Small Town Librarian

Rural Librarians

2006-07-21T20:00:15Z

If you are a rural librarian, you want to take a look at Building a Sustainable Future, a blog from the Kansas State Library and WebJunction's Rural Sustainability Project. It is filled with information of use to rural librarians who want to plan for a bright future.

Rural Library Director's Jobs

2006-07-14T18:46:24Z

Here is a list of Rural Library Director's jobs on Flickr. Anyone doing the job will recognize all of the duties listed as their own. Click on the All Sizes above the photo to make it large enough to read.

Doesn't it look impressive on the chart! Bet there are things on the list that you now realize you do, but that you do but hadn't thought about for some time!

New Job

2006-05-17T19:30:13Z

I am pleased to announce that I am going to be the new director at the Menasha Public Library in Menasha, WI. So I will no longer be directing a small public library, but a rather larger though not huge public library. Maybe medium is the right word.

I start my new position in late June and am feeling a certain sorrow leaving my small town library and my time as a small town library director. I will miss being able to open my office windows and hear nothing but birdsong, walking down the early morning street to the post office, and visiting the local school for storytimes. It has been a lovely place to work.

I don't know yet what will happen to this blog. Perhaps the new director at Green Lake will enjoy doing it, or I will just change the title to simply Library Rantings. :) All I can say is that the dedication to patrons that I learned in a small town will continue. I will try to do my small-town heritage proud.

Sample Library Policies

2006-05-09T18:23:49Z

OWLS, a public library system here in Wisconsin has a very handy website with Sample Library Policies for small libraries. We are going to be examining our library policies again this year. We do it on a regular basis, about every five years. We are checking for positive wording rather than negative wording and making sure that we have all of our bases covered. Sites like the one from OWLS give small libraries a very nice resource for comparison and making sure that your policies are not lacking in any areas.

Library 2.0

2006-05-04T12:30:07Z

I am trying hard not to drop out of sight here, but I have gotten a seat as part of the Library 2.0 Bootcamp that ALA is doing. I have a blog there, and I will be doing reading and participating for the next six weeks. So if posts here are skimpy at best, just check out my Library 2.0 blog.

I must say that this Bootcamp would have been perfect for more small town librarians to be a part of. It is all online, so there is no travel expense and there is no fee attached! Plus, I have already learned more about Library 2.0 than I had before. But I will be sharing those thoughts on my Library 2.0 blog. Don't know what Library 2.0 is? Well check out the reading list for the bootcamp!

Skeptical? I was too. But this is definitely not a movement to scoff at. Learn about it, dig a little deeper, and you may find that they are talking about creating the exact same type of library you have been striving for.

Getting in Touch

2006-04-26T14:44:18Z

The January/February edition of the Rural Library Services Newsletter has a cover story about maintaining your love and passion for library work and libraries in general over the course of your career. They have several ideas for perking up your emotional connection to your library, such as spending more time in the stacks, getting moving, and silently rehearsing how you would defend your community's right to have a public library.

I would add one more. Talk with your patrons. Interact more with your community. If you are feeling distant from librarianship and libraries and just rubber stamping your way through the job, then it is time to reinvest in your community.

How about being there when the story time group arrives?
Just meandering through when the teens are monopolizing the computers?
Chatting with the gentlemen who come in every day to read the newspapers?
Working a circulation, reference or information desk on a regular basis?
Moderating a book discussion group?
Being another adult to help handle large summer reading programs?

There are so many ways to break out of a rut. But I find the most effective to be the people I serve. They are the reason I do this job. It is not about the books, the computers, the building, the staff, though they are all valuable and important. It is about my community. And just getting in touch with them makes me know immediately why I do what I do.

The Skypes the Limit

2006-04-25T23:15:05Z

Making a patron's day can be as easy as knowing technology and seeing an opportunity to say yes. Today I had a gentleman ask very nicely if he could use AOL and speak into a mic. I agreed happily. Then as he went on, he mentioned that he used Skype at work and needed to communicate with someone in Thailand. I said that we would be happy to load Skype onto our computers if that would work better. He was thrilled! He even came back to repeat again how much it meant to him.

Then he said that he had given us a check last time he was in town because we were so accommodating. I had had no idea. That certainly isn't why I said yes. I said yes because I am fascinated by Skype and its applications for those trying to keep in touch with people around the world. Because I knew immediately what he was talking about, I was able to say yes without hesitation. Sometimes it helps to be a slightly geeky librarian. OK, more than slightly...

On a Nice April Morning

2006-04-20T17:40:00Z

Amazing what your heart will do when you come in on a sunny April morning and find a subpoena for a specific patron's records on your desk. Seemed like a cloud went over the sun and a cold cold wind was blowing suddenly. After the momentary palpitation, I called the city attorney and got the ball rolling on seeing whether it was a legitimate request for records. It was.

Here's what I learned from the situation:

Stay calm. Calm good.

Attorneys are your friends.

When you find out you have to hand over documents, try to swallow down the militant librarian inside who wants to scream NO! and throw herself bodily on the papers.

You probably want to know how long your shared library automation system is keeping the files on your patrons. Ours is a leeetle bit too long for my comfort.

And finally, looks like a conversation about record retention and policy is coming at a system level.

Look at all the trouble one little subpoena can stir up!

Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship

2006-04-12T12:22:22Z

The Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship is a great resource for small town librarians. Clarion University of Pennsylvania established the Center as a research, consulting and continuing education facility. Its mission is "to extend knowledge relative to the nature and role of rural and small libraries on a global basis." Their site has a collection of links of interest, so take some time to explore!

People Server or Information Provider?

2006-04-11T12:41:23Z

LITA has a publication called People Servers vs Information Providers: The Impact of Service Orientation on Technology Training. Whew! What a title! After the title, the article itself is very accessible and easy to read. What it comes down to is that research shows that there are two types of library employees:

People Servers who see their relationships with patrons as the first priority and view technology as something that takes them away from their patrons.

Information Providers who still believe that their primary goal is helping patrons but see computers as an important tool in providing service.

This information is important because it affects the way that staff learn technology. The article goes into great detail about this. This is definitely an article that all library managers need to read. It is especially important for small libraries, because acknowledging that you are either a People Server or an Information Provider will help you understand how you interact with technology and how you can help your staff integrate computers more fully into their service to patrons.

Library Terms That Confuse

2006-03-31T17:11:50Z

Library Terms That Users Understand is a great resource for those of us who are too small to conduct our own usability studies. The site is there to help us learn what words our patrons find confusing and what words we should probably start avoiding on our websites and our PR materials.

Some of our favorite words are on the list of those to avoid:

Reference
Resources
Periodical

And most surprising to those of us who work in libraries:

Library Catalog!

So many of us may need to look with fresh eyes at our websites and our use of jargon with patrons/customers/users! Yikes!

Senior Patrons

2006-03-29T12:57:04Z

Stephen's Lighthouse has a great post about serving seniors. His point is that the senior population is changing. They are more technology literate, health conscious, and active. Senior programming in our libraries, especially those of us in small retirement communties needs to change too.

Rather than basic computer literacy courses, we need to be offering enhanced technology courses on things like social bookmarking, great web sites, and advanced searching techniques.

We need to be looking at healthy programming, like low-fat cooking classes and tai chi.

We need to start thinking that the very things that interest us will interest our retirees. Think of them as cool, hip folks who may have a bit more gray (though in my case usually not) but are just as bright and interested as ever.

Smallest & Largest Libraries Get Biggest Cuts in Funding

2006-03-22T17:38:20Z

ALA has a press release that says that the smallest and largest libraries in the nation saw the largest funding cuts this year. Of course, smallest in ALA's eyes are libraries below a 25,000 service population, but the statistic is still very interesting. And for those of us in the West and Midwest, the cuts were largest.

Here's a rather shocking stat:

Forty-eight percent of small public libraries in the West and Midwest saw midyear decreases in FY2003; almost 36 percent were cut in FY2004; and 34.5 percent were cut in FY2005.

""While the overall financial picture for libraries has improved going into this fiscal year, there is a cumulative effect of these cuts over years – particularly for our smaller libraries, on which so many Americans depend," said ALA President Michael Gorman."Many libraries are being forced to do more with less." Almost 80 percent of libraries serve communities smaller than 25,000 people."

Rural Broadband Study

2006-03-21T12:35:30Z

Pew/Internet has a report on the usage of broadband Internet access in homes in rural America. While 39% of adults living in urban and suburban areas have broadband access at home, only 24% of adults in rural areas have home broadband. Shows how important the access at rural libraries can be for our patrons!

Library Takes Care of Their Own

2006-03-20T02:20:11Z

Here is another of those articles that shows what small libraries are all about: Small library, big hearts for friend in need. Lovely, lovely, lovely.