Literacy is more than libraries. Creating a literacy environment

Erin Barlow, Director
Gnadenhutten Public Library

 It can be easy to forget that there are a lot of people out there who don’t frequent the library.  As much as we’d like to we just can’t reach some people.  We can tempt them with food, programming, free DVD’s and music downloads, but it just may not work.  Here in Tuscarawas County, like many counties throughout the country; the literacy rate statistics are astonishing low.  About five years ago some educators and local literacy advocates came together and formed the Tuscarawas County Literacy Coalition, which is a non-profit organization that helps promote literacy through the county. 

The Tuscarawas County Literacy Coalition has taken the time to go to where the people are, rather than wait for them to wander into the libraries or schools.  Some times that means providing cookbooks at the local Farmers Market or creating a story time at the mall, but it all promotes a better standard of living for the area.  It also brings people together who may not normally interact.  For example the TCLC supports a grassroots reading movement called “One Book, One Community” that encourages all residents to read the same book then attend events or discussions.  While not every book selection appeals to everyone they are still part of the event because they are part of the community. 

 Literacy is not simply about reading books, but also about understanding what is going on around you.  Communities need to address financial literacy, medical literacy, technological literacy and cultural literacy in order to prosper.  That’s a lot of work, but with a group of dedicated people becomes less daunting.  

One of the Literacy Coalitions greatest events and main fundraiser of the year is the local Celebrity Spelling Bee.  This was the third year that “celebrities”, with the help of their “coaches” (4^th grade students from a local school) competed for the top honor and it brought out a diverse crowd of people who may or may not be library patrons, but who walked away thinking about literacy in some way.  Getting the community involved is the fastest way to get your name out there. 

I know it’s not easy to get out of the library and into the community.  With all of the budget cuts and staff reductions it can be hard enough to get out from behind our desks, but every once in a while it might be eye opening to try.  Who knows what opportunities might arise.

 

Thoughts on National Library Week

By Chauncey Montgomery
Director, Community Public Library in Sunbury

Often times around the Christmas holiday, I’ll hear people complain about all the hype surrounding this one day of the year and ask why we do not exhibit the Christmas spirit every day. I must say that sentiment is somewhat how I approach National Library Week.
National Library Week began in the late 1950s. Sponsored by the American Library Association, it is a national observance that celebrates the contributions of the nation’s libraries and librarians and promotes library use.
Celebrating the contributions of libraries and librarians and promoting library use is something librarians should be doing daily as we work with patrons and interact with our communities. I am not sure why we need to set aside a week to draw special awareness to what we do.
But before I am called a “Scrooge” in the library community, I will say that I am very tolerant of folk that do honor National Library Week and applaud their efforts. To that end, here are some possible ideas you may want to
consider if you choose to celebrate National Library Week.

1. Recognizing staff.
We all know that our libraries are only as good as the people working in them. Why not do something to draw attention to staff. Perhaps you could feature different library personnel each day of the week. Describe their positions and how they contribute to the success of local library services. Staff could be recognized at the library but also through the library’s Web site or Facebook page. Not only does this give staff the recognition they deserve, but it also helps build the relationship between staff and the community as patrons get to know more about the people working at the library.

2. Ask the community what they think.
Libraries will only remain pertinent to our users if we are focused on their needs. To that end, National Library Week would be a great time to solicit informal feedback from your users. As you highlight all the great things
you do, you could then ask for comments and provide a venue for users to give their opinion. A simple poster board at the library where users could jot down comments would suffice. If your library has a blog or Facebook page, invite comments on what users like or on what things the library could improve.

3. Have an open house or after hours event.
Hosting an open house is a great way to strengthen relationships in the community. Often times when we work with users, it is in a strict librarian/patron relationship. However, in the context of an open house, often times those roles are relaxed and we have an opportunity to interact with users as neighbors and friends. Such a situation helps us get to know our users better, and likewise, they get to know us as more than the local librarian. Getting a more complete picture of our users will only improve the services we provide to them.

.4. Get out into the community.
This year’s National Library Week theme is “Communities Matter @ Your Library”.

A way to show communities that they are important to the library is by visiting different groups and doing a presentation. Perhaps you can do a special storytime for a daycare, school, or assisted living facility. Visiting civic organization meetings to discuss what is happening at the library is another way to get out into the community. Visiting local businesses just to introduce the library is a great way to get a sense of small business needs in the area.

I know none of these ideas are earthshattering,
but hopefully they provide a way to bring awareness to the
great things libraries and librarians do every day. I also hope they prove that I am not completely a Scrooge
when it comes to National Library Week. For some more ideas, look at OLC Small Libraries Division blog post
from 2010, “National Library Week Programming Ideas” at
http://olcsmalllibraries.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/nationallibraryweekprogrammingideas/.

Create a Signature Event at Your Library

By Jim Gill, Dover Public Library

 “Cause something to happen.”

                        -Paul “Bear” Bryant, legendary University of Alabama football coach

 

Let’s face it, libraries today are dealing with ever-increasing competition for the time and resources of our patrons.  Your local library is NOT the only game in town.  As the father of three boys with the ages of 6, 10, and 12, my wife and I are amazed at how quickly their activities consume our family calendar.  From youth sports to Cub Scouts to church activities to after-school events, I sometime wonder if all their involvement in “good things” is simply too much.  I have realized that our family is not an exception and that many of our patrons deal with lives that are as lively as ours. 

So when you think about it, the library is not only competing against super-busy families, but also with the obvious competitors we are already well aware of: Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobles, the Internet, neighboring libraries, etc. The list goes on and on.  Last year I noticed our local Target store offering Saturday morning storytimes! 

One way our library has decided to fight back was by creating an annual event that was so unique to our library that even our fiercest competitors could not replicate it.  Our “signature event” called “An Overdue Open House” first appeared in February 2011 as a fundraiser for our library’s levy campaign.  The group behind the event was The Citizens for the Dover Public Library—a Political Action Committee (PAC) charged with fundraising for our library’s levy campaign.   Translation: The Citizens for the Dover Public Public Library consisted of our Friends of the Library group, library staff and their families, and library volunteers—in a small library we all wear many different hats!  The event consisted of a high class bake sale, live music, storytelling, a book sale, a scavenger hunt, face painting for kids, free food, a raffle, and more.  Patrons who brought back their overdue library items that day had their fines waived.  Dozens of local organizations donated gift baskets and gift cards for the raffle.  Hundreds of people came out to the event and everyone marked it as a huge success.  In fact, the local newspaper ran pictures of the event on the front page!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Although it was intended to be a one-time event, members of the planning committee brought up the possibility of making it an annual event.  The more we discussed the idea the more we realized that not doing it annually was not an option.  Our library strives to be a community center so continuing with community-based events such as the Open House was a no-brainer.  We realized that even if we only made a buck or two, the effort was worth it because it brought in so many new faces—including elected officials we have never seen in our building before.  As a small library with limited resources, it is essential that we remind our communities that we are here and that we are alive and that we are growing.   

 In 2012 and 2013, proceeds from the Open House (now sponsored by the Friends of the Library) went towards our children’s department remodeling project.  We had on display the architectural drawings of the proposed project so members of the public could see what we planned to do.  A few minor changes were made to the day, including having a professional magician on hand and more storytimes for kids.  A handmade quilt featuring our library’s logo made by a staff member’s mother soon became one of the most coveted raffle prizes.  In 2013, a record amount of money was raised for our children’s department remodeling project.  Here is a news story from our local paper that helped us promote our event:

After only three years, members of the community have come to expect our Overdue Open House every February.  Without knowing it, we created a way to keep our library on the forefront of people’s minds.  Small libraries can pull off a signature event.  Having a healthy Friends group is definitely a plus but even without one it is possible to have success using library staff, board members, and volunteers.  Our teen librarian got her teen group involved by having them design the backdrop that was placed behind the bands playing at the event.  VIP invitations were sent to school board members, elected officials, potential donors, etc.  We asked our local pizza shops if we could tape flyers to the pizza boxes that went out on delivery the week before our event.  Because it was Super Bowl weekend, this turned out to be a great success!  Flyers also went home with every school-age child in our local schools.  What we learned is that the community cares about the public library and they want to see it flourish.  As long as our library is receptive to the needs of the community we will continue to have the support we need. 

http://www.timesreporter.com/video/x711918028/Video-Valleytown

Whether it’s a book fair, an earthworm race, an ice cream social or  a wine-tasting, it is possible for your library to create an annual signature event that will keep your library front and center.

I would like to encourage you to participate in WebJunction’s March 19^th webinar called “Signature Events for Small Libraries:  Signature Events for Small Libraries: A webinar exploring signature fundraising events that help libraries raise funds and create friends.”

From “chocolate in the stacks” tastings to 5K runs to off-site literary dinner parties, small libraries are getting creative in offering signature events that raise funds and create friends. This webinar will be a “show and tell” of library fundraisers, with quick tips on how to get started in your community.  This webinar, hosted by WebJunction in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries, is an encore presentation of one of the most highly-rated sessions at the ARSL conference.  Presented by: Cassie Guthrie, Executive Director, Pioneer Library System (NY).  Start time: 2:00 Eastern / 11:00 Pacific

Link: http://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/Signature_Events_for_Small_Libraries.html

What signature event ideas have worked for you or your library in the past?  Please feel free to share!

 

The Teen Librarian Toolbox

 

By: Karen Jensen, MLS

Youth Services Librarian, Betty Warmack Branch Library

Reviewer for VOYA magazine since 2001

Teen Librarian Toolbox

http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/

Follow Karen and TLT!

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/TeenLibrariansToolbox?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TLT16

Your Online Orange Toolbox

“Hand me that screwdriver,” my father would say.  And as a child, I would be thrilled to put my little hand in his big orange toolbox and search for the right tool to help him do the job.  It was these childhood moments that I thought of when job changes forced me to rethink how I would participate in the library profession.  When I started my website, Teen Librarian Toolbox, I wanted to create a resource where teen librarians could come and find the right tool for the job they were doing, whether it be book reviews and booklists, RA posters, or information about marketing and advocacy.  I simply took my 19 years of experience and put it together online, creating an online toolbox that teen librarians could reach their hands into and find the right tool to be successful at the job they were trying to accomplish.

When the Economy Fell

But why? In 2008, the economy fell. At the time, I was working as a teen services librarian at Marion Public Library in Marion, Ohio.  During the next few years MPL would face two lay-offs, cuts in service hours, and reduced budgets.  Like people everywhere, we were tightening our belts while trying to maintain the quality of services and materials we prided ourselves in.

At the same time, the economy was beginning to affect my family personally and the only place my husband could find a job was Texas.  For the first year, he drove back and forth on the weekends.  I dug in my heels, I loved my job – my library – and I just didn’t want to leave.  But after a year, and floods and illness and more, it became clear that this long distance thing wasn’t working.  So with tears streaming down my face, I cleaned off my desk, packed up my house, and said goodbye to Marion, Ohio.  It was not an easy goodbye.

If you read your professional journals, you know that this is a hard time for libraries and librarians across the country, and I worried how hard it would be for me to find another library job.  I knew that I couldn’t do anything else.  Being a teen librarian is the heart and soul of who I am, it is at the very core of me. So I decided to take my show on the road – and online.  Thus, Teen Librarian Toolbox was born.

Who We Are

Although TLT was initially just me, it is now the home and voice of 4 MLS Young Adult Librarians, including Stephanie Wilkes from Louisiana, Christie Gibrich from my library system in Texas, and Heather Booth from Illinois.  Together, we review books, talk issues, and share programs. Our belief is simple, through TLT we are serving not only our local teens and local communities, but teens and communities across the nation.  Sometimes even around the world.  And by sharing, it makes us really think about the things that we do as librarians, the way that we do them, and ways that we can maybe do them better.  And we re-ignite our passion daily; we hope we do the same for you.

What We Do

What can you do at Teen Librarian Toolbox?

Our motto is simple: for teen librarian’s short on time, short on money, but not short on passion!

If you visit us, you’ll see that we post almost daily.  And because we are librarians, we like to make sure everything is indexed and in our table of contents.  Our primary areas of focus include: Advocacy and Marketing, Autism and Libraries, Teen Services 101, Teen Issues, Teen Programs in a Box (TPIB), Book Reviews, and our Top 10 lists.  Because I like to design things, I also share a variety of RA posters and Library memes that you can download and use in your library or share electronically.

As I sit typing this, there is a blizzard coming down here in Marion.  Two days ago I came home, crossed over the Ohio border and felt that heart tug.  The four of us are already planning some activities for 2013.  In fact, in January, we will be spotlighting teen mysteries and in February we will be spotlighting teen romances, because romance makes sense in February.  We are currently in talks to become a networked blog VOYA magazine, the first ya librarian tool I ever used when I began my career at the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

We are also looking forward to tracking teen lit trends once again in 2013.  In 2012 we saw a huge increase in mermaid titles, more paranormal romance and of course a tremendous amount of dystopian titles.  I think in 2013 we will see an increase in teen mysteries, historical fiction and a resurgence of realistic fiction.  It will be interesting to see what trends we track in 2013.  You can download our Teen Fiction Trends posters from 2010, 2011 and 2012 a www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com and clicking on the RA posters link on the right hand side bar.

Libraries are the Beating Hearts (of our communities): http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2012/08/libraries-are-beating-heart.html

Advocacy and Marketing http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/p/advocacy-marketing.html

Holiday Budget Thoughts

     It seems that the holidays come faster every year.  As a small library, on a small budget it means the seasonal flood release of books and DVDs can get pretty expensive. The publishers release them to encourage giving them for holiday gifts, but our library patrons want us to purchase the new titles too.
Are there good ways to engage your community in helping with those costs?  How can we encourage holiday giving to the library instead of excessive library spending? I’ve been doing a little digging and found that a lot of libraries are trying to help defer these costs.  Several composed lists of desired books and DVDs and created “giving trees”, others are selling poinsettia’s, wreaths or having a fundraising dinner. All of these are terrific ideas, but I wondered how much they actually made.
It did lead me to wondered if we could encourage more people to give if it was a “winter fundraiser”?  I don’t know if that would be more inviting for non-Christian patrons or if maybe it would help us to seem less like one more hand out for holiday help.  I don’t have any answers, but think I might give it a shot this year.  A little holiday experiment. 

Connecting your Community and Library by Blythe Schubert

You may know us by our SEO cargo designations: KLS, KLC, & KLK. Kate Love Simpson-Morgan County Library is the only library system in Morgan County, population 15,000 people with one school system and a busy fleet of yellow school buses.

Yes, our library is one of many small Ohio libraries, but being geographically isolated provides us with additional challenges and opportunities.  Both our libraries are community centers, providing free wireless internet access, a vital service in a county with huge black holes in broadband coverage.

One of our challenges is lack of staff to do all the varied chores, perform all the functions, and provide those vital extra services our library patrons need and expect.

Fortunately, our small, closely-knit community and our knowledge of willing volunteers and experts have helped us make up for this challenge.  

When we successfully applied for a Connect Ohio grant for 20 new computers, we realized that simply unpacking and setting up these computers would take hours and hours. I called a Morgan High School Electronics and Networking instructor for help. He was delighted to bring 22 students to our library for a community service project.

Not only did these high school seniors have our 20 computers unpacked and up and running, they had all of the cardboard boxes collapsed and in our recycling area.  The county newspaper took pictures and featured a half-page article about our seniors and our library’s new computer training program.

Our library patrons requested computer classes in Microsoft Excel and Photo Editing. Once again I looked toward the high school. The Computer Technology instructor was happy to earn a little extra money and had the required skills. Problem solved.

We pay to have our grass mowed.  Finding the time and money for other landscaping chores is not necessary.  The local Master Gardner chapter and one very dedicated volunteer prune, water, plant flowers and keep us looking sharp.  The senior Agricultural class recently planted a red, white and blue bed of flowers honoring our Rotary Veterans Walk of Honor at the library as a class project. Volunteers power many libraries, small and large.

When we reformatted and redecorated our children’s area, we wanted to add some artwork to set off the rather severe walls.  You guessed it. I got in touch with the high school art teacher for advice.  Three sophomore art students volunteered to create a 28 foot mural, painted on 4-foot panels, so that they could work at the high school.  Carpentry students helped reinforce the stretched canvas.

This year we hope to add elementary school and junior high art work on the opposite wall.

Morgan County folks know us as the “heart and soul of the community.”  Having community members and school children performing needed library tasks gives Morgan County ownership of their libraries, a shared source of pride and service.

 

Observations pertaining to library volunteers

Mike Kirk

Director/Fiscal Officer

Mount Gilead Public Library

 

Recently we joined a consortium and needed to re-barcode all the items in the library.  With a collection of approximately 35,000 items and a small window to complete the task, it was not possible for staff to do this alone while tending to the needs of the patrons.  With the budget as tight as ever, bringing in staff to complete the task on off days or hiring individuals were not options.  Utilizing the help of volunteers was our only choice.

Our library is an association where the majority of our trustees represent a local club.  Using the members of the clubs along with patrons and community members provided the library with 40 volunteers over a ten week period.  For most of those weeks, we ran three hour shifts three times during the week, working when the library was closed.  At each shift we had between five and seven volunteers, each performing a specific task to re-barcode each item.  What follows are some observations that I learned as we completed this ten week project.

1. As mentioned before, each volunteer had a specific task to complete.  We had an assembly style approach to complete the project.  One person brought the items on a cart from the stacks.  Two people kept the books in order and had the task of scrapping the old barcode off the items and placing them at a different location on the item.  One person then placed a new barcode on the former location of the old barcode.  The next person placed a barcode protector over the new barcode.  The item was then handed to me where I would change the barcodes in the computer by scanning them both, old then new.  I would then hand it to the final person who would discard the old barcode and place it on a cart to head back to the stacks.  (By the way, this was the ideal situation.  Often I did not have enough people and had to improvise as I went.)
   1. I used a folding table that allowed the volunteers to sit and face each other as they completed their task.  I found that as they talked and interacted with each other, productivity often increased.
   2. Depending on the group, we would take a break every hour to an hour and a half.  I always had a variety of candy and water for them on their breaks as a sign of appreciation for their hard work.
   3. When scheduling the volunteers, I tried to group them with similar interests so they would enjoy each other’s company as they completed the tasks.  It was interesting listening to the conversations as they varied from the recent junior-senior prom at the high school to going down memory lane in our local village.
   4. I tried to time it so the volunteers were done in three hours, no longer.  I knew many of them led busy lives and I truly valued their time and did not want to go over.
   5. I tried to keep the atmosphere light.  I tried to have background music going to make it a more pleasant place.  Under no circumstances did I have a quota to complete.  That would have placed added pressure on the volunteers and they would not have had an enjoyable experience.  We completed as much as we could and I knew that the next group would continue where we left off.  Staff also helped during open library hours to re-barcode when they had some downtime.
   6. I did not expect perfection from the volunteers.  They made mistakes along the way.  When something needed to be corrected, I would make the change and quietly point out to the volunteer where the mistake was made.

    

   In conclusion, this was a great project that got the community involved with a project that the library could not have completed without help.  With the task of re-barcoding an entire collection in less than three months, the volunteers more than stepped up and helped us complete this undertaking.  Many of the volunteers felt good about contributing to the library and made sure others in the community knew about what they had done.  An article in the local paper highlighted this to the community.