Alaska Bush Library Service

I am attempting to gain admission to University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa School of Library Information. This has required me to step out of my box to some extent. I took the Miller’s Analogies Test. The results came back today. I was expecting to be in the 60th percentile based on my raw score. I am in the 89th. I am hoping that helps me to get in. I have gathered my transcripts, letters of recommendation, written my purpose statement, and sent it all in. Now, comes the waiting time. This is new to me. I have not had to apply for admission to college before. I hope the wait doesn’t seem too interminable.

Next week I am starting to travel again. I will spend a week in Brevig Mission. They finished some new construction there. During the construction period a class moved into the library. I know there will be maintenance to take care of. I will work with the library aide and build some training modules for Koha based on what we find difficult.

I read the article Disconnects Between Library Culture and Millennial Generation Values  in the new issue of Educause.  A checklist is mentioned that would be good for libraries at all levels to ask themselves:

What is your library doing to:

• Support the user’s affinity for self-paced, independent, trial-and-error methods of learning? - Are we putting up online tutorials for students to look at when they need to?  I have seen some libraries that have iPod guides for library tours. Currently, I have built some online tutorials for using the Alaska Statewide Databases.
• Create opportunities to make library information look and behave like information that exists in online entertainment venues?  This may be the best place and time to install Worldcat buttons and the new search features of Google for each of our libraries.  Websites that interact with the students rather than sit there and wait for student to search and the OPAC to distribute information.  Why haven’t we added the ability for students to leave their book reviews in our OPACs?  I think a lot of this has to do with the software we have at our disposal.  I am hoping that this is something that will be able to the added to Koha down the road.
• Explore alternative options for delivering information literacy skills to users in online environments and alternate spaces?  I return to the online tutorials for students to gain information.  In my position, I am usually not at the student’s side when they need the information.  I am connected through three different IM programs for students to get a hold of me when they need to.  The problem I am finding is how do I advertise this so it is there when students need it.
• Apply the typical user’s desire for instant gratification to the ways that libraries could be using technology for streamlined services? I am not sure how we can meet these needs.  I do know what I do which is offer inter library loan so that users know that their needs are met, even if it will take a week to get the book.  I have added downloads to my district’s wiki of sites that give students the information they need to meet different standards.
• Redefine administrative, security, and policy restrictions to permit online users an online library experience that rivals that of a library site visit? I think we need more audiobooks that are downloadable and a better way to provide this service.  Copyright stipulations need to be met, but I would love to figure a way that students have access to the electronic resources, electronically rather than having to visit the library.
• Preserve born-digital information?  This is a matter of who is willing to stand up and pay for the storage medium.  It is easy to be in charge of the digital medium as long as you are willing to ensure that the materials are always accessible through current technology.  I think we have seen enough errors in this by now that we know how to keep abreast of changing technologies that we can revisit our ability to preserve materials on a yearly basis. — or am I the only one who lost all my MARC records by using an antiquated back up method?

I hope this gets us thinking to how we can provide the millennials the best library experience they can get.  We have moved a long way with technology.

My high school librarian was so afraid that the computer would make her unnecessary to the research process that she actually removed subjects, ISBNs, authors, and other parts of the MARC records so that students would have to come to her for the information.  I only know this because I became a library aide there before getting my own school library.  I spent the year adding full records and deleting a LOT of books that wouldn’t ever be used.

We need to embrace the technologies that our students are embracing and make sure that our libraries will always be the place that our students can gain more access to information.

I am getting tired of asking myself how I can get staff to use the Alaska Database better. The database is a collection of Ebsco and Fact on File databases with full text articles for EVERYONE. I was so happy five years ago when I learned that we were getting them. I LOVE the databases.

• I give classes every year at inservice for teachers.
• I teach students when I visit their schools.
• I have built online tutorials for other people to use when doing research with students.
• I am getting ready to work with Camtasia to build some webcasts to help people use these tools more effectively.

Still if feels that no one is using them… I am taking a new approach. We all have journals or magazines that we like to read. I am asking individuals which journal would the love to get, but choose not to due to the cost. I then set up a ‘journal alert’ for them. This will let them know each month when their favorite journals are posted.

This isn’t how I wanted to do it. It doesn’t feel right to me somehow. I always believe you teach patrons how to find their information so that they are free to search again without your assistance. Maybe the mistake was that no one knew what the databases could provide and this will get them to know them better.

“For some people, if the answer isn’t in the first few results it might as well not be there,” said Gary Price, founder and editor of the ResourceShelf blog and director of online resources at Ask.com. “No matter how smart and helpful search engines get, they’re never going to replace librarians. Great article, one person responded by saying that librarians think too highly of themselves. I feel that I did a pretty good job letting him know what a great profession we are in.

Last Monday I traveled to Gambell Alaska for my first trip out for the school year. I worked with the elementary students on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Great lessons in how to come up with ideas for research. I bring in Jelly Bellies, a movie on how they are made. This takes about seven minutes and then we discuss why I would choose Jelly Bellies if I could research anything. I then move the third through sixth grade students into Ebsco Student researcch databases so that they can find magazine articles on anything that interests them.

I work with the kindergarten through second graders on our statewide Battle of the Books program.

The big news comes next, on Thursday, I head to the jr. high and high school area. One of the seventh grader students comes up to me and says, “I remember you. You taught us how to use Worldbook Online last year.” I was blown away. I mean I remember that I did teach his class how to use Worldbook Online. They got to use the laptop lab which was new to the school. The class was great and by the end of the lesson, I could allow them to sit anywhere because they did a good job of staying on task. I remember most lessons that I give in each school so that I can build on them and/or ask teachers how it is going later, but I didn’t expect to be remembered by a student.

I am in Savoonga this week. Here, I will give the same lessons. In addition, I will do a lot of library maintenence. This school wants to implement Accelerated Reader. We have a $5,000 Laura Bush Grant to purchase books. That will help a lot to purchase books that the students here will enjoy. I have talked to teachers about which books they would like to see. I will tallk to students this week to see what they want to see.

The reason to have a union catalog is that you will only have to update it once.  I am updating all the libraries in my district with Lexile reading levels.  The library software we use is set up so that you have to add the fields you need and then upload the records, the reindex the catalog twice.  I still don’t know why it needs to be done twice, but it never works the first time.  You do the same thing the second time and it works.  I didn’t think computer programs worked that way.

I am off to Anchorage for a class in marketing your library.  I hope I gain a lot of insight in what I can do better.

After reading David Lee King’s Blog about what libraries put on their websites, it makes me think what would help our patrons the most.  Today I am just looking at the BSSD Media Center website to see if I have all of these features.
Traditional Content, or “Stuff we Buy”: - We have this within the media tub lists that we provide on the website.  Principals and teachers can download the list of tubs if they would like the list in a paper format.  Some people still seem to prefer a paper copy rather than using the online catalog.
Original Content, or “Stuff Librarians Create” - This would be the links that I provide for Battle of the Books.  I still need to upload my tables for this year.

Attendable Content, or “Things you Attend or Visit” - Battle of the Book dates and when I will be attending different schools.
Collaborative Content, or “Interacting with Patrons” - I need to think more about this.  How can I interact with my patrons more?  I am here to provide help to the teachers so that they can have their workload lessened as they teach class

Library/Librarians as Content, or “Content About the Library” - How people can use the library and contact information about me and Maggie.  I think that might be covered.

The question now is what would be better on my website.  I am going to start mulling this over before I add content willy/nilly

Huh,

Does anyone else see the problems with this poster? It bothers me that as we work to put forward that librarians and libraries use current technology, this poster has a picture of the old time card catalog. Arrrggghhh, I can think of a pictures that would show how libraries matter with today’s technology. I know I am probably putting more thought into the matter than should be put into a simple advertisement. Curious as to what others may think.

This is from http://www.tametheweb.com/

Use of this Table…. caught at KCPL (UPDATED!)

Use of this Table…. caught at KCPL
Originally uploaded by mstephens7.

There must be a story about this poor little table….I’ll be using this in my L2 talks!Update: David King IMs to say the sign has been removed! Woohoo!

Please, folks, take a walk around your buildings and see what story you are telling about your library by the language and tenor of your signage and stance toward collaboration and technology. I understand we need balance and some guidelines for conduct, but a “culture of no” does not work well in libraries!

One of our assignments in the library class is to look at our library through our patrons eyes. I just found this as I was looking for new blogs to subscribe to. One statement that I always give to our new teachers is, “If the library is causing you any stress, relax. Overdue notices are not complaints, but reminders that you still have the information.” If our patrons are stress by us, they don’t use us to their best advantage.

I have to laugh when I remember Alice Yucht’s statement on collaborating, “Work with the living”. I was at the airport before flying out. I knew a lot of teachers would be coming out yesterday and today because we have a class that starts on Monday. A teacher came up to me and wanted to talk about integrating more of everything into the reading program. She has some great ideas on how to involve the students that turn in their homework 60-80% of the time. Her school rewards the 80-100% students. She feels that a program that rewards the ones that are almost there, will help out to. Some ideas include having the library display books that are similar to the ones that the students are reading in their reading classes or by the same author. She is lucky in the fact that I obtained a $5,000.00 Laura Bush Foundation Grant for new library books for her school. I was worried about how I would get the teachers to buy in and give me ideas for the books they would like. Seems like that problem is solved for now.

On a personal level, I have to say thanks to the United States Post Office. Too often we hear of their inadequecies. Last Monday I mailed nine totes of belongings to myself. They were sitting here in my office when I got here on Saturday. Now I can only hope that the rest of my stuff that was mailed Saturday gets here as quick.

Cheers to all who are starting their year.