Top down building

Tony Tallent of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County writes about "Building from the Top Down":

I want to build a library from the ground up…well, really from the top down. What I mean by this is not beginning our building with bricks and mortar but with philosophy and commitment so that we are always poised to experiment, ready to adapt and have more limitless thinking and action... the invisible that strengthens the visible.

This is right on -- our library is doing a facility study right now; we began by getting community vision for future library services and are working to get a sense of the most important "top down" criteria for planning. The architects will use these to develop some scenarios. Form follows function, function follows philosophy.

Julie Andrews: When You Read

Writing in the Los Angeles Times, decrying possible library budget cuts, movie star and author Julie Andrews speaks powerfully on the value of books, reading and libraries:

I have witnessed firsthand the crucial role our libraries play in providing free access for children and adults alike in the realms of learning and literacy. Public libraries are our great teachers and storytellers, and are a vital adjunct to our schools. In this day of standardized and homogenized education, a library offers individual and personalized learning opportunities second to none.

Perhaps most important, libraries offer a powerful antidote to the isolation of the Internet, providing connection, support and community. Rather than wading in a solitary fashion through the morass of potential misinformation available on the Net, the student who conducts his or her explorations at a library has safe, professional guidance in his or her search for good books and accurate information.

This is another perspective on where we, as a society, find value. We can demonstrate a good return on investment. But the value of libraries doesn't end there.

Pay Attention: students as digital learners

Aimed at teachers, but relevant for libraries. Jamie Matczak of the Nicolet Federated Library System sent a link to this video from the TeacherTube Channel to a bunch of folks and asked: "what kinds of reading/technology skills will be necessary for the future? And how can libraries help with that solution?" It even (gasp!) talks about evil cell phones as learning tools.

Jamie LaRue's Vision Keynote: the 21st century library needs to be community-centric

Jamie LaRue is Director of the Douglas County Libraries in Colorado and author of The New Inquisition: Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges. Last week he keynoted Wisconsin’s "Strategic Visioning Summit on the Future of the Library." The following notes are a mixture of what I jotted down at the time and points he reiterates on his blog.

His presentation covered four themes, six trends, five numbers that matter, and two big ideas:

Four themes:

• save our stories
• libraries mean business
• libraries make citizens
• family literacy

Six trends:

• self-service
• merchandising
• emergent literacy
• community reference
• convergence of libraries and museums
• passing the torch

Five numbers that matter (especially as statistical trends):

• staff / 1,000 served
• total expenditures per capita
• library visits per capita
• circulation per capita
• program attendance per capita

Two big ideas:

• statewide library card
• public library districts

He noted:

the Colorado library card idea was actually easy enough to do (aside from politics!), and cost almost nothing. The library district has been clearly shown to be the most effective kind of public library, because it ties the funding to the actual users.

LaRue included several useful observations along the way, such as “every library employee believes themselves to be a graphic design wizard -- they are wrong; libraries need to require consistent use of fonts, graphics and colors" and "if you want to move materials, build displays, not bibliographies." In support of community reference, he encouraged libraries to put reference librarians into the community and let paraprofessional staff handle the 84% of reference questions that don't need a librarian.

"Easy enough (aside from politics!)" -- I like the optimism of that. One more: "The library should be the hearthstone around which storytellers gather."

The final report of the Strategic Visioning Summit will be released later this year.

Economic impact slideshow

This is the slideshow presented at the WAPL conference by David Ward of Northstar. More information is on the DPI website.

Value of social software

Value is where you find or make it. While a recent study revealed the "shocking news" that the social site Facebook is mostly a time waster, libraries can still make worthwhile use of it. Writing in her Free Range Librarian blog, Karen Schneider notes:

I realize Facebook has its silly side. ... I also don’t spend a lot of time in Facebook. I ignore actions on Facebook such as sending me “beer,” karma, stuffed beers, or the same dumb video. Once in a while I’ll play a game, but I won’t forward it to my 300+ “friends.” I check in, I tweak my profile, check messages, send a couple out, but I’m not Facebook-obsessed.

Pretty much exactly how I use it, though the game part is off work hours and I feel guilty about ignoring the pinatas and pokes people send me -- I'm not ignoring my friends, just the fun part of Facebook. I'm not very much fun at work, as coworkers will attest. The message part, OTOH, has some real utility for professional purposes, and having a library page allows one more easily updated vector of information about the organization. Facebook has recently announced "Facebook Connect", which raises the ante for serious work.

Closer to home, our InfoSoup catalog has quietly unveiled "community reviews", with an option to write a review on the pages of bib records. It'll be interesting to see if it takes off -- would love to hear more input and feedback from people in the community. What do you think?

Madison Library Board approves new building

Downtown, developers, seeking donors, fund-raising, naming rights -- they're dealing with lots of issues. See article in the Cap Times.

As Appleton continues to consider facility issues, it's worthwhile seeing how other communities are dealing with their buildings. Appleton is not Madison, nor Menasha, nor Minneapolis, but I hope we can learn from all of them.

Public libraries boost economy

Northstar Economics has unveiled the results of a statewide study on the economic impact of public libraries. The study was commissioned by the Department of Public Instruction using federal LSTA funds as well as grant funds from the Campaign for Wisconsin Libraries.

In presentations at the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries conference, David Ward of Northstar noted several key points:

1. Return on investment is $4.06 for every $1.00 of taxpayer investment
2. Overall (conservative) annual economic contribution is $753 million
3. Library serves as a knowledge/information resource base

Relevant messages for libraries to share:

1. Particularly in a rapidly changing global economy, public libraries are a good and necessary investment .
2. Public libraries are a consistent source of information and technology, and won't be acquired, closed down, or moved offshore.
3. Earnings are tied to education, and with an increasing gap in income levels, public libraries level the information and technology playing field.
4. Wisconsin is below average for per capita income and below average for growth. Libraries can be part of changing that.
5. A growing wave of retiring baby boomers will use libraries as a key part of their working and non-working lives.

The report notes that library visits increased 28% in the past 10 years, and materials circulation, children's program attendance, computer access, and electronic access to library catalogs are also showing healthy growth.

Perhaps not coincidentally, our staff, in assessing the Best Practices Review, recently published by the Legislative Audit Bureau, noted that the Appleton Public Library shows some of the fastest growth in use among large libraries in the state. Of the ten libraries with the highest circulation between 2002-2006, only Madison and LaCrosse showed faster growth in use than Appleton; our circulation grew 22.1% in that time.

WAPL Conference Notes: an index to blog entries

The 2008 Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries Conference was held in Stevens Point on April 30th-May 2nd. Several members of WAPL and the WLA Media and Technology Section (MATS) have blogged the conference, reporting on many individual programs. These included Joy Schwarz, Michael Golrick and myself on the WLA Blog, Tasha Saecker on Sites & Soundbytes, and Nichole Fromm on nichole's auxiliary storage . Michael has also posted on his Thoughts from a Library Administrator.

See also the Post Conference Resources page for handouts, etc. -- includes some great PowerPoints!

Sessions blogged:

• Keynote: The Economic Impact of Wisconsin Public Libraries (Saecker)
• Keynote: The Economic Impact of Wisconsin Public Libraries (Golrick)
• Investment Returns: Using the Public Library Economic Impact Study Results in Your Library (Saecker)
• Investment Returns: Using the Public Library Economic Impact Study Results in Your Library (Golrick)
• Digitization of Local History Materials: LSTA Success Stories (Fromm)
• Imagine That: Intergenerational Storytelling with People with Dementia (Dawson)
  
• Unintended Consequences: Traditional Library Practices as Barriers (Saecker)
• Where Are We Going? Strategic Planning for Results (Golrick)
• "One Book, One Community" Programs: the Do's and Don'ts (Dawson)
• Jay Rath: The Writer's Real Life, or Be Your Own Boss! Work at Home and Pray for Universal Coverage (Saecker)
• Jay Rath: The Writer's Real Life, or Be Your Own Boss! Work at Home and Pray for Universal Coverage (Golrick)
• Continuing Education in Your Pajamas-New Technologies Bring New Opportunities (Golrick)
  
• Continuing Education in Your Pajamas-New Technologies Bring New Opportunities (Dawson)
• MySpace - Don’t Be Intimidated By It! Can It Work For Your Library? (Schwarz)
  
• MySpace - Don’t Be Intimidated By It! Can It Work For Your Library? (Saecker)
• Have You Heard About... (Golrick) & the del.icio.us page of resources
• Have You Heard & Be the Boss of Your Browser (Saecker)
  
• Notable Genre Book Discussion (and bonus Have You Heard...) (Fromm)
• Dick Bennett: "The Rule Rather Than the Exception" (Golrick)
  

Revolution in Seattle

Crosscut.com has a great article about the departure of the Seattle library director and her legacy in their library building. The story highlights some of the tensions in modern library design and things communities should consider about library facilities.

A few relevant quotes from the article:

architects must do more than create a visually spectacular structure. They must also make sure the building “works.” Is it efficient, comfortable, and able to do the job for which it was intended?

Libraries today are less about the real estate necessary for storing books, and much more about being a public forum — a space for meetings, performances, gatherings, and centers for community communication.

the public is choosing the atmosphere of the new bookstores over public libraries. ... public librarians must create an environment that will attract young children and keep them coming. ... bookstores could empty public libraries if they don't become more inviting and convenient to match the public's busy lifestyles.

...libraries need to respond to changes, not just build to the old models.... libraries offer hope and guidance to new immigrants and provide a place of acceptance in a world that disenfranchises many people.... if we are to attract children of all ethnic origins and their families into new concepts of citizenship as well as the joys of reading, libraries are the place to start.

Libraries today are spaces for meetings, performances, gatherings, and centers for community communication. Future librarians will be pied pipers, organizers of events that expand horizons and arouse curiosity in books and reading.