Library Quips and Tips

I have my MLIS from the University of Southern Mississippi and acknowledge that science fiction is consistently coming true.

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Interviews

A job interview is a learning experience, not only to get better at interviewing but to know your own values as you hear your answers to questions.

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Disinfecting kids toys for an upcoming event.  Spray and air dry.

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Recent Email

Hello (branch manager),

I have noticed that one of the recent challenges in libraries is fake news.  Misinformation has risen as an issue since the last election. There was a Donald Trump quote last fall attributed to People magazine that never existed. 

I propose a workshop to help patrons evaluate news sources.  One idea is to have a workshop class showing examples of both questionable and more established news site.  Review the “it must be true if it’s in print” fallacy and give examples.  Part of the class could be having patrons search the internet for news that interest them and have them evaluate the sources.  A while ago I created a YouTube video on evaluating Web pages.  Maybe even just a handout/

Let me know if you think this idea has potential.

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Libraries in Jeopardy

President’s budget proposal to eliminate federal library funding 'counterproductive and short-sighted' 

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If there was ever a week for programs and marketing services...

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Fake News Sites

Fake news sites is a  recent threat to literacy and knowledge.  Our brains still need to be re-programmed to realize that not everything in print or on the Web is true.  Here are a couple of resources I’ve found:

Trust Project 

Indiana University LibGuide

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Successful Failures

The latest issue of Public Libraries features stories of learning failures by librarians.  Here’s my own story…well, one of them.

Right after college I was hired by a clothing chain to be part of their traveling store.  A tent was erected in a city in a parking lot near one of the  tores.  Clothes racks sporting merchandise were then setup. I was the assistant manger of this traveling clothing circus and about the same age as the teens and students we hired as temporary staff.

I found it hard to take a stand.  Maybe I was afraid of being too overbearing.  Maybe I was afraid of people not liking me if I gave any command.  Whatever the reason, I deferred to the manager for almost any decision.   The twins we hired where both hungry?  I asked the manager if they could  grab a bite during busy hour.  

The worst was when a difficult customer wanted to try clothes on in the store. We had a rule—no trying on clothes in our sibling stores since the inventory could be mixed up.  When I mentioned this she shot back “I see all the pretty girls getting to go in!  I want to see the manager.”  This shocked me.  Instead of saying “that’s me” and working with her I brought her over to the actual manger who was on break (he let her go in the store).

Not long afterwards he took me to lunch and politely explained that I was not cut out for this job.  I would be re-assigned to a lesser position back in our hometown.

I was devastated.  I had failed my first job out of college.  What good was my degree?   How could I be successful in the future?

I did move on, using failure as learning tools.   I began working in Acquisitions at the state university library and eventually moved to a supervising position where I continued to fail and succeed.

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i guess it is a rare occurance

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Ellis Island

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”  Words of the poet Emma Lazarus associated with Ellis Island and the Statute of Liberty.

It is not too far a stretch to see how these words apply to a public library with some creative manipulation of words.  “Give us your hunger for knowledge,your digitally confused, your need for information.”

How can you change this for your library?

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Beyond Readers’ Advisory

Patrons have gone beyond the printed word for knowledge and services.  Reader's Advisory can go digital as well.  Librarians can make recommendations for social media sites, learning games, how-to videos, and even mobile applications.   The community's needs should help determine the areas which can be advised.

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One of those patrons

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Library:  Now Providing  Grooming Resources 

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Opposing views on Leadership

I read two articles in the latest issue of College & Research Libraries News:

1.  Creating the Leadership You seek

2.  The Way I See It (leadership isn’t for everyone)

Not only should libraries make sure to conclude materials with opposing viewpoints but so should professional literature.  This way library workers can access different information and do what feels best for them.

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Different Management Styles

Let’s look at management from a business franchise-to-library perspective.  In the latest issue of American Libraries, Jimmie E. Epling compares management at places such as Walmart and McDonalds to those of libraries. Epling states that leadership tends to be more fractured at the local level of libraries because of factors such as llack of funding and interest.  A manager at one library may need to deviate from standards to accommodate their community.  Local mangers of corporations tend to be unified in goals.

So what does this mean?  Epling says libraries need to be “purpose-driven” and calls for strategic planning.  I would add that the goal of purpose is to really know your community, its interests and opportunities for possible interests.  If people become invested in the library then the chance for funding increases. upon which more opportunities can be explored.

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Idea Accepted

So the phoenix Public Library branch I volunteer at accepted my idea of game night for adults.  Woo hoo!  Getting an idea accepted is not a grand victory, but it does show that your thinking is aligned with what administration thinks, and that always feels good.  If you suggest an idea that doesn’t work, keep trying.  Even if none are accepted people should appreciate your attempts and commitment.