Business Resources at the Library

Check out this article in the July 1 issue of the Daily Herald newspaper Business section on using resources at the Library to enhance your business and/or job search using social media and technology. Our Business Bytes program is very successful with topics ranging from Facebook pages to Twitter to Foursquare. This month I am instructing Business Bytes: Google Docs for Business. Good article and nice to be mentioned along with Richard Kong.

Check out your Library for similar resources or contact me for more information.

Going to the Show

"Yeah, I was in the show. I was in the show for 21 days once - the 21 greatest days of my life. You know, you never handle your luggage in the show, somebody else carries your bags. It was great. You hit white balls for batting practice, the ballparks are like cathedrals, the hotels all have room service, and the women all have long legs and brains." Crash Davis from Bull Durham

Well my first week on the job passed by in a rush. The week was a mixture of library tours, introductions, meetings and training all seamlessly organized by my new supervisor. My new colleagues have been wonderful in their welcomes, their patience and their enthusiasm. After 6 years at my former library it's interesting to set up a new office, learn about the librarians who share my work space, start new routines, laugh at new shared jokes and meet new patrons. As I slowly make my way through emails, years of saved paperwork, fliers, folders and files, learn a new catalog, explore new databases and attend meetings in and outside of the library I'm realizing how amazing the opportunity is that I have been given to assist library patrons. I'm working at a 5 star library, one of the best of the best and I'm part of a team, it's frankly just really cool.

As a lifelong library patron I am reminded now that I am working at my home library that one of the greatest things my parents provided for my sister and I was an environment of learning. Being raised by teachers we grew up with the expectation that education was one of the most important opportunities of life and visiting the library was a big part of that. Now as a librarian in a new and much larger library than I have ever worked in before I am learning constantly, it's exhausting but so much fun. It's pretty awesome that the hours fly by and when I finally crawl into bed at night I am asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

So with my full days at work and my full evenings working on my new house, it's a busy time and I apologize for not updating my blog as often as I should. I feel like Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh in the movie Bull Durham, I've moved from the minors to the majors (The Show).

RLA CE Program on Screencasting

This morning I co-presented a program at the North Suburban Library System on Screencasting. The program was organized by RLA CE (Reference Librarians Association Continuing Education) and sponsored by HW Wilson. For more information on the program visit the RLA webpage.

I had a great time presenting with Mick Jacobsen, a friend from library school, fellow Synergist and my go-to tech guy. I also had the opportunity to meet and present with Stephanie Kerns, a librarian at Northwestern University's Galter Library who did an interesting presentation on using screencasting tools in academic libraries.

For those of you visiting my blog who were in attendance, here are the links to training tools I mentioned.

PHPL 23 Things
PHPL Computer Group

The Impossible Reference Question?

In library school a frequent topic in my reference classes was how to conduct a good reference interview with a patron. I had a question at work yesterday that even with training from school and a few years of experience at the reference desk I was unable to answer. Here's a summary:

Me: "Reference and Information desk, can I help you?
Patron on phone: "Hello...I need to find David. He lives in Evanston. I need his phone number. Can you find David's number for me?"

To begin I asked a couple more questions, what was David's last name and how was the last name spelled. Unfortunately the more I spoke with the patron the more I realized the woman on the phone was unable to give me the information I needed. Mentally she wasn't comprehending what I was asking her and was not able to either spell the name or give me more information on David. I didn't know how to help her.

As I waited on the phone while she struggled to describe who David was and where he lived I realized although she had the voice of an adult woman she was communicating at the level of a small child. After a few minutes of listening to her repeatedly ask me to find David's number in Evanston I asked a fellow reference librarian if she had any suggestions on how to help her. She spoke with the patron but was also unable to get any more information. At that point we ended the call with the suggestion to contact us again when she had an address or last name of David.

So I'm wondering what more I could have done to help her? This particular patron was unable to answer the questions we asked her and was really asking an impossible question, to find a person named David who lived in the city of Evanston. As a librarian I hate being unable to help a patron no matter what the question is and I'm hoping that the woman has someone kind helping her wherever she is. Maybe they should include this topic in library school reference classes, how to handle a patron without the mental capacity to ask the questions they need answered.

How Do You Manage Stress?

This morning I attended a meeting on stress management. Presented by a "Life Coach" the focus was on reducing stress levels personally and professionally. I walked away with a few good ideas. I thought I'd share a few.

1. Stress management is mind management. I liked the way he explained this. Picture a garden, you plant seeds, water them, weed them and good things grow. You nourish. Ok, now picture your mind is like a garden. You plant ideas, you build them, they grow. However if you are not nurturing yourself, nothing grows. For example, if you walk into work everyday with an attitude of "Ugh today is going to suck. I hate my job. I hate the commute. I don't like what I'm doing." Well then, you are self talking your way into nothing. You are not nurturing yourself. You will literally talk your way out of growth.

2. One of the best ways to communicate is with questions. If you question, you inquire. You think. You get answers or you ask more questions. Try it, see what happens if you ask more questions and make fewer statements.

3. Develop systems for organization. One I particularly liked was the Time File System. Take 31 file folders, number them 1-31. Or if you are pressed for space, take 12 and label them January through December. Now start filling them. Use post its, flyers, postcards for upcoming events, pieces of scrap paper. Anything that has a reminder on it, a date, an invitation, a card. Slip it into the file for the corresponding date/month and plan ahead. Then update your date book, your Outlook calendar, your task list, your goals, etc with the upcoming dates and tasks you need to do. Easy and efficient.

4. Learn to say "No" or at least, "Yes, but...". Great advice! Especially the "Yes, but..." such as "Yes I can do that, BUT what will we need to do to make that Yes happen. More staff, more time, more money?" Or, "If you want me to focus my efforts there, something else needs to change/go/decrease."

5. The how-to-eat-a-frog theory. If you have to eat a frog, get it done as soon as possible. Have a big project, present it first thing in the morning. Don't leave your don't-want-to-do's until the end of the day. You'll worry or stress or over think all day.

6. Stimulus---------->Response. What is in the middle is maturity. Longer time to response=more maturity.

7. Life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we react to it.

The "Life Coach" showed us a short movie, Learning to Dance in the Rain which you can find with other inspirational short videos here. Kinda cheesy but thought provoking, find one that inspires you.

Librarian, counselor, psychologist, teacher

Working in a public library is never a dull job. Libraries have become more than just the traditional building that loans books by evolving into a combination of career center, community center and learning center. The computer classes that I teach are almost always full with even more patrons on the waiting lists and recently we added a weekend class to fill the need. I'm often called to the computer terminals to help patrons who are having problems accessing job search websites or those who don't know how to upload cover letters and resumes.
During my shifts on the reference and information desk I've heard stories that have curled my toes, others that have inspired me and some that have moved me to tears. As I've said before, sometimes being a librarian is a lot like being a bartender. We have to be good listeners because sometimes that's all a person needs.
Check out this great article about the services libraries have embraced.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article1008244.ece

Segment on Library Production Studio

A month or so ago Library Production Studio was at my library filming a "Do You Know" segment on libraries. The focus at our library was on the resources we provide for people who are job searching and one of our regular patrons was interviewed. Without much warning he asked me to participate and so I filmed a small section about my computer classes. FYI he has been a regular in my computer classes where we've worked on his computer skills and he was recently offered a new job!
I'm about 4 minutes 30 seconds into the video. For more information on LPS visit their website at: http://www.libraryps.com/

Moms Going Back to Work

There is an interesting article in Time magazine about stay-at-home Moms who are going back to work out of necessity during our unstable economic crisis.
I was never a typical stay at home Mom but I did have the luxury of being home with my son until he started school. After he was born I ran a business out of my home that allowed me to be home with him and it really was the ideal situation. I know a few stay at home Moms, most are parents to a large number of young children and I don't know what would be harder, remaining as a 1 income family or having 2 incomes but paying for child care. Whatever the situation, it can't be an easy decision.
To read the article click here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1884849,00.html?cnn=yes&iref=werecommend