Happy Holidays - lots to celebrate at NOPL!

Visit NOPL's website to see and comment on our new look www.nopl.org.  While you're there, take a look at freegal. Freegal (rhymes with legal) is a downloadable music service, like iTunes from your library. All you need is your library card number and PIN. Access to freegal is limited to NOPL patrons, but it may also be available at your library. See freegal FAQs for more information.

And don't miss the photos of Ace the Holiday Dog under NOPL photos! 

Visit your library for party recipes and craft ideas, children's books, and classic holiday movies.

Hurray for library employees with a sense of humor!

Libraries will Survive - YouTube Video

Things 12 and 14...the end, for now!

I think I'm going to really like Delicious.  Bookmarking works fairly well on my office pc, where I limit myself to work-related sites.  But on my home pc - complete chaos.  Since I work regularly on three different computers I often remember bookmarking a site, and search for it one one computer, only to decide that I bookmarked it on one of the other computers.  These are amazing tools, and I know I've only scratched the surface.

Technorati will be fun to explore further.  I've stumbled on some good library-related blogs, but haven't really known how to identify more general blogs, or those related to other interests of mine.  I love the fact that so many people are finding their voice, and finding readers, on the Internet.  It seems to me that it refutes some of the concern that writing and words are being eclipsed by other forms of communication and expression.

The Lowdown on Audio Downloads - Thing # 13

The Lowdown on Audio Downloads


I've been seeing the "share" symbol for quite a while, but of course, when I was looking for something to share, it seemed elusive. This is a very good article on audio downloading from LJ.

Thing #21 - more great resources!

Racing to the finish line, I've uploaded NOPL's Collection Development Policy to Google Docs, and will send the link to the staff members who volunteered or were conscripted to help with updating and revising.  I also added to the list of large print books Nancy is creating - Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: a Novel, by Helen Simonson. I think it's a good candidate for the LP collection. I loved it, and it's the kind of book my mother would have loved too. I miss bringing her large print books from the library, and I think of her ever time I read something I know she would have enjoyed. 

As always, the resources listed on The 23 Things website are terrific.  I'm interested in Evernote in particular.  Wondering if it will work along with MS OneNote, or does it duplicate OneNote's features?  Something to look into...

Things #22 and #23

I created a Library Thing account back in May, but didn't do much with it at the time.  I've added some books, and wrote a quick review of a mystery I read this weekend.  Very easy to do, and probably a good idea for me, since I read quickly and constantly, and often would like to refresh my memory about something I've read. My Library Thing homepage

I looked at the similar sites listed too.  Shelfari is a little slicker looking, and might be fun to use.  I'm fascinated by the explosion of resources for readers.  We've been talking for a long time about the Internet's impact on the public's need, or perceived need, for traditional reference services, but it seems that readers' advisory has moved out of libraries and bookstores, and is exploding on the Internet.  And...we've always known that most people read based on personal recommendations and word of mouth - so what does this mean?  Readers now have enormous numbers of "friends" out in cyberspace to recommend books!  We have to resist the temptation to find this threatening, and see it as achieving a wish that's close to our hearts as librarians.  People - lots and lots of people - enthusiastically sharing their love of reading.

Thing #20

I've added an account for Library Success: a Best Practices Wiki, and plan to contribute to some topics based on recent NOPL projects and my own experience, particularly in the area of continuing education.  I didn't edit or contribute to any Wikipedia articles, but I explored the edit option, and the sandbox tutorials.  It was reassuring to see that they have protocols in place for verifying entries.

When Wikipedia first started up librarians expressed strong opinions - it offended our belief in reputable sources.  But it's here to stay, and I suspect that most of us consult it - I know that I do.  For things that don't matter - satisfying my curiosity about an actor, or an event - it's irresistible. I appreciate the links, and the breadth of coverage. I still wouldn't use it for things like medical or legal information.

Wikis as collaborative tools are very useful - thinking back to the wiki OCPL used for the Polaris implementation, for example, I can't imagine a more practical way to share information and problem-solving.

oh -oh -oh -Overdrive

I began using Overdrive when OCPL first added the service 5 or 6 (?) years ago.  I checked out more  music than audiobooks, and would play the recordings in my office at the Central Library.  Like many librarians, I wish the folks at Overdrive would improve the interface - it's not very user friendly.  eBook readers will be a popular gift this Christmas and we can anticipate lots of questions from patrons, and possibly some potential new library-users.  Overdrive doesn't have much competition, but librarians should put pressure on them to improve their product.

p.s. I love my Kindle, but would love it even more if I could use it to read eBooks from the library!

Tribute to Joan Sutherland

The great Australian soprano Joan Sutherland died a few days ago, and we've been listening to her recordings.  She was called "La Stupenda" and had a glorious voice with amazing range and agility.  She was tall and plain, and I remember her singing on television when I was young - always with a horrible bouffant hairstyle. Here is a wonderful YouTube video (if I can embed it succesfully).  She is singing an aria from La Traviata.  Here goes...

Catching up with a few more "things"

So typical...I'm scrambling to finish up the 23 Things!  There are a couple of challenges to the project, which I'm sure everyone participating has discovered.  It's hard to find the time - so much to do, both at work and at home.  The other problem is that each of these tools opens up doors to lots more fascinating things - I get lost and time passes...and I feel like Rip Van Winkle with no notion of how much time has passed.

For example, I wanted to subscribe to a Podcast.  I started looking at library-related podcast, and then thought  - wait a minute, I have other interests - so I started looking at opera podcasts.  I listened to an interview with conductor James Conlon about an LA Opera production of the Ring Cycle, then went on to singer interviews, then subscribed to podcasts from Houston Grand Opera.  When I looked at my Google Reader site, I started catching up on all of the blogs I started following, and two hours passed!

Isn't it wonderful to know that we can never, ever be without something new and wonderful to read/listen to/watch?

Back to The 23 Things

It's been a while, and like lots of you, I need to work to catch up.  I'm skipping around a little - stuck on Skype, despite all of Nancy's help.  I've decided that stubbornness is what's needed to use these tools.  Also, the ability to focus and not get too distracted by all of the wonderful links on the website. Flixster is great for movie lovers (www.flixster.com) I watched trailers from some of the movies I'm looking forward to this fall, and took a quiz.  You can also watch streaming movies and TV show episodes for free.  And Virtual Tourist is one I know I'll use (http://www.virtualtourist.com/). In the forums for travel in Italy there was a question from someone who is arriving in Venice tomorrow morning and asked about the best way to get to a particular location.  I checked back an hour later and he'd gotten 8 replies!  Another person asked about whether it's necessary to wear a tie and jacket to the opera in Italy. 

I've used Flickr several times. I posted lots of photos of the libraries for Kathy Schalk-Greene and Joan Bernstein prior to our staff development day last fall.  So much easier than trying to email all of those files!  The libraries look different now, but if you want to see some "before" photos you can find them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/katemccaffrey/

The web is well named - easy to get caught in the strands and lose yourself! 

Harry Potter, anyone?

Through September 18th, visit NOPL@Cicero to see a special exhibit and attend programs exploring the worlds of herbology, astronomy, and alchemy.  All of the details can be found on the library's website: www.nopl.org

The traveling exhibit was organized by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of  Health, and is coordinated by the American Library Association.  NOPL@Cicero is one of only twelve libraries selected nationwide to participate in this project.

Growing popularity of eReaders

Eavesdrop on any group of librarians and you're likely to hear some discussion of eReaders.  Many of us love the convenience of our Kindles, Nooks, or Sony Readers. We read stacks of print books of course, but since we're likely to be compulsive readers, not happy unless we have a selection with us, and spares for when we finish the book we're currently reading, the technology meets our needs in a lot of ways.

The questions that worry us? What does the increasing popularity of eReaders mean for the future of public libraries?  And how can we meet the needs of our patrons who are becoming converts?  As a librarian and lifetime reader it warms my heart to read the discussions in the Kindle forums - these are READERS!  They discuss books with great enthusiasm.  They recommend titles and sources for free and low-cost ebooks, they discuss the publishing industry and they are excited about new and newly discovered authors.  We don't want to lose them as library supporters. 

Librarians should be out front of the efforts to get the publishing industry to come up with a standard format and a user-friendly way to market ebooks to libraries so that we can lend them, alongside print books, magazines, and the CD's, Playaways, DVD's,etc.that have enriched our collections.

There is an interesting article about the dramatic increase in sales of ebooks in this morning's New York Times.  Take a look....http://tiny.cc/1nlq8

Wonderful programs coming up!

At 7pm, July 29th (that's this Thursday) author Jack Henke will be talking about Oneida Lake history at the Brewerton Library. Mr. Henke is the director of the Oneida Lake Association and author of many books of stories and information about the communities that grew up around the lake.

On August 12th, classical guitarist Peter Fletcher is back by popular demand and will perform at the Cicero Library at 6:30 pm.  Peter Fletcher’s three recordings, The Art of Classical Guitar, A Peter Fletcher Recital and Federico Mompou: Guitar Works (Centaur Records CRC 2588), have received critical acclaim. 

Ruminating on Twitter, LinkedIn and the like

I just revisited my twitter account and my LinkedIn account, in honor of The 23 Things project.  (When, oh when will someone solve the problem of dozens of user logons and passwords?)  These wonderful social networking tools make me wish that I were just starting out - I can see so many ways to use them in building a career.

In the past we counted on professional journals and conferences to learn about best practices and to connect with colleagues from other parts of the country.  Librarians who were lucky enough to work for organizations that supported continuous learning, or who had financial resources of their own could attend conferences, take courses, or go to workshops, but others were more isolated - limited to their own local libraries.  What a difference when you can have a skype conversation with someone like David Lee King, participate easily in webinars and virtual conferences, and ask questions and get ANSWERS from experts and from generous and experienced colleagues you may never meet in person!

Our working lives have been transformed.  Despite the stress of information overload, and the fact that we seem to be connected to work for 16 hours out of 24, the benefits are extraordinary.  Wonder what it will be like in 5 years, or 10 years?

NY Times columnist David Brooks on the importance of books in the home

There is a terrific column in the New York Times today.  We know it's true, but it's nice to have studies backing us up.  Give it a read...

Kids still need books and libraries!

Sue Clarey recently helped a patron learn how to use her brand new laptop and eReader.  The patron purchased them so that she could download ebooks from the library.  She brought them, along with the manuals, to the Cicero Library.  She was so happy with the service Sue provided that she sent her flowers.  Thanks Sue, and thanks to all of you who go the extra mile for our patrons!

Really great day at Cicero!

Grupo Pagan set up in front of the windows and the library was filled with the great sounds of latin jazz - cool and sophisticated. Adrienne and I agreed that all that was lacking was a pitcher of margaritas. Nicole and Rose worked with kids - lots of kids! They signed up for the Summer Reading Program and painted murals that will hang on the walls of the children's area. Meg (and Tom, who should be on the payroll as resident artist, dog-handler, and general factotum) worked with a group of friendly and enthusiastic gardeners. Even the light rain didn't stop them.

Oh, and if that weren't enough, there was a genealogy group meeting in the community room. (The instructions for the projector worked perfectly, btw)

Such a great day in the library - I'm glad I was there!

p.s. Watch for copies of Grupo Pagan's CD to be added to NOPL's collection.

Mission statement v. Vision statement

This is NOPL's mission statement:

The primary objective of our library is to provide our community with a high-quality resource for education, research and entertainment. It is our goal to provide this service in the most courteous and efficient manner possible

It's okay - practical and straightforward, right? A mission statement describes where you are now. A vision statement has to do with where, and what, you want to be in the future. Because the board is beginning a strategic planning process I've been thinking about the need for a vision statement for NOPL. I'd like to hear from you - what do you see as a vision for NOPL? What would you like us to be? What role should we play in our communities? In our patrons' lives?

Serious thoughts for a sunny Sunday afternoon. I'm going outside!

RSS feeds - more anxiety for me!

I've always felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff I wanted to read/watch/listen to - so many interesting books, magazine articles, newspapers, Lehrer News Hour, NPR programs like All Things Considered and Fresh Air. With the Internet my anxiety over all of the things I DON'T have time for has increased - what, X-100? X-1000? And now, with RSS feeds I can have all of the content I don't have time to read delivered! Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? I'll go read a book and let my subconscious sort it out.

But first, these are the RSS subscriptions I've added - Tech News from the Fayetteville Free Library, David Lee King's blog, Rachel Maddow, and free Kindle ebooks. It was easy, though I can't figure out why some of them appear in my Google Reader Dashboard, and some don't. Not really sure what the dashboard is for yet anyway...

An unexpected outcome...

Have you noticed how many really interesting things we're learning about the people we work with? It's a benefit I hadn't thought about when we started, but it's so much fun!

What's new at NOPL?

Wireless printing is up and running! Congratulations to Carol Westcott who kept at it until it worked. This is a great service to our patrons, currently not available at other libraries. NOPL rocks!

Okay, so maybe it's not a good idea...

to be providing Amazon with a place to sell MP3 versions of songs, but I thought it might be nice for you, gentle reader, to listen to some jazz while you read my blog.

I'm quite proud of the fish - I found the picture on the Internet, and added the fish widget. Pretty cool, but it can't compete with Lynne's puppies!

NOPL Staff Development Day

I spent all of last weekend smiling because SDD was so much fun! Thanks to hard work by so many people, starting with Carol and Marianne, the entire committee, and all of the people who helped with the snippets and petting zoo - Ryann and Nancy, Ann and her Library Gaga blog, Barbara Giardina, and all of the enthusiastic participation by our wonderful staff. A great introduction to the 23 Things!

This was soooo easy!

It took me more time to find a URL that wasn't taken then it did to set up the blog! Can't wait to start the 23 Things. Hope you'll join me!