Marketing and Signage

Great post about libraries and marketing on "The 'M' Word" blog, sharing about a talk given by Wayne Disher, director of Hemet Public Library in Hemet, Calif. It focuses on the mixed messages libraries send, often unintentionally, through intimidatingly prohibitive policies, appearance and general attitudes.

Basically, libraries are saying, "Welcome! Everyone come in; we have information galore and we're here to serve you for free - just ask!" at the same time as they're posting NO CELL PHONES and NO FOOD and turning a library card application into a process as convoluted as a visa request (okay, maybe not that complicated). Some of these policies are necessary, of course, but you can always tweak the 'sell' in order to make things more palatable for patrons -- instead of saying NO CELL PHONES, you could put a sign with "Please take your cell phone conversations to the Cell Phone Lounge."* Heck, throw in some free coffee dispensers there, too.^

One point I loved was Disher's explanation that having to paste signs saying NO/DON'T ______ usually indicates a problem somewhere else -- if you keep telling people this bin is NOT FOR TRASH, RECYCLING ONLY, maybe you need to put out more trash bins...

Overall, a great reminder about the importance of presentation and attitude when it comes to serving patrons; not to mention that libraries aren't really 'free' to them -- they have invested time and effort to get here, so we should really be operating on a 'paying service' model as much as we can.


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*This brings up a few tricky issues when it comes to serving multilingual populations, of course (a picture of an x-ed out cell phone translates a lot easier).

^Of course, I know it's always easier to talk about these things than actually implement them -- the next thing you'll get is patrons complaining about cold free coffee.

What I've Learned from ALA 2010

• Beware the Mad Rush of the Exhibit Hall openings. You have been warned
  
• Publishers are not interested in you unless you are a Public Library Director/Collections Manager/Reviewer/Adorable Child
  
• Wheeled carts are Not Allowed. You will see them Everywhere Anyway.
• Avoid the Exhibit Halls after one or two runs. Especially Monday morning; nothing new is put out for free, and everyone is just waiting for the 'giveaway' around 4 pm
• If at all possible, demagnetize your card (I discovered this one by accident). With luck, vendors will assume that their machine is broken, so you will a) still get free stuff and b) avoid junk mail
• When approaching someone, try to figure out their area of interest and pitch your introduction to that
• Chat with fellow librarians! They are generally surprisingly eager to share their tips and experience with you
• Talk with your fellow newbie colleagues as well, even though none of you has a job. Relationships are valuable no matter what; you can't predict what will come down the road
• Paula Poundstone is hilarious
• Give away your business cards like they are on fire (it will generally take 10 conversations/contacts for every 'connection' made)

Day One Point Five ALA

So I have already failed in the goal of Not Permanently Crippling Oneself For the Sake Of ARCs (i.e. free books). But then I look at all these lovely books and decide that the sacrifice was well worth it. But today I shall try to improve, and my strategy will consist of Avoiding the Exhibit Halls, since my willpower obviously isn't up to the task.

We'll see how that goes.

I did strike up some conversations, and everyone seemed quite friendly despite the 'running of the bulls' atmosphere at exhibit opening time. I spoke to David Serchay, author of two guides to graphic novels for librarians (including a section on graphic novels in academia, which I had never considered) -- he generously shared his conference experiences, including the mind-boggling fact that the Book Expo is ten times the crazy, since basically all of the books are free.

What glorious madness...

On to the next day!

Cranky Trains and the Undead

So I am finally in D.C., after a train 'signaling issue' had us crawling along the tracks just outside of Philadelphia. Fortunately, I was well-supplied with snacks and Mira Grant's Feed, a novel about bloggers and zombies.

Yes, they go together perfectly. And I'm not finished yet, but right now I would highly recommend it.

Books like these are making me think about the new publishing/news paradigm; Grant has created a scenario where bloggers are basically ruling the newsfeeds, largely because of the advantages of a) speed b) first-hand experience and c) lack of a corporate agenda. When the zombie Rising begins, it's the bloggers who first break the news and keep spreading the world, despite the mainstream media's attempt to downplay the incidents (after all, it's just too crazy to be true, right?).

True, there are lots of nutcases out there, and lots of them have blogs. But there are ways to 'triangulate' authentic information, from the 'mass numbers' approach (if enough different sources are saying it, it's probably true) to the 'trusted' bloggers and platforms who have earned reputations of integrity and accuracy.

The model isn't perfect, but it works (for surviving a zombie attack, anyhow). And the Rising, the loss of trust in the mainstream media, and the surge of autonomous investigation and reporting that followed has drastically shifted the balance of influence -- now bloggers have serious clout, even to the point of being invited on the campaign trail on the next presidential race.

What I've found most interesting about this book is that it seems pretty plausible -- substitute 'zombies' for 'widespread disaster' and you can already see similar things happening today. People on the ground, in the moment, are spreading news the quickest ways they can, thanks to technology. And since we're social animals, we're all involved in this transmission of information (and yes, the 'viral' implications are completely apt, here).

I'm really interested to see if I can get in on some of this crowd/social tech action at the conference, from Twitter feeds to blog updates, and see how this changes or enhances my ALA experience.

If I can keep my head attached, anyway. I hear the opening of the Exhibit Hall is more dangerous than a crowd of zombies at a meat market.

ALA Madness

So I'm now in the midst of trying to plan for my first-ever annual librarian conference down in D.C., and the sheer number of programs is making my head spin. I am trying to follow the advice of more experienced, wiser librarians in my preparations, such as:

• wear comfortable shoes (you will not want to be limping through the convention halls)
  
• attend some discussion/committee groups - it's a great way to participate instead of just sitting in presentations
• bring business cards and then use them
• have several backups in case your program is canceled/too far away/demolished by giant library-hating locusts

And some separate advice I have tailored to myself:

• talk to people: yes, it's scary, but try striking up some conversations (you never know where things will lead -- so long as you do not hyperventilate and vomit over someone's shoes. Then it's pretty much a foregone conclusion)
• make notes during the conference and blog about what's happening
• take breaks! otherwise you will become a Conference Zombie, wandering the halls and moaning quietly (and that isn't productive or fun)

Above all, try oh please try to resist the siren call of free galleys...

Oh, who am I kidding? Just try to avoid permanent spinal damage at least.

Let My Ebooks Go!

Just came across this excellent post on ebooks and DRM by the Librarian in Black - she makes a compelling case for librarians banding together and forcing a change in the current ebooks landscape (where everything is so locked down by DRM that users don't have a chance of borrowing the ebooks they want at libraries within a reasonable timeframe).

I really hope this gains some momentum - otherwise, we are going to lose our users on the digital front. Because no one wants to spend that much pain and effort to get an ebook or audiobook, even if it is 'free' - the temporal and emotional costs are going to send people to Amazon, B&N, iTunes, and pretty much anywhere else.

And that would be a terrible waste - why bother adding ebooks to our collection if we can't let our users really use them?

Can Use My Catalog...

This has officially made my morning.

Librarians Do Gaga.

That song is going to be in my head all day now...

Libraries in the Wild

My Memorial Day weekend included venturing off into the wilds of Massachusetts/Rhode Island with my mother, during which we discovered:

*Rhode Island is a ridiculously small state
*The Talking GPS Lady is not to be trusted
*Public libraries are awesome

This last realization was prompted by our discovery of the Cumberland Public Library, which is nested inside a beautiful monastery building. Cumberland PL saved us from an aimless evening with its free wifi and comfy chairs, giving me another idea for the value of public libraries: rest and planning stations for befuddled travelers.

I don't have any budget details, but the library seemed well-off, with automatic doors and plenty of workshops and classes advertised -- including dowsing, which I found intriguing. I took photos of a few of the 'library advocacy' posters that were sprinkled throughout the building, too.

Which got me thinking about library advocacy for public libraries, and how much of it is the 'luck of the draw' in terms of having a patron population that already places a high value on literacy and the library as a community space (and fair amounts of free time/disposable income). The Catch-22 is, of course, that the libraries most in need of advocacy - those in poorer communities, with patrons who have little enough time between jobs and child care - those libraries are the most difficult to generate support for, because there isn't the same pro-reading/education tradition and/or (more crucially) there just isn't enough time and money to go around. And forget support from the wealthier sectors -- no one is going to jump for 'paying' for libraries that they see as waystations for homeless people and immigrants.

As much as I love to come into a public library and see it really thriving, it always brings up a twinge of...indignation? sadness? Because all libraries should be like this, not just the ones in the 'nicer' communities. Everyone deserves access to this sort of public refuge.

*Addendum: Pictures from the trip to be added soon (hopefully). Meanwhile, this morning I took a jaunt down to Mike's Diner:

I highly recommend the chocolate chip pancakes, and my waitress was an absolute angel. Thank you, Mike's!

LibPunk Radio

I've just discovered this through LJ, and I agree with David Rothman -- this is the most fun I've ever had listening to a library podcast.

I mean, in what other library show do they go from discussing the unfairness of vendors to a discussion of the merits of shanking people? I can already tell this is going to be a quotetastic experience: "I am pro shank."

Plus, they finally provided a definition - or an attempt to define - the libpunk movement: a combination of do-it-yourself and fuck-shit-up. Oh, and by the way? The show is not censored at all.

I wanna be a punk librarian when I grow up...

A Weekend of Libraries!

This weekend included a visit to the Boston Athenaeum, a beautiful private library in the heart of the city -- and the Brookline main public library, which, as my GSLIS friend put it, "shows what you get when a library has money." Both were centers of artistic and literary wealth and pretty inspiring to boot...one could almost forget about all of those pesky budget cuts going on.

Alas, the BA didn't allow photographs inside, so I shall have to rely on others' visuals for interiors:








The first floor was open to visitors, and included an art gallery and several reading areas, complete with plush armchairs and glimmering full-length windows. I am not artistically informed, so I couldn't tell you much about the quality of the collection (the printed guide certainly made it seem impressive). I was amused to note two sculptures in particular; one marble bust of Lafayette and one ceramic statuette of a doll-like child with a ballooning skirt and coiffed hair wore perfectly matching supercilious expressions.

I fell in love with the children's room the most. Not only did they have an aquarium, but the room was carefully arranged with polished wood shelving, cradling the space into a semi-circle that opens out to floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of rich greenery outside.

Oh, and an excellent view of the graveyard. You know, the Granary -- the historical cemetery where tourists can be seen milling about or hunting down particular Revolutionary heroes. It was a bit of a jolt to see a stuffed animal dragon upon a throne-like chair framed against the backdrop of tilting gravestones -- but I don't think the kids are overly bothered. Plus, they've got these sweet window seats in the nooks each side of the shelves, and all I could think was, if I were a kid, I would totally claim that spot every time.

I chatted with the children's librarian a bit, and she told me about their storytime schedule and reading groups; despite being a private institution (or maybe because of it), they have a robust series of events and programs for both adult members and their kids.

After mourning my lack of funds for a membership, I mosied on down to Chinatown for a haircut. Like you do.

The next morning started off with an early-morning jaunt to Mul's Diner (because I am a secret diner fiend). The waitresses were kindly and the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly; while my french toast came out more on the 'charcoal' side of cooked, I was liberally supplied with coffee and therefore content.

The rest of the day included a relaxed stroll to the Brookline branch, in which I not only discovered multiple copies of desired works in order, but also plenty of light, airy study spaces with outlets and chairs that did not double as torture devices. And they were having a book sale! BPL, we may have to break up. Like, now.





Overall, a satisfying adventure! Brookline has left me with a permanently crippled spine from all of the books I have been toting around, but I can forgive them. I prescribe bed rest! And reading!

Browsing in the Digital World

Got caught up in this article through American Libraries, in which Donald Barclay neatly explodes the 'myth' of serendipitous browsing in the academic library. This issue is important because of increasing space pressures and how many libraries are decreasing shelf space in favor of 'study space' -- incurring the wrath of faculty who cry foul at collections being moved off-site.

But as Barclay points out, not only is physical browsing not part of an ancient scholarly tradition (prior to WWII, academic library stacks were mostly closed), it is also pretty darn inefficient. Especially compared to the new searching platforms online that let you tag, link, and organize multiple ways -- echoes of David Weinberger's 'miscellaneous' theory here, because you don't have the physical limits of a book being in only one 'place.'

So while I can understand the immediate reaction against the thought of 'taking books off the shelves,' I cab agree with Barclay here - shifting collections in some cases can actually make the materials more accessible (as counterintuitive as that may seem). And in my own experience, I've found that most undergrads are searching via their laptops and phones instead of their fingers...

But please let's not get carried away here. This solution is not for all libraries or even for most of the collection. I've browsed shelves as recently as last week, and there is still something to be said for having books on the shelves, ready to be plucked and skimmed. We are highly visual and tactile creatures, after all. So until we can make the 'digital' browsing model as natural and easy as physical browsing (or more so) -- let's keep some of those books on our shelves.

Salem: More than Just Witches! (No, Really!)

I took a weekend daytrip to Salem, which was lovely -- after some trainage negotiation (apparently the MBTA decided some of its trains were overtired and couldn't make it aaaalll the way out to my usual stop), I found myself wandering along sunny wharfs and down charming brick alleyways.

I also learned things.
For instance, the Essex County history video presentation at the tourist center was quite informative. It covered the maritime aspects of Salem's past, along with trade and industrialization. A Summary:

• **Native Americans were totally here first (for like, 10,000 years). Then the white people showed up as fishermen. The encounter ran along these familiar lines:

White People: Hey, nice to meet you! Wanna trade? We have pelts and shiny weird objects.
Native Americans: Um, we've been doing fine on our own, but sure, okay.
White People: Oh yeah, by the way, we're actually planning to settle here and take 'our' land and let our animals run free and eat all your crops and we'll throw our nasty horrible diseases into the bargain, kay?
Native Americans: WAY NOT COOL

• **The soil was actually awful, so most of the early settlers got their living from the sea, which was just bursting with fish. The sea brought wealth! Nets of slimy, scaly wealth!

• **The Puritans really were trying to set up a colony of religious purity, free from corruption. Ironically, they fled from intolerance and then set about with the witch-burning, a now-classic historical prototype of narrow-mindedness and...intolerance.

Video Narrator: But, you know, they really did believe in witches! For real! So, like, cut them some slack, okay? And can we just drop the whole witch thing?
Audience: NO. WE WANT WITCHES.
Video Narrator: Dammit.

• **Slaves in Essex County could actually get a measure of 'freedom' by serving on the ships -- there was a moving account from one man who recalled his own father's servitude on a plantation, and how his life on the sea at least allowed for some sense of pride and autonomy, despite the back-breaking labor and general sacrifice (his wife, meanwhile, was 'taking in washing' and presumably seeing her husband maybe once a year).

So, another reason archives and libraries are awesome - they save these stories for us.

• **When the fish ran low, industry turned to shoes! Fish to boots...makes perfect sense.

• **Industrialization was hell, of course -- one in three millworkers died before their 10 years of service were up.

I also got to visit Hawthorne's house, in which I learned:

• **Emerton, the enterprising 'founder' of the landmark, actually set up tours of the House of Seven Gables to mirror the book, instead of reality -- to the point of adding in Hepzibah's 'shop' (which did not actually exist; Hawthorne made it up).

• **Hawthorne himself was insecure about his writing and got lots of encouragement and support from his cousin, Susanna.

• **The kettles that women used in the kitchen weighed 25 pounds when they were empty. Note to self: never challenge a 17th-century housewife to an arm-wrestling match.

Besides the educational fun, I got to wander and find all sorts of delights, including the Derby Square Bookstore, which looks like this outside:

And this on the inside:

It made the librarian in me sob a little, even as the book-lover had a massive heart-attack of joy at the fifty percent off...

I asked the owner about his 'organizational strategy,' and he basically said 'photographic memory.' It was true; ask him any title and he'd track it down with the unerring instinct of a homing pigeon (good luck trying to navigate on your own).

All in all, a lovely day!

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Have just finished Blink by Malcom Gladwell (an appropriately quick read), and thought I'd jot down a few notes of summary:

** our intuition is smarter than we give it credit for, and we can make surprisingly accurate judgments based on comparatively 'little' information

**adding more information can actually mess up our judgment by obscuring what's really important

**unless we're experts, we are awful at actually explaining/understanding what informs our preferences and judgments (prime us to be 'logical' about taste tests, for instance, and we'll rank it completely differently -- and 'incorrectly,' in terms of quality)

**context is hugely important in our decisions; too little time, too much pressure, cultural and racial and gender prejudices all mess with our ability to judge properly

A lot of interesting anecdotes to back this up -- one I found particularly interesting in the context of librarianship had to do with doctors diagnosing possible heart-attacks in a poor Chicago district hospital. Gladwell described how a scientist created a 'decision chart' with a few very limited factors (ECG, systolic blood pressure, fluid in lungs) -- essentially an algorithm for diagnosis -- and found that it increased doctor accuracy by 70 percent.

Medical professionals were incredulous, arguing that the model didn't take enough of the patient situation into account, it was far too limited...more information is always better, right? But Gladwell argues that more information in this case was actually detrimental to the doctors' ability to properly diagnose the symptoms; data about the patient's background, other conditions, exercise levels, etc. were all adding up to 'white noise' that interfered with their ability to process the relevant factors.

So, as an 'information provider' at a medical reference library, it occurs to me that swamping down our patrons and clients with data is not only unhelpful but actually dangerous - if Gladwell is right, information provision needs to be tailored to providing the 'best' data for a given diagnosis situation, not 'all data you could possibly be interested in.' In a vast oversimplification: Information Overload Kills.

Fragments of the Web

So I'm reading David Weinberger's Small Pieces Loosely Joined, and I highly recommend it to anyone even remotely curious about how the Web is affecting (and being affected by) our society - from our daily information snarfing habits to large-scale collaborative projects like Wikipedia.

He has made me think about the Web from new and startling angles, and that has actually made a lot of the 'weird' stuff we do online start to make a twisted kind of sense. For example, why do we jump from page to page like addled kangaroos? Why do we trust online forums teeming with advice from unqualified strangers? (No, we're not just stupid/overly trusting). What is so appealing about the messy, chaotic nature of the Internet, and aren't we better off just putting the whole thing under centralized government control? (Hint: The Web works because it's a mess, and trying to streamline everything under a centralized process would cause stagnation and death - basically a shot to the heart of the freedom that the Web needs to survive).

It's beautifully written, clear and engaging without being patronizing, and Weinberger weaves together a rich variety of aspects of the Web, from the gritty hardware task of actually 'moving bits' to the abstract philosophical implications of a traditional separation of 'inner' and 'outer' worlds (and also 'subjective' and 'objective' knowledge).

I'm getting so interested just writing about this now that I'm going to try and finish off the book -- in particular, I've been caught up in Weinberger's musings on how we process information in terms of applications for designing new virtual user interfaces for the library. It looks like we're far more 'bodily' oriented in how we learn the world than we realize -- that typical 'consciousness trapped in a physical limiting shell' view of the mind/body split doesn't take into account how much we use our bodies to interact with our environments and, therefore, learn things. We build models to visualize abstract concepts, we draw on backboards with chalk -- just think of how much people automatically love to 'fiddle' with new gadgets at the presentation booths. I'm pretty sure everyone who saw that scene in Minority Report with Tom Cruise 'conducting' a series of photos, videos, and documents with graceful sweeps and twists of his hands immediately thought, "Cool! I want to try!"

Wouldn't it be awesome if libraries could be that fun and immersive?