Yezbick.com: If It's Weird, Flip It Over and Check, It Might Be a Yezbick

A really wonderful thing happened to me tonight. The cork in my wine bottle busted as it was retracting. BUT WAIT. THAT’S NOT ALL. I finally found myself applying knowledge gained from Lifehacker in REAL life – not just my techno life. I recalled a post about opening a bottle of wine with your shoe and immediately set to it. Being timid it took me about 10 knocks against the wooden door frame – but that little bitch of a cork popped – and I was extremely happy.

I also had two valid reference questions today that I totally rocked out. The one I’ll mention was from an education student at a local university who was looking for information on Resource Rooms in Special Education.

I have no idea what Resource Rooms in Special Education means – so I did a quick google search and fell onto the about.com web page that gave me a little bit of background. I knew pretty much off the bat that we weren’t going to have much in the public library on the topic, especially in our print materials. The student related that she had already been through WilsonSelect and ERIC without much success. She said she had found one article that she Interloaned from 2000, but it wasn’t enough, and that she wasn’t finding much at her University Library.

I did a quick keyword search for “resource room special education” in ERIC and came up with something from 2008. But she was right, this was gonna be a little bit narrow on the results. I’m not familiar enough with educational terms to do the whole synonym thing – so my next step was to head to Google Scholar with the author’s name as a search.

We found the original article and I pointed out how Google Scholar shows you who has cited the article – and how you can use that to kinda expand your search. (Forgive me, but I’ve forgotten the official citation search database I was using at WSU — somebody refresh my memory please.) Then – once she grabbed the journal names that the articles were in – she could likely use her University’s resources more wisely. Her professor had enlightened her to ERIC and WilsonSelect – but something was nagging at me that she had failed to mention the specific journals as opposed to the conglomerate databases.

The end result was that she walked out with what I’m going to take as a swing in her step – a little confidence – ready to do the business herself. It really saved MY day today – almost as much as my sole.

*edit* Oh. I almost forgot to mention Google Reader Play. There. I mentioned it.

So what’s the most exciting thing I’ve found in the past couple of days? I’d have to say this.

Yeah. I know. Not really all that grand right? But it’s made for some fun diversions at work and in chat, so I thought I’d mention it.

Actually, the past couple of days I have mostly spent in bed. I think between Friday and Saturday I was out of bed for about 8 hours total.

Then I went to work on Sunday. It was hellish.

So I really haven’t had a lot of time to cruise the interwebs in order to scrounge up any other tasty morsels. About a week or two ago I did manage to stumble across Programming Librarian. Immediately added it to my diet of feeds and look forward to seeing their booth at PLA (booth #1035) in a couple of weeks.

I’m also rather intrigued by this Anythink business. They’re really pushing out their message along the social channels – but I still don’t quite get it. LISNews ran a story about ‘em back in September. The comments on the story, while brief, are somewhat telling. (They seem a bit angry too, don’t they?) I especially like the “branding” comment. Right now this seems like somebody has taken a library system, changed the philosophy, and really pumped up the marketing. David Lee King did a presentation for them in October, also mentioning the word “brand” in his blurb. I look forward to seeing them at PLA as well, and maybe getting my hands on a kazoo. I kinda feel like I’ll have to watch myself though, or risk indoctrination. I really need to know more to say anything else about it.

More about PLA Portland – I’m once again working on constructing a map to guide me around town.

View PLA 2010 in a larger map

Thankfully, http://www.portlandbeer.org had already mapped out the breweries, and http://foodcartsportland.com the infamous food carts – so that saved me a lot. If any PDX residents want to drop some helpful hints on what else we should hit up while we’re there – the comment box is open.

If there was one thing that drove me batty when I first began my professional career as a librarian…or, err, a paraprofessional in a library setting…it was how my coworkers always complained about not having time to explore new technologies, or, really, anything else that may come between them and their to-do lists. I was a freshie out of school, doe eyed, optimistic.

I have sadly become one of them.

There’s a lot of stress in library world right now. What with property taxes taking a nose dive and the economic downturn as a whole, not only is the general public on edge, but your friendly, normally heavily sedated librarians are feeling the grind as well. At our library we’re looking at a 15% reduction in the budget, on top of the 5% or so drop we took in last year. Where does that leave us? Substitute librarians are a thing of the past for now. Department, committee, and any other meetings that take us away from the desk are being shuffled and cut and spaced out further and further apart. (I can’t say that this is completely a negative thing. There are often better ways to communicate within an organization than through monthly meetings. Still, the encouragement to become involved with your professional organizations or any other outside the box thinking is not as boisterous as when I first arrived on the scene about 5 years ago. Our lot has been cast, and that lot means that) Our eight hour days are now to be spent with additional hours on the desk dealing with increasing amounts of reference transactions.

Yet, even with the increased gate counts and reference transactions – libraries are taking a hit. It’s a cruel twist that in the times we’re used most, we don’t get the support we need. So it goes.

So I am pressed for time, and I’m pressed for sanity. It hasn’t been an easy three years for me. I’ve experienced unspeakable pain and loss, well, unspeakable in that I won’t talk about it to anybody but my therapist. I really had no desire to sit down here and type anything out. But the other night I was lying awake in bed and I was thinking about how good it felt to finally sit down and actually think things through and just write it out. I have a post about group/silent study rooms or the lack thereof to thank for that. I’ve read Nicole’s work on the web as far back as I can remember, but group study rooms and their demand has become such a flashpoint in the past two years that I had to respond. I was a little unfair in picking at her choice of words, but I was trying to convey that there was equal frustration on the other side of the coin in regards to what libraries can and can’t do with the space and resources that we have. I think she understands that, and I’m glad that she takes the time to write up posts that are more often than not worth the time none of us have to read.

So I want to start writing again.

I used to put pen to paper daily. I used to love the ink releasing and actually used to have decent handwriting. I’d go all out for the loopy letters. These days I’ve been reduced to chicken scratch. I would much rather type than pen. I think I just have to accept the new medium, but I can’t accept where it’s put me as regards to my writing. I don’t need to find the time. I need to make the time, getting back to the introductory paragraph. I don’t want to be that person who shuns off something because they feel they’re too busy. I know I can do this. I see other people doing it everyday.

There are really three things that stopped me from writing. One was the aforementioned unspeakable. I went to a dark place, and I think I’m just about ready to emerge from that. I’m not afflicted with clinical depression, thank goodness – but I was definitely not in a good place for the past 3 years. The second was the chilling effect from worrying about what work would think about what I wrote. It was doggone thoughtless to register this site and expect to write about professional matters without fearing the repercussions. I’ve got a backup plan in the works for when I feel like I need to vent, something akin to this, but not. The last reason was that I’ve become fed up with my hosting provider. All I wanted was for the lifestream to update on its own, every 30 minutes or so – but these guys haven’t been able to get it done. So – for the first time since Yezbick.com has existed (2003?) – I’m likely to migrate to a different host once my lease runs up here.

There are other things, of course. Facebook and twitter are worthwhile distractions. But they don’t give me the release I can get from pounding at the keys to usher in an 800+ word update. They distract me from that. I’m fairly convinced that this is my return. That I’ll go ahead and make an hour an evening and have a go at it. I’ve got plenty of material to rehash. For starters there’s my delicious account. I could talk about any one of those sites that I’ve found it worthwhile to store into my own personal database. It was actually my “Read it Later” queue that inspired me to sit down here tonight. I’ve let it grow and I meant to make this post an exploration of the links I haven’t quite gotten to as of yet. Instead I’m on a rant. Perhaps I’ll put that off until tomorrow. I’ve become quite adept at procrastination.

1000 words. I promise it won’t be like this every night. Not even close. More than likely it will be more akin to:

Interesting –

Social Eyes presents librarians with an exploration and discussion of new social tools and current trends. The column will address both practical and innovative uses of social technologies that will improve the quality and efficiency of library services.

Unfortunately I don’t remember where I grabbed this from – as Read It Later – doesn’t give you the spot where you actually noted it from your twitter stream or wherever. So I can’t give credit. SOZ. This isn’t the case with my delicious account. There I often make the effort to at least plug a little bit of what the site is about and try to hook up a via tag. Either way – I think there’s a lot more to be said about the things I come across – if just to make me feel better and more productive.

And here I am – closing out this rant – and it turned into something exactly the opposite of what I expected it to be. Here’s hoping I have the same resolve tomorrow to go over what I didn’t get to today.

Some days I feel like a superhero librarian. In fact, I’ve been wrestling with the idea of a series of posts that would focus on my technological superhero librarian utility belt – and hopefully getting into the groove of this post will get those juices flowing again and I’ll eventually get around to it.

But every superhero has their kryptonite, and the other day I ran into mine.

But every superhero overcomes their kryptonite – and this is how I overcame mine:

Sometimes it’s best to channel your angry into creativity.

I’d already posted this to twitter – but I thought I’d give the fam a taste of what I sometimes encounter in my daily life.

I’ve helped to keep score at Battle of the Books the past two years. The competition is fierce and the air is electric. This is the reaction after one of the questions — they reacted this way each time.

Sexy Senior programming at your library
- Outreach
- instead of grandparents bringing grandchildren to storytime – taking the storytime to the grandparents – or even just an assisted living facility
- younger parents take pleasure in this – their own parents live further away – and this is a way for them to introduce their children to older adults - Primetime Readers
- Two Part Program started for school age students – teens and tweens
- Reading
- Chapter books don’t work as well as single reads
- Old time radio scripts
- Activities
- Bingo
- Tie-ins to the Reading
- heroes
- collectibles
- New Technology
- Senior Mornings
- Senior specific computer classes
- Enjoy learning with their peers
- Mousercize / Mouserobics
- Gaming
- Wii
- Partnered with the Schools
- Wii bit of fun
- Bring an older friend
- Bowling Tournament
- Encouraged to dress as a team
- 150 people attended
- Families brought cookies
- 5th grader set up miis prior
- variety
- entire families attended
- asked about practicing
- everybody got a trophy – called the local bowling alley and asked for “bad pins” – received 100 pins
- Vblogging
- Bethelparkcheckitout.blogspot.com
- cable access
- google video / youtube
- presidential campaign – liberty and literacy for all slogan
- easy to do if you don’t mind public humiliation
- therapy dog and handler

- Laughter Club – 3 per month – 2.5 years
- idea came from senior
- folder with “laughter club” written on it
- Senior Residence
- What is a laughter club
- Improve health
- reduce stress
- feel more positive and optimistic
- what happens
- breathing
- stretching
- laughter exercising
- good-hearted living
- Unique features
- no jokes in laughter club
- sounds of laughter and motion create exercise
- simulated laughter stimulates laughter
- laughter exercises done in group setting
- led by a certified laugher leader
All you need is a willingness to laugh
- how do you become a laughter leader
- www.worldlaughtertour.com
- What does it cost?
- $400 for training workshop
- texts separately
- $75 annual registration
- $45 annual certification renewal
- can be run for free or a fee
- Why Laughter is Good for you
- reduces stress

Libraries Passion Prosper Purpose
- Hired research firm KRC
- Key Message Tagline
- Library card is the brand – Smartest Card – knowledge smarts

- Talking points
- partners for vibrant educated communities
- partners was chosen for a reason – toned down
- essential for a free people

Mayor R.T. Rybak couldn’t make it
Mike speaking for him
Urban Libraries Council
Making cities stronger
- Publication “How to start a business in Minneapolis”
- business plans
- working through the county
- 20 page document
- Strategic Plan Language of Closing the Gap
- Mayor’s speech to the city
- “Economic Opportunity in a City that Works”
- www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/mayor/speeches/speech_sotc2008.asp
- mayor outlined economic development of the city

- Build an investment strategy in youth
- Three part program to the Minneapolis Promise
- working closely with the libraries
- 1. Step up – at the university – interns – University of Minnesota
- effective feeder system for young persons of color
- 2. College and Career centers at every Minneapolis High School
- online
- 3. Free College
- 720 High School students went to school for free
- Founders free tuition program

Amy Ryan Director Hennepin County Library

- Strengthen Partnerships
- Foster non-traditional Partnerships

- Hennepin merged with City of Minneapolis
- Better governance
- streamline services

- Lifelong learning
- the people’s university
- the old model needs to be updated

- 21st century library with an interactive learning environment
- People are now looking for librarian’s to help them navigate the 6 billion hits on google
- Moving away from 1 to 1 reference and towards 1 to many
- in the community – online -

- Importance of early literacy
- Importance of online resources
- HCL’s award winning website
- Partnerships
- Head Start
- connect with 1500 families every year
- Read to me
- incarcerated parent records story – book sent to home
- upon release set up with early literacy materials
- Two Literacy Mobiles
- go to where your users are
- cultural fairs, school events
- Serving New Americans
- HCL’s website World Links
- specific resources that welcome new americans to the county
- Welcome Stranger
- Urban Libraries Council

- Business information
- grassroots
- Micro entrepreneur and Business Planning Building

- Library as Place
- for families
- free
- generator of economic development
- Henn. Co. Board of Commissioners approved expansion of library hours
- paid for with the overage of tax revenue from Ballpark
- Sunday hours – family time

- Marketing materials from HCL displayed
- New Central opened 2yrs ago
- teen section
- new american section

- Space Allocation 30/30/40
- 30% children, 30% teen, 40% adult

Carlos Manjarrez, Senior Research Associate – Urban Institute
- Return on Investment and Monetizing what Libraries Do
- Shared a story about his visit to the mall of america
- fulfilling certain needs in many different ways
- at end of search, transaction, walk away with what we needed
- obvious analogies to libraries
- Information Literacy
- Job seekers
- Libraries in business of building human and social capital
- Economic environment
- communities amenities
- workforce
- opportunities
- Conversations
- not framed in the typical manner
- difficult to monetize – and in some cases you don’t want to
- meeting specific needs
- really important needs in economic and private sphere
- example – memphis library move – physical placement of the library
- front door wasn’t facing well healed community or lower income community
- right in btwn the two – symbolic

Mike – Far more likely that someone (70%) will be trained for employment and retained than a business startup succeed — (29%) nature of the beast.
Amy, Director – Guys Read – very important that we quantify the impact of what we’re doing

Rx for RA

Rx for Small Libraries
Carmel Clay Public Library

3 desks – Reference / Technology / Reader’s Advisory
Not just RA – busy part of the library
Commitment is made to RA

Initial Training
- from manager
- 2 weeks
- bookmarks / displays
- pics of librarians with books with lists
- how to talk to readers

Genre study
- flexibility
- romance (chocolates)
- westerns (cowboy hats)

Reader’s Advisory for the Public Library – Joyce G. Saricks

Appeal Annotations

Library Journal Article 2007

Genre study
- core list of authors
- Homework
- CCPL Sample Annotation
- helps to think about the book

Joyce Saricks column – write a reader profile

Cross training
- useful books and websites – how to use
- return to the starting point – reread Saricks

Medium Sized Library

Web 2.0
Maney
Tucson Pima Library

Libraries are notorious for being behind the curve.
- meeting yesterday’s needs today
- we love databases but we hide them from our users

Web 2.0 Levels the playing field
- magic wand idea

Web 2.0 is
- social
- collaborative
- creative
- personal

Web 2.0 is about customization – individuality
It’s your library – we should make it your library with tools
- think about goals which drive services to your community

Aren’t they just going to ignore me? Maybe
What do I do? Experiment
- These technologies can’t be understood in the abstract
Designing for uncertainty – motto of the virtual library

Flickr slideshow wrapped in a website
LibraryThing – what engages your user
Teens made videos on YouTube – and the users are engaging

Online Summer Reading
- eVanced – 300 book reviews from teens – worked
- Teen Book & Poetry forum didn’t work
- threaded
- Don’t be thwarted by failure

2.0
- my life
- your life
- our life
- there is no failure

We use people
- you can’t do it all
- have a team
- focus

Don’t forget your staff

Wiki people
- Wetpaint private login
- 23 things program – over 200 libraries have done this
- using a wiki for the FAQ
- it’s not going away – you can’t ignore it

What have we learned?
- 2.0 website is moving towards conversation
- new way of interacting and connecting with your library

It’s all about you.

Michael Stephens

Where are we now
OCLC – library website use is down 20%

hometown library recently blocked access to facebook and myspace

Is a link to your library’s website in wikipedia

The Wii is hot

Business week found young adults are creators of content

How should the library evolve?
- Ask Here instead of Reference
- Nashville Public LIbrary teen page
- roving reference
- flickr

The Library is transparent
- we are told how the library is spending its money
- speak in a human voice “human conversations sound human” – Cluetrain Manifesto
- say yes
- Hennepin County Library has commenting inside their catalog
- throw out the culture of perfect “let’s look at this one more time before we send this upstairs”
- let the library play

The library is human

Please bring your heart with you to work

Control Fades

Meet the Mission
Convey the Vision
- if it fits in the mission – do it

3 things
- Learn to learn
- Adapt to Change
- Scan the Horizon

Blyberg
Keen on 2.0

Fundamental ideological splits
Andrew Keen – cult of the amateur

Getting a handle on what it means to us

Reasons why we shouldn’t be involved with Web 2.0
- The Great Seduction – Eleven Fashionable Thoughts about Digital Utopianism

- Blyberg: Web 2.0 is the practical application of a network coupled with….

“Writing has never been a democratic process.”

“Ambiguity and paradox are all part of the picture, and that’s ok.” We need to learn to accept it and move on.

Andrew Keen’s manifesto is a wonderful example of what can happen to us if we submit to fear.

Q&A
How do we balance the privacy vs access issues?
- Stephens - King said – if there is filtering in libraries – and somebody says let me in – they have to let you in
- Illinois had a state initiative to block social networking sites

- Blyberg - our notions of privacy are antiquated
- if you are online – at some point you need to submit information about yourself
- talk to our patrons candidly
- these are the risks – we would like to show you how to avoid them

- Stephens - We have a great opportunity to be guides
- especially with teens
- jenny levine – strategy guide

Tupac Shakur Langston Hughes
Cultural Messages
Mr. Jackson

Langston Hughes -
- people’s poet – the cultural messenger of Harlem for that period
- one of the most versatile and controversial writers of the 20th century. 860 poems.
- prolific writer, poetry has been translated into 60 different languages
- essay “My America” excerpt – 1943
- poem “Freedom’s Plough”

Spoken Word
- so much history can be found in the home just by talking to the elders
- “I am the darker brother” an anthology of modern poems by african-americans
- “Life ain’t no crystal stair”

Used the terms African, Black and Negro interchangeably which was uncommon in that time
- Nikki Giovanni, Oscar Brown, Gill Scott Heron., Sterling Brown

Watergate Blues
We Beg Your Pardon America
“Oatmeal Man – Gerald Ford”
AuH2o goldwater

Heron’s Generation
- series of poets
- Smokey Robinson
- Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
- Curtis Mayfield – Choice of Colors
- Donny Hathaway
- KRS-One – knowledge reins supreme

Common Traits in Shakur and Langston Hughes – political family
son of black panther parents
raised in womb of imprisoned mother
wants to be a revolutionary when he grows up

Shakur’s Book
- His aspirations
- Shakur’s use of the term “nigga”
- never ignorant getting goals accomplished
- what do you accomplish by being a n?
- where do you go from being a n?
- as you raise your children – what do you pass on to them as n?
- they don’t see themselves moving beyond 21
- now a cross cultural term
- how does that move society forward?

Common Themes
- warrior poems
- poems with rose in the title
- sensitivity and strength

Two different sides of Tupac
- the one saddened by what he saw
- wanting to speak about those issues
- talked about heroes – Huey Newton and Nelson Mandela
- “Where there’s a will there’s a world”

Remember when hip-hop was supposed to die out? It’s been some 20 years now…