Last week, I presented the newest version of my "Reaching Patrons: Online Outreach for Libraries" talk at the Boston Region. Thank you to everyone who participated, and as promised, here are the notes and slides.
This presentation was expanded and adapted from "Online Outreach for Libraries" by Sarah Houghton-Jan, the Librarian in Black.
Showing posts with label patrons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patrons. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Saturday, July 14, 2007
From the Freakonomics blog, we get a great discussion about whether public libraries could be created today if they didn't already exist. I'm fairly sure I saw most of this article appear somewhere else recently, but the truly interesting discussion is happening (of course) in the comments. Arguments for and against libraries, but also a ton of information about what our patrons think libraries are for.
Neat stuff, and worth checking out.
By the way, the show I'm technical directing (and now stage managing as well!) opens on Thursday the 19th, and it's the last big thing that I need to be doing this summer. As hoped, it should mean some more down time for writing here. Thanks again for your indulgence on the silence, and I'll be seeing you soon!
Neat stuff, and worth checking out.
By the way, the show I'm technical directing (and now stage managing as well!) opens on Thursday the 19th, and it's the last big thing that I need to be doing this summer. As hoped, it should mean some more down time for writing here. Thanks again for your indulgence on the silence, and I'll be seeing you soon!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Playaways?
Reactive vs. proactive. And as the rate of change gets faster, we're pushed further and further into reactive modes.
What am I blathering on about? I just had a patron call asking about Playaways, a not-so-new digital audiobook format. She wanted to know if my library carried them; I'd never even heard of them before.
A little searching online made me feel only slightly better. Playaways have been out since 2005, and Illinois was the first library system to pilot the format (second paragraph from the bottom). OHIONET has a comprehensive FAQ about them for its member libraries, while the Rocky River (OH) Public Libraries and the Larchmont (NY) Public Library are offering them to patrons.
I'll cut myself some slack: I've only really been closely following tech trends since late last fall, so I would have missed much of the brouhaha about Playaways. And yet, if I can miss a new technology such as this, how many other less-savvy librarians out there have missed this and more?
Yes, professional development is much on my mind, for personally professional as well as generally professional reasons. I just gave that presentation that stressed that we need to be "...aware of as much of the rest as we can." So now, I live true to my own words.
So....Playaways. Very neat, very tidy, no moving parts and easy to circulate. Easy also to lose and break in a transit bag, but that's no reason not to have them for the same reasons that we have books on CD and even still on cassette. If you haven't already checked them out, give one a whirl and see if it'll fly at your library.
What am I blathering on about? I just had a patron call asking about Playaways, a not-so-new digital audiobook format. She wanted to know if my library carried them; I'd never even heard of them before.
A little searching online made me feel only slightly better. Playaways have been out since 2005, and Illinois was the first library system to pilot the format (second paragraph from the bottom). OHIONET has a comprehensive FAQ about them for its member libraries, while the Rocky River (OH) Public Libraries and the Larchmont (NY) Public Library are offering them to patrons.
I'll cut myself some slack: I've only really been closely following tech trends since late last fall, so I would have missed much of the brouhaha about Playaways. And yet, if I can miss a new technology such as this, how many other less-savvy librarians out there have missed this and more?
Yes, professional development is much on my mind, for personally professional as well as generally professional reasons. I just gave that presentation that stressed that we need to be "...aware of as much of the rest as we can." So now, I live true to my own words.
So....Playaways. Very neat, very tidy, no moving parts and easy to circulate. Easy also to lose and break in a transit bag, but that's no reason not to have them for the same reasons that we have books on CD and even still on cassette. If you haven't already checked them out, give one a whirl and see if it'll fly at your library.
Monday, April 9, 2007
No, they didn't teach me this in library school
From Library Journal news:
Chris Ward, former assistant director of the Salt Lake City PL,
gives the most thorough description of and insight into the relationship between the "chronically homeless" and libraries I've ever read. I had to stop after the first half; it was too much to take in one sitting.
Required reading for library school students and anyone working in a public library.
N.b.: I currently work for a branch of the Boston Public Library. This article is spot on, and applies nationwide. Yes, even where *you* live.
Chris Ward, former assistant director of the Salt Lake City PL,
gives the most thorough description of and insight into the relationship between the "chronically homeless" and libraries I've ever read. I had to stop after the first half; it was too much to take in one sitting.
Required reading for library school students and anyone working in a public library.
N.b.: I currently work for a branch of the Boston Public Library. This article is spot on, and applies nationwide. Yes, even where *you* live.
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