the Princeton Public Library since 1999 and is the president-elect of the American Library Association.

Mary Martin is currently working as Assistant Director of Glen Rock Public Library, a small public library in Bergen County.

Kurt W. Wagner coordinates Library Systems and web management at the David and Lorraine Cheng Library at William Paterson University.

Q1: Was there any decision you made or skill you learned early in your career that has served you well?

Leslie:

* Don't wear a skirt while working at a library with glass floors
* Always ask why
* Never take no for an answer
* Continually challenge yourself
* Be flexible

Mary:

* Don't let fear rule you
* If you make a mistake, you don't die
* Don't assume that everyone knows less that you do (It's hard to ask for help if you think you're perfect)
* Thank people for what they do

Q2: What role does technology play in how you do what you do?

Kurt:
* Help others to understand the interrelated nature of these systems in libraries
* Always learn something new

Pete:

* I use technology to control and manage my time
* Not an early adopter ... finally got a cell phone when I saw the benefit to me.
* Five specific technologies that make my life better:
* GoToMyPC to access my desktop from anywhere
* Yahoo calendar and listservs
* RSS Feeds to scan headlines on 100+ blogs/sites (I use firefox live bookmarks and have just fallen in love with blogbridge.)
* FURL – great for project management, reading lists, general bookmarking and serendipitous discoveries!
* AIM Chat for online meetings .
* (Thought of this one late) Google Desktop--the lifesaving app for the perpetually disorganized. I love you Google Desktop. Don't ever leave me.

Q3: Do you have a life outside your job? How do you find a balance between your personal and professional lives?

Mary:

* You don't find balance on the street like loose change
* Most choices can be revisited later
* Sometimes you can't help being out of balance

Kurt:

* Always have a sense of proportion
* Have activities outside of work
* Don't worry about this too much

Q4: How do you foster good communication with your staff?

Pete:

* You have to model good communication and show a willingness to listen without judgment
* Realize that all communication is good, even "negative" feedback ... it's always better to know.
* Proper response to negative feedback ... "Thank you" (props to Pat Wagner for that tip)
* Ask for what you need
* Be fact-based (rather than judgmental) in your speech to others
* Provide options... "where do we go from here?"
* Give others the benefit of the doubt. We're all passionate and deeply concerned about the health of our libraries.

Leslie:

* Send staff wide emails (even if you're not sure they check it)
* Communicate in many different ways
* Library has an internal blog (encourage others to make this the default home page)
* Lots of meetings (staff wide, department, librarians, task based)
* Face book of pictures and names of all library staff, trustees, Friends, volunteers (on the blog, in a notebook in the staff room)
* Write a personal blog (Leslie's is de-mystifying the ALA presidency)

Q5: Do you ever feel overwhelmed? What do you when that happens?

Mary:

* First, freak out
* Afterwards, get a grip
* Then, prioritize what needs to be done
* And after that identify those things you can do while trying to avoid the things that need to get done

Pete:

* I generally feel some amount of feeling overwhelmed. I go home more aware of everything that didn't get done, but I've learned to manage this much better
* Have other people in your life who can help keep things in perspective
* Exercise regularly

Q6: What single piece of advice would you give to a librarian at the beginning of their career?

Kurt:

* Learn to communicate well
* Avoid energy vampires

Leslie:

* Be open to new possibilities
* Be willing to change your route
* Conquer your fear, let it go
* Never stop learning

Posted by at 2:49 PM | Comments (0)

Keynote: Steve Adubato

Who knew that an NJLA keynote address could double as a relationship building/psychology session? Steve Adubato has written a couple of books on mastering relationships and connecting with people. And believe it or not, he even used the event to market his publications. Funny how that works.

After a rah-rah, rally-the-troops effort to buy his books, Adubato asked audience members who they think connects well with people. One librarian immediately responded with Bill Clinton, who has the ability to make a person feel s/he’s the only one in that room. Another key to connecting is to show you care. Steve Adubato referred to networking events where guests feign interest in the person they’re talking to as their eyes busily dart across the room in the hopes of finding a better contact. The person who’s being chatted up, knows through the distant gaze of his fellow conversationalist that he’s just not interested.

Steve listed five major skills people need to hone for better relationships: assume that the other person has no idea what you’re talking about. Don’t use jargon, don’t inundate others with information, be empathetic and help people accomplish their goals.

Above all else, have passion!--Valerie Haeder

Posted by Valerie Haeder at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2006

Tips & Tactics for Sharpening Organizational Skills

Marie Radford, Professor at Rutgers University's SCILS, managed to pack a half-day workshop into 50 minutes. Clearly, she's very organized.

Marie started with a very useful question: Why should we try to be better organized? First, being better organized relieves stress. Second, it leads us to generate more effective results at work, which in turn leads to career advancement. Finally (and maybe most importantly), being better organized gives us more time for fun.

Attendees completed a two-part activity, based on Stephen Covey's philosophy of Beginning With The End In Mind. We were asked to reflect on the past two weeks, and then on the past 6 months, and to write down three activities (both at work and off work) that gave us the most satisfaction. We were then asked:

How could you organize yourself to do more of the above?
What specific steps would you have to take to have more time for the above?

The second part of the activity involved creating a specific plan, creating specific behaviors to achieve those goals.

Marie asked us to focus more of our energy on assessing what our priorities are each day upon arriving at work:

1) Spend 15-30 minutes creating and prioritizing your daily to-do list before opening up e-mail.
2) Use incremental target dates -- this is essential for big projects.
3) Look ahead one week, and one month, and fill in your calendar as you go along.

To set priorities, do the following:

1) Set priorities by following Sean Covey's Time Management Matrix:
I: Urgent & Important
II: Not Urgent, but Important
III: Urgent, but Unimportant
IV: Not Urgent & Unimportant

Get your tasks in Category I done first, then make and commit to a plan for accomplishing tasks in Category II. Tasks in Categories III and IV should be avoided, delegated, or thrown away/recycled.

Two great ways to jettison tasks in Categories III and IV:

1) Delegate -- relinquish your control freakish nature and let others have a chance to help you, and to shine. Train your colleagues and supervisees as necessary -- they really do want to help you!

2) Learn To Say No -- this is difficult, but essential. Master the art of saying things like, "Thank you so much for thinking of me for this project; I really can't commit to any more projects right now."

The top two books Marie recommends for gaining control over paperwork at home and at work are Barbara Hemphill's Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and Taming the Paper Tiger at Work.

I will post again if Marie is willing to have her handout made available online.

Posted by at 4:35 PM | Comments (0)

Check Out NJLA's Flickr Account

If you haven't heard of or had occasion to use Flickr, here's your chance! Flickr is a very user-friendly social photo sharing site. NJLA has an account, and your friendly neighborhood bloggers have been uploading conference photos like mad. Feast your eyes, and if you have a Flickr account, leave a comment, or add NJLA to your list of contacts!

Posted by at 2:24 PM | Comments (0)

All Together, How? Collaboration in Research & Publication

Dr. mary McAleer Balkun, faculty member at Seton Hall Univ. was well into her presentation and was discussing results of what worked for her students, as I walked into this session a little late. Dr. Balkun is an English instructor and uses Blackboard (BB), a course management system to enhance her teaching. One point which sounded effective was her requiring her students to keep a research log and post it in BB. The students write about their research and is effective in making them better researchers. It involves the students in a 'metatative' process or the notion of 'metacognition' that is, thinking about thinking...or thinking about the research process as you conduct your research.

Dr. Balkun further elaborated on having the librarian sign onto the BB discussion room and introduce herself to the class. She praised the librarian as having a 'hands-on' and project-oriented approach with her students. Students who may be afraid to ask Dr. Balkun a dumb question would feel free to ask the librarian for help. She saw the role of the librarian as a 'coach' for her students.

Susan Bissett, librarian at Union County College spoke next. Her work with faculty at Union sounded much more challenging in working to establish a collaborative relationship with faculty. In her talk she spoke of some tough battles getting in on even ground with working with faculty. It isn't always a smooth road! Ms. Bissett mentioned some research articles and I wish I could have gotten the references as they were worth pursuing. I will try to contact her for those.

Lastly, Triveni Kuchi & Roberta Tipton, librarians from Rutgers spoke on their work on a "Learning Framework Study Group" which worked to recommend an appropriate open source online information literacy tutorial. See http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/staff/groups/instructional_services/reports/learning_frameworks.shtml

They also reviewed the 'Why' of developing a systemwide Online Tutorial. The reasons were: maintaining several smaller tutorials was troublesome and developing and keeping momentum on various projects was difficult.

Each speaker gave a different perspective of work done at various academic institutions. The differing perspectives were valuable.
Chris Herz, Gloucester County College

Posted by at 2:00 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Adubato's Keynote

"What people connect?"
This was the theme of Steve's keynote. Steve got the large audience involved and thinking with this question. Some responses were: Bill Clinton, Katie Couric, Pope John Paul II, Martha Stewart (but not for all!), Oprah. Actually Oprah might have been Steve's suggestion.
A name was not enough, however, and he quickly responded with the question, "how do they connect?"

Steve used humor throughout and did so effectively. But, it seemed to take him a little while to get warmed up and maybe even to warm up to us(?). I found the real substance of his message didn't come until his time was almost ended. Some of his main points for how to connect to others whether at a social outing, or at the Reference Desk, or at a meeting were:
--don't use jargon (use everyday conversational language, it is more audience-centered and empathetic)
--don't data dump (typically we provide way too much information, more than what is needed for the question or task)
--help people solve their problems
--passion for what you do, practice what you do even if you're good at it.

I was inspired enough by his talk to look at his two books that were on sale at Barnes and Noble. His more recent one, Make the Connection: Improve Your Communication at Work and at Home, was the one I would buy. It seemed to be based on his keynote speech.

Chris Herz
Gloucester County College

Posted by at 1:40 PM | Comments (0)

European Union Research

The clock ticked 9:00...9:15, 9:20, the room was filling up with an audience on the edge of their seats. Where was our estemeed presenter, Susan Lyons? An NJLA representative stopped in the room. Any sightings of Susan? 9:25, the NJLA rep stopped again: they've heard something! Susan Lyons from the Poconos had just exited the Garden State Parkway; she was on Route 36 traveling east, she might even be in the building! 9:30--twenty minutes left in the session--and there she appears, like an apparition, ready to make the world safe for European Union research.

Pretty heady stuff for Internet research. But truth be told, the EU is a major economic and political force in global affairs. Finding information is indeed important. So remember this, readers of the NJLA blog: Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973. Before 1973, documents from the EU were not written in English; after England became a member, English became an official language of the organization and papers were written in English (according to Susan, there are about 16 official languages of the EU).

EU documents from 1997 are availble on the Internet. And the EU's website is a great place for curious people to study EU activity through exciting reads like "European Code of Sustainable and Responsible Fisheries Practices" (http://bookshop.eu.int/eGetRecords). And, boys and girls, there is a page for you--not as obvious as www.kids.gov, Uncle Sam's effort to involve children in government--but it's there...under the "Europe is fun!" link.

Also, researchers can get access to a currency convertor (see how far the euro is whipping the dollar), read policy papers and learn about country statistics.

Susan has created a pathfinder for EU materials:
http://law-library.rutgers.edu/resources/eulaw.php

Happy researching! --Valerie Haeder

Posted by Valerie Haeder at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)

April 26, 2006

How To Do It All: Tips from 5 Effective Library Leaders

With moderator Kathy Schalk-Greene (Mount Laurel Library) posing questions to five speakers, this session was a stream of excellent ideas, tips and inspirations. A few central questions served as guideposts, allowing each presenter to tell us how they work a demanding job, stay up-to-date with new ideas, be involved professionally and manage to have a personal life.

I'll present the stream of ideas in my own stream of phrases that I hurriedly wrote down.

Special skill you learned early in career: Never take "no" for an answer; Challenge convention; Challenge yourself or else it gets boring; Why get stuck in a routine? Be flexible; Do not let fear rule you. Acknowledge fear; It's the first step; Ask for help.

Role of technology in your career: Use technology to manage time and to communicate; Experiment with technology as it emerges; Adapt it as it fits your need or task; Favorites GoToMyPC.com, Yahoo Calendar, RSS, blogs, Furl/del.icio.us, IM.

Balance between professional & personal life: Don't try to do it all; Make choices; Strive to balance by give and take; Change course when necessary; Revisit your choices; Let work take over at times; Let family & home take over at other times; Work can be a welcome escape from home and vice versa; You have the option of switching back and forth.

Fostering communication with staff: All types of communication has its place; Bad news has its place; Communicate using more than one channel/method; Meetings, social events, one-on-one conversations; Use internal blogs, staff facebooks, IM, email; Listen without judgement.

Dealing with feeling overwhelmed: Allow yourself to feel the fear; Regain perspective; Prioritize; Do what needs to get done right now; Put off what can wait; Take one step and only one step; With one step down, take the next; Reframe and refocus;

Your best advice: Be a good person to be around-positive, friendly, well-informed; Be open to possibilities; Life is not a straight path-be willing to take new routes; Never stop learning.

These great tips came from the following library leaders: Peter Bromberg (SJRLC), Leslie Burger (Princeton Public Library & ALA-president-elect), Mary Martin (Glen Rock Public Library), Kurt Wagner (David and Lorraine Cheng Library-William Patterson University)

Posted by Ranjna Das at 10:47 AM | Comments (1)

Does Open Source Software Development Work for Libraries

Eric Lease Morgan from the Univ. of Notre Dame opened his session with the question, how viable is open source software in libraries? In addition, he asked the audience what we wanted out of his presentation? Some responses were: is it worth my time investigating open source software? Can open source software be used out of the box?

Mr. Morgan continued with stating what open source software(OSS)is about: community; 'free' kittens; investments in personnel; increase in computing responsibility; greater opportunity for innovation. A demonstration of his product, MyLibrary, followed. The 'free kittens' metaphor meant yes OSS is 'free' as a free kitten is but you need to buy cat food, play with kitty, change the litter, etc. You will spend time working with OSS.

He further explained the greater control he has with using various software and integrating these into a wholistic environment. The empowering nature of OSS was demonstrated in this session.

Mr. Morgan ended with the question he opened with, is OSS viable in libraries? His answer was "I don't know." I think his last point the 'greater opportunity for innovation' was reason enough for us to investigate OSS. I left the session wanting to learn more.
For more detail see: http://www.infomotions.com/musings/all-things-open/
Chris Herz, Ref. Librarian, Gloucester County College

Posted by at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)

April 25, 2006

If You Buy It & Market It, They Will Come

Kimberly Bolan's excellent presentation on collecting, advocating for, and marketing alternative materials for teens was full of useful information, tips, and suggestions essential for any teen-serving librarian's toolkit.

Kimberly's top 5 alternative materials are magazines, graphic novels & manga, movies, audio materials (including CDs and audiobooks) and games.

Why should we collect these often ephemeral materials? Because we get so much teen cred bang for our buck with them -- when teens see that we collect materials that are of interest to them, they respond enthusiastically.

Read on for Kimberly's big tips for librarians looking to establish or enrich collections in these areas.

1) Get teen input! Don't just rely on those 5 or 10 teens who are always in the library for input, either -- you're looking to entice non-library-using teens into the library, so get out into your schools, the mall, the community center down the road, and ask teens what they want to see in the library.

2) Go for popularity over reviews. Sure, for books, you want to have a nice, balanced collection representing both Gossip Girls and Waiting For Alaska. For materials like magazines and CDs, though, you need to focus on Billboard's Top 20 and Teen People.

3) Monitor your collection's activity. What is circulating? What's not? Can you encourage circulation of some materials through clever merchandising? Did you have any idea that Sonic Youth album you bought would circulate so well? Your circ statistics can help you figure out what to buy more of, and can help you see what parts of your collection aren't earning their shelfspace any longer.

4) Market to your non-users. Remember those 10 or so kids that frequent your library week in, week out? They're not your universe of users. Your entire user base of teens includes all of your students (if you're in a school), and all of the teens who live in your town or service area (if you're in a public library). Don't ignore them! Break them down into market segments (e.g., boys who don't like to read, girls who are in vocational training, super-literary kids, teens who read only manga) and tailor your marketing to them accordingly.

Kimberly's program was so well-attended that she quickly ran out of handouts, but they will be posted soon to the YA Section's page under Links of Interest, so look for them there! I'll post a notice about it here once they've been made available.

Posted by at 8:31 PM | Comments (0)

Podcasting Made Simple

Podcasting Poster, Part Deux
Originally uploaded by NJLA: New Jersey Library Association.

Wow. The IT Section's Podcasting Booth has turned into the sleeper hit of the conference. Over 50 people (including Nancy Pearl!) recorded podcasts today. This technology is so easy (and so fun) to use, and we're all hoping that the experience will have librarians from around the state fired up to record and share podcasts with their users.

Some ideas of how to use podcasts at your library include:

1) Ask your patrons to record reviews of your materials -- books, audiobooks, movies, CDs, and so on;
2) Record your storytimes for those families that can't make it to storytime;
3) Encourage teens to record book discussion group chats;
4) Encourage staff to record booktalks and other item recommendations;
5) Record Get To Know You interviews with employees from every department so that your users know who's working to keep the library such a great place to visit and use.

If you haven't podcasted yet, please come on down to the booth from 9-4 PM on Wednesday and give it a try!

Posted by at 7:55 PM | Comments (1)

Transforming Libraries Special Event / NJLA 115th Aniversary Celebration

I will come back and flesh this post out, but I want to get some thoughts down while they are fresh in my mind!

After the dinner buffet at Ocean Place I decided to attend the evening's special event - a talk given by our own Leslie Burger (Director of the Princeton Public Library) who is ALA President-Elect (!) and Nancy Tessman, Director of the Salt Lake City, Utah Library System. I am really glad I did!

Leslie spoke first and made three main points regarding transformation:
1. What a "lifetime" is these days
2. Hairdresser as problem solver and
3. Library sleep-overs!

and, of course, how these relate to libraries!

One of her points I particularly remember, and that re-emerged during Nancy's talk as well, was the idea to "be the change you want to see."

Leslie also shared ten tips for transforming your library, which you can read here, on her blog.

Nancy's talk continued the inspirational message that Leslie started. Nancy shared some information about the very successful (and fascinating) Library Square in Salt Lake City. I loved that she said that she used to want "a place at the table," but that now she realizes she wants libraries to "BE the table!"

She also spoke of the conditions and ingredients necessary for transformation. She referenced many fields and even the Wizard of Oz, saying that we all have lots of heart and lots of brain, but what is really needed now, on this cusp of great possiblity and transformation for libraries and librarians, is COURAGE!

After the talk and a few questions from the audience, it was time to celebrate ourselves and our organization!

Pat Tumulty, Executive Director of NJLA, spoke for a bit about the history of libraries in New Jersey and about the history of the NJLA. She then acknowledged and celebrated Leslie Burger and her upcoming term as ALA President (she is the 9th from NJ!).

Then, President April Judge, Past President Carol Phillips, and Vice President Joan Bernstein thanked and celebrated Pat's 15 wonderful years of service with NJLA!

Several people shared their personal memories of NJLA and past conferences, and then, while everyone enjoyed coffee and cupcakes, NJLA President-Elect Joan Bernstein, of the Trading Spaces Library, Mount Laurel, and Glynnis Wray presented a powerpoint slideshow of photos found in the files of the New Jersey State Library. We all had some laughs over the fashions of the past, but we were also moved by photos of old-fashioned bookmobiles, libraries, librarians and patrons.

It was a wonderful evening of looking forward and looking back as we celebrate 115 years of the New Jersey Library Assication!

- Amy Kearns

Posted by at 2:04 AM | Comments (1)

April 24, 2006

Hello, From Amy Kearns!

Hi! My name is Amy Kearns and I am a full-time librarian at the Paterson Free Public Library and a part-time librarian at the Clifton Public Library. I am very excited that NJLA has a blog and to be blogging about the conference!
I am involved on the Member Services Committee and the Information Technologies Section.
I am looking forward to tomorrow and having an awesome time as usual at our excellent NJLA conference!

Posted by at 11:20 PM | Comments (0)

And we're off...

The 2006 NJLA Conference got off to an excellent start on Monday with well attended pre-conferences and the opening of the NJLA Store. Tuesday will have a full day and evening of festivites featuring a keynote speech from author and library advocate Nancy Pearl, and the NJLA Awards Reception with music by jazz and bossa-nova guitarist Joseph Frame. Come early - there will be lots to see and do!

--Tim Niland

Posted by at 10:23 PM | Comments (0)

Intro from Chris Herz

I'm an academic reference librarian working at Gloucester County College. On Wednesday I will be attending the following sessions: Does Open Source Software Development Work for Libraries?; All Together,How?:Collaboration in Research and Publication
and the ACRL-NJ Chapter Luncheon with Pam Snelson, Vice-President of the Association of College and Research Libraries, Librarian at Franklin & Marshall College. In the afternoon I will attend the Research Forum session.

Posted by at 10:21 PM | Comments (0)

Conference Coverage for OPL Newsletter

Judith Seiss, who presented The Visible Librarian preconference at the 2005 conference, and publisher of both a very fine blog and the One-Person Library Newsletter, has requested write-ups of the following sessions for publication in the OPL Newsletter:

Tuesday, 11:00 AM: Conversation and Connection: Focusing on the Customer

Tuesday, 11:00 AM: How DO They Do It All? Tips From Effective Library Leaders -- taken

Tuesday, 3:30 PM: Feeding the World Information: Blogs, RSS, and Podcasting

Wednesday, 3:30 PM: Tips and Tactics for Sharpening Organizational Skills -- taken

Judy requests the following:
1) Your write-up should be brief, and should hit all the high points of the session.
2) For publication in the July issue, please submit write-ups by May 15th.
3) Please include attendance figures, broken down by public/academic/special libraries if at all possible.

OPL pays $25 per write-up on publication.

If you're interested, please sign up in the comments section, below.

Posted by at 3:35 PM | Comments (0)

April 23, 2006

Be Heard at the NJLA Podcasting Station!

The IT Section is sponsoring a Podcasting Station at the conference this year! Come learn about this fun technology and record your thoughts on the conference, libraries and more. Subscribe to the podcast when you get back to your computer and you'll hear yourself and your colleagues immortalized!

Subscribe to the podcast! (Copy link and add to iTunes, Juice or other podcast tool.)

Podcasting FAQs

Posted by Jessica Adler at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)

April 21, 2006

Valerie Haeder's Intro

Hello! I'm excited to join the NJLA blog. I'm a children's librarian in the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library. I love to help children develop a love for reading, but I also like the research and reference elements of library work.

I'll be at NJLA on Wednesday, 26 April, and plan on attending EU Research, All Together, How?: Collaboration in Research and Publication, and Research Forum. This will be my first library conference, so I'm especially eager to join in on the fun. --Valerie Haeder

Posted by Valerie Haeder at 2:55 PM | Comments (0)

NJ Bloggers' Lunch at the Conference

Do you blog? Do you want to learn about blogging? Do you want to meet and greet your official conference bloggers? Whether you're a veteran or a newbie, please come to the NJ Blogger's Lunch on Tuesday, April 25!

We'll meet at noon at one of the tables outside the Atlantic Room. This is a very low-key, brown bag affair, so bring your lunch from home or buy a sandwich from the concession room.

Posted by at 1:36 PM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2006

Meet Ranjna

Hi, I am Ranjna Das from the Burlington County Library. I will be one of the regular contributors to the NJLA blog. Some of you may know me as the webmaster for the NJLA web site. My 9-5 job, however, is at the Burlington County Library where I manage that web site and serve as the electronic resources librarian.

I'll be attending the NJLA conference on Tuesday and will go to a variety of presentations. Here is what I hope to attend: Emerging Technologies For Library Managers....How DO They Do It All: Tips From Effective Library Leaders....New and Featured: Customer Services at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh....and Feeding the World Information: RSS, Podcasting and Blogging.

I really hope to do it all after going to the How DO They Do It All... presentation. Stay tuned. I'll be blogging about it.

Posted by njla at 2:28 PM | Comments (2)

April 18, 2006

Sophie's Introduction

Hello, I'm Sophie Brookover, and I'm delighted to be the Manager of NJLA's Official Blog. I'm a Teen Librarian at the Camden County Library and the founder of Pop Goes The Library, a blog about using pop culture to enhance library services and collections. I also serve on the YA Services Section Executive Board and Garden State Teen Book Awards Committee.

I will be at the conference on both Tuesday, April 25 and Wednesday, April 26th, and I plan to attend and blog the following sessions:

Tuesday
Emerging Technologies For Library Managers
If You Buy It (And Market It) They Will Come: Alternative Collections for Teens
Unofficial Session: NJ Bloggers' Lunch -- all are invited! If you'd like to attend, please e-mail me.
Schmooze or Lose
Feeding The World Information (full disclosure: I'll be co-presenting this session with John Iliff of Palinet, so my post will probably consist of "whew!" and a link to our slides)
Children's Librarians are From Pluto, Library Directors are From Jupiter (second half of double-session)

Wednesday
Podcasting Booth
Garden State Book Awards Luncheon
Advocating for GBTLI Teen Programs @ Your Library
Tag, You're It! Folksonomy and Metadata for the Masses (First half)
Books for Boys (Second Half)

Posted by at 4:01 PM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2006

Introduction/Test

Hi, my name is Tim Niland from the Old Bridge Public Library and the NJLA Conference Committee. Sophie has invited me to be a guest blogger for the 2006 Conference. I will be working the hospitality area during the conference, so I am interested in blogging about the conference in a wide focus, about how people are enjoying things, networking and how we are acclimating first-time attendees to the conference. I'll be bringing my digital camera, so I hope to be able to post some pictures. Thanks!

-- Tim Niland

Posted by at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)