Tech Services Happenings

           And so began the Advanced Management and Leadership Skills for Library Professionals lead by Andrew Sanderbeck. I took a liking to the speaker immediately because he brought chocolates to the session, knew where the Einstein’s was and their hours of operation, and promptly gave us a break so that we could hustle over to get some coffee PRONTO! The man is a genius. Not only is he magnanimous, he knows the way to our hearts and minds is through our stomachs.

            The session was a combination of well-placed anecdotes, good advice, and useful resources, with sprinkles of poignant quotes throughout, such as: “If it’s free, it’s for me”; “You never know who you’re sitting next to (before launching off into why it is important to network)”; “The fish normally rots from the head down (referring to management)”; “Begin with the end in mind (number 2 of Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)”; and “People are the key to your success”. I found the concepts regarding change and change resistance very timely given the state of flux public libraries are currently experiencing and the strategies suggested were right on-target. Also, he introduced us to the idea that communication is 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, and 7% words. Makes you think twice about what you can and cannot fully communicate in an email or IM, doesn’t it?

            For my personal situation, main points that I will be taking with me are:

·         Networking is important – employ FORD to begin conversations: bring up Family, Occupation, Recreation, Dreams

·         Always be prepared: wear your nametag, bring business cards, arrive early, offer assistance to presenter so that you can build a relationship with someone who has a great rolladex

·         Do unto others are they would have done to them: relate to people how they would like to be related to

·         Build my inner circle of support: people outside of my family that will provide encouraging words, hold me accountable, give advice, serve as mentors, and will be honest and direct with me.

·         Use http://tadalist.com/ to keep track of my lists (to do and such) where I can share my list with other users to edit and revise. This site provides RSS feeds that will send me an email when a revision is made.

·         Visit http://www.mindtools.com/ for sharpening skills on everything from Time Management to Leadership.

All in all, this session was a huge success for me. I learned a lot, came away with a workbook that I have already referred to twice, and gathered links to very resourceful websites. If you ever have the opportunity to participate in an Andrew Sanderbeck session, please do so – you’ll be so glad that you did…if only for the chocolate J

            Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the most popular answer to what would you do if you only had six months to live is “travel”, followed by “mend broken relationships”. Sanderbeck astutely pointed out, “What makes you think you have six months?”

On May 2nd

That’s right, our dep’t pretty much took over the entire left side of Bennigan’s last Friday when we all went out to lunch to say farewell to our student workers: Cherry-Ann, Brenda, Ashley, and Johnny. Lunch was only $4.99 each, thanks to our bargain hunting. and oh, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to WESLY! I’m sure he LOVed it.

Hi All!

Our first month on the Thank You message board was quite a success. Our Stats indicate that “All Staff” got the most thank yous so we must be quite a team! Special Thanks to Cheryl for writing the most notes. If you want to see our April Fave Quote, just walk by our coffee break hallway and see…we also have the April Top News still up.

So once again, thank you!!! Don’t forget to put up notes this May whenever a TS person is nice to you because nice matters. lol!

Here’s the tag we used for our surprise for all staff and students at TS on Library Worker’s Day, ApR 15. With bright balloons and a breakfast treat attached, we cheered up the special day! TS ROCKS!

4/01/2008 April Fool’s Day

Andrew’s medical leave has come to an end and TS is happy to have him back. How happy? Well true to the day’s theme, an acquisition emergency just “happens” to occur on his 1st day back. Rushing to save the day, he opens the bindery room for a surprise welcome back lunch! 

                                                                                     “I got punk’ed.” Read the rest of this entry »

Podcasts have become so popular that in 2005 the New Oxford American Dictionary selected podcast as the 2005 word of the year. Podcasts are downloadable audio files distributed over the Internet. Many libraries are creating podcasts in-house to distribute audio content about events, exhibits, bibliographic instructions, library collections etc. Many podcasts are available through RSS feeds and these can be played using aggregators such as Google Reader or Bloglines and using special software which can be downloaded from the Internet.

Directories for finding podcasts:
Podcast alley
Podcast.net
Yahoo Podcasts
Digital Podcast

Tools for creating your own podcasts:
Audacity
Odeo

Free software available for listening to your podcasts:
There are other freely available software for listening to podcasts called podcast aggregators. Podcast alley provides links and instructions for downloading these aggregators.

Leadership.  Advocacy.  Communication.

This April, I had the pleasure of participating in FLA’s 2008 Conference as part of a requirement of the FLM Scholarship I was awarded in October of last year. As a newbie to all things library-conference related, I did not know what to expect but, suffice it to say, I anticipated some serious boredom. I am happy to report that not only were the sessions I attended relevant and engaging, the professionals and novices alike were warm, welcoming, and, most importantly, patient enough to guide the students through to a better understanding as to why attending these conferences is vital.

The FLA’s mission statement is as follows: “The Florida Library Association (FLA) develops programs and undertakes activities to earn it a leadership position for all areas of librarianship. To do this, the Association works with other professional organizations and professions that are relevant to librarianship; provides increasing opportunities for librarians and support staff in Florida to advance their skills so that they can maintain their effectiveness in the new information age; works closely with the information industry, facilitating productive links with the library community; and continues its role as legislative advocate for excellence in all types of library service within the State of Florida and beyond.” And they delivered in spades during this conference!

The conference took place at the very inviting location of the Tradewinds Resort on St. Pete beach. It was a sunny, breezy day full of networking with current library professionals, absorbing pertinent information regarding the present state of library affairs, and forecasting what the future holds in respect to Florida libraries. I personally attended two sessions in addition to the required FSU meeting: “Public Libraries and E-Government: Practice, Strategies and Future” and the “3^rd Annual Leadership Discussion: Impact of Property Tax and State Budget Cuts”.

The discussion on E-Government and Public Libraries proved to be a heated debate. Librarians are feeling overwhelmed with the responsibility of having to help patrons with E-Government websites and their forms with no formal training. They are essentially being viewed as case-workers yet the individual agencies, such as the IRS, have provided no instruction; librarians are having to “wing it” and this leaves some feeling vulnerable and inadequate. Patrons are looking to the libraries for these services, are being directed to the libraries for these services in fact, and thus preparation for the continuation of this practice is imperative. To this end, the Information Use Management and Policy Institute at Florida State University has developed a website (www.libraryegov.org) devoted to E-Government and Public Libraries. The goals of the website are to:

-       Inform the library/government community about E-Government in libraries;

-       Provide access to a range of E-Government literature, resources, and other tools that may be of use to librarians in the provision of E-Government services;

-       Demonstrate “best practices” of libraries providing E-Government services;

-       Assist libraries engaging in E-Government services; and

-       Assist public librarians and government officials with improving the public’s access to and use of E-Government websites and related services.

There is much dispute regarding who should provide the funding needed for proper training, especially in light of the recent budget cuts Florida libraries are undergoing. Shouldn’t the government itself be footing the bill? This is definitely thought-provoking stuff.

Charlie Parker, FLA President, led the discussion on the Impact of Property Tax and State Budget Cuts. Talk about fireworks! It was like watching a tennis match; question after question, rebuttal from one side of the room, anecdote from the other side of the room, and on and on and on. This discussion was bordering on chaotic. Unfortunately (and I really do mean unfortunately), I had to cut out early to catch my flight (which turned out to be delayed by a few hours, but I digress…) and had to miss the last portion of the session. I was sincerely enjoying myself, too! It was striking how well informed some of the participants were; they knew commissioner’s names, had ideas on how to creatively cut costs in order to make the most of the money they did have, and also thoughts on how to manipulate the public into taking action against the budget cuts.

Delayed flight notwithstanding, it was a very pleasant experience; one that I hope to repeat next year in Orlando. With any luck, I’ll be able to spend more time in sessions and less time traveling J