The luncheon keynote presentation is now available as a PowerPoint with audio.
I'd also like to point out that Starr Hoffman has posted some wonderful photos from the summit to her flickr account. If anyone else is posting photos, please let us know and if you are using flickr add the tag transformingtexaslibraries.
Showing posts with label keynote. Show all posts
Showing posts with label keynote. Show all posts
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Dinner Keynote
The dinner keynote will also be podcast and a link will be provided here. Again, these are my notes on what the speakers said, not my personal opinions. (For those interested I will have those available at my personal blog sometime in the next week.)
Kathleen talked about having been part of a community building movement that was built up in the Clinton administration, but that has taken a back seat under the current president. She told us that the United States is in an angry and mean time right now. She recently watched the Republican debate where they spent the first hour on how to keep people out of our country. The state of Georgia has passed a law saying no public money can be spent on Spanish language materials. This has made her change her point of view and approach. She no longer wants a "place at the table" for libraries. She wants to help reset the table, to help make communities less mean.
She talked about an assignment she gives to her students - to go out and participate in a non-library organization. They always come back saying, we need more librarians involved in X (whichever organization they went to). Some examples: Boys and Girls clubs, historical societies, literary councils, mothers of multiples, greyhound rescue, neighborhood service center, PTAs, womens clubs. The greyhound rescue student went on to coordinate with the shelter to do animal care sessions at the library. Kathleen said that many of her students would wonder about womens clubs - why care about those old ladies, so she had them read and learn that many more libraries were started by womens clubs than by Carnegie. The point of the assignment is to teach us to create allies by being concerned about our community. She suggests providing time within work time to go to one meeting a month not related to your job. If we show up they're usually nice to us, but we can't wait for them to invite us.
Kathleen talked about having been part of a community building movement that was built up in the Clinton administration, but that has taken a back seat under the current president. She told us that the United States is in an angry and mean time right now. She recently watched the Republican debate where they spent the first hour on how to keep people out of our country. The state of Georgia has passed a law saying no public money can be spent on Spanish language materials. This has made her change her point of view and approach. She no longer wants a "place at the table" for libraries. She wants to help reset the table, to help make communities less mean.
She talked about an assignment she gives to her students - to go out and participate in a non-library organization. They always come back saying, we need more librarians involved in X (whichever organization they went to). Some examples: Boys and Girls clubs, historical societies, literary councils, mothers of multiples, greyhound rescue, neighborhood service center, PTAs, womens clubs. The greyhound rescue student went on to coordinate with the shelter to do animal care sessions at the library. Kathleen said that many of her students would wonder about womens clubs - why care about those old ladies, so she had them read and learn that many more libraries were started by womens clubs than by Carnegie. The point of the assignment is to teach us to create allies by being concerned about our community. She suggests providing time within work time to go to one meeting a month not related to your job. If we show up they're usually nice to us, but we can't wait for them to invite us.
She recommended that we examine our communities to see what the main players are and ask ourselves how we can make sure that librarians get involved in as many areas of our communities as possible. She said that many librarians don't know what 211 is. (An aside from Ellie - For those of you in that group - please take the time to visit 211's websites at https://www.211texas.org/211/ and http://www.unitedwaycapitalarea.org/gethelp/.)
Kathleen argued that we need to do an audit to see what organizations need a librarian's input/involvement:
She gave examples of anti-gay sentiments in libraries (relegating books to adults only, not allowing purchases) and encouraged us to stand up for open access.
Kathleen challenged us to look up the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and read it. She said we will find ways to rededicate ourselves to librarianship and humanity. She also challenged us to make a commitment to attend a conference dedicated to an ethnic group not our own. We have not even reached 25% people of color within librarianship, taking people of color as a whole. Library staffs are becoming mono-cultural and it is becoming acceptable to say that we don't want to serve certain populations.
If you are an African American librarian over 50 there was a time that you were not allowed to use the public library. We're doing the same to people without papers now. Will we stand up and say we are not going to turn people away? Saying you can't speak English - go away - is not point/counterpoint - it's just hate.
Kathleen argued that we need to do an audit to see what organizations need a librarian's input/involvement:
- Social service organizations
- Political organizations
- Cultural organizations
- Human Rights organizations
She gave examples of anti-gay sentiments in libraries (relegating books to adults only, not allowing purchases) and encouraged us to stand up for open access.
Kathleen challenged us to look up the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and read it. She said we will find ways to rededicate ourselves to librarianship and humanity. She also challenged us to make a commitment to attend a conference dedicated to an ethnic group not our own. We have not even reached 25% people of color within librarianship, taking people of color as a whole. Library staffs are becoming mono-cultural and it is becoming acceptable to say that we don't want to serve certain populations.
If you are an African American librarian over 50 there was a time that you were not allowed to use the public library. We're doing the same to people without papers now. Will we stand up and say we are not going to turn people away? Saying you can't speak English - go away - is not point/counterpoint - it's just hate.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Luncheon Keynote
EDIT: Presentation link [PowerPoint with audio podcast]
The full podcast of the keynote speakers' presentations will be available shortly (and links will be added to this post and the following one), but to tide you over, here's a recap of some of the items that stuck with me. Please note that these are my notes on what the speakers said, not my personal opinions. (For those interested I will have those available at my personal blog sometime in the next week.)
Steve Brown introduced the speakers saying "When you're going to move a big edifice, first you have to shake it loose from its foundations." George and Joan were here to do just that.
Before they started Lou Wetherbee gave us some valuable suggestions on how to listen. I think they are worth considering as you read below (or listen to the podcast). She told us that absorbing information will be critical. We should listen with an open heart and a questioning mind, suspend our judgment (as much as possible), and carry with us an interest in the questions they raise. She challenged us to step outside our own frame of reference. If you're a reference librarian, imagine yourself as IT, a friend of the library, or a cataloger. Put on the hat of a library user. Take notes on words that trigger a strong reaction - positive or negative - that the speakers say, or that come to your mind as they speak.
George began the presentation by explaining that transformation doesn't start with institutions. It's not some big thing out there. It starts at home, with us. He said that they would be pointing out some inconvenient truths. They are based on OCLC reports and his 30 years of experience, but they are all his opinions, not rules set in stone.
Joan said that she is often called a futurist, but in libraries that's an easy job since we just get the same things everyone else has, 5 years later.
We were asked to consider "Who are we supposed to serve and what do they value?" Not just what do they value in a library, but what do they value period. How can we contribute to our constituents to fit their quality of life, work and learning - on their terms? Joan said she uses the word constituents rather than patron/user/customer because it includes everyone who is eligible whether they are using our services or not.
Slide quote - "It is not necessary to change. Survival is optional." - W. Edwards Deming
George told us that time is the new currency. Our system is still set up the old way where information was limited and we expected people to take the time to learn our system. They said we like for it to be hard to find things because then users need us to help them. Whereas our constituents see us as providing a service. They argued that we need to move away from seeing libraries as a helping profession. People feel confident that they can find information by themselves.
George reviewed the 2003 OCLC Environmental Scan and discussed three trends that were found. Self-service, disaggregation, and collaboration.
Self-service:
People feel very confident online doing things that were previously done by experts or intermediaries. Example: Travelocity rather than a travel agent. The main difference between experts and civilians is access to information. Subscription databases are not built for civilians. Remember that self-service is not the same as no service. If we set them up to fail they will leave and not come back. If we set them up to succeed on their own, they are more likely to come back and interact with staff. When someone says, "I know it's a stupid question but..." what we should hear is "Your system made me feel stupid."
How can we set up the library to make it easy for our constituents to succeed?
Simplified wayfinding
If we expect someone off the street to do it, all our staff should be able to do it. (Example - find X book. A person shelving should be able to answer questions there, not send someone back to a desk.) Information at point of use.
Disaggregation and recombination:
People are becoming their own librarians. The iTunes store is an example of disaggregation. My personal iTunes is recombination.
How can we make library information more exportable and remixable?
Collaboration:
How can we extend the library's reach via interdisciplinary collaboration?
Collaborate with any organization with which we have constituents in common. Talk about ourselves in terms of abundance:
They also talked about Radical Trust - Focus on building relationships. Know that there are degrees of collaboration - glance, date, engagement, marriage...
Next George reviewed the OCLC report Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources
He told us it's our job to make libraries convenient.
70%of those asked saw no difference in trustworthiness between the library and search engines.
We talk about educating our users. The speakers told us it's a bad strategy to create a service where people have to change their mind.
Joan recommends getting pros off the desk - no other profession has the best people at the walk up desk. (And top chefs don't chop their own parsley.) By doing that we're telling a person coming in - forget everything else you've learned. She is also not a fan of lurking librarians. She argues for the idea of dispatched reference. She said of course, a small library can't do it.
She argues that a benefit of dispatched reference is that the librarian takes the user away from the desk. We all learn not to hold up the line, so those users aren't going to say all they need. Instead of staffing the desk, reference librarians can use their time creating prepackaged info, doing research, being available for individual appointments, acting as learning specialists, specializing in people and process, not just materials. She argues for "upselling." Front line staff, when recognizing a question calls for a reference librarian, can say, "let me introduce you to the pro." This lets patrons feel they are getting valuable service.
Something revealed in the survey is that libraries are seen as a place for learning and reading.
What does it take to be an inspiring destination?
The final OCLC report discussed was Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World.
We were shown a chart of what people consider private - it wasn't much and library directors' views were not in line with the general population.
Joan discussed 2.0 services. They allow people to find, use, share, and expand. She said that libraries are decent at find and use, but need to move into sharing and expanding. She talked about virtual outreach. Make an entry for your library in Wikipedia. Have a real time activities buzz. She gave an example of a library showing what has just been checked in. She said this is a hot service. Other examples: today's hot topics, wireless strength, parking cam (letting people see how easy it is to park out front of the library at any given moment).
The speakers said that studies have overwhelmingly shown that people think libraries are about books. There are big corporations that would kill for that strong a brand identification. How can we leverage the books brand? The association of reading with success?
George then showed us a study asking people where they would go for information in four categories. Libraries scored last every time and rarely got above 1%. The report was from 1947.
The positive note? People asked for certain things and libraries started to provide them. This gives us hope that we can do this again.
Focus on the users and all else will follow.
The full podcast of the keynote speakers' presentations will be available shortly (and links will be added to this post and the following one), but to tide you over, here's a recap of some of the items that stuck with me. Please note that these are my notes on what the speakers said, not my personal opinions. (For those interested I will have those available at my personal blog sometime in the next week.)
Steve Brown introduced the speakers saying "When you're going to move a big edifice, first you have to shake it loose from its foundations." George and Joan were here to do just that.
Before they started Lou Wetherbee gave us some valuable suggestions on how to listen. I think they are worth considering as you read below (or listen to the podcast). She told us that absorbing information will be critical. We should listen with an open heart and a questioning mind, suspend our judgment (as much as possible), and carry with us an interest in the questions they raise. She challenged us to step outside our own frame of reference. If you're a reference librarian, imagine yourself as IT, a friend of the library, or a cataloger. Put on the hat of a library user. Take notes on words that trigger a strong reaction - positive or negative - that the speakers say, or that come to your mind as they speak.
George began the presentation by explaining that transformation doesn't start with institutions. It's not some big thing out there. It starts at home, with us. He said that they would be pointing out some inconvenient truths. They are based on OCLC reports and his 30 years of experience, but they are all his opinions, not rules set in stone.
Joan said that she is often called a futurist, but in libraries that's an easy job since we just get the same things everyone else has, 5 years later.
We were asked to consider "Who are we supposed to serve and what do they value?" Not just what do they value in a library, but what do they value period. How can we contribute to our constituents to fit their quality of life, work and learning - on their terms? Joan said she uses the word constituents rather than patron/user/customer because it includes everyone who is eligible whether they are using our services or not.
Slide quote - "It is not necessary to change. Survival is optional." - W. Edwards Deming
George told us that time is the new currency. Our system is still set up the old way where information was limited and we expected people to take the time to learn our system. They said we like for it to be hard to find things because then users need us to help them. Whereas our constituents see us as providing a service. They argued that we need to move away from seeing libraries as a helping profession. People feel confident that they can find information by themselves.
George reviewed the 2003 OCLC Environmental Scan and discussed three trends that were found. Self-service, disaggregation, and collaboration.
Self-service:
People feel very confident online doing things that were previously done by experts or intermediaries. Example: Travelocity rather than a travel agent. The main difference between experts and civilians is access to information. Subscription databases are not built for civilians. Remember that self-service is not the same as no service. If we set them up to fail they will leave and not come back. If we set them up to succeed on their own, they are more likely to come back and interact with staff. When someone says, "I know it's a stupid question but..." what we should hear is "Your system made me feel stupid."
How can we set up the library to make it easy for our constituents to succeed?
Simplified wayfinding
- less clutter
- civilian terminology
- situational directions
- power paths and nodes (retail store layout terms)
- layout by activity, not collection
If we expect someone off the street to do it, all our staff should be able to do it. (Example - find X book. A person shelving should be able to answer questions there, not send someone back to a desk.) Information at point of use.
Disaggregation and recombination:
People are becoming their own librarians. The iTunes store is an example of disaggregation. My personal iTunes is recombination.
How can we make library information more exportable and remixable?
- Allow user generated data
- Enhance discoverability
- Engines not OPAC
- Crawlable databases
Collaboration:
How can we extend the library's reach via interdisciplinary collaboration?
Collaborate with any organization with which we have constituents in common. Talk about ourselves in terms of abundance:
- focus on assets not deficiencies
- demand-based resource allocation
- fast convenient service delivery
- minimal rationing
- appreciate inquiry
- no victims
They also talked about Radical Trust - Focus on building relationships. Know that there are degrees of collaboration - glance, date, engagement, marriage...
Next George reviewed the OCLC report Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources
He told us it's our job to make libraries convenient.
70%of those asked saw no difference in trustworthiness between the library and search engines.
We talk about educating our users. The speakers told us it's a bad strategy to create a service where people have to change their mind.
Joan recommends getting pros off the desk - no other profession has the best people at the walk up desk. (And top chefs don't chop their own parsley.) By doing that we're telling a person coming in - forget everything else you've learned. She is also not a fan of lurking librarians. She argues for the idea of dispatched reference. She said of course, a small library can't do it.
She argues that a benefit of dispatched reference is that the librarian takes the user away from the desk. We all learn not to hold up the line, so those users aren't going to say all they need. Instead of staffing the desk, reference librarians can use their time creating prepackaged info, doing research, being available for individual appointments, acting as learning specialists, specializing in people and process, not just materials. She argues for "upselling." Front line staff, when recognizing a question calls for a reference librarian, can say, "let me introduce you to the pro." This lets patrons feel they are getting valuable service.
Something revealed in the survey is that libraries are seen as a place for learning and reading.
What does it take to be an inspiring destination?
- cleanliness
- hospitality - get rid of the "no" signs
- improvisation
- views
- pleasure
- surprises
The final OCLC report discussed was Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World.
We were shown a chart of what people consider private - it wasn't much and library directors' views were not in line with the general population.
Joan discussed 2.0 services. They allow people to find, use, share, and expand. She said that libraries are decent at find and use, but need to move into sharing and expanding. She talked about virtual outreach. Make an entry for your library in Wikipedia. Have a real time activities buzz. She gave an example of a library showing what has just been checked in. She said this is a hot service. Other examples: today's hot topics, wireless strength, parking cam (letting people see how easy it is to park out front of the library at any given moment).
The speakers said that studies have overwhelmingly shown that people think libraries are about books. There are big corporations that would kill for that strong a brand identification. How can we leverage the books brand? The association of reading with success?
George then showed us a study asking people where they would go for information in four categories. Libraries scored last every time and rarely got above 1%. The report was from 1947.
The positive note? People asked for certain things and libraries started to provide them. This gives us hope that we can do this again.
Focus on the users and all else will follow.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Get to Know the Keynote Speakers
Joan Frye Williams
For more than 25 years, Joan Frye Williams has been a successful librarian, consultant, vendor, planner, trainer, evaluator, and user of library services. She began her career in 1975 at the California State Library. She also worked for a number of library automation vendors. Since 1996, she has been an independent consultant specializing in innovation, technology, and the service needs and preferences of non-library "civilians."George M. Needham
Bringing years of expertise and research data to any process, George Needham excels at provocative data-driven content on the future of libraries. His experience is diverse and includes State Librarian of Michigan as well as extensive association work as the Executive Director of the Public Library Association and the Director of Member Services of the Ohio Library Association. In addition, he has worked in public libraries in Ohio and South Carolina. He is known for his wonderful delivery style, his copious publications and his landmark work at OCLC.Kathleen de la Peña McCook
Kathleen de la Peña McCook is a distinguished university professor of Library and Information Science at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She has also been on the library school faculties of Louisiana State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She teaches courses on human rights and librarianship, public librarianship, community building, libraries as cultural heritage institutions and adult services and lifelong learning.
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