ALA Council Notes

Electronic Activity at ALA 2009

2009-07-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

Hi friends-

This summary from Jenny Levine came through the ALA listserv, and gives credence to the importance of the ALA initiative to open up access to electronic participation channels...

Some numbers:

· 4,011 Flickr pictures (http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=ala2009&w=all)

· A Google Blogsearch says there are about 14,000 posts using the tag ala2009, but that’s not really right (http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=ala2009&btnG=Search+Blogs) because it includes the Flickr pictures, comments on blogs, etc. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to get an exact count. If I had to guess, I’d say that most of the posts are recaps of someone’s conference experience, followed closely by summaries of sessions, and links to presentation materials (in that order). Some samples:

o ALA 2009: A Perspective - http://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/ala-2009-a-perspective/

o ALA 2009 Wrap-Up (Warning: It’s LONG) - http://bedtimebooktalks.blogspot.com/2009/07/ala-2009-wrap-up-warning-its-long.html

o Displaced at ALA Annual - http://wpmuhosting.com/displaced-at-ala-annual

o ALA lesson #2: The Power of Teh Intarwebs - http://notemilybookblog.tumblr.com/post/146623422/ala-lesson-2-the-power-of-teh-intarwebs

· 10,362 tweets using the #ala2009 tag by 1,321 authors (including the ALA Annual account and other ALA units)

o Specific statistics for Twitter:

§ tweets before: 765

§ tweets thu: 680

§ tweets fri: 1380

§ tweets sat: 2390

§ tweets sun: 2250

§ tweets mon: 1725

§ tweets tue: 589

§ tweets after: 583 (7/15-24, although tweets continue to appear so this number will still increase a little)

§ by tag:

· #ala2009 – 8517 (this was the main hashtag that we asked people to use)

· #ala09 - 415

· #alacouncil - 82

· #membership - 39

· #totebag – 265 (an unofficial snark channel)

· #unala2009 – 450 (the unconference)

· #acrl101 - 22

· #ala09_is – 8 (ACRL Instruction Section)

· #ala2prom – 26 (Library 2.0 session)

· #lib2.0 – 118 (Library 2.0 session)

· #ttt2009 – 35 (LITA’s Top Tech Trends)

· #toptech – 43 (LITA’s Top Tech Trends)

· #bigwig2009 – 13

· #clene09 - 10

· #clenets09 - 6

· #godort09 - 3

· #mobile_lib – 50 (WO panel)

· #rusaht – 6 (RUSA Hot Topics session)

o The reason I can give you such specific stats about the tweets is that ALA member Heather Devine offered to create an online Flickr/Twitter tracker for the conference a couple of weeks before the event. She finished it just a couple of days before Annual started, having done most of the work while she was on vacation. You can see it still running at http://www.flexyourinfo.com/projects/ALA2009/, and she’s going to give us the code and database so that we can 1) archive it, and 2) implement this for other conferences in the future. I can’t begin to describe how lucky we are that Heather did this, because there’s no good way to archive tweets right now, and we don’t have the resources to create this ourselves. The site got a lot of notice and a lot of hits during Annual, with Roy Tennant in particular noting it at http://www.libraryjournal.com/blog/1090000309/post/1110046911.html. I’d like to request that ALA to send Heather a letter of thanks if possible for this herculean and incredibly valuable effort.

o LJ very smartly did a daily recap of what they considered to be the “best” tweets of the day. Reading through them gives an excellent overview of the conference.

§ Saturday - http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6670399.html

§ Sunday - http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6670525.html

§ Monday - http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6670879.html

§ Eric Hellman did an analysis of the ala2009 hashtag - http://go-to-hellman.blogspot.com/2009/07/twittering-librarians-confront.html

§ Then there was the interesting, but relatively harmless, appearance of the anonymous alasecrets (http://twitter.com/alasecrets) and alasecrets2009 (http://twitter.com/alasecrets2009) accounts on Twitter. While they were discussed, retweeted, and linked to online, those tweets didn’t spill over very much into the mainstream hashtag, and in fact, it allowed the really nasty stuff to stay out of the ala2009 space, which was good for us. One media blog picked up on it and noted it at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2009/07/13/library-conference-secret-twitter-feed-proves-librarians-sexy-stern/, but that was about it. Someone shut down the original alasecrets account when it devolved into sex talk, but others had saved the tweets and posted them at http://www.scribd.com/doc/17344326/Library, and the alasecrets2009 account took over where the other one left off. LJ did an interview with the anonymous originator of both accounts at http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6671858.html.

· According to Boopsie, more than 1500 people downloaded their ALA2009 application (http://boopsieinc.blogspot.com/2009/07/thank-you-ala-2009.html). I’m unclear if this figure includes people like me who accessed it on the web (Deidre, maybe you can get some clarification on that?) It garnered a lot of praise online, with a couple of people tweeting that it helped them find a session when they didn’t know where it was.

· There are also a ton of great videos on YouTube from the conference, including several of the book cart drill teams and a wonderful fake fight between Neil Gaiman and James Kennedy for the Newbery Award (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAvkmkFIf24).

Some overall impressions:

- Vendors were a lot more visible online this year, and they interacted directly with attendees and online watchers.

- Online communication was an essential part of the conference experience for a larger (and growing) number of attendees. Several people again tweeted appreciation for Councilors who posted updates from the floor, and a lot of folks tweeted that they wished they could have attended. I’d say online posts and tweets about the conference were overwhelmingly positive, with only about 10-15% of them being negative, complaining, or reporting problems. The biggest gripes were 1) the lack of wireless at the hotels (although everyone did understand why), and 2) how slow the shuttles ran, making the trip between hotels and the convention center excruciatingly long (although again, folks were appreciative that Gale provided this service). When folks were snarky, in general they didn’t name names, which was a relief, and when I’d respond with an explanation, they were generally appreciative.

- Twitter acted as an announcement service, troubleshooting venue, and interactive platform for us. I think I probably read about 6,000 of the 10,362 tweets in real-time. In the future, though, we’ll need to discuss how to manage that flow and respond, as it will no longer be feasible for one person, especially someone participating in the conference, to manage that. I might be able to do this again for Midwinter since it’s smaller, but Annual is likely to be an even bigger problem. I helped resolve three separate housing issues alone because of Twitter, so we really need to consider how we’ll integrate customer service or conference services in the future.

- Overall, conversation has moved from blogs to Twitter and a lot of it takes place in real-time, which means we need to adjust how we monitor these things. For example, I knew about the alasecrets account on Friday when it started, but PIO didn’t find out about it until Sunday when one of their staff members got a notice about the blog post via a Google email alert.

- Neil Gaiman was *huge* for us. I would guess that a discernible number of people came just to see him, his signing lines were long, and his sessions created an enormous amount of buzz online. If there’s any way to have him again next year, especially as a keynote speaker, I think it would continue to be a boost for us. His tweets about librarians were also great, and he interacted with a lot of attendees that way during the conference, which further raised the visibility of his appearances at Annual.

John Chrastka should have stats from the Text-a-Librarian service, and Greg Landgraf should have numbers of views to date for AL Focus videos about Annual. Unfortunately, there’s really no way to know how much activity took place on Facebook, although I know there were lots of status updates and group posts.

Let me know if you have questions about any of this.

Jenny

Toot Your Own Horn - Improving Your Image

2009-07-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

Donna Cardillo spoke about how to improve the image of the library in the community. This was not one of those presentations about how you dress, although that subject was touched upon. She referenced the book entitled Six Steps to Free Publicity 2nd ed. by Yudkin. She urged that we

Monitor the media
Write letters to the editor
Develop media relations (reporters, TV and radio stations, etc.)
Get media training
Become a resource to the media

On networking, her suggestions were to

Get out of the library and into the community (Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, etc.)
Stay in touch
Use business cards
Start shaking hands to establish a personal contact and develop relationships
Learn to make conversation

I loved this last bullet because it is not one of my strengths. She commented that you don't want to approach people with a barrage of questions starting with "What is your name?" It can put people off. Instead, she suggested that you start off with comments like "What session did you go to?" "Have you been to Chicago before?" or "Where are you from?" She also suggested wearing a small pin that reflects your profession or interests. People will often notice and ask about it in a casual conversation.

Donna also spent a lot of time talking about handshaking. A handshake is a very important social convention in the US, and is a sign of respect and suggests that you are on an equal footing. She mentioned that a handshake has three components, a complete hand grasp (none of those wimpy fingers).

In terms of staying visible, she urged us to write columns and offer to speak at local events. The power is in the doing...we spend so much time and energy worrying about the outcome that we forget that it is the trying something new that creates positive energy. Write about what you know and love, and develop relationships with someone who will read your writing critically and make suggestions.

Donna also urged us to develop speaking skills. Practice, preferably in front of a video recorder. Master appropriate audio visual skills. Speak on a regular basis to keep your comfort level as high as possible. In practical terms, she suggests that you think of your core message in the least number of words, say it, and stop talking. If you babble on, you lose attention from your audience. Be sure to include pauses and slow down. The pauses may be uncomfortable for you as the speaker, but they allow the audience to absorb your message.

This was a wonderful presentation on raising the visibility of the library through your own efforts and willingness to be the face of the organization.

Creating Zones with Heart

2009-07-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

Dr. Michael Stevens, author of the Tame the Web blog, presented a program on ways to create spaces with heart in our libraries. His blog contains a whole statement of the presentation as well as the slides he showed. See http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2009/06/creating-zones-with-heart.html for a fascinating discussion of this topic.

Future of Libraries

2009-07-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

In this panel presentation, Alan Inouye, Director of the OITP, suggested that there were three main areas of change that would affect the future of libraries: demographic and societal trends, institutional evolution, and technologically based advances. For example, the increase of single parent households and the increased percentage of women in the workforce has brought emphasis to the perception of the library as a safe place for children.

Also noted were trends such as the increased number of households with broadband access, the sophistication of baby boomer seniors, the desireability of new revenue sources and partnerships, and the need for more creative spaces. More wireless and more reliance on mobile devices, new technologies such as cloud computing and virtual reality, and complex privacy issues were also discussed.

Jennifer Hendrix, consultant to the OITP, has completed a literature review of what librarians are saying about the future of libraries. Not surprisingly, librarians are writing and blogging extensively about the future of the institution and the profession. There is general agreement that it is up to us to determine our future. Technology is revolutionizing our media -- digital media changes the way users find, access and use information, and new information processes are changing libraries and the way they operate. It is important to plan flexible physical spaces and focus on collaboration to future proof our libraries.

The next speaker was Roger Levien, who is an OITP Fellow. He is not a librarian but a consultant to various businesses on future planning. He brought a number of very interesting observations to the conversation, but most interesting was the process by which he analyzes future trends. In brief, he first separated out "pure tone" elements for theoretical analysis, while acknowlegeing that in reality the themes combine into melodies. An example was to imagine that technological, social and economic transformations overwhelm the structures underlying our libraries, and that the response was to create a nationwide network of libraries of which each local library is a branch. Users order materials from the catalog, and receive the media from the nearest branch, which may or may not be a physical presence. Future thinking indeed!

The last speaker was a familiar face, Stacey Aldrich, now Acting State Librarian for California. She started with a quote by William Gibson, "The future is already here, it is just unevenly distributed." She urged us to challenge our assumptions...will we really be able to retain our mantle as guides to information? Do we really need more of the same? Will it be enough to have "stuff?" Will people actually retire? She observed that change is happening so fast that multiple generations are having the same problems.

Stacey reported on a retail analysis generated by the Metropolitan Library System about use of the library. 70% of visitors came to use the library for leisure. Less than 10% came to support school projects, etc. Only 30% know what they want when they come in. 93% stay less than a half hour, and 80% come alone.

She closed with another quote I loved, which was "People don't change because they see the light, they change because they feel the heat."

Small Green

2009-07-14T07:39:00.001-07:00

Well, all I can say is it was a good thing we bought my husband a Garmin GPS unit for Father's Day. Getting to Chicago was the easy part. I-80 all the way. But once we hit the city, it was a little like playing one of those PlayStation games where the cars chase around and you die all the time...

The first session on Saturday, entitled Small Scale Green, set the tone for my experience of the conference. The idea was how to integrate green practices into your planning right now, where you are, and then went on to describe standards that might require a new building. Emphasis was placed on incorporating planned changes into your strategic plan, including measurable goals to help justify more ambitious undertakings later. The speaker also advised attendees to try to include people on your Board or planning committee who support green energy. To help your Board support these initiatives, do not just report the building cost, but also emphasize the reduction in operating costs over time.

Among the practical suggestion for “greening” libraries are things we already do, like keeping track of supplies and recycling book sale leftovers instead of taking them to the landfill. Another suggestion was to develop a collection on green energy practices and highlight it in a display, or to move away from desktop computers to laptops. These suggestions support the notion that we can enhance our role in the community by being the advocate for sustainable practices.

Although somewhat frustrating to me, the speaker postulated that the greenest thing you can do is to preserve an existing building. A part of me sighed deeply, remembering the poor accessibility and ancient infrastructure of my own library, but his point was one we can take to heart: you have to stay on top of maintenance. If you tend to details such as cleaning out the gutters, you avoid more expensive rehabilitation later on. Involve all members of staff in planning, including the maintenance man who may be best able to make suggestions.

The speaker also validated my conviction that HVAC and lighting are at the heart of the green energy problem. He recommended making sure that you are correctly sizing mechanical systems by having a complete energy audit performed, and by action such as installing double-paned windows, making sure there are sweeps under the doors, and routinely changing air filters. Both speakers mentioned several times that one “green” option is to allow for a little wider temperature variation, and you can open windows if the indoor humidity is less than 50%.

One statistic I thought was worth noting is that lighting accounts for 1/3 of the typical electric bill. The recommendation was to think about upgrading fluorescent lighting if it is more than 10 years old because of recent advances in that area. Along those lines, he also mentioned that there is new interest in reporting on energy savings, and noted as an example the website at the University of Vermont has a “dashboard” to communicate their energy savings to the public.

The speakers went on to describe even more ambitious green initiatives such as geothermal ground source heat pumps, under floor ventilation, even earth ducting, as well as solar and small wind power generation projects. They also addressed storm water retention and treatment, using native vegetation in landscaping to reduce water use, and shading reflective pavings to reduce the “heat island” effect. If you are going to go ahead with a new building, you get LEED points for salvage and reuse as well as recycling construction and demolition materials. There are 50 LEED certified libraries in the country right now, and 270 more registered that are in progress.

This was a presentation that gave me a lot of practical ideas for short-term projects that fall into line with the new environmental consciousness of the country as well as plenty to think about in terms of longer-term planning for a possible new library.

Proposed changes to Intellectual Freedom policies in the Intellectual Freedom Manual and new Interpretations to the Library Bill of Rights

2009-06-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for helping us revise the Intellectual Freedom Manual. We have a few more Interpretations that we would like input on before we head to publication. During the IFC Spring Meeting, we revised two Interpretations; identified one additional concern that would have been extremely difficult to incorporate into existing documents; and drafted two new Interpretations to address these concerns.

The new Interpretations are:
“Importance of Education to Intellectual Freedom” PDF
“Minors and Internet Interactivity” PDF (revised from the 2009 Midwinter Meeting)
The proposed revisions are:
“Access to Electronic Information, Services, and Networks” PDF
“Labels and Rating Systems” PDF
Deletions are struck through (e.g., deletion); insertions are underlined (e.g., insertion).

The IFC plans to present these Interpretations to the Council for adoption at its third session during the 2009 Annual Conference in Chicago. The committee, therefore, would appreciate receiving any comments prior to conference, if possible, or, at the latest, prior to its third meeting at conference, which is on Tuesday, July 14, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., in the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Comiskey.

Please send comments on these Interpretations prior to conference to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (phone: 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4224; fax: 312-280-4227; e-mail: dstone@ala.org; please copy nperez@ala.org). Written comments also may be left at OIF’s table in the ALA Office Area in McCormick Place until noon on Tuesday, July 14.

Thank you for your time and assistance. The committee looks forward to hearing your comments on its suggested revisions and the new Interpretations.

Doug Archer
Chair, Intellectual Freedom Committee

Fiber to the Library

2009-06-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

OITP releases “Fiber to the Library: How Public Libraries Can Benefit from Using Fiber Optics for their Broadband Internet”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) of the American Library Association (ALA) releases “Fiber to the Library: How Public Libraries Can Benefit from Using Fiber Optics for their Broadband Internet Connections,” which articulates the benefits of fiber optic technology for public libraries and strategies to obtain such fiber connectivity. An important goal of this policy brief is to help applicants include “fiber to the library” in their federal broadband stimulus funding proposals under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Authors John Windhausen, ALA Consultant, and Marijke Visser, ALA Policy Analyst, address some of the basic issues involved in obtaining a fiber connection. They find that the cost of installing a fiber connection is often more reasonable than is sometimes assumed, and the benefits of laying fiber include creating jobs and providing "future-proof" connectivity that could accommodate libraries' telecommunications needs for decades.

“The ALA encourages every library to explore a fiber-based solution to their broadband needs – especially now because of the opportunity afforded by the federal broadband stimulus funding,” said Carrie Lowe, Director of OITP’s Program on Networks.

“Broadband access to the Internet is enormously important to fulfilling the mission and role of libraries in the 21st century to serve the American public,” said Mary Alice Ball, Vice-chair of OITP’s Telecommunications Subcommittee. “People of all ages and backgrounds increasingly depend upon the local library’s public access computers and Internet access and support to search for jobs, take classes, complete homework assignments, obtain medical information, and receive government information and services.” Indeed, “public libraries, as community anchor institutions, are the pre-eminent public computing centers,” explained Dr. Ball.

“Unfortunately, the ability of local libraries to meet these community needs is in jeopardy because of the lack of adequate broadband capability,” said Bob Bocher, Chair of OITP’s Telecommunications Subcommittee. “And while there are a variety of broadband solutions, fiber optic technology is the best long-term investment that most libraries can make to help meet their bandwidth needs for decades into the future.”

Internet Filter Lawsuit Pending in WA Supreme Court

2009-06-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

State court to hear NCRL Internet filter lawsuit
By Rachel Schleif
World staff writer
Posted June 22, 2009

OLYMPIA — The Washington State Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday over whether an Internet filter at the North Central Regional Library System violates freedom of speech rights.

"Several libraries are really looking at it close and holding their breath," NCRL Director Dean Marney said. "The state librarian is going to be there. How many times does a library get to the Supreme Court level?"

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the regional library system in 2006 on behalf of three North Central Washington residents and a pro-gun organization who say the library’s Internet filter policy violated their state and federal freedom of speech rights.

The lawsuit was originally filed in federal court. A federal judge referred part of the case to the state Supreme Court, which will decide whether the policy is lawful under the state constitution, said ACLU spokesman Doug Honig.

Read the full story at http://tinyurl.com/lv7hew

State Early Learning Councils

2009-06-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

This post is following up on librarian participation in State Early Learning Councils. Health and Human Services released the funding notice for states to apply for funds last Friday (6/12/09) . Money will now be coming to set up these Councils and to fund activity, and libraries could be included in state submissions.

Regulations and content for anticipated funding under ARRA for the State Early Childhood Advisory Councils may be found at:

http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Program%20Design%20and%20Management/sac/state_advisory_councils.html

Getting ready for ALA Annual Meeting...

2009-06-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

As always, activity on the ALA Council listservs begins to heat up as we all prepare to meet in Chicago next month. One of the projects undertaken by Janet Swan Hill is how best to arrange the ALA Current Reference File (CRF), which have always been kept in hard copy in a (series of?) binders. The plan is to make the digitized documents available online as well as perhaps on a CD or flashdrive for those needing frequent access. The CRF contains full text of policies that were not included in their entirety in the formal Policy Manual, as well as such items as Interpretations and the original Council Document that presented the policy.

Questions posed by the chair of the PMC regarding the future of the CRF include:

1) Is the current practice regarding content of the Manual still desirable

or necessary?

a) Should all policies, no matter how long be in the Manual?

b) If not, should there be a case-by-case decision made (and who should make it)? There are some pretty long policies in the Manual at present, with 6.4 (the Operating Agreement) probably being the longest.

c) Should Interpretations be included in the Manual?

d) If not, should Interpretations still be in the Current Reference File, or should they be in a separate file of "Interpretations of Policy"?

e) If all policies are in the Manual, and all Interpretations in a separate file of Interpretations, then the CRF contains primarily historical and background documents. (this isn't a question, it's just information)

f) Is there any rationale for having one version of the Manual available online, and another in the print Handbook, or should whatever decisions are made for the online version apply to the print version? (Depending on how many longer policies are currently not in the Manual, this could have cost implications)

2) Is there a better, more descriptive term for the Current Reference File (no matter what it contains)

3) How should people be referred to the CRF? (links from the website and online version of the Manual?)

4) Is there any need to restrict access to the CRF? (e.g. members only?)

Please let me know if you have thoughts about the CRF.